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From: moonraker on 14 Nov 2009 18:03
Thankyou, just very quickly, I am going to follow your advise and run
mentest (when I can get it to start up - am going to load another floppy -
one with version 2.1 and one with version 4.0 - will let you know

But can I ask a yes or no question:-

Question...I will do all that you an the others have suggested, one by one
in a logical order.....but first....can I ask again, is there any work or
changes that I can do in safe mode before I start pulling the PC to pieces.

Many thanks

Steve

"Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message news:hdn7j8$ork$1(a)aioe.org...
> moonraker wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Thank you for that, like I always say to the Bear and all the other "old
>> boys" (and girls), who have bee helping me for years - you are all
>> amazing!!!!!
>>
>> Question...I will do all that you an the others have suggested, one by
>> one in a logical order.....but first....can I ask again, is there any
>> work or changes that I can do in safe mode before I start pulling the PC
>> to pieces.
>>
>> Another, as well as maybe the memory being faulty, could the symptoms I
>> have - i.e, not booting normally, but booting into safe mode.. but
>> crashing as soon as I try - system restore (gets part way through and
>> them freezes, on restart says that it is not possible to restore to that
>> point any more), cleanup or defrag.....could these symptoms also point to
>> the hard-drive being faulty - damaged?
>>
>> Many thanks
>>
>> Steve
>
> For all that I know, your problems could be entirely software
> related. But the thing is, any computer, no matter what OS
> it is running, should be able to pass a RAM test. An OS
> will not run well, if the RAM is flaky, and all sorts of
> damage can be done to the file system, registry and the like,
> if the problem with the RAM is not corrected.
>
> So my approach, is to verify that the basic features of the
> computer work first. And then, work from there. That means,
> I use memtest86+ to test memory, if possible, use Prime95
> (mersenne.org) stress test, to check CPU and memory. Use
> a disk diagnostic from the disk manufacturer, and so on.
> By doing so, I hope to prove the basic hardware is healthy.
>
> Then, fixing the software comes after that.
>
> It is a bit like my doctor's office, where they keep measuring
> my blood pressure, even when I don't want them to :-) They
> cover the basics, as part of their surveillance procedures.
>
> Paul


From: RJK on 14 Nov 2009 19:20

"moonraker" <stephen.emery(a)microstarsoftware.com> wrote in message
news:Oug8MKYZKHA.1592(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Thankyou, just very quickly, I am going to follow your advise and run
> mentest (when I can get it to start up - am going to load another floppy -
> one with version 2.1 and one with version 4.0 - will let you know
>
> But can I ask a yes or no question:-
>
> Question...I will do all that you an the others have suggested, one by one
> in a logical order.....but first....can I ask again, is there any work or
> changes that I can do in safe mode before I start pulling the PC to
> pieces.
>
> Many thanks
>
> Steve
>
> "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message news:hdn7j8$ork$1(a)aioe.org...
>> moonraker wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thank you for that, like I always say to the Bear and all the other "old
>>> boys" (and girls), who have bee helping me for years - you are all
>>> amazing!!!!!
>>>
>>> Question...I will do all that you an the others have suggested, one by
>>> one in a logical order.....but first....can I ask again, is there any
>>> work or changes that I can do in safe mode before I start pulling the PC
>>> to pieces.
>>>
>>> Another, as well as maybe the memory being faulty, could the symptoms I
>>> have - i.e, not booting normally, but booting into safe mode.. but
>>> crashing as soon as I try - system restore (gets part way through and
>>> them freezes, on restart says that it is not possible to restore to that
>>> point any more), cleanup or defrag.....could these symptoms also point
>>> to the hard-drive being faulty - damaged?
>>>
>>> Many thanks
>>>
>>> Steve
>>
>> For all that I know, your problems could be entirely software
>> related. But the thing is, any computer, no matter what OS
>> it is running, should be able to pass a RAM test. An OS
>> will not run well, if the RAM is flaky, and all sorts of
>> damage can be done to the file system, registry and the like,
>> if the problem with the RAM is not corrected.
>>
>> So my approach, is to verify that the basic features of the
>> computer work first. And then, work from there. That means,
>> I use memtest86+ to test memory, if possible, use Prime95
>> (mersenne.org) stress test, to check CPU and memory. Use
>> a disk diagnostic from the disk manufacturer, and so on.
>> By doing so, I hope to prove the basic hardware is healthy.
>>
>> Then, fixing the software comes after that.
>>
>> It is a bit like my doctor's office, where they keep measuring
>> my blood pressure, even when I don't want them to :-) They
>> cover the basics, as part of their surveillance procedures.
>>
>> Paul
>
>

As has been explained, in various ways, several times, you absolutely MUST
have fault free, (robust) hardware, ...that is also correctly configured !!!
....or you're simply fighting a losing battle with your Windows OS/gui.
Faulty system memory sometimes reveals itself by corrupting XP's registry.
You definately do not want to be fighting with your Windows platform in any
"mode" at all, until you have confirmed that at the very least, psu,
motherboard, cpu, memory modules, fans, and hard-disk/s, are all fault free.

regards, Richard







From: Daave on 14 Nov 2009 19:54
moonraker wrote:

> Question...I will do all that you an the others have suggested, one
> by one in a logical order.....but first....can I ask again, is there
> any work or changes that I can do in safe mode before I start pulling
> the PC to pieces.
> Many thanks
>
> Steve

Steve, there is one thing you can do if you want to put off swapping
hardware components.

All you need to do is boot off a live Linux CD like Ubuntu or Knoppix.
If your problems persist, then you know for a fact you have hardware
issues.

If you can't find the info you need from Google (where to download the
proper .iso and perhaps a CD burning program that can burn from images),
we'll provide links.

Also, in order to test your memory, you can do this without removing
anything (at least at first). You can isolate a faulty RAM module by
testing one at a time, of course (that is, by physically removing one
stick and leaving the other one in). But you can feel free to test your
memory in its current configuration first (that is, without removing
anything).


From: Paul on 14 Nov 2009 19:54
moonraker wrote:

>
> But can I ask a yes or no question:-
>
> Question...I will do all that you an the others have suggested, one by one
> in a logical order.....but first....can I ask again, is there any work or
> changes that I can do in safe mode before I start pulling the PC to pieces.
>
> Many thanks
>
> Steve

I can't think of anything I'd want to do in Safe Mode, as far
as fixing any problems. At this point, I don't even know
what your problem might be. But you have sufficient flaky
symptoms, to suspect a hardware component to whatever the
problem can be. There is no point fixing a "higher level"
problem, unless the lower level (hardware) aspects of the
machine are in tip-top shape.

If you haven't backed up any files in a while, maybe
your "Safe Mode" will give you a chance to save user
data, email database file, or the like. Backing up some
of the files might be better than nothing. Who knows,
at some point, you may need to reinstall the OS... And
a backup would be a handy thing to have.

Paul
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