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Thread: Trouble w/ Quick Restore CD

  1. #1
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    Trouble w/ Quick Restore CD

    Okay, my computer crashed and after running QuickRestore and having that fail I'm considering trying to determine if working on the computer myself and upgrading it is a good idea. It's a Compaq Presario 4770, PII, and I know very little about computers other than what I've read here and some outside research. Would this be worthwhile cause, any ideas on how much I can upgrade this system being 6 years old and all. Would I just have to add memory and a new processor? How much would I save....Am I an idiot for thinking about doing this, it seems fun, and I've always wanted to learn about computers and this seemed to be a good oppurtunity....l....so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, great forum. I love the gaming section!
    He who laughs last, took the longest to get the joke....

  2. #2
    Member gt_cmpe's Avatar
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    WELCOME TO SYSOPT!

    Ok, it all depends on what you want to use it for. If you use any major apps or games your system is pretty well shot. You may be able to use some of the parts (although Compaq is fairly proprietary) but I would look into building a new system altogether. No need to go off the deep end but get parts that you can use for the long haul, (ie big case, good size power supply) Maybe others have tips as well.
    GOOD LUCK, and HAVE FUN!!!

  3. #3
    Member The_Shafer's Avatar
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    Welcome to Sysopt

    First of all, the upgrading of your PC depends mainly on what you use it for. Are you a hardcore gamer? Do you use the internet a lot? Or are you the type that just uses it for word processing? If you game a lot, look at what games you use. Are they graphic intensive? You might need a newer processor to improve your performance for the newer games. Maybe more RAM if you use the internet a lot. And if you use word processing...well your computer is probably fine the way it is (except for that small problem with your quick restore). It all comes down to you and what you want your computer to do for you. After that, sit down and read about computers. You'll learn a whole lot, and it really is a lot of fun. I'm a 17 PC Tech (yea, I am a employeed PC Tech, fixing comps. at 17, lol), and I built my first computer from scratch about 3-4 months ago. It works great, and plays games wonderfully. It's only a 950 MHz AMD Duron processor also. You can learn to do stuff with computers you never thought possible when you just commit some of your time to learning them. Good luck, and if you have any other questions, feel free to ask the guys here at Sysopt. They know a great deal, and I'm learning from them all the time.

    The_Shafer@hotmail.com

    The_Shafer
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    The Shafer

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    My last question, keeping in mind I'm still learning is...How do I determine what motherboard I have and what's it capable of handling? Can I keep the existing one and build off of it, add a PIII, more RAM, etc....and build it up to be a better system or is that not a worthwhile starting point. I've pretty much scrapped the system so what's the best way for me to learn? Fooling around w/ this one or reading up on this stuff for awhile and then trying to build from scratch???
    P.S.
    I have another computer which I use for internet, word processing, work related....so this computer would be used more for gaming than anything else....
    He who laughs last, took the longest to get the joke....

  5. #5
    Member gt_cmpe's Avatar
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    I say scrap it for parts. You really should start with an industry standard box instead of premanufactured one like a compaq.

  6. #6
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    Okay, so I guess the problem I'm going to run into is swapping out the motherboard if I decided to do so. The Compaq box won't take other motherboards? What about power? Is that a big problem as well? What's the minimum I can get away with and build a decent gaming system?
    He who laughs last, took the longest to get the joke....

  7. #7
    Member buffguns's Avatar
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    You probably need to get a good atx box, a good mobo, a cpu for that mobo, a minimum of 256 megs of RAM, and a good vid card with at least 32 mb on board.

    All the other fun choices are up for grabs, and your budget. Now go get after it!!


  8. #8
    Member gt_cmpe's Avatar
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    I would not be suprised if even the speaker was made by Compaq in a way so that it won't work in anything but a Compaq!!! haha...

  9. #9
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    If you cant get a recovery disk to work how in the devil do you think you can build a pc from scratch?

    sell me your compaq and go buy an Alienware PC.

    they are built for gameing and I have NEVER seen anyone post any problems on 3 different forums.
    its hard to soar with eagles when you are surrounded by turkeys

  10. #10
    Member The_Shafer's Avatar
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    Be nice

    Geez paramufay, he can always learn how to if he doesn't know already. Maybe the recovery disk was messed up to begin with. Now be nice.

    The_Shafer
    The_Shafer@hotmail.com

    The Shafer

  11. #11
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    First, I've checked around and they say that the recovery disc doesn't work. It always clocks out around 16%, that's all I know and that's what it does w/ mine as well. If you know how to get around that let me know.
    What three forums did I post the same question to? I asked a new question on the general forum for a website to go to w/ good direction on how to learn to build.......
    If you wanna fault me for that be my guest, but cut the arrogance out, it's very unbecoming.
    He who laughs last, took the longest to get the joke....

  12. #12
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    what operating system do you have on the computer? do you have a boot disk (floppy) for the operating system? one of the things that i have done whenever a quick restore disk have not worked right is to use a floppy boot disk to format the hard drive then rebooted and then used the quick restore disk. i have also used a windows 98 boot disk which loaded cd rom drivers plus loaded himem.sys which allowed high memory access then loaded the software on the quick restore disk.. usually the motherboards in the major brands have very limited upgradability. bigger hard drives and ram is the only things that can be upgraded. of coarse changing cd roms can also be performed. but usually putting a higher mhz cpu is out or very limited.

  13. #13
    Junior Member vasu_raghu's Avatar
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    hi
    even iam new her and like this site
    i really think its time u upgraded ur com p cos in this market 6 yrs is a lonngggggg time to have a good sys
    u can keep the old one for any experiments u want to conduct
    iam have just started working for dell and i could tel u that the best way to learn is by opening it up crashing it and going bonkers
    u can use sites such as these for reference
    for apps such as games and net u should hgeta better sys
    take ur time bef u make a choice
    byeee
    with luv,
    vasu

  14. #14
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    I did the fdisk, and I'm getting the recovery up to 98%, but I think in fooling around w/ the partitions I may have damaged the system...who knows, I'll find that out later. I have another computer so I'm not that worried about this one. I don't have a floppy boot disk, all i have are the quick restore cd, my win95 & 98 cd-roms. I'm not sure how to proceed from here.....the system's at home right now and I'm at work so maybe it will fix itself while I'm away....all the advice is greatly appreciated....i already feel like i've learned more in 2 days here than in owning a computer for 6 years....thanks
    He who laughs last, took the longest to get the joke....

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