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Q for the computer literate...
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 08:51
by CtrlAltDelete
I'm having a major computer problem (well, major for me anyway). I'm technologically declined (it's a wonder I can even turn the computer on) and haven't got a clue what's going on. So here's the problem(s)...
1. Programs on my computer (like spybot and such) go missing for no apparent reason, and when I try to reinstall them, I can't.
2. A Windows box pops up every two minutes (literally) telling me I'm low on disc space and I need to free some space for Windows to run properly. When I click on the box to free space another box pops up that says I don't have enough memory to run the cleanup (oh, the irony).
3. When I go to add/remove programs to try and free up space (by removing unnecessary junk) the window stays open for about 1/4 of a second before closing again, so I can't remove anything.
I have no idea if these are all linked to the same problem or what, but the situation is starting to get dire and I have zero computing skills. In fact, a monkey is typing this for me right now.
The computer is older than both of my children combined and I have no idea what was installed on it before I got it. The closest I ever got to figuring out what's going on is when I called an oh so helpful AOL tech and they said something about something being on my registry and I would have to call IBM to get it straightened out. IBM said they could only help me for a tidy sum because the comp hasn't been under warranty since Winger was popular.
If anyone could offer any ideas as to what I can do (short of driving to the next town over and dumping the comp behind a McDonalds) I would be eternally grateful.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 08:56
by hallucienate
i'm not touching this one with a 10 foot pole.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 09:38
by Padstar
Blimey,
Thats sounds to be a PC with serious problems indeed..... and werent Winger great!!!
Cell Three, Quiffy .... whatcha think? (about the computer... not Winger!)
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 10:02
by Karst
Get rid of it and run to one of these comp. superstores and get yourself a brand new one that is under warranty. Other then that you probably need a clean install, but there is no guarantee that that will clear up the problem. That is, if you actually have the system discs?!
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 10:48
by CtrlAltDelete
Karst wrote:Get rid of it and run to one of these comp. superstores and get yourself a brand new one that is under warranty.
If I could afford to I would. I can barely afford the Tylenol I use to get rid of the headaches the comp causes.
That is, if you actually have the system discs?!
The what?
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 13:46
by Dan
It sounds like your hard drive is full. Even for small activities your pc needs to be able to write to the disc (temp files and stuff).
You need to delete some stuff before you can solve any other problems you might have. I'd say that things like spybot are going missing because you didn't have enough discspace in the first place and they were never installed.
Find some files you don't need or can live without and delete them (rightclick the file, select delete, then empty the recycle bin [rightclick the recycle bin and select 'empty recycle bin'])
Ho big is your hard drive anyway and how much free space do you have? (To find out, doubleclick on my computer then click once on C: [or whatever drive is your hard drive] and it'll tell you) And what os? (If it's old I'm guessing win98 or even win95?) I'd say you need to clear up at least 400mb at a bare minimum first before you can think of solving any other problems.
EDIT: Actually I can tell you how to delete around 500mb without deleting anything (well, nothing of any value).
Microsoft in all their wisdom have made it so that when you browse the net any files are cached in the 'temporary internet files' folder. This is useful so you don't have to repeatedly reload images on sites you visit often. What they don't tell you is that your pc keeps a SECOND COPY that is impossible for the average user to delete. Yes, empty the folder in the normal way, even delete the entire folder and the files aren't really gone. That's why it's so easy to retrieve certain files that some people would hope were gone. This 'hidden cache' seems to have a maximum size and once it reaches it it doesn't get any bigger (and your cache stops working properly or efficiently). The maximum size is around 500mb.
To delete the hidden files so they're really gone- (Assuming you're using win98 (you did say it was old), other os'es might have the directories in a different place)
1. Reboot into msdos mode. Don't just open a dos window, it's not the same and the files won't be deleted properly.
I'll just add here that the first time I booted into msdos mode I couldn't reboot back to windows! In the end I had to edit my autoexec file. It turns out that to reboot from dos to windows all you need do is type 'exit'.
2. Make sure you're in the c:\windows folder (If you aren't, type cd .. to drop down a directory until you're in c: and then type cd windows
3. Next type SMARTDRV
It might not work as you might not have it, but if you do it'll speed things up.
[This is where you delete some stuff.]
3. Type DELTREE/Y TEMP
4. Type DELTREE/Y HISTORY
5. Type DELTREE/Y TEMPOR~1
This last one may take some time, possibly hours if you don't have SMARTDRV.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 13:54
by Quiff Boy
fpr a start, have a look in
c:\temp
c:\windows\temp
and if you're using windows 2000, ME or XP
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp
and delete EVERYTHING in there.
you'd be surprised how much cr*p you will have gathered in the "temp" folders over time
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:03
by Dan
Quiff Boy wrote:and if you're using windows 2000, ME or XP
I just added some info for deleting all the cr
ap and hidden files to the end of my last post. I'm assuming win98 as CtrlAltDelete said the comp was quite old. We really need to know what o/s is running first before we supply any more specific info as my info was for win98.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:10
by CtrlAltDelete
Dan wrote: I'd say that things like spybot are going missing because you didn't have enough discspace in the first place and they were never installed.
But I've run them before with no problems. They've just recently started disappearing.
Find some files you don't need or can live without and delete them (rightclick the file, select delete, then empty the recycle bin [rightclick the recycle bin and select 'empty recycle bin'])
That's another problem. I've tried right clicking to remove programs, and every time a box pops up and tells me I have to delete them through add/remove programs.
Ho big is your hard drive anyway and how much free space do you have? (To find out, doubleclick on my computer then click once on C: [or whatever drive is your hard drive] and it'll tell you) And what os? (If it's old I'm guessing win98 or even win95?) I'd say you need to clear up at least 400mb at a bare minimum first before you can think of solving any other problems.
I just recently installed XP, but I had 98.
It says the total size is 7.85gb.
400mb bare minumum? I have 84.4. So I guess that's not good.
1. Reboot into msdos mode.
You lost me.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:13
by CtrlAltDelete
Quiff Boy wrote:fpr a start, have a look in
c:\temp
c:\windows\temp
and if you're using windows 2000, ME or XP
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp
and delete EVERYTHING in there.
you'd be surprised how much cr*p you will have gathered in the "temp" folders over time
Ok, I'm going to try it. Sadly, this will probably take me a while.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:19
by CtrlAltDelete
Quiff Boy wrote:and if you're using windows 2000, ME or XP
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp
Alright, I went into Settings\Administrator\Local Settings, but there was no Temp folder. Is it the same thing as Cookies. Because I have that.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:21
by Dan
But I've run them before with no problems. They've just recently started disappearing.
Ah ok. Was just a guess.
That's another problem. I've tried right clicking to remove programs, and every time a box pops up and tells me I have to delete them through add/remove programs.
Do you have a lot of mp3's? Windows itself (whatever os) shouldn't take up any more than around 1gb. As for program files, I'd be really surprised if your program files folder came to more than 1gb, so I can't see how it's a problem with having too many program files either.
If you're really stuck you should just be able to delete the entire folder of whatever prog you don't want. It's a dirty way of doing it but if there's no other way then do it (the stray registry entries can be sorted later).
1. Reboot into msdos mode.
You lost me.
Ah, I've a feeling XP doesn't have an msdos mode.
With win98 when you click on start and go to shut down your pc as well as the option to shut down or reboot there's an option to boot to msdos mode.
One reason why I've stuck with win98 is that all the viruses around now are made to target the newer os'es and win98 gets left alone, and I always hear such bad things about the newer os'es that I don't wanna touch them with a bargepole. Maybe when win2010 is released things like XP will have had all the problems sorted out and be safe to use.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:22
by CtrlAltDelete
By the way, thank you
Quiff and
Dan for taking the time to help. I really appreciate it.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:25
by Dan
CtrlAltDelete wrote:Alright, I went into Settings\Administrator\Local Settings, but there was no Temp folder. Is it the same thing as Cookies. Because I have that.
Find 'History' and 'Temporary Internet Files'(this one will release most discspace) and delete them. You can delete the entire 'Temporary Internet Files' folder - your pc will make a new folder when it needs it.
Oh and empty the recycle bin if you haven't done it lately!
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:30
by CtrlAltDelete
Dan wrote:
Do you have a lot of mp3's?
No, none at all. I'm not smart enough to figure out how to download them.
If you're really stuck you should just be able to delete the entire folder of whatever prog you don't want. It's a dirty way of doing it but if there's no other way then do it (the stray registry entries can be sorted later).
The problem is that I can't figure out how to remove them outside of add/remove programs. Right clicking doesn't work either.
One reason why I've stuck with win98 is that all the viruses around now are made to target the newer os'es and win98 gets left alone, and I always hear such bad things about the newer os'es that I don't wanna touch them with a bargepole. Maybe when win2010 is released things like XP will have had all the problems sorted out and be safe to use.
Yeah, I hate XP. I didn't have these problems when I had 98.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:38
by CtrlAltDelete
Dan wrote:
Oh and empty the recycle bin if you haven't done it lately!
Ah.
That cleared up a little over 100mb of space.
Still looking for 'History'.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:49
by Dan
Argh I'm getting confused with quotes in quotes.
You have no mp3's? So how come an 8gb hard drive is full up.
Someone else who has XP help me out here. How big should the windows folder be, I'm guessing around 1gb, definitely no more than 2gb?
Program files, 1gb maximum unless you've installed a ridiculous amount of progs.
The problem is that I can't figure out how to remove them outside of add/remove programs. Right clicking doesn't work either.
XP won't let you delete files? Crazy. Again Quiffy help us out here. Surely it's not so hard to make XP delete a file? I'd have thought rightclick and select delete would do the trick. Even if it warns you against it I'd still have thought there was an override "screw you windows, delete it anyway" button.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 14:54
by hallucienate
my windows dir is 2.1 gig, it's a fresh, clean install, no more than 3 weeks old
program files is 1 gig, but that's with the new Prince Of Persia demo installed, no MS Office though.
now I'm going back to manning my 10 foot pole
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:12
by Karst
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:22
by Loki
@ CAD
XP:
1. Desktop
2. My computer
3. c: local disc
4. Windows
5. Temp
Then assuming you've not changed anything from the standard setup you should see three folders. Cookies, History and Temp Internet files where you can delete selected items or complete folders until your heart's content.
I am not a geek.
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:24
by hallucienate
pretty but I don't use any of those programs. and where is graph that shows the cost of the hardware?
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:25
by hallucienate
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:33
by JansenClone
CtrlAltDelete wrote:Ah.
That cleared up a little over 100mb of space.
Still looking for 'History'.
There's an easy way to do this if you're running XP:
Right click on the internet explorer icon (
e) on your desk top, then click on 'Properties.'
On the window that pops up under '
General' at the top there should be three sections -
Home Page (Ignore this)
Temporary Internet files
Click on the
Delete Cookies and
Delete Files buttons here
History
Click on the
Clear History button here...
Hopefully that will help...
Michael
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:47
by Loki
Ahem ...
JansenClone wrote:There's an easy way to do this if you're running XP:
Right click on the internet explorer icon (e) on your desk top, then click on 'Properties.'
On the window that pops up under 'General' at the top there should be three sections -
Home Page (Ignore this)
Temporary Internet files
Click on the Delete Cookies and Delete Files buttons here
History
Click on the Clear History button here...
Phew! A close call there but I rest my case.
Proof once again that I'm a technological illiterate and haven't a clue what I'm talking about!
Posted: 18 Oct 2004, 15:52
by CtrlAltDelete
Dan wrote:
You have no mp3's?
Nope, none at all.
unless you've installed a ridiculous amount of progs.
The only things I've installed since I got this comp is some word processing software (which takes up a negligible amount of space), and the software for my digital camera.
XP won't let you delete files? Crazy. Again Quiffy help us out here. Surely it's not so hard to make XP delete a file? I'd have thought rightclick and select delete would do the trick. Even if it warns you against it I'd still have thought there was an override "screw you windows, delete it anyway" button.
I used to be able to delete files just fine. But I have to do it through add/delete programs (in the control panel). Problem is that add/delete window won't stay open long enough to remove anything anymore. When I rightclick I do get the option to delete the file, but when I try to do it I get a window that tells me I have to delete it through add/remove. If I could get the add/remove window to stay open or find a way to delete outside of add/remove I would be fine.
I'm shocked