# [SOLVED] Help! My computer is not working right!!!



## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

I got my computer 2-3 years ago. I have Windows Vista Home Premium which has been running okay for 5mths now. I've got MSN Live OneCare for firewall and antivirus protection. Now it just doesn't run right. It takes me at least two or three tries to get it to start properly. I get errors like 'non-system disk error enter system disk and press enter' or it gets hung up on the blue HP screen. When I'm using it successfully, sometimes I have to do so in safe mode, it blanks out and goes to a black screen I can't get out of or it just freezes up completely. The Satellite internet connection goes in and out. It seems like if I use it for more than 10mins or do more than one thing with it I'm bound to have a problem. Here are some details on the computer. It is an HP MultiMedia Desktop w/ the following specs... Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.93GHz, w/ 1527MB of RAM, on a 32-bit operating system. The hard-drive the operating system is on is the original has 86GB w/ 58MB free and a second hard-drive I installed w/ 232GB w/ 180GB free which most of my personal files are on. I haven't installed any programs lately that I think are the cause of the problem. Here is what I've tried thus far... System Mechanic 7, Spybot, AdAware, System Restore, pcpitstop.com, chkdsk, and defrag. None of these worked and most resulted in the computer hanging up again... Any ideas on what the problem is and what I can do to fix it?

Please help!


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

It seems like there are a lot of hardware issues going on at once. I would shift my attention to the PSU. Download SpeedFan from my sig and post the voltage readings you see. Also post the temperatures you see and make a note of any fans with a reading of 0 RPM.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

the original h/d is overfull shift what you can,over to the new drive to free up some space on it and defrag it


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Vcore1: 1.30V
Vcore2: 1.50V
+3.3V: 2.51V
+5V: 2.53V
+12V: 12.86V
-12V: -1.83V
-5V: 0.63V
+5V: 4.87V
Vbat: 3.17V

Fan 1... 2637RPM 51C
Fan 2... 1298RPM 41C
Fan 3... 0RPM 3C

Also I got a new error today. I ran 'repair hard drive problems' from System Mechanic 7. It did some checks then said analysis would be done when I reboot. Then chkdsk started. It seemed to be going okay, then when it went to check 4 of 5 it said... 'the disk doesn't have enough space to replace bad clusters in file 912 of name . then it said the same thing of 913, 914, 915. Does this mean anything to anyone?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

it is telling you what i posted in the previous post,if you go over 85% full on a drive you will have problems
you need to clear at least 8g


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Dai,
No offense, since TheMatt posted first I'm trying his suggestions first. It's not that I doubt what you suggested, I just wanted to do this in order. I tried defrag through System Mechanic 7, through Vista, and though the command line, all of which resulted in the computer freezing up. Let me just see what TheMatt has to say, then I will free up some of the hard drive memory and try again. Let me ask you though, based on my initial post 'computer' is showing '86GB w/ 58MB free,' wouldn't this mean it is only 32.5% full?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

I would run the Disk Cleanup in Vista and then do a Disk Defragmentation. With the Disk Cleanup, if you put a check next to everything, then it should cleanup a significant number of files. Also, transfer a bunch of files to the other hard disk like dai said.


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Will do... Thanks everyone!


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Post back how it goes. You're welcome. :smile:


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Okay... I ran clean disk. I didn't check everything because this caused me a lot of problems when I did this before. I moved install programs to my second drive. I deleted programs that I don't use anymore. I deleted previous system restore points. Results? I went from 27gb on my primary drive to 14g. That cleared up 13gb of space! Going to try defrag now and hope for the best. I will keep you posted.

Well, I continued to have problems running defrag both when I tried it through windows and through DOS. Then I turned off Aero, killed some unnecessary for the time being start-up programs and turned off side bar and terminated some unneeded processes and tried defrag again... This time it worked! Seems like all is well again! Going to try and run chkdsk again at some point. Thanks again!

My last post was 'Automerged,' look above. I think I may have posted too soon. Everything 'seemed' to be going okay. Then I ran 'repair hard drive problems' from System Mechanic 7, it's basically like chkdsk. The computer froze up on the 5th step. Then I did a soft-reboot and Vista ran chkdsk after rebooting. It got through all 5 steps and appeared to be finished. The last few lines said... An unspecified error occurred. Autocheck program not found. Skipping autocheck. And then it was just frozen instead of going directly into windows. I did a soft reboot again. Windows frozen up again while I was waiting for my satellite connection to finish. Now I'm in safe mode with networking in order to do this post. What should I do from here?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

if it is booting into safe mode ok
go into msconfig/startup
untick all the boxes
if it then restarts normally retick the boxes on at a time,rebooting each time to try and isolate the cause of the problem


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

did anyone stop to think about how far off the voltages are reading.

+3.3V: 2.51V
+5V: 2.53V
+12V: 12.86V


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

they are too far out to be an accurate reading


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

possibly he needs to go into the bios to make sure.the readings in there should be more accurate.also i have seen a pc function with voltages that out of whack confirmed with a multimeter,but it didnt run to good.thats also a sign of the power supply about ready to cook.if they are really that far out of spec.


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

I've never really messed with the bios before. How do I go into it to check that? Also, if it turns out to be the power supply, is that something that would be pretty easy to replace on my own? I've successfully installed additional RAM before and a dvd-drive and the extra hard drive, but have never replaced a power supply. My other option (which I'm hoping to avoid) is to do a new install of Windows Vista Premium.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Check this out: http://www.techsupportforum.com/info/article/64/how-to-enter-the-bios-setup/

Go into the PC Health Status section. Look at the voltages there.

The power supply is very easy, the hard part is getting a power supply in a case if it is a case from a manufacturer like Dell, Gateway, etc.


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Thanks TheMatt, I will give that a try at some point.

Dai, it is booting in normal mode okay now. 

As far as the voltage readings, could it be my outlet power and not my power supply? See, I live on a farm and the owner rents out three other homes he has on his property. The electric is all connected to his house and he pays for it. So I guess it could be I'm getting my power 'second-hand' and what is supposed to come out of the outlet isn't. 

For right now, things seem to be back to normal. I'll repost after I've done the bios check or if my computer continues to freeze up.

Thanks for everyones help thus far.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

get yourself an ups,if you think the supply is inconsistant as it may also spike sending a surge down the line


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

TheMAtt, the link you gave seems to show me just how to get into the bios. After doing so I didn't see anything called 'PC Health Status section.' 

Dai, I've actually thought about getting a UPS before. I've got a decent surge protector now, but having a UPS would definitely be the way to go even if the voltage thing isn't my problem. And as far as my power situation is concerned I've been here about a year and a half and haven't had these issues 'til the past week.

And as far as problems... I'm still having them. Although my computer seems to be doing better since I was able to get defrag to complete, It's still freezing up during certain tasks. Nero trying to copy a DVD or downloading a video clip, for example.

I've decided I'm going to reinstall Vista Premium on the primary drive. After doing this things should be fine. If not, then I'll know for sure it's either the hard drive, the RAM, or the power supply.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

first check that the h/sinks and fans are free of dust as that is a major cause of freeze ups
run
chkdsk /r


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

The fans I can handle, how do i check the h/sinks. I'm assuming that means heat sinks. I've never done that before and where do I find them once I open the case?


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

You have the CPU Heatsink, the Northbridge heatsink, and on newer computers the Southbridge heatsink. Also, you will have the graphics heatsink if you have a dedicated card, but that usually isn't an issue because it is upside down.

Just blow the dust out of the fins with compressed air. Very simple. If you remove the CPU heatsink, you must reapply thermal paste. You shouldn't need to remove any heatsinks though.


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Cool. Thanks. I just bought a UPS so I'll be setting that up. Going to clean out the inside of my computer and then run chkdsk /r. After that I'll repost.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Just curious, what UPS did you get.


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

I went over to Best Buy and got a couple cans of compressed air and this UPS for only $40... http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7033417&st=ups&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1099395267085

I ran SpeedFan again and I'm still getting similar voltage readings.

Cleaned out the case real good, the fans weren't real bad but the heat sinks were kind of gunked up so I took care of them real good.

I booted up then ran chkdsk though 'my computer.' Found out through trial and error that's the best way to do it on my pc.

Anyways, my computer said that chkdsk would run the next time my computer rebooted so I did. Then it wouldn't get to windows at all, I started getting the 'non-system boot disk error, please replace...' again. So I did something which worked for me a while ago when I had that problem which is boot my computer with the primary drive disconnected from the cable (of course windows didn't start) then reconnect it and now windows booted just fine and chkdisk finally ran successfully. Yeah!!! So hopefully all is well. If I start having freeze problems again I'll reinstall my OS. I've got all my documents, music, pictures, and install files on my secondary drive so that isn't too big a deal for me. I still like to avoid that whenever possible. (Some people even more computer savvy than me are too quick to make that recommendation I think)

Thanks again everyone for your help!


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

reinstall is sometimes needed,but usually as a last resort
as for disconnecting the h/d
put in a new cable
run the h/d makers diognostic utility on the drive


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*



dai said:


> run the h/d makers diognostic utility on the drive


Take a look at this: http://www.techsupportforum.com/827480-post44.html


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

In my next post I have an interesting story to tell, so stay tuned. For now let's just say I've gotten a new computer and have some interesting details to share. Not sure if this is the right thread for this question, but I'm sure someone here will know the answer. Let's say I have windows vista on two hard drives. What I want to do is import tabs and favorites/bookmarks/add-ons/plug-ins/extensions/themes from IE and Firefox from one hard drive to another. How would I go about doing this?


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## ZLRAC (Jul 10, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Got the HD diagnostic tool for my primary. Never ran it cause I thought everything was fine based on the fact that defrak and chkdsk were done and the computer seemed to running fine. Got the UPS set up but didn't install the software, again cause I thought things would be okay.

I was leaving work and there was a severe hale storm that took the power out. I got home and the fiance said how cool it was that the computer stayed on even when the power went out. Then the power came back on and I started up the computer. The usual green light didn't come on but was yellow instead. Nothing on the screen but I could hear the hard drive running. I told her she was supposed to shut the computer down. Course she didn't know that and I night not have done it either. Tried unplugging the power cord and holding the button in, but nothing would work.

Took the computer to Best Buy and had the Geek Squad guy look at it. I gave him the history on it and he checked all the connections. (For free I might add.) Based on the fact that there was no video we determined that the processor was probably fine and the motherboard was corrupt. He told me that HP no longer makes that motherboard. He said if I get one that works it will run me at least $100 and the processor around $60.

Based on money, time and aggravation I decided to to buy a new computer. Best Buy had one that was $352. I think it was an Athalon 3800 64 w/ 120gig HD 512 ram and Vista basic by Compaq Presario. It might have been compatible with the 1gig ram I had and maybe my basic video card. Doubtful though. 

Office Depot had a display model emachine the were selling for $350. That was after I paid $400 and had to mail in a rebate. I told the guy there what I could get at Best Buy but that I would buy it for $300 and that I don't want to mail anything in. He called over the manager and he let me do it!

Bottom line I went from a HP MultiMedia Desktop w/ the following specs... Intel(R) Celeron D(R) CPU 2.93GHz, w/ 1527MB of RAM, on a 32-bit operating system to...

Emachines T5088 w/ Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.2GHz 512MB ram. dvd burner and a 160gig SATA drive

I took my took the LightScribe DVD burner from my old computer and put it in the new one. I transfered all the documents, pictures and music from my former slave drive to my new computer. 

Tomorrow I'm taking 2 RAM chips, a 260 gig hd, video card, processor, dvd burner and everything else of value that was salvageable from my old computer to a computer store that 'buys, sells, and trades.' I'm looking to get a compatible SATA drive and video card out of it and maybe some cash too!

Then I can use my Vista Home Premium upgrade disk. I've also got an 8gig Adata Flash drive so I can use readyboost.

Best part about it is, I think I now know enough to build my next computer from scratch.

Thanks again everyone for your help.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

*Re: Help! My computer is not working right!!!*

Good learning experience. :smile:

Pretty soon you will be picking out custom parts and will have the rewarding feeling knowing that _you_ built your computer.


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