Computer restarts in an average day?

[G. Couch]

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

[T Paul]

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

[d_kendal]

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

[G. Couch]

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!!

[BigAl]

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

[clare]

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.

[jerry]

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

[angue]

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.

[chris h]

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.

[Ed_L]

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

[winwintoo]

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

[DJ Dubovsky]

Well, that seldom option seems kind of prejudiced to Macs. 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

[winwintoo]

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

[DJ Dubovsky]

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. 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

[winwintoo]

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

[CJ Swartz]

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!)

[KevinBE]

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 PS 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.

[Roger Roberts]

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 )

[G. Couch]

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.

[Sanda]

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?

[Mike Needham]

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

[Roger Roberts]

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 RP (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

[Ed_L]

Yer welcome.

Ed

[KevinBE]

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.

[jerry]

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

[angue]

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

[sjcampbel]

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

[Dolby]

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?

[June Curtice]

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

[CJ Swartz]

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.