Member Avatar for tortuga

hp pavilion xl753
Mainboard Model HAWK
Intel Celeron Coppermine 668.3 MHz
Socket 370 FC-PGA (0x4)
Chipset
Northbridge Intel i810E rev. A3
Southbridge Intel 82801AA (ICH) rev. 02
Memory Type SDRAM
Memory Size 320 MBytes
DIMM # 1 = 256 MBytes PC133 (133 MHz)
DIMM # 2 = 64 MBytes PC100 (100 MHz)

Audio device
Location bus 1 (0x01), device 8 (0x08), function 0 (0x00)

Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c

i have noticed that the cpu (as found in task manager) spends more time riding at 100% than it spends below 50% when i am listening to any audio and doing research online. i tend to do a fair bit of research online, and if i am listening to music or talk radio, it is through my pc. i added an extra 30 GB hard drive and CD RW (both came out of another HP pavillion of the same era which is where i got the extra 64 MB ram) to accommodate my music habit:). the sound card is integrated into the dial-up modem, which died on me a couple years ago. i did find some evidence of overheating near where the phone line plugs into the modem, but the audio was fine until about a week ago, when it quit in the middle of a live radio show i was listening to. i took it out, inspected it for further heat damage, cleaned out the dust (which i try to do regularly) and put it back in. after that, i could get 'winamp' to play, but no system sounds, no volume control, and the device manager did not even recognize that there was an audio device connected to my machine. in trying to get the device manager to see the audio card, i crashed the system, and had to wipe my primary hard drive. (luckily, i had already backed up my music and files) i re-installed xp, and now it just bogs down, but will (grudgingly) play the audio files i ask it to.

now that you have my machine's history, my question is:
can my cpu or ram or both be upgraded enough to handle all the work i ask it to do (with a better sound card) plus run a PCI USB 2.0 so i can back up to an external hard drive, or should i just make it into a 'NAS' and get a faster machine?
there is now high speed ethernet here, so i no longer need the fried modem, but it is still in the machine. any suggestions would be helpful, since i have balked at spending even $100 on another machine, but have been getting very frustrated with the browser freezing up just because i want to listen to the radio :(

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by tortuga

Dani AI

Generated

Short summary for clarity and quick next steps.

— the pattern you describe (browser or streaming audio and the CPU staying pegged) can come from three things: a driver or failing audio/modem device, a browser/plugin (Flash) eating CPU while streaming, or severe memory shortage causing heavy paging. is right that very old motherboards have limited headroom for faster CPUs, so pouring a lot into that board is rarely cost‑effective. That said, there are inexpensive, low‑risk tests and small purchases that often restore usable audio while you save for a replacement.

Practical diagnostic steps (do these in order)

  1. With the browser closed, play a local audio file and watch Task Manager. If one user process shows high CPU, note its name. If CPU is used by “System Interrupts” or you see no obvious user process, that points to hardware or driver DPCs.
  2. Try a different browser or disable the streaming plugin (Flash). Streaming plugins are historically a common cause of high CPU on old machines.
  3. Disable the onboard audio/modem in BIOS (or physically remove the card) and test with a cheap USB audio adapter or a simple PCI sound card. If the problem disappears, the integrated hardware/driver was at fault.
  4. If you want to isolate Windows, boot the machine from a live USB/CD (Linux) and test audio there — if audio is fine, the issue is in Windows/drivers.

Short‑term fixes and longer‑term choices

  • Low‑cost buys that often help immediately: a basic USB audio dongle and a PCI USB 2.0 card (both inexpensive) and a modest RAM bump if the board supports it. These bypass suspect onboard audio and give you external backup capability.
  • If the board shows physical heat damage, or DPC/interrupts remain high after trying another sound device, retire the board — replacement is safer and cheaper in the medium term. ’s advice about moving to a newer used system is practical if you can save for it.

When you post back, include the CPU-Z/CPUID report and the exact process name that spikes in Task Manager — that will let others give a targeted next step.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for tortuga

if anyone can decode the cpuid cpu-z report just ask me for it, as my machine is tired and unwilling to attach it to this message

Member Avatar for caperjack

you computer is at or below recommended hardware configuration to run winxp effectively,any upgrade it could take will not be enough to help, new machine is in order ,
i repair ans sell used computer and would throw something like your away !

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
Member Avatar for tortuga

thank you for your honest opinion, but at the moment i cannot afford a new machine. i may be able to save up for a few months for a cheep 'bare bones' type system, but at the moment even that is out of reach .... i do appreciate your time in replying to my plea for advice and help with this issue

Member Avatar for caperjack

thank you for your honest opinion, but at the moment i cannot afford a new machine. i may be able to save up for a few months for a cheep 'bare bones' type system, but at the moment even that is out of reach .... i do appreciate your time in replying to my plea for advice and help with this issue

hi this is from your first post
' or should i just make it into a 'NAS' and get a faster machine.'

hence my answer ,,you board is so old that the biggest cpu it will take is not much bigger than the one in it now ,so any money spent on it is just a wast

Member Avatar for tortuga

hi this is from your first post
' or should i just make it into a 'NAS' and get a faster machine.'

hence my answer ,,you board is so old that the biggest cpu it will take is not much bigger than the one in it now ,so any money spent on it is just a wast

i guess that means i need to start saving some money up, so i can get a better machine. do you have any suggestions where i might find a cheap machine that has a faster cpu? i would like one that is at least as easy to take apart and clean/add hardware as the one i have. i do have 3 small capacity hard drives (2@ 30GB, 1@ 327MB) out of old machines, and a few cd-rw and floppy drives, as well as some other spare parts. all i would need in the box (other than the mobo and cpu) would be a sound card and usb2.0 ports, and a free pci slot.
sorry i got impatient about there not being a way to get my old 'frankenstein' to handle all the sh** i ask it to do. i just have to get some extra money together :$
i do appreciate your help and time

Member Avatar for caperjack

i guess that means i need to start saving some money up, so i can get a better machine. do you have any suggestions where i might find a cheap machine that has a faster cpu? i would like one that is at least as easy to take apart and clean/add hardware as the one i have. i do have 3 small capacity hard drives (2@ 30GB, 1@ 327MB) out of old machines, and a few cd-rw and floppy drives, as well as some other spare parts. all i would need in the box (other than the mobo and cpu) would be a sound card and usb2.0 ports, and a free pci slot.
sorry i got impatient about there not being a way to get my old 'frankenstein' to handle all the sh** i ask it to do. i just have to get some extra money together :$
i do appreciate your help and time

your welcome ,as to where to find something half decent cheat im in Canada and people around here use local backyard repair guys and e-bay and classified

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
commented: very helpful +1
Member Avatar for tortuga

your welcome ,as to where to find something half decent cheat im in Canada and people around here use local backyard repair guys and e-bay and classified

thanks for the link .. i did check it out, but only found one ad for computers in the state where i live, and that was for a store on the other side of the state .. then i remembered http://www.craigslist.org and checked there .. i placed an ad stating my minimum requirements in the 'barter' section, and already got 2 replies to the ad .. it seems this problem may be solved
thanks again

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