Problem on my Mom's computer...

Sharpster · Post by **Sharpster** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 1:05 pm

I don't know the details, but she said she keeps getting bluescreened and having to restart the computer.. She wanted me to ask you guys how she would back up the harddrive to a disc so she can reboot the whole computer... Sorry for being so short but I gotta head back to work, breaks almost over lol.

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 9:12 pm

Forget backing up the harddrive to disc. That's not been practical for some time. You might be able to write your important files to a CD, but you'll still have to reinstall all your applications.

It'd be nice to know the cause; I suspect it's a virus or accumulated spyware. (small difference sometimes.) Run whatever virus checker you've got on the system, and Ad-aware, and see what happens. If you don't have a virus checker, you can get AVG free from grisoft.com. Ad-aware is from lavasoft. Cleanup might fix the bluescreens.

Sharpster · Post by **Sharpster** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:43 pm

She constantly runs Ad-aware, avg, and spybot s&d. They always find bunches of stuff, yet not enough. She even booted in safemode and ran the stuff... still didnt really help...

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:15 am

Have you gone in to make sure all the cards and RAM are seated well? Sometimes those things can move around, especially if the case has been moved or bumped.

The other thing to check while you are in there is: how much dust and crap is stuck in the various heat sinks and fans? Get a vacuum and make sure it's clean in there. Check the power supply too.

The BSD issue definitely sounds like a thermal management thing. Especially if she is already running adware/spyware finding utilities and cleaning that out.

MegaDeath70 · Post by **MegaDeath70** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:54 pm

Get a vacuum and make sure it's clean in there. Check the power supply too.

lol... I think compressed air is the solution here, not a Kirby !

Ambush Bug · Post by **Ambush Bug** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:50 pm

No no, a vacuum is a fine tool for dust removal... you just gotta be really careful about static discharge from the tip of the hose.

You could always set the vacuum to reverse and blow everything out, then suck it up from the floor//work area.

XMEN Ashaman DTM · Post by **XMEN Ashaman DTM** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 8:26 pm

I get the sniffles from all that crap in my filters. So I vacuum it out.

Trust me, the vacuum won't hurt anything unless you go banging it around inside your case. Just keep the suction on the fans and heatsinks. Maybe across your RAM and PS.

Sharpster · Post by **Sharpster** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 12:18 pm

It got worse !

This is the message we get every time it trys to start up.

' Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\Windows\System32\Config\System

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows Setup using the original Setup CD-Rom. Seclect 'r' at the first screen to start repair.'

We tried this putting the XP cd in and we are still getting the same screen... Any ideas ?

XMEN Iceman · Post by **XMEN Iceman** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 12:27 pm

Windows System HIVE file is probably corrupted. Either find a friend with a ERD Commander program to recover it, or reload Windows on the hard drive.

Just my 2 cents.

Post by **XMEN Gambit** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:12 pm

Or load Linux.

Registry repair is not an easy thing to fix. If you don't have someone locally who can do it, you best bet is probably doing a re-install over the top of what you've got, or into a new directory.

Re-install - you lose all hope of recovering the registry, and some applications will have to be installed, but stuff is still where you expect it to be. Wallpaper, desktop shortcuts, My Documents, etc.

New directory - you're starting completely fresh, but all the original stuff is still there. You've got to move documents from your old windows folder. Even the apps you don't have to reinstall, you'll need to create new shortcuts for (or copy them).

In both cases, you'll have to re-patch Windows back up to current.