Win XP help, random freezes (+ tweeking tips)

[pjhutch]

Do you have the Indexing Service enabled? This service will index all the files on your HD for fast searches and can slow down HD access.
Disable it via Services.msc or uninstall via Add/Remove Windows Components.

[bloodline]

pjhutch wrote:
Do you have the Indexing Service enabled? This service will index all the files on your HD for fast searches and can slow down HD access.
Disable it via Services.msc or uninstall via Add/Remove Windows Components.

Yup, disabled that as soon as I got it out of the box :-)

[mikeymike]

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

How big is this laptop???

[bloodline]

15" display and it's about: 32cm  by 28cm and about 3cm high.

It weighs about 4Kg (though I'm sure it's more, and its carry bag is about a Kilo too)... I really am weak :-P

[mikeymike]

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

[bloodline]

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

It came like that... I know it's not a mobile verison because I can check the CPU_ID.

It also has a rather nice 64Meg Mobile Radion 9000, wich is a massive leap over the old TNT2 in my desktop. Anyway... I'll stop before I go even more off topic... hmmm, I actually have it sat next to me in the office, but my Boss wasn't really very keen on me using it at work :-( I tried to tell him I was sorting out a problem but I had to conceed that it had nothing to do with my work :lol:

[mikeymike]

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

[bloodline]

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

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...

I've not run it on the battery yet so I don't know.

[Glaucus]

mikeymike wrote:

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!

Yeah, I agree, the desktop version would probably melt everything, plus it would draw so much power your battery life would be measured in minutes not hours. I suspect you mean you have the Pentium 4 M, as opposed to the Centrino Pentium M.

  - Mike

[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 :-)

[bloodline]

mikeymike wrote:

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 :-)

Nope, the mouse pointer (and more annoyingly the audio) stutters most often during Hard disk access... But sometines it can just happen randomly, four or five stutters in a row for no apparent reason.

Since this does not happen on My DVD drive, (UDMA4), I might try and set my HD to UDMA4 and see if the problem is cured.

[Glaucus]

Hmmm...  Most curious. Did you mention the make/model of your laptop? I would like to just look up the official specs on a web site.

Also, perhaps go into msinfo32 and select File->Export, and then post the resulting file so we can have a good look at your system. Edit it out anything you don't want us to see.  :-)

  - Mike

[mikeymike]

How fast is the hard disk?  7200RPM?

[bloodline]

Glaucus wrote:
Hmmm...  Most curious. Did you mention the make/model of your laptop? I would like to just look up the official specs on a web site.

Also, perhaps go into msinfo32 and select File->Export, and then post the resulting file so we can have a good look at your system. Edit it out anything you don't want us to see.  :-)

  - Mike

I'm not sure there is anything that I don't want you to see on my Laptop as It's a dedicated music workstation, nothing exciting on there ;-)

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

[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?