Hardware - I Think I Have A Mutant Bug In My PC

Author

I Think I Have A Mutant Bug In My PC

vincentnl

2003-08-11, 2:13 am

What is the best way of finding out if one's DOS programs are curropt?

I use Windows 2000 and I thnk DOS is still the backbone of my laptop pc. Every now and then I can't help getting this feeling that there is a bug in my pc for example when downloading where my average download speed is 3kb/sec it is now down to average speeds of 1or under kb/sec. Also when I have messages, my mail reader would tell me that I have no messages.
Also, not all my symobls in my tray show sometimes when I boot up requiring me to reboot to get all to show.

Any suggestions please?

princessangry

2003-08-11, 3:42 am

the best thing to do once in a while is reformat the HD.... but of course you must back up all the files you want to keep and back up any product registrations such as flash and dreamweaver... that require a product key to run. I had the same problems after verifying all was fine. I havent used win2000 in a very long time... been using Linux and XP....

azimuth40

2003-08-11, 5:07 pm

DOS is the backbone of your laptop? Do you mean DOS programs? Windows 2000 contains no DOS but contains a DOS emulator. Windows 2000 is basically Win NT version 5.0 and XP is verision 5.1. Unless you tell them otherwise your DOS programs run under CMD.EXE. If you want to use command.com, the only way to guarantee success then you need to take independent steps.

gauji

2003-08-11, 10:22 pm

In Windows 2K (XP to), there still is a command.com.
But if you have formatted the computer with NTFS it will be a bit harder to run dos commands or programs.
So if you need to run dos programs best thing to do is to run them from command.com
CMD.exe is a different thing.

sukuvi

2003-08-11, 11:06 pm

I guess Princessangry said it already. With Windows, you need to sometimes back up your files and application licences and reformat and reinstall everything from scratch. I have been doing that for years now, 'cause there are some problems, such as icons not appearing in the system tray, most of the time nothing you do will make them work the way they used to, except reinstalling the OS.

About DOS, I'm not sure I understand what you wanted to say. I love real DOS. So all my Windows PCs have dual boot with DOS 6.22 partition as the System Partition. If you are talking about DOS included in Windows 2000 or XP, it's something else, not the real DOS. So the way we used to fix some problems in Windows 3.1 or 9x by booting into DOS, you can no longer do that much with the DOS in 2000 or XP. This is why once you notice any of this strange behaviors you are describing, know that it is time to do a clean install.

StevoC

2003-08-13, 3:55 pm

Man, I'm always a day late and a dollar short when it comes to posting help for others. But I agree with the others, a re-install every now and again is a good idea. I try and do this to all my pc's every 6 - 12 months.

You can also do an install, then image the freshly installed PC. (I have also done that) This way, when it croaks, just restore the image.

MistyRing

2003-08-14, 10:45 am

It largely depends what you do with your PC. Most problems can be resolved with a bit of know how and some research. Unless you install every bit of useless shareware you get your hands on,then it's usually easier to maintain the OS rather thn re-install it all the time.

DaDnDe

2003-08-18, 10:13 pm

quote:
Originally posted by MistyRing
It largely depends what you do with your PC. Most problems can be resolved with a bit of know how and some research. Unless you install every bit of useless shareware you get your hands on,then it's usually easier to maintain the OS rather thn re-install it all the time.

well win2k doesn't have DOS but it does have cmd which looks very much like DOS and is a command line interface like DOS was. But corrupted files usually aren't the problem with slow downloads. Assuming that u are running updated virus programs regularly, a place to look is your system events log. Are u loading services that u don't need? loading the os down with a lot of overhead will slow your internet connection down a little. also check to make sure that u don't have too many programs running automatically in the background. Programs like MS office, Critical update, real player etc. can run processes without notice and can cause a noticeable slow down in machines running borderline RAM or processors. Microsoft says 64 MB will work and it will, but in my mind, 192 MB makes a world of difference.

but bottom line is u r on a dial up and net congestion can get to the point where ive seen as low as 600Bps and there is nothing u can do about it. try checking the speed u log on at. at 3kBps u are logging on at 31,000 or so. check to make sure u are. u might be surprized to see taht sometimes u don't. if the net seems slow, disconnect and reconnect once or twice. modems don't always get a good clean connection.

azimuth40

2003-08-19, 1:25 am

quote:
Originally posted by DaDnDe
well win2k doesn't have DOS but it does have cmd which looks very much like DOS and is a command line interface like DOS was.

NT3.1 NT4.0 W2k, XP START->RUN->COMMAND.COM VER and see what you get. Specifically notice the window title.

cmd.exe and command.com do behave differently under the various versions of NT.xx

vincentnl

2003-08-19, 11:30 pm

quote:
Originally posted by azimuth40
DOS is the backbone of your laptop? Do you mean DOS programs? Windows 2000 contains no DOS but contains a DOS emulator. Windows 2000 is basically Win NT version 5.0 and XP is verision 5.1. Unless you tell them otherwise your DOS programs run under CMD.EXE. If you want to use command.com, the only way to guarantee success then you need to take independent steps.

I have command prompt on my pc.
I am not into the detailed aspects of pc's as computers never interested me as a child and still don't very much. The world is just full of them and I need to have a stan-in somewhere.

quote:
Originally posted by DaDnDe
but bottom line is u r on a dial up and net congestion can get to the point where ive seen as low as 600Bps and there is nothing u can do about it. try checking the speed u log on at. at 3kBps u are logging on at 31,000 or so. check to make sure u are. u might be surprized to see taht sometimes u don't. if the net seems slow, disconnect and reconnect once or twice. modems don't always get a good clean connection.

Believe it or not, getting myself a newer modem upped my download speed when I downloaded SteveOC's Pest Patrol. Only thing is I got myself a PCMCIA card despite realising that at the time a USB modem would do the same job at a faster rate whch would've suited me fine

if it wasn't for the fact that my first pc modems were pc cards.
Turn the page, I am gonna have to get myself one of those USB modems for trial unless anybody else has better ideas. I do use a laptop people.
I feel like sighing at the thought of having to reinstall my operating system as an easy way out of all my pc faults. Would backing up such things as my mail reader onto CD keep all my records and keep my pc free from faults upon fresh re-install? If the answer is yes I shall get onto it right away...
I was also thinking of doing this using Search. Would search be better than actual back-up or would it make no difference?

DaDnDe

2003-08-20, 9:41 pm

quote:
Originally posted by vincentnl
I have command prompt on my pc.
I am not into the detailed aspects of pc's as computers never interested me as a child and still don't very much. The world is just full of them and I need to have a stan-in somewhere.

Believe it or not, getting myself a newer modem upped my download speed when I downloaded SteveOC's Pest Patrol. Only thing is I got myself a PCMCIA card despite realising that at the time a USB modem would do the same job at a faster rate whch would've suited me fine if it wasn't for the fact that my first pc modems were pc cards.
Turn the page, I am gonna have to get myself one of those USB modems for trial unless anybody else has better ideas. I do use a laptop people.
I feel like sighing at the thought of having to reinstall my operating system as an easy way out of all my pc faults. Would backing up such things as my mail reader onto CD keep all my records and keep my pc free from faults upon fresh re-install? If the answer is yes I shall get onto it right away...
I was also thinking of doing this using Search. Would search be better than actual back-up or would it make no difference?

well i don't know how it is where u are, but if ya lived in Western Wash. St i would recommend wireless modems. I have a friend who has it on his laptop and it is definitely the way to go. He doesn't live in town but he has a wireless network at home and can access his cable account there. But he has very fast access almost anywhere. In fact his wireless NIC autodetects any connection in the area and on average he says taht the 14 mile trip home brings in connection range with an average of 15-20 accounts. But I think the big thing here is the speed. He gets broadband speed and the costs are no longer that much more than any other access.

as for the DOS command. sure call it DOS, why not? if it makes ya comfortable, makes ya more efficient then cool!
but keep in mind...it ain't DOS
it ain't 16 bit platform
because the screen is scrollable, piping to the "more" command is no longer necessary (Thank You Microsoft!!)
but most all other DOS commands will work and will give the same basic results. But be sure to investigate the additional commands that have been added. These alone will prove that this is not DOS (remember DOS ignored the existence of Windows)

vincentnl

2003-09-16, 1:26 am

For all my woes and troubles, I have now got myself a brand new pc. Just gotta get the thing set-up.
My last two have both been second hands.
I am only now reading this message.
Sorry for the delay.

Sponsored Links