Please Help! Computer Problem

Hi all,

My wife's computer has developed a nasty habit and I am hoping to get the opinions of some of the knowledgeable people here at Wilders.

After leaving the computer idle, but power on, for a period of time (usually overnight) the computer is frozen with muti colors on the monitor in a pattern.

To restart the machine I need to hit the on/off switch.

It generally will not restart unless I leave it powered off for a while. I have been leaving the computer off for about half an hour.

On the last restart I tried to reboot in safe mood. Windows gave a message that a hardware or software error must have occured and windows closed to protect files/folders. Windows also gave me an option to revert back to the last configuration that worked, which I opted for.

1) Does this scenario suggest any ideas as to what the problem might be? Any solutions?

2) Any diagnostic software I might run to locate the error?

Thanks in advance,

Friar

 

Strange, normally I Would expect leaving the computer on forum a long period of time, having a positive effect as it gives the computer time to slow down and organise itself.

Again, strange this is the sort of thing I would expect to see after some sort of power surge. Have you had any recently?

Jimbob

 

The electrical plug connected to my computer comes with its own built-in power surge protector.

 

I never give my computer a break at all. I expect my computer to do exactly what I want it to do!

 

I have a surge protector as well, however I should imagine not everyone uses them.

Jimbob

 

Yeah, I get a similar problem when I leave my computer on for a long time. When I check it sometimes it has all these colored lines across the screen like the image is all mixed up or compressed together or something.

I'm no expert but my feeling is it may be hardware problem, perhaps the video card, (or motherboard *shudders*) but so far no real issues have developed from it happening, other than the occasional annoyance of it occuring, and it's been happening for quite some time now.

I usually just restart my computer and everything is fine again. I know that's not the answer you were looking for, but I thought by sharing my experiences it may help you feel somewhat better to know that someone else has the same or similar problem with no dreadful consequences that have developed from it occurring over time.

 

No, no. You were right to do so. Scientists work exactly the same way. They share their experiences to help develope scientific knowledge and it works well. Thank you for your input.

Jimbob

 

Jimbob,

No power surges recently. FWIW there is a surge protection for the computer in question. Also, a second identical machine in the house is having no problems.

Friar

 

The answer to this thread is that the graphics of your computer can be easily affected by fragmentation. So please remember to defragment your computer daily.

 

Friar, If you don't know how to do a defrag or need any advice, feel free to ask.

Jimbob

 

Try perfectdisk from www.raxco.com

 

Nadirah,

Thanks for the suggestion. I defragmented today as the computer had not been defraged for awhile. Hopefully that solves the issue

Would a defrag problem cause the computer to fail to restart?

Friar

 

I'm not sure but IMHO very unlikely.