Jump to content

Troubleshooting XP Question


dexterdoo

Recommended Posts

I have two different programs that I use for video conversion but when I use either of them, my computer locks up after a few minutes. But both programs work fine if I run them in “safe mode”!??? They also work fine on my laptop, just not my desktop.

Is there a way I can troubleshoot this problem using some of XP’s tools, diagnostics, logs, etc. and find out what’s causing this ?? I hate to keep switching to “safe mode” every time I need to use these programs. Thanks !

Link to comment
Share on other sites


The last file I tried was 166MB. The conversion was from MPEG to AVI. I have 1GB of RAM, I'm using XP Pro and there are 62 processes running.

My laptop has the same O/S, amount of memory and program installed and I can convet this file (or a 4GB file) with no problem !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The last file I tried was 166MB. The conversion was from MPEG to AVI. I have 1GB of RAM, I'm using XP Pro and there are 62 processes running.

My laptop has the same O/S, amount of memory and program installed and I can convet this file (or a 4GB file) with no problem !

62 processes running is quite a bit. My XP machine runs about 25 processes when I'm doing a lot on it....its at 16 processes on idle (including Kaspersky) and my Vista machine runs 38 processes (and Vista has a whole lot more to it then XP)

It sounds to me like you have some software conflict. Its possible that you have a driver issue but not likely.

http://www.getsysteminfo.com/

Thats a link to a neat little tool from Kaspersky thats free. It will gather all your info about processes, drivers, etc....On the top right of the page click download, after you download it install and run it. In GSI, click Settings and slide the slider to Max then click OK. Then click on Create Report. It will make a .rar file on your desktop. Upload the .rar file here or you can e-mail it to me and I'll take a look at it. From there we can narrow down possible problems. If you would like to take a look at the report generated for yourself, you can do it at the link above.

By the way, what program are you using to convert your files?

Edited by broknindarkagain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great post, broknindarkagain !

62 processes does seem like a lot because I checked my other machines and they are around half that ! I located the problem though. I was suspicious of my video card (an older ATI All-In-Wonder) or it's drivers so I did a clean install on another hard drive with only the video drivers and the two conversion programs (WinAVI & ImToo MPEG Encoder) installed. The results were the same. Still locked up and would not work in the normal Windows mode. Looks like I'll have to upgrade the card to solve this. Meanwhile, I'll just use my laptop for conversions 'til then.

I'll check out GSI and take a look at the report. Looks like there's some trimming to be done ! Thanks again for your help. :thumbup

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad I can help. You may want to take a look at this site as well. It shows you what services are safe to disable, this is the same process I used to trim down my XP system. http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

Remember when you do it, goto Start > Run and type SERVICES.MSC (do not use msconfig to make the changes).

Another spot you can probably trim down is in the registry (start > run and type regedit)

HKEY_Local Machine/software/microsoft/windows/current version/run

hkey_current user/software/microsoft/windows/current version/run

Under those to keys, you can disable stuff like the manufacture programs that start up automatically, adobe speed launcher, java update, quick time, etc...

Before you go and buy a new video card, see if you can't get the updated drivers for it from ATIs web page. If those don't work, you might want to see if an older version of the driver would work (doubtful that an old version would work but its worth a try). If I remember right, GSI automatically checks to see if your drivers are the latest version under the "updates" tab on the page.

If you have any questions when you're trimming things down, let me know. I've done it on countless machines and I've come across just about every configuration and program.... You will be amazed at the difference it makes. My boot time takes less then half the time it did before and everything launches a lot faster.

Edited by broknindarkagain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW !!!!!

You are too helpful !!! Much thanks for this great info which was all new to me. I've copied your posts to a Word document and intent to try your suggestions, one by one. Thanks again ! :hello:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW !!!!!

You are too helpful !!! Much thanks for this great info which was all new to me. I've copied your posts to a Word document and intent to try your suggestions, one by one. Thanks again ! :hello:

Not a problem at all. I'm glad I could help

You're best off just jumping in and doing it all at once, that way you can see the difference as a whole. It won't take you more then 30 minutes to do.

Edited by broknindarkagain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...