# "arghhhhhhhh!" [head explodes]



## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

hello, I am brand new to these forums, and I have been having a problem with my computer (obviously). My problem is that in every somewhat CPU intensive game, it will slow down to an unplayable rate, then speed back up again. this happens about every two minutes and is EXTREMELY annoying. when i say slow down, i basically means stops, because it about 0.2 fps. it will do this for about 20 seconds then return to normal. lately, while the rate of when it happens has not noticeably change, it has started happening in less and less cpu intensive games. for example, it used to not happen in half-life, now it does. I don't think its my 3d card, because it happens in the sims and a certain breakout style game. obviously, I have tried:

-defrag
-changing pagefile size
-checkdisk
-opening up computer and checking if everything was in order
-updating drivers

I have also tried tweaktown forums, but they didn't help. please dont give me obvious answers, they probably wont help. much help would be appreciated, this problem is extremely annoying.

system specs:

intel 1.5 ghz
512 sdram 
geforce 4 ti4200


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## simonkeeps (Feb 15, 2003)

sounds like some sort of cache problem, someone more
techncal might know how to improve it.


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## xXTiKiXx (Dec 23, 2002)

Well, does it happen for any other 3D games, like AVP2, Red-Faction, Himan, etc. ? And since when has it been doing this?


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## xXTiKiXx (Dec 23, 2002)

And if it IS doing this for half-life, check your WONID Every HL or CSRetail player has one, email it to a rep of Valve ent. They can check it, because some wonid's have been streamed throuhg the net illegally, and are fake. Any server with Adminmod or Cheating-Death, can detect this and try and slow or stop the game. Beause it causes a server to lag.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

no, no , no, you misunderstood, it happens for EVERY game, as long as it requires enough "power". e.g. Morrowind, Half Life, Deus Ex, Splinter Cell Demo, etc. its definitely not a game problem, but a system/hardware problem


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

Could do with more system specs . . .
Motherboard make/model
Windows OS
Soundcard details
DirectX version
Hard drive / CD-ROM drive (s)
PSU (wattage)

Is DMA enabled for all drives?
Is the videocard or soundcard sharing IRQ with any other device?

What other software is running at the time?
Any of the following: real-time virus scanner, HD/mobo/memory utilities,
Indexing services (eg. MS Findfast)
etc etc?

Please download & run StartUpList and post the result file here.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

uhh.. i'm running XP, i think the sound card is Sound MAX Digital Audio, Detonator drivers (i forget what, but ive tried changing them back and forth so...) 40 gb hard drive. oh, and here is the startup list thingy

StartupList report, 2/16/2003, 4:02:55 PM
StartupList version: 1.51
Started from : C:\Documents and Settings\Jacob\Desktop\StartupList.EXE
Detected: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
Detected: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)
* Using default options
==================================================

Running processes:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\IAMAPP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\CMPDPSRV.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\navapw32.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\NISUM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\NISSERV.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\Jacob\Desktop\StartupList.exe

--------------------------------------------------

Checking Windows NT UserInit:

[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
UserInit = C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

iamapp = C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\IAMAPP.EXE
CMPDPSRV = C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\CMPDPSRV.EXE
NAV Agent = C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\navapw32.exe
NvCplDaemon = RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
TkBellExe = "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
nwiz = nwiz.exe /install

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

AIM = C:\Program Files\AIM95\aim.exe -cnetwait.odl

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Browser Helper Objects:

(no name) - C:\Program Files\DAP\DAPIEBar.dll - {0096CC0A-623C-4829-AD9C-19AF0DC9D8FE}
(no name) - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_0_2_7.dll - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\Kontiki\bin\bh212112.dll - {029CA12C-89C1-46a7-A3C7-82F2F98635CB}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.ocx - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\NewDotNet\newdotnet4_50.dll - {4A2AACF3-ADF6-11D5-98A9-00E018981B9E}
(no name) - c:\windows\googletoolbar_en_1.1.68-big.dll - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872}

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Task Scheduler jobs:

Disk Cleanup.job
Norton AntiVirus - Scan my computer.job
Symantec NetDetect.job

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Download Program Files:

[iPIX ActiveX Control]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLO~1\ipixx.ocx
CODEBASE = http://www.ipix.com/viewers/ipixx.cab

[RdxIE Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\CONFLICT.1\RdxIE.dll
CODEBASE = http://207.188.7.150/11540341a5419f6ed616/netzip/RdxIE6.cab

[GSDACtl Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\gsda.dll
CODEBASE = http://launch.gamespyarcade.com/software/launch/alaunch.cab

[{731918D2-517A-47E2-886A-3BC1380C591D}]
CODEBASE = http://webpdp.gator.com/v3/download/pdpplugin_4094_hd3ptdm.cab

[{8EDAD21C-3584-4E66-A8AB-EB0E5584767D}]
CODEBASE = http://toolbar.google.com/data/GoogleActivate.cab

[InstallShield International Setup Player]
InProcServer32 = c:\windows\downlo~1\isetup.dll
CODEBASE = http://www.installengine.com/engine/isetup.cab

[PreQualifier Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\System32\MotivePreQual.dll
CODEBASE = http://www.verizon.net/getdsl/system_check/images/MotivePreQual.cab

[Shockwave Flash Object]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\System32\macromed\flash\Flash.ocx
CODEBASE = http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab

[Yahoo! Companion]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_0_2_7.dll
CODEBASE = http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/dl/toolbar/my/yiebio5_0_2_7.cab

[InstallCtl Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\RSInstaller.dll
CODEBASE = http://download.redswoosh.com/Installer/rsinstaller.cab

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Winsock LSP files:

NameSpace #4: C:\Program Files\NewDotNet\newdotnet4_50.dll
Protocol #1: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL
Protocol #2: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL
Protocol #8: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL
Protocol #9: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Windows NT logon/logoff scripts:
*No scripts set to run*

Windows NT checkdisk command:
BootExecute = autocheck autochk *

Windows NT 'Wininit.ini':
PendingFileRenameOperations: \??\C:\DOCUME~1\Adrienne\LOCALS~1\Temp\~f51e43.tmp||\??\C:\DOCUME~1\Adrienne\LOCALS~1\Temp\~f51e43.tmp||\??\C:\DOCUME~1\Jacob\LOCALS~1\Temp\~f51e43.tmp|||L

--------------------------------------------------
End of report, 5,936 bytes
Report generated in 0.828 seconds

Command line options:
/verbose - to add additional info on each section
/complete - to include empty sections and unsuspicious data
/full - to include several rarely-important sections
/force9x - to include Win9x-only startups even if running on WinNT
/forcent - to include WinNT-only startups even if running on Win9x
/forceall - to include all Win9x and WinNT startups, regardless of platform
/history - to list version history only


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## simonkeeps (Feb 15, 2003)

Could Norton be slowing your games down?
I don't really like Norton and wonder if
some of my past problems weren't Norton
related. Try deleting it and then try your
games. It's worth a shot I think.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

I would first make sure it's up-to-date and then run a full virus scan. Then wen playing games you can temporaly disable it by right clicking on the the norton system tray icon.


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Oh I would also go to downloads.com and download and run Ad-aware 6 to remove to spyware on your system.


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

this may be a power suply problem, is your psu output at least 350 w , and allso you have 512 MB memery is that 1 dimm , multible dimms sometimes cause problems with XP.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

pronute: i have no idea what that means but it sounds like a good idea. please explain

triple6: it is pretty obvious that i would have tried that already. and I have.


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## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi, The spyware you have or had....that I see in just a quick look:
Gator , NewDotNet , and 
DAP (Not 100% sure of this one)...
I would at least get SpyBot Search and Destroy....
See the good link in the first thread in our Security forum here at TSG. 

Try DirectX 9.0 from Windows Update, Microsoft. 
Open GL settings in video card software, if the games use that.
BIOS settings.....Load Optimal or Highest Performance settings.
Hope something helps.


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

It's simple fast systems need more power in reserve , and the number of dimm's I still havent figured that out yet , however I built the pc I'm using right now using 3 sticks of pc2700 and it exhibited similar symptoms to yours . I removed one module and it performed normal. I have since found out that lot of other "do it your selfers" have had this same problem diferant boards, memory, and, cpu's the only thing in common is XP and the amount of memory slots used


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay, sorry, but what is a dimm? i did not build this computer, i bought it. the only thing i have done out of the ordinary with the hardware is oc my videocard, but i have returned it to normal

uhh... i've never even heard of Gator or NewDotNet, but i have DAP... what about it? 

look, this probably isnt a software problem, but i guess i'm open minded. what i really want to do is get someone to come in and look at the computer, but being 14 years old, i dont exactly have a huge say on the matter, and i want to do this only if i'm desperate. how could i find some company that does this? how much does it cost?

of course, if you have any more useful suggestions, it would be helpful...


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## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi, Here is some stuff you might read through...sorry, didnt know your age, you sound like someone much more advanced....in years as well as education.
There are different versions of most any program....and, not knowing which ones you have there, I can only advise that you do have or have had some spyware programs that must have snuck into your system. These can interfere with Internet performance quite a bit. If you play your games online, well, enough said. 
You could have a combination problem between software and hardware. Best to remove the spyware with SpyBot Search and Destroy, here is a link to the site. The first link I posted has some excellent directions from Rollin' Rog about how to use and install SpyBot. Spyware does not refer to programs installed on your computer to log info about you so that someone there can tell what you do...they are advertising "goodies" that hog bandwidth, change browser settings, homepages, slow Internet down to a crawl sometimes, things like that, and "phone home" while you are online.

http://forums.techguy.org/t110854/s.html

Here is a page about DAP:http://members.bellatlantic.net/~lkim/spyware.html

Gator and NewDotNet are well known spywares....they can come bundled with another program, so you dont really see them or ask for them....or, they can be installed just by browsing, a window may pop up asking your permission to download them....or, if your security settings are minimal, they may just download and install while you watch.
There is also an LSP fix available....which you may need. Removing spyware sometimes cripples the program it came in with....which is no big deal, if you have to use those programs, SpyBot backs up the things it removes, and they can be restored. 
Have you ever used file sharing programs like KaZaa? Lots of these things come bundled with file sharing programs.
Do not get AdAware 5.83....the program has been upgraded to version 6.0, available free, however it and SpyBot remove some different things, and most people feel that both programs should be used. There are also spyware blocking programs you can get. It's becoming a very big issue these days is all I can say. 
A DIMM is one type of memory module or chip, usually it refers to the 168 pin, SDRAMs....pc100, pc133 like that. 
What the other poster meant was for you to take a module out to see if that improved anything. If you have RDRAM, you have to keep modules in all the slots, or use slot dummy modules..... I think you would know if you had that.


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## simonkeeps (Feb 15, 2003)

I totally agree Byteman. I believe it is software
related and although I took a stab at it being
Norton, if he has Gator, Newdot.net, then that
makes me think that one of these is interferring
with the gaming performance as they run in the
background and cause who knows what kinds
of changes to the registry and crams your system
with dll's that can't be any good for you and your
computer. If it isn't the problem it's still a good
idea to get that junk off.


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## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Thanks simonkeeps! Something is acting up in about two minute intervals....if that is the video card, that is weird. Norton does have a lot of bugs....compatibility type things. Firewalls can be a problem- it's really not easy these days. That DAP program sits in the background as a download manager. All these things together will give you problems with high performance. Step by step process to get it fixed....


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

hmmmm........ that was confusing. i have norton, and i have already tried scanniing my system, but i guess i'll try this search and destroy thing...

i "know" (a.k.a think) this is not a backround task, because none of them move in memory usage in the task manager while it happens, and the performance graph doesnt budge. as for all that stuff about RAM, well, i was thinking about getting 512 rdram, just because it was so damn fast, before this started happening, but i'm still a bit confused on what you all are suggesting.

anyway... i will try search and destroy, but I _really_ dont think this is a software problem. for example, if i am compressing files with system clean up or something, it seems to be enough to cause everything to lag. the mouse, typing, windows, and lag A LOT. not like move a few pixels behind, but like not move at all. i am very confused


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## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi, The basic point is a multiple one:
Too much RAM in one slot can be bad, and with XP, there are some other issues....using more than one memory module, as was suggested by someone back a few posts. Go by the motherboard specs....stick to real good name brand memory. 
Can you use either RDRAM or SDRAM? Motherboard manual for info on that. Post the motherboard make and model, that will help some of us. No manual? We can find one. 
Probably, your RAM is up higher in speed, post what you installed....pc2700, like that. 
It seems like you could have a combination problem, so you have to start somewhere...with the hardware or software! 
Read the info from the thread posted by Rollin Rog from the link I posted about how to use and update SpyBot....you download it, then run it, but do not remove anything just then....have it check for updates.....and install those, then run it and let it remove the items it finds that are checked automatically. Reboot....run it again. There is a setting or two you can uncheck, so it does not display the Usage Tracks, under File Sets, those are History files, etc and do not need to be removed (items that do not have checkmarks in them). 
It looks for over 4400 instances of junkware that you may not even know got installed. They update the Includes files regularly, which makes it very worthwhile.


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## directx9sux (Feb 17, 2003)

I have the same problem you have, but i've isolated it to the keyboard...

My games run fine until I press the txt keys on the keyboard for chat or to check an inventory or something.. then my fps go straight to hell. Then it clears up like the keyboard lagged the whole machine... I can play for hours like this and guarantee lag when i go to type, but perfect smooth gameplay at 32 bit color and 1600x1200 res otherwise.... (arrow/movement keys don't cause it ) 

Test this theory out and get back here with your system specs, maybe we have common things in our machines.. I have same vid card as you...


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## JSanguancheu (Aug 11, 2002)

something else to try:

go to www.pcpitstop.com and have it test your system.

It will give you a results page divided by system parts and rate them with little flags. Checkered black and white race flag means working great. Red or Yellow means it found something you should get rid of or fix. Click on the flags for more explanations.


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## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi, Sounds like you may have another issue....check that keyboard thing out. 
Here is just some new info on one thing you have loading at Startup:
Quoted from VirtualMe's post in another thread::::
____________________________________________TkBellExe = C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\evntsvc.exe -osboot 

Recommendation : 
On many PCs EVNTSVC slows down boot-ups unacceptably, using up to 90% of CPU time at times. There have also been reports of EVNTSVC dropping advertising shortcuts onto the desktop during idle times. Next, if you try to disable EVNTSVC via Startup Manager or MSCONFIG, RealOne Player checks to see if it has been deleted from the Registry and re-instates it as a startup item ! To be fair, there is a facility within RealOne Player to "only perform automatic services while RealOne Player is in use". As stated in our write-up for RNDAL, our recommendation is to de-install RealOne Player and either use the classic RealPlayer, or something else such as WinAmp. If you absolutely want to keep RealOne Player, we suggest you rename EVNTSVC.EXE to EVNTSVC.EXE.OLD as that is the only way to make absolutely certain that it never runs, and RealOne Player works fine without it. 

================================================================


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

Remove NewDotNet NOW!
Read This!
http://doxdesk.com/parasite/NewDotNet.html

If there's entries in Add/Remove programs for NewDotNet / New.net
and Gator, uninstall them!

Then run Spybot Search & Destroy to remove the leftovers.

You should also shut down ALL Norton apps before you play your games.
You only need Norton Internet Security (at the most) running if you're playing games online / over a network. Otherwise, shut all Norton apps down. They are known cpu/resource hoggers.

As Byteman says, RealPlayer's TKBellExe Updater is also regarded as spyware and a cpu/resource hogger. Disable it NOW!
You should uncheck it first in:
start -> run -> msconfig -> startup tab
otherwise you'll get an error message next time you bootup saying "Cannot find TKBellExe / evntsvc.exe"

There's also a few other entries in Enumerating BHO's and Enumerating DPF's that could be spyware and resource hoggers. Spybot and/or Adaware will take care of these for you.

All these parasites are slowing your system down (and, as I said, Norton apps are also bogging the system down at the same time) and together they are all taking resources away from your videocard.

Disable and get rid of these first, then come back and tell us if the problem still persists.
If it does, then we'll examine other possibilities
(hardware, IRQ's, configs, etc).


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

i think my ram is pc133. i have three slots, two of them are filled with 256 sdram i tried switching the slots around and the computer would not start. i downloaded updates for spybot and i am running it as i speak.

ahh! you guys posted about 4 times while i was typing!
um... i found and removed new.net, but gator was not on the add/remove list. the link you posted does not seem to relate to my problem at all but.... i will try restaring my computer(it told me too) and then i will do spybot again. funny, spybot says that there are gator registry thingies, is there another way to remove it?

i have been to msconfig many times, and disabled almost everything. i told you that i have tried disabling norton antivirus and internet security, did absoloutly nothing.

i remember this problem starting around the time i got quicktime and realplayer, but i tried uninstalling both... maybe it has to do with that leftover registry stuff!

anyways... i will try restarting the computer


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

OH MY GOD! IT FIXED IT!

And when i say "fixed it" I mean did absoloutely nothing. i ran spybot and it completed sucessfully, but it did not fix the problem.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

hello? any more suggestions?


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## simonkeeps (Feb 15, 2003)

just a suggstion. Do a clean install of your OS (backup 
your files first of course). Then as you install back the
programs you want remember to be careful not to allow
junk spyware to be added to your system. I bet it
works fine after that, but this is after you tried everything
else of course. I am just not so sure the damage these
programs do is so easily reversable.


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

Yes, a reinstall of XP might be on the cards, but this is a last resort.
There's still a few things left to check yet . . .

First of all, is DMA enabled for all your drives?

Assuming all your drives (hard & cd-rom) are IDE not SCSI . . .

Go to: System Control Panel -> Hardware -> Device Manager
IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
For both Primary & Secondary IDE Channels,
double click to bring up Properties
Advanced Settings tab:
Make sure "DMA if Available" is selected under "Transfer Mode" for both Device 0 and Device 1, and also tell us what the Current Transfer Mode is reporting.

Hard Drives should be running in Ultra DMA Mode (usually "5")

Still in Device Manager, go to:
Disk Drives -> your hard disk -> double click to bring up Properties:
Policies tab:
Make sure "Enable Write Caching on this disk" is checkmarked.

IRQ's
Although they say WinXP handles IRQ sharing (ACPI) perfectly, I'm not so convinced. So let's see what devices are sharing resources.

Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information:
Hardware Resources -> IRQ's
Edit Menu -> select all
Edit menu -> copy
Paste here

You can also do the same with:
Components -> Display

Apart from this, then the problem could lie with drivers, or with BIOS settings.
Where I say drivers, I don't just mean sound & video, but also:
Motherboard / Chipset drivers.
But we really need to know the pc make/model and/or mobo make/model before offering any further advice.

Back to the software side of things:

We now need to see your StartUpList again.
If these entries are still there, then they need fixing:

Enumerating Winsock LSP files:

NameSpace #4: C:\Program Files\NewDotNet\newdotnet4_50.dll 
Protocol #1: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL 
Protocol #2: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL 
Protocol #8: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL 
Protocol #9: C:\PROGRA~1\NEWDOT~1\NEWDOT~1.DLL

*Winsock2 LSP fix:
http://cexx.org/lspfix.htm *

You uninstalled RealPlayer, yes?
How comes this entry was in your startup list?

Autorun entries from Registry: 
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

TkBellExe = "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot

If it's still there, disable this p.o.s.
start -> run -> msconfig
StartUp tab: uncheck "TKBellExe/realsched.exe"

Now, you also say you uninstalled QuickTime, as well as RealPlayer.
Did the problem occur after installing them, or after uninstalling them?


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

Just try the suggestions posted earlier to rule out software. Stop everything running in the background and then try running the game. If the slowdown persists get a bigger power supply because the GeForce cards are power hungry. 

Have you ever optimized the settings in the BIOS for your GeForce card or was the card always in the puter?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

the reason that realplayer was in my startuplist was because i reinstalled it after i ruled it out. removing things from the task manager was one of the first things i tried

all that stuff you listed was already done how you said.

it sounds more like a power supply problem. I mean, it would make sense, wouldnt it? When using up too much power, the computer must "power down" (or something, i really dont know much about hardware) for a few seconds, causing a slowdown, and then it returns to normal. just a speculation.

obviously, since i share the computer with the rest of my family, i cant reformat my hard drive, or reinstall windows. though i'd like to

what is the power supply exactly? is it just where my computer is getting power from? maybe my surge protector has something to do with it? or is it something else? how would I fix it?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

IRQ 0	System timer	OK
IRQ 1	Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard	OK
IRQ 3	Communications Port (COM2)	OK
IRQ 4	Communications Port (COM1)	OK
IRQ 6	Standard floppy disk controller	OK
IRQ 8	System CMOS/real time clock	OK
IRQ 9	Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System	OK
IRQ 12	Microsoft PS/2 Port Mouse (IntelliPoint)	OK
IRQ 13	Numeric data processor	OK
IRQ 14	Primary IDE Channel	OK
IRQ 15	Secondary IDE Channel	OK
IRQ 17	SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio	OK
IRQ 18	NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200	OK
IRQ 18	PCTEL Platinum V.90 Modem	OK
IRQ 19	Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2442	OK
IRQ 20	Intel(R) PRO/100 VM Network Connection	OK
IRQ 23	Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2444	OK

-----------------------------------------

StartupList report, 2/18/2003, 4:38:20 PM
StartupList version: 1.51
Started from : C:\Documents and Settings\Jacob\Desktop\StartupList.EXE
Detected: Windows XP (WinNT 5.01.2600)
Detected: Internet Explorer v6.00 (6.00.2600.0000)
* Using default options
==================================================

Running processes:

C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe
C:\Program Files\Object Desktop\WindowBlinds\wbload.exe
C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE
C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\IAMAPP.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\CMPDPSRV.EXE
C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\navapw32.exe
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\navapsvc.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\NISUM.EXE
C:\WINDOWS\System32\nvsvc32.exe
C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\NISSERV.EXE
C:\Program Files\AIM95\aim.exe
C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE
C:\Documents and Settings\Jacob\Desktop\StartupList.exe

--------------------------------------------------

Checking Windows NT UserInit:

[HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon]
UserInit = C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

iamapp = C:\Program Files\Norton Internet Security\IAMAPP.EXE
CMPDPSRV = C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\DRIVERS\W32X86\3\CMPDPSRV.EXE
NAV Agent = C:\PROGRA~1\NORTON~1\navapw32.exe
NvCplDaemon = RUNDLL32.EXE C:\WINDOWS\System32\NvCpl.dll,NvStartup
TkBellExe = "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe" -osboot
nwiz = nwiz.exe /install

--------------------------------------------------

Autorun entries from Registry:
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

AIM = C:\Program Files\AIM95\aim.exe -cnetwait.odl

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Browser Helper Objects:

(no name) - C:\Program Files\DAP\DAPIEBar.dll - {0096CC0A-623C-4829-AD9C-19AF0DC9D8FE}
(no name) - C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_0_2_7.dll - {02478D38-C3F9-4efb-9B51-7695ECA05670}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\Kontiki\bin\bh212112.dll - {029CA12C-89C1-46a7-A3C7-82F2F98635CB}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 5.0\Reader\ActiveX\AcroIEHelper.ocx - {06849E9F-C8D7-4D59-B87D-784B7D6BE0B3}
(no name) - c:\windows\googletoolbar_en_1.1.68-big.dll - {AA58ED58-01DD-4d91-8333-CF10577473F7}
(no name) - C:\Program Files\Norton AntiVirus\NavShExt.dll - {BDF3E430-B101-42AD-A544-FADC6B084872}

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Task Scheduler jobs:

Disk Cleanup.job
Norton AntiVirus - Scan my computer.job
Symantec NetDetect.job

--------------------------------------------------

Enumerating Download Program Files:

[sys Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\PCPitStop.dll
CODEBASE = http://www.pcpitstop.com/pcpitstop/PCPitStop.CAB

[iPIX ActiveX Control]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\DOWNLO~1\ipixx.ocx
CODEBASE = http://www.ipix.com/viewers/ipixx.cab

[RdxIE Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\CONFLICT.1\RdxIE.dll
CODEBASE = http://207.188.7.150/11540341a5419f6ed616/netzip/RdxIE6.cab

[GSDACtl Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\gsda.dll
CODEBASE = http://launch.gamespyarcade.com/software/launch/alaunch.cab

[{8EDAD21C-3584-4E66-A8AB-EB0E5584767D}]
CODEBASE = http://toolbar.google.com/data/GoogleActivate.cab

[InstallShield International Setup Player]
InProcServer32 = c:\windows\downlo~1\isetup.dll
CODEBASE = http://www.installengine.com/engine/isetup.cab

[PreQualifier Class]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\System32\MotivePreQual.dll
CODEBASE = http://www.verizon.net/getdsl/system_check/images/MotivePreQual.cab

[Shockwave Flash Object]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\System32\macromed\flash\Flash.ocx
CODEBASE = http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab

[Yahoo! Companion]
InProcServer32 = C:\WINDOWS\Downloaded Program Files\ycomp5_0_2_7.dll
CODEBASE = http://us.dl1.yimg.com/download.yahoo.com/dl/toolbar/my/yiebio5_0_2_7.cab

--------------------------------------------------
End of report, 5,085 bytes
Report generated in 0.125 seconds

Command line options:
/verbose - to add additional info on each section
/complete - to include empty sections and unsuspicious data
/full - to include several rarely-important sections
/force9x - to include Win9x-only startups even if running on WinNT
/forcent - to include WinNT-only startups even if running on Win9x
/forceall - to include all Win9x and WinNT startups, regardless of platform
/history - to list version history only


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

The power supply is what the other end of the power cord is connected to on the pc it's a non integrated unit easily swapped out for a more powerful unit you have a pretty new pc so your PSU is an ATX power supply there all rated in max wattage output for example 350 w PSU would have a max output of 350 Watts
As for what they do they convert AC voltage to DC and distribute power to all the components in the computer, a good 350 w psu coasts about $35


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

> removing things from the task manager was one of the first things i tried, i'm not an idiot.


You don't know what a power supply or a DIMM is huh? Check the rating of your power supply. The little box thingy that the power cord thingy plugs into from the wall socket thingy. The power supply has been mentioned numerous times.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

IMHO the video card and modem sharing IRQ 18 is not a good thing and could cause problems. Have you checked in Device Manager for any errors?


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

easy ROCKN the kids barely ouy of diapers


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

Yup, I'd physically move the modem to a different pci slot.
This will then automatically assign it a different IRQ.
Video card sharing with anything is bad, even if Windows XP ACPI says it's ok.

And yes, I agree with everyone else.
A 350W PSU or higher is essential for your system.
Have we determined what your Power Supply wattage is yet?

And did you check the IDE Controllers in Device Manager?
Are all devices/channels running in Ultra DMA mode?
If the Hard Drive or CD-ROM (assuming the game cd is in the drive) is running in PIO mode, then that'll be your problem.
Naturally, this depends entirely on the IDE cables, and whether they're standard 40-pin, or Ultra DMA ATA 33/66/100 80-pin cables.
WinXP doesn't like PIO mode, and it's not too keen on standard DMA mode either.



And please please please remove TKBellExe from your startup
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Real\Update_OB\realsched.exe
Uncheck it in msconfig -> startup tab.
Ending task in Task Manager is not the same as disabling altogether, because the process still remains in memory.
TKBellExe/realsched.exe is NOT the RealPlayer SmartCenter icon in the systray, it's the spyware component which looks for updates and sends usage/tracking statistics back to real.com
Even if it's not the cause of this particular problem, you should permanently disable this p.o.s.

And just for safe measure, run Spybot a couple of more times, because I'm still a bit dubious about a couple of the entries in Browser Helper Objects and Download Program Files.

And as for all those Norton apps . . . well, I've already said my piece . . .


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

> You don't know what a power supply or a DIMM is huh?


Don't mock me, my friend . I didnt mean to make fun of your suggestion, I'm just a little frustrated. Disabling stuff in the task manager is what everyone will suggest. As for all this power supply and DIMM stuff, well... I'm not an idiot in software, but i'm definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to hardware.

Pronute: Shut the hell up! (I mean that in the kindest way possible). Thats the last time I tell anyone my age! . I want my apple juice!

when i said "all that stuff you listed was already done how you said. " I meant I already did that DMA stuff. Sorry, that was ambiguos.

the modem i have had for a while, and we no longer use it (got dsl) so I could just plain remove it. could i just uninstall the device instead of physically removing it?

How do I determine what wattage my power supply is?


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## simonkeeps (Feb 15, 2003)

Careful guys we don't want his head to explode 4 real...


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## Byteman (Jan 24, 2002)

Hi, You'd have to take the modem out, after taking out drivers from either whatever in XP is like Add/Remove Programs (Control Panel) in win9x....and take the entry out of the Device Manager.
Take a look at the label of the power supply on the back....some of them have the label where you cant see it, underneath of course....but try. It's the output watts you want.
Does XP have msconfig??? From Start button....Run. 
If so, you open the Run box....just type in msconfig and hit OK.
On the Startup tab, when you open that, in the list with checkmarks...uncheck the entry there for Real Sched, or TKBell.exe. Most or all of Real Player can be shut off this way...it does not disable the program, just keeps it from starting when you run Windows.


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## genharris (Feb 19, 2003)

Just another .02....
Most new PC's come LOADED with preinstalled "free" software.
However the "Free" comes with a big "adware, spyware, etc."
pricetag.
I didn't read all the sugg. but did u check your startup. try deleating some files in startup. also if you have zonealarm or any firewalls installed? it will kill some game performance 

eg. Diablo2 LOD. would not let the game install. I removed it, the game installed fine. Reinstalled D2, game froze on startup.
good luck


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## anlore2001 (Sep 6, 2001)

2 questions for you, 
1. *Are you running the Active desktop, and if it is enabled do you have anything that is getting an update?*

2. *When this is happening, are you the only user logged into the computer?* What I mean by this is that XP has the ability to have multiple users logged into the same computer at the same time. All you have to do is switch users. When this happens the other person or peoples programs are still running. This may be a problem, expecially if their applications are trying to access the internet. Try to make sure everyone logs out of the computer before you try to play a game.

Just my 2 cents worth.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

urghhh! obvious... suggestions.... not.... helpful... at... all.... head.. gonna... explode.... please... read... all... the... previous... posts... "AARRGGHHH!" [head explodes] EDIT: i was talking to genharris

on another note, i got a blue screen error message saying something about the power supply. obviously, blue screens are not uncommon, but I just realized I've been getting them a lot. just thought I'd tell you, this power supply problem seems a lot more plausible than spyware. I will check the wattage when I get around to it, but lemme just make sure I got this straight.... I open the computer up, and look around where the cord plugs in? and I should tell you what I see?


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

Yes. Where the power cord plugs in.
It will say the wattage on the PSU
eg. 300W

You should always write down exact error messages
It helps the experts to diagnose the problem.
More than likely, your PSU is on the brink of failure,
probabaly because it's not powerful enough to run all your hardware.


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## rmay635703 (Nov 7, 2002)

Hmm, I will have to go through some other forums, this sounds familiar

My computer speeds up and slows down due to X reason.

In my own personal experience when I had a 3com PCI network card installed in a VIA system it was almost impossible to get the card installed when I finally did the system would hang every 15seconds and then go and it was all do to my network card, sound card, video card, modem and scsi card all being on the same irq, it was some type of sharing failure.

Another one I've had before especially in 2000 is when playing certain games it will play for so long and then the hard drive stays on for a while working and everything slows to a crawl until it finishes. I believe its due to a lack of virtual memory.

Just some ideas, I would install a fresh OS if I were you

Cheers


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

We've been through the IRQ's on the previous page.
GeForce 4 and Modem sharing IRQ18
Did you try removing the modem?

Virtual Memory _could_ be relevant.
I don't suppose you've got two hard drives
and maybe you've moved the pagefile to the other drive,
ie. not the drive where Windows XP is installed?
Also, is the pagefile set large enough, or have you adjusted the size?

System CP -> Advanced tab -> Performance -> Settings -> Advanced . . . .

[edit]
Ok, I've just read page 1 of this monster thread again, where you say you've already tried playing with the pagefile settings, and you only mention the one drive (40Gb)
[/edit]

However, it's still looking like a power supply unit problem.

Though there are a few questions left unanswered from earlier.

Rockn asked:
_Have you ever optimized the settings in the BIOS for your GeForce card or was the card always in the puter?_

I asked:
_You also say you uninstalled QuickTime, as well as RealPlayer. 
Did the problem occur after installing them, or after uninstalling them?_

I think Rockn's question was more pertinent than mine, and the PSU even more so.

The only other thing which was mentioned (by simonkeeps back on page 1) that hasn't been investigated further was the disk cache.
Now, this is another thing mainly controlled from BIOS settings, so you'd need to consult your motherboard and hard drive manuals for exact details (if you've got any manuals), though you can experiment by disabling, then re-enabling the disk cache from within windows.

Device Manager -> Disk Drives -> (hard drive) -> properties -> Policies tab
Check/uncheck: Enable write caching on the disk

Note underneath it says:
This setting enables write caching to improve disk performance, but a *power outage or equipment failure* might result in data loss or corruption.

Another thing worth looking into is testing your Dual Inline Memory Modules 
MemTest

Aida32 can also shed some light on whether there's any memory problems,
both physical and virtual.
c/o Motherboard -> Memory (in the left pane)

Just a few more things to look at here.
Should keep you busy anyhow . . .

Any results on the PSU yet?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

see... now _those_ are some helpful posts.

i havent gotten to removing the modem or checking the wattage, I'll do that ASAP (which might not be that soon, possibly a week)

I do have two hardrives, and I did move the pagefile back and forth, but I will try anyway, just to be sure.

_You also say you uninstalled QuickTime, as well as RealPlayer. 
Did the problem occur after installing them, or after uninstalling them?_

It occured _around_ the time I _in_stalled them, but I dont think they are the cause.

_Have you ever optimized the settings in the BIOS for your GeForce card or was the card always in the puter? _

I've been in the BIOS once or twice, but there is very little to change. I have moved the AGP apenditure around a bit, but that was _way_ after the problem started.

"This setting enables write caching to improve disk performance, but a power outage or equipment failure might result in data loss or corruption. "

Would disabling it fix the problem, or just have prevented it from happening if I had disabled it a while ago. Either way, I tried unchecking it, and will restart the computer shortly.

I have no manuals.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Niether of those things fixed the problem.

As I said before, I will check the wattage ASAP, because that sounds like it might be the problem.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay! I finally managed to get enough time to do it! the power supply was a metal box where the power cord plugged into, and it had a blue sticker that had a bunch of caution messages. there was also 250W MAX on their which i assume means that the power supply is 250 watts. 

sorry that took so long, hope this helps you


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## The_Egg (Sep 16, 2002)

Yes, that'll (probably) be your problem.
250W is not powerful enough.
You need a 400/450W PSU


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

Wasn't the power supply mentined like the third post!! READ THE PREVIOUS POSTS B4 MY HEAD EXPLODES!!


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

umm.... wha? if your talking to me, then i've read all the posts. i did start the forum. i remember someone mentioning the psu, but his post was kinda incoherent.... and my memory is kinda fogged up by all those posts about "spyware" and "turning off norton"

but thats OK, the spyware thing probably sped up my computer. or something.....

the PSU looks difficult to remove, it seems to have massive amount of wires and labels attached to it. how hard is it remove, and, more importantly, install a new one? is there any kind of diagnostic I can download/run/perform to be sure that this is the problem?


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## Rockn (Jul 29, 2001)

A power supply is probably the easiest component to remove and replace. It just lloks more difficult because your cables are probably not tidied up at all. Just note the connections you remove and replace them in reverse order when installing the new one. There will probably be leftover connectors with a larger supply so tie them back so they are out of the way. Is this PC a Compaq or a proprietary type system? If it is you will more than likely have to order a PSU from them.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

its a compaq.

so basically, I could just head on down to circuit city, ask for a 400-450 watt power supply unit for a compaq computer, they'll give me one for 30-50 bucks, I'll open it up, carfully remove the old power supply, place in the new on, plugging in the wires to their corresponding slots (will it be obvious what goes where?), tie back any unused cords, and turn on the computer. is that about right? does anyone know of any walkthrough on the internet for doing this? (i'll try looking it up in google in a sec)

to that one person who said something similar was happening to his computer, whats _your_ psu wattage? do you put your computer into standby often? did you recntly install a new piece of hardware?

I recently installed my Nvidia Geforce Ti4200, but it did not start happening till a _while_ after I got it. I got verizon DSL around the time it started, and I installed an _external_ modem for it, and I guess I started using the ethernet card that was already in the computer (DSL requires one). I stopped using the 56k modem, but power might still be going to it. do you think all of this is enough to put the stress on the power supply?

I have a friend who is pretty freaking smart with computers, and he says that this cant have anything to do with the power supply. have you ever heard of this, or anything like ths happening? does it sound right, or are you just guessing?

OK, how about this. I was thinking about buying RAM anyways. I have three slots, 2 filled with 256mb ram, the other empty. i could fill the last slot with 512MB, and try removing the other two. if it was a problem with those two pieces of RAM or their slots, this would fix it, and I could buy even more. if it did not fix it I could return the RAM to their slots, and try with the power supply. just a thought, since I'm going to do this (get more RAM) anyways


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

you guys gonna help any more? like answer any more of my questions? Do you think the RAM thing will help? do you think the power supply thing is more likely? or that modem IRQ thing? do you have any new ideas or suggestions? c'mon guys, I would really apreciate(sp) it if you helped me fix this.


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## anlore2001 (Sep 6, 2001)

> _Originally posted by soggycrouton:_
> *you guys gonna help any more? like answer any more of my questions?*


As far as Me... NOPE. You haven't answered my previous questions... which were valid, except you type the following


> *urghhh! obvious... suggestions.... not.... helpful... at... all.... head.. gonna... explode.... please... read... all... the... previous... posts... "AARRGGHHH!" [head explodes] *


 With that type of attitude (and some of the smartarse responses you posted to other people who are trying to help you), I'm surprised you are getting any help at all.

My suggestion would be this... *Tell one of you parents that there is a problem with the computer and have them look at it.*


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

heh.... yeah sorry about that.... I'm just REALLY frustrated. I dont mean to be a smart *** (tho I guess I am), but I just get a lot of the same answers over and over again. Also, I wasnt really talking to you when I said that, but I'm sorry anyway. sorry. seriously.

lets see... you asked....

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Are you running the Active desktop, and if it is enabled do you have anything that is getting an update?

2. When this is happening, are you the only user logged into the computer? What I mean by this is that XP has the ability to have multiple users logged into the same computer at the same time. All you have to do is switch users. When this happens the other person or peoples programs are still running. This may be a problem, expecially if their applications are trying to access the internet. Try to make sure everyone logs out of the computer before you try to play a game.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1.You mean the active web desktop? No, never even gone to that option before you metioned it.

2. No, this has nothing to do with that... I know how that stuff works, I log off when playing games.

So uh... anyone who has a beef with me for being sarcastic or something, then I apologize. Your help will be apreciated(sp)

I'm better at the computer than my parents, the only thing they do is make sure I dont break the computer when I open it up, and uh... drive me to circuit city


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## wahsah (Mar 11, 2003)

If you run the Task Manager while you are playing a game, it will stay on top of your desktop. Bring up the "performance" tab, and watch to see if your cpu runs to 100%, or if your page file usage is going too high, causing your game slowdown. Also, you can make note of the exact time when your computer starts to slow down, and go into the adminstrative tools/event viewer to see if anything was starting up, or if any failures were noted, when your computer slowed down.

Use your motherboard utilities to monitor cpu temperature, fanspeed, and critical voltages. You could also try SiS Sandra to run benchmarks and burn-in tests on your hardware, in order to isolate weak components. My guess is that you are pegging your cpu usage, which causes the slowdown. An overworked cpu will overheat, then throttle itself back until it cools down/catches up.

PC133 sdram and 1.5 mhz is probably at the low end of acceptable for any serious gaming. Even though you have a pretty good video card, high resolution and fast refresh rates will still burden your system. If you are running at 100% cpu usage for longer than short bursts, it will slow down the entire system.

(I'm running a P4 at 2ghz with 512mb of PC2700, with an ATI 8500dv, and sometimes it has to stop to catch its breath when I ask it to do too much.)

Hope this helps.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

thank you.

See, I can be civil!

No, but seriously, I already tried this:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
If you run the Task Manager while you are playing a game, it will stay on top of your desktop. Bring up the "performance" tab, and watch to see if your cpu runs to 100%, or if your page file usage is going too high, causing your game slowdown.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems like something should happen, but nothing does. I will try it again, but I remember nothing abnormal happening. I also tried the event viewer, which was suggested by the tweaktown forums. I dont blame you, however, these both are things that I thought could help.

"Use your motherboard utilities to monitor cpu temperature, fanspeed, and critical voltages."

Holy crap! How do I do that? That sound extremely useful, since cpu temp has been mentioned, power supply has been mentioned (I assume the power supply has to do with critical voltages).

-----------------------------------------------------
My guess is that you are pegging your cpu usage, which causes the slowdown. An overworked cpu will overheat, then throttle itself back until it cools down/catches up.
------------------------------------------------------

Yes, the Tweaktown forums mentioned something about the computer overheating, then slowing down until it catches up, or whatever. If you mean by "pegging up my CPU usage" that I run system hog games, then well... sure, but I've been doing that forever! There has to be something that has caused this to start, right?

I plan to get more RAM, I cant decide whether to get just a crapload more of SDRAM, or to get less RAM, but make it better (what you have sounds nice). But this slowdown thing has kinda held it off until later. If anyone thinks it well help, then I will try that.

How much would that PC2700 cost?


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## wahsah (Mar 11, 2003)

Usually, the disk that comes with your motherboard drivers has a utility program included. If you don't have it, go to your m/b manufacturer's site, and download the utility. While you are there , make sure that you have the latest m/b bios and drivers. Your XP update function should take care of the drivers, but will not check for bios updates.

If you are running your games on your cd/dvd drive, you should make sure that your atapi (cd) drive is running on one ide contoller as master, and the hard drive is running as a master on the other ide contoller. If you are running your boot drive and your cd drive on the same controller, (one as master and one as slave) you throughput will slow down during periods of high access to both devices. Always try to run your atapi devices on a different controller than your hard drive. If you have two hard drives, run the second (non-boot) drive as a slave on the same controller as your atapi (cd) drive. Make sure that your ide controller drivers are current, and are the ones designed for Windows XP. Your motherboard, being a little older, probably needs speciifc controller drivers for XP. As was mentioned in other posts, make sure that your hard drive is running in UDMA. (Mode 5, ATA100, is the fastest supported by XP).

The Sis Sandra software I referred to can actually measure drive throughput, among many other things, and is a very good hardware troubleshooting application.

As to PC2700 sdram, your m/b probably cannot support it. (If you had a few hundred bucks to blow, you could upgrade your m/b, cpu, and memory. Look here for great prices on hardware - http://www.pricewatch.com/)

Or, you could curl up with a good book and a J.D. on the rocks.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

so I would go to the compaq website to get those utilities, or the intel site?

the CD/DVD is not the problem, some of the games I play use no CD but it still happens. even some for some non-games it happens. for example, when I am using disk clean up to compress rarely used files, it happens in the windows screen, and the mouse lags, etc.

I already made sure that my hard rive is running in UDMA.

oh, yeah, and I already used SiSoftware Sandra a while ago, I dont recall that it helped me ffigure out the problem


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

is everyone really mad at me for being a smartass? no one is answering my posts anymore! i said I was sorry! or has everyone just given up, or they dont feel like reading all of the previous posts?

I went through some old threads and the power suppy sounds like a likely problem even more now. what are the symptoms of an under powered computer? its possible that the addition of the video card and/or DSL caused the computer to not have enough power?


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

well this may be kinda incoherent but.
yes!

no.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

no! I didnt mean incoherent because what you type was badly written! I meant because I didnt understand it! because I didnt know what a PSU or a dimm was! besides, you said that I was barely out of diapers.


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

Ok lets see your present PSU is 250 watts, Intel recommends at least 250 watts that means that you have the minimum requirements for a base Pentium 4, CPU, 64 MB of memory, 1 hard drive, 1 CDROM drive, floppy drive, basic video card. however Compaq is very carefull in thier selection of components for thier systems they must make sure that every thing is compatible so every thing works properly.your system is working optimally despite your nitpicking it to death. (I can be a wise *** toolol) Face it you have a Compaq nothing you do to it will ever meet your expectations of it no matter what you do. When I first posted my reply about 10000 post ago I thought you where a computer nerd like me I didnt know you where a young novice. If I had realized that you where inquiring about a commercially available machine and not a home built I would not have mentioned the PSU (power supply unit), or the DIMMs (dual inline memory module). As far as the PSU, well its a Compaq and most of there components are proprietary and that means you probably will not be able to use off the shelf components including the PSU which means youll have buy it from Compaq for four times the price of a off the shelf unit, the power supply may not, in all likely hood be your problem. Chill out sit back use this machine to the best of your ability and when you ready to build your own PC, all the great people at TSG will help you threw the rough parts so you can tweak to your harts content.


Bob 0<


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I've been trying to just relax in front of this machine for a while, and its driving me nuts. did I say it happens every 2 minutes? its more like 45 seconds. I hate this freakin' problem. I dont think I can wait however long until I can build a computer, or even buy a new computer.

so you'd say that the power suppply is most likely not the problem? and even if it is then I'll have to buy it from compaq for four times (I hope youre exaggerating). there's a difference between facing my expectations, and, well, whats happening to it now.

You say 250w is minumum for:
Pentium 4, CPU, 64 MB of memory, 1 hard drive, 1 CDROM drive, floppy drive, basic video card.

But I have:
P4, CPU, 512MB, 2 hard drives, 1 CDROM drive, 1 DVD drive, floppy drive, Geforce 4 Ti4200(compared to the Geforce two 16mb the system came with)

this seems way above the max, but most of these came with the computer.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Usually I don't try to get involved with 4 page threads unless I've been following along, so bear with me on this......as I have scanned back thru and even though some important things have been mentioned time and time again, it appears that some of them are not implemented for the duration.

Startup items, get rid of EVERYTHING except the systray, scanreg and power profiles (not that familiar with XP yet, so someone may correct me there).

You said you got an external modem......so disable the modem inside of the device manager, control panel, or whatever XP calls it. In 98 you can place a check mark to disable in this hardware profile, hopefully in XP you can do the same thing.

I'm concerned as well with the power supply....you indicate most of the devices came with the machine? I'm betting the second hard drive didn't. BTW, what model is the Compaq? 

I would also try opening the case and temporarily unplugging the drives you don't need for the games you are playing to see if the power consumption makes a difference.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

I have been on the side lines watching this thread to see what transpires. It seems to me that the only way to figure out what has happened (since the computer was apparently operating satifactorily up to some point in time) is to back up and and do a process of elimination. First and foremost a little more history is in order.

What are the specs on the Compaq? (Model, etc)

How was it originally configured (Operating system, Hardware, etc.)

Did you purchase it new? (If so, what happened to the manuals).

What have you added or installed to the basic configuration since you got the machine?

Once everyone knows for sure what we're dealing with then possibly we can help you get it running as optimal as possible.

Please remember that every one on this forum are volunteers. If everyone keeps their respective questions and answers to the point and refrain from smart arse remarks, we might just solve this issue. Above all Soggy you have to be patient and try the suggestions whether or not you have tried them before or think the suggestion has nothing to do with the problem. For example, a few days ago we were helping someone with boot up problems and we advised them to disconnect everything form the mother board except one stick of ram, the video card and the processor to see if they could at least get the machine to POST. A few days later the individual replied back that they took the machine to a repair shop to have the problem repaired. The repair shop found that the floppy disk drive was defective and everything worked fine after disconnecting it from the mother board. Duh. If he/she had followed our suggestions they could have saved that money!

Let us know.

Kilowatt


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## Triple6 (Dec 26, 2002)

Soggy...you mentioned something about your videocard and oc - do you mean you overclocked your videocard? If so its possible you may have damaged it. Secondly, most compaqs have small cases and extremely underpowered powersupply - yes, I know its been mentioned several hundred times already but its a common cause of the problems your having. Try running the computer with the side off and monitor the temp in the computer - point a room fan into the computer to cool it and see if it helps.

Another thing - you also mentioned that you have 2 pieces of ram and that you swapped slots and it no longer would boot. try using one piece at a time. If your computer fails to boot with only one piece than you have one piece of Bad ram.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Oh, great, I'm glad you guys havent given up on me. It's nice to know there is still some hope

kilowatt1: Yes, I apoligize once again for anything mean or sarcastic to anyone. I realize that you guys are helping me of your free will and that I should be more respectful, but I did not really realize that earlier.

How do I find out the specs? I bought it at Circuit City and I dont know whether they gave me a manual with it or not. I will look around, but is there any other place I can find the specs? I think I saw something like that in the BIOS, but I forget where.

It was originally configured with windows XP, and the only hardware components I have added are my new vid card and the exterior DSL modem.

What do you mean purchase it new? As I said, I got it from circuit city, do they typically include a manual?

AcaCandy: Holy crap man, thats a lot of posts. I'm intimidated  . By startup items, do you mean the system config utility, in the tab startup? sure I can try that.

I dont think I can disable _external_ devices in the device manager, only internal, right?

the machine came with a C: and a D: drive.

well, I suppose I could try unplugging everything unecessary, but I'm afraid that I'll screw it up. I'll try that later if all these other suggestions dont fix it.

By the way, I finally got to removing the modem. I wasnt using it, so I guess it wont affect.... uhh... effect --whatever-- the power supply (or maybe it will). Still, it was sharing an IRQ number with the video card. I havent gone into a game to test this out yet if it helped.

okay, triple6 replied while I was typing. I still believe it could be the power supply, even though its been said a bunch of times, it still hasnt been resolved.

I hope my card isnt damaged its pretty new! this di occur to me, but no one else thought it made sense. plus the problem happens in non 3d games so... I dunno.

I didnt even know it was safe to run the computer without the side on! the RAM thing sounds plausible too... I will try these both, but not immediatly.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

removing the modem did not fix the problem


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

What model number is the Compaq........

When you say it came with a c: and d: drive, I'm still going to assume it's one drive, partitioned into the secret 'd' partition with the Compaq restore info, and the c: partition where you have everything else.


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

This may have been addressed before but are you using multiple users? That is to say everyone on the computers having their own desktops, I had one system that was coming back to me 2 times a month exhibiting similar problems turns out one of the user accounts was corrupted, I removed the bad user account and it was fixed.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I told you that I dont know what model it is (or maybe I said specs, but whatever). how can I find out the model number

I rarely have more than my own username running, but it does not fix the problem. what do you mean corrupted? how can I find out if this is it? what do you mean by similar problem? what was happening?


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

What the similar problem was is constant lock ups followed by a full memory dump, then a automatic reboot. Any file in the average PC can become corrupted due to a number of factors it could be incorrect shut down, miss installed software, power interruption during disk activity, any number of factors can cause this windows usually deals with this many different ways. If you have a corrupted user it really makes no difference which one it is or which one your using the OS still has to deal with it by stealing resources from the desktop that's active at the time that explains the slow downs and lock ups. You can try to delete all user accounts and see if that clears things up.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Use the auto detect my system button:

http://www29.compaq.com/falco/sp_list.asp?cat=Desktops&fam=Presario


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I'm using that auto detect thing right now. how long is it gonna take? can I play my game in the front?

I cant delete all of the user accounts because they are all in use by my family and me. unless we narrow it down to DEFINITLY being that (and I doubt we will) then I would rather not. is there any program that searchs for errors? thats sounds like scandisk, but I have run that numrous times.

okay, I ran it, here are the results:

Your Category: Desktops 
Your Family: Presario 
Your Series: Presario 5300 
Your Model: 5320US 
Your Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Is there anything else you guys want me to do, or any unanswered questions you want?


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Soggy,

Please go to and add THIS to your favorites. It is exactly what is installed on your machine. You might want to read through it. I have to leave for a bit, just wanted you to know that we haven't forgot about you.

Kilowatt


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## Jedi_Master (Mar 13, 2002)

Howdy there soggycrouton...

Just a question...

When you notice the slow down, can you check and see if the hard drive light is on ?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

the hard drive light.... you mean the... wait. OK, there are two lights next to the power button. one has a cylinder picture on top of it, the other is just blank, with a very dim light that is always on. the cylinder blinks around randomly all the time, and the other is always on. are these what you had in mind?

kilowatt1: ok, thanks


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## Jedi_Master (Mar 13, 2002)

Yes...that is the one I had in mind the one with the cylinder picture...

Does it stay on when you notice the slow down ?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

well, its always blinking around, but I'll check if it just stays constant


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## Jedi_Master (Mar 13, 2002)

If you notice that it is staying constant, try stopping the Indexing service, and see if it helps...

Right click on My Computer-Manage-Serivces and Applications-Services-find the Indexing service-right click on it and choose stop...


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

-no, it seems to continue to blink, but its a little hard to tell. you see , the case is decorated with that colored plastic stuff on the front, and the light shines through that, but not well.

-I went to that page. very useful, thank you, but I dont think it will help fix the problem. if there is anything you think I should download off that page, however, just tell me.

-btw, I finally tried actually removing EVERYTHING from the msconfig startup menu. I delayed so long on this because I didnt really think it would help, and I was correct.


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## MrDave (Mar 21, 2003)

'raises hand' I had the exact same thing when I upgraded from a Geforce 2 to a Geforce 4 Ti4200. What I found to be the problem was the power supply. I swapped in a 400W to replace the 250w (around $100) and the problem went away. I also found that my Vid Card in XP wasnt registering at 4x AGP, but at 2x no matter what I did in the bios, drivers, etc. Might want to check that as well in Display Properties. Just my 2cp..


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

SWEET!

how did you get the power supply? did you have to order it from compaq? or what?

note: when I do get a new psu, I will need you guys to help me install it, and remove my old one. as I said, it looks complicated. It looks as if the fan is built into the psu, which is coming out of the computer.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

The fan IS PART of the power supply  It is a square box.....is attached by approximately 4 to 6 screws.......usually phillips


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

does that mean that I have to buy the new fan AND psu? or just a new psu, and then use my old fan?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

http://www.epinions.com/cmhd-Accessories-Power-All-Compaq-Power_Supplies

http://www.compaqrepair.com/powersupply/#5003US


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## MrDave (Mar 21, 2003)

Any computer parts store should sell the PSU, and it comes complete as a unit for swapping in, shouldn't need any parts off the old one except the mounting screws. Your computer should be a standard ATX case, so you shouldn't need anything special from Compaq, but when making the decision, remember that you do get what you pay for. Make sure that it's returnable and has a warranty of sorts Make sure you get one that says P4 compliant as well, whether or not your Intel 1.5 is a pentium 4. This is so that you can use the PSU on future rebuilds of your machine, and if you don't have a P4 right now, it'll just have an extra wire hanging off the supply. I'm going to look for an article I saw on swapping the PSU..if i can find it, I'll post a link.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

wait....

Mrdave says that I can buy it from any computer store, but AcaCandy showed me a page that made it look like I had to buy a specific one for my model. also, I remember someone syaing that I could buy a good 300watt power supply for 30-40 bucks, but these cost $200. 

what do you guys recomend? just going to circuit city and buying one, or buying one off the internet? or should I buy it straight from compaq? where did MrDave get his for $100?


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## MrDave (Mar 21, 2003)

Futureshop  but I'm sure any local computer store will have one; and go for 350-450W as future upgrades will need more power.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

My links were trying to show you what one looked like. 

However, with the Compaq, I think I'd remove it first and take it shopping with me


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

ok I took a picture of 3 PSU's the one on the left is from a Compaq the middle is from a HP, the one on the right is a standerd off the shelf 350 watt PSU if your PSU looks like the two on the left you have to Buy from Compaq I looked it up and the the highest they offer is 250 watts


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

its hard to tell which one it looks like while its still in the computer. to be honest, it doesnt really look a whole lot like any of them, but if I had to pick one, I would go with the big one on the right. it has a metal wire over the fan, but aside from that, they are pretty similar, like with the positioning of the plugs to the fan

were you serious about removing it and bringing it with me? I'd rather avoid that

I went to futureshop, and could not find anything having to do with power supplies


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I found one that looks good price/performance wise. will this work on my computer?

click me

the main thing I am worried about is the fact that it has two fans, the one on top does not look like it would have a place to go out of my computer. aside from that, though, it looks very similar to my own PSU


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## MrDave (Mar 21, 2003)

Seriously, you'd be better off taking it with you..Theyre pretty easy to remove/ replace, it would avoid the guessing game, and save a lot of potential headaches; If you're buying one, you'll have to remove the PSU anyway...Something else you might try is to examine your case, looking for any type of ID tag..If you have a tag, look for the case type, standard cases are ATX, but as AcaCandy alluded to, manufacturers will sometimes use their own designs to keep you buying their products.


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## Hillbly (Mar 23, 2003)

Okay, I know you said you defragged, but if you let computers manage your swap files automatically, they will not be defragged. Try managing them manually, and defragging your system, than let windows manage them after that. 

Just a thought
Hillbly


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## Luthorcrow (Jun 1, 2002)

Just a few points.

I have a Compaq 7120US model. My model came with 300 PSU and I have had no problems with adding an additional drive, Geforce Ti 4400, and additional memory. I researched upgrading the mobo and found out from Compaq that both the case and the PSU are standard ATX forms. This is important becuase some companies wire the PSU to a different standard than ATX and will fry a none proprietary mobo.

That said I would assume yours is also ATX so you should be free to replace your PSU with any of the non-Compaq units. But if you want to be sure, prior to removing the bad boy. Why not just call Compaq Tech Support and find out.

Also, as stated before I would make sure to label all of the connecters and connect spots for easy of reference on install.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Hillbly: I think I already defragmented the pagefile as well

MrDave:what will I keep it in if I bring it with me? I mean, isnt there like some danger of it being damaged by like.... static or something (I told you, I dont know hardware  ). do you mean the ID tag of the case, or the psu? the psu had some things saying "replace with part [insert long number here]". I wrote this down, but I think I lost the paper, so I'll have to open up the computer again. where would I find the case number? just look everywhere inside the case? I'll try that

is it _really_ easy to remove the psu? as I said before, it looks difficult. plus, if something goes wrong, then I wont be able to ask you guys about it, because the computer wont be working!

Luthocrow: that sounds hopeful. your saying that "any" (you know what I mean) PSU will do? good. that seems right, my psu really doesnt look anything like those other two that pronute posted, it looks more like the one on the right that he posted, or that I posted, minus the extra fan.



> Also, as stated before I would make sure to label all of the connecters and connect spots for easy of reference on install.


What do you mean? Label with small stickers or something? what would I put on the labels? red wire goes here, big blue wire goes here?

Why didnt I think of calling compaq tech support? I mean... I know they wouldnt have helped me with figuring out the problem in general, thats why I went to you guys. they would have probably just given me some crappy suggestions, and then made me pay for a new computer. or.... I dunno. however, they should be helpful in terms of making sure I get the right case.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay, I opened up my computer, heres what I found:

the blue sticker on the power supply that said what the wattage was also said this:

Part No.: 243890-001
Relpace with Compaq Spare No.: 244166-001

the only thing on the case for its number was a little engraved thing that said:

2B559-002 Rev. B TB

I dont know whether this is this the case number or not. BTW, I just realized it said my computer model on a sticker right on the side of my machine!  Sorry, about that, if I had seen that earlier it would have sped this up.

After another look at the psu, it seems that the reason it will be difficult to remove is NOT because of the power supply iself, it seems all I have to do is unscrew 4 screws. What _will_ be difficult is the multitude of wires that go from the power supply to the DVD, CD, floppy, and hard drive. One of the clumps of wires goes, like, between one of those, gray, flat cords and a clamp or something. Its crazy, I hardly know where to start.

Would it temporarly help the problem if I unplugged the DVD and/or floppy drive? I just want to temporarily stop it, and we dont use either of these very often.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

In order to remove the power supply ALL the wires from all the drives will need to be disconnected.....as well, there may be a screw holding the switch to the power button. Compaqs are very crowded to work in, and you'll probably end up having to dismantle a bracket here or there too....especially if the power supply doesn't slip out the backside after it is unscrewed.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

What? dismantle a... wha?

so, basically, every single wire to every single drive, including the ones that are not going to the psu(if there are any) will have to be removed?

the power button is in the front, no?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

All the power wires to all the drives will need to be disconnected. The gray cables, no.....but depending on which side of the computer the power supply slides out to, it may be easier to disconnect everything and move the cables out of the way.


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## Luthorcrow (Jun 1, 2002)

> ...easy to remove the psu? as I said before, it looks difficult. plus, if something goes wrong, then I wont be able to ask you guys about it, because the computer wont be working!


Easy. No, I think that is an exageration. Easy is adding a video card, adding a stick of memory, adding a harddrive, these things are a snap. A PSU is little more envolved. But is not on the order of replacing your MOBO and is easier in the since that there are no driver/software related issues. Its just a unplug/remove and plug in/attach thing.

As for Compaq tech support, no I don't mean that they will help with the problem. God no. But they can answer a basic question such as whether you specific model power supply and case meet ATX standard formats and whether you MOBO is safe to take a new PSU that meets ATX standard. Other than that I wouldn't expect much.

As for the wires, yes tagging the individual wires and places they connect on your MOBO is exactly what I mean. It's just like working on old motorcycle. If you create a system of notation and are careful in the dismantle process you will get it all back together just as it was before.

Also, here are some tutorals, I would suggest printing before your big adventure.

Before you buy
http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/

Before you touch the inside of your PC
http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/buildsys/page5.asp

Actually Doing It
http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/powersupply1.html

http://support.gateway.com/support/manlib/cmponts/Process/8508750/08750c01.htm


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## MrDave (Mar 21, 2003)

You might be better off phoning the store you intend to purchase the PSU from and talking to a tech there and asking what they would charge you to replace the unit, as the reattachment of wires can be confusing if you've never built a system, or done the PSU swap before. Spent some time searching for your part number, this is all I could find. Doesn't indicate whether or not it's ATX


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

That is not an ATX power supply this is the part number your unit 243890-001 according to mrdaves pic of Compaq's replacement the main power connector (that is the connector that powers the motherboard) this is a 24 pin keyed connector which means that it's proprietary you will have to buy it from Compaq. Before you ask, a regular ATX PSU main power connector is 20 pins and will not work with your Compaq.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay, so I cant buy any psu, I have to buy it from compaq. and, as someone already mentioned, it will cost, like... 4 times the amount. I hope he was exaggerating, because that... kinda sucks. so! should I just contact compaq and ask them how I could order a 300-400 watt power supply? or would it be easier another way?

assuming pronute is _sure_ that this is not an ATX psu. hesprobably right, but still.

about installing it...



> Easy. No, I think that is an exageration. Easy is adding a video card, adding a stick of memory, adding a harddrive, these things are a snap. A PSU is little more involved.


yeah... it will probably be kinda difficult, since the only thing I have ever done _in_ the computer is put in my video card. I could find out if there was anyone at the college my dad teaches at who could install it, or I could do what MrDave suggested. or I could just find anyone who would do it

wait a sec!

"The older AT style is usually found in first generation Pentium and older AMD machines. If your machine is less than 3 years old, it most likely has an ATX style power supply."
-http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/powersupply1.html

so what is my power supply? its newer than three years.

oh, and one more question. will it temporarirly help the problem if I unplug the DVD and/or floppy drive?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Look at the connector to the motherboard (from the power supply).....is the white connection one part or two parts? If it's one part, it's ATX, if it's 2 parts, it isn't. Mine is less than 3 years old and is not ATX......


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I wasnt sure what you meant by one or two parts so I'll just tell you what I saw. the cord starts out with small multicolored wires and splits up to the different hardware components. the one that goes to the mobo connects to it with a small white plastic thing. I assume this is what you are talking about. it is small, square and four of the colored wires go into it. I think this is what you mean by one part, but I'm not sure.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I dowloaded some kind of utility. I had some trouble setting it up, and cant get the thing that reads the fan to work. it then occured to me.... maybe the fan just isnt running! I dont know if 100 farenhieght(sp) is high, but perhaps the black fan attached to the motherboard is not working, and this is causing the problem! just a thought.


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Those types of monitors are only good if your fans have sometype of feedback control on them. I'ved tried them before, all my fans work fine, but all the monitor programs do is sound the alarm telling me a fan isn't working....  

The temp gauge on my heatsink is a much better measure.

Also, 100 degees F is not considered hot for a CPU to run.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

ok, nevermind then.

so.... I told you what I think the cord was. anything else you want? BTW, I plan to contact compaq(actually, I think compaq no longer exists, now its part of HP). I'll ask them if they know what type of power supply my computer is, and how I would go about buying a new one from them. but if you have anymore suggestions, just say so.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I contacted compaq and, to say the least, they were not very helpful. I have attached the e-mail he sen to me. as far as I can tell, the only question he answered that I cared about was how to buy one. he told me what the spare number was, but he didnt tell me if it was _required_ that I buy it from them. plus, th spare is the same wattage as my current one, so it probably wont help.

oh, yeah, and since you wouldnt answer my question about unplugging the DVD drive  , I tried it anyway, and I couldnt even get the cord out! I pulled as hard as I could, and the cord that goes from the PSU to the DVD wouldnt come out of the DVD!

so, basically, since all my plans have failed.... um.... what should I do?


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## rosh325 (Jan 30, 2003)

at this point can you try and borrow a digital camera from someone so you can post some pics....for example..maybe acacandy can see ur power connectors....as for pulling the power cable out of drive...there might be things on either side to squeeze in order to disconnect. The cable connections are not that hard (they were my fear too when i built a system)..basically all it is is a main power cluster which plugs into the motherboard (if it is an atx board..there is only one way to connect this)....and the rest are cables that plug into your devices (including a smaller floppy power connector)..the gray cables are probably IDE cables, which connect your drives to the motherboard


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

> _Originally posted by soggycrouton:_
> *the cord that goes from the PSU to the DVD wouldnt come out of the DVD!
> *


If it's connected, it must be able to be disconnected. Try to wiggle it loose bit by bit.

And yes, it sounds like you have an ATX power supply. I've never replaced on in a Compaq, so I'm not sure they have the same problems as Dell machines, if you use another company's power supply, you fry the motherboard.


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## AlwaysLearning (Dec 8, 1999)

First time reading this thread. It sure would'nt hurt to unplug those devices(I saw something suggesting similar earlier). I have also in the past encountered a power connection to a drive that was impossible for me to unplug manually(tight! and hard to grip). Careful use of pliers was required.
I have had a similar problem in the past and it was a software issue though I can't remember the details. If it was me, before I threw money at it, I would as a last resort do a clean install of windows(recovery or whatever compaq calls it)
Good luck


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

hello AlwaysLearning! im glad youve come in on this wild goose chase. I mean-- attempt to fix my computer. just kidding. will reinstalling windows erase all my data from everything. if so, and probabely even if not so, then I cannot do this.



> And yes, it sounds like you have an ATX power supply. I've never replaced on in a Compaq, so I'm not sure they have the same problems as Dell machines, if you use another company's power supply, you fry the motherboard.


do you mean that dell computer's have this problem, and your not sure whether compaqs' do or do not? didnt you say I would have to buy it from compaq only if it was _not_ ATX? or are you saying that even if it is ATX that I'll have to buy it from compaq? anyways... I dont really mind buying it from them, just as long as I can. if the only part thay have that will work in my computer is the spare PSU that has the same wattage.... well.... that'll suck.

anyways, I just got a new printer with a snazzy (heh... snazzy) scanner, so I'll get a pic of the inside of my computer ASAP.


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## AlwaysLearning (Dec 8, 1999)

Recovering is the compaq term and yes all data will be gone. Do you have a recovery cd? Data can be backed up. If you cannot do this, you 'MAY' have to live with the problem. 
As far as power supply, it looks like some models are specific to compaq and some are not, but could'nt find an answer for your model.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

yes, I do have a recovery CD (somewhere) and I actually have some data from a long time ago backed up, but it is corrupted. in other words, I could do this, but it will be last resort. I just got an idea, I'm gonna try it.


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## foxfire (Jan 14, 2003)

Keep at it Soggy Crouton. I really admire your tenacity(& that of your advisers) because I would have put my boot to it long ago-had it been my PC.
Best wishes & I look forward to reading your ultimate success.

Foxfire


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Oh! Thanks foxfire! I appreciate that! Anyways... I'll get and scan that pic of my computer as soon as possible. The scanner is real good, so they should be quality.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay, I got a picture, but unfortunately, my camera ran out of film, so I only got one really low quality one. I but the focus on the wrong adjustment and took it a bit too far away, so it did not comeonut well. I have more film, but I need to reload it, and I'm not sure how. hopefully, I'll be able to post better pics by the end of the day.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay... by the end of the day, I mean never  . I doubt giving you guys pics will help anyways, because I dont think I actually have any qustions related to that. I'm gonna try unplugging a drive (again). there isnt a possibilty that compaq, like, sodders the cords together or something? and that using pliers (it wont come out, it seems like its the only thing I can do) will damage it? just checking. its hard to tell, but the problem may be getting worse, and I want a temporary fix, because calling compaq, speaking to either a machine or a guy who speaks english badly, explaining what I want, risking buying it for 100, and then the likelyhood that I cant get installed or working... is something I am not looking forward to.


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

Okay try to open your mind to this suggestion I recently had a P4 system on my bench my friend wanted me to install a new video card GeForce4. I installed the card and it worked fine until I updated the driver, tried this and that, nothing worked so I uninstalled the Nvidia unified driver from Add and Remove software, then reinstalled the drivers from the disk that came with the card, that worked and is still working. Came to find out that Nvidia's newest unified driver has a conflict with XP. If you do try this make sure you uninstall rather then roll back the driver then reinstall the drivers that came with the card, if the XP drivers did not come with the card go to their sight and download them do not go to the Nvidia sight.


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

Oh yea forgot to mention that you have to do this in Safe Mode and don't restart when promted reinstall the driver right after uninstallation.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Opening mind.......................

Opened  

I believe I already tried this. I am currently using the dentonator drivers, but that was after reverting to the default ones did not work. I did not do it in safe mode, however. Will this make a difference?

Do you know why the dvd cord wont budge? Should I really use pliers(sp).


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

Yes safe mode because that will not automatically reinstall the drivers don't reboot because that will reinstall the drivers all the previous drivers must be removed before you install another set. once in safe mode go to Add and remove software and uninstall all Nvidia software when prompted to restart, cancle out, then install the correct drivers.

As far as removing a stuck Molex connector I rock them side to side while pulling them out and if it's really in there I use needle nose pliers and lever them out using the back upper edge of the drive as the fulcrum point.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

What I did was uninstall the drivers restart the computer, and the drivers were not on there, so I installed the normal ones. It seemed to install them properly.

I will try the pliers idea also, I guess. Just wanted o make sure there was no risk.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

disconnecting the DVD drive's cord did not affect the problem. the problem continues to happen about every 30 seconds, for about 10 seconds. shouldnt removing the DVD cord have helped if it was a psu problem? what does this mean?!? what should I do!?!


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## pronute (Feb 13, 2003)

was there a problem with the DVD drive why unplug it?


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## zeddy (May 3, 2003)

At the risk of repeating earlier advice (too many posts to go through!) Have you tried:

Click on

Start>control panel>performance and maintainance>system>hardware>device manager>view>hidden devices

Are there any hidden devices that have a yellow mark against them?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

didnt someone advise me to disconnect stuff? wouldnt it help, because the power suppy would not need to give power to what I disconnected? guess not  

sorry, my bad then. I will try what zeddy said, even I dont know if I've done that before, I've been at this so long 

should I call compaq (the number th e-mail gave me)? what else should I try?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I tried that, and two devices had the yellow mark:

Family Room -> Keyboards -> Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard

Family Room -> Non-Plug and Play Drivers -> Powertweak NT Helper

What does this mean?


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## zeddy (May 3, 2003)

Delete those devices and see if on reboot windows picks up the relevant drivers.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

The keyboard didnt fix, and the Power Tweak just didnt come back. Either way, the problem hasnt stopped.

Anything else?


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## carltasha (Nov 7, 2001)

someone said that the compaq had a different number of pins on the connecter than standerd ATX . count them .


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

ok. are you telling me that I have to buy it from compaq? Didnt I already know that? Please specify your point. (look at how polite I'm being  )


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## carltasha (Nov 7, 2001)

No , I am saying count the pins and you will know if you have to buy it from Compaq or not .


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## gws226 (Feb 9, 2003)

Hey all,

New this thread... and stopped reading about 4 pages in so forgive me if I suggest something that already has been tried.

Here's my take...
1. PS definately could be an issue. (I'm assuming you disconnected all unnecassary items rebooted and tried running you game.) If not do so now... Only use one stick of ram.

2. Did you infact overclock this card? ( I saw someone mentioned it on page 7, but didn't see anything between 1 and 4) If you did... return to factory settings immediately. Overheating cards will exhibit some of the troubles you are reported.... ie: works fine for a few minutes, then slows down until its cools itself enough.

3. Put the orginal video card back in and try playing some games (I know its slow and won't run the games you mentioned... but this will go a long way to help determine if you cooked the vid card when you OCd

4. Did anyone mention checking the vid card settings in the bios? 
Make sure the AGP speed is set to that of the card
Make sure the apeture is set to half the amount of video ram your card has (ie: if have 128mg then set the apeture to 64)
Check the voltage... depends on your card and motherboard here... If your voltage setting is too low that would explain your problem... if its too high... well I've heard bad things.

5.ADDED 1:49 eastern--- I can't tell from the pic but it looks this machine has onboard video. If thats true then go back into the bios and make sure the onboard video has been disabled.

Do each of the 5 above mentioned items completely independent of each other. ie: Don't do steps 2 and 3 togtether or whatever. We are trying to isolate exactly where the problem resides here. 


6. I know this is stressful for you. But giving wise comments to the people who are trying to help is not going to get you very far in life. (Especially if you want to play any games tonight.) attached is a stress reduction kit... If you feel stressed please use this BEFORE posting your comments.... thanks and good luck.


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## carltasha (Nov 7, 2001)

I dont think trying the old vidio card was mentioned . It is a good plan .


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

> 1. PS definately could be an issue.


Good. Thats nice to know, since I dont want to order a psu, and then find out it wasnt the problem.



> (I'm assuming you disconnected all unnecassary items rebooted and tried running you game.) If not do so now... Only use one stick of ram.


Thats what I was going with when I disconnected the dvd. I just did a half assed job. I'll try that, though I'm not sure what the difference between disconnecting one unused drive and disconnecting 3 unused drive and a stick of RAM. Does the vid card count? how bout all those other cards



> 2. Did you infact overclock this card? ( I saw someone mentioned it on page 7, but didn't see anything between 1 and 4) If you did... return to factory settings immediately. Overheating cards will exhibit some of the troubles you are reported.... ie: works fine for a few minutes, then slows down until its cools itself enough.


Changing the clockspeed back to normal, or lower than normal, did not affect the problem.



> 3. Put the orginal video card back in and try playing some games (I know its slow and won't run the games you mentioned... but this will go a long way to help determine if you cooked the vid card when you OCd


I dont think its that its the video card



> Make sure the AGP speed is set to that of the card. Make sure the apeture is set to half the amount of video ram your card has. Check the voltage... depends on your card and motherboard here... If your voltage setting is too low that would explain your problem... if its too high... well I've heard bad things.


Apenture... eh? I've moved that around a lot. didnt do anything. How do I check the voltage?



> 5.ADDED 1:49 eastern--- I can't tell from the pic but it looks this machine has onboard video. If thats true then go back into the bios and make sure the onboard video has been disabled.


I dont think thats in the bios. and I dont know what that means.


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## gws226 (Feb 9, 2003)

1. PS


> Good. Thats nice to know, since I dont want to order a psu, and then find out it wasnt the problem.


I'm not recommending the purchase of a new PS just yet... I would prefer that several of us here agree that all other methods have been exhausted before we send you to the store.

Devices


> Thats what I was going with when I disconnected the dvd. I just did a half assed job. I'll try that, though I'm not sure what the difference between disconnecting one unused drive and disconnecting 3 unused drive and a stick of RAM. Does the vid card count? how bout all those other cards


I want you to disconnect everything that is not vital to run the machine. The only things that should be connected are 1 stick of ram, your video card, and your hard drive, mouse, and keyboard... Everything else should be taken out (included the DVD rom) I would prefer that you disconnect both cd/dvd drives here. But since you need to be able to test playing your game leave the CDrom connected(and disconnect the dvd) If the problem is still there I want to disconnect the CDrom and connect the DVDrom and test again.

2. Overclocking the video card


> Changing the clockspeed back to normal, or lower than normal, did not affect the problem.


I want you to set the video card back to normal... and keep it that way until we are done testing (please do this before anything else)

3. Try another/ other orginal video card...


> I dont think its that its the video card


But, you don't what the problem is... we are also having trouble figuring out the problem. This is part of the process of elimination from step 1.

4. Make sure video card settings are correct in the bios


> Apenture... eh? I've moved that around a lot. didnt do anything. How do I check the voltage?


 We need to move settings back to the way it was. There are 3 settings in the bios that I want set back to normal--- Apeture---AGP speed---voltage (assuming this is an AGP card  of course) If you having trouble with this(and you can't find it on the manufactures website) post your video card again and one of use will give you the proper settings.

5. Onboard video...


> I dont think thats in the bios. and I dont know what that means.


 I just want to make sure you do not have onboard video. Look at the back of the machine where you used to plug your monitor into before you put the new card in. Is the connector part of the motherboard? (that means it onboard video and there will be an option in the bios to turn it off.

Also from this one reply you send me... it sounds like you have played with a lot of different settings on this machine. Is their anything you changed around the time the card began giving you problems.

If you don't want to do ALL the things I told you, then there is no point in doing any. If you need help doing any other them... post back... please be specific as possible when describing what you did and want you think you need to do .


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## gws226 (Feb 9, 2003)

I guess this has been resolved!? 

Your welcome.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

what made you think it was resolved?!? I had a lot of homework last night, and didnt get a chance to post a reply!!



> I'm not recommending the purchase of a new PS just yet... I would prefer that several of us here agree that all other methods have been exhausted before we send you to the store.


Oh, I know.



> I want you to disconnect everything that is not vital to run the machine. The only things that should be connected are 1 stick of ram, your video card, and your hard drive, mouse, and keyboard... Everything else should be taken out (included the DVD rom) I would prefer that you disconnect both cd/dvd drives here. But since you need to be able to test playing your game leave the CDrom connected(and disconnect the dvd) If the problem is still there I want to disconnect the CDrom and connect the DVDrom and test again.


I will probably try that this weekend. I can find a game that doesnt require a CD where the problem happens, I'm sure.



> I want you to set the video card back to normal... and keep it that way until we are done testing (please do this before anything else)


yes, I already did that



> But, you don't what the problem is... we are also having trouble figuring out the problem. This is part of the process of elimination from step 1.


it happens in civ 2 often. it rarely happens in an advanced 3d screensaver. it seems like it is not solely the 3d card, and that 3d games only will not work. I dont think its worth taking out the video card and putting the old one back in, when I have all this other stuff to try that are more likely at fixing it. so I will come back to the 3d card later.



> We need to move settings back to the way it was. There are 3 settings in the bios that I want set back to normal--- Apeture---AGP speed---voltage (assuming this is an AGP card of course) If you having trouble with this(and you can't find it on the manufactures website) post your video card again and one of use will give you the proper settings.


I have restored the default settings in the bios many times, with no effect



> I just want to make sure you do not have onboard video. Look at the back of the machine where you used to plug your monitor into before you put the new card in. Is the connector part of the motherboard? (that means it onboard video and there will be an option in the bios to turn it off.


I think I always have been putting my moniter in the same place in the whole time.



> Also from this one reply you send me... it sounds like you have played with a lot of different settings on this machine. Is their anything you changed around the time the card began giving you problems.


no, I dont believe so. I have not messed around too many settings actually.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

I apologize, but I have not yet unplugged everything, I have finals and such and have been busy.

However, for some reason, my 3d card broke down! Whenever I ran anything 3d, the monitor would glitch up, and the computer kept freezing up, then going to a really low resolution and saying that the device had failed. It was not OCed at the time. So I removed the 3d card, and the company I bought it from will replace it (I have a warranty). I placed in the default card, and the slow down problem did not stop. It may have gotten better, I'm not quite sure. Just thought I'd tell you, just in case that narrows it down at all. Now I suppose we know it was not 3d card after all. 

When school ends, I will disconnect everything as you told me to, and I'll get back to you. If you have anything else you would like me to know please say so.


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## colman77 (Jun 19, 2002)

Hi soggycroutons
I can sympathize (is that a word) with you on a lot of things, including age, lagging problems, repeat advice from aging tsg members....hope I'm not digging myself a hole here 
I also had similar problems with lagging...It happened during some games, and in a lot of other programs as well...whenever I clicked on anything, my crappy rig would hang for 30secs to a minute....Finally fixed it by reinstalling windows. I understand that your parents/siblings(?) also use this computer, so formatting may not sound very appetizing.

I read all of the posts in this thread, and the only things, it seems, that could be the cause of your problem are:

1. Power supply not supplying enough power.

2. Possible faulty memory, in my opinion...testing the sticks by putting in one stick at a time is a good idea.)

3. Possible software/driver conflict that cannot be detected by conventional means.

4. Possible video card incompatibilities...This will soon be out of the way, which is good.

5. Simply an awful compaq computer.

Considering the above, using all that scientific method crap you learned in school sounds like a good way to clear up this problem. Concentrate on one of these problems at a time, and try to isolate one variable at a time. Some suggestions for the problems above:

1. Not much you can do about the power supply, since it looks like you'd have to get an outrageously expensive replacement from Compaq. Put this one on hold for now.

2. Do the "1 memory stick at a time" experiment, making sure that they are in the first slot when you power up. This should clear item #2 up.

3. The only thing you can do is reinstall windows. Now, I think this is the most likely solution. *Since the problem didn't start right when you installed new hardware, it seems unlikely it is hardware related.* If others on this thread disagree with me, I'd listen to them, since are much more experienced on these matters than you and I.

4. You don't have a new choice but get a new video card.

5. If this is the case, I'm glad I'm not you.
Anyway, back to studying for finals.

That's $0.02, please.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

> 2. Do the "1 memory stick at a time" experiment, making sure that they are in the first slot when you power up. This should clear item #2 up.


This is my first order of business.



> 3. The only thing you can do is reinstall windows. Now, I think this is the most likely solution. Since the problem didn't start right when you installed new hardware, it seems unlikely it is hardware related. If others on this thread disagree with me, I'd listen to them, since are much more experienced on these matters than you and I.


But it did not start with new software, either. I'm not ruling this out, but its seems extremely unlikely. I dunno.



> 4. You don't have a new choice but get a new video card.


 We ruled out the video card, because placing the old one back in did not fix the problem.



> I also had similar problems with lagging...It happened during some games, and in a lot of other programs as well...whenever I clicked on anything, my crappy rig would hang for 30secs to a minute....Finally fixed it by reinstalling windows. I understand that your parents/siblings(?) also use this computer, so formatting may not sound very appetizing.


This is quite different, I'd say. If it is hanging when you do something software related (click on anything), then it is probably software. If it hangs periodically, and it is not a background task, I mean-- it just-- I dunno.

First RAM, then I'll go back to trying to find out if its the PSU.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

ok, I got my 3d card back, and I can say pretty confidently that the problem occurs more frequently with the more powerful one.

I also tried taking out one piece of RAM, testing it, then putting it back in, then putting in the other one in the first slot, and testing it. they both ran fine.

any other suggestions?


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Edit: should have said, both ran fine, but did NOT fix the problem.

Any suggestions?


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## lmacneill (Jun 17, 2003)

Has anyone told you to check the CPU fan? (I admit, I did NOT read all the replies to this message -- there are over 150 of them!)

If the system is overheating, it WILL throttle down the CPU to a VERY slow speed (sometimes reducing its clock speed by as much as 95%!!!) in order to prevent damage... This slowdown will last for a minute or two, 'till the CPU cools down, then it'll throttle itself back up to full speed -- 'till it gets too hot, then it throttles back down... up, down, up, down... etc...

Even if the fans are all turning, it may not be turning fast enough... Take the cover off the case, put a standard household fan next to the computer (so it's blowing directly into the computer) and turn it on high... Then play your games...

If that fixes it, you have your answer -- overheating!

Good luck,
Laurence MacNeill


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Yes, I thought about doing this, but I was not sure that it was safe. Since it seems to be, I will try this ASAP.

I am leaving for about two weeks, and will not be able to do it until then, I will get back to you then.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

okay, I did the fan thing. I took the case off and put my fan next to the computer, turned it on high. it did not fix, or effect, the problem.

the time between the start of a first slowdown and the start of a second one is 50 seconds either way. that factors out the overheating, I assume that leaves only the power supply. unless anyone else has any other ideas.

actually, I'd like to just note that it happens for 25 seconds, then is normal for 25 seconds, then repeats in two games (I suspect it will do this in any game). its very consistent

should I go ahead and order a new power supply from compaq?


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## IgneousPrime (Aug 21, 2002)

I think I'm having a similar problem...I'm also 14. But I think it's my cable modem thats jackin up. I play WC3 and other MMORPG's online and it pauses for like 10 seconds, then slowly comes back to life. I havent tried this offline tho, maybe I should to see if it's my system...


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

hmm...... sounds more like its just your cable modem lagging or whatever. try running 3dmark or something.

does anyone have any more ideas of what I should do?


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## WarC (Dec 26, 2001)

Kick the computer approximately one inch above the power button....

If I were you, I'd be pretty desperate by now. I'd flip out and send Intel an email with my problem, and a link to this thread...which shows that over 150 replies, the problem has still not been fixed. And then I'd beg for a replacement processor. Beg to anyone who will listen! Maybe you get lucky and the thing is still under warranty hahaha.


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## kilowatt1 (Oct 27, 2001)

Since nothing else seems to be working and this is a Compaq, try this:

Go to Start > Control Panel > Network, and under the Configuration Tab and, in "The following network components are installed:" window, highlight the TCP/IP xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ethernet
adapter by clicking it once with the mouse, and then click on the "Properties" button. Under the IP Address tab, there is a selection of either "Obtain an IP address automatically" or "Specify an IP address:"
If an IP address is already entered, DO NOT CHANGE IT. This indicates that the problem lies elsewhere.
If the "automatic" option is shown, Select the "Specify an IP address:" and enter some numbers for IP address like 160.190.100.101, and these numbers for "Subnet mask:"
255.255.255.0 and click on "OK". The system will now prompt to restart the system. Say OK.

Reboot and try your game(s).

Good luck.

Kilowatt


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## ROCKURWORLD (Jul 17, 2003)

Ok I have looked at several pages of this thread but not all. You also metioned that this started after DSL was installed. Have you checked this things:

1. Are you dropping packets during the game? Do all the games that are freezing, network games? Can you play halflife single player, and does it work well?

2. Sometimes a bad NIC or NIC driver can cause CPU spikes every few secs.


I am sorry if this has been covered but let me know.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

> Go to Start > Control Panel > Network


umm, do you mean network and internet connections? wait... there are no tabs in internet and network connections... could you say that again?



> 1. Are you dropping packets during the game? Do all the games that are freezing, network games? Can you play halflife single player, and does it work well?


it happens in anything and everything that requires system power. so, yes, it happens in single player. I even tryed disconnecting the dsl modem, restarting the computer, and playing. didnt help.



> 2. Sometimes a bad NIC or NIC driver can cause CPU spikes every few secs.


what do you mean by this?


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## ROCKURWORLD (Jul 17, 2003)

NIC= network Interface Card. It is what your DSL modem plugs into (unless they make USB ones now) 

Another thing is most of the symptoms to point to a power supply problem(under powered..ect), so you could try taking out all the other pci cards in your computer (sound,nic,modem,..etc) and see if you can play. If so then that pretty much tells you that you ned a bigger PS.


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

> Sometimes a bad NIC or NIC driver can cause CPU spikes every few secs.





> NIC= network Interface Card. It is what your DSL modem plugs into (unless they make USB ones now)


okay, so how can I fix/check this?



> Another thing is most of the symptoms to point to a power supply problem(under powered..ect), so you could try taking out all the other pci cards in your computer (sound,nic,modem,..etc) and see if you can play. If so then that pretty much tells you that you ned a bigger PS.


OH YEAH! you guys wanted me to unplug everything except 1 stick of ram, video card, and hard drive, mouse, and keyboard. for me that means to unplug 1 stick of ram, dvd, cd, floppy, and all cards except for vid


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## soggycrouton (Feb 16, 2003)

Go here please


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