Attn:Larry or any PC guru :)

Larry You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE machine wanted to upgrade. So we formatted and installed XP HE. Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new set up. They switched off for the night and went bed. Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires up....runs sweetly until switched off . 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. So i just got a phone call from my parents and the neighbour(Electrician/PC DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. My initial suspicion is power supply. My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after XP installation..?? Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much appreciated. Andy

Had same problem before, it was the power supply. "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]...

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> Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new > set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires

up....runs > sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and theneighbour(Electrician/PC

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> DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after > XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy > >

Had same problem before, it was the power supply. neighbour(Electrician/PC

Andrew, make sure "shut down computer" actually is doing the shutdown instead of hibernate. or standby. Mine will go into hibernate, but wont come back. I have to hold the button, or like you said interrupt the power some way, usually powerstrip. there is a setting somewhere in XP but my brain is fried. Unfortunately though, I cant troubleshoot this problem for you as I have had a complete and utter dislodging of my brain's memory for the last 4 weeks (personal problems stress and what-not) but www.tweakxp.com might be a good place to look for this problem and how to troubleshoot it? --Plowboy Good luck bud "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]...

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> Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new > set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires

up....runs > sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and theneighbour(Electrician/PC

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> DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after > XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy > >

If it needs the off button held for 3 or 4 secs, it could be a BIOS option. I don't know which motherboard or bios they're running, but most of them have an option (check all the menus) to have the power button shut off immediately or have it held for 4 secs. I suspect that this changed somewhere along the line. Possibly when the wall socket lost power the bios settings went to default. -- Slot Tweaks & Reviews www.slottweak.com "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]... > Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new > set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires up....runs > sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and the neighbour(Electrician/PC > DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after > XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy > >

Hmm.. maybe it's the power cord itself? Then, you moving it to different sockets is just jiggling the cord around until the short in the cord makes contact? I'd try a different cord, then I'd try a different power supply. It's definately not a "worm" or a virus that I know of. Mike http://mikebeauchamp.com "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]...

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> Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new > set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires

up....runs > sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and theneighbour(Electrician/PC

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> DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after > XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy > >

Power supply or power cord does seem favourite so far... The XP fresh install might lead to BIOS problem..? I feel so guilty because they had the PC 2 years never a thing went wrong,and now all this and of course being older generation they are saying.."Well it was alright until that XP thing went on" Swapping a power supply is new ground and if it isnt that i will be gutted ..LOL Many thanks guys Andy

Dont swap power supplies or cords or any of that. It isnt a hardware problem. There is a setting in the BIOS of most ATX form factor motherboards that allows you to set the on/off switch to either shut down immediately or have to hold the switch for 4 seconds to shut down. You can also often dictate the "state" to which you wish your computer to go when this button is pushed/held. Another thing to remember about ATX motherboards is that you should NOT completely shut off power to them via a wall switch or power strip. They are designed to have power all the time and killing the power for a while can reset the BIOS to defaults. In some annoying cases it can even clean out the CMOS and your computer will "forget" what drives are attached to it if they aren't correctly auto-detected during bootup. XP, upon installation, will also detect power management things in the BIOS that may have not been implemented in Win98 or may have been previously disabled or poorly supported (like ACPI). Since XP is designed to be an 'always on' OS, it makes the most of any power management stuff it can extract from the hardware and generally does a better job than any previous windows OS, except for Win2k, which is mostly what it is anyway. Check out this URL for a little more info on the APM deal: http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article07-044 your entire "problem" is a matter of power management settings. Check them out in the BIOS and then check the power settings in Control Panel. You might also search for the term 'acpi' from the "help and support" menu item in XPHE HTH "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]...

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> Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new > set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires

up....runs > sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and theneighbour(Electrician/PC

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> DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after > XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy > >

That's a good call.. I thought all of that was already looked at. Plus, wouldn't all those power management settings have made Win98SE also not work in the exact same manner as XP? Mike http://mikebeauchamp.com "blorch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:wsgb9.221160$983.455044@rwcrnsc53... > Dont swap power supplies or cords or any of that. It isnt a hardware > problem. > > There is a setting in the BIOS of most ATX form factor motherboards that > allows you to set the on/off switch to either shut down immediately orhave

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> to hold the switch for 4 seconds to shut down. You can also often dictate > the "state" to which you wish your computer to go when this button is > pushed/held. > > Another thing to remember about ATX motherboards is that you should NOT > completely shut off power to them via a wall switch or power strip. They > are designed to have power all the time and killing the power for a while > can reset the BIOS to defaults. In some annoying cases it can even clean > out the CMOS and your computer will "forget" what drives are attached to

it > if they aren't correctly auto-detected during bootup. > > XP, upon installation, will also detect power management things in theBIOS > that may have not been implemented in Win98 or may have been previously > disabled or poorly supported (like ACPI). Since XP is designed to be an > 'always on' OS, it makes the most of any power management stuff it can > extract from the hardware and generally does a better job than anyprevious

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> windows OS, except for Win2k, which is mostly what it is anyway. > > Check out this URL for a little more info on the APM deal: > > http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article07-044 > > your entire "problem" is a matter of power management settings. Check

them > out in the BIOS and then check the power settings in Control Panel. You > might also search for the term 'acpi' from the "help and support" menuitem

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> in XPHE > > HTH > > > > > "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]... > > Larry > > > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > > machine wanted to upgrade. > > > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the

new

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> > set up. > > > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i

visit > > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires > up....runs > > sweetly until switched off . > > > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,itneeds

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> > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and the > neighbour(Electrician/PC > > DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started

after

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> > XP installation..?? > > > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > > appreciated. > > > > > > Andy > > > > > >

"blorch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:wsgb9.221160$983.455044@rwcrnsc53... <snip> > Another thing to remember about ATX motherboards is that you should NOT > completely shut off power to them via a wall switch or power strip. They > are designed to have power all the time and killing the power for a while > can reset the BIOS to defaults. In some annoying cases it can even clean > out the CMOS and your computer will "forget" what drives are attached to it > if they aren't correctly auto-detected during bootup. Must be thinking of a crap motherboard. Most mobos these days have a small lithium-ion battery which maintains the contents of BIOS. WORSE! is NOT unplugging power when replacing cards or RAM - you can destroy parts this way especially AGP cards with the double row of contacts. iksteh

"Mike Beauchamp" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:L4ib9.38356$[email hidden]... > That's a good call.. I thought all of that was already looked at. Plus, > wouldn't all those power management settings have made Win98SE also notwork > in the exact same manner as XP? Win98SE didnt do ACPI very well. The motherboard probably has capabilities that Win98 was not able to completely deal with. Plus that first iteration of ACPI was kind of a half-assed thing that worked when it wanted to, anyways. What I mean to say is that XP can probably do more with the hardware than 98 could, so it might not be exactly the same outcome. You get extra layers of BS because WIndows is supposed to override all the BIOS power management settings and use its own stuff, but it would sometimes turn to a wrestling match. I always kill everything power-related in the BIOS and let Windows do its thing. Back in the 98/se days it was hit or miss, ME was alittle better but ACPI seemed to be hogging up too many resources and you couldn't make it go away without reinstalling the OS, finally with 2k/XP there seems to have been some harmony acheived.

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> > Mike > http://mikebeauchamp.com > > "blorch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:wsgb9.221160$983.455044@rwcrnsc53... > > Dont swap power supplies or cords or any of that. It isnt a hardware > > problem. > > > > There is a setting in the BIOS of most ATX form factor motherboards

that > > allows you to set the on/off switch to either shut down immediately or > have > > to hold the switch for 4 seconds to shut down. You can also oftendictate > > the "state" to which you wish your computer to go when this button is > > pushed/held. > > > > Another thing to remember about ATX motherboards is that you should NOT > > completely shut off power to them via a wall switch or power strip.They > > are designed to have power all the time and killing the power for awhile > > can reset the BIOS to defaults. In some annoying cases it can evenclean

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> > out the CMOS and your computer will "forget" what drives are attached to > it > > if they aren't correctly auto-detected during bootup. > > > > XP, upon installation, will also detect power management things in the > BIOS > > that may have not been implemented in Win98 or may have been previously > > disabled or poorly supported (like ACPI). Since XP is designed to be an > > 'always on' OS, it makes the most of any power management stuff it can > > extract from the hardware and generally does a better job than any > previous > > windows OS, except for Win2k, which is mostly what it is anyway. > > > > Check out this URL for a little more info on the APM deal: > > > > http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article07-044 > > > > your entire "problem" is a matter of power management settings. Check > them > > out in the BIOS and then check the power settings in Control Panel. You > > might also search for the term 'acpi' from the "help and support" menu > item > > in XPHE > > > > HTH > > > > > > > > > > "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]... > > > Larry > > > > > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > > > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > > > > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > > > machine wanted to upgrade. > > > > > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > > > > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the > new > > > set up. > > > > > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > > > > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they

tried

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> > > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > > > > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > > > > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i > visit > > > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires > > up....runs > > > sweetly until switched off . > > > > > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it > needs > > > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > > > > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and the > > neighbour(Electrician/PC > > > DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > > > > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > > > > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started > after > > > XP installation..?? > > > > > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > > > appreciated. > > > > > > > > > Andy > > > > > > > > > > > >

Yeah..there is plenty of crap out there. Unfortunately a lot of it is in bread and butter consumer computers from major vendors. The same people who have the least idea how to deal with the problems often get the worst problems for that reason. I have had to unravel lots of them. :) I had one guy who runs a small-medium sized business. He bought a bunch of early ATX computers to replace his old 386sx16 stuff that was a zillion years old. He was calling me complaining that they were defective because you had to reconfigure them every time you rebooted. Come to discover he was shutting down and then killing the power to the PS via power strips. I showed his how to "fix" the problem, but he still felt they were defective because he was risking fire by having to leave power on all the time. Very good point about making sure the power is all gone from the mobo before you start mucking around with the contents of the case. At the very LEAST, you should shut off the power supply switch (not the on/off) on an ATX box. And let us not forget having to jam cards into the slots on the board so hard it bends the board and it grounds out on the chassis. That can be a bad thing if there's any juice left running around in there. "iksteh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:3d6dbc02$0$26221$[email hidden]... > "blorch" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:wsgb9.221160$983.455044@rwcrnsc53... > <snip> > > Another thing to remember about ATX motherboards is that you should NOT > > completely shut off power to them via a wall switch or power strip.They > > are designed to have power all the time and killing the power for awhile > > can reset the BIOS to defaults. In some annoying cases it can evenclean > > out the CMOS and your computer will "forget" what drives are attached toit

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> > if they aren't correctly auto-detected during bootup. > Must be thinking of a crap motherboard. Most > mobos these days have a small lithium-ion > battery which maintains the contents of BIOS. > > WORSE! is NOT unplugging power when replacing > cards or RAM - you can destroy parts this way > especially AGP cards with the double row of > contacts. > > > > iksteh > >

A couple of thoughts... If this is an Athlon system, make SURE the Processor Fan/Heatsink didn't come unseated in travel. It happens. Make SURE the power-on cable is still firmly attached to the system board. It's possible some other component came unseated in transport as well. I think the cover needs to come off and have everything inspected internally. Since Windows XP isn't even involved in the stages you note, I doubt it could be XP. Also, did you update the BIOS? If you did, did you go back and re-set all the settings? -Larry "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]...

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> Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the new > set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i visit > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires

up....runs > sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it needs > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and theneighbour(Electrician/PC

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> DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started after > XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy > >

It certainly could be, especially if it's an Athlon system. But, changing to XP should not affect this at all. -Larry "Schooner" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:br7b9.28312$[email hidden]...

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> Had same problem before, it was the power supply. > > "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:akivkj$g0j$[email hidden]... > > Larry > > > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > > machine wanted to upgrade. > > > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the

new

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> > set up. > > > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they tried > > everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it fired up. > > > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i

visit > > switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it fires > up....runs > > sweetly until switched off . > > > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,itneeds

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> > the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and the > neighbour(Electrician/PC > > DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the problem. > > > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started

after

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> > XP installation..?? > > > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > > appreciated. > > > > > > Andy > > > > > >

No, only if you changed or updated the BIOS. XP won't change anything in there. -Larry "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akjjsk$qh4$[email hidden]...

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> Power supply or power cord does seem favourite so far... > > The XP fresh install might lead to BIOS problem..? > > I feel so guilty because they had the PC 2 years never a thing went > wrong,and now all this and of course being older generation they are > saying.."Well it was alright until that XP thing went on" > > Swapping a power supply is new ground and if it isnt that i will be gutted > ..LOL > > Many thanks guys > > Andy > >

Andrew, just check the BIOS. It probably has nothing to do with XP, but a lot to do with the fact that their wall outlet lost power. The problem you're describing sounds exactly like what I mentioned above. I don't know much about XP, so I don't know if it takes control of that feature. If you have a Win9x boot disk (floppy), put it in, boot to dos and try the power button. If you still have to hold it for 4 secs before it shut off, it's in the BIOS. You said it happens all the time now, having to hold the button for 3 or 4 secs. There is no way a faulty power cord or the power supply could reproduce this consistently. -- Slot Tweaks & Reviews www.slottweak.com "Andrew" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:akjjsk$qh4$[email hidden]... > Power supply or power cord does seem favourite so far... > > The XP fresh install might lead to BIOS problem..? > > I feel so guilty because they had the PC 2 years never a thing went > wrong,and now all this and of course being older generation they are > saying.."Well it was alright until that XP thing went on" > > Swapping a power supply is new ground and if it isnt that i will be gutted > ..LOL > > Many thanks guys > > Andy > >

Well, the ASUS P3B is famous for this, and it's not a crap motherboard by far :) -Larry "iksteh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:3d6dbc02$0$26221$[email hidden]... > "blorch" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:wsgb9.221160$983.455044@rwcrnsc53... > <snip> > > Another thing to remember about ATX motherboards is that you should NOT > > completely shut off power to them via a wall switch or power strip.They > > are designed to have power all the time and killing the power for awhile > > can reset the BIOS to defaults. In some annoying cases it can evenclean > > out the CMOS and your computer will "forget" what drives are attached toit

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> > if they aren't correctly auto-detected during bootup. > > Must be thinking of a crap motherboard. Most > mobos these days have a small lithium-ion > battery which maintains the contents of BIOS. > > WORSE! is NOT unplugging power when replacing > cards or RAM - you can destroy parts this way > especially AGP cards with the double row of > contacts. > > > > iksteh > >

Well, the ASUS P3B is famous for this, and it's not a ***motherboard by far :) -Larry

"Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:Brzb9.26399$[email hidden]... > Well, the ASUS P3B is famous for this, and it's not a crap motherboard by > far :) > > -Larry I thought that was fixed in bios 1004. Could be wrong of course (often am!) iksteh

Beside what everyone else has already suggested, I'd go a couple steps further: Go to each of the hardware manufacturer's web sites and download the latest drivers for such items as sound, graphics, motherboard, and even check for a BIOS update. Do one change at a time, and run with it for a few hours before adding another driver. Windows XP is much more demanding of hardware, and needs to have drivers which are different than those which ran perfectly fine with Win98SE. If, after updating a driver, things aren't running as well as before, you can always use Roll Back Driver in Device Manager to revert to the previous good position. -- Chris H. Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Associate Expert Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone Andrew wrote: > Larry > > You helped fix a few probs i have had over the last few months so i am > chheky enough to ask if you can help in this matter :) > > Parents had stable Win 98SE machine but after seeing my brothers XP HE > machine wanted to upgrade. > > So we formatted and installed XP HE. > > Added their apps and programs and went home leaving them enjoying the > new set up. > > They switched off for the night and went bed. > > Next day they tried to start the machine and it didnt respond,they > tried everything and it wasn't until a swap of wall socket that it > fired up. > > Dodgy wall socket you might say...!! > > To cut a long story very short,this has been going on for 2 weeks,i > visit switch switches,change sockets etc etc and then suddenly it > fires up....runs sweetly until switched off . > > 1st thing i noticed is that it dont just switch off as it used to,it > needs the off button to be held for 3/4 secs...weird. > > So i just got a phone call from my parents and the > neighbour(Electrician/PC DIYman) said he suspects a worm is the > problem. > > My initial suspicion is power supply. > > My second thought was is it just a coincidence that this all started > after XP installation..?? > > Any ideas,clues,directions to take on this matter would be very much > appreciated. > > > Andy

Larry wrote: > > Well, the ASUS P3B is famous for this, and it's not a crap motherboard by > far :) <sniff sniff> I miss the days when an ASUS P3B-F was all you needed to run just about anything, will go down in history as one of the best MoBo's ever made, I still have 2 PC's with that MoBo in them tucked away somewhere, one of them is running a 133 FSB CPU at 150 FSB, not bad a for a BX board, crunches numbers for UD 24/7 Beers and cheers (uncle) Goy http://www.theuspits.com "A man is only as old as the woman he feels........" --Groucho Marx--

Didn't fix mine :) I just never unplug it. Since it's my Terminal Server and network monitor at home now, it never gets turned off anyway. -Larry "iksteh" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:3d6f2584$0$26221$[email hidden]... > "Larry" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:Brzb9.26399$[email hidden]... > > Well, the ASUS P3B is famous for this, and it's not a crap motherboardby

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> > far :) > > > > -Larry > > I thought that was fixed in bios 1004. Could > be wrong of course (often am!) > > iksteh > >

There's a certain comfort and dependability in an old BX based P3B-F with a Pentium III in it, isn't there :) Mine has been up 24X7 for 3 years now I guess. I don't even bother looking at the BIOS version any more becuase it just works. -Larry "Goy Larsen" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Larry wrote: > > > > Well, the ASUS P3B is famous for this, and it's not a crap motherboardby

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> > far :) > > <sniff sniff> > > I miss the days when an ASUS P3B-F was all you needed to run just about > anything, will go down in history as one of the best MoBo's ever made, I > still have 2 PC's with that MoBo in them tucked away somewhere, one of > them is running a 133 FSB CPU at 150 FSB, not bad a for a BX board, > crunches numbers for UD 24/7 > > > Beers and cheers > (uncle) Goy > > http://www.theuspits.com > > "A man is only as old as the woman he feels........" > --Groucho Marx--

Larry wrote: > > There's a certain comfort and dependability in an old BX based P3B-F with a > Pentium III in it, isn't there :) > > Mine has been up 24X7 for 3 years now I guess. I don't even bother looking > at the BIOS version any more becuase it just works. Ah the memories......:-), I can't believe I'm getting all teary eyed over a MoBo though, but to me, and I'm speaking as a small time PC manufacturer, that was the mother of all motherboards (grandmotherboard ?), rock stable, excellent quality and very few warranty claims, can't ask for much more, add to that it was pretty good for OC'ing as well, and fairly good on speed running stock settings, oh well, life goes on :-) Beers and cheers (uncle) Goy http://www.theuspits.com "A man is only as old as the woman he feels........" --Groucho Marx--