I think my Computer is dying?

[be-bop]

I had a portable hard drive connected to back up stuff disconnected this and it seems everything is back to normal (find some wood to touch quickly).
It's supposed to back up automatically so maybe it was taking too many resources God knows I'm a novice here,anyhoo I think I may just get something more up to date, might even have a go at putting a system together my self when I can get some funds together.
It's quite funny because when I bought the system it was touted as "The Powerstation" because of it's spec and it was over £1,000 now you get laptops with a better spec for around £600, how times change
Thanks for the replies

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by be-bop

I had a portable hard drive connected to back up stuff disconnected this and it seems everything is back to normal (find some wood to touch quickly).
It's supposed to back up automatically so maybe it was taking too many resources God knows I'm a novice here,anyhoo I think I may just get something more up to date, might even have a go at putting a system together my self when I can get some funds together.
It's quite funny because when I bought the system it was touted as "The Powerstation" because of it's spec and it was over £1,000 now you get laptops with a better spec for around £600, how times change
Thanks for the replies

My computer has also become slow and unreliable, so I have consulted an expert who will do a clean re-install of windows XP for me. (hasn't been done since I bought it in 2007!) First I am backing up all my files onto an external hard drive I recently bought.

And that is my main headache right now. The HDD I bought also does auto back ups. I did not want this. I managed to uninstall the auto-back-up software, but now windows crashes (a stop error, technically) every time the drive is connected, or if the computer is started with the drive connected.

I've been posting at the online support web page for the drive manufacturer but so far have no help. I am getting pissed off at it.

Bebop ... is your external drive made by Western Digital? Mine is, and so far it has been rubbish.

[tw]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

My computer has also become slow and unreliable, .

This computer has never had a reinstall of Windows in seven years. No reason to do that.

The Windows 98 computers I still support have never had Windows reinstalled.

Slowness is (as was described earlier) more likely due to many programs that insist on loading before you can log in. For example, Adobe Acrobat loads a very large program when the OS starts. Which is why so many blame Windows (rather than Adobe) for their slow booting. Easily removed with some standard software that nobody was interested in.

Do you have hardware problems? All computer manufacturers have comprehensive hardware diagnostics to confirm all hardware without the complications of Windows. But only the more responsible manufacturers made that software available - and free.

Why is the machine crashing? The stop error numbers and associated message says so much. How to fix a problem without doing the nuke'n pave.

Meanwhile the nuke 'n pave can be done by anyone. Simply load and execute the System Restore CD-Rom. That puts the entire disk back to what it was when the system was first purchased. Nothing technical.

So did you use the On-Track (or whatever it is now called) software that came with the Western Digital drive? Don't. Disk drives need no software to install them. Windows has everything necessary to locate, format, and configure the disk drive automatically. Additional software is also provided by the Disk Manager that is in Windows. Don't know if the System Restore CD-Rom will undo that Western Digital software.

[ZenGum]

Originally Posted by tw

This computer has never had a reinstall of Windows in seven years. No reason to do that.

The Windows 98 computers I still support have never had Windows reinstalled.

Slowness is (as was described earlier) more likely due to many programs that insist on loading before you can log in. For example, Adobe Acrobat loads a very large program when the OS starts. Which is why so many blame Windows (rather than Adobe) for their slow booting. Easily removed with some standard software that nobody was interested in.

Do you have hardware problems? All computer manufacturers have comprehensive hardware diagnostics to confirm all hardware without the complications of Windows. But only the more responsible manufacturers made that software available - and free.

Why is the machine crashing? The stop error numbers and associated message says so much. How to fix a problem without doing the nuke'n pave.

Meanwhile the nuke 'n pave can be done by anyone. Simply load and execute the System Restore CD-Rom. That puts the entire disk back to what it was when the system was first purchased. Nothing technical.

So did you use the On-Track (or whatever it is now called) software that came with the Western Digital drive? Don't. Disk drives need no software to install them. Windows has everything necessary to locate, format, and configure the disk drive automatically. Additional software is also provided by the Disk Manager that is in Windows. Don't know if the System Restore CD-Rom will undo that Western Digital software.

Thanks for your thoughts.

The reason in favour of the Nuke-and-pave is that there are almost certainly multiple issues slowing the machine down. There is a lot of software I have never used, and almost certainly a lot of malware and assorted crap. Rather than chasing a dozen or more issues, kill the lot and rebuild.

The reason for getting a pro to do it is that there have been many software updates and patches since I got the machine. I don't want to go online until the updates are installed. I know it is possible to download the updates, burn them to discs, reinstall, then update, before going on the internet, but that is complicated and I'll probably screw something up. Get a pro to do it.

On the same principle I have just had a light globe behind the dashboard of my car replaced. I probably could have done it myself, but it would have taken me an afternoon of farting about figuring out how to dismantle and reassemble the dash, but I am busy and it was easier to get it done by a mechanic with the service I just got done. Still, $50 to change a sodding lightbulb ... hmmm.

If you're interested, the technical information is:

BAD_POOL_HEADER

STOP 0x000019 ( 0 x FF953120, 0 x FF953138, 0 x 1A030001).

I have no idea what this means and don't care enough to try to find out, because it only relates to one specific problem. So don't bother chasing it on my behalf.

[Pete Zicato]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

BAD_POOL_HEADER

I'm not certain, but I think that's when you trip at the edge of the springboard and fall head-first into the pool.

[be-bop]

Originally Posted by ZenGum

My computer has also become slow and unreliable, so I have consulted an expert who will do a clean re-install of windows XP for me. (hasn't been done since I bought it in 2007!) First I am backing up all my files onto an external hard drive I recently bought.

And that is my main headache right now. The HDD I bought also does auto back ups. I did not want this. I managed to uninstall the auto-back-up software, but now windows crashes (a stop error, technically) every time the drive is connected, or if the computer is started with the drive connected.

I've been posting at the online support web page for the drive manufacturer but so far have no help. I am getting pissed off at it.

Bebop ... is your external drive made by Western Digital? Mine is, and so far it has been rubbish.

Yes it's one of the small portable ones "My Passport" type