Computer won't work/start - help pls

Goodadvice75

Hi,

I'm typing this on my laptop. My desktop seems to have virtually died. It is/was running Windows XP, not the home version but the other one(?).

It used to take about 10 or 15 goes before I could get it to boot - there would just be a blank screen so had to unplug from wall and try again. When it finally went into boot mode I tried system restore but it told me it could not do this. I can just about get it into Safe Mode (not Safe Mode with networking).

Pls can anyone help on what I could do to get it working again? It is a computer sold to me by my workplace several years ago and came loaded with XP so I don't have a disc for it. It is HP.

My laptop is Dell with XP Home and a recovery disc for the laptop - can I use this in any way to get the desktop working again.

When I have recently managed to get on to the desktop I've tried deleting off any old stuff not needed. I keep getting a message saying I have insufficient memory.

When it was going through boot mode recently it came up with something about a "Partition 1" so I'm assuming (but it is only an assumption) that the drive has been partitioned if that makes any difference.

If anyone could please talk me through what to do I'd be very grateful!

closed

see speedup sticky thread above

run chkdsk on the c: drive

backup anything important

if it's xp pro, you'll need a xp pro disc to reinstall.

could be the power supply/video card, depends on model and exact symptoms at boot, what happens with safe mode with networking

robmar0se

There are three ways to find out which version of XP you have - there are three versions of XP.

1. Is there a label on the side or back of the PC with the XP COA code - if so this should say.

2. Otherwise when next in safe mode, goto the system icon in the control panel, This will tell you which version you have, which service pack is loaded, and the processor and amount of RAM.

3. If you don't have the COA, you may need it, download the magic jelly bean software keyfinder on your laptop, get it onto yr dersktop and run it - it will tell you the XP version and license code. http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

TakeThis

What is the full model number of the PC? You have a private message.

In addition to this, if you have any important data on the PC, you should consider the transfer of the contents of the drive to your laptop or another source.
Remove the RAM modules in order to clean the contacts with an eraser, clean out any dust within the case and make sure everything is sitting pretty.

You can run Chkdsk in order to check problems with the HDD.

How much space left on the hard drive?

Goodadvice75

Hi

Many thanks for the helpful replies. I'm now in possession of a "bootable disc" thanks to a very kind soul!

I ran the checkdisk thing.

It came up with a load of numbers - not sure what it all means.

It said "0KB in bad sectors".
Total disc space: 78148160 KB
77701484 KB in 66103 files
53700 KB in 6253 indexes
168740 KB in use by system
65536 KB occupied by log file
224236 KB available on disk.
And some others about allocations on disk.

The "System" icon tells me the following:
Windows XP Professional V.2002, service pack 2.
Intel Pentium D CPU 3.40 GHz.
504 MB of Ram.

Device Manager - has loads of stuff in it. I've written it all down. I don't know how much of this stuff I need to copy and reinstall after the XP reinstall. I also don't know how I go about finding and copying these drivers. Please can anyone help with this?

I use this PC very basically - for Word, Excel etc., storing docs, photos, and music and playing music, going on the internet, watching BBC iPlayer and DVDs. So would only need the drivers which enable these things to work. I can list what I have if that would mean anything to anyone - but it's a long... list!

Once I've hopefully sorted out copying the drivers, pls can anyone tell me how I actually then start the process of wiping off the old stuff and using the disc to overwrite the new installation? Clueless here unfortunately...

Many thx in advance.

Goodadvice75

PS: I have not yet "taken out the RAM modules" am a bit concerned about trying this but will lift the cover of the PC tomorrow morning and see if it is do-able.

Goodadvice75

Just a bit more info on what it is actually doing, in case this helps narrow anything down.

When I switch on I usually now just get a blank blue-ish screen.

After switching off at the mains plug and on again several times eventually the Windows XP logo will flash up and it will then finally go to the screen which says your last session ended unexpectedly.

It gives the options to "start windows normally" or "start using last known good configuration" or start in safe mode, safe mode with networking" etc.

I've tried all of these options. At first using last known good configuration would work, I could log on and get online. Then the next day that may or may not work. I tried doing System restore a few times. Sometimes this would work to get me back online, other times not.

Finally now none of the options will work except Safe Mode. I cannot even use Safe Mode with networking so can't print things or get online any more. All I have been able to do is copy off my personal docs, photos and music so at least that is safe!

If the install doesn't work I'll be reaching for a heavy hammer next!!!

robmar0se

Your hard drive is fine from a mechanical point of view (just check you don't have over 85% full - this will give rise to problems).

I do wonder though if re-installing would resolve yr difficulties - for example if the system is not booting as you say, you can't really put this down to Windows installation. I take it when you say a blank screen you don't see the BIOS or splash screen when you turn on.

If this is correct, the system isn't giving any beeps when you switch on, then I would check the power supply (PSU). For starters remove as many peripherals printers scanners, usb attachments and try starting as lean as you can. I always carry a spare PSU to check for this, as they are quite easy to swap around. Maybe you have another good friend who could assist?

TakeThis

Goodadvice75 wrote: »

Hi

Many thanks for the helpful replies. I'm now in possession of a "bootable disc" thanks to a very kind soul!

I ran the checkdisk thing.

It came up with a load of numbers - not sure what it all means.

It said "0KB in bad sectors".
Total disc space: 78148160 KB
77701484 KB in 66103 files
53700 KB in 6253 indexes
168740 KB in use by system
65536 KB occupied by log file
224236 KB available on disk.
And some others about allocations on disk.

The "System" icon tells me the following:
Windows XP Professional V.2002, service pack 2.
Intel Pentium D CPU 3.40 GHz.
504 MB of Ram.

Device Manager - has loads of stuff in it. I've written it all down. I don't know how much of this stuff I need to copy and reinstall after the XP reinstall. I also don't know how I go about finding and copying these drivers. Please can anyone help with this?

I use this PC very basically - for Word, Excel etc., storing docs, photos, and music and playing music, going on the internet, watching BBC iPlayer and DVDs. So would only need the drivers which enable these things to work. I can list what I have if that would mean anything to anyone - but it's a long... list!

Once I've hopefully sorted out copying the drivers, pls can anyone tell me how I actually then start the process of wiping off the old stuff and using the disc to overwrite the new installation? Clueless here unfortunately...

Many thx in advance.

Decent three part guide here Begin from image 1.1.

Horseunderwater

I have a similar issue with my old Packard which runs Wind XP.
When I switch it on, I get just the screen saver and no icons.
What I did the other day as it was failing to boot up is as follows - OH showed me this trick - Make sure power supply plugged in fully as well.
Press the on button PC tower/desktop unit and when you look at monitor, you should see along bottom of screen an option to press F8 key, it will only be there for a flash, so you have to be quick. Have a finger on it when you press on button and then press F8. This will take you into the boot mode and simply follow any instructions on there. You should then get all icons back and any other stuff appear on line where the start menu is located. Try this and see if that gets you up and running. If this works, Click on start and select my computer and the drive either C or another if more than one fitted and see how much disk space is used. If you are using it to mainly store records and stuff, can you copy important info onto a flash drive? USB one? Once you have backed up any important info, Go back to start menu, and go to accessories and system tools and select Defrag. It will show drive C as a min. This will put files back into correct place on the disk and make them work better. Will take a while. But you can watch it as it does it. I then run spy bot search and destroy to get rid of any unwanted virus/keyloggers and then Malware bites to do same. Why 2? Simply because both miss stuff and I find 2 makes sure. Immunize and lock into quarantine. After that I use C cleaner to examine what stuff is on the drive. Do you need all those temp internet files? Prob not so get rid. Do you need all those forms? Prob not, so get rid. Cleaning up the "weeds" off the PC drive will help no end. Once you have freed up some space, it should boot up fine again. If you have extra drive slots inside your PC, it might be worth plugging in another hard drive and use that to store records - usually this will become the D drive. Gently does it.

TakeThis

Forgot to mention that you don't need to take out the RAM modules, as your problem is likely related to your HDD being full.
But if you already have done so, you will likely know the configuration(as to whether one or two are fitted).

This will be useful for when you decide to fit more RAM. For now, as suggested by the poster above, you need to begin deleting/removing data from the HDD. There is simply not enough space on the drive for the machine to do it's job efficiently.

So delete video and pictures until you can get to the point of installing CCleaner and WinDirStat. Using the 'Run Cleaner' option on CCleaner will likely clear up quite a bit of space and the visual aspect of WinDirStat will help you find the files you may wish to delete. You will need to clear up to 12GB of space for things to work optimally again.

After all of this, including the Defragmentation, you will still need to update from XP SP2 to SP3.

Of course, you still have the option for a format and clean install which will take you all the way to SP3 in the first place.

Which version of the DC 7600 do you possess? Small Form Factor PC? Convertible Minitower PC? Ultra-slim Desktop?