Computer problems - Going really slow :(

[Eddbmxdude]

Hey guys,

I know there are some techy computery people on here so hopefully someone can help me out.

My computer is a 1.8 ghz AMD, I've got 1.5gbs of RAM and a 256ghz ATi Radeon graphics card. Im just using the onboard sound card.

My computer has been fine for ages but recently it has been running fairly slow. When I listen to music with winamp, sometimes it will start going slow and the music will go slow for a few seconds and will sort of start 'clipping'. Im not really sure how I can explain that better. Its like there is loads of programs running and using alot of memory but winamp is the only program open except firefox. I have used malware bytes and I have avast running all the time.

Just now I have used disk cleanup and uninstalled everything I never use aswell as some things I used occasionally but could do without. Now I just have firefox, Nero, Editstudio (Video editing), quicktime, windows media player, Malware bytes, avast and a few codecs for video playback installed. It seems a lot better now but how can I get it back to that 'freshly reformatted' state without reformatting?

Cheers,
Edd

[maestro8]

PayPal me some money and I'll fix your computer.

Seriously, you can reinstall Windows without reformatting... just install Windows "on top of" your current installation. It should recognize that you've got programs installed already, and not wipe 'em out.

I reinstall windows yearly... always fixes any problems (especially performance) that accumulate over time.

[camrocl]

It could be a virus. Then again it may not
Try Avast

http://www.avast.com/eng/download.html

Its a free piece of antivirus software. It will scan and "kill" most virsus' and trojens for good and prevent new ones. Ive foud it helps mine run faster but this may just be me. Ive been running this for years on a number of computers and laptops and have never had any problems unlike some bought software.

It is free as long as you supply an e-mail address so that they can keep track of the bumber of users.

If this doesnt work try using some system tweeking software.

Can i also suggest that you back up any important files. I have had experience with comps running slowly before they have stopped working.
Better safe than sorry.

Let me know how you get on :)

P.S. Just a thought. Have done a disk analysis or difragmintation lately?? This may be the simplest solution
Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools and then Disk Cleanup followed by Disk Defragmentator

Hope this helps, if not give me a shout:) (Sorry for the bad spelling)

[kurtismyhead]

Get a Mac

[Jerrick]

Check what processes you have running, and when your comp starts to bog down, check the processes again and see which one is using a lot of memory. Also, you can choose what processes to run at start up, which will help load time, and general performance as you wont have tons of programs sitting in the background.

What I would do first, is scan with a different view scanners. Spybot search and destroy, ad-aware, and there is one more like but cant think of its name. Ksprsky or something like that. Install those, run them, let them fix what they find (One program will find things another program doesnt) then uninstall them if you dont want to keep them.

Also, run a memory test, cause your cards may just be dying out on you.

If you know when the comp started slowing down, maybe it was a certain download or program that did it, and a system restore to before that point could work.

These are just some general ideas. Sorry for any selling mistakes. Im on a comp with a broken keyboard and a very dark monitor. Hard to type, hard to see. Ugh.

[Jerrick]

Get a Mac

Dumb.

[SHAY_CAM]

Usually problems acumulating on a computer have to do with virus or malware build up, in your case it would be; you getting rid of the viruses after they ate up all your .Dlls and .OCX files. Damaging them and leaving you with blue screens and slow performance. Do what that guy said to do, defrage, then re-install windows.

[SHAY_CAM]

Dumb.

I was going to post the axact same thing. You beat me to it.

[john_childs]

You can do a repair install. Given the specs of the computer I assume you're running XP. Here's the instructions for a repair install of XP (http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm). A repair install installs Windows over the top of itself. You don't lose data. It is not a full reformat type of install.

Try running Process Explorer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx) to see what processes may be hogging the CPU.

Try AutoRuns (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx) to see what is being loaded as Windows boots. Look at the "Logon" tab. You can stop something from loading by clearing the checkmark by it.

[john_childs]

Sorry for any selling mistakes. Im on a comp with a broken keyboard and a very dark monitor. Hard to type, hard to see. Ugh.

Get a Mac.

[kurtismyhead]

Dumb.

Retard. See i can be insulting too!

[dudewithasock]

Get a Mac.

http://www.kreativekorp.com/miscpages/omgwtfbbq/roflcopter.gif

[SHAY_CAM]

Retard. See i can be insulting too!

Your insulting a handy capped human being. I hope you know calling a person retard is considered a hate crime.

[SHAY_CAM]

http://www.kreativekorp.com/miscpages/omgwtfbbq/roflcopter.gif

I love the unicyclist forum. ;)

[Jesus]

http://azahar.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/lolcat-faith-heealer.jpg

There. It should work now.

[Jerrick]

Get a Mac.



Haha, guess what, im on a mac.

And I wasnt insulting you. I was insulting your post. Cause as a general fix to all computer problems, I see lots of people say "Get a mac." and it is dumb, because that isnt the fix to everything or anything really.

Hmm, maybe if I want a better screen, less freezes, and no more pop-ups, ill go back to my PC.:p

[JJtheunicycle]

Your insulting a handy capped human being. I hope you know calling a person retard is considered a hate crime.

How do they grab cups?

[kurtismyhead]

Yeah it is a pretty general fix all but for a large portion of people i think it is a good move. mine never crashes and i dont get viruses. not only that but i feel like my mac 2 gigs of ram runs better than my pc 2 gigs of ram.

[SHAY_CAM]

Yeah it is a pretty general fix all but for a large portion of people i think it is a good move. mine never crashes and i dont get viruses. not only that but i feel like my mac 2 gigs of ram runs better than my pc 2 gigs of ram.

That has nothing to do with what we are talking about and everything to do with your lack of intelligence toward computers.

[Jeremy R]

Get Linux. You can get Ubuntu, emulate Mac esque graphics, best performance, reliability, ability to run windows stuff, 1000 of free programs, and never a virus. For 27 payments of $0.00. So expect to spend around Nada. That or another distro, like open suse.

[SHAY_CAM]

Get Linux. You can get Ubuntu, emulate Mac esque graphics, best performance, reliability, ability to run windows stuff, 1000 of free programs, and never a virus. For 27 payments of $0.00. So expect to spend around Nada. That or another distro, like open suse.

Yes. Linux owned the competition. I wish I knew how to use it:confused:

[Jeremy R]

Its not that hard. Check Instructables for how to's

[SHAY_CAM]

Its not that, im just so used to my windows... i love it so much :rolleyes:

[Jeremy R]

I used to feel that way.

[SHAY_CAM]

Ill look into it.

[kurtismyhead]

That has nothing to do with what we are talking about and everything to do with your lack of intelligence toward computers.

Yes. Linux owned the competition. I wish I knew how to use it:confused:

Its funny how I lack intelligence but your the one who cant use a basic system.I can use all 3, I just like mac better, but you should be sure before you attack someone junior.

[SHAY_CAM]

Its funny how I lack intelligence but your the one who cant use a basic system.I can use all 3, I just like mac better, but you should be sure before you attack someone junior.

Yeah, like i seriously cannot work a linux computer. Can you think straightly?
I script, and im almost possitive that the languages that i know will not carrie over onto linux. "I dont know how to use it" meaning I will not be able to work my way around like i can on windows.

Dont call me junior, just because im 16.
I bite.

[maestro8]

Get a Mac.
Get Linux.

To put the absurdity of your posts in perspective, here's another scenario.

Let's pretend the original poster had a problem with his car... say, it doesn't idle smoothly.

Get a Toyota
Ride a motorcycle

WTF kind of solutions are these? Seriously?!

Kids, put the crack pipe down before you post. Really.

[Jeremy R]

what language? C? Java? HTML?

[Jeremy R]

Get linux is more like saying: Your engines shot, get this.

[JJtheunicycle]

Yeah, like i seriously cannot work a linux computer. Can you think straightly?
I script, and im almost possitive that the languages that i know will not carrie over onto linux. "I dont know how to use it" meaning I will not be able to work my way around like i can on windows.

Dont call me junior, just because im 16.
I bite.

No your just being a douche bag for no reason. Leave for a few minutes, take a few deep breaths then come back. Okay?

[Jerrick]

No your just being a douche bag for no reason. Leave for a few minutes, take a few deep breaths then come back. Okay?

No he isnt.

Great post Maestro. Ill have to remember that one for future uses.

[kurtismyhead]

Yeah, like i seriously cannot work a linux computer. Can you think straightly?
I script, and im almost possitive that the languages that i know will not carrie over onto linux. "I dont know how to use it" meaning I will not be able to work my way around like i can on windows.

Dont call me junior, just because im 16.
I bite.

You may bite but you certainly cant spell. See "possitive" and "carrie" above. Also what is "staightly" Can you think straight would have worked fine.

Getting back to our original dispute; if one is insulted in this country it is customary to insult back. This is what I have done. I am not sure you are so brain dead that you cant use Linux but it was the ammunition I had at the time.

Also your original post to me stated that switching to Mac had nothing to do with this thread i just wanted to point out that if someone is having problems with their PC it is perfectly relative for me to recommend switching to a system that is not known to have many of symptoms listed.

Oh and ya...
Bite me

[Jerrick]

Its just as easy to slow a mac down as it is to slow a pc down.

The one im on now is only a 2ghz core2due, so nothing special or fast. Wouldnt take much to freeze this thing up. :)

[kurtismyhead]

Its just as easy to slow a mac down as it is to slow a pc down.

The one im on now is only a 2ghz core2due, so nothing special or fast. Wouldnt take much to freeze this thing up. :)

I agree. But with a Mac you dont have to worry about spyware and adware and all that jazz that likes to slow you down.

[Jerrick]

Yes you do.

Only thing is, on a PC, you have to have some common sense about computers to avoid the viruses, otherwise people are just downloading whatever, clicking on whatever link, and because they arent paying attention, they end up getting something.

On a mac, they lower the amount of common sense to avoid problems. Though its still very possable for it to happen. Look it up a little, tons of forums just for mac problems. Tons of stores to fix hardware problems, tons of general questions about viruses, slowing performance and all that.

Besides that, there isnt really anything too diffrent about either system. One isnt better than the other, its just a prefrence on whqat you are used to and like to work with. Ive been using both for many years.

[dudewithasock]

I agree. But with a Mac you dont have to worry about spyware and adware and all that jazz that likes to slow you down.

Ok, for the most part, I don't mind these Mac vs. Windows debates, but it seriously grinds my gears when people make this claim. This is simply not the case, for the reasons Jerrick listed.

[johnfoss]

Besides that, there isnt really anything too diffrent about either system. One isnt better than the other, its just a prefrence on whqat you are used to and like to work with.It's true that the hardware is very similar now. All new Macs are also PCs. But in terms of "better," each has its strengths and weaknesses. Windows is clearly the weaker of the two in terms of stuff glomming onto your system if you use the Internet. Is it Microsoft's fault for the popularity of their OS that most of the crapware is written for it? Some, but if it were the other way around, all that crapware would be written for the Mac and it would slow down instead.

I definitely don't have to do as much maintenance on my Mac as I did on my old PC. And what spyware and adware (and bloatware?) even affects a Mac? It simply is not yet an issue if you're a Mac user. Maybe in the future as the Mac OS gets a larger market share.

To change Maestro's question a bit:
"hey, my Pinto is always breaking down on me!"
"Get a Toyota."
Now that's solid advice. Not all PCs are Pintos, but when it's old and not worth upgrading, it's time to start thinking about a replacement...

[hobo_chuck]

Now that's solid advice. Not all PCs are Pintos, but when it's old and not worth upgrading, it's time to start thinking about a replacement...

My computer doesn't even support newer operating systems: 190Mb RAM, Intel pentiumIII processor, and less hard drive than most MP3 players.

So yea, probably time to move on. The iPhone is better than my computer.

[Jerrick]

Im not so sure about that internet thing. I am a user who leaves his computer on, and connected to the internet as close to 24/7 for the last 6 years.

The only viruses and spyware I have gotten are the ones I knew I would get when I downloaded something. Like a pack of smilies to use on MSN. Those will usually come with a searchbar or something, which are easily uninstalled and that leaves me with the smilies I wanted.

Now, I agree that because Windows has the most popular OS, and has for years, that people will write for windows systems. And with many people not fully knowing some simple computer actions, people will leave a tiny searchbar installed, or multiple (Ive seen people with about 5 bars loaded up on there computer and its crazy how they just let things like that pile up.) and then after a while, it slows them down and blah bah. So yes, windows is more targeted, but mac is just as easily effected by simple things that the OP is dealing with. System slowing down, memory possably going bad. Many different things can be going on.

The pinto was nice. however, an old mac or old PC can both be Pintos. My younger sister has an old iMac, and that thing is the slowest worst computer I have see and sued in a long time. It has close to a ghz processor and 2 gigs of ram, but it just is slow. My solution to her, is to get a PC, which once I get home, will build for her with extra parts laying around in my closet. It wll be a big upgrade.

The OPs computer isnt quite a Pinto, unless he wants to do some gaming or more rendering intensive work. But for general video watching, internet, e-mail, messengers, music, and other small things like that, his comp should be running just fine.

OP, a good solution, is find a forum that has a lot of users that read HiackThis logs. Run hijackthis on your comp, post the log to them, and they will tell you what to do to fix whatever may be in your comp.

[Jerrick]

My computer doesn't even support newer operating systems: 190Mb RAM, Intel pentiumIII processor, and less hard drive than most MP3 players.

So yea, probably time to move on. The iPhone is better than my computer.

Overclock it. =p

[hobo_chuck]

It's already overclocked :p

[SHAY_CAM]

No your just being a douche bag for no reason. Leave for a few minutes, take a few deep breaths then come back. Okay?

Why would anyone want to call another douche bag? It has no meaning to me.
It dont find it insultive, and i sure dont think its funny. If your trying to make somebody mad, or insult them, female cleansing devices are not the way.

[evil-nick]

It's already overclocked :p

Linux with a lightweight window manager might not be too bad, something with XFCE maybe. (I'm not saying that he should go for Linux, just that Linux is a modern operating system that will probably run on his system.).

In response to the original post, backup your data, reinstall Windows. And all the other stuff about processes people said before. :)

[harper]

Anybody helping Edd with his problem yet?

[Jerrick]

Anybody helping Edd with his problem yet?



JC and JC have given some good posts. =p

Just need to wait for him to post back and see what he has choosen to do, then we can give him further details about his choice to make sure he has done it correctly, or if he should do anything else.

[Eddbmxdude]

Anybody helping Edd with his problem yet?

I am going to take some advice from here, Harper.
Im just writing the shopping list. So far I've got:

A Mac
A PC
A Toyota
A Pinto

I think thats it. Anything else I need to fix my computer guys? :p


I have run Avast and Malware bytes, which didn't find anything. I deleted all the temp files and ran disk cleanup and also uninstalled everything but a few basic programs. It seems to be alot better now.

I am interested in Linux though. Can anyone tell me more about it? How different is it to windows?

Thanks,
Edd

[john_childs]

I am interested in Linux though. Can anyone tell me more about it? How different is it to windows?


Very different. The software and tools you will use to do tasks will be different. Some will be the same (eg Firefox is the same for web browsing). You'll have to learn what new tools and software to use to do what you want to do. Video editing using Linux will be different. Linux doesn't have the wide range of quality video editing tools that Mac and Windows have.

General computer operation will be similar enough. Dialogs to save and open files should be similar enough that you'll be able to do basic computer operations without much confusion.

Linux has its place. If you want to switch it would be best to have a local expert you can go to for help for at least the first couple of days. Better would be to try it on someone elses machine before reformatting your own machine to install Linux. Another option is to install Linux in a virtual machine like VMware to try it out.

[Eddbmxdude]

Linux has its place. If you want to switch it would be best to have a local expert you can go to for help for at least the first couple of days. Better would be to try it on someone elses machine before reformatting your own machine to install Linux. Another option is to install Linux in a virtual machine like VMware to try it out.

Or I could use an old desktop I have as a sort of guinea pig to find out if I like it.
I had heard a lot of people say that windows has a lot of unnecessary stuff that runs in the background that linux doesn't.

[john_childs]

Or I could use an old desktop I have as a sort of guinea pig to find out if I like it.
I had heard a lot of people say that windows has a lot of unnecessary stuff that runs in the background that linux doesn't.

They lie. Linux has evil deamons (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_(computer_software)).



The number of background processes installed isn't a problem. Most of the background processes don't use much (hardly any) cpu and memory. They're just doing things like waiting for a specific event or a timer. The problem comes when a background process is badly behaved and uses lots of cpu or other resources.

[Tak]

There are pre-installed Linux VMs available for download at ubuntu.com (http://isv-image.ubuntu.com/vmware/) and elsewhere, so you don't have to install the system yourself. I recommend giving the Ubuntu (http://isv-image.ubuntu.com/vmware/Ubuntu-7.10-desktop-i386.zip) or Kubuntu (http://isv-image.ubuntu.com/vmware/Kubuntu-7.10-desktop-i386.zip) VM a whirl.

Only thing is, on a PC, you have to have some common sense about computers to avoid the viruses, otherwise people are just downloading whatever, clicking on whatever link, and because they arent paying attention, they end up getting something.

On a mac, they lower the amount of common sense to avoid problems. Though its still very possable for it to happen. Look it up a little, tons of forums just for mac problems. Tons of stores to fix hardware problems, tons of general questions about viruses, slowing performance and all that.

Besides that, there isnt really anything too diffrent about either system. One isnt better than the other, its just a prefrence on whqat you are used to and like to work with. Ive been using both for many years.
While this is a popular assertion, it isn't actually true. Windows is a very different system from MacOS and Linux architecturally.

The primary reason that Windows is more prone to malware, oversimplified, is that Windows is, at base, a single-user operating system that was never designed to run on a computer whose input wouldn't be trusted. There have been a lot of things cobbled on between Windows 1.0 and now, but that same, basic problem keeps popping up over and over: when a situation occurs that nobody's foreseen, the default behavior is permissive. The natural state of the system is to let anybody do anything s/he wants, and every security fix is another addition to a long list of exceptions.

MacOS and Linux are based on (technically cloned from, in Linux's case) Unix, which has been a multi-user, network-capable system since its infancy. On a Unix system, the default stance is, "Why should you be able to do this?"

The difference this makes to you is that, when there's a bug in some piece of software, for example Firefox, that allows someone running a website on the other side of the world to make Firefox do something with your computer that you didn't tell it to do, on some systems, that means it has free rein to install other programs, edit your registry, cloak itself from system monitors, send infected email to everyone in your address book, etc; on others, it can overwrite some of your personal files or read your cookies, but that's about it.

So, while it's popular for Windows apologists to say that Windows just gets picked on because it's the big target, although that certainly is one factor, it's not nearly the primary factor.

Finally, while maestro8 is right that "Get a Mac" is as poor a solution to Windows-related computing troubles as "Get a Mercedes" is to Ford-related car troubles, when it comes time to acquire a new one, it's not a bad idea to put some thought into it the same way you would a car purchase.
If your Taurus has been plagued by transmission problems, and your spouse's Windstar won't stay out of the shop, you're (hopefully) going to look around before sending any more of your time and money in that direction. Similarly, when it's time to upgrade your old computer, it's might be appropriate to consider whether it would be worth investing a little extra money into a Mac, or a little extra time into Linux, in order to alleviate some of the issues that have hounded Windows users since the advent of the internet. For some people it will be, and for others it won't be.

[john_childs]

While this is a popular assertion, it isn't actually true. Windows is a very different system from MacOS and Linux architecturally.

The primary reason that Windows is more prone to malware, oversimplified, is that Windows is, at base, a single-user operating system that was never designed to run on a computer whose input wouldn't be trusted. There have been a lot of things cobbled on between Windows 1.0 and now, but that same, basic problem keeps popping up over and over: when a situation occurs that nobody's foreseen, the default behavior is permissive. The natural state of the system is to let anybody do anything s/he wants, and every security fix is another addition to a long list of exceptions.


Thanks for going all the way back to the pre Windows 3.1 days. :p
Windows is now based on Windows NT. It has permissions. It can do multi user. It's a completely different beast than the DOS based Windows 3.1.

Vista has gotten better. Vista does better running as a non-admin for regular stuff. There is no need for a regular user to be running as admin all the time. The UAC prompts that everyone makes fun of make Windows less of a "default to permissive behavior" type of OS. The security landscape is improving.

I've been using Windows from 3.1 and onward. In over 20 years I have yet to see a virus or malware on my personal computer.

Here's JC's patented methods on how to stay safe on Windows:

Run as a limited user (non-admin) when you can. Vista makes this easier than it used to be with XP and before.

Don't install warez. Don't surf warez sites. Warez sites are full of trojans and browser exploits. Stay away from warez and cracks.

Don't surf for porn. Random porn sites that you might find in a Google search may have browser exploits.

If you must surf for porn do not ever install special codecs or other helper applications to view the porn. The codecs and helper applications are trojans.

Keep the OS and applications up to date. Run Secunia PSI (http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/) to scan for out of date applications that have security vulnerabilities.

Don't install untrusted software. If you wouldn't trust the programmer or web site operator to sit at your computer and do anything he wants then you can't trust the software on that site.

[maestro8]

Okay, you guys are taking my analogy way too far!

Computer hardware doesn't "wear out" like mechanical assemblies (i.e. engines) do. For the most part, either it works or it doesn't.

It seems so many people are caught up in "upgrade mania", such that when they hear that someone is running a system that's several years old, instantly, there's something wrong with that system.

NEWS FLASH: there isn't! There are thousands of businesses out there with dusty old Pentium IIs and IIIs running in the closet, happily serving databases and what-have-you, with little problem outside of regular maintenance.

Unless you're looking to run some cutting-edge software, you really don't need a brand-spanking-new system to do your work... you just think you do. Give some credit to advertising, some to your stupid friends, and some to technical naivete.

Take a look at XP Pro's requirements:
Here's What You Need to Use Windows XP Professional
• PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
• 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
• 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space*
• Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
• CD-ROM or DVD drive
• Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device

Now, you aren't going to be able to have 100 tabs open in your browser, but you'll be able to do quite a bit with a min-spec box.

With a little bit of smarts (or help), you can configure your OS (XP, Linux, whatever) to run efficiently on a min-spec box... you can make it boot quickly, run your apps with a minimum of latency, etc. Just don't go treating every box like it's a Ferrari... this will induce "upgrade mania".

[Tak]

Thanks for going all the way back to the pre Windows 3.1 days. :p
Windows is now based on Windows NT. It has permissions. It can do multi user. It's a completely different beast than the DOS based Windows 3.1.

Vista has gotten better. Vista does better running as a non-admin for regular stuff. There is no need for a regular user to be running as admin all the time. The UAC prompts that everyone makes fun of make Windows less of a "default to permissive behavior" type of OS. The security landscape is improving.
Sure, they have added and are adding more stuff on, but NT was just an instance of trying to incorporate some unix principles (notice the BSD strings in the tcp stack), and not a ground-up rewrite, which they both desperately need and cannot afford at this point.

I'll take your word for it on Vista; I haven't used it enough by this point to have made a solid judgment. However, I've heard the same thing about every Windows release since 95 (except ME, I guess): "Oh, (98|NT|2000|XP) is more stable, it's more secure, you won't have to reboot it twice a day and reinstall it every month, ..." And it's never true. Will it be true someday? Maybe. Will I believe it before I see it? No.

If you wouldn't trust the programmer or web site operator to sit at your computer and do anything he wants then you can't trust the software on that site.
Exactly my earlier point. ;)

[Jerrick]

Computer hardware doesn't "wear out" like mechanical assemblies (i.e. engines) do. For the most part, either it works or it doesn't.



This is all ill talk about. Tak repeated what was said, ive talked about what he said before, and JC handled it as well.

Anyways, though some parts will just stop, a lot of parts do wear out. Monitors are a great example. Those old CRTs that start to fade, pins start to get loose. Color slowly just dies, image burns, then poof, it finally just doesnt turn on. Dead pixels starting to spread, half-life of elements, brightness fading. I could go on.

I could also go on about keyboards, mices, harddrives, cpus, psus, gpus, radiators, pumps, tubing, mounts fans, yadda yadda.

Just saying. =p

[Jerrick]

However, I've heard the same thing about every Windows release since 95 (except ME, I guess): "Oh, (98|NT|2000|XP) is more stable, it's more secure, you won't have to reboot it twice a day and reinstall it every month, ..." And it's never true. Will it be true someday? Maybe. Will I believe it before I see it? No.



Wow. Ive been stable ever since I upgraded to 98, more stable with 98se, kept that as I was broke until xp, and even mroe stable. Vista is amazing.

I wish I could use it though, but one of my favorite VSTis isnt compatable with it. Once it is available for it, im moving right away. I miss how fast it is.

[maestro8]

I could also go on about keyboards, mices, harddrives, cpus, psus, gpus, radiators, pumps, tubing, mounts fans, yadda yadda.

Go ahead. How does a CPU wear out, and how would one measure the amount of wear?

[johnfoss]

I could also go on about keyboards...Yes, I had a keyboard die the other day. One day it was fine, and the next day all you got was a USB warning that the device was drawing too much power (and no keyboard response). Electronics can die, and when it's at the board level it's usually not worth the expense of repairs vs. buying a new one. My keyboard had no physical damage, and the only wear & tear was from pressing the keys.

How does a CPU wear out, and how would one measure the amount of wear? Actually I think there is a wearing-out process for integrated circuits. I remember reading something about it but don't remember the details. Basically it's one of those things where it can wear down incrementally but it might take hundreds of years.

But hardware can die, that's for sure. Was it the motherboard or the CPU? If the parts are old enough it might not matter. But for the most part, my hardware lasts well beyond when it gets outdated. Like my old HP multifunction laser printer (3300). Still worked fine until the day I gave it away, but it (it = they = HP) never supported the newer Macs so I couldn't scan or use most of its higher functions. Now I have a Brother MFC-8860DN and it works amazingly well. On both sides of the paper!

[Jerrick]

Yes, I had a keyboard die the other day. One day it was fine, and the next day all you got was a USB warning that the device was drawing too much power (and no keyboard response). Electronics can die, and when it's at the board level it's usually not worth the expense of repairs vs. buying a new one. My keyboard had no physical damage, and the only wear & tear was from pressing the keys.




Goodness Foss, please re-read what I typed and point out where I said thing just dying out never occurred? Could you please do that for me? Pweaty pweese?!

Anyways, Jason, is that your name? Have you ever seen a cpu, over time, slow down, where the multiplier at default, was actually causing the chip not to work, and had to be underclocked to even boot? Have you ever seen a chip, with proper cooling, still heat up. How about when over time, the timing on the sensors starts to become longer apart and then the sensors dont even work causing problems? Better yet, have you ever watched as a core dies out in a chip?

Even more so, a cpu can wear out from other components, poor overclocking, or just from bad maintenance.

[maestro8]

Anyways, Jason, is that your name? Have you ever seen a cpu, over time, slow down, where the multiplier at default, was actually causing the chip not to work, and had to be underclocked to even boot?
CPUs don't slow down. They're clocked by a crystal oscillator whose frequency is, for all estimates, fixed.

If you're referring to CPUs being damaged by overheating, then we're in a different ball game. This has nothing to do with the OP. His CPU shouldn't be "worn out" as you like to say... he's experiencing software issues, which was my original point.

Even more so, a cpu can wear out from other components, poor overclocking, or just from bad maintenance.
I'm still waiting to hear from you about how I might measure my CPU's wear... you're insisting it's an observable phenomenon, no?

Really, silicon doesn't wear out (on a time scale we can observe). It doesn't need maintenance.

PSes need maintenance, lest they cause an over/undervoltage condition on the board, damaging components. Fans need maintenance, lest they allow a component to overheat.

Get my drift? We might be arguing semantics here, but you're just not making a lot of sense.

[Jerrick]

CPUs don't slow down. They're clocked by a crystal oscillator whose frequency is, for all estimates, fixed.

If you're referring to CPUs being damaged by overheating, then we're in a different ball game. This has nothing to do with the OP. His CPU shouldn't be "worn out" as you like to say... he's experiencing software issues, which was my original point.


I'm still waiting to hear from you about how I might measure my CPU's wear... you're insisting it's an observable phenomenon, no?

Really, silicon doesn't wear out (on a time scale we can observe). It doesn't need maintenance.

PSes need maintenance, lest they cause an over/undervoltage condition on the board, damaging components. Fans need maintenance, lest they allow a component to overheat.

Get my drift? We might be arguing semantics here, but you're just not making a lot of sense.

I have seen a cpu slow down. Definitely one of the weirder things ive seen happen with a computer. But the clock was at 1.7ghz, and started to go down ever few days to 1.6ghz, 1.5ghz. Im guessing it went to 1.4 or lower, but it wouldnt boot anymore. Was still able to go into the bios, where everything was set to default settings, so I treated it like when a chip doesnt boot from not having enough voltage and other OC solutions. Ended up underclocking it to 1ghz, and it booted right up. EDIT: No understepping program was running either. I get a lot of people coming to me "My processor says its 2.44ghz, but when i look at it its only at 1.6ghz, and sometimes it jumps around."

A month later though, it started again, but that time it wouldnt boot back up at all. It eventually just wore down and died.

Just to be clear, im not talking about the chip physically wearing down (I have seen chips crack in half though, but thats different from this. lol). Im also not concerned at all anymore with Edds problem, unless he posts back needing more help.

A way to measure your cpu? Well, you can easily read the clock speed and temps of your chip, how much load is on what core, also programs like Prime95, Orthos, burnin, latest version of 3dmark, can be used to benchmark your system your chip, and from there you can compare results over time to if there is a slight degrade. I doubt there will be, and the average of your scores should stay very close. Other than that, it mainly comes down to just paying attention to your system, and when something is up, find what it is, fix it, pay attention to it.

I think we are both making perfect sense. I think mainly, you are doubtful against things you havent experienced here, and are trying to disprove someone with around 10 years of computer experience, and something that I have personally witnessed.

You can continue to disagree with me, and hopefully weird things like that dont happen to you much, and your parts last you a long time before you feel the need to upgrade them.

Ive been lucky with my hardrives. Ive never had one die on me yet, even from the very first IDE drive that is stashed in my closet with all the other parts. Havent been so lucky with audio ports and ps/2 ports. lol.

[evil-nick]

CPUs don't slow down. They're clocked by a crystal oscillator whose frequency is, for all estimates, fixed.

If you're referring to CPUs being damaged by overheating, then we're in a different ball game. This has nothing to do with the OP. His CPU shouldn't be "worn out" as you like to say... he's experiencing software issues, which was my original point.

Technically speaking, processors (and other electronics) can die from the expansion & contraction that occurs during the boot and shutdown. The metal expands as it heats up, and when turned off it cools and shrinks. Over time, this can lead to a failure.

Having said that, I've never had a CPU die. I've had plenty of other things die, power supplies, 3 motherboards (in a row), modems, etc, but not the CPU.

As computers get faster and more powerful, expectations of what they can do increases. I'm using a P4 2.4ghz with 512M of RAM, booting off a 8G hard drive, and it's slow. Why? Because the software I'm running on it (Ubuntu 8.04) expects more from it, specifically more RAM. When this machine had 768M of RAM (motherboard is dying, and won't handle both my sticks of RAM) it was slower than my dual core Macbook and gaming machines (which both have 2G of RAM), but it was noticeably faster. Even surfing the web is slower now.

Having said that, it's still my work machine, and it does the job (until the mobo inally quits on me...)

[Jerrick]

3 in a row. Dang. That must of been very annoying. :mad::(

[maestro8]

I think mainly, you are doubtful against things you havent experienced here, and are trying to disprove someone with around 10 years of computer experience
Son, don't test my geek-fu. I work on computers for a living. Not desktops, but high-performance multi-core embedded systems used for telco and ISPs.

You're talking like a snake oil salesman, and we've seen lots of people make a living selling snake oil, so I don't want to ruin your gig. I'm just not going to buy what you're sellin'.

and something that I have personally witnessed.
People have witnessed UFOs, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. That doesn't mean they exist.

[Jerrick]

Son, don't test my geek-fu. I work on computers for a living. Not desktops, but high-performance multi-core embedded systems used for telco and ISPs.

You're talking like a snake oil salesman, and we've seen lots of people make a living selling snake oil, so I don't want to ruin your gig. I'm just not going to buy what you're sellin'.


People have witnessed UFOs, Bigfoot and the Loch Ness monster. That doesn't mean they exist.

Skulltrail mobos and the like? Im interested in the specs. Do tell. :D

Hey, im not trying to be shady or give off false info at all. I said it was the weirdest thing ive seen, and right now, trying to think of something that takes it, well, nothing is coming up. One thing kinda does but that is just funny. Bottom intake fan, besides sucking in tons of hair and dust, he had a few bugs crawling around in his case. Besides, chips dying isnt as farfetched as ufos and stuff. At least to me.

[SHAY_CAM]

My hardrive failed while back due to partition coruption. It was 10 years old and was 40 gigs. Talk about a good harddrive for the age yeah?

[Jerrick]

My hardrive failed while back due to partition coruption. It was 10 years old and was 40 gigs. Talk about a good harddrive for the age yeah?

10 years is good. =p

[SHAY_CAM]

eeh, 9. im stilling using the computer, and it still runs better then alot of the computers today. Its window ME, and contrary to popular beleif, its actually a very good OS.

[johnfoss]

Goodness Foss, please re-read what I typed and point out where I said thing just dying out never occurred? Could you please do that for me? Pweaty pweese?!Okay. You said "Anyways, though some parts will just stop, a lot of parts do wear out."

Then I said "Yes. keyboard blah blah blah." What's your point? Why are people always asking each other to read what they already read around here? I won't ask that of you. :)

The metal expands as it heats up, and when turned off it cools and shrinks. Over time, this can lead to a failure.That sounds pretty reasonable. And when chips or boards fail, usually it's at the microscopic level so there's no easy way to find the broken circuit, or no way to repair it without highly specialized, expensive tools anyway.

Windows ME was a "very good OS"? I suppose that must be true compared to no OS, or anything that won't run your software. I can't imagine it compared to previous or subsequent versions of Windows though. But it's good to know it has its fans, and that it's still useful for you.

[maestro8]

Skulltrail mobos and the like? Im interested in the specs.
Nope. Nothing Intel. Completely custom.

Current project has twelve PowerPCs embedded within six FPGAs on a single card. The PPCs are only clocked at a few hundred MHz, but the board can easily handle gigabits of traffic.

We've got but a few megs of flash memory and a few dozen MB of RAM for each processor... you want a challenge? Try whittling down your OS to less than 2MB, then implementing a multi-threaded, multi-core networking application on top of that.

Oh, and the whole shebang needs to burn less than 10 watts of power.

[SHAY_CAM]

I like it because it doesnt have to be mucked up with "user firendly" interfaces and update junk.

[Jerrick]

Nope. Nothing Intel. Completely custom.

Current project has twelve PowerPCs embedded within six FPGAs on a single card. The PPCs are only clocked at a few hundred MHz, but the board can easily handle gigabits of traffic.

We've got but a few megs of flash memory and a few dozen MB of RAM for each processor... you want a challenge? Try whittling down your OS to less than 2MB, then implementing a multi-threaded, multi-core networking application on top of that.

Oh, and the whole shebang needs to burn less than 10 watts of power.


Sounds pretty sweet. Can you game with that though?! :rolleyes:

Any pictures or even more detailed things about it would be lovely. We should probably take that into PM though. Also, is this just hobby work or more professional?

Ill throw up my system just for fun.

Case: Centurion 534
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
CPU: Q6600 G0 stepping. OCed to 3.2ghz
RAM: 4gigs Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800. PC2 6400
GPU: ATI HD4870.
PSU: Corsair Hx520.

It isnt bad. Nothing top-of-the-line, but does everything I want it to do perfectly.

[feel the light]

1. Right click on the bottom bar and select "Task Manager". Select processes.
What is your cpu utilization rate ? Click on the cpu column to find the most demanding processes.

2. From the hardware side, hopefully you have a set of tiny screw drivers. If the box has been running for years, you must clean your cpu heatsink. I do this yearly. Take off the cpu fan with your tiny screw drivers. Look at the fins of the heat sink. If they are all dirty, take the heat sink off and soak it in soapy water, and blast it clean. You will need a tiny drop of "thermal grease", to put between the cooler and cpu before you reinstall it.

If the heat sink looks clean (extremely doubtful on an older box), you may try running it for an hour to get it hot, then reboot, press delete when it beeps and go in "set up bios". There should be a choice for something like "pc health", select that, and it will tell you your cpu temperature. What is it ? On your model cpu, it should be less then 65 degrees C. That is way hot, low 50's C is much better.

What does cpu temp have to do with speed ? If your cpu fan should fail, or your heat sink is to full of crud, the mother board will severely under clock your cpu to prevent it from overheating. This could slow you to a crawl.

3 Another easy check. Click "start", then right click on "my computer", then properties. This will tell you how much memory your box has. What does it say ? Bad connection between the mem stick and the slot may cause the computer to boot and run with much less memory then it appears to have installed. This means the mem slot is dirty, or a slot or mem stick has gone bad.

If memory or vid card slots are dirty, blast them out with the red straw stuck in a can of this type of electronics cleaner. Dirt is the cause of bad connections, but, much less often the mem stick itself will fail. Swap them out to isolate the bad part.

Every box wrench needs a can of electronics cleaner. If your box won't post (beep), a dirty vid card slot is the most likely cause in my experience. A dirty vid card slot will cause crashes, or a failure to start, it will not slow down your box.

[Eddbmxdude]

2. From the hardware side, hopefully you have a set of tiny screw drivers. If the box has been running for years, you must clean your cpu heatsink. I do this yearly. Take off the cpu fan with your tiny screw drivers. Look at the fins of the heat sink. If they are all dirty, take the heat sink off and soak it in soapy water, and blast it clean. You will need a tiny drop of "thermal grease", to put between the cooler and cpu before you reinstall it.

If the heat sink looks clean (extremely doubtful on an older box), you may try running it for an hour to get it hot, then reboot, press delete when it beeps and go in "set up bios". There should be a choice for something like "pc health", select that, and it will tell you your cpu temperature. What is it ? On your model cpu, it should be less then 65 degrees C. That is way hot, low 50's C is much better.

What does cpu temp have to do with speed ? If your cpu fan should fail, or your heat sink is to full of crud, the mother board will severely under clock your cpu to prevent it from overheating. This could slow you to a crawl.



That makes a lot of sense. I have had a cpu die on me before due to fan failure. It was bluescreeneing every few minutes then just refused to turn on, cpu was completely cooked.
I will try your suggestions, cheers man.

Edd

[evil-nick]

If your cpu fan should fail, or your heat sink is to full of crud, the mother board will severely under clock your cpu to prevent it from overheating.

Back in '97/'98, I was taking a C programming class, and playing with Linux a bit... I started having a weird problem where Windows '98 would lock up on me unless it was doing nothing but playing music in Winamp. Word crashed it, Borland C++ crashed it, the screensaver crashed it, and the Windows installer crashed when I tried reinstalling.

Linux though was working fine, and since my crappy C programming skills tended to blue screen Windows computers that didn't have random crashes but under Linux ust popped out an error message, I started using Linux *much* more often.

3 weeks later I realized my CPU fan had stopped and Windows was overheating the CPU :D

Current System (Just my workstation, not my NAS, laptops, or gaming PC):
Case: ? About 9 years old, was generic then, it's still generic ;)
Mobo: MSI... something... I forget
CPU: Intel P4 2.4Ghz
RAM: 512M, DDR1 (down from 768M mem controller dying, doesn't like 2 sticks at once)
GPU: Nvidia 4600
PSU: Sparkle 300W (I think)
Drives:
Memorex DVD-ROM
Western Digital PATA 8G (Boot drive)
Maxtor SATA 250G (Data)
OS: Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron (Prolly will update to Intrepid Ibex this weekend)

[Eddbmxdude]

Right, just thought id give you guys an update.

I cleared up all the programs I don't use anymore and did a disc cleanup. I also did a virus scan and spyware scan. That helped quite a bit and it has been running ok, not brilliant, just ok.
That was until last night.
Last night I moved the computer to my new bedroom. I don't have an ethernet cable long enough to reach it in its new position so I am not on our home network anymore. When I first turned it on it was running sooo slooow. All I was trying to do was listen to music using media player and it kept going Non responsive whenever I changed track. I would have to use the task manager to close media player but when I clicked end now it would lock up the computer all together. At first I thought it might be Avast going mental looking for an internet connection so I stopped it. It was still the same so after a restart I went to the network connections tab on the control panel and disabled the network connection since Im not plugged into it anyway. I also turned it off, opened up the case and vacuumed all of the dust from out of the fans and off of the mobo, I didn't bother putting the side of the case back on to help airflow inside because its in a fairly small space. That seems to have done the trick, its much better now and plays music ok in media player and winamp, although its still 'clipping' sometimes.

Edd

[john_childs]

Geeks keep the inside of the computer case cleaner than their bedroom. :)

If you're getting true clipping that is easily noticeable it is probably due to your equalizer settings. To keep the equalizer from causing clipping you need to set the equalizer to only subtract from the sound and not add to it. If you add too much to the sound you get clipping at those frequencies.

Instead of boosting the bass to +6, keep the bass at 0 and lower the other frequencies by -6. That will prevent the bass from clipping due to the equalizer.