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Abrainspot
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Registered: 01/06/06
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Computer is running strange
#5304254 - 02/15/06 06:53 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Not sure if its neccessary but im on a Sony Vaio PCG-K35, Intel Pentium 4, Windows XP HE SP2.
I usually keep my comp running, i restart it every once and a while. Sometimes its on for a day or two with out restarting, sometimes just a few hours. Sometimes i turn it off completely also.
I come home from my gf's last night, open it up and its just a DOS screen that says "Operating System could not be found".
I restart and it freezes after the Sony Vaio splash screen. Restart a few more times and it would get past the splash screen but would says "Disc drive read error" or "Disc drive could not be found, press ctrl+alt+del to restart". Everytime i restarted id get the same error.
I took a can of air to it and a decent amount of dust came out one of the vents. I booted up it got to the windows splash screen but froze, and i heard the fan running faster, so i turned it off.
I opened up a few panels on the underside, hard drive/ram/video card and took the air can to that.
I booted up and ran in safe mode; it finally got winodws running. I rebooted into normal mode but as it would boot up it would freeze every few seconds, and if i lifted up the side of it, it seemed to continue, if i put it back down, id stop.
Well right now i got the comp tilted at a 10d angle; im thinkin it may have something to do with the air vent for the cpu being under there?
Also, if i open up task manager, it says my cpu is running at 100%. Also, i am only running with 150+/- free ram, its usually about 290+, i have 512mb total.
Im assuming there is to much dust inside. I have a warranty on it so im gonna have BestBuy check it out sometime this week; i prob shouldnt have it running actually.
Ill check back every so often for a reply to this if anyone has any idea what it can be.
Thanks
--
I just closed folding@home and my cpu usage shot down to 30, then 20, then 10, then 0%. Then within 10 seconds it went back up to 100%, i checked task manager and it had opened it self back up, i keep closing it and it would open it self back up so i just uninstalled it and my comp is running alright, except my ram hasnt gone back up, and im stuff is pausing and lagging alot more than usual.
Edited by jst31 (02/15/06 07:12 PM)
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Catalysis
EtherealEngineer

Registered: 04/23/02
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Abrainspot]
#5304330 - 02/15/06 07:11 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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You need to clean out the dust from the fans and heatsinks. In severe cases this is impossible without removing the fans from the heatsinks and maybe even replacing them. Don't run your comp until you take care of it. If your computer will not boot when cold, your power supply may be broken, probably because of dust. If you keep trying to boot, your power supply warms up and you may be able to boot after several tries, this points to the power supply.
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Abrainspot
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Registered: 01/06/06
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Catalysis]
#5304696 - 02/15/06 08:57 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Ok, thanks for the help.
My dog actually tripped on the AC cord a month ago and pulled it pretty good. When checking everything last night i noticed there is a small crack in the input on the computer. The cord still connects correctly, but isnt as stable as it use to be.
As for the dust and everything, ill have it checked out. I have a 3 yr warrentee on it and BestBuy im sure will/can dust it out and fix the AC input.
Thanks for the help
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero


Registered: 04/27/01
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Abrainspot]
#5305463 - 02/16/06 03:26 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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The symptoms sound to me like a heat problem, but probably more likely is a failing hard drive. When the dog nailed it, did it bounce or drop?
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Abrainspot
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Seuss]
#5305728 - 02/16/06 07:16 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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No, it just tugged it enough to put a fracture in the input.
Right now the fans dont seem to be running very fast, they are running tho.
What strange is that as i boot it up it will pause and lag at certains startup slash screens, and if i lift up the left side of the entire comp, it will continue with the loading. Its almost too coincidental, and happens everytime i tilt it.
Right now i have it propped up so its running slightly tilted. If i set it down, things beging to pause/lag again.
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Abrainspot
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Abrainspot]
#5314113 - 02/18/06 05:59 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Well i brought it to BestBuy and they cleaned the whole thing out, its running real smooth.
No problems yet. Its strange that dust would cause all that
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OJK
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Abrainspot]
#5315705 - 02/19/06 06:30 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Did you check the cable connections? In the past, I've had boot problems with loose IDE connections.
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Abrainspot
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: OJK]
#5315965 - 02/19/06 10:02 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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The AC input is fractured.
My comp says its getting a connection tho, plus there is a battery incase.
That reminds me actually, if i was to unplug the AC hook up, my processor drops from 3.06ghz to something around 1.5ghz. Normal?
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero


Registered: 04/27/01
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Abrainspot]
#5318623 - 02/20/06 03:14 AM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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> my processor drops from 3.06ghz to something around 1.5ghz.
Power consumption of CMOS chips (like your CPU) is directly related to switching speed. This is probably the normal behavior, as defined by the power management system. One of those "performance versus battery life" type of things. Look under control panel, power options, to see if there is anything that you can adjust.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Abrainspot
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Re: Computer is running strange [Re: Seuss]
#5320051 - 02/20/06 01:57 PM (17 years, 11 months ago) |
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Alright so i guess dust wasnt the problem.
When i boot-up, before windows loads i get a DOS screen saying "SMART Hard Drive Failure Predicted. Back up all information to prevent permenant loss. Press F1 to continue."
It boots up smooth, but i keep getting that. Im gonna back up my songs and take a trip back to BestBuy most likely.
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