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PC not well

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 1:05 pm
by FlyingKiwi
Hi geeks!
went to start up the PC (XP, service pack 3)this morning but no go. First attempt no power on PC. Turn wall switch off/on then try PC and power to it.
So I hit the go button and the screen, which has been playing up for months goes all silvery coloured. Turn that off and on and it's ok, then the PC boots as far as the bar thingy with the green bits loading then sits there. Nothing. Turn it off and on again and get the"failed to start up " message so start it in Safe mode. I've saved my docs to the external hard drive, loaded the recovery disc which goes as far as "starting system recovery" then sits there ? how long should I let it sit. From memory it should do it's thing straight away! any suggestions?

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:55 pm
by FlyingKiwi
Well it's going again. still confused. In the end I read the manual :smt003 and the first bit says to disconnect plug from wall and hold PC "on" button for 30secs. Thought it was a waste of time but tried anyway and it worked. very strange :smt017
After I'd been given permission to purchase, and spent all afternoon looking at, new PC's :smt011

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 8:25 pm
by Aladinsaneuk
shhh

don't tell her!

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:09 pm
by Firestarter
Think I've got a fix for your problem -

12lb sledge hammer. That'll teach it to start working again :smt003

Posted: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:34 pm
by D-Rider
Firestarter wrote:Think I've got a fix for your problem -

12lb sledge hammer. That'll teach it to start working again :smt003
Reminds me of my dad's best friend who worked in the early days of the electronics industry.
Within his toolbox he had a Radio Engineers Valve Testing Hammer. If you were unsure whether a valve was working you could test it with this special hammer - with a judicial tap. The status of the valve was then known for certain.

:smt002

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 9:23 am
by Gio
I've had black screen syndrome after upgrading to service pack 3.

I think Microcrap has put a bug in it.

Anyway its all working now I've uninstalled it.

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 10:20 am
by FlyingKiwi
played up again this morning.
After turning on power at wall switch, the pc on button was dead.
Turned off at wall, held pc button in for 30 sec, then tried again and all well again?
Might get a new PC yet :smt003
Anyone got an Aldi (medion) one :smt017

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:15 pm
by Aladinsaneuk
look at the machines at tescos online - some nice bargains there for about 500 quid including 22 inch screen

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 12:56 pm
by D-Rider
I'm wondering whether your power supply is on the way out. Certainly failing PSUs have caused me a range of errors in the past.


Oh and if it was booting to where the green bars show .... you've backdated to before service pack 2 - they went blue at that point
:smt005

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 6:42 pm
by Fausto
A ggeky type was telling me that S/P 3 doesn't like something or other on my computer. I just can't remember what !

Could it be AMD processors ? Is that what yours are ?

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 7:54 pm
by FlyingKiwi
A quick look on the System properties shows SP 3 and an Intel processor.

Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 8:26 pm
by Aladinsaneuk
suggest that you install sisoft sandra - from www.sisoft.com - free version will tell you a lot about the system, and may well tell you what driver updates are needed