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Computer Slowdown

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by ielliott

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I currently have a 550 p3 on a soyo ba+ motherboard with 128 MB RAM. I have a Maxigamer cougar 32 MB tnt2 card, a diamond monster voodoo 2 card, a 13GB maxtor 5400 HD anda 20GB maxtor 7200 HD. I had my system on the 20 GB and recently the computerwill run a program smoothly for about 5 minutes then starts to get really choppy. This happens mostly in games, but even after exiting, the rest of the system has pauses in it. I ran norton utilities and once it gave me an error that the drive size is being reported incorrectly. It repaired this problem and was fine for a few days, then it happened again. Getting tired of it I formatted the 13GB drive reloaded everything on a clean install and everything seemed to be working then it startedhappening again. I am looking for any suggestions. My first thought is that the system or processor was getting too hot, but this does not make sense because the machine was working fine for weeks since i put the 550 processor in. Any suggestionswould be great.

10 replies

by dmacri

Seeing as how you ahve already wiped your HHD and re-loadedand still have the same issues...Maybe check for an updated driver/s for your Voodoo card and your TNT card on the web. Maybe even a BIOS update, check your performance tab (right click themy Computer Icon) if it is belove 70% give or take, that is the problem. Chances are something running in the background is slowing your unit down E.G. Firewall, Anti-virus app.

by ielliott

I've loaded the most recent drivers for both cards. It happens when I use either card though, os I don't think its a video issue. I have an antivirus program running in the back, but the problem started to happen before I put that on. I installed it just in case it was a virus.

by krunch

Howdy,

First of all, I would use the 7200rpm drive as my primary and I would use the 5400 rpm drive for the secondary. Next, your memory _could_ be an issue, is it mixed (say a 64mb pc66 stick and a 64mb pc100) for example? It will only be as fast as the pc66 in this example. Memory is cheap, I would run a single pc133 128mb stick (if allowable by the mobo) or a single pc100 128mb. Next, this mobo has an agp slot on it doesn't it? If it does I would ditch the tnt2 card and the voodoo2 card and get a 64mb Geforce2 GTX 4xAGP (around $250) or a 32mb Geforce 4xAGP (from $100 to $200 depending) if it were me. Heat _could_ be an issue, you could add a fan to the front bezel, if you have room, for under $20 or at the back of the pc, again for under $20. You could also replace your processor fan for under $20. Your hard drive could be overheating (but it's a stretch) and you could add a hdd fan for $20 or $30. Overall though, I think your chokepoint is at the video level. If you could replace those old video cards with a newer one, you may just solve the issue. Don't forget to clean all the dust layers out (if there is any) while you're poking around in the box. Dust around the vents, processor, etc can cause heat problems.

Cheers.

by ielliott

I originally had my system on the 7200 Drive. this is the reason i tried another HD. My video has been working with no problems for a long time, its also an AGP card. I just keep the Voodoo for kicks. My RAM is also a single stick pc100 128. I also have a secondary fan in the front and currently I have the case off. I'll check on the dust thing. thanks

by gumbytech

I would clean out any tmp files or files that start with a tilde (~). To do this, first make sure all apps are closed, then go to start|Find. Then do a find of ~*.* files and delete all of them. Next search for *.tmp files and delete all of them. It is my experience as an avid gamer and Office 2k user that windows 98 doesn't like to let go of a file after you have closed it. Hence a large build up of files that begin with a tilde. These files can muck up your RAM. Hence the jerky reaction. Another thing to check is your memory module. Is it SIMM or DIMM? You want a DIMM.

by ielliott

I always clean out the temp folder. That wasn't causing any problems. My memory is Pc100 DIMM.

by ian_c

Just to add one of the usual obvious things, you could also try running regclean. I had problems recently when for no obvious reason my machine would slow down to a crawl after running fine for around 15 minutes.

Regclean fixed the problem (afterof course I'd investigated a number of other less obvious things).

by ielliott

I ended up just putting my older 366 processor back in the machine and everything is working fine now. Even smoother than it was. I will try reg clean just to see if it fixes minor stuff.

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