computer froze

Take it out of the freezer.

 

Are there any error warnings given at all? If not as easy as it is to reformat it is almost not worth tracking down the problem. Just dump it ad start over.

 

Have you shut it down and started it again?

If so where there any messages? How far did it get in the restart?

Have you installed any new software/hardware just prior to the problem?

Lots of things to do before reformatting.

Shut it down/and as it restarts press F8 and you should get a screen asking what you want to do. If you have installed something just prior to the problem choose safe mode and when it comes up uninstall that item.

If not choose the last known setup that worked and see if that doesn't take care of your problem.

If it is as hot where you are as it is here get in the freezer. Was 107 yesterday and today is to be hotter.

 

Dump meaning reformat

 

Try downloading System Rescue CD and boot from it.

http://www.sysresccd.org/Main_Page

 

I wonder if it would have booted into safe mode?

If it locked up it sounds more like corruption of a Windows file to me, but I would have to have more details as to what it did, how it did it, and what it looked like.

 

Try pulling the hard drive. See if it will then boot off your windows 98 disk. If it does, get a new (to you) hard drive.

 

That is a problem using Windows, many programs want to preload as windows is booting up and your available memory to run the actual programs you want is very small. Then when you want to use a robust program that requires a lot of memory it will usually lock the system up.

Take a look at the programs that have set themselves to preload when starting up. Many of them really do not need to preload and you can remove them from the list. This will greatly increase your computer's performance and will also allow the system to boot up faster.

 

For some reason most windows software developers assume that if you install their program that means that you intend for the program to load at startup. Its crazy, but each time you install something new, check the startup programs file, and more often than not, the program set itself to pre-load when the computer boots up. Just delete the shortcut from the startup file and it should take care of future problems.

 

ccleaner makes this real easy.

 

Yeah, CCleaner is great, one of the best programs ever, and it's free! :thumbs:

I have it so CCleaner comes on at Startup, cleans out all temp files and junk like that. You can also turn off or on programs for Startup, and if you click Registry it will fix problems in your Registry. Fantastic program.

A super-easy trick that will make your computer run much faster is to right-click on Recycle Bin, click on Properties. A box will open showing how much memory is used for the Recycle bin. The default is 10% and you'll never need it. Check "use one setting for all drives" then pull the slider down from 10% to 1%. Click on Apply. You will notice your computer operates much faster immediately.

 

Great Tip!! :thumbs:

That is one that I did not know.

 

I prefer to disable the Recycle Bin but you have to be careful about what you choose to delete... there is no "oops" allowed.