Asdf.

[spammityspam]

Okay, this has nothing to do with the site. It's just a plea for those of you more tech-savvy than I to help me get my desktop PC to stop spazzing out.

I was running the Sims 2 yesterday and I wandered off, as I am wont to do, without closing the program. When I came back, a blue screen was up -- not the Blue Screen of Death, but another blue screen, one talking about memory. I figured I'd run my visual memory into the ground again and restarted my computer.

Since then it's been cycling through a series of screens. First it goes to the usual one when I boot up my computer, the one asking me whether I want to open Home Edition of Professional XP. It picks professional on its own. Then it goes into a black screen, asking me whether I want to open safe mode, safe mode with networking, safe mode with command prompt, my last known good configuration, or start windows normally. Start Windows Normally selects itself, so I let it go up.

The Windows XP loading screen comes up briefly, tries to load, a blue screen I can't read flashes briefly, the Dell loader comes up, the cycle repeats. Over and over. For hours on end. I've tried rebooting the damn thing like six times. It's been cycling this way since last night.

Anybody know what I did to it?

[omicron]

Sounds like some windows files got corrupt somehow.

I would try "last known good configuration" and see if that rolls back to a previous restore point.

It's also possible your RAM fried somehow. I'd do a diagnostic from the BIOS if it has one.

[spammityspam]

I've tried opening it in every type of safe mode that turns up, but nothing new happens, and even the Last Good Configuration won't do anything. How does one do a diagnostic from the BIOS?

[Jakester]

You have some corrupt files, as Omi pointed out. Here's how you fix it.
First, do your make up and your hair. Put on some sensual perfume.
Wear something sexy -- a push-up bra always helps, too.

Find the computer lab and pick anyone who looks like a geek. Talk to him. He will fix your computer. He may even buy you dinner.

[spammityspam]

I would do that if I weren't back at home for my two-week summer vacation and if the only nerds to whom I have access weren't my dad and my best friend, Nathan, who is gay. But if my Mac ever fries itself while I'm able to seduce the ITS desk without driving 300 miles first, I'll give that suggestion a shot.

[Jakester]

Run in Windows Home until school starts. Then use my suggestion.
If he's really helpful, you might want to accidentally let your hand brush up against his thigh. Make sure there's a box of kleenex nearby.

[edit] Unfortunately, this may not always work. I knew one guy who had a thing for Asian girls. And he only seemed to go after (ie - lust after) ones who were either married or otherwise involved.

[DarkJedi]

lmao

Did you give this kind of advice when you were doing Tech Support, Jake?

[Jakester]

I never did college tech support, but I saw the people who did. :)

When I was doing helpdesk at a very large company, I actually had a lady sort of try that one me. She had on a low cut shirt and kept leaning forward and squeezing her chest together with her arms. She was super hot, to be sure, but she was a) annoying, b) shallow, and c) really fucking annoying, so I'm thinking, "Thanks for the show, bitch, but it's my job to help you.

[sickness]

Actually, I had the very same thing happen recently on my laptop. And the solution was replacing fried RAM as was mentioned earlier. Hey, it was the perfect excuse to go from 2x256MB to 1.25GB.

[Jakester]

Did you get bacon with that?

[sickness]

No. Rams are sheep, so I guess I got fried mutton.