anyone have Windows XP??

[SpeedRacer 1]

Just recently got Windows XP Professional. I used to have Windows 98 SE. Most things are great, Ican now do online banking, which I couldn't do with W98SE.

But has anyone else had this problem?? The Ctrl-Alt-Del thing to bring up Task Manager doesn't work, if the computer freezes up!! With W98SE, if the computer froze, I could do that and then "End Task" for the program that was Not Responding.

But with Windows XP, if it freezes, that's it: you're screwed. The computer won't even respond to keyboard input. You have to just re-boot. Shit, its like having a Mac again!

hmmm maybe I should just switch to Linux or something.

Speed Racer
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[Amazon 7]

Be sure to get to the Windows Update site ASAP and get the latest updates and to get the Taskmanager up.. right click on the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen

[SpeedRacer 1]

got all the updates. and when the computer freezes, neither the keyboard nor the mouse works. other than this reboot thing, I'm hoping that the rest of XP is a step forward.

Speed Racer
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[jtval 0]

do you have Kazza or the like?

those type of spyware things ALWAYS locked my up.

I use XP pro with relatively no problem.
but some label making programs screwed me up too.

I think you may have to go check your programs and make sure they are XP compatable (SP)
that may jack up your system (but I'm a relatively a MORON when it comes to programs etc....)

My photos

My Videos

[Guest]

EEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!



mh

.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[Squeak 17]

I occassionaly have the same problem, I slao have a problem where somtimes i boot up & the kewyboard is not there (on the computer) I have to re-boot for that to work too
But it's not a biggy, XP load pretty quick for me

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Dumpster 0]

I've got XP Pro at work and have had no real problems associated with XP itself. Way better than 98, too.

Easy Does It

[skymut 0]

I have several questions. What is the speed of the cpu in the computer you have XP on? How much RAM? Is this the same computer that you were using 98SE on? Are you running an anti-virus solution?

Matt
A well-informed person is somebody who has the same views and opinions as yours.

[CrazyIvan 0]

What kind of keyboard you have USB or PS2?, some USB keyboards are kinda "funky"

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[mouth 0]

I have a new computer that has XP and I have had the same problem. I have to literally cut the power to the unit in order to restart the stupid thing.

And to think I thought my ex boyfriend put a bug in it. I guess it was the company.

--
Hot Mama
At least you know where you stand even if it is in a pile of shit.

[SpeedRacer 1]

Quote

I have several questions. What is the speed of the cpu in the computer you have XP on? How much RAM? Is this the same computer that you were using 98SE on? Are you running an anti-virus solution?

1.2 GHz. 256 MB RAM. same computer, but I did a clean installation, not just an upgrade. Running Norton antivirus, & this thing called Adaware (to remove evil cookies/malware).

and yes, I have the same problem as mouth: when it freezes, it won't respond to the "soft" reboot. You gotta switch the power off.

Speed Racer
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[PhillyKev 0]

Something definitely wrong. I have several dozen XP machines here and have never had that problem. In fact XP is the best Windows OS so far at recovering from crashed programs without hosing up your whole machine.

You've either got some funky software screwing it up, or a bad hardware driver. It shouldn't freeze up that much in the first place. What are you doing when it freezes up?

[SpeedRacer 1]

Quote

You've either got some funky software screwing it up, or a bad hardware driver. It shouldn't freeze up that much in the first place. What are you doing when it freezes up?

usually surfing the web. but judging from some of the above posts, I'm not the only one that's having this problem.

Speed Racer
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[PhillyKev 0]

No, I'm sure you're not. But it's still very very very rare. (tens of thousands of people on this site, millions of XP installations worldwide).

If your machine is freezing up when you're just surfing the web, then there's something seriously screwed up. Could be anything. Do ctrl-alt-del when it's not frozen and see what all you have running on it. Google all the different processes that are running and make sure they are all legit. Make sure all your hardware drivers are up to date. You don't get those automatically with windows update.

[skymut 0]

I use the free version of ad-aware. Unless you bought the the full version, it doesn't have any startup processes, so doubtful that this is the issue.

Is surfing the web the ONLY time that it locks up?

I would agree with some other posts that it might be some other software that is causing the issue, or possible hardware drivers.

If you have another machine (or friend with internet access), you might check for issues with some of the main hardware components in your machine (mainboard, etc) on vendor websites. Especially if the mainboard has a lot of 'built-in' things like NIC, Sound, Video, etc.

You also might need to do a BIOS upgrade, but I don't really recommend doing it yourself if you haven't done it before. If you mess that up, it's quite possible that your machine will be shot.

Matt
A well-informed person is somebody who has the same views and opinions as yours.

[CrazyIvan 0]

I'd like to add my 2 cents here, another possibility is that some driver is hanging the whole thing (nice technical lingo huh?), but I'd like you to try using CTRL+ALT+DELETE in SAFE MODE, if it doesn't happen is because there's a service, driver. DLL, etc that if NOT finishing or stopping when you hit those keys, there's no direct solution, just trial and error until you find the culprit.

Hope that gives you some ideas.

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[Push 0]

I believe signficant portions of IE run in kernel space, though I do not know first hand, so certain fuck ups with plugins can cause your entire system to hang. That's probably what's doing it.

Make sure your IE is fully up to date. Run Ad-Aware, SpyBot, and every other doohickey you can think of. Ideally, have someone who knows how to clean out IE plugins from the registry take a look. Don't mess with the registry yourself. If you really need more personal help, PM me.

Why are you running Windows anyway? Switch to Linux, you can surf the web here as well On a serious note, Linux is much harder to get working than Windows is, so definitely look for some assistance before trying that, if you decide to.

-- Toggle Whippin' Yahoo
Skydiving is easy. All you have to do is relax while plummetting at 120 mph from 10,000' with nothing but some nylon and webbing to save you.

[jtval 0]

Quote

[Running Norton antivirus, & this thing called Adaware (to remove evil cookies/malware).

and yes, I have the same problem as mouth: when it freezes, it won't respond to the "soft" reboot. You gotta switch the power off.

I think thats your prob...Icould NOT use NAV. I had to find an alternate.

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[wildblue 4]

Next time it freezes, see if you can toggle the caps-lock/num-lock light on your keyboard.

Check your event log too - see if it's at least logging something.

it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality

[SpeedRacer 1]

Quote

Something definitely wrong. I have several dozen XP machines here and have never had that problem. In fact XP is the best Windows OS so far at recovering from crashed programs without hosing up your whole machine.

You've either got some funky software screwing it up, or a bad hardware driver. It shouldn't freeze up that much in the first place. What are you doing when it freezes up?

OK, I went to Event Viewer & have discovered the error message thatgets posted whenever the freeze-up happens. (and no, not even the Num Lock or Caps Lock light will work when a freeze-up happens. it just stays the way it was before the freeze)

so here is the error message:

Event Type: Error
Event Source: ACPI
Event Category: None
Event ID: 5
Date: 7/10/2004
Time: 7:07:50 PM
User: N/A
Computer: TERRENCE
Description:
AMLI: ACPI BIOS is attempting to write to an illegal IO port address (0x70), which lies in the 0x70 - 0x71 protected address range. This could lead to system instability. Please contact your system vendor for technical assistance.

-----

OK, so I searched on the Microsoft website and evidently I need to update my BIOS. Where do I get an "updated" BIOS for my computer?

Speed Racer
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[yardhippie 0]

wheres AMAZON when ya need her!!!?

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[Amazon 7]

OK already SHEESH

hit this link
http://search.microsoft.com/search/results.aspx?st=b&na=88&View=en-us&qu=ACPI+BIOS

BIGGEST HINT.. look for WHICH BIOS you have... look when your computer is first booting up.. and go to the website for that company.. you need to get whatever company made your BIOS/MOTHERBOARD combination you have and FLASH the BIOS with the update.

BIGGER HINT.. be very very careful doing this.
If you are not comfortable doing this.. just find the local Junior HS Techno-Geek in your neighborhood.

[yardhippie 0]

I was just playin! Dont hurt me next time you hug me!!

Goddam dirty hippies piss me off! ~GFD
"What do I get for closing your rig?" ~ me
"Anything you want." ~ female skydiver
Mohoso Rodriguez #865

[Amazon 7]

Quote

I was just playin! Dont hurt me next time you hug me!!

Uh even if I wanna????

Ok I better be more specific.. check out the Knowledge Base Article below.




http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;317513

There is a link on there that shows what the varying adresses mean

Affected System Resources and Addresses

Table 1 lists the system resources and associated I/O addresses that should not be directly accessed by BIOS AML code (the "blocked ports" list).

Table 1 Blocked I/O Port Addresses and System Board Resources

Address Function Comments
0x000 0x00F
DMA Controller 1


0x020 0x021
Programmable Interrupt Controller
Access is never allowed*

0x040 0x043
System Timer 1


0x048 0x04B
Timer 2 Failsafe


0x070 0x071
System CMOS, RTC


0x074 0x076
Extended CMOS


0x081 0x083
DMA1 Page Registers


0x087
DMA1 CH0 Low Page


0x089
DMA2 CH2 Low Page


0x08A 0x08B
DMA2 CH3 Low Page,


0x08F
DMA2 Low Page Refresh


0x090 0x091
Arbitration Control Port Card Select Feedback


0x093 0x094
Reserved System Board Setup


0x096 0x097
POS Channel Select


0x0A0 0x0A1
Cascaded Programmable Interrupt Controller
Access is never allowed*

0x0C0 0x0DF
ISA DMA


0x4D0 0x4D1
PIC Edge/Level Control Registers
Access is never allowed*

0xCF8 0xD00
PCI Configuration Space Access




I dont even work in PSS any more.

[gerrcoin 0]

Quote

I have a new computer that has XP and I have had the same problem. I have to literally cut the power to the unit in order to restart the stupid thing.

This works for any PC. If you don't have a reset button on the case and you can't do the CTRL,ALT & RESET soft reset, then hold the power button (the main button you use to turn it on) in for 4 to 6 seconds and it will switch off. Works on laptops as well.