I hate this computer.....

[Nick23 0]

I've had a computer for about a year now, and for 11 months of this, it had been giving me problems, i recently got it fixed by a ...'professional'. But now when i start it up it either gets stuck on the xp loading page, comes up "boot failure insert system disk" which i don't have, or says it cannot start up and gives me the option of using safe mode, which is the only way i can get on, which sucks. Anyone had this problem? or have a solution? Thanks

[Vapor 0]

Three Simple Steps.

1. Go to a mac store

2. Buy A mac

3. Throw away your PC.

Sounds like doing a clean install of XP wouldnt hurt. Find an XP disc, boot from the cd, format your drive (you dont have to, but itll make life easier). Then just reinstall XP.

[mack 44]

applenazi, macs are all right (I use it for a laptop) but come on...

[Nick23 0]

Problem, thats what has just been done, its clear. As for macs, they are good for certain things, but purely on morals, i can't have one, my school uses them, and waiting 10 minutes to log in...i just can't bring myself to pay 1500 for a computer that looks good but is as much use as pianist with no fingers

[freq019 0]

the professional boned it up, what was broken that needed fixed by the pro?

[Nick23 0]

apparently it had viruses, incomplete files, and a earlier format which had not installed fully..... But atleast then i could load it normally.

[Vapor 0]

As for macs, they are good for certain things, but purely on morals, i can't have one, my school uses them, and waiting 10 minutes to log in...i just can't bring myself to pay 1500 for a computer that looks good but is as much use as pianist with no fingers

what mac are you using?! My Powerbook boots up in under 30 seconds from BIOS. The powerbook is also 2 years old, and not close to top of the line. You can get a Powermac which will be fast, and stay fast, because they dont get backed up with viruses and spuware. Macs dont get viruses, spyware, and they just work. So I dont know what your talking about sir.

[mack 44]

Using the "macs don't get spyware/virus" argument is misleading though. It's like saying the fat girl at the prom won't have herpes. Of course they won't, because no one's going to waste their time with them.

[Vapor 0]

so whats your point? First of all, Unix is a much stronger and more secure backbone than the Windows Kernel. But of course, when you have less than 10% of the home computer market, nobody would waste their time writting a virus for you. It is not misleading. They dont.

[mack 44]

Ugh, not this again. There's a reason PCs dominate the market but hopefully more people keep buying macs to be trendy. Hopefully it'll be enough to warrant more virus codes written for them so I can never hear "you won't get a virus on a mac" again.

[Jim A 4]

Apple is just code for Windows R&D :lol:

the whole Intel chip thing will make for interesting changes down the road for all...

I use both PC and Mac..but when I have a choice..its the iBook (don't do enough hardcore stuff and/or make enough $ to justify the Powerbook)

[freq019 0]

apparently it had viruses, incomplete files, and a earlier format which had not installed fully..... But atleast then i could load it normally.

Well if you don't have any files on your computer that you want to keep you could reinitialize the disk and start from scratch, but if you do and you can get a hold of an XP system disk you can option for a repair installation of XP which should seamlessly repair your problems without erasing all of your files. I think the problem goes back to the os not being properly installed in the first place and viruses don't help matters either.

[DekeHead 0]

You might just want to buy a new hard drive, install it, disconnect your old drive and install XP on the new one. Once XP is installed, reconnect your old drive and use it for extra storage/backup. This way you at least have your old files intact somewhere.

Also, if you can boot into XP, run a virus check (use AVG Pro if you don't have one), run SpyBot (get it from download.com) to clean your system. Then go to My Computer, right-click on your hard drive, choose Properties, then click on the Tools option. Choose Error-Checking "Check Now", tick both checkboxes, reboot, and let XP repair the hard drive.

Tip: Hold F8 down during boot to choose a Safe Mode start up.

Or, douse that thing in lighter fluid and pull a Hendrix on it! :P

[Jim A 4]

you have to be careful with Spybot it can really mess your system up when used in conjunction with programs such as adaware,etc..

best thing is to go to that old castlecops site and follow the hijack this instructions..it will give you a very detailed, yet easy to understand, look at your system so you can figure out what is the XP install issue and what is viral, etc

[Vapor 0]

get a hold of an XP system disk you can option for a repair installation of XP which should seamlessly repair your problems without erasing all of your files. I think the problem goes back to the os not being properly installed in the first place and viruses don't help matters either.

Well, in the days of <3 Windows 98 <3 this would have worked. But doing a system repair will not repiar most files. You use to be able to Reinstall 98 right on top of an older version, and it would just replace all your system files. The XP repair discs, in plain English, SUCK. Its a coin toss, it may work, it may not, matters if they are runtime library files or what. If the OS wasnt installed properly, it would have been buggy since day one. This sounds like a virus attacking vital system proceses and files.