Posts by Catweazle

Recently we've been getting a lot of questions from people who basically have the same problem - they've assembled a PC but it won't start up correctly!

There is a standard troubleshooting procedure for that scenario which everyone should follow, and I'll describe it to you in a moment. But first let me address a few common issues for people whose older PC won't start any more:

* Does it 'hang' when it's loading Windows or when it reaches the desktop?

If so your problem is most likely a software one and NOT a hardware problem. You should, of course, check that all the cooling fans are working (especially the ones on the processor and the video card) in case overheating is a problem. If you have two or more sticks of RAM which are from different manufacturers you could try using them one at a time in case a RAM mismatch is causing the problem. But other than that the only real way to see if it's a software or a hardware problem is to try running it with a fresh, clean installation of Windows.

Go buy a second hard drive. Extra storage space is always worth having and they're quite inexpensive. Swap your current drive out, put the new one in, and load Windows onto it. If all runs fine you know for certain that the problem is in your original Windows installation. If not you've got a second hard drive to use once …

Hi, an Welcome to DaniWeb.

One thing we ask is that newcomers read the announcements and stickied topics you 'll find at top of page in each section, such as this one:
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread24425.html

We'd like to to have a good look around before posting questions, read the information stuff such as FAQs etc, and then find the appropriate section to post your question in.

Oh wow!

I'm pleased that this matter has been tested in the judicial system. I'm pleased that it has been clearly demonstrated that it's a seriously considered thing. And I'm damn pleased that his lawyer has successfully argued that the fella should NOT actually spend any time in prison!

Sure, if he proves to be a serial 'pest', prison time might eventually prove warranted. But if not, then it's definitely NOT warranted.

Seriously, email spam is a pain in the arse. But hell, even for a person such as myself, for whom the workplace exists online and for whom Outlook is basically the 'front-end' to their business, it's just not that much of an impact to spend several minutes or so each day deleting a bit of crap! Certainly not enough of an impact to warrant the idea of someone spending 10 years in prison. I'm able to spend a good deal of my income-earning time online at very little cost. If part of that cost is being bombarded with advertising in various forms (and it IS), then sobeit! Not much of a price to pay, in my view.

Seriously, if people think it IS such a big thing that it warrants someone spending nearly a decade in prison, then I'd suggest you turn off that machine, go outside, and get a life! You take yourself and your inbox far too seriously!

A recent question requested advice about building your own PC.

The website style is a little amateurish, perhaps, and some of the discussion of components is certainly getting a bit 'dated', but one of the most comprehensive system building guides I've yet come across is Rob Williams' My Super PC website.

http://www.mysuperpc.com/

In particular, the actual assembly instructions are quite detailed indeed, and the principles underlying PC assembly are pretty consistent no matter what system you're putting together.

http://www.mysuperpc.com/build/pc_parts_list.shtml

Another quite good (and a little more professional looking) guide can be found at TomsHardware

http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20020904/index.html
http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20020918/index.html

You need:

- A good AntiVirus program, constantly scanning in the background
- At least two Spyware detection and Removal programs (AdAware, spybot)
- A decent 'Uninstaller', which monitors the programs being installed on your system and ensures that they are properly removed later.
- A good set of computing habits, including a reasonable working knowledge of Windows tools such as Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter
- Sensible web browsing habits and an awareness of what type of "Can I install?" requests to keep clear of.

With those things, you will almost certainly never have a need to call in any 'Doctor' to fix up the problems that have been allowed to arise.

All of those things can be found for free!

Hi Ron,

You will need to obtain Commercial Software to hadle the partitioning for you, unless you wish to Wipe that Windows 98 installation clean and start over. Your Windows 98 Startup diskette will contain a utility called FDISK which will perform drive partitioning for you, but it cannot resize an existing partition. It can only delete partitions and create new ones.

Method 1

Boot from your Windows 98 Startup diskette, and at the A:> prompt, type 'FDISK' (without the quotes). Use the tool to delete the partition, and then to create a new one of the size you require.

How to use FDISK

When finished, proceed with the installation and setup of Windows 98.

The reboot from your Windows Server 2003 CD, and use the install routine to create a second partition and install Windows 2003 Server on it. the installation will create the dual boot for you.

Method 2

Use a Commercial utility profram such as Partition Manager to resize your existing Windows 98 partition, and create a new partition in the remaining space.

Reboot from your Windows Server 2003 CD and install to the new partition. The dual-boot will be created for you as above.