Is something dying?

Printable View

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page

22nd February 2010, 05:53 PM
DeanoH

Quote:

Originally Posted by dullbird

Thanks Deano thats great...

.....................last time I did it the comp took 2 Dvd's I reckon it will take more as it is much fuller...

Crikey DB thats a hell of a lot of data. You don't need to back up programs such as Widows, Office, Picasa etc, just the information they contain such as pics, documents and the such. No point in backing up these programs as they need to be installed, can't just copy over.
Xp has a handy backup tool in all programs, accessories, system tools, file and settings transfer wizard.:)
If your ext HDD is failing 'delayed write' try checking leads and if it's a non ext powered USB version try dual USB cable, or ext power, as it may need more power than 1 USB port can supply. Definitely don't use via hub. If nothing important on it try re-formatting.:)
As a general observation. It's not a good idea to rely on non 'permanent' media such as USB keys or ext HDD's to backup important data. They are designed to transport data not as a relable backup. eg. HDD's have moving parts, it's not a matter of will they fail but when will they fail.
Hope some of this helps.

Deano:)
22nd February 2010, 07:33 PM
loanrangie

Quote:

Originally Posted by dullbird

well dont really like Mac's and after paying 2grand for it I would like o fix it:)

DB they saw you coming -2K :eek:.
22nd February 2010, 07:45 PM
dullbird

Quote:

Originally Posted by loanrangie

DB they saw you coming -2K :eek:.

Maybe I was but I don't see Dave as someone that would rip someone off....

To my knowledge he used good quailty parts...I guess parts cost money

I had software in that mix too....actually that might give you a better idea of how old the comp is as vista had not long been released
16th March 2010, 06:16 PM
gavcan01

Heya.

I repair computers for a living and do a fair bit of diags ect and number 1 thing to do before any software diag is to make sure your hardware is ok.

First clean out your dust check for popped capacitors which is common in older pc's newer mobo's have solid caps. They tend to popoff close to the cpu.

If you have a popped cap your mobo is almost certainly not performing stable and will be found out by the mem and cpu tests.

If there are no busted caps continue with the rest...

Once cleaned reseat your ram, and cpu if you want and use some heat transfer paste to reseat your cpu cooler.

1. Test memory with memtest. (one pass is usually enough but overnight is to be sure.
2. Stress test CPU with an app like prime95 (usually 12 hours) Watch your temp as cpu is 100%, try to run it in running environment so with side covers on ect.
3. Test you HDD with spinrite or mhdd. Try not to use the simple smart tests as these cannot find sector level faults sometimes.
Google these apps theres a tonne of info.

This is a basic mobo, cpu, ram, hdd but obviously if you have gfx card, modem card you need to check these indivudially by installing one at a time after initial tests.

Once you pass hardware look for software probs.

cheerio
16th March 2010, 06:35 PM
dullbird

Hi Thanks for the info

however the comp has not missed a beat for a couple of weeks now it just started being fine again...

I'm going to sit down and check it for dust etc anyway..but last time I went in to check my wireless card it was pretty clean

I'm now wondering whether it could of just been a software conflict of some sort that has sorted its self out or just a bug somewhere
16th March 2010, 06:48 PM
gavcan01

No drams dullbird,

Just remember to check for busted capacitors when you clean out rest of dust. :)
Also windblows software updates can cause problems then in the next round of updates fix them so thats not hard to believe it fixed itself.
16th March 2010, 09:27 PM
Bushie

Quote:

Originally Posted by dullbird

Thanks Deano thats great...

I have every intention to back up before playing but I'm going to need some DVD's last time I did it the comp took 2 Dvd's I reckon it will take more as it is much fuller...

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeanoH

Crikey DB thats a hell of a lot of data.

Deano:)

I'd love to be able to back up my data drive to "a couple of DVDs"

120gig of photos alone, plus music (pulled from vinyl) , maps (scanned) , etc. that I've collected some of it I would have a lot of trouble re-creating.

Martyn
17th March 2010, 07:21 AM
gavcan01

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bushie

I'd love to be able to back up my data drive to "a couple of DVDs"

120gig of photos alone, plus music (pulled from vinyl) , maps (scanned) , etc. that I've collected some of it I would have a lot of trouble re-creating.

Martyn

With DVD/cd the trouble is once you verify your backup it still only has a shelf life of 5 years max providing its stored correctly and good media brand is used.
Best bet for backups is an external hdd, or depending on your budget a NAS which some models have 2 disks for redundancy. HDD's are cheap these days theres no cheaper price per gb for storage than hdd, and when put them in a NAS in raid 1 config you have a worry free backup solution.
17th March 2010, 08:09 PM
George130

Quote:

Originally Posted by gavcan01

With DVD/cd the trouble is once you verify your backup it still only has a shelf life of 5 years max providing its stored correctly and good media brand is used.
Best bet for backups is an external hdd, or depending on your budget a NAS which some models have 2 disks for redundancy. HDD's are cheap these days theres no cheaper price per gb for storage than hdd, and when put them in a NAS in raid 1 config you have a worry free backup solution.

Yes ut it gets hard when you start talking in terra bites:eek:. After my drive crash last year I'm down to 4.75 terra bites.
17th March 2010, 09:25 PM
HangOver

IMO for what its worth, chech inc's first post its most likely your power supply.
Check the price of new case and power dupply, they are usually cheaper than buying just a power supply

Show 40 post(s) from this thread on one page