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I recently vacuumed the dust out of the inside of my desktop PC. Lots of dust.
Now I am getting a bunch of crashes. Sometimes I just get a hanged-up screen, black escept for a mouse pointer. Sometimes a CHDSK process starts up without my requesting it. Sometimes I get a desktop with errors. When I use Internet Explorer to open tabs and pages, I get multiple instances of IXEPLORE. Firefox will not run at all, but it used to.
... And other random stuff.
I have tried the recovery disk that came with the computer. It saved my stuff and reinstalled windows. Did this twice. It helped but still have problems.
The trouble got worse when I re-installed the Sound blaster Audigy that has been on this machine for years. Got better when I physically un-installed it.
Sound Blaster installed AOL, and I am unable to get AOL uninstalled.
If this is my C: drive failing, what can I do? How can I get another C: drive with WIn XP onit?
Any other ideas?
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It does not sound like a software problem to me.
I suggest you remove all RAM and cards, and re-seat after cleaning contacts and blowing away dust with compressed air. Typical cautions, such as unplug first, wear a grounding strap, etc.
Did you also vacuum all the fans? Are they all plugged in and working?
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Suspect a bad or failing PSU. (After rechecking all cables and cards by disconnecting and reconnecting/reseating them.)
Removing the extra load of the external soundcard and it settled down but only a bit, is a clue here...
--Mac
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I concur. I have a $20 power supply tester from Best Buy. Not bench equipment but better than nothing.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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If it was me I'd just put the dust back in. It's like smoke. If you let the smoke out things won't work either. Sorry couldn't resist. More seriously.
A vacuum can set up a real bad static charge that could damage components. You should never vacuum just blow out. maybe you unseated something. Was it working fine, be critical here, before you cleaned it out?
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I took out the 2 sticks of memory, blew out the slots and sprayed some Deoxit on the contacts. Instant improvement, though there are stil glitches. Sound Blaster wont install and I cant get AOL out.
I'll try taking out the sound cards alternately and see what I get.
I have a PSU frm a similar machine that I could try swapping in, but it wont be today.
Thanks for your answers.
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I am not sure why you think you have AOL. Does your internet explorer perhaps have a branding across the top like "Internet Explorer provided by AOL"?
If you truly have AOL, you can remove it through the add/remove process like any other program. AOL hangs on like grim death and goes licking and screaming, but you can take it off like anything else.
As far as the sound card, shut down, pull the card and reboot. That will see the ESCD (extended system configuration data) update to see the card as gone. Then shut down again, put the card back in, and reboot. Windows should auto detect the new hardware and look for drivers. If you have a CD with drivers, install them first and THEN shut down and put the card in. And make sure when you are inside the case you unplug the power cable and touch the outside frame to discharge any static buildup in your body.
If that still fails, boot in safe mode once and let Windows fix what it sees to be wrong.
I don't know your level of experience and no offense intended but you don't sound all that experienced if you can't get AOL off your computer. You have a lot of knowledge here to draw from and we will help you all we can.
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Xp eh? ID take an axe to it and go to best buy. Get a part timr job. Buy an open box used with employee discount. Work on sun for 6 hours a week. Remember to say " no one else has " ...
New computer every few months and free shirts.
And learn win 7 good but soon to be obsolete as tablets become computers and vice versa ....
John Conley
Musica est vita
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.
>>>...If it was me I'd just put the dust back in. It's like smoke. If you let the smoke out things won't work either....>>>
Gosh, Silvertones, I wish I had consulted you beforehand. I let the dust get loose and now its all mixed with the potting soil and Grandma's ashes.
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.
Um...thanks Eddie. I have installed this particular soundcard before and uninstalled AOL before. I know how to do it. I have done it before, and its not working now.
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Flatfoot,
I wasn't aware that AOL still had a software component. I've used it for years and the software requirement has been gone for several years. It's all web based now.
No software required. There may be if you're using dial-up, but I don't know about that.
Are you using dial-up?
Or is it just a toolbar on your browser?
I don't use AOL software or the toolbar, even tho I've got the same email address in AOL I created back in the Win 95 days.
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I make an observation:
The owner of a large store and supplier of apple rode lights tents amps stages tour buses told me that 20 or more clubs have computers fail. All of them had old dead sound cards.
The computers were all xp. The two I saw were running Gina cards.
The common thread was they had persistent messages about you may have an invalid version of windows. The cost of a new computer was less than the fix as the output can noe go USB to the mixer with 2 streams for beat mixing, which was done by hand on the control surface.
Think it well thru
John Conley
Musica est vita
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John,
I don't think it has anything to do with Win XP. It's a very good and stable OS.
I'm using Win 7 64 currently, but XP still has features I like better than Win 7.
My guess is that it's related to bad connections resulting from the vacuuming or a static charge from the vacuuming.
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