computer help

computer help

got a tiny computer (i know they arent the best, but i didnt know loads about different systems 2 n half years ago which is how old it is)

anyway its fine for word processing and internet and music, got 2.3 processor, 512 ddr ram and 130 gb hard drive

but when im doing stuff on sound forge or cubase or anythin that takes up a bit of cpu power it will often just restart itself

im pretty sure it aint a virus cos im scanned the whole comp to the best of my ability and nothin has come up

ive got enough free space on comp 30GB so dont think its anythng to do with that

using avg, tiny firewall and various spyware

im thinkin it could be the motherboard but not to sure

i cant afford to get a new 1 at mo so thinkin of low cost alternative to sort it out, do i need to add more ram? get a new processor (cos i know tiny computers are build so u can only use tiny stuff in em) or newe motherboard

all help much appreciated

I'd wonder about it overhewating - its possible your CPU fan is blocked?

Download something like Everest home edition to check the temperatures, and speeds of the fan and report back

i've also had problems with restarts, but recently, it wont even get past the boot - starts up, does the post, goes as if to start, quick blue flash (screen of death) and it restarts, not long enough to actually see the screen, and it will continue doing so in an endless loop if allowed to.

i've ran tests on both my hd's - fine... ran various memory testers - fine... changed the power supply - no different... all i can think is,

A: the board is shagged

B:the gfx card is shagged (because it started cutting out during games first, and would say it had a gfx driver error when doing error reporting, and towards the end it just wouldnt play games at all, the merest hint of a gfx engine would give it a seizure. )

anyone know of any (bootable) apps you can get to test gfx / mobos? i used to have spare cards lying around, but no more...

Spud > Seen this many many times.

Stick in your XP disc, go to BIOS, set to boot from CD.

When windows setup utility starts, press R for recovery console.

When that loads, run the "chkdsk /r" command - quite likely it will boot after that. If not, do the same again, but run the "fixboot" command. I personally have not had a pc not reboot after this but obviously there wasnt a seperate hardware fault in those cases.

Worth a shot for Fake DJ too. (deffo clean those fans though, even try it with the cover off to see if it makes a diff)

If it doesnt work, check IDE cable connections, remove the RAM and put it back in, remove gfx PCI card and put back in, etc. Can sometimes be down to a bad connection.

Probably nowt major, you can rule stuff like PSU out too.

One of my pcs was doing that, took me ages of trying things and i wasn't get anywhere. Finally just bit the bullet and decided to rebuild the machine using new parts where it needed it anyways. Found out it was a knackered gfx card that was doing it, would have never even thought a gfx card would make the pc reboot. Oh well

there is quite a lot of dust ont he back that ive hoovered with a nozzle, u think its good idea to actually take of the outer casing and clean the fans on inside of comp too making sure there's no dust whatsoever

done those, spent a long time dng the chkdsk command, and appeared to fix a number of issues, but the problem remains.

as far as i can tell, it looks most likely to be gfx, im due a new system soon - and intended to stick the card in there, i guess at least im going to find out if it works.

any other ideas are appriciated, but i think i've exhausted most avenues.

Spud > Not only do u have to do the chkdsk command from the recovery console - but there's the extra step to re-copy over any dodgy files.

Once you've done the first bit (hopefully repaired any dodgy sectors) THEN, re-run XP set up, go to install, it'll then check from previous installed versions of XP, select your previous version - DO NOT INSTALL A NEW VERSION - and select repair. it'll then start to copy over the files as if it was doing a clean build. it'll reboot and continue as if it's a fresh install - this will re-copy an fucked system files.

Also - make sure you've got a genuine reg key. AND if you've got SP" installed - make sure the disk you're using is 'XP with SP2' if u get what i mean...

Worth noting that you will lose all your updates doing that, but its the best way when the rest hasn't worked.

but atleast it's the COMPLETE Solution for the lad, eh? half a job screech

cheers for the help guys, its seems to have worked

im gonna try do some recording using sound forge and see if it turns off, but i did a few virus scans etc last night and it seems to have breezed em

one last thing

am i right in thinkin that tiny computers are specifically made to use with tiny hardware so u cant buy new ram/processors/motherboards and install them

or is this a myth ive been told me some1 and believed??

wouldnt mind updating some of the spec to make it better

it's a myth!

Tiny don't produce their own hardware like HP/Compaq or Dell - they buy the cheapest of the cheap, import it and slap their own stickers on - you should be able to upgrade it - just means your motherboard, etc might be a entry level/crap model...

sweet man nice1

how do i find out the type of tiny computer, i bought it 2 years ago so i dont think the shop will still sell it and i dont think tiny have a website so i cant check different systems

will giving u the product number or serial number on back on PC help? or a picture?

thats the case, dunno if that helps

another Q, if i have to get a new case to get a new mother board, is it possible to put all the other stuff like harddrive and processor etc in the new case or will it only fit the tiny case?

Its hardly the first port of call though, AMETEUR!!

everything should fit in the new case.

as for what type it is, check to see if there's a 'tiny' sticker on the back with the model/serial number etc... OR if u check where your XP OEM key is (on a sticker on the case somewhere) that often has the model on it