OT: computer troubleshooting

Software/Hardware problem that is the question.

For hardware...process of elimination...put in different
vidoecard and see if problem disappears. I have had bad luck
in the past updating video drivers.

Software problem, do a system restore....go back to a date
when everything was working OK.

"Slacker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
berlin.de...

Quoted message said:

I think my video card/integrated TV tuner might have
blown. How can you tell?

Last night while using the TV tuner, my cursor started
moving in slow motion. Today I had no cursor, and the
desktop icons are loading pretty slow at startup.

I had to remove the ATI Multimedia Center software just to
get my puter to boot properly. Also, had to disconnect my
Logitech cordless mouse and plug in the PS2, so I could
use a mouse.

OS: XP Pro Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 7500 Sys Ram: 1G

Any clue or good troubleshooting websites to check out?

Dang, my first problem with the computer, and it's been
running soooo good... up to now!

--
Slacker

Dean A. Stepper said:

Software/Hardware problem that is the question.

For hardware...process of elimination...put in different
vidoecard and see if problem disappears. I have had bad
luck in the past updating video drivers.

If I had another one.

Quoted message said:

Software problem, do a system restore....go back to a date
when everything was working OK.

Just tried and it wouldn't work, said there have been no
system changes to Restore. This is sounding like a hardware
problem, no?

Do I chance it, and just go buy a new video card??
--
Slacker

I would see if I could borrow one first.
"Slacker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dean A. Stepper said:

Software/Hardware problem that is the question.

For hardware...process of elimination...put in different
vidoecard and

see

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

if problem disappears. I have had bad luck in the past
updating video drivers.

If I had another one.

Quoted message said:

Software problem, do a system restore....go back to a
date when

everything

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was working OK.

Just tried and it wouldn't work, said there have been no
system changes to Restore. This is sounding like a
hardware problem, no?

Do I chance it, and just go buy a new video card??
--
Slacker

Slacker said:

I think my video card/integrated TV tuner might have
blown. How can you tell?

Last night while using the TV tuner, my cursor started
moving in slow motion. Today I had no cursor, and the
desktop icons are loading pretty slow at startup.

I had to remove the ATI Multimedia Center software just to
get my puter to boot properly. Also, had to disconnect my
Logitech cordless mouse and plug in the PS2, so I could
use a mouse.

OS: XP Pro Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 7500 Sys Ram: 1G

Any clue or good troubleshooting websites to check out?

Dang, my first problem with the computer, and it's been
running soooo good... up to now!

Do a virus scan. Check tasks and see if anything strange is
running. Change the video driver to the windows standard
driver (the old 800x6000 16 color one) and see if the
problem goes away.

I'm betting on a virus or stray program chewing up your
system resources.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Slacker said:

OS: XP Pro

Ahhhh, i see your problem 😉

--
Matt

Fear of a flat planet

"Slacker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dean A. Stepper said:

Software/Hardware problem that is the question.

For hardware...process of elimination...put in different
vidoecard and

see

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

if problem disappears. I have had bad luck in the past
updating video drivers.

If I had another one.

Quoted message said:

Software problem, do a system restore....go back to a
date when

everything

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was working OK.

Just tried and it wouldn't work, said there have been no
system changes to Restore. This is sounding like a
hardware problem, no?

Do I chance it, and just go buy a new video card??
--
Slacker

if you get a new card, get one at a place where you can take
it back ("it wasn't compatible with my system" ;-) staples
had treated me right (and I always use the money return at
that store, so I am not ripping them off), at least they did
back when I had money... could be different now.

I have a few SiS video cards, but no way to send them
anywhere. they aren't anything special (tiny memory, and
most likely no on-board graphics), but I keep them around
for just such an occasion. one is a 305 16M, the other, is
a 6326 (no idea on memory, but it has Composite and S-Video
outputs). if you want one, I should be able to set
something up.

"Also, had to disconnect my Logitech cordless mouse and
plug in the PS2, so I could use a mouse." how are your
mouse batteries? mine did some freaky things when the
batteries would go.

viruses and bad drivers (not limited to only the devices
showing symptoms) could also be at fault.

~Travis

Ride-A-Lot said:

Slacker wrote:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Do a virus scan. Check tasks and see if anything strange
is running. Change the video driver to the windows
standard driver (the old 800x6000 16 color one) and see if
the problem goes away.

I'm betting on a virus or stray program chewing up your
system resources.

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the like).
Then if it comes out clean and the problem persists take the
hardware troubleshooting approach. Let us know how it goes.
Good luck!

Matt

MattB ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the
like). Then if it comes out clean and the problem persists
take the hardware troubleshooting approach. Let us know
how it goes. Good luck!

Matt

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone give
me some ideas on why my system does not like card mouse
readers for flash cards? Ever since I upgraded to XP home,
the card mouse has caused problems... like the computer
won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse ( for compact
flash media, btw) installed. Unplug it from USB, computer
boots. Plug it in, won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver problem?
It's been suggested to me to reformat but that is such a
pain and my system runs really smooth otherwise. For one or
two photos, using a cable is fine but when I have a card
full of pics it really sucks to do it this way. Any ideas?

penny

"Penny S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the
like). Then if it comes out clean and the problem
persists take the hardware troubleshooting approach. Let
us know how it goes. Good luck!

Matt

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone give
me some ideas

on

Quoted message said:

why my system does not like card mouse readers for flash
cards? Ever since

I

Quoted message said:

upgraded to XP home, the card mouse has caused problems...
like the

computer

Quoted message said:

won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse ( for compact
flash media,

btw)

Quoted message said:

installed. Unplug it from USB, computer boots. Plug it in,
won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver problem?
It's been suggested to me to

reformat

Quoted message said:

but that is such a pain and my system runs really smooth
otherwise. For

one

Quoted message said:

or two photos, using a cable is fine but when I have a
card full of pics

it

Quoted message said:

really sucks to do it this way. Any ideas?

penny

card mouse??? never heard that one...

I'm going out on a limb here, but I think you are talking
about a USB flash card reader.

I have one for SD cards. never had a problem with XP Pro,
never tried XP Home.

does it work if you plug it in after the computer boots? I
now only plug mine in when I need it. mainly because any
computer I use is not mine, as mine is sitting in some
evidence locker, never to be seen again.

USB is after all a hot-swappable device. you can plug it
in and unplug it while the computer is running. just make
sure it is not reading or writing data at the moment (a
icon usually popes up in the system bar to allow you to
stop the device).

~Travis

I actually had this happen to me last night. This might or
might not be your problem. I had a CF card in the read and
rebooted the PC. It tried to boot from the CF card. It's
kind of like have a floppy in the drive (old school) and
rebooting without taking it out of the drive.

Penny S said:

MattB ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the
like). Then if it comes out clean and the problem
persists take the hardware troubleshooting approach. Let
us know how it goes. Good luck!

Matt

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone give
me some ideas on why my system does not like card mouse
readers for flash cards? Ever since I upgraded to XP home,
the card mouse has caused problems... like the computer
won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse ( for compact
flash media, btw) installed. Unplug it from USB, computer
boots. Plug it in, won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver
problem? It's been suggested to me to reformat but that
is such a pain and my system runs really smooth
otherwise. For one or two photos, using a cable is fine
but when I have a card full of pics it really sucks to
do it this way. Any ideas?

penny

Ride-A-Lot ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

I actually had this happen to me last night. This might or
might not be your problem. I had a CF card in the read and
rebooted the PC. It tried to boot from the CF card. It's
kind of like have a floppy in the drive (old school) and
rebooting without taking it out of the drive.

problem occured without card in reader.

On 2004-03-19, Slacker penned:

Quoted message said:

I think my video card/integrated TV tuner might have
blown. How can you tell?

Last night while using the TV tuner, my cursor started
moving in slow motion. Today I had no cursor, and the
desktop icons are loading pretty slow at startup.

I had to remove the ATI Multimedia Center software just to
get my puter to boot properly. Also, had to disconnect my
Logitech cordless mouse and plug in the PS2, so I could
use a mouse.

OS: XP Pro Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 7500 Sys Ram: 1G

Any clue or good troubleshooting websites to check out?

This doesn't sound like a graphics card problem to me ... it
could possibly be hardware, possibly software.

Has anything else slowed down?

I would take a look at the task manager and sort by
processor usage and then memory usage to see if something's
trampling your system.

--
monique

"Penny S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone give
me some ideas

on

Quoted message said:

why my system does not like card mouse readers for flash
cards? Ever since

I

Quoted message said:

upgraded to XP home, the card mouse has caused problems...
like the

computer

Quoted message said:

won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse ( for compact
flash media,

btw)

Quoted message said:

installed. Unplug it from USB, computer boots. Plug it in,
won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver problem?
It's been suggested to me to

reformat

Quoted message said:

but that is such a pain and my system runs really smooth
otherwise. For

one

Quoted message said:

or two photos, using a cable is fine but when I have a
card full of pics

it

Quoted message said:

really sucks to do it this way. Any ideas?

penny

Was XP an upgrade install? from 98? If so my guess is that
windows is trying to load drivers from the old sytem. you
can manualy clean the old drivers out but its a fairly long
winded trial an error procedure. What make and modal is the
CF Reader? perhaps with that info I can write out a clearer
guide for cleaning out the old drivers.

Jason

"Penny S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the
like). Then if it comes out clean and the problem
persists take the hardware troubleshooting approach. Let
us know how it goes. Good luck!

Matt

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone give
me some ideas

on

Quoted message said:

why my system does not like card mouse readers for flash
cards? Ever since

I

Quoted message said:

upgraded to XP home, the card mouse has caused problems...
like the

computer

Quoted message said:

won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse ( for compact
flash media,

btw)

Quoted message said:

installed. Unplug it from USB, computer boots. Plug it in,
won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver problem?
It's been suggested to me to

reformat

Quoted message said:

but that is such a pain and my system runs really smooth
otherwise. For

one

Quoted message said:

or two photos, using a cable is fine but when I have a
card full of pics

it

Quoted message said:

really sucks to do it this way. Any ideas?

Could be that your computer is set to boot from USB first.
No boot media in the flash reader so it doesn't boot.

Greg

G.T. said:

"Penny S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the
like). Then if it comes out clean and the problem
persists take the hardware troubleshooting approach. Let
us know how it goes. Good luck!

Matt

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone
give me some ideas on why my system does not like card
mouse readers for flash cards? Ever since I upgraded to
XP home, the card mouse has caused problems... like the
computer won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse (
for compact flash media, btw) installed. Unplug it from
USB, computer boots. Plug it in, won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver
problem? It's been suggested to me to reformat but that
is such a pain and my system runs really smooth
otherwise. For one or two photos, using a cable is fine
but when I have a card full of pics it really sucks to
do it this way. Any ideas?

Could be that your computer is set to boot from USB first.
No boot media in the flash reader so it doesn't boot.

Greg

Could be. Good call Greg.

Penny, go into your BIOS setup and look for something that
sets the order of boot devices and make sure USB (if listed)
is below the devices you want to boot from like your IDE
hard drive(s).

Also, that suggestion about the Win98 upgrade to XP could
also have somehting to do with it. One way to "clean out"
reference to older drivers is search your \Windows\inf
folder for files of type *.inf that contain the name of the
device you are having trouble with. Be flexible with the
name and look in Device Manager for what your OS thinks the
device is called if you can't find them at first. Then
delete those inf files, download new XP drivers from thw
manufacturer and re-connect the device in question. It
should hopefully prompt for drivers now instead of
automatiucally installing some exisiting ones. Point it to
the new ones you downloaded (and extracted). If it's a setup
program, it should just put the right inf files into that
folder and Windows should be able to load the right drivers.
Backup before you try any of this.

In future, to "upgrade" to XP, do a fresh install instead.
Upgrading is a nice idea that never seems to go quite right
in practice. Too many variables. Good luck!

Matt

Quoted message said:

Do a virus scan. Check tasks and see if anything strange
is running. Change the video driver to the windows
standard driver (the old 800x6000 16 color one) and see if
the problem goes away.

I'm betting on a virus or stray program chewing up your
system resources.

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o

Done. She's clean... ran a system wide (up to date)
Norton and Spy Sweeper; no bugs, viruses or any funky
hook programs.

I'm convinced it's the video card. I've had problems with
ATI's drivers for years. On my old PC (same card) when I
would shut down the TV, the video would close, but 8 out of
10 times the audio would keep going. Then you would have to
perform forced shutdown.

I had to upgrade the drivers in order for this same card to
work with XP, and it wasn't easy. It took me several
attempts and reboots. Actually, now that I think about, it
wasn't till just a couple/few months ago till I finally
figured out how to get the video /audio drivers to release
after closing the TV. On board TV tuners never again!!!
--
Slacker

"Merlin" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Slacker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
berlin.de...

Quoted message said:

Dean A. Stepper said:

Software/Hardware problem that is the question.

For hardware...process of elimination...put in
different vidoecard and

see

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

if problem disappears. I have had bad luck in the past
updating video drivers.

If I had another one.

Quoted message said:

Software problem, do a system restore....go back to a
date when

everything

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

was working OK.

snip<

Quoted message said:

viruses and bad drivers (not limited to only the devices
showing symptoms) could also be at fault.

~Travis

I'll second that. I was having some odd problems recently,
and (finally) installed a virus scanner. Flushed out two
Trojans, and now problems are gone.

--
Cameron

On Thu, 18 Mar 2004 19:48:24 -0800, Slacker <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I think my video card/integrated TV tuner might have blown.
How can you tell?

Last night while using the TV tuner, my cursor started
moving in slow motion. Today I had no cursor, and the
desktop icons are loading pretty slow at startup.

I had to remove the ATI Multimedia Center software just to
get my puter to boot properly. Also, had to disconnect my
Logitech cordless mouse and plug in the PS2, so I could
use a mouse.

OS: XP Pro Video Card: ATI All-In-Wonder 7500 Sys Ram: 1G

Any clue or good troubleshooting websites to check out?

Dang, my first problem with the computer, and it's been
running soooo good... up to now!

You might want to try posting that specific question to
24hoursupport.helpdesk news group. I have only posted there
a few times,like here. Every question I asked recieved a
reply that was dead on what I was looking for.

Fredzep

My Home XP will not boot if I leave my USB card reader plugged in. Works
fine if I plug it in after boot. I do not use the reader that often so I
just leave it unplugged until I need it.
"Penny S" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

MattB ran this through spell check:

Quoted message said:

Good advise. I concur. Always do this (plus scanning for
adware with a freshly updated copy of Ad-Aware or the
like). Then if it comes out clean and the problem
persists take the hardware troubleshooting approach. Let
us know how it goes. Good luck!

Matt

ok while we are computer trouble shooting, can anyone give
me some ideas

on

Quoted message said:

why my system does not like card mouse readers for flash
cards? Ever since

I

Quoted message said:

upgraded to XP home, the card mouse has caused problems...
like the

computer

Quoted message said:

won't boot up, period if I have a card mouse ( for compact
flash media,

btw)

Quoted message said:

installed. Unplug it from USB, computer boots. Plug it in,
won't boot.

My cm crapped out so I bought a new one... as soon as I
installed it, same thing with a new one. Driver problem?
It's been suggested to me to

reformat

Quoted message said:

but that is such a pain and my system runs really smooth
otherwise. For

one

Quoted message said:

or two photos, using a cable is fine but when I have a
card full of pics

it

Quoted message said:

really sucks to do it this way. Any ideas?

penny