|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page\ Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date How To
Subscribe and Unsubscribe is at the end of this
note. Mailing List Trouble? See
http://langa.com/help.htm Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win a prize!) An easier-to read formatted
HTML version of this newsletter is available The
LangaList 2005-10-27 Please visit our sponsors and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
--- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------
1) Domino Effects: Fixing Multiple FailuresThe reader letter below opens up a proverbial can of worms; touching on a wide variety of potential trouble spots and diagnostics. It seemed worthwhile to look at in depth because it's one of those "domino effects," where a seemingly small initial problem grows and spreads and seems to cause consequential problems in other areas until you're left with a real mess. Even if the reader's specific problem isn't one you have right now, you may encounter similar kinds of trouble in the future. Or, one of the many offshoot discussions and diagnostics that this one letter prompts may help you at some point. I think it's all probably worth tucking away in the back of your mind somewhere. <g>
Well, let's try to diagnose this, starting in the next item. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 2) Tracking Down The Mystery Sound(continued from above) The original problem manifested itself in an odd sound. You said it happened after some updates. Windows Update sometimes includes optional updated drivers, etc. for common hardware, including sound cards. So, this would have been my first thought: A bad driver update. I've found it's usually safer to get hardware updates directly from the manufacturer, because they often offer updates in more incremental or focused form that may "fit" your specific model better than a general update offered through a third party, like Microsoft. Be that as it may, if you'd been able to roll that update back at the start, the whole series of consequential troubles might have been short-circuited. But that didn't happen, so let's think about the "odd sound" for a moment: There are usually three ways a PC can generate an audio signal (by which I mean deliberate sounds like beeps, music and sound effects; not the random mechanical noises of fans, motors, and such). Although some PCs combine audio output devices to save space or money, in most standard desktop systems the three audio output devices are the normal audio speakers (the ones you play music through), the system speaker inside the PC's case (the one that beeps at startup), and the tiny transducer/speaker that's right on many modem boards (the one that makes the various modem sounds). The normal audio speakers are usually controlled by the OS itself; the system speaker by low-level BIOS or motherboard functions, or less often, by the OS itself (as in DOS audio); and modem speakers are usually triggered by dial-up and fax software. Taking these in reverse, if you get a modem-like sound, it's entirely possible you're hearing the modem: If, for example, either through simple internal software or hardware error or through the actions of malware (trojan, worm...), it's possible that the modem is being triggered--- trying to dial out or connect--- at times you hear the sound. The fax component of fax modems can be similarly triggered. So, the first thing I would have done would have been to open the case and see if the sound was in fact coming from the modem itself. Perhaps something in your system was trying to dial out, or allow inbound connections; or looking for updates; or trying to register software; or activate group play, etc. Or perhaps malware (trojan/worm/virus/etc) was trying to access the modem to spread itself around. The next step would have been to check for all those things. (A good firewall can show you what's active and using the network at any given time. Various RAS monitors--- Remote Access Service tools--- cal likewise help you see what's using a dialup connection: http://www.google.com/search?q=ras+monitor ) If nothing obviously related to dial-up or network activity was going on, and an aggressive anti-malware/anti-virus sweep found no hostile software, then I'd try physically removing the modem (if possible) and also disabling/uninstalling it in Device Manager ( http://www.google.com/search?q=device+manager ). After reboot, if the modem-less system stopped making the odd noise, you would have pinned down the source of the problem: Reinstalling or replacing the modem might have set things right. If the modem hardware wasn't the cause, or if the mystery sound wasn't coming from the modem in the first place, I'd move on. If the sound was coming from the system speaker inside the case I'd initially wonder about very low-level, BIOS-type activities; although the system speaker can be accessed and controlled by the OS or running software. Some update software uses little DOS snippets to stuff patches and new code in various places on your system. If something like that was going on, and was using the system speaker to announce its activity or to ask for input, then it's possible that there could be a problem with the software's having to go through XP's "hardware abstraction layer" ( http://www.google.com/search?q=hardware+abstraction+layer ) to reach the speaker. (XP doesn't allow any software but itself to actually control the system hardware. This prevents problems with one program from knocking the legs out from beneath some other software; and is one of the ways XP achieves higher stability than, say, Win98.) But if the handoff isn't smooth, software-generated sounds from the system speaker can be distorted and broken up. Plus, the system speaker is usually extremely cheap and low-fidelity; incapable of sounding good even in the best of circumstances. If this turns out to be the root cause of the problem, then playing with XP's "compatibility" features may help. (See http://langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-06-30.htm#1 or the somewhat related http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-02-24.htm#5 ) If that wasn't it, and/or if the sound was coming through the normal desktop audio speakers, then I'd suspect a problem with the sound assignments (which Mark tried adjusting via Control Panel), or with the sound card or its drivers. Then, like Mark, I would have tried a sound system uninstall/reinstall. Of course, we're basing all this on the description of the sound as modem-like: There are other troublesome sounds that can emanate from a PC, including hard drive re-seek noises and bearing screeches; imbalanced or loose fan noises; and more. We'll have to assume it's nothing like that--- but it'd be worth checking carefully when you're inside the case to make sure it's really an audio-related issue, and not some other system entirely. OK: so far, the troubleshooting has been laborious but straightforward: Try to localize the problem; and try to solve it at the root cause. But when a seemingly-unrelated problem crops up (like a keyboard failure partway through the OS start), things get more complicated. It could be coincidence, which would necessitate chasing down the two problems--- sound and keyboard--- separately. But at least initially, I'd take it as a new or consequential symptom of the same problem: If your sound card, and maybe modem, and keyboard are all being affected, it suggests something is messed up at a fairly low level. That's bad news and good news. It's bad, because low-level problems can't be let go--- you gotta fix 'em--- but it's good news because one fix will probably resolve all the seemingly-unrelated symptoms. Let's look into that in the next item. Click to email this item to a
friend 3) Building A Safety Net(continued from above) Mark, you mentioned not having an image (or other complete backup) of your hard drive contents. As you suggested, if you had a current, known-good image, it might be worth a shot to restore that, to see if the problem would resolve. And if the only problem had been sound-related, I think it might actually work. But once a second symptom showed up--- a keyboard not working--- I doubt that restoring a previous image, by itself, would set things right: I suspect the problem may be deeper than that. But having no image or no backup is still a problem in its own right--- your data is unprotected, and on a sick PC, and so is in some serious risk: It's time to stop and salvage everything off the system BEFORE you start doing anything further, and before the troubles worsen. Because the system isn't fully bootable, making an image now
wouldn't be very
helpful because you'd be preserving a messed-up, known-*bad* setup. Instead, I'd suggest using any of the many "boot CDs" (
http://www.google.com/search?as_q=boot+cd&as_sitesearch=langa.com) and
"emergency toolkits" ( You didn't say how your system is set up, but if the hard drive is using NTFS, you'll need a tool (or a Linux) that can access that kind of format.
(See Once your data is safe(r), then you can proceed. See next item. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 4) Fixing The Hardware Foundation(continued from above) When several PC subsystems fail more or less simultaneously, it can be a good idea to look for trouble at any point where those systems come together. In most PCs, the sound hardware is either a separate physical plug-in card, or is treated as such; the modem is probably on a separate physical card, or is treated as though it is; and the keyboard circuitry is yet another separate thing. One place they all come together is in the "Extended System Configuration Data" area; a small section of non-volatile memory that stores hardware configuration data from boot to boot. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=escd&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ) Normally, the ESCD lets your PC boot faster than otherwise by letting the system skip having to rediscover all the attached hardware. Instead, the PC just checks the ESCD and assumes that everything's still the same. But if the ESCD gets scrambled, corrupted or out of date, then your PC will try to boot with a configuration that may not work. If the failure is egregious enough, the system will realize something's wrong and reset the ESCD data from scratch. But subtle problems may pass undetected by the PC's diagnostics--- even though *you* know something's wrong. Fortunately, it's easy and fast to zero-out all the stored information in the ESCD. This forces your system to start fresh and sort itself out. For example, it will re-assign IRQ's, DMA channels and memory addresses from scratch ( http://www.google.com/search?q=dma+irq+memory+address ), helping to resolve conflicts and to ensure that all your hardware works without stepping on each other's toes. To reset the ESCD: Boot your system and enter the BIOS setup ( http://www.google.com/search?q=enter+BIOS+setup ); poke around on the various settings pages until you find something like "reset configuration data," "reset ESCD," or similar verbiage. Then save the changes and exit. Let the system shut itself down. That's actually all you *have* to do, but I prefer to be a bit more thorough, so when the system automatically starts to reboot, turn it off. Next, unplug the PC, open the case, touch some bare metal to make sure that you and the PC are at the same relative electrical potential (evening out any "static" charge that may exist), and then remove all the plug-in cards. While you're in there, you may want to check all moveable connections--- unplug and re-plug every internal and external power, data, USB, mouse, and keyboard cable you can find. If your system has any socketed chips, make sure they're firmly seated in their sockets. You might give a thought to thoroughly cleaning the
system now, too; but that's up to you. (See Take a look at each plug-in cards' copper, gold, or aluminum contact "fingers" on the bottom edge. Are they visibly dirty? If so, try cleaning them with a very mild solvent solution such as a commercial contact-cleaning product from likes of radio Shack or another electronics store. Specialty products like these also can help:
http://www.stabilant.com/ Put the plug-in cards back. With the exception of the video card, which often is in a special socket (a high-speed "accelerated graphics port"; http://www.google.com/search?q=%22accelerated+graphics+port%22 ) separate from the others, most normal plug-in cards can go into any available socket. Think about where you want any cables to be on the rear of your PC when you decide which card goes where. Gently but firmly seat each card in its socket, and reattach the mounting screws, levers, or other hardware used to hold the card in place. Now, when the system wakes up, the low-level ESCD system won't "remember" anything about its previous configuration, and will go about rediscovering what hardware's plugged in, and at which electronic system address. If the ESCD data had previously gotten scrambled or corrupted (it happens) this will let your hardware work harmoniously again: With luck, your system will now complete its boot, and Windows will work normally. In fact, my guess is that the above will resolve any basic sound card hardware issues, and probably get the keyboard working again. But you still may not be done... see next item. Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList S.E. Free! ) --- "Dear Fred, Just wanted to let
you know why I (finally) subscribed to --------------( the above is an advertisement )-------------- 5) Back To That First Domino(continued from above) If the above resolves the hardware issues, it still may not have removed the original problems--- the one that toppled the first domino. In this case, the first error--- the first domino--- was a sound problem associated with a new update. Now that the keyboard's probably working again, you might try uninstalling the update that started (or revealed) the problem, and then do a thorough system clean-up, including Registry cleanups ( http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml;?articleID=171203805 ), to remove all traces of the update from the system. See if you can get sounds working again. If you can, you might consider giving your daughter her own separate, non-Administrator-level user account. Your letter makes it sound like the game problems happened after you'd already had trouble elsewhere; but games can be very funky. By giving your daughter her own non-Admin logon, she can play on the PC with much less ability for her or her games to cause any system-wide trouble. Install the game only into her limited-rights user account ( http://www.google.com/search?q=xp+user+account ), and if the game asks if you want it made available to other users on the PC, say no. Also, explore XP's compatibility option (mentioned in #2, above. As an alternative, you can give your daughter--- or any user--- a private area to romp in; in the form of a Virtual PC. It is all but impossible for software running in a VPC to do any harm whatsoever to the host system. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=virtual+pc&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 or http://www.google.com/search?q=virtual+pc ) Again, there's not enough to go on to say definitively "the game caused or contributed to the problem," but why take a chance, when it's relatively easy to segregate games into safe areas? Click to email this item to a
friend 6) Last Resorts(continued from above) But what if nothing works? If your system still isn't OK--- you might want to try more aggressive troubleshooting: Try booting the system in simpler configurations. For example, remove all the plug-in cards, except the video card. (You have to see what's on the screen.) And by "remove" I mean both physically and in Windows' Device Manager. In other words, give Windows the simplest hardware setup you can, and see if you can get things going. If you can, then add back ONE additional item, and reboot. If that works, add ONE more item, and so on: Lather, rinse, repeat. <g> Eventually, you'll either fix the problem by the remove/replace actions, or you'll identify the part that's causing all the trouble. If that *still* doesn't work--- if all the hardware checks out--- I'd suggest you run the Recovery Console's "Repair" options, which might be able to fix things. You can run Recovery Console/Repair by itself or by booting from your Windows setup CD, as if you were going to reinstall. When given the option, select "Repair" instead of Install. (See http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=recovery+console&sp-a=0008002a-sp00000000 ) You also can try this step earlier in the process, if you prefer, or if that fits better with the way you like to work. (Some people like to try all the software options first, for example, before trying anything with hardware. It's entirely up to you.) If *none* of the above works, you're pretty much out of options: A full, clean reinstall is about the only option left. When things are working again, use the "limited-rights user account" suggestion mentioned above to help prevent potential interactions among different kinds of software. Finally, whenever you have everything working again, it would be a good time to make that image of the now-OK system, so you can more-easily at least get the software back to that known-good point in the future. Click to email this item to a
friend 7) Last Day To "Recommend And Win"At the end of the day, I'll choose three more winners of
FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the LangaList Plus! I give away three such
subscriptions each month. (If your name is drawn and you're already a Plus!
subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full year.) Click to email this item to a
friend 8) Safely Giving Away A Used PCFred, Just what program would you recommend to thoroughly clean a hard drive on an older computer? I need to completely and thoroughly erase all information so that the computer can be donated to an agency that will find a deserving family that couldn't afford one elsewise. I thank you for your time and answer. You're right to be concerned, Christina, as even a reformat won't *really* delete your old data. Fortunately, there are lots of options: http://www.informationweek.com/837/langa.htmhttp://langa.com/u/z.htm
Click to email this item to a
friend 9) More Reader Sites!Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't
matter what size.) Please click over to
http://langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds
of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The
Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web
site, please see http://langa.com/link.txt
) Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting
At Security Guide for Home Computing Robbin's Amazing Art Homemade Tutorials Portia's Web Site funandfreestuff4u Website of Earl Kalb Ample Sanity Facts About Malaysia un-herd-of-fares the Old Newbie Project Click to email this item to a
friend 10) Just For GrinsContinuing the list of "laws" from last week ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2005/2005-10-24.htm#10 ):
And there are many, many more, too (I'm only barely into the H's!). If you want more:
Click to email this item to a
friend --- ( Your Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) ---
--------------( the above is an advertisement )------------- 11) Plus! Edition Highlights:Today's LangaList Plus! Edition contains all ten items above, plus about 40% more content including: ...
... and your can access over 100,000 additional words in special
features, extra content and private links, all on a private web site--- for
around a dollar a month! Click to email this item to a
friend (Give a gift subscription to
the LangaList Plus edition! The LangaList is published about 72 times a year, or about 6 times a month. See you next issue, 2005-11-03! Best, An easier-to read formatted HTML version is available in the "Current Issue" section of http://langa.com. (The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the issue date.) All past LangaList issues are also available at the Langa.Com site. UNSUBSCRIBE (instant removal!):
http://langa.com/leave_langalist.htm CHANGE ADDRESS? LIST TROUBLE? HAVE QUESTIONS? OTHER PROBLEM? NEED HELP? See http://langa.com/help.htm This newsletter is SPAM PROOF and requires two levels of subscriber confirmation
before delivery begins: See
http://langa.com/info.htm |
|
Please visit the LangaList Home Page |