[missakademic]

I had to replace my hard drive on my Averatec 3150H yesterday and I was so very optimistic that my computer would be fine when I got home. I reinstalled the OS using the recovery CDs and all seemed to be OK. Now I am re-installing all of my software for my printers, wireless card, etc. When I was installing the software for my digital camera, the computer shut down, all of a sudden. Then when I turned it back on, it got to the Windows XP screen and when I clicked on my name to login, it shut down again. What is wrong? Any advice would be appreciated. Should I take it back to Compuserve (where I had it serviced?) since before I had the Hard drive problem, everything was ok.

What to do?


Thanks in advance~

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If it is convenient to take it back, and it is a warranty matter then take it back

[Retired Tech]

If it is convenient to take it back, and it is a warranty matter then take it back

[missakademic]

OK... but is there anything that you can suggest that I do to try to alleviate the problem? Is it a setup issue? what do you think?

[Retired Tech]

Check the video adapter drivers are the latest

Are you installing drivers from software CD's or from the manufacturers site

Check the manufacturers site for latest drivers for any you have installed

Click start then run, type chkdsk /f /r then press enter, type Y to confirm for next boot, press enter then reboot

It will take an hour to get to the desktop

[missakademic]

one question... how am I supposed to do that IF I cant get to the Start menu in Windows???

[darth_ash]

Try chkdsk as suggested by Keith from the Recovery Console, follow the steps below to get into Recovery Console:
Follow the steps below:

• In ur BIOS set CD-ROM has 1st Boot Device.
• Insert XP Setup CD, to boot from CD.
• After the intial loading of drivers is over, on the Welcome to Setup Screen with 3 options; Press R key, to "Repair XP installtion using Recovery Console".
• U will be prompted for Adminstrator account's password. Press Enter if the password was blank.

Type the command Keith suggested at the prompt. Tell us in your next post if any errors were found.

[missakademic]

OK.. I tried to run chkdsk 2 times with it not working, i said that it "cannot open file for direct access"

I restarted again and it ran and it did not find any problems.

I then downloaded some diagnostics tools which tell me that I have 3 Application path problems (Errors in application pathswithin computer), 3 Program ID problems (invalid entries in Program ID section) and 89 Problems detected in the coregistry scan (invlaid references located throughout registry). The registry fix program will not fix them without me paying to register the product. Are there any absolutely free checkers out there?

Are these errors why my PC shuts down sporadically. I have been on it now for about 30 minutes and it has not shut down. But this morning when I was trying to install SW, it shut down yet before I tried to install SW it was doing fine. Why would it shut down while I am installing SW or doing a virus scan? I would like to rule out some sort of power issue. I am really not understanding the problem and before I shell out $$ to get it diagnosed, I would like to do my best to get a handle on the situaton (with out assistance).

Please advise.

Thanks~

[gerryf]

Sounds like a heat issue....do you hear fans?

I wonder, if while they were monkeying with your hd, if they did something else. I am unfamiliar with the avertec's, but they are a mini notebook, right?

Normally, a drive switch is easy and wouldn't involve anything else, but with such a small device there may be something else going on

[missakademic]

Thank you gerryf~
Come to think of it.... I hear no fans right now.... shouldnt they be going all the time to make sure that things dont overheat. And... once when I turned it on after the HD replacement, I did get a fan error... but I was not sure whether that was bogus or not since my computer seems troubled overall. Yes, this is a mini notebook and it does get very warm. Is replacing/repairing the fan easy? Should I take it back to CompUSA and suggest to them that perhaps they mucked up the fan while replacing the HD? That makes more sense because if it were something else like memory, the PC would not just shut off, it woul maybe crash or give me some kind of blue screen... it shuts off after I have been on for about a half hour or so. And that can explain whyit shuts down while installing SW from the CD drive.... its doing a lot of work and getting overheated and shutting down.

Let me know what you think and I will proceed from there.

[missakademic]

also, in reference to the registry checkers, are there any free ones that actually fix the problems found?

[gerryf]

your fan should at the least kick on when the PC starts during POST....some cooler PCs will turn the fan on and off.

I would say the fan error is a good indication that you've got an issue there.

Prop the laptop up on a couple of books so no vents (bottom/side) are covered. Take a small fan and direct a good flow of error across it and see if it improves. Laptop fans are often a pain to replace and expensive.

Had a Dell last week that I had to take the whole thing apart to replace the fan and the fan was $38---and that was cheap. Usually, these little 6mm fans cost $60 and up because they come with the heat sensor embedded with the fan. That's if you can find them