Posts by Catweazle

The 3.06Ghz processor would give you a slight performance insrease, but it would be bugger all really. A better move would be changing to a 'C' class processor with 800MHz fsb, but even then the performance increase isn't dramatic.

For games, video card is far far more important than processor.

eerrrr........ uummmmmm.......

That message is telling you that your display card is not good enough for the game.

A GeForce4 MX card is DirectX 7 compliant only. The pixel shader part of the message is a DirectX8 feature, and the texture part of the message indicates that your card hasn't got the capability to process the textures required.

Everquest 2 requires a DirectX9 compatible card (which your MX is, although it doesn't have the full feature set even of DX8) and one which is pixel shader and vertex shader compatible (which your card is not).

Sorry, but an upgrade is necessary for that game. A minimum of a Radeon 9200 or a GeForce FX5200 will be necessary.

I'd be suggesting you check to see if a stray screw has been lodged under the motherboard as well.

You should also check if all cards etc are firmly lodged in their slots, all connectors firmly pressed home etc etc..

What did you mean about reinstalling AA? It never fixed it? You couldn't reinstall it? It's rather strange that this relates to just a single game.

What other ggames get played on your PC? Any?

Motherboard make/model and display card make/model would be handy things to know for a question such as this one.

Looks good to me mate.

The only change I'd suggest, I reckon, would be to ditch the floppy drive and include a 3.5" Fan controller unit instead.

Well, well Made in England, you certainly are a disciple :D

You're doing quite well so far, and I bet you're pleased with the results to date.

I firmly believe that processor heatsinks should be removed and replaced with the motherboard out of the case! That way you can sit it on a firm flat surface, cushioned by a thin sheet of foam rubber such as you get in motherboard packaging, or a folded bedsheet or similar. With the board out of the case, you avoid the chance of flexing and cracking the motherboard when you apply pressure to the retaining clip of the heatsink. You want to be able to replace the various connectors EXACTLY as they came off, of course.

If you choose to leave the motherboard in the case, then at least remove to power supply unit, so you have room to move in there. But taking the board out is by far the best way!

Before you take it out, take very careful notice of how the various leads are attached, their postioning and the way they face etc. Draw diagrams for yourself, and make numbered tags for the leads from sticky tape and paper if you wish. You want to be able to replace the various connectors EXACTLY as they came off, of course.

This guide from AMD shows how to remove and refit the heatsink. Use a solvent like methylated spirits to …

When you get to the screen where you choose the partition to install to, delete the existing partition then create a new one in it's place and choose to install to that. The partition will be formatted as part of the installation.

A volume license uses just the one CD key for all systems installed with the license. The number of installations allowed under the volume license is, of course, on record and you should be able to install and activate as many systems as you hold the license to cover.

If you get lots of errors when you run it again, then I'd consider replacing the RAM. If you have Windows XP, then 512Mb of RAM would be best anyway.

Purchase a 512 Mb module of 'name brand' RAM if this is your situation. The budget priced lines of companies such as Kingston, Geil, corsair or perhaps even Kingmax should be perfectly OK. Just don't buy unbranded rAM from a local shop ;)

Or you might have a bad hard drive.

Best way to check, if you have a friend with a PC, is to oull the drive out of your system. change the jumper setting to 'slave' and pop it in another system. If your files can be accessed on it without problems, then it's probably fine. If you can get it temporarily fitted into a system with a CD burner, then you could copy your important data to CD.

heh heh......

Edited that typo. Yes, of course its an 80 mm fan that's needed. Avoid the really cheap ones with sleeve bearings. Ball bearing fans are still rather inexpensive, and they last longer.

But I really think that heatsink should be removed from your processor, and either cleaned and refitted using a decent thermal paste like Arctic Silver, or discarded and replaced with a good quality aftermarket heatsink/fan. Those operating temperatures are alarmingly high.

Boot into 'Safe mode' and log in as 'Administrator'.

Copy the data files across to somewhere else, delete the user account, and then create a new one, making sure you keep a record of any password this time. (If you've enabled "Make my folders and files personal" or whatever the option is, you might be out of luck :()

Fair dinkum, I reckon a lot of the time people just use the password feature because it's there! If it's not important enough to keep a record of the password, then why set one?

At the very least, fold those drive cables concertina fashion and secure the folds in place with rubber bands. Preferably, replace them with 'rounded IDE cables' which are an inexpensive purchase at a PC store.

[img]http://images.gfx.no/0/16/round-ide-cable-3.jpg[/img]

A few judiciously placed 'wraps' of electrical insulation tape to hold the various bundles of wiring together, rather than flopping all over the place, and you're well on the way.

Perrhaps a few cable ties to hold things out of the way, and pretty soon you've improved the airflow inside your case tenfold.

Then fit an 80mm exhaust fan to that mounting point at back of your case, and for a smal and reasonable outlay, you've got a system that actually has a chance of staying cool.

If, that is, you ever decide that being covered in mud is bad for it! :D

Read this!

Man! That's a dirty dusty PC. Blow it out to get rid of the dust, eh, and then tidy up those cables!

Jimmy. an OEM edition is a single user installation. It can't be transferred to a different system, and the key number has a different structure to the retail release. Try and reactivate that on a different system and you'll strike problems. (And you'll have to do some pretty good talking to get Microsoft to do it by phone.)

The big difference, of course, is that it's been sold for half the price purely because it's designed to only ever be used on a single machine, for the lifespan of that machine.

Good luck mate ;)

Oh yeah. I hope the installation keys have been recorded for all those systems, in case they need to be reinstalled. with that many systems, it's got me beat why a volume license wasn't purchased. That would have been cheapest of all!

Oh hell! I missed that!

That's certainly too hot for a processor to be running. I'd suggest removing the heatsink, thoroughly cleaning heatsink and processor core, and then refitting it using Arctic Silver paste.

Have you changed heatsinks at some stage, and not cleaned and replaced the thermal compound?

Resetting CMOS by removing the CMOS battery, waiting a while, then replacing it should do the trick if it's a BIOS password. Make sure you shut the system down and switch off at the wall outlet before fiddling about inside the case.

If anyone has a definitive answer on this problem i'd love to hear it also!

I've found floppy drive operation under Windows XP to be a really troublesome area, when used floppies are installed. In all cases where I've had trouble getting a floppy drive to work, replacing the drive with a new one has brought positive results. In almost all cases where I've had the problem, the secondhand floppy drive has worked fine in a Windows 98 system!

Puzzling, to say the least.

No, I'm a hardware fella, not a coder. Those questions belong in the appropriate forum section.

I'd suggest starting over again, and using the Windows XP CD to perform a clean install, rather than loading Windows 98 first. The install process will only need the Windows 98 CD to perform a 'check' for eligibility. You'll be asked to pop it in the drive at the appropriate point, and then replace the Windows XP CD when the check has been performed.

See this article of mine for detailed instructions about installing. Make sure you remove the existing partition, and then create a new one in its place, as mentioned in the article. You'll get a much cleaner install doing things that way.

As mikeandike22 mentioned, you might be having RAM problems as well. If that 512Mb is two x 256Mb modules, of different brands, then I'd suggest you first do the install with only one module in place, in Slot 1. If the install goes through cleanly and the system runs stable, add the other module afterwards and check that the system still remains stable.

It's only my own opinion I've aired :D

Whether or not dust will be a problem depends on the environment it's located in of course. At the very least, with an open system like that, I'd be keeping an airbed pump handy to regularly blow it down clean and keep it looking nice. PCs attract dust that you never knew existed!

And of course there's alway the problem of prying fingers. I f there's likely to be any littlies about, I'd be advicing you keep that open plan PC well out of reach!

But if it's your 'thing' then fine. Me though, nah!!!! I reckon they look silly!

:D

No-one would be better off installing Windows Me. It's the least stable of all the versions of Windows that have been released. But if that is a genuine CD of Windows Me, it can be used for 'verification, and enable an Upgrade CD of Windows XP to be installed, as I suggested previously.

Windows XP is so much more stable than Windows Me, that the relatively small expense of purchasing an Upgrade Edition of the newer OS would be well worth it. I'd not advise anyone to install Windows Me, under any circumstances ;)

Some people might be surprised to hear it, but computers aren't everything!

Matter of fact, they've receded right into the background for the time being, with the Olympics well under way. And I'm thoroughly enjoying a break, and sitting back to watch some fine performances. So far, the 'magic moments' for me have come in the pool. After the controversy surrounding his inclusion in the 400m freestyle, Ian Thorpe's win was a magic moment indeed, and the relief was evident on his face as the well deserved win registered.

But I've tears in my own eyes after watching the performance of the 'matron of honour' of the australian swimming team, Petria Thomas, finally crack it for Gold in her final Olympics!

After spending the early part of her career swimming in the wake of 'Madame Butterfly' Susie O'Neill, and then undergoing the heartbreak of three shoulder reconstructions during the latter part of her career, to crack it for Gold in the 100m butterfly in her farewell performance is an absolutely awesome achievement.

'Tis the stuff of inspiration!

[img]http://abc.net.au/commonwealthgames/galleries/day8/images/Petria_Thomas.jpg[/img]

Add your own 'magic moments, please, and tell about the performances that have inspired you!

Goodness! I've no idea where you even live! (I'm in Australia)

Have a look in a local computer magazine and check the advertisements for prices on Windows XP Home Edition. If you can get access to a CD of Windows 98 (a borrowed one would do, then you could use the less expensive 'Upgrade edition' of Windows XP. The upgrade version can still be used for a fresh, clean install, and only needs an earlier CD for a 'CD check' during the installation.

If he has fitted a new motherboard, then the system is no longer a HP Pavilion. (Unless it is a replacement motherboard supplied by HP of course).

If it is a motherboard purchased from a PC components supplier, then the system needs to be booted from a Windows XP CD, the partitions on the hard drive deleted, new partitions created, and then Windows installed. Drivers for the new motherboard should be installed, and the HP Pavilion CDs would be no longer relevent to the system.

Again:

If that is a different motherboard to the one originally included, then it is no longer a HP Pavilion, and the disks and books are useless now!

Dunno where you saw different, but every mention I've seen of the 'case' mentions only an acrylic motherboard panel, to mount the motherboard on. No side panels at all were listed.

As far as I'm aware, that's an open frame, not a case.

If that's a 'brand name' PC I'd be guessing it's only got one module, with 256Mb installed, but open up the system case and have a look.

RAM modules look like this:

[img]http://interact.uoregon.edu/pttt/ram/ram.jpg[/img]

If you've had the system from new, and have recently had more 'memory' added, then that would explain it, and my suggestion woul mean to try removing the module in slot 2. But your RAM passed the test you run, so it might not be the problem.

Alternatively, it could be a faulty driver. You said you reinstalled the drivers. Are you sure you loaded them all?

Have you got more than one RAM module installed? Are they different brands/types?

If this is the case, try removing the most recently added module to dee if the problems persist or disappear. That error message often accompanies memory incompativilities.

That message is simply an indication that you have some underlying system problems. Some program or other is 'behaving badly', and causing a memory dump.

I'd suggest you start off by making sure you have updated antivirus and spyware/malware tools on your system, scanning for nasties, and removing any you find. See the 'stickies' in our security section for more information about that.

You could also try removing any unnecessary programs, particularly those which are downloaded 'freebies'. You'll need to do a lot of trial and error, because the cause could be any number of things.

Yes, I have. Wouldn't think of getting one in a fit!

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/lubic/

That's expense and effort laid out to construct a frame to mount PC parts in, and it doesn't even include panels to close it off and protect the components from dust and such!

It'd have to be, in my personal opinion, one of the sillier PC products to have ever been brought to market. I saw some photos a while back of a PC that a fellow had built into a cardboard shoe box. It looked far more sensible and functional than an open frame which looks like a meccano set construction!

It certainly sounds like the CMOS battery is dying!

Without a battery in good condition, your system configuration data is not being stored, and it is needing to run setup to detect the equipment installed in the PC. Running for a period of time will charge the battery somewhat, ensuring that configuration data is retained for a while. this explains why it starts up fine sometimes.

But left turned off for a period, the battery will be going flat again, and the dta will be lost. replacing the battery is a simple and inexpensive process on most systems.

G'day again, heiroglyphics fella :D

Yes, a PCI exhaust fan would be an option, but not as good a one as the Arctic VGA Silencer, in my opinion, which adds both an exhaust ducted fan and a vastly improved graphics processor heatsink to your Radeon card.

Next best option, in the view of overclockers everywhere it seems, is the inclusion of an intake fan mounted in the case side panel, and blowing external air down onto your display card. For a high-end and overclocked video card, a combination of both methods could even be used.

A cheap PCI exhaust fan, such as a JustCooler for example, is nowhere near as good a choice.

Crazy_M, that criticism of people who have answered is unwarranted.

You've not stated your question clearly to start with, the question itself, about a configuration which would need an additional (SATA) drive has been followed by a comment that you have no need for an extra drive, and in any case the answer was given in an early post in the topic, as has been mentioned.

Further to that, my own quite seriously put question hasn't been answered by yourself anyway.

finaly someone doesnt sound stupid trying to be a smart*** and doing a s**** job at it.

It could be claimed that there has only really been one person doing that in the discussion.

Yes. it will.

Could you please tell us why on Earth you need two CD-ROMs and a CD burner as well? I would seriously like to know, as I've never come across a situation that would require such a configuration.

System details please? This is definitely a hardware problem, not a Windows one.

What is your motherboard? Processor? Video card? RAM? How may RAM modules have you got installed? If more than one are they the same brand and/or type? What brand and speed?

Those are the sort of details we need to know to be able to help. Something is wrong in your system, and if you keep turning it on and off continually like that, you will end up causing permanent harm to something or other in there! ;)

What is the model number of the Compaq Presario please? I've a Presario 7400 here, and the Restore CD will not work on anything but the original hard drive ;)

You've obviously got some severe system corruption, and would probably benefit from using the restore CD on that system. I've already made sugestions for using your new hard drive in your other topic. Could you please indicate which topic you would like to continue with, as it is too confusing to have two concurrent topics, both basically about the same thing ;)

1. You can only use SATA hard drives with SATA1 and SATA2.

2. You have too many CD drives. You only need the CDRW. Even having a CD-ROM in addition to that is a 'luxury', useful only for copying CDs 'on the fly'. (I never copy CDs that way, you get better copies if you do both Read and Write operations with the burner ;))

IDE1 should have your system hard drive as Master and your second hard drive as Slave. IDE2 should have your burner as Master, and your CD-ROM as slave if you decide to include it.

It could be the processor. You need to ensure that traces of previous thermal interface material are completely cleaned from both processor die and heatsink botton. I scrub my own ones with metho several times, because it's the indetectable traces in microscopic sufrace 'pits' that create problems. The type of thermal paste used is important as well. some cheaper 'silver coloured' pastes are actually as bad as the cheap, white silicone based crud. Shin-Etsu or Arctic silver5 should be the materials of choice, and they should only be used in tiny amounts. Less than the size of a grain of rice is the amount to use, and it should be carefully soread to cover the surface of the central die core only, in an even layer.

But I really do think that looks like a display card problem, and I wonder if the display card heatsink itself needs to be removed and the thermal paste on that replaced as well.

Sounds like heat to me too. The advice given by caperjack is sound advice indeed!

If creating a hurricane in there with a house fan doesn't help, though, try formatting and starting over. Sometimes games systems get all cruddy and simply need a fresh start.

hahahahaha

He should have fitted a bloody great window panel to the side of it as well, so you'd be too embarrassed to leave it dirty and dusty!!!! :D

Work out beforehand what partitions you want.

Go into BIOS setup and set CD-ROM to be '1st boot device' Pop your Windows XP CD in the drive and reboot. Press a key when prompted to boot from CD. At the appropriate point in the process, choose to Remove the existing drive partitions, then create new ones according to the structure you want. Then install windows XP to the primary partition.

You'll find a detailed article about the procedure via the link in my sig which realtes to installing Windows.

Fdisk has no place in the process for a Windows XP user.

(Now I really hope you have Windows XP! :))

dandimmitt, I've just had a big battle with a friend's system which was in a similar state to yours. If you are using Windows XP, then I'd suggest the simplest way to sort out the problems is to have the machine formatted and installed fresh again, only this time install Nero instead of Adaptec/Roxio software. Using InCD and the other burning software from that package can cause all sorts of problems, including making your CD drives go 'missing in action'.

dandimmitt, that question tells us very little I'm afraid, so I'd ask you to start over again. Tell us what you have there please. As much information about your system hardware as you can, and also what version of Windows you are using.

It would help if we know what PC you have, what parts are in it, what you are trying to do, what is going wrong, and what you've tried to do to fix it.

Hi Andrew,

Your processor is running too hot for sure. Was that my system I'd be ripping off the heatsink from the processor, cleaning the chip core thoroughly with metho, and fitting a decent 3rd party heatsink to it using Artic Silver 5 thermal paste instead of the crappy stuff that AMD recommends. I've done just that to a 2400+ system of my own that was running too hot, and it's worked wonders.

Leave that RAM at the same speed as your FSB, because your system will be faster like that than if you have it at a higher speed ;)

But most of all, have a look at your display card. That 'tearing' in the picture you linked is indicative of a video card that's overheating or overclocked! Check your system first, of course, and make sure you have the most up to date drivers installed for motherboard and display card, and make sure you have DirectX up to date as well. Format and install clean, for preference, so you can eliminate software problems and system file corruption as a possible cause.

Snowy artifacts and image tearing is bad, mmkay? If all the things mentioned don't fix it, then you might have to fit a new heatsink/fan to the display card, or even replace the card altogether.

Great to hear! I'll mark this 'solved', and if you have any problems installing Windows XP, or setting it up properly afterwards, don't hesitate to start another topic!

The jumper settings on both the CD drive and the new hard drive should be set to 'Master'.

Now are you able to get into BIOS setup? I'm unfamiliar with the organisation of BIOS setup on your system, and HP don't like including motherboard manuals on their website, so you'll have to help.

In BIOS setup, what are the menu and sub-menu headings please? There are possibly several settings to check to be sure it's configured correctly to boot from CD.

When you have it set to boot from CD as 1st boot device, you should pop the CD in the drive, start the machine up, and watch for the onscreen message which says "Press a key to boot from CD". If you don't press a key the system will bypass the CD and try to boot from hard drive.

If you have more than one CD/burner/DVD drive, then you might be trying to use the wrong one.

Perhaps you have misconfigured the drives when you installed the new hard drive? Could you describe what drives are in your system please, and indicate which drives are are attached to the end and middle connectors of each drive cable, and what the jumper settings are for each?

Fix the 'boot from CD' problem is the best option to take.

To access BIOS setup, press <F1> during startup, then ensure that the system is set to boot from CD-ROM. If you get a logo splash screen covering up the POST information when you reboot, press <Esc> to get rid of the splash screen.

Installing Windows XP is much better done from CD.

That's a thoughtfully put comment, Lurch, and I'd agree with it entirely. The few gigabytes talen up by a restore partition is really very little to sacrifice with the size of hard drives available today, and retaining it can prove quite valuable.

The floppy drive is, as you say, virtually redundant now, and the only thing I ever use one for myself nowadays is to flash BIOS. Even that is a task which can be performed without a floppy. I only use a floppy drive for it through personal preference, and where a system has no such drive it's quite easy to attach one temporarily. With the size of files, the cheapness of blank CDs, and the availability of USB pendrives, floppies are not needed for data storage.

Agreed - that sounds like a heat problem. If cleaning it doesn't help sort things out, you might want to get it checked. The processor fan might be malfunctioning or the thermal paste between procesor and heatsink might need replacing.