does computer hardware get old and stop working right?

[Wolfy]

I'm having more and more problems with a couple of computers that are only a couple years old.

Re-installing windows is getting less and less effective.

The machines were both lightning fast when I first got them, and it never occurred to me that a processor or stick of memory might "wear out", but is that possible?

If so, and I need to buy a new machine...

I avoided Vista like the plague. Bought 4 new computers since it came out, reformatted and upgraded back to XP on every single one. How is 7?

[Babaganoosh]

Components can deteriorate with age. Capacitors are especially prone to failure as they get old as most are filled with an oily material that dries out over time. Really a couple of years shouldn't be enough time for that to happen though. I've got old radio equipment that is 30+ years old and it still works.

[Jdoughs]

I'm not sure why some guys think that they are better off with a 5 year old computer, and a 8 yr old operating system. That is so dated, I'm surprised the scripts/programs needed to be ran on the system can even handle it.

There isn't even something 5 years old in my OFFICE, let alone in my computer.

Upgrade man, do yourself a favor and try running a more current operating system, and a more current system. I'm sure you will find it 10 X's better.

The guys preaching about how good XP is compared to WIN7 are fools running 1gb of ram (RAM is cheaper then beer nowadays), and 350mhz processors (not quite, but they might as well be).

[Maqua]

If you find your having problems with a couple of your computer's before spending a few grand on new ones go to Walmart and buy a couple compressed air cans from the electronics department,

it could be that your systems are loaded with dust, take off the covers and blast them down, it may help and speed things up and save you a few bucks!!

Make sure you unplug them first

[Domain Broker]

It's your hard drives getting wore out with age.

[ArsewithClass]

Components can deteriorate with age. Capacitors are especially prone to failure as they get old as most are filled with an oily material that dries out over time. Really a couple of years shouldn't be enough time for that to happen though. I've got old radio equipment that is 30+ years old and it still works.

My old c64 still works I think its all down to the quality of the equiptment. I suppose thats why its always best to buy a decent make.

It's your hard drives getting wore out with age.

Ive always worried that a disc can get worn out losing data. The data is burnt on like a dvd isnt it?

[woj]

Are you having "problems", or is it just slower than usual? It probably appears slower because all the software you use is getting more and more complex, requiring more memory and cpu power...

[HandballJim]

everything gets old, the computer I use most is from 2001 a dell that came with ME, it crashed hard after 2 years, then still under warrenty dell came and installed a new hard drive, then a friend of mine did a system restore and installed XP Pro, well it is still running with only a half a gig of ram. Google does not load...due to a virus (removed it still no google).

Windows 7 seems pretty stable...my wifes laptop has it. I plan on getting a new PC with windows 7 and also keep another one around with XP Pro (way to many programs I would have to upgrade).

[xp-ViT]

Use vacuum cleaner to get dust out of that comps

[rowan]

Use vacuum cleaner to get dust out of that comps

+1

Could very well be something mechanical, eg a CPU fan that is bogged down with dust so the CPU is throttling back to prevent overheating. Could also be a HD issue, eg some dodgy sectors that might take a couple of passes to read successfully.

[Spunky]

I don't think much dust would accumulate only after a couple years.cooling systems have improved over the last couple years and most dust would be exhausted.
Sounds like a compatibility issue,my vista machine which is older than yours runs pretty decent still

[Robert Day]

It is usually the hard drive that needs to be replaced as the tables become more and more corrupt over time.

[Joshua G]

do you perform regular drive maintenance? a friend of mine had excel load slow as molasses. he never heard of defragging. after he defragged, everything ran new again.

[Mr. E]

I'm having more and more problems with a couple of computers that are only a couple years old.

Re-installing windows is getting less and less effective.

The machines were both lightning fast when I first got them, and it never occurred to me that a processor or stick of memory might "wear out", but is that possible?

If so, and I need to buy a new machine...

I avoided Vista like the plague. Bought 4 new computers since it came out, reformatted and upgraded back to XP on every single one. How is 7?

Hate to be the "Mac" guy here, but you gotta love Windows right? I have a 2 year, 4 month old imac with a gutless 2.0GHZ processor and 2GB of RAM that still runs as fast as it did day one. Thats running Photoshop CS3 and Final Cut daily too. Do all my photo and video editing on it. Only maintenance I have ever done was a few repair disk operations. Not only does every Windows release contain tons of bloatware the average user may not know about or know how to delete, it picks up tons more just surfing the net. Meaning you have to defrag and do alot of other maintenance monthly if not more. Time to buy a real computer