GregHowley.com

Problems with the New Machine

July 5, 2005 -

I developed the habit of posting about my computer problems here, not only to document them for myself, but also because the info might be useful for anyone who googles on a similar problem. I've done it a few times before, so let's tack this one onto the list.

My new computer works well overall, but I quickly noticed two problems which I suspected were related. Firstly, when starting up, my PC would delay on an empty desktop for about 30 seconds after the startup sound but before bringing up the taskbar and desktop icons. So it seemed like something was trying to load on startup but failing somehow. Secondly, my computer froze quite a bit - something I hadn't experienced much since I worked in Windows 98 on my mom's old 60mhz Compaq Presario years ago. Every time it froze, there was sound related. Twice while playing a game, twice while playing MPEGs in windows media player, once while listening to a mp3 in winamp, and even once when it played the email received tone as I was checking my email. And each time the game-related freezes happened, they were preceeded by loud static and pops. So I guessed that the problem was sound card related.

I called the number that CyberPower had provided me for tech support - a third-party company called 2netcorp. I left my name, phone number, and service number, and about an hour later I got a call back. The tech's name was Raphael, and he was a good guy. We ended up chatting about nonrelated stuff, and he actually asked my advice about some VB he was coding. His advice was to first download and run RegistryMechanic, which I did. It said it fixed eighty-something problems. Wow. Next, he had me run MemTest86, which I did overnight. That said everything tested out okay. At this point, I was still getting the restart delay. Crap. The third thing he'd recommended involved opening the case, which I really wasn't in the mood for Saturday, so in the meantime I fired up a game. Whoops! Game doesn't work. Oh, look - nearly nothing works. That registry mechanic frelled my machine. Luckily, there was a restore feature. I ran the backup and re-added the registry settings which RegistryMechanic had branded "invalid", which fixed things. StupidGay program.

Then, I decided yesterday to finally go through with the disassembly. So as directed, I uninstalled all my SoundBlaster Audigy software and drivers, opened the case and moved the sound card to another port, and then closed up the case. When I restarted, NO DELAY! So I reinstalled everything.

First problem: in order to open another slot at the back of the case, I had to essentially break off the metal flap that covered it - they weren't snap-on covers, they were attached by two small bits of metal, and as such were not reconnectable. This means that the port my sound card used to be in was now an open window for dust. I placed the spare metal flap back there as best I could and fixed it in place with a small piece of scotch tape, but it's not nearly as airtight as it should be.

Second problem: No sound. Maybe I did it wrong. After I restarted, the windows "Found new hardware" prompt came up, but I closed that since I was about to install the software myself. Maybe that was a mistake. After installing all the audigy software and downloading an updated driver, things still don't work. I'm awaiting a call back from tech support, but after the RegistryMechanic incident, I'll be skeptical of their advice.

Comments on Problems with the New Machine
 
Comment Tue, July 5 - 7:52 PM by pmd
Yea, Registry Mechanic... sounds enough like "First Aid 95" for me to stay away.

First Aid 95 was a program which connected to some magical database somewhere and installed patches, updated the registry, and kept programs from crashing.

Now if a program starts doing something it shouldn't and becomes "confused" enough where it is about to crash... do you really want another program to step in and GUESS what it was doing?

I have to cut this short, my aunt got a new printer and wants to know why there isn't a "power cable" that runs from the PC to the printer... and if you don't need it, how does the computer talk to the printer? That one is hard to believe, even from her. :Sigh:
 
Comment Wed, July 6 - 8:35 AM by tagger
To PDM - I _told_ you that was going to be trouble when I spotted her with it at the Wal-Mart. :-)

Greg - I meant to check in on this y'day, but got tied up with another crisis.

PMD is right about Registry Mechanic. I'd be very cautious about letting someone else's program fool with my system registry. Norton SystemWorks does a passable job because it lets you review changes before making any and because it doesn't fix things it can't figure out.

Vis-a-vis the sound card, I would remove the card, boot into "Safe" mode, remove all traces of the sound card software and the device itself from Device Manager. Then, power down the system, replace the card and let Windows XP do its thing. Check Device Manager and make sure the card works. Once you're past that, you can try reinstalling the drivers that came with the card.


 
Comment Wed, July 6 - 3:03 PM by Greg
I'd heard bad things about registry-tinkering software in the past, but... but... the tech support guy told me to! And so I trusted him. That'll teach me.

I'll give the whole thing a retry as soon as I get a few minutes to sit down with a screwdriver.
 
Comment Wed, July 6 - 4:04 PM by tagger
"The tech support guy told me to?"

Uh-huh.

Live and learn.

Or you don't live long. :-)
 
Comment Thu, July 7 - 1:06 PM by Greg
Okay - here's what happened. Last night I did what TAGGER suggested: I took out the card, restarted in safe mode, and uninstalled all the sound software. Then I plugged the card back in and restarted. Unfortunately, I didn't get the XP dialogue "Found new hardware". The card was appearing in device manager though, with no conflicts and an okay driver. But still, it wouldn't work. My sound card has 6 poorly labeled ports, and to be safe, I tried plugging my speakers into each one alternately as I played an mp3 file, but none worked. The first three ports are labeled with a generic sound-looking icon and arrow pointing towards the port along with numbers 1-3. I assumed that the arrow pointing towards the port meant that these were "in" ports, although it seemed odd to have three. The next was clearly for a microphone, the next was just the reverse of the "in" ports, with an arrow pointing away from the port - I assumed this was most likely my speaker port - an "out". The last port was labeled "digital out". Still, to be safe, I kept trying all six each time. No dice.

Out of options at this point, I called the (da da dummmmm) tech support line. I told the guy what I'd done, and he seemed kind of clueless. He had me read him different things from my device manager, but none of them seemed to suggest any solutions to him. Seems like he'd have advised me to do everything I'd already done.

He told me to open the case again and make sure the card was connected firmly. I did that, and things happened pretty much the same as before. On a whim, I tried playing a mp3 and once again testing all six ports. When I got to the one labeled "3", I got sound. My music was playing. What the...? Either the ports are labeled incorrectly, or else the meaning of the labels entirely escapes me. Why would a port labeled "3" which looks to be an input be the only one of the six which provides sound?

In any event, it seems like everything is working now. No delay on startup, and I'm hoping that the freezing is gone, although only time will tell. The tech support guy seemed very proud of himself.
 
Comment Thu, July 7 - 5:12 PM by tagger
The Tech Support guy is doubtless a harmless, well-intentioned putz with a script to read through. He gets points for every call closed.

Manually eliminating the device from device manager is what makes Windoze sh*t or get off the pot. If this device is still in device manager when the reboot happens, Windoze thinks it's there.

Done is Good but, while I do not believe all your problems are solved, it sounds as if you have survived an ill-fated excursion into that land of Stygian dispair known as "automatic registry fixing." Live and learn.

Since registry problems have a way of popping up now and again, if problems recur, reinstalling Windows may be an option to consider.

ttfn
 
Comment Thu, July 7 - 6:59 PM by Greg
Having been there recently, reinstalling windows is a route I will avoid if possible. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
 
Comment Sat, July 23 - 7:34 PM by Greg
Damn it. It just froze again during a game, once again preceeded by VERY loud popping sounds. I'm beginning to suspect that I have a faulty sound card.