fixing a major problem

River · Mar 11, 2009, 02:59 PM

over 20 years experience with computers, and when i started receiving errors popping up, telling me i.e. had to close, or when an online game stopped responding, i knew something was just not right. i've always had my systems lightly tweaked and xp pro has been the sweetest running o.s. for me since 3.1.

i started checking my event viewer, and clicking on the link to check out the knowledge base articles, and all of the errors had one, two or three things in common; bad hard drive, software driver conflict, or bad ram.

i spent a couple days doing defrags, running chkdsk commands, doing all system scans for every known germ to man, and still the error windows popped up.

i have two hard drives; the original which is 40gigs that came with this pc, now 5 years old, and a two year old 120gig hard drive that i pulled from my son's computer before he decided to toss it and go with a laptop.

the 120 is partitioned off, with the o.s. on this hd, and the 40gig is used for backup, photos, other personal data.

i backed up everything i wanted off of the 120, just in case it crashed and i lost everything. on to the next possibility.

software driver conflict - i didn't think this could be the problem, no really new software added, though there had been a few updates to some of these programs, but there had been updates in the past as well. i uninstalled several, to see if the problems stopped. they didn't. on to the next possibility.

memory - my system came with one 512mb stick, with one empty slot to take another 512 stick, which is max on my board, 1 gig. about 6 months after buying the computer, i bought a matching stick so i was then at the 1gig total.

remember reading about a program, memtest, to check your memory, so downloaded it, and ran the test, and sure enough, one of my sticks was totally bad. fryes electronics had the best deal, a matching pair of patriots pc2700 with heat shield, 512mb, for 19.95 each and 20 minutes later i was back up and running like the first time.

when the problem first reared it's head, i never would of thought of a memory stick being bad, probably because out of 14 years of owning three computers now, this is the first memory to ever die on me.

had read others posting about problems, then finding bad ram, and their word of advice was to check the ram first thing, as it is probably the problem.

case closed
River~

Chaos · Mar 11, 2009, 03:23 PM

well at least you had enough troubleshooting skills to solve your problems

CDsDontBurn · Mar 11, 2009, 03:31 PM

i've had systems work fine for a long time and out of nowhere, something fails, like the system memory.

it happens. but hey, like chaos said, you're a good tech to figure out your system's problem

River · Mar 11, 2009, 05:12 PM

it was kind of fun, in a strange way, to have the problem. you know, you have your regular routine you do on the computer, and the wife has her thing, and we do bills online, and have some travel plans to some cousins we are working on, online, and then you start having these errors pop up.

i forgot to mention in my original post...when the problems first start showing up, and before i really started investigating the event viewer errors, that i decided the system just need a fresh start, so i decided to reformat and reinstall....half way through the reinstall i start getting errors that a certain file can't be copied. it wouldn't install, and i attempted this about 6 times, and then finally i got an install but there were several files that the install could not copy, and now i had even more errors, and some ugly gui's appearing now and then.

i contacted dell and they sent me replacement install cd for my syste, no cost, 2 days later, and again a reformat and reinstall, all goes perfect. but the original errors are showing up in the event viewer again, and this is when i decided it was time to test the ram.

you are always glad to get the system back up and to your own specs, but a part of me has to admit that i do enjoy the adrenalin rush when you are trying to figure this all out and laying out your plan of attack, and then fix the problem.

but if you just think things through, use the internet for your knowledgebase, you can solve most any problem.

thanxz for replies, later
River~

Mac Daddy · Mar 11, 2009, 10:46 PM

Glad you got it sorted and good troubleshooting

Cow_160483 · Mar 12, 2009, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by River

...........

you are always glad to get the system back up and to your own specs, but a part of me has to admit that i do enjoy the adrenalin rush when you are trying to figure this all out and laying out your plan of attack, and then fix the problem.

but if you just think things through, use the internet for your knowledgebase, you can solve most any problem.
................

That's why most of us guys love computers coz of the adrenalin rush

CDsDontBurn · Mar 12, 2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cow_160483

That's why most of us guys love computers coz of the adrenalin rush

not i. i find it relaxing when i'm putting together a new system, or if i'm troubleshooting a system...my own system though...

Mar 11, 2009, 02:59 PM	#1
River -=[DHzer0point Team]=- Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 174 Rep Power: 0	fixing a major problem over 20 years experience with computers, and when i started receiving errors popping up, telling me i.e. had to close, or when an online game stopped responding, i knew something was just not right. i've always had my systems lightly tweaked and xp pro has been the sweetest running o.s. for me since 3.1. i started checking my event viewer, and clicking on the link to check out the knowledge base articles, and all of the errors had one, two or three things in common; bad hard drive, software driver conflict, or bad ram. i spent a couple days doing defrags, running chkdsk commands, doing all system scans for every known germ to man, and still the error windows popped up. i have two hard drives; the original which is 40gigs that came with this pc, now 5 years old, and a two year old 120gig hard drive that i pulled from my son's computer before he decided to toss it and go with a laptop. the 120 is partitioned off, with the o.s. on this hd, and the 40gig is used for backup, photos, other personal data. i backed up everything i wanted off of the 120, just in case it crashed and i lost everything. on to the next possibility. software driver conflict - i didn't think this could be the problem, no really new software added, though there had been a few updates to some of these programs, but there had been updates in the past as well. i uninstalled several, to see if the problems stopped. they didn't. on to the next possibility. memory - my system came with one 512mb stick, with one empty slot to take another 512 stick, which is max on my board, 1 gig. about 6 months after buying the computer, i bought a matching stick so i was then at the 1gig total. remember reading about a program, memtest, to check your memory, so downloaded it, and ran the test, and sure enough, one of my sticks was totally bad. fryes electronics had the best deal, a matching pair of patriots pc2700 with heat shield, 512mb, for 19.95 each and 20 minutes later i was back up and running like the first time. when the problem first reared it's head, i never would of thought of a memory stick being bad, probably because out of 14 years of owning three computers now, this is the first memory to ever die on me. had read others posting about problems, then finding bad ram, and their word of advice was to check the ram first thing, as it is probably the problem. case closed River~ __________________ Dell Dimension 4550 P4, 2.4ghz, 533mhz FSB 1gig ddr ATI Radeon 9700TX, 128mb DDR 17" digital flat panel Harmon Kardon speakers SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse Intel Pro/100 VE Windows XP Pro "did you want cheese with that?"

Mar 11, 2009, 03:23 PM	#2
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Re: fixing a major problem well at least you had enough troubleshooting skills to solve your problems

Mar 11, 2009, 03:31 PM	#3
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	Re: fixing a major problem i've had systems work fine for a long time and out of nowhere, something fails, like the system memory. it happens. but hey, like chaos said, you're a good tech to figure out your system's problem __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Mar 11, 2009, 05:12 PM	Thread Starter #4
River -=[DHzer0point Team]=- Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 174 Rep Power: 0	Re: fixing a major problem it was kind of fun, in a strange way, to have the problem. you know, you have your regular routine you do on the computer, and the wife has her thing, and we do bills online, and have some travel plans to some cousins we are working on, online, and then you start having these errors pop up. i forgot to mention in my original post...when the problems first start showing up, and before i really started investigating the event viewer errors, that i decided the system just need a fresh start, so i decided to reformat and reinstall....half way through the reinstall i start getting errors that a certain file can't be copied. it wouldn't install, and i attempted this about 6 times, and then finally i got an install but there were several files that the install could not copy, and now i had even more errors, and some ugly gui's appearing now and then. i contacted dell and they sent me replacement install cd for my syste, no cost, 2 days later, and again a reformat and reinstall, all goes perfect. but the original errors are showing up in the event viewer again, and this is when i decided it was time to test the ram. you are always glad to get the system back up and to your own specs, but a part of me has to admit that i do enjoy the adrenalin rush when you are trying to figure this all out and laying out your plan of attack, and then fix the problem. but if you just think things through, use the internet for your knowledgebase, you can solve most any problem. thanxz for replies, later River~ __________________ Dell Dimension 4550 P4, 2.4ghz, 533mhz FSB 1gig ddr ATI Radeon 9700TX, 128mb DDR 17" digital flat panel Harmon Kardon speakers SoundBlaster Live 5.1 Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse Intel Pro/100 VE Windows XP Pro "did you want cheese with that?"

Mar 11, 2009, 10:46 PM	#5
Mac Daddy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 7,950 Rep Power: 79 System Specs	Re: fixing a major problem Glad you got it sorted and good troubleshooting __________________ "My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen