joddle

Well - after consulting the dell forum I have been advised that the problem is in fact with the PC - well not that it has a problem but it has a problem using my PCI cards - I gather that my Optiplex 755 has PCI 2.3 slots but the cards are older and so when the PC hibernates, the reduced power to 3.3 volts causes the PCI cards to "fail" thus generating the message. However, I have not seen anywhere PCI cards advertised which are supposed to be PCI 2.3 compliant. I am also told that even cards PCI2.2 complient will be OK in my machine but I have not seen any of those either. Basically I woud like a USB firewire combo card whch does not cause the machine to fail. Separate cards would also be acceptable but would use all my available PCI slots leaving only a PCI express slot.

Well the PC certainly can handle a 64 bit system BUT is it a good move??? I have no 64 bit software and am not about to spend another £1000 or so just to upgrade all my applcations from 32 bit. But if they will all run OK on a 64bit OS and there is a distinct advantage in changing then I will consider it.

I have already done two full rebuilds of one of the machines - including new hard drives but I do have a spare 500gb drive kicking around so there is the possibility of installing a new OS on it on for one of the machines then testing on on the other as well as they are identical. But even if it solved the issue on one machne that would be a huge pointer as to the cause of the issue. Would I be better going 64 bit at the same time. The CPUs and machines are capable or is it better to saty with 32 bit for now?

Thanks for the links - I have updated everything from the dell site but the problem is still the same on both PCs - I have also looked at the links the only problem is I can't find those settings on the Dell Bios (ie to change the PCI settings) the options seem not to exist on the biso for these machines - or am I looking in the wrong place!!!

Yup - PC boot up and runs fine - the PCI cards perform fine when plugged in - its only when I hibenate that the problem occurs apart from during one particular game my son has if there is a card in a PCI slot then the game crashes occasionally with exactly the same message. PC has full size full height slots.

OK - I have raised this before but now I have a different slant on the issue. A while ago I was having problems with a Dell Optiplex 755. In everyday use the machine is 100% fine BUT if I add any pci card in either of the two slots, when I then try to hibernate the machine is goes off then displays a blue screen with MEMORY PARITY ERROR - CONSULT YOUR HARDWARE VENDOR Many people offered a load of solutions, none of which actually solved the problem - cleaning the memory, changing the memory - cleaning the inside of the PC, complete PC rebuild with latest BIOS and drivers - plus much more. I tried everything but in the end I gave it up as a bad job and simply did not use anything in the PCI slots. Recently I obtained another near identical 755 (slightly slower CPU and less memory) but on that I now get exactly the same problems as I did on the other machine so it seem it is not a fault with my PC(s) - but something more general. It is not just one card the affects the machine - I have several PCI cards, video input, fire-wire and USB cards all of which all work fine in other PCs but all of which cause the memory parity error in the Optiplexes. Anyone at all who can offer a way of getting over this?? - For me whats the point of having expansion slots if you cant use them!!!! Additionally, does anyone else have a 755 with PCI cards - and if so do they have the same problem - I would be glad to hear from you either way. Thanks.

Having trawled the net for a few days I am at the point of giving up on finding a decent Programme which Will encode my videos to avi divx format which will then play on my Samsung DVD/HDD player - most of the ones I try are either of terrible quality or simply don't work on the Samsung for some reason. Other Divx files I have downloaded or have already seem to play fine - am I really going to have to fork out £££££ for a bit of software for this? Some of you must know of something somewhere !!!! Also if CCleaner is not safe - is there a good alternative - I have been using Ccleaner for a while with no problems (so far!) but don't like the sound of the warnings here - what else can I use to clean-up the PC in a similar way which is safer?

Hi and thanks for the advice - however I have tried that - I even bought new ram and replaced the old but to no avail. I then downloaded some memory tests and left them running for several hours but the memory always passes all tests - all sticks both new and old in fact. - the issue only happens when a PCI card is installed - the PCI cards appear to run OK but the error then appears on hibernation or during one of my sons games. With nothing in the PCI slot there is no problem at all.

Yes this is XP pro SP3 - I have tried running with 1 gb, then 2 gb then 4 gb and always the same issue

I have a Dell Optiplex 755 and have had a nagging problem for about a year now - it all started when I installed a PCI fire-wire card. At first there was no obvious problem but when I hibernated the PC it would crash out with a blue screen and a memory parity error. The same would happen at times when my son was playing a specific game. Eventually I removed the PCI card and hey presto all was well again so assumed I simply had a faulty card - but now I have tried three other cards, all different makes etc and in either of the 2 PCI slots but the effect is always the same - the PC will appear to work fine but then will crash with the same memory parity error if I try and hibernate it. Otherwise it appears to function OK apart from occasional crashes on my sons one game. I have run the Dell diagnostics several time and there are no errors on that. I have removed and replaced the memory sims and that makes no difference - what else could it be? - do I have faulty motherboard or am I missing something? And how can I tell where the problem really is? Its not the PCI cards - all have been tested on other machine and all work fine. Its not the memory - the sims have not only been swapped and replaced but also thoroughly tested using not one but 2 memory testers - even after several hours there are no issues with either the old or the new sims. In desperation I installed a brand new HD and complete reloaded the operating system and all the PC drivers and as before, it all seems to be working perfectly - So what does that leave? How can the cards make that difference? :mad:

FInal response from Avira This was received from Avira tonightDear Sir,I got the final information for this incident. The virus lab confirmed this asa false positive. So the recent virus definition file solved the issue as itis supposed to do. Thank you for your feedback.Best regardsTarik JaidaneAvira GmbH

Got the latest update from Avira today which seems to have sorted everything out - they have not yet confirmed this was a false positive although now it seems highly liklely to have been the case. Thanks for the tip on getting rid of old internet files.

On attempting to log on to ebay this morning all was OK until I clicked on "My Ebay" then got this warning. 'C:\Documents and Settings\Josh\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\84APX1BH\eBayISAPI[1].htm' contained a virus or unwanted program 'PHISH/Cartasi.Z' [phishing] Of course I went no further and have not put in my account name or password and seemingly no damage to the pc and subsequent scans using ANTIVIR and MALWAREBYTES show PC to be clear. But even with latest Antviir patches the problem persists as I don't want to log on to my account if its going to be compromised - how do I get it sorted? Have aready told AVIRA of the problem but can't seem to be able to contact Ebay without actually signing in - which of course I don't want to do. The strange thing is if I use the ebay Spain sign in page - there is no problem - it only happens on ebay uk. Secondly I can never find the reported file afterwards - so I presume this does not reside on my PC apart from when actually accessing the web page.

Ok - I dont expect hard disks to be absolutely silent but I have a strange problem which may be to be expected or maybe not! In my system I have put two brand new hard disks - (different makes and sizes though) and each one oprerates perfectly with no noise or other issues - however when both are connected at the same time I get a slight beating noise - like a soft hum that comes and goes with a gap of a second or two between beats - a bit like listening to an old twin engined propeller aeroplane - Could in fact this be what's happening - am I getting an interference beat between the two drives? Certainly if I turn off the power to either drive the noise disappears completely. Never come acoss this before - has anyone else?

Many thanks - changed the sata cable and reverted to the old sata port and everything fine now! Odd but its ok so I'll leave well alone!!

I hate computers!!! - I have now got my new hard disk and resinstalled the OS and drivers. All fine so far- then I added another new hard disk and guess what? that started "dissapearing" also - so it was not a HD fault after all and so must either be something on the SATA port or the SATA cable. I have connected the drive with a new cable to the spare SATA port and it is working fine but now I get a strange high very pitched noise from the PC at intermittent times. If I disconnect the sata cable but leave the power cable on the noise dissapears. What could it be? I have yet to connect the new disk to the old SATA port as my cable is not long enough but will try that again soon. Does it matter to leave our one port in the sequence - ie my new 1TB main disk is on SATA0, my DVD on STATA1 and my second new disk (500gb) on SATA3.

Hi - I had exactly the same issues with my Dell D400 - it all started with the little mouse button which did not work properly. I bought a new keyboard and connected it but then it would not boot up. What I had not noticed is there are two sets of cable to connect - not just one and they are pretty awkward to set up as you have to hold the keyboard in a odd position to fit them. I think what you may have is loose connections or even a connection not made properly/ -I have also fitted a new base to a D400 and so long as you follow the dell procedures as in their workshop manual it all seems to work fine. Take it apart again and reassemble carefully. You can always test the HDD in a caddy if not sure about it - does it show on the bios?

In my previous 2 threads I explained I am having problems with hard disks on my Dell optiplex 755 but am now ready to completely rebuid my PC however I am a little confused by the bios settings for the HDDs - I am intending to have 2 sata disks of 500gb but don't want a RAID sertup The manual for the PC is copied below re the bios settings and the default is for auto detect. However when my 2nd HDD plays up and "disappears" I do get a reference to RAID on the chkdsk report although I can never see it later to copy it. It is trying to do a RAID without me knowing? - the 2nd HD did have an OS on it at one time and I think most of the files are still there so could this be affecting the way it is being seen by the PC? Any help or advice appreciated and especially regarding how I should set the disk management in the bios before reinstalling XP? Drives Diskette Drive (Internal default) This option enables or disables the floppy drive. The options are Off, Internal, USB, and Read Only. NOTE: If USB is selected, ensure that USB Controller setup option under Onboard Devices is set to On. SATA 0 through SATA n Identifies and enables and disables the drives attached to the SATA connectors on the system board and lists the capacities for the hard drives. NOTE: These options appear as SATA 0 through SATA 3 for the mini tower, SATA 0 through SATA 2 for the desktop, SATA 0 and SATA1 for the small form factor and ultra small form factor computers. External SATA Identifies and enables and disables the drives attached to the eSATA connector on the system board and lists the capacities for the hard drives. NOTE: This option is not available on the ultra small form factor computer. SATA Operation (RAID Autodetect/AHCI default for mini-tower and desktop) (AHCI default for small form factor and ultra small form factor) Options for Mini Tower and Desktop: • RAID Autodetect/AHCI (RAID if signed drives, otherwise AHCI) • RAID Autodetect/ATA (RAID if signed drives, otherwise ATA) • RAID On (SATA is configured for RAID on every boot) NOTE: When in Autodetect mode, the computer configures the drive as RAID if a RAID signature is detected on the drive. Otherwise the drive will be configured as AHCI or ATA. Options for Small Form Factor and Ultra Small Form Factor: • AHCI • ATA SMART Reporting (Off default) This setting determines whether integrated drive errors are reported or not during computer start-up.

The new disk had now been returned to the seller and I have received a refund so thats sorted - however the original problem of the other disk which keeps disappearing remains - in fact over the past few days it "disappeared" twice and when I rebooted the system said there was a problem with the disk and did a dskchk and found loads or errors so it seems that disk may also be faulty. so 2 new disk are now ready to be reinstalled - not in RIAD but as two volumes - in order to do that should I set the bios to legacy mode or leave it on automatic?

To add to the above the disk I am using for the install is a Dell Reinstallation CD XP pro SP3 with the number P/N YH3KD and date of 2009

Hi I have tried another drive - although it was an old one but it was wiped and formatted and then loaded the OS perfectly. The PC only has SATA drives. It is a Dell optiplex 755 - As my "new" drive is now in the bin - (seller refunded in full) I have to get another new one which wil be later this week. Not sure if to go for 1 1tb as its only 10 euros more!

I am still perplexed by the above comment - When I installed a new hard drive before on this machine there was no issue about SATA drivers. The XP install simply booted from the CD, copied a load of files then informed me that I needed to format my hard disk which I did. It then completed the installation and worked fine . Alas it was that HD which was noisy and eventually failed and which I have had to replace The install was done from a "Dell" disk so perhaps they have tweaked it so I dont have to install the SATA driver separately - anyway it worked without any other intervention.

Many thanks for all the advice etc - I have learned a lot through all that and I now have had it confirmed by my local PC shop that my new HD is indeed a dead HD so am seeking a refund from the Ebay company that sold it to me as "new and in perfect condition" . Also discovered my friendly local shop is selling better drives at about the same price as I paid and that's without the P&P - another lesson learned - look local first eh!

HI - I had a similar experience - I removed the HD and put it into a caddy and looked for it as an external drive - it needed a chkdisk but after that it was OK. I then turned off the second disk on the bios and rebooted. Of course there was then only one disk there but then I closed down again, put the second disk back and reset the bios to look for two disks and hey presto it was found - all perfect. Still dont know why though!

Just when I thought all was going well another issue - I bought a new HD but the PC wont see it - see next thread for details - anyway this project is now on hold until I get the HD issue sorted so it may be a week or so before I can return to this particular issue. Meanwhile I have obtained a new sata cable albeit a bit short but it can be routed OK so hopefully we will see if it makes a difference however as the problem is rare as rocking horse poo I could be in for quite a wait to be sure it is actually fixed.