SUMMARY: Keep the Windows XP Blue Screen of Death visible for diagnostic reasons.
If Windows XP detects a critical error, it will send information to a log file and automatically attempt a reboot. If you would rather Windows XP not try to restart itself due to an error so you can get a look at what is going on, perform the following. Note that you should be logged in as an administrator before performing this tip. Also, think twice before performing this tweak on server machines, as in many cases these should automatically restart.
1) Double-click "My Computer" on the desktop.
2) When the "My Computer" window appears, right-click on the small computer icon on the top-left of the window and choose "Properties".
3) When the "System Properties" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select "Advanced".
4) Click "Settings" next to "Startup and Recovery".
5) When the "Startup and Recovery" dialog box appears, uncheck "Automatically Restart".
6) Click "OK" to close the dialog boxes.