*GEEKS NEEDED* Please help, I think my PC is dying!!
11 January 2010, 06:17 PM
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*GEEKS NEEDED* Please help, I think my PC is dying!!
Hello my lovely geeky friends 
I think my PC may be dying
When I boot it up it gets so far then lets out a high pitched screech and everything freezes. I'm running XP (32bit) Home Edition SP3 on a Pentium(R) D CPU 3.20Ghz, 2GB RAM, 320GB Dual Core HD. Probably
It seems to boot into Windows then freezes just before the point when everything starts working normally, sometimes it squeals, other times it just shuts down and restarts.
This is happening every time I start it
It's normally second or third time lucky, then it runs OK although can sometimes restart itself for no apparent reason although this is yet to happen whilst I'm sat at the PC.
My AV is ESET Smart Security 4, fully updated.
Cheers
Sal
I think my PC may be dying
When I boot it up it gets so far then lets out a high pitched screech and everything freezes. I'm running XP (32bit) Home Edition SP3 on a Pentium(R) D CPU 3.20Ghz, 2GB RAM, 320GB Dual Core HD. Probably It seems to boot into Windows then freezes just before the point when everything starts working normally, sometimes it squeals, other times it just shuts down and restarts.
This is happening every time I start it
It's normally second or third time lucky, then it runs OK although can sometimes restart itself for no apparent reason although this is yet to happen whilst I'm sat at the PC.My AV is ESET Smart Security 4, fully updated.
Cheers
Sal
11 January 2010, 08:37 PM
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Windows 7 is the dogs.
A very good friend who owns both W7 and Mac, he actually prefers W7! Before it was always Mac.
I have been using the 64bit version for abour a month and it is as stable as anything. I am REALLY impressed with it.
A very good friend who owns both W7 and Mac, he actually prefers W7!
Before it was always Mac.I have been using the 64bit version for abour a month and it is as stable as anything. I am REALLY impressed with it.
11 January 2010, 09:08 PM
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when you say screech, does it sound like a mechanical sound or electronic screech?
If it boots and then freezes, it could very well be a cooling problem. Firstly Make sure your CPU fan is spinning.
If the fan is OK, try and put the PC on a table and boot it with the case open and listen for where the sound is coming from. Place your ear near the hard drive and see if the sound comes from there.
If it boots and then freezes, it could very well be a cooling problem. Firstly Make sure your CPU fan is spinning.
If the fan is OK, try and put the PC on a table and boot it with the case open and listen for where the sound is coming from. Place your ear near the hard drive and see if the sound comes from there.
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11 January 2010, 10:23 PM
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Look in the event logs?
If the machine blue screens and reboots, it normally writes the bsod error to the log. It could just be driver problem?
There is still plenty of life left in your pc
I upgraded my machine last year, but my previous pc is still going strong, 8 years old now
If the machine blue screens and reboots, it normally writes the bsod error to the log. It could just be driver problem?
There is still plenty of life left in your pc
I upgraded my machine last year, but my previous pc is still going strong, 8 years old now
12 January 2010, 04:56 PM
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SC when the pc boots just as it gets past the post screen (bios bit) press F8 on the keyboard and you should get a boot menu. In this menu select to boot into safe mode with network and see how the pc runs.
If it crashes the same it is likely to be hardware. If it runs fine then the error is likely to be software (driver) based.
From what you are describing the screeching could well be hardware, there isn't something obstructing the fan on the motherboard is there? Even a severe build up of dust over the years is enough to clog a fan. That would cause the fan to make a funny noise, the pc would then over heat and shut down/reboot.
As for event logs go to the run command from the start menu and in the box type in eventvwr. This will bring up a window that allows you to look at 3 different logs - application, security and system. Ignore the security one but in the application and system logs look for anything with a red symbol next to it to see if you have any errors logged.
If it crashes the same it is likely to be hardware. If it runs fine then the error is likely to be software (driver) based.
From what you are describing the screeching could well be hardware, there isn't something obstructing the fan on the motherboard is there? Even a severe build up of dust over the years is enough to clog a fan. That would cause the fan to make a funny noise, the pc would then over heat and shut down/reboot.
As for event logs go to the run command from the start menu and in the box type in eventvwr. This will bring up a window that allows you to look at 3 different logs - application, security and system. Ignore the security one but in the application and system logs look for anything with a red symbol next to it to see if you have any errors logged.
Last edited by Bravo2zero_sps; 12 January 2010 at 05:01 PM.
13 January 2010, 10:24 AM
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I'll do that thanks 
Out of interest I've had it running for three days now without shutting it down and it's been fine. I put it into standby mode at night and it works fine. The problem only seems to occur when I boot it up from scratch
Out of interest I've had it running for three days now without shutting it down and it's been fine. I put it into standby mode at night and it works fine. The problem only seems to occur when I boot it up from scratch
13 January 2010, 10:38 AM
#12
Recently had to thumble around with some Pentium Ds, it seems due to the speed the CPU fan runs at, the heatsink gets very badly clogged with dust (not evident until you remove the fan). The same happens on fancy graphics cards that have a plastic cover over the heatsink.
My money is on a partially seized fan somewhere and some clogged heatsinks.
Other screech noises could be power supply choke coils (the glue breaks down allowing them to vibrate), this could be an indication that other parts of the powersupply are on their last legs, so when under heavy load (like booting up), it fails to supply a stable voltage.
Other noises could be the hard drive: if this were the case, it wouldn't work at all.
Or DVD drive, however this may/may-not have an effect, but it may cause some systems to hang or fail to boot or post. Worth uplugging it (them, if you have more than one) to rule it out.
My money is on a partially seized fan somewhere and some clogged heatsinks.
Other screech noises could be power supply choke coils (the glue breaks down allowing them to vibrate), this could be an indication that other parts of the powersupply are on their last legs, so when under heavy load (like booting up), it fails to supply a stable voltage.
Other noises could be the hard drive: if this were the case, it wouldn't work at all.
Or DVD drive, however this may/may-not have an effect, but it may cause some systems to hang or fail to boot or post. Worth uplugging it (them, if you have more than one) to rule it out.
Last edited by ALi-B; 13 January 2010 at 10:41 AM.
14 January 2010, 12:16 PM
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This may sound like a dumb question but what's the best way to remove dust from inside? I don't want to use the hoover in case I suck the entire contents of the case out
There is a fair bit of dust in there but I'm worried that I'll dislodge something important.
Last night it rebooted and got stuck again. A window opened that said it was checking the hard drive. That check also got stuck but after a few attempts this morning I got it to run the hard drive check completely. It didn't tell me anything but did boot up normally afterwards
I know I'm heading towards buying a new machine but I'd like to keep this one going for a bit longer until I've saved enough pennies
There is a fair bit of dust in there but I'm worried that I'll dislodge something important.
Last night it rebooted and got stuck again. A window opened that said it was checking the hard drive. That check also got stuck but after a few attempts this morning I got it to run the hard drive check completely. It didn't tell me anything but did boot up normally afterwards
I know I'm heading towards buying a new machine but I'd like to keep this one going for a bit longer until I've saved enough pennies
14 January 2010, 02:39 PM
#15
I've always took mine into work and blown it out with the air-line and it comes up like new. Doesn't help you, I know.
Hoover works, just not as well, use the crevice tool. You might need to remove the odd fan to get under the heat sinks though (don't remove the heatsinks, as you'll distrub the thermal compound)
Hoover works, just not as well, use the crevice tool. You might need to remove the odd fan to get under the heat sinks though (don't remove the heatsinks, as you'll distrub the thermal compound)
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