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is it me or is it the machine (i'm sorry for even posting this).

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urlwolf:
Seems like I'm late, but here is a quick and dirty solution that might be fun.

Why not try another OS alltogether? A linux boot CD would let you test the computer for hours/days as needed. If it's a hardware, then the linux install must croak at some point. If it doesn't, then you can say that windows/drivers etc may be the culprit.

And who knows, you may even like linux :)

BTW, glad your problems are gone!

CodeTRUCKER:
Perhaps keeping track of what goes on in minute detail or perhaps a log could offer some insight?

nudone:
thanks again, but the reason i brought this problem to everyone's attention is that it was so inexplicable (and remains so). the machine appears to be working perfectly - all recent hardware scans have been fine and the machine often runs for several days without me bothering to reboot.

the software problems i encountered were relatively trivial in that they wouldn't have stopped me from doing my 'work' on the machine. the problems i described indicated that something was not right somewhere and yet being able to dual boot into another xp on the machine proved again that there was nothing wrong hardware wise.

to me it looks like the evidence points to these culprits: the acronis images weren't perfect, the partition the 2nd operating system was on wasn't perfect, the machine is sufferring from Dissociative identity disorder.

i think (near) daily backups of my data is a habit i need to take up. i'd consider using linux if i felt adventurous but it's such a paradigm shift that i'm not ready for it yet (ever?). i've certainly not fixed the problem - merely chosen to pretend it never happened.

Carol Haynes:
i think (near) daily backups of my data is a habit i need to take up. i'd consider using linux if i felt adventurous but it's such a paradigm shift that i'm not ready for it yet (ever?). i've certainly not fixed the problem - merely chosen to pretend it never happened.
-nudone (January 26, 2007, 03:08 AM)
--- End quote ---

Simplest solution is to set up Acronis to schedule a daily incremental backup. If you leave your computer on 24/7 just set it to run in the middle of the night. Another solution is to do a daily differential backup that way you only need to retain the original backup and a small set of differential backups. Every month or so (as the differential chunks grow in size) do a fresh full backup and then add differentials from there again. If you have a large enough spare hard disc you can easily automate all this and not have to think about it at all.

nudone:
very wise words, Carol, but there is a slight problem (sorry to labour the point)...

i made two acronis true image backups of the operating system that was sufferring the problems. one backup was made just after xp had been installed the other backup was made after i had installed most of the software i use. these backups were not used/restored until i encountered the problems that i've described.

restoring these backups had absolutely no effect in removing the problems i was having with the troublesome software. not even restoring the backup that was made directly after installing xp, i.e. a perfectly clean operating system, could not work correctly when i tried installing the problem software onto it. the machine is behaving like like it has a homeopathic like memory.

to make it clear what happened:

i installed xp.

i made a backup.

i installed programs - these programs worked perfectly.

i made another backup (complete new backup, so there are now two backup images).

the machine worked perfectly for several days.

i turned the machine on one morning and i suddenly started getting consistent problems with software that had been working perfectly the previous day. nothing had been 'changed' on the machine the day before to cause these problems.

i booted into the other operating system on another partition (on the same drive) and found that the set of troublesome software on the other operating system worked perfectly within this operating system, i.e. no obvious hardware problems to blame.

i then restored the acronis backups that i had made, believing these would be a simple solution to the problem. one backup would allow me to install the programs again from fresh and so they would work perfectly again, and the other backup actually contained the programs in question - BUT the backup was made BEFORE the programs started going haywire so they would obviously work perfectly again when restored.

BUT THEY DIDN'T.

the backups made not one slightest bit of difference to the problem. without there being a hardware problem this looks impossible to me. BUT there is no hardware problem as the other operating system on the machine works perfectly with everything (forget about the dodgy drive problem i was having - it's been working perfectly for days and it isn't the drive were the operating systems are installed).

so, what i'm getting at is this...

my acronis backups were of absolutely no use to me.

i shall definitely backup my data in future but i'm very suspicious now of what a drive image can do. it still makes little sense to me what happened and i won't be surprised if everyone thinks i'm leaving details out or exaggerating - i'm not (unless i sufferred a blackout).

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