Posts made by zerenia

@angryeyebrows Love the categoies… “Domestic Suspense”.

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@ctgolfer Link does not go to the coupon. After clicking the link, clear the search, select the Dairy icon and the coupon is in the dairy list.

Thanks, @ctgolfer

@vegasvegan said in PhatWallet needs your permission to activate desktop notifications:

@dangeruss Old Firefox. I’ll try in a different browser and if it doesn’t happen there I guess it must be that.

Edit: Yea it must be old FF. Doesn’t come back in new FF
Not a big deal just posted in case it was a glitch from a site upgrade or something.

Latest FireFox on Win10 - getting the notification.

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Only free for Kindle Unlimited participants. $3.99 and up for everyone else.

– Z –

@marvomatic Now $4.49 + FS for Prime.

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@mrvietnam I got the $9.14 in PayPal as well.

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@angryeyebrows Yep. I’m going to stop looking. Luckily there are other Prime benefits, so this one doesn’t really matter much to me.

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@pitcherswife If it’s wireless, why does it have a 3mm audio connector?

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@angryeyebrows said in Amazon First Reads June- Prime Members Choose 2 Kindle Books from Select Titles- Claim by 7/1:

Login w/ Prime
https://www.amazon.com/firstreads/ref=kc_apub_afr_d_06_21?tag=phtwllt-20

Sorry Z, same old thing.

@AngryEyebrows Indeed. Some interesting author names, though:

Precious Brady-Davis
Brittainy Cherry (not a typo)
E.J. Mellow

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@ctgolfer Bought one a couple of years ago when on sale. Works great, easy to clean. Very satisfied customer!

– Z –

@ctgolfer Now $0.99.

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@pitcherswife

From the website:

“Do I have to be a spray tan pro to get a free sample?
YES. This offer is for spray tan pros only that are based in the USA. All orders will be verified and limited to 1 per business.”

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@sonofzeus Looks like it’s identical to Aleve - naproxen sodium 230mg.

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@marvomatic I got it but it requires using Shipt. So same day delivery or you have to pick up. No online or in-store.

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@angryeyebrows said in Amazon First Reads May- Prime Members Choose 1 Kindle Edition from Select Titles-Claim by 6/1:

https://www.amazon.com/firstreads?tag=phtwllt-20

Sorry Z, standard offerings

Yep. I like how they try to use different categories. “Domestic thriller” was particularly creative……

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@angryeyebrows Once again, chick lit and kiddie books. I continue to say that I have nothing against those genres but I’d like to see a better variety in the monthly offerings.

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@phat200 said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia
So far so good. Thanks, Z. I’ll resist meddling with my PC.

Do you know of any other forums that have people knowledgeable about virtual machines in the Windows environment?

Thanks again.

Best bet for me has been Reddit, but I don’t do much of this any more. I was a server admin and network engineer, not really a desktop OS engineer. @jtownsucks46 gave you some good advice but assumes that you have corrupt operating system file/files which is what RestoreHealth fixes. Likely no harm in trying what jtown suggested.

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@phat200 said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 Cold start the pc and as soon as you power on, hold down the F8 key and don’t let go until a text-based menu starts up. Select “Safe Mode” by using keyboard arrow keys and press the Enter key on your keyboard. If the pc come up relatively quickly then you have something in the startup that is holding up the process.

If the pc still slow loads then you might be having a hardware issue that needs to be addressed.

Report back the Safe Mode-boot up results, please.

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Last night, I “shut down” the PC, wait a few minutes and then power on the PC. I have a bootup password (PW) and a windows PW. I repetitively press the F8 key as soon as I press the power button on the PC, the bootup PWscreen came on; entered the PW. Then again repetitively press F8 key. But it got right into Windows – with no stalling – and I never get the menu screen to select “Safe Mode”.

So I “Shut down” Windows again for the night.

This morning, I power on the PC and repete the above process with one exception – I Press and hold F8 key: First as soon as I press the power button on the PC; then again as soon as I press Enter key after I input the bootup PW. Again, it went straight into Windows – without stalling.

Is the F8 key for the Boot Menu or Startup Menu? If yes, then I have a Post-It note on my PC that they would be f( or Esc key. I’ll try them when I “Shut Down” Windows tonight.

But that doesn’t explain why the PC is booting up normally now? Only time will tell whether “stalling” will recur.

P.S. Just to be sure, by “cold start the PC”, do you mean pressing the Power button to turn on the PC?

Thanks in advance

I’m operating under the premise that you have a wired and not a wireless keyboard, but even then F8 ought to work. Not sure why you’re getting a boot menu - I was expecting a startup menu with multiple startup options like Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc. Cold start = power off and power on. We use the term “power cycle the machine” but didn’t want to confuse you even more.

If it’s starting OK now, leave it alone. If it starts to stall on startup again, try “Diagnostic Startup” in MSCONFIG. Here’s a link to how to use it:

netsquirrel.com

Diagnostic startup will disable all programs and non-essential services from starting up when you boot up and get to a Win 7 desktop. Something in startup not completing successfully is the typical cause of a boot hangup. If the diagnostic startup works, then go back to normal startup and then on the Startup tab of MSCONFIG you can uncheck all the startup items and put them back one at a time until the system hangs again.

This is all assuming that you can get past the hanging the next time it happens…

It may be time for a new OS or new computer. Is all this trouble worth your time?

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The keyboard and mouse are wired.

I have no stalling this morning. [And in booting up, I pressed the Esc key to get to my Startup Menu.]

For some reason on my PC it is the “Esc” key is for the Startup Menu. And my startup menu doesn’t have the option to Start Windows in Safe mode. The closest that I see is F2 for Diagnostic; F12 for Network Service Boot; F11 for Recovery. Maybe “Start Windows in Safe Mode” is under Diagnostic Or Recovery? I know I have seen that option before – I think it is after my PC get a Blue Screen and I have to turn off the PC by holding down the Power button; and power back on.

I do have a Win10 PC; but I haven’t really migrated to it because of my 32-bit legacy software I use often. And it takes much more time to achieve the same level of proficiency in a new software. (And I don’t need that software for work.)

The ESC key is giving you a hardware-based startup menu that is burned into the boot hard drive of your computer. That startup menu is not a Windows menu but is a menu that was put there by the manufacturer of your PC. If you want to reinstall Windows you would select F11, for example.

If it’s working, leave it alone. Resist the temptation to tinker.

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@yoregano said in Free $100 for Sending your Diploma to Natural Light:

@zerenia said in Free $100 for Sending your Diploma to Natural Light:

Got my diploma back today and a commemorative picture of the artwork.

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Same here.

I was not thrilled with the print of the artwork accompanying my diploma, so I contacted the firm that sent the print to find out if other, color prints were available for sale, but, alas, no…

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@phat200 said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia said in New problem with my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 Cold start the pc and as soon as you power on, hold down the F8 key and don’t let go until a text-based menu starts up. Select “Safe Mode” by using keyboard arrow keys and press the Enter key on your keyboard. If the pc come up relatively quickly then you have something in the startup that is holding up the process.

If the pc still slow loads then you might be having a hardware issue that needs to be addressed.

Report back the Safe Mode-boot up results, please.

—. Z. —

Last night, I “shut down” the PC, wait a few minutes and then power on the PC. I have a bootup password (PW) and a windows PW. I repetitively press the F8 key as soon as I press the power button on the PC, the bootup PWscreen came on; entered the PW. Then again repetitively press F8 key. But it got right into Windows – with no stalling – and I never get the menu screen to select “Safe Mode”.

So I “Shut down” Windows again for the night.

This morning, I power on the PC and repete the above process with one exception – I Press and hold F8 key: First as soon as I press the power button on the PC; then again as soon as I press Enter key after I input the bootup PW. Again, it went straight into Windows – without stalling.

Is the F8 key for the Boot Menu or Startup Menu? If yes, then I have a Post-It note on my PC that they would be f( or Esc key. I’ll try them when I “Shut Down” Windows tonight.

But that doesn’t explain why the PC is booting up normally now? Only time will tell whether “stalling” will recur.

P.S. Just to be sure, by “cold start the PC”, do you mean pressing the Power button to turn on the PC?

Thanks in advance

I’m operating under the premise that you have a wired and not a wireless keyboard, but even then F8 ought to work. Not sure why you’re getting a boot menu - I was expecting a startup menu with multiple startup options like Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Networking, etc. Cold start = power off and power on. We use the term “power cycle the machine” but didn’t want to confuse you even more.

If it’s starting OK now, leave it alone. If it starts to stall on startup again, try “Diagnostic Startup” in MSCONFIG. Here’s a link to how to use it:

netsquirrel.com

Diagnostic startup will disable all programs and non-essential services from starting up when you boot up and get to a Win 7 desktop. Something in startup not completing successfully is the typical cause of a boot hangup. If the diagnostic startup works, then go back to normal startup and then on the Startup tab of MSCONFIG you can uncheck all the startup items and put them back one at a time until the system hangs again.

This is all assuming that you can get past the hanging the next time it happens…

It may be time for a new OS or new computer. Is all this trouble worth your time?

– Z –

@phat200 Cold start the pc and as soon as you power on, hold down the F8 key and don’t let go until a text-based menu starts up. Select “Safe Mode” by using keyboard arrow keys and press the Enter key on your keyboard. If the pc come up relatively quickly then you have something in the startup that is holding up the process.

If the pc still slow loads then you might be having a hardware issue that needs to be addressed.

Report back the Safe Mode-boot up results, please.

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Got my diploma back today and a commemorative picture of the artwork.

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@mrsguin $3.59 shipping for the free sample. Did not see a way to get free shipping.

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@dangeruss said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@dangeruss said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@dangeruss said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@dangeruss said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@zerenia said in Can't boot up my Win7 Pro PC:

@phat200 Hard drive may have died.

Press CTRL + P on the 2nd screen and look around the menus that come up for hard disks. If none are detected then you have a drive or drive cable or drive controller problem, most likely. Get professional help, but it’s likely less expensive to get a new computer than to fix that one.

I believe that by the time your computer was manufactured hard drives were auto detected by the computer and you didn’t have to enter a bunch of hard drive info by hand.

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Z, thanks a million.You pinpoint the problem and I fixed it. It is a loose drive cable.

A week ago, while I was cleaning the inside of my PC, I dropped it (18" to the floor). There is not much I can do after the fact. So I just plug in the power cord and it boots up fine. Now that you mention drive cable, I open up the PC and the cables seem to be connected. But just to be sure, I push in on all the drive connectors (power and date cables). Now it boots up again with no problem.

Thanks again.

Well, I spoke too soon.

This morning, the whole problem repeats itself. The same 3 screens above. I tried Ctrl+P. No different in result.

Does this reappearing problem indicates another underlying problem?

Also, when I tried to turn off the PC with the Power button, I have to keep my finger on it for a while before it power off. Since I haven’t use that procedure to turn off a PC, I can’t remember whether that is normal.

TIA

Did you double check the cables again? The heat can be causing iffy cables to get loose again.

Also is the drive spinning rust or ssd.

And this is a desktop?

OK. I open up the PC again; and it works again. I guess I will keep it on 24/7 from now on. Is this still a cable problem? Can I fix the problem more permamently?

The PC is a “desktop” (a Tower case sitting on the floor).

I don’t know what you mean by “spinning rust” but I have 2 HD in it and I believe both are SSDs and they are about 7-8 yrs old.

I would run chkdsk on the drives just to make sure they’re OK. Spinning rust doesn’t like being dropped.

Also Win7 is EOL by now, so it’s probably not receiving any security updates. You can probably upgrade it to 10 fairly easily, but from my experience, 10 won’t play nicely with spinning rust, you’ll need an SSD.

I don’t know, @dangeRuss - running an upgraded from 7 to 10 pc with spinning disk and it works just fine. I do have 8GB of RAM, though. PC is probably 7 years old.

@Phat200 - hard to diagnose without seeing/touching the box. Did you do anything besides open the case, like reseating the cables, or did you just crack the case open? Almost sounds like a bad cable if you reseat the cable and then move the box back to where it was and then it fails again. New cable is inexpensive and worth a try. If that fails, once again I suggest it’s time for a pro to look at the machine and if it’s more than about $100 to fix, think about a new box. With SSD disk - agree with @dangeRuss that SSD is a better long term technology play.

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Sorry. I meant opening the case and again push on the cable connectors on the disk and the motherboard; then close the case and turn on the PC and it works again. Same as last time, per your suggestion. The last time, it was on for a few hours and I turn it off to go sleep. The next morning, the problem recurred – the same 3 screens as in my original post and never move beyond that.

Both you and Russ suggest that I try pushing on those disk cables again. I did, and it works again. I haven’t turn off the PC since then (it has been on 24/7). So I don’t know whether it will recur if I turn it off. I have a bad back; and lifting that tower case from the floor is a real chore for my back.

This PC do have SSD in it. It has 16GB of RAM and 2 SSDs – running 64-bit Win7 pro and a virtual PC with WinXP. [One of my legacy spreadsheet only runs in 32-bit OS. ]

I have a new PC with Win10 Pro and [Windows’] Virtual PC with 32-bit Win7. I just don’t like it. e.g. the size of the virtual Win7 window is determined by the screen resolution; and I cannot resize that window in any way except changing the screen resolution for the virtual PC. Another problem is if I copy some text in Win10, it can’t be pasted in Win 7 virtual PC. In addition, pressing Alt+Tab in Win7 Virtual PC will only recycle among apps in Win7; and it won’t include windows in Win10. Win7/WinXP combination have none of those problems. If I am missing something that will make all 3 problems go away, please do let me know.

And Win10’s configuration settings are so spread out that I can’t even set the Welcome screen and my desktop screen to the same color. And it has this color “theme” that when I highlight some text in pdf document, it looks like pale green instead of yellow. I also like to have a clock on my desktop (instead of having to click on an icon in the system tray to see the time). setting a default program for a file is another issue.

The issue sounds like it’s thermal-related and @dangeRuss identified that possibility previously. Insides of the machine heat up and cool down and the cable works its way loose. I have not been a PC tech for a long time (decades), so I don’t know if this is possible with your motherboard and drive, but the next time it happens I would only adjust one side of the cable and see if the issue goes away and if not, then adjust the other side. Then, wait for it to happen again and turn the cable around so the end that was on the drive is now connected to the motherboard and then repeat the adjusting one side at a time. If the issue is always at the motherboard or the drive, then you have an iffy connector on one of those components. If the problem shifts when you turn the cable around, replace the cable. If you can put the computer on your desk while doing all this testing you can save your back.

Not even going to try to help with the other issues you posted as I am very much out of practice. I moved to server admin and network admin around 1998 and now I’m the guy in the corner office pushing paper and IT technicians around all day.

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Also if it’s the motherboard, maybe moving to a different port would help.

Thanks for the suggestion. I think my SSDs are connected to SATA ports. Looking at a diagram of MB, it shows SATA ports as follows:

SATA0 – 1st hard drive (SATA 3.0)
SATA1 – 2nd hard drive (SATA 3.0)
SATA2 – 2nd SATA hard drive
SATA3 – 2nd ODD, or 1st ODD if a 3rdHDD exists (SATA 2.0)
ESATA – eSATA connector, or 2nd ODD is a 3rd HDD exists

What does ODD mean? (this is HP Compaq Elite 8300)

I have two physical SSDs in the PC and I assume they are connected to SATA1 and SATA2.

It appears that port SATA3 is a slower version of SATA (v 2.0). There is no indication which version of SATA is port SATA2 I would assume v2.0).

So, if I change port, it would slow down my SSDs? If yes, by how much?

Thanks.

Sounds like SATA3 is a slower port mean for Optical Disks (like a DVD/burner, etc). SATA2.0 is limited to 300MB/s, which you’re never going to hit with your spinning rust, so you should be able to use all your ports. I think ideally you would keep the bootable drive in a lower port than the non bootable one, but I believe you should be able to change the boot drive in the bios (although your drive letters might change if you switch things around).

Long term I would try to get an SSD in there as the boot drive. They’re dirt cheap now (especially at lower capacities), and almost any SSD is going to outperform the drive you have in there, but I try to stick to the Samsungs (or Crucial/Intel if pressed).

It sounds like there is not a spinning disk in that computer - they’re all SSD disks, right? Swap the cables at the motherboard end for the disks connected to SATA1 and SATA2 and make sure you set the boot drive in BIOS to whichever disk moved. If boot was set to SATA1 and you moved that disk to SATA2 then set the boot drive (may be called boot order or boot drive order or something similar) to SATA2. If it was the controllers then you should start to not be able to access the 2nd SSD.

I’m still betting on a bum cable……

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