5 year old computer too old?

"Pippa" wrote in message
...
Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired. I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore
either. I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive
to replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming
around with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The
tech guy I am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends
have used him and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't
fix the problem I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this
fixed as I don't know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have
to buy another desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new
ones seem to have Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop.
Many thanks again everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is
probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

The issues of speed and disk space can be addressed by replacing
components as needed, just as if the components need to be replaced
because they have failed. The only real consideration for you should
be whether it makes more economic sense to replace a few components or
to buy a whole new computer. Often with an older computer, buying a
new computer is a better deal, especially if you would have to pay a
service person to do the component replacing for you.

So my view is that you should think about whether you find the speed
and disk space adequate for your needs--not only now, but whether they
will remain adequate in the next few years. If yes, get it repaired.
If no, look into getting a new computer.


Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.


The answer to all questions like this is yes. Anything on a computer
can be repaired (or rather replaced--in practice almost nothing is
ever repaired). The only real issue is finding out exactly which
components or components need replacement.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup





Please remember that after you spend $100-150 on that repair that the
remainder of the hardware is still 5 years old, and counting. If you have to
pay more than $150 I would put that toward a new computer for around $450.
You will have a machine that is many times faster, and more powerful, than
the one you now have. You will also have much more disk space, as most new
desktops come with 300-500 meg hard drives.

You may not like Vista though. But new computer are now coming with a free,
or minimally priced, upgrade to Windows 7 - which will be in the stores on
Oct. 22.

--

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience

Pippa wrote:
Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.
Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.
thank you,
Pippa.




Nothing wrong with a five year old computer.

XP should still be useful for many more years.

If your machine now does not boot at all..
the good news is that the harddrive itself, if defective would not
generally prevent the machine from posting...

so it might possibly be something as simple as bad RAM

I'd have it checked out...as others have mentioned

by an individual you can trust and not some "corporate chain"

repair business


As to the CPU, it's highly unlikely that has failed...
but of course the motherboard itself could be bad...
and if that's the situation then the machine is probably not worth repairing

Pippa wrote:
Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.
Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.
thank you,
Pippa.




Nothing wrong with a five year old computer.

XP should still be useful for many more years.

If your machine now does not boot at all..
the good news is that the harddrive itself, if defective would not
generally prevent the machine from posting...

so it might possibly be something as simple as bad RAM

I'd have it checked out...as others have mentioned

by an individual you can trust and not some "corporate chain"

repair business


As to the CPU, it's highly unlikely that has failed...
but of course the motherboard itself could be bad...
and if that's the situation then the machine is probably not worth repairing

"Pippa" wrote in message
...

I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive to
replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming around
with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The tech guy I
am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends have used him
and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't fix the problem
I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this fixed as I don't
know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have to buy another
desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new ones seem to
have
Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop.

Ask your repairman friend about the local market for second-hand
office WinXP PCs. In most places these are abundant and cheap
because of supply-based incentives to instal newer Vista PCs in business
offices, for lawyers and doctors etc. The WinXP office PC that cost
$1000 new five years ago now sells for $100 to $200 and tech-savvy
(small) retailers can guarantee they are virus-free with all hardware and
OS in good running order. Of course the number of such used PCs
depends on how many new Vista PCs office users have been
induced to buy.

Desktops are cheaper (give you more for your money) and easier
to maintain (and repair or upgrade) and laptops. A cheap used
office PC will supply your needs for five years, probably longer.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

"Pippa" wrote in message
...

I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive to
replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming around
with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The tech guy I
am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends have used him
and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't fix the problem
I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this fixed as I don't
know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have to buy another
desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new ones seem to
have
Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop.

Ask your repairman friend about the local market for second-hand
office WinXP PCs. In most places these are abundant and cheap
because of supply-based incentives to instal newer Vista PCs in business
offices, for lawyers and doctors etc. The WinXP office PC that cost
$1000 new five years ago now sells for $100 to $200 and tech-savvy
(small) retailers can guarantee they are virus-free with all hardware and
OS in good running order. Of course the number of such used PCs
depends on how many new Vista PCs office users have been
induced to buy.

Desktops are cheaper (give you more for your money) and easier
to maintain (and repair or upgrade) and laptops. A cheap used
office PC will supply your needs for five years, probably longer.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:52:01 -0700, "N. Miller"
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:05:11 +1000, Pippa wrote:

Thank you for responding,
I do a little more than surf the net and emailing pay bills online. I can
usually fix things if I have a screen but that's about it, I even help
friends remotely but I need access to their desktops. However, here are my
specs. Intel Pentium4/Celeron CPU. I only have 512 MB memory now but did
have another stick which died so at the time couldn't afford to replace it.
I have a 40 gig hard drive, but could do with an external HDD. High
capacity, Enhanced-IDE HDD, DVD burner, 7 in 1 card reader. I never open the
tower, because I don't understand anything except the RAM sticks where I put
the 512 RAM in. that's about it really.

I prefer at least 1 GB of RAM for a Windowx XP, or higher level, install.


Your preference there is not an uncommon one, but I'd like to offer
Pippa a different point of view:

How much RAM you need for good performance is *not* a
one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the amount of
RAM you have keeps you from using the page file significantly, and
that depends on what apps you run. Most people running a typical range
of business applications under XP find that somewhere around 512MB
works well, others need more. Almost anyone will see poor performance
with less than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things
like editing large photographic images, can see a performance boost by
adding even more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes%5Fpublic/winxp%5Ftweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your page file usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.



A
40 GB drive is probably sufficient; however, since that is what appears to
be failing, you probably won't find a smaller replacement than 160 GB, or
so. I have a failed 40 GB HDD in a laptop; 2.5" PATA type drive. Just left
Fry's Electronics, and they've got replacements. 160 GB ($62.99), 250 GB
($79.99), and 360 GB ($99.99). I'll likely go with the 62 GB. For a tower
(3.5" HDD form factor), the drives are usually as large as 500 GB, and
slightly cheaper.

--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:52:01 -0700, "N. Miller"
wrote:

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:05:11 +1000, Pippa wrote:

Thank you for responding,
I do a little more than surf the net and emailing pay bills online. I can
usually fix things if I have a screen but that's about it, I even help
friends remotely but I need access to their desktops. However, here are my
specs. Intel Pentium4/Celeron CPU. I only have 512 MB memory now but did
have another stick which died so at the time couldn't afford to replace it.
I have a 40 gig hard drive, but could do with an external HDD. High
capacity, Enhanced-IDE HDD, DVD burner, 7 in 1 card reader. I never open the
tower, because I don't understand anything except the RAM sticks where I put
the 512 RAM in. that's about it really.

I prefer at least 1 GB of RAM for a Windowx XP, or higher level, install.


Your preference there is not an uncommon one, but I'd like to offer
Pippa a different point of view:

How much RAM you need for good performance is *not* a
one-size-fits-all situation. You get good performance if the amount of
RAM you have keeps you from using the page file significantly, and
that depends on what apps you run. Most people running a typical range
of business applications under XP find that somewhere around 512MB
works well, others need more. Almost anyone will see poor performance
with less than 256MB. Some people, particularly those doing things
like editing large photographic images, can see a performance boost by
adding even more than 512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes%5Fpublic/winxp%5Ftweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your page file usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.



A
40 GB drive is probably sufficient; however, since that is what appears to
be failing, you probably won't find a smaller replacement than 160 GB, or
so. I have a failed 40 GB HDD in a laptop; 2.5" PATA type drive. Just left
Fry's Electronics, and they've got replacements. 160 GB ($62.99), 250 GB
($79.99), and 360 GB ($99.99). I'll likely go with the 62 GB. For a tower
(3.5" HDD form factor), the drives are usually as large as 500 GB, and
slightly cheaper.

--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:28:28 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired.


Once again, its age is not what's important. It's what needs replacing
that's important. If enough is wrong with it, it can be a better buy
to replace it.



I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore either.
I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive to
replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming around
with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The tech guy I
am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends have used him
and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't fix the problem
I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this fixed as I don't
know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have to buy another
desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new ones seem to have
Vista.


It's getting harder and harder to get XP, but it's still available. On
the other hand, I think Vista is fine, and I wouldn't work hard to
avoid it.

And Windows 7 will be available starting October 22. That's better
than XP or Vista.



I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop. Many thanks again
everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

The issues of speed and disk space can be addressed by replacing
components as needed, just as if the components need to be replaced
because they have failed. The only real consideration for you should
be whether it makes more economic sense to replace a few components or
to buy a whole new computer. Often with an older computer, buying a
new computer is a better deal, especially if you would have to pay a
service person to do the component replacing for you.

So my view is that you should think about whether you find the speed
and disk space adequate for your needs--not only now, but whether they
will remain adequate in the next few years. If yes, get it repaired.
If no, look into getting a new computer.


Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.


The answer to all questions like this is yes. Anything on a computer
can be repaired (or rather replaced--in practice almost nothing is
ever repaired). The only real issue is finding out exactly which
components or components need replacement.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:28:28 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired.


Once again, its age is not what's important. It's what needs replacing
that's important. If enough is wrong with it, it can be a better buy
to replace it.



I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore either.
I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive to
replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming around
with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The tech guy I
am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends have used him
and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't fix the problem
I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this fixed as I don't
know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have to buy another
desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new ones seem to have
Vista.


It's getting harder and harder to get XP, but it's still available. On
the other hand, I think Vista is fine, and I wouldn't work hard to
avoid it.

And Windows 7 will be available starting October 22. That's better
than XP or Vista.



I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop. Many thanks again
everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

The issues of speed and disk space can be addressed by replacing
components as needed, just as if the components need to be replaced
because they have failed. The only real consideration for you should
be whether it makes more economic sense to replace a few components or
to buy a whole new computer. Often with an older computer, buying a
new computer is a better deal, especially if you would have to pay a
service person to do the component replacing for you.

So my view is that you should think about whether you find the speed
and disk space adequate for your needs--not only now, but whether they
will remain adequate in the next few years. If yes, get it repaired.
If no, look into getting a new computer.


Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.


The answer to all questions like this is yes. Anything on a computer
can be repaired (or rather replaced--in practice almost nothing is
ever repaired). The only real issue is finding out exactly which
components or components need replacement.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:18:56 -0400, "JS" @ wrote:


"Pippa" wrote in message
...
Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired. I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore
either. I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive
to replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming
around with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The
tech guy I am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends
have used him and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't
fix the problem I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this
fixed as I don't know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have
to buy another desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new
ones seem to have Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop.
Many thanks again everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is
probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

....

While I disagree with Ken's statement that "There's really very little
difference between a five-year-old computer and a new one",
there is really is a big difference, but that does not mean an old system
will not do the job. As you can see I upgraded a number of things over
the years on my 8 year old Dell 4100. My every day system now is a
home built system of about 2004 vintage and the latest home built was
a Core i7 Extreme with a Solid State Drive plus a 1TB hard drive,
12GB Memory and a video card that draws at least 100 Watts all by itself.
Just keep in mind the repair estimate as any entry level system
(see last item in list) ranging from $500 to $650 purchased just a few
months
ago can run circles around system sold in 2004


You're saying the newer system is faster than the older one, and
that's the difference between them. You say you "disagree with Ken's
statement that 'There's really very little difference between a
five-year-old computer and a new one,' " but you deleted the second
half of the sentence you quoted: "except for things like speed and
disk space." Sure the newer systems are faster than the old ones, but
in terms of what they contain and what they do, they are otherwise
almost the same.

....


June 2009 - HP m9600t $1611 (Mid Range)
Intel 2.66GHz Core i7-920 processor (1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache)
6GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs]
1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
768MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600GS [DVI, VGA, HDMI]
HP w2338h 23-inch 16:9 Full HD Widescreen Monitor
LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet
15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio
Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports
HP 2.1 30W stereo speakers with subwoofer and remote control
HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse
Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)



Interestingly, that's very close to the specs on my new system, except
that I have three hard drives totaling 1.4TB, two 23" monitors, and I
run Windows 7 RTM.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:18:56 -0400, "JS" @ wrote:


"Pippa" wrote in message
...
Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired. I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore
either. I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive
to replace. I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming
around with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The
tech guy I am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends
have used him and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't
fix the problem I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this
fixed as I don't know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have
to buy another desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new
ones seem to have Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop.
Many thanks again everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is
probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

....

While I disagree with Ken's statement that "There's really very little
difference between a five-year-old computer and a new one",
there is really is a big difference, but that does not mean an old system
will not do the job. As you can see I upgraded a number of things over
the years on my 8 year old Dell 4100. My every day system now is a
home built system of about 2004 vintage and the latest home built was
a Core i7 Extreme with a Solid State Drive plus a 1TB hard drive,
12GB Memory and a video card that draws at least 100 Watts all by itself.
Just keep in mind the repair estimate as any entry level system
(see last item in list) ranging from $500 to $650 purchased just a few
months
ago can run circles around system sold in 2004


You're saying the newer system is faster than the older one, and
that's the difference between them. You say you "disagree with Ken's
statement that 'There's really very little difference between a
five-year-old computer and a new one,' " but you deleted the second
half of the sentence you quoted: "except for things like speed and
disk space." Sure the newer systems are faster than the old ones, but
in terms of what they contain and what they do, they are otherwise
almost the same.

....


June 2009 - HP m9600t $1611 (Mid Range)
Intel 2.66GHz Core i7-920 processor (1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache)
6GB DDR3-1066MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs]
1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
768MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600GS [DVI, VGA, HDMI]
HP w2338h 23-inch 16:9 Full HD Widescreen Monitor
LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
Integrated 10/100/1000 (Gigabit) Ethernet
15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, audio
Integrated 7.1 channel sound with front audio ports
HP 2.1 30W stereo speakers with subwoofer and remote control
HP wireless keyboard and HP wireless optical mouse
Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)



Interestingly, that's very close to the specs on my new system, except
that I have three hard drives totaling 1.4TB, two 23" monitors, and I
run Windows 7 RTM.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:28:28 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired. I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore either.
I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive to
replace.


A five year old CPU is probably very inexpensive, and since it's easy
to replace, the labor to do it won't be high either.


I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming around
with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The tech guy I
am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends have used him
and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't fix the problem
I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this fixed as I don't
know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have to buy another
desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new ones seem to have
Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop. Many thanks again
everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

The issues of speed and disk space can be addressed by replacing
components as needed, just as if the components need to be replaced
because they have failed. The only real consideration for you should
be whether it makes more economic sense to replace a few components or
to buy a whole new computer. Often with an older computer, buying a
new computer is a better deal, especially if you would have to pay a
service person to do the component replacing for you.

So my view is that you should think about whether you find the speed
and disk space adequate for your needs--not only now, but whether they
will remain adequate in the next few years. If yes, get it repaired.
If no, look into getting a new computer.


Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.


The answer to all questions like this is yes. Anything on a computer
can be repaired (or rather replaced--in practice almost nothing is
ever repaired). The only real issue is finding out exactly which
components or components need replacement.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:28:28 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Thank you all so much for your advice. I feel better now that Ken said my
computer may not be too old to be repaired. I don't get any beeps though
when I turn on the tower, just the green and red lights and the lights on
the 2 drives flicker. The mouse and keyboard don't light up anymore either.
I hope it's not the CPU that is gone, I've heard that's expensive to
replace.


A five year old CPU is probably very inexpensive, and since it's easy
to replace, the labor to do it won't be high either.


I am in Australia so we don't have little red cars roaming around
with tech people to fix computers, at least not in my town. The tech guy I
am thinking of calling does work from home and other friends have used him
and are impressed with him. He doesn't charge if he can't fix the problem
I'm told. I won't go to a big computer store to get this fixed as I don't
know any that I trust. Should the worst happen and I have to buy another
desktop computer I hope I can get Windows XP, all the new ones seem to have
Vista. I do have my laptop but I prefer the desktop. Many thanks again
everyone for your valuable time.
Regards,
Pippa.
"Ken Blake, MVP" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:57:22 +1000, "Pippa"
wrote:

Hi' all,
I'm having problems with my 5 year old Acer XP Home computer. One of my
friends remarked that she doesn't know I how cope with such an ancient
computer, I didn't think it was too old to get repaired which is probably
what I will have to do cause I can't fix my current problem. I was
attempting a defragmentation when suddenly blue screen with text
Win32k.sys
page fault in non page area. Now the tower lights up but nothing on the
screen. I only have restore disks and I tried putting one in but nothing
happened.


As others have already said, this sounds like it's very likely a
hardware failure.

Regarding your friend who said she doesn't know how you cope with such
an ancient computer, I completely disagree with her point of view.
There's really very little difference between a five-year-old computer
and a new one, except for things like speed and disk space.

The issues of speed and disk space can be addressed by replacing
components as needed, just as if the components need to be replaced
because they have failed. The only real consideration for you should
be whether it makes more economic sense to replace a few components or
to buy a whole new computer. Often with an older computer, buying a
new computer is a better deal, especially if you would have to pay a
service person to do the component replacing for you.

So my view is that you should think about whether you find the speed
and disk space adequate for your needs--not only now, but whether they
will remain adequate in the next few years. If yes, get it repaired.
If no, look into getting a new computer.


Does anyone know if this can be repaired?.


The answer to all questions like this is yes. Anything on a computer
can be repaired (or rather replaced--in practice almost nothing is
ever repaired). The only real issue is finding out exactly which
components or components need replacement.



--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 06:15:29 -0400, "Richard Urban"
wrote:


Please remember that after you spend $100-150 on that repair that the
remainder of the hardware is still 5 years old, and counting. If you have to
pay more than $150 I would put that toward a new computer for around $450.



Although I don't really disagree with that advice, I don't know what
Pippa's financial situation is, and $450US could be a big obstacle.


You will have a machine that is many times faster, and more powerful, than
the one you now have. You will also have much more disk space, as most new
desktops come with 300-500 meg hard drives.


All true of course, but again, we don't know what Pippa's needs are. A
friend of mine just replaced her old (about five years) XP machine
with a new Vista machine. Her new machine has a 320GB hard drive and
the old one had 16GB. The reason I mention this is that the 16GB drive
was more than big enough for her, and she never came close to filling
it up! The 320GB drive is clearly way overkill for her.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup

On Sun, 20 Sep 2009 06:15:29 -0400, "Richard Urban"
wrote:


Please remember that after you spend $100-150 on that repair that the
remainder of the hardware is still 5 years old, and counting. If you have to
pay more than $150 I would put that toward a new computer for around $450.



Although I don't really disagree with that advice, I don't know what
Pippa's financial situation is, and $450US could be a big obstacle.


You will have a machine that is many times faster, and more powerful, than
the one you now have. You will also have much more disk space, as most new
desktops come with 300-500 meg hard drives.


All true of course, but again, we don't know what Pippa's needs are. A
friend of mine just replaced her old (about five years) XP machine
with a new Vista machine. Her new machine has a 320GB hard drive and
the old one had 16GB. The reason I mention this is that the 16GB drive
was more than big enough for her, and she never came close to filling
it up! The 320GB drive is clearly way overkill for her.

--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience
Please Reply to the Newsgroup