last seen 20 weeks 1 day agoHAAAALPPP!!!!
My old computer has windows xp on it...we upgraded from windows 98 and though we encountered a few problems it worked smoothly for a while...then one day...IT STOPPED WORKING 
....I don't know what to do....i know that there is a way i can open Windows without having to reformat, which i refuse to do,(my life is in my old computer). Ok here is some info:
-my computer can boot so i know that this isn't a hardware problem
-windows does start to load up...then nothing
can someone help me please?
Haven't gotten around to fixing my computer yet...both kids sick with the flu...hopefully will be able to get to it this weekend...
To err is human, to forgive divine
also it passes the memory and detects the drives but now the password for the bios is screwed up and i cant get past that...
the POST screens for memory and HD just detect them they are not actually making sure they are in good working order
after you get your info transfered to another computer download and run MemTest86 to check your memory for errors
if you have the HD tools you can also do a SMART test on the HD (yes I know SMART is unreliable 50% of the time but maybe we will get lucky and it will help)
I don't think you have a PSU issue since you are booting into POST screens and it was starting to load windows, at that point it becomes less an issue with hardware and more an issue with software settings
So go save your memories and when thats done and you can breathe a little easier we can all try to find a solution to your problem
....THANK YOU!!!!..i hadn't even thought to do that!...my hubby and i are going to try to do it over the weekend..maybe sunday cause tomorrow is my son's birthday...so u sure this won't wipe out my hard drive? i've never done this before so i'm a little nervous..
You will just be turning the HD into a slave on a working computer,
you remove the HD from the old computer look on the top for the jumper settings to make it a slave,
then install it in the working computer, once you reboot you should see a new drive, should be E: if you only have one HD and a cd or dvd in the working computer,
after you get it to that point you can search the HD for those pictures/songs/whatever and copy them to a folder in C:
once you are sure you have everything that can't be replaced copied, power down the computer uninstall the HD reset the jumper to master and reinstall the HD back into the old computer
that sounds simple enough....i should be able to do it this weekend...when that happens i'll get back to you...thanx everyone for the advice!!!
And while you're at it...
On the old computer is a jumper for the CMOS battery, where your BIOS is located. Reset the BIOS by pulling the jumper, placing it on the other post, then putting it back in the original position...while the computer is off.
That should give access back to your BIOS if the password is lost
"A man can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
And since the "box" is open...
There is no reason not to re-seat the memory and video card in the old computer. Simply do that by pulling the sticks and card and then firmly placing them back.
Heating can sometimes cause the cards to expand and contract and loss contact with the slots.
I once had the same symptoms with a bad CD Rom, which is not that common. Since I don't know if you're going to run Memtest through a floppy or CD, I can't say disconnect it...but it's worth mentioning.
"A man can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
i am so on it!!! thank you
the computer won't even let me get to safe mode
we don't recieve error codes its just a blank screen
my computer was bought 1999 but we have since upgraded the motherboard, the ram and put fans in there so i doubt it's the power supply..
I will definitely try your suggestion about the hard drive maybe that might work!!
The possibilities are endless..
Are you receiving an error code?
Have you tried "Safe Mode"?
These are the two easiest questions to address. I'm guessing that the computer is the original box that the Windows 98 came with?
How old is the computer?
As far as saving your old info, take the hard drive out and make it a slave drive on another computer, then navigate to it from "My computer" and see if you can open it up and back up your files.
8 times out of 10, it's usually a power supply issue.
"A man can stand anything except a succession of ordinary days."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I agree with Slaving it to another computer. There are alot of times power supply issues will have strange effects on things that it doesn't seem like it would... however I am going to assume it's just a software problem, and you will need to reinstall your OS. I know it's a pain and a hassle, but it will fix it, I could almost 100% garantee. As an IT tech for the Military (I am a contractor, I got out of the army a while ago), that is one of the things we have to do most. Reimage drives. No matter what you decide to do though, Go find another computer and BACK UP YOUR CRAP!!!!
I know...i know....i really should have backed my stuff up...i got really lazy because my computer hadn't acted up in a while....a good lesson for me....i'm definitely going to slave the hd to my new computer...im a little nervous though..i don't want my other computer to mess up if it's a virus or something
That's ok, I think every one at some point learns this lesson the hard way, even us "grumps" that yell at every one to back thier stuff up loose thier data sometimes, lol. Good luck