Computer Problem

[themaninblack]

Well I haven't really seen a thread for this so here it goes. I have been experiencing problems while listening to music(on WMP, I know) and loading web pages using Firefox. Basically, if I am loading anything with pictures/vids, etc. the music tends to skip and make a crackling noise. I just tested my internet connection and it came out with 2200+Kbps.

Just can't seem to figure out what to do with this(if anything) so any input would be appreciated. Thanks in advance and plus rep will be given to anyone who can help.

[Brent]

Sounds like your computer cannot handle the work load. Upgrade your RAM would be my suggestion but I'm not certain.

[bhaarat316]

also to free up ram..set your windows display to windows classic, the gray color scheme from like 99. It should help free up a decent amount.

[Paul]

Or

Right Click 'My Computer'>Properties>Advanced> Settings under Performance>Click the box for "Adjust for Best Performance"> Click ok

Hopefully that will help a little.

[themaninblack]

thanks everyone. I did adjust it for best performance but I am still experiencing problems. I'll probably have to see about getting my RAM upgraded.

[djp]

thanks everyone. I did adjust it for best performance but I am still experiencing problems. I'll probably have to see about getting my RAM upgraded.

Try using a different browser. Firefox is a resource *****. I use Google Chrome now and my CPU runs much faster.

[the decider13]

also to free up ram..set your windows display to windows classic, the gray color scheme from like 99. It should help free up a decent amount.

That is one of my first pieces of advice to anyone having performance issues.

[tjsunstein]

Try using a different browser. Firefox is a resource *****. I use Google Chrome now and my CPU runs much faster.

I still use IE. Good or bad? Pros and Cons?

[bigredballer]

Is this in Windows Vista or XP?

If it is Vista check this blog (http://blogs.msdn.com/saveenr/archive/2007/03/25/delayed-starting-skips-stuttering-in-windows-media-player-11.aspx) as it is a COMMON issue with Vista....

If it is XP thats a different story. Still would recommend updating the audio drivers...

[themaninblack]

I checked my RAM and it says I have 2038MB. I was wondering how much of an upgrade I should be thinking about. The thing is, I don't really run anything on this computer besides the internet and stuff for school.

[djp]

I still use IE. Good or bad? Pros and Cons?

I'm not a foremost expert on this subject, you'd have to ask somebody like njx or aq I'm guessing, but IE has some major security holes (most have been fixed) and Firefox is a resource hog. I just like Google Chrome better because it's faster and just as easy to navigate as Firefox while utilizing the same features.

[djp]

I checked my RAM and it says I have 2038MB. I was wondering how much of an upgrade I should be thinking about. The thing is, I don't really run anything on this computer besides the internet and stuff for school.

You should be good with 2 gigs of RAM if that's all your running. There might be something wrong with the RAM itself, though

[themaninblack]

I am using Vista btw, I should have said that in this first place.

[Dr. Gonzo]

I am using Vista btw, I should have said that in this first place.

LOL to running Vista with 2 gigs of RAM. I run it with 4 gigs and it works tremendously and without any hitches but 2 gigs is beyond pushing it. I think that is one of the main reasons people hated and still hate Vista, they tried to run it on ****** computers.

[djp]

I am using Vista btw, I should have said that in this first place.

Oh, well, you should get 2 more gigs if you're on Vista. I thought you were on XP

[Dr. Gonzo]

Oh, well, you should get 2 more gigs if you're on Vista. I thought you were on XP

You are right, he needs to upgrade. Honestly I would probably spend the extra money and go with 8 gigs. It really depends on the computer though.

[the decider13]

LOL to running Vista with 2 gigs of RAM. I run it with 4 gigs and it works tremendously and without any hitches but 2 gigs is beyond pushing it. I think that is one of the main reasons people hated and still hate Vista, they tried to run it on ****** computers.

pshh...that is why I run XP on everything still. My cousin has Vista and he hates it so much.

[themaninblack]

Vista was preloaded onto this computer so I didn't have any say in it at all. I'm going to look into getting like 8 gigs of RAM for an upgrade depending on what it runs me.

[Dr. Gonzo]

pshh...that is why I run XP on everything still. My cousin has Vista and he hates it so much.

I keep hearing hate from everyone about Vista but not only has Vista never given me a problem but I also find it ******* awesome. It is so easy for me to use, runs beyond smoothly, and has never once given me a problem (I think it has slowed down 5 times tops since I bought it). Now I am sure this has a lot to do with the fact that I bought a new comp last year and I would never recommend Vista to anyone with a ****** computer (which I would say is at least 75 percent of the computer owning population) because Vista is clearly way to ******* awesome for them to handle. Of course I am a computer n00b so I could be talking out of my ass. Unlikely though.

[Brent]

Vista was preloaded onto this computer so I didn't have any say in it at all. I'm going to look into getting like 8 gigs of RAM for an upgrade depending on what it runs me.
Make sure you get the right RAM for you PC. Go here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=17&name=Memory and on the left-hand side there is a thing to help you figure out what your computer can handle, since it sounds like you bought one off a shelf, rather than build one. Also, dont pay any one any thing to change your RAM, it's the easiest thing you could do with a computer.

[themaninblack]

Make sure you get the right RAM for you PC. Go here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=17&name=Memory and on the left-hand side there is a thing to help you figure out what your computer can handle, since it sounds like you bought one off a shelf, rather than build one. Also, dont pay any one any thing to change your RAM, it's the easiest thing you could do with a computer.

Yeah, I bought it through my school with my own money so I just had to go with the cheapest one they offered. It's a Gateway laptop btw.

[Paul]

LOL to running Vista with 2 gigs of RAM. I run it with 4 gigs and it works tremendously and without any hitches but 2 gigs is beyond pushing it. I think that is one of the main reasons people hated and still hate Vista, they tried to run it on ****** computers.

What? Vista runs perfectly fine on 2 gigs of ram. I haven't run into a 2gig Vista machine that had any hiccups at all. I mean Windows Vista 32bit doesn't even recognize anything over 3gb of ram, you'll need to upgrade to 64bit to take advantage of the full capabilities of a machine with 4GB+. And seriously 8 gigs of ram is overkill just for youtubing and web surfing.

[Brent]

Yeah, I bought it through my school with my own money so I just had to go with the cheapest one they offered. It's a Gateway laptop btw.
How much free space do you have on your hard drive?

[themaninblack]

I have like 20 gigs free.

[Dr. Gonzo]

What? Vista runs perfectly fine on 2 gigs of ram. I haven't run into a 2gig Vista machine that had any hiccups at all. I mean Windows Vista 32bit doesn't even recognize anything over 3gb of ram, you'll need to upgrade to 64bit to take advantage of the full capabilities of a machine with 4GB+. And seriously 8 gigs of ram is overkill just for youtubing and web surfing.

Oh it completely is overkill. I don't know prices of the top of my head but I am guessing going with an 8 gig over a 4 can't be THAT much more. Now that I just read it is a gateway laptop I am not even sure I would bother upgrading at all :(

I am running 64 bit Vista and completely forgot 32 bit existed which is ******** because I have had to download specifically 64 bit programs recently. It is good to know Vista is running smoothly on your 2 gigs of RAM. I will no longer hate on people with 2 gigs of RAM and I will be sure to tell them to buy Vista if that ever comes up.

In closing, I love Vista. **** everyone that doesn't.

[StripedWalrus]

try using Foobar to listen to music and see if it still does it.

http://www.foobar2000.org/

It may simply just be the program and your sound card via laptop not responding correctly with everything. Since it is a laptop you most likely wont be able to upgrade your sound card.

However Foobar uses less resources than WMP and sounds better. Try it and see if you have the same probs.

[bigredballer]

Also, if it does do it in more than just WMP, you should check your Hard Drive drivers. We had about 3 or 4 Vista laptops that had the sound skip until we got the correct SATA hard drive drivers. Just another idea to try before dropping a couple for RAM.

[themaninblack]

I downloaded Foobar and it does seem to work a little bit better but I am still getting the same type of crackling pretty regularly.

[StripedWalrus]

I downloaded Foobar and it does seem to work a little bit better but I am still getting the same type of crackling pretty regularly.

Has it always made the crackling sounds since you owned the laptop or has this just been a recent problem?

[themaninblack]

I think it has been like this ever since I had to reformat my hard drive about 6 months ago.

[Paul]

I think it has been like this ever since I had to reformat my hard drive about 6 months ago.

Trying updating your sound drivers. Whats the make and model of your laptop?

[themaninblack]

Gateway Model E-265M. Ive tried to update my drivers but it wont let me for some reason.

[StripedWalrus]

Gateway Model E-265M. Ive tried to update my drivers but it wont let me for some reason.

Paul may be right there. It could be a Sound driver problem...it can be many many things.

Are you using headphones or speakers?

[themaninblack]

Im using my speakers at all times.

[the decider13]

I keep hearing hate from everyone about Vista but not only has Vista never given me a problem but I also find it ******* awesome. It is so easy for me to use, runs beyond smoothly, and has never once given me a problem (I think it has slowed down 5 times tops since I bought it). Now I am sure this has a lot to do with the fact that I bought a new comp last year and I would never recommend Vista to anyone with a ****** computer (which I would say is at least 75 percent of the computer owning population) because Vista is clearly way to ******* awesome for them to handle. Of course I am a computer n00b so I could be talking out of my ass. Unlikely though.

Vista is better on good machines, but still not great. My dad has it on his new laptop and it locks up all the time. Dunno why. I still don't love vista...I love XP. I had 98 for freaking ever so I will probably hold on to XP for a while lol

[themaninblack]

So, how would I go about updating my drivers to see if that really is the problem?

[StripedWalrus]

So, how would I go about updating my drivers to see if that really is the problem?

If it is not letting you update them and saying they are already updated then its probably updated. Now, maybe its the speakers that are the problem? I had a set of headphones once that would do the same thing...but got a new set and it didnt. You have any headphones layin around you can test on it?

[themaninblack]

If it is not letting you update them and saying they are already updated then its probably updated. Now, maybe its the speakers that are the problem? I had a set of headphones once that would do the same thing...but got a new set and it didnt. You have any headphones layin around you can test on it?

I am almost positive it is not the speakers because this stuff only happens when pages are being loaded that have a significant amount of media on them. Ex. Funny Pictures thread, Hot Chicks thread, etc.

[thule]

I am almost positive it is not the speakers because this stuff only happens when pages are being loaded that have a significant amount of media on them. Ex. Funny Pictures thread, Hot Chicks thread, etc.

go to gateway site or w/e locate your model or find a driver section on the site and download them....then run the file..it's most likely a exe.

[themaninblack]

I updated my drivers and it seems to be working thus far but I do think it is probably a memory issue. Im gonna see what happens when FF is hogging the memory because on reboot it usually isn't.

[themaninblack]

Well, still no problems at all. Thanks everyone and if I haven't given some of you rep try and remind me thru PM or something as it said I had given out too much in a 24 hour period lol. I really really appreciate everyone's assistance.

[StripedWalrus]

Well, still no problems at all. Thanks everyone and if I haven't given some of you rep try and remind me thru PM or something as it said I had given out too much in a 24 hour period lol. I really really appreciate everyone's assistance.

np at all man! Glad to hear you got it fixed!

[Stash]

Tmib, for future computer problems, I would advise you to ask on a computer forum lol. These guys almost had you buying 8 gigs RAM for a sound driver issue lol.

[themaninblack]

Yea I understand that but everyone around here is pretty helpful and they all pretty much know me from being around awhile. There are some really technologically smart ppl on here so I figured it wouldnt hurt to ask. I really do need more memory in a general sense anyway though and Ive known that for awhile. Its not like buying 8 gigs of memory is expensive either.

[Stash]

8 gigs could cost you around 80-100 bucks, that would have been epic failure if you bought all that when it turned out you didn't need it.

[Paranoidmoonduck]

I really don't think this is a RAM problem. Like at all.

Updating your drivers almost always handles this thing properly (and in your case, it seems to have sinched it). It's a good thing two, because the next options are trying to find out what's either physically wrong with your sound card or what's wrong with the voltages coming out of your speakers.

[themaninblack]

It probably has nothing to do with my memory but I still think Im gonna need to get a couple of gigs anyway.

[Paranoidmoonduck]

It probably has nothing to do with my memory but I still think Im gonna need to get a couple of gigs anyway.

Can't hurt. If you're running a generic sound card off the motherboard, a real soundcard wouldn't hurt any either.

[eaglesalltheway]

Well this has nothing to do with this threead, but here goes.

I was going to play CJ in some scrabble, but my ******** computer would go on to pogo.com, I'd click word games, see scrabble, click it, click on the room to play it. Everything is going fine, right? WRONG. The window for the room will come up, and the ad will play, but once the ad is over, the window is there, the game still apparently loading, and the window will randomly close. My fail at internet will never end. I have Internet Explorer if that'll help. Any info/help/reassuring pats on the shoulder would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[CJSchneider]

/me snickers then begins laughing uncontrollably.

[eaglesalltheway]

/me snickers then begins laughing uncontrollably.

/me cries in corner.

[eaglesalltheway]

Well this has nothing to do with this threead, but here goes.

I was going to play CJ in some scrabble, but my ******** computer would go on to pogo.com, I'd click word games, see scrabble, click it, click on the room to play it. Everything is going fine, right? WRONG. The window for the room will come up, and the ad will play, but once the ad is over, the window is there, the game still apparently loading, and the window will randomly close. My fail at internet will never end. I have Internet Explorer if that'll help. Any info/help/reassuring pats on the shoulder would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Getting this here, so people will see it.

[ChezPower4]

Getting this here, so people will see it.

Try using Google Chrome or Firefox as your browser. Both are far superior to IE.

[awfullyquiet]

Well this has nothing to do with this threead, but here goes.

I was going to play CJ in some scrabble, but my ******** computer would go on to pogo.com, I'd click word games, see scrabble, click it, click on the room to play it. Everything is going fine, right? WRONG. The window for the room will come up, and the ad will play, but once the ad is over, the window is there, the game still apparently loading, and the window will randomly close. My fail at internet will never end. I have Internet Explorer if that'll help. Any info/help/reassuring pats on the shoulder would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

problem one:

make sure you have the most up to date version of your web browser

problem two:

internet explorer sucks balls. the only time it works better is when you're on .NET sites (see sites that end in .asp/.aspx)

problem three:

you might not have the proper version of flash (maybe?) loaded. make sure you're fully updated on that too. IIRC, both pogo and yahoo games uses flash for their games.

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

delete temporary files and defrag your harddrive.

also, are you using a wireless router?

[eaglesalltheway]

problem one:

make sure you have the most up to date version of your web browser

problem two:

internet explorer sucks balls. the only time it works better is when you're on .NET sites (see sites that end in .asp/.aspx)

problem three:

you might not have the proper version of flash (maybe?) loaded. make sure you're fully updated on that too. IIRC, both pogo and yahoo games uses flash for their games.

1. Check
2. I know, but w/e
3. I'll check on that, I probably should though.

[eaglesalltheway]

delete temporary files and defrag your harddrive.

also, are you using a wireless router?

I actually jsut defragged it earlier this morning.

No.

[CJSchneider]

Since my last post I have:

Assembled a new computer chair
made lunch for 3 kids
set up slip-n-slide for said kids to play in

Any luck?

[eaglesalltheway]

Since my last post I have:

Assembled a new computer chair
made lunch for 3 kids
set up slip-n-slide for said kids to play in

Any luck?

No, but during that time I have made and ate my lunch, as well as done 3 sets of laundry...

[Paranoidmoonduck]

I'd figure out what flash that scrabble game is running and try to re-install that. It would appear that in trying to load the flash player some sort of fatal error is being detected by the browser and it is shutting itself down.

[KCJ58]

for some reason I can't open new links on my computer, i tried to fix it through my control panel & it didn't work, I was wondering if anyone knows whats up & can help me, thanks (+rep to anyone that helps)

[CJSchneider]

Check and see if your Ctrl or Windows key is stuck. That happened to me last week.

[awfullyquiet]

Check and see if your Ctrl or Windows key is stuck. That happened to me last week.

my alt key gets stuck all the time.

[CJSchneider]

Probably not for the same reason his is :D

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

so i'm on the internet and the computer freezes. restart and windows doesn't load. run diagnostics and get "Error 2000-0142" and "2000-0146". **** it's HDD issues. Only way to get back on (I need to, to do work) is to reformat HDD which means i lose everything. So I reformat and it freezes again. ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now I call Dell and get an indian who speaks every 97th word of english. Anyway i managed to get a new HDD which was under warranty and installed that and i'm up and running but i lost all my songs and whatnot...

[ChezPower4]

so i'm on the internet and the computer freezes. restart and windows doesn't load. run diagnostics and get "Error 2000-0142" and "2000-0146". **** it's HDD issues. Only way to get back on (I need to, to do work) is to reformat HDD which means i lose everything. So I reformat and it freezes again. ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now I call Dell and get an indian who speaks every 97th word of english. Anyway i managed to get a new HDD which was under warranty and installed that and i'm up and running but i lost all my songs and whatnot...

My computer got a virus a few months ago and I lost everything too. Took me like 3 days to get all of my music back and I'm still get all the movies back that I had. So I know how you feel.

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

My computer got a virus a few months ago and I lost everything too. Took me like 3 days to get all of my music back and I'm still get all the movies back that I had. So I know how you feel.i'm a semi-ratard. I keep all my movies on an external HDD but i don't backup my songs. So I still have all my 245 gigs of movies.

[Brent]

Best investment for someone who downloads a lot is an external, all you have to do is make a habit of updating what's on there every few days.

[Paranoidmoonduck]

Best investment for someone who downloads a lot is an external, all you have to do is make a habit of updating what's on there every few days.

It's not even much of an investment anymore. You can get a good TB drive for under $150 these days.

[Brent]

It's not even much of an investment anymore. You can get a good TB drive for under $150 these days.
Think: broke ass college kids

[ChezPower4]

Best investment for someone who downloads a lot is an external, all you have to do is make a habit of updating what's on there every few days.

I leaned my lesson and went out and bought a TB external HD.

[nrk]

It's not even much of an investment anymore. You can get a good TB drive for under $150 these days.

Yup, and then partition it into 2 drives. I back up all my anime/music/movies/games on the larger half and regularly reformat the windows partition.

[Paranoidmoonduck]

Think: broke ass college kids

I am a broke ass college kid. I'm not suggesting that most sane people need a TB to fill, but merely pointing out that they are really cheap these days.

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

Just found a great deal for on a 1 terabyte EHDD for $109 on newegg.com.

[Brent]

I am a broke ass college kid. I'm not suggesting that most sane people need a TB to fill, but merely pointing out that they are really cheap these days.
I wasnt aware you were also broke, PMD. Just saying, for some, $150 is a lot.

[ChezPower4]

Just found a great deal for on a 1 terabyte EHDD for $109 on newegg.com.

newegg.com is an awesome website, it's the first place I look for any of my computer stuff.

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

so im tired of Vista and thinking of 7. can anyone tell me any significant differences between the 2?

[Paul]

so im tired of Vista and thinking of 7. can anyone tell me any significant differences between the 2?

I've heard nothing but great things when it comes to improvements from Vista. Which isn't pretty hard since Vista maybe the most scrutinized OS since Windows ME. Most of the improvements are under the hood, as it runs quicker then vista, but there are some UI improvements as well. I can't really get into specifics because I haven't even played with the beta or RC yet, but from all indications it is well worth the upgrade.

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

so basically i got BSOD 5 times today. since, BRAND NEW HDD BTW...anyway since everytime i close my laptop lid it improperly shuts down. so i went into power setting and made sure it wasnt set to shut down, it wasn't. i've exhausted all other options.

[nrk]

so basically i got BSOD 5 times today. since, BRAND NEW HDD BTW...anyway since everytime i close my laptop lid it improperly shuts down. so i went into power setting and made sure it wasnt set to shut down, it wasn't. i've exhausted all other options.

I had a lot of BSOD when using Vista. I switched to Windows 7 last month and haven't had one yet.

[wogitalia]

I've heard nothing but great things when it comes to improvements from Vista. Which isn't pretty hard since Vista maybe the most scrutinized OS since Windows ME. Most of the improvements are under the hood, as it runs quicker then vista, but there are some UI improvements as well. I can't really get into specifics because I haven't even played with the beta or RC yet, but from all indications it is well worth the upgrade.

I am in the same boat in that I haven't given it a spin, but everything I have read has shown it to be a significant upgrade on Vista, I am yet to see anything that places it above of XP beyond doubt, but it has certainly beaten Vista.

That all said, if MS couldn't beat Vista they should just give up, that was the biggest piece of DRM bloated, memory hogging crap I have ever seen. MS seemed to be more worried about countering piracy with it than they were with making a good system, which is surefire way number 1 on how to fail. Simple fact is that nothing they can do will stop piracy, so just accept it and make the OS something that people want to pirate/buy.

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

I had a lot of BSOD when using Vista. I switched to Windows 7 last month and haven't had one yet.
pm me how i should go about doing so please.

[7-11]

I am in the same boat in that I haven't given it a spin, but everything I have read has shown it to be a significant upgrade on Vista, I am yet to see anything that places it above of XP beyond doubt, but it has certainly beaten Vista.

That all said, if MS couldn't beat Vista they should just give up, that was the biggest piece of DRM bloated, memory hogging crap I have ever seen. MS seemed to be more worried about countering piracy with it than they were with making a good system, which is surefire way number 1 on how to fail. Simple fact is that nothing they can do will stop piracy, so just accept it and make the OS something that people want to pirate/buy.

yay for pirating windows 7!

[Saints 4 Lyfe]

bumping for much needed help...

[7-11]

Alright i need someone remotely computer literate to help me out here.

my old struggler of a pc has 160gb hard drive, now all i use this for is basically holding my music and using the net whenever im at my parents house. So i have about 65 gb of music and basically nothing else on the hard drive, yet it's telling me i only have 3gb of memory left? What's going on with my other 90+ gb? So confused about this and any help would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT: treesize is a very helpful program