Restart problems

[Ben Stevenson]

Just today I had difficulties with restarting. The computer freezes midway
thru bootup, and at other times it freezes at desktop before the desktop
icons can appear. I have to completely shutdown the computer and then
bootup, and then do a successful restart, and am then able to do my work on
the computer. If this will help, I have noticed that occassionaly drive A
(floppy) makes a whirr sound and its green light comes on. This did not
happen before. Would appreciate help.
TIA

 

[Malke]

Just today I had difficulties with restarting. The computer freezes midway
thru bootup, and at other times it freezes at desktop before the desktop
icons can appear. I have to completely shutdown the computer and then
bootup, and then do a successful restart, and am then able to do my work
on the computer. If this will help, I have noticed that occassionaly drive
A (floppy) makes a whirr sound and its green light comes on. This did not
happen before. Would appreciate help.
TIA

Sounds like hardware failure. Start troubleshooting with the power supply
but the culprit(s) could certainly be other components.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so these are
just suggestions based on many years of being a professional computer tech;
suggestions based on what you've written. You should not take my
suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing hardware failures often
involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't
do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer,
take the machine to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data
backed up before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke

 

[Xandros]

This sounds like it is a hardware problem. If the system is under warranty
contact the manufacturer. Given that you say it has a floppy drive though
I'd bet it is an older system. Erratic behavior like this can be related to
a number of things including a faulty power supply or RAM but it could point
to other issues as well. Get it checked by a reputable service tech.

 

[Twayne]

Sounds like hardware failure. Start troubleshooting with the power
supply but the culprit(s) could certainly be other components.

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot

Standard disclaimer: I can't see and test your computer myself, so
these are just suggestions based on many years of being a
professional computer tech; suggestions based on what you've written.
You should not take my suggestions as a definitive diagnosis. Testing
hardware failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with
known-good parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are
uncomfortable opening your computer, take the machine to a
professional computer repair shop (not your local equivalent of
BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). If possible, have all your data backed
up before you take the machine into a shop.

Malke

And when you get it back, check to be certain your COA code hasn't
changed so you're not rudely surprised down the road.

 

[Ben Stevenson]

What is COA code?

And when you get it back, check to be certain your COA code hasn't changed
so you're not rudely surprised down the road.

 

[Ben Stevenson]

Mine is an NEC Powermate. It has a floppy drive alright. Thats what I wanted
when I bought as I still had data on floppies from the previous computer. My
computer is coming to 4 years old.

 

[Ben Stevenson]

OK, I'll take the computer to the professional's workshop. But I'll need to
backup first. I am not that good on computers, so I would appreciate
simplified advise. I will backup on CDs.

Where do I find the folders for backing up:

1. OE and its Address Book.
2. Internet Favourites.
3. My Documents
4. Anything else I should backup? This is the first time I'm doing it.

Also how do I verify that my backup was correct and the folders on the CD
can be safely/easily restored back after the computer repairs.

Thanks

 

[Malke]

Ben Stevenson wrote:

comments inline

OK, I'll take the computer to the professional's workshop. But I'll need
to backup first. I am not that good on computers, so I would appreciate
simplified advise. I will backup on CDs.

Where do I find the folders for backing up:

1. OE and its Address Book.

Full instructions for backing up both are here:
www.insideoe.com

2. Internet Favourites.

C:\Documents and Settings\[your-user-name]\Favourites

3. My Documents

C:\Documents and Settings\[your-user-name]\My Documents

4. Anything else I should backup? This is the first time I'm doing it.

There's no way to answer this since we don't know what you have installed on
your computer. Some programs store data in their Program Files folder, some
are at the root of C:\. Some programs like QuickBooks want you to
backup/restore from within the program itself. You'll need to look at your
computer and think about what programs you run.

You might want to add (if there's anything in it):
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents

Also how do I verify that my backup was correct and the folders on the CD
can be safely/easily restored back after the computer repairs.

Don't use a backup program that puts the files into a proprietary format.
Just copy the files to an external hard drive and/or burn to DVD-R.

If you really don't know how to do this, pick a computer tech that can do it
for you and who will show you how for the future. You need to be backing up
regularly or some day there will be Tears Before Bedtime.

Malke

 

[Xandros]

A 4 year old system is likely to begin exhibiting hardware problems. I
suggest you ensure you have adequate backups made of your data. In your
situation I'd take a close look at the capacitors on the mother board to see
if any are bulging ( see here for explanation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague ). If the capacitors look OK
you should try swapping out the power supply to see if it is the root of
your problems. Also check to ensure the fans are all turning freely. Heat
can cause all types of weird behavior. And if you have the CPU overclocked
make certain you clock it back to default. Overtime many overclocked
processors become unstable.

 

[Xandros]

COA = Certificate Of Authenticity. see here
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/content.aspx?pg=coa

Twayne is referring to the Product Key or collection of 25 digits and
letters unique to the software used during installation.

 

[Ben Stevenson]

Thanks for your response. Just one problem:

Where do I find the folders for backing up:

Full instructions for backing up both are here:
www.insideoe.com

I went to your given link and Microsoft led me from one page to another till
I finally gave up after about an hour. As I said, I am not that good on
computers, and you could please make it simple for me by letting me know
where are the folders (the folders path). I would then copy and paste to the
CD and I hope that would do it. I am not going to use any backup program.
But I still need to know how to test if my backups were successful enough to
be easily restored back to the HD after the computer has been repaired and
perhaps reformatted.

Thanks

Ben Stevenson wrote:

comments inline

OK, I'll take the computer to the professional's workshop. But I'll need
to backup first. I am not that good on computers, so I would appreciate
simplified advise. I will backup on CDs.

Where do I find the folders for backing up:

1. OE and its Address Book.

Full instructions for backing up both are here:
www.insideoe.com

2. Internet Favourites.

C:\Documents and Settings\[your-user-name]\Favourites

3. My Documents

C:\Documents and Settings\[your-user-name]\My Documents

4. Anything else I should backup? This is the first time I'm doing it.

There's no way to answer this since we don't know what you have installed
on
your computer. Some programs store data in their Program Files folder,
some
are at the root of C:\. Some programs like QuickBooks want you to
backup/restore from within the program itself. You'll need to look at your
computer and think about what programs you run.

You might want to add (if there's anything in it):
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents

Also how do I verify that my backup was correct and the folders on the CD
can be safely/easily restored back after the computer repairs.

Don't use a backup program that puts the files into a proprietary format.
Just copy the files to an external hard drive and/or burn to DVD-R.

If you really don't know how to do this, pick a computer tech that can do
it
for you and who will show you how for the future. You need to be backing
up
regularly or some day there will be Tears Before Bedtime.

Malke

 

[Olórin]

Thanks for your response. Just one problem:

Where do I find the folders for backing up:

I went to your given link and Microsoft led me from one page to another
till I finally gave up after about an hour. As I said, I am not that good
on computers, and you could please make it simple for me by letting me
know where are the folders (the folders path). I would then copy and paste
to the CD and I hope that would do it. I am not going to use any backup
program. But I still need to know how to test if my backups were
successful enough to be easily restored back to the HD after the computer
has been repaired and perhaps reformatted.

Thanks

Well, all you needed to do was click on "Backup" along the top of the page
and that would have taken you straight to http://www.insideoe.com/backup/.
NB Although the website is by an MS MVP, it's not a Microsoft site, and
Microsoft didn't lead you anywhere for an hour!

I'd advise you not to just "copy and paste to the CD and... hope that would
do it"; a small amount of study - reading through the site - will pay
dividends, and you won't have to cross your fingers and hope it works. Well,
no more than the rest of us do... It might seem daunting, but that's just
because it's unfamiliar; take the plunge!

<snip>