Another computer question!

[Blaine.Bush]

I have a Compaq Presario (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00387090&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=es&cc=pe&product=501777), which is about 4 years old by now. Almost every day, it will spontaneously freeze up while I'm using it. Everything stops, the mouse cursor won't move and disappears after a few seconds, and the tower makes a weird clicking noise. I then have to do a hard shutdown, and turn it back on. However, while the operating system (Windows XP SP3) is loading up (this (http://img.webme.com/pic/j/justinspangler/windows_xp_boot_screen.jpg) screen, just for reference), it will freeze again. And then I have to do a hard shutdown again, and then it freezes on the OS loading screen, and the whole process repeats and I usually have to let the computer sit overnight.

Can anyone tell me what's wrong with my computer?

[Jack Squat]

It's borked. (helpful, right? :smalltongue:)

I'm not what one would call an expert in the field by any means, but if this were happening to me, I'd look at running antivirus, defragging the drive, running C Cleaner (http://ccleaner.com) and taking a can of compressed air to the inside. If that doesn't work, and I couldn't get a hold of a new computer, I'd salvage what I need, and reformat the computer.

I'm sure someone with more experience with this sort of thing will stop in and correct most of my points any second now.

[Mando Knight]

Your computer's old and you're using Windows XP.

RAM might be dying, hard drive might be on its last legs, power supply or cooling fan might be borked...

[MrPig]

Hey, my old P2 350 Mhz can run XP.

But yeah, sounds like you have some hardware failure in the works. If you manage to boot up run a memory test, if that comes up negative then it could be your HDD.

[Emlyn]

Hardware is possible, though it could also be overheating. What are you doing usually doing when it freezes? Also, does any sound come out of the speakers?

[Kill Screen]

It could be a virus--I'm not sure, but ya might want to read up on it.
Overheating is also a likely cause.
Then again, Windows XP is horrible, anyway, so that's always a likely cause: hardware failure.
Basically, what everyone else's said. XD
Of course, it should be fairly obvious if you've got a virus, but you might want to check, just to be sure.
Otherwise, it could just be your computer gettin' up in it's years.

[tyckspoon]

Almost every day, it will spontaneously freeze up while I'm using it. Everything stops, the mouse cursor won't move and disappears after a few seconds, and the tower makes a weird clicking noise.
weird clicking noise.

Hard drive. Terminal hard drive- if you can hear your hard drive in regular operation, it's already dying; usually means the read heads are going out, and possibly making contact with and scratching the drive media itself. It's the only thing in there that can make that sound, aside from the optical drive, and a bad optical drive won't kill your computer. If you have anything on that drive you want to save, get it off now and don't use the computer unless you're in the process of offloading things from the drive- ideally, if you have another computer around/know somebody you can trust with this, you pull it out, attach it to a different computer, and do that backup on a system where your drive errors won't crash the whole thing.

If you don't have anything you need to save on there, pull it out and look up your community's next electronics waste collection day/suitable electronics waste disposal site. It's done for.

[Zeb The Troll]

Hard drive. Terminal hard drive- Exactly what I was about to say. It's the "click of death". I don't think it's actually the R/W heads making contact so much as the motor assembly dying and not being able to position the heads like it's supposed to. Though, frankly, the difference is semantics. Both scenarios mean that you need to get any data you need to have off that drive immediately, and don't have it running for any reason other than archiving that data lest it be totally unrecoverable later.

[valadil]

I used to work in a hardware repair shop. Compaqs were notorious for failing within hours of their warranty expiring. I'd say you were lucky it lasted 4 years instead of the usual 3.

You might be able to get some more mileage out of it by reinstalling your OS. But, as everyone pointed out, your hard drive is probably failing. Replacing that might be enough to keep the machine running, but it might have other problems too.

[Lord Seth]

Take it to a computer store to get it looked at. There's really only so much people can do with a written description.

[Erloas]

Take it to a computer store to get it looked at. There's really only so much people can do with a written description.

Yeah, but taking it to a computer store will likely cost you 1/3 of the cost of a new cheap computer. Seeing as how it is generally about $60 for them to even look at something let alone try and fix it, just getting it looked at is going to cost more then the repair. A new HD (which fits everything stated in the problems) is only $40-50 to start with. So taking it in and having it looked at, then replacing the HD, you are probably at $100 at least and you can get a new (low end but still better then a 4 year old compaq) for $300-400.

I know my parents brought their computer in to get repaired and it cost them $100 to put in a new $15 graphics card because the fan on the previous one went out and they didn't want to wait the couple days it would have been before I could get a chance to look at it.

[KuReshtin]

If you feel like running a check on your hard drive, HItatchi has a pretty good diagnostic tool that will find if there's a problem with the HDD.

Go to this link (http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm) and check the Drive Fitness Test.
There are links to make you create a boot diskette or a boot CD to get the test started.

A VERY useful tool for anyone that has a suspected defective hard drive.
You should be able to run the DFT test regardless if you're running a Hitatchi hard drive or not.

[Blaine.Bush]

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately there's not much I can do about it at the moment, but at least I know what's wrong with the thing.

[scsimodem]

I work for the humorously named computer tech department of a certain electronics retail chain.

http://stores.bestbuy.com/108/files/2009/08/geek_squad_logo.jpg

I'm with the dead HDD guys up there. When I hear the clicking, I immediately think bad hard drive, occasionally a bad fan if everything else points to overheating.

As far as taking it to a store, if you brought it to my precinct, I would tell you that it's a bad HDD (for free) and tell you what your options are. Repairing it would cost more than it's worth (and I'd tell you that if you were a customer in the store, too). Also, if you get a professional data backup, it's risk free as far as $$ is concerned. If we can't do the service, we don't charge you for it. At said retail chain, it's $100. I wouldn't let anyone else charge you more unless they offer to take the thing apart (in which case I would run. That should only be done in a clean room).

They're also right in that an ideal attempt at a data backup would involve hooking the HDD to another computer. If it doesn't load the OS, that's less reading the HDD has to do, thus less stress on the already failing drive.

Disclaimer: This is not meant as an endorsement of any particular product or service, no matter how awesome. It is simply a relaying of my professional credentials and experience in a relevant conversation.

[FinalJustice]

If, despite the 4 years, you are not that short on RAM, you can also try some LiveCD mumbo jumbo with the linux distro of your preference (I use Ubuntu for this). It will be laggy, sure, but it will relieve some stress out of your HDD, since the SO loads from the CD/flash drive and uses only the RAM. Sure, it will be laggy, but you can l get the backup done. And, please, prioritize. There's always a chance your HDD drive dies before you are able to save everything.

(I endorse the hard drive theory, obviously.)

[Hardcore]

1.Having to wait overnight before using the PC suggest a cooling problem. Blaine.Bush didn't say if he opened up the tower and cleaned out the air wents (and don't forget the graphics card!). If he hasn't he should do so using a can of compressed air.

2.I think there is nothing wrong with the HDD. Given that the "weird sounds" are specifially mentioned in the context of the PC not working I assume the HDD actually behaves well at other times. That HDDs make small noises is natural, especially after reset.

3.Depending on how much RAM you got it might be worth to install a smaller OS like XP tiny or U-lite. If it is something like Vista and you little RAM then the PC will use the HDD as cache memory and read and write to it a lot.


Oh, yes, if you want to save files from a HDD that looks bad just buy a new one and install. Then you just format the HDD, install the OS and transfer the files from the old HDD.

[tyckspoon]

1.Having to wait overnight before using the PC suggest a cooling problem. Blaine.Bush didn't say if he opened up the tower and cleaned out the air wents (and don't forget the graphics card!). If he hasn't he should do so using a can of compressed air.

2.I think there is nothing wrong with the HDD. Given that the "weird sounds" are specifially mentioned in the context of the PC not working I assume the HDD actually behaves well at other times. That HDDs make small noises is natural, especially after reset.


Small noises, yes. Clicking noises, no. Nothing in a computer is supposed to click- the natural sound of a computer is whirring from fans and unusually loud or active drives. Clicking means something mechanical is breaking down, and that means fan or hard drive. It could be a fan that is completely jammed up to the point of being unable to move (PSU or CPU fans would be most likely to result in the kind of shutdown crash described; case fans usually aren't that critical), but I believe such a fan wouldn't take any particular time to cause the problem- if the CPU heatsink/fan assembly is nonfunctional, the computer will shut down almost immediately when the thermal safety sensors are tripped. A clogged power supply fan could be ID'd on visual inspection without even opening the case, and hopefully would have been cleared if it was that bad.

So.. still betting on hard drive.

[Hardcore]

Depends on what you mean by using the word "click". I could use it for my perfectly working, 8 month old, 1TB HDD.
This because I know no better word to describe the sound it makes.

[Erloas]

Depends on what you mean by using the word "click". I could use it for my perfectly working, 8 month old, 1TB HDD.
This because I know no better word to describe the sound it makes.

Yes, but in this case the clicking was states as being out of place and not normal for the previous 4 years of the computer's operation.

If it were a fan going out instead the clicking would have to start a fair amount before the computer froze, because even without a fan it would take a few minutes in most circumstances to overheat a system because the heatsinks will disapate heat even without a fan, just not as effectively. Also a fan would probably be clicking constantly from the moment you turned on the computer, and if the fan is still clicking then it is still moving and while it would probably be spinning slower it would still be moving a decent amount of air. If the clicking was constant, then stopped and then the problems happened, then I would think it is the fan.

[Hardcore]

Well, he said heard the clicking sound AFTER everything froze. Not before.