Perishing 'puter problems

[Alf]

Computer gurus, I need your help again. [-o<

Been having all sorts of trouble with the new 'puter - not booting into Windoze or the speakers not working unless you switch the mains power off and on first, that sort of thing. Latest thing is the DVD drive has this message when I check why it isn't working in the Device Manager (turning off the power didn't work for this one ):

Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)

No probs, I follow the troubleshooter and uninstall and reinstall the driver. No dice, same problem. Updating the driver isn't the problem either, 'cos it's the latest one. Is this a software thing or a hardware one? I don't want to dig about in the innards for loose connections if it's software. Rather I want to get on to Dell and give them a raspberry, 'cos I've already completely reloaded the system under their instruction once, and I don't want have to spend the life of this machine doing the same on a weekly basis just to make the basics work. :evil: But if conceivably all my woes can be sorted by checking a few plugs twixt this 'n' that, well I'll give it a shot I s'pose, albeit with reluctance.

Advice, as untechnical as humanly possible, welcomed.

Cheers, Alf

 

[mr]

Greets
Sorry its quite technical but suggest you read this

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314060

it describes your problem, attributes it to software and gives you a fix. The resolution suggested there is ;

1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
2. Locate the UpperFilters value under the following key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
4. Locate the LowerFilters value under the same key in the registry:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
6. Quit Registry Editor.NOTE: After you remove the Upperfilters value and the Lowerfilters value, if you notice lost functionality in a particular program, such as CD recording software, you may need to reinstall that software. If the problem recurs, consult with the software vendor for assistance.

7. Restart your computer.

As I said a bit on the tech side so would suggest thorough preparation before you start.

Hope thats of some help.
Mike

 

[Chris Knight]

Alf,

What a bore for you! If you paid by credit card, I'd be tempted to send it back quoting Consumer protection and the like. You have had altogether too much trouble already for a new machine. I wouldn't waste another minute on it. (Events like this Thursday come around fast enough as it is! :wink: )

 

[Alf]

Oh cripes... :shock: Thanks, Mike. I'll give it a go.

Chris, yeah well, one does begin to think like that. Thing is it's technically Thursday-related, so it'd be a bit much to see it packed up and sent back on the very day.

Cheers, Alf

 

[Alf]

It seems to be working... :-$ 8-[

Silly me, I'd forgotten about searching with the error message; been so long with a well-behaved 'puter I haven't needed to. Sheesh, this is like the bad old days of the Mesh... :roll:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Neomorph]

I haven't bought a PC since 286 days (a Tandon... local company which went bust). Since then I bought bits to upgrade my PC as and when I needed to. When I have enough old bits to remake an old PC I do so and either keep it or give it to friends or family members.

It's strange though that I had thought Dell were pretty good but recently I've read some bad press regarding Dell. Philips recently cancelled a supply and service contract with Dell

Dell Loses £700m Contract

 

[RogerS]

Alf

You should not have this hassle with a new computer. Send it back.

Then you could buy a Mac :wink:

Roger

 

[Alf]

Been turning it all over and over in my head all night and yep, you're right. We're going to make a stink and send it back. Thinking it over I realised that it wasn't 'til I started saying to the techie that it really wasn't good enough for a new PC that he had this sudden brainwave to send me off to do a complete reload of the HDD. It wasn't to cure the machine, was it? It was to get rid of me. :evil: I would have gone with a replacement, but after that I think a refund is more what I have in mind...

Someone remind me to never get anything expensive with a plug for my birthday, will you? You'd have thought I'd have learnt by now. :roll:

Regarding the Mac, I couldn't network it to a PC though, could I? And I'm used to PCs and all their little foibles.

Cheers, Alf

Typing this on the old PC. Thank goodness for MozBackup.

 

[LyNx]

I wouldn't bother with a mac. Just send it back, or get a grommet out to sort it for you.

Andy

 

[Anonymous]

Bad luck with the PC Alf. Maybe you should get a laptop afterall?

Events like Thursday? I think I missed that ....


.....but then I was at hospital all last thursday

What happened thursday?

 

[OLD]

Our small town of nantwich cheshire has 4 computer shops so i buy from them just a tower or a upgrade to my spec. the good thing is if there is a problem then some one comes out or i drop the tower off with them and you have them available for any replacement out of guaranty.

 

[Nick W]

Tony,

It's this thursday, Alf's birthday

 

[RogerS]

Regarding the Mac, I couldn't network it to a PC though, could I?

.

Yes you can !

 

[Anonymous]

Tony,

It's this thursday, Alf's birthday

DOH!!! Been in my dairy for the past two years too

 

[Nick W]

Alf,

Before you send it back, do try to reseat all the connectors and boards. It is a common problem for them to come unsettled during shipping. Dell cases these days are pretty easy to open (unplug from the mains first), touch the case to earth yourself then unplug each plug, and plug it back in again, giving it a good wiggle as you do so. Do the same for each of the circuit boards attached to the main one. Make sure that the connections are fully seated each time. Close the case, plug in, and you should be hunky-dory.

If that doesn't work, send it back - unless you got an on-site warranty, in which case get them to come to you.

 

[Guest]

A friend of my wife was having trouble with her newish Dell so she asked me to have a look at it.She couldn't log on to the internet and it didn't take long to determine the modem was not working. She has a Dell three year guarantee so she phoned them but she couldn't understand the accent of the chap on the other end so handed the phone over to me.After about 45 minutes I finally convinced him that I couldn't try a different number while he was on the line(dial-up) and all the code and testing he suggested he said "The modem isn't working". They did send a chap out a couple of days later but he said the cable from the modem to the wall socket was not a Dell one and Dell computers needed Dell cables.He also changed the modem so I wonder if the cable really made any difference.

 

[Les Mahon]

Alf,

Do you not have one year return to base waranty with it? I thought that was the minimum that Dell do nowadays.

I agree that it is very frustrating, but in fairness Dell are not that bad when you consider the number of PC's they sell. I've owned 10 different dell's myself and worked on countless quantities of them on site and their failure rate is certainly no worse than any other manufacturers.

FWIW I would also recomend what Nick sugests, I did have that problem on one of the 10 - all the others have worked faultlessly.

HTH
Les

 

[Alf]

Ack. Ruddy lot say it's "beyond the seven days" and they won't take it back, could I just unplug this and that and etc etc? AGAIN?! Not bloomin' likely. I lost my temper and left the old man (technically the purchaser) to deal with it with the advice that he finds out when they'll collect it so they can play silly pippers plugging and unplugging stuff. He didn't. Instead they lead him the usual merry dance through this and that - stuff I flatly refuse to do any more of. If the legs drop off a table I make within a month, would I expect the table owner to have to get underneath with a glue bottle? No. Anyway they've established it's not software (well duh) but somehow faulty hardware isn't qualifying us for sending the blasted thing back again either (huh?). So I'm supposed to use it 'til Friday when "someone" will ring up to see if there's been any further trouble. Great. So if there hasn't presumably the fact I can't trust it to start every time, and thus have to keep backing up everything endlessly in case one day it never comes back at all, is not a problem? Trouble is the old man's too nice...

Sorry, Nick, I'm not playing around in the innards - I'm not a computer engineer and I'm not going to play at one incase it fouls up this (apparently worthless) warranty.

Sigh. I think it's the way they treat you like you're a total imbecile that really gets to me. I'm not a computer techie but I would like a vague idea of what they think is the problem. I've asked both support twits outright now, and they just will not say. Ack. :x

Cheers, Alf

 

[mr]

Alf do you have Roxio easy cd burner installed? I seem to recall reading that the problem you have is a known "feature" of that software. Unless youve developed a different problem since last I looked at the thread.
If you have easy cd installed, try uninstalling it. Agreed these things should work out of the box but like so many other things do not.

 

[Alf]

Alf do you have Roxio easy cd burner installed?

Don't think so; if it is then Dell put it there. I'll have a look. :roll:

No more problems since I last posted. This may be because I haven't turned it on... :lol:

Cheers, Alf