Something isn't right w/ my computer...

[Phantom Warrior]

Ok.  I'm posting this here because I'm completely confused.

1.  I woke up the other morning and opened up my computer lid (I leave it on overnight).  It kept trying to boot up, displaying an error message saying something like "Fast Ethernet Controller error.  Media cable disconnected.  PEX ROM exited.", then restarting.

2.  I shut off the computer and turned it back on a couple of times and finally it booted correctly.

3.  Then, my sound wouldn't work.  I tried to play music in Winamp and it said displayed a sound error message.  I looked at all the installed drivers and couldn't find anything not working correctly.

4.  I restarted again.  Now, everything more or less works.  But my computer is running unusually slow.  It takes a long time to boot up.  And, most tellingly, it's having trouble playing music.  It's almost like the processor can't keep up.  It'll play music alright, but if I open a new program or it's downloading a webpage or something the music skips.  Badly.  It crackles like a weak radio station.


I don't know what to do.  I've run two virus scans, w/ my native Norton program and an online scan by Trendmicro.com.  I've been running a registry cleaner to try and square away my registry errors.  

It's running a little better now.  But my music is still skipping, though not quite as much.  Which is very odd.  Wiinamp NEVER gives me problems.  Even when Windows has a major hiccup and has to catch up, Winamp still keeps running.


Can anyone help me out?  I'm extremely confused.

[TarpleyG]

Sounds like you might have a hardware issue.  Stuff does eventually give out, even if it is solid state.  Check your manufacturer's site for any diagnostic tools and you might be able to narrow it down.  My guess...your motherboard might be fried.

Greg

[Phantom Warrior]

TarpleyG, don't say that!!  Seriously, I've only had this since October.  Could it really give out this quick?  How would I know for sure?

[charby]

TarpleyG, don't say that!!  Seriously, I've only had this since October.  Could it really give out this quick?  How would I know for sure?

I've had computer have hardware issues with in 30 minutes of turning them on for the first time

C

[Azrael256]

Yup, usually hardware problems crop up right quick, but some can sneak up on you over time.

The strangest one I ever had was an NT machine that kept getting bluscreened.  I resintalled, no dice, same problem.  I imaged it from CD, still wouldn't work.  I then imaged it over the network, and it worked fine.  The problem?  Bad CDROM drive.  It appeared to work just fine, but it copied important files with significant errors.  The machine hummed along just fine for three months until it needed the corrupted files for whatever reason.  That one took me six hours of desk-pounding fury to discover.

Were I in your shoes, I would call the manufacturer.  Depending on who made it, they might just send you a new computer with a return shipping label.  You did buy a Toshiba, right?

[Phantom Warrior]

Were I in your shoes, I would call the manufacturer.  Depending on who made it, they might just send you a new computer with a return shipping label.  You did buy a Toshiba, right?

Hewlett Packard, actually.

[TarpleyG]

Hewlett Packard, actually.

I'm sorry.  Hope you speak Indian...be patient and take a day off work.

Greg

[Dave Markowitz]

The first thing I'd do would be to remove the case cover and blow out the innards with a can of compressed air.  Oftentimes dust builds up, which acts as a heat insulator.  Heat + electronics = bad.  If that doesn't fix it, make sure both you and the PC are properly grounded, and make sure that any cards, cables, and connectors are fully seated.  Sometimes reseating them will fix transient issues.  If that fails then it's time to brush up your foreign language skills and call HP.

[TarpleyG]

It's a laptop, no?  I would disregard the post above this one if that's the case...will likely void the warranty.

Greg

[lee n. field]

Boot problems (the first thing you saw, was it trying to boot off the ethernet interface --> having problems booting off the HD).

(Assuming WinXP), check your system event log for disk errors.

[Brad Johnson]

Step one - back up all critical data. Then back it up to something else. And do it RIGHT NOW.

Brad

[Ben]

If it's not a laptop, do what Dave said, plus disconnect any external devices (USB, serial, etc.). If there's anyway you can easily get hold of the same memory type that you have, try and swap that out too. Also try booting without the ehternet card (unless it's on the MB of course).

[Kestrel]

1. Back up your data NOW

2. Turn off the laptop

3. Call HP

It's most likely the hard drive. DO NOT CONTINUE USING IT, UNTIL HP REPLACES IT.

(Note also, lee n. field's comments above. Spot on.)