• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

having to install XP every few days

D

daveqb

Senior member
Hi,
i have posted about this problem in a few Subject forums and done my own research, but to no avail.

I have just installed XP, it runs so well but then i have problems after a few days.
i have re-formatted & installed again about 4 times now.

here are my probelms, perhaps interelated:

1. the system suddenly degrades to a snails pace (my uncles Cyrix 166 runs faster)
but only in accessing the HDD, once a app is in RAM it runs fast. but programs like IE can sometimes take 30 seconds to open up with nothing else running concurrently.

2. Sound: this problem has always been there since the first day i installed XP. the sound is distorted under any sort of system load. Can play fine with nothing else, but if openning something as small as Notepad it can make songs slow & stutter.
Games with flashy intros suffer terribly with the sound uninteruptable.

3. Constant freezing & even an inability to shut down or restart. Many times i have to hit the restart button or power off thru the power button, has it gets to "windows is shutting down..." & hangs there forever. Constant freezing with even Task Manager freezing making the system unable to recover.


these may sound like comoin problems, but the funny thing is that its runs great intially, in fact in runs FANTASTIC!
So i would like to work this out so i can use XP (but XP running well, not running sick)

i have tried my sound card & the onboard sound with no differences for that problem.
my mate has the same Motherboard with same onboard sound & runs fine with XP, naturally u would tihnks its a prog, but even straight after a fresh install & new XP drivers for the sound card, no workys 🙁.

the cpu is kept to the mid 30's in temp & case at the high 20's.

i have installed some RAM out of my system into my mothers new system (with XP) & no freezing problems there.


sorry for the essay, but really would like to resolve this.
i dont mind re-formatting, but to only get a few good days of a smoothing operating system really tests the sanity.

could it be the MoBo ??


i was thinking of installing again & using recovery points to test each program i install

any help on this being a known problem of any ideads on what it could be would be greatly apreciated


signed

deperate
PS have used both NTFS & FAT32
 
I am not sure if this is it or not, but have you checked if your hard drives are running in UltraDMA mode? and how about your Virtual Memory settings? try setting your own set size, maybe with min = 256mb, max = 512?

I used to have a problem with my system running WinXP too, after using it for a while, it started to get super sluggish and the sound always skipped no matter what. I realized that my drives were running in PIO mode instead of UDMA .. i changed it to UDMA, and that fixed the slowdown and sound skipping..

I'm not sure if this will solve your problem, but its worth a check.

good luck!
 
Well your sound problem is a common problem with a variety of sound cards in Windows XP. The best thing to solve that is to make sure you have the latest sound card drivers (is your sound card fully supported by WinXP?) and also have the latest VIA chipset drivers. Also, what is the transfer rate of your Hard Drive? You can check by going into Device Manager and checking the Advanced Tab under the properties of Primary IDE channel. If it's anything lower than what it's supposed to be, that could be the problem. If you can't change it to what it's supposed to be then there's nothing you can do about it except change the Hard Drive. It's a known issue by MS that if WinXP detects a slight problem with any of the drives it will lower the transfer rate (for safety) and I don't know of anything you can do about it.


What's the brand of your RAM? You have 512MB RAM right? Are they two 256MB DIMMS or is it one 512MB DIMM? If you have two DIMMS take one of them out and see if it gets any better.
 
ok i think we r on to something here.

but first things first

I thought of the page file being too small, but its not.

i used Partition magic 5 to make the C drive bigger (from 4 gig's that i used for Win98 to 6 gig's)

then have re-formatted C to instal XP since then.
Currently set page file to min 768 and max of 1500.

I have only had one guy respond in the XP newsgroup bout his sound card having the same probs as mine (different chip set though)

several others responding having the same sound chip set (CMI8738) & having no probs at all.
i have tried the onboard sound & that was exactly the same.
I have the lastest drivers for everything on my system (bit of a an obsessive compulsive when it comes to that) & my sound chip set (CMI8738) is listed as supported on the MS site for win XP

I have two 128 meg modules & one 256 meg module.

i have used the two 128's in my Mums system i just built her two days ago & it is running smooth (yet to freeze) & faster then mine (shes got a Duron 1 gig & a 4.3 gig HDD at ATA33)


So this brings me to the HDD transfer rate.

at looking it is set to use DMA if available, but is on PIO mode.

(i am excitted to have potentially found the prob)

somes questions.....

1. would the slow trasnfer rate coz freezing too??
2. could it be the problems with the sound?
3. Y did WinXP run great then suddenly die down? Was it that it had it set to UDMA Mode??
4. how can i change it ??? (screams in pain!!)

My MoBo supports ATA100


its only a new HDD too!!

Fujitsu MPG3409AT E

PS i thought after my post that another issue which probably healps solidify that this is the prob and that is that at the same time these problems begin (besides sound which is always there) the boot up time virtually doubles from 1:15 to 2:30 from time of hitting the on switch.

PSS my HDD comes up as UDMA mode 5 in the POST ?!?!






 
I'm not surprised to see your HD being set at PIO mode. I dont quiet understand it either. I have two identical IBM UDMA5 HDs have one of them is set to PIO mode no matter what. I called IBM and they basically blame MS for it. I'm 99% sure that the PIO problem is causing your sound problem. As to your freezing and degrade of performance I have no idea... but I'll tell you this... I'm also pretty sure that your HD has been set to PIO mode since day one. Yes I know that BIOS reads it as UDMA/ATA100 but that's different from WinXP.

For more on the sound issue, try going to the forums of www.3dsoundsurge.com
 
really??

but its runs so fast & smooth for the first couple of days , then suddenly goes so slow & the boot up time doubles!!


i never checked it but i really think it was at ATA something when it was first installed. It was faster then my 4.3 that i have XP now, that is ATA 33 & currently set at UDMA mode 2 on another system in my house.

anyway doesnt matter , the problem is that its stuck on PIO mode

would recovery points revert it back??
say i install again & always have a recovery point to back to where it was at ATA100??

 
I dunno what the cause is, could be so many things.

I've had problems on two motherboards with non ECC memory (didn't relate to sound), but still caused problems and slow system response and errors. One board supports both 133Mhz and 100Mhz non-ECC memory only (810E chipset), but non-ECC causes problems. Does this make any sense that the chipset on the board doesn't use ECC and functions without error correction but only operates correctly with ECC memory? (I've got some 512MB 133Mz CL2 sitting around that I can't use! [Bought too long ago to return or exchange])

Things to try:
Set the mouse reports/second (Control Panel --> Mouse) to 20/second instead of 100/second, see if that helps.
Try disabling the MPU-401 and see if this affects anything.
Try disabling another function like the game port and see if this does anything.
Disable other functions like integrated modem and ZV ports if they are on your card and then see what happens.
Disable everything except stereo sound on the card. Enable 2 speaker stereo support.

DMA mode or PIO mode (4) on drives should have no effect. This is something that the BIOS on the motherboard regulates, but if you install Windows 2000/XP in ACPI mode, you may not be able to change some hardware settings after the OS is installed. (Which is why I don't use ACPI mode.)

Sounds like the sound processing is being handled by the CPU and the chipset/bus is not optimized for or compatible with your sound card and sound driver (yeah, VIA). I would get a soundcard like the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz which does sound processing onboard the soundcard and limit your sounds to hardware only voices (no software voices).

A drive being accessed or api being used should not cause problems with sound if the drivers are well designed and made to be flexible (which is part of ACPI and why they must work properly if sharing the same IRQ). Still there is something wrong between the soundcard sound processing (in software) and the chipset driver managament. I really believe this is a VIA driver /motherboard chipset BIOS/soundcard driver combination problem. Eliminated or replace one of the items in the equation, and if you use ACPI, be prepared to reinstall the OS. (I would set the BIOS on motherboard to APM and not use ACPI the next time you reinstall. Press F6 or F5 when asked for SCSI drivers on Windows installation.)
 
ok two points to make here

1. (to Macaronee) i think i have found away to get ur HDD back to UDMA mode 5.
i got the brain wave to set the jumpers to slave. restart & change in the BIOS so its Primary Slave.

XP booted up, said it found a new device (duh!) & i checked it in device managed & the primary IDE controller (1) was back to UDMA mode 5

yet to reboot & set it back to master.
just done this now , but so far , so good.

as for my sound.....

2. It does seem to me that the sound processing is done by my CPU, coz its when any load (or when the black box (task manager) fills with green, to put it simply) that the sound gets distorted.
i have a C-Media sound card, 6 channel chipset: CMI8738
but i got the card cheap (US$15) so i am thinking it is a software based sound card, not a hardware sound card.
BUT ......
people have responded saying they have that chipset ONBOARD & have no troubles & i was always lead to believe that anything onboard relies on ur CPU for processing.

ALSO....
the card ran with no distortion or glitches under Win98
i could play an MP3 & run a game like Unreal & it not miss a beat of the song ......


 
HSP means it implements a software modem. The CMI8738 uses HSP (and has read bits for some other funky things like BIST, VGA palette snoop [that's a weird one, I have no idea why]), which causes me to believe that sound is also software voices (primarily), but may have something like 12, 16 or 24 hardware voices. If the soundcard doesn't give you the option to choose between how many voices (hardware and software), it's likely to be software only.

 
SIIG has been making good components for years. If you don't want to spend $85 for a soundcard like some SoundBlaster (and I wouldn't) or Santa Cruz, then buy a SIIG.
 
ok
1. have booted back with HDD jumper & BIOS set for Primary Master, but old settings (of PIO mode) were back ! AHHHHH
so have to have it on Primary Slave, wonder how long this will last!?!

2. so u think if i update the sound card my sounds will be sweet??
i tried going back to the old onboard AC97, but just the same,
other ppl have had no trouble with XP & the CMI8738 sound chipset & theirs was onboard!!!

i would like to get a hardware sound card. whats the cheapest?
i know my TV Tuner plays the Radio or the sound for TV with not one interuption. Hefty set on the Tuner card though

 
If you are running ATA 66/100 drives using then 80-wire ribbon cables, then try setting your jumpers to CS and let the cable position (Black=Master, Gray=Slave) determine the outcome.

Another thing you might do is reduce the HDD space allocated for System Restore. It defaults to the Max (10% of any drive's available free space) which can be significant.
 


<< ok two points to make here

1. (to Macaronee) i think i have found away to get ur HDD back to UDMA mode 5.
i got the brain wave to set the jumpers to slave. restart & change in the BIOS so its Primary Slave.

XP booted up, said it found a new device (duh!) & i checked it in device managed & the primary IDE controller (1) was back to UDMA mode 5

yet to reboot & set it back to master.
just done this now , but so far , so good. >>



Hehe, The one that's on PIO mode is my slave driver (off my primary HD, which is not having a problem). I have already tried putting it as Master and Cable Select but no difference.
 
The DMA setting for primary master should be permanent unless you 'edit' the corresponding keys in for the drive (primary master) in the registry (not recommended). I say 'edit', but if you just edit, the DMA setting will probably return on reboot.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\Scsi\Scsi Port 0\Scsi Bus 0
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DEVICEMAP\Scsi\Scsi Port 0\Scsi Bus 1

The registry keeps track of devices and associations with devices so that whenever the same device is reinstalled in the original position, it receives the same settings.
Editing or changing registry settings can/may/often will cause unstable or non-starting systems.

 


<<
2. so u think if i update the sound card my sounds will be sweet??
i tried going back to the old onboard AC97, but just the same,
other ppl have had no trouble with XP & the CMI8738 sound chipset & theirs was onboard!!!
 >>



Did you install the latest WinXP Drivers for your sound???

 


<<

<< . . . . Hehe, The one that's on PIO mode is my slave driver (off my primary HD, which is not having a problem). I have already tried putting it as Master and Cable Select but no difference. >>

You can't put it to CS (Cable Select) unless you have a special cable that has a crossover for automatic drive detection. in which case you really should use cable select. If you haven't been using cable select, don't use it.
 
yes the latest drivers. i am a bit obsessive compulsive about latest drivees & BIOS updates, am always checking

i played the sound on the system i built Mum & theres not one glitch!!!
its onboard C-media, the ECS K7S5A board!

wtf is wrong with my sound ???

this is so frustrating.
her little Duron 1 gig produced much better sound (with onboard sound) then my system that i have spent a little more on with a bloody sound card

its the weirdest thing!!
my onboard sound runs just as bad my sound card!
i'll can see it now, i'll buy a Sound Blaster Live! & it will be the same lol
 
Well the update is ........

i got a new HDD this time 7,200 RPM.

installed WinXP & WOW!!! isnt it fast!!

boots up from turn on to desktop in 35 seconds.

sound plays heaps better now, with only degrading when something major is happening.

but now...........

i noticed that the IDE Primary Controller setting for device 0 is at "Ultra DMA mode"

not "Ultra DMA Mode 5"
like it was before only a few hours ago

everythign is still running great, but i am concerned by tmw it will be back to PIO mode

is it down stepping it ?

& if so what could this be >??

proven not the HDD

maybe the IDE Controler on the MoBo ??

i have one partition in Fat32, its on the my original HDD & i have accessed since installing this new HDD

could that be it ?? the transfering of data from Fat32 to NTFS creating CRC errors ????


anyone please.........

*A cry in pain*



 
daveqb I did read about if WinXP receives too many errors from HD it reduces the speed(ie ATA-100 down to PIO mode) anyway yours may not be that problem.

My Maxtor had a similar problem to you anyway it`s supposed to be at Ultra DMA 5 but was listed as Ultra DMA1 in XP,what I did was go into BIOS and change the setting in "Intergrated Perpherials" from "Auto" to" ATA-100" under the Primary master which is what my HD was connected to,anyway I now have Ultra DMA 5 listed in device manager in XP and it has stayed that way since, this may work for you.



<< For repeated DMA errors.
Windows XP will turn off DMA mode for a device after encountering certain errors during data transfer operations. If more that six DMA transfer timeouts occur, Windows will turn off DMA and use only PIO mode on that device.
In this case, the user cannot turn on DMA for this device. The only option for the user who wants to enable DMA mode is to uninstall and reinstall the device.
Windows XP downgrades the Ultra DMA transfer mode after receiving more than six CRC errors. Whenever possible, the operating system will step down one UDMA mode at a time (from UDMA mode 4 to UDMA mode 3, and so on). >>




link for above
 
hmm i am thinking that.


i found out that there is a IDE Bus minport driver that doesnt install by default with the 4 in 1 drivers.
on the VIA site it sounded like it was my resolution.

well just installed it now & it wouldnt boot, had to go back to last 'good' settings & now i am stuck in 4 colour ,mode & cant change it.
it added a folder called IDE TOOLS
& an exe file which has been put in start up

but on start up & when running the file manually it says

"query registry failed.
please contact with manufacturer!!"

i think maybe coz i installed it with one HDD at UDMA mode & the other in PIO mode


do u think ??

i got the 686b southbridge, has that been known to have problems like this ??

 
the same error mesage ??

i would love to know what the IDE tools consist of

it did get my IDE back to UDMA Mode 5 though, but had to remove the 'IDE tools'

i am at the VIA site checking their forum,

i think this could be the resolve, if i can get these drivers to work.....


PS installed XP fresh (AGAIN) on the new HDD & deleted the old HDD's boot partition.
a curious note to make is that the old HDD is still on PIO, even though this is a fresh install on the new HDD

like wtf !!!


 
Another thing you might do is reduce the HDD space allocated for System Restore. It defaults to the Max (10% of any drive's available free space) which can be significant.

Hell I'd disable it completely - on all drives.

Also make sure you have the latest BIOS and chipset drivers for your system.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top