learningonherown said:
My computer has shut down due to an error 2-3 times in the past couple
of
weeks. Yesterday evening I performed a disk cleanup and defrag. I
went to bed 2.5 hrs after starting the defrag and it was only 25%
completed! This
morning, my whole system is messed up. I performed an ipconfig and
realized
that my RPC is not working. Prior to completing the cleanup and
defrag, I
could access the internet and other tools. Please offer suggestions
as to how I could fix this problem.
Learning on her own
I would say that if your machine shut down two or three times, something
is definitely wrong. Unfortunately, since you didn't give us any
details of the error message(s), I can't guess at the root cause.
At this point I would 1) back up your data if you haven't already done
so; 2) do hardware diagnosis to determine if it is sound; 3) if the
hardware is sound you can try a Repair Install of Windows. Here is a
link to information about doing a Repair Install:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
Here are some general hardware troubleshooting steps:
1) Open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing). Obviously
you can't do this with a laptop, but you can hear if the fan is running
and feel if the laptop is getting too hot.
2) Test the RAM - I like Memtest86+ from
www.memtest.org. Obviously, you
have to get the program from a working machine. You will either
download the precompiled Windows binary to make a bootable floppy or
the .iso to make a bootable cd. If you want to use the latter, you'll
need to have third-party burning software on the machine where you
download the file - XP's built-in burning capability won't do the job.
In either case, boot with the media you made. The test will run
immediately. Let the test run for an extended period of time - unless
errors are seen immediately. If you get any errors, replace the RAM.
3) Test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from the mftr. Usually
you will download the file and make a bootable floppy with it. Boot
with the media and do a thorough test. If the drive has physical
errors, replace it.
4) The power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for the devices
you have in the system. The adequacy issue doesn't really apply to a
laptop, although of course the power
supply can be faulty.
5) Test the motherboard with something like TuffTest from
www.tufftest.com. Sometimes this is useful, and sometimes it isn't.
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 good local
computer repair shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).
Good luck,
Malke
