Old pc that shut down quiclky

Hi everyone here is my problem: I have a Pentium II, with 128Mb of RAM. I dont know what happen but it shut down like 5 seconds after I turn it on. Please help.

Errrr...fastnet...more information would be helpful !

I assume your OS is Windows 98 or Windows 98SE..ram is SDRAM...com'n help us out here ;)

does it shut down at start-up? How far do you get before it tanks?

Do you beat it with a stick once a week like it says in the manual? Gotta show it who's boss right ! :D

Oh, sorry, the OS is Windows 98, and it shut down so quickly i dont even see image in the monitor. Its like 3 seconds and bye. Hope that helps.

Hi fastnet,

Have you tried booting into safe mode by tapping F8...if not...try that and post back if you made it to desktop.

Eg ;)

P.S. I'm not the best person around here to be helping you :D but I'll see what I can do until someone else comes along ;)

These sites might come in handy too...

http://www.toejumper.net/
Troubleshooting and Resource Guide for Windows 95/98/ME/XP, Home Page

http://support.microsoft.com/default...;EN-US;Q188867
Troubleshooting Windows 98 Startup Problems

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/win98/n1045415932
Annoyances.org - windows 98 won't start up (Windows 98 Discussion Forum)

Good Evening,


Let us know if it boots into “Safe Mode”.

If so, it could be a driver issue. Having experience a similar scenario on my old 500mhz box (Win98se 128mb Ram)…Here’s what happened to me: I purchased a newer CD Burner and experienced the same symptoms as you. (Shutting down after only a little while into the boot process). When I tried booting in to “Safe Mode”, the box worked normal and didn’t shut down. I then uninstalled the software for the Burner, shut everything down, disconnected the CD Burner Cables, turned the computer back on in normal mode, and low and behold, all was well. I then when to the MS site, downloaded all the applicable Win98 updates, then to the manufacturer of the CD Burner and downloaded and installed the most current driver set for that Burner. Reinstalled everything, and presto – I was in business. I guess the moral of the story was updates!

Obviously that doesn’t mean it’s the cure for your issue, but have you installed any new hardware and/or software lately?

~cheers~

heh, maybe your power button is screwed up. I had a problem like that once. The power button was like, stuck. Switching on the power in the mains would switch it on, but 4 sec later it's bye-bye ;). Nothing on screen. Screen would just come upto the POST and poof!

It's on old computer... your power supply is dying on you. You need to replace your power supply. I am 97.8% sure that will solve your issue.

Old computer like that it could be numerous reasons why its failing

If it is a Gateway I am suprised it lasted this long

You very well could spend afew bucks fixing it up... or spend afew more bucks on a new 2.6 celeron Dell.

Computers are just plain cheep these days... but so are the parts inside :rolleyes:

Hmmm,

All the suggestions so far have been good, but your second post says:

Quote:

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Oh, sorry, the OS is Windows 98, and it shut down so quickly i dont even see image in the monitor. Its like 3 seconds and bye. Hope that helps.

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This suggests you are not getting very far into the boot sequence. The first thing you should see is the BIOS information in white letters on a black screen, then the videocard information, then it should check your memory and extended memory. You seem to be saying that you don't get that far?

I think that if this is the case we can rule out drivers, as they load later in the boot sequence. Some malware does this, but you would need to get past Windows loading for them to kick in, so I think we can ignore that possibility as well.

A couple of tests to perform first. At the rear of the box where the power supply is there will be a grille or a lot of holes where the power supply fan blows air out. Can you feel any air coming out in those first 3 seconds or so? If not, that would suggest the power supply has gone.

Next, push the start button and hold it in ................I am hoping that you have one of the old fashioned buttons that lets you do this...............if it then goes through the boot cycle with the button held in, that tells us it is the switch.

I would comment that over the past 15 years or so I have come across all these causes several times so it is difficult to call, without a bit more experimentation. My feeling at this point is that it is either the switch or the power supply.

I do not wish to be rude, but how confident are you in replacing components in a computer?

Good luck :)

EDIT: Hexadecimal Shame on you sir!

Quote:

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If it is a Gateway I am suprised it lasted this long

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I have a Gateway 2000, manufactured in the USA.............it has a 386 Cyrix processor and 8 Mb of RAM (30 pin strips!!!) I think the videocard is 512K (yes....."K") and I think the hard drive is 112Mb (pretty big for back then). Now that box works just fine and boots Win 95 (rather slowly)

:p :D

What do you all mean old computer, i have a celeron 800 Mhz for 4 years now, never had to replace anything, all i did is add 256 RAM and a 60 GB hard drive and bought an Nvidia video card, works better then these 1.6 or 2.0 Ghz computer i see by my friends :)