View Full Version : Win2000 likes to freeze up, a little
yep, W2K freezes up on me all the time- but just a little bit.
see, I'll be surfing with 5 or 6 IE windows open, and I'm folding in the background too, but nothing else is open usually. Maybe GetRight. Anyway, for 10 to 60 seconds, at random intervals, the system will freeze and accept no input.
I can move the mouse, but clicks go unnoticed, keyboard presses don't work, and animated pics don't animate. Then, all of a sudden, the mini-freeze is over, and all is well. It performs all of the clicks and presses, etc I did while it was frozen after it comes back alive.
It seems to be triggered when I use the taskbar to switch to another IE window- ALT-TAB has the same problem. This occurs on Explorer or notepad or whatever windows as well.
My box is a fairly decent C566@975, with 256MB RAM and a Pro133 chipset. This problem didn't happen while I as using Win98SE either.
help!!! this is driving me nuts, as you can probably imagine.
Check in Task Manager as to what priority Folding is running. Make sure it's on low. If it is, let me know and I'll think to look elsewhere.
yep, folding is at lowest priority. good idea though.
there are a few other processes at normal priority, but I believe they are part of windows. all the progs I open myself are at the bottom of the PID list.
also, this occurs all the time- not just while folding. I can have 2 windows open, 1 for drive C 1 for drive E, and the freeze will happen. Although, it does seem to happen more often while I have folding and lots of other stuff open.
so far, this is the only thing W2K has done that I don't like- but it really is a showstopper! If I can't fix this I'll have to go back to Win98:(
r u running it overclocked? if so and you still didnt id recommend you to test it at the stock frequencies. problems similar to those one can happen when overclocking the FSB.
SteenkyBastage
11-27-01, 02:53 PM
try keeping your taskmanager open and watch down by your clock to see the cpu useage. see if you're up at 100% that entire time when it's frozen. if you are, try to watch which program uses all the processor up when freezing (keep taskmanager on top so you can see).
and i'd second that vote to try and see if the problem persists when not overclocked, too.
wolfsid
11-27-01, 03:22 PM
LOL I had That Problem before If U think its because its overclocked then run a simple test like this Toast.. GOOD Program if U can run that baby on high for at least 20 min then system is stable... then if your computer still freeze then try changing the video drivers... i found that if i ram 22.80 i would freeze all the time surfing the web or runing a app. i went to 22.40 and my computer stop freezing. but if that don't help then try bios... But i am pretty sure its video driver for 2000 just keep changing them till U get the computer stable... Toast test the cpu and the mobo for being stable and if U can run that program for at least of 20 min. then its not the problem being overclocked its the drivers somewhere...
that don't work get back to the post..
Hack the planet... Blackbox :burn:
good ideas, guys- well, I've run it at OC'ed only to 850 ( a nice normal 100FSB-PCI33/AGP66) instead of the normal 975 and it still happens. Haven't checked it at total stock speeds- I'll see what's up. hmm, come to think of it this chip hasn't ever run at stock speed...:)
and excellent thought about watching the CPU meter, SBastage. I'll have to try and remember that- I've got it open now but next boot I'll forget it:D
cyberey66
11-27-01, 10:08 PM
I've been having ALOT of trouble with my 2k, by alot I mean a few threads of advise and days of cursing at my computer. Double check all you hardware and drivers and check for conflicts in computer managment. It turns out that just by changing the irq and memory settings of my parallel port in my bios, I was able to finnally fix my 2k. 2k is VERY picky to drivers and hardware settings, just by changing the parallel settings I went from not being able to boot safe mode back to full stablilty. From my experiences, irq sharing CAN cause problems, that might not be the case but thats where I would check first. O yea, also try a good "chkdsk /f /r", that takes a little while but it won't hurt.
Install the latest service pack/hotfixes. Latest drivers for stuff, IE6 (if you havn't already) and all of the fixes for that. . . Hmm . . . that all I can think of right now.
wolfsid
11-27-01, 10:26 PM
Originally posted by Oni
Install the latest service pack/hotfixes. Latest drivers for stuff, IE6 (if you havn't already) and all of the fixes for that. . . Hmm . . . that all I can think of right now.
I don't know I am pretty sure i said that already but i may be wrong anyways i am pretty sure that your problem is your videocard drivers... try not getting the lastest version.. http://www.guru3d.com/files/ they have all the newest drivers and also if u need some overclocking tools for videocard they have that also ... well check the site try different video drivers...
you said that your computer worked good before when in 98 i am most sure its the drivers...
Hack the planet..
I have SP2 on here- FYI this problem started some time after installing SP2...
vid card drivers are at 22.40..I'm pretty sure that's not the problem- same problem with 14.XX also. thanks for the link, but personally I have found Toast to be quite overrated. At 1003mhz, my box will crash after 5 minutes of Sandra burn-in\folding\seti\Dnetc\etc, almost anything will crash it, but Toast can't make it crash. Oh well:)
Don't have IE6, don't want it. 5 is good enough for me- I've heard many stories that 6 can cause added instablility anyway- it's not too tightly integrated anyway, as the Justice Department has pointed out:)
I DID NOT get the "critical fixes", only SP2. Should I get the criticals as well?
Also- should I try disabling the "everything on IRQ 11" ACPI deal?
cyberey66
11-27-01, 11:04 PM
AHH:eek: irq 11 was the magic irq that killed my 2k. For some reason 2k decided to put 4 devices on it.
yeah, 2K likes to put all your stuff on 1IRQ- part of ACPI I believe. It's supposed to do that, but some older hardware doesn't like that. Luckily my stuff don't care- my whole box is on MS's "W2K OK" list.:)
I'll try rearranging it all, see what happens.
shadowdr
11-28-01, 01:06 AM
mine has 7 devices on irq 11.i also get those mini freezes.i have dual boot 98 se and 2000 pro.i am having issues with 98 at the moment(a restore gone bad).but 2000 keeps finding a paralel device in new hardware found but everything works,i thought that was my problem but cant figure out what paralell device it is refering to.
btw i didnt know 2000 could acces 98 se and even download to it but not vice versa,98 isnt aware its there.no wonder its the most expensive windows.
wolfsid
11-28-01, 08:20 AM
well the updates will fix most of the problems if U are having hardware troubles don't let plug&play install anything do it all by hand..seems that evertime someone plugs something in computer that is plugandplay devise the computer is freeze that is cuz the computer is putting to many devises on the same IRQ...
hack the planet...
well, that's a couple votes now for disabling W2K's IRQ insanity. Guess I'll turn it off and see what happens. That is done by disabling ACPI I believe?
wolfsid, not sure what you mean by install manually- isn't that always how you have to do it? W2K has some ok drivers for a few of my parts, but I went and changed them to the manufacturer's drivers first chance I got. so I guess that's a manual install. Disabling PnP really isn't an option for me- I don't need a trip back down the resource allocation road to hell!!:D
well- I'm gonna disable my parallels and serials that I never use, get some IRQs back, and do some reworking- 1 IRQ to a device, the way God intended it!:)
and I'll get the critical update pack, I guess, if I have time. Blast this 56K modem:)
wolfsid
11-28-01, 11:46 AM
wolfsid, not sure what you mean by install manually- isn't that always how you have to do it?
no I ment by disable pnp and go to your irq and give each devise there own irq make sure U disble pnp then go to your devise hardware manager and chage the irq and the resourses manually...
cyberey66
11-28-01, 12:44 PM
Originally posted by wolfsid
wolfsid, not sure what you mean by install manually- isn't that always how you have to do it?
no I ment by disable pnp and go to your irq and give each devise there own irq make sure U disble pnp then go to your devise hardware manager and chage the irq and the resourses manually...
Back to the old school nt 4 ways. Well I can tell you one thing, setting up com ports in nt 4 is easier because you can manualy select irqs and memory settings, PnP just installs them with out asking you basically.
disable PnP? no thank you. that's waaaay more trouble than it's worth. Remember life before Win95? I do, and it sucked. You'll have to point a gun at me to get me to go back:)
Perhaps you mean just turn off ACPI instead, and disable the IRQ auto-routing weirdness. That oughta do the trick. I hope so, anyway; that's what I'm gonna do.
Also- who needs COM ports these days, anyway? That's what USB ports are for!:) Preset combo of IRQ and memory range= COM ports, and only my modem uses a COM port. Or at least thinks it does; W2K has it on 7 right now.
Oh- since I have a dual-boot, I can't manually assign resources in BIOS without an unbelieveable amount of work, lest Win98SE never boot again. (not that I really need it:)) I'll just leave that stuff on Auto unless I have to change it.
thanks for the replies, everybody!:D
cyberey66
11-28-01, 02:12 PM
I'm not a big com port fan, but thats the only way to hook up my ti-83+ to my computer.
I don't use ACPI on any of my PCs because of the IRQ Sterring mess it makes. All 7 PCs run Win2K and none of them run ACPI...none of them share a single IRQ between devices either. I don't really miss the fact that the PC won't shut down automatically by itself since this is all ACPI seemed to do for me. I leave them all running SETI 24/7 anyway so screw power management.
Just change ACPI Compliant PC in Device Manager to Standard PC, reboot and let it reinstall any devices that were lost due to the IRQ switching and then reboot again. Should not have any more than one shared IRQ at the worst.
I'm not a big com port fan, but thats the only way to hook up my ti-83+ to my computer
LOL too true, man! I forgot about stuff like that. My data loggers and other homemade junk need a serial port to work as well. guess it's time for me to learn how to use USB or ISA for stuff like that... try as I may, legacy just refuses to die!:)
what does your calculator do when hooked to a PC? I knew you could do it but I've never seen anyone who actually did!
cyberey66
11-28-01, 03:34 PM
Just for transferring files, it's much easier to write basic programs with a keyboard than with calculator keys. I made a parallel link, but it only works with my 486, something to do with my computer having a new style parallel port. I also made the serial link, that one works but only with some C++ driver thingy, so I just saw a ti brand one on sale for $10 so I decided to sell out and by it. All it does it let you access you calc from the PC, and transfer important files like tetris. Great for kids in high school. Expecially those little programs write for math.:D Hey it's not cheating because you have to know how to solve the problem to write a program for it.
right on man, that's pretty neat! I had the model without the link when I was in school, back in tha day. Have you tried turnning your port settings from ECP to SPP or EPP? if you can adjust it, that is how I get my new PC to talk to older serial and parallel stuff.
sorry Jon I missed your post! thanks again for the help man. I'll give that a shot, I was wondering how to turn the little booger off. Hopefully that will help- right now I have 5!!!! devices on IRQ 7, and it's starting to freak me out. hopefully this will cure the mini-freeze problem.
w0rd!
cyberey66
11-28-01, 06:04 PM
Yea, i tried all the modes, even spp. Anyway, I finally tricked 2k into moving one of the irqs from 11 to 7, now i only have 2 conflicts. I'm a little scared to change from ACPI to normal in device manager. I turned it off in my bios and I couldn't boot 2k. I'm afraid if I change it I'll be stuck without an OS again. IDK, is XP really stable, it'll be worth the upgrade if it.
cyberey66
11-28-01, 06:46 PM
Turned off ACPI, and no more shareing!:D I would recomend that. Now I just have to test for stability to see if that was my problem.
excellent! right on man, glad it was tht easy for you- I guess now I have to give it a shot, i have no excuse:D
cyberey66
11-29-01, 02:08 PM
Yea, my system is more stable, buts it's still alittle buggy, I got a bsod, but it was my modem drivers. For some reason 2k wouldn't use the 2k drivers on my cd, I then dled the lastest drivers. I got one more bsod, but thats because my hdd messed up from all those bsods. Did a good chkdsk /f /r, no bad sectors just files errors so my hdd isn't damaged, thank god. I used to get an error "irq not less or equal", it seems like the no acpi fixed that. I hope my sys stays stable now.:eh?:
Softwebdev
11-29-01, 02:09 PM
Originally posted by Monster of Rock
yep, W2K freezes up on me all the time- but just a little bit.
see, I'll be surfing with 5 or 6 IE windows open, and I'm folding in the background too, but nothing else is open usually. Maybe GetRight. Anyway, for 10 to 60 seconds, at random intervals, the system will freeze and accept no input.
I can move the mouse, but clicks go unnoticed, keyboard presses don't work, and animated pics don't animate. Then, all of a sudden, the mini-freeze is over, and all is well. It performs all of the clicks and presses, etc I did while it was frozen after it comes back alive.
It seems to be triggered when I use the taskbar to switch to another IE window- ALT-TAB has the same problem. This occurs on Explorer or notepad or whatever windows as well.
My box is a fairly decent C566@975, with 256MB RAM and a Pro133 chipset. This problem didn't happen while I as using Win98SE either.
help!!! this is driving me nuts, as you can probably imagine.
if i were you, don't run folding thing while you are doing something
this sucker sucks more resources than ever before........and it will make your computer slow.............
i used folding before........and UNINSTALL IT...........
hey what's up Dev. I think you miss the point of folding- so what if you lose a few CPU cycles while you are typing a paper or reading a web page? you won't miss em at all, the PC is barely doing anything at those times- it's mostly waiting for you to do something. Might as well use 'em for something, is my reason for folding. When you play games or do something serious, tho, you should turn folding off, and I do. So it won't take speed away from an app that really needs it!
the problem here is I think folding may not be running happily on my machine...I believe it is stalling letting go if it's timeslice because of the way the program works...I have to do more research but I am pretty sure I have this mini-crash problem all worked out!! Thanks all who replied!
cyberey66
11-29-01, 05:51 PM
I have to admit, I stopped folding until I stable out my sys. Just keeping it basic till I get ALL the bugs and get it 100% stable. I'm almost there, all I have is an error with win32k.sys, and theres a hot fix I found for that. I never found anything wrong with folding, When you have 1Ghz computers with over 100 megs of ram, you will NOT see the difference will surfing or doing small stuff. But in times of unstabilty I do unload all unnecessary stuff. Don't worry I'll be folding again by weeks end, hopefully.
Softwebdev
11-29-01, 07:19 PM
Originally posted by Monster of Rock
hey what's up Dev. I think you miss the point of folding- so what if you lose a few CPU cycles while you are typing a paper or reading a web page? you won't miss em at all, the PC is barely doing anything at those times- it's mostly waiting for you to do something. Might as well use 'em for something, is my reason for folding. When you play games or do something serious, tho, you should turn folding off, and I do. So it won't take speed away from an app that really needs it!
the problem here is I think folding may not be running happily on my machine...I believe it is stalling letting go if it's timeslice because of the way the program works...I have to do more research but I am pretty sure I have this mini-crash problem all worked out!! Thanks all who replied!
you are welcome...............i don't care if my computer loose a few CPU cycles or not...........cpu is so cheap.........and fast nowdays............it just slow my computers............that's why i uninstall it...................no offense to folding folks............KEEP FOLDING................glad to help
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