Freezin'

Steve Frost · From: Scarborough,Maine

Recently bought a "refurbished" Compaq computer. It froze up almost from day 1. I'm seeing blue screens of death in my sleep. Some genius designed it without a reset button (why would you ever need that?), so I have to kill the power to restart it when it locks up, which it does often.

Is it possible I got a bad install of Windows 98? Should I try to reload Windows, or just ship it back and tell 'em where to insert their floppies? Part of what I'm asking is , how do I know if it's a software glitch or a hardware problem. I'd appreciate any help- Steev

Geoff Brown · From: Nashvegas

I can't believe there isn't a reset button someplace. Did you buy it refurbished from Compaq? I would contact them if you can't find a reset button, because turning the machine off as you are doing is not good, as you probably know. Did you install 98 or did it come already installed? It's not impossible that the install was bad. You might try reformatting the HD and doing a clean install again. I'm assuming you don't have a lot of software installed in addition to windows. Pretty much just 98 on it right now?

Craig Allen · From: BEREA, KENTUCKY, USA

you bought a Compaq. That says enough!!!

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I have a Compaq (Model 5170) and it seems to run good. They don't make "reset" buttons on computers like they used to. The last PC I saw with a "reset" button was an old 486 machine.

The "Blue screen of death" is a Windows OS error. Could be many reasons, from a bad load of Windows to an application that is causing the faults. Old drivers, hardware, etc. Compaq has "softpaq's" (their name for program updates) on their web site for the various models. Check with the site and download any updates for that machine and see if it helps.

If the hardware can handle Win ME, I'd suggest going that route. I would occasionally get a "blue screen" on Win98. Since I've upgraded to WIN ME, the blue screens are gone. That's one thing Microsoft appears to have fixed in the ME version. A program may bomb, but usually it's just the application that bombs and you don't have to completely reload, just restart the application.

Back to the "reset" switch. Most (newer) models of Compaq have a "power off" button on the front and then a "master" power switch on the back. Sometimes if the system hangs up you can push the front panel power button and hold it for little while and it will eventually power off.

As far as Compaq being crap. They are all in the same category. I have a small part time Computer buisness and I can relate "horror" stories on any brand - Gateway, Dell, IBM, Hewlett Packard, custom built, etc, etc.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Here's the link to download Compaq SoftPaq's. http://web14.compaq.com/falco/sp_list.asp

Bill Crook · From: Goodlettsville, TN , Spending my kid's inheritance

While I haven't delved into the Compaq machines too deep,I do note that most machines(lets back up a bit and say,motherboards) do have options for a reset switch. It's generally a set of pins grouped in with the other options(HD lite,power lite,speaker connection,etc,etc),all to often overlooked by setup crews. Now, lets take a good look at the case.... often there is a very small little button close to the power switch that is flush with the cabinet so you cain't push it with your finger,(I have to use a pencil or such to activate it) It may or may not be connected to the motherboard. most of the time, this button isn't marked or have a label refering to it.

Last but not least, there is the time honored methode of the 3 fingered salute....

ALT-CTRL-DELETE.......

I have never seen a machine that didn't do a re-start by useing this. If the key board itself dosen't respond to ALT-CTRL-DELETE, then one must do a power-off because the operating system has gotton corrupted beyond a fixable salution by the drivers and such.

There are times that this isn't caused by the operating system, but by poor design of the application program. If a computer hangs up at a certain point every time in a application program,I would supect the application program before I would the computer....

Just my thoughts on this matter.

Geoff Brown · From: Nashvegas

Yeah, I'd agree that Compaq is no better or worse than anything else out there. The refurb part of this bothers me tho. Sometimes refurbs can be a good deal, other times you wonder why you just didn't spend the xtra $$ and avoid the headache. You might run scandisk to see what shape the HD is in. Can't hurt. Maybe there are some bad spots that messed up the install.
Man, I dunno about using ME. I know people who like it, and others that don't. I wish I could say I like it, but I don't. It does a lot of strange little things. Usually nothing too serious, but I get a good number of lockups and a fair share of blue screens...as many as I got with 98 1st edition I'd say. ME had a problem with a memory leak, which has supposedly been fixed, but I'm not sure about that. Seems like I have to reboot frequently, and I have 256k of SDRAM. I dunno. ME has System Restore, which is a nice thing, and supposedly it has protection against registry overwrites. I don't know how much I'd trust that, but if it works, great. Most of the techies I've talked with don't like ME, and suggest 98 2nd edition. They say it's much more stable than ME or 98 1st ed.
Who knows...someone will post and say 2nd ed. is garbage too. I guess Y2K is good, but it's way too expensive for me to afford, and probably overkill for a home user. I still can't believe there isn't a little reset(reboot) button on that thing.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Most of the newer "Windows" machines do not have the reset button. If you don't do an "orderly" shutdown of Windows you have the potential to garbage up data, which may lead to having to reinstall the software.

In the old DOS days, a "reset" was no big deal and about the same as the "three finger wave" (CTRL/ALT/DEL). But, we are no longer in a "dos" environment (most of us) and the reset, for most people, is not something to put on the front of a PC - it helps buisness for those like me that work on them but that's about all.

As far as WIN ME, there are certain hardware requirements and if they are not met, WIN ME will not work well, if at all. I've had some clients try and run ME on an old Pentium 1 and it just don't work.

Win 2K is the non-consumer, commercial operating system. It does not support a lot of multimedia applications and has more stringent hardware requirements than Windows ME. Also NT/2K requires the hardware and software to be NT compliant which is another problem as a lot of the consumer hardware is not compatible with NT/2K.

Now, comes Windows XP (two versions one for consumers and one for commercial), which is going to raise the bar again on hardware. Many of the machines running Windows ME will not be able to run XP (but there will be those that try and then complain because it doesn't run right and crashes all the time).

Craig Allen · From: BEREA, KENTUCKY, USA

I don't think any of us know exactly what OS you are running, other than Win98.

If you are inclined to reload, then reload with a consumer version of Win98SE.
I suspect you are trying to run 1st edition, and it locks up regularly.
If you choose to do this, then do this.

Do an F-disk, then format. Then reload 98SE.

The reset button you refer to , does what's called a soft shut down. When you push the reset button on older machines, it shuts down the OS, with out shutting down the hard drive. Pushing the power button, and effectively crashing your system during lock up is hard on the Hard Drive, and can cause all kinds of defects in your HD.

With a system that is up and running, you can achieve the same thing, by restarting windows only. You can do this by selecting "start" + shutdown + restart. While selecting restart, hold the shift button on the keyboard.

My problem with Compaq, is the same as with all the consumer equipment. It's branded!!
Compaq just seems to be the worse of all the branded gear.
On older Compaqs, if you wanted to upgrade the RAM, you had to get RAM from Compaq, or it wouldn't work well.
They only supply a restore disk, not a full version of the OS. Their software is dedicated to their systems only, and can't be easily used on another system. This can be a problem, when your kids confuser is a Packard/Bell and you need to work on IT.

I've built all 3 of the systems that are in my house, and I would never go back to a branded system.
I know that there are a lot of branded systems out there as so there should be, but I have a problem with manufacturers that force you to come to them and buy their stuff to fix your stuff.

Please don't misunderstand me, I am NOT flaming anybody, and MY flame resistant suit is in the cleaners.....so.......

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

ALL Versions of Win98 are "consumer versions"

The commercial Microsoft workstaton/server OS are Windows NT (several versions) and Windows 2000(the current version).

I have no problem with branded or unbranded PC's. But, for the average consumer they are better off with a branded system. Most, want a system they can "turn on" and it works. The "unbranded" systems are for the advanced or adventurous user who doesn't need good documentation or support.

Most manufactures provide "disk image" backup/recovery software. This again, is the easiest way for a "non-techie" to restore their system. Hell, I get calls just to install a game or some other application software.

S/W is only licensed for one machine, anyway.

Steve Frost · From: Scarborough,Maine

Thanks guys- I would have been back with more information, if I could have been. Unfortunately, the computer wasn't cooperating. So... this is Win 98 SE, installed by the refurb company. It locks up....sometimes on the Compaq screen... sometimes on the Windows 98 screen... sometimes it waits until the desktop to lockup. Sometimes when its begun scandisk. occasionally during dialup. And then again, sometimes, like right now it works. I haven't tried holding the on button in to shut it down. Control /alt/ delete doesn't impress it at all when it freezes. Frankly, I think I got a lemon here. I didn't get a "new" computer because I needed some additional aggravation. If you can walk me through a reinstall of Windows, I'll try that, but this experience is giving me heartburn. Especially after I went on about the great deal I got...

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

If you got the Compaq "quickrestore" CD, you can just insert it in the CD reader and it should automatically come up with the options. On some later models they have a restore partion ("D") that has the data on there and you should have a quickrestore option or maintenance icon (or something similar) that you can bring up and it should have the restore options in it.

But, before you do a restore, check the compaq site, at the link I provided and check for any updates. They may already have a fix for some of your problems and it may be a BIOS update. If an update fixes it, it will be a lot easier. I doubt that the "refurbisher" loaded anything other than the original disk image. Probably none of the updates. There have been some Microsoft Win98 updates also which you probably don't have. If if won't run long enough to download any updates, get a friend to do it or let me know and I can copy the Compaq update CD I have that has updates for many models. Let me know what your model is (e.g. my Presario is a 5170).

Steve Frost · From: Scarborough,Maine

This is a Presario 5838,128 meg ram, I believe its 500mhz. I downloaded a couple patches will see if they help. "course with an intermittent problem, that can be tough to judge. It came with a win 98 disk and a floppy, but don't mention the restore feature.

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Steve, apparently they didn't supply you with the Compaq restore disks (and it also sounds like they didn't load it with the original software).

You may want to look into getting the restore disk from Compaq for that machine. It may "fix" a lot of the problems. A lot of the hardware needs Compaq configured drivers to work properly. e.g. the video may be a certain brand but the generic driver for that particular model may or may not work. But the Compaq supplied driver is specifically set up for that configuration.
This may be a lot of your problems.

Dennis Lobdell · From: Freeport,Tx,USA

Hi Steve: From what I can tell this is common for presario's. Mine does the same thing and has since it was new. Good luck.
Dennis

Everett Cox · From: Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)

Steve -- Check your email. I sent some info found by digging into the Compaq site. --Everett

Steve Frost · From: Scarborough,Maine

Thanks Everett- that's some small comfort, (I guess!!). Didn't see any such pinhole on my case , front or right side, unless they stuck the windows sticker over it. Anyway, the box is working at the moment. Whether or not I had anything to do with the problem or the apparent cure is an open question. However, I seem to be stuck in 16 color mode, which destroys any notion of bootleg posters of the Jimbeaux!

When I make the change in the Display dialog box, it doesn't take effect.

Are we havin fun yet? Jack I guess I'll get one of the Compaq restore disks, if I don't take a sledge hammer to it first.Any clue on my recalcitrant display.

Everett Cox · From: Marengo, OH, USA (deceased)

Steve-- The display problem may be due to any of several causes. The most common one that is easily corrected by the user is a mis-match of video driver and the monitor.

What brand/model is your monitor? What display adapter (card or chip-set) is installed and what driver are you using with it???

Get to the Display/Settings applet thru Control Panel or by RIGHT-clicking an empty spot on your screen. Once there, click 'Advanced' and check both the 'Adapter' and 'Monitor' to see that they are proper for your hardware. Change either or both as required. Restart the machine.

That was only a brief roadmap - if you want more details, let me know. --Everett

Craig Allen · From: BEREA, KENTUCKY, USA

Another thing you may be forgetting, is to change the slider to 800x600 resilution.
Also select aply settings without a restart.

erik · Posted 9 Jul 2001 6:58 pm

my unbranded system has a reset button right underneath the power off. it also came with complete documentation for assembling and setting bios... although, my system came assembled. it is a good system. i'm glad i went with an no-name. i still have to low-level format my HD after screwing around too much, but i like having to learn things. my system is out of warranty but so far have gotten free tech help from the seller, manufacturer, and HD manufacturer. can't complain. the only downside is i only have one expansion slot. so it's a choice between audio or graphics. it will most likely be audio. right now audio and graphics work off the board.

steve frost, don't rule out a low-level format. open your case and get the model of your HD and go to their website and look into the formatting. standard format may not help your problem. then again. make sure you have all your programs on CD or disks to load back in.
oh, if it's an option, i'd send it back. whatever your budget dictates.

Steve Frost · From: Scarborough,Maine

A friend has a Compaq Presario 5834, ( mine's a 5838). Would I be digging myself in deeper if I tried his Master restore disk? I don't know how individual these disks are. Sounds pretty close..... Would I be likely to shoot myself in the foot?

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Steve, unless it's the same hardware, forget it. The customized software is set up for a specific hardware configuration. e.g. that other model may have a different video board. It could also have a different cpu/mother board, etc.

The only way to do it right is get the proper Quickrestore CD from Compaq. Call, they may send you one free, if not I think they are only about $10.

Steve Frost · From: Scarborough,Maine

Thanks,Jack, and all the other respondents (responders??) I've ordered a QuickRestore disk for this machine, hopefully it will get me out of the woods, and into a lifestyle of untrammelled pleasure in computing. If not , I'll eat the $10 and send this thing back. Thanks for all the help!!

David Pennybaker · From: Conroe, TX USA

Definitely try the QuickRestore.

They really should've included that with the refurbed system.

The first refurb Compaq I bought (they've got a store right here in Houston) had big-time problems. Finally ended up taking it back.

Others (mainly laptops) have been just fine out-of-the-box.

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