Unit laptop issue

arajca · February 26, 2008, 11:10:32 PM

Our laptop has ALOT of stuff on it. Since it pre-dates me at the unit, I don't know what was orignially installed and what 'appeared' during use. This issue came up when Windows Explorer quit. Dr Watson also generates a fatal error message and asks to send the error to Microsoft.

Our finance officer is the current custodian of the laptop since most us have our own anyway. The major issue is Quicken and Internet Explorer won't load. I discussed this with my commander and we are looking at pulling the hard drive, putting it in an external enclosure and trying to get the financial data off it. After that, I want to start removing extra programs, but I do not know what came with it.

Is there a standard software list for the HP laptops from 2004? If so, can someone post it or a link?

mynetdude · February 27, 2008, 07:44:49 PM

You don't have all the CDs/recovery disks that came with the laptop? You might want to talk to your LG/LGS and IT person as to whether installation software/CDs are stored somewhere that belong to that laptop.

arajca · February 27, 2008, 08:30:11 PM

Unfortunetaly, I am that person. I've looked for the discs, but could not find them. Prior to my transferring in, the commander had the laptop. He has since left CAP and has been very careful to return all the CAP stuff he had. The cd's were not in with that stuff.

LtCol Hooligan · February 27, 2008, 09:09:26 PM

Andrew,
I am not sure if I can give you a list of what actually came with the computer, but I might have an idea for you if the machine is still working.

1. Backup any data you have- including your Quicken files. I do not think you need to pull the hard drive unless the machine will not boot at all. Your quicken files should be in your my documents folder by default.
2. Go to add remove programs in the control panel and pull up the list of everything installed on the machine. Write down a list of programs you actually use. Remove any that you do not or look like they could be spyware and other things installed from a website. If you are not sure about a program- do a quick search for it on the internet and you may be able to find out what it is for. If you run into ones you don't know, maybe post them here and we can try to tell you if it is important.
3. Defrag the machine
4. Run a virus scanner- I like Microsoft One Care with Windows Defender to look for Spyware.

If the machine is pretty much dead or really buggy check with your wing to see if they have recovery disks or copies of the software that came with other machines when they arrived in the wing. They may still have copies. If not, you may need to look at reinstalling the OS. This brings up a tricky issue of installing XP or Vista- how much RAM and processor speed will influence this. Another piece of software that I think you will want to purchase is Office. If you have college students or members in the military they can get this really cheap. Don't pay full price!!

From there look at reinstalling Quicken, SIMS and other programs you are using on the machine. Oh- also get a good virus scanner and spyware scanner. Hope this helps a little.

mynetdude · February 27, 2008, 09:46:36 PM

Quote from: LtCol Hooligan on February 27, 2008, 09:09:26 PM
Andrew,
I am not sure if I can give you a list of what actually came with the computer, but I might have an idea for you if the machine is still working.

1. Backup any data you have- including your Quicken files. I do not think you need to pull the hard drive unless the machine will not boot at all. Your quicken files should be in your my documents folder by default.
2. Go to add remove programs in the control panel and pull up the list of everything installed on the machine. Write down a list of programs you actually use. Remove any that you do not or look like they could be spyware and other things installed from a website. If you are not sure about a program- do a quick search for it on the internet and you may be able to find out what it is for. If you run into ones you don't know, maybe post them here and we can try to tell you if it is important.
3. Defrag the machine
4. Run a virus scanner- I like Microsoft One Care with Windows Defender to look for Spyware.

If the machine is pretty much dead or really buggy check with your wing to see if they have recovery disks or copies of the software that came with other machines when they arrived in the wing. They may still have copies. If not, you may need to look at reinstalling the OS. This brings up a tricky issue of installing XP or Vista- how much RAM and processor speed will influence this. Another piece of software that I think you will want to purchase is Office. If you have college students or members in the military they can get this really cheap. Don't pay full price!!

From there look at reinstalling Quicken, SIMS and other programs you are using on the machine. Oh- also get a good virus scanner and spyware scanner. Hope this helps a little.

BEFORE you buy anything (OS or Office) talk to Badger Bob first, he can get you a few things as he has access to Microsoft on behalf of CAP it seems but I cannot speak fully for him, so PM him and tell him I sent you (others here might know about this).

Tim Medeiros · February 27, 2008, 11:14:05 PM

Your wing LG should have disks for MS Office 2003, so no need to purchase that.

arajca · February 27, 2008, 11:27:50 PM

The computer boots up, but we can't get any applications to run - including Word, Windows Explorer, IE, ad nauseum. I haven't had the opportunity to really dig into yet, but I'm going to try to get it next week.

LtCol Hooligan · February 28, 2008, 03:34:34 PM

Yeah- that doesn't sound too good. I think you should still be able to back up your data to an external hard drive without pulling the drive from the machine, but just from your explanation I would probably consider reformatting the machine. If you have a copy of Windows XP (assuming that is the OS) you could try running the repair disk on it after you pull the data files from the machine. The last time I tried that I ended up reformatting anyway. Going this route may end up taking more time for not a lot of benefits too. Just a thought- if you have a friendly computer repair shop in your community, they may be willing to donate services to reserect this laptop from the ashes. I think it is an OS issue so they may be able to work some magic and get the machine running without reinstalling all the apps. It might be worth going this route so you don't have to track down all your program disks.

sardak · February 28, 2008, 06:12:07 PM

Your initial post said that Windows Explorer and Dr Watson created problems. Now you say it boots but nothing runs. Might be a RAM problem. I had computer doing screwy things and it turned out that both RAM chips were failing, the hard drive and Windows were OK. Do a Google search for RAM checker or test, M$ has one.

Mike

mynetdude · February 29, 2008, 03:47:14 AM

You can use the free Microsoft memtest or get memtest86 these will tell you if there are any RAM errors.

gistek · March 02, 2008, 02:26:43 AM

There's a website devoted specifically to helping people fix computer problems.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/

It's a free - donation supported forum, and the folks there are very helpful. First check for previous threads on similar problems, then enter the "HijackThis Log Help" forum.

Read the "IMPORTANT - Read This Before Posting For Malware Removal Help" sticky near the top of the list, and follow the five steps. It is also a good idea to read the Forum Rules (link in the bar above the forum list).

CAP provides AVG antivirus full version. And you are permitted to use it on any and all computers that are used for CAP activities. This includes your personal computer and any computers on your home network. They merely request information on the number of computers (CAP and Personal) that you are protecting. You must download from the link on the e-services page. Make sure you copy the authorization code. (I copy/paste it into a notepad file so I can copy/paste it into the activation key window during install.)

arajca · March 08, 2008, 03:30:46 PM

Update:
Wing Logistics is send a copy of the back-up disks and the laptop is being sent to wing IT do see what they can do about it.

mikeylikey · March 08, 2008, 03:54:00 PM

^ You will get one from another Squadron, and your broken one will go "as new" to a Squadron that has yet to get a laptop, and the LG will say "at least you are getting a laptop", while the Wing King gets a new one with a new vehicle every six months!

mynetdude · March 10, 2008, 02:28:01 AM

Quote from: mikeylikey on March 08, 2008, 03:54:00 PM
^ You will get one from another Squadron, and your broken one will go "as new" to a Squadron that has yet to get a laptop, and the LG will say "at least you are getting a laptop", while the Wing King gets a new one with a new vehicle every six months!

I don't know about how wing handles LG but this does seem to be the general consensus, we are supposed to get a new combo fax/printer and send our old one back every year (that doesn't mean brand new, but newer than what we have) and we haven't had one for a couple years now.

We still have 2 corporate issued computers, 1 is a laptop the other is a desktop the rest of the computers at my unit are all private donations which replaced all DoD computers.

IMHO, as long as it works and it is doing the job and ink replacement is available I don't see any reason to replace anything.