Southern Wolf
I don't bite..... HARD!!!
and the next post from Rich will be... the computer is smoking... guess Murphy took it personal. LOL
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Posted 08/15/2025
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Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.
Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."
Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....
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Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....
PC died......
- Thread starter WebSlave
- Start date
OK, it's time to really tweak Murphy's nose. Just over a week has passed since I reseated all the cables and my PC has been running WITHOUT a hitch................ 
Well one of the lights on the keyboard is blinking erratically.......... Hmm, no funny noises yet............
Maybe it's fixed?????
Well one of the lights on the keyboard is blinking erratically.......... Hmm, no funny noises yet............
Maybe it's fixed?????
HappyHillbilly
New member
Southern Wolf
I don't bite..... HARD!!!
ya know that light on the keyboard that is blinking erratically.... thats just lettin you know your gettin hacked again LOL
Had another RAID 0 failure today. Cold booting the system brought me back, but with CHKDSK starting automatically.I've had the system lock up solid every few days. No errors or warnings. The screen was still displaying the last image, but mouse was dead and the keyboard might as well have had the cable cut.
Gee, doing taxes on this thing is going to be a real blast. That's all I need would be to have my taxes nearly finished and have this turkey die completely on me.
Piece of crap..........
Southern Wolf
I don't bite..... HARD!!!
sound like it is time for a new one.
HappyHillbilly
New member
Sorry to hear about that, Rich. I know how frustrating it can be.
Have you looked at the Event Log to see if there's any info there that might help figure out what's going on? (Just in case: Start\All Programs\Administrative Tools\Event Viewer - look in the Application category and System category.)
Have you tried a different mouse & keyboard? If one or both of them are IR (cordless) check you batteries and anything/everything else related to them.
Faulty RAM can produce various errors that send users on a wild goose chase. There's a free memory test porgram called Memtest86 that you can use to test your RAM. On the Home page of it's website you can click the links on the left side to read more on it & download a free version of it. Here's the link to the home page: http://www.memtest86.com/
The best method for testing RAM, in my opinion, is to use some that you KNOW are good, like from a working PC. But that Memtest program is pretty good.
Last, but not least - I'd make a full, complete backup of both HD then download & run the drive mfg's diagnostic software on them.
Can you put your finger on any changes at all that took place between the time it was running so good a few weeks ago and when the problems started this last time? Change in room temperature, new hardware of software installed, or anything? Is the PC under a heavy load (a lot of programs open/running), or doing any specific task, when the problems occur?
I'd even go into CMOS Setup and check to make sure your power supply is providing the proper voltage. If I remember right, as long as it's within 10 - 15% of what it's supposed to be it's OK. Or better yet, test it with a multimeter.
I know it's under warranty but it might be worthwhile to take it to a local, reputable PC technician, if you know of one.
Hang in there!
Mike
Have you looked at the Event Log to see if there's any info there that might help figure out what's going on? (Just in case: Start\All Programs\Administrative Tools\Event Viewer - look in the Application category and System category.)
Have you tried a different mouse & keyboard? If one or both of them are IR (cordless) check you batteries and anything/everything else related to them.
Faulty RAM can produce various errors that send users on a wild goose chase. There's a free memory test porgram called Memtest86 that you can use to test your RAM. On the Home page of it's website you can click the links on the left side to read more on it & download a free version of it. Here's the link to the home page: http://www.memtest86.com/
The best method for testing RAM, in my opinion, is to use some that you KNOW are good, like from a working PC. But that Memtest program is pretty good.
Last, but not least - I'd make a full, complete backup of both HD then download & run the drive mfg's diagnostic software on them.
Can you put your finger on any changes at all that took place between the time it was running so good a few weeks ago and when the problems started this last time? Change in room temperature, new hardware of software installed, or anything? Is the PC under a heavy load (a lot of programs open/running), or doing any specific task, when the problems occur?
I'd even go into CMOS Setup and check to make sure your power supply is providing the proper voltage. If I remember right, as long as it's within 10 - 15% of what it's supposed to be it's OK. Or better yet, test it with a multimeter.
I know it's under warranty but it might be worthwhile to take it to a local, reputable PC technician, if you know of one.
Hang in there!
Mike
Thanks for the troubleshooting tips.
I took a look at the system event log, and it doesn't look good to me...
I'll download that memtest program and give it a whirl.
I seriously doubt it's a keyboard and/or mouse issue. When the system dies, all audible disk activity inside the case just ceases. Windows is always chortling away to itself otherwise....
Is there any sort of monitor program that will display power supply voltages in real time? I've got a nVidia nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard.... Any time in the past when I have had a system die like this it has turned out to be the power supply spiking the system. Most systems have circuitry to detect low voltages or outages, but high spikes to the voltage will normally kill a system without any warning or error trail to follow.
So far no word from Velocity Micro about this.......
Thanks........
HappyHillbilly
New member
Doesn't look good to me, either.
I can't remember if either one of those monitoring programs I mentioned earlier monitors PSU voltages or not.
I suggest skipping the Memtest and anything else and back up your drives and then run diagnostics on them. One of your errors should tell you which drive could be the problem. I think an error message you posted earlier in this thread said which one.
Here's the link to Western Digital's diagnotsic software download page. Pick which drive you have, which I think you said was SATA, and it will list several different ones to choose from. Place your cursor over each one and it gives the drives' model number, which you can get your model # from Device Manager, under disk drives.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp
It could be an issue with your RAID software, but I doubt it.
Put the gun away - for now.
Catch ya later!
Mike
Well, here's where I am right now.... 
Well, almost....
Reseating the cables seems to have fixed that RAID error I had been getting on DRIVE 0. At least so far. But I kept having the system just lock up solid on me intermittently. Sometimes immediately upon starting the system up in the morning, and other times after running for a few hours. Didn't seem to make any different as to whether I was doing something on it, of it was just sitting idle with the screen saver running. Just going long just fine, then *blip*, the mouse and keyboard quit while the screen remains frozen where it was at. Requires me to to a hard reset in order to bring it back, at least for a little while.
Definitely getting frustrated by this.
Tried to roll back my system with the Windows system restore function, but all the earlier restore points would attempt to process then just fail, leaving me back where I started. I uninstalled some programs that had been installed just prior to this problem showing up. Didn't help. Uninstalled some other programs that I thought might be a long shot. Still didn't help.
Aarrrghhh.....
I contacted Velocity Micro thinking I must have a flaky power supply. So they have a new on on the way to me.
In the meantime, I wanted to still plug away at this. I just wasn't completely convinced it was a power supply problem, even though it sure seemed like it to me...
I located that memtest86 program and created a boot CD of the program. Ran the test and it locked up after just a few tests. Ran it again a few more times and had it fail again each time. So, I'm thinking "Eureka!" It must be a RAM problem. But my spider sense was tingling. On a hunch, I tried this memtest86 on my older computer. Damn... It failed on that one too. I found another version of the program called Memtest86+ and tried that. Same darn results. Fails on both of my computers. No error messages or warnings, it just locks up solid. So is it the power supply? Lord help me, what if I need to reload Windows and all those bazillion programs I have installed....
But I have to at least see if that is the case....
I cranked up Windows in SAFE mode and just let it run for a few hours. No lockups. Hmm... Ok, so I went into msconfig and disabled all the startup programs. ALL of them. That was about 12 hours ago, and so far not a flicker of a problem.
So, it appears (knock on fake wood desk), that something is being started up in the startup procedure that is killing the system intermittently. Apparently nothing there was essential to the running of my system, since I am chugging along just fine now. But I would think that at least SOME of that stuff has to be at least slightly important to something, don't you think?
Well, I'm going to let it run as it is for a few days and just see what happens. If it remains stable (yeah, I'm on pins and needles the entire time with this thing), then I can look closely at those startup routines and just re-enable a few of them that look like they might be needed. And then let it run for a while to see if the problem comes back.
Or is Murphy just waiting to pounce? Yeah, probably waiting for me to start doing my taxes so I can lose a lot of work. I'm sure THAT's it......
Anyway, is here any suite of programs out there that can effectively analyze a running Windows XP system to trap and neuter driver errors and routines running at startup? Seems kind of goofy that such things can smack the system dead in the blink of an eye and there is nothing at all to trap that error before the damage takes place.
Well, almost....
Reseating the cables seems to have fixed that RAID error I had been getting on DRIVE 0. At least so far. But I kept having the system just lock up solid on me intermittently. Sometimes immediately upon starting the system up in the morning, and other times after running for a few hours. Didn't seem to make any different as to whether I was doing something on it, of it was just sitting idle with the screen saver running. Just going long just fine, then *blip*, the mouse and keyboard quit while the screen remains frozen where it was at. Requires me to to a hard reset in order to bring it back, at least for a little while.
Definitely getting frustrated by this.
Tried to roll back my system with the Windows system restore function, but all the earlier restore points would attempt to process then just fail, leaving me back where I started. I uninstalled some programs that had been installed just prior to this problem showing up. Didn't help. Uninstalled some other programs that I thought might be a long shot. Still didn't help.
Aarrrghhh.....
I contacted Velocity Micro thinking I must have a flaky power supply. So they have a new on on the way to me.
In the meantime, I wanted to still plug away at this. I just wasn't completely convinced it was a power supply problem, even though it sure seemed like it to me...
I located that memtest86 program and created a boot CD of the program. Ran the test and it locked up after just a few tests. Ran it again a few more times and had it fail again each time. So, I'm thinking "Eureka!" It must be a RAM problem. But my spider sense was tingling. On a hunch, I tried this memtest86 on my older computer. Damn... It failed on that one too. I found another version of the program called Memtest86+ and tried that. Same darn results. Fails on both of my computers. No error messages or warnings, it just locks up solid. So is it the power supply? Lord help me, what if I need to reload Windows and all those bazillion programs I have installed....
But I have to at least see if that is the case....
I cranked up Windows in SAFE mode and just let it run for a few hours. No lockups. Hmm... Ok, so I went into msconfig and disabled all the startup programs. ALL of them. That was about 12 hours ago, and so far not a flicker of a problem.
So, it appears (knock on fake wood desk), that something is being started up in the startup procedure that is killing the system intermittently. Apparently nothing there was essential to the running of my system, since I am chugging along just fine now. But I would think that at least SOME of that stuff has to be at least slightly important to something, don't you think?
Well, I'm going to let it run as it is for a few days and just see what happens. If it remains stable (yeah, I'm on pins and needles the entire time with this thing), then I can look closely at those startup routines and just re-enable a few of them that look like they might be needed. And then let it run for a while to see if the problem comes back.
Or is Murphy just waiting to pounce? Yeah, probably waiting for me to start doing my taxes so I can lose a lot of work. I'm sure THAT's it......
Anyway, is here any suite of programs out there that can effectively analyze a running Windows XP system to trap and neuter driver errors and routines running at startup? Seems kind of goofy that such things can smack the system dead in the blink of an eye and there is nothing at all to trap that error before the damage takes place.
HappyHillbilly
New member
Sorry for just now replying; I read your post yesterday morning as I was headed out the door and I've been swamped since.
I'm surprised that reseating the cables again eliminated the disk error. You shouldn't have to reseat cables periodically like that.
The Memtest lockups could've been caused by your RAM settings. It's suggested to lower the speed a notch or two for testing. For instance - if you're running DDR800 I'd lower it to 400. It's also suggested to test 2 sticks at a time instead of all. If you run into lockups with 2 then try just 1. If that one locks up, try another slot. If all RAM modules test OK individually try one of them in each different slot to test the slots.
If you systematically re-enable the Startups in MSCONFIG you can use the link I posted earlier to the processes library to see what process belongs to what program. It could be a bad driver but it could also still be a RAM issue or even something else. The reason I'm not convinced it's a bad driver is because the system freezes happen at startup, idle, or any other time. I'm not ruling out a bad driver, yet, though.
Have you been looking in Event Viewer under "Applications" to see if it lists the same application for several incidents? You can also look at the Dr. Watson file but Event Viewer is usually better. To view your Dr. Watson file - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson\drwtsn.log The most recent details are at the end of the list. You can use "Control F" with the Dr. Watson text file open and enter a date or just use the year "2009" to find the listings.
I don't know of any programs to trap & neuter defective drivers and/or applications. Event Viewer & Dr. Watson are supposed to analyze the system, reporting offenders, but Dr. Watson doesn't always take a snapshot like it's supposed to. If you begin getting the system freezes again you can enable Dr. Watson to run and it might have a better chance of pointing you in the right direction. Even Viewer should be telling you something.
Hang in there!
Mike
I'm surprised that reseating the cables again eliminated the disk error. You shouldn't have to reseat cables periodically like that.
The Memtest lockups could've been caused by your RAM settings. It's suggested to lower the speed a notch or two for testing. For instance - if you're running DDR800 I'd lower it to 400. It's also suggested to test 2 sticks at a time instead of all. If you run into lockups with 2 then try just 1. If that one locks up, try another slot. If all RAM modules test OK individually try one of them in each different slot to test the slots.
If you systematically re-enable the Startups in MSCONFIG you can use the link I posted earlier to the processes library to see what process belongs to what program. It could be a bad driver but it could also still be a RAM issue or even something else. The reason I'm not convinced it's a bad driver is because the system freezes happen at startup, idle, or any other time. I'm not ruling out a bad driver, yet, though.
Have you been looking in Event Viewer under "Applications" to see if it lists the same application for several incidents? You can also look at the Dr. Watson file but Event Viewer is usually better. To view your Dr. Watson file - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Dr Watson\drwtsn.log The most recent details are at the end of the list. You can use "Control F" with the Dr. Watson text file open and enter a date or just use the year "2009" to find the listings.
I don't know of any programs to trap & neuter defective drivers and/or applications. Event Viewer & Dr. Watson are supposed to analyze the system, reporting offenders, but Dr. Watson doesn't always take a snapshot like it's supposed to. If you begin getting the system freezes again you can enable Dr. Watson to run and it might have a better chance of pointing you in the right direction. Even Viewer should be telling you something.
Hang in there!
Mike
Thanks Mike.
So far it's running like a champ. (** take that, Murphy!! **)
Not even the slightest hiccup. I've got a lot going on right now, so I haven't had a chance to look at the other utilities you mentioned. But as soon as I have time I intend to. I will likely take a closer look at those startup routines and start enabling some of them, beginning with the ones that look like something I likely NEED to have. But so far I haven't hit any brick wall that having them disabled has prevented me from doing. Might happen if I have time to get back to doing some video import and hacking of those streams.
Seems odd that a memory test would require changes in the memory configuration in order to work. Changing something like that could change the environment you are trying to test for. I only have two memory sticks, 2 gb each. But at this point, I don't have them high on the list as being the source of the problem. I think Windows is dynamic enough that even an obscure location being bad would have crashed something by now as much as I use the system.
Got a new power supply sitting on the porch. If things continue to run smoothly, I'll contact VM about sending it back to them unopened. Can't see changing mine out and run the risk of putting a new one in that MIGHT just have a problem of it's own.
OK, NOW I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.....
So far it's running like a champ. (** take that, Murphy!! **)
Not even the slightest hiccup. I've got a lot going on right now, so I haven't had a chance to look at the other utilities you mentioned. But as soon as I have time I intend to. I will likely take a closer look at those startup routines and start enabling some of them, beginning with the ones that look like something I likely NEED to have. But so far I haven't hit any brick wall that having them disabled has prevented me from doing. Might happen if I have time to get back to doing some video import and hacking of those streams.
Seems odd that a memory test would require changes in the memory configuration in order to work. Changing something like that could change the environment you are trying to test for. I only have two memory sticks, 2 gb each. But at this point, I don't have them high on the list as being the source of the problem. I think Windows is dynamic enough that even an obscure location being bad would have crashed something by now as much as I use the system.
Got a new power supply sitting on the porch. If things continue to run smoothly, I'll contact VM about sending it back to them unopened. Can't see changing mine out and run the risk of putting a new one in that MIGHT just have a problem of it's own.
OK, NOW I feel like I am waiting for the other shoe to drop.....
Mooing Tricycle
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ive had a bad mobo, that would run, and then shut down..... and then maybe run for days at a time sometimes. and would then, just... die. Sometimes it would die several times in a row, other times only once a day. Never found out what was causing the problem with that board..... just ended up buying a different one. So strange.
OK, I'm about fit to be tied and hung out to be dried....
Would you believe I am STILL having problems with that Velocity Micro system? Matter of fact, I'm back on my old system again.
I got them to send me a new power supply, but I decided to do some other troubleshooting in the meantime. Here's what I did.
Tried running MEMTEST86+ v2.11, and would get a system lockup anywhere from 1 to 8 minutes of runtime.
I pulled the upper 2gb memory card, put a label on it, and ran the test on only the lower card, which is in slot 1 (numbered 0,1,2,3). Ran a couple of passes without any lockups. Pulled the lower card and replaced it with the upper card in slot 1. Got lockups at random points in MEMTEST. Pulled that card out. Put the lower card (the good(?) one) in slot 0. Got random lockups. Put the good(?) card into slot 3. Got random lockups. I didn't bother with slot 2, as without having slot 0 working, I wouldn't be able to run the 4gb of ram any way.
So I put the good(?) card back in slot 1. Ran several passes of MEMTEST without any errors or lockups. It appeared that I had one bad memory card, and at least two bad memory card slots on the motherboard. So I now believed I had the one good(?) memory card in the one apparently good motherboard slot. Loaded Windows, thinking I had the problem pretty much licked. Ran for two days without any lockups. Then on the third day, Windows locked up solid. Ran MEMTEST again on the good(?) card in slot 1 and got a lockup right after the first complete pass finished. Tried it again, and it was locking up at random points...
WTH???????
Thinking maybe I have power problems coming into the box, I rerouted the power cables and put this VM system on a different UPS box. Also went and reseated the power supply cables on the motherboard. When all that was finished, I ran MEMTEST and ran multiple groups of passes without any failures or lockups. So I just let it run MEMTEST over night. Ran 13 hours without a hickup. Figured maybe the power cable rerouting on connector reseating might have fixed the problem, so I put back the upper card into slot 3. Nope... Locked up after only about a minute or running. Took out the upper card, figuring it must just be bad (and or the slot itself is bad), and that is that.
Loaded up Windows and figured I had this licked, so I would get some work done. System locked up about 2 hours later.
WTH???????
Ran MEMTEST again, and was getting lockups right after the first pass would complete successfully.
Never could get MEMTEST to run more than 1 pass. When I loaded up Windows to try to run my backup program to save all my data, it would lock up at intermittent times, forcing me to reboot the system and restart the backup. This went on all day yesterday.
Oh yeah, while this was going on, I also got RAID errors on drive C again. Too bad my house isn't tall enough to make jumping out of the window worth going........
Just on a lark, I started up the system today, with Windows, and just let it sit idle running a screen saver. Never locked up even once. And the backup software kicked off automatically at noontime, and completed fine without a hitch. Matter of fact, it is STILL running just fine right now.
I'm sorry, I just don't have a CLUE what is going on. Maybe the power supply IS bad like I originally thought. But what about the apparent bad memory card slots and that apparently bad upper RAM card?
I give up. I'm just sending the system back to Velocity Micro. Trust me, they are well aware of what I feel about this system. I asked that they build me a new system, run it hard for a week with no errors, then contact me and I would send my box to them. They could copy the data from the hard drives on this HOPEFULLY good system, and then send it back to me, with the minimum of downtime (HAH! downtime.... I think I have had less UPTIME with this system over the last few months than any DOWNtime.). They declined, saying they will "fix" my system. Yeah, right. Just like it was fixed the last three times I sent it in.
Velocity Micro's web site has an "Ask the President" email link, which I, of course, filled out and gave him quite a large piece of my mind about this. But have I heard a peep back from him? Of course not. I guess they figure they have my money and can dick around with me all they want now.
So I have to send the system back to them AGAIN, and on my dime.
Ask me if I am really REALLY pissed off about this...........
With all the computers I have EVER had, all of them combined never gave me the number of headaches that this turkey has. Honestly, I never ever thought the day would come when a computer could bring me to my knees and nearly to tears with anger and frustration. I am SERIOUSLY considering building a catapult to put in the back of Connie's truck, drive up there to Richmond, Virginia, with this computer, and launch this SOB right through their front door with that catapult.
I have lost so much time screwing around with that computer that it absolutely sickens me to death to think about it. You know, Richmond really isn't all THAT far away......... Maybe I'll look for some catapult plans on the net......
Oh yeah, this is the SECOND time I am writing this post. The first time I was on the Velocity Micro system typing it, and damn if it didn't lock up on me, losing the entire thing......
Would you believe I am STILL having problems with that Velocity Micro system? Matter of fact, I'm back on my old system again.
I got them to send me a new power supply, but I decided to do some other troubleshooting in the meantime. Here's what I did.
Tried running MEMTEST86+ v2.11, and would get a system lockup anywhere from 1 to 8 minutes of runtime.
I pulled the upper 2gb memory card, put a label on it, and ran the test on only the lower card, which is in slot 1 (numbered 0,1,2,3). Ran a couple of passes without any lockups. Pulled the lower card and replaced it with the upper card in slot 1. Got lockups at random points in MEMTEST. Pulled that card out. Put the lower card (the good(?) one) in slot 0. Got random lockups. Put the good(?) card into slot 3. Got random lockups. I didn't bother with slot 2, as without having slot 0 working, I wouldn't be able to run the 4gb of ram any way.
So I put the good(?) card back in slot 1. Ran several passes of MEMTEST without any errors or lockups. It appeared that I had one bad memory card, and at least two bad memory card slots on the motherboard. So I now believed I had the one good(?) memory card in the one apparently good motherboard slot. Loaded Windows, thinking I had the problem pretty much licked. Ran for two days without any lockups. Then on the third day, Windows locked up solid. Ran MEMTEST again on the good(?) card in slot 1 and got a lockup right after the first complete pass finished. Tried it again, and it was locking up at random points...
WTH???????
Thinking maybe I have power problems coming into the box, I rerouted the power cables and put this VM system on a different UPS box. Also went and reseated the power supply cables on the motherboard. When all that was finished, I ran MEMTEST and ran multiple groups of passes without any failures or lockups. So I just let it run MEMTEST over night. Ran 13 hours without a hickup. Figured maybe the power cable rerouting on connector reseating might have fixed the problem, so I put back the upper card into slot 3. Nope... Locked up after only about a minute or running. Took out the upper card, figuring it must just be bad (and or the slot itself is bad), and that is that.
Loaded up Windows and figured I had this licked, so I would get some work done. System locked up about 2 hours later.
WTH???????
Ran MEMTEST again, and was getting lockups right after the first pass would complete successfully.
Never could get MEMTEST to run more than 1 pass. When I loaded up Windows to try to run my backup program to save all my data, it would lock up at intermittent times, forcing me to reboot the system and restart the backup. This went on all day yesterday.
Oh yeah, while this was going on, I also got RAID errors on drive C again. Too bad my house isn't tall enough to make jumping out of the window worth going........
Just on a lark, I started up the system today, with Windows, and just let it sit idle running a screen saver. Never locked up even once. And the backup software kicked off automatically at noontime, and completed fine without a hitch. Matter of fact, it is STILL running just fine right now.
I'm sorry, I just don't have a CLUE what is going on. Maybe the power supply IS bad like I originally thought. But what about the apparent bad memory card slots and that apparently bad upper RAM card?
I give up. I'm just sending the system back to Velocity Micro. Trust me, they are well aware of what I feel about this system. I asked that they build me a new system, run it hard for a week with no errors, then contact me and I would send my box to them. They could copy the data from the hard drives on this HOPEFULLY good system, and then send it back to me, with the minimum of downtime (HAH! downtime.... I think I have had less UPTIME with this system over the last few months than any DOWNtime.). They declined, saying they will "fix" my system. Yeah, right. Just like it was fixed the last three times I sent it in.
Velocity Micro's web site has an "Ask the President" email link, which I, of course, filled out and gave him quite a large piece of my mind about this. But have I heard a peep back from him? Of course not. I guess they figure they have my money and can dick around with me all they want now.
So I have to send the system back to them AGAIN, and on my dime.
Ask me if I am really REALLY pissed off about this...........
With all the computers I have EVER had, all of them combined never gave me the number of headaches that this turkey has. Honestly, I never ever thought the day would come when a computer could bring me to my knees and nearly to tears with anger and frustration. I am SERIOUSLY considering building a catapult to put in the back of Connie's truck, drive up there to Richmond, Virginia, with this computer, and launch this SOB right through their front door with that catapult.
I have lost so much time screwing around with that computer that it absolutely sickens me to death to think about it. You know, Richmond really isn't all THAT far away......... Maybe I'll look for some catapult plans on the net......
Oh yeah, this is the SECOND time I am writing this post. The first time I was on the Velocity Micro system typing it, and damn if it didn't lock up on me, losing the entire thing......
TheFragginDragon
New member
Sorry you're having such a crappy time with the PC Rich, maybe this will cheer you up....
http://www.redstoneprojects.com/trebuchetstore/build_a_catapult.html
http://www.redstoneprojects.com/trebuchetstore/build_a_catapult.html
But I think there should be a more modern design using spring steel or modern elastic materials. Maybe I'll just set up the video cam down on my shooting range and make a YouTube video of me firing 50 caliber incendiary rounds into it with the Velocity Micro logo prominently showing. Yeah, that might be more fun anyway.
We'll see how things go after this fourth time sending it back to be repaired.
I went to Best Buy yesterday and looked at new PCs there. Looked at Apples, but darn those keyboards look cheesy. And I'm not really all that keen about getting strongarmed into having to buy Vista for a new PC.
Damn I hate thinking about all the time I have lost over this piece of crap system. Like I didn't have anything better to do with my time....
HappyHillbilly
New member
Your shipping company is gonna think you've gone into the PC business, too. How much do your charge for shipping a PC to 28906? Oh, and I don't want that one.
I feel your pain with all the hassles of troubleshooting & dealing with a faulty PC.
Fortunately it hasn't cost me near as much money as it has you, but it could, and does, happen once in awhile. It really stinks and is frustrating to no end. To say the least.
Without actually working with your PC it's hard for me to say what could be wrong at this point, especially given all the things you've done, tests and all. I suspect either too aggressive or bad memory timing in the BIOS or a bad motherboard. Could be a hairline fracture in the motherboard or a bad chip, resistor, etc...
After all you've been through already I wouldn't fool with it anymore & send it back. I'd tell 'em they'd better fix it & keep the dang thing for at least a week to make sure they get it fixed. Enough is enough! It does seem that what ever's goin' on now is different from the problems in the past. It could be caused by one of the past problems, though.
So where do you draw the line? It's under warranty, for which you've paid a hefty price for, but it keeps costing you money to send it back. You're pretty much locked in a loop.
Some things I've thought about:
I think I would've done the same things you have about the extended warranty, sending it back, and everything else. Especially given the initial cost of the system. But where do we draw the line? Dang if I know!
No offense intended, Rich, but, putting myself in your place I'm reminded of the old "KISS" saying: "Keep It Simple, Stupid" That saying fits me very well. I bought one of the original NForce2 motherboards with all the bells & whistles when they first came out several years ago. It's what I'm using now to type this reply. I've had countless problems with it and I'm still having some memory issues that I shouldn't be having. I don't even fool with putting the side cover back on. It's been off for over a year now for quick/easy access. What's that other ol' saying? "A mechanic's car is the worst runnin' one around?" Ha! Ha!
It's definitely time for a lil' bit of target practice. Not necessarily with your PC, though. Target shooting helps me relieve stress.
Hang in there!
Mike
Oh, and I don't want that one.I feel your pain with all the hassles of troubleshooting & dealing with a faulty PC.
Without actually working with your PC it's hard for me to say what could be wrong at this point, especially given all the things you've done, tests and all. I suspect either too aggressive or bad memory timing in the BIOS or a bad motherboard. Could be a hairline fracture in the motherboard or a bad chip, resistor, etc...
After all you've been through already I wouldn't fool with it anymore & send it back. I'd tell 'em they'd better fix it & keep the dang thing for at least a week to make sure they get it fixed. Enough is enough! It does seem that what ever's goin' on now is different from the problems in the past. It could be caused by one of the past problems, though.
So where do you draw the line? It's under warranty, for which you've paid a hefty price for, but it keeps costing you money to send it back. You're pretty much locked in a loop.
Some things I've thought about:
- What would I do if it wasn't under warranty?
- If I had to do it all over again, would I have gotten the extended warranty?
I think I would've done the same things you have about the extended warranty, sending it back, and everything else. Especially given the initial cost of the system. But where do we draw the line? Dang if I know!
No offense intended, Rich, but, putting myself in your place I'm reminded of the old "KISS" saying: "Keep It Simple, Stupid" That saying fits me very well. I bought one of the original NForce2 motherboards with all the bells & whistles when they first came out several years ago. It's what I'm using now to type this reply. I've had countless problems with it and I'm still having some memory issues that I shouldn't be having. I don't even fool with putting the side cover back on. It's been off for over a year now for quick/easy access. What's that other ol' saying? "A mechanic's car is the worst runnin' one around?" Ha! Ha!
It's definitely time for a lil' bit of target practice. Not necessarily with your PC, though. Target shooting helps me relieve stress.
Hang in there!
Mike
HappyHillbilly
New member
I got distracted while writing that last reply and left out a few things.
There is still the possibility that the power supply is bad. If you feel like trying one more thing before sending it back you might try entering CMOS setup (BIOS) and on the initial screen there should be an option for something like: "Enable default settings" near the bottom of the list of options/categories. This should eliminate any aggressive or bad memory settings as well as other settings that could cause conflicts.
Best of luck!
Mike
There is still the possibility that the power supply is bad. If you feel like trying one more thing before sending it back you might try entering CMOS setup (BIOS) and on the initial screen there should be an option for something like: "Enable default settings" near the bottom of the list of options/categories. This should eliminate any aggressive or bad memory settings as well as other settings that could cause conflicts.
Best of luck!
Mike
Yeah, I'm trying to figure out the best way to cut my losses at this point. Looking for possibly getting a new computer. Send this one to VM and tell them to keep it till it is running flawlessly. At this point I may just scavenge the parts from it for a new system (additional hard drives, Blu-ray writer, etc) and maybe just keep this one as a game machine where it won't matter a flip if it craps out now and again. There are sites where Velocity Micro has been reviewed, and I will certainly be putting my two cents at those places as well. Got the Better Business Bureau of Richmond bookmarked too.
I'm overdue with starting my taxes, trying to finish up an inventory with my animals, managing the selling off of most of my gun collection, handling the orders for animals coming in, and breeding season is coming up FAST. Not to mention the day to day stuff with my websites.
The entire Winter season, when I could have been doing some stuff like generating some videos on that system, or even playing some games that I have still in the box and never installed, has been wasted screwing around with this damned thing. Wasting my valubale time is what has gotten me pissed the most over this.
Yeah, got one of my 50 caliber Barretts that I've never even fired yet.....
750 grains of armor piercing incentiary projectiles will really put the VELOCITY in Velocity Micro.
I'm overdue with starting my taxes, trying to finish up an inventory with my animals, managing the selling off of most of my gun collection, handling the orders for animals coming in, and breeding season is coming up FAST. Not to mention the day to day stuff with my websites.
The entire Winter season, when I could have been doing some stuff like generating some videos on that system, or even playing some games that I have still in the box and never installed, has been wasted screwing around with this damned thing. Wasting my valubale time is what has gotten me pissed the most over this.
Yeah, got one of my 50 caliber Barretts that I've never even fired yet.....
750 grains of armor piercing incentiary projectiles will really put the VELOCITY in Velocity Micro.
Thanks... Yeah I COULD replace that power supply, but I'm out of time and interest to continue trouble shooting it. I need to just write this off and get on with things. Hate to spend the money for a new computer, but losing my sanity will likely be much more expensive in the long run.