Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Petrarch of the VBB on December 06, 2002, 01:55:46 pm
-
Over the past week or two my PC has becmoe very unstable, to the extent that if I use it for about one hour or so the Keyboard and Mouse cease to function. however, things still run in the background, such as music, or games.
The system is not overheating, as teh overall temperature isn't above about 40'C, and teh CPU about 50'C.
I ran the system tune up on Sandra 2002, and I will post the most worrying part.
***** Start of Report *****
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<<< PCI, AGP, CardBus Buses Information >>>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warning W1206: Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS5513 EIDE
Controller (A,B step) : PCI latency too high. Device
could hog the bus for too long.
Warning W1203: Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) 5591/2 Virtual PCI to
PCI Bridge : VGA palette snooping seriously reduces
video performance. Disable it if you don't need it.
Tip T1202: Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS630 GUI
Accelerator+3D : Device does not support bus
mastering.
Warning W1209: Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS630 GUI
Accelerator+3D : Video card does not have an interrupt
assigned.
***** End of Report *****
can anything be done?
-
Originally posted by Petrarch of th VBB
Over the past week or two my PC has becmoe very unstable, to the extent that if I use it for about one hour or so the Keyboard and Mouse cease to function. however, things still run in the background, such as music, or games.
I`ve had exactly the same problem with my second PC. I`d be interested in an answer to this one too.
-
Nice to know I'm not alone. what's your machines spec?
Mines:
Athlon XP 1600
288Meg SDRAM (64Meg share)
40Gig UDMA100 HD
Onbard SiS graphics
Onboard SiS sound
SiS some horrid chipset (mobo is PCChips M810LR)
Win 98SE
On board LAN
Some AMR modem.
-
If you've had your computer long enough for such problems to occur, chances are it's obsolete and outdated (as well as ****ed). Buy a new computer.
-
its only 3 months old!
-
I'd watch out for adware spyware, and viruses, which can do horrible things like this. I would suggest doing a full reformat. This will clean out any bugs and let you know whether the problem is with the hardware or the software.
Or you can solder all the openings in the case shut and fill it with water. ;)
-
Originally posted by Petrarch of th VBB
its only 3 months old!
Exactly. It's outdated.
*hides his 4 year old machine*
-
Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
I'd watch out for adware spyware, and viruses, which can do horrible things like this. I would suggest doing a full reformat. This will clean out any bugs and let you know whether the problem is with the hardware or the software.
Or you can solder all the openings in the case shut and fill it with water. ;)
Okay here's the strange thing. My system worked fine. It stopped working so I used norton ghost to restore the drive as it was 3 months before the problem appeared and still the problem continues so it seems more likely to be caused by some sort of hardware problem
-
Originally posted by GalacticEmperor
I'd watch out for adware spyware, and viruses, which can do horrible things like this. I would suggest doing a full reformat. This will clean out any bugs and let you know whether the problem is with the hardware or the software.
Or you can solder all the openings in the case shut and fill it with water. ;)
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/
if it's spyware then that's what you need
-
hmmm, for once i'm stumped! i KNOW this has nothing to do with how old your computer is (ignore an0n :) :rolleyes: ) but it may be .... hmmm.....
i'm going to do some research on this... i suggest you do too though.
a good thing to do:
type some of the error messages or their codes/names in a search engine and results will come up
-
Have you tried just a full hard drive format (if convenient)? I have had these kinds of random stability problems solved a number of times by doing that...
-
awww c'mon... the ultimate advice... fixes any computer problem that's not hardware
:
"HAVE YOU TRIED FORMATTING?"
well DUH that's going to work, but that takes too long, and it's very inconvenient... i always recommend using this only as a last resource :)
-
well hey it works... :p :D
-
I recommend reformatting as the only resolution to system wide problems. Face it, if the system isn't performing very well as a whole...then why not back up that data and reformat...its not like its a sound driver issue that your formatting for....this a major system problem.
So, do the format. Forget the ghosts and the system backups....sometimes it works, sometimes not.
If the format has no effect whatsoever. Then you can almost be certain that its a hardware problem (run with minimal drivers when you start). Quite possibly....from the error messages (and combined with a reformat proving no help) its the motherboard. Maybe its cracked...maybe its just not built like it was supposed to be....
-
i haven't had many positive experiences with onboard cards.
my "soundcard" blows.
-
Originally posted by IceFire
I recommend reformatting as the only resolution to system wide problems. Face it, if the system isn't performing very well as a whole...then why not back up that data and reformat...its not like its a sound driver issue that your formatting for....this a major system problem.
So, do the format. Forget the ghosts and the system backups....sometimes it works, sometimes not.
If the format has no effect whatsoever. Then you can almost be certain that its a hardware problem (run with minimal drivers when you start). Quite possibly....from the error messages (and combined with a reformat proving no help) its the motherboard. Maybe its cracked...maybe its just not built like it was supposed to be....
i disagree... often a "system wide problem" is caused by just one little error in the BIOS or one jumper setting (if it's hardware)... quite often in my area there are surges, and when this happens it changes a variable in the BIOS, causing my modem, sound card, and many programs to not work. just a simple change, and voila!
and this happens quite often, like once a month. it's very possible a surge screwed your system. i have a surge protector, but it cuts the power for a second or something, and screws it up. i'd say do more research, and if you HAVE to... format :)
-
meh, you can't say that. It could be just anything.
I know these kind of pbs, and I know reformating is a pain, sometimes it's just not possible.
you'd have to go through the usual thing: updating ( or sometimes, d'uh, getting older ) drivers, disabling pc components, the whole crap.
-
I've never heard of surges causing "variable" changes in the BIOS. I suppose its possible....but its probably just as possible for the surge to actually fry the electronics on the motherboard in a more permanent fashion.
-
Have you recently installed any PCI devices?
That first error indicates that one of your PCI devices is screwed up. If you haven't installed any new hardware recently try removing each component one at a time and retest.
Another major problem that I see is something is stealing the IRQ from your Videocard. Try reassigning it to another IRQ.
-
Originally posted by IceFire
I've never heard of surges causing "variable" changes in the BIOS. I suppose its possible....but its probably just as possible for the surge to actually fry the electronics on the motherboard in a more permanent fashion.
nonono, the surges don't actually get through to the computer, since i've got a surge protector... but surges happen really frequently in the area i live in, and every now and then for that split second of the surge, the protector cuts off power to the computer (it's like pulling a plug out of the computer)... and so it 'resets' itself... this often causes the BIOS to screw up, and set the ports or something wrong...
i've gotten so used to fixing it i've forgotten exactly what i change, but i'll check in the next few days... i know it'll happen again.
The first time it happened i called the company that provided this PC, and they said it's not uncommon for this to happen. they directed me through fixing it, etc. :)
-
*begins the OS bashing* ;)
Originally posted by Petrarch of th VBB
Win 98SE
There's your problem right there. While that may not be the source of the trouble, upgrade to Windows 2000 (or, if you absolutely must, Windows XP Pro - stay away from Home edition!). Both of those OSes are far more fault-tolerant, and considering that all of Sandra's warnings are hardware-related, both those OSes are much better at managing interrupts and the like all by their lonesomes. :yes: :nod:
-
Originally posted by Sandwich
Windows XP Pro - stay away from Home edition
What? Why?
My friends and I have all been using XP home happily and problem free for a year. I think I've crashed the actual O/S, like, once. The few people I know with Pro have reported horrendous compatibility problems and suchlike. I know precisely one person who's used Pro on a home system and had no problems.
Moral of the story:
Go XP home! Woo!
-
anyopne know how to solve the infinite loop problem sometimes my PC freeses up and keeps repeating the past second or so :( only reset works :(
-
That'll be the solution, then.
-
It's all very well saying upgrade the OS, but there's a matter of money involved. I am 15, can't be bothered getting a job, and don't have access to my bank account. Hence, no money.
Formatting the drive I will try only as a last resort, but backing stuff up is going to be a pain.
I don't think its spyware or a virus, but is there any decent Anti Virus software that's free? I am using PCCillin 2000 at present, and it's not very effective.
And I haven't added any hardware since I bought the machine. However, i recently got some drivers, enabling to use my CDRW, but I dont think that could be teh problem?
-
You'd be surprised. Nvidia's 30.72 drivers turned my machine into a restart monster. Any way try and find an older version of the drivers you installed and try that. Also, 4-5 months is about the limit Win98se can go with out needing to be reinstalled. Other than that it's a good solid OS.
-
Originally posted by Sandwich
*begins the OS bashing* ;)
There's your problem right there. While that may not be the source of the trouble, upgrade to Windows 2000 (or, if you absolutely must, Windows XP Pro - stay away from Home edition!). Both of those OSes are far more fault-tolerant, and considering that all of Sandra's warnings are hardware-related, both those OSes are much better at managing interrupts and the like all by their lonesomes. :yes: :nod:
Windows 98SE is regarded by most people as the best and most stable version of Windows.
Personally it's wayyyyy too much trouble in my opinion, I'm running ME and never had a problem ever.
Had XP pro for all of two days before I removed it.
-
Originally posted by 01010
Windows 98SE is regarded by most people as the best and most stable version of Windows.
Windows NT is the most stable
(Linux is even more stable)
Windows 2000 PRO is good
Windows 95 sucks
Windows XP is based on NT
Windows ME sucks as bad as 95
-
WinNT stable? Ha! Its not the greatest really. Win2000 is the most stable platform followed by XP followed by 98SE.
-
Originally posted by IceFire
WinNT stable? Ha! Its not the greatest really. Win2000 is the most stable platform followed by XP followed by 98SE.
Win2k has an NT core.
-
2000 in based on NT. XP is based on NT/ME. 2000 and XP are the most stable.
95/98/ME aren't. 98SE is fine, in my opinion. Though not very stable, but good otherwise (I use it :p).
-
Originally posted by IceFire
WinNT stable? Ha! Its not the greatest really. Win2000 is the most stable platform followed by XP followed by 98SE.
Win2000 is the most stable platform?
Win2000 = NT core (as kode said)
WinXP = based on NT too...
so they're both very stable, BECAUSE they're based on NT
-
:rolleyes: Based, not based... that's not what makes an OS stable, guys.
NT/2000/XP OSes are all relatively stable (especially compared to the 95/98/ME line) because of their HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) and their protection of memory space.
The HAL is the "waldo glove" for any and all programs that request the use of any peice of hardware, be it playing a sound, rendering a D3D object, or writing to disk. No program can access hardware directly; all operations are routed through the HAL, which enforces legal and safe requests. I'd guess that this prevents about 40% of the crashes common to the 95 line of OSes.
However, the HAL is also why 2000 sucks in gaming performance (NT is unmentionable; XP's gaming is apparently good, but I'm unaware of how they sped up this area while maintaining gaming stability). Every game has an extra layer to push screen writes through, which slows things down by an annoying amount.
The second issue is the protected memory space. This basically prevents any old program from just accessing any area of the computer's RAM whenever it wants. Every program is kept in its own seperate memory section; if/when that program crashes, it does not take down the rest of the OS along with it. In fact, 99% of the time, when a program crashes in 2000 (due to bugs in that program), it is removed cleanly from RAM and the OS remains just as stable after the crash as it was before.
AFAIK, both those technologies were introduced to the Windows series of operating systems with the first version of Windows NT (3.51, I believe...?). The other line of OSes, actually starting at MS-DOS 1.0 (or whichever the first MS-DOS version was), did not have a significant change in core technologies until it was merged into the NT line in XP.
Yes, that's right. Windows 3.1 was DOS-based, as were 95, 98, 98SE, and ME. All had DOS 16-bit crapola at their very core, although beginning with Win95, more and more parts of the OS were enhanced, if not completely upgraded, to 32-bit instructions. But they always retained that 16-bit compatability at the kernel level.
*sniff sniff*
Which is why C&C: Tib. Dawn doesn't work under Win2000... :(
;)
-
But it runs under XP - Yay!
Anyway, as to Pertrarch's anti-virus question - www.grisoft.com. One of the very finest pieces of freeware out there :nod:
-
Originally posted by Sandwich
However, the HAL is also why 2000 sucks in gaming performance (NT is unmentionable; XP's gaming is apparently good, but I'm unaware of how they sped up this area while maintaining gaming stability). Every game has an extra layer to push screen writes through, which slows things down by an annoying amount.
Which is why C&C: Tib. Dawn doesn't work under Win2000... :(
;)
1st: Yes it can be a bugger for throughput from software to hardware, but if you've got a modern enough system s'all good! (not that I'd know I'm still running a k6-3)
2nd: Tried the application compatibility tools? Me never could get the tool to work but I'm told it do help sometimes! It'll be on the 2k pro cd somewhere
-
does the windows95 edition of tib. dawn work on 2k, then?
-
Well, this thread is now defunct, as the machine now works perfaectly well.
I didn't do anything to it, either.
Although yesterday morning it would boot at all, so i wiped thr CMOS, it booted, but had the same problem as before, but today its fine. weird, no?
-
:wtf: maybe a spider crawled into your computer and came out later... :D
Yes, that's right. Windows 3.1 was DOS-based, as were 95, 98, 98SE, and ME. All had DOS 16-bit crapola at their very core, although beginning with Win95, more and more parts of the OS were enhanced, if not completely upgraded, to 32-bit instructions. But they always retained that 16-bit compatability at the kernel level.
This is the reason I am still using ME; I need those dos games to work... :D