Help Please

I have a desktop computer with Windows XP installed. It has been running very, very, very slow and takes sometimes 10 minutes to boot up. I've run virus and spyware scans and they usually come back clean. For the past week, something new has begun to happen. Every now and then, the computer will just shut down. The computer still has a power light on, but the monitor goes black. The power light turns yellow on both the computer and the monitor. It's almost as though the computer puts itself into hybernation. It can happen after an hour on the computer and it's happened on bootup. I hope there's someone who might have an idea as to what is going on here and give me a little direction. Thanks in advance for all your help.

Hi buckeyefrank100, Over-heating? Especially over-heating of the CPU or Video Card? Turn off your machine and unplug the power cord. Open up the case. Clean out the dustbunnies with a can of compressed air. Give particular attention to the cooling fins of the CPU heatsink and the cooling fins of the Video Card. Check that all fans are spinning freely by temporarily re-attaching the power cord while the case is still open. Inspect all the fans visually. If any are not spinning, then shut down the machine immediately. Check connections on the faulty fan, be sure it's clean, try it again with power. If it still doesn't spin, Replace it. Best Regards

It is not overheating. I checked that. My 13 year old nephew came over to look at it and mentioned he thought there was some missing system files. I have Windows XP. I am able at this point to boot the computer up in safe mode and occassionally can get into Windows using a previous configuration. What is happening is that the computer just seems to power off for no reason, but it's not completely powering down because the disk drive light is still on like it's working. The only thing I can do is to power off the computer and reboot. My question is this. Could missing system files cause this issue? If so, is there anyway to find out what's missing because I cannot find my windows installation disk. If this isn't the cause, what else could be doing this to me? Thank you. Buckeyefrank100

Ok, not an over-heating problem. You nephew is on the right track for the next issue to investigate. Windows has a built-in utillity to check this out, called: Windows File Protection System File Checker to Run System File Checker… Start - Run - (type)sfc /scannow If SFC detects a corrupted or missing operating system file, it will attempt to replace it with an original. Ordinarily, this would be copied from your operating system Installation CD. So now you may run into a problem since you indicate that you've "lost" that CD. Bummer. But there may be a few options for you. First….. Was your operating system "pre-loaded" with a backup partition on a D:\ drive? if so, then any needed replacement file will be located there in Folder i386 Second, For purposes of System File Checker, you can use "any" XP installation CD. (that means you could borrow one from any other machine running XP) Finally, if the above doesn't exist or somehow fails your purpose, you can order the XP SP2 CD from Microsoft. It will cost about $9 and is shipped promptly. It usually arrives within one week. If no Operating System files are identified as missing or corrupt, then we move to a next step… CHECKDISK This will identify and identify and repair any disk "faults" on your Hard Drive. Please keep us posted with your progress. Best Regards

I had to boot into safe mode. I followed your instructions, but it didn't work. I typed in sfc/scannow to run, but I got an error message saying it couldn't find the file. I searched and found sfc, so it appears the /scannow didn't work. Any help you can give will be appreciated. Thanks

People sometimes overlook the necessary "spaces" in command line items. I'm at fault here because I didn't take the extra step of alerting you to be mindful of the space. Start - Run - (type)sfc /scannow <—- please note the space between "c" and "/" Sorry about that. Doug

Thanks for the update. I was wondering if there was a spacing issue somewhere. I just tried it while I am operating in safe mode. A dos box popped up quickly and disappeared. I could see it had some writing on it, but it came and went too quickly. Does that mean it didn't find anything missing? My Windows XP software came preloaded with my computer, but I don't see that it's partitioned. I do see a c:/i386 folder though. Is that what I'm looking for or would it be on a separate drive letter? I shouldn't really have said I lost the CD, we just recently moved and everything is still in boxes. I just have NO clue where it would be at this point. I will have access tomorrow to an XP install disk I believe. Thank you again for your prompt response. Buckeyefrank100

hi buckeyefrank100, Yes the DOS type box opening and closing quickly is normal when running SFC, but…. Then a Windows File Protection "progress bar" should appear and mark the progress of the scan which should take about 20 minutes on most machines. Since the "progress bar" didn't appear as anticipated, the SFC process did not take place. Please try to run SFC after booting into Normal Mode. same entry: Start - Run - (type)sfc /scannow - Enter Yes the files that SFC may need are in the i386 Folder. SFC will probably "find" them there, but it is good that you know where to look, in case you need to direct SFC about where to look. Best Regards

I was able (after many tries) to open windows in regular mode under my daughter's account. I was able to run the sfc program and it went through its' process. I wasn't at my computer when it finished so I'm not sure if anything came up at it's conclusion. When I returned, my desktop was visible with no windows open. Does this mean it didn't find anything or does it fix it automatically? Thanks/Buckeyefrank100

If it ran the full scan it would have replaced any missing or corrupted files automatically, presuming that it new where to look; either the i386 folder or the Installation CD. If unresolveable problems remain, you still have the ability to run a "repair installation" from your Recovery Console accessed via booting from the Installation CD. How's your machine running at this point?

If it ran the full scan it would have replaced any missing or corrupted files automatically, presuming that it new where to look; either the i386 folder or the Installation CD.

If unresolveable problems remain, you still have the ability to run a "repair installation" from your Recovery Console accessed via booting from the Installation CD.

In your original posting, you stated:

I've run virus and spyware scans and they usually come back clean.

What did you mean by "usually"?

If you mean that you pick up a few tracking cookies and never anything else,
And that there have been no
1. browser re-directs
2. unusual attempt of applications to access the internet through your firewall
3. unusual hard drive activity
4. slowing of ordinary and routine computer activity
5. etc., etc.
then maybe you have no Malware problem here, ……..but maybe you do.

I recommend that you play it safe and post a HJT over in the Malware Removal Forum to assure against Malware.

Running a "Repair Installation" will give you a fresh Operating System, but no guarantee that Malware is not lurking in files/registry ready to repeat the same problems you've been experiencing

How's your machine running at this point?

I will work on getting an installation CD from Microsoft to do a repair installation. My computer is still shutting down. When it was working, it was running very, very slowly. I will go ahead and post a HJT log over in the other forum. Thanks for your help. Buckeyefrank100

I have access to a Windows XP professional reinstallation CD, but I believe I have the home edition. Would I be able to use this to try reinstalling Windows? Thanks

The simplistic answer is - use the same operating system Installation CD as is currently installed. The better answer that most people want to hear is that either will do for a re-install, but there are many potential complications, since Home does not have many features that Pro has, and "who knows" if some of the "Pro" features are the ones that need the fixin'. Wish I had a better answer for you.

I just wanted to give you an update and maybe get some advice as to where to go from here. I installed Windows XP Pro edition. Right after the install, I was able to log into windows normally for a very short time, before the computer shut down. When I say shut down, the light on the disk drive is still yellow, like its running, but the power light is off on the computer. I cannot boot into windows normally anymore and I can boot into safe mode (with or without networking) about 50% of the time. I ran chkdsk (in safe mode) and it noted that there were errors and that I should run it with the /f switch. I tried to run it with the switch and received an error message that it couldn't lock the file (probably because it was in use). How do I run chkdsk and fix the errors that it can identify? I have the windows xp pro re-installation disk. I'm assuming at this point, it's the hard drive that's the problem. I have access to a laptop and can purchase an external or internal hard drive to replace if necessary. I have a lot of data and programs on this computer that I need. If I buy a new hard drive, how do I get those programs onto the new hard drive? Thank you for your help, Buckeyefrank100