On an average day, how often are you forced to restart your computer because of a lock-up, memory issue, crash, etc...?

Since I switched to XP I am really not forced to restart my computer (and I don't own a MAC), but I usually restart it at least once a day by choice, especially if I have been working on a lot of graphics and in a lot of programs. Guess I just like having a clean slate when I sit down to do a lot of work. ~T

I have yet to actually need to restart Linux, but when I'm running WinXP it's become pretty stable and I usually only have to restart every 3-5 days.

- David :)

I generally restart once a day to "get a clean slate" as T says....and about twice a day due to the system locking up or crashing. (Win ME)

One strange thing I have noticed...every time my computer is on the verge of locking up, I notice that the Microsoft Mouse driver is using an inordinate amount of memory...sometimes on the order of 200 mb!!

Seldom to never on both my win98 and win95 machines. I shutdown both of these machines when I'm finished for the day.

I rarely restart my computer, I am using Xp.

When I used 98 I had to restart it all the time, normally because it crashed. I did use a program (that I cant remember the name of at the moment) it kept your ram clean by constantly checking that a program was not leaving data there that did not need to be left in the ram, and then clearing the excess. My main program that used to do that was photo explorer.

I have not had these problems since using XP and have not got the program on my computer now.

I must restart 1 to 2 times a day using win me..I also am always getting weird not responding errors with stymon these usually dont lock the computer up..I think XP is in my future but I worry about hardware compatibilty issues with XP.

Jerry

Don't even get me started.
I have XP over Me. After the upgrade I had to reboot at least once everytime I start up. That is everytime I turn on the computer I could not even get to the start screen. I have to attribute this to incompatible drivers or uncertified XP drivers.
Everything is better now. Not perfect but better than before.
At work, I make it a point to reboot after lunch (Win 98). Just as a precaution because Win 98 is notorious for memory leak.

Rarely, XP and 2K seem to shrug off problems that had 98 going down in flames
Would be interesting to see the results of this poll 3 years ago.

I've been running XP since January. I rarely need to restart, and I have had 3 hard lockups since I've been using it. In my book, there's no comparison between XP and Windows 3.1, 95, and 98.

Ed

Interesting question. I haven't given lockups and restarts much thought lately. I have two Macs - an iMac desktop and an iBook laptop. I run OS9.2 on the iMac and OSX on the laptop.

The iMac which is my workhorse computer rarely has a problem. Any lock-ups I've seen lately have been on web pages. I've never tried to figure out what the problem is - if a page locks up the browser, it doesn't get a second chance.

I don't use the laptop very much, so can't speak for the reliability of OSX. The problems I've had with it are related to the so-called "classic" environment.

When you consider the millions of lines of code in any operating system, it's a miracle that they work as reliably as they do.

Take care,
Margaret

Well, that seldom option seems kind of prejudiced to Macs. :D I don't have a Mac but since I went to XP I hardly ever need to restart. I do loose my optical mouse on rare occaisions for no apparent reason but my pen still works to restart. But that's basically the only trouble I get.
DJ

Hi DJ, I had a Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer and it would freeze frequently, causing me to reboot (actually several reboots to get it back each time)

Then out of frustration one day, I unplugged the darn mouse and swapped in a different one. The second mouse worked so I tried the MS mouse again and it worked. The solution - when the intellimouse froze after that, I unplugged it and plugged it back in again without rebooting and it always came back.

No longer have that particular problem - new computer, new mouse, new graphire tablet - all works nicely together.

Take care,
Margaret

Mine's an IBM but I suspect they're all the same. I'll have to give that a try Margaret. Thanks. Now all I have to do is find out where exactly in this mass of wires it's located. :) We have 3 computers, 3 printers, 2 scanners and numerous other goodies plugged onto hubs and ports etc. It's a hardwired mess of confusion. :D However a few moments to trace the end sounds like a lot less hastle to do than reboot each time. Actually, I didn't know you could do that. :)
DJ

DJ, you can unplug it if it's a USB connection - I should have mentioned that. If it's not a USB connection, don't unplug it while the computer is running.

Take care,
Margaret

I voted for 1 restart daily, but there are often days that I don't have even one, only to be followed by days requiring several. :) I am still running Win98SE, but am at least considering XP now due to so many folks having good luck with it (except Angue, of course).

I LOVE USB connections -- to me, that is one of the best inventions ever -- to be able to disconnect/reconnect without computer shutdown is just so ... what is the word?... oh, yes --sensible!

P.S. I have an IMAC that I haven't used in over a year -- but it hates me. Macs aren't supposed to give you problems, but mine would hang up on me several times a day -- just because I had changed from early Apples to PCs.

(not starting a Mac vs PC discussion -- just whining!) ;)

Funny I should stumble on this thread after restarting from a crash. I have been having problems with my box since the upgrade I did a few weeks ago. Only problem is I did many things at once and it may take time to determine which one is the culprit. I installed an AMD athlon XP 2100, upgraded the ram to 1 Gig, replaced my case, installed an Gforce4 Ti-4200 video board,and upgraded to Photoshop 7. My problems come after working in PS7 for an hour or so with large images. I may be forced to stop and restart after about an hour or so because Photoshop may not be releasing the ram after I switch between images.

This has only happened about 3 times in as many weeks so the problem is not a bad one. The thing is XP is not supposed to crash, right? I think the problem is either the 512 Meg ram Dimm or PS7 is having problems.

Oh well here is my contribution to the thread.

I consider myself very lucky.Running Windows XP for seven months on a new P4 1.8, 512 ram, PS6 and PS7.Have only locked up twice on the same older game that I later found out has problems with USB controllers. I only shut down if storms are around or out of town and reboot after installing new programs.
XP is by far the most stable OS I've been around (I work around Macs at work :) )

Wow...the results so far are not what I expected. It really seems that XP is as stable as Microsoft claims....maybe I should upgrade! I will say this- I push my computer very hard. Most of the files I work on run between 150 - 300mb...add to that having music playing in the background, Dreamweaver open, etc... I suppose that is a recipe for having to restart more often than most.

CJ - I have always liked Macs and used them at several jobs...but in my opinion the imac is garbage. Cramming all that hardware into a little space with no fan was not a good design idea...it might look cute, but I have never had as many problems with a computer than when I owned my imac.

wow you guys have convinced me I'm going to upgrade to XP. I usually have to restart several times a day sometimes but other days I can manage a whole day without a restart.
when upgrading to XP are there anythings I should look out for?

I occasionaly reboot to clear the system resources and ram cache etc.. but XP seems solid as a rock and believe me when I say I abuse it horribly:D

Sanda, one of the main probems I hear about XP is with drivers for older printers,scanners and drives,or upgradeing from another OS instead of a clean install. Mine came on a new computer but the tips I learned here on RetouchPRO (from Ed I think :) ) about getting and installing new drivers for my 1270 printer and two scanners before installing the hardware made my installations go very smoth.


BTW Thanks Ed

Yer welcome. :)

Ed

Sandra I don't know what system you currently have but I recommend that you plan on a new load of XP and not an upgrade. One easy approach, unless you already have a second drive, is to buy a new hard drive and install XP from scratch on the new drive and add your existing hard drive as a second drive. This will preserve your existing data and make photoshop real happy because you can give it a seperate drive for a scratch disk. Also its a good fall-back in case of problems in the XP load.

Also like Roger mentioned, do your homework and have current drivers for all your existing hardware. XP will probably have drivers for most of your hardware but it is a good thing to have the newest drivers and install them after the initial load. XP is very stable as long as there are no problems with device drivers and/or hardware settings. Old software can sometimes be a problem but there are usually ways around them. XP as a general rule will not like DOS and other legacy software programs.

Hi Folks

Has anyone upgraded to XP from windows Me.. If so did you run into a lot of problems..Doing a fresh load of XP is a real problem with 30 gig of stuff to backup.. No room for another hard drive..
Thanks
Jerry

Hi Jerry,
I upgraded from Windows Me.
One thing that's very important before you upgrade, be sure your modem (if you are using a modem) driver is up to date. Make sure that it is certified by Microsoft XP compatible.
I had a problem with my modem when I upgraded. I therefore cannot connect to the internet to get the updated driver. I had to buy a new modem. It turned out later, that my old modem can be updated to comply with XP. So I have an extra modem.
Also my Epson Stylus 600 driver cannot be updated but Microsoft has a generic driver for my printer.
As I stated in a previous post, I have to endure a few restarts because of incompatible drivers.
"But I'm feeling much better now."

Tony

Running Windows XP and I re-boot rarely. I do shutdown at least once every second night purely because I'm not going to be using the box for a while.

With the mouse hanging, I had similar problems with my mouse and downloaded the lastest version of the intellimouse software (not the drivers only which the Windows Update site gave me) and it fixed the problem.

Also I had an initial problem with my CD Burner causing the system to crash, but a firmware upgrade on the CD as well as the atest BIOS on the motherboard and evrything is now great :)

My XP box only gets booted for hardware/software installation......maybe once a month. It's been rock solid for over a year now. My Linux box.........errr........what's a reboot? ;)

Using Win98SE, Pentium III 1.4GB processor. Although I voted "Never" in the poll, there was a horrific two week interlude following installation of PS7 where my system froze every time I used Photoshop. Sometimes it froze on startup, sometimes it froze smack in the middle of a piece of work. I had to power off each time and it was maddening. My husband, who is a computer technician, patiently went through every corrective step suggested by Adobe to no avail. I sulked and went back to using PS5.5 which has always been rock stable.

Totally frustrated, he upgraded my entire system, replacing video card, motherboard, memory and hard drives with brand new components. Something in that mix worked because I haven't had a problem since. Adobe just released a new techdoc which might have saved us a lot of time and money. Or not! http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/2df26.htm?code=TA

June, I just noticed your problem experience with PS7. I'm still using V6, but plan to upgrade in the next year, so I appreciate your info and the link to Adobe's "solutions". Glad all is working now. :)

C.J., I went directly from PS5 to PS7 and am still experiencing Photoshock! It's truly an awesome program. When I started my business in 1990 all I had to work with in Windows was Aldus Photo Styler. Adobe absorbed that little company and just look where they've taken us. You're gonna love 7.

My computer is running much better after formatting my C: drive and reinstalling Win ME...no restarts today! :)

Only thing I forgot to backup was my Windows Media licenses...so I have 4 or 5 CDs that I had burned to my hard drive that will not work due to copy protection. I will have to rerecord them. :(

hey Greg,

glad to hear it's working better now! yeah, without fail there's ALWAYS something that you forget to backup when you do a reinstall (last time it was my fonts :( )

- David :)

Yep, been there, done that. It never seems to fail that I forget something I needed to back up too.

My XP seems to have calmed down lately. After the last round of hardware upgrades it was kind of unstable. XP didn't crash but Photoshop 7 and Internet Explorer were on an every other day basis. Now for some reason everything is cool and stable. Go figure.

I sure hope that Microsoft doesn't come out with a new release any time soon. For once I would like for them to fix all the bugs in one version and let us enjoy it for a while before they come out with something new.

Well XP should be around for a while at least, since Microsoft is saying that the next release won't be for a couple of years (they're working on some kind of big hardware/software security device, and that's taking them a *long* time, along with all the .NET stuff)

- David :)

I just read (within the last few days)an article about the next OS. I'll have to rely on my rather fuzzy memory, since I don't remember where I saw it. But I know it said the next OS is in testing at this time, and it has a code name (but I can't remember it). Apparently, the .NET stuff has been worked out. I *think* they were looking for a marketable version sometime in 2003. If I happen to find the article, I'll let you know which magazine it was in.

Ed

I have 2 systems running XP Pro and reboot MAYBE once a week. They are VERY stable.

Windows XP Pro is the way to go. I doo keep my systems optomised.

Paul :wavey:

Well, I just finished a complete reload of my primary PC last weekend. I think that this will be the last time I upgrade this PC for a while. Also just loaded a new PC, built with hand-me-down parts from my primary PC, for my home automation server. My old automation server has been in service for more than 4 years with no mechanical problems what so ever. It is running Win98 and has never been reloaded. It would sometimes lock up after running for a couple of months but that is to be expected because like most PC operating systems, continually loading and unloading programs will cause the system to run out of working ram. A lot of programs do not release the ram they were using when they terminate.

I'll see if Win XP can run as good as this on this new PC because it will run all the time. I usually shut my primary PC down when I am not using it. This server will run all the time like the old one did. My Linux server runs all the time and has never locked up or given any problems at all.

With XP on my Toshiba 1905 laptop I have not had to restart. On my win 98 machine maybe once every 2-3 weeks. Maybe I am just lucky!

Have XP SP2, and the only thing that makes me crash is Windows Movie Maker. As I almost never use this, the number of times I've crashed in the last 2 years is in single figures.

Gary, I'm new to Windows XP - I've been a Mac user all my life - and I've heard such horror stories about SP2 I've been afraid to install it.

Since you seem to be doing OK with it I'm wondering what your secret is.

I just got my Win XP laptop and haven't installed anything on it yet, I'm wondering if I'll have good luck if I install SP2 before installing anything else.

Thoughts?

Margaret

Hi Margaret, since SP2 is quite a large download, and I'm on dial up, I got Microsoft to send me the CD. Before I did an install, I did a backup, and defragged my harddrive. Then I created a restore point, switched off firewall and anti-virus shield, and also various spyware detectors I have. All this is to stop any conflicts and to allow a clean install. Then performed install, and afterwards defragged hard drive again (such a large install creates a lot of detritus). Then re enabled firewall, antivirus and spyware blockers. Sounds involved I know, but it's really quite easy to do, and I've had no trouble at all since updating. From a really nitpicking point of view, it takes slightly longer to boot now, but that's all I've noticed.

Thanks Gary, since my machine is just out of the box, I can restore it easily and do the SP2 install without doing any fiddling around.

I suspected that the folks who were having problems were not performing due diligence in terms of backups etc.

Take care, Margaret

Hi,

I did roughly what Gary did when installing XPSP2 .... and no problem here too..

Running XP pro/SP2. The only time I re-boot is when I have to for software installations. I usually re-format and do a clean install a couple times a year, just to clean out all for the junk that accumulates on the hard drive and in the registry. I've been using XP ever since it started and before, I was testing it when it was still beta. I've never really had any serious problems with it.
:masked:

I'm with T; restart daily, sometimes by choice, other times when I've clobbered it by running lots of programs (or just the wrong programs) at once and the thing becomes intolerably slow. I'm using XP but have only 1/2 Gig of RAM; I frequently work on big files and my drives are usually too full... call it a lack discipline combined with less than wonderful resources.
My partner almost never reboots and she keeps four or five apps open all the time; also on XP.

Chip

Ditto Chip.

My computer is the only one not connected to battery backup and we live where the power goes out often. I shutdown my computer completely every time it thunders. :)

My only photoshop computer is my laptop, and I have to restart that sucker at least once every two days, and that's when it's going well. (In case you're wondering, I use my laptop at home, constantly plugged in, so battery power is not an issue) I think I have the same problem as Chip claims to have.

No problems here on a new G5 iMac and a G4 iMac running OS 10.3. It's interesting to see that so many are saying they're having no problems with Windows XP. A lot of my friends are using XP and are having serious problems with it, even my ultra techy friends are threatening to change to Linux or Mac (one of whom designs coolings systems for satellites..I did ask her why they need cooling when space is so amazingly cold but didn't understand much of the answer:-).
Good to know that Microsoft is improving things gradually though. At the end of the day as long as your system lets you use photoshop with minimal hassle then it's the one you should stick with.

At home I have a WIN2K machine and at work I have a WIN2K, a Mac G4 and a Mac G5 that I use regularly.

Let's see.

The last time I rebooted at home was when the power went out 6 months ago...
At work my WIN2K machine was rebooted three weeks ago when our IT people decided I really did need the extra Gig of RAM I'd been asking for for months...
As for the Macs, I share them with other people, so they need rebooting pretty often because they are full of junk other people have installed and I don't have permissions to remove.

Moral of the story, NEVER BUY A MAC

Just kidding, be careful of what you install and what you have running...most people are letting programs like WeatherBug or Office Shortcut Bar chew up 25%+ of their resources. (WeatherBug reduces your throughput by a good 10% and OSB by an additional 15%)

All I have running right now aside from the stuff needed to make Windows run is my virus scan, spyware blocker, Adobe's gamma tool, Photoshop, and Maxthon (my web browser).

Incidently, Windows has been a lot more stable since they rewrote the Kernal in 2000, but anyone trying to upgrade to 2000 or XP from 9X will have all the problems of their previous version. (Don't even think about it if you have that virus on your computer, what is it called...er...Windows ME)

Take care,

Michael

PC restarts have to do with corruption and/or with inadequate RAM or HD space (the latter is easily fixed with an external HD...I use two 120meg Maxtors).

Corruption is inevitable with 98. I preferred that OS over XP, but it self destructs inevitably, no matter what you do. Design flaw.

98 is also much more vulnurable to popups and other online grief than is XP.

XP's great IMO. But I loved 98 since the first release until online probs and accumulated corruption drove me to XP (I run 4 systems, one's a laptop incapable of upgrade to XP) and I loved 3.1 before that.

My computer is the only one not connected to battery backup and we live where the power goes out often. I shutdown my computer completely every time it thunders. :)

My father bought a battery backup device and he uses it all the time as the electric in our hmoe goes off a few times a days, so i rigged my setup to use his backup, but instead of him getting approx 15 mins of backup juice, it lasts only 30 secs, so he pulled the plug on it, now i have to constantly save work in case it goes, so far it has cost me a few HD's and has caught me out whilst nearly finishing work.

I would say i reboot at least 7 or 8 times a day, mainly non-voluntary

Thats a lot of electricity cuts, what part of Wales are you in?

as Win32 system i use Win2KPro, and restart only if i install something that requires restarting... my Unix systems are Mandrake (now 10.0), and FreeBSD (now 5.1), and i don't recall ever restarting... (not even after upgrades, kernel re-compiles, whatever)...

I am very, very rarely forced to restart with WInXP

I use windows 2000 Pro with SP4 and all avaible patches installed. I restart my computer almost everyday, because i do not use it at night :) So when i sleep my computer is off. But, when I want it to work for 3-4 days it works without any problems, no restarts and no slowing down. I heard that my hard drive (Hitachi 160GB) has a technology that prevents it from getting slower as it runs longer and I notice it works.

new work machine: 3.0GHz P4 Prescott, WinXP Pro SP2
backup machine: 1.4GHz P4, Win2000 SP4

Neither requires rebooting on any kind of schedule. They both hibernate quite readily when idle for an hour. Coming out of hibernation they are both quite happy picking up where they left off. I don't think either has been rebooted for at least two weeks, even after installing a couple of USB devices and some software, and including installing a new router. Both did their network magic without asking.

My wife's Win98 machine is only on for an hour ever few days, and needs constant supervision. Time for an upgrade...

Never, but I own a PC running XP Pro.

What's a Mac? lol.

Now I think about it, I only seem to shut down when the whim strikes me. But; I do after every Photoshop CS lock up.

That happens when ever I get too lazy to save and shut it down but rather minimize. Photoshop does take about 1/2 a day though to lose its mind.

RobertCollins

I haven't restarted my Winbox in over 3 months...no problems whatsoever.

My g4 ibook only restarts when I install updates

I have G4 and a PC.

G4 - restart it 3 times a day.
PC - restart it once a month.
but I use G4 every single day.

I have 4 computers here running XP Pro with SP2 and 1 with Win2000 Small Business Server and the only time I have to reboot is after Windows Updates or it has been self-inflicted.....

hey Greg,

glad to hear it's working better now! yeah, without fail there's ALWAYS something that you forget to backup when you do a reinstall (last time it was my fonts :( )

- David :)

I use Second Copy 2000 from www.centered.com and backup My Documents, favourites, fonts and anything else I think I may need for a rebuild. It works in the background and you get to decide when and how often it does it's magic.

All-in-all a great product.

"Seldom or never" here. I have an iMacG5 20" so it is on almost all the time except for sleepy time! I have had my share of problems with it, the revA machines are nototiously bad. I had HD failure, display problems x2 and melting/burning capacitors! A real joy to use but not without it's problems.

I voted Seldom or Never (but I don't have a Mac). If it's more than that you need to clean up your PC.

I think the restarts were during the time of Windows 98. XP just keeps going like the Energizer Bunny! :)

Wow - yeah - didn't notice how far back this thread goes!! Maybe it's time to lock it...

Yes, DON'T!

Most ills that it may cure will be superseded by many other problems that upgrading causes.

Short of buying a new computer with the OS you want already installed, format the HD and re-install the new operatring system from scratch.

Upgrading a present OS causes many programs and functions to not work as they did with the old system.

Steve


wow you guys have convinced me I'm going to upgrade to XP. I usually have to restart several times a day sometimes but other days I can manage a whole day without a restart.
when upgrading to XP are there anythings I should look out for?

Anyone running hard drives with RAID 0 or RAID 1 technology?

Any problems?

Steve

Anyone running hard drives with RAID 0 or RAID 1 technology?

Any problems?

Steve

Presume you are talking 'mirror'? Raid 1 is a better choice, fairly seemless most of the time to the user.

May be using RAID 0 soon. Understand it does not mirror, but uses the second drive to, in effect, load and unload programs etc. faster. In other words the two drives might each contain a "piece" of a program, image, etc.

Steve


Presume you are talking 'mirror'? Raid 1 is a better choice, fairly seemless most of the time to the user.

May be using RAID 0 soon. Understand it does not mirror, but uses the second drive to, in effect, load and unload programs etc. faster. In other words the two drives might each contain a "piece" of a program, image, etc.

Steve

Then you are talking striping, yes can be much more efficient, but not sure of the differences between raid 0 and raid 1 in that regard, was running raid 0 years ago and know that if I split a set, I lost all.

I may go with RAID 1. Prefer to give up a bit of HD space and speed for the security of mirroring.

Thanks for your input.

Steve

Then you are talking striping, yes can be much more efficient, but not sure of the differences between raid 0 and raid 1 in that regard, was running raid 0 years ago and know that if I split a set, I lost all.

i got 3 systems.

my server running w2k3 which last booted according to log was march 4 2004.

my workstation running XPsp2 only powers up when i do heavy editing. before i got my laptop. i remembered i didnt shutdown/reboot for almost 6 months +

my laptop XPsp2 autohibernates and auto standby. reboot twice a month cause i force discharge the batteries till 0%. the batteries take a awefully 10-12 hours to get it to 0%

Running XP Pro... I typically reboot every 3 weeks to a month. I leave photoshop and indesign running most of the time as well, plus whatever various games I load up to kill time :)

As far as stability goes, I couldn't be happier.

I run XP Pro (and other OS) on my work machine, a Sun Workstation with dual Opterons, a boat load of memory and a beefy video card full of mem. I only reboot when I want to change the operating system to Solaris 10 or Linux. The machine has never frozen or misbehaved in the 10 months I've used it daily.

At home, it's a bit different. I have a Sony VAIO running XP only. It's nowhere the machine that my Sun is, and it occasionally reboots itself! It almost always happens right after powering up. I have crashed the machine several times when I forget I can't do everything at home that I do at work.

I have a Dell PC and rarely have to restart. A couple of months ago I had lots of lock ups so figured it was all those big graphics files. After cleaning up my files it wasn't much better. Then it finally occurred to me that the cache and history needing clearing. That did it.

I guess I'm one of the lucky ones. I rarely reboot my PC; actually use hibernate, so, virtually, my machine usually gets booted once a month (due to the security updates from Uncle Bill; lol). :)

I don't turn off my computers at all... and I don't remember when was the last time when something crashed or restarted it'self...

I'm using XP operating system on all of my systems, and the hardware is manufactured by highly trusted manufacturesrs ...

Regards..

I build my own PCs and on my current workhorse I am running Win2000pro which I'd say is the most stable Windows OS I have ever used (it has never crashed on me). My PC is also a network server so it is always running. Like Ikroll I only ever need to restart when I get an update or am doing maintainence.

Never! and it isn't even a Mac ;-)

I have machines that runs 24/7 some runs as file-servers, workstations, print servers, accounting machines and they never fails.

Most often your computer will need restarting is because of poor choice of components and most often its the power-supply.

well build computers don't need to restart spontanously, only planned restarts!

So, if you are having many spontanous restarts, have your powersupply checked out, it can be that simple. and next time buy or build your computer from quality components.

you get what you pay for

Henrik