My PC took a dump this PM...WTF!

^^ Something to be said for that. Quick and easy fix there. Just trying to keep $500 in my pocket if I can help it. That being said..if it acts up just a little tomorrow, it's sleepy time for the old Dell.
 


Had a bad week this week with multiple HDD failures. When it rains it pours. Fortunately I had backups. But one machine didn't (don't ask) and it had my daughters photos..all 20+k of them.

No OS would recognize the drive as being valid, format was the only option offered. Ran Spinrite & a number of other data recovery s/wares and still no joy. At best I managed to grab maybe 300 files. Then I tried a new s/ware, 'Zero Assumption Recovery', but didn't hold out much hope considering.

Well, was I wrong, it found every damn file & dumped to another HDD. Didn't lose one pic or doc & retrieved all mail etc. Very impressed.
 
I thought that 8mb of Ram could only be useful if you have a 64bit os
I heard that 4GB of ram is the limit for non 64bit OS'
 
whodi said:
I thought that 8mb of Ram could only be useful if you have a 64bit os
I heard that 4GB of ram is the limit for non 64bit OS'
Click to expand...
Yes, 32-bit OS's can only recognize up to 4GB RAM. Windows XP (and probably Vista and 7) allocates some of that for devices, so you will often end up with only 3 to 3.5GB recognized by 32-bit Windows even with 4GB installed.

Anything more than 4GB and you need a 64-bit OS.
 
I thought everything was cool, and the damn thing did it again today after working for about 3 hours. Every time it's shut down it shows a POST error in the bios with "Keyboard Error". Even if I boot with no keyboard connected it still shuts down. I've tried to boot from Win XP disk to do a recovery, but it shuts down mid disk load. I think she's shot.
 
really sounds like over heating. Is there a lot of dust inside of the case ?
 
efeezy said:
I thought everything was cool, and the damn thing did it again today after working for about 3 hours. Every time it's shut down it shows a POST error in the bios with "Keyboard Error". Even if I boot with no keyboard connected it still shuts down. I've tried to boot from Win XP disk to do a recovery, but it shuts down mid disk load. I think she's shot.
Click to expand...

Could be the port you are using. Is the a regular keyboard or USB keyboard? If the bios is reporting a keyboard error, it's a keyboard error.
 
Yeah, I'd try just using a different port or a keyboard with a different connection(if it's ps2 go usb and vice versa(if you have extra keyboards of different types lying around)). And/or reinstall/update the drivers. If that don't work try reinstalling the os. If that don't work maybe buy some speed and a machete to let off some steam.
 
Sorry if someone else mentioned this... but have you searched the bios manufactures website for a bios firmware update? I use to build machines from random pieces and many times had bios firmware problems... shutting down haphazardly was one of those problems.

Another problem I've seen is the RAM sequence. Let's say you have a 2GB chip and two 1GB chips. In slot 1 & 3, you should have the 1GB's, and slot 2 should have the 2GB. Even slotting by manufacturer is recommended i.e. Kingston in slots 1 & 3, Crucial in slots 2 & 4.

Finally, HDD can sometime show early symptoms of flaking out by shutting down the system unexpectedly. If you have another HDD, I would try that too.

If your room/office is really hot heat is always and issue.
 
Put the PC in BIOS only overnight, check in the morning. If everything is locked, or its shut off, probably the fan getting stuck (leading to overheating).
 
I'll try those. If it's still doing it tomorrow...I'm going to Best Buy. I can't deal with this much longer.
 
Efeezy - if it's still a no go in the AM, you might want to consider this

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfCYzJAgwrw"]YouTube - Office Space Printer Clean[/ame]
 
I'm real pleased w/ what I picked up at Best Buy - between wanting it NOW and getting a good price / product - I was both stoked and admittedly surprised. If they have a package deal and you're not interested w/ the printer that comes with it - don't be afraid to ask if you can get the same discount and swap out a printer (if willing to pay difference). I picked up a wireless laser to go with the system and I love it.
 
UPDATE - It's working fine now...& I did absolutely nothing. I know it's going to take a shit right when I'm in the middle of something big.

I think I'm still going to pick up that Dell. My only reservation is that it's running 64 bit Vista. I've never used a PC with Vista because I've always heard it's shit so I've always just blown it out and installed XP Pro. Is Vista something I could live with until Windows 7 is released. I'd still like to take advantage of the big 6GB of RAM by using a 64 bit OS. Any ideas?
 
efeezy said:
UPDATE - It's working fine now...& I did absolutely nothing. I know it's going to take a shit right when I'm in the middle of something big.

I think I'm still going to pick up that Dell. My only reservation is that it's running 64 bit Vista. I've never used a PC with Vista because I've always heard it's shit so I've always just blown it out and installed XP Pro. Is Vista something I could live with until Windows 7 is released. I'd still like to take advantage of the big 6GB of RAM by using a 64 bit OS. Any ideas?
Click to expand...

You can get by with running VISTA until Win7 is released.

I'd advise you to ASK about an upgrade certificate to Win7. I've been reading quite a bit about Microsoft allowing purchasers of new computers getting a FREE UPGRADE to Win7 when it is released.

The only thing is that they will only upgrade to the equivalent version i.e. Home to Home, Business to Business, or Ultimate to Ultimate.

I would HIGHLY recommend using "ULTIMATE". Also, be sure that you get a Quad Core CPU in the system you buy if it is a PC. (Even the slowest speed quad core is going put ANY dual core cpu to SHAME speed wise.) With the new i7Core cpu's the dual core CPU's are going to be what a single core is now, real soon.

I have both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of Vista Ultimate. (HAD a contact at MS.) I started off with the 64 bit but had some driver issues with my older legacy peripherals and programs so I switched back to the 32 bit version.

Just to let you know, my Win7 Ultimate RC is SOOO MUCH better than my XP Pro OS. I'm looking forward to it's final release.

As far as the ram issue, if you want to use more than 4 GB you will need to use the 64 bit OS and then either get updated drivers or replace incompatible peripherals. Same goes for older programs, although you CAN install them in "32 bit Compatibility mode in Vista and Win7.

Good luck with your new box.
 
efeezy said:
Thanks Midas. I'm not going with the Dell as I originally planned. This is what I'm getting.

How to Buy a Back-to-School PC - HP Pavilion p6140f - At A Glance - Reviews by PC Magazine
Click to expand...


"I" think that you will be happy with that box for AT LEAST the next 2 years.

Good choice. Especially since "I" think that HP is still a good company to deal with when you need customer service.

Just the other day at Sam's Club I was looking at this one:

Sam's Club - HP Pavilion p6140f Desktop, 2.33 GHz, 1 TB ....... Does it look familiar? LOL
 
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