Who do you go to for PC help?
June 29, 2007 4:50 PM Subscribe
Who do you go to for PC help?
I've had this Dell XPS 200 desktop machine since 3/2006 and for many months it's been giving me trouble. I'm not a computer moron (though obviously not an expert), I have up to date virus protection and I don't install a bunch of weird stuff, nor do I have strange components or anything. (Dell monitor, original Dell keyboard, up until a couple weeks ago original Dell mouse, etc.) I haven't opened it up and done a single thing to it. I'm running Windows XP Media Center edition, and have Service Pack 2.
Yet, in the past two days alone I've had the following things happen when I restart:
- display settings are suddenly set to 800x600 and I can't set them back to normal (1600x1200) ... it simply keeps showing me 800x600 (have googled for solutions, none of which worked for me) (so I fix it by restarting)
- the keyboard isn't recognized, even if I unplug it and re-plug it in (so I fix it by restarting)
- no sound; I haven't gotten the error today so I don't have it written down, but it's something to the effect of "no sound device installed" (so I fix it by restarting)
- worst of all: when I start the machine I get a "The endpoint format is invalid" error which can only be bypassed by engaging safe mode; I've restored previous system settings even when I haven't recently made any system changes, to no avail; I've googled for this problem and came up with some suggestions on changes in the registry, which I've done, to no avail (after using it in safe mode for a while and restarting in safe mode at least a couple more times, I fix it by restarting in normal mode)
These problems have been happening for months, off and on. Times like these I'm at my wits' end and I think I need to find someone who really knows what they're doing to perform some surgery. I know there are PC service places everywhere, but where is *good*? I mean, do I bother with Best Buy? Is the Geek Squad really good? I'm in the northern suburbs of Chicago, if that helps.
I've had this Dell XPS 200 desktop machine since 3/2006 and for many months it's been giving me trouble. I'm not a computer moron (though obviously not an expert), I have up to date virus protection and I don't install a bunch of weird stuff, nor do I have strange components or anything. (Dell monitor, original Dell keyboard, up until a couple weeks ago original Dell mouse, etc.) I haven't opened it up and done a single thing to it. I'm running Windows XP Media Center edition, and have Service Pack 2.
Yet, in the past two days alone I've had the following things happen when I restart:
- display settings are suddenly set to 800x600 and I can't set them back to normal (1600x1200) ... it simply keeps showing me 800x600 (have googled for solutions, none of which worked for me) (so I fix it by restarting)
- the keyboard isn't recognized, even if I unplug it and re-plug it in (so I fix it by restarting)
- no sound; I haven't gotten the error today so I don't have it written down, but it's something to the effect of "no sound device installed" (so I fix it by restarting)
- worst of all: when I start the machine I get a "The endpoint format is invalid" error which can only be bypassed by engaging safe mode; I've restored previous system settings even when I haven't recently made any system changes, to no avail; I've googled for this problem and came up with some suggestions on changes in the registry, which I've done, to no avail (after using it in safe mode for a while and restarting in safe mode at least a couple more times, I fix it by restarting in normal mode)
These problems have been happening for months, off and on. Times like these I'm at my wits' end and I think I need to find someone who really knows what they're doing to perform some surgery. I know there are PC service places everywhere, but where is *good*? I mean, do I bother with Best Buy? Is the Geek Squad really good? I'm in the northern suburbs of Chicago, if that helps.
Hold F8 on reboot and click "last known good configuration". If that doesn't work, do a system restore. If that doesn't work, try a repair install.
Document all this thoroughly so that if you have to call a tech you don't have to pay them to go through all the same steps.
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:02 PM on June 29, 2007
Document all this thoroughly so that if you have to call a tech you don't have to pay them to go through all the same steps.
posted by BrotherCaine at 5:02 PM on June 29, 2007
I take it you didnt get a warrenty or support contract with it then? I thought they gave out 3-year as standard - thats what I got with my Dell Laptop. Sounds like it could be your mobo - your display issues are either your graphics card or drivers. Try reinstalling the drivers first, ditto the sound. It could be all your drivers got corrupted somehow.
posted by missmagenta at 5:04 PM on June 29, 2007
posted by missmagenta at 5:04 PM on June 29, 2007
Is the Geek Squad really good?
No!
If you want to pay for advice, I'd ask for recommendations on your local Craigslist.
Before you do anything such as reinstall Windows, you should make a complete backup of all the data you want to keep. This goes double before you take your computer into a shop for service. Don't rely on them to do it for you.
posted by grouse at 5:11 PM on June 29, 2007
No!
If you want to pay for advice, I'd ask for recommendations on your local Craigslist.
Before you do anything such as reinstall Windows, you should make a complete backup of all the data you want to keep. This goes double before you take your computer into a shop for service. Don't rely on them to do it for you.
posted by grouse at 5:11 PM on June 29, 2007
Is the Geek Squad really good?
No. They're among the worst.
Do you have a university near where you live? Post a (paper) message on a (old-fashioned) bulletin board near the computer science labs. Find a smartypants student who could use an extra $100 or so. $100 to a college student represents quite a bit of beer money (and they know that if they do a decent job, you'll bring them back for more beer money later). $100 to Geek Squad will barely get them to your door.
Depending on the model of Dell, and whether you bought it through the Home-User program or the Home-Office user program, you may have already paid for Dell on-site support. You should call Dell and look into that.
But if it were me (and, yes, I could be considered an expert, I've been paid for years to maintain other people's machines -- though I lean Unix more than Windows), I'd probably just nuke the machine from orbit. Back up whatever files you want to keep to an external drive, and load up the Dell system restore disk, which should return your system to the state it was in when it left the factory. If it's still broken at that point, then it becomes a Dell warranty issue.
There's certainly a more direct, more elegant way to fix your particular problem(s) -- but you or your expert may or may not be able to find it on the first/third/fifteenth try (and the things you try may make it worse or cause other problems). The "just blow it all away and re-image the machine" technique is what's used in virtually all corporate environments for a good reason: over the long haul, it is the most efficient method of getting a machine back to a known-good-state. And that's what you want.
posted by toxic at 5:19 PM on June 29, 2007
No. They're among the worst.
Do you have a university near where you live? Post a (paper) message on a (old-fashioned) bulletin board near the computer science labs. Find a smartypants student who could use an extra $100 or so. $100 to a college student represents quite a bit of beer money (and they know that if they do a decent job, you'll bring them back for more beer money later). $100 to Geek Squad will barely get them to your door.
Depending on the model of Dell, and whether you bought it through the Home-User program or the Home-Office user program, you may have already paid for Dell on-site support. You should call Dell and look into that.
But if it were me (and, yes, I could be considered an expert, I've been paid for years to maintain other people's machines -- though I lean Unix more than Windows), I'd probably just nuke the machine from orbit. Back up whatever files you want to keep to an external drive, and load up the Dell system restore disk, which should return your system to the state it was in when it left the factory. If it's still broken at that point, then it becomes a Dell warranty issue.
There's certainly a more direct, more elegant way to fix your particular problem(s) -- but you or your expert may or may not be able to find it on the first/third/fifteenth try (and the things you try may make it worse or cause other problems). The "just blow it all away and re-image the machine" technique is what's used in virtually all corporate environments for a good reason: over the long haul, it is the most efficient method of getting a machine back to a known-good-state. And that's what you want.
posted by toxic at 5:19 PM on June 29, 2007
Don't listen to the folks who are telling you to reinstall. As all of these problems have to do with hardware components being recognized incorrectly, they likely point to a hardware issue and not an issue with Windows.
Before troubleshooting further, open the machine to check to see if there are failed capacitors on your mainboard (picture examples in the link), which can create all manner of vexing system instabilities depending on what has failed. If you do have failed capacitors, even if you're out of warranty, it's likely that Dell will replace your mainboard.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 7:25 PM on June 29, 2007
Before troubleshooting further, open the machine to check to see if there are failed capacitors on your mainboard (picture examples in the link), which can create all manner of vexing system instabilities depending on what has failed. If you do have failed capacitors, even if you're out of warranty, it's likely that Dell will replace your mainboard.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 7:25 PM on June 29, 2007
I'm sure you already know, but it bears repeating - make a backup of anything important on that machine now.
First, try a chkdsk /R then run a hard drive diagnostic CD against your hard disk.
Try a repair installation. Once that is done, get drivers for your machine from Dell.com and install that. Motherboard/chipset drivers first.
Alternatively, you can download a linux cd (Knoppix) and see if the problem persists. If it does, that means it's hardware.
If it is hardware, I would bet that it is covered under warranty.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 6:29 AM on June 30, 2007
Response by poster: Thank you for your assistance. I would have written more last night, but by the time I got into my third system restore, which took an hour to complete, I was completely burned out, and I'm still getting the "endpoint format is invalid" error (which, I forgot to mention, is actually an "lsass.exe error") and I'm still running in safe mode. Well, right now I'm using my Mac laptop, because for some reason my networking only works in safe mode for about 20 minutes and then it just goes away and I have to restart.
I also neglected to say that I've already reinstalled applicable drivers. No luck.
I hate this situation because I can't be without my PC for long. I might have to get a PC laptop just to cover this. Argh. Anyway, after I recharge I'll go through your other recommendations. And I like the idea of posting on CL for help, etc. Thank you.
posted by iguanapolitico at 10:38 AM on June 30, 2007
I also neglected to say that I've already reinstalled applicable drivers. No luck.
I hate this situation because I can't be without my PC for long. I might have to get a PC laptop just to cover this. Argh. Anyway, after I recharge I'll go through your other recommendations. And I like the idea of posting on CL for help, etc. Thank you.
posted by iguanapolitico at 10:38 AM on June 30, 2007
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If this doesn't fix your problem, at least it won't clobber your settings or files. But it's a good idea to back up your most critical data before doing anything like this, especially if you don't already back up regularly.
Good luck!
posted by kdar at 4:58 PM on June 29, 2007