Hardware Problem on XP Pro 5

[filipea]

This is a hardware problem but I cant find the correct section, this forum is hard to browse.
I'm using XP Pro on a relatively good machine (Intel P4 3.0 Ghz, 4 GB RAM DDR).
I used to use win 7, but suddenly the computer became very slow with very odd reactions. I thought it was win 7 which was slowing the pc down, but, after reinstalling XP Pro, I realized the problem persisted.
I tried installing XP Pro on each the two harddisks, but they both reacted the same way, indicating that the problem is somewhere else. I've replaced the PSU aswell, but the problem persisted.
Before I spend anymore money, I'd like to know where you think the problem lies, do you think it's the graphic card (Asus EN6600), The motherboard or the CPU ?

I can't find an information on similar problem anywhere on the net.

The Symptoms:

-Mouse works well, but the drag and drop doesn't work properly. It sometimes drops items halfway.
-Alot of difficulty rendering graphics. When moving windows quickly from left to right it takes several steps before getting to the final position.
-Sometimes get display errors when installing new programs. Odd things like: "The display settings aren't appropriate for this program".

If it wasn't for the first point, it would have led me to the graphic card.
I'm open to your suggestion.

Thanx in advance.

Filipe.

 

[xit]

Do you have the latest drivers installed for the vid. card?
Have you ran a test on the memory?
Heat problem?

xit

 

[BadBigBen]

I tried installing XP Pro on each the two harddisks, but they both reacted the same way, indicating that the problem is somewhere else.

not necessarily, consider this: both drives are hooked up to the same controller, and this controller is damaged, you'd get the same behavior on both drives...

but lets not speculate...

Suggestions so far:

Test Memory... (very possible the problem)
Clean out the PC, if there is DUST build up... (unlikely since you've been in the PC you would have noticed this)

if you have another graphics card laying around, try it, if not can you borrow one to test?

to test download the Ultimate Boot CD from the net, burn to CD, and boot from it, there are tons of testing apps on it...




Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[filipea]

Hi xit and BBB,

Thank you for the replies and, yep, I did all of the above, BIOS and graphic card drivers have the latest update, and still no difference. The heat is horrible, as to be expected, but it didn't get worse, it's alot cooler now, because I have been using it less.
I tried using Ultimate Boot CD before, but, the problem got worse, and it freezes when I boot from some CDs or files. I also tried repairing with XP and moving to linux from within windows, but it freezes halfway.
I'm getting the feeling that this points to the memory. I used this test

http://www.memtest.org/

but it didn't accuse anything. Is there a better tool ?


Filipe.

 

[xit]

Have you tried a different video card yet? If you have & no help might try reseating heatsink to processor with new thermal grease, just an idea, I have seen it cause trouble before.

xit

 

[G0AOZ]

You said, "The heat is horrible...", but have you checked the BIOS's hardware monitor to check how hot the CPU is getting?

Try a complete reset of the BIOS, machine switched off, move CLEAR-CMOS jumper or/and take out battery to be sure.

You said you've 4Gb of RAM - try running with just 1Gb and see what gives...

Check the capacitors on the motherboard to see that none are bulging or leaking. See

http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=9

for an explanation.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[linney]

This will lead you to the 4 specific Hardware Forums to be found at Tek-Tips.

http://www.tek-tips.com/forumsearch.cfm?SearchString=hardware&type=Forum&sub=Go

Have you tried a different Mouse?

If you right-click on the top boarder of a window and select "Move" to obtain the cross hair, can you then move the window correctly via the Keyboard arrow keys?

Have you tried setting the Bios to the Safe Defaults? When swapping between Windows 7, Vista, and XP is there an AHCI setting in the Bios that might not be suitable for XP?

Vista laptop with same drive cannot install XP
thread779-1428969

It might be the Motherboard as was previously mentioned, it might just be time for a new computer?

 

[kjv1611]

filipea,

As far as how to browse this forum, there are 2 search boxes at the top. To find a specific forum, type a search word/phrase into the 2nd box, make sure "Search Forum" is selected, and click the button or press <Enter> Key - not hard to do, I promise.

For instance, here's the results for searching "hardware":

http://www.tek-tips.com/forumsearch.cfm?SearchString=hardware&type=Forum&sub=Go

Now on to your situation... why do you think it is definitely hardware related? You've told us symptoms, but nothing else really...

Just up front, I'll tell you my guesses, that it's one of these:
#1. Some malware/virus messing with everything, but not showing itself - hidden. What scanners have you tried? I'd try these, in this order:
1. Malwarebytes Antimalware
2. SuperAntispyware
3. DrWeb CureIt
4. a diff AV product than you currently have, perhaps? I'd suggest Avira Antivir and/or Microsoft Security Essentials - they both run efficiently, use little resources, and catch probably the most baddies of any one product..

#2. Hard Drive going bad. Some tests:
1. Heard any strange noises coming from your computer from time these events began?
2. How old is the hard drive? Is it the original? Pretty common/likely culprit.
3. Download a bootable CD, burn to a blank CD-R, boot from that. If the problems go away, it's either software related, or it's the hard drive. If problems persist, shut down the PC, unplug the hard drive altogether, try restarting to the bootable CD (such as

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

or better test is a Linux distro, like

http://www.ubuntu.com)

4. I mentioned

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

- download it, burn to CD, run some RAM and hard drive checks with it.
--If it is the hard drive, go to

http://www.newegg.com

or

http://www.amazon.com

or

http://www.ebay.com,

find a hard drive you like that is compatible with your system... order, replace...

#3 - System RAM - ways to test:
1. If you've got more than one memory stick, try turning off the computer, then removing one stick... rebooting... If the RAM sticks are EXTREMELY hot, not just warm, that's often a good sign of a bad stick... or going bad (not always, though...) If the problem goes away after removing one stick, chances are that's the problem... if not, try swapping the sticks around... test all individually if at all possible..

#4 Some other Windows/Software configuration gone arry - such as program incompatibilities with each other (I once had a version of Norton Antivirus and Roxio Easy CD Creator that when installed at same time would cause Windows to crash, give BSOD, and not respond to a single thing! Took me a while and some headache to track down the culprits... that was about 6 years ago, I think.
1. Ways to try and fix this.... Use a few 3rd party apps if possible:
Advanced System Care
Glary Utilities
CCleaner
RegScrubXP - EXCELLENT for Windows XP, won't work on newer OS, though. This one is at

http://www.majorgeeks.com

Others all available at

http://www.download.com

#5 Badly fragmented hard drive - not likely, but possible. To check, well, run defrag... My Computer, Right-click C Drive, properties, Tools - Defrag... actually before that, run a ScanDisk Check... Check (same location as defrag)... check both checkboxes, and when asked, tell it yes to run at next system start.... close out everything, and restart... wait an hour or so and come back..
1. Another optino for defrag - download Auslogics Disk Defrag from

http://www.download.com

- that is one nice disk defragger..

#6 Could be more likely than #5, though... Leaking or Bulging Capacitors.. Power the PC off if it's on... open it up... look at the motherboard really closely... the things that look like little AA batteries or D cell batteries, sorta, those are the capacitors. If any looks like it's leaking battery acid, then the mobo is, or will soon be, toast. It needs to be replaced.

#7 Overheating CPU... Possible, but you can see this from the BIOS settings as already mentioned. Also, you can download a monitorring app or two to run from Windows...

http://www.cpuid.com

has some good tools in that area...

#8 Well, this may be closer to #1, but I'm just typing now... Bad program(s) eating resources... to test, start in Safe Mode.... <F8> just before Windows starts, then select "safe mode" - not "safe mode with networking" or anything else... just plain ole "safe mode." If problem went away, it's almost definitely software, not hardware.

Now I shall hush for the moment.

Post back with questions/results to tests/actions...

Also consider the age of the PC... If it's running a P4 CPU, it's pretty old. Consider, if possible, just replacing it, and moving on... you'll be happier for it, assuming you can afford it... and the more YOU can do on your computer, as far as configuring/installing, then the cheaper you can find it. There are some steals on slightly less than the newest tech on eBay, for instance.

 

[filipea]

Hi,

I finally managed to borrow a graphic card, a compatible ram and a CPU. After replacing each, I realized that the problem was RAM. The mouse started working properly, and the graphics improved. But after installing the graphic card, I reallized that the graphic card is also in it's last breath.
I'm going to try installing some more fans to increase cooling.
kjv1611, I have several other laptops, but I refuse to throw this one away, because it's a few years old. I still have a i386 running perfectly and an old black and white laptop that makes an excellent word-processor ( and gaming pc! ).
One last thing, can I apply thermal grease on top of a previous dry layer of thermal grease ?

Thank you all for your replies,

Filipe.

 

[kjv1611]

One last thing, can I apply thermal grease on top of a previous dry layer of thermal grease ?

No! You need to clean the old off, and then reapply new. If you have a specialized solvent, great. If not, use Isopropyl (Rubbing) Alcohol, but I'd highly suggest not using any that has any sort of oil in it, like some have some sort of mint oil. Use that with a clean cloth to clean the processor or whatever off, then apply new, and then the heatsink/fan...

 

[G0AOZ]

That wonderful stuff WD-40 is very good at removing hardened thermal grease. Smells nice too.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[fisheromacse]

WD-40 does leave a residue behind, and you have the issue of overspray.
Iospropyl alcohol does not.