IT help please Obs PC

[Helen]

My Obs PC is now nearly 7 years old and runs XP.  I've been having a few issues for a while, the most irritating of which is an inability to close down/put into standby - the only way to turn off is to hold the power button down.  It was a reasonable spec when I got it, built specifically for the purpose, and generally easily copes with processing demands incl DSS/photoshop etc.  I'm wondering whether a re-install of the software would get over the close-down issue.  I'm a computer numpty, so would a reinstall be straightforward to do?  or should I just bite the bullet and get a new PC?

Thanks

Helen

[Earl]

Helen can you provied a full list of the programes and hardware you use, are you aware of any XP only devices, do you have the XP disk or is it a system restore disk?

Do you have any serial or paralell devices or are you all usb?

Prsonally if your buying id go for a clone i7 16gb ram, 250gb ssd for os and applications then a second drive say 2tb for storage.

I run windows 8 (with classic shell) on all my pcs except the observatory laptops, it works so im not going to mess, however i have found 8 to be hw most stable windows on this pc which woks with all my equipment and applicatiosn as i test everythign on this before it going anywhere.

[Tinker1947]

It doesn't sound like your going to buy the bits and build one, which would be the best way forward. Win 7 plus a mother board with 8 USB's on the back quad core i3, 8 gig ram, hard drive around 500gig,  you could get away with the on board graphics if its only going to control stuff in the Obby, if your not going to build one then getting one to this sort of spec would work well, if on the other hand your going to run Photoshop ect ect, then what Earl has type would be what to go for....

[Helen]

Thanks Earl.  

The main software is Maxim 5, DSS, Cartes du Ceil, ASCOM, Photoshop CS2, Focusmax, The Sky X, drivers for atik, IS and ASI cameras (although as you can see from the attachment I have over the years installed loads more!)

software list obs.docx

Main hardware: 2 screens, couple of USB hubs, cameras, focusers, serial/usb converters, Mesu via Sitech controller, back-up drive

I'm pretty sure I have the XP disks (I saw them while sorting out on the weekend - but can I remeber where I tidied them up to??)  Current spec is 

Helen

[Helen]

PS what's a clone i7?

[Earl]

A clone it basically a generic unbranded PC aka any PC really.

If you have any XP only things you can run a virtual machine on the PC to run XP as lomng as you have install and coa.

You will need 64bit windos to use more than 4gb ram.

Im not totally sold on internal graphics cards as they are not the best, however a £50.00 nvidia card is worth it.

[Tinker1947]

On the internal graphics when i put this PC together i run the internal card and a game i play wasn't quite unplayable, i know have  760GT 4 gig ram, and i can run all 6 accounts i have with  this game at the same time ^ windows open ,,,so doing it cheap is internal, getting a decent frames per second is a add-on, with the list of your software a Earl type PC would be the way to go Win  7, 64 bit, i 'm not sure but i think i read someplace that the home type version doesn't use all the processors on a 4 core cpu, somebody out there will know for sure just means spending a bit more on the Win 7 to get the right type if this is so.....I have a 260GT video card if your going the build route PM me your address it can be in the post make it a early Xmas pressie..

[MattGoo]

I'd attempt a re-install first. That's going to be your cheapest option with £0 outlay and if it works then problem solved.

Next cheapest would be to scour local ads/auction sites/Gumtree for a suitable replacement PC around the same specs.

If you've got the budget then building or buying a fancy new PC is worth considering.

[ronin]

Doesn't Alt/Cntl/Del not appear to allow you to shutdown the PC ?

It is usually one of the options on the menu of options along the top of the window that appears, or is it just not doing a shutdown when commanded?

Biggest problem is that Win7 support is going soon, so really thinking of W7 will land you in the same position asn now with XP.

Most seem to dislike W8, seems it is more for a touchscreen/tablet and the expected W9 is postponed and you will have to wait for whatever W10 is when it appears.

[uhb1966]

I suggest to reinstall Windows and install only your Astronomy software, nothing else. Definitely no need to get a new one!

[ChrisLX200]

I've had this issue a few times in the past with both XP and Vista and unfortunately it can be caused by many and varied reasons, so offering you suggestions as to the exact cause is unlikely to be helpful unless I were very lucky. It is one of those things where you need the PC in front of you to play with in order to find out why it's affecting your computer. It doesn't help if you are not familiar with how Windows works so talking you through the process would be an exercise in frustration. You might check the Event Viewer for anything obvious, run a Registry Repair program to correct any problems there (get the free CCleaner), and check your disk for corrupted files (just run Chkdsk c: /f and it will check it on re-boot). There are myriad walkthroughs on the 'net if you search on 'Window's XP will not shut down'.

ChrisH

[kev]

Can i make a general suggestion to everyone?

When you have a stable fully working system clone it ( ghost or similar) to another disc for when yur disk gives up, and clone the system partition to another one as an image for when yur windows starts playing or or windows update mucks up.

I appreciate this may be granny sucking eggs to folk but its saved my bacon over the years.

Sent from my iPhone so excuse the typos!

[Helen]

Thanks everyone     The shutdown problem is that it will go to shut down and then immediately re-boot itself   .  It may a physical thing in that I did have a water problem at one point and so bits may have corroded.

 I think I'll copy everything and then try a reinstall and see where that gets me.

Thanks

Helen

[Tinker1947]

Thanks everyone     The shutdown problem is that it will go to shut down and then immediately re-boot itself   .  It may a physical thing in that I did have a water problem at one point and so bits may have corroded.

 I think I'll copy everything and then try a reinstall and see where that gets me.

Thanks

Helen

Maybe reset the bios (use the shorting out pegs) or remove the lithium battery for a few minutes....

[keithatrochdale]

Complete wipe and re-install and then only load the programs you need - your PC will have a new lease of life.

I would also suggest you get a 2Tb USB drive and use that for all your data, take it into the house when not in use and then if you do have any PC problems your data will be preserved.

[Helen]

Thanks    Its forecast to be clear for a few hours tonight and tomorrow, so I won't risk it now!  Job for Wednesday.  Listen for the muttering!!

Helen

[pyrasanth]

I would dig a bit more into the BIOS before you try a rebuild as the shutdown behavior can be configured in some BIOS versions. IT looks like you might have a setting configured that shuts down & then immediately powers back up. On my server if it abruptly gets a power disconnect it will immediately power back on when power returns without touching the main on/off switch..

[Helen]

Sometimes your hand gets forced....  the PC died on Monday night    But I decided to see what I could do.  I've got a HD caddie so I removed the HD from the PC and after a few attempts it did spring into life.  So I did a full copy of all the files across to a USB drive.  Then took the 1TB HD that had been a partial back up and put that in the PC.  After quite a lot of faffing around this evening I've finally got it back up and running with XP - I had SP2 disks, but getting xp3 was challenging.  I think I've got the main drivers sorted, just one yellow exclamation mark left!  It now will go into standby 

The acid test will be tomorrow when I take it back out the obs and start loading the astro software and kit on to it!

Fiddly, but if it works I'll be quite pleased as I've never done this before 

That just leaves my main pc to sort out though 

Thanks for the advice guys.

Helen

[jaydeeuk1]

Whats up with your main PC? I might not know the difference between an eq3 or a heq5 mount but I know my computers

[John1980]

Side not about shutting down PCs for anyone who doesnt know

Alt - F4

Brings up a list of shutdown options. This can help with a PC wont shut down properly however is best suited to avoid installing updates at 3am when you go to pack up your laptop in the middle of the night. It lets you select shutdown on its own if you have any updates it wont keep you waiting in the early hours.