Just installed WinXP.....weird/funky problems

[dwb122]

I just installed XP and not all is as I would like it to be. For one thing, the floppy drive won't read any discs. It's connected properly, lights up, and even spins the discs when they're put in there, but when I click on the A drive it says "insert a disk". Obviously something is wrong. I wouldn't care if it weren't for the bios update files sitting on my desktop waiting to be used.

Secondly, and this is one that scares me, but since this late afternoon when I first got XP up and running, my PC has randomly restarted on me twice. Once when I was looking through two folders left behind by the Windows Service Pack update (both with really long names) and might have accidentally clicked on whatever file is in there, which didn't seem to show up (the folders were coming up a bit slowly for some reason).
The second time was about 2/3 of the way through 3DMark03 during one of the CPU tests. I don't know if it means anything, but there were also two big file-copy processes going on in the background from my old computer over the network.

That I do not like, especially just a couple hours after a fresh Windows install on a brand new computer. What should I do? I haven't been doing anything weird to the computer or overclocking it. The RAM/CPU/etc-related settings in the bios were all default at the time, I'm pretty sure.

Here's my setup:

IC7, out-of-box bios version
P4 2.4C
2x256mb Kingston HyperX PC3500 RAM
Antec Solution Series SLK3700AMB case with Antec 350w Smart Power Supply, just stock cooling
ATi Radeon 9800, latest Catalyst drivers
Philips Acoustic Edge soundcard
Linksys NIC
Seagate 120gb SATA drive w/8mb cache
Pioneer DVD 16x
WinXP Home, DirectX 9

 

[MikeMike]

legal copy? if it isnt, you prolly screwed urself with the SP packs.

otherwise XP does some weird thiings on the network.

MIKE

 

[dwb122]

It's a legal copy. It's the same copy as the one on my older computer, which is also on the network and is registered, although I haven't registered it on the new one yet and disabled on the old one.

 

[Wintermute76]

mine just started random restarts in the last couple weeks, progressively getting worse also, been installed since March.

 

[NaughtyusMaximus]

Its probably a lisencing issue, as you're only allowed to have one copy of any given key installed at a time.

 

[EeyoreX]

otherwise XP does some weird thiings on the network.

My Windows XP doesn't do anything "weird" on my network...

I would check to be sure your heatsink is firmly and correctly connected. I know P4 systems are less prone to heat issues than Athlon XP systems, but a heatsink that isn't seated right might cause random restarts. Also, check your memory with memtest86, to be sure that isn't the problem. As to why there are file copies going on, I can't say. How did you tell there were file copies going on?

\Dan

 

[dwb122]

Originally posted by: EeyoreX

otherwise XP does some weird thiings on the network.

My Windows XP doesn't do anything "weird" on my network...

I would check to be sure your heatsink is firmly and correctly connected. I know P4 systems are less prone to heat issues than Athlon XP systems, but a heatsink that isn't seated right might cause random restarts. Also, check your memory with memtest86, to be sure that isn't the problem. As to why there are file copies going on, I can't say. How did you tell there were file copies going on?

\Dan

I thought the heatsink was put in properly, but it did seem a bit strangely difficult to put it. I had to push really hard, and it was a pretty loud snapping-in sound. In my bios, though, my CPU temp readings are from 52-60, with all stock cooling. I've heard that Abit boards don't read temperatures correctly, though, and that a bios update for my IC7 (which I have yet to do) would supposedly fix that. Hell, I may end up getting a new HSF pretty soon anyway.

As for the file copies, they were going on because I started them. I was moving files from my old computer to my new one (both with the same version of XP, not yet registered on my new one) and I got bored so I decided to start 3DMark03 for the first time, and about 2/3s of the way through the PC restarted on me for the third time. Could it be a problem with my PSU?

Also, my PC restarts on me during the Nvidia Dawn demo. I have a Radeon 9800, but I installed the patch and haven't heard of anyone having problems running the demo on a Radeon as long as they're on default settings (like resolution). On default it ran for about two minutes at which point it restarted on me. When I switched to 1280x1024 and turned AA up to 4x and AF up to 2X, my computer restarted at the exact same spot about two seconds into the demo. I know the demo isn't meant for my card, but these (seemingly) random restarts do bother me.