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Dell 8200 HD problems:



 
 
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  #61  
Old March 4th 16, 07:18 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
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Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

I'll go back and review the Thunderbird
instructions and configure it. As you say
it can be used as a backup when Google isn't
working. So there's no immediate rush on it.

It seems my best alternative short of
buying a newer computer is to buy another
8200 on eBay and swamp all the new parts
HD, power supply, 2.0 card, video card,
Ethernet card,and DVD player.

What do you think?

Also, 'if' I were to buy a new computer what
would you suggest?? Another Dell or a used Mac
or ? I can still use the 15 inch flat monitor
so all I need is the computer itself and cost
is a factor. This is a intended as back up for
the 8500 should it develop problems (like the
8200) so that I can still communicate

Robert


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  #62  
Old March 4th 16, 09:34 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul
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Posts: 18,275
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Mark Twain wrote:
I'll go back and review the Thunderbird
instructions and configure it. As you say
it can be used as a backup when Google isn't
working. So there's no immediate rush on it.

It seems my best alternative short of
buying a newer computer is to buy another
8200 on eBay and swamp all the new parts
HD, power supply, 2.0 card, video card,
Ethernet card,and DVD player.

What do you think?

Also, 'if' I were to buy a new computer what
would you suggest?? Another Dell or a used Mac
or ? I can still use the 15 inch flat monitor
so all I need is the computer itself and cost
is a factor. This is a intended as back up for
the 8500 should it develop problems (like the
8200) so that I can still communicate

Robert



Dell Dimension 8250 8200 Memory 2GB (4x 512MB) PC800 40ns 400/533 RDRAM Samsung $44.09

Motherboards - $20 to $40 range

Complete machine - $170 + shipping on 32 pounds
- if I spotted this in a yard sale,
I'd offer $100 tops, or even less, because
the machine has a single core p4, and it's
not a jet liner.

The advantage of a whole 8200 machine, is slightly less
stuff to move around. But for a fair chunk of change extra.

And with all Ebay stuff, you don't really know what
shape it's in. A 32 pound item, if sent by United
Parcel Service, could receive a rough ride.

Motherboards are fairly safe, if shipped as just an
empty motherboard. If you leave a couple pounds of
passive heatsink bolted to it, it might be harder for
the seller to properly secure it before shipping. For
a motherboard alone, you expect it to be put in a standard
"foot square" antistatic bag, and then they can use any abusive
packing material they want (regular Styrofoam peanuts
with lots of static charge on it). The large heatsink
on the 8200 motherboard Northbridge, will also make
it harder to pack (not flat).

The RAM should similarly be properly packaged. It should
at least have some sort of static protection. Even if it is a
disk drive bag, with the DIMMs kinda rolled up in the material.

*******

So what could you do in place of that ? A more modern
machine with a Core2 and WinXP used. That's bound to cost
a bit more though. There could be some off-lease
machines kicking around. The only danger with some
of this stuff, is the seller loading a pirated VLK
version of WinXP, because when the seller got the
machine, the original hard drive had been removed
by the company that had owned it. This one has a
buy-it-now price of $160.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-Compaq-60...#ht_3061wt_962

A quick Google, when I include that model number and
"leaking caps", I don't get any hits.

The specs of the machine cover a wide range. And the
one I picked at random from Ebay, uses an E8400, the
same CPU I'm typing this on (dual core, 3GHz). The graphics
slot is likely to be PCI Express. but the Q43 Northbridge
would also have chipset graphics, good enough for non-game
usage.

http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/p...r_na-c01865794

The disadvantage of SFF, is if you wanted to fit a
graphics card, the chassis will only accept low
profile or even low-profile-short video cards, which
don't exactly grow on trees. Video card makers tend to
charge more for low-profile, at least for older
bus standards, and a low-profile-short, due to
obscurity, might be very expensive. The chassis is
not a "plaything" that I would like. I like a full
sized case, with some room to work. I don't
want to be forced to use a laptop optical drive
("slim") for example. The smaller the computer case
gets, the closer to a laptop it becomes in terms
of maintenance.

But in terms of a purchase experience, that one for $160
might be a bit lighter to ship. When you received it,
you would take the side off first, do a visual inspection
in case any cards have come out of their slots. Make
sure the RAM is pressed down, the fans turn freely
with a push from your finger. And so on. Also, check
the 120/240 red slider switch on the power supply, and
make sure somebody hasn't moved it to the wrong
position.

Paul
  #63  
Old March 5th 16, 01:43 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

So your suggestion would be to loose the
8200 in favor of the HP. The only issue I
see is that it's in Canada and I've had
shipping problems with Canada before. It
takes an awfully long time for the item
to arrive. However, I see your point. So
it seems the 8200 is gone...

I would have to re-arrange things and there's
not allot of horizontal space so I would have
to put the APC surge protector on top of it.
Would that matter? Either that or on the floor
in front of my feet.

Also, this unfortunately has to wait for awhile
since I need to divert funds for something else
that just came up......

In the meantime I'll play with Thunderbird and
get back to you asap on this.

Thanks,
Robert
  #64  
Old March 5th 16, 02:09 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

hey, guess what? I'm typing this on the 8200 !@!@!

After my post I decided to try once more and so I
booted into Safe Mode with Networking and it worked!
Once there I did a System Restore which worked. So
the 8200 is back up!!!! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts/Suggestions?

Robert
  #65  
Old March 5th 16, 04:32 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,275
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Mark Twain wrote:
hey, guess what? I'm typing this on the 8200 !@!@!

After my post I decided to try once more and so I
booted into Safe Mode with Networking and it worked!
Once there I did a System Restore which worked. So
the 8200 is back up!!!! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts/Suggestions?

Robert


You're in a better position to judge what
happened than I am. I can't even guess.

Don't forget to do your scans and keep the
AV/adware tools up to date.

Paul
  #66  
Old March 5th 16, 05:10 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

I have no idea what happened,.. I've given
all the info I had. The screen went black
and I could not get it to respond so I had
powered it off and until today it didn't
boot normally and nothing we tried worked
including mrimg, and the Linux CD and then today
everything worked. That's all I know.

The very first thing one I was up and running
was update all the A/V tools. So my 8200 is
still in the game....

Now that it is,.. is there some component or
software you would like me to check so I don't
have this boot issue or screen going black again?

Robert


  #67  
Old March 5th 16, 05:31 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,275
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Mark Twain wrote:
I have no idea what happened,.. I've given
all the info I had. The screen went black
and I could not get it to respond so I had
powered it off and until today it didn't
boot normally and nothing we tried worked
including mrimg, and the Linux CD and then today
everything worked. That's all I know.

The very first thing one I was up and running
was update all the A/V tools. So my 8200 is
still in the game....

Now that it is,.. is there some component or
software you would like me to check so I don't
have this boot issue or screen going black again?

Robert


I think by now, you must have a pretty good idea
how limited software is on computers. Lots of
stuff requires observation, intuition and
guessing. We know there's something "intermittent"
on the 8200, but I can't guess what that is.

I can only think of a few examples of really
good, low level hardware testing. My Sun computer
had a diagnostic routine, that tested things for
you, instead of running the OS. And it could
actually find stuff. The Windows and Mac programs
that claim to do hardware testing, have been
pretty feeble by comparison. A waste of money.

Paul
  #68  
Old March 5th 16, 07:31 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Well, the problem with the 8200 just
came out of nowhere. Up to that point
it had behaved fine. I normally just
power it up and do the updates and
that's all except for those few times
when the 8500 was having problems and
then I used the 8200 for what it was
intended.

Honestly this screen blacking out and not
coming back was the first time its happened
and everything else that followed. I
know powering off may not of been the best
thing to do then but I saw no other option.

Why it started behaving erratically I don't
know? Remember that problem I had and when
I cleaned the front of the old floppy drive
it did 'something' and the problem went away
because I apparently nudged something back
into place? All I can come up is that it was
some sort of glitch because now it acts like
nothings happened.

Thank goodness for Safe Mode and System Restore.

Robert


  #69  
Old March 5th 16, 07:34 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

p.s. by updates I meant updating the
A/V programs and then run scans.

Robert

  #70  
Old March 6th 16, 12:37 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

I'll monitor the 8200 for awhile
but if nothing happens would you
advise buying the DIMMS you found
on Amazon or any other upgrades
or just leave it as is?

Thanks,
Robert


  #71  
Old March 6th 16, 12:45 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Good Guy[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 3,354
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

On 05/03/2016 23:37, Mark Twain wrote:
I'll monitor the 8200 for awhile
but if nothing happens would you
advise buying the DIMMS you found
on Amazon or any other upgrades
or just leave it as is?

Thanks,
Robert



Frankly, you have been having so many problems with your Windows XP
machine that you would be better off buying a completely new machine
pre-loaded with Windows 10.

Windows XP newsgroup is almost dead and it is only you posting problems
here. People have moved on to bigger and better things like using
Windows 10.


--

1. /*This post contains rich text (HTML). if you don't like it then you
can kill-filter the poster without crying like a small baby.*/
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century technology.*/


  #72  
Old March 6th 16, 12:58 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,275
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Mark Twain wrote:
I'll monitor the 8200 for awhile
but if nothing happens would you
advise buying the DIMMS you found
on Amazon or any other upgrades
or just leave it as is?

Thanks,
Robert


I'd probably want a matched pair of PC800-40
to use as a "swap" for the pair you're using
right now.

Just in case you need to do some testing some day.

I consider 1GB to be good for a general purpose
WinXP machine. More RAM comes in handy if you're
a gamer. WinXP with only 512MB, is a bit on the
tight side (can only run about three big apps).

Right now, I have (4) DDR3, (2) DDR2, (1) DDR400,
(2) good PC133 as examples of my spares. I also own
FPM and EDO RAM, but don't recollect the exact
inventory. Usually on those, the leftovers
might be sets of eight. FPM is "Fast Page Mode"
and EDO is "Extended Data Out". Back in those
days, and before that, DRAM was horrible stuff.
Couldn't take any undershoot on the address bus,
and using series resistors to make decent looking
signals (so-called "dampered RAM").

I've never owned a RAMBUS machine like your 8200.
That's one flavor of RAM I missed entirely.

Paul
  #73  
Old March 6th 16, 02:06 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Frankly, I don't like Windows 10
and there are plenty of others who
agree with me.

The problems I've had on the 8200
are recent and that computer has
lasted 16 years. Not a bad record.

Robert

  #74  
Old March 6th 16, 02:20 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Mark Twain
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,402
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

I'm not a gamer but doesn't more RAM
increase the speed of whatever application
I happen to be working on? That why I
always thought my 8500 was so fast?

If I'm understanding you correctly
your saying that even with the 8200
up and running I'm still better off
buying another computer for my backup
because of it's limitations.

I certainly don't want to use Windows 10
OS as suggested and if I buy a HP won't
I be buying basically the same thing as
the 8200? Maybe I should consider used
Macs?


Robert



  #75  
Old March 6th 16, 02:47 AM posted to microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
Paul
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18,275
Default Dell 8200 HD problems:

Mark Twain wrote:
I'm not a gamer but doesn't more RAM
increase the speed of whatever application
I happen to be working on? That why I
always thought my 8500 was so fast?

If I'm understanding you correctly
your saying that even with the 8200
up and running I'm still better off
buying another computer for my backup
because of it's limitations.

I certainly don't want to use Windows 10
OS as suggested and if I buy a HP won't
I be buying basically the same thing as
the 8200? Maybe I should consider used
Macs?


Robert


The example machine I picked out for you
the other day, had WinXP on it. Being a used
machine, anything is possible.

Newer machine could have win7/win8/win10. And
the Win7 ones would be fast running out (at least
for new machines).

If you do a search on

"new computer with windows 7 professional"

you'll get many hits for refurbished machines.
These would be computers from businesses, where
their three year lease is up, and the machines
are being put out to pasture.

*******

RAM helps, up to a point. If you only had 256MB of
RAM on the 8200, then the slowdown experienced would
improve when you got to 512MB. But for WinXP OS, once
you install 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, there really isn't a speed
difference. Just a different in the max size of program
you could attempt to use. For example, if you used
Photoshop every day, you'd want to put all the RAM
you could in the machine (to prevent Photoshop
from using its scratch disk as a RAM extension).

The fact the 8200 CPU has one core, and it has a
relatively low clock rate, makes it a loser compared
to the CPU you've got in the 8500. It's a lot like
the single core CPU in my laptop - slow.

Paul
 




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