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Time to get a new PC?

RED51 wrote:Time to get a new PC?

Definitely not. We just got this one four months ago to replace one with a busted hard drive. The problem only affects games and Zero Editor (and probably other memory-intensive programs, but there aren't any others installed). I'm not going to spend money on a new computer just so I can play computer games - they're just a past time, and I have plenty of more productive things I can do with my time. I'm only truly frustrated over being forced out of modding like this, since that is something I've come to enjoy quite a bit. Sure, modding is closely related to playing games, but it takes a lot more creative and technical capacity, so I think of it as more of a marginally productive hobby, since I've learned a lot from it and can share my work with others.

Anyway, as for fixing the problem, I came across these:
http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=50966
http://tech.icrontic.com/articles/fix-t ... d-for-all/

I've exhausted pretty much every possibility besides the viruses. The Rustock B fix didn't find anything, and neither did the Vundo fix, so now I'm running the SmitFraud fix. I'm going to dig through the thread a bit more since I saw a few posts reporting similar problems as mine.

Well, there's always the old standby of backing up your documents and data then cleansweeping the hard drive and doing a fresh install of Windows.

Teancum wrote:Well, there's always the old standby of backing up your documents and data then cleansweeping the hard drive and doing a fresh install of Windows.

The problem with that is that I don't think we have the installation CD...the shop installed XP on the computer when they put it together and didn't provide us with a CD. We do have the CD from our old computer, but I don't know if it would work since it was never technically uninstalled from that machine. So...it looks like I'm stuck here unless I want to spend a few hundred dollars on repairs or new hardware. I've been thinking about partitioning my MacBook to run Windows, so if I go ahead with that I can always move my modding stuff over to that computer, but the only problem is that Windows 7 might have issues with ZE, and a new copy of Windows XP is somehow more expensive than Windows 7 everywhere I've looked.

Did they give you a boot disk of any kind when they put the computer together? Did they give you a hard drive partition with a saved factory install?

Xp is more expensive since it is out of production (no more discs being pressed by MS and really no more CD keys being issued), and its coming off the support list in a few years possibly.


As long as the XP install disc from your old computer is the same version (Home, Professional x86/x64) then your new key that was issued with your Rebuilt should work. XP install Keys generally have about 3 installs before they are blacklisted and need MS support called. Vista/7 keys can have the activation revoked from the specific motherboard. A new XP key will cost you around 149$ USD from MS if its still available through them, and only for non OEM copies.

VF501 wrote:Xp is more expensive since it is out of production (no more discs being pressed by MS and really no more CD keys being issued), and its coming off the support list in a few years possibly.

it is. Year 2014, August i believe

I find it hard to believe that they've put out a date four years in advance. You sure about that? If it's true then that sucks. I'm XP4life, Yo!

Teancum wrote:I find it hard to believe that they've put out a date four years in advance. You sure about that? If it's true then that sucks. I'm XP4life, Yo!

While shopping around for a copy for my Mac I found a news blurb about XP service pack 2 becoming unsupported or something, but I didn't actually read it so I can't verify anything.

Maveritchell wrote:Did they give you a boot disk of any kind when they put the computer together? Did they give you a hard drive partition with a saved factory install?

I'm not sure, actually. I was away from home when we acquired the computer. I can try to find out, but either way I don't think I'll wind up doing a fresh installation of Windows. For now, I think I'm just going to let the problem go; I found a reasonable price for a copy of XP to install on my Mac, so once I have that set up I can move any games and modding stuff I want to that computer (which I've been planning to do for a while anyway). I don't like giving up on a problem like this, but as long as it isn't affecting the general, everyday use of the computer for anyone else I'm not too concerned about it.

See what happens if you replace it with a new HD, maybe from your old computer? Or wouldn't that work?

lucasfart wrote:See what happens if you replace it with a new HD, maybe from your old computer? Or wouldn't that work?

Wouldn't work as his hard drive contains the OS, and doesn't seem to be the root of the problem anyways. Since his RAM is fine, one of three things is dying;Vid Card, CPU or Motherboard. They could be at the point where normal operations are okay, but since games stress a system more than other applications the additional stress on anyone of these crashes the system.

When I Overclocked my CPU but had the voltage too low, it would run fine normally, but as soon as a game started, the system would lockup due to the added stress. Same concept for a failing part.

If you want to rule out the Video Card, get Prime95 or SuperPi and run it to stress test your system. If it doesn't crash after 8+ hrs (24hrs+ recommended) of operation, then your CPU and Motherboard are fine and stable.

Yeah, I definitely can't use the hard drive from the old computer because that's the part that died (and the reasons VF501 posted).

I've already ruled out the video card. I mentioned this a few posts ago, but I tried switching out the video card with a spare, and the same errors/freezes occurred. Sounds like the CPU and motherboard are the next places to look.

Well the first thing to look for is heat. Get a free CPU monitoring program and see if you notice it getting above standard acceptable temps (if you've already gone too hot for more than a short time that would cause the errors you get now). Monitor the heat, and if possible, use the program to adjust the CPU fan speed higher (or do so in the BIOS). Also if possible you can underclock the system to reduce heat, band-aiding the life a little longer. It also helps in gaming purposes -- you have to downgrade the settings, but you can get a few more weeks out of a dying CPU (helpful if you need to save $$$).

I tried SpeedFan and didn't notice any abnormal temperatures.

Teancum wrote:I find it hard to believe that they've put out a date four years in advance. You sure about that? If it's true then that sucks. I'm XP4life, Yo!

woah, 4 years.. type-o....... 2012