Problems all round... what to do with windows??

[MurphmanL]

Hey guys, right first of all i am really pissed off as windows has been playing up a lot lately with one thing or another, here is just some of whats been going on, whether they are related to hardware conflicts or something i dont know, but this is what has been happening:

1. Windows xp has been playing up with Battlefield 1942, and just LOCKS UP instantly during an online game or sometimes in single player, yet my 2ghz pc with 1gb ram and a 256mb Geforce FX card is more than enough for it, it used to run fine i just dont know whats caused the recent problem, but its not a new patch thats for sure!

2. I purchased a Pinnacle tv card monday, see other posts in hardware, and that has been great and capped me lots of things, however windows is being fussy with video encoding, apps like Dr Divx and TMPEG Enc and even virtual dub are completely freezing for no apparent reason during video encoding, this can happen at any time so im afraid to even bother encoding video now again, i am unaware of any recent change that may have caused the sudden malfunction

3. In general, windows has been slightly slower to bootup and execute applications, yes i have noticed the decrease in performance.

So, i was thinking as i have all the latest drivers and programs etc, and have a large 120gb hard disk, perhaps a Dual Boot would be a handy idea. i was thinking of using xp for media, digital video editing and so on, and using either windows 98SE or Windows ME for a gaming OS, as windows xp is fussy about playing some games like populous the beginning etc.

So if you were in my position, and had no idea what the problem was, what would u do? Windows 98 & Windows ME dual boot or just a plain windows xp reinstall? What do u think is causing this problem and will this dual boot remedy it or perhaps be a better solution for me?
I am almost 100% sure this tv card has not upset the balance of things, as BF was being fussy even before that was introduced, yet has worked fine earlier under the new graphics card i had put in over christmas

So what shall i do? Dual boot sounds good to me, but if so, how should i split the 111GB i have available, and, do u think this would solve the problem?
Remember one OS must function primarily as a Video Editing suite, with slightly smaller chunk of HD space, and the other as a gaming OS.
Please reply asap, cheers MurphmanL
IF possible, maybe i could avoid dual boot, but i have had so many problems lately, i dont know where to begin tracking them from... any help here would be brill

[nichomach]

Lockups in apps and general slowdowns almost sound thermal related to me; you say you've got all the latest drivers, and that the machine was playing up before the Pinnacle card went in. Correct me if wrong, but it sounds like it's getting progressively worse and especially in CPU intensive tasks like media encoding. I'd check that in the course of your various upgrades the processor heatsink hasn't been dislodged or knocked off kilter. Same for case fans, and that they're all running OK. I'd also see whether anything is obstructing airflow.

Use Motherboard Monitor to check your temps? MBM

Maybe dismount, clean, reapply thermal gunk to HS and CPU. I wouldn't necessarily think merely using another OS will cure the problem. Anyone else got any advance on this?

[Jiff Lemon]

I'd be tempted to run Memtest - BF1942 and Video encoding are big memory users.

Dual booting a definate no no - if you've problems now, fix them, not add to them with a Dual boot!

[nichomach]

I'd be tempted to run Memtest - BF1942 and Video encoding are big memory users.

Dual booting a definate no no - if you've problems now, fix them, not add to them with a Dual boot!

Good thought, Jiff.

[Mart]

I would try some different memory if you have another PC or a mates PC to hand.

I had an old system that ran fine for about a year and then the lockups started to happen once every couple of days and then became more frequent.

I tried memtest but it didnt report any errors. As soon as I swapped the memory for another stick it was stable again. Never buying generic mem again.

[MurphmanL]

hmm perhaps my problems have began since I bought extra memory?? I have 1024mb of RAM now rather than the 768mb I had before. However even with the 1GB installed via 2 512 sticks, the previous two task lockups did not haopen, i ran memtest for about an hour and nothing was reported back im wondering what the hell is going on

[Jiff Lemon]

what motherboard you got? Checked for Bios updates or FAQ's relating to memory?
You tried running with a single stick?

[Anders]

... i ran memtest for about an hour and nothing was reported back im wondering what the hell is going on

How many of the tests did Memtest86 get through in an hour? Even though the early tests may be passed with no errors the latter ones might show up errors. To be sure you can run it using the extended/all tests option (to found under "Test Selection"), although it is time consuming.

Also be aware that if Memtest86 finds errors, they could be actually caused by your CPU (or possibly your motherboard?). As Jiff Lemon mentioned, if you do get errors, then re-test each stick separately, as only one might be bust.