I can't boot up. Using Kinko's at 20 cents a min... help?

goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

I can't boot up. Using Kinko's at 20 cents a min... help?

I had been losing my connection so I thought something was starting to go wrong. I decided to do some preventive maintenance.

*I unplugged the computer for a few hours. It booted up fine after that and even seemed to run better.

*I ran object sweep, I ran disc cleanup, I deleted all but the last restore point, I defragmented.

*On normal surfing i heard a series of clicks from my tower. I got the blue screen that said something was wrong with hardware or software recently installed. To protect data windows was closing...

*could boot as far as the bootskin (my most recent software install) and then kept getting a black screen "we are sorry windows could not open"

*can not boot into safe mode...

I'm at kinkos, and this is costing 20 cents a min. I don't have lots of $$$

If anyone knows anything that might help, I will look here again in a minute or two. I have my old computer, I will try to get it set up, and some ISP installed for later on... And check again tomorrow or sometime.

I am not sure it is the bootscreen since I got dropped roughly 20 min after I booted in the last time. Those clicks prolly weren't good. sometimes I do get the bootskin I had installed.

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

If I win this Saturday's £20million lottery, I'll buy you a new one

Awwwwwwwwwww... thank you Fuzzy!

Actually the sound only happened once, right before that blue screen.

I haven't had reboots, but i have lost net connection a lot, lost bits of data, function has been poor. I don't know what BSOD means.

I still need to check out the fan. I got busy doing stuff around the house today.

I will be ordering at least one new hd (thanks yrag for the tips) probably tomorrow, if I can remember the time dif. I am a late afternoon kind of person, and most places close by the time i get around to calling.

Thanks for the thought, Paul!

I worked out today that I didn't really lose any data, I just converted stuff from dedicated bits to potential bits. And I've always noticed there is a lot of allure and power in potential. Also, I probably will have added some points to my Geek score by the time I am done.

Again, thanks everyone!

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

....er... the sound might be happening again after I have been up a lot, but it is hard to tell if it is real sound or just worry...

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KarmaGirl

Join Date 03/2001

+118

If your hard drive is failing, it will act like that. Also, if the power supply fan is bad, it will over heat and fail.

BSOD= Blue Screen Of Death (the blue screen MS throws at you when you pc crashes).

If you get another hard drive, I would suggest an external. They make restoring your PC a lot easier. You can use them as another drive or just back up to them.

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I sell customs if you're interested and we can have it built for you pretty quick and they're very cheap too, which is amzing because they use top of the line equipment and extreme cases with lights thru the side and such, If you're interested post the specs you're looking for and i'll see what my company can do by way of a special discount.

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

Thanks KG. One other thing about the overheating. My tower is near a glass wall. It was OK in the 'winter' but now it is getting warm. I should probably move the thing (AGAIN). I think my next one will be the kind the monitor sits atop, since it gets hard to find places to put the thing.

DWatson, thanks. As it is, I have only one source for funding and that is the store that sold me the computer, so I will go that way.

I am nervous and a little excited at the prospect of putting in a hard drive. Maybe one day I actually could build my own..

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

Fuzzy, are you going to ul Hot One again? And Nimbus, and Nimbus Lite?

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

OOPS, that last post was supposed to be in another thread!

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

I'm still waiting for my hd. I figure when it gets here I will open the thing up, clean it good, and move it to a cooler spot at the same time I install the hd.

I ran that software sandra, and it showed my board temp at 40c and my CPU temp at 39c after running the day long. It's a Pentium 4, 1.8 GHz, 1024mb RAM, 37.9gb hd.

Computer runs fair, but I notice some lagging on intense applications like games. The monitor screen shimmys but not really flicker on and off, more during intense times. It makes sounds, but kind of normal ones I think.

Um, I was halfway through the reformat before I understood that was what was happening. That means that the programs got installed first, and the drivers last. Today I defragmented, and most of the stuff in the graphs was at the wrong end, and red instead of blue. I was wondering if i should reformat again in a more logical order?

Thanks again for all the help.

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

Reformat?

You mean re-install don't you? Reformat erases the hard drive completely with total data loss...
If you do reformat, you'll be installing Windows first, then your drivers, then any programs etc.

Those temperatures are excellent - no need to worry there. The machine specs are good too - it shouldn't struggle at all. What kind of graphics card have you got?

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

On-board Devices
Intel GMCH AGP Graphics Controller : Video Adapter (Enabled)
Intel 82562 Ethernet Device : Ethernet Adapter (Enabled)
Intel ICH4 Audio Device : Sound Adapter (Enabled)

Is that the graphics card?

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

Reformat? You mean re-install don't you? Reformat erases the hard drive completely with total data loss...

Well, since I already lost everything, and if i got it all wrong, it made me wonder if now isn't the time to try and get it right. Before I have lots of stuff again.

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

If you are installing a new hard drive, you'll have to start from scratch anyway

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

Those devices are your chipsets. Open Sandra and go to "PCI, AGP Cardbus", use the drop down box to turn it to AGP - should tell you then under 'Device' what graphics card you're using.

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

I will?

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

Yup...I'm afraid you can't use The Force to get stuff onto your new HD, it has to be installed

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

Windows Device Name : Intel(R) 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV Graphics Controller
OEM Device Name : Intel Corporation 82845G/GL/GV Integrated Graphics Device (A1-step)

Is that it?

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

....I was already kind of embarrassed about dl so much. I better cool it until i get the HD.

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

...I thought there must be a way to hook them together and drain one into the other....

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

<- ....it''''s a yawn.. Thanks fuzzy, I''''ll check back in tomorrow. ((((HUGS))))

[Message Edited]

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

You can set the original drive as a slave and take data off that to the new drive. But to use the new drive as master it's a clean install required. We'll go through that when the drive arrives

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Fuzzy Logic - Yup...I'm afraid you can't use The Force to get stuff onto your new HD, it has to be installed

you cannot? it does?
feline suspects either fuzzy is confused, or i have been uncommonly cunning on occasions...

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goodmorphing

Join Date 03/2002

Its here!

On first read, it is all confusing. I usually need some time to absorb the idea, so I will prolly do the deed tomorrow.

I thought I would install the new one as master, the old one as slave...(if i can figure out that I have *cable**)

I think i will have to reconfigure my house at the same time. This corner is getting hot in the summer sun. I have everything plugged into a single power source and tonight there was a powerdown. So lots of work to do.

I should get a can of air and blow the tower out at the same time.

I know i am real tired so things seem worse t han they are, but I sure wish those instructions made more sense.

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

Diane...there's some online tutorials on adding hardware, etc on a computer...google will find them...

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Jafo

Join Date 03/2001

+1845

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=%2Fdirectory%2Fworldwide%2Fen-gb%2Fharddrive.asp

Nothing better than starting at the 'source'...

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Fuzzy Logic

Join Date 05/2002

+493

Your new drive should be fine as master with the settings it has already. For the old drive, you'll need to change the jumpers to make it a slave. There'll either be a diagram on the drive somewhere, or on the manufacturer's web site. You'll also need an IDE cable with two connectors on the end. The end one goes to the master, the inner one next to it goes to the slave and the end one on its own goes to the MB.

What I'd do is install the O/S with just the new drive connected, you can connect the old one as slave later.

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