Thank you very much! I will try this and see what happens, then I will post back and let you know. Hopefully, I'll be able to do this without my pc having a fit.
I forgot to mention that I did d/l a Memory Diagnostic from Microsoft, but it didn't show that anything was wrong. Although, the instructions in the file said that just because it didn't show anything, doesn't mean that nothing is wrong. : )
The above listed downloads are Dell Diagnostics taylored to you Dim 6000. You may actually have this alreay on your harddrive. If you reboot your computer and at the Dell Splash Screen, try hitting F12 and see if there is a partition utility called "System Diagnostics". This is where the above software resides. Go ahead and select this and run the on-screen instructions/options.
If your harddrive does not have this partition, you can download the above software and burn it from a "iso" image onto CD and run it this way. You mentioned that you were having difficulty burinig backup images, so you may need to find someone who can burn this CD for you to run. Hopefully the image is still on your harddrive.
What the above does is inspects all aspects of your computer and lets you know if you have a problem, ie; bad memory, bad harddrive, soundcard, videocard, etc...
Hope this helps-at least it is a good place to start to see if your computer is having some kin of hardware failure.
Using the F12 key, I was able to navigate to the Utility Partition. I chose the Extended Test and ran it. Thank you for pointing this out to me, it may come in handy in the future. But, it did not find anything wrong.
Is the top link that you recommended for the same type of file? I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use both. Since I was able to find the area using the F12 key, is this different?
The CZ127700.exe file says it will install, but what does it install? Another type of diagnostic? Sorry I'm so dense, I just wanted to make sure that I was understanding it correctly.
I wasn't too clear on the downloads and the difference between the two. Sorry:smileysad:
The first download creates a bootable media (CD/DVD, floppy, USB stick) of the Dell Diagnostics. This was what I hoped would be already on your harddrive partition, but it is not. So you will have to create a bootable media disk to run the Dell Diagnostics.
The second download is for if you would have already had the Dell Diagnostics on your harddrive partition - this is just a update for the Dell Diagnostics strictly for an existence already on your harddrive. You won't have to worry about this download.
Say.... Do you have any of the Dell Recovery Media CD's that came with your computer? If you do, look for a Blue colored CD that has "Dell Drivers & Diagnostics for the Dell Dimension 3000". This would have the Dell Diagnostics on it. All you would have to do is boot to this CD and you good to go.
First things first. If there is any important data stored on your 3000's hard drive I strongly recommend removing one of the DIMMs then backing all those files up to DVD, CD-R, USB flash drive or whatever you have to choose from. It's often difficult to detect memory problems with diagnostics because the fault has to occur while the diagnostics are running, which in my experience will only happen if you loop the memory diags multiple times and let them run for a long time (like overnight) or if the fault decides to occur the first time you run the diags. Most of the super techs I know agree that few things stress RAM more than an operating system reinstall. Given that the Dimension 3000 was released back in 2004 there's a good chance you may just be suffering from what sometimes called 'bit rot' of Windows. If you haven't ever reinstalled Windows XP on that machine it's very likely past time to do so. Should errors occur during the installation then odds are good you're looking at failing RAM. If not & the reinstall goes smoothly, you're able to reinstall all device drivers without any problems then your issue(s) will be fixed.
Yes, I have way too many files that I need to back up. I should have been doing more of this (hindsight!). I was able to back up part of a large folder, by just cut and paste rather than trying to use my Roxio EZ Creator. So, for the next few days that's what I'll be doing.
I am going to try to put the files on DVDs, hopefully that will work! Starting with the most important, I'll be praying that it won't get worse before I get them all done. And checked.
No, I have not done a reinstall of Windows XP on this computer. I'll be looking for all of the items that came with this pc, and when I am sure that I have what I need, I will be ready to proceed.
Thank you for the clarification of the 2 downloads.
I will have to look in my box of computer CDs and see what is there. I probably won't not be able to post back until tomorrow. By then, I will have found what there is to find. I do remember being a bit distressed that there was no XP reinstall disk. I came into XP from W98 FE... So I was used to having to reformat!
Catrix
8 Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 21:00
Thank you very much! I will try this and see what happens, then I will post back and let you know. Hopefully, I'll be able to do this without my pc having a fit.
I forgot to mention that I did d/l a Memory Diagnostic from Microsoft, but it didn't show that anything was wrong. Although, the instructions in the file said that just because it didn't show anything, doesn't mean that nothing is wrong. : )
ai5u
272 Posts
0
April 30th, 2008 21:00
May I recommend downloading and running the following software:
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&deviceid=3841&libid=13&releaseid=R130269&vercnt=3&formatcnt=0&SystemID=DIM_CEL_3000&servicetag=&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=-1&impid=-1
and:
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&releaseid=R130268&SystemID=DIM_CEL_3000&servicetag=&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=5423&devlib=0&typecnt=0&vercnt=2&catid=-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=1&libid=13&fileid=173571
The above listed downloads are Dell Diagnostics taylored to you Dim 6000. You may actually have this alreay on your harddrive. If you reboot your computer and at the Dell Splash Screen, try hitting F12 and see if there is a partition utility called "System Diagnostics". This is where the above software resides. Go ahead and select this and run the on-screen instructions/options.
If your harddrive does not have this partition, you can download the above software and burn it from a "iso" image onto CD and run it this way. You mentioned that you were having difficulty burinig backup images, so you may need to find someone who can burn this CD for you to run. Hopefully the image is still on your harddrive.
What the above does is inspects all aspects of your computer and lets you know if you have a problem, ie; bad memory, bad harddrive, soundcard, videocard, etc...
Hope this helps-at least it is a good place to start to see if your computer is having some kin of hardware failure.
Good Luck
Catrix
8 Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 01:00
Using the F12 key, I was able to navigate to the Utility Partition. I chose the Extended Test and ran it. Thank you for pointing this out to me, it may come in handy in the future. But, it did not find anything wrong.
Is the top link that you recommended for the same type of file? I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use both. Since I was able to find the area using the F12 key, is this different?
The CZ127700.exe file says it will install, but what does it install? Another type of diagnostic? Sorry I'm so dense, I just wanted to make sure that I was understanding it correctly.
Thank you so much for trying to help me,
Catrix
ai5u
272 Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 02:00
My bad catrix,
I wasn't too clear on the downloads and the difference between the two. Sorry:smileysad:
The first download creates a bootable media (CD/DVD, floppy, USB stick) of the Dell Diagnostics. This was what I hoped would be already on your harddrive partition, but it is not. So you will have to create a bootable media disk to run the Dell Diagnostics.
The second download is for if you would have already had the Dell Diagnostics on your harddrive partition - this is just a update for the Dell Diagnostics strictly for an existence already on your harddrive. You won't have to worry about this download.
Say.... Do you have any of the Dell Recovery Media CD's that came with your computer? If you do, look for a Blue colored CD that has "Dell Drivers & Diagnostics for the Dell Dimension 3000". This would have the Dell Diagnostics on it. All you would have to do is boot to this CD and you good to go.
The_Namek
2 Intern
•
2.8K Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 02:00
Catrix,
First things first. If there is any important data stored on your 3000's hard drive I strongly recommend removing one of the DIMMs then backing all those files up to DVD, CD-R, USB flash drive or whatever you have to choose from. It's often difficult to detect memory problems with diagnostics because the fault has to occur while the diagnostics are running, which in my experience will only happen if you loop the memory diags multiple times and let them run for a long time (like overnight) or if the fault decides to occur the first time you run the diags. Most of the super techs I know agree that few things stress RAM more than an operating system reinstall. Given that the Dimension 3000 was released back in 2004 there's a good chance you may just be suffering from what sometimes called 'bit rot' of Windows. If you haven't ever reinstalled Windows XP on that machine it's very likely past time to do so. Should errors occur during the installation then odds are good you're looking at failing RAM. If not & the reinstall goes smoothly, you're able to reinstall all device drivers without any problems then your issue(s) will be fixed.
Catrix
8 Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 02:00
Hello and thank you for posting.
Yes, I have way too many files that I need to back up. I should have been doing more of this (hindsight!). I was able to back up part of a large folder, by just cut and paste rather than trying to use my Roxio EZ Creator. So, for the next few days that's what I'll be doing.
I am going to try to put the files on DVDs, hopefully that will work! Starting with the most important, I'll be praying that it won't get worse before I get them all done. And checked.
No, I have not done a reinstall of Windows XP on this computer. I'll be looking for all of the items that came with this pc, and when I am sure that I have what I need, I will be ready to proceed.
Thanks for your help,
Catrix
Catrix
8 Posts
0
May 1st, 2008 02:00
Thank you for the clarification of the 2 downloads.
I will have to look in my box of computer CDs and see what is there. I probably won't not be able to post back until tomorrow. By then, I will have found what there is to find. I do remember being a bit distressed that there was no XP reinstall disk. I came into XP from W98 FE... So I was used to having to reformat!
Again thanks,
Catrix