Win XP help, random freezes (+ tweeking tips)

[mikeymike]

As the subject says, I've been having random mouse freezes in WinXP, I've been keeping a carefull eye on the task list but can't see any thing strange...

It could be one of a very large number of different problems.  Badly configured hardware is one of the worse possibilities, though I'd be inclined to go with badly configured OS, in the form of old drivers.  Update as many as you can.

(Factory installs tend to use old drivers already, so I'd advise against downgrading them 'again' :-))

[mikeymike]

Yeah, I'm on a SiS 645DX chipset

My experience of SiS chipsets is limited, despite my current machine having one (SiS 735).  But my experiences have been that they're a bit 50/50 in terms of good/bad chipset.  Thankfully my current one isn't bad :-)

Why do I have an SiS chipset mobo in light of my experiences, I hear you ask?  Remind me not to listen to friends again :-)

[mikeymike]

WinXP didn't support ATA133 until SP1

Usually Windows reverts to the previous latest technology it can support though - eg. Win2k didn't support ATA100 until SP2, but it still would do ATA66 for ATA100 devices.

[mikeymike]

Ok, after a lot of testing and running performance monitors, I have found that when the Random lockups happen, I get a spike of 100% CPU usage, but it is instantanious so I can't see which is the offending task
I have shut down all the services I can and still this happens!!!

Not surprising on both counts.  Have you updated all drivers?  What's the motherboard model, have you read up about it?

[mikeymike]

Anyway, I punched what I know into Google, and that said to check for CPU overheating.

Well the P4 3GHz does spout out a LOT of heat, but the usual symptoms of over-heating CPUs are as follows (in order of likeliness):

 - complete hardware lockups (up to and inc. the point of having to pull the power out the back)
 - app crashes
 - spontaneous reboots (sometimes rebooting properly or not)
 - computer doesn't boot full stop :-)

- edit - a 3GHz laptop?  Are you nuts? :-)

I still strongly suspect drivers though.

[mikeymike]

my CPU is not the Mobile one it is the desktop one.

In a laptop?!?  :-o  That would probably end up melting components, the keyboard mould particularly!

[mikeymike]

It's got a great fan! pumps out heat like some kind of industrial space heater

How big is this laptop???

[mikeymike]

How did you even get a retail desktop P4 CPU into a laptop?

[mikeymike]

The power requirements for a desktop P4 3GHz would drain your battery in no time though...

[mikeymike]

Well, the CPU info prorgam I used said that my CPU was running at 83Watts. My battery is a 6Ah 20Volt Li-ION, which works out to be 120Watts... etc...

Ok, so back to this problem - does the mouse pointer stutter when the machine is idle?  If not, I think we've found the problem :-)

[mikeymike]

Having said what I just said, I still can't see how you could practically fit a desktop P4 CPU into a laptop.  It would need something like the heatsink sticking through the keyboard and a large fan on top :-)

[mikeymike]

How fast is the hard disk?  7200RPM?

[mikeymike]

Mikey: 7200!!! you mst be joking... after spending a grand on a laptop I can't aford a super duper HD like that  Saddly mine is only 4600

Your machine as a 'dedicated music workstation' is confusing me greatly.  Computers used for audio work nowadays typically have very fast CPUs and high-performance disks.  Then you say it's a laptop and it's using a disk speed typical of the average laptop?  It must have cost a mint to get a retail P4 3GHz grafted into it, then you can't afford a decent disk for it?

[mikeymike]

I tried puttting the Drive into PIO mode, but that was terible!

Of course it would be :-)

Next thing to try is Safe Mode, and then Linux.

I would do a clean install of 2k/XP first, see if that makes any difference.  I assume updating all drivers made no difference?

[mikeymike]

an IDE disk running properly in DMA or better combined with the right IDE drivers will not cause the problems bloodline is experiencing.