A number of times in the past couple weeks I've gotten this message when starting up my PC. Also get a lot of "not responding" requiring a reboot. It's an HP with Pentium 3, Windows 98, and is almost 11 years old. Anyone know what's up with it? Is my computer headed for "PC Heaven" in the near future? I would like a new one, but it's just not in the budget right now.
Disk boot failure
- Thread starter circlew
- Start date
Help Support :
Sound like the hardrive is starting to go. 11 years is a hell of a run for a hardrive! At least you're getting a warning instead of the abrupt "Blue Screen Of Death" that is more common to hardrive failures. NOW is the time to back-up everything that's important!!
Hardrives these days are cheap and have a boatload of space. If you're happy with the computer and its performance, just grab another hardrive and install. Very simple.
Hardrives these days are cheap and have a boatload of space. If you're happy with the computer and its performance, just grab another hardrive and install. Very simple.
macboy91si
Well-known member
Hard Drive
You should at least back up your hard drive, it sounds like it might be failing. The Boot sector, the area that is where the computer stores the information needed to make the OS load could have corrupt data from a bad sector(s). This would mark the beginning of the end of the drive. Also if the hub motor in the drive is failing, it will sometimes not spin the disc up and thus the computer will not see it and can't boot. Both of these scenarios are bad. You can replace just the hard drive in the machine and then reload it, but really you've gotten good use out of a P3 and new PC's, all of which would be an improvement, can be had for as little as $300 and up.
The one thing to consider about replacing the hard drive is that some older PC's have a limitation on how large. I think the limit for most P3 setups is 127GB, some have this limit some don't.
I would spring for a new PC personally, but just know that the hard drive is a cheap replacement part as well. If you have data on there (pics, music, etc...), consider copying it off asap as one time you will turn your pc on and it will simply not boot up again and all that you have on that drive will be gone.
You mentioned that the computer was giving "not responding" messages, are there any unusual clicking sounds coming from the box. Usually when you have a massing number of bad spots on the drive, the drive will keep trying to read over that bad spot and in the process makes a rhythmic clicking sound. This is of coarse depending on how loud the drive is, some are very quiet.
-Tim
You should at least back up your hard drive, it sounds like it might be failing. The Boot sector, the area that is where the computer stores the information needed to make the OS load could have corrupt data from a bad sector(s). This would mark the beginning of the end of the drive. Also if the hub motor in the drive is failing, it will sometimes not spin the disc up and thus the computer will not see it and can't boot. Both of these scenarios are bad. You can replace just the hard drive in the machine and then reload it, but really you've gotten good use out of a P3 and new PC's, all of which would be an improvement, can be had for as little as $300 and up.
The one thing to consider about replacing the hard drive is that some older PC's have a limitation on how large. I think the limit for most P3 setups is 127GB, some have this limit some don't.
I would spring for a new PC personally, but just know that the hard drive is a cheap replacement part as well. If you have data on there (pics, music, etc...), consider copying it off asap as one time you will turn your pc on and it will simply not boot up again and all that you have on that drive will be gone.
You mentioned that the computer was giving "not responding" messages, are there any unusual clicking sounds coming from the box. Usually when you have a massing number of bad spots on the drive, the drive will keep trying to read over that bad spot and in the process makes a rhythmic clicking sound. This is of coarse depending on how loud the drive is, some are very quiet.
-Tim
whirlcool
Well-known member
I recently picked up a P4 3.2Ghz Dell on Ebay for $145.00 I added a bigger hard drive and more memory for about $100.00 more. The machine looked like it was never used. We gave it to a friend of ours who is disabled with kidney failure and can't really afford a newer computer himself.
whirlcool
Well-known member
BTW, you may want to run Scan Disk on your hard disk. At least it would try to correct the errors. But make sure you back up your data first! Backup drives are not very expensive these days. You could get one for under $100.00. OR you could get a large USB thumbnail drive for even less.
My experience with that, which I had, is you're in for endless headaches and frustrations and failure. Do what everyones said , get a $10 thumbnail and save all your pictures now b4 it's too late. I didn't and lost mine.
austinado16
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2009
- Messages
- 617
Reminds me how much I hate HP computers
Started out in '99 with an HP Pavilion running windows98SE. Can't even remember how many times I had to reformat that machine in the 3 or 4 years I owned it. My second machine, a refurbed HP running milenium had a power supply failure within a year, and that new supply lasted maybe another 6mos.....and not long after I put yet another SP in it, the hard drive grenaded and I lost probably 1,000 photos of my daughter from about age 3 to about age 6.
So as others have said, get a memory stick that'll hopefully work with 98, and save as much as you can. Then get a good used Dell of Craigslist or ebay. They're bulletproof.
Couple things you can try since the machine is so old.
1) Unplug everthing from the back, remove the 2 screws at the rear and slide the side panel off rearward. It'll be full of dust in there so clean it out.........best way is with compressed air, but hold your breath and don't blast any cooling fan blades that you aren't holding firmly with your fingers. A blast of air on the cooling fan(s) can make them spin so fast that they grenade and you could get cut pretty bad. Once you have all the dust blown out... and blow out the power supply really good, unplug all of the connectors for every single thing that you can find, one at a time, and plug them back in. This includes the memory sticks, and all the ribbon wires, and all the circuit boards, and any little jumpers on the mother board.
2) smell the power supply. If it smells like it's burned up, it is. Most of these HPs use a special micro sized power supply that is waaaaaaaay undersized. You can buy higher output versions on ebay and they are dirt cheap. MicroATX is the size. A failing power supply is common, and it'll give major boot up problems as well as other running problems as things are starved for wattage and then function poorly causing the machine to lock up.
3) Test start it. Leave the side panel off, plug all your connectors back into the back and then fire it up and see what happens. You can make it boot into safe mode by repeatedly pressing F5 key when you see the HP blue screen. From safe mode, you can make the machine go back in time and reboot from a previously saved "good" boot up......called "System Restore." You sellect a previous date from a calendar and tell it to reboot from that date. Many times this will restore the machine to working condition.
4) If you get it fired up good enough to start saving important documents and photos....START SAVING THEM!! You may not get another chance.
But honestly once you save your info, it's time to move on to a Dell running XP and get on with your life. I think I paid $150 for this one I use, and then bought a twin for my daughter for $100. We've had no problems with either and I think we're on our 3rd year with them.
Started out in '99 with an HP Pavilion running windows98SE. Can't even remember how many times I had to reformat that machine in the 3 or 4 years I owned it. My second machine, a refurbed HP running milenium had a power supply failure within a year, and that new supply lasted maybe another 6mos.....and not long after I put yet another SP in it, the hard drive grenaded and I lost probably 1,000 photos of my daughter from about age 3 to about age 6.
So as others have said, get a memory stick that'll hopefully work with 98, and save as much as you can. Then get a good used Dell of Craigslist or ebay. They're bulletproof.
Couple things you can try since the machine is so old.
1) Unplug everthing from the back, remove the 2 screws at the rear and slide the side panel off rearward. It'll be full of dust in there so clean it out.........best way is with compressed air, but hold your breath and don't blast any cooling fan blades that you aren't holding firmly with your fingers. A blast of air on the cooling fan(s) can make them spin so fast that they grenade and you could get cut pretty bad. Once you have all the dust blown out... and blow out the power supply really good, unplug all of the connectors for every single thing that you can find, one at a time, and plug them back in. This includes the memory sticks, and all the ribbon wires, and all the circuit boards, and any little jumpers on the mother board.
2) smell the power supply. If it smells like it's burned up, it is. Most of these HPs use a special micro sized power supply that is waaaaaaaay undersized. You can buy higher output versions on ebay and they are dirt cheap. MicroATX is the size. A failing power supply is common, and it'll give major boot up problems as well as other running problems as things are starved for wattage and then function poorly causing the machine to lock up.
3) Test start it. Leave the side panel off, plug all your connectors back into the back and then fire it up and see what happens. You can make it boot into safe mode by repeatedly pressing F5 key when you see the HP blue screen. From safe mode, you can make the machine go back in time and reboot from a previously saved "good" boot up......called "System Restore." You sellect a previous date from a calendar and tell it to reboot from that date. Many times this will restore the machine to working condition.
4) If you get it fired up good enough to start saving important documents and photos....START SAVING THEM!! You may not get another chance.
But honestly once you save your info, it's time to move on to a Dell running XP and get on with your life. I think I paid $150 for this one I use, and then bought a twin for my daughter for $100. We've had no problems with either and I think we're on our 3rd year with them.
solsburian
Well-known member
If you do get a thumbnail drive then I'd recommend that you transfer the files to another machine reasonably quickly, as the memory in those drives wares out much more quickly then a standard Hard Drive, I had a 1GB one that wore out in less then a month, due to heavy usage.
If you decide to keep your existing computer for now, I'd seriously recommend getting Windows 98 off it - Microsoft have not supported it since July 2006 and no modern web browsers now support it, which is a risk if you use any online service that require a credit card etc.
If your machine has at least 128 MB of RAM then I'd recommend Lubuntu, a free Linux based operating system. It is more stable and secure then Windows, though it does work differently.
lubuntu.net
If you decide to keep your existing computer for now, I'd seriously recommend getting Windows 98 off it - Microsoft have not supported it since July 2006 and no modern web browsers now support it, which is a risk if you use any online service that require a credit card etc.
If your machine has at least 128 MB of RAM then I'd recommend Lubuntu, a free Linux based operating system. It is more stable and secure then Windows, though it does work differently.
lubuntu – lightweight, fast, easier
lubuntu.net
BTW how much RAM does it have, could be not enough if it's original and 11 years old.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I was afraid it was bad news. Actually I've been very pleased with this PC until recently; had very little trouble with it. Everything on it is original, and it's got 128 MB RAM. Fortunately I have very little stored on it of much importance - 9 or 10 music downloads, and a few pics people have sent me.
macboy91si
Well-known member
Todd... About the HP's
That little bastard PSU that cooked was a Bestec 1523 Series. A-E were horrible, but they FINALLY got it sorted in the 1523F. I agree, at the store once we had 13 of these stacked up for the same reason. So many in fact that our vendor was out of stock.
Solsburian:
I've had my 2GB SanDisk for going on 5 years with no issue. It does however pay to buy a more known brand of flash drive as the super cheapies do use a short duty cycle FLASH media. Avoid ones branded Dell or HP or any other PC name though as they're usually el cheapos that won't last.
-Tim
That little bastard PSU that cooked was a Bestec 1523 Series. A-E were horrible, but they FINALLY got it sorted in the 1523F. I agree, at the store once we had 13 of these stacked up for the same reason. So many in fact that our vendor was out of stock.
Solsburian:
I've had my 2GB SanDisk for going on 5 years with no issue. It does however pay to buy a more known brand of flash drive as the super cheapies do use a short duty cycle FLASH media. Avoid ones branded Dell or HP or any other PC name though as they're usually el cheapos that won't last.
-Tim
solsburian
Well-known member
You are right in saying that you get what you pay for, mine was a LG but I was using it for heavy/red write tasks (I was storing and executing a Java application I was developing - big mistake!). A portable USB hard drive would be better (they are cheaper per Gigabyte wear out as quickly) but are more susceptible to damage if dropped though.
I've been using Macs for a good few years now, Apple's hardware tends to be more reliable and they score well for Customer satisfaction, well at least over here.
@circlew - Have you ever done a fresh reinstall of Windows on your computer?
I've been using Macs for a good few years now, Apple's hardware tends to be more reliable and they score well for Customer satisfaction, well at least over here.
@circlew - Have you ever done a fresh reinstall of Windows on your computer?
128 of RAM memory isn't a lot these days. RAM (virtual) memory doesn't store your pictures or songs, they're on the hard drive memory. The RAM gets big usage on bootup just to bring the Windows program up and then if you've got a lot of other programs like IM, Skype, Anti-virus etc etc etc starting up on startup they can easily overload the RAM and cause crashes, not responding, slow responses etc.
First thing to check.. check your startup menu, see whats checked off and then uncheck some like IM, Skype, Photo programs, cam detectors etc.
First thing to check.. check your startup menu, see whats checked off and then uncheck some like IM, Skype, Photo programs, cam detectors etc.
lordkenmore
Well-known member
128MB is not a lot by modern standards. BUT it might or might not be enough, depending on what you are doing. Windows 98, with software of the era, should be OK. If upgraded to XP, 128 would be painful. A modern, efficient OS could also possibly still work with 128 MB.
I don't think it's entirely true that Windows 98 no longer has web browsers--I know one, K Meleon, under active development that does, apparently, work. Problem: it's not a commonly supported standard, which can cause problems on some web sites. But at least it would have better security. Also one could use older versions of Firefox. While unsupported, and less secure than current Firefox, it would probably be far better security-wise than Internet Exploder.
It might be a good idea replacing Windows 98, though, since it's unsupported. Something based on Linux can be a very good choice. BUT versions that run well on older hardware do often tend to be harder to setup.
Link is to K Meleon
I don't think it's entirely true that Windows 98 no longer has web browsers--I know one, K Meleon, under active development that does, apparently, work. Problem: it's not a commonly supported standard, which can cause problems on some web sites. But at least it would have better security. Also one could use older versions of Firefox. While unsupported, and less secure than current Firefox, it would probably be far better security-wise than Internet Exploder.
It might be a good idea replacing Windows 98, though, since it's unsupported. Something based on Linux can be a very good choice. BUT versions that run well on older hardware do often tend to be harder to setup.
Link is to K Meleon
K-Meleon
K-Meleon is a fast and customizable lightweight web browser for Windows, based on the rendering engine of Mozilla. K-Meleon is free (open source) software released under the GNU General Public License.
kmeleon.sourceforge.net
lordkenmore
Well-known member
One possible "fix" for the whole problem would be Puppy Linux. Puppy runs off a live CD. No hard drive needed. Data could be saved to a flash drive.
Puppy is pretty easy to use--although it is different from Windows. Still, a lot of the setup/configuration headaches of some Linux systems is happily missing.
Puppy does have security issues--it runs in root mode, or did the last I checked. This means the user has full power to change the system at all times, and nasties could possibly slip in and take advantage of that fact. Windows, at least up through XP, usually ran on home computers this way, which is one reason why it's so problematic with virus problems. That said, I have yet to hear of anyone having real problems with Puppy. I'd trust it long before I trusted anything from Microsoft.
Puppy is pretty easy to use--although it is different from Windows. Still, a lot of the setup/configuration headaches of some Linux systems is happily missing.
Puppy does have security issues--it runs in root mode, or did the last I checked. This means the user has full power to change the system at all times, and nasties could possibly slip in and take advantage of that fact. Windows, at least up through XP, usually ran on home computers this way, which is one reason why it's so problematic with virus problems. That said, I have yet to hear of anyone having real problems with Puppy. I'd trust it long before I trusted anything from Microsoft.
solsburian
Well-known member
I forgot about K Meleon, the only issue I see with that is it's layout engine (Gecko) lags behind Firefox, so it may have extra security issues, but it certainly will be far better then IE6 (or even IE7 and IE8 lol) in terms of page rendering or security.
There is also a 3rd Party compatibility layer for Windows 98/ME called "KernelEx" that is supposed to allow more modern applications, like Firefox 3 work. I've never tried it, and it seems like compatibility could be hit or miss.
For getting the most out of a computer with limited memory, Linux is the one to beat. I've been able to use Linux on systems with 128MB of RAM without any issues; you just have to choose a light distribution, like Puppy or Lubuntu, or a barebones Debian install.
Depending on usage, CircleW's hard drive *may* still be ok, if it’s never had a re-install (or not had one in the past few years) then these sort of things usually crop up sooner or later.
There is also a 3rd Party compatibility layer for Windows 98/ME called "KernelEx" that is supposed to allow more modern applications, like Firefox 3 work. I've never tried it, and it seems like compatibility could be hit or miss.
For getting the most out of a computer with limited memory, Linux is the one to beat. I've been able to use Linux on systems with 128MB of RAM without any issues; you just have to choose a light distribution, like Puppy or Lubuntu, or a barebones Debian install.
Depending on usage, CircleW's hard drive *may* still be ok, if it’s never had a re-install (or not had one in the past few years) then these sort of things usually crop up sooner or later.
