Intermittent problems
in [Computer]
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From: James D. Andrews on 23 May 2010 13:57 "Jeff Strickland" <crwlrjeff(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:ht9e04$s6t$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > I bought a motherboard at Fry's last week (Tue., 05/18) for $38.25 that > included the CPU _ and_ has a $10 mail-in rebate dropping the price to > $28.25. It's a pretty nice board for a non-gamer -- which with what you're > running now, you have to be. And if you _are_ gaming with that machine and > getting by, the board I got from Fry's will change your life and improve > your scores. > Sweet deal, Jeff. What CPU did it come with? --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news(a)netfront.net ---
From: James D. Andrews on 23 May 2010 14:00 "Jeff Strickland" <crwlrjeff(a)yahoo.com> wrote in message news:ht9e04$s6t$1(a)news.eternal-september.org... > Have you run your anti virus? Is it up to date? Have you scanned for > malware? Is the malware scanner up to date? And, finally, have you scanned > for spyware, and is your spy checker up to date? > > If yes to all of these, and you still have problems, then I'd suggest that > you need to reload Windows and start over. > > Unfortunately, virii, malware, and spyware can all sneak past the tools on > occasion, and remain after the checks come up clean. If this happens, > there's not much you can do but to reinstall Windows. The downside of this > is that you also have to reinstall all of the apps. > SNIP SNIP> > > > "UCLAN" <invalid(a)invalid.com> wrote in message > news:85qq67FgltU1(a)mid.individual.net... >>I have numerous intermittent problems. This is an older system - an >> Anthlon XP 2.1GHz running under Windows XP, 1GB RAM (max allowed) >> 65GB HDD about half full. >> >> Problems: >> >> Web browser (latest Firefox version) will be working fine, then start >> not correctly opening pages (graphics, fonts incorrect.) Closing & >> re-opening Firefox corrects problem (for a while). >> >> Mail client (Thunderbird) will sometimes not add attachments to mail. >> Closing and reopening Thunderbird corrects problem. >> >> Adobe Reader 9.0 will sometimes not correctly open a PDF file or even >> open its "OPEN" menu. Closing and re-opening Adobe Reader solves the >> problem. >> >> Word will sometimes give a "not enough memory" error when trying to open >> file, >> or sometimes when trying to open "OPEN" menu. Closing and re-opening Word >> corrects the problem. >> >> Do these symptoms ring a bell, anyone? Thanks. > > Before you re-do Windows, try uninstalling/reinstalling the affected software first. If it works, it would save you the time and trouble of reinstalling ALL your software. --- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news(a)netfront.net ---
From: UCLAN on 23 May 2010 15:57 Jeff Strickland wrote: > If you have your BIOS set (properly is the word I'll use, but it not the > right word ...) then you should see an opportunity for F11, or something, to > Restore Windows. > > If you have a Drive D: that is hidden or protected or otherwise configured > to keep you from using it, then it should carry the original issue of XP. I > don't recall what machine you said you have, but it is common that major > brands that have Windows pre-installed will have a disk partition with the > original software stored in the partitioned space. > > If you go to My Computer, it should show Drive C and Drive D. If D is > configured so that you cannot get to it, then you should have an F10 of F11 > opportunity during boot-time to restore Windows. Drive D: is labelled as "HP Recovery." What will this do? > If you have Fry's Electronics nearby, you can buy a decent motherboard and > gobs of RAM for $150 any day of the week, and if you wait for a sale, or > accept DDR2, then you can get down to 50-ish dollars for the board and > 25-ish dollars for RAM. They'll plug the CPU and RAM in for you for another > 10 bucks, but I see no reason you can't do it yourself if you understand how > to orient the components so the pins fit properly. Of you bought the board > and RAM, then you would also need to buy a copy of the OS. > > You could drop the new board into your existing case if you wanted to, and > keep the other parts of your machine just as they are now. Thanks, but current dexterity problems prohibit this, elsewise I would have upgraded this dog long ago. I'm more in the "Here's some money. Fix this" type of mode. Odd thing is, since I started posting questions about this problem, the "glitches" have failed to occur. They're "layin' low" I guess. BTW...I can't seem to get into the BIOS on this thing. Windows XP, Phoenix LTD 3.10 BIOS (Award BIOS?). ASUS A7V8Z-LA motherboard. Hints?
From: UCLAN on 23 May 2010 16:15 Paul wrote: >> I have numerous intermittent problems. This is an older system - an >> Anthlon XP 2.1GHz running under Windows XP, 1GB RAM (max allowed) >> 65GB HDD about half full. >> >> Problems: >> >> Web browser (latest Firefox version) will be working fine, then start >> not correctly opening pages (graphics, fonts incorrect.) Closing & >> re-opening Firefox corrects problem (for a while). >> >> Mail client (Thunderbird) will sometimes not add attachments to mail. >> Closing and reopening Thunderbird corrects problem. >> >> Adobe Reader 9.0 will sometimes not correctly open a PDF file or even >> open its "OPEN" menu. Closing and re-opening Adobe Reader solves the >> problem. >> >> Word will sometimes give a "not enough memory" error when trying to >> open file, >> or sometimes when trying to open "OPEN" menu. Closing and re-opening Word >> corrects the problem. >> >> Do these symptoms ring a bell, anyone? Thanks. > > Run Prime95, and see if it remains error free in a four hour run. > If it stops in a matter of minutes, with an error, it could be > processor or memory. You can then work on the problem, until > Prime95 is clean. (You want the stress test option of this program, > and don't have to "Join GIMPS".) > > http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/ Will download & run as time permits. > The purpose of using Prime95, is partly to do a test that doesn't > touch the graphics card. If Prime95 runs fine, then you'd suspect > the problems are caused by the video card/AGP slot, and its interaction > with the OS. ASUS MB (A7V8X-LA) has integrated graphics (VIA UniChrome.) No plug-in video card. > If you want, you can also do a visual inspection for bad capacitors. > My AthlonXP machine started to crash, as the 5V rail on the power > supply started to fail, and there were four leaking caps inside > the power supply. But that is a different set of symptoms than > you're getting, and your problem smells more like a bad video card. > But running a few more test cases, may help isolate the problem. Present lack of dexterity prohibits my search for bad caps. And, as I said, integrated graphics. No video card. > For a graphics stress test, I like 3DMark2001SE, as the download > size is smaller than a lot of the later versions. At this point, > it isn't going to isolate a problem - but if Prime95 passes, and > 3DMark "crashes and burns", you'd suspect a video card problem > or a bad AGP slot. (It could even be the onboard power source for > the low voltage AGP I/O supply for example.) > > http://majorgeeks.com/3Dmark_d99.html (41MB) Thanks. It's looking more and more like a new base PC is in order. I'm quickly getting tired of chasing the glitches in this one.
From: Jeff Strickland on 23 May 2010 17:12
"UCLAN" <invalid(a)invalid.com> wrote in message news:85tfkvFse6U1(a)mid.individual.net... > Jeff Strickland wrote: > >> If you have your BIOS set (properly is the word I'll use, but it not the >> right word ...) then you should see an opportunity for F11, or something, >> to Restore Windows. >> >> If you have a Drive D: that is hidden or protected or otherwise >> configured to keep you from using it, then it should carry the original >> issue of XP. I don't recall what machine you said you have, but it is >> common that major brands that have Windows pre-installed will have a disk >> partition with the original software stored in the partitioned space. >> >> If you go to My Computer, it should show Drive C and Drive D. If D is >> configured so that you cannot get to it, then you should have an F10 of >> F11 opportunity during boot-time to restore Windows. > > Drive D: is labelled as "HP Recovery." What will this do? > Yep, that's the one you want. You should be able to invoke its services with an F Key during boot-time. If you can't see the opportunity for the F Key, then you need to go into the BIOS -- again, this is a boot-time option -- and find a setting that displays the Power On screen. >> If you have Fry's Electronics nearby, you can buy a decent motherboard >> and gobs of RAM for $150 any day of the week, and if you wait for a sale, >> or accept DDR2, then you can get down to 50-ish dollars for the board and >> 25-ish dollars for RAM. They'll plug the CPU and RAM in for you for >> another 10 bucks, but I see no reason you can't do it yourself if you >> understand how to orient the components so the pins fit properly. Of you >> bought the board and RAM, then you would also need to buy a copy of the >> OS. >> >> You could drop the new board into your existing case if you wanted to, >> and keep the other parts of your machine just as they are now. > > Thanks, but current dexterity problems prohibit this, elsewise I would > have > upgraded this dog long ago. I'm more in the "Here's some money. Fix this" > type > of mode. > > Odd thing is, since I started posting questions about this problem, the > "glitches" have failed to occur. They're "layin' low" I guess. > > BTW...I can't seem to get into the BIOS on this thing. Windows XP, Phoenix > LTD 3.10 BIOS (Award BIOS?). ASUS A7V8Z-LA motherboard. Hints? BIOS is opened with the Escape or Delete Key, most of the time. Some systems might use a different one, but there should be a line that passes by that says STRIKE <SOMETHING> TO ENTER SETUP, or words to that effect. If you can see this line though, you should see PRESS F11 (or whatever) TO START SYSTEM RESTORE. |