Author: Stephen Ham
Date: 16:28:39 05/17/04
Go up one level in this thread
On May 17, 2004 at 18:32:49, martin fierz wrote: >On May 17, 2004 at 17:04:25, Stephen Ham wrote: > >>On May 17, 2004 at 15:14:56, Timothy J. Frohlick wrote: >> >>>http://www.comtek4u.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=printpage&artid=1 >>> >>>Steve, >>> >>>Read the above. Your hard drive is probably OK. Try looking for overheating >>>problems with the CPU. If the cooling fan and heat sink is even a little bit >>>loose then you could get all the problems you mentioned. Trust me. >>> >>>Don't be a Griswold as in National Lampoon's Vacation and spend $500.00 when a >>>$7.00 fan/heatsink is to blame. >>> >>>TJ >>> >>>PS A 3 year old hard drive that is little used should not fail. The power supply >>>or the CPU fan/heat sink is much more likely to fail. >>> >>> >>Dear Tim, >> >>Thanks very kindly for the sage advice. It seems that I'll need to replace my HD >>regardless (it's got "bad spots). Nonetheless I promise to check my fans and >>heat sink. >> >>Personally, I don't think my CPU is "hot." I live in Minnesota and so the >>weather is frequently cold for several months of the year. The CPU sits on a >>concrete floor in the coldest part of my unfinished basement. Still, I know that >>AMD's can often get hotter than Pentiums, but I just don't think that's the case >>here. >> > >besides the computer troubleshooting lesson, you also need a physics lesson :-) >the weather in minnesota has next to nothing to do with your CPUs temperature. >the CPU is not sitting on a concrete floor at all, the CPU is sitting on the >mainboard inside the computer case, and is thermally well isolated from your >cold concrete floor. CPUs, a couple of square inches in size, use something like >50 Watts. >if you ever touched a 50 Watt light bulb, you got an approximate idea of how hot >that would get if it didn't have a powerful cooler and fan on top :-) >the main things governing your CPU temperature are the heat conductance to the >cooler, and the fan. if one of these isn't working properly (e.g. too much dust >in the fan after years of use), the CPU overheats, and the computer either is >smart enough to shut down or dies. > >so much for the physics. i don't believe the theory about the hot CPU disturbing >your HD though :-) > >cheers > martin Thanks for the computer lesson, Martin. Actually, I meant to be humorous in my post to Tim. I know that our Minnesota weather doesn't affect my computer's temperature. Besides, when it's not cold here, it's very hot. Here's some more humor. I just called my computer's assembly company to order a new hard drive. They refused to believe that I truly have HD problems (after telling them the symptoms). They said it sounds like a Windows 98 problem, claiming it corrupted with time. I do indeed think there are problems with my Windows 98. The salesman said that after I get my replacement HD and install Windows XP, I should consult my HD manufacturer's web site for some diagnostic tests to run. We'll see... ;-) Thanks again, gents! Stephen
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