System resources - Win XP pro

[Guest]

I've encountered a strange problem with Windows XP pro. I first noticed the problem when EverQuest started to run very choppy. My sound quality also seemed to drop dramatically. At first I thought it was one of the many patches that EQ users need to download on an almost daily basis. But all my games have the same problem now. I'm actually on my third clean install of XP pro. The first install gave me some problems with system hangs but my games ran incredible... when they ran! =) The first install also displayed the CPU usage @ 1% after logon with no apps in startup. Now, no matter what I turn off... or what settings I change, the CPU usage is NEVER LESS than 10%! I've downloaded all the latest drivers for my hardware. I've browsed the forums for over a week seeking a solution... to no avail. If anyone can help me with this, I'd greatly appreaciate it.

My components are as follows:
CPU - AMD 1.2GHz T-bird
RAM - 512MB pc2100 DDR SDRAM
Vid card - Hercules Prophet II MX (GeForce 2 MX)
Mobo - Soyo K7Dragon
HD's - Maxtor 45GB 7200rpm + Maxtor 60GB 7200rpm
Rom's - Creative CD-RW, Creative DVD ROM
sound - Soundblaster Live!

 

[btvillarin]

In regards to EverQuest, perhaps changing the color quality from 32bit to 16bit might help. Turn off all the WinXP eye candy if you haven't done so by using the Windows Classic theme.

Anyways, there's different kinds of SB Live soundcards. Which one is it? Do you play games or stuff? Because if you don't, and just listen to mp3s and such, then you shouldn't really have to install the SB Live drivers. If you must, the most recent one is here:
<A HREF="http://www.soundblaster.com/support/winxp/" target="_new">http://www.soundblaster.com/support/winxp/</A>

What software did you install after WinXP installation? Did you optimize and tweak your system in any way, shape or form? :lol: For me, I don't have anything running that isn't needed, like checking for updates automatically.

Your system should run just fine, though. It seems that it has more than enough of everything.

BTW, you really like Creative, dontcha???

Please check out <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin" target="_new">My Website</A> last updated 12/10/01

 

[Guest]

I had mentioned in my post above that I had tried many configurations. When I first installed XP, everything was turned on, every setting cranked up to max.. and it ran perfect. My hardware should not be an issue with a decently powerful processor and copious megs of DDR. The only difference I can tell exists from when my system was running my games smoother was in the processes window of the task manager. On my first install of XP, all the processes items were using 00 or 01 in the "cpu" column. Right now, my resources are being gobbled up by "system idle process" according to the task manager anyway... which shows it using 89 - 98 in said "cpu" column. Got any clue how I can lower that???? I'm only guessing that's the source of the problem. Btw, with only 32megs of mem on my vid card... I always run my games in 16bit color depth! In any case, the real frustration is that it ran fine once before with all the same software and drivers.... VERY strange indeed.
Perhaps it would be helpful to note that when this problem first arised on my first install, It was completely fixed by turning off "Nvidia Driver help". However, that no longer fixes the problem obviously. =( I appreciate everyone's help. I only hope I can find a way to fix this soon. I love my games too much to play them like this!

 

[btvillarin]

Just because you have a lot of memory and an awesome processor doesn't mean that hardware shouldn't be an issue.

Anyways, what exactly do you mean by every setting cranked up to the max?

In system idle process, when you're not doing anything, this is set in the high 90s because you're at idle - hence the name "System Idle Process". Nothing to worry about here.

Here's something to try. Don't install any drivers after an install. Then, try your games. Install one driver at a time as needed. I'm not sure if you exercise overkill, like I do. But, after I installed XP, I imaged (Drive Image 5.0) it to my 2nd HD, so I don't have to wait an hour for another fresh install. I'm not sure if you can do this, but the second option is a driver rollback in the Device Manager.

I wonder if this helps ya out... 😱

Please check out <A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/btvillarin" target="_new">My Website</A> last updated 12/10/01