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Way OT - fried computer - long post

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Bob - MI

08-08-2005 12:48:16

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My college daughter"s 1-year old Dell 8400 started acting up to the point where it just kept freezing up with the dreaded "blue screen errors". Somehow, completely by coincidence, this happened on the last day of the warranty and due to heavy call volume, Dell"s service guys were unavailable. When I got to them the next day, I was politely informed that the warranty would not be given any grace period however I could extend it for $260.00. Now that I have paid the ransom I have spent 16 hours troubleshooting this and even after a technician came and installed new memory cards (that were indicated by the diagnostics to be the problem,) I have the same problem.

After spending 2.5 more hours on the phone with them and attempting to re-load windows unsuccessfully, they are sending out a new hard drive, mother board and new memory cards.

This whole thing started after we installed a new central air unit that seems to draw more power than the old one at startup. I am wondering if these power swings could be the culprit and would a UPS device help? I run a high quality surge protector but am thinking that I should try to get more constant power to this. I may be way off base here.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance

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Michael SWOK

08-08-2005 17:37:38

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

I use an APC UPS unit and wouldn't dare live without it. Make sure you DO get one big enough to run the computer AND monitor or else you won't be able to see what is happening when the power goes out. My unit will automatically save everything and shut down the computer by itself if needed. Make sure you check around as it seems different retailers only carry certain units. The battery lasts about 2-3 years and you can find replacements on eBay in the $15-$20 range, including shipping. (Couldn't find one at Staples, Office Depot or Sav-On.)

I lost a hard drive a couple of years ago to a power outage and sadly discovered my backup wasn't going to work. Don't ask what a disk recovery service charges...the UPS unit is A LOT CHEAPER!!!

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Vern-MI

08-08-2005 16:03:12

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

Have them check the power supply outputs before installing the new M/B. I have had more bad power supplys than anything else. Second leading cause is the memory. The only M/B trouble I have ever had was at my own hand (literally) when I touched the back of the board when it was powered up and heard a final zap from the board. You could check it your self but why bother if you just paid $260 for the service.

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Jerry (AL)

08-08-2005 15:51:07

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

I've tried McAfee anti-virus and was very displeased with it. We have a lot of contact at work with Asian countries and you wouldn't believe the viruses we had. I think most of them originate there. I then tried Norton and it did a better job but didn't catch them all even updating daily.

I've been running Norton Corporate edition now for a couple of years and not a single problem.

The biggest problem I see with any anti-virus is they aren't updated often enough. I have known people who buy a program and run it and then get viruses and you find out it hasn't been updated in months.

There are also a bunch of freebie pop up blockers and spyware programs out there that are free down loads.

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Pooh Bear

08-08-2005 14:21:29

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Computer Help Forum at GardenWeb in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

A UPS/Surge Protector would be a great start.
I use one and it wouldn't run without.
We constantly have power hiccups here.
I plug my monitor, CPU, network hub, router, and modem into it.
When the power hiccups it doesn't affect me.
And when the power goes off I have about 5 minutes to shut down.
I paid about $100 for my UPS.

Next make sure you are virus/adware/spyware free.
Make sure no unwanted programs are running in the background.
Run a scan with Norton AntiVirus then go to the HouseCall site and run another virus scan.

For everyone else I would like to recommend a great place for computer help.
The Computer Help Forum at Garden Web.
Link

I post there and help people.
And the people there taught me about everything I know about a computer.
It is a great place to get computer help from great people.

Pooh Bear

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TennesseMan

08-08-2005 15:20:21

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Re: Computer Help Forum at GardenWeb in reply to Pooh Bear, 08-08-2005 14:21:29

Adding to what Pooh Bear has already said. Do yourself a favor and periodically run a virus scan and have a Spam Blocker installed and running and a Pop Up Stopper as well. I work on computers and the biggest headache I see is what I just mentioned. If you do not want to take the time to properly take care of your computer then don't waste someone elses time in fixing your problems that you could have easily prevented. Computers are like tractors. You have to do the preventive maintenance. But from what I've read here on this forum, there is some pretty sharp people here and so I feel most of you already do the maintenance. Just my thoughts.

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Rob

08-08-2005 13:43:59

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

I cured the conflicts (blue screen and error messages) with Adaware and AVG antivirus; all free downloads. That and I clean up and defrag the disk often. I also use selective start up so nothing loads at start up unless I know what and why and I have set start up so it can start. Went from like 35 or 40 programs loading at start up and doing who knows what and causing conflicts to 7 or 8 things starting and they all get along nicely. Took me some time and effort to learn about all that stuff but I did and now I operate Windows troublefree.
I now know way, way more about computers than I ever intended but it is just something I have had to do to make peace with this thing.

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corvette8n

08-08-2005 13:26:20

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

UPS couldn't hurt, small ones are 50-60 bucks, just plug the CPU in not the monitor or printer.
I've seen a problem with larger UPS not sensing brownouts, depends on UPS, I got some at work that don't seem to be worth the powder to blow them up. I have others that you can hear kick in when the lights only flicker. The newer ones seem to be more sensitive to voltage fluctuations. BTW I have a Gateway laptop that was several months out of warranty,it wouldn't power up, called and they said send it in and I would be advised of repair costs. They sent a box to put it in and Fed-ex picked it up for free. 3 days later it came backed fixed, no charge boy was I happy.
Are you sure it wasn't spyware/virus that did you in?, My brothers 3 week old laptop kept shutting down by itself. I ran anti-virus and anti-spyware on it. had over 5,000 viruses and 900 spywares on it. It took several hours and many passes of each to clean it.

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Bob - Mi

08-08-2005 13:35:06

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to corvette8n, 08-08-2005 13:26:20

Spyware and Virus confirmed not to be the problem. I run both adaware and spybot and Norton and AVG anti-virus. I update them all the time and none of these found any culprits.

I am convinced of one thing, if you own a computer you better know something about fixing them.

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Ramrod

08-08-2005 13:20:03

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Re: Way OT - fried computer - long post in reply to Bob - MI, 08-08-2005 12:48:16

Not off base at all Bob. A UPS is one of the best things you can do to keep your computer running well. It will filter lightning strikes and brown outs, and signal the computer to shut down before it runs outta power to protect it during extended power outages. Expect to pay about $200 for a small, quality unit. I don't particularly like Dells, but on the rare occasion that I have to buy one, I will always do the extended warranty for as long as it is available. It is money well spent for a college kid away from home. Dell also offers a damage waiver that will cover it no matter what, another good thing for college kids and their wacky friends.

Ramrod

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