Re: emachines w3107 question



That's one of the questions that will never get a "Meeting of the
Minds". Most new computers have "Low Power" modes where
the PC for all intents is off. The better question is how often do
you use the PC and does boot time matter to you. I turn mine on
in the morning and off at night. Some people leave their PCs on
24-7 and allow them to go to Standby or Hibernate. On average
a computer "Fully Awake & Running" consumes power similar to
a 100-watt light bulb.

From a technical standpoint heat ages electrical components. So
leaving it on consumes power that is partly dissipated as heat. But
if you allow it to go to sleep then the power draw is nearly zero.

A computer in Hibernate or Standby can be resumed quicker than
if it's doing a cold boot.

Maybe this is a question for "The Mythbusters" (?) I'd just use it
the way you like and not worry about shortening it's life. Besides
most PC's become obsolete before they physically fail.

"dedmunne" <dedmunne.29f4047@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dedmunne.29f4047@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

w_tom;3140369 Wrote:
On Jun 18, 6:29*am, dedmunne dedmunne.29ea...@xxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:-
My girlfriend has left this comp running 24/7and we've had the comp.
for
about 2 years with no problems until yesterday when a storm knocked
out
the electricity and ALL that appears on the screen now is this

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
MediaShield ROM BIOS 6.33
Copyright (C) 2005 NVIDIA Corp.
Detecting array ...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

She rebooted several times and a couple of times " Windows
root\system32\hal.dll. is missing " appeared on the screen .
We first tried the "Recovery Disc" that came with the comp. and tried
both the "Destructive" repair and the "with Back-up" repair options
to
no avail and now when you reboot the only thing on the screen besides
the *eMachines logo is
BOOT Menu F10
BIOS Settings F2-

Better computer manufacturers provide comprehensive hardware
diagnostics for free just for this problem. Currently, you are trying
to fix everything at once rather than break the problem into parts;
address hardware separately without Windows.

For example, a missing .DLL file might be a Windows problem. Kernel
Inpage error message implies hardware. System now booting only BIOS
and not Windows - either. Executing hardware diagnostic verifies
hardware without the complication of Windows - simplifies a solution
by analyzing hardware without Windows complications.

So download diagnostics from third parties. For example, a memory
checker (MemTst86) can be downloaded and booted. But what can you
boot that system from now that Windows does not boot. Memtst86
normally would boot from a floppy. A responsible manufacturer would
provide complete diagnostics to boot from a CD. Could you load and
boot Memtst86 from a memory stick? You must do this to first
establish where the defect lies.

Repeat same for hard disk. Download and boot that diagnostic from
the hard drive manufacturer.

Another approach is to verify various subsystems. For example, all
those strange problems could be due to a power supply 'system'
problem. Yes, every one of those previous error messages can be
traceable to voltages that exist and are too low. Thirty second with
a multimeter would provide the complete answer. Measure VDC on any
one of orange, red, purple, and yellow wires when system should be
booting. If numbers exceed 3.23, 4.97, or 11.7, then that subsystem
is perfectly good - move on to other suspects.

Each suggestion has a common theme. Break the problem into parts.
Establish which parts do or do not work - definitively. This occurs
so much faster if the manufacturer provided comprehensive hardware
diagnostics. Once hardware integrity is known, only then move on to
address potential Windows problems. However, based upon your various
error messages, this is probably a hardware failure; each message
pointing at completely different hardware which is why a power supply
'system' is also suspect.

Why did failure occur? A useful answer is only after the defect is
identified.

Thank you all for your replies but since I know nothing about the inner
workings of a comp. then I suppose we will have to buy another one
because I doubt the bill to fix it would be that much less than buying
a new one that is better than the one we have now.

One last question though...is it better to turn your comp. off when not
in use or does it really decrease the lifespan of a comp. to just leave
it running all the time?

Thanks again so much for your replies.




--
dedmunne


.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Windows XP does NOT BOOT..FREEZES??
    ... It could be hardware failures. ... Do you get the same error number each time you boot to a particular startup (such as each time your go to START WINDOWS NORMALLY)? ... when hitting SAFE MODE: blue screen with error code is as follow: ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.mediacenter)
  • Re: unmountable boot volume blue screen error
    ... It's always hard to narrow down a boot failure. ... intelppm.sys -Processor Device driver. ... purpose but I suspect disconnecting hardware is not a solution. ... screen) but it just keeps going to the windows screen telling you ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Boot fail -- missing file
    ... I will investigate the power supply. ... P.S Could you boot to any mode like safe Mode or Normal mode?. ... If you are using Windows XP Home ... 9- Then type bootcfg /rebuild ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: XP Pro - reboot loop
    ... Try hitting the Escape button during the boot process. ... How to Use Clean Boot Troubleshooting for Windows XP ... How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP ... hardware and software/Hardware/Update and Troubleshooters. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Dell Optiplex GX280 shuts down randomly after moving...
    ... Windows got really confused and would not boot. ... I did feel the power supply fan. ... I noticed sometimes the motherboard didn't see the SATA HDD at all. ... Then, turning on the sytem, then blue screens during Windows XP's boot up. ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)