please help; computer acting really weird

[ubamous3]

I dont believe this! ok, about an hour later, i just said,what the hell, i 'll do a hard reboot again and just hit the sack, and this time it reboots ok! the wizzard came up and blah blah about new hardware, so i installed the newest promise driver that u suggested; at first, it says destination file is older than source and asked if i want to continue; i said yes, and then reboot; it seems to be working ok ...so far b/c the reboot doesnt take as long as it did before, so i'll keeep my fingers crossed n keep u updated if there's any problem.

Thanks soooo much u guys! i hope i can return the favor some day; pm me if u need somethign, may be i can help u out - hopefully, if u know what i mean

 

[VIPER_1069]

Typical lol

Glad you got it sorted

 

[Duracell]

==> scarecrow

If it is a ONBOARD IDE controller, do the same things using the drivers provided by the mainboard manufacturer and not the Promise ones (which are aimed for the PCI-type controllers).

it is a real PCI card came bundled with his new Maxtor HDD;


==> ubamous3

hope it's really fixed,
if it is a resources problem it definitively will appear again;


Greetings from
Duracell

 

[ubamous3]

==> scarecrow


it is a real PCI card came bundled with his new Maxtor HDD;


==> ubamous3

hope it's really fixed,
if it is a resources problem it definitively will appear again;


Greetings from
Duracell

damn, unfortunately it's not fixed b/c it takes forever for me to launch anything, even window explorer ; everything still takes at least 1 minute to launch; i looked at the event viewer under system, and i still see either these error or warning messages about ultra scsi device out of date and, blah blah blah

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Ultra
Event ID: 26

Description:
The driver has detected that device \Device\Scsi\Ultra1 has old or out-of-date firmware. Reduced performance may result.
------------
Event Type: Warning
Event Source: Disk
Event ID: 51

Description:
An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk0\DR0 during a paging operation.

------------
Event Type: Error
Event Source: atapi
Event ID: 9

The device, \Device\Ide\IdePort0, did not respond within the timeout period.


Now, I installed the latest promise driver that scarecrow suggested, but as far as i know (from my consultant), she hookedup the primary HD to the mobo instead of through the PCI card, but there is a pci controller card in this computer b/c I have 4 HD total and 2 of them are over 120 gig; so in this case, should i have updated the driver with the one that came with the mobo or I updated the promise driver correctly?

Thank god i have more than 1 computer at home, or else i'd be crap out of luck 'cause i wont have any way to ask for help ! lol

 

[ubamous3]

btw, if it's a driver or pci card controller whatchamacallit issue, even if i do a format c:, the same problem will still occur, right?

Also, suppose i stick in the windows 2000 pro CD in, can i work on that computer with that CD boot and not have to install anything? If the answer is yes and that I will not see any similar problems, may be that will narrow down the list of culprits?

 

[Duracell]

she hookedup the primary HD to the mobo instead of through the PCI card, but there is a pci controller card in this computer b/c I have 4 HD total and 2 of them are over 120 gig; so in this case, should i have updated the driver with the one that came with the mobo or I updated the promise driver correctly?

chipset driver incl. IDE controller driver is needed for the "main" IDE controller where your primary HDD is hooked up;

Promise IDE controller driver is needed for the added PCI card ("Maxtor card") where your other HDDs are hooked up;

btw, if it's a driver or pci card controller whatchamacallit issue, even if i do a format c:, the same problem will still occur, right?

highly supposable, because this seems to be no driver issue, but a resources (sharing) issue;


the things to do/try are already said in this and your both former threads:
- uninstall the Promise Controller (listet as SCSI) in the device manager, don't reboot;
- delete the related INF and PNF file
- Shut down your PC, plug out the power supply cord;
- plug out (for testing purposes) the Promise IDE controller PCI card ("Maxtor card")
- start your PC/Windows
- install the latest chipset driver for your motherboard (= VIA Hyperion drivers; not the Promise drivers): ftp://downloads.viaarena.com/drivers/4in1/VIAHyperion4in1448v.exe

then if your PC is running fine (with your system HDD only and without the "Maxtor card", then this Promise IDE controller PCI card ("Maxtor card") will causes the problems; the card is surely not faulty, but you have to try other PCI slots to fit in and/or a W2k installation as "non ACPI" system (= Standard-PC)


and my remark "maybe you should think about changing your consultant;" was not really a joke; because fixing such weird hardware problems is not easy to handle via internet; if you find a proper consultant he will fix it in a half an our;


Greetings from
Duracell

 

[ubamous3]

the things to do/try are already said in this and your both former threads:
1/- uninstall the Promise Controller (listet as SCSI) in the device manager, don't reboot;
2/- delete the related INF and PNF file
3/- Shut down your PC, plug out the power supply cord;
- plug out (for testing purposes) the Promise IDE controller PCI card ("Maxtor card")
- start your PC/Windows
- install the latest chipset driver for your motherboard (= VIA Hyperion drivers; not the Promise drivers): ftp://downloads.viaarena.com/drivers/4in1/VIAHyperion4in1448v.exe

then if your PC is running fine (with your system HDD only and without the "Maxtor card", then this Promise IDE controller PCI card ("Maxtor card") will causes the problems; the card is surely not faulty, but you have to try other PCI slots to fit in and/or a W2k installation as "non ACPI" system (= Standard-PC)


and my remark "maybe you should think about changing your consultant;" was not really a joke; because fixing such weird hardware problems is not easy to handle via internet; if you find a proper consultant he will fix it in a half an our;


Greetings from
Duracell

thanks duracell,

i already did the first 3 things on that list u mentioned except unplugging the power supply and the ide controller card;

i dl the chipset driver u suggested; do i need to uninstall my chipset driver via device manager first before rebooting like the scsi driver?

About my consultant, she's a friend as well as a consultant; plus, her fees are reasonable; she's good at what she does in terms of basic networking n building stuff,but i dont think that she keeps uptodate with the current technology; that's why she's stumped on the recent problems; plus, she built this computer from scratch and transferred my older HD's to this computer, so it'd be easier for her to fix it rather than hiring a brand new consultant who might not know what she did. But in the future, i have learned my lesson and will just buy a name brand computer like compaq or sony,etc.... and avoid all these hassles.

I know it's very difficult to help someone else fix technical problems over the net w/o actually being there seeing it; that's why i do appreciate all of you guys' effort and initiative to help me debug the problems.

Plus, it's a good thing for my knowledge as well b/c i have learned a lot from trying to figure out the answers myself and through you guys; the knowledge i have learned through these problems, no one can take that away from me; if i just let her figure out everything, i'll be back to dummy 101 again

Oh, do u think having too many HD's in 1 computer is too much of a drain on the computer or with the pci controller, it wont make a difference? B/c i notice too transferring files b/w HD's within the same computer is not as fast as i would hope it to be even tho i have pretty fast maxtor models 7200 rpm.

 

[scarecrow]

The LONG time during "verifing DMI data" you reported suggests that you may need a mainboard BIOS upgrade.
There is no such thing as "too many hardddisks"- your system should be able to handle as many as your adapter can manage.
After upgrading BIOS (if feasible) simply try moving your IDE controller card to other PCI slots and see if this cures the problem. No real need to check your busmaster drivers, as the HD's are not on mobo, but nevertheless you may also try to use the latest WHQL certified busmaster drivers for your mobo/chipset.

 

[ubamous3]

The LONG time during "verifing DMI data" you reported suggests that you may need a mainboard BIOS upgrade.
There is no such thing as "too many hardddisks"- your system should be able to handle as many as your adapter can manage.
After upgrading BIOS (if feasible) simply try moving your IDE controller card to other PCI slots and see if this cures the problem. No real need to check your busmaster drivers, as the HD's are not on mobo, but nevertheless you may also try to use the latest WHQL certified busmaster drivers for your mobo/chipset.

thanks scarecrow!! it's good to know about the "too many hd "issue.

About the bios stuff advice, that's prob. out of my league; i'll print these suggestions/advice and show them to my consultant later as i am afraid to even open up the case myself.

I have worked on that computer off and on for alittle bit today and so far it's been behaving normally; no 5 minute pauses after each keystroke like before.

 

[Duracell]

i already did the first 3 things on that list u mentioned except unplugging the power supply and the ide controller card;

so just do the whole points to figure out if the Promise controller is the problem;

i dl the chipset driver u suggested; do i need to uninstall my chipset driver via device manager first before rebooting like the scsi driver?

no need for uninstalling them before; btw: "the latest WHQL certified busmaster drivers for your mobo/chipset" which scarecrow mentioned are the VIA Hyperion drivers; but i don't know which versions got the WHQL certificate;

About my consultant, she's a friend as well as a consultant; ...

my posting should not be a offensive;

I know it's very difficult to help someone else fix technical problems over the net w/o actually being there seeing it;

thats what i mean, in the same time i wrote the posting above, i had done all the configuration work;

Oh, do u think having too many HD's in 1 computer is too much of a drain on the computer or with the pci controller,

like scarecrow told, never could be a "to much"; only your current used PCI slots could be overloaded;

After upgrading BIOS (if feasible) simply try moving your IDE controller card to other PCI slots and see if this cures the problem.

if you ubamous3 could post the "Interupt Request Table" of your motherboard (look in the manual) and list the additional pluged PCI/AGP cards we could recommend a PCI slot for plugging in your "Maxtor card";

 

[ubamous3]

my posting should not be a offensive;

like scarecrow told, never could be a "to much"; only your current used PCI slots could be overloaded;

if you ubamous3 could post the "Interupt Request Table" of your motherboard (look in the manual) and list the additional pluged PCI/AGP cards we could recommend a PCI slot for plugging in your "Maxtor card";

is this the irq table that u refer to duracell?

IRQ Number Device
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
3 Communications Port (COM2)
4 Communications Port (COM1)
6 Standard floppy disk controller
8 System CMOS/real time clock
9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System
11 Lucent Win Modem #2
11 Creative SB Live! series
11 Win2000 Promise Ultra133 TX2 (tm) IDE Controller
11 VIA USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA PCI to USB Enhanced Host Controller
11 VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
12 PS/2 Compatible Mouse
13 Numeric data processor
14 Primary IDE Channel
15 Secondary IDE Channel

my posting should not be a offensive;

i didnt take it that way but trust me, there are many many times i wish i never bought in to her suggested idea of custom building this computer; it's been one huge headache for me since the beginning with diff. problems here and there; i bought the sony vaio couple years back and i hardly had any problems with it (except before when i still had windows ME)

 

[scarecrow]

Too many devices running on IRQ 11...
Your Lucent Winmodem is not a real modem- it uses partially your soundcard to operate, so sharing the same IRQ should not be a problem, but why IRQ 10 is not used at all? I guess your BIOS is set to allow the OS manage resources automatically, or not?
Finally, a badly built custom computer should be MUCH BETTER than any similarly priced "branded" one. The norm with branded is el cheapo components, mediocre (at best) support and fancy stickers/looks.

 

[ubamous3]

Too many devices running on IRQ 11...
Your Lucent Winmodem is not a real modem- it uses partially your soundcard to operate, so sharing the same IRQ should not be a problem, but why IRQ 10 is not used at all? I guess your BIOS is set to allow the OS manage resources automatically, or not?

I don't know the answer to these questions ; i assume the answer is yes regarding the bios managing resources automatically.

Finally, a badly built custom computer should be MUCH BETTER than any similarly priced "branded" one. The norm with branded is el cheapo components, mediocre (at best) support and fancy stickers/looks.

that's what my consultant friend said as well.

 

[scarecrow]

Go to control panel/system/hardware/device manager, expand all device treees and check if any of them has a yellow exclamation mark or is reported as disabled.

 

[ubamous3]

Go to control panel/system/hardware/device manager, expand all device treees and check if any of them has a yellow exclamation mark or is reported as disabled.

the only one that shows yellow question mark (not exclamation mark) is the "other devices" tree which shows my laserjet 3100 printer driver; everything else looks fine - no warning yellow sign that i can see.

 

[Duracell]

==> ubamous3

is this the irq table that u refer to duracell?

no it isn't; the "Interupt Request Table" is only printed in the manual not listed in Windows; i will attach the one of my PC;

and combining a "Creative SB Live" sound card with a "Promise IDE Controller" is like asking for trouble;


==> scarecrow

ubamous3's W2k is set up as ACPI installation, so the ACPI controller handles the real IRQs and so the listed IRQs in the device manager are only virtual indications related to the ACPI controller; Isn't it so?


==> ubamous3

her is "my" Interupt Request Table: