Difficult to explain - and to tolerate

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G

Guest

My computer works on windows XP
Sometimes, especially when gaming, my computer enters a semi-conscience state. It goes straight from a working screen to a black one, and appears to shut down, as there is no noise coming from the CD drive or fan, and the moniter screen light goes orange. The LEDs on the speedtouch broadband modem are not light.
However...
The LEDs that indicate the Num, Scroll, and Caps lock are still light up.
There are many possible ways to re-awake my computer after this has happened
1) Move or click the mouse
2) Press any button
3) Push the power button
Strange. Very.
When i have done this, the computer restarts, like i have just turned it on, and there is no sign of an error message in sight. This half-restart occurs randomly when i execute a command, but there is no specific command that it happens with.
My anti-virus program is Norman.
Any help?
S
 
Try to shut off all power management.

go to display properties, screen savers, there is a power
button on it. Click on power, change the settings for
monitor, standby, and disk to never. Apply the change and
see if that helps. Sounds like your machine likes going
into standy mode, either by these settings or akeyboard
function

-----Original Message-----
My computer works on windows XP
Sometimes, especially when gaming, my computer enters a
Click to expand...
semi-conscience state. It goes straight from a working
screen to a black one, and appears to shut down, as there
is no noise coming from the CD drive or fan, and the
moniter screen light goes orange. The LEDs on the
speedtouch broadband modem are not light.
However...
The LEDs that indicate the Num, Scroll, and Caps lock are still light up.
There are many possible ways to re-awake my computer after this has happened
1) Move or click the mouse
2) Press any button
3) Push the power button
Strange. Very.
When i have done this, the computer restarts, like i have
Click to expand...
just turned it on, and there is no sign of an error
message in sight. This half-restart occurs randomly when i
execute a command, but there is no specific command that
it happens with.
 
Sorry jim, still the same ol problem... could it be a conflict of programs? is there any way to find out?
Anyone?
 
Sometime windows is stubborn with power management.
Look for a value in
Hkey_local_machine\software\Microsoft\windows\current version\run
Delete it.

While you are here make a new String value (If not present) call
VTPreset
Right click modify and put this in Value date box. VTPreset.exe

Some graphics chips like prosavage use this file.
Reboot.

You might try increasing color quality in control
pannel-display-setting tab to the highest 32.
32 max if yours is higher than 32.

None of this may work.


Greg R
 
Scotti said:
Sorry jim, still the same ol problem... could it be a conflict of
programs? is there any way to find out? Anyone?
Click to expand...

Actually, it sounds to me like your power supply is failing or perhaps
another hardware component (videocard maybe) is going. Here are some
generic hardware troubleshooting steps, but I think you should start
with the power supply:

1) open the computer and run it open, cleaning out all dust bunnies and
observing all fans (overheating will cause system freezing); 2) test
the RAM - I like Memtest86 from www.memtest86.com - let the test run
for an extended (like overnight) period of time - unless errors are
seen immediately; 3) test the hard drive with a diagnostic utility from
the mftr.; 4) the power supply may be going bad or be inadequate for
the devices you have in the system; 5) test the motherboard with
something like TuffTest from www.tufftest.com. Testing hardware
failures often involves swapping out suspected parts with known-good
parts. If you can't do the testing yourself and/or are uncomfortable
opening your computer, take the machine to a good local computer repair
shop (not a CompUSA or Best Buy type of store).

Malke
 
Scotti:

One more thing to try before going through all those steps of Malke's:

Most BIOS's have a Power Management feature. Try disabling Power Management
in your BIOS setup.

--Brian
 
Thanx for all suggestions
ok... dusted the pc...memtest is difficult to work - installation instructions arnt that clear
Malke b most grateful if you could explain how to do it
Thanks
 
Scotti said:
Thanx for all suggestions
ok... dusted the pc...memtest is difficult to work - installation
instructions arnt that clear
Malke b most grateful if you could explain how to do it
Thanks
Click to expand...

You download the precompiled binary for Windows and either make a
bootable floppy or a bootable cd-r. Choose the version from the site
that you prefer. Then set your computer to boot from either the floppy
drive or cd-rom drive first, whichever you chose. You do this by going
into the BIOS and changing the boot order, if necessary.

Then simply put the cd-r or floppy in the appropriate drive and restart
your computer. It will boot immediately into Memtest86 and the test
will start running. Let it run for an extended period of time - hours -
unless you get errors right away. If you get errors, replace the RAM.

To test the power supply, you can use a multimeter or simply swap it out
for a known-working power supply.

Malke
 
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