If Windows complains about Aero: did you try swapping the videocard. Maybe only the videocard is the problem. A simple videocard is $20-$30...
Toine On 16 March 2016 at 16:35, Mark C <[email protected]> wrote: > > Thanks, Igor - your explanation demystifies Event Viewer. I'm not seeing > anything that seems to relate to this problem though. > > About the beeps - I'm familiar with POST error codes but this beeping is > different. Sometimes - rarely - during boot up the machine will just beep > continuously. Not an orderly sequent of beeps but just a seemingly endless > series of beep-beep-beep. Sometimes it pauses and restarts. Also, If I enter > the BIOS setup screen it will start beeping in the same manner as long as > that screen is up. It stops when I exit the bios setup. I just tried it and > counted something like 25 beeps before I stopped counting. So I assume it is > some fundamental hardware issue. > > Regarding event viewer - first, I am using Windows 7 home premium edition. I > looked through the "system" events under the critical and error tabs. No > critical events were recorded. There were 25 recorded under error section > and almost all were failures to start services. No notable repetitions or > consistent pattens there. > > With the restore points - I just looked again at system restore and noted > that "show older restore points" was not checked. Checking that reveals a > restore point from January 2014 and one from 2013 - both times when I did a > system backup. (I usually just backup data files and don't often do full > backups of the OS and installed programs.) So, I have the 6 most recent > restore points and these two older ones. The problem with the most recent > restore points is that when I booted the PC Monday evening and it installed > updates, it created a series of restore points during the update process. So > I have 6 restore points all from Monday and all made within the time span of > a few hours. Those plus the 2014 and 2013 restore points are all I have. > > I'll wait for the quote on the locally built machine and also do some > research on alternatives. Today the machine is much more stable than > yesterday - I'm getting an hour or so of normal usage before the issues kick > in, and rebooting seems to start that cycle over again. So I will limp along > till I get a new machine. > > One symptom I did not mention - when the machine slows down Win 7 puts up a > notice saying that the computer is running slowly and asking if I want to > disable Aero effects. I assume that simply means that Windows notices that > the system is running slowly. Is that any sort of a clue to what could be > going on? > > Thanks for the detailed reply! > > Mark > > > > On 3/15/2016 10:46 PM, Igor PDML-StR wrote: >> >> >> Mark, >> >> ( Sorry, it's a long message, but I wrote a single message to address >> several issues raised by you in this thread.) >> >> >> Sorry, I had missed the part that relates to beeping and that it still >> continues. That's the computer trying to blip the swearing words coming out >> of your mouth. :-) >> >> Actually, that BIOS' beeping is a code for the error (the outcome of >> POST). Search in Google for "bios beep codes" and then add your computer >> maker's name, e.g., >> bios beep codes dell >> Or see them, e.g. here: http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm . >> You'll see what different number of beeps mean. >> >> E.g. 5 short beeps from DELL bios means CMOS battery failure", >> which would be consistent with your leaving the computer off for a week >> (as Darren has suggested). >> >> >> As for the events viewer, - you may still get some additional information >> about what's wrong. >> >> I don't know if you have Win7 (or an earlier system, Vista or XP). >> Under Win-7, there are two ways you can look at things. >> On the LHS, click on "Event Viewer (Local)" >> Then on the RHS, you'll see "Overview and Summary. >> Under the "summary of Administrative Events, you can see categories: >> Critical >> Error >> Warning >> Information >> ... >> And then there will be the number of the corresponding events within the >> last hour, 24 hours, 7 days. >> >> What you are interested in are the first two categories. >> You can click on the "plus" sign to expand, and then see what type of >> events there are. >> >> You are interested in those events for which the column "Log" has >> "System". >> >> Double-Click on each of those and read what it says what was happening. >> In principle, it's ok to have a bunch of those. But you want to see what >> might be relevant to device drivers and timeouts. >> You get back to that same list by clicking again on the "Event Viewer" on >> the LHS. >> >> Alternatively, you can click on "Custom Views" -> Administrative Events, >> and go through the events. >> >> Yet the second alternative, or if it is an older version (I don't remember >> how it looks under XP, and I don't want know to fire up the old XP desktop >> just for that, sorry), you can click on Windows Logs on the LHS, and then on >> "System", and the scroll through tens and hundreds of "Information" >> messages, looking only at the "Error" type. Better yet, you can click on the >> first column "Level", and then it will sort according to the level (it may >> take about a minute while it does that). Then "Critical" and "Error" will be >> at the top (or at the bottom, if you clicked twice). >> >> >> As for restoring to just a few hours ago, that didn't make sense. It was >> making sense only to restore to a few days ago, before you had that mishap >> with the USB driver installation. >> If your HDD space is really tight, the system may have removed the earlier >> restore points, but if not, - you may still want to start "restore" again, >> and look at the earlier dates. >> >> >> Re: Custom build vs. off the shelf. >> I've been buying custom-built PCs (from a highly reputable custom-builder >> Kevin Chalker of KC-Computers, who retired some 3-5 years ago). >> These days, you can buy a well balanced high[er]-end desktop from some >> standard manufacturers, but I would steer clear from Best Buy. >> >> I haven't used them for desktops, but had bought 1 or 2 customized laptops >> from this shop: >> http://www.portableone.com/Custom-Desktops >> (And I had my laptop fixed couple of times while they were still doing >> warranty repairs, which they stopped a few years back.) >> They offer customized desktops. You can look at those. >> They don't built computers from parts, but they customize the quality >> off-the-shelf computer. >> You don't pay too much overhead for the customization, but you avoid the >> headaches and get some assurance that things will be tested to work >> together. >> >> >> HTH. >> >> Good luck! >> >> Igor >> >> >> Mark C Tue, 15 Mar 2016 15:53:37 -0700 wrote: >> >> Thanks Igor - >> >> I don't know what to look for in event viewer... I read through all the >> logs but the only entries that repeat over and over are ones that indicate a >> normal state. The whole "Application and Services Logs" section is blank - >> nothing in there, including the Hardware section (where I expected there >> would be something.) Does that mean that it is not turned on? >> >> >> I did try a system restore but before this happened the machine downloaded >> and installed 30 some updates and created 5 restore points - at least. So >> the best I could do was restore it to a state a few hours earlier. Not sure >> why I have so few restore pints... but with the beeping upon power up, >> before windows loads, I assume this is a hardware issue and not a windows >> issue anyhow. >> >> >> Mark >> >> > > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and > follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
