help please, my computer isn't working right

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Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

yesterday i was having problems with the cd writer coming on within a
few minutes of starting up my computer.
tried a system restore and it didn't help.
then i unplugged it for awhile and it seemed to work better this
morning, or so i thought...now i get a error when trying to close almost
any program and the message that the program is not responding..so i
click on the end program and it isn't working on some programs
either...i did a scan with avast and it showed no virus or worm...i
tried to do spybot but it would not open..it froze and i had to power
off by holding in the power button.
tried again this afternoon and i did get connected but can't get
internet explorer to open..it just freezes and won't do anything.
it was suggested that i make sure that a disk isn't in the cd writer
drive (i haven't used it but once and was sure there wasn't) so i was
going to check just to be positive but the drive door will not open.
someone suggested also that i uninstall the drive and reboot. i have no
idea how to do that and am not sure as to whether i could keep the
computer going long enough to even do it before it freezes up again.
i would appreciate any and all help. i am a newbie still and am at a
lost.
thanks,
gail

i have a hp pavilion 7920
128 MB SDRAM
windows xp
sp 1 (have never downloaded sp2)
30 GB with better than 10 GBs free

 

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Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Gail B wrote:
> yesterday i was having problems with the cd writer coming on within a
> few minutes of starting up my computer.
> tried a system restore and it didn't help.
> then i unplugged it for awhile and it seemed to work better this
> morning, or so i thought...now i get a error when trying to close
> almost any program and the message that the program is not
> responding..so i click on the end program and it isn't working on
> some programs either...i did a scan with avast and it showed no virus
> or worm...i tried to do spybot but it would not open..it froze and i
> had to power off by holding in the power button.
> tried again this afternoon and i did get connected but can't get
> internet explorer to open..it just freezes and won't do anything.
> it was suggested that i make sure that a disk isn't in the cd writer
> drive (i haven't used it but once and was sure there wasn't) so i was
> going to check just to be positive but the drive door will not open.
> someone suggested also that i uninstall the drive and reboot. i have
> no idea how to do that and am not sure as to whether i could keep the
> computer going long enough to even do it before it freezes up again.
> i would appreciate any and all help. i am a newbie still and am at a
> lost.
> thanks,
> gail
>
> i have a hp pavilion 7920
> 128 MB SDRAM
> windows xp
> sp 1 (have never downloaded sp2)
> 30 GB with better than 10 GBs free

I can see one problem staring me in the face - it's no wonder you can't run
many simultaneous applications - you're more than a little light on RAM! The
minimum requirement for XP may be 64MB, and the recommended 128MB but, to
see any kind of decent performance you need to double, or even quadruple,
the amount you have now.

I would recommend installing the maximum amount of RAM your system will take
(512MB). 2x256MB will set you back around £90 from Crucial.

One last question, did you run the upgrade advisor before upgrading? On a
system as old as yours it would have been very advisable to do so.

I think you may find that, if you added more RAM, many of your issues would
vanish.

This is what I would do: - Buy the RAM and have a computer-savvy friend fit
it for you - with your level of knowledge, I do *NOT* recommend you do it
yourself. Have them check all the connections inside the system while
they're at it.

Then, when they return the system, back up as much as you can (though I
don't quite know how you'd accomplish that as you have no means of back-up;
maybe the same friend could help you out there), format and install XP
*clean*. Before doing so, pop the XP CD in the drive and run the upgrade
advisor and note any problems it advises you about (if you're unsure of
anything, post the exact text here). You would be ill-advised to upgrade
until those issues are fixed.

So, in summary: -

1) Maximise RAM

2) Check drive cables

3) Run upgrade advisor (and, if necessary, fix any issues).

4) Format hard drive and install Windows clean (you will need to read the
system manual to learn how to enter the BIOS and change the drive order so
that the system boots from the CD).


--
In memory of MS MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/