any idea?

im posting in the cs section which means i need help.. again.

my computer had been giving me problems ever since i took possession of it.
(it was my parents but they got a new one, and deleted their stuff off of it, including things i think should not have been removed, so they took my working computer, and made this mess my problem).

anyhow, besides alot of file errors, and a serious need to be defraged, i can't keep it running. It will freeze before it even gets to windows. but there is a definate relation to how long it is left turned off, and how long it will run once turned back on. If it is off for a few days, you might get a couple hours out of it. A few hours, youll have a few minutes. Once it freezes, its down for good. I dont understand how this can make a differance, but ive been working with it for a couple weeks, and theres definately a pattern.

Does anyone know what might cause this?

The only possible answer i could think of was something wasnt plugged in all the way and it was creating a short, but i took it apart and everything seemed to be where it was supposed to be. Unfortunately this computer is set up alot differnt than the one i had, and there are parts i dont recognize.

any help is greatly appreciated. Im going nuts without my computer.

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Have you tried to reinstall your OS? Windows can install itself without deleting disk content, and replace lost files in the process.

 

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my dad claims he gave me the disk, which he did not. but he's an ass, which means i lost it and am lying about it. so thats not an option.

 

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It may be a dodgy fan/heatsink/ power supply to the fan. This might explain the amount of time spent off and the unrecoverable freezes.

 

what kind of:

-system
-Operating system
-software installed

My advise: since they screwed up anyhuuuu:You can format your harddrive: it's not that difficult as you think

after that: re-install your OS maby even try Lindows or other Linux versions: they run smoothely and don't crash,...

seriously: formatting is the only 'simple' way to go: every body else who says that this isn't neccesary, is in a way saddling you up with some huge and unforgiving task,...of sorting out ALL technical details wich even they apparently and conveniently forget to mention. Believe me: format your harddrive: it's not that there's information on it that you should keep, is there? Well then?!! What are you waiting for!

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buy a new one other than that no advise

 

Your really going to need "a" disc to fix your problems I guess Nightfall, what you could do is get your Serial number from your install and then borrow a disc from someone using your Serial inplace of the one that came with their disc.

Otherwise to fix all those little problems that amount up to the big one, your going to have to go through it with a fine tooth comb.


Your probably best getting http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml this will allow you to shave off some of the things at startup. It is possible to do it without the use of this program through MSCONFIG but the likelihood is your not comfortable with using it.

Anyhow once you have this up or use MSCONFIG, you can turn off things that startup on the system at runtime, The idea being that Minimal is good. (The less your system tries to run, the more resources it will have to run things, therefore giving you more stability. The things you would be turning off are those that usually try to load in either the background or to the right corner near the clock on the status bar.)

When you select what should and shouldn't run, you can use a browser and search google for anything that runs your not sure of. If you see that it has alot of information explaining it's a trojan or virus, then turn it off and find out how to remove it.

 

If there seems to be a difference between a few hours and a few days I would be you have a bad capacitor on the motherboard or a "floating ground". I would do a visual inspection of the main board and cards looking for "swollen" capacitors.. they are the little "cans" usually with blue plastic wrap on them. If a cap is bad the board will most likely have to be replaced. If all looks good, you should make sure the main board is grounded soundly and all cards are seated good. If you are looking for files needed by Windows check to see if you have an i386 folder (if XP) or c:\windows\options\cabs if 98/ME.

 

I have solved similar circumstances by removing, cleaning contacts, and replacing memory. Proceed with caution though, ground yourself first to avoid static discharge and continually through the work. Sometimes the problem was due to faulty memory and replacing the modules fixed the problem. There have been instances where maybe a blown capacitor was at fault but rather than try to analyze at the component level, I found that replacing the main board seemed easier and cheaper.

 

someone else said fan. its possible that there is so much dust in there it doesn't work. lol.

as far as reformatting goes, i would probably buy a newer version -sigh- if i have to do it anyhow.

-system.......example?
-Operating system...win98
-software installed...again....not sure exactly what your looking for here.
sorry!!!

" If a cap is bad the board will most likely have to be replaced."
about how much $$ would i be looking at there?

"I have solved similar circumstances by removing, cleaning contacts, and replacing memory" i just spent 2 hours fixing my friends computer. still not sure exactly what was wrong with it, but it boots now. i feel pretty comfortable taking it apart so that will probably be tomorows project.

thanks so much for your help. ill let you know of anything improves.

 

ohh! if it helps. a few weeks ago i noticed a new noise.. a kind of "PLAWNK!" noise. and then it goes quiet and resarts that whirring sound (like when you put in a cd and it reads it)....

 

Hmmm, maybe that PLAWNK is a failing fan thrust bearing. Maybe a fan in your power supply. Try to pinpoint the noise if it starts happening more often. I've known old power supply fans to make a lot of noise when they first get going. I waited for a promotional sale and got my 400 watt power supply for just $15, its fans rarely run and are quite quiet which pleased me a lot as one of the reasons why I bought a decent laptop was to avoid the noise of the desktop. Now my desktop is as quiet as my laptop.

Oh as far as price of main boards goes, it varies widely. I did a lot of research mainly at Tom's hardware guide http://www.tomshardware.com and got a P4 2.6 gHz bundled togethor with an Intel board for $269. I have avoided Intel main boards in the past but this one had good reviews and the features I wanted.

 

hehe sounds like IBM HD's.

Anyway i would just reinstall, to me its sounds like your win98 is fucked, if the problem continues you can look for other problems(HW).

 

I recently put a RAID system in my computer (Two extra drives working as one), I had to do a few jury rigs to get the power connections to tally with what I was trying to run. (Basically I had to make some adaption sockets)

However my system has a Fan controller, it's a number of knobs that fit into one of the slots on the front of the computer beneath the CDROM to control the speed (Energy) of the fans.

When I first started up my system with it's new setup, I found it kept dieing, the main reason was simple it was trying to draw too much power through the powerpack, it would either generate stalls on the screen through one drive malfunctioning (Since I had three drives in use, one for the OS the others for RAID) or it would just hardboot itself.

[edit] The fix was to turn the FANS down from drawing so much energy, therefore lowering the speed of the fan but securing enough power to run everything.[/edit]

It's possible the system needs more power, that doesn't necessarily mean you need to replace a powerpack, it might be as simple as a power connection within the box being loose and therefore not supplying the power at the level the peripheral requires.

I would check your wires and clean your fans before getting too concerned about expense. Again if you can't do it yourself then your going to have to find someone that can for you, perhaps a friend might be able to help.

 

I still think it would be better to just reinstall, as stated in the first post, many files could be missing and the disk(s) are in need of defrag, its proberly been ages since the PC was last reinstall anyway. I dont think its a HW problem.

As you say yourself stryder you added 2 extra disk to your box, that was your problem(HD's suck alot of power when they spin up), But NightFall has proberly only moved the PC from one room to another, and unless she useses her comp. as a beach ball cable dont just pop out.

P.S.
7 disks on a 300W PSU does not work to well eather

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ok.. i checked the blue things. they're all normal everyones happy there (black ones too).
but after giving it alot of thought. ive decided my computer has two hard drives. Its covered in a black foam thing to keep it protected, and its all screwed in ass backwards half crooked, but im thinking its a hard drive.
now, assuming i can get a disk... how to i go about reformatting that?

and yes, the pc did come from the room across the hall.. but im not sure where it was before that. it could have been random parts. lol.

 

If your on about BUYING a new disk, then what you would need to do is make sure it's an OEM version (in the sense that it's installing from Scratch and not Updating)

Try to buy the most recent version (unless your systems specifications can't handle it), the reason I mention this is you should be able to insert the CD into the CDROM and then tell the system through your BIOS configuration to BOOTUP using the CDROM as the first drive to attempt with.

The newer OS should automatically try to setup the system for use with it.
(Thats the theory, otherwise it's theres a bit more to it, although you should still be able to do the same method.)

If you can't BOOTUP straight from a CDROM, then you will need a windows 98 bootdisk to help you out (www.bootdisk.com)

 

First Thicker(sp?) out what you want to backup, like mail, docs, favorites, netbanking whatever, once you format its gone.

The easiest way to reinstall, is to get someone to help you, especialy if you are not sure what you are doing. This can also be fun, as you can watch him/her sweat when things start to go wrong. Unless he is smart and wants to take it home or comes well prepared, no fun bastards

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To explaing how to installing winXX will take to much time, a quik search gave this link
http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_pro_install_-_graphic.htm by which you can get a small idea of how it works, if you then have any question im sure we can help with that.

edit:
also when windows is install you still need all the rest of the program you use,
and somethings need configuration.

 

I find that if you plop a few tablespoons of mayonaise on the main board, it can make things go real slick.

 

i have reformatted before. im not that computer illiterate. lol..

chips, you must be canadian.