computer crash

[C James]

It looks like the video card on my main sysem has failed. I've tried two monitors, and nothing. It does however boot, or appears to. Anyway, I'm stuck on my ranshackle laptop for now. I'm hoping I can get the main systm running again soon, at least in time to post the next chapter. I have no way of getting it out of that system otherwise. So please excuse my abscence, I have a computer to tear into...

[GaryK]

Please be sure to look at the PM I just sent you.

[C James]

Thanks Gary!!! I got it and replied.

 

Ok, an update; Definitely my graphics card. I can get my main system to boot without it, and confirmed this my netting in on my home network to my one shared drive. (I have six physical hard drives split into nine logical (lettered) drives). I then tool my graphic card and cajoled a friend into letting me try it in his system. He agreed, but no further than the splash screen; he didn't want to worry about driver issues (and I agree). Result? The card is dead. So, between a dead card and my PC being able to boot, I'm positive it's just the card. I've ordered a new one (I had to do some searching to find a win2k compatible one). Found a good one and ordered it. It should be here Monday.

 

Between now and then I'll be confined to the cranky old laptop. If it conks out completely, I'll be gone until Monday or Tuesday.

[Tiger]

It sounds like someone should start a new puter fund for the goat.

[GaryK]

It sounds like someone should start a new puter fund for the goat.

I've got several perfectly good Dell computers sitting around here collecting dust. If FedEx delivers to cliffs I'd be happy to send one to CJ. It really seems as if just a video card will solve this problem.

[C James]

Wow, thanks!!

 

Honestly though, my system (I build my own) is mainly ok. Let's see... 3ghz cpu, fairly new motherboard, USB 2.0, firewire, etc, 4 gigs of Ram, 5 physical hard drives (around a quarter-terrabyte of HD space) customized tower case with 11 fans (1 larger one for the air filtration in the air pre-intake; I got suck of dust in my case so I rigged pre-filtration of the case air intakes), 2 CD drives (one a burner) and two 3 1/4 inch floppy drives (yes, i still use 'em) plus all manner of card readers, etc. I only built this system last year;

however some of the hardware (some drives, plus the vid card) was from my old system.

 

It might look old though, the 25" CRT monitor is a decade old. The new vid card will support multiple monitors, so I might get a large LCD for a second monitor.

 

My laptop, on the other hand, is a nearly dead clunker. It fails to boot one time in three, is insanely slow (it's about 10 years old) and the battery is kaput. However, right now I'm glad of it.

[GaryK]

Wow, thanks!!

 

Honestly though, my system (I build my own) is mainly ok. Let's see... 3ghz cpu, fairly new motherboard, USB 2.0, firewire, etc, 4 gigs of Ram, 5 physical hard drives (around a quarter-terrabyte of HD space) customized tower case with 11 fans (1 larger one for the air filtration in the air pre-intake; I got suck of dust in my case so I rigged pre-filtration of the case air intakes), 2 CD drives (one a burner) and two 3 1/4 inch floppy drives (yes, i still use 'em) plus all manner of card readers, etc. I only built this system last year;

however some of the hardware (some drives, plus the vid card) was from my old system.

 

It might look old though, the 25" CRT monitor is a decade old. The new vid card will support multiple monitors, so I might get a large LCD for a second monitor.

 

My laptop, on the other hand, is a nearly dead clunker. It fails to boot one time in three, is insanely slow (it's about 10 years old) and the battery is kaput. However, right now I'm glad of it.

As we agreed in PM, if it ain't broke don't fix it. You've got a solid system and the new video card will make things perfect again. The next time I get a used laptop I'll keep you in mind. My sister, brother-in-law and their family are a non-stop supply of one year old state of the art laptops. The lappies get clogged up with all kinds of spyare/adware/etc. until the system slows to the point of being unusable. Since they won't abide by my instructions on how to use the computers safely I won't provide tech support. So once a year the whole family gets new laptops and I get the old ones. Sweet deal, eh? I've been able to provide lots of friends with great laptops. Being generous is part of my nature and it doesn't come with any strings attached.

 

BTW, there's noting quite as nice as dual monitors. I've got twin 22" flat screen LCDs and it's so nice. I keep Outlook and other stuff on one monitor and everything else on the other monitor. When I'm working on beta-reading or editing I keep a browser open in one monitor to all my reference material (dictionary, writing guides, etc.) and the other monitor has Word open to the story I'm working on. Sweet! Definitely consider it CJ. LCD monitors are so darned cheap these days.

[Tiger]

I just thought I had heard Windows 2000 being mentioned before. That would mean there's a serious need for an upgrade.

[BeaStKid]

I just thought I had heard Windows 2000 being mentioned before. That would mean there's a serious need for an upgrade.

Windows 2000 is a more stable platform than XP....That is what I was made to believe... Gary, am I right?

[Tiger]

Windows 2000 is a more stable platform than XP....That is what I was made to believe... Gary, am I right?

I think XP has been the most stable from Microsoft thus far. It's certainly better than Vista. Vista is getting better with the exception of the occasional NVIDIA crashes. :wacko:

[YaP]

I just thought I had heard Windows 2000 being mentioned before. That would mean there's a serious need for an upgrade.

 

Lol, why ? Windows 2000 usually runs smoothly ! Who needs all that Vista crap ?

Edited May 25, 2008 by YaP

[BeaStKid]

I think XP has been the most stable from Microsoft thus far. It's certainly better than Vista. Vista is getting better with the exception of the occasional NVIDIA crashes. :wacko:

I am not sure, again I am saying this from what I have heard from my friends.... XP is not the most stable platform, Windows 98 was (due to the immense time it was supported by MS, same is the case with XP). And if I am not wrong, XP is based on the NT platform...

 

I think I should not venture into a topic that I am not familiar with. There are far more experienced and well informed people here who can answer this topic in a much better way. Plus, I am sleep deprived so that makes me all the more incomprehensible..

 

Lol, why ? Windows 2000 usually runs smoothly ! Who needs all that Vista crap ?

Exactly my point....though, XP would work fine as well...but if my memory is working fine at this hour of the night, CJ's laptop is 10 years old, and running XP on that ancient ( ) thing would not be advisable...

 

Yawn!

 

BeaStKid

[YaP]

I am not sure, again I am saying this from what I have heard from my friends.... XP is not the most stable platform, Windows 98 was (due to the immense time it was supported by MS, same is the case with XP). And if I am not wrong, XP is based on the NT platform...

 

I think I should not venture into a topic that I am not familiar with. There are far more experienced and well informed people here who can answer this topic in a much better way. Plus, I am sleep deprived so that makes me all the more incomprehensible..

 

 

Exactly my point....though, XP would work fine as well...but if my memory is working fine at this hour of the night, CJ's laptop is 10 years old, and running XP on that ancient ( ) thing would not be advisable...

 

Yawn!

 

BeaStKid

 

Nite beasty ! *tucks BestKid in*. About time you go to sleep... you got the puters mixed up. Its his newer, "big" computer that runds 2000... not the old laptop (i suppose that runs on 98 if it is 10 years old...).

You are right in that Win2000 is based on NT. As is XP. Actually 2000 and XP have a lot in common.. If you switch off the visual features of XP it even looks pretty much like 2000 :-). From my experience both are rather stable.

[BeaStKid]

Nite beasty ! *tucks BestKid in*. About time you go to sleep... you got the puters mixed up. Its his newer, "big" computer that runds 2000... not the old laptop (i suppose that runs on 98 if it is 10 years old...).

You are right in that Win2000 is based on NT. As is XP. Actually 2000 and XP have a lot in common.. If you switch off the visual features of XP it even looks pretty much like 2000 :-). From my experience both are rather stable.

I told you I need some sleep...

 

[GaryK]

I think XP has been the most stable from Microsoft thus far. It's certainly better than Vista. Vista is getting better with the exception of the occasional NVIDIA crashes. :wacko:

This is just my opinion, but I think Win2K was the best OS MSFT has ever produced. XP is sort of like Win2K with all sorts of consumer-friendly crap added on to it. They're both stable OSes. XP has more drivers available for it. But for basic stuff I still prefer Win2K. Let's see, I've got eight computers/servers that are running here at home/office. The names that are in caps are the names for each machine.

 

1: DESKTOP runs XP Pro mostly cause the Remote Desktop client is so great

2. MULTIMEDIA runs Win2K.

3. BACKUPS runs Win2k3 Web Edition

4. DEVELOPMENT runs Win2k3

5. STORAGE runs Win2K

6. BETA_1 runs XP Pro

7. BETA_2 runs Server 2K8

8. LAPPIE runs XP Pro

 

What is it with Vista and the NVIDIA chipsets? Sheesh.

 

ADDED: I forgot one computer that's not on the LAN. It's a 455MHz Celeron-based machine and it runs XP Pro just fine.

Edited May 25, 2008 by GaryInMiami

[MikeL]

This is just my opinion, but I think Win2K was the best OS MSFT has ever produced. XP is sort of like Win2K with all sorts of consumer-friendly crap added on to it. They're both stable OSes. XP has more drivers available for it. But for basic stuff I still prefer Win2K. Let's see, I've got eight computers/servers that are running here at home/office. The names that are in caps are the names for each machine.

 

1: DESKTOP runs XP Pro mostly cause the Remote Desktop client is so great

2. MULTIMEDIA runs Win2K.

3. BACKUPS runs Win2k3 Web Edition

4. DEVELOPMENT runs Win2k3

5. STORAGE runs Win2K

6. BETA_1 runs XP Pro

7. BETA_2 runs Server 2K8

8. LAPPIE runs XP Pro

 

What is it with Vista and the NVIDIA chipsets? Sheesh.

 

ADDED: I forgot one computer that's not on the LAN. It's a 455MHz Celeron-based machine and it runs XP Pro just fine.

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

[GaryK]

The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.

The computers are my only extravagance and a lot of them are for work. Apart from that I'm fairly low maintenance. My condo is 1,100 SF and is paid for. My car is a Corolla LE and it's paid for. I mostly wear jeans and t-shirts. I'd be a great boyfriend in case anyone here is from Miami, LOL. I've got the hots for Jan, but I guess that'll never happen. Sigh.

[Tiger]

The computers are my only extravagance and a lot of them are for work. Apart from that I'm fairly low maintenance. My condo is 1,100 SF and is paid for. My car is a Corolla LE and it's paid for. I mostly wear jeans and t-shirts. I'd be a great boyfriend in case anyone here is from Miami, LOL. I've got the hots for Jan, but I guess that'll never happen. Sigh.

You'll never know unless you invite him to visit you there. As for computers, I have a laptop. I also have a desktop, but I am not its main user anymore. The desktop is on XP; the laptop is on Vista Home Premium.

[TalonRider]

The computers are my only extravagance and a lot of them are for work. Apart from that I'm fairly low maintenance. My condo is 1,100 SF and is paid for. My car is a Corolla LE and it's paid for. I mostly wear jeans and t-shirts. I'd be a great boyfriend in case anyone here is from Miami, LOL. I've got the hots for Jan, but I guess that'll never happen. Sigh.

 

 

You'll never know unless you invite him to visit you there. As for computers, I have a laptop. I also have a desktop, but I am not its main user anymore. The desktop is on XP; the laptop is on Vista Home Premium.

ROFLMAO. Stranger things have happened. Unfortunately, I live a few miles up the coast in the Philly area. As for computers, I use my desktop in the mornings, which uses XP, and my laptop in the evenings, of if I want to sit outside on nice days. It uses Vista Home Premium. The only problem I have with it is, I have a few neighbors with Wi-Fi set up and they tend to interfer with mine. I just turn the router off and back on and that takes care of the problem.

[shadowgod]

ROFLMAO. Stranger things have happened. Unfortunately, I live a few miles up the coast in the Philly area. As for computers, I use my desktop in the mornings, which uses XP, and my laptop in the evenings, of if I want to sit outside on nice days. It uses Vista Home Premium. The only problem I have with it is, I have a few neighbors with Wi-Fi set up and they tend to interfer with mine. I just turn the router off and back on and that takes care of the problem.

 

That sounds like a channel interference problem. You should be able to set your router to operate on a single channel instead of searching for the 'best' signal. Locking in the single channel *should* alleviate that. Unless of course the other routers switch over to the channel your on for optimum performance.

 

Then again if the occasional reset doesn't bother you, I wouldn't mess with it. Tinkering usually leads to other issues and before you know it a day is gone mussing with something that worked just fine in the first place.

[MikeL]

That sounds like a channel interference problem. You should be able to set your router to operate on a single channel instead of searching for the 'best' signal. Locking in the single channel *should* alleviate that. Unless of course the other routers switch over to the channel your on for optimum performance.

 

Then again if the occasional reset doesn't bother you, I wouldn't mess with it. Tinkering usually leads to other issues and before you know it a day is gone mussing with something that worked just fine in the first place.

I'm just glad sex isn't as complicated as computers are.

[shadowgod]

I'm just glad sex isn't as complicated as computers are.

 

cant go much wrong with insert tab a into slot b ( or c .. even d depending on what you are employing ) then again all those new machines come with color coded plug and outlet/inlets

 

 

EDIT - proofread before hitting add reply ... let this be a lesson

[BeaStKid]

cnt go much wrong with insert tab into slot b ( or c .. even d depending on what you are employing ) then again all those new machines come with color coded plug and outlet/inlets

 

 

[GaryK]

ROFLMAO. Stranger things have happened. Unfortunately, I live a few miles up the coast in the Philly area. As for computers, I use my desktop in the mornings, which uses XP, and my laptop in the evenings, of if I want to sit outside on nice days. It uses Vista Home Premium. The only problem I have with it is, I have a few neighbors with Wi-Fi set up and they tend to interfer with mine. I just turn the router off and back on and that takes care of the problem.

I doubt you could put up with me for very long, Jan. I'm way more complicated than the WiFi issues you're dealing with and I don't have a reset button. But until you throw me out you'd have the best and the most sex ever!

[TalonRider]

That sounds like a channel interference problem. You should be able to set your router to operate on a single channel instead of searching for the 'best' signal. Locking in the single channel *should* alleviate that. Unless of course the other routers switch over to the channel your on for optimum performance.

 

Then again if the occasional reset doesn't bother you, I wouldn't mess with it. Tinkering usually leads to other issues and before you know it a day is gone mussing with something that worked just fine in the first place.

I have tried resetting the channel and it helped for a bit. It also seems to happen when one certain guy (or gal) is on. I also run a secure connection and I change the password often. I also think that most of us are using a Belkin system. The Linksys router I use to use just wasn't powerful enough to very far going thru walls. If I sit at the side of the house, the signal travels thru one wall. If I set on the front porch, two walls. The Belkin has a range of 700 ft while the Linksys was 400. The Linksys used a card and the stystem wasn't compatible with vista. I then got the belkin for the range.

 

I doubt you could put up with me for very long, Jan. I'm way more complicated than the WiFi issues you're dealing with and I don't have a reset button. But until you throw me out you'd have the best and the most sex ever!

Promises, promises, promises.