PC is crashing...what to do?

[The Fred]

If you do determine that your CPU is overheating.. and I doubt that will be the case,

But if it is,

Make sure you get a good heatsink.. copper or at least copper core.

Forget fancy looks you need the right metal and the right design.

Clean all of the old grease off real well and don't go overboard with the new grease.. I think they make grease with silver in it, that stuff use to cut 10F from my cpu

[BodybyFisher]

First check to see if you have an app that will provide you with the CPU temps that came with your machine. Check the Compaq/HP site and see if they have an APP that will provide your CPU temps.

BIOS, in computing, stands for Basic Input/Output System also incorrectly known as Basic Integrated Operating System. BIOS refers to the software code run by a computer when first powered on. The primary function of BIOS is to prepare the machine so other software programs stored on various media (such as hard drives, floppies, and CDs) can load, execute, and assume control of the computer. This process is known as booting up.

BIOS can also be said to be a coded program embedded on a chip that recognises and controls various devices that make up the computer. The term BIOS is specific to personal computer vendors. Among other classes of computers, the generic terms boot monitor, boot loader or boot ROM are commonly used.

While the name BIOS is an acronym, it may also be a play on the Greek word βίος (bios), meaning life. The term first appeared in the CP/M operating system, describing the part of CP/M loaded during boot time that interfaced directly with the hardware (CP/M machines usually had a simple boot loader in ROM, and nothing else). Most versions of DOS have a file called "IBMBIO.COM" or "IO.SYS" that is analogous to the CP/M disk BIOS

Typically as your system boots if you hold down F1 according to this site on HP its F1.. See this on your computer. If you click FAQ, then BIOS setup, you will find info to help you.. However, I looked through your BIOS screens and I dont notice that it reports CPU temp.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product...ng=en&cc=us

See this on the HP site regarding overheating (restarts)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...=en&lang=en

[Rickster]

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

[epricedright]

Here's my question again holding me up now:

Ok, I have it on CD, put it in the bad pc, and when I click on it, my DVD Decrypter program comes up (that's the program I normally use for burning DVD's that are ISO files). So I go to "open with", what program should I use to open this file you think?

Jim, did you get my message with my email. Maybe that ISO file is incomplete? It's 1.75 MB.

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

I have tried to restore to an earlier date and it wouldn't. I tried all the dates possible. It used to be able to restore, but not now. Whenever I run the virus check, half way through, the pc shuts off and restarts...FUN!!!

[Rickster]

Here's my question again holding me up now:

Ok, I have it on CD, put it in the bad pc, and when I click on it, my DVD Decrypter program comes up (that's the program I normally use for burning DVD's that are ISO files). So I go to "open with", what program should I use to open this file you think?

Jim, did you get my message with my email. Maybe that ISO file is incomplete? It's 1.75 MB.

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

I have tried to restore to an earlier date and it wouldn't. I tried all the dates possible. It used to be able to restore, but not now. Whenever I run the virus check, half way through, the pc shuts off and restarts...FUN!!!

Saddam shame. I hate paying someone to fix a problem that I can do myself with a cigar and a good scotch. Sometimes it takes a few cigars and dam near the whole bottle. Good luck.

Rick

[epricedright]

I do pc support for a major US bank that has a lot of Compaq's. I agree with running MEMTEST. If it is rebooting instead of locking up, there is a very good chance it is a memory problem. That would also explain why you can't do a restore.

I wouldn't think overheating would cause it to not be able to restore, or would it? Maybe it is my RAM?

I will open it up tomorrow. I'm beat. That memtest not working is bugging me though...too much time in it to give up now.

First check to see if you have an app that will provide you with the CPU temps that came with your machine. Check the Compaq/HP site and see if they have an APP that will provide your CPU temps.

BIOS, in computing, stands for Basic Input/Output System also incorrectly known as Basic Integrated Operating System. BIOS refers to the software code run by a computer when first powered on. The primary function of BIOS is to prepare the machine so other software programs stored on various media (such as hard drives, floppies, and CDs) can load, execute, and assume control of the computer. This process is known as booting up.

BIOS can also be said to be a coded program embedded on a chip that recognises and controls various devices that make up the computer. The term BIOS is specific to personal computer vendors. Among other classes of computers, the generic terms boot monitor, boot loader or boot ROM are commonly used.

While the name BIOS is an acronym, it may also be a play on the Greek word βίος (bios), meaning life. The term first appeared in the CP/M operating system, describing the part of CP/M loaded during boot time that interfaced directly with the hardware (CP/M machines usually had a simple boot loader in ROM, and nothing else). Most versions of DOS have a file called "IBMBIO.COM" or "IO.SYS" that is analogous to the CP/M disk BIOS

Typically as your system boots if you hold down F1 according to this site on HP its F1.. See this on your computer. If you click FAQ, then BIOS setup, you will find info to help you.. However, I looked through your BIOS screens and I dont notice that it reports CPU temp.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product...ng=en&cc=us

See this on the HP site regarding overheating (restarts)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documen...=en〈=en

Thanks Mike! Good stuff!

[Rickster]

Here's my question again holding me up now:

Ok, I have it on CD, put it in the bad pc, and when I click on it, my DVD Decrypter program comes up (that's the program I normally use for burning DVD's that are ISO files). So I go to "open with", what program should I use to open this file you think?

Jim, did you get my message with my email. Maybe that ISO file is incomplete? It's 1.75 MB.

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

I have tried to restore to an earlier date and it wouldn't. I tried all the dates possible. It used to be able to restore, but not now. Whenever I run the virus check, half way through, the pc shuts off and restarts...FUN!!!

Saddam shame. I hate paying someone to fix a problem that I can do myself with a cigar and a good scotch. Sometimes it takes a few cigars and dam near the whole bottle. Good luck.

Rick

Just another thought that I have done before. Unplug the computer, disconnect everything and pretend it is a new machine. This has worked for me before. Computers are like women. Take a step back and start again. If this doesn't work, remember punching in the info works every time. LOL

[epricedright]

If you do determine that your CPU is overheating.. and I doubt that will be the case,

But if it is,

Make sure you get a good heatsink.. copper or at least copper core.

Forget fancy looks you need the right metal and the right design.

Clean all of the old grease off real well and don't go overboard with the new grease.. I think they make grease with silver in it, that stuff use to cut 10F from my cpu

Will do. I'm hoping to invest zero dollars in this jalopy though. I bet it's really dusty inside and the overheating fried my RAM AND Video card.

Here's my question again holding me up now:

Ok, I have it on CD, put it in the bad pc, and when I click on it, my DVD Decrypter program comes up (that's the program I normally use for burning DVD's that are ISO files). So I go to "open with", what program should I use to open this file you think?

Jim, did you get my message with my email. Maybe that ISO file is incomplete? It's 1.75 MB.

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

I have tried to restore to an earlier date and it wouldn't. I tried all the dates possible. It used to be able to restore, but not now. Whenever I run the virus check, half way through, the pc shuts off and restarts...FUN!!!

Saddam shame. I hate paying someone to fix a problem that I can do myself with a cigar and a good scotch. Sometimes it takes a few cigars and dam near the whole bottle. Good luck.

Rick

Just another thought that I have done before. Unplug the computer, disconnect everything and pretend it is a new machine. This has worked for me before. Computers are like women. Take a step back and start again. If this doesn't work, remember punching in the info works every time. LOL

Punching in the info? You'll have to excuse me tonight, I'm brain dead and beat.

[Rickster]

If you do determine that your CPU is overheating.. and I doubt that will be the case,

But if it is,

Make sure you get a good heatsink.. copper or at least copper core.

Forget fancy looks you need the right metal and the right design.

Clean all of the old grease off real well and don't go overboard with the new grease.. I think they make grease with silver in it, that stuff use to cut 10F from my cpu

Will do. I'm hoping to invest zero dollars in this jalopy though. I bet it's really dusty inside and the overheating fried my RAM AND Video card.

Here's my question again holding me up now:

Ok, I have it on CD, put it in the bad pc, and when I click on it, my DVD Decrypter program comes up (that's the program I normally use for burning DVD's that are ISO files). So I go to "open with", what program should I use to open this file you think?

Jim, did you get my message with my email. Maybe that ISO file is incomplete? It's 1.75 MB.

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

I have tried to restore to an earlier date and it wouldn't. I tried all the dates possible. It used to be able to restore, but not now. Whenever I run the virus check, half way through, the pc shuts off and restarts...FUN!!!

Saddam shame. I hate paying someone to fix a problem that I can do myself with a cigar and a good scotch. Sometimes it takes a few cigars and dam near the whole bottle. Good luck.

Rick

Just another thought that I have done before. Unplug the computer, disconnect everything and pretend it is a new machine. This has worked for me before. Computers are like women. Take a step back and start again. If this doesn't work, remember punching in the info works every time. LOL

Punching in the info? You'll have to excuse me tonight, I'm brain dead and beat.

It's an old joke. The similarities between a woman and a computer. You have to punch in the information. LOL

I would just unplug everything before you go to bed, then in The AM, start like a new system. Worth a try.

Rick

[epricedright]

If you do determine that your CPU is overheating.. and I doubt that will be the case,

But if it is,

Make sure you get a good heatsink.. copper or at least copper core.

Forget fancy looks you need the right metal and the right design.

Clean all of the old grease off real well and don't go overboard with the new grease.. I think they make grease with silver in it, that stuff use to cut 10F from my cpu

Will do. I'm hoping to invest zero dollars in this jalopy though. I bet it's really dusty inside and the overheating fried my RAM AND Video card.

Here's my question again holding me up now:

Ok, I have it on CD, put it in the bad pc, and when I click on it, my DVD Decrypter program comes up (that's the program I normally use for burning DVD's that are ISO files). So I go to "open with", what program should I use to open this file you think?

Jim, did you get my message with my email. Maybe that ISO file is incomplete? It's 1.75 MB.

Like Texas Jim said. Reboot in safe mode. Then restore to a date that your computer as working properly. Then run diagnostics. Virus scan, spy scan, and all the others people are suggesting, ect. I beleive you hit F12 as soon as you get a screen. Then choose safe start. Then restore to a date that works. You can do it yourself. Done it many times. Have kids.

Rick

I have tried to restore to an earlier date and it wouldn't. I tried all the dates possible. It used to be able to restore, but not now. Whenever I run the virus check, half way through, the pc shuts off and restarts...FUN!!!

Saddam shame. I hate paying someone to fix a problem that I can do myself with a cigar and a good scotch. Sometimes it takes a few cigars and dam near the whole bottle. Good luck.

Rick

Just another thought that I have done before. Unplug the computer, disconnect everything and pretend it is a new machine. This has worked for me before. Computers are like women. Take a step back and start again. If this doesn't work, remember punching in the info works every time. LOL

Punching in the info? You'll have to excuse me tonight, I'm brain dead and beat.

It's an old joke. The similarities between a woman and a computer. You have to punch in the information. LOL

I would just unplug everything before you go to bed, then in The AM, start like a new system. Worth a try.

Rick

OK, gotcha! I may just throw it in the lake out back before I go to bed. What a PITA this pc has been since day 1. It originally had Win ME...need I say more. 3 complete system restores (started from scratch ) before XP came out and I upgraded. Compaq/HP will never get my business again. That I promise you!

[Rickster]

I hear ya. Good luck.

BTW. It seems if a system is older than a few years, the problems are not worth it. I have an older IBM with WIN 2000 and it is a PITA. It is a backup for us. PITA just to keep up to date. My self, I but the best available when I need a new mahine and it will useally last 3 to 4 years. After that, ...............

Rick

[Marika]

I have a Compaq 7110 US 1.3 Ghz AMD Athlon w/ XP desktop that is crashing. It has crashed atleast 6 times and twice I had the blue screen that said: A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your PC. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

The Microsoft Online Crash Analysis said system has recovered from a serious error. Error caused by device driver. A device driver installed on your computer caused the windows operating system to stop unexpectedly, this type of error is referred to as a "stop error". Another time the Crash analysis said something about it could be bad ram, hard drive, power supply and a couple other things....can't recall. The crash analysis has never said 'definitively' what is causing this.

The message tells me that you have an Interrupt Request - IRQ problem, in other words, there's a hardware conflict somewhere in the system. Microsoft support says it can be a hardware or driver conflict.

Go to your control panel, then to System, then click on the Hardware tab. Once hardware is open, go to the top and under View choose Resources by type and check off display hidden devices. Then, expand the Interrupt Request - IRQ list and take a look at all the devices that have PCI listed. Let me know if you see anything strange. Also take a look at Direct Memory Access - DMA, and make sure there's nothing wrong in that list as well. Then, switch the view back to devices and let me know if you have any items that show a question mark or other event that highlights it in the list. Two or more devices can share an IRQ, BUT, there has to be PCI steering installed on the system to make sure the two devices don't make a call to the system memory at the same time or the system will crash. If you have two devices not getting along and PCI steering is not controlling them properly, it will crash the system. You can change device IRQ numbers in order to get the two devices 'away from each other' so they don't conflict.

You should also check your device drivers to make sure they are all signed by Microsoft and certified. If you find any that are not, download the latest drivers to replace them. You can check driver signing on that same Hardware tab under system.

Let me know what you find.

[epricedright]

Speaking of overheating...does anyone else leave their PC's on 24/7? Does it harm them? I heard it didn't. I have done that since day 1 with the Compaq, but look what's going on. I also leave one of my laptops on 24/7. The monitor is set to shut off after 45 minutes, but the hibernation, hard drive, and system standby is set at "never" while it's plugged in. Is that bad for it you think?

[Rickster]

My understanding is that is better to leave it on 24/7. Do I do that? No. Just old school I guess.

[epricedright]

I have a Compaq 7110 US 1.3 Ghz AMD Athlon w/ XP desktop that is crashing. It has crashed atleast 6 times and twice I had the blue screen that said: A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your PC. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

The Microsoft Online Crash Analysis said system has recovered from a serious error. Error caused by device driver. A device driver installed on your computer caused the windows operating system to stop unexpectedly, this type of error is referred to as a "stop error". Another time the Crash analysis said something about it could be bad ram, hard drive, power supply and a couple other things....can't recall. The crash analysis has never said 'definitively' what is causing this.

The message tells me that you have an Interrupt Request - IRQ problem, in other words, there's a hardware conflict somewhere in the system. Microsoft support says it can be a hardware or driver conflict.

Go to your control panel, then to System, then click on the Hardware tab. Once hardware is open, go to the top and under View choose Resources by type and check off display hidden devices. Then, expand the Interrupt Request - IRQ list and take a look at all the devices that have PCI listed. Let me know if you see anything strange. Also take a look at Direct Memory Access - DMA, and make sure there's nothing wrong in that list as well. Then, switch the view back to devices and let me know if you have any items that show a question mark or other event that highlights it in the list. Two or more devices can share an IRQ, BUT, there has to be PCI steering installed on the system to make sure the two devices don't make a call to the system memory at the same time or the system will crash. If you have two devices not getting along and PCI steering is not controlling them properly, it will crash the system. You can change device IRQ numbers in order to get the two devices 'away from each other' so they don't conflict.

You should also check your device drivers to make sure they are all signed by Microsoft and certified. If you find any that are not, download the latest drivers to replace them. You can check driver signing on that same Hardware tab under system.

Let me know what you find.

Thanks Marika! I'll do that tomorrow and post my findings.

[The Fred]

Speaking of overheating...does anyone else leave their PC's on 24/7? Does it harm them? I heard it didn't. I have done that since day 1 with the Compaq, but look what's going on. I also leave one of my laptops on 24/7. The monitor is set to shut off after 45 minutes, but the hibernation, hard drive, and system standby is set at "never" while it's plugged in. Is that bad for it you think?

It's alot better for your machine to just leave it on..

Monitors like to cool down... but powering up and shutting down a drive shortens the life of it.

I have a Compaq 7110 US 1.3 Ghz AMD Athlon w/ XP desktop that is crashing. It has crashed atleast 6 times and twice I had the blue screen that said: A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your PC. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

The Microsoft Online Crash Analysis said system has recovered from a serious error. Error caused by device driver. A device driver installed on your computer caused the windows operating system to stop unexpectedly, this type of error is referred to as a "stop error". Another time the Crash analysis said something about it could be bad ram, hard drive, power supply and a couple other things....can't recall. The crash analysis has never said 'definitively' what is causing this.

The message tells me that you have an Interrupt Request - IRQ problem, in other words, there's a hardware conflict somewhere in the system. Microsoft support says it can be a hardware or driver conflict.

Go to your control panel, then to System, then click on the Hardware tab. Once hardware is open, go to the top and under View choose Resources by type and check off display hidden devices. Then, expand the Interrupt Request - IRQ list and take a look at all the devices that have PCI listed. Let me know if you see anything strange. Also take a look at Direct Memory Access - DMA, and make sure there's nothing wrong in that list as well. Then, switch the view back to devices and let me know if you have any items that show a question mark or other event that highlights it in the list. Two or more devices can share an IRQ, BUT, there has to be PCI steering installed on the system to make sure the two devices don't make a call to the system memory at the same time or the system will crash. If you have two devices not getting along and PCI steering is not controlling them properly, it will crash the system. You can change device IRQ numbers in order to get the two devices 'away from each other' so they don't conflict.

You should also check your device drivers to make sure they are all signed by Microsoft and certified. If you find any that are not, download the latest drivers to replace them. You can check driver signing on that same Hardware tab under system.

Let me know what you find.

Sorry about that I just had assumed that he had already done that..

Not all conflicts show themselves outside of the symptom itself though..

[Marika]

I leave my computer on 24/7. Doesn't hurt it at all. Leaving a computer on goes back to the old school days when system boards also got hot when a computer was turned on. The boards got hot and the solder got hot and if you turned the computer on and off, you would cause the solder or even the board to eventually crack because of the hot/cold changes in the system. Nowadays, turning a computer off doesn't hurt it but you can leave a computer on 24/7.

[epricedright]

I have a Compaq 7110 US 1.3 Ghz AMD Athlon w/ XP desktop that is crashing. It has crashed atleast 6 times and twice I had the blue screen that said: A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your PC. IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

The Microsoft Online Crash Analysis said system has recovered from a serious error. Error caused by device driver. A device driver installed on your computer caused the windows operating system to stop unexpectedly, this type of error is referred to as a "stop error". Another time the Crash analysis said something about it could be bad ram, hard drive, power supply and a couple other things....can't recall. The crash analysis has never said 'definitively' what is causing this.

The message tells me that you have an Interrupt Request - IRQ problem, in other words, there's a hardware conflict somewhere in the system. Microsoft support says it can be a hardware or driver conflict.

Go to your control panel, then to System, then click on the Hardware tab. Once hardware is open, go to the top and under View choose Resources by type and check off display hidden devices. Then, expand the Interrupt Request - IRQ list and take a look at all the devices that have PCI listed. Let me know if you see anything strange. Also take a look at Direct Memory Access - DMA, and make sure there's nothing wrong in that list as well. Then, switch the view back to devices and let me know if you have any items that show a question mark or other event that highlights it in the list. Two or more devices can share an IRQ, BUT, there has to be PCI steering installed on the system to make sure the two devices don't make a call to the system memory at the same time or the system will crash. If you have two devices not getting along and PCI steering is not controlling them properly, it will crash the system. You can change device IRQ numbers in order to get the two devices 'away from each other' so they don't conflict.

You should also check your device drivers to make sure they are all signed by Microsoft and certified. If you find any that are not, download the latest drivers to replace them. You can check driver signing on that same Hardware tab under system.

Let me know what you find.

Thanks Marika! I'll do that tomorrow and post my findings.

Under Direct Memory Access (DMA), it says: 4 Direct Memmory Access Controller, when I double click that, it says no drivers are installed for this device. Under the driver details, a box popped up and said no driver files are required or have been loaded for this device. There's a box that says Update Drivers. Should I update the drivers? **While looking at that screen, the pc restarted on it's own again and now it's checking file system.**

I haven't checked the other items yet...waiting on reboot.

[JimHare]

Under Direct Memory Access (DMA), it says: 4 Direct Memmory Access Controller, when I double click that, it says no drivers are installed for this device. Under the driver details, a box popped up and said no driver files are required or have been loaded for this device. There's a box that says Update Drivers. Should I update the drivers? **While looking at that screen, the pc restarted on it's own again and now it's checking file system.**

I haven't checked the other items yet...waiting on reboot.

One more cook to spoil this broth...

Yes, I think you SHOULD have a DMA controller loading somewhere in there - based on the responses from all the others, I'm tending towards a RAM error, with a bad video card running a close second.

If you remove the RAM sticks, rub a pencil eraser along the gold contacts, clean well, and reseat - try one stick at a time, letting it boot normally. If you get a crash, pull that stick, and try another. This should either point out the bad stick(s), or eliminate RAM as a cause of failure. If they all fail, or if using any or all of them still causes the crash, then pull the video card and try a known good one.

I have a Compaq Presario SR1550NX, purchased 08/05 and pretty much leave it on 24x7, but I make sure that it gets plenty of air.

Dust and dirt are bad guys, so a semi-annual cleaning is recommended if you are in a dusty or cruddy area - pet hair, dryer lint, feathers, and moose down are all easily sucked into the fan.

Oh, and another thing - in my 25+ years of wrestling with these Bast**rds, I've found that Power Supplies are also prone to failure - I bet I've replaced 30 of them in my time....

[Marika]

Thanks Marika! I'll do that tomorrow and post my findings.

Under Direct Memory Access (DMA), it says: 4 Direct Memmory Access Controller, when I double click that, it says no drivers are installed for this device. Under the driver details, a box popped up and said no driver files are required or have been loaded for this device. There's a box that says Update Drivers. Should I update the drivers? **While looking at that screen, the pc restarted on it's own again and now it's checking file system.**

I haven't checked the other items yet...waiting on reboot.

No drivers are installed for this device is fine. It should be that way for DMA 4 because it's the system controller. What about the interrupt requests? Do you see anything fishy going on there?

[epricedright]

ok, I just checked some other things, and typed a whole BUNCH of crap, and hit a button by mistake and everything i typed went *poof* gone. Undo would not work either. I'm pissed! Need to go for a walk before I throw this piece of crap in the lake.

[Marika]

You wouldn't by chance be using a Logitech mouse would you? Some of their drivers are notorious for causing IRQ problems. Where is your mouse in the IRQ table anyway? Is your mouse occupying an IRQ or is it a USB mouse that's plugged into a USB port in which case it shouldn't appear in the IRQ table.

[epricedright]

While viewing devices by type- I see the floppy disk drive has an exclamation point. When I double click that, it says windows located the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device (code 41). The floppy hasn't worked for atleast a year now. I attempted trouble shooting that last year and came to the conclusion it was dead.

Under network adaptors the 1394 net adaptor is disabled- (red x). I'm using the SMZ EZ card 10/100 PCI and under smart card readers, the visa usb smart card reader is disabled- (red x)

While viewing Resource by type, under the MEMORY section:

[00000000-0009FFFF] system board, no driver installed

[000E0000-000FFFF] system board, no device driver

[00100000-27FFFFFF] system board, no device driver

[FEC00000-FEC00FFF] advanced programable interrupt controller- no device driver

[FFF80000-FFFFFFFF] system board

Under Interrupt Request (IRQ)

(PCI) 11 PSP56 micromodem #2

(PCI) 11 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

(PCI) 11 VIA Rec 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

Those 3 items above were the only things that looked unfamiliar. The Drivers were working for all the PCI devices. Nothing really fishy that I could tell.

Also under IRQ, the:

(ISA) 13 Numeric Data Processor- double click, has no drivers installed

(ISA) 0 system timer- also has no drivers assigned.

You wouldn't by chance be using a Logitech mouse would you? Some of their drivers are notorious for causing IRQ problems. Where is your mouse in the IRQ table anyway? Is your mouse occupying an IRQ or is it a USB mouse that's plugged into a USB port in which case it shouldn't appear in the IRQ table.

I'm using a cordless Microsoft mouse.

Under IRQ:

(ISA) 12 Microsoft PS/2 port mouse (intellipoint)

[Marika]

While viewing devices by type- I see the floppy disk drive has an exclamation point. When I double click that, it says windows located the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device (code 41). The floppy hasn't worked for atleast a year now. I attempted trouble shooting that last year and came to the conclusion it was dead.

Under network adaptors the 1394 net adaptor is disabled- (red x). I'm using the SMZ EZ card 10/100 PCI and under smart card readers, the visa usb smart card reader is disabled- (red x)

While viewing Resource by type, under the MEMORY section:

[00000000-0009FFFF] system board, no driver installed

[000E0000-000FFFF] system board, no device driver

[00100000-27FFFFFF] system board, no device driver

[FEC00000-FEC00FFF] advanced programable interrupt controller- no device driver

[FFF80000-FFFFFFFF] system board

Under Interrupt Request (IRQ)

(PCI) 11 PSP56 micromodem #2

(PCI) 11 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

(PCI) 11 VIA Rec 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller

Those 3 items above were the only things that looked unfamiliar. The Drivers were working for all the PCI devices. Nothing really fishy that I could tell.

Also under IRQ, the:

(ISA) 13 Numeric Data Processor- double click, has no drivers installed

(ISA) 0 system timer- also has no drivers assigned.

You wouldn't by chance be using a Logitech mouse would you? Some of their drivers are notorious for causing IRQ problems. Where is your mouse in the IRQ table anyway? Is your mouse occupying an IRQ or is it a USB mouse that's plugged into a USB port in which case it shouldn't appear in the IRQ table.

I'm using a cordless Microsoft mouse.

Under IRQ:

(ISA) 12 Microsoft PS/2 port mouse (intellipoint)

Can you switch to a wired mouse and let me know what happens? I'll check out the rest of the stuff in a while, I think I see a conflict but I'm not sure.

In the meanwhile, switch to a wired mouse.

As for the floppy drive, if it's not working, go into the system BIOS and disable it in the BIOS so that the system stops looking for it.

The modem might be in conflict with the USB controller. Try changing the modem to IRQ 21, that's usually where a modem belongs. but don't do it just yet. FIRST do the mouse, switch it over to a wired mouse and see if that solves the problem. Turn off the floppy drive in the system BIOS as well. Change the modem IRQ ONLY after you've determined that changing the mouse over and disabling the floppy in the BIOS does not solve the problem.

Let me know what happens.

[epricedright]

Ok, BAD NEWS! I just opened it up and it was VERY dusty. The power supply inlet holes were clogged and the CPU fan and heat sink was filthy. I vacuumed it out, and blew with compressed air. I removed the video card and cleaned the contacts with rubbing alcohol and replaced. I removed the 2 RAM chips and cleaned the contacts off and replaced them. I then plugged in the power supply to check to see if all the fans were working without hooking anything else up and it came on for a minute, then shut itself off. I then plugged everything in, and was prompted if I wanted to start windows normally,I clicked yes, it started to boot, did the check disk, I saw the Windows XP screen and then the video monitor screen started flickering and then immediately shut off. Before when it crashed, it would restart itself, but now it just shuts off. Well it looks like I have a new boat anchor. Whatever I did made it worse. I'm thinking either the power supply is fried or the video card is worse now, maybe by me handling it or vacuuming it? Maybe the RAM too? I guess I should have booted it up in safe mode, but I'm not comfortable in that mode. I tried to be very careful doing everything, so I'm at a loss here.

How much are power supplies?

btw, the CPU heat sink appeared to be aluminum and the CPU fan had ball bearings.

The vacuum I used was an Omega and looks identical to the 3M the techs use. It cost me around $75 used and it's supposed to be safe for pc's. That was the first time I've used it since purchasing it 2 years ago. I'd say it's been atleast 2 yrs+ since I had it professionally cleaned.

It seems something's fried. Can we trouble shoot it any further w/o throwng much money at it? Or should I plan on stripping it (keep the 160 gig HD and DVD burner - scrap the 60 gig HD) for my next desktop and throw it in the lake?

Can I take out the video card and run it in safe mode to see if that's the main problem?