My Own Little World-Virtual Home in the Suburbs

[joshriddle 29]

Found a program that manipulates the Windows XP theme to look like Windows 7. But I didn't want to use it. It is that free trial stuff.

Not to mention there are a few flaws in it. First of those is that it likes to dominate your computer. I am surprised it isn't an illegal software that converts it to W7 entirely. Also it cuts off half the icons on the start button. Meaning you can't barely see Control Panel, Set Program Access/Defaults/ and links to other places including the cascading menus.

It didn't change it entirely. The shutdown screen still displayed Windows XP. Same for System Information.

Since it was free trial stuff I uninstalled it. I really had to be sure I wanted to uninstall it. That stuff leaves hidden keys in the registry that prevents itself from being installed again, so you can go for another test drive.

Also I was unsure of the performance impacts either. My computer is coming an inch close to dying, I don't need it screwing other stuff up.

Overall the feel is good, looks very neat, however if I were to actually change it to Windows 7 on XP in the way of themes from now on it had better be a .theme file. Those are the only ones I can really trust.

Also when I downloaded it they told you barely anything about it. Not enough details. I should start watching that stuff.

For now I am fine with the XP theme. It may be a bit boring after awhile, but here soon I will be upgrading.

But I did manage to find real Windows 7 icons. If I could associate each one to open in Notepad, and paste what is there to a blank Notepad document, and save it as a .theme file, it may be able to change everything without so much work.

I know now never to put the computer in hibernate. Or shut it off and leave it off for extended periods of time anyhow. This morning the computer would turn on, but it would only get so far before I was getting that little Floppy Seek junk, and the fans making noises. Speaking of fans, I noticed the fan that is mounted into the case is going out as well. The first attempt at getting it to come back on, the CPU and PSU fan would turn on, but not that one mounted in the back. I was lucky to get it on. I just just continuously kept pressing F8, sure enough, after a couple attempts recovered.

At first I thought the CPU fried. Then I knew for sure I wasn't going to build one. Sure enough, it thankfully wasn't.

It still is going to be awhile before I can trash this old box. It really has been having literally tons of minor and major errors. I am going to go ahead and face facts, that there probably won't be no more downloading and installing stuff just to try it out.

I would think that this old computer might be able to withstand a few more months so that I can have the time and resources to get a replacement. Unlike before, you cannot recover the computer from sleep mode with a keystroke or mouse movement. Hibernate is totally out-of-the-question. Sleep mode won't even recover at all. However you can do a full system restart without any problems.

Also I think heat might be another issue to consider. That new heat sink that came with the fan, it was smaller than the old one. I am also taking into consideration BIOS. I am going to have to find out how to disable Floppy Seek.

Dinner time, gotta go now, finish posting later, ...

[joshriddle 29]

Found a program that manipulates the Windows XP theme to look like Windows 7. But I didn't want to use it. It is that free trial stuff.

Not to mention there are a few flaws in it. First of those is that it likes to dominate your computer. I am surprised it isn't an illegal software that converts it to W7 entirely. Also it cuts off half the icons on the start button. Meaning you can't barely see Control Panel, Set Program Access/Defaults/ and links to other places including the cascading menus.

It didn't change it entirely. The shutdown screen still displayed Windows XP. Same for System Information.

Since it was free trial stuff I uninstalled it. I really had to be sure I wanted to uninstall it. That stuff leaves hidden keys in the registry that prevents itself from being installed again, so you can go for another test drive.

Also I was unsure of the performance impacts either. My computer is coming an inch close to dying, I don't need it screwing other stuff up.

Overall the feel is good, looks very neat, however if I were to actually change it to Windows 7 on XP in the way of themes from now on it had better be a .theme file. Those are the only ones I can really trust.

Also when I downloaded it they told you barely anything about it. Not enough details. I should start watching that stuff.

For now I am fine with the XP theme. It may be a bit boring after awhile, but here soon I will be upgrading.

But I did manage to find real Windows 7 icons. If I could associate each one to open in Notepad, and paste what is there to a blank Notepad document, and save it as a .theme file, it may be able to change everything without so much work.

I know now never to put the computer in hibernate. Or shut it off and leave it off for extended periods of time anyhow. This morning the computer would turn on, but it would only get so far before I was getting that little Floppy Seek junk, and the fans making noises. Speaking of fans, I noticed the fan that is mounted into the case is going out as well. The first attempt at getting it to come back on, the CPU and PSU fan would turn on, but not that one mounted in the back. I was lucky to get it on. I just just continuously kept pressing F8, sure enough, after a couple attempts recovered.

At first I thought the CPU fried. Then I knew for sure I wasn't going to build one. Sure enough, it thankfully wasn't.

It still is going to be awhile before I can trash this old box. It really has been having literally tons of minor and major errors. I am going to go ahead and face facts, that there probably won't be no more downloading and installing stuff just to try it out.

I would think that this old computer might be able to withstand a few more months so that I can have the time and resources to get a replacement. Unlike before, you cannot recover the computer from sleep mode with a keystroke or mouse movement. Hibernate is totally out-of-the-question. Sleep mode won't even recover at all. However you can do a full system restart without any problems.

Also I think heat might be another issue to consider. That new heat sink that came with the fan, it was smaller than the old one. I am also taking into consideration BIOS. I am going to have to find out how to disable Floppy Seek.

Dinner time, gotta go now, finish posting later, ...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

The grass is always greener, eh?  Well, remember, sometimes it is green paint and the grass is really dead.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

The grass is always greener, eh?  Well, remember, sometimes it is green paint and the grass is really dead.

[Easy Bakes 253]

How old is this computer of yours?

It was a good idea for you to change your CPU fan. dont worry about the heat sink being smaller if the fan moves fast enough it should be ok if it had new contact grease on it. the power supply fan  looks to be a problem. if i read your post right. its not turning on sometimes. A new fan for it should not be too expensive. as for the case fans, if thier not working take off the outside of the case the CPU will keep it cool enough,  not reason to buy new case fans if your geting s new system soon.

You are right there is no reason to hibernate a PC anymore, if you not using it for a while  shut it down.

it dont take that long to  restart.

At least you didnt spend 12 hours getting rid of  something called My Security Shield on an old PIII system

like i did a couple weeks ago. Stupid thing totaly removed a paid for internet security program.

[Easy Bakes 253]

How old is this computer of yours?

It was a good idea for you to change your CPU fan. dont worry about the heat sink being smaller if the fan moves fast enough it should be ok if it had new contact grease on it. the power supply fan  looks to be a problem. if i read your post right. its not turning on sometimes. A new fan for it should not be too expensive. as for the case fans, if thier not working take off the outside of the case the CPU will keep it cool enough,  not reason to buy new case fans if your geting s new system soon.

You are right there is no reason to hibernate a PC anymore, if you not using it for a while  shut it down.

it dont take that long to  restart.

At least you didnt spend 12 hours getting rid of  something called My Security Shield on an old PIII system

like i did a couple weeks ago. Stupid thing totaly removed a paid for internet security program.

[joshriddle 29]

Got this computer about 2 months after the release of Windows XP. My dad started having problems with it, not to mention the computer wasn't big enough in terms of performance to handle what he was doing. So he built a really big computer for himself, and gave this old one to me.

At least the stupid thing I downloaded wasn't a thing that converts your current OS to W7. I would have a real fun time fixing that.

Also I am thinking with my CPU fan, I am starting to think that it is going full speed when the computer starts up, and then a few seconds later, slow down. I always thought fans on desktop computers were supposed to maintain a single speed. That probably explains the loud noise that comes from the fan when you first turn it on.

Also during the boot sequence there is occasionally that thing of sorts on the BIOS called floppy seek I need to disable.

I am starting to take into consideration the BIOS alltogether. I think something or another might have reset it. Also I hear most modern CPU fans are temperature controlled by the motherboard. I am not good at installing computer parts, so my dad installed the fan for me. I may ask him if he set it up on the temp controller.

The PSU fan shouldn't be a problem, I got the new thing about 4 or 5 months at the least. If so then I will never buy another Dynex product again.

But that PSU in my computer is cheap enough to begin with...

[joshriddle 29]

Got this computer about 2 months after the release of Windows XP. My dad started having problems with it, not to mention the computer wasn't big enough in terms of performance to handle what he was doing. So he built a really big computer for himself, and gave this old one to me.

At least the stupid thing I downloaded wasn't a thing that converts your current OS to W7. I would have a real fun time fixing that.

Also I am thinking with my CPU fan, I am starting to think that it is going full speed when the computer starts up, and then a few seconds later, slow down. I always thought fans on desktop computers were supposed to maintain a single speed. That probably explains the loud noise that comes from the fan when you first turn it on.

Also during the boot sequence there is occasionally that thing of sorts on the BIOS called floppy seek I need to disable.

I am starting to take into consideration the BIOS alltogether. I think something or another might have reset it. Also I hear most modern CPU fans are temperature controlled by the motherboard. I am not good at installing computer parts, so my dad installed the fan for me. I may ask him if he set it up on the temp controller.

The PSU fan shouldn't be a problem, I got the new thing about 4 or 5 months at the least. If so then I will never buy another Dynex product again.

But that PSU in my computer is cheap enough to begin with...

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Notwithstanding that your fan may have temperature control, it shouldn't ever be noisy.  Was it a new one, or did it come from somones spares heap?  Noisy fan may be an indication that it need librication.  If so, it will be something you don't find at Circle K.  Probably a spray-on silicone oil or grease.

I know you like thw W7 decor, but what's the rush?  If you are just keeping up with the Joneses, and you really don't need it, I would stay put until at least SP2 on it came out.  New versions of operating systems tend to bite.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Notwithstanding that your fan may have temperature control, it shouldn't ever be noisy.  Was it a new one, or did it come from somones spares heap?  Noisy fan may be an indication that it need librication.  If so, it will be something you don't find at Circle K.  Probably a spray-on silicone oil or grease.

I know you like thw W7 decor, but what's the rush?  If you are just keeping up with the Joneses, and you really don't need it, I would stay put until at least SP2 on it came out.  New versions of operating systems tend to bite.

[Easy Bakes 253]

or it may just be hiting a wire during start up that the air current moves away at full speed but it drops back in the way when its turned off.

I had that happen to me once.

[joshriddle 29]

^^Something to consider.

Really it is only noisy for the first few seconds it turns on. Then it quiets down.

Thing is I know about this one is it vibrates a lot, I put my hand on the top of the tower and I could feel the case vibrating, and from what I recall, the other one never did that.

New fan, too.

Originally posted by A Nonny Moose

Notwithstanding that your fan may have temperature control, it shouldn't ever be noisy.  Was it a new one, or did it come from somones spares heap?  Noisy fan may be an indication that it need librication.  If so, it will be something you don't find at Circle K.  Probably a spray-on silicone oil or grease.

I know you like thw W7 decor, but what's the rush?  If you are just keeping up with the Joneses, and you really don't need it, I would stay put until at least SP2 on it came out.  New versions of operating systems tend to bite. quote>

1: Something to consider

2: First of all, I know for sure I am getting W7. But loading a manipulator that almost transforms it to W7 decor, is out of the question.

---

Edit: I wonder if this is the cause of my problems, hot off Event Viewer:

Event Type:    Information

Event Source:    Save Dump

Event Category:    None

Event ID:    1001

Date:        9/4/2010

Time:        10:13:10 PM

User:        N/A

Computer:    JOSH

Description:

The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck.  The bugcheck was: 0x1000008e (0xc000001d, 0xe2aa4d44, 0xb8777174, 0x00000000). A dump was saved in: C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini090410-04.dmp.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

I am going to start tracing events and really studying everything that happens.