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ShAdOWmoNkX
11-01-2002, 07:23 AM
Hello, My Master Uber Geeks :D ,

It was suggested that I break my insanely large set of questions into a few posts to make them easier to, er, digest. Again, sorry for all the questions -- but I'm really baffled and you guys are nothing short of brilliant!

*FIRST* in a three-part series of hell-sent fun:

My own computer is again having a problem (or problems, as the case may be...). Clicking and dragging windows quickly in, well, Windows (pun alert!) results in major "lag" to the point that the windows move literally seconds after I move the mouse to a particular spot -- the "time warp" popping effect. Especially prevalent when more cpu load is involved -- but given my computer specs, whatever being done shouldn't have THAT much of a negative impact! It wasn't like this before...

Additionally, scroll bars aren't clickable until webpages load sometimes. Not sure if this is due to my new Frontier ADSL (went from Road Runner) or if it's related to the other problem. Might be both.

Floppy Drive is faulty, but may or may not be a seperate issue. I need to replace it sooner than later.

Maybe it's just me, but I think my keyboard screws up keys rarely. Then again, it could be that I'm typing ~100 wpm without enough caffeine.

Given that this is a clean format and I've eliminated software as being a culprit, it's obviously a hardware issue. Normally, it could be one, a few, or all of many things; power supply, processor, RAM, mainboard, BIOS/CMOS, hard drive, and/or power.

I've eliminated a few: RAM is new and has no errors. Power Supply is the double redundant cooling type and its voltage is acceptable (+1.63v INO/CPU1, +3.35v IN2, +5.04v IN3, +12.04 IN4) -- although the CPU voltage is 1.63 V when it's made for 1.7 V. Manufacturer says it's within spec, but why don't I believe them? BIOS was successfully re-flashed and settings were never changed. Hard drive is error-free.

So, that leaves mainboard, processor, and/or power ... perhaps even the power supply (despite the manufacturer's insistence otherwise) ... but I'm not sure how to eliminate the suspects and know for sure which it is! What do you think?

2.> Also, I mucked with my hdd params in OpenBSD and may have screwed them up up. Would those changes be permanent, or would any standard format (e.g. with Windows CD) fix that (the parameter changes only stored on the drive, not in an NVRAM chip etc., et-al...)? Here's hoping I don't have to do a low-level format or something...

3.> Believe it or not, I don't understand nor know how to set IRQ's/DMA's -- I just use the Auto stuff. What resource would you suggest I peruse to learn this? Explaining it if it would benefit other users is great, otherwise a suggestion as to the "best" resource to peruse would be beneficial -- and yes, I know what a search engine is. :) Just not sure which is best as reading a bad set of info ONCE tends to stick in your mind... then unlearning it can be traumatizing.

Many thanks and cheers,

-ShAdOWmoNkX :)

PS - Original post with all questions and some background here: http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17963
ski
11-01-2002, 10:08 AM
It could be caused by a HD that's starting to fail.
Suggest you backup ASAP.
ShAdOWmoNkX
11-01-2002, 10:39 AM
Errr, actually, I forgot to mention that I scanned the drive with Seagate SeaTools and it was great; no errors whatsoever!

Soo... what then, might it be?

Thanks again,

-ShAdOWmoNkX
ski
11-01-2002, 11:24 AM
ScanDisk checks the disk platter for errors.
It cannot detect a failing HD motor, controller, or other internal mechanisms.
ski
11-01-2002, 11:25 AM
And the same goes for the HD scanning software you used.
mjc
11-01-2002, 01:33 PM
Are you actually using DMA mode on the drive?

Run the SeaTools and see if DMA is enabled at the drive level first and set it to the highest level your board can support.

Then in the OS make sure DMA is enabled....

Also if you have all the "bells and whistles" (somooth scrolling, dragging full windows,etc) turned on you may have a slowdown due to too much going on....this is more noticeable on slower CPUS, but can show up on any speed sytem....try turning off background programs and services.


Here (http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.htm) for starup programs...

And here (http://www.blackviper.com/) for services....
ShAdOWmoNkX
11-02-2002, 12:42 AM
Hmmm, interesting ideas, but honestly I am going under the assumption that NOTHING has been changed software or hardware-wise, unless I had/have a virus/worm/trojan of some sort.

When I say the computer is "slow," I mean compared to its speed after a fresh format and install. Software is eliminated as a culprit.

Some hardware or other is failing or not functioning properly; which is most likely and how can I be sure?

Thanks again,

-ShAdOWmoNkX
GreetingsNerdlings
11-02-2002, 04:13 AM
not sure if this'll help or not, but how big is the partition for your operating system, and how much disk space do you have left on it? it could be an issue with your virtual memory and your swapfile. i beleive that your swapfile is defaulted to your c drive, and if you don't have enough space on it for your swapfile, it could cause problems. if you have multiple partitions, maybe you can allocate your swapfile to one with more space. also see how much hd space you have alloted to vitual memory. i beleive that i've read that people recommend your swapfile to be 4x your ram size.
ski
11-02-2002, 08:33 AM
which is most likely and how can I be sure?

Swap out the HD for starters.
ShAdOWmoNkX
11-21-2002, 05:52 AM
Hey guys,

Quick update: I ran a buncha diagnostics on my drive. Nada. So I used my former primary drive (an IDE which has been sitting in my computer collecting dust, I might add) ... checked that for errors, too. Nada.

So I tried installing and running everything from THAT drive.

Same problems.

So apparently it's not the hard drive (fer sure). That leaves, well, quite a bit. Power supply, mobo, hell -- even the video card (didn't think about that before; but why would the video card result in high CPU cycles when moving a simple java applet or image in Windows?)

Here's more info that I thought relevant:

Java seems especially slow, as does CD/CD-RW/Zip drive reaction and access time -- put a disk in, and each seems to "think" for at least 20 seconds before my typing "drive letter" at the command prompt allows me to use the drive. Clicking on a directory might result in my waiting 2 seconds before it actually loads (we're talking a directory with only, say, 4 others within it, and NOT compressed). Peculiar. Programs are even showing showing some weird errors. e.g., installed a perfectly fine program from a perfectly fine CD and on load ... lo and behold, I get an error about a missing .dll.

God, this is frustrating. It really is. I mean, I should feel fortunate to even HAVE a computer (when kids in third-world countries are lucky to have FOOD) ... but everything lurching and seeming generally slow is frickin' annoying.

Technology is not a panacea, he sighs.

Thanks again!

-ShAdOWmoNkX :-/
ski
11-21-2002, 09:49 AM
The only way to nail down a hardware item as the cause is to swap out.
david eaton
11-21-2002, 03:38 PM
Another item to check. Look in Control Panel<>Display<>Settings<>Advanced. What is the hardware accelleration set to? try LOWERING it one notch if it is set at full, and see if that makes a difference. It does on this machine, and everything works more smoothly.

David