RosnSC
Member
Well guys, I have some good news to share with you. After, yet, some MORE 'tinkering and tweaking', I got the Compaq up and running again...FINALLY...<BG>. Wooo hoooo....Sue, doing a happy dance!...:D. A big Thank You for all of you who tried to help me, ESPECIALLY Pennedragonone! <big smile>
Sue - now running updates and such on her 'prize machine' ;)
penneddragonone
Member
Yeah! You can't leave us hanging like this! It did look like a nice system when I looked the model up on the internet. There's a 5 hour difference between your son cracking the machine open and your happy dance. What transpired? Was it reseting the defaults in BIOS? Was it a video driver? Was it a loose hard drive cable (those new SATA cables stink they break if you look at them.) Was it the memory you tinkered and tweaked? I bet it was the battery I knew I should have asked you to put a new one in.... I'm all out of breath..... I feel like I just got my own computer fixed. Yeah,,,Yeah....yeah....YEAH...... You fixed it yourself, you and your son, kids are great aren't they! So what was the problem? Congratulations!!!!!! Oh, happy day!!! Oh, no, I just burnt my bacon...
RosnSC
Member
Well I had a response partially typed up, and had to leave to help my son with something in the kitchen. He then came in here to use the Compaq, didn't see my reply box on here, and closed everything out so he could use the computer...grrr!!
Okay, here's something to the effect of what I had typed up earlier. I think it was a combo of cleaning out the dust, and the software installing completely. On all the previous Recovery attempts, it wasn't all being installed, and so only certain components on the computer would work/load up. On my last, and successful, attempt I just decided to give it another go (for some strange reason!), but didn't watch it like a hawk like before. I just figured if it worked, it worked. Well, I was also playing a game on the Gateway computer. Periodically I would turn and look at the Compaq to see what, if anything, was going on. Well, this time things went further than previously, and so I perked up giving it more attention, clicking onto things when prompted, and eventually the thing loaded up, and completed the installation process. One thing that motivated/encouraged me, I guess you could say, was that I was finally able to load the computer into Safe Mode, whereupon I got the message that the installation had not completed - something to the effect that I had swept the floor, but hadn't picked up the sweepings. I believe after that I used the Recovery disk one more time figuring what had not been installed to the computer would get on there with one more install process, and apparently it did, because it is now up and running. :D
One thing I am definitely going to get asap is the disks from HP. What I have on hand is better than nothing, but way more of a hassle to use than should be. I also want to get some more external storage, and learn about cloning. I like to protect my monetary and time-spent investments...;).
Sue
penneddragonone
Member
Now would be the ideal time to clone the drive while it is still fresh.
So maybe you just stopped the installation prematurely before because you thought it was stuck when it was just putzing around... There is a point in the repair of XP where the computer says Press any key to Boot from CD... and it really doesn't want you to it's just a required reboot during the fixing process. Well one guy in class kept pressing any key and that restarted the whole process. He did it five times and had to use the bathroom the sixth time...so he wasn't there to press a key. He was happy to find that the process had gone on happily without him and was waiting for his name and time information when he got back.
Great! I think Acronis is well worth the investment. I read somewhere that the software that comes with Seagate and Maxtor hard drives are a version of Acronis...
Congratulations and God Bless!
penneddragonone
Member
My daughter thinks she has to wipe every vestige of my activity from my computers before she uses them, but she always asks me first because the consequences of not asking can be dire.... no cooked meals, walking everywhere...not to mention the yelling and yelling...
penneddragonone
Member
Well, not really, but it is no fun having your work wiped out. I haven't yelled at my kid much at all. They give you that "Look" and who can stay upset.
RosnSC
Member
Pennedragonone, mine went through the gamut of things on its journey to PC Recovery (like ER recovery for us). It even got to the point of asking for my name, name for the computer, time zone... When it got stuck on something it stayed stuck - like when I told you all about how it would say COMPAQ with those red/orange dots underneath. It did that several times, before suddenly going on to the next step.
I will be looking into investing in something to clone my hard drive, or to back up stuff to. I have considered perhaps getting a small-ish secondary internal, plus, a small-ish external. That way, if one goes I will still have the others.
If my kids - heck, my whole family - wiped anything from my computer, I would be 'wiping their a$$e$' with that computer. Trust me, it wouldn't be nice...LOL. When it comes to these computers, what I say goes! (chuckle)
Oh, and btw, even though I have already thanked you for all your help, Pennedragonone, I want to say "Thank you", once again. :D
Sue
penneddragonone
Member
Twernt nuthin', especially since you fixed it yourself. Either that or the little gremlins in the clockworks got bored with torturing you.
RosnSC
Member
Pennedragonone, you stayed with me like a mother waiting for her first grandchild to be born. You researched, asked around, made 'boocoos (not correct sp)' of suggestions. I think the most important thing was getting the dust out of the tower. If we hadn't of done that, it might still not be working again. So, recommending the dusting, the Recovery CDs from HP, as well as general information, all helped and kept me encouraged to keep trying. Well, my own 'like a dog with a bone stick with it 'til its fixed/done/finished' ways of doing things played a big part in the whole thing, too.
Oh, I just now downloaded and installed Returnil Free, too. That should help protect my computer, shouldn't it?
LOL @ the 'gremlins. Must be what it was...gremlins...hee hee.
Sue - who has to take a shower without the bathroom light (but with the adjacent office light on) because the circuit breaker for the bathrooms is acting 'wonky' tonight. She'll manage though...(G)
penneddragonone
Member
I suppose you know, but in case you don't...you reset a circuit breaker by pushing it all the rest of the way to the off position before you push it back to the on position. When it blows it only moves toward the off side, pushing it all the way to the right readjusts it somehow so that it stays clicked when you push it back to the clicked on position. Sounds like the Gremlins moved on to greener electrical pastures.
Robert and Copmom stayed right with us. Thanks for a lot of fun for a few days!
In Pittsburgh I had a 100 year old apartment with a 100 year old fuse box. I always wondered why the wire to each fuse took a plunge down before taking dash up to the fuse (making a "U" shape) in the wooden fuse box. Then my landlord put his foot through the ceiling one day and the rain came through the next day. When I saw water pouring out of the box I became concerned. When I opened the door the water flowed down the wire but not back up the wire to the fuse itself where there was no insulation. The purpose of the little U loop became obvious.
I'm plum tuckered out. Via con Dios y buenos noches, y'all.
copmom
Member
I think this whole topic has been a GREAT learning (and re-education) experience for all of us. It's reminded us of things we need to do to keep our computers running in tip top shape, and also saving us our sanity!!! I for one, will make sure to keep my puters innards well dusted out. Amazing how many things can go wrong from plain old dust! Once these things heat up.. that's like opening the door for all our Gremlins!
Hey.. not to change the subject, but I am. My sons are both police officers, one in California and one here in North Carolina. Calif. son knows I have a police scanner running all time, so he emailed me to tell me about an online police scanner web site called Scan America so that I can listen to both sons while they're working and I'm playing! Couldn't figure how to get both to run at the same time until I set one to run in Windows Media Player and the other in Mozilla.. now I can be a nosy "mom".
RosnSC
Member
Pennedragonone, I told my son what you said about the circuit breaker, but found he already knew that. Thanks, just the same, for the info. Funny thing is, is it's working now. He thinks last night's storm may have had something to do with it.
Copmom, you are absolutely right that this thread has been a great learning experience. I am planning to save the thread onto my computer, for future reference.
One thing that impressed me with this thread is how helpful you all were, even with my situation alone, and no flames from anyone. You guys are true gems...:D
Sue - who is now having to mull over whether or not to give her son her 1 GB jump drive to save his composed songs onto...hmm...decisions, decisions
penneddragonone
Member
What decision? He dusted out your tower...the laborer is worthy of his wage. They're up to 64 gb jump drives for $150 ($100) on sale. Just tell him not to stick it into strange computers ;] 'cause you don't know where they've been...
I'm crawling back under my rock now. Ciao.
RosnSC
Member
(Chuckle) Alright, alright, you win, Pennedragonone...lol. I told him what you said, and he got that look about him...sort of mock indignance, that said "Ye-ah, I agree with her!"...lol. So...now I am clearing it out for him...:D.
Thanks Robert - not for ganging up on me with Pennedragonone, but because I got my computer fixed...lol.
I just did the show and tell with my husband, who has been out of town for the last few days. He had forgotten it was messed up, silly man...lol. He said he figured, anyway, that I would get it fixed; I usually do manage to get things fixed like that. Without the help of the folks here on the GOTD forum, plus other internet resources, I might NOT have been able to fix it, though, or it would have taken longer, and then only if I happened to catch a tip from an off-line source.
Sue - who has marked on her calendar to clean/dust out both computers every 2 weeks...;)
penneddragonone
Member
Sigh, I couldn't find my customary rock... every two weeks might be a bit obsessive, um... how bout once a month if you have pets, especially the hairy kind, or once a quarter if there are only humans in residence. Even those increments might be too much for some. Those cans of air ain't cheap. You might vacuum off the back side power supply fan and case fan from the outside after you unplug the machine. Your son might like the idea though... a 1 gb drive every two weeks, 25 a year, he could sell 'em on Ebay! The computer on the ground might be more problematic, but if you set it up a few inches on a stand you can purchase or a plastic whatsit from the dollar store, you should be okay with time increments I mentioned above. I'm sure other folks have other ideas. And I would bow to their wisdom 'cause I really don't know how often you're supposed to do it. I just figure if I can write my name with my finger on the mobo it's time to grab the can of air. Of course, you really don't touch the circuitry without discharging your static electricity by touching the case before-hand...
oh, yeah, we've crossed this bridge already. Yeah, there's my rock :)
RosnSC
Member
Cleaning them once a quarter sounds good to me, Penne', especially if I have to give my son a 1 GB jump drive every time, if he does them for me...lol.
As for the canned air...well, we didn't use canned air to do them this time around, but used a low-pressure-setting compressor. We used it at 10 lbs of air pressure; it got all the dust cleared out big time. As for vacuums, I'd like to find a small one to keep in the office, to use for both the computers, and for my sewing machine.
The computer tower that was on the floor is now sitting up on a stand that I had my Lexmark all-in-one sitting on (now I have to find another place to put the Lexmark). It will stay cleaner, and I will be able to access the jacks, plugs, etc., on the back easier.
Speaking of the sewing machine, did I tell you all how I can make $75.00 with that machine? :D
Sue
penneddragonone
Member
I know this one...I read it in Pleasant Lawns and Moldy Gardens, most recent issue, you sprinkle it with glitter and glue, wrap it in celophane and make a door stop out of it. I did the same thing with some cookbooks well-meaning, miss-guided friends left under my Christmas tree one year. Looks nicer with tinted celo, a glossy ribbon and don't forget to use a blow hair dryer for that freshly shrunk wrap effect.
copmom
Member
Maybe I need to vacuum it out every time I can write my name on my furniture? I use our dirty socks daily before throwing them in the wash to wipe off the TV screens! They ARE magnetic.
Oh, off topic, temporarily.. speaking of 'gardens' .. if you plant green beans, when putting seed in the ground, we save empty toilet paper rolls cut in 1/2, and put that little tube around the planted seeds. That way cut worms won't cut them down when they sprout!
Back to topic: I didn't have to use canned air (which I have), because my little shoulder vacuum that has the attachments has both an innie on one end and an outie on the other end, so can put hose on outie to blow the dust free from fans, and then use the innie to suck up all the dust. I need to use that canned air on this keyboard.. it's full of 'stuff' when I look between the keys. And don't tell me about putting the keyboard in the dishwasher.. read about that someplace!
penneddragonone
Member
Just a little more fun/info...
General Info on Why is Dust not your PCs Friend -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCVOiZoFVdo&feature=related
Leaf Blower Cleans PC -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0ohF6zthOQ
Did I mention to take it outside to clean it? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euvuDQLaIsY&NR=1
Wash your keyboard in a dishwasher only if you have a week to wait for it to completely dry out (spare keyboard) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_uCvGYherU
More traditional way…..Um I popped off all the keys and realized later I had no idea which one went where… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YDq3gNOQj8&NR=1
This one probably didn’t work ‘cause she didn’t wait a week to make sure all the moisture dried out…. But she’s cute so for all you guys … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EMCAp5pnFM&NR=1
One of the guys at class said maybe your Recovery CD was dirty: So while we’re cleaning…. ; ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKIeGof12Vg&NR=1
Maybe by handling the CD all those times you cleaned off the offending grime…
There’s a secret many folks don’t know in this one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z0klX57bj0 Did you get it? The real side of the CD you want to protect is the top! The data is burned into the metalic film CD label. That’s why you don’t write on it with anything but a felt tip marker.
Course you can’t believe everything you see on the internet….. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at9wPfIaU5Y&feature=related
copmom
Member
penneddragon, thanks for all the links. OK.. so it does show putting the keyboard in a dishwasher. You really had to do a lot of searching to find all of those! Someone must have really been bored to even think to clean their cd's with their tongue?? And, wow.. didn't realized just how much dust ended up all over the room when you don't take it outside to vacuum it out!
RosnSC
Member
"little shoulder vacuum"
Copmom, that's what *I* need for my computers and my sewing machine.
Pennedragonone, I will check out those links a bit later, when I'm not tired/busy with the formal I am designing and making, and with other things going on. I did take my towers outside to clean them, which kept the dust outside, preventing a big clean up in the 'office'. I have washed a keyboard, though not in a dishwasher, coz I don't have one of those. It took, say, a week to completely dry out. Nope, the Recovery CD wasn't dirty - was in pristine condition. :)
Sue
copmom
Member
When I say "little" it's not that small. We have an Oreck, and the regular vacuum doesn't come with attachments, it's an upright. Instead, separately, you get a handheld with shoulder strap to use for the attachments. http://www.oreck.com/images/compare_table/compare_table_super.gif
That reminds me.. I think when we got that, we also got their car vac, but it plugs into the cars 'sockets'. Wonder if I can use that on the computers outside, IF I can find it! Logically I must have put it in the cars storage compartment! Must check!
jooldesign
Member
Hi
My computer recently crashed and when restarted it has lost the network adaptors meaning my internet is gone. Acer has said I'll need to do a factory resest which means I'll lose all my programmes som of which I don't have discs for and am loathe to lose. I have an external hard drive and am wondering if there's a way to move all the programme files there temporarily? Having rear this I see there are all sorts of cloning programnmes but am not sure if this would work. Can anyone advise?? Computer is an Acer with XP as the operating system. Thanks
Julie
penneddragonone
Member
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic43051.html
Explains how to scan your system files for corrupt files and repair them.
Or google "sfc" XP for more sources of information on this process.
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You can also try to restore your system to a previous restore point (previous day) before it crashed. You will lose any GOTD programs you installed after the date the restore point was set but that's better than losing them all.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/system-restore-xp.htm
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial56.html
Acer tech support might talk you through it.
You can manually create a restore point. It's a good idea to do it before you install each program. Then if the program messes up your system you just restore the system to the restore point you just created. XP automatically creates system check restore points, but not everyday.
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But preventive efforts are always better than reactive efforts. You should get Acronis True Image and use it to clone your hard drive once you have it back up and working again. You clone/mirror or copy your entire hard drive to another hard drive. If your system crashes you just put the clone into your computer and you're back in business.
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If the problem is a hardware failure and your computer is a desktop, you can get a PCI Network Card at an electronics store and install with its drivers. If it's a laptop, you can buy ($25) a USB Wireless Network device (looks like a thumb drive), and use it to connect to the internet.
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If your system crashed because of malware download Malwarebytes and Spybot Search and Destroy from http://www.downloads.com and run them.
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Restoring your computer to an earlier point in time (an earlier restore point usually works for me). You can search on http://www.youtube.com for videos explaining restore points and cloning hard drives.
Robert
StrayCat
Julie,
Just a thought.
Maybe you should go to the Device Manager first and see if there are any yellow question marks with yellow explanation marks over them in the ethernet controller and network controller line.If there are ,try reinstalling the drivers.
(Windows will try and do that for you ,if you say so)
PS With a bit of luck, going back to a previously created restore point might do the trick as well.
SC
-Edit-
Hi penneddragonone!
Oops, I only saw your reply just now.
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