Serial port sharing between 2 apps?
I see that there are a few software solutions out there, and I trialed one
and it seemed to work, but I don't have $100, and was thinking maybe what I
need to do requires less than these software solutions (ie. Fabulatech's
serial splitter).
I have an electronic scale that we use to send weight to the shipping
software (we use UPS and Endicia). It's plugged into the serial port
(Com1). There is only one such port available.
What we need is for these two different applications to be open at the same
time, and each able to get info from the scale. One application works while
the other is closed, but when both are opn only one continues to work, and
the connection to the scale is lost by the other one.
Fabulatech's Serial Splitter seemed to do the trick, but isn't there any
easy way to fiddle with interrupt request settings, or make a virtual port
and have one application use that virtual port, and direct the COm1 real
port to the virtual port, or SOMETHING?
Any help or ideas or sugestions would be appreciated. It seems like someone
must have had to do this before.
Thanks for taking the time. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329717
BSOD
I get a blue screen of death shortly after inputting my password, it reboots
my PC way too fast for me to read the text. How can I determine the cause of
the BSOD and fix it?
TIA...Les Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329707
Point DVD-RAM Drive Letter To Hard Drive?
I have a proprietary backup system that backs up it's data to a dvd-
ram drive formatted as ntfs and the system sees it as a large floppy/
superdisk-type drive. This system is wasting a lot of disks, and, to
make a long story short, I want to force the backup software to write
to a hard drive instead of the dvd-ram disk. I've heard this is
possible by editing the registry. Can anyone point me to some
information on this?
I know I'm on my own and unsupported by MS by doing registry-editing. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329705
Trouble with MS Ergonomic Keyboard
I have been using MSD ergonomic keyboards for several years now.
I bought a new one a few months ago and since then I seem to be loosing
a little bit of function over a long time period.
Can anyone suggest where I should looking to try and find a solution to
my problem?
TIA,
Nev.
---- Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329693
Hard drive problems
Hi Everybody !
I have a strange problem that i can't seem to get a solution for
An HP notebook had some virus problems wich were cleaned but now
windows gives me the file association menu each time i try to access
the c: drive.
I have had this problem before with usb flash drives but could allways
select explorer to see waht's on the drive
This time it opens internet explorer & says " Application not found"
when I right click in my computer to select explore drive it gives me
the 'open with' menu again
The system is running xp pro sp2 with norton antivirus 2008
Can anybody help me? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329684
Disk space differences as reported in windows explorer?
OK. Maybe this post belongs in this group instead.
When your right click on a drive in windows explorer, and get these
different reported sizes, what is the story?
Example, for a 20 GB partition - rounded to 3 significant digits below:
(choose whichever I guess; the two listings below are seen next to each
other in windows explorer):
12. 4GB 11.5 GB used spaee (tot capacity adds up to
19.9 GB)
7.56 GB 7.04 GB free space (tot capacity adds up to
18.6 GB)
(tot = 19.9 GB) (tot = 18.5 GB)
and as yet a third variation reported in BING:
11.9 GB used,
7.22 GB free
(total = 19.1 GB)
Anyone have a good explanation for the differences? I assume part of it
might have to due with the defenition of the HD sizes, e.g.: 1 GB or 1.024
GB, for "1 GB size" - not sure?
or for a 40 GB example:
20.36 GB 18.9 GB used space
19.64 GB 18.2 GB free space
capacity:
40.00 GB 37.2 GB Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329681
PC won't go into standby or hibernate by its own....
My PC won't go into standby or hibernate on its own after a preset time.
I still can manually bring the PC into standby/hibernate without any
problem.
Don't know where to start to fix this problem, hopefully someone can help me
out. I am running XP pro. Have all the latest drivers and MS updates
installed
Thanks Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329678
Windows unable to see onboard LAN
The other day i was upating various drivers and accidently uninstalled my
network driver, now (for some reason) windows cannot even see this hardware
in device manger. I cant seem reinstall drivers for this divce. Is there
anyway to force seeing certian types of hardware ?
Im using VIA type hardware.
Thanks Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329677
device manager
when I plug in my mp3 to usb port (any port) it is recognized, but flashes on
and off (like it is connecting and reconnecting), so I cannot uninstall via
device manager. the message on the player is telling me it is a "boot
error" and to format unit. I have gone through trouble shoot steps for the
player including reset several times. any help or suggestions would be
great! thanks in advance for anyone who can help! Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329673
CD/DVD Drive
I have a TSSTcorp CD/DVDW SN-S082D. The drive will not read any sort of disk.
When I first got the laptop, it worked perfectly but after a while it would
read or write any sort of C.D. However, it has now stoped reading DVD's
aswell. Please Help... I really need this sorted. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329671
Partitioning New Drive?
Hello,
I just replaced my boot drive with a larger Seagate ATA 320 Gig 16 MB
cache on a five year old computer. I used Seagate Tools to copy my old
boot drive to my new drive and all went well. I can now boot from the
new drive.
My Computer shows 388 Gigs of Free Space with WinXP Pro SP2 taking up
10 Gigs for a total of 298 Gigs. Disk Manager shows one large
partition in healthy condition.
I would like to partition the drive to have a second partition at the
end. Essentially I want to divide the drive in half so I have a C and
D drive. My old drive has a drive D that has all my programs on it and
I want to copy that onto a new partition on the new drive.
However, when I run the partitioning program from Seagate Tools, it
says that there is no free space. Does anyone know what I should do to
get a partition going on the new drive?
Thanks,
Bob Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329664
old video card compatibility
hey all,
do you think an old video card i was using in a pc back when win98 was
popular would work in my new pc now?
i'd like to add a 2nd video card for dual monitors.
thanks,
rodchar Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329662
Testing Memoty
I think that my laptop has a memory problem. Is there any way to test
that with the utilities or what ever is included in XP Pro SP2?
--
Rick
Fargo, ND
N 46°53'251"
W 096°48'279"
Remember the USS Liberty
http://www.ussliberty.org/ Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329644
com port only works in xp using vmware with w98
i have an old pc with windows 98 running connected to a device via com port.
everything works great.
now, i replaced that with a new pc running XP and i cant get it working
through com port.
done all i can remember, slowing down baud rate on xp, tweaking in bios, etc
etc.
so i installed vmware on that machine, created a new virtual machine and
installed w98.
it connects great as before.
but what i want is to comunicate natively in xp, not having to use
xp->vmware->w95
has anyone has any idea? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329642
Trouble in the Dell
How wise is a complete reinstallation of WinXP on
a Dell Dimension (DIM 2400) via the Symantec Dell
PC System Restore (which the manual says on p.43
is "only as a last resort . . ." ?
Problem is ultra-slow operation (apparently not caused
by firewall, AV software etc.) I suspect damage to the
hard drive but am uncertain whether the cause is drivers
(software) or hardware malfunction. Evidence:
1. ScanDisk of C:\ would not complete. I was surprised
to see the GUI console reported:
-- one small FAT32 drive (no drive letter) 30 Mb
-- one normal drive C: NTFS about 38 Gb.
2. DOS CHKDSK /F reports
Fixed 2 corrupt attribute records.
Cannot continue in read-only mode.
(This is not because I logged on as user, not as administrator, is it?)
3. I downloaded 25 March new Dell diagnostics DELLDIAG.EXE
This runs in a DOS box but fails to execute, reporting
"memory protection fault"
I have so far failed to find in either the printed manual
or Dell documents on line either "memory protection fault"
or any reference to the hard drive being in "read-only mode"
or any mention of FAT32 drives. The PC remains cripplingly slow.
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada) Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329641
CPU's
Ok what's the difference between CPU's? Not AMD or Intel, but say a E8400
and Xeon E3110? Both are Wolfdale cores but the E3110 says "Server" on the
box. Looking at the spec's they look the same except for the voltage
requirements. So I guess my real question is what's the difference between
a desk top CPU and a Server Cpu? Are they inter-changeable? Will games
suffer because the CPU is designed for a server? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329638
Flash drive/memory stick freezes my computer
I just bought a flash drive for my WinXP SP2 Home edition. As soon as I
inserted it, my computer froze and locked up. I've tried it in all my
additional USB ports and it remains the same. Even if I insert it prior to
boot up, Windows stops and freezes. My webcam works fine and the memory stick
light comes on, but the `New Hardware Detected' indicator doesn't even show.
I don't have anything else taking up USB ports other than my webcam. I've
tried it in other computers, other than my own, and it worked fine on them.
I've tried uninstalling/reinstalling all my USBs. I've tried almost
everything. Can anybody please solve this mystery?
This seems to be a mystery, which nobody seems to have an answer for????? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329633
Windows XP Media suddenly stopped recognizing hardware devices
Windows XP Media suddenly stopped recognizing hardware devices. I have
yellow question marks on my camera card readers, my dvd burner and my flatbed
scanner. All worked a t one time. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329629
help with laptop to desktop hard drive adapter
I just bought one of these and it connects to the laptop HD no problem but
now I still can't connect it to my desktop because it isn't missing that one
pin in the middle of them all so I can't hook it up to my current ata cable
unless I wanted to do something stupid and pull out the one pin.
I've never even seen a pata cable that doesn't have the middle pin filled
in.
Lets say for example that the row on the hard drive that is missing the pins
is the top row.
There are 21 pins on the top row and 22 pins on the bottom row.
On the adapter there are 20 pins on each row, and if you are looking at the
pins straight on, then there are 2 wires red and black on the right side
(red wire is top row, black wire is bottom row).
I don't want to pull the pin on the top row but is a PATA cable that has the
all the pin holes? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329624
Corrupted drives
I was wondering if anyone knew why my external western digital drives
(500GB) always end up "corrupted".
We use all XP stations at work and somehow XP corrupts the drives so
we can no longer access them, delete the partition- reformat...it
pretty much kills our drives.
Does anyone know what causes these corruptions?
Thanks Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329622
Any way to get my data back?
My Maxtor EHD Personal Storage 3200 is not given a drive letter and I can't
access it, though it is shown as Disk 1 in Drive Management. (right clicking
to allocate a drive letter not an option, it's not there).
It worked finer a couple of weeks ago on an XP machine in England (I'm in
France). Then I got a new Vistas PC and it wouldn't work with that, but
would still work with the XP Pro machine. Now I'm here it doesn't work in
either a desktop or laptop both running XP Home edition.
I started to run Seagates File Recovery programme. After 24 hours it had
only scanned 20%. It's unlikely to go for 5 days without needing booting as
I need it for work.
Disk Management is showing Disk 1 unknown 279.47 Gb Not initialised.
Unallocated.
How can I get to my data.? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329615
adding a KB with "hot keys"
I recently added a Firefly Borealis illuminated keyboard (hardware) to my
system. I loaded in the included driver (CD) and get a message that
"mHotkey.exe has encountered a problem and must close (etc.)".
the result is that, though the KB works, the hot key functions do not ...
excepting the standby or shut down hot key. I've uninstalled & then
re-installed the drivers to no avail.
anyone know how I can get this KB to work properly with my system?
thanks! Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329605
4 monitors
Hi,
I would like to have 4 monitors setup on my new PC with windows XP Pro. 2
above the other 2. What is the best Graphics card and computer setup for
this. This is for checking the markets (not gaming)
Thanks Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329597
Clock Won't Stay set
I have had to reinstall my OS lately. sicne them my clock will not stay set
set in the BIOS or by the clock setting. It whats to jump ahead always two
hours. the time zone is correct, a new BIOS has been installed. all dirvers
are up todate and working. the clock will just not stay set.
I hae used a Time sync and still have to manuall sync everytime i open up
the computer and log on, any ideas for me
NavyRet69 Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329593
Com Ports Unavailable
I need to use 2 com ports in the com1 to com4 range, and only com1 is in
use, by my serial port. Device manager shows that com2, com3, and com4 are
all in use, but they're not, unless my internal modem is using one of them.
Even so, I should still have 2 available ports. I can't figure out what is
using the other 2 com ports. How can I free them up?
--
Thanks.
Sammie Windows XP Home Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329576
Application Disk Access
My performance monitor shows the Avg. Disk Queue at the top and pages/sec
and %processor at normal. Are there any utilities, MS or 3rd party that can
display how heavy of a load each application or service is putting on the
hard disk? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329562
Damaged partition
My daughters laptop HDD seems to have suffered impact shock and partition
has become damaged.
I connected it to my desktop and after a time it shows in My computer but I
cannot access the drive.
Partition magic refuses to open when drive is connected to the desktop.She
has some project work on this
drive that is not backed up eleswhere.I know there are a myriad of software
tools for recovering files etc
but can someone recommend one that really works.
Thanks for any suggestions. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329555
Com Port
I am trying ot use a data trasfer program that has always worked flawlessly,
but all of a sudden, it quit working and now says that my computer has no com
port. I have checked the devise manager and the device manager says that the
com port is functioning OK.
What could be the problem? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329547
windows xp service pack 2
I would like to know what is causing my laptop to shut down very slow or not
at all. I have to press the power button to shut it down. OS is Win XP sp2. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329543
Windows update causes printer to stop working correctly
Fresh install of windows on a newly formatted hard-drive,
always results in this same thing: I install Windows XP Pro
on a newly formatted hard-drive, and attach the computer the
the network's printer using the [Printers and Faxes]
dialogbox. Everything (including printing) works fine before
I do any Windows updates.
Then I do all the windows updates (including SP2) and test
again, now, the print dialogbox, takes 45 seconds (instead
of about 1 second) to come up when the [print] menu item is
selected, and the print job takes 45 seconds (instead of
about 1 second) to begin printing after the [print] button
of the print dialogbox is pressed.
I have tried this same sequence over-and-over many times for
the last six weeks. I always start with a newly formatted
hard-drive and a fresh install of Windows XP Pro. What could
be causing this? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329541
no dump file!!!
I'm going ape shit. XP pro SP2 all latest patches.
My asus a8n-sli deluxe system with an opteron 185 isn't giving me
dumps or minidumps, even though I have them configured in SYSTEM
PROPERTIES/ADVANCED/SETTINGS. I've got it set for a complete dump and
event view logging. Nothing. Nada.
I've had the BSOD about 5 times since I rebuilt the system earlier
this month, and the last three or four didn't give me anything except
the blue screen information.
All my paging is on the root, set for 4GB fixed with 2GB ram, so
there's no reason the dump shouldn't happen, unless the hardware has
gone so teats up that it can't even dump.
This really sucks, as I've found the dump files to be really helpful
with WinDbg to isolate offending drivers.
My last crash was 0x000000F4 (0X00000003, 0x89B45240, 0x89B453B4,
0x805D11F8) I've looked up about everything I can find relating to
that error. It points to hardware, that's about it.
I'm about to try swapping out half my ram, or perhaps running MEM386,
or whatever it's called these days.
Suggestions? (Yeah, I'm already working on an UBUNTU system...)
tx
pc Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329535
Floppy drive inoperative after disconnect
OK, I had to borrow the floppy drive cable from my Win XP machine to
temporarily use on a friends PC (he didn't have a cable and we wanted to do a
clean install of Windows 98.)
When I put the cable back into my machine (Yes, it's connected properly!),
the floppy (A:) drive is not recognized. The light on the front panel doesn't
blink or anything. When I go into the BIOS setup, the order has (Removable
Media) as the first choice, then my C: drive second. The A: drive does not
appear in Windows Explorer nor does it appear in my device manager. Power
cable is connected firmly, too.
This seems like such a simple problem to fix but I'm stumped. Yes, I know
there is the possibility that my floppy is smoked but really, all I did was
turn off my machine, unplug the data cable and after a few hours use on
another machine, plugged it back into my machine.
Yes, I did power up my machine while the cable was out. Could this have
caused XP to turn off looking for the floppy?
--
Jim H. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329532
Unknown device
Reloading xp on fujitsu lifebook afer a disaster and have 1 conflict
remaining in device manager
"ACPI\FU02B1\4&32D5oC2&0".
No system disks so any help greatly appreciated.Thanks. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329525
OT: Test / fix MFT corrupted hard drive
Last year, I "suffered" a MFT corrupted boot drive (c:) failure. Now,
I am working on recovering may data and checking the drive this past
month. I have connected the old IDE drive into a USB 2.0 drive
enclosure and succesffully recover several files. Now I am trying to
check the drive's "health" statsu (without any success yet.) The
drive is a Maxtor (now Seagate) 120GB EIDE drive but most of the
Maxtor tools can not seem to be chek it out.
Where could find how to check it out or how can I check it out? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329522
EHD not given Drive letter but shows in Disk Management
My Maxtor EHD Personal Storage 3200 is not given a drive letter and I can't
access it, though it is shown as Disk 1 in Drive Management. (right clicking
to allocate a drive letter not an option, it's not there).
It worked finer a couple of weeks ago on an XP machine in England (I'm in
France). Then I got a new Vistas PC and it wouldn't work with that, but
would still work with the XP Pro machine. Now I'm here it doesn't work in
either a desktop or laptop both running XP Home edition.
I started to run Seagates File Recovery programme. After 24 hours it had
only scanned 20%. It's unlikely to go for 5 days without needing booting as
I need it for work.
Disk Management is showing Disk 1 unknown 279.47 Gb Not initialised.
Unallocated.
How can I get to my data.? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329519
Retrieving Documents and Settings data when XP/NTFS denies access.
A Western Digital SATA (system)drive suddenly failed SMART and I replaced
it and re-installed everything. Chkdsk attempts to fix it but always gets
stuck at a certain point.
When attached as another internal drive or hooked up via USB I can see and
managed to retrieve everything else I needed on the drive. However, my
(admin) account, within Documents and Settings, is reported as not
accessible - access denied.
I have a lot of pictures etc on there and was hoping there was some way I
can bypass this and retrieve them.
I've tried everything I can think of and believe it's a Windows XP / NTFS
thing. Can I convert it to FAT and then get these files?
Any help greatly appreciated,
Tony Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329517
HP Pavilion 524w's hang ups/lock ups.
=A0
Will be much indebted if a good techie/soul could give me useful
insights as to these endless hang ups/lock ups from my HP Pavilion
524w ... because I just can't function; PC is my CentCom.=A0 Believe or
not, have been putting up with this crap for nearly three (3) months
now.=A0 Argh!=A0
=A0
=A0
SYMPTOMS=A0
=BB The first sign of future hang ups --though these may still be hours
ahead-- is that after each boot up, the mouse pointer is jerky the
very first time one moves it.=A0 It jumps anywhere from 1/4" to 2" or so
from its initial position (from wherever it landed after boot up) to
whatever direction I'm pointing it to.=A0 Note it only does this one
time initially at the beginning of the session until the next boot
up.=A0 From then onwards during any given session, the mouse is as
smooth as expected at all times.=A0 This behavior occurs regardless of
the mouse used, either a Microsoft PS3 or a Microsoft wireless USB.=A0
=BB Freezings occur when using any software that needs to scan.=A0 The
worst are antivirus online scanning but lock ups also ocurr when
copying large files say, above, 50 MBs.=A0
=BB Just as successful in freezing the machine is any software that
gets in the registry, such as various either online or installed
cleaning utilities.=A0 Microsoft's Malicious Software Removal Tool sure
does it, for example.=A0
=BB Anything that uses ActiveX and/or web-rize bloated sites with Flash
this, Schockwave that, etc., like Huffington Post or eBay, for
example, can easily cause lock ups.=A0
=BB When lock ups get bad enough, sometimes there are checksum errors
on boot up in which case the default BIOS configuration is reloaded.=A0
=BB After repeated and increasing crashes, the behavior of disk
scanning when rebooting changes even in this semi-DOS environment.=A0
This is when running disk scanning from Start -> Run -> chkdsk c: /f
-- the bootup drive on the primary master, and chkdsk e: /f --a
logical drive on the same HD.=A0 First one gets the standard full 10
seconds to escape if one wants, then suddenly it starts giving me only
5 sec., then ... no option to escape no matter how much the [Esc] key
is tapped on.=A0 The text allowing the user to escape is dropped
altogether, gone, and repeatedly pressing the [Esc] key doesn't abort
it.=A0
=BB After repeated and increasing crashes, another example of changes
of behaviors is the sequencing of these check disks pass the BIOS
screen and about the time Windows itself begins to load.=A0
=BB The only way out from these hang ups is to turn the machine off,
patiently wait for a minute, then restart it.=A0 After repeated and
increasing crashes, another example of changing processes is that the
machine restarting by itself, anywhere from a couple to 10 secs, to 30
to 40 secs later than powering it off.=A0 When it happens repeatedly,
the only way to stop it from restarting all alone is power it off
after the lock up, then quickly unplug the power cord from the surge
protector.=A0 My new power supply doesn't have an on/off button.=A0
=BB For short periods of time, PROBLEMS SEEM NON-EXISTENT (i.e.,
machine seemingly works regularly, even flies) after re-installing XP
Pro, which I have done twice already.=A0 Soon enough, anywhere from 5
hrs to as much as 30 hrs later, freezings begin to ocurr and, from
that point onwards, things get worse at an increasing rate.=A0 It is not
only the frequency of lock ups, but also how bad the machine
crashes.=A0
=BB ONE THING MAYBE POINTING TO THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM IS FOOLING
AROUND WITH THE MEMORY MODULES though, by now, don't think it's got
anything to do w/ the modules themselves.=A0 About 3 1/2 yrs ago
replaced the original 256 MB single module with 2 x 1 GB modules, also
PC2100 ... and this puppy took off, literally, right there and then.=A0
Modules worked fine ever since.=A0
=BB THE LAST OTHER THING MAYBE ... is fresh Win XP reinstalls.=A0 See
also possible solutions below.=A0
=BB But the one telling bitty, every time around, is that jerky mouse
only at the beginning of each session until, in time, hang ups begin
all over again.=A0
=A0 =A0
BIT OF HARDWARE BACKGROUND=A0
=BB For reference, about a couple of months problems started,
successfully changed the power supply from the original paltry 200
watts to some 350 W, may a tad more, and the heatsink/fan cooler
assembly.=A0
=BB Moreover, when the lock ups first began, the original 57 GB Samsung
SV0602H hard disk drive was only reading and writing at half its specs
but, even then, appreciated HP putting in there.=A0 It would simply not
quit, allowing more than enough time to research and get a
replacement. Equally importantly, it also allowed me to save all my
data intact on a logical drive on my current HD, a 115 GB Maxtor
6L120P0.=A0
Is it possible that not replacing it right away could have caused
these lock ups (or spoiled something at a very low level or upstream,
if you will)?=A0 Because the state of the old hard disk was so bad, at
the time I blamed it all to the drive.=A0 It never occurred to me that,
simultaneously, the lock ups were due to something else.=A0
=A0 =A0
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS?/Other already tried ...=A0
The following 2 bullet points should narrow down whereabouts the
problem is but I'm unable to pin it down myself since I'm no techie;=A0
=BB First, whenever re-installing Win XP anew, things go very smoothly
for a a while.=A0
=BB Second, fooling around with the memory modules is another that
seems to take good care of things.=A0 For a while, PC can't run any
better.=A0 From about 2 1/2 months ago trying to narrow down these hang
ups, lately I pulled out the modules and then put them back in place.=A0
Also tried swapping them around, or taking of one or another and
leaving the other memory bank empty.=A0 Just to make sure these two (2)
1 GB PC2100 were not the problem, replaced them both with the one
original HP 256 MB module.=A0 Every time I fooled around with the
memory, the machine behaved as if there no problems at all, again even
flies, but only holds anywhere from 5 hrs to as much as 30 hrs.=A0 All
three (3) modules passed Microsoft's Windows Memory Diagnostic test
tool with flying colors.=A0 In the off the wall case problesh have
anything to do with memory timming specs differences, this week
changed to a new pair of 1 GB PC 3200 Samsung modules.=A0
OTHER SOFTWARE;=A0
=BB Already tried Microsoft's Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset.=A0
Problem is it relies on dump files it needs for analysis ... but my
system hasn't got any!=A0 This is, when the machine hang ups, it just
hangs up, right there and then.=A0 Have yet to see a single blue screen
of death.=A0 Wish that was on the way down so, maybe, there'd be dump
archives around.=A0
=BB Independently, Dr. Watson informs me all is swimmingly well
whenever I run it.=A0
=A0
Machine was working fine indeed with old software when the lock ups
began.=A0 Still, in the search for solutions updated some HP and VIA
software as follows (not being all inclusive here; there's a lot more
I have done);=A0
=BB The old BIOS was Phoenix Technologies version AM37307 but was
replaced with the package from HP and now is the AM37320 (08-01-23)
Phoenix Technologies.=A0 When booting up it reads BIOS core revision
V6.0, BIOS revision 3.20 08/01/2003, system BIOS supplier: Award.=A0
The update no difference at all, not an iota, as to the freezings and
was sorry to run it because functionality to end users is even more
constrained than the old one.=A0 For example, cannot turn off the video
shadowing.=A0
=BB Installed and run a couple of times the IDE Tool
VIA_IDE_MPD_V320b.zip found at;=A0
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=3D420&OSID=3D1&CatID=3D1180&SubC=
atID=3D115=A0
and apparently the same package posted at;=A0
http://www.whitebunny.net/hardware/chipset_via.html=A0
leading to actual download page at;=A0
http://www.whitebunny.net/download?file=3Dmbd_via_ide_3.20b.zip=A0
Not sure why they call it the VIA IDE Miniport Driver but in any event
this IDE Tool allowed me to run the primary and secondary drives on
the max PIO modes my hardware allows.=A0 When doing so, the drives would
be listed as SCSI in the Device Manager.=A0 Other than running
perceptibly slower, it made no difference again so, presently, I'm
back on the max DMA modes my drives are capable of.=A0 By the way, the
front side bus jumper on the motherboard is properly placed at FSB
133.=A0
=BB Installed the Retro Chipset VIA 4in1 drivers VIA_4in1_443v.zip
package found at;=A0
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=3D420&OSID=3D1&CatID=3D1070=A0
Turns out that "retro" bit on the title is no mis-name.=A0 Drivers were
older than a good many already in my system!=A0 I guess it served to
prove that none of the newer drives I happen to have in my system --
via Microsoft updates beginning with XP SP2, I suppose-- were causing
the hang ups because ... they continued unabated.=A0 Aargh!=A0 Same
package can also be downloaded at;=A0
http://www.whitebunny.net/hardware/chipset_via.html=A0
leading to actual download page at;=A0
http://www.whitebunny.net/download?file=3Dmbd_via_4in1_4.43v.zip=A0
the version recommended for my PC.=A0 There is also a newer version
named mbd_via_4in1_4.55vp1.zip=A0
=BB Though my old Iomega ZIP 250 drive (still there for legacy
compatibility) has been disconnected for a good many months given all
these problems, I installed the VIA Latency Patch
mbd_via_ide_3.20b.zip listed at;=A0
http://www.whitebunny.net/hardware/chipset_via.html=A0
leading to actual download page at;=A0
http://www.whitebunny.net/download?file=3Dmbd_via_ide_3.20b.zip=A0
You know the drill by now.=A0 Made no difference ...=A0
=BB The last update package to be installed was the VIA Hyperion Pro
Driver Package via_hyperionpro_v515a.zip downloaded from;=A0
http://www.viaarena.com/default.aspx?PageID=3D420&OSID=3D1&CatID=3D1070=A0
Somehow, even intuitively, it seemed to have the machine running
smoothly but, all previous, ...=A0 Grrr!, short of voodoo, don't know
what else to resort to, honest.=A0
=A0
=A0
MACHINE SPECS=A0
=46rom the back sticker;=A0
HP Pavillion 500=A0
HW BOM 05+1211=A0
SW BOM NA92=A0
System number: DB280A=A0
Serial # MX25026882=A0
windows XP Home Ed. (currently XP Pro SP2, build 2600)=A0
Product Key: HCTVC-2HFXF-PBQGP-FPJV3-G2G6M=A0
System Info=A0
Model: HP/Compaq Pavilion 524w=A0
Chassis Type: Desktop=A0
Processor=A0
Number Of Processors: 1=A0
Type: AMD Athlon XP 2100+=A0
Processors Bus Speed: 267 MHz=A0
Package: Socket A (AMD A/462 the same as Athlon 64?)=A0
Manufacturer Codename: Palomino=A0
Clock Speed: 1732 MHz=A0
Clock Multiplier: 13.0=A0
Front Side Bus (FSB) Speed: 267 MHz=A0
L2 Cache Size: 256 KBytes Stepping : A5=A0
Trace Width: 0.18=A0
Microcode: Not Available=A0
Instruction Sets: MMX, Extended MMX, 3DNow!, Extended 3DNow!, SSE=A0
Motherboard=A0
Motherboard reads VIA AM37=A0
HP/Compaq name: Salsa=A0
Motherboard Supplier: FIC (me: VIA Arena ... Albatron?)=A0
Motherboard Name: AM37=A0
Form Factor: uATX
Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Socket Type: socket-A (PGA462)
---------=A0
Chipset Name: VIA KM266, or VIA P4M266/KM266 (North Bridge: VT8375),
rev. 00=A0
Chipset North Bridge: VT8375, Revision/stepping A1=A0
Chipset South Bridge: VT8235
Super I/O: ITE-IT8705F=A0
OLD BIOS manufacturer: Phoenix Technologies, LTD=A0
Bios Version : AM37307=A0
Flash BIOS Device: Xbus 2 Mbit=A0
---------=A0
NEW, UPDATED version: AM37320 (08-01-23) Phoenix Technologies, LTD=A0
or another way to state it, apparently, when booting up;=A0
BIOS core rev. V6.0=A0
BIOS revision: 3.20 08/01/2003=A0
System BIOS Supplier: Award
=A0
Memory=A0
Total RAM Installed : 2048 MB=A0
Type : DDR DIMM PC2100=A0
Used RAM Slots: 2 of 2=A0
Memory Bus Frequency: 133 MHz=A0
Memory Timings: 2.5-2-2-6=A0
Memory Speed: PC2100/PC1600=A0
Memory Sockets: 2 DIMM
Maximum Memory: 2 GB
Ethernet 10/100 LAN, supplier: Realtek RTL8100L
Ethernet Configuration: PCI, Down
IDE UDMA Modes: ATA-100/66/33=A0
Expansion Slots (AGP/PCI/Exten): AGP, 3 PCI
USB Ports: 6 USB 2.0=A0
USB Front/Back Options: 2F+4B=A0
=A0
Peripherals=A0
USB Version : 2.0=A0
=A0
Graphics=A0
Model: S3 AGP S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR=A0
AGP Speed: Not Available=A0
Brand: 1509=A0
Slot: AGP=A0
GPU Core: Not Available=A0
GPU Speed: Not Available=A0
Video Ram Size: 29 MB=A0
Video Ram Type: Not Available=A0
Video Ram Speed: Not Available=A0
Driver Version: 6.14.10.25=A0
DirectX Installed: Version 9.0c=A0
Available Slot: AGP 2.0=A0
---------=A0
Graphics Supplier: VIA=A0
Graphics Configuration: Down, In Chipset
Onboard Graphics Memory: UMA 64 MB=A0
Graphics Connector (AGP): AGP 4X (1.5V only)=A0
TV-Out Device: No=A0
TV-Out Configuration: N/A=A0
Audio: AC'97 Down=A0
AC'97 CODEC Device: Realtek ALC201=A0
Audio Jacks (Mic,Line-In,Line-Out,Spkr,MIDI/Game): M,LI,LO,SO=A0
M: Microphone
LI: Line In
LO: Line out=A0
SO: Speaker=A0
M/G: Midi/Game=A0
---------=A0
See more specs from HP at;=A0
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=3Dbph07941&lc=3Den&cc=3D=
us&lang=3Den&product=3D296667&dlc=3Den=A0
including picture and map from the motherboard, and more.=A0
=A0
If you kept reading this far down, bless your patience.=A0
=A0
=A0
H.=A0
=A0
Amsterdam=A0
Netherlands=A0
=A0 Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329515
Movie DVD not seen.
Hi,
I have the following problem, when i want to play an orignal/bought movie on
my Laptop
nothing happends. The DVD is not seen by explorer and not by any of my DVD
programs,
not even by Nero or AnyDvd.
The DVD plays ok in a standard DVD player... and the Laptop player/burner
can read other DVD's.
What's going on? protection? regio code?
TIA
S. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329510
CD intermitent on new XP Pro install
I posted a similar question several weeks ago but at that time it appeared
that the issue was a faulty system disk. I have replaced the drive and
reinstalled XP again for the umpteenth time and the issue is back. Details
follow:
I have a LiteOn CD writter (IDE 1, master) and a Memorex DVD writter (IDE 1,
slave) on the computer. Both drives worked properly before I started having
system disk issues. Both drives also show up as working properly in the
device manager and I've "uninstalled" the LiteOn and let windows reinstall it
using the MS drivers. Prior to the uninstall/reinstall it worked one or two
times reading a CD for use in installing a program. I've run CDCHECK on both
drives and gotten back an error 21 (not ready) for both. I suspected NIS 2008
might be an issue but I get the same results in safe mode.
Any thoughts on how to get either drive working would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Zoltan Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329505
Monotor won't display 16:9 (only 4:3)
I have the following Video card ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP
and a BlueH H19W (16:9) monitor.
The monitor only displays as a 4:3. There are black vertical lines to
the left and right of the screen.
The driver I have installed is a Microsoft 5.1.2535.0 for the video
card, and the driver that came with the monitor.
I cannot locate a driver for the video card on any web site to see if
that rectifies the problem. I don't know if it would.
Note I can only manage to set the screen resolution to a maximum of
1024 by 768. Anything higher and I get a message saying input signal
out of range Don't know if this is relevant.
Can you provide me with assistance.
Thanks in advance. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329488
FLASH DRIVE FREEZES MY PC
I just bought a flash drive for my WinXP SP2 Home edition. As soon as I
inserted it, my computer froze and locked up. I've tried it in all my
additional USB ports and it remains the same. Even if I insert it prior to
boot up, Windows stops and freezes. My webcam works fine and the memory stick
light comes on, but the `New Hardware Detected' indicator doesn't even show.
I don't have anything else taking up USB ports other than my webcam. I've
tried it in other computers, not my own, and it worked fine.
This seems to be a mystery, which nobody seems to have an answer for?????
NO SILLY ANSWERS PLEASE Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329487
PLEASE Help. HARDDRIVE GONE.
Hey everyone -- trying not to panic here.
I have windows XP. I have 2 harddrives -- the C drive, which is the
original drive that came with my computer, and the F drive, a 250 gig
internal drive I installed a while back.
I turned on my computer today and the F drive is gone. It's not
showing up in explorer, in disk manager, and any files I try to find
on it are gone.
This drive had everything on it...I have no clue why it's not showing
up. I restarted my computer 3 times. I don't know what else to do.
Thank you so much.
-Jordan Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329454
"USB Device Not Recognized" in USB2 ports but is recognized on USB1
I bought a new USB2 PCI card and am having some problems using it.
I've plugged it in alright and I'm able to successfully plug in a USB
optical mouse into each external USB port on the PCI card and it works
in each and every one of them. Same thing with a 128MB USB stick.
Both of these also work in the USB1 ports I have on the front of the
computer.
The problem I'm experiencing occurs when I try to plug a USB HDD
enclosure into the USB2 ports. It works just fine in the USB1 ones
(the computer reacts much as it would when a USB stick is inserted
into it). When I plug it into the USB2 ports, I get the following
error:
----------------------------
USB Device Not Recognized
One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned,
and Windows does not recognize it. For assistance in solving this
problem, click this message.
I click on it and get a useless "Try reconnecting the device. If
Windows still does not recognize it, replace the device."
----------------------------
My question is... why?
Why would something be recognized by USB1 ports but not by USB2 ports
added by a PCI card?
I'm running Windows XP SP2. Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329452
Graphics Card problem
I've just bought and installed a new graphics card (XFX GeForce 5200). I
got it from Dell, so it's a 'good' card (not a dodgy second-hand one !). I
recognise it's not the 'best and latest' card available, but it is new and
it should work (someone on here told me to dump it and just get a newer
card - but you don't need a Ferrari necessarily to get from A to B !). I'm
running XP SP2, plenty of RAM etc, no other problems.
I want to attach a second monitor to my PC - an new flat panel LCD TV screen
which says it can be used as a PC monitor. The TV monitor is in a room
next to my office - I want to run a cable from my PC to the TV monitor so I
can watch DVDs, and other stuff I've downloaded in that room. I therefore
need to be able to run both monitors AT THE SAME TIME in 'clone' mode. I
found out that many graphics cards have two ports (DVI and VGA) but will
only support one or the other, not both at once. My new card claims it will
support two together. I've connected everything, downloaded latest driver
from website, set up 'clone' mode etc.
Problem - the TV monitor shows all the startup screens exactly as on my PC
monitor when I'm booting up, but as soon as Windows startup is finished I
just get 'no signal'. I've tried changing screen resolutions - no joy.
I've sent emails off to XFX and to LG (the TV manufacturer) but I guess I
won't get a reply till next week because of Easter. I've spent 3 days so
far fiddling with it - driving me nuts.........can any of you clever guys
suggest anything please ? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329447
Graphics Card problem
I've just bought and installed a new graphics card (XFX GeForce 5200). I
got it from Dell, so it's a 'good' card (not a dodgy second-hand one !). I
recognise it's not the 'best and newest' graphics card on the marketplace -
but that doesn't mean it doesn't work of course. (someone on here suggested
it was ancient and I should just replace it with a top-of-the-range card.
Hey - you don't need a Ferrari to get from A to B !!)
So.....I want to attach a second monitor to my PC - an new flat panel LCD TV
screen which says it can be used as a PC monitor. The TV monitor is in a
room next to my office - I want to run a cable from my PC to the TV
monitor so I can watch DVDs, and other stuff I've downloaded in that room.
I therefore need to be able to run both monitors AT THE SAME TIME in
'clone' mode. I found out that many graphics cards have two ports (DVI
and VGA) but will only support one or the other at one time, not both at
once. My new
card claims it will support two together. I've connected everything,
downloaded latest driver from website, set up 'clone' mode etc.
Problem - the TV monitor shows all the startup screens exactly as on my PC
monitor when I'm booting up, but as soon as Windows startup is finished I
just get 'no signal'. I've tried changing screen resolutions - no joy.
I've sent emails off to XFX and to LG (the TV manufacturer) but I guess I
won't get a reply till next week because of Easter. I've spent 3 days so
far fiddling with it - driving me nuts.........can any of you clever guys
suggest anything please ? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329445
Flash drive freezes my computer
I just bought a flash drive for my WinXP SP2 Home edition. As soon as I
inserted it, my computer froze and locked up. I've tried it in all my
additional USB ports and it remains the same. Even if I insert it prior to
boot up, Windows stops and freezes. My webcam works fine and the memory stick
light comes on, but the `New Hardware Detected' indicator doesn't even show.
I don't have anything else taking up USB ports other than my webcam. I've
tried it in other computers, not my own, and it worked fine.
This seems to be a mystery, which nobody seems to have an answer for????? Tag: underdesktop Tag: 329443
Next generation hardware and DDR2 1066 or DDR3 1600 www.underdesktop.we.bs