HELP....My Computer...

[KC2RPP]

Today when i turned my pc on i had no mouse. I still cant get it to work. I tried everything i know. Any suggestions??? Its been doing weird things lately like automatic system restores, and such. It has also been deleting files by itself...PLZ HELP http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif Its this windoze ME that im using i think..

[KU7PDX]

I would suggest performing a complete system restore using the disc the manufacturer provided. However, if there are files that you need to keep, I would suggest contacting a professional to get them backed up prior to a system restore being performed.

You probably got some spyware and trojans as they'll do strange stuff like that...

Rule #1: Use a router with your broadband service. If you use dialup, get broadband :-)

Rule #2: Run Spybot Search & Destroy and Adaware once per month. This will check for all the usual spyware.

Rule #3: If you have Comcast broadband, get the Mcafee Antivirus that comes FREE with your service...

[KC2RPP]

Quote[/b] (KU7PDX @ June 28 2007,02:04)]I would suggest performing a complete system restore using the disc the manufacturer provided. However, if there are files that you need to keep, I would suggest contacting a professional to get them backed up prior to a system restore being performed.

You probably got some spyware and trojans as they'll do strange stuff like that...

Rule #1: Use a router with your broadband service. If you use dialup, get broadband :-)

Rule #2: Run Spybot Search & Destroy and Adaware once per month. This will check for all the usual spyware.

Rule #3: If you have Comcast broadband, get the Mcafee Antivirus that comes FREE with your service...
i dont have the disks the manufacturer provided as i got this pc off a friend with the manufactures original software installed.

[KU7PDX]

Well, then I would recommend purchasing a copy of Windows and reinstalling it...

Newegg.com has pretty good deals on OEM software (OEM means it has a disc and license key, but no pretty box for half the price)... http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Good luck!

[KC2RPP]

ok now its really ticking me off i have no sound now and its not detecting the sound card. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif Could the motherboard be going???

[kl7aj]

Quote[/b] (KC2RPP @ June 28 2007,06:00)]Today when i turned my pc on i had no mouse. I still cant get it to work. I tried everything i know. Any suggestions??? Its been doing weird things lately like automatic system restores, and such. It has also been deleting files by itself...PLZ HELP http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif #Its this windoze ME that im using i think..
Before you do a complete lobotomy on it, try rebooting in safe mode. If you still don't have mouse and keyboard control, you might have a hardware problem. If it works okay, then you might have a virus, as suggested.

eric

[WD8OQX]

I would FIRST run a virus/trojan scan then I'd run a full system diagnostic to see if there are any hardware issues (fix-it is good) - then pull off all your non-replacable files (if you don't have them backed up already) & last but not least, if all is NOT clean run a scan of the backed up files to make sure you aren't carrying the crap over.

ASAP I'd get rid of that "ME" since it is a known "POS" - then "ghost" the system - use this if "disaster" ever strikes...

[ka7o]

Well, you've got some choices to make. Biggest being how much time and money do you want to throw down that hole.

Windows ME: One of the only products MS has come as close as they can without actually saying it should never have been released. There's a reason it was available for such a short time. Downgrading to Windows 98se *is* an improvement.

Windows ME class machine == under powered for anything contemporary. Maybe XP if you put some $$ into it for RAM and possibly CPU upgrade and can tolerate slow performance. But, it'll likely never be a true XP class system, unless you upgrade all the inards.

Hard to justify all that time, effort and what not when you can get a box from Sam's club, O-max or even online for several hundred bones.

You can check the system at the hardware level by booting a Live CD - say knoppix - run stuff, check things out. prove to yourself the hardware (mobo, ram, vid sys) is OK. Then you can decide if the bother, time and expense are worth it or not.

But seriously - Windows ME? Time to move on and catch up with current tech. And remember, common suggestion was to wipe and re-install Win9x class systems regularly. Some said as often as every 6 months.

http://www.knoppix.net

[k3wrv]

FWIW, I've got a similar problem here with an old P-II-400, and the problem is recognized by the bios during bootup. If the machine doesn't recognize the mouse (or the KBD) I turn the power off and try again. Sometimes it takes 3 or 4 tries. Jiggling connectors doesn't help. And it's NOT a virus problem, at least in my case. Did a full reinstall on a hard drive that's never seen the internet. IIRC, the BIOS checks the Mouse and KBD before it looks for the hard drive. It's just a backup machine for SSTV and PSK and I seldom use it, so I just live with it! Also, sometimes getting RF into the machine will kill the KBD.

IMHO, Win98 is more reliable than ME. See a thread about ME abnout 2 threads down.

[KC2RPP]

I have my mouse back. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif But i still have no sound card.
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif that means i cant use my echolink. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif

[KI4MRU]

I can only reiterate what others have said before. Windows ME was the worst mistake of an operating system that Microsoft ever released. It was only on the market for a year or so before 2000 and XP came out. If you can afford it at all, I would strongly suggest you upgrade to XP. I have been running it for 6 years now (or however long it's been since it first came out) and it has never given me any serious problems. Computers are so cheap, you can get a nice new one with modern hardware (anything from the Windows ME era cannot be considered modern by any stretch of the imagination) for less than the cost of a low-end HF rig. http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[ve3sre]

What you'll first want to do is rule out any possible hardware problem.

Here's the easiest thing to do...Linux to the rescue!

If your own machine isn't working properly, use a friend's machine and download a copy of "Damn Small Linux". You can get it from:
Damn Small Linux (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/download.html)

Damn Small Linux uses the same fantastic hardware detection system as another version of Linux called "Knoppix"...but is very small...only 50 MB.

You download the .iso image and burn the image to CD.

Then just change your setup so that you boot from CD instead of from the hard drive. Damn Small Linux creates a "RAMdisk" and will run completely from the CD. It won't damage any of the files on your hard drive at all.

The Knoppix hardware detection system that Damn Small Linux uses will find and setup just about anything. So if during bootup, Damn Small Linux doesn't find your hardware...or complains...then there's a very good chance that you have a hardware problem.

If it all works under Damn Small Linux, then the problem is likely with Windows ME.

Officially, all Microsoft operating systems up to Windows ME are now "unsupported" by Microsoft. Support officially ended in July, 2006. That means you are running a very insecure operating system if you are connecting it to the net.

Windows 2000 Professional would probably run on your old machine and is still supported, but you "officially" can't buy it any more. You can only "officially" purchase Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Windows Vista will certainly not run on your old machine and very likely Windows XP won't either...unless as others have mentioned you buy some more RAM and possibly do some other hardware upgrades.

You might be able to purchase a Windows ME (or Windows 2000) disk at a hamfest or perhaps on sites like eBay or Craigslist.

But if you can't afford a new computer, really the only way to keep it running with a secure and supported operating system is to use Linux. The computer I'm typing this message on is probably about the same vintage as the one you are using. It's a 450 MHz. Pentium II with only 192 MB RAM and a 9 GB hard drive. I'm using the "Xubuntu" version of Linux. The version I'm using is only a couple of months old...so more "modern" than Windows Vista, and is especially designed to run on somewhat older computers.

Also it's free. You won't need any "serial numbers" or have to "activate" it and you can install it on as many computers as you'd like.

If you're a bit nervous about trying a different operating system, there's a good chance that there's a "Linux guru" in your local ham radio club who can help you out.

73

Bob VE3SRE

[KA0SPM]

cockpit error. eject eject eject!!!!!!!!!!!