Windows XP problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter donatwave
  • Start date Start date
D

donatwave

I've had pc for about 4 years. have two hard drives. both are almost full.
Running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Spy Sweeper, AVG 7.5, AdAware personal,
System Mechanic, Adobe Reader a) one for Firefox, b) one for Internet
Explorer. Not an expert, but know a little bit about pcs. Willing to learn
more...

Can anyone tell me if there's a conflict with above programs and how to
identify & fix problems such as:
1) When shutdown windows, it crashes and I get "blue screen"- Have to turn
pc off/on to restart.
2) Cannot start in safe mode
3) Date and time has to be reset everytime I start pc
4) Cannot use System Restore

Thanks for your assistance.
Don
 
donatwave said:
I've had pc for about 4 years. have two hard drives. both are almost full.
Running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Spy Sweeper, AVG 7.5, AdAware personal,
System Mechanic, Adobe Reader a) one for Firefox, b) one for Internet
Explorer. Not an expert, but know a little bit about pcs. Willing to learn
more...

Can anyone tell me if there's a conflict with above programs and how to
identify & fix problems such as:
1) When shutdown windows, it crashes and I get "blue screen"- Have to turn
pc off/on to restart.
2) Cannot start in safe mode
3) Date and time has to be reset everytime I start pc
4) Cannot use System Restore

Thanks for your assistance.
Don
Click to expand...

What percentage is free in "C"?

Alias
 
donatwave said:
I've had pc for about 4 years. have two hard drives. both are almost full.
Running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Spy Sweeper, AVG 7.5, AdAware
personal,
System Mechanic, Adobe Reader a) one for Firefox, b) one for Internet
Explorer. Not an expert, but know a little bit about pcs. Willing to learn
more...

Can anyone tell me if there's a conflict with above programs
Click to expand...

AVG 7.5 is out of data and no longer supported.. Get version 8.
and how to
identify & fix problems such as:
1) When shutdown windows, it crashes and I get "blue screen"- Have to turn
pc off/on to restart.
Click to expand...

There will be a STOP code with this, and some text. Those are extremely
relevant.
2) Cannot start in safe mode
Click to expand...

Go into MSCONFIG, the Boot tab, and choose /Safeboot. Click OK and restart
into Safe Mode. From Safe Mode, do what you need, go back to MSCONFIG and
remove the check to restart normally.
3) Date and time has to be reset everytime I start pc
Click to expand...

This means that the system battery has failed. The part is no more than $5.
Shut down, unplug, open the case, look for the battery, it looks like a
quarter. Note the model type and go get another at a drugstore. Remove
the old one, put in the new one, close the case and restart. You will have
to set the date& time once and you'll be set for a few years.

If it's a laptop, there are other problems requiring professional service.

4) Cannot use System Restore
Click to expand...

What happens?

HTH
-pk
 
donatwave said:
Alias,

Ok, I found the reply button.

The free memory on C is 3.38 gig

Don
Click to expand...

That's not very much. At this point, you should consider either cloning
the drives to newer; larger ones, or replacing the system. For reference,
where I am, bare 500 gig drives are currently around $83, and you can
download the free Acronis TrueImage trial to clone your old disks to the new
ones remarkably quickly.

HTH
-pk
 
Always keep 5Gig free on your Hard drive.
Press F8 and go to DOS prompt
type CD C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
type del *.* to clear files in the TEMP folder
reboot into normal mode.
Uninstall not used programs by control Panel, Add and Remove Programs until
you have at least 5gig free
Run Disk Cleanup and Defrag in
Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools folder
 
donatwave said:
I've had pc for about 4 years. have two hard drives. both are almost
full. Running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Spy Sweeper, AVG 7.5,
AdAware personal, System Mechanic, Adobe Reader a) one for Firefox,
b) one for Internet Explorer. Not an expert, but know a little bit
about pcs. Willing to learn more...

Can anyone tell me if there's a conflict with above programs and how
to identify & fix problems such as:
1) When shutdown windows, it crashes and I get "blue screen"- Have to
turn pc off/on to restart.
2) Cannot start in safe mode
3) Date and time has to be reset everytime I start pc
4) Cannot use System Restore

Thanks for your assistance.
Don
Click to expand...

The date/time failure is caused by a worn out battery on the mother board.
The battery keeps the clock running when the power is off.

The battery is about the size of a quarter, and shiny silver. They cost
about two bucks. Double easy to replace.
 
I have found that Acronis True Image is a life saver. What little hair I
have left is comfortable with this program on my machine .

I don't know how big your hard drive(s) is/are but with the price as low as
they are it's worthwhile to get the largest you can afford.

Cloning your drive is very easy now and it works really well with this
program.

Take it slow but do it. Be sure to make the "Acronis loader" cd before
proceeding so that is for some reason you can't boot the loader will help
with that.

Good luck, & regards,
 
Patrick,

Thanks for the tips.
I will download the Acronis TrueImage trial.
Where can I find the 500 gig drives for $83 ?

I still think that this will only solve the memory problem, not the crashing
problem.
What else do you recommend to solve the existing problems?
Any idea how I should proceed to identify software conflicts, if any?


Thanks for your time.
Don
 
Thanks for your tip.

Regards,
Don

NickelSlug said:
Always keep 5Gig free on your Hard drive.
Press F8 and go to DOS prompt
type CD C:\WINDOWS\TEMP
type del *.* to clear files in the TEMP folder
reboot into normal mode.
Uninstall not used programs by control Panel, Add and Remove Programs until
you have at least 5gig free
Run Disk Cleanup and Defrag in
Start - Programs - Accessories - System Tools folder
Click to expand...
 
I forgot to mention that the date keeps getting reset to Oct, xx, 2003, when
I reboot.
I know that in the past I installed some pirated software that may be
causing problems, it's been so long, that I don't remember what it is.
I will work on a problem at a time until I fix all.

Thanks for your assistance,
Don
 
Patrick,

I will fix one problem at a time.
When I get the blue screen again, I will note the code and text.
Also, will try to do a system restore and let you know what happens.
It maybe next week when I get a chance to do this.

Thank you for your time.
Best Regards,
Don
 
donatwave said:
I've had pc for about 4 years. have two hard drives. both are almost full.
Running Internet Explorer, Firefox, Spy Sweeper, AVG 7.5, AdAware personal,
System Mechanic, Adobe Reader a) one for Firefox, b) one for Internet
Explorer. Not an expert, but know a little bit about pcs. Willing to learn
more...

Can anyone tell me if there's a conflict with above programs and how to
identify & fix problems such as:
1) When shutdown windows, it crashes and I get "blue screen"- Have to turn
pc off/on to restart.
Click to expand...


The use of System Mechanic may have caused registry damage. Otherwise,
this is quite likely to be a hardware problem. You might also try
MemTest86: http://www.memtest86.com/ to test the computer's RAM. It's
free.

2) Cannot start in safe mode
Click to expand...


The use of System Mechanic may have caused registry damage.

3) Date and time has to be reset everytime I start pc
Click to expand...


This is definitely a hardware issue. You need to replace the
motherboard's CMOS battery.

4) Cannot use System Restore
Click to expand...

With accurate time-keeping, I'm not surprised.

Again, the use of System Mechanic has likely caused irreversible
(unless you kept backups from each change you allowed it to make)
registry damage. At this point, after fixing the battery issue, you may
need to reinstall the OS and applications from scratch, as the simplest
way to restore functionality. Also, you don't need two versions of
Acrobat Reader, just because you have two browsers.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:


http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell

The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
 
Hello Patrick,

1) Below is the stop code that I get when pc crashes:
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
With text asking to remove trouble software or hardware.
STOP: 0x0000000A (0X000000B0, 0X00000002, 0X00000000, 0X8050EEF)

2) My MSCONFIG.exe file was missing, so I copied it from my laptop and
added it
to the binaries directory. Now I can access it through the RUN command.
After I go to SAFE MODE what do I do next? (Not sure on this)

3) Pressing F8 does nothing. Navigated to C:\WINDOWS\temp folder.
Found a couple of files in the folder. Removed one, the other was in use.

Thanks,
Don
 
donatwave said:
I forgot to mention that the date keeps getting reset to Oct, xx,
2003, when I reboot.
I know that in the past I installed some pirated software that may be
causing problems, it's been so long, that I don't remember what it is.
I will work on a problem at a time until I fix all.
Click to expand...

Right. The clock's got to start somewhere. The date you mention is the
default, hard-wired, built-in date that lives in the CMOS. Without a
functional battery, that's the date you'll get every time the clock loses
power.
 
donatwave said:
Hello Patrick,

1) Below is the stop code that I get when pc crashes:
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
With text asking to remove trouble software or hardware.
STOP: 0x0000000A (0X000000B0, 0X00000002, 0X00000000, 0X8050EEF)

2) My MSCONFIG.exe file was missing, so I copied it from my laptop and
added it
to the binaries directory. Now I can access it through the RUN command.
After I go to SAFE MODE what do I do next? (Not sure on this)

3) Pressing F8 does nothing. Navigated to C:\WINDOWS\temp folder.
Found a couple of files in the folder. Removed one, the other was in use.

Thanks,
Don
Click to expand...

See here for the STOP explanation:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314063

I would buy a new hard drive and reinstall XP if it were my machine. The
time you would have to spend to try and fix this would be greater than
reinstalling XP with no guarantees that you will fix it. Back up your
data first.

Alias
 
donatwave said:
Patrick,

Thanks for the tips.
I will download the Acronis TrueImage trial.
Where can I find the 500 gig drives for $83 ?
Click to expand...

I'm in Toronto, where in some parts of town there are dozens of small PC
stores within a few blocks, and it's extremely competitive. I buy bare
drives, the packaging consists of an antistatic bag.

And sorry, checking now, this week's price is $76.99.
They were around $100 a couple of months ago, and $120 before that.
1 terabyte drives are now $157.

There are other shops in the area, but this is one...
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProdList&cmd=pl&id=HD.443.877


I still think that this will only solve the memory problem, not the
crashing
problem.
Click to expand...

Disk space is not memory, it is storage, but you appear to be running very
low, and that can cause a number of problems.
What else do you recommend to solve the existing problems?
Click to expand...

As I mentioned previously, replace the motherboard battery, and that will
fix the date/time problem.

There isn't enough information to help you with other items, because we
don't know the stop code from the blue screen or what happens with System
restore.
Any idea how I should proceed to identify software conflicts, if any?
Click to expand...

Disable software, then slowly turn it back on and look for what triggers
problems. Check the versions you have and google for reported conflicts.

HTH
-pk
 
donatwave said:
I forgot to mention that the date keeps getting reset to Oct, xx, 2003,
when
I reboot.
Click to expand...

It's the battery. Replace it and this will go away for a few years.

-pk
 
donatwave said:
Hello Patrick,

1) Below is the stop code that I get when pc crashes:
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
With text asking to remove trouble software or hardware.
STOP: 0x0000000A (0X000000B0, 0X00000002, 0X00000000, 0X8050EEF)

2) My MSCONFIG.exe file was missing, so I copied it from my laptop and
added it
Click to expand...

It shouldn't be missing, and should have been in the Windows folder
structure. I'm on Vista at the moment, where it's in Windows\System32.

to the binaries directory. Now I can access it through the RUN
command.
After I go to SAFE MODE what do I do next? (Not sure on this)
Click to expand...

On the Boot.INI tab choose /Safeboot, choose Apply, OK, and restart. You
should now be able to get into Safe Mode; in fact, you will need to go into
MSCONFIG there to turn that option off to get back into regular mode, or you
can manually edit the boot.ini file after booting to the recovery console.

regarding the recovery console, if this isn't installed, you can use *any*
XP CD, home or Pro to get to it. And by default, it has limited access
to folders. You can change that scope by following the directions here:
http://www.petri.co.il/recovery_console_access_to_other_partitions.htm
3) Pressing F8 does nothing.
Click to expand...

You may be pressing it at the wrong time, such as too late.
Navigated to C:\WINDOWS\temp folder.
Click to expand...

No, the temp folders you want are in the user account structures.

There's a small free utility called ccleaner that will help significantly
with this. However, if you tell it to remove cookies, you'll likely also
lose things like bank passwords.

www.ccleaner.com Look for the "other builds" link and choose the "slim"
build without the toolbar.

However, I agree with one of the other posters that the registry cleaner may
have done serious damage, and a repair or clean reinstall may be the
quickest route to a properly working system.

If you decide to do that, just get the new drive, remove the old one and set
it aside. Install XP, install the motherboard drivers, install any
Service Pack that needs to go on, make sure all hardware drivers are
installed, then install antivirus software, then get any updates on what
you have. Install your core applications, such as Office, and Firefox and
configure your mail client. Now, make an image of the drive.

Then copy the rest of your data into place.

HTH
-pk
 
Hi Patrick,

I am back.
Have followed your advice and done the following:

1) Replaced the system battery. (the time problem was solved)
2) Added additional 1 GIG of Memory, since I only had 512 Meg, for a total
of 1.5 Gig

The system is running much better when I open many IE windows.
I will "turn off" all of the anti-virus and ad-ware programs to see if this
solves the BSOD during shutdown, and I will try system restore to see if it
works.

Thanks,
Don
 
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