Cpu hangs @ 100% after installing Harddrive and Win XP

[Squirty]

Hi, One of my friend has a Compaq Presario 5340. Has about 340 something MB, recently installed 160 GB harddrive from 7 gb HD. 400 MHZ. After he installed Win Xp, He said that his CPU usage went up 100% and he ran updated Spybot and Adaware and found a few but didnt help any with CPU usage. Tried everything I know how to help him with it but so far no luck. Wonder if it has to do with chipset not compatabile with Win Xp or even motherboard not compatiable for Win XP? Could it be drivers that needs to be updated? I dont see any that needs to be updated from Device manager? Any help would be appreciated... Thanks!

[nanosani]

Hey have you tried to go to the task manager and see which process is taking the cpu ???

[Squirty]

Yeah I did check that one out. Really cant pinpoint one cuz one would say 99 for a sec then back to 00 etc..That was the first thing I checked out to make sure. Still puzzled about it....

[Squirty]

HI, I think I may found the problem with this. I saw the error message says 164-memory error after rebooting system and I only saw it once. I am gonna take out ram memory and have it tested out. I also saw on system utility that harddisk 9%(low). Could it be that a friend of mine didnt reformat the harddrive right? He told me that his old hd used fat32 and when installing new 160 GB he used ntfs. Does it makes any difference or not what file he use? Could he just didnt reformat the harddrive right? Please let me know what I can do to get this solved. Getting closer to solve it I think. Again, Thanks!

[Squirty]

HI again, My friend said he has 3 memory sticks. One has 133 mhz, other 2 at 100 mhz. Could that be the reason why CPU is at 100%? Total of those memory is 348. I know in order ot use win xp gots to have at least 128 mb. so that leaves out 92 mb so is that the problem?

[nanosani]

Can you tell specifically which processes keep the cpu usage to 100 % ... even if it is for a moment or so ... there should be some process taking the cpu constantly.

[nanosani]

Can you tell specifically which processes keep the cpu usage to 100 % ... even if it is for a moment or so ... there should be some process taking the cpu constantly.

The ram should be no problem .. .I had two with 133 and 100 mhz each but I had no problem.

[caperjack]

I would have to question if that old computer actually is recognizeing the 160gig Hardrive as a 160gig ,go to mycomputer and right click on the C:\ drive and see how big it is and how much space is left ..

[Squirty]

HI, I cant really pinpoint something that is taking up CPU usage. When I really look at one its mainly taskmanager thats taking it up.

[Squirty]

ok, I right clicked it and it shows 34 GB. Should have been 160 but since mother board maybe only allowed 30 something?

[caperjack]

Right 34 if that what it showes,
a Bios Flash might have a fix for this ,but they can be deadly !

[Squirty]

HI, How do I know if the bios has already been flashed? I never have done that one before.

[Catweazle]

I would strongly advise going back to the original OS with that old Compaq. Older Compaqs are notoriously difficult to get running with later versions of Windows unless they are specifically stated to be supported for that OS, because components inside the PCs have had proprietary changes made to them and device drivers available are often unsuited to the later OS.

The Presario you've mentioned has no Windows XP support available for it. I'd suggest you either download and install Windows 2000 drivers etc for it from:

This HP/Compaq support page

and see if they work correctly when installed under Windows XP, or else scrub the idea completely and revert back to the Windows version that was originally installed on it.

A format and fresh start is the best way to do the job. If you've done an 'Upgrade' install of Windows XP, leaving programs etc. in place, then you will almost certainly have problems as a result. The best thing to do is to use the original 'Recovery CD' which came with the Presario.

Edit: By the way, I have an old Presario of my own here which I use as a Windows 98 box. I wouldn't DREAM of trying to get it running under Windows XP - you can't even obtain suitable drivers for it to run properly under Windows Me!

[caperjack]

When the computer boot you should see the bios Version # ,write it down .

then search Compaqs site with you model # or what ever ,and compare the bios version with the latest avaiable update .
you really need to be sure you have all the right info as a bad flash can render the motherboard useless!

[Catweazle]

No BIOS updates available, by the way caperjack :(

To get the full drive capacity recognised, a suitable tool needs to be downloaded from the drive manufacturer's website.

What is the make and model of the new hard drive please?

[Squirty]

HI, The new harddrive is Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9.

[Squirty]

I was thinking of go ahead and install Window 98 and see how it goes from there and if it sloves the plm then I know for fact that its not compatiable for Win Xp.. Should I go for it?

[Catweazle]

You need MaxBlast3

Make sure you thoroughly read all information about it that you can find on Maxtor's website BEFORE trying to use it.

[Catweazle]

Sorry for the double post, but you seem to be hanging on every word, and I want to ensure you see this.

The MaxBlast utility will enable you to use the full 160Gb of the drive. If it's like the utilities from other drive manufacturers it'll need to be used BEFORE windows is intalled, I think.

Whatever Windows version you use, make sure that you have first downloaded and saved to CD the required device drivers and other software available from the Support download link I gave earlier.

[Squirty]

Hi, I do have Maxblast3 cd. I did use it before installing Win Xp. It shows it sees 160gb but can only use around 30 gb. By the way I wonder if you can help me with this error message that I see here, It says "164-memory size error". What does that mean?

[Catweazle]

In that case, you must have used a FAT32 partition. Under Windows XP FAT32 partitions are limited to 32Gb. You should really use NTFS partitions with Windows XP, as it is a better file system.

You can most likely create new partitions to use the rest of the drive space. Right'click 'My Computer' and choose 'Manage'. Click on the Disk Management entry in the list at left and you'll get the console where you create new partitions from within Windows XP. The Help function should explain the procedures adequately.

The error message indicates a memory size recognition error. You should run BIOS setup to try and correct it. It may also mean the memory module(s) installed are not compatible with the system.

How do I do BIOS Setup?

[Squirty]

Yeah I already set it up with ntfs in first place.

[Squirty]

Hi, I went ahead and did a clean install of Window 98 and the computer worked great. Even formatted the harddrive and it's showing that I am using every bit of 160 GB. Looks like the computer was made for Win 98 only cuz it was slowing down the Win XP. Thanks you guys for great feedbacks etc.. I am learning something new daily by checking this forum daily. Keep up the GREAT work... Thanks!:cool: