"Christo" <chris.TakeThisOut@juststuffd.co.uk> wrote in message
news:33aatnF3u4o66U1@individual.net...
<snip>
> as for the suggestion you made about MSCONFIG startup, i am not
> entirely sure which programs i should be terminating from here, could
> i not just do a safemode boot and try to install in safe mode?
I was thinking not of the install problems but of the later problems
when using the systems and getting CRC errors. While Safe mode also
eliminates the startup programs, it isn't a normal boot and some
programs and installs just don't work under Safe mode. I can't remember
what it was but about a month ago there was something I tried installing
under Safe mode but the install detected Safe mode and refused to
install. Using msconfig gives you a cleaner boot but more of your
normal setup, like for video. In msconfig under the Startup tab, you
can just uncheck the items to not load them. In fact, I do this with
qttask which is a superfluous load-time task for Quicktime (and later I
tell the msconfig prompt to no longer prompt me that I'm booting with
some startup programs disabled since I want to keep them disabled; some
programs will reinstall their Run key startup if they are executed and
detect it is missing, so I leave it there but disabled). msconfig's
Startup tab only disables the startup programs in the Startup groups
(you and All Users) and in the registry Run keys. I would first start
with just disabling the programs listed under the Startup tab. If the
CRC problem still occurs then use the Services tab to disable
non-critical services (don't disable those listed as Yes under the
Essential column). If you use the General tab and use the Diagnostic
Startup mode, I think that will end up disabling networking, but if you
don't need it then you could try that mode.
However, maybe your problem is not with getting CRCs sometime during the
use of your system but only during installs (which extract huge files
from archive files). Are the CRC error only when installing programs or
during normal use of your computer? Are these old games you are trying
to install? Do you know if they are using old InstallShield v3 (which
had problems) or the MSI Windows Installer (do you see any .msi files on
the install CD)? You won't be able to fix any IS3 problems but maybe
reinstalling MSI would help? Unfortunately,
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://support.microsoft.com/?id=292539" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/?id=292539</a> doesn't list a redistributable
for MSI for Windows XP so maybe the only way to step on the current
install of it to fix it is to run the Repair from the Windows XP install
CD. <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://support.microsoft.com/?id=884016" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/?id=884016</a> indicates a new version is
available. I don't know how to tell what version of MSI is currently
installed. Maybe its logfile tells its version
(http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314852).
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://support.microsoft.com/?id=555175" target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/?id=555175</a> mentions some troubleshooting
tips. I'll presume you already ran the Disk Cleanup wizard to empty the
temp dirs. The CRC error isn't mentioned in that KB article but is
mentioned in <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://support.microsoft.com/?id=817472." target="_blank">http://support.microsoft.com/?id=817472.</a> Uffda. You'd
think if they are going to switch transfer mode and make the drive
slower that they would alert the user. Although the KB article says the
latest service pack for Windows XP fixes the problem (and you have
SP-2), have you checked to see if the transfer mode is getting changed
for your IDE controllers in Device Manager? I don't have the mentioned
registry data item so my Windows XP would roll down the transfer mode
based on cumulative CRC errors rather than consecutive ones. I would've
thought that these errors, cumulative or consecutive, would be within a
maximum time range but they don't mention expiring the count so maybe it
is per Windows session (i.e., starting from the load of Windows, not
from when you login).
You aren't overclocking anything, right? Did you configure the BIOS to
use the SPD (serial presence detect) for the memory sticks to let them
report their settings, or did you use customized settings for CAS, row
delay, and other memory settings?
If you are using a hard disk that can exceed UDMA33 (i.e., you are using
a UDMA66/100/133 IDE drive), you are using the 80-wire/40-pin cable,
right? You mention using round cables and I would suspect these have
the 80-wires needed to eliminate crosstalk. However, I believe the
ATA-5/6 spec was for flat ribbon cable to use the intervening grounding
signal lines to reduce cross-talk and don't know if rolling it up might
obviate some of that protection (i.e., signal lines that used to have an
intervening grounding line now might be next to each other and running
in parallel. The cheapie round cables just roll up a flat ribbon cable
and put heatshrink around it to keep it round. The better ones include
shielding with aluminum foil and braided mesh, and some don't use any
ribbon cable but separate wires that they twist within the bundle (or
they separate the wires in the ribbon cable to twist them rather than
just rollup the ribbon cable).
--
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