General Help for Windows and Games

[BeosBoxBoy]

checking the power supply is not easy - it requires either technical electrical equipment (like an ampometer or the like) or a spare "known good" power supply.

The 2nd is easier - but we don't all have spare power supplies laying about with no use for them.

The "going bad" is really hard to check without the proper technichal equipment.  The easiest way I know is to take all the parts from another compuer (except the motherboard) and place them one by one in your suspected bad system until it stops acting weird.  Again, we don't all have spare computers laying about with no use for them.

The alternative is to re-format and re-install everything and see if this solves the problem (cheap but not fun).

As an afterthought - it is also possible that there was dust introduced inside the powersupply also.  If you have a sort of vacuum-cleaner that has a hose - try using the vacuum-cleaner at the back of the system where the fan is located on the powersupply (the computer should be off).

[Dinki]

Thanks again for responding.

I was thinking to borrow a dvd reader from my computer store/service place and check if it changes a thing... then if it changes, just pay for it

If it`s the power problem, would the UPS thingy help? I don`t have it, but I guess I could borrow it to check also...

I`ll clean it with a vacuum, sure, thanks for that tip

I had my C drive formatted and sytem reinstalled, twice since it happens,  but it didn`t help... I mean it helped for one day maybe. First time I decided to it just like that, to clean it, and second time it had to be done cause computer "died". And yep, it`s no fun at all.

Actually I am having trouble with starting it also...

EDIT: I cleaned it twice... with air and with vacuum, but it didn`t help. I think it had never been so clean I also removed Opera and started to use Firefox. That seems to have stopped reboots while I work (not while using dvd drive though).

I`ll get a cd-rom from my friend and replace it tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.  

Good thing is that its warranty is still valid.

[Serafina]

Ok! I am 99% sure I have a virus that has severely messed with things on my harddrive. So I have decided to reformat and reinstall windows. Well windows will not let me backup anything to cd's now. Every time I try it tells me there was an error and to insert a new CD.
I have no other way of backing up files. Yes I realize this is stupid on my part, but its too late to solve that.
Am I just screwed here? Do I just need to reformat and forget about my content and files... it will hurt but if thats what needs to be done I will do it?
Any suggestions?
I'll try anything here!

[Dinki]

Obviously somebody was keeping their fingers crossed, cause replacing the dvd-reader stopped all problems. I`m sending this POS to the service.

Thanks for your help Yakov, hopefully I`ll be ok for some time

[xK-la]

Awesome beosboxboy! I will deffiently be getting my dad to go through all this and do everything on the list. Thanks alot

[BeosBoxBoy]

in over 25 years of working with computers, I can gladly inform you that on only one occassion did I feel it necessary to drag a computer into the backgarden and pump it full of deershot and burn it to exorcise the unclean spirits :lol:  And that was a Sun Microsystems workstation not even related to Windows.

[Pyromaniac]

I have a question about the ram thing.

My computer has 510 MB Ram, but I heard that Seasons will take 512 MB to run. I don't want to buy an upgrade since it's a 2-MB-difference, but I heard somewhere that you can free up 2 MB ram space by updating/changing your video or graphics card or whatever.

I have all the EPs except UNI, and I can play Pets without any major problems - that EP required 512 MB as well.

[BeosBoxBoy]

Pyromaniac - in some instances you can free up that last 2 MB of RAM - yes - but it isn't a one size fits all answer.  Some manufacturers of computer components don't offer you any real ability to disable the onboard video card (which is generally what grabs up that 2 MB of RAM even when you are not using the wretched thing).  Sometimes you can update the BIOS (not always an option and should not be done without careful planning and preparation) and get this feature to disable, sometimes it never gets better.  I know that short of ripping the chip off with a toe-nail clipper I won't get that last 8 MB of ram off one of my systems.

[Pyromaniac]

I read somewhere that it's the BIOS memory hole taking up the 2 MB. I'm completely foreign to all this technical stuff, so I'm not sure how to "remap" the BIOS thing. But I'd like to give it a try, since I've been told the 510/512 makes a huge difference in gameplay. By the way, I run the Sims 2 on a laptop. It works fine, but I'm afraid it'll lag after I get Seasons.

If it helps, here's my system info:

System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, build 2600)
System Model: Satellite M30
Manufacturer: TOSHIBA
BIOS: @Version 1.0
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1600MHz
Memory: 510 MB ram
Page file: 233 MB used, 1015 MB available
DirectX v.: DirectX 9.0c

[BeosBoxBoy]

ok - from what I am seeing on the Toshiba site most likely you have the following set up:

CNET editors' review
Very good
7.0 out of 10

The good: Stylish; wide-aspect display; nice keyboard and touchpad; superior speakers.

The bad: Subpar mobile performance; runs a bit warm; a few ounces heavier than the average thin-and-light.

The bottom line: If you're looking for style, the Satellite M30 series is worth a gander; otherwise, hold out for better thin-and-light notebooks.

Availability: Discontinued

This product has been discontinued

Technical Details
 
• Technology: type : Intel® Centrino™ mobile technology including Intel® Pentium® M processor, Intel® PRO/Wireless 2100 network connection and Intel® 855PM chipset; clock speed : 1.60 GHz; front side bus : 400 MHz; 2nd level cache : 1 MB  
• Operating system: Windows® XP Professional  
• System memory: standard : 256 MB; maximum expandability : 2,048 MB; technology : DDR RAM  
• Hard disk: capacity : 40 GB; certification : S.M.A.R.T.  
• CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive: maximum speed : 24x CD-ROM, 24x CD-R, 24x CD-RW, 8x DVD-ROM  
• Display: size : 15.4 " type : Wide View TFT colour display  
• Graphics: adaptor manufacturer : NVIDIA®; type : GeForce™ FX Go5200; memory : 64 MB; memory type : DDR Video RAM; graphics accelerator : 128 bit; connected bus : 4 x AGP bus  
• Internal video modes: resolution : 1,280 x 800; maximum number of colours : 65,536  
• Max External Video Modes: Max Resolution : 2,048 x 1,536; Max Colours : 16.7 Million; Max Refresh Rate : 100 Hz; Non-interlaced resolution with max refresh rate : 1,600 x 1,200  
• BIOS: ACPI : 1.0b; System Management BIOS : 2.3  
• Battery: technology : lithium-ion; maximum life : up to 3.7 (Mobile Mark™) hours  
• AC adaptor: input voltage : autosensing AC adapter (100/240 V) for worldwide usage  
• Interfaces: 1 x DC-in; 1 x external monitor; 1 x RJ-11; 1 x RJ-45; 1 x parallel; 1 x TV-out (s-video); 1 x i.LINK® (IEEE 1394); 1 x Fast Infrared Port (FIR); 1 x external microphone; 1 x SD™ Card slot; 3 x USB 2.0  
• Expansion: 2 x memory slots (1 to configure); type : 1 x PC Card Type II  
• Wireless communication Compliancy : FIR; Network Support : 4 Mbps; Wireless Technology : Fast InfraRed; Compliancy : Wi-Fi™; Network Support : 802.11b integrated, dual band (802.11a/b) ready; Wireless Technology : Wireless LAN  
• Wired: communication topology : Ethernet; speed : 10/100 Base-TX Ethernet; topology : international V.92 modem; speed : 56 Kbps data (V.92) and 14.4 Kbps fax (V.17)  
• Sound system: supported audio format : 16-bit stereo; supported sound standards : MIDI support; speakers : built-in stereo speakers - tuned by Harman Kardon  
• Keyboard keys : 86; Windows keys : 2; inlaid numeric keypad : No; Hot Keys : 3 (Internet launch button, Toshiba console button, TV button); special features : Multimedia Bar with CD/DVD/MP3 player control function  
• Physical: dimensions W x D x H : 360 x 270 x 25 (front) / 36 (back) mm; weight : 2.78 kg  
• Pointing device: type : Touch Pad  
• Bundled hardware: AC adaptor; AC Power Cable  
• Bundled software: Toshiba utilities and drivers on-line user's and modem manual; Toshiba Console; WinDVD™; Drag'n Drop CD; Windows® XP Professional; ConfigFree™; Microsoft® Office OneNote ™ 2003  
• Security: features main hard disk (by screw); keyboard lock; main memory (by screw); BIOS password; slot for Kensington Cable Lock; wireless LAN switch; system password security  
• Special features: SM BIOS compliant

Nothing I see in this line up indicates where the 2 MB of memory would be used.  It is possible that 2 MB of RAM have been set aside for extended BIOS information (often something you see on laptops) and you will never get that 2 MB of memory free'd up.  Another potential is that a 2MB mini reserve has been set aside for some other hardware - such as emulating sound card features through software rather than hardware - also a thing common to laptops.  I searched the Toshiba website for more information about this model but since there were 10 different versions of the M30 released, I could not locate a clear link to a PDF of the manual that shipped with your unit - so I can only speculate.

If you can tell me which M30 version you have it may help to locate more information - but I suspect tech support at Toshiba may be a better source of information than anything I might offer.

[BeosBoxBoy]

added a segment on pagefiles to the article.

[Bev in NY]

i have a question...hopefully u can help me with it...i downloaded the patch for Seasons and i'm not sure what has happened...but when i tried to double click on it it said not a valid win32 application...i'm not sure but it might not have finished downloading and i thought it was so i closed the download window...i am trying to delete the icon on my desktop for the patch and it won't let me...it says it is being used by another person or program..and to close them first....i'm having problems with freezing when i try to play my game...well i uninstalled my games and i can't get rid of that icon...no one uses my computer but me and if the sims r not installed what else would b using the patch? i hope BBB u will know what's going on...i don't know or understand to much when it comes to any computer stuff....

[Squinge]

download this program it should be able to delete the file for you
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/moveonboot.html

[Bev in NY]

hey thanx alot Squinge...it worked...u r a helpful dork

[Squinge]

your welcome lol