Are all of these signs that I need a new computer?

• Back up your personal files on external media ASAP to be safe
• Reboot and press F12. Go to Utilities partition and run the hardware diagnostics, including extended hard drive tests. Copy error messages, if any.
• Run>chkdsk c: /f on the hard drive
• Have you scanned thoroughly for malware recently?
• How much free space is available on the hard drive?
• Have you defragged the hard drive lately?
• How much junk is loading in the background when you boot?
• Might just be time to restore Windows to the factory image and start clean

Sometimes, slow startups and other weird problems are due to failing power supplies.

Five years is not all that old. Your 8100 is worth fixing.

Five years is not all that old. Your 8100 is worth fixing.

Agreed. 

And one more for my list...

When was last time you replaced the motherboard battery?

The signs are crop circles in the back yard.

• Back up your personal files on external media ASAP to be safe (CHECK!)
• Reboot and press F12. Go to Utilities partition and run the hardware diagnostics, including extended hard drive tests. Copy error messages, if any.(CHECK - no issues)
• Run>chkdsk c: /f on the hard drive (I tried this twice, but I didn't notice any action taken)
• Have you scanned thoroughly for malware recently? (YES, both Malware Bytes and Super Anti Spyware)
• How much free space is available on the hard drive? (568GB of 683GB)
• Have you defragged the hard drive lately? (yes, often using Bit Defender)
• How much junk is loading in the background when you boot? ( I believe that it is at a minimum.  Bit Defender allows me to delay starting applications or turn them off)
• Might just be time to restore Windows to the factory image and start clean (I don't have a W7 CD)
• When was the last time that I replaced the motherboard battery?  (NEVER)
  

Right now, then HD is barely making noise,.  At other times, it is a chatterbox. The "NOT RESPONDING" , generally slow performance, and the marching dashed line across the top are concerning symptoms.  Is there any way to check if any of the PSs are going bad?

Thanks so far for your help

Might be a good idea to replace the motherboard battery first, even if just to rule it out. It's a CR2032 3-volt lithium ion battery, ~$2 at discount stores.

Before replacing the battery, reboot and press F2 to open BIOS setup. Copy down all current settings because they'll revert to default settings when you remove the battery.

While you're in BIOS setup, make sure the boot hard drive is first in the boot sequence. And check to see if the amount of RAM recognized by BIOS matches what's physically installed. And after booting into Windows, see if the OS recognizes the same amount of RAM as BIOS.

Then shut down, unplug the PC and press/hold power button for ~15 sec before opening the case.  Replace the battery. After you reboot, you'll have to reset the date/time in BIOS setup. If there are any error messages during first boot after replacing the battery, check that BIOS settings match what you copied or change to match.

When you say "not responding", do you mean web pages or software app pages?

For chkdsk:

1. Click Start>Run
2. Type in: chkdsk c: /f
3. Click OK and accept the offer to run chkdsk at next boot and reboot
4. chkdsk should run before Windows loads

If you reboot and press F8 before Windows starts to load and select Safe Mode+Networking from the menu, so you have the same symptoms running in Safe Mode?

Unless the hard drive has been replaced or previously reformatted, you should have a hidden copy of the factory image on the drive. It will reset the drive to exactly the way Dell shipped it. When it's reset, you'll have to install all the latest Microsoft updates, hotfixes plus all your software and personal files. Be sure you have all your software installation disks and product keys before you restore the factory image using the F8 menu>Advanced Options

The Age and noize of the hard drive would indicate needing a replacement.   However a DDR3 based system is still mainstream.   New hard drive and reinstall windows and you likely will be good to go. Hard Drives are like the brakes on your car.  They are mechanical and wear out.  The other components could last 20 years or more. Hard drives are like your car.  Its not a matter of if it dies its a matter of when.  The more hours you use it the faster it dies because it has a limited life.   That's why Drive warranty's are 3 or 2 or 1 year or less.

Thanks for your help so far.  Since I don't know what function the battery on the Mother board serves, I can't agree that it might be part of the problem.  So, I am trusting you at this point.

Do you think that testing the battery voltage (loaded) with a meter might give an indication of its health?  What is the minimum voltage of that battery?

It looks like I could mess up my computer if I don't make the change correctly.  I will print out your instructions.  Also, what do you think about the idea of getting a new HD, as one contributor suggested?

Thanks!

Ron,

I forgot to answer a couple of your questions.

The "Not Responding" message shows up in internet and Windows Live Mail.  Some of the applications can be slow opening and performing, but there is not such message for them.  I also notice frequently  that when Firefox and Windows live Mail are open, and I try to select emails to open or open new pages on browser, the computer is SLOW SLOW SLOW to open them.  The HD is chattering during this period.  When the chattering stops, I can select anything that I want quickly.

I haven't done that much work in Safe Mode, other than to run Super anti spyware and Malware Bytes, but I can try operating in safe mode+networking to see if I observe Not Responding messages.

Do I need to have a copy of W7 to do any of this work?  They sent the computer without a hard copy of the windows.  I am waiting for windows 10 to hit the market.

John

Ron,

I tried running the chkdsk, but there is an issue.  When I ran your steps, a new window popped up and closed quickly, but upon rebooting, unless I press those random keys, the computer displays the dashed line, and essentially locks me out, not permitting me to get to the sign-in page.  I have no way around this.  I do not know what pressing the random keys is doing, but it appears to be bypassing something.

John

If the hard drive is making that much chatter when things don't respond, then you probably do need to replace it as SpeedStep suggested.

Since you don't have a Win 7 disk and the system is out of warranty, you're either going to have to buy a (Dell OEM) Win 7 disk of same version Dell installed (Home or Pro) on eBay etc, or image this hard drive and install the image on the new drive, or upgrade to free Win 10 Insider Preview.

The Win 10 preview should give you the right to get the final version of Win 10 later this summer for free, so that might be a good way to go. Just keep in mind that the Preview is still a little buggy.

I'd replace the battery even if you replace the hard drive. BIOS holds the info that tells the CPU how to talk to all the other hardware, and a battery is needed to keep those settings stored when the PC is turned off.  Easier and only a few dollars to install a fresh one rather than bothering to test the old one...

The noise that I hear is not a sound like when you hear someone drop the clutch in a stick shift car.  It is a low-level chatter that does appear to be present most of the time. 

As a follow-up to Ron, I did experience a "Not Responding" in WORD just now. That makes three apps that exhibit the same message.

Purchasing a new HD isn't as expensive as a new PC.  Can adding more RAM speed things up also?  It came with 6GB, but can accommodate 16GB

Thanks to all the responders thus far!

John

You may only hear it chatter when it's being accessed. If it's idle you probably won't hear the noise.

Hard drives aren't very expensive these days. If you want a drive larger than 2T, Win 7 won't recognize it properly so you'd need at least Win 8 or Win 10 for a drive larger than 2T. Or, you could consider an SSD which will be more expensive for less storage space, but it will be lightning fast.

More RAM is always good.  :emotion-5:  Just make sure what you buy is compatible with this system. Some brands of RAM may have exactly the right specs but won't work with a particular PC. That's why lot of peeps around this forum buy RAM from crucial.com. If Crucial recommends it for a specific PC, they guarantee it works or they take it back.

If you want a drive larger than 2T, Win 7 won't recognize it properly so you'd need at least Win 8 or Win 10 for a drive larger than 2T.

Not  true; both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 properly recognize large drives. Only the 64-bit version will boot from one, however, and UEFI firmware or a UEFI simulator is required.

My preferred solution is an SSD boot drive, with the large drive limited to data and applications.