20 replies to this topic

[cashbox1]

tommy sounds for a start like the CMOS battery is kaput mate get a new CR2032 for about a quid,replace it and go into your bios set up and reset the date,time etc... then from your start menu click on run and type in msconfig. check your start up processes and see if there are any programs firing up when windows starts that you dont use very often.if so,take the tick out of the box. reboot and all should be well

[todd1970]

Hello all,i'm having mahor trouble with my windows xp towr again,i had it running smoothly last night for about 4 hours whilst i was playing all the old layouts that don't run on vista I thought it had decided to work properly again,but every now and then it just freezes or randomley switches itself off.

Sometimes it takes about 5 minutes just to open the internet up,i'm needing to use my xp tower as i'm working on some older games which run to slow in vista.Also when it's been turned off over night the date and time get reset to july 2004 everytime and making my virus software think it's out of date,has anyone got any ideas to what could be causing these annoying problems,or should i just admit defeat and say it's fecked.thanks for any advice given cheers.

Yeah Tommy..id go with that as well..defo the CMOS battery's gone it was happening to mine a few months ago..cheap enough to buy a new one but sometimes they can be a right pain in the arse to swap over..depending where it is on the motherboard.

As for the machine freezing and rebooting..that could come down to a load of things really..possible overheating (on the CPU or GFX)..dodgy HD..dodgy GFX..bad driver..corrupt installation.

Hard to pinpoint these things sometimes..just a matter of trying one thing at a time.

[jim2311]

Battery failures are becoming quite a common problem with the date error the usual clue.

A few weeks ago I reluctantly took a look at a friends pc. I say reluctantly as he never gives a straight answer to any questions. Anyway, his problem was the computer would start acting up after about an hour or so, becoming slow, picture on monitor freezing and finally switching itself off. Thinking he had a virus he had already done a complete reinstall of windows, without backing up his data.

Although the pc was spotless inside, when I removed the fan from the CPUs heat sink I found a compressed layer of dust etc, the worst build up I have ever seen, not far short of a quarter inch thick that just rolled up like a sleeping bag when I removed it. The PC has been working ok since, so I’m assuming that the layer was preventing the fan from cooling the heat sink effectively thus causing the CPU to gradually overheat.

Of course it is now my fault for the data loss by not dropping bye sooner!!!

[cliffc]

Hi Tommy

I can 100% say the CMOS battery is the cause of your time issues, and about 99% the other problem will be heat related cused by a dead or dieing CPU cooler or dirt on the cpu cooler and possibly on the PSU cooler inlets and outlets.

Regards

Cliff C

[todd1970]

Gonna *bump* and hijack this thread rather than create a new one..apologies Tommy for the hijack...

Got a problem with my GFX drivers for my Dell PC (Dell studio XPS 8100) every time i try and update the drivers it seems to cause a problem...

Its a Nvidia Geforce GTS 240 that came with the Dell drivers pre-installed..but when i go to the Nvidia site and update the drivers it causes lag..random freezes (split second) and the fan seems to kick in for no reason..should only really happen when excessive gaming and there is a high load on the GFX.

Wondering if its best to leave the drivers as they are..the ones that came with it..or it could be summat else thats causing the problems..i have installed the original driver just now..and it seems 'stable' enough..although the temp is 58c..fan speed 35%..memory load 112MB is this 'normal' when idle. ?

A new Nvidia GFX driver comes out about once a month..and when i go to thier site it tells me i have version 191.66 and version 256.86 is out..i should update..but is newer not always better ?

Someone thats clued up on these things may have the answer..id appreciate any replies/advice.

[cainer]

just get win7 instead of xp imo

Edited by cainer, 21 February 2011 - 11:04 AM.

[todd1970]

just get win7 instead of xp imo

Its Win7 im on..maybe it will settle down when Win7 SP1 comes out tomorrow..but AFAIK i think its only x86 for the moment..i could be wrong though.

[cainer]

Its Win7 im on..maybe it will settle down when Win7 SP1 comes out tomorrow..but AFAIK i think its only x86 for the moment..i could be wrong though.

sorry m8 didnt see ur hijack so i was telling tommy to ditch xp for win7.. didnt notice the dates lol

[cainer]

as for the gfx drivers, tbh m8 that card is very old, your not going to see 'great things' from new drivers. just use whats stable imo

[todd1970]

sorry m8 didnt see ur hijack so i was telling tommy to ditch xp for win7.. didnt notice the dates lol

Yeah..sorry that was kinda my fault..i was trying to find a similar thread and just add to it..rather than create a new one..saves the forums getting filled up with a load of dupe/similar threads..

as for the gfx drivers, tbh m8 that card is very old, your not going to see 'great things' from new drivers. just use whats stable imo

As for old..how old is old..ive only had the PC 5 months and wasnt really sure how good one GFX is compared to another..i know the one i had was only a 512MB DDR and this is a 1GB DDR3 so when i was picking it i chose this one..

However..if it turns out to be a pish card with stability issues it will be gettin sent right back and ill tell Dell to shove it up thier pie holes..

[cainer]

As for old..how old is old..ive only had the PC 5 months and wasnt really sure how good one GFX is compared to another..i know the one i had was only a 512MB DDR and this is a 1GB DDR3 so when i was picking it i chose this one..

However..if it turns out to be a pish card with stability issues it will be gettin sent right back and ill tell Dell to shove it up thier pie holes..

it was launched july 2009, but it was a low spec card even then as it was a re-spin of a 2007 chip which performed ~ the same as their 2006 chip http://www.xbitlabs....OEM_Market.html

Edited by cainer, 21 February 2011 - 12:44 PM.

[cainer]

Windows 7 is just as shit as vista when it comes to playing fme,bill gates needs linching

hmm, what probs are you getting under win7? ive not encountered any myself playing emu's on win7, although im a newbie to emu's so my day may come

[ady]

Hi Tommy

and about 99% the other problem will be heat related cused by a dead or dieing CPU Regards

Cliff C

Make that 100% Cliff...exact same problems as I had..

[Daryl]

Windows 7 is just as shit as vista when it comes to playing fme,bill gates needs linching

Tommy I couldn't agree more. I have just purchased a Windows XP Professional (for quite a reasonable price) and Downgraded my computer from Windows Vista HP, which I also had a Windows 7 HP upgrade for. Tried both of them and it is rubbish in my opinion. The sounds are awful in Vista and 7, not just FME games either. My Microsoft Train Simulator crashes regularly on Windows Vista and 7 and also my music just seems awful compared to how it is played on Windows XP.

I went to the Acer website for drivers for my computer. It is a 64-bit operating system, yet they only have the drivers for 32-bit Windows XP! So my computer is running at half its capacity, with only 2.75GB memory showing when there is 4GB in memory on my computer, but is working like a dream compared to when it is on its original Vista and Windows 7.

It is one of the best moves I have made with my computer and I do not regret downgrading at all - until I HAVE to, I will not use any of the newer Windows - they haven't carried on with XP technology in there updated operating systems at all, and in my opinion are going the way of Windows ME with their recent operating systems. Windows Vista, to me, was a joke, and absolutely crap on this computer that it originally came from. The only thing decent about it was the Win-Flip effect, which I have downloaded and installed on my Windows XP anyway.

Thank God you can still buy Windows XP!

[gemini17]

Tommy I couldn't agree more. I have just purchased a Windows XP Professional (for quite a reasonable price) and Downgraded my computer from Windows Vista HP, which I also had a Windows 7 HP upgrade for. Tried both of them and it is rubbish in my opinion. The sounds are awful in Vista and 7, not just FME games either. My Microsoft Train Simulator crashes regularly on Windows Vista and 7 and also my music just seems awful compared to how it is played on Windows XP.

I went to the Acer website for drivers for my computer. It is a 64-bit operating system, yet they only have the drivers for 32-bit Windows XP! So my computer is running at half its capacity, with only 2.75GB memory showing when there is 4GB in memory on my computer, but is working like a dream compared to when it is on its original Vista and Windows 7.

It is one of the best moves I have made with my computer and I do not regret downgrading at all - until I HAVE to, I will not use any of the newer Windows - they haven't carried on with XP technology in there updated operating systems at all, and in my opinion are going the way of Windows ME with their recent operating systems. Windows Vista, to me, was a joke, and absolutely crap on this computer that it originally came from. The only thing decent about it was the Win-Flip effect, which I have downloaded and installed on my Windows XP anyway.

Thank God you can still buy Windows XP!

I more than agree Daryl-I got a 2nd hand rebuild-cost £40 to get new devices etc and £120 for the pc but omg its the fastest computer ive ever had.The computer guy who installed the drivers etc said I would of paid £450+ for the pc in the high street.
And it XP
VIsta was awful-loads a probs with the slots!!!

Edited by gemini17, 21 February 2011 - 02:46 PM.