Any Techies here??

[The-EDSEL]

HELP!!!

I have a Nice Dell Dimension 8200 that has killed itself again in only
3 months of my owning it.
The service contract was still active last month when it Coughed out the
Sys-config32-sys code. I got a replacement hard-drive & Most software from Dell, but now I do not know what to do
It will boot up for a Short time, then go through repeated
Shut down/Start ups.
I believe it has updated or installed a Driver that does not mesh with
its OS/hardware.

At least that is what the error report stated. It was a "Stop" error
I can give you a copy of the report that was sent to micro-crap,
Do I need to do a Full Wipe/Format/re-install of the OS etc, or can I repair it with the Drivers CD??
(Providing I can get it to start & stay On for long enough)
If so, I will move the OS (XP-Media) to a Smaller separate hard-drive.
Only thing is saving enough $$ for one!!

The Compaq I am using for backup is Slow to say the least
Only 383 MB of ram!!!
It acts like it needs Dial-up just for the Processor to contact the Motherboard!!

Many Thanks, Hope some one can help??

[Texman]

Well, I'm not a techie, but I went through a similar situation with the startup/shutdown/startup cycle.
I finally tracked it down to a slave drive trying to be the master drive in the bios setup.
Perhaps your bios is still looking for the old drive during startup.

[dansls1]

It's not under service contract anymore? Aren't they usually a year?

[B-Manic]

since I don't know what OS you are using

for XP (you will require the CD)
1 . Watch carefully as the computer starts up after a reboot. Select "Recovery Console" from the "Startup Options" list.
2. Install the Windows XP disk into the drive if "Recovery Console" is not listed in "Startup Options." Restart the computer. Follow the prompts and select "Repair" or "Recover."
3. Type the administrator password for the computer. If there is only one user on the computer, it will be that user's password.
4. Type "cd system32" without quotes when the command prompt appears. Press "Enter," type "ren kernel32.dll kernel32.old" and press "Enter" again. Type "map" and press "Enter."
5. Type "expand d:\i386\kernel32.dl_" and press "Enter." If the Windows XP CD is inserted into a drive other than "D:" replace "D:" with the proper drive letter.
6. Type "exit" and press the "Enter" key. The computer will shut down and reboot again. Remove the Windows XP disk. The reboot loop should now be resolved.


for Win 7 (you will require the CD)

1. boot using the Windows 7 installation DVD
2. Choose your language settings and hit "Next"
3. Click on "Repair Your Computer" link at the bottom of the screen. This will launch Windows RE.
NOTE: Do not click on “Install Now”
4. Choose the OS to repair, and take note of the Drive Letter assigned to the operating System.
5. You should see “Windows 7” and D:\ (the drive letter may be different)
6. Click Next and you should see a list of the recovery tools
7. Click on “Command Prompt”
8. You will see “X:\Sources” in white on a black background, you can type commands here
Once you have booted into WinRE please follow the steps below:
1. Type "cd c:\users" at the command prompt.
2. Type "dir /s /p", and look for the words "is too long".
3. If you don't see "is too long" on the first page, press a key to get the next page
4. Look on the second page for "is too long".
5. Continue to press a key to advance in pages until you find all the strings "is too long". (This may take quite a few pages to get to the end)
NOTE: You may see more than 1 entry that has "is too long", please take a note of each entry as we will need the folder names in later steps.
Once you have identified all the folders with "is too long" we will need to move them into a temp location.
7. Type "move" followed by the path of the folder, then the name of the temporary location to move to:
EXAMPLE: MOVE C:\USERS\BOB\DOCUMENTS\DOCUMENTS C:\TEMP
8. Once all the invalid folders have been moved, repeat step 1 and 2 to verify that there are no other folders with "is too long"
9. Once completed, restart the computer and you should be able to successfully boot into Vista.
10. Once back into a working Vista, open "Computer" and navigate to C:\Users and open your username folder.
11. Right click on each folder one by one and choose "Properties".
12. Click on the Location tab and confirm that the path shown is correctly displaying the path for this folder.
Example: The properties / location of C:\Users\BOB\Documents should have the same correct path listed on the location tab "C:\Users\BOB\Documents".
13. If any folder's location is not correct, click on "Restore Defaults" and repeat
14. Once all the folders have been corrected, please reboot the computer and retry the upgrade process again.

the Microsoft www site may have other solutions

[Zathros]

If you have the System Discs, Reformat the Hard drive and start over again. It is a waste of time and effort to do otherwise if you have had this much effort into it. I would suggest getting another hard drive and formatting it (a known good one ), install the OS onto it, then see if the problem still happens. If it does, it probably is a hardware issue. The reason I say to do this is you can then slave the drive you have now and save any data you need off of it. If there is nothing you need, and you have the system recovery discs, reformat, and start over.

If your Compaq is showing 383 MB's of Ram, the Ram is no good. It has to be in increments of 256 MB. You put 4 G's of Ram into that Laptop and it will probably snap back to life. Ram is pretty cheap these days.

When I used to fix computers, Dell was the number one computer that came in. I used to make money off of Dells but after a while, I felt like it was not ethical to take money for something that used low cost components and would come back for a different issue, and also, have to listen to the customer tell me the "new' problem it was related to the other solved problem. Not a Dell fan, Compaq either, though I know some people who have had incredible luck with them (Dell, not Compaq).

I just buy the components and put the things together. Much easier and better that way. You build the computer you want and need, and you choose the quality of the components.

[gillman]

Another thought, assuming you haven't already started the reformat process, the start/restart cycling can be a symptom of a bad power supply. Either because the PC starts to draw more power than a marginal power supply can provide and it cycles because of low voltage or because the power supply heats up and can't provide the needed juice.

Booting Linux (Ubuntu is what I've used) off a thumb drive or a CD/DVD might provide some more diagnostics, ie., if it keeps happening with an OS not installed on the hard drive, that suggests it's the hardware that's not the hard drive, but if it doesn't happen with the non-hard drive OS, that would point toward the Windows OS as the issue. A few years back, I was able to boot off Ubuntu without a hard drive even being installed in the box.

[Pem Tech]

When I used to fix computers, Dell was the number one computer that came in. I used to make money off of Dells but after a while, I felt like it was not ethical to take money for something that used low cost components and would come back for a different issue, and also, have to listen to the customer tell me the "new' problem it was related to the other solved problem. Not a Dell fan, Compaq either, though I know some people who have had incredible luck with them (Dell, not Compaq).


*in my best Zathros impression*

Zathros is correct....
Many years of frustration with Dell lead me to same conclusion...
Dell blows.
If I not need Windows box to run some programs it make good boat anchor.
However much love for my Mac Book....

Many thankings to Zathros

*end of Zathros impression*
;)

[Zathros]

They don't even make good boat anchors, no mass, so, no mas! :)

[The-EDSEL]

The Dell has xp Media.
It will Not even boot now
All I get is a screeching noise and No picture on the monitor.
I can't even get it into Safe-Mode
I left it unplugged over night too!!

I was afraid on the wipe/format/re-install.
Yes, I Will get a Smaller H-D to use as ONLY the OS before I re-install.

Where can I get a 20 GB or so SATA H-D for under $25.oo??
10 GB would be fine too. Inexpensive but Quality!!

The Contract was purchased by the person I got the Dell from,
and since he sold it to me did not renew the contract. (Model Kit trades!)
I did not have any $$ to do so myself!!

This is only the second Dell I have had that worked.
the other was a Laptop I was given by the Preacher at the
church next to my house. It only had a 4GB H-D, and the
monitor screen would not light up. I gave it to my former neighbor
and he said even with new parts it never did activate.

As for this Compaq. It is a Desktop I paid $20.oo for at a yardsale.
I had to put Hard-drives in. It has 4 Ram chips and Yes they total only 383 MB!!!
I know one is 64 MB.
You can do the math to count how much the other 3 chips are.
None are over 128 !!!!
I will dig one out to get the label info off them tomorrow before I start it
Yes I would love to replace them, but I do not know of anyplace that still
stocks Ram in the correct format for this PC.

I have another PC That If I could get Up I would
It Was a Home.Custom Build!!
Faster Processor (2.1 or so GHz) this one not even 1.5!!

The Dell is 2.2 and does have 1GB Ram.


I know the Dell is Not looking for another H-D as I shut off the ports.
I turned one on the be able to slave the Old H-D, but shut it off shortly after taking that one out & returning it to Dell.

All it would do was stop at a point stating Port 2/secondary drive Not active/missing.
Afterward it would boot straight through.
I did Not inset a startup password when I changed the ownership during re-install
I can not use any of the H-D's from my other PC's (Mostly HP's) in the Dell as they are all (E)IDE and the Dell is SATA.
I am looking for an external cage that will hold an IDE drive to make one or more an external extra/back-up!!



I have a thumb-drive with xp on it. But I am not sure that will work too well either.

It is Not My OS though. I pick up the Thumb-Drive in my yard. Some one lost it!!

[ashevilleangler]

Dan, This is starting to sound (no pun intended) like a serious hardware issue. Does the "on" light come on at all? If it's the power supply sometimes you can reset them by toggling the 250/125 switch on the back of the PC. Move it forward and back several times to reset it. Leave it in the 125 position. If none of this works you'll need to identify the source of the noise. It may well be a bad capacitor on the motherboard. You can use a cardboard or paper tube to listen to various parts of the PC while it's running to determine where the noise comes from.

Good luck with this thing Dell's are cheaply made as others have noticed.

Curt

[The-EDSEL]

Yes the light does come on.

I can't do anything about the US/Euro Power setting
It is Covered!!

I am learning that dell's are Not all that good
3 years ago when I lost internet at home I used a Dell XPS at the Church
I never had a problem with that one.
Of course, I only used it one day a week, but still.....

I believe I need a new H-D for the Custom PC too. I have the 2 out of it to use as external's on the Dell. But with the Dell Down for the count.....

So faqr I have not owned a New PC. right now, I don't want a new one either.
Not sure what of my XP add-ons will work in micro-Crap's new vista7 os.

I could try the power supply from one of the other PC's, but am not sure they will work as all of them are IDE set up & the Dell is ATA
Yes, I can see even the power ports on the DVD & H-D drives are different!!

Oh, well. Maybe in the next month I can start reading email again!!
(I can't always get Firefox to open on this old Compaq, and even when it does, it seizes
after only a few minutes (Or email messages)!!

[B-Manic]

Sounds like you might need a new power supply. That screeching sound could be the fan in it. You can disconnect it from the motherboard and drive(s). Power on and if you still get that noise you will know that is the problem.

[The-EDSEL]

It Was Hardware, but LOOSE Hardware!!
One of the 2 Ram chips was Loose in its socket!!

Thanks to the Dell tech I talked to earlier today, he said the 3 & 4 lit up on the front face with the Power on light was indicating a Ram error.
(I did not even see those before!!)

He had me take one out and restart the PC. It came on & gave me the start-up page
stopping at the line "memory has changed".
He told me to try to complete startup in Safe mode. I did. I looked for DirectX-9 to see it that was a problem, then shut down,, and started normally.
I have not had a problem yet
Got through 3 days of email in less than 5 hours!!

I have saved most ideas/advice on a wordpad file to be able to check
it again as needed.

Many thanks for all the suggestions every one.

Glad to have a Decent working PC now!
And glad it was such an easy fix!!

Oh, The Service Contract expired due to PC age not that I did not
take over payments after getting it!!
He said Dell only offers them for the First 5 years of a PC's life.
ATM Hobby got this PC in Dec 06!!

Still, it is the only PC I have that takes ATA Hard-Drives.

I need an Exrternal cage for IDE H-D's to use any of my Old PC Drives with this one!

I would like to do that to cut down on all the Duplication/triplication/etc of downloads!!!!

[eric_son]

Nice to hear your pc is back in order.
Just curious --- what was that screeching sound you mentioned? By chance would that have been a continuous BEEEEEEEEEP from the tinny PC speaker?

[Zathros]

You can get a PCI Card really cheap (like $15.00 bucks) that will take to IDE Cards, or buy a dongle for each hard drive (about 15 bucks each), or, buy the "Vantec 66 in 1" Card reader that reads everything, and I mean everything, has power supplies for the hard drives, so you can make the "Hot swappable" through your USB port for $25 bucks at Walmart online. You have many options for this. :)

[Vortex_4200]

All store bought computers are junk as far as I am concerned... that is why I like to build my own!

[The-EDSEL]

I would Love to build my own, but have to go Second Hand so only have 1 Custom PC. Sadly that one is not active. It needs to be checked. last time I tryed it would not boot.

How do you plug in a Hard-Drive to a Card-Reader??

I have 3 unused card ports in the Dell. one was a telephone Modem (WHY Bother!?!!)
I am surprised this one only has a separate Video card and No on-board video port on the motherboard. It is not a hi-tech card though

I do have another question though.
I like driving games, but want a Steering wheel controller.
Where can I get one for a PC??

The Screech was not continuous, but was not a series of Short ones either.

[eric_son]

Hi Dan,

RE: Screech
The reason I asked was that motherboards sometimes outputs some diagnostic sounds when something goes wrong. The Beeeeeeep could have also been a indication of the unseated memory cards.

RE: Steering Wheels
Try this site: Logitech Gaming - Wheels & racing Controllers (http://www.logitech.com/en-us/gaming/wheels)
They're kinda pricey though.

[mtoboll]

For any boot problems, I always keep a thumb drive handy that is set up to boot Ubuntu. (Its easy to do - There are plenty of places to get directions on setting one up - just google bootable linux thumb drive)

I used mine yesterday at work. Machine was powering up but not booting, so I booted it from my flash drive and found the machine was perfect except for the HDD. So disk was replaced.

If the problem turns out that just the OS is corrupt, but the HDD is still sound, then you can usually copy all data from the corrupt drive off onto another thumb or external HDD so the disk can be formatted and reloaded.

Very handy to diagnose things like that.

[softbrick]

I have saved most ideas/advice on a wordpad file to be able to check
it again as needed.



I assume you have a print of the wordpad file. I've seen someone save their PC logon password on a file on the PC, just in case they forget it!!!

[The-EDSEL]

The Error report is not on a Print-out, but it is On a Thumb-drive!!!!
I do have all my Passwords on a Wordpad file, and that is on both PC's & the Thumb-drive
I use to transfer data between PC's!!
Started using that when I had to go to the Library, then Church to go on-line!!

I did not set this dell to have a Log-in password!
It Did have a Log-in, (was just former owners name & a blank area in Password box)
but I did not re do it when I replaced the original H-D.

This way, I just hit the power button, and it does everything automatically.

I had to Format & install everything myself, as the Dell Tech decided to go that route
instead of Pre-installing everything to get me the new drive faster.
I had the drive the day after setting it up!!
All it cost me was trying to return the old Drive!
They supplied a FedEx label, the replaced that with a UPS one!!
(No local FedEx office/storefront!)

Doug at ATM Hobby has not said they have charged his account yet,
so by now I believe they won't.

[Zathros]

I have linux program that loads off a CD and erases all passwords on any machine, Administrator (the only one your need, and the sub accounts). Passwords are for people who don't know better. You cannot password protect a machine. Most people don't set a password on the admnistrative account of their machine, not realizing the are working on a sub account.

[Vortex_4200]

check amazon.com for a steering wheel for the computer, you can sometimes get a good price on one.

[The-EDSEL]

Sorry, The Info from everyone I have saved to Wordpad is on
the Thumb-drive too!!

Need to go back a page or 2 every time to make sure I am
caught up completely!!

I set my name as Owner, so how do I get That account as
both Owner/user & Admin???

Plus, in this case, I had No picture to the Monitor. No matter what I used to Boot from, I would Not had gotten a Boot-up, but the same problem!!

ps. I don't "gargle", 'Gurgle', whatever, anything!
I search through Yahoo.
I don't log in to my YouTube account anymore either.
(Actually Can't as the Original ID & Password are Dumped for 'G' ID)
I use to have a garglemail account, but Dumped that when I lost my
YouTube account
(lost a lot of contact info too, but....Good riddance gargle!)

My email accounts are only Yahoo, Inbox & "MAIL".com (notice No 'g' there)
Browsers are Firefox Portable 8 or 9, & maxthon3

Only part I don't like about Max is it does not have an Import/export in Bookmarks/Favorites!!
It Does have an Easy bookmarker those
Any folder you make in Bookmarks shows on the Favorites bar,
just click one & "Add to this Folder"
I have 4 Full Columns Just in the paper Models bookmark Folder.
Also there are 4 pages of Quick connect fav's too.

added 4 Steering Wheel controllers to my amazon Wish List
ALL under $75.oo!!!!

2 usb Plug-n-Play under $50.oo!!!!!

[murphyaa]

Do you happen to have a Fry's electronics or maybe a small computer store nearby? They'll have steering wheels and external hard drive adapters.

[The-EDSEL]

only Private/one-off places here, and all start at repair work and also sell stuff.

Another one I have never heard of

[murphyaa]

That might work. I got am external hard drive adapter at a small used computer store in Joplin Missouri.

[The-EDSEL]

Just have to have time, Cash, and Remember to stop at one or more of them as I am out shopping!