Computer Help Thread

[Patrick425]

There have been a lot of threads started by brewerfan.net members looking for assistance with fixing errors or problems with their computers. I thought I would start a general thread that people could go to and possibly get help from other members who are far more intelligent when it comes to computers than people like me.

 

I have a Dell laptop (Inspiron 600m - about 4 years old.). Lately, when I close the cover (without turning it off), then open it up later, I get the screen that states "Preparing to Stand By". It freezes at that screen and never actually goes to stand by mode. So, I have to turn my lap top off and turn it back on every time I want to use it.

 

I also have a problem with the battery on this laptop. It does not hold it's charge very long and it seems to get overly hot (this laptop was not part of the Dell battery recall). I ordered a new battery today. I'm not sure it this will help my problem above, but I was wondering if anyone else had any suggestions regarding my standby issue.

[Diskono]

Very good possibility that the two are related. I've seen a few laptops that have trouble coming out of standby when the battery is low.

[Patrick425]

The thing is, I'm not using the laptop on battery power (because the battery doesn't last). I pretty much always have it plugged in. Also, it's not so much an issue of it comming out of standby. I don't think it ever gets to standby or hibernation.

[1992casey]

Will it go to sleep if you do it via the controls before closing the lid?

[Patrick425]

Will it go to sleep if you do it via the controls before closing the lid?

 

Have not even tried that. I'll try it tonight.

[Godspeed]

After four years, laptop batteries not going to be too potent. My battery life went from 5 hours to about 90 minutes after 2 years of standard use. It didn't help that I didn't always draw out the batter life when using, but that seems to be normal.

[And That]

Patrick - if you're going to be using the laptop for a long period of time while you're near a plug in, just take the battery out. When I had a Dell laptop, I would always just leave the battery in even though it was plugged in on my desk. I learned that with many computers, even though the laptop is plugged in, it still is "charging" the battery as the battery charge is pretty much full. This wears on the battery over time and really reduce it's charge life. When I got a new battery for it, I just took the battery out if I was near an easily accessible outlet and the battery lasted for a much, much longer charge at a time when I needed it.

 

Have you installed a new antivirus program (or other program that runs continuously in the background) recently? That hung my laptop up on "prepare to standby" mode a few times before I figured out what the problem was.

[Patrick425]

And That..that makes sense. I'll keep that in mind.

 

I did install a new antivirus program lately (got rid of McAfee and installed Norton). I did this because I kept getting the blue screen of death when I opened up my lap top. Now, after installing Norton, instead of the blue screen of death. I get "Preparing to Standby". I took it off the stand by mode. Now I get "Preparing to hibernate".

[Godspeed]

Patrick - if you're going to be using the laptop for a long period of time while you're near a plug in, just take the battery out.

I second this advice, with the caveat to be careful not to accidentally or purposefully unplug the cord while you're powered up. (I accidentally get my cord disconnected about once a week or so.) Since there would be no battery back-up, you'd lose any unsaved data. Not a big deal if you're just surfing the net, though. I guess you could use the old battery as a back-up in the computer and keep the new battery on hand for actual battery use for the best of both worlds.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Where can I get my mitts on a copy of XP? I have an older computer with a formatted drive, and I want to do a clean OS install, and I don't want to deal with Vista (not to mention the fact the computer isn't really set up for it.)

[nate82]

Where can I get my mitts on a copy of XP?

Newegg Operating systems. The OEM products just come with the CD and the key.

 

Tiger Direct Windows XP.

 

Fry's Operating systems.

 

These three sites are where I shop for computer parts and other things. I love Newegg and their customer support is one of the best around. They also ship very quickly. I would get the OEM one unless you really want that box and the manual and the directions of how to install Windows XP on your computer.

[whizkid]

I just did this a month ago on an old machine for the same reasons. Got XP Home OEM from Newegg. The other thing with OEM is once you install it, it's tied to that machine just like when you get a new system with the OS pre-installed. You can't install it on a different machine later or sell it to someone else once you're done with it like you can with the more expensive retail version.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Coolness. 90 bucks isn't bad at all.

 

2nd question.......installing more memory. I'm fairly handy, and I can follow instructions, I'm not much of a tech guy, but I'd rather do it myself and learn than just pay someone else to do it. It's an old computer, and it's not that big a deal if I mess up. The computer I'm working with is at 256M right now, which is barely enough to run most websites, and I'd like to upgrade that.

 

Is physically installing such an item fairly straightforward? What would I need to do to find out what's compatible with my machine?

 

Probably a lot to absorb right there, but what the heck.

[Diskono]

Go to crucial.com and follow their wizard to determine what type you need. Their prices are decent, though you might find a better deal elsewhere. Installing it is easy enough - they go in the only place they can fit, more or less.

[whizkid]

Yeah, I went from 256 to 512 before installing xp. It runs fine for word, excel, internet etc. Newegg has a configurator too. I wound up buying crucial memory from newegg because it was a few bucks cheaper there. Pay attention to what crucial says the max memory is for your system or visit the maker's website. Some brands such as Dell are fussy about memory so going for the cheap stuff may not work out. It's easy to do, just don't work in a carpeted area and do touch metal on the case before working inside. If you post the brand and model you may get more help.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Dell Dimension 2400

[whizkid]

Not as old as my 4100. Yours didn't come with XP? Looks like you can go up to 2GB. Try the configurators. Lots of choices but Dells are fussy. I'd trust what crucial recommends. At Newegg I'd read the reviews first to see if anyone has put the one(s) you want in a 2400.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm sure it did but the hard drive was formatted, there's nothing on it right now.

[dabrew141]

A laptop battery usually goes to worthless in less than 4 years depending on use... Taking it out helps but either way buying a new battery is best approach but after 4 years i'd recommend finding a new laptop.

 

http://www.bestbuy.com/si...9294&SID=enter_sub_id

 

My career is as an IT pro so if anyone has specific questions let me know...

[whizkid]

I'm sure it did but the hard drive was formatted, there's nothing on it right now.

 

You didn't get a cd for reinstalling XP? Or did you just buy this from someone else without a disk?

[DuWayne Steurer]

I'm sure it did but the hard drive was formatted, there's nothing on it right now.

 

You didn't get a cd for reinstalling XP? Or did you just buy this from someone else without a disk?

Got it from my brother, he had no idea where the original disk was.

[Diskono]

Does the computer have a sticker with the Windows XP CD key printed on it? If so, you can probably just get any old XP OEM disk and use your existing license.

[Blancofan1]

I have an HP C4180 all in one printer that is about two years old. never had any issues until today when I went to turn it on, I got nothing. when I unplug it from the outlet, a get a flicker of orange light by the power button, but then nothing. Any one have suggestions about this? I left it unplugged for awhile and tried it again but no dice, also tried several outlets. Is it the power adapter or from ink levels just being low?

[GAME05]

computer question: i'm on Windows 7. i have Java (32-bit) on my control panel but it doesn't show up on my program list. right-clicking on it only allows me to "open" the file, where it says "application not found." when i try to install a new version, it says "already installed on your computer. would you like to replace it?" i click 'yes' and then it says "application only valid for products that are currently installed." so it's like i don't have Java on my computer, but having just the file name stuck on my Control Panel window is making my computer think it's there.

 

i've tried installing a couple uninstall programs, and they don't locate it. Java's help page and Google only tell me to uninstall and then reinstall the program.

 

right now all it's affecting is FrostWire, though.

[DKM4Boston]

You probably have some registry keys that didn't get wiped when Java was uninstalled.

http://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?showtopic=104537