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Is it time for a new PC?

Discussion in 'Techno-Magic' started by Takara, Feb 13, 2005.

  1. Takara

    Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

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    I've had it for 2 years now, and whilst I was hoping for another 6 months, I'm just getting fed up with it. I get one problem after another. Might just bin it, and build a brand new 'virgin' PC.

    Here's the latest problem:

    Whenever I boot up my comp, I get a box appearing saying 'Windows has recovered from a serious error'. When I check the details of this there is a consistant prob with these two files:

    mini020205-02.dmp
    werl.tmp.dir00\sysdata.xml

    Also I have found that whils playing some games my comp will have a massive fit and crash. KotOR will just flat crash on me, whilst fallout 2 will give me a windows protection error and then crash from time to time. Somehow I feel these are all connected, but have no idea what the hell it is all about.

    Anyone got any ideas?
     
  2. Sarevok• Gems: 23/31
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    Yeah, format your PC. Will clear up the error crap and your games will probably start working properly again. If not, time to get a new PC but don't go buying one before you tried fixing this one.
     
  3. Kitrax

    Kitrax Pantaloons are supposed to go where!?!?

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    That's a software problem, do as Sarevok suggests and format your HDD. You'll notice a proformance boost soon after.

    How about some of your system's specs Tak? If it's only 2 years old, maybe all you need is one or two new componets. KotOR2 might need a better video card than the one you have. :rolling:
     
  4. Wordplay Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


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    Question number uno: is it Wincrash 98 or Wincashin XP? I have been using Win2k for ages and it has crashed only a few times, mostly due of some bad apps.
     
  5. Takara

    Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

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    I'm running XP.

    As for specs:

    AMD athalon xp 2100
    MSI KT3 ultra
    512mb ram
    80gb hdd
    some geforce 4 or other

    tbh I just dont want to have to reformat... again. I'm sure that either my mobo or hdd has taken a bad hit somewhere, maybe both. I'm going to run a scandisk on my hdd soon and have a check of it.

    Edit: for my own curiosity, what I'd be getting is one of the amd 64 bundles here, but would have to have a think on which graphics card to add, and possibly to bump the ram up too. bundles

    [ February 14, 2005, 00:31: Message edited by: Takara ]
     
  6. Rednik Gems: 21/31
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    You can definitely wait a few more months, if not a year. I would recommend backing up your crucial files and programs on a disk, and reformatting your drive, provided you have a Windows XP CD.

    Also, try Memtest86 to see if your RAM is faulty.
     
  7. Wordplay Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


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    That is a good enough machine there; I have almost the same except for XP1800+ and smaller HDD. (And I bet you do not have Ti-4400 ;) ) With these specs, you can expect to be able to use it for the next 3 years, unless you want to play Doom 4 right away.

    As a basic tip, try running defrag and scandisk, then dxdiag and seeing if there are any device conflicts with DMA or the like. Ten minute job.
     
  8. Takara

    Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

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    I know it's still not bad spec. At christmas got the very first game that actually used the hardware available : Hidden and dangerous 2. Up till now it has been above spec.

    Finally got fed up with it, as KotOR crashed on me constantly, even during dialogue which it never used to. Spent the past 2 1/2 hours re-formatting, re-installing windows, and the real time eater: re-installing all updates and drivers etc. The only upside is having multiple partitions, so I only had to reformat C. Having installers for all my progs, adaware etc on a seperate partition makes reinstalling that much less painful.

    I'll see how it goes as spending £300 right now would be nice to avoid if pos.
     
  9. Wordplay Gems: 29/31
    Latest gem: Glittering Beljuril


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    You know, you can avoid that re-install hassle with disk-ghosts: creating a identical copy of the content of your HDD, right after re-install, burning it on a DVD and if problems come along, dig out the DVD and putting the ghost-image in. ;)
     
  10. ejsmith Gems: 25/31
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    Yeah, I also say a "clean" install.

    Shove XP on there (I slipstreamed SP1 onto my disk, along with my SATA drivers). Then loadup SP1 and (I guess) SP2. Mainboard drivers next, so they overwrite all the Microsoft junk. Then your video card drivers. Then just go nuts with everything else. Defrag at some point.



    You need to crash your machine, mate.
     
  11. Takara

    Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

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    Well, my KotOR probs are stll here. I'm corresponding with tech support as I think taht prob lies there. The message coming up on loading windows only occurred once, and that was subsequent to a crash from KotOR. So... we'll see. ;)

    Oh, btw Wirhe I do have a ti-4400. :p
     
  12. Yirimyah Gems: 11/31
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    Dude, if there is a HDD stuffup, and it sounds like it, don't go out and get a whole new system. Get a new HDD. They're cheap. http://www.seagate.com/ http://www.westerndigital.com/en/index.asp?Language=en

    If you just keep upgrading components every so often, then you can keep a system as cutting edge as is nessecary practically forever. No new systems needed. I mean, sometimes you need a new mobo and a new CPU, but that's not THAT expensive compared is it?

    Remember: Keep antivirus/firewall/adware software on a CD when you format or install a system. Why? http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/news.asp?aid=22712&cid=76&sid=28&pid=1
     
  13. Takara

    Takara My goodness! I see turnips everywhere

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    Well, I've been getting the exact same prob when trying to play GTA2, and had it occur once during IWD. I even got some different video drivers.

    I would replace the component that's screwed, but I have absolutely no idea which one it is, so I'm going to just replace it all.

    When pay day comes around I'll place my order. Already know what I want to get.
     
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