My computer is a Pentium IV 3.4 GHz with 1 GB RAM and Windows XP. When using Adobe Premiere 6.0 for video editing I attempt to export a movie timeline. After about 15 minutes of processing the computer shuts down randomly. After this, the computer will not even boot-up again. However, if I leave the computer for 15 minutes I can successfully reboot. Is this a hardware problem with the computer? I am keen to get this solved, as I can’t use the computer in this current state. (more…)

I am interested in buying a second hand computer for my grandchildren to play games. Can you provide some advice on the specifics of the computer I should purchase, such as the amount of RAM, hard drive size, and the processor speed (is a Pentium 3 alright, or should I look for more recent models)? (more…)

Sometimes when I turn on the computer it does not properly come online. The monitor light goes green for a few seconds, but then goes back to amber (standby) colour. Turning the computer off and on at the power point, causes the following message to appear when the computer starts: ‘Award BIOS Setup Utility. Main Advanced Power Boot Exit’. Then all sorts of jargon appears on the screen. To get out of this menu I go to the ‘Exit’ tab and another message appears saying ‘Save configuration changes and exit now? Yes No’. Yes being highlighted, I click Enter and then, all starts as normal. What is wrong with the computer? Also, the computer tends to freeze for no apparent reason. Is there anything I can do about this other problem? (more…)

When using Adobe Premiere, or other movie making software, the computer often freezes and I must cold-boot (i.e. turn the computer off and then on) to restore operation. However, this results in the computer stopping at the ‘Checking NVRAM’ stage of the power-on self-test. In turn, this means I need to restart the computer again to get it to boot properly. The CMOS battery was replaced two months ago, but could it have gone flat again? The computer is running Windows XP. (more…)

My Compaq Presario V2000 Notebook running Windows XP has been having intermittent problems booting. Some days the computer will successfully boot into Windows, whereas other days the computer just hangs at the ‘Compaq’ screen when the computer is turned-on. There is a white Compaq logo in the centre, and in the bottom left corner there is ‘Press ESC to change boot order’ and underneath ‘Press F10 to enter SETUP, F12 to boot from LAN’. When the computer hangs I have tried all these options, but nothing works! Pressing ESC yields another screen with text and freezes. The text is: “Phoenix NoteBIOS 4.0 Release 6.1 Copyright 1985-2003…639K System RAM Passed, 255M Extended RAM Passed, etc’¦’. One day when the computer did boot properly I was able to press F10 and get into the BIOS setup screen, and I set the BIOS to its default settings but this did not resolve the problem. I have called Compaq tech support but the only solution they can offer is to reinstall Windows. Can you provide any assistance? (more…)