computer help needed please....

[pocketwarrior]

I need to reinstall windows, can someone please tell me how to format my harddrive step by step?

thanks

[Greg-VT]

Make a boot disk.

Put the disk in the A: drive.

Restart the Computer.

Once booted, type:
extract ebd.cab format.com

The type:
format C:

Press Y, then enter

Press enter.

Restart the Computer.


Request forfilled :D.

[LilBunnyRabbit]

I wonder if we'll hear from pocketwarrior again for a while. :p

[WhiteWizard]

ah people who don't know how to format formatting its always a dangerous game :)

[Ghost Frog]

He'll be on in a minute asking for a Windows Serial Code.

[KenpoDavid]

no he won't - he can't get into Windows to get to the internet without it!

[Saz]

Originally posted by pocketwarrior
I need to reinstall windows

Do you really need to do this? It should always be a last step. I'm trying to get you a file on it, but the server is down, so chase me up. If you haven't already formatted it that is.

[pocketwarrior]

Hello,

After lots of frustrating and annoying hours i have managed to do the above and install windows. Now the problem is that the games i play still keep crashing.
I meet the specs on the games and i have reinstalled the drivers on my graphics and sound cards, there are no virus's so why does it crash?
P.S i'm not back on the net yet so i am using my works computer so i can only go online maybe once a week for a while.

[Greg-VT]

Did you install the games? OR are they still there from the previous installation?

If that's the case. Re-install the games.

If that's not the case, Then you need to install your device drivers.

For games, the importent one is the Graphics/Video drivers. Right click on the desktop, select Properties. Click on the Settings tab.

What (if anyway) video card does it say is installed?

[pocketwarrior]

reinstalled the games and sound+graphics drivers, they work okay.
GFORCE4 MMX420 says that the device is working properly.

If it makes any difference the games are return to castle wolfenstein and divine divinity.

[Greg-VT]

Are you getting any error messages with the games?

What happens?

[Virtuous]

Originally posted by pocketwarrior

After lots of frustrating and annoying hours i have managed to do the above and install windows. Now the problem is that the games i play still keep crashing.


Does the game run for a while and then the computer crashes or locks up, or is it pretty instant? Is the computer stable after the first crash or does it tend to lock up right away?

I remember I had a fit trying to use one of ATI's drivers, it kept locking up certain games, I ended up having to find an older version and using it.

[pocketwarrior]

No error messages just locks up, mouse freezes and then the sound just repeats again and again so i have to reset.

Takes a while for the first crash (15-30mins) and then when i reboot and play again it crashes a lot sooner.

[Cain]

Get the detonater drivers from nvidia, not just the ones you got with the card, it fixed up more than half of problems for me.

|Cain|

[Greg-VT]

No det's anymore Cain, they're called Forcewares. :p

Try this:

Download the lastest Forceware drivers from www.nvidia.com.

Uninstall the game.

Delete the game Directory.

Remove the current Video drivers.

Turn off the computer and count to 5, then turn on the computer.

Install the latest Forceware drivers.

Restart the computer.

Install the game.

Start the game.


See if you're good to go.

[Greg-VT]

Wait Wait Wait.


Wait. Tell me, why did you need to re-install Windows?

[Virtuous]

Originally posted by pocketwarrior
No error messages just locks up, mouse freezes and then the sound just repeats again and again so i have to reset.

Takes a while for the first crash (15-30mins) and then when i reboot and play again it crashes a lot sooner.

Sounds to me like you are experiencing a thermal problem.
Check the heat sink and fan to the processor, video card, and possibly the mother boards chip set. Make sure the fans are spinng and have good airflow. Also check the heat sinks and clean all the dust that has built up in the fins (blow it out with a good puff).

You may have adequate cooling for normal operation but when you're stressing the computer the heat sink and fan cant keep up with the amount of heat generated and eventually locks up the PC.

If that doesnt work try leaving the case off of the computer. If you need to replace the heatsink on the processor make sure you buy a good quality one, 2cooltek.com has a good variety and the guy who runs it is pretty reputable. Dont forget to use a thermal conductor when replacing the CPUs heat sink.

[pocketwarrior]

I have checked and both the fans are working but when i looked at the hardware monitor in BIOS firstly it said that the CPU temp was 89F and the System temp was 78F, is this quite high?

Secondly it says the CPU fan is running at 5075 rpm but is then says that the system fan is 0 rpm but they are both working, does this have any bearing on anything?

[Virtuous]

I have checked and both the fans are working but when i looked at the hardware monitor in BIOS firstly it said that the CPU temp was 89F and the System temp was 78F, is this quite high?

Considering you are in the BIOS and the system is at an idle, I would consider that pretty high. See if you can get a piece of software to monitor the CPU temp from within windows. THis way you can monitor temp while the system is under stress.


Secondly it says the CPU fan is running at 5075 rpm but is then says that the system fan is 0 rpm but they are both working, does this have any bearing on anything?

There is a third wire on most fans, this is a feedback signal so the system knows approx how fast the fan is spinning, not all fans are equipped with this.

[pocketwarrior]

Right.

Downloaded and installed the nvidia drivers for my graphics card i think i chose the right option. I have xp pro. Options were xp/2000, xp media suite, xp 64 bit edition. I chose the xp/2000 version was this okay?

Next, the games have stopped crashing now but the graphics on them have gone all blurry and weird. When i click on settings on my desktop and then click on my graphics card it says there is a problem and wont let me access it, but in device manager it says that the device is working correctly.

With the divine divinity game you can change the graphic setting from things like direct draw, 3d graphic, software (and 1 more that i cant remember). When i select software for my configuration options the game plays fine but when i choose any of the others the graphics mess up again.

The castle wolf game doesn't give you an option to do this. When i run the game the 1st time the graphics are fine but i get an error message saying "Visual C++" problem or something like that and then it says abnormal error and programme will close. Then when i run it again i get no error messages or crashes but the graphics are messed up again.

I have reinstalled the new drivers again but it makes no difference. :confused:

ps sorry for boring people with my long post :)

[spacepimp]

Divine devinity has a huge patch program that needs to be installed from its web site, I am willing to bet so does Castle Wolfenstein.

[Greg-VT]

Have you got another video card you can try out with it? It's possible it could be the card memory playing up.

[pocketwarrior]

When i try to look at my graphics card on the desktop it tells me that i am trying to run a dll programme as an application and then closes......?

I havn't got any other video cards to try at the mo, when i get back online with my computer i will go searching for patches as the one i am using doesnt have a cd writer.

thanks

[Greg-VT]

Ok...

Go into:
Control Panel > System > Hardware Tab > Device Manager.

OR

You could just right click on My Computer > Properties > Hardware Tab > ....etc.

Ok. Expand the 'Display adapters' Section. Select your Video card, right click on it, and then choose Uninstall.

Follow through with that, and then restart.

After the computer restarts, Windows may present you with a Hardware Installation Wizard. Ignore it. Just click close/cancel.

Now run the Nvidia Forceware Drivers you downloaded. Follow through with that, and then restart.

Let me know how it goes ;).