LJFH Posted January 7, 2002 Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 Ok, well to start... my computer completely died a couple of months ago...My boyfriend who is taking a computer programming course took the computer apart and tried to figure out what was wrong with it....finally we discovered it was the OS and the keyboard. So we fixed those problems but now the computer is running EXTREMELY slow, even though we have 128mb..... our CD burner will not work properly....keeps giving us an illegal operation error message etc etc etc. When we startup the computer it goes to a screen which gives us the option to start up in 5 modes...normal, safe etc. I can't get rid of that either. Can anyone help me or give me some tips as to what I might try to fix the stupid thing...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
secondtube Posted January 7, 2002 Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 Hi, hope i can help.Number one, dont let your boyfriend try to "fix" the computer. If my girlfriend stopped most of my "fixing" opportunities i'd be a lot richer. Now first thing i'd try is a FULL harddrive defrag and full scandisk. After that is done, which will probably take over two days to do both of them, then check for new drivers on the cd rom.Finally to have your computer load directly into windows you'll have to change your config.sys file i believe. that's tougher. First just fully defrag and scandisk and make sure all your drivers are up to date....Hope this helps.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booche Posted January 7, 2002 Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 With all that in mind and the five choices that are given to you, ensure that you start the PC in SAFE MODE and run Disk Defrag from there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJFH Posted January 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 Ok so I am going to try that stuff. I did a defrag and a scandisk but it definetly did not take two days. Obviously I didn't do the one you are talking about. How do I do a FULL defrag & scandisk...Do I just go in safe mode...go to the start menu, programs, system tools and then defrag? the scandisk will have to be done at the c prompt right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted January 7, 2002 Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 Here's a quick fix.Anyone can do it.Click on this link to install Mac OS 8...http://www.yaromat.com/macos8/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h Posted January 7, 2002 Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 hey, that link was on screen savers the other night... now you've opened a kettle of fish, mikey -- i can see the long distance company drooling already over the bill they will collect on after you walk her through the format. it's a must thing to learn how to do though for sure. and ultimately yes, that usually solves most performance problems... just time consuming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJFH Posted January 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2002 What the hell is that thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harpua Posted January 8, 2002 Report Share Posted January 8, 2002 Try reinstalling your OS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h Posted January 8, 2002 Report Share Posted January 8, 2002 yes, i agree with doing a reinstall at somepoint if the defrag doesn't help. For the slowness problem, (and this may help the cd problem too if its being caused by a lack of resources) you can also check your startup -- File, Run, msconfig... now click on the Startup tab in there will be a bunch of programs that start running when you boot your machine... look at the list and take note of what is checkmarked... everything here is running all of the time while your computer is on, and sometimes you don't need a lot of them... they all slow the machine downnow look for obvious programs in there that u know you don't need to run all of the time --careful though, there are things in here like your mouse - that ofcourse you definitely do need all the time....but there are also things like AOL messenger, that run even if you haven't installed the stupid thing, or TIPs etc. If it's obvious - and you know you don't need it (like i had old video drivers from 2 cards ago) then go ahead and uncheck.BUT ... IF YOU DONT RECOGNIZE IT then Leave It Checked.... better to play it safe, cuz i can't guarantee i can walk you through a fix if you uncheck something that would be better checked.Doing this has been known to significantly increase the speed of many a system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h Posted January 8, 2002 Report Share Posted January 8, 2002 i forgot to say, if you want to check to see if this is going to help...go to your desktop and right click on your MY COMPUTER icon. Then select Properties. Then select the Performance tab Note what it says beside "system resources" (mine right now is 42% - i should really take my own advice) but right after boot, it should be up in the 90 percentiles. If it's not, or if you want to still try to get a little higher, then try the startup thing above. When you're done, reboot, then check your system resources again and see if it's improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted January 8, 2002 Report Share Posted January 8, 2002 When is the last time you formatted your hard drive and started clean?I would just do that.However, in order to do that I would make sure I have all my personal files backed up, like any resumes, etc.Make sure you know what version of outlook express you are using too, and then you can actually export your inbox, and all of your email settings to put back into outlook express when it's newly installed. It's nice to know what version you're coming from because you have to know that when it's time to bring it all back in.You can also save all of your favorite links too from C:\windows\favorites and copy that directory overtop the empty one after a new install.Make sure you have all of your hardware driver discs and all of your internet settings available as well. Basically, if you have all of the things you need to make your computer work again from a fresh install, it's a very good way to go. You're computer would run pretty damn smooth again. You should do that at least once or twice a year, just like going to the dentist.mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJFH Posted January 8, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2002 Thanks everyone! I am going to try all of that stuff and see what happens. We tried to reinstall our OS but that totally didn't work. Oh well...... Bouche....when I have to completely redo the computer where do I start? Do I have to get rid of everything first? Tell me More!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJFH Posted January 8, 2002 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2002 hey, I just realized I am a big Phishy! hehehehehehehhehe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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