Presario 5340 CA bizarre freezes

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Greetings!

This one has got me beat.

I've got a out-of-the-box Compaq Presario 5340 CA, which differs from
the specs on the Compaq page in that it has a GeForce 2 MX video cards
(it came with it; don't know why it has a different card listed on the
Compaq site). Anyway it has 512 memory and a P4 1.7 processor.

When I first got it I recall it ran video games just fine. However, it
hasn't had a game on it for a long time. Just recently we added a game
only to find out even the simplest video game slows the computer to a
crawl and freezes it for 10-20 seconds twice a minute or so.

When it slows and stops, the task manager shows 100 per cent CPU
usage, 95-99 percent coming from whatever game it is running.

I've updated all the drivers, got the latest direct X, flashed the
latest bios, and even used the Compq restore disc. Every diagnostic
test says the machine is working perfectly. Even the event logs show
normal. There are no device conflicts. Dxdiag says all is fine.

However, even games that used to run on the machine stutter and
freeze. Interstingly, pinball which comes with Windows, seems to run
fine ...

If this is a hardware problem, wouldn't there be some other
indications? And, if it isn't, what might be the problem?

Any help appreciated.

Snowflake

 

[David]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

What game? Are you running the latest drivers from nvidea, not Compaq?
That's the first thing I would try. Also make sure you meet the recommended
hardware requirements for the game. Depending on the game, you may be
running out of video memory which means the system memory has to take up the
slack and runs much slower. You may want to upgrade your old video card.
Maximum 4X AGP on your machine I believe.

"Snowflake" <kblackley@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:bae7a6cd.0410070643.5e13866b@posting.google.com...
> Greetings!
>
> This one has got me beat.
>
> I've got a out-of-the-box Compaq Presario 5340 CA, which differs from
> the specs on the Compaq page in that it has a GeForce 2 MX video cards
> (it came with it; don't know why it has a different card listed on the
> Compaq site). Anyway it has 512 memory and a P4 1.7 processor.
>
> When I first got it I recall it ran video games just fine. However, it
> hasn't had a game on it for a long time. Just recently we added a game
> only to find out even the simplest video game slows the computer to a
> crawl and freezes it for 10-20 seconds twice a minute or so.
>
> When it slows and stops, the task manager shows 100 per cent CPU
> usage, 95-99 percent coming from whatever game it is running.
>
> I've updated all the drivers, got the latest direct X, flashed the
> latest bios, and even used the Compq restore disc. Every diagnostic
> test says the machine is working perfectly. Even the event logs show
> normal. There are no device conflicts. Dxdiag says all is fine.
>
> However, even games that used to run on the machine stutter and
> freeze. Interstingly, pinball which comes with Windows, seems to run
> fine ...
>
> If this is a hardware problem, wouldn't there be some other
> indications? And, if it isn't, what might be the problem?
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
> Snowflake

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

"David" <tonka@flashmail.com> wrote in message news:<gL%9d.7921$UP1.7571@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>...
> That is odd.. Possibly the game is buggy? See if there are any patches for
> it. If you uninstall it and use system restore to go back to a point before
> you installed it does everything else go back to normal?

It's not just one game; it's any game. And I used my Compaq restore
disc to redo my hard drive without effect, after system restore was
ineffectual.

SF

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

The problem has been solved.

I explained the problem to my computer-illiterate wife, and said I
thought the CPU was overheating becasue the fans weren't working for
some reason. She looked at me pathetically and reminded me we have
cats ... and cats have ... fur ...

Popped the lid, blew the cat hair out of the fans and the machine runs
perfectly. Duuuh!

Thanks for everyone who tried to help.


Snowflake

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

BTW pet hair should be a concern for every PC user who has their case
sitting on the floor. Most case pull air in at the bottom.

KC

"Snowflake" <kblackley@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:bae7a6cd.0410100744.52ca67a2@posting.google.com...
> The problem has been solved.
>
> I explained the problem to my computer-illiterate wife, and said I
> thought the CPU was overheating becasue the fans weren't working for
> some reason. She looked at me pathetically and reminded me we have
> cats ... and cats have ... fur ...
>
> Popped the lid, blew the cat hair out of the fans and the machine runs
> perfectly. Duuuh!
>
> Thanks for everyone who tried to help.
>
>
> Snowflake

 

[David]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Excellent! Good to hear your P4 was throttling down instead of burning up in
that situation just like it's supposed to.

"Snowflake" <kblackley@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:bae7a6cd.0410100744.52ca67a2@posting.google.com...
> The problem has been solved.
>
> I explained the problem to my computer-illiterate wife, and said I
> thought the CPU was overheating becasue the fans weren't working for
> some reason. She looked at me pathetically and reminded me we have
> cats ... and cats have ... fur ...
>
> Popped the lid, blew the cat hair out of the fans and the machine runs
> perfectly. Duuuh!
>
> Thanks for everyone who tried to help.
>
>
> Snowflake

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq (More info?)

Snowflke I think I have a solution for you. I have a 5340ca and had a
similar problem. I tried everything, I mean everything. one night I
was browsing through the compaq web site for a similar problem. It
turned out to be something as simple as blowing out the dust from the
cooling fins on the mobo fan. huh, lesson learned. Sometimes the
simplest problem can stump the best.