G
Grand_Poobah
I inherited a computer from family that periodically (read: randomly)
just 'freezes'. By this I mean that the desktop still appears, but
mouse and keyboard response is nil. There is no apparent method of
getting any activity back short of holding down the power button. It is
running Windows XP Pro SP3 with all updates.
Inspecting the Event Log - entries in System show four errors
immediately on boot and right after the Event Log is started. All four
tell me that ACPI has tried to write into protected locations (0xCF8,
0xCFC, 0x70, and 0x71) and that 'system instability may happen'.
Articles on the MS site put forth that CMOS could be out of date but I
checked and mine is the latest one. Other checks they recommend also
showed them to be set to their recommendations (such as having APCI
sleep state set to S1 instead of S3, etc).
No apparent change is made if I select Yes or No to "PNP-Aware OS" in
CMOS. Other changes made in CMOS also appear to have no effect.
Device manager will show (under System Devices - with 'show hidden
devices' checked) an entry for "Microsoft ACPI Compliant System" and the
driver is capable of being uninstalled. Will this actually defeat
ACPI, or will I have to re-install XP Pro and avoid it on the reinstall?
PSU is under-utilized (I am fairly sure of this) because there is only
an AGP video card, and a NIC outside the motherboard. I have unplugged
the two CD/DVD players plus have a hand-held temperature gauge set up on
the CPU heat sink. Most of the time, the CPU sink is cool to the touch.
The fan in the PSU turns quietly and the air moving through it appears
to be warm, but not "hot". Dust has been vacuumed out and the video
card (ATI Rage Fury Pro) is running cool.
I am not totally sure that ACPI is the culprit, but those four errors in
the System log seem a good place to start.
GP
just 'freezes'. By this I mean that the desktop still appears, but
mouse and keyboard response is nil. There is no apparent method of
getting any activity back short of holding down the power button. It is
running Windows XP Pro SP3 with all updates.
Inspecting the Event Log - entries in System show four errors
immediately on boot and right after the Event Log is started. All four
tell me that ACPI has tried to write into protected locations (0xCF8,
0xCFC, 0x70, and 0x71) and that 'system instability may happen'.
Articles on the MS site put forth that CMOS could be out of date but I
checked and mine is the latest one. Other checks they recommend also
showed them to be set to their recommendations (such as having APCI
sleep state set to S1 instead of S3, etc).
No apparent change is made if I select Yes or No to "PNP-Aware OS" in
CMOS. Other changes made in CMOS also appear to have no effect.
Device manager will show (under System Devices - with 'show hidden
devices' checked) an entry for "Microsoft ACPI Compliant System" and the
driver is capable of being uninstalled. Will this actually defeat
ACPI, or will I have to re-install XP Pro and avoid it on the reinstall?
PSU is under-utilized (I am fairly sure of this) because there is only
an AGP video card, and a NIC outside the motherboard. I have unplugged
the two CD/DVD players plus have a hand-held temperature gauge set up on
the CPU heat sink. Most of the time, the CPU sink is cool to the touch.
The fan in the PSU turns quietly and the air moving through it appears
to be warm, but not "hot". Dust has been vacuumed out and the video
card (ATI Rage Fury Pro) is running cool.
I am not totally sure that ACPI is the culprit, but those four errors in
the System log seem a good place to start.
GP