Windows XP Professional problems
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From: Wishing it was somewhere sunny!
Windows XP Professional problems
I was having some problems running some specialised software under Windows 98SE and advised to upgrade to XP Professional. The problem which I was getting under Windows 98SE was when I printed a document or gave the machine something which was equally resource hungry, the machine would hang or crash. I am not at all up to speed with computers but I believe there is/was a memory issue.
I installed XP an the problems were worse. I formatted the hard drive and did a clean install and the problem seem to be just the same, maybe worse! If I try to run a program or give a “print” command, the hard drive rattles away for an eternity and new screens take several minutes to change. In the case of the print command, the print never arrives at the printer, presumably because there is other software which requires memory which is unavailable!
My computer has an AMD-K7 processor 548mhz with 128meg ram. It is running Windows XP Professional V2002 service pack 1
If I do a CTRL-ALT-DEL then I get a screen which tells me Processes 24 - CPU Usage 10% Commit Charge 116892k/3151
I am now at a point where I can’t do any work where the machine runs really slowly and hangs!
And to add insult to injury, I've lost the program tool bar which I used to have at the bottom left of the scree so now I have to click on START then PROGRAMS then the program required to start a new program.
Any clues or pointers please
S
I installed XP an the problems were worse. I formatted the hard drive and did a clean install and the problem seem to be just the same, maybe worse! If I try to run a program or give a “print” command, the hard drive rattles away for an eternity and new screens take several minutes to change. In the case of the print command, the print never arrives at the printer, presumably because there is other software which requires memory which is unavailable!
My computer has an AMD-K7 processor 548mhz with 128meg ram. It is running Windows XP Professional V2002 service pack 1
If I do a CTRL-ALT-DEL then I get a screen which tells me Processes 24 - CPU Usage 10% Commit Charge 116892k/3151
I am now at a point where I can’t do any work where the machine runs really slowly and hangs!
And to add insult to injury, I've lost the program tool bar which I used to have at the bottom left of the scree so now I have to click on START then PROGRAMS then the program required to start a new program.
Any clues or pointers please
S
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From: Peripatetic
I know they say XP will run in 128Mb, but you'll barely run the OS on that, let alone a memory intensive programme.
First off, stick at least another 128Mb inside. Better still, replace your present memory with a new 256Mb stick so you don't need to match the old one. If your old motherboard needs 2, replace them both with new 128Mb sticks, theyl cost about £14 each, 256Mb sticks are about £27. - Microdirect
Secondly, with the age, the software was probably written for Win95/98. Run it in emulation mode. Go into My Computer and drive down to the programme .exe file. Right mouse click on it and select Properties, then Compatibility Mode, then select Win95 and try it. You can try Win98/Me but you seemed to have problems there as well. But at least it would put you back where you started.
Thirdly, what's the programme? Have there been any patches/updates to it for newer OS? Give us the name and version so we can check.
Reference launching the programme.
1. Right click the programme under Start - Programs and create a short cut. Drag it to the desktop and start it direct from there.
2. If you really want it on a toolbar, XP has a Quick Launch toolbar in the taskbar across the bottom. If it's not already there, right-click an empty area on the taskbar, click Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch. To add items to it, left click and hold down on the shortcut icon on the desktop and then drag it into the toolbar.
First off, stick at least another 128Mb inside. Better still, replace your present memory with a new 256Mb stick so you don't need to match the old one. If your old motherboard needs 2, replace them both with new 128Mb sticks, theyl cost about £14 each, 256Mb sticks are about £27. - Microdirect
Secondly, with the age, the software was probably written for Win95/98. Run it in emulation mode. Go into My Computer and drive down to the programme .exe file. Right mouse click on it and select Properties, then Compatibility Mode, then select Win95 and try it. You can try Win98/Me but you seemed to have problems there as well. But at least it would put you back where you started.
Thirdly, what's the programme? Have there been any patches/updates to it for newer OS? Give us the name and version so we can check.
Reference launching the programme.
1. Right click the programme under Start - Programs and create a short cut. Drag it to the desktop and start it direct from there.
2. If you really want it on a toolbar, XP has a Quick Launch toolbar in the taskbar across the bottom. If it's not already there, right-click an empty area on the taskbar, click Toolbars, and then click Quick Launch. To add items to it, left click and hold down on the shortcut icon on the desktop and then drag it into the toolbar.
Last edited by ORAC; 10th August 2003 at 20:22.
The Oracle
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From: Naples, Florida U.S.A.
Sensible,
The sweet spot with WinXP is 512Mb of RAM. That will give you the Memory to run 99% of all the programs out there.
With a 550Mhz K7 you really are borderline for running WinXP but workable.
Your motherboard is either a VIA or a SiS Chipset. I would look into getting the latest drivers for your motherboard along with the RAM. That should solve most of your issues.
Take Care,
Richard
P.S. If you would list the specs on your Motherboard, Video Card, and Sound Card, I would be happy to get you a list of drivers to install.
The sweet spot with WinXP is 512Mb of RAM. That will give you the Memory to run 99% of all the programs out there.
With a 550Mhz K7 you really are borderline for running WinXP but workable.
Your motherboard is either a VIA or a SiS Chipset. I would look into getting the latest drivers for your motherboard along with the RAM. That should solve most of your issues.
Take Care,
Richard
P.S. If you would list the specs on your Motherboard, Video Card, and Sound Card, I would be happy to get you a list of drivers to install.
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From: Wishing it was somewhere sunny!
ORAC, Many thanks for the benefit of your expertise. I fitted a spare 64mb chip which I had laying around and the difference in performance is very noticeable and by pressing CRL ALT DEL, I see that the machine has taken up all of the added memory. I have ordered two 256mb chips from Microdirect as there are now three 64mb chips occupying all three available memory slots. The programme which I am running is a specialised property management software package from a company called CFP. It is this software which prompted me to change to XP after CFP technical support advised me to change to XP to be able to enjoy the full features of their software which was written for XP. With the computer only running Norton Systemworks, Explorer and Express, I was out of memory! Thanks also for the instructions on how to install a taskbar, I had been launching some programs from the desktop so it was a bit of a problem not having a shortcut on an easily accessible task bar. Thanks once again.
NAC, I wouldn’t know the difference between a VIA or an SIS chipset I’m afraid! All I know is that the memory chips are 168 pin PC100 types, the board has labels marked Advent 8725 and PCI 0195 - there are three cards attached to the motherboard, a Creative Labs CT5803 sound card, a 3dfx voodoo3 video card and another card marked “Firewave”
NAC, I wouldn’t know the difference between a VIA or an SIS chipset I’m afraid! All I know is that the memory chips are 168 pin PC100 types, the board has labels marked Advent 8725 and PCI 0195 - there are three cards attached to the motherboard, a Creative Labs CT5803 sound card, a 3dfx voodoo3 video card and another card marked “Firewave”
The Oracle
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From: Naples, Florida U.S.A.
Sensible,
I checked the Advent Website and they did not have any information on the 8725. You could look for a chip on the motherboard that will say either VIA or AMD or SiS on it. The name and the model number on the chip would help.
You can also look in your Device Manager and expand System Devices. In there you will see Recourses that should be specific to the Chipset Maker for your motherboard. The other option would be to contact the company that made the computer and ask them which motherboard chipset your computer has. Then we could locate the correct drivers for you.
Since you have a Voodoo3 3000 Video Card, you will have a little trouble with 3D applications and games. 3Dfx folded before the release of WinXP so there are no official drivers released for WinXP. People have worked on their own to get some drivers to work with WinXP though. The latest I can find are:
Voodoolizer 1.04.01 BETA 6 for WinXP/2K
For your Sound Blaster PCI 128 here is a link to the WinXP Drivers:
Sound Blaster PCI 128 (Model CT 5808)
Take Care,
Richard
I checked the Advent Website and they did not have any information on the 8725. You could look for a chip on the motherboard that will say either VIA or AMD or SiS on it. The name and the model number on the chip would help.
You can also look in your Device Manager and expand System Devices. In there you will see Recourses that should be specific to the Chipset Maker for your motherboard. The other option would be to contact the company that made the computer and ask them which motherboard chipset your computer has. Then we could locate the correct drivers for you.
Since you have a Voodoo3 3000 Video Card, you will have a little trouble with 3D applications and games. 3Dfx folded before the release of WinXP so there are no official drivers released for WinXP. People have worked on their own to get some drivers to work with WinXP though. The latest I can find are:
Voodoolizer 1.04.01 BETA 6 for WinXP/2K
For your Sound Blaster PCI 128 here is a link to the WinXP Drivers:
Sound Blaster PCI 128 (Model CT 5808)
Take Care,
Richard
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From: Wishing it was somewhere sunny!
Thanks for all the help and advice, as it happened, I picked up the Blaster Worm, I thought it was another hardware conflict and went out and bought a new computer! Works much better than the old beast anyway. I gave the old one to a friend’s little girl as an early Christmas present so now everyone’s happy. Why didn’t I just do that in the first place? Making do just doesn’t work!
