*ugh* ... computers ...

[MinionZombie]

So the other day I booted it up and it was cryin' at me about not being able to start windows, turns out it was a corrupted registry, but it seemed to fix itself (XP Pro), but PowerDVD doesn't work and some MP3 files don't work, and apparently it's ready to have a hard-drive failure.

Now I've gotta take it to the shop, get the data (hopefully) cloned onto a new hard-drive and ugh, splash out a wodge of cash for the privilege. :( But then again, I'd rather take it to a professional rather than Googling my way to blissful ignorance before one day it actually does crap out and I lose all the data (yeah, it's backed up, but it's the hassle and extreme annoyance) ... so I'd rather have peace of mind. But I tell ya, computers - it's not if they crap out with some disease, it's when they crap out with some disease. I'd equate a corrupted registry to a stroke ... it's not quite the same afterwards and you start thinking it's going to conk out once and for all...:(

Now, I have two hard-drives and Windows is installed to the C Drive - does this mean the D drive can be left alone and only the C Drive gets cloned to a new one?

[capncnut]

Not long ago I had to reconfigure my whole pc from factory settings due to corruption. When that little screen goes black, it is enough to make a grown man cry. Aint too proud to admit that either! :lol:

[MaximusIncredulous]

Now, I have two hard-drives and Windows is installed to the C Drive - does this mean the D drive can be left alone and only the C Drive gets cloned to a new one?

Provided the the C drive is the only one that's kaput, the D drive should be fine. You might want to run chkdsk or some other diagnostic utility on the D drive to be sure.

[MinionZombie]

I was close, but not quite, more like a complete and utter look of crestfallen disaster, which gave way to anger, and denial, and frustration and some more anger, then some giving up and a bit of acceptance, then more disappointment in myself - if it was indeed downloading and installed Scarface (game) that did it.

Although I wonder if it had been long coming...hopefully I won't lose the data and only one drive needs replacing (the one with Windows installed on it) ... but knowing sod's law, that won't happen. I actually think me saying that game wasn't good has made it take revenge on me (it's Tony Montana after all!)

I'll watch the movie, try and make peace with the man...:eek:

*edit*

Just put it in this morning to get fixed, gonna be about a week until I get it back (guy has a lot of work coming in this month) ... damn, a week without games, sheeeeiiiiit.

Anyway, the problems I've encountered have all been from things on C: Drive (like PowerDVD not working, MP3 files that didn't work, folders that wouldn't delete).

It could all be partly down to wear and tear maybe? The C: Drive has had excessive use over the past almost 3 years and has often been completely full. Gonna upgrade to a new 160gig for C: Drive, which would give me 240gigs of space in total.

I'm sure he'll check out D: Drive when he's at it, but hopefully it'll be okay. I have only once, maybe twice transferred data between C and D, and both times it was going from D to C. D drive is where I upload video to and render out files to, so the frequency of file traffic is much lower on the D drive than on C drive, which has data coming in and out (filling up the drive almost completely at all times) constantly - excessive use for 3 years basically.

Had to recently replace my CD/DVD writer actually, it conked out from excessive use and gradually stopped writing DVDs properly - damn thing didn't quite make 2 years before it started going wiggy, gave up a few months ago and got a new and improved one.

I'm hoping everything goes smoothly ... otherwise I'll have no choice but to break down and weep like a man only can do when faced by technological backlash. :eek::dead: ... hehe, er, yeah...

[LouCipherr]

MZ - i'm going to give you a tip that a friend of mine gave me in regards to how to partition your drives, and it has turned out not only to be the simplest mod I ever made to my rig - but the one that has come in the most handy.

here's the deal: take your frist hard drive (your "C" drive) and partition it into 2 partitions: one partition that is 10gb (which will now be your "C" drive), and the 2nd partition as the rest of the drive (now your "D"). The other physical hard drives can be partitioned however you want.

There's a really good logic behind this. First, put your operating system ONLY on Drive C - everything else on drive D, E, or whatever. This has many advantages, but the main one is that when your operating system becomes corrupt or craps out on you, all of your other data is secure and won't get FUBAR'd by the reinstallation of windows. Yes, some programs that require registry entries will need to be reinstalled, but all that data you have on the other drives will not have to be moved or copied to another drive while you try and recover your OS (operating system) or reinstall it.

This was simply the best mod I ever did, because even Dj will tell you, him and I re-install windows at least twice a year if not more, just to keep it running in tip-top shape.

I liken windows to a filing cabinet - people keep shoving papers (programs) into the filing cabinet over and over and over again. Eventually, you remove the files (program) from the filing cabinet, but you end up leaving behind a few paper clips, staples, and pages that have fallen into the back of the filing cabinet. You many think you've cleaned the cabinet, but there's always "leftover" stuff floating around in there. ;)

Anyway, there's "Lou's PC tip of the day" for ya. Put that OS on a seperate partition all by itself, so when it screws up, you don't lose any data and no need for lengthy backups (although I recommend doing that at least once or twice a year as needed).

Make sure if you do this, you install all your programs onto Drive D or another drive - not on C. You need that 10gb for the OS an the pagefile, etc. I usually put my antivirus on C too ('cause I know if the OS screws up, my AV is gonna have to be reinstalled anyway), but everything else goes on a seperate drive from the OS. ;)

LC

***edited to say: if you do this with your current rig, your data will be fine, but the drive letters will change. your current "D" drive will become "E", and your "C" drive will now become "C" and "D" if that makes sense.

My drives are mapped like this:

C: - 10gb partition, OS and Antivirus only. (this is the first part of a 80gb hard drive)
D: - 70gb parition - this is where I install all my games, programs, etc. (this is the remainder of the 80gb hd)
E: - 160gb parition - this is one large partition of a 160gb drive, used for archiving everything else. ;)

Confused yet? :)

[MaximusIncredulous]

Just put it in this morning to get fixed, gonna be about a week until I get it back (guy has a lot of work coming in this month) ... damn, a week without games, sheeeeiiiiit.

Best thing to do is learn how to do that thing yourself. Hard drive replacement is pretty easy to do. Just open up the computer case, unplug and remove the crap drive, install and plug in the new drive, turn on the comp, make sure BIOS knows it's there, use the partitioning/formatting software that comes with the drive to set it up, and reinstall stuff. That's it.


It could all be partly down to wear and tear maybe?

Yeah. Last summer I had to replace both my Seagate drives (I do the C: D: deal as well), one of which was 2 years old the other 4. So for a drive to fail within 3 years is not that uncommon. Depends on the manufacturer and other things.

[MinionZombie]

How the fudge do you partition a drive? :D

I might give that some thought, D Drive getting reclassed as E wouldn't cause problems? E and F are classed as my disc reader/writer drives.

Also - can't really do the re-install thing on my own, because the main thing is I don't have a Windows disc. Like many small companies that build computers, they use one Windows disc for all their machines - hence why I had trouble briefly with Genuine Advantage ... until I used the cracked version. And like I said before - such things piss me off big time and I cry like a bitch and stomp my feet and pound my fists into the desk ... kinda like Dj when a car drives through his shot. :D

I suppose doing Defrags would be a good idea, I only ever did one of those on C Drive, ha! Geezus it took hours to do it.

Perhaps it wasn't Scarface that fudged me over, perhaps it was co-incidence. Apparently registry corruptions or corrupt hives can be caused by not enough space when something needs doing, perhaps pagefile space, I duno, something I read on MS' website.

Wear and tear must have been a major contributor, that C Drive was like the village bicycle. Extensive use.

[LouCipherr]

"How do you partition a drive?" MZ, am I gonna have to reach through my screen and smack you? :lol: :D

Seriously, when you setup windows initially, it gives you options of how to partition your drive. You tell it "Drive C I want to be this size, Drive D I want this size.. Drive E should be this size" - then it'll take care of the partitioning for you. Then it's just up to you to format the partitions that windows doesn't. Usually, windows only formats the "C" drive where it's being installed, the others you have to format yourself - unless they're already formatted and have data on them, then you don't need to mess with the format stuff.. I can explain all this to ya in more detail if need be. ;) just lemme know.

As far as WGA and Windows - I will PM you and we'll take that conversation offline. :D Not for public consumption. ;)

LC

[MinionZombie]

lol ... despite knowing a damn sight more about computers than the average punter, I'm still rather computer-dim, lol.

"Setup windows initially"? ... duno what you're on about. :D I don't even have a Windows disc, nor do I have an *ahem* acquired version of it.

You can try as much as you want, it's like talking to a brick wall with me. :lol: I'm still entertained by the thing that makes what you type talk in a computer voice. :p

While you guys all seem to have computer knowledge that's grown up with a mortgage and kids and a minivan, my computer knowledge is still in college desperately trying to shag first years but failing miserably, retiring to its dorm to slap and tickle the infra-red mouse for a few hours before passing out from all that college-grade weed. :lol:

[Eyebiter]

I wouldn't bother with partitioning the hard drive. Honestly it's more of a pain that it's worth. If you have a 160 gig hard drive your likely not going to to many tape backups anyway.

Get a DVD burner and get in the habit of burning important projects to DVD on a regular basis. So if your working on a film project make a backup copy of everything every few days (or once a week). That way not only do you have a snapshot of how things evolve, but you have a dated DVD in case there is a problem.

With the old Windows 3.1 you had to reload about once a year. Windows 95 would usually get funky after two. Windows XP will start getting hosed up after three years.

Sometimes it's a good idea to start from scratch. Back up your data to DVD, and load up a fresh copy of the OS. Certainly will improve performance once you get everything reloaded. If you keep the old HDD and don't format it, that way you can access it if you find something you need from before.

[LouCipherr]

It's only a pain to partition your drives if you never re-format and never have to re-install windows. If you have a 160gb HD in your computer, and it's formatted to a single partition, then anytime you have to reinstall windows you have to wipe the entire drive. When you reformat at least a few times a year (as I do, if for no other reason than to keep XP running smoothly) it's your best bet, but alas, it's whatever works best for you - just trying to give some helpful suggestions. ;)

Backing up is a great idea and something that all of us should do on a regular basis, but you have to remember, if MZ is anything like Dj with dumping camera footage from his DVX camera, backing up on DVDs is more of a pain in the ass than it's worth. Sometimes, those files created by dumping footage from your camera can end up in the 10-30gb range (sometimes even bigger, Dj can confirm this). Not that easy to back up that much data on DVDs, which hold approx 4.5gb. Even though I know it can be done with several different backup programs, wouldn't it be easier to just leave the data on the drive, uncorrupted while you re-install windows on a seperate parition? See what i'm gettin' at? ;) :)

MZ - sorry, I tend to get a bit technical with my explanations, and since I've been dealing with computers since I was 12, I've seen and done it all pretty much with these electronic boxes of sh*t. :lol: I've had more frustrations with computers than Michael Jackson does with himself when he's in a daycare center! :lol:

For me, it's second nature to do these things, and sometimes I think I make the assumption that when I say "repartition that drive" you'll know exactly what I mean - and sometimes that's not the case. :lol: It's a good idea if you reformat a lot, but if you don't, it's not worth your time or effort. Just tryin' to spread some helpful advice to those who do format quite often. ;)

btw: my xp takes a lot less time to get screwed than 3 years. Usually, I can get by with a full year without a reformat, but by that time, windows is dragging its feet and the "filing cabinet is full of unnecessary stuff" - of course, I use my computer heavily for everything from surfing the net to gaming to home recording - the typical computer user is not as hard on their machine as I am. Mine is on 24/7, 365 days a year - minus evenings with lightning storms. ;)

[DjfunkmasterG]

Partitioning is the best way to go beause you have many things to help speed up the ole PC

1. 10gb's is a little lite, I suggest 30gb (I add a few more things to C drive like YIM, NERO, and VEGAS)

2. with only a small amount of space your computer will boot faster because it doesn't have to search the whole drive for your boot up files, not too mention it runs more effecient

3. Defragging is way quicker. Defragging 30gb is way quicker than say 160

4. Since only crucial files are on the machines partition spaced if something corrupts the partition you're not losing all your data when you have to re-format... you only have to re-format 10gb or 30gb as opposed to waiting for windows to format 160gb. Now when you re-install critical software (Antivirus, YIM, NERO, VEGAS, it is a lot better than loading 50 other proggies that you had before everything went to ****.

5. Since your game files are stored on the other partition all you have to do is copy a shortcut back to your desktop... all the original installs will be fine and the shortcut will put the required registry entries in for you.

6. Re-format (sorry have to tap this again) 20 minutes for a windows install VS 2 hours on a larger un partitioned harddrive. Most of all the best benefit is not losing all your data. Anyone who has a lot of data, especially people like MZ and I should partition just so when the **** does crap out we can be back up and running in an hour.

For the casual PC person don't waste your time... if you edit music, movies, are a serious gamer, do you want to be sitting there re-installing 6 cd's worth of Battlefield Vietnam 2




With the old Windows 3.1 you had to reload about once a year. Windows 95 would usually get funky after two. Windows XP will start getting hosed up after three years.

.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

The longest XP install i have going is my home PC at 10 months, and believe me it is limping along. Only reason i am not ****ing with it is I am building a new rig in January and selling this MONSTER to lou for $400 (and it is a kick ass system) WINDOWS XP usually gets funky after 6 months it corrupts 10x easier than windows 3.1 because now everyone who owns a PC is connected to the matrix including the F UCKstick hackers whom spread **** all over the web.

My work PC craps after 5 months I have been through 4 reformats in 2 years. However, it's a f ucking dell... need I say more.

WINDOWS XP will not last 3 years, it is still 2 buggy. DOS was the only OS that actually friggin worked. (for those of you born after 1985) DOS was THE BE ALL END ALL OS

[LouCipherr]

Yes, MS-DOS by far was the most stable operating system, but alas, people were too lazy to remember 10 commands to get around in it, so they made "windows" which is basically DOS driven by menus.

Dj, wanna hear something scary? When I started on computers, the operating system was CP/M (acronym for "Control Program for Microprocessors") - which was a year or two prior to MS-DOS hitting the market.

In fact, my first computer was a Kaypro II (http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/kaypro/h/k2frontl.jpg) - it had a 9" green monochrome screen, two 195k full-height floppy drives, the processor was a Z-80 (2mhz!), and it has 64k of memory - which was considered a LOT at the time.

Christ, i'm a dinosaur. :lol:

[DjfunkmasterG]

In fact, my first computer was a Kaypro II (http://www.classiccmp.org/dunfield/kaypro/h/k2frontl.jpg) - it had a 9" green monochrome screen, two 195k full-height floppy drives, the processor was a Z-80 (2mhz!), and it has 64k of memory - which was considered a LOT at the time.

Christ, i'm a dinosaur. :lol:

I remember when 50MB's of HDD space was all I ever thought I would need. Now I have over 1TB spread out over 4 drives and I need more space.

[Dtothe3]

Bit of an odd one to throw in the ring...

Basically my comp conked out a while back, it seems to boot fine, but the moment it gets to the loading screen immediatly prior to getting onto the desktop it just goes kaput. I hadn't installed any new software or hardware, it doesn't make strange noises, it just stops. All the electrics appear to still work (i noticed my I-pod still charges) but the screen is just blank at that point. Any ideas folks? (cheers in advance)

Also i have a linux install disk, seeing as i cannot find the original disk I got with my laptop (laptop doesn't go on the net so I assume I can use the same OS code on both?) what do you folks make of linux, and would i find it preferable to windows?

Cheers again dudes *feels like an idiot :dead:*

[DjfunkmasterG]

Bit of an odd one to throw in the ring...

Basically my comp conked out a while back, it seems to boot fine, but the moment it gets to the loading screen immediatly prior to getting onto the desktop it just goes kaput. I hadn't installed any new software or hardware, it doesn't make strange noises, it just stops. All the electrics appear to still work (i noticed my I-pod still charges) but the screen is just blank at that point. Any ideas folks? (cheers in advance)

Also i have a linux install disk, seeing as i cannot find the original disk I got with my laptop (laptop doesn't go on the net so I assume I can use the same OS code on both?) what do you folks make of linux, and would i find it preferable to windows?

Cheers again dudes *feels like an idiot :dead:*

I am not familiar enough with linux at the moment. I have only dabbled with it and in the time I did play around with the program it was brief so I really can't help you there.

Is it the linux machine giving you the issues?

Usually if it conks out on boot up the boot up files are corrupt. That is standard protocol for windows, should be universally the same. All OS's need start-up files if something is wrong with those they usually cannot proceed to properly boot up.

However, it has been know to be hardware issues to. For instance if your processor gets to hot during start up it can prevent the pc from booting or even cause it to reboot. This is also true for memory chips and motherboards.

Is the computer just hanging or does it shut down/reboot?

[MinionZombie]

*everything flies over head* *looks rather dizzy and confused* *falls over*

When upping footage I go in 5 to 10 minute chunks. Then I back up the footage to DVD-R. I capture to various time lengths to have a greater variety of file sizes, so I then pic and choose to fill up each disc. Works for me, I rarely have to re-up the footage after backing up to DVD-R anyway - only have needed to do it a couple of times.

My PC gets a heck of a lot of use, heavy I'd say, but it's certainly not on 24/7. Almost every day yes, usually for the afternoon, then maybe early evening and then most likely at night before I go to bed. I use it a lot less than I did at uni when it was always running - sometimes just to use my WinAmp list, ha! My laptop however, that was on 24/7 quite literally. There was a time when I managed to go a month without disconnecting from the internet and therefore downloading - would have gone longer, but the computer overheated and froze so I was forced to restart, lol.

Used to have a desk fan blowing on it all day as well in the summer to keep it cool and to keep it from burning my left wrist/boiling the blood in my veins there, haha.

Does this partioning stuff require the actual Windows disc? If so, no-can-do as I don't have one like I said earlier. Smaller computer shops that make computers use one copy of Windows and install to all their produced machines. Hundreds if not thousands of shops across the UK do the same thing, wasn't a problem until Genuine Disadvantage - or whenever you require the windows disc itself, ha!

[DjfunkmasterG]

When you re-install windows it gives you a set of options to prepare the hard drive. It will ask you where you want to install the OS etc etc. WINDOWS XP is pretty user friendly in this area just read the prompts or google HARD DRIVE PARTITION for WINDOWS XP at WINDOWS INSTALL you should find a whole tutorial on that.

You don't need a genuine version of windows, just keep in mind cracked versions are illegal, but any disc with WINDOWS XP full install on it will do fine, hell you can even use an upgrade disc too. I don't buy full versions I buy upgrades because all the files are there you just need to have an old windows 98 disc laying around to pop in the ole DVD rom when it asks do you already have a M$ OS installed.

buying the upgrades saves you $200.00 :D

[LouCipherr]

Dj, I think this just proves that we're the epitome of computer geeks here on HPotD. :lol:

NEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRDS!

[Dtothe3]

I am not familiar enough with linux at the moment. I have only dabbled with it and in the time I did play around with the program it was brief so I really can't help you there.

Is it the linux machine giving you the issues?

Usually if it conks out on boot up the boot up files are corrupt. That is standard protocol for windows, should be universally the same. All OS's need start-up files if something is wrong with those they usually cannot proceed to properly boot up.

However, it has been know to be hardware issues to. For instance if your processor gets to hot during start up it can prevent the pc from booting or even cause it to reboot. This is also true for memory chips and motherboards.

Is the computer just hanging or does it shut down/reboot?

Sorry, here's what I've got (confused it a bit with the last post)

Laptop - Running Windows 2000, whilst i don't have the machine on me, there's an install disk around here somewhere that came with it, although i really wouldn't want to use 2000 again.

Main Comp - Running XP, it gets to the loading (with the snake type object going across the middle of the screen) then it sort of fails. Doesn't re-boot, just the screen goes blank, the monitor light stays green. My I-pod will charge in this state, but there's seemingly nothing going on in the machine, although it makes all the usual "i'm running" noises. Completely unresponsive, although reset and power buttons work.

I have no idea what's wrong, but it's been suggested it needs a re-install, seeing as i only have the linux install disk i was wondering how that would do me to get it back on it's feet?

[LoSTBoY]

Sorry, here's what I've got (confused it a bit with the last post)

Laptop - Running Windows 2000, whilst i don't have the machine on me, there's an install disk around here somewhere that came with it, although i really wouldn't want to use 2000 again.

Main Comp - Running XP, it gets to the loading (with the snake type object going across the middle of the screen) then it sort of fails. Doesn't re-boot, just the screen goes blank, the monitor light stays green. My I-pod will charge in this state, but there's seemingly nothing going on in the machine, although it makes all the usual "i'm running" noises. Completely unresponsive, although reset and power buttons work.

I have no idea what's wrong, but it's been suggested it needs a re-install, seeing as i only have the linux install disk i was wondering how that would do me to get it back on it's feet?

Hmm, you could try and startup in safe mode, press F8 when the computer boots.
There should also be an option to confirm each file on startup, you can go through them and find out exactly where the computer hangs.

MZ, I believe there are partition applications you can use in windows. However, since your current partition takes up the whole disk, you would have to delete it, create a new smaller one to install windows on, then you could use the application to create partitions from the rest of the disk.

So the short answer is nope, you are gonna need an install disk.

Dtothe3, Linux is useful if you plan on using your computer for a web server, however if you just want to surf and play games it ain't worth it. Linux takes a lot of your time configuring and customizing and you will most likely need a windows emulator to run most applications.

[DjfunkmasterG]

Hmm, you could try and startup in safe mode, press F8 when the computer boots.
There should also be an option to confirm each file on startup, you can go through them and find out exactly where the computer hangs.

MZ, I believe there are partition applications you can use in windows. However, since your current partition takes up the whole disk, you would have to delete it, create a new smaller one to install windows on, then you could use the application to create partitions from the rest of the disk.

So the short answer is nope, you are gonna need an install disk.

Dtothe3, Linux is useful if you plan on using your computer for a web server, however if you just want to surf and play games it ain't worth it. Linux takes a lot of your time configuring and customizing and you will most likely need a windows emulator to run most applications.


I was just about to post all this thanx for saving me the time.

[MinionZombie]

I emailed the guy who's fixing my comp about this partioning thing. I said if it costed anything extra, then nevermind (on a very tight budget, seriously), but if it was something he could do easily whilst he was at the job anyway, then do it as long as it won't bugger anything up.

[Neil]

To repartition drives, "Partition Magic" is your friend...

You can even re-partition drives, or resize partitions with data on... You can even convert your drives (eg: to/from NTFS) with data on...


Regarding data, you need to think ahead and consider, "if that machine blew up tomorrow" what data would I lose. All my important data such as email, photos and music etc is stored to a different machine or at least an external USB hard drive (that is switched off 99% of the time).

[LouCipherr]

Ah yes, Parition Magic - I forgot about that program! Yes, Neil is correct - I believe you can repartition your HD's without losing any data with that program. Pretty slick. Good suggestion, Neil. ;)

LC

[MinionZombie]

Whatever NTFS means, hehe, thanks for the info though.

I backup quite regularly all my data on CDs and DVDs, one of these days I'll get an external hard-drive for other back-ups, but not exactly flush at the moment, hehe.

[LouCipherr]

NTFS = basically means the "WindowsNT File System" ;)

*puts his hands to the side of his head, concentrates really hard on MZ, nose begins to bleed* "I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"

(a 'Scanners' reference.. :D)

[MinionZombie]

*puts helmet made of lead on*

Beat that sucka! :elol:

[Kaos]

*puts his hands to the side of his head, concentrates really hard on MZ, nose begins to bleed* "I'm gonna suck your brain dry!"



Easy there, Darryl Revok. :p

Now where is my shot of ephemerol? :sneaky:

[LoSTBoY]

Ah, well, there you go; Partition magic.

I've never dabbled with it, I did my partitioning on windows startup or with FDISK back in the day.

I thought it might mess up the file system splitting up a partition with data on it.

Don't worry about NTFS, if you have Windows XP then it would have been set up for it.

[HLS]

Did you check ebay for hard drives? they have some decent prices. I am too poor to talk to a professional. I myself been without internet access for a week or so now. Today is my first day back on. I got a blue screen showing "unmountable_boot_volume" I could not even get into safe mode.
but I took the chance and went to the library and googled my way to a fix. I amazed myself and found what I needed to do to fix it myself. I went nuts going without internet access for so long. I never realized what a net addict I was till this crap.

[MinionZombie]

I don't use eBay, I don't trust it and would rather get a professional to handle my computer - which went into the shop last week.

[CivilDefense]

There is really no reason I can think of to go anywhere else than www.newegg.com for hardware I dont think I would really Ebay hardware, unless it is for notebook parts, or specialized motherboards, like for a dell pc or whatnot. You can save a ton on those two things, and I just picked up a xerox docucentre 340 photocopier printer, with mailbox, stapler, fax server, 500s sheet capacity, for $250 us on ebay. (pickup)

Also I recommend a webpage called www.logmein.com for super easy to use remote desktop, I use it to support my parents computers that are 300 miles away, easy as being in front of it. I also use it as a free VPN solution for people with home offices who need to access a home desktop from the road. XP has built in remote assistance, but this program is just WAY easier to use, I use it to start and stop downloads from my home pc. And its free.

And for printer issues, www.fixyourownprinter.com is great, keep those older printers working, has easy to fix parts with quicktime videos, plus great free forums, super handy if you have a printer question.

[LouCipherr]

There is really no reason I can think of to go anywhere else than www.newegg.com for hardware I dont think I would really Ebay hardware, unless it is for notebook parts, or specialized motherboards, like for a dell pc or whatnot. You can save a ton on those two things, and I just picked up a xerox docucentre 340 photocopier printer, with mailbox, stapler, fax server, 500s sheet capacity, for $250 us on ebay. (pickup).

Spoken like the rest of us true computer geeks. :lol:

He's right, newegg sometimes even has better prices than the bozos on ebay, and they're a HELL of a lot more trustworthy.

One other place to look is ZipZoomFly.com (http://www.zipzoomfly.com) - good prices (sometimes can beat newegg, but usually the same) and free 2 day Fedex delivery. ;)

Newegg - a computer geeks favorite place to shop. It sure is mine. :D

LC

[MinionZombie]

*tsst* You Americans get all the cool services...:rolleyes::p

Computer wasn't ready today (probably only got round to it today - he had a phat backlog when I dropped it in last week), hopefully tomorrow I'll have it back *sigh* ... I simply must run around WW2 Europe and kill Nazis on COD2 now!!! And I've got such a backlog of downloaded Top Gear episodes to re-watch! :|

[HLS]

I don't use eBay, I don't trust it and would rather get a professional to handle my computer - which went into the shop last week.


So far I only had one bad experience from ebay. But your right unless you know someone that bought fropm a particular seller you never know what you will get. I bought a pretty damn good IBM think pad from ebay once for $250.

[Dtothe3]

Hmm, you could try and startup in safe mode, press F8 when the computer boots.
There should also be an option to confirm each file on startup, you can go through them and find out exactly where the computer hangs.

Cheers dude, I'm gonna have to ask if I can pick your brain again :)

Ok, I've gone through several modes, (various safe mode start ups) here's what I know.

1. Screen flickers on the windows professional (blue loading snake bar screen) then fades back in, after that the screen goes black. Lights on the keyboard go out. No further response.

2. In safe mode, it boots to "multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\windows\system 32\drivers\mup.sys" then gives the option of "press esc cancel loading of SPDT.sys" whatever you do, the computer fails to load any further then this.

All other moods do nothing more then this. Hope you can help bro.

[LoSTBoY]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Seems to be a common problem without a sure solution.

Either the mup.sys file is corrupt, or there is a problem after the mup.sys file as the mup.sys file is the last to load before windows should start.

There are a couple things you can try.

First, unplug all USB devises and try restarting, if that works then reinstall your USB devices and run scandisk.

If it doesn't work, check out this webpage (http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/97354.html) and read the 4th post:

So I boot the computer from the XP Setup CD and loaded the Recovery console, where at the prompt I typed 'chkdsk' and hit enter. When the check disk operation completed the message said that a few hard disk errors were found and chkdsk utility fixed them automatically. I restarted the computer and BANG- windows XP loaded successfully.
Hope this helps !!

However reading back it looks like you lost your XP disk so this is only helpful if you can download these Windows XP startup disks (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=55820edb-5039-4955-bcb7-4fed408ea73f&DisplayLang=en) and get them working.

They are my best bets, but you can keep on looking yourself, just put mup.sys into google and explore.

[Dtothe3]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! Seems to be a common problem without a sure solution.

Either the mup.sys file is corrupt, or there is a problem after the mup.sys file as the mup.sys file is the last to load before windows should start.

There are a couple things you can try.

First, unplug all USB devises and try restarting, if that works then reinstall your USB devices and run scandisk.

If it doesn't work, check out this webpage (http://www.computing.net/windowsxp/wwwboard/forum/97354.html) and read the 4th post:


However reading back it looks like you lost your XP disk so this is only helpful if you can download these Windows XP startup disks (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=55820edb-5039-4955-bcb7-4fed408ea73f&DisplayLang=en) and get them working.

They are my best bets, but you can keep on looking yourself, just put mup.sys into google and explore.

Cheers bro. I'm downloading it as I type. Need to find a floppy and work out just how to turn the floppy into an installer. If this doesn't work, I think I'll have to re-install. But cheers for all the help bro.

Thanks again :)

(I now need to find floppy disks) >.>