Install your operating system on the new drive.

If the problem goes away, then it was probably the old drive.
I doubt it though.

Assuming the problem is still there, then you'd be able to take your computer in to have it examined, without concern for what is on the drive.

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I am sure you know that you should have a personal firewall, virus scanner, and good ad-ware/spy-ware removal programs installed.

The folders that you listed all reside in your "user profile". Go to C:\Documents and Settings\XXXXX (where XXXXX is your username). ALL of the folders that you mentioned are found within this folder! Make a copy of this folder.

If you can keep your PC running long enough, google "Parisien Encryption Tools" (www.parisien.org/products.htm)
and download their FREE encryption suite. (I have been using it for years, and it is safe and adware free). After you install the tools, and start "File Vault", you can browse to the copy of the above mentioned folder and encrypt it with a password (I recommend 10 characters in the password minimum). It will make a "vault" with a exe extension. This is a self-extracting folder that you cannot run without the password.

Next log on to the PC as Administrator and right-click on My COmputer and choose "Properties" from the context-menu. If you have WinXP choose the "advanced" tab (User Profiles tab on Win2000). CLick the "settings" button on the User Profile section, and delete the profile. This will erase everything in your profile (bookmarks, My Documents, My Pictures, etc, etc). Log back in with the regular username and you should see the screen just like the first day that you bought the sucker!!! Make a copy of the "vault" file that you made to restore later.

Side Note: The fact that you are saving everything into that profile area will cause the PC to take FOREVER to get to the desktop, and may be contributing to what is causing your problems.

Let me know if I can be of further help.

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Hopefully you know how, or can figure out how, to open the case up. If the insides are heavily dusted up, get a can of compressed air from a computer or office supply store, take the computer outside (or have someone hold a vacuum cleaner hose close to machine) and blow it clean. Try to locate the CPU fan (look for a fan 2-3" in diameter, mounted on a heatsink, sprouting from somewhere on the computer's main circuit board; we're *not* talking about the power supply fan that you typically find blowing air out the top/rear of the case), and pay particular attention to blowing all the dust and crap off of the fan and heatsink. Turn the computer on momentarily, while watching the CPU fan, and verify that the fan immediately starts to run. If it doesn't, that will be the source of your spontaneous reboots.

It's clear from your post that the machine is at least a year old. Keep in mind that unless it was a cutting-edge machine when you bought it, it may make more sense to just replace it rather than spending money on technicians and replacement parts in trying to fix it. Last year's mainstream-level computer is this years $399 entry level Dell or whatever. If you insist on having a tech look at it, I definitely wouldn't take it to some Best Buy-type place and leave it; either find someone who will come to you, or some little independent place that will do the work while you wait.

For future reference, keeping stuff you don't want people to see on a 2nd hard drive, or at least a separate partition on a single-drive machine, is a good idea.

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Seriously...
Open the case (unplug the AC power first, and touch the metal chassis to discharge any static electricity), then check to see that all your component cables are plugged-in securely (both ends). Also, if you feel comfortable doing it, check that your plug-in boards are seated securely in their sockets (for example, remove a RAM module then re-insert it, etc.).

After you put it all back together, turn the computer on and hold your hand next to the exhaust fan to be sure it's working.

I once had an external hard drive that kept rebooting itself, which turned out to be a slightly loose cable. As the hard drive warmed-up, the connection would make and break.

FYI, if you have one of the newer SATA hard drives, their connectors are notorious for working themselves loose.

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When I started this thread, I had given up on the idea of trying to troubleshoot the problem myself. But, as a result of Harri's and BigBobxxx's input, I would like to first try to implement their ideas (although I've never opened the case before).

But before I do that, let me provide some more information to see if that might influence some of the advice given in this thread.

Basic information about my computer:

Date of Purchase: December 2002

Hewlett-Packard Pavilion
Intel
Pentium 4 CPU 2.53GHz
1.00 GB of RAM

Microsoft Windows XP (Home Edition)
Version 2002
Service Pack 1

FireFox (v. 1.5.0.4)
Internet Explorer (v. 6.0)

Further information about spontaneous rebooting problem:

The spontaneous rebooting can happen regardless of what I'm doing on the computer or even when the computer is sitting idle. But here are the activities that are guaranteed to cause my computer to spontaneously reboot:

* A full system scan for viruses and/or spyware. After about 10 minutes, my computer will spontaneously reboot long before the scan can complete (it doesn't make any difference which scanner or brand of software that I use for the scan).

* Burning a CD or DVD. If the burning process takes longer than, say, eight to 10 minutes, my computer will spontaneously reboot before I can complete the burn process (it doesn't matter the brand of CD/DVD burner).

* Randomly viewing pictures on my hard drive. If I spend about 15 or 20 minutes randomly clicking on and viewing pictures (in My Pictures, My Videos, etc.), my computer will spontaneously reboot.

Once again, my computer can and does spontaneously reboot during any activity (or even when its sitting idle), but it is guaranteed to spontaneously reboot when any of the above three actions occurs.

For the record, my computer does contain some parts of Service Pack 2, but when I tried (several months ago) to install the full pack, my computer became completely unstable and I had to remove most of it. Similarly, when I once activated Microsoft's Automatic Updates, my system began crashing so much that I had to do a system restore to undo the damage.

At any rate, I do intend to start by following Harri's and BigBobxxx's advice, but first I want to make this post to see if anyone wants to revise his recommendation(s).

Igor948, thanks for mentioning the Parisien Encryption Tools. I was completely unware of that. I also appreciate the way you broke the procedures down step-by-step.

I've decided that, since my computer is so old and since computers aren't that expensive, that if I can't fix this problem myself, I'm just going to go out and buy a new computer (CPU and possibly a new monitor).

PM

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C: Drive:

Total Size: 106 GB
Free Space: 17.8 GB

D: Drive:

Total Size: 4.87 GB
Free Space: 764 MB

My computer is packed with porn.

PM

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quick article on Spontaneous Reboots. I would thikn if you take it to a tech shop this is what they will check 1st.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1925160,00.asp

If you do buy a new pc, how about getting an External Harddrive as well. that way you can store your files on there
and not worry about others seeing your porn files.

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Just to reiterate and commiserate with some of what's already been said : spontaneous reboots do sound like heat (check/replace/add fans), power supply (replace and test), faulty drivers or corruption of system files (either one would be easier to just back up your data and reload).

It sounds like sustained I/O activity is the culprit - could also be the hard drive controller assed up.

It's 99% likely that controller is built on to the motherboard, but don't fret - all is not lost. You can pick up an EIDE or SATA hard drive controller for cheap. If you opt for SATA (and I would), don't worry, there are converters you can slap on your IDE hard drive to make it compliant. Check back if you go this route for instructions on how to hook everything up - there's enough brain trust here to get you through it, although it probably won't be me.

Backup that porn to an external USB 2 or firewire or ethernet connected hard drive!

Wipe it! Reload it!

Those external drives are dirt cheap these days -- cost-effective-wise you now get MORE hard drive for LESS money than a year ago. Get a bare drive and an enclosure for around $100 or one of the nifty Maxtor OneTouch doohummers. And enjoy the extra space.

Nice to know you're alive.

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Even if you're going to be getting a new machine, it will be helpful to know whether your current hard drive is healthy or not, just from the standpoint of dealing with trying to move the stuff you want to keep from the old machine to the new one.

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The Device Manager is in the Control Panel. Open the Control Panel and look for the System folder. Double-click that, then select the Hardware tab and you should see the button for the Device Manager.

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1.) "Automatically fix file system errors."
2.) "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors."

I don't want to proceed until checking back with you, Harri. Which one should I choose? Or should I do each one in turn?

1. Fix or have fixed the rebooting problem or buy another computer (I'm leaning towards buying another computer).
2. Buy a second hard drive (is an external hard drive and a second hard drive the same thing?).
3. Move my porn to the second (or external) hard drive.

Regarding the above three steps, I have a lot of questions, but I'll save (most of) those for now.

PM

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1) pre-built (ex. http://www.lacie.com/products/product.htm?pid=10648)
2) build your own. Basically you get an enclosure that can house any regular desktop or laptop hard drive.

With each solution there are different methods for connecting to your computer; USB 2.0, 1394a aka Firewire 400, 1394b aka Firewire 800, external SCSI, external SATA, ethernet cable and wireless network.

USB 2.0 will probably be the best for you. Look for a unit that doesn't require an external power supply but has it available if needed.

You'll need a durable design if you plan on moving it a lot, otherwise you'll want something that's not going to tip over too easy.

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(1) Go ahead and buy the new computer.

(2) Set it up, and be sure you have anti-virus, spyware/adware and firewall programs installed and operating!

(3) Be sure you install all the latest and current "High Priority" updates from Microsoft Update

(4) Then, take your current hard drive out of your current machine and add it to your new machine in the space already there and prepared for adding a second hard drive.

When you do this, you will need to change the jumper settings on the old hard drive. This is easy to do!

There will be a diagram on the case of the hard drive showing the jumper settings (i.e. "Master," "Slave" and "Cable Select").
On a new computer running XP, the odds are 99.99% that the setting you want will be "Cable Select."
Simply set the "jumper plug" to match the "pins being jumped" diagram. Take a pair of tweezers or a needle-nose to pull the plug out and simply re-insert it with the correct orientation.

Your old hard drive will now function as a second storage drive. The fact that it was previously a "C" Drive on another machine will not matter. Over time, you can delete items from this drive that you no longer need.

After installing the old hard drive into your new computer, be sure to run your anti-virus and spyware/adware programs a couple times each before using the computer as usual. There are very likely bad things lurking on the old hard drive that can and will be detected and cleaned-up (now that it is no longer the "C" Drive), and you should do this right away :)

ONE LAST THOUGHT...

Assuming that you have the back-up CDs to restore your current computer with, you can do everything I just wrote above without even buying a new computer!

You can buy a new 120-GB hard drive now for about $50-60 dollars. WAIT until your local big box retailer has them priced in this range before wasting your money spending more. Both Circuit City and Best Buy will have 120-GB (even 160-GB) hard drives advertised in this price range (probably after rebates) at least once a month on a regular basis.
Then, remove your original hard drive (look at it to check its jumper setting... which is almost certainly "Cable Select").
Install the new hard drive (with the correct jumper setting), and restore the computer from your back-up CDs.

Then, be sure to upgrade it to Service Pack 2 and obtain and install ALL "High Priority" updates from Microsoft Update

Then, install the OLD hard drive in the space already there and prepared for adding a second hard drive.

Follow the balance of what I wrote earlier to finish-up your upgrade.

IF THE ORIGINAL COMPUTER ITSELF TURNS OUT TO HAVE BEEN THE PROBLEM (not the hard drive)...

You wasted nothing by buying the NEW hard drive (as you can now use it as the second hard drive in your new computer you will now go out and buy :)

Your original OLD hard drive can then still be used as an external hard drive by buying a USB external drive kit for $35-60 (they also go on sale once in a while) and mounting the drive into the kit.
WHAT I WOULD THEN RECOMMEND DOING is to copy ONLY the files you want to your "new second hard drive in your new computer," and then do a complete total formatting on the OLD drive to wipe it clean (and, in the process, get rid of whatever bad things might have been on it as a bonus).

IF IT WERE ME...
my advice is to go ahead and buy the new computer and do what I discussed earlier in this post.

And, remember, there are other goodies you can salvage from the original computer. For example, you can remove your optical drive (i.e. CD/DVD drive) and add it to your new computer in the space already there and prepared for adding a second optical drive (assuming your new computer only comes with one drive as is typically the case now). This will allow you to copy directly from disk to disk without having to first copy things to the hard drive.

Your new computer almost certainly will not come with a floppy drive. You might be able to move this to your new machine too -- IF -- the new machine has room to mount it AND still has a connector on the mother board there to support it (many new machines no longer do).
If you don't use floppies, then don't waste your time with this.

Your current RAM is probably PC2700.
Your new machine might still be using PC2700 RAM, in which case you will be able to use it to upgrade the new machine's RAM.

FINALLY...
If it were me, after I got the new machine up and running, I'd still probably fix the old machine with a new hard drive and using the restore disks :)

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Remember, too, part of the plan will be to delete unnecessary files from the old hard drive once the transfer is done. This would include the OS files too.

Since a NEW computer will almost certainly have a DVD burner, the absolute best solution would be to burn DVD backups of all the files you want to keep and then do a complete re-formatting of the old drive to wipe it clean. This will also wipe off the "D" Drive partition that is also part of the old hard drive (it has all the restore files for the old computer on it) which you certainly will no longer need -- and you will pick up an additional 4.87-GB of usable space too :)

After re-formatting the OLD drive, you can transfer back the files you previously burned to DVDs. This way, you will have the files available on your second hard drive, AND you will have backups too (always a good idea).

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1.) open the case and try to troubleshoot the rebooting problem myself (starting with removing all of the dust build-up and visually checking on components)?

2.) follow Hardware's advice and remove the hard drive and give the rest to a repair shop for diagnosis (after first verifying that the hard drive is healthy per Harri's advice)?

3.) leave the computer as is and arrange for a technician to come to my residence to diagnose and fix the rebooting problem under my watchful eye?

4.) follow BigBobxxx's advice and buy a new computer?

Each of the above has drawbacks. Option #1 might potentially get too complicated and I might end up screwing up my computer. Options #2 and #3 might not be cost-effective versus buying a new computer, plus there is always the outside chance that a technician might screw up my computer (something that has happened to me before). Even if one of the first three options work, I'd still be left with a three and a half year old computer (ancient by pc standards). Option #4 might have me unnecessarily spending more money than necessary to get around the rebooting problem (especially if Option #1 were to work).

So basically, what I want to ask people is this: If you were me, which option would you choose? I know that BigBobxxx has already stated that if he were me, he'd buy a new computer (and kukm4 stated that buying a new computer sounds like a good idea). Bear in mind that I am able to pay cash for a new computer and external hard drive (and that I could replace the money spent in a month to a month and a half).

PM

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Starting over isn't such a bad idea if you can afford it. You can re-experience the joy of getting a newer comp as well.

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If this does not solve your problems, go straight to Option #4 (i.e. buy a new machine) and follow my instructions about moving the OLD machine's hard drive over to the NEW machine as a second hard drive (which also painlessly moves your files to the new machine).

Do not waste money on repairing a 3-1/2 year old computer.
You can easily spend $50 to $150 with a technician and still never get the machine right!
The smart move is to apply that money towards a sure thing... a new computer :)

You do not have to spend a great deal of money to get an incredibly powerful machine! You should be able to get a kick-ass machine package (computer, monitor & printer) for under $500 (after rebates). FYI, the "package" will sell for less than trying to buy a CPU alone... so don't try to figure this out.

In just a few weeks, you are going to be able to benefit from back-to-school computer specials... so this is a good time to make a move. Also, with Vista looming down-the-road, you will be able to get even better deals on models that were released prior to the "Vista required specs" (which are fairly demanding) becoming well-known. This is not to say that current machines are inferior -- far from it. MS has taken so long bringing Vista to the retail marketplace -- it still won't be out for the key 2006 Xmas selling season -- that manufacturers have to continue selling XP for quite some time yet... and this, again, benefits you in terms of the bang-for-the-buck right now. Remember, XP Service Pack 2 will be supported for at least another five years -- and who wants to be an early adopter of Vista anyway! I wouldn't consider buying a Vista OS new computer until after Vista Service Pack 1 has been released!

Here is an example of a machine that I would feel comfortable recommending. The value is amazing. Frankly, unless you contemplate becoming a heavy gamer, you really don't need to spend more than $500 (after rebates) for a really powerful machine. Also, the AMD Athlon 64 series processors are incredibly powerful. And, as the 64 would indicate, they are true 64-bit processors (which is essential to get the full benefits out of Vista should you decide to move to Vista at a later time... if you ever would even need to).

The e-Machines T6534 will be found as a package at the major big box retailers (i.e. Circuit City, Best Buy, Office Depot, etc.) for just under $500 after rebates. Check the Sunday circulars until it, or a very similar model) shows up.

I bought an earlier version of this model (the T6410) as a package for less than $500 after rebates, at Office Depot about a year ago, and have been thrilled with it! Very powerful and very dependable... and I do a LOT of video editing (which is pretty demanding).
Previous Model e-Machines T6410 (no longer available... see T6534 as its current replacement

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Well, I finally got around to following Harri Patel's and BigBobxxx's advice by opening the case and doing the things they suggested in their earlier posts. I completely removed the massive dust build-up (including from the CPU fan), verified that the CPU fan immediately starts to run when I turn the computer on (it does), made sure that all of the component cables were plugged in securely, made sure that the plug-in boards were seated securely in their sockets, and made sure that the exhaust fan was working (it does).
________________________________________________________

RESULTS.

* I completed a 59-minute NOD-32 spyware scan without the computer spontaneously rebooting (previously, my computer would spontaneously reboot after about 10 minutes of scanning, long before completing the scan).

* I followed that up with a 14-minute Spybot Search and Destroy spyware scan, which also completed successfully. Prior to this Spybot scan, and before conducting the above troubleshooting, my last several attempts at using Spybot caused my computer to spontaneously reboot after about eight or nine minutes (and before the scan could complete).

* For over 30 minutes, I randomly clicked on and viewed various pictures on my hard drive, yet my computer did not spontaneously reboot as it would do prior to the above troubleshooting.

* I haven't attempted to burn any CDs/DVDs yet.
_______________________________________________________

Is the spontaneous rebooting problem really fixed?

At this point, I don't feel confident enough to state that the problem is truly fixed. It might or might not be. At least the early indications are good (knock on wood). I'll know for sure one way or the other within the next seven days, since I've never been able to go a full week without the spontaneous rebooting problem occurring. Should the problem recur, then I'll buy a new computer. If I get lucky and the problem doesn't return, then I'll still buy a new computer early next year to keep up with technology.

Harri, I did check my hard drive for errors following your advice. The system didn't report any errors on my hard drive. Presumably my hard drive is healthy.

Oh, one other thing I should mention. Although I was able to open the case easily, for some reason, I have found it difficult to put the side panel back on (currently, it is lying adjacent to the CPU in the vacinity it should be, but not actually reattached). Thus, air was circulating within the CPU when I was doing the spyware scans and randomly viewing pictures. Presumably this kept things slightly cooler inside the case and that might or might not have been a factor in eliminating the rebooting problem (I doubt it). Do you see any harm in my not reattaching the side panel?

Thanks to everyone who participated in this thread, especially Harri Patel and BigBobxxx. Even if the problem recurs, that would make me no less grateful for your help.

I guess my next step is to do a search of this forum for information about external hard drives so that I can back up my vital files from my current hard drive. My initial question is this:

Can I transfer (rather than back up) all of my porn to an external hard drive (to free up space on my "C" hard drive), yet still be able to access the porn on my external hard drive just as easily as when it was on my "C" hard drive?

PM

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Let's not get stuck on words like "transfer" vs. "back-up."

What you will do is COPY TO (which is different than MOVE TO) the file(s) you want to transfer to the external hard drive.
This will still leave the original file(s) on your "C" Drive. But -- once you're sure that the copied files on your external drive are working properly -- you can go back to your "C" Drive and delete the original files.

The reason I move/copy/transfer/back-up files from one drive to another in this way is to insure that I don't lose files altogether by having them get corrupted in the process. Since the original files never leave the source drive during the copy process, you decide when to delete them after you know the copy process was successful.

(A) Prepare folders on your external hard drive to copy your files to.
This is an opportunity to get all your porn organized the way you choose.
Bonus: when your files are copied to the external drive, they will be automatically de-fragged as part of the process, and will fill the drive in a nice solid contiguous block :)

(1) Open the folder that contains files you wish to copy to the external drive.

(2) Select (single-click) the file(s) you wish to move. You will see the "File and Folder Tasks" in the left-hand column change to show "Copy this file" as one of the options.
If you hold down the Control key and select multiple items, it will change again and say "Copy the selected items" as one of the options.

(3) Select "Copy the selected items" (or "Copy this file" if it's just one item) and a dialogue screen will pop-up.
Navigate your way to the folder (one of the new folders you created) on your external drive, select the folder and then select copy.

(4) After the copying process is done, check your newly-copied files. Once you're satisfied that they copied without problems, you can go back and delete the original files on your "C" Drive to make room.

YOU CAN ALSO DO THIS SAME EXACT PROCESS by installing a second hard drive (as discussed at length earlier) for half the cost of an external hard drive.
There are arguments to be made for either choice.

The arguments for a second internal drive are:
* Cost
* Less cables, adapters and devices in your work area
* Speed (the internal hard drive ribbon cable connection to the mother board is significantly faster than any external USB or Firewire connection)
* Always on and available when the computer is powered up (an external drive has an on/off switch)

The arguments for an external drive are:
* Can easily be plugged into any computer
* Additional storage once your two internal hard drive cays have been filled

REMEMBER, whether you choose a second internal hard drive OR an external hard drive, they are BOTH independent of your computer's "C" Drive, and BOTH just as secure should your computer and/or its "C" Drive fail.
(i.e. the data on either drive should be unaffected :)

HOWEVER, THE ONLY WAY to guarantee the safe archiving of your porn collection files is to have BACK-UP COPIES of your files! Therefore, you really should make back-up data DVDs (or data CDs if that's all you have) of your files in addition to moving them off your "C" Drive.
Optical media is cheap and reliable.
It will only take roughly 23 DVDs to back-up 100 GBs of data.
25-pack spindles of name-brand DVDs are typically on "sale" at all the big box retailers for only $7.99/per pack.

JUST TO SHOW YOU HOW NUTS WE PORN COLLECTOR'S BECOME...

My computer has a 160 GB "C" Drive (which I try to keep at least 50% empty).

So, my porn collection (as of this morning) is stored on:

250 GB second internal hard drive
250 GB external hard drive (A-B)
250 GB external hard drive (C-G)
250 GB external hard drive (H-K)
250 GB external hard drive (L-O)
320 GB external hard drive (P-Z)
200 GB external hard drive (titles and trailers)
200 GB external hard drive (cumshots)

Plus, 278 back-up DVDs (of what has already been archived on the above listed drives).

Plus, 500+ original DVDs and VHS tapes (which I am converting to digital files and DVDs).

So, my young Grasshopper, I'm obviously not married and don't have a girl friend :) For the love of God, I hope I outlive my mother!

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Your computer might be old enough that it has USB version 1.1 instead of 2.0. 1.1 is painfully slow (as in, it'll take days, not hours, to move all your stuff). You can buy an add-in 2.0 card (such as one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?N=2010010073+1187112433&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=73 ), assuming that your computer has at least one available PCI slot. If you don't know if you have 2.0 or not, follow Hardware's instructions above for getting to the Device Manager, but then look for the "Universal Serial Bus controller" entry (usually the last one on the list). Click on the plus sign to expand it; as long as you see both "1.1" and "2.0" listed, you don't need to worry about it.

An external drive is also potentially a source of annoying noise, both from the drive mechanism itself and from a fan in the enclosure, if so equipped. I have a cheapo Airlink drive enclosure from Fry's, and it has a tiny little fan in it that is ridiculously loud. Moral of the story: when you're researching which one to buy, don't just go by price and how many GB's you're getting.

As to the side panel, theoretically, it's best not to run it with the panel off, because the "ATX" standard layout that most computers use basically calls for cold air to be drawn in the bottom front of the case, then drawn up and across the computer components and out the back, and if you take the side panel off, you might be altering the airflow. But as a practical matter, if you're not getting any more re-boots, then it's probably not a problem.

One other thing to look at, particularly if you do manage to get the side panel back on: as I said, cold air is supposed to be drawn in through the bottom front of the computer. Some machines have elemental screens, or even removable, washable filters, in the path of the air flow, to try to keep dust out. Sometimes the front bezel has to be removed (sometimes screws need to be removed, but often there are just tabs running around the circumference that you have to press in to disengage them from slots in the metal chassis) to get at the screen/filter. Take a close look at your computer, try to visualize the path of the airflow, and see if you can see if it has anything like this; if it does, you need to make sure that it's cleaned off.

If you want to stress-test your machine, go to worldcommunitygrid.org and download their program. It runs in the background and uses your CPU whenever the other programs you're running aren't, with the result that the CPU is always running at 100%. If there is still a cooling problem, you will start getting reboots very quickly.

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Also, I second everything BigBobxxx said about the eMachines. They're really cracking good little machines for the money. They may not run Doom3 at 60fps, but they'll play plenty of porn, surf the web well and do office-y tasks with aplomb...

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Based on Harri's earlier description of what a hard drive looks like, I was able to locate mine. Within the case, in the compartment that the hard drive sits in, I'm not sure that there is enough space to install a second hard drive (but I could be mistakened). If it is possible, it doesn't seem like it would be something that I would be comfortable doing myself (but I could always hire a technician to come over and install a hard drive that I purchased).

If it turns out that my computer can't accommodate a second internal hard drive, then I guess an external hard drive will be my only option for now.

PM

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I know that Hewlett-Packard sells internal hard drives with up to 400 GB of disk space. That would allow plenty of growing room given that I'm currently using less than 90 GB of disk space on my "C" drive (although my "D" drive is almost completely full). Could I do the same for my "D" drive?

If I do go this route, I'll still need to hire a technician to actually do the work (replacing hard drives and doing the data transfer). Do you think a technician can accomplish all of this at my residence?

PM

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In terms of the electrical connections, there is just the data cable (the wide ribbon) and the power connector (four red, black and yellow wires that terminate in a plastic plug that slides into a slot on the back of the drive. The data cable has one end that plugs into the motherboard and (almost always) two connectors on the other end for hard drives.

Although you *should* be able to run two internal drives, what I would probably do, given that the original drive is 3+ years old (and drives will all eventually fail at some point), is just buy a big new drive, and use the software that comes with it to "clone" your old drive to the new one. Then just put the old drive away in a box somewhere to serve as a backup in case you ever have a problem with the new drive. Here is a link to some information about the program that comes with Seagate drives: http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/howto/use_dw2002.html

HP, as far as I know, doesn't manufacture hard drives (at least for PC's), so there really isn't any reason to buy an HP-labelled drive unless you have some kind of discount hook-up with HP. I've always had good results with Seagates. You need to make sure you're geting an "ATA" (ATA/100 or ATA/133, *not* a Serial ATA) drive, and, if you're buying online, make sure you're getting a "retail" drive (comes with software, a cable, instructions, a pretty box), not an "OEM" (just the bare drive). CompUSA has a pretty good deal on this 250 GB Seagate one at the moment: http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=cat3&product_code=337112&Pn=250GB_Hard_Drive

The software does a pretty good job of walking you through the whole process, so you really could do it yourself. It's a very easy thing for a technician to do, but it takes some time for the contents of the old drive to be copied to the contents of the new one, so you might end up paying kind of a lot.

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Keep it simple and just ADD the new second hard drive -- and don't bother with screwing around with the current (original) "C" Drive.

Why?
Because you are going to transfer all your porn files (and any other files you care to) to your new second hard drive.
If and when your original hard drive fails, who cares?
Your files -- which are all you really care about -- are already safely on your new second hard drive.

IMPORTANT (Please Answer)...
Do you have the back-up Restore CDs for your computer?
If you don't, did you know that your computer has a program on it that will create a set for you (one time only) using the restore files on your "D" Drive (which is simply a partition on your computer's hard drive)?
What is the exact model number of your computer?
(I will help you with this... answer the questions.)

Your back-up Restore CDs can be used to re-install your computer to exactly the same as it was when it came out of the box. So, even if your "C" Drive were to fail, you can simply buy a new hard drive and install your computer's software on it from the Restore CDs.

DO NOT waste money buying a hard drive from HP!

This week (through Saturday, 7/29/06) Circuit City has a Western Digital 250 GB internal hard drive on sale for $49.99 ($129.99 less $80.00 in mail-in rebates = $49.99).
YOU WON'T FIND A BETTER DEAL THAN THIS!
(FYI, Western Digital is the only brand that I use :)

Adding a second hard drive is so easy, that I have even temporarily popped hard drives in as necessary just to work on them and/or extract information from them.

Let me know if you do this, and I will give you step-by-step SIMPLE instructions. Since you are doing this for the first time, it might take you all of 10 minutes :)

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I think I'm confused by the flat gray ribbons.

Consequently, I think I'm still confused about where the hard drive is. There seems to be more than just one flat gray ribbon.

There's a flat gray ribbon that's attached to the CPU board (I know this because the ribbon actually has the words "CPU board" printed on the end that attaches to that board, you see). This ribbon also has the word "Slave" printed on it. The ribbon attaches to what I thought was the hard drive, but now I'm not so sure. It attaches to something slightly more than half way up from the bottom of the case.

Additionally, there seems to be another flat gray ribbon that runs from the CPU board to a component near the very top of the interior of the case. This second flat gray ribbon has the word "Master" printed on it.

With both sets of flat gray ribbons, I see the accompanying black, yellow, and red wires terminating in a white plug. I also see what appears to be an extra white plug (with the same color wires) not connected to anything.

In neither instance does it seem simple to merely slide in a second hard drive and connect it. I don't see any space at all for adding another hard drive in the area where the "master" ribbon connects (near the very top of the case). I do see a space in the area where the "slave" ribbon connects, but because of the direction in which that section sits, you can't just slide in a hard drive. However, I do see a metal tab that presumably will let me access that area (by opening it and tilting it to face me, assuming that it will do that).

PM

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You just plug in the grey ribbon cable and the power plug, into the slots of the new hard drive (Make sure 2nd hard drive is in slave position)

Thats it!

I'm 99% sure that your CPU will already have the extra ribbon and power supply cable inside, just plug them into the hard drive.

This is also how you would install an extra CD or DVD drive.

Just think of it like hooking up a video game system. One hookup to connect to the TV, and one hookup for power.

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Your HP Pavilion running Windows XP will want your hard drive(s) set in the "Cable Select" jumper setting (as I discussed earlier in this thread).

"Master" and "Slave" used to be common and necessary settings, however, "Cable Select" is now the norm on most newer machines (since XP).

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HP Pavilion 792n Desktop PC (US/CAN)

HP Pavilion 792c Desktop PC (US/CAN)

If not, you need to double-check the model number for me and give me more complete information. Sometimes, you will even need to look at the model#/serial# sticker on the back.

If you go to: [Start Menu >> Control Panel >> System >> viewing the "General" tab] what does it say there?

Also, see if this helps.

Edited by - BigBobxxx on 7/27/2006 11:44:26 AM

Edited by - BigBobxxx on 7/27/2006 11:55:51 AM

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create a set of recovery discs

You and I are ONLY looking at "Step 1."

If you have any problems, ASK HERE FIRST (as you will only be allowed to create a set of recovery discs ONE TIME)!

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http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=83467&lang=en&docname=bph03429#

and have at it.

PS - Thinking about this more, I'm not sure if we ever determined whether your computer has a floppy disc drive. I was assuming that it does not. If it does, however, then the ribbon cable going to the top of the case is for the CD/DVD drive, the other ribbon is for the floppy drive (the floppy drive cable will not be quite as wide as the other one, and may be split along part of its length), and your hard drive must be a serial ATA drive (which uses a much smaller type of data cable). There are pictures showing the difference between Serial ATA and IDE (a/k/a ATA/100 or ATA/133) drives in the animated instructions. Make sure you figure out which kind you have before you go out and buy a new drive.

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This is why it is so important to me to know the exact model number.
Remember, I own and have worked on an HP Pavilion with the same case style as the two models I've linked to AND is the same age as PM's.

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Method 2 (front, bottom of case) does not show a model number (or any other such information).

Method 3 (label on back of the computer) just shows 700.

BigBobxxx, I'm 99% sure that the model number for my machine is 792n. The only way that I can be 100% sure is to contact Hewlett-Packard (unless someone reading this post has another solution).

PM

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I just wish that HP had it set up so that you could have more than just one chance.

PM

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If your computer goes back to the re-booting problem, we change tactics and go to the "buy new computer" option.

THEREFORE, the first thing you NEED to do is make the recovery discs set.
Were you able to find the "create a set of recovery discs" information on your computer (from the link I posted for you previously)?
DO THIS TODAY, so you can go ahead and buy the 250-GB hard drive we discussed earlier by tomorrow (Saturday). It really is too good a price to miss this opportunity -- and it is exactly the correct type drive you need.

The hard drive on sale in the Circuit City circular this week is:
Western Digital 250-GB 7200-RPM with 8-MB cache
Web ID (model #) WD2500JBRTL

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Then, elsewhere, I came across this statement:

HP PCs that ship with Microsoft Windows XP and Compaq Presario Desktop PCs made in spring of 2003 and later already come with a hidden preloaded recovery partition.

Since I bought my computer in December 2002, then that would mean that my computer doesn't have the Recovery Creator software on it.

My only other option (providing that I've analyzed this situation correctly) is to order the recovery CDs from HP (unless my original recovery system CDs are still in my possession and I can find them--at the moment, I have no idea where they're at).

But, maybe I've analyzed the situation wrong. Do you agree with everything that I've communicated in this post, BigBobxxx?

PM

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Start Menu >>
All Programs >>
Hewlett-Packard >>
hp pavilion pc tools >>
hp pc recovery CD creator

The main reason I wanted you to make a set of recovery discs was so that it would be done and over with (and cost you nothing).
Your computer either came with recovery CDs (or recovery DVD), OR the ability to create your own.

DO NOT BUY a set of recovery discs from HP... at least for now. The ONLY reason you would need to buy a set of recovery discs is IF your original "C" Drive failed and you needed to re-install your computer's OS and software onto a new hard drive altogether.
So, no need to spend money crossing that bridge unless you have to.

TO SUM UP...

Try to find the "hp pc recovery CD creator" again and burn your set of recovery discs.
You might even try calling HP if you can't find the necessary utility program.
Let me know how you make out.

Go buy the second hard drive now anyway.
The whole point is to copy your porn files off of your original "C" Drive to:
(a) make sure you have reliable, safe copies (in case the "C" Drive fails), and
(b) clear stuff off your "C" Drive to make room so that your computer will run better

As I've discussed before, once you have your files safely onto a new hard drive, all you would need to do is add that new hard drive as the second hard drive in a new computer anyway (should your current computer die) in order to move your files to the new computer.
So, you aren't wasting money any way you look at it

Would you clarify for me that your computer can burn DVDs as well as CDs? The HP Pavilion 792n info suggests that it should have this capability.
If the features point-of-purchase sticker is still on the front of the computer, that should help determine this easily. This will also help us be more certain about this being a 792n :)

Finally, did you add RAM to the computer yourself in order to bring it to "1.00 GB of RAM" you said it has, or did it come that way out-of-the-box?

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Since you do have an external DVD burner, please just make back-up copies of your porn files onto DVDs -- which you should do anyway no matter what -- and wait your computer out to see how well it continues to work.

Whatever you decide to do later on, let us know.

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Late tonight or in the wee hours of Saturday morning, I'm going to attempt to back up all of my porn to DVDs. If that goes okay, then early Saturday afternoon I'm going to do another NOD32 full system spyware scan, followed by another Spybot Search and Destroy spyware scan. If the rebooting problem doesn't recur after all of that, then I'm going to assume that the rebooting problem is truly fixed.

There will still be enough time for me to then go to Circuit City in the afternoon to buy the second internal hard drive before the sale ends (I'll call before leaving to make sure they still have some in stock). We can then proceed with my adding the second hard drive to my machine.

Important. Please answer this, BigBobxxx:

On the HP page that tells how to add another hard drive (it's the third paragraph under the heading, "Before you begin"), it also recommends upgrading the power supply when adding another hard drive. Do you agree with that? How much are power supplies and how hard are they to install?

One other thing. On that same page mentioned above, Step 3 (Removing the drive cage) provides visual examples of the different types of drive cages. My drive cage looks exactly like the one shown on the top right (the one with the metal tab that you pull that allows the hard drive cage to tilt toward you).

Also, BigBobxxx, I'm going to contact HP to make absolutely sure that my computer is the 792n.

PM

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Power supplies are typically $40-$70 dollars, and are a pain-in-the-ass to replace and dress the wires around the case. IF the power supply fails, and IF you still want this computer five years from now, buy a new power supply then, if ever :)

Glad you have the tilting metal cage... this is what my unit has, so I am familiar with your process.

FYI, the new hard drive will come with a new ribbon cable. So, if the ribbon cable in the computer doesn't have two connections, you will still have what you need.
Because of the position on the cable where the two drives connect, you will probably move the "C" Drive to the slot that is currently empty and put the second drive where the first one was... we'll see.

You will never burn 20+ DVDs in one morning. I also recommend burning them at no more than 4x (even if you "can" burn them much faster).
If your computer gives you many hours of DVD burning without re-booting, I'd say that will be a very good sign.

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I did make it to Circuit City and purchased that hard drive before the sale ended, but now it looks like I'll have to return it for a refund. Oh, well.

What I've decided to do is to purchase an e-Machines. However, I need your advice on something, BigBobxxx.

Previously, you recommended the e-Machines T6534 ($449.99). But for just $87 more, I could get the e-Machines T6536 ($536.99). That would give me 50 additional gigabytes of hard drive (250 GB total) and double the memory. And if I keep the 250 GB Western Digital hard drive I just bought and add it to the T6536, that would give me a total of 500 GB of hard drive (on two brand new internal hard drives). All I would need to do is to get what I want to keep from my current hard drive onto my new machine.

I don't need another printer because I just purchased a new one a few months ago. Rather than keep this ancient monitor that I have now, I'll just spend about $200 or so on a new one. A new e-Machines and a new monitor will bring my hardware completely up to date for a total price well within my budget (and that I can afford to pay cash for). (By the way, I'm completely debt-free, so I'm not feeling any financial strain.)

Bigbobxxx, because I don't know what is the source of the rebooting problem, I feel leery about adding my current hard drive to a new machine. What if the source of the rebooting is a virus on my current hard drive that I've been unable to detect and get rid of with scanning? I would hate to infect a new machine and be stuck with that same problem. Yet, I definitely need to transfer my porn files, e-mail, bookmarks, etc., from my current machine onto the new one.

I guess I could try to finish the project of backing up all of my porn to DVDs and then copying my DVDs to the second hard drive that I install on my new machine. Is it also possible to do that with my e-mail and bookmarks?

Also, I have an HP printer. Will that be compatible with my new e-Machines? (I seriously doubt that will be a problem, but I thought I'd ask anyway.)

It's really a mystery how for a few days my computer was engaged in all types of activities that would have normally caused it to spontaneously reboot many times over, and yet it was performing like a champ until just before I made this post. Strange.

At any rate, I would really appreciate your advice, BigBobxxx. Advice from others is also welcome, of course.

PM

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