non-torrent related computer help

[starman714]

actually, the check box says "turn off sys restore on all drives"...same difference...hope it works

[netyuppie]

turned off system restore and ran a full virus scan, nothing found.
whats next?

[TheMamba]

Originally Posted by netyuppie

interesting. this poped up today while i wasnt even using the computer.

2 points of interest here. first time i've seen this warning. take a look at the address of the file. this is the general area (system volume information/_restore) that was shown as bad sectors fixed in chkdsk a few days ago. also, comment shows it is taking place in svchost. this is of particular interest as that file is always showing so much memory usage. was around 22,000K before, and i just checked it after NOD32 alert, its now showing about 10,000K at most.
good news or bad news?

I think this only popped up because you fixed that sector - i.e. the file was "altered." Weird that it took awhile to see that it got altered though. I wouldn't worry about this one.

[TheMamba]

Originally Posted by netyuppie

i didnt run both real time before this started. i used NOD32 real time and ran AVG weekly.
quick question - looking at replacing the drive. 8MB vs 16MB cache - how much will i miss the extra 8MB? bestbuy has 8MB 250 WD Caviers on sale for 90 bucks. newegg has the same with 16MB cache for the same price. its been over a week and i'm anxious to get my machine up and running again, and it would be so much easier to just run to bestbuy and get the 8MB cache, as fast as newegg is. my current drive is 8MB so i wouldnt be missing anything, but in the long run how much of an advantage will the 16MB cache offer?

Glad we narrowed it down to the hard drive. At least it's relatively cheap to replace. Download and read through that tweak guide that I posted as it will walk you through the exact process of reinstalling windows - what should be installed in what order - to avoid any conflict later on down the road. What I mean is that there should be a general list of what drivers to install in what order so as to avoid driver conflicts.

As for 8 mb vs. 16 mb...it doesn't really matter. Well, it does but it doesn't for most people. I think that the 16 mb is the newest version but since you already ordered it and are content to wait, that's cool. WD is the way to go IMO...I would have gotten a Raptor drive, but that's just me.

[netyuppie]

yea, glad it was the hard drive and not the processor. will read the tweak guide, got plenty of time as newegg probably wont ship till monday. thought i took pretty good care of my machine but i'm gonna make some changes, as this past week has been pretty annoying.
i've always gone WD, this drive was too. will see if its completly gone once my new drive arrives. will reformat this one and see if i can't use it as a non-system drive. whats the highest capacity raptor out there now? few years ago i had 2x 74gb Raptors in a RAID1 array as my system drive. liked that but was having problems getting the RAID to work with my new MB. actually still have them...might try setting that back up and use the 2 drives i just ordered as storage. choices, choices!
thanks for the help folks. for anyone still interested for future reference, i will post back once i try to reformat this drive and see if it works any better.

[starman714]

Originally Posted by netyuppie

turned off system restore and ran a full virus scan, nothing found.
whats next?

damn...I was hoping my only possible clue as to what's going on was the right one...
glad you got off inexpensively, anyway, though...

[netyuppie]

its cool, was glad to try anything. at this point tho, after trying so many things and having so many folks stumped, i'm almost glad to reformat, and get rid of if need be, the drive. problem like this can't be good and i'd hate to keep taking chances with it, as it has all of my ~175gb of commercial music on it. not losing that over some 90 buck hard drive!

[TheMamba]

Originally Posted by netyuppie

whats the highest capacity raptor out there now?

Dunno for sure, haven't checked since I got my Raptor drive about 9 months ago or so. Mine is the 74 GB model. I use the Raptor drive as my system (C drive - windows and all the programs, games, etc. run off it. Then I use a 150 GB Caviar drive, partitioned into two drives, for my storage. Figure I don't need the speed to just store shows!

[netyuppie]

Originally Posted by TheMamba

Dunno for sure, haven't checked since I got my Raptor drive about 9 months ago or so. Mine is the 74 GB model. I use the Raptor drive as my system (C drive - windows and all the programs, games, etc. run off it. Then I use a 150 GB Caviar drive, partitioned into two drives, for my storage. Figure I don't need the speed to just store shows!

yea thats what i did before, thinking of doing that again if i can get the RAID controller on my MB working. i got all day to mess around with it

[netyuppie]

anyone know of any ways around using a floppy with the RAID drivers on it? this machine doesnt have a floppy drive would a CD work?

[saltman]

catching back on here late. you should run a checkdisk on the hard disk to see if it has bad sectors. right click on the drive in the my computer. go properties. go tools. use error checking tool. will require a reboot and a lot of time to go through the scandisk deal. It will tell you if you have bad sectors.

The idea of a failing power supply is another good idea. Perhaps your system has begun to be too much for it. Do you have atleast 375 watts preferrably 425. There are places that give you values that each devices uses. You can then total them up to size your power supply.

[saltman]

Originally Posted by netyuppie

anyone know of any ways around using a floppy with the RAID drivers on it? this machine doesnt have a floppy drive would a CD work?

yes a cd will work... you need to set your boot sequence accordingly in your bios

[netyuppie]

i ran cheskdisk a few days ago and think i posted the results here. came up with some bad sectors & fixed them - they were all relating to system .../volume information/_restore
have a 480watt antec power supply. unless it has just gone bad, i know the wattage isnt an issue.
about the CD tho - i mean during the windows installation on a new drive, not booting from CD. it says "press f6(i beleive) if you need in install a second-party RAID controller" or something similar. this is while XP is loading and i'm thinking reading from the XP disc. it automatically checks for a floppy and i dont know if it gives you any other choice.

thanks to whoevers idea it was to read this tweak guide. much more informational than i had expected. actually reading it word for word, even parts not at all relating to my current situation. tons of great information.

[netyuppie]

alright so just tried and there is no way, least that i can find, to use a CD instead of a floppy for RAID drivers. fucking rediculous that i have to use 20 year old technology to install XP. dont have a floppy drive in any of my home PC's cause aside from this i cant think of 1 other situation where i would need it. guess im heading out to buy a cheap ass floppy drive!

[diggrd]

some BIOS have the option to "Force FDD" under USB config, not sure if that might work