Reformatting Blues

Ahhh christ. I hang my head in shame today as I lay down this story.

I need some help. It seems i've run into a snag when i recently reformatted my system. I used a burned (legit i think, got it when i bought my pc...so probably not..... bastards) copy of windows xp pro sp2. Now, normally windows has most the drivers pre-installed for almost all my hardware, but it seems this time, NOTHING was installed. So i went ahead and installed everything but now it seems something is screwed.

When i put any load on my pc, the sound gets slower and static-ie and the mouse SLOWS DOWN and freezes.

Now, before you guys ream me out to hard, know that i've done the services, lowered the graphics acceleration, slightly over clocked the processor (i've done it before but lowered it again because of heat issues, but i've only overclocked it by .5 Mhz), changed the ram ratio (was 5:4, now 1:1) i've updated all the drivers to current.

I've blown all the dust from my machine when i reinstalled. My pc never ran like this before

FOr reference, i'm running a crappy amd semptron +2500, 1 Gig DDR2 Ram, GeForce 6800 GS 256 Mb vid card, Sound blaster 24 bit external sound card.

Any help besides FIRST or Buy a new PC or O'DOYLE RULES or QUEERMO would be muchly appreciated.

Cheers
Sammers

 

If you just reformatted, maybe try starting over again. Reformat and reload Windows again... I know it's a pain and it's probably not the most helpful solution, but if you just reformatted, at least you don't have too much software to reload.....

 

I was thinking that, but if this copy of windows doesn't install the drivers AND buggers my pc up then wouldn't i get the same result. This is the first time i've re-installed with this disc, so i assume it's the windows fault.

 

Did it come up with any errors when it was installing ? This happened to me on an old pc, I think the CD drive was a bit ill or ready for the bin. Anyway, XP did install, after I told it to ignore all the files it couldn't find, but it was terrible, no sound, graphics really useless, loads of stuff missing. In fact, the computer's still here, I haven't used it since. But it makes a good table for the printer.
I know the windows CD is good as I've used it on other machines (old corporate version before anyone asks).

Never mind all that 'buy a new pc' cobblers, it sounds like you've got a good one already, and if it was working before, I'm sure it can be made to be alright again. Why did you have to re format it. And is the disc you've got now the same one as was used with the previous installation ?

Another thought. The burned CD. Is there any chance that it's gone bad ? If you've got access to another pc with copying facilities, you could try and make a copy, and see if it gives any errors. And if it doesn't, maybe try installing XP from the copy.

 

This the first time i've reformatted with this disc. When i got the machine it was pre-installed. I've done other formats before with no problems. I'll be honest, the more I think about it, the more i think the copy of windows i have is crap. It doesn't autorun (ie, launch the little "welcome to windows" screen ) when i insert it into my machine. I might have to have a conversation with the computer parts salesmen at my local pc shop about it. I think i'll get a new version from the net for the time being until i can confirm with the guys who built my pc in the first place.

I've been playing around for the last couple days and it seems to be running alright, but every now and again it'll run into these issues. I'm a little wary it might be hardware related, but for now i'll re-install windows and update this page as i go along

Cheers
Sammers

 

I know NOTHING about computers (which is why I come whining and crawling to Support Forum as I am doing now), but my Dell laptop (about 2-3yrs old) has one CD with Win XP Home and a whole other one with drivers. I haven't gotten the guts to reformat (plan to do it this week for better or worse) so can't tell you how it'll work, but even tho it seems obvious, wanted to let you know in case your vendor only gave you one CD and not the other.

 

I've seen failing hard drives cause the exact same problems described: static filled sound, slow Windows, occasional lock-ups, etc.... your system specs are not 'crappy', they're not top-o-the-line, but they're plenty for running WinXP. Download and run the diagnostic tool from your hard drive manufacturer; they all have the diag tools for free download. It could be that you used WinXP Service Pack 2 before, and the burned copy you have is Service Pack 1 or what I call Service Pack Zero (pre-SP1). SP2 has a larger driver library which could explain alot.....

hd2k

 

When i bought my system it also came with XP Home SP2 on one disc and the drivers on a second

 

I agree with hopperdave2000. My mom called me about a week ago with her comp being lazy. When I got there it was doing exactly what your describing. So I got out my disc and backed up all her files on my flash and went to work. Whole nine yards, restarted and no change infact it seemed worse. I called a buddy and brought the HD in for a closer look, and poof theres the problem. The HD was on its last leg. So now mom has a brand new WD 250 and I got another paper weight. In short, maybe try another HD if you got one lying around. Sorry for the short novel, Bailey.

 

Sounds like a Dell, reformatted and reinstalled Windows on two of them, the newer one was a real pain, Windows on one disk, drivers on another, the older one just had to figure out the sound after installing a new HDD, WIndows didn't set in to the correct device.

 

Yeah, I too, am using a Dell right now, and I've had to reinstall Windows XP (Home Edition Service Pack 2) a couple of times for couple of problems, and had to use two discs-One with the OS, and one with the drivers. Hell, in my case, I actually had to reinstall drivers from a THIRD disc, drivers for the LCD monitor that came with my system. What a pain in the ***, huh?
Anyway, on to your problem, SAMMERS: It is possible that the install disc was corrupt, but you didn't mention the problems until after you mentioned installing the drivers. Was this when the problems occurred? If so, then the drivers themselves could also somehow play a factor. Also, you didn't say where you got the computer from, nor where you got the drivers from. That could be beneficial info for the rest of us to try to help you.

 

I was a bit scared of having this problem with re formatting, i have done it twice last year(my fault i opened dodgy e mails) and brought the gremlins in.

i invested in a stand alone hard drive (320GB) and with a bit of help from FREDG downloaded my complete hard drive to it i then unhitched it an put it away so now if i do something silly ( and i probably will )i know i have a clean setup without having to resort to my recovery disks.

i realize this is a bit late but i only did it yesterday (SATURDAY)

hope you find a good solution.