Windows locking up - will reinstalling help?

[Ook]

I have a box that locks up after 12-24 hours of operation. It does not seem
to be heat related, it seems to be random - it just happens. I've ran memtst
extensively on the memory, and ran with just one or the other of the two
sticks, and it still does it so I don't think it's memory. The power supply,
cpu, and mobo are brand new. The only blight is that the OS was upgraded
from Win98 (yeah, yeah, I know, very bad idea, but I was in a hurry....).
How likely is it that doing a clean install of Windows will fix this
problem, or how likely is doing an upgrade from Win98 to cause these
intermittent locking up problems? IOW, is it possible that upgrading from
Win98 like I did is the cause of the lockups?

 

[Malke]

"Ook" <ook don't send me any freaking spam at zootal dot com remove the

I have a box that locks up after 12-24 hours of operation. It does not
seem to be heat related, it seems to be random - it just happens. I've
ran memtst extensively on the memory, and ran with just one or the
other of the two sticks, and it still does it so I don't think it's
memory. The power supply, cpu, and mobo are brand new. The only blight
is that the OS was upgraded from Win98 (yeah, yeah, I know, very bad
idea, but I was in a hurry....). How likely is it that doing a clean
install of Windows will fix this problem, or how likely is doing an
upgrade from Win98 to cause these intermittent locking up problems?
IOW, is it possible that upgrading from Win98 like I did is the cause
of the lockups?

Since you upgraded from Win98, that would indicate that the computer is
very old (in computer years). Random lockups are most often caused by
failing hardware. Since most of the hardware is new, does that mean you
had a new machine and just threw Win98 on it first because you didn't
have an XP disk or is the hard drive an older one? The fact that the
hardware is new is irrelevant; in fact if hardware is going to fail it
will usually do so pretty quickly or go for years.

I can't answer your question whether the upgrade from Win98 caused the
problems. The easy way to find out is to clean install XP. If the hard
drive is old, either test it or use a new one.

Malke

 

[Ook]

"Ook" <ook don't send me any freaking spam at zootal dot com remove the


Since you upgraded from Win98, that would indicate that the computer is
very old (in computer years). Random lockups are most often caused by
failing hardware. Since most of the hardware is new, does that mean you
had a new machine and just threw Win98 on it first because you didn't
have an XP disk or is the hard drive an older one? The fact that the
hardware is new is irrelevant; in fact if hardware is going to fail it
will usually do so pretty quickly or go for years.

I can't answer your question whether the upgrade from Win98 caused the
problems. The easy way to find out is to clean install XP. If the hard
drive is old, either test it or use a new one.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

"The power supply, cpu, and mobo are brand new"

I always throw Win98 on my new boxes before I install 2000/XP. That way, I
can boot to Win98 and make a complete backup of the XP install. XP may be
good, but like Win2000/98, it still can't take months and months of hard
usage. When it gets to the point where the registry is bloated and DLL hell
(yes, DLL hell is still very much with us) is biting me and who knows why
it's flaky, I boot to Win98, delete windows, program files, documents and
settings directories (I never reformat - that is only for those that don't
know what they are doing or have a need to repartition) and restore from the
backup. 15 minutes later, my windows install is fresh and clean as the day I
installed it.

But I digress...I was hoping that someone here has had experience with
upgrading from Win98 causing lockups. I'm going to do a clean install and
hope for the best