can a computer get old and die?

Trackerway

New Member
I have a computer bought in 1997. We've added a bit of ram, but otherwise it's the same machine. It's running Windows ME now. In the last six months or so, it has started to lock up frequently and sometimes when I try to open a program, the screen goes black and I can't get anything to respond. I end up having to unplug the whole thing.

We are not running anything major on this machine. My kids use it to play a few Win ME friendly games, just simple things. Sometimes they get on the internet but they're not playing any videos or downloading anything. So I don't think we're overtaxing the system.

Can a computer begin to deterrierate (I'm sorry, I can't figure out how to spell that...) and eventually die just from age?
 
Deteriorate... :)

Truthfully, a computer from 1997 is kind of old. So honestly, if it starts to die, don't be alarmed. The computer I'm using right now is about 8 yrs old and it has shown that its getting old by just...basically some of the things you said. Really, computers don't die just because they're old, but because the hardware inside is wearing down. So I wouldn't be surprised if it started dying right now because it's like 11 yrs old now. Your hardware's probably getting old and run down, so yeah... Just don't be surprised :)
 
Yes. There are components in the computer that can go bad - some go bad quicker than other components. Those components would be hard drives, power supplies, disk drives (CD, floppy...). Solid state devices (electronics) - the processor, the motherboard, the memory, the PCI cards - usually last a very long time. However, heat, static electricity and surges or brownouts can hurt these components.

It sounds like your processor is overheating for one. This is usually caused by dust buildup. Take the computer tower in the kitchen (or where there's no carpet) and open it up. Blow the dust out - depending on how bad it is, you might have to disassemble the computer to get it clean - dust can make its way anywhere. While you have the case open, it doesn't hurt to add an exhaust fan (no! not the kind in your bathroom ceiling!:)) but it is a miniature fan that you can screw in your PC. Make sure it blows OUT and not in. On my computer, I have an intake fan and an exhaust fan - on the intake fan, I use a dryer sheet or two that I change out every four to six months. Since I have a central air cleaner, I don't have to worry much about dust.

The hard drive is about 11 years old. Hard drives have trouble making it past five years - especially if its used constantly and/or its not being treated well (laptop hard drives can attest to this) - it's time to get a new hard drive. You probably have no more than 5 GB - a reliable Seagate IDE hard drive that has an 80 GB capacity - 16 times the capacity of what you probably have - for $30.

It doesn't hurt to add memory as well. You can never have enough memory, but don't overdo it. Don't expect to put 4 GB in the machine - 512 MB of RAM is pushing it. If you are running anything below Vista - that's XP, ME, 2000 - you mentioned that you are running ME, 256 MB is great, even on XP.

Since you might want to replace the hard drive, just start from scratch and buy a copy of XP - bear in mind, however, XP won't be lightning fast on this system. You might have to scour and search hard for it- as XP was due off the shelves in June of this year. Or, you can save your 490 or so and get Linux, a great operating system, for free in many cases. Popular distributions include Ubuntu and Fedora - I use both and like the distributions really well. Bear in mind, though, that you can't expect a new release of these distributions to work well on your computer - you have an older processor and limited capabilities - so something like Fedora Core 4 would be okay. If you want a newer distribution, Xubuntu is the route you can take. Bear in mind, however, that Linux cannot run Windows programs without an emulator, and even with one, the software may not work.

Another option is to buy or build a computer - as long as you don't buy quad-core systems with a terabyte of hard disk space, you can have buy a computer for around $4 - 600, and it can be built for a lot cheaper.
 
Deteriorate... :)

Truthfully, a computer from 1997 is kind of old. So honestly, if it starts to die, don't be alarmed. The computer I'm using right now is about 8 yrs old and it has shown that its getting old by just...basically some of the things you said. Really, computers don't die just because they're old, but because the hardware inside is wearing down. So I wouldn't be surprised if it started dying right now because it's like 11 yrs old now. Your hardware's probably getting old and run down, so yeah... Just don't be surprised :)

Kind of all is certainly an understatement, a computer for 2006 would be kind of old. lol
 
that machine is not going to recognize an 80 gig drive! getting 512 of ram could be tricky, if not impossible. blowing it out is good advise & may solve the problem. running a linux live cd, like damn small linux would be a good way to test the hardware.
 
Kind of all is certainly an understatement, a computer for 2006 would be kind of old. lol

Yeah, but really that's just because Vista came along. A computer from 2006(can depend on certain things...) would probably run well with XP. Yeah, I guess I did kind of understate that one lol.
 
if i remember correctly, the celeron 300mhz i pulled from a 98 machine required 2 volts to get that 300mhz, with that kind of electricity, the silicon should easily be degraded after just a year of use, i know todays processors can barely handle 1.95 volts for over an hour, and thats on liquid nitrogen, its just like ram that runs at 2.5 volts, its going to degrade so fast
 
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