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Free Scan: Update Your PC's Outdated Drivers to Optimize Performance
Old June 30th, 2003, 05:31 PM   Digg it!   #1 (permalink)
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Packard Bell Problems

Hi,

A buddy of mine has the following PC which is used mainly by his daughter.


Packard Bell Pulsar 30/1
300 MHz
20GB Disc
64MB memory
56K modem
BIOS Phoenix 4.0 Release 6
4A4LL0X0.11A.00004.P02 08/26/97( this is the No I added it at 11:16 GMT on 07/01/03))

OS WIN 98SE

He started having probs with it where she got a few BSOD'S about 6 weeks ago. One day it just wouldn't go.

I was asked about what to do and suggested that if he could wait for me to get home I would sort it out for him. Teenage pressure tactics got to him so he took it to a local PC Repair shop. Diagnosis - Dead Mobo, the guy gave him a good price to build a new one.

While he was thinking about what to do another PC Repair man was consulted and has a look says IDE Cables are backwards, changes them around and sends the guy away with it. PC plugged in at home and guess what- No Go

He was telling someone else about who who referred him to PC Repair man no 3. This guy diagnosed the problem as being the HDD and fitted a new one. The PC now runs but it takes an eternity to get going.

From power on to getting going is like 4 mins

It moves smoothly enough but sssslowly through the Memory testing etc down past the Keyboard and then Mouse until then it just sits for 40 secs until the HDD shows up and a further 30 secs until the CD Rom appears then there is a bit of grinding and wirring and 90 secs later Windows appears.

Once Bills best is up and away it goes as one would expect from a machine of this spec and it is certainly a lot quieter than I remember it being from a HDD point of view. Sadly the old HDD was thrown so I can't see if in fact was a duffer or not.

Can anyone shed any light as to why this thing should take such an inordinate time to get flashed up?

In the Setup there is a statement HDD Pre Delay 12 secs. What does this mean/do? Would this have any bearing on it's slow get go?

Is it possible that this old PC was never setup to run such a big HDD and the BIOS was played with( flashed) to accommodate the new HDD?

Cheers

Nodnerb2
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Last edited by nodnerb2 : July 1st, 2003 at 08:18 AM.
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Old June 30th, 2003, 09:34 PM     #2 (permalink)
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I would take a look in the bios and see if the caches (internal and external) are enabled. If it's a celeron you may not have internal cache. My friend went through the same thing with a celeron 400 and I suggested that he looks at the bios. Sure enough they were off. Without their caches it runs at 16mhz.

\o/ Billy

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Old June 30th, 2003, 09:39 PM     #3 (permalink)
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Here's another possiblity. Check to see if it has a network card installed. It may be trying to lease an IP address which can take ages on 98 if there is no dhcp available. If it's there and not in use, just disable it

Edit -> I just re-read your post and I don't think I'm right but it may be useful info for somebody..

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Old July 1st, 2003, 07:49 AM     #4 (permalink)
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Another consideration may be the system memory. Sometime if your memory is starting to go, boot times can increase and overall responsiveness of the computer will decrease.

If you can, try some alternate memory or at least swap out the modules and test them.
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Old July 1st, 2003, 08:14 AM     #5 (permalink)
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Hi,

Thanks for the replies guys.

I have been to the machine and spent a little more time with it and have found the correct BIOS String No which is4A4LL0X0.11A.0004.P02.

I also discovered that it has 192 Mb RAM not 64 as I put above

The RAM is Arranged Slot 0 32 Mb
Slot 1 32 Mb
Slot 2 128 Mb

Is this the right way around or should it be the other way round with the 128Mb one in Slot 0?

I reinstalled a lot of the software and ran Disk Doctor from Norton System Works. It produced this error:

Drive C: may not be configured correctly. Norton Disk Doctor cannot run on this drive. Please consult the readme.TXT for more info on this problem.

This is what the readme.TXT file has to say. I can't find anything that relates to my problem where the drive can't be scanned.

The Drive is a WDC WD200EB-11CPFO

It's properties are FAT 32, 1.04 Gb Used, 18.96 Gb Free

================================================== ============
WinFax PRO 10.0 Symantec Corporation
Release Notes February 2000
================================================== ============

The following information reflects changes made since the
WinFax PRO User's Guide was printed. We recommend you
review this document before you install and use WinFax.

================================================== ============
INSTALLATION NOTES
================================================== ============

This section describes known issues that you may encounter
when installing WinFax.

Installing WinFax with NAV 5.0 Auto-Protect enabled
================================================== ====
The "scan all files" option enabled in NAV 5.0's Auto-Protect
feature may hinder the complete installation of
WinFax. To ensure a complete install, simply change
the option to scan "Program files" only.

Scripted Install and DCOM/COMCTL32
================================================== ====
Before running a scripted installation (automated
multiple install) of WinFax, you must install or update
DCOM (Windows 95) and COMCTL32. The related executable
files (DCOM95.EXE and 40COMUPD.EXE) are located in the
ADMIN directory on your WinFax installation CD.

Installing the RightFax communications device
=============================================
If you want to be able to use the RightFax Client server
feature in WinFax, you must install WinFax using the
Custom Install option. During installation, select Custom
Install, and ensure that RightFax is selected as an available
Communications Device.


================================================== ==============
WinFax Fax Sharing
================================================== ==============
To use the Fax Sharing feature, we recommend that you have
the most recent version of DCOM98 installed on your computer.
This will ensure that all Fax Sharing features function
smoothly. To download the latest version of DCOM98, visit the
Microsoft Web site at:
http://www.microsoft.com/Com/resources/downloads.asp
This is required ONLY if you want to run WinFax in
Fax Sharing mode.

When the Fax Sharing option is enabled, you must have
the same date, time, and location settings on both the host and
the client computers. Additionally, the dial as entered location
should not be used when configuring the Fax Sharing
host, as this may incorrectly assemble phone numbers sent from
the Fax Sharing client.

When running in Fax Sharing mode, you must be running the
same language versions of your operating system on both the host
and the client computers.

When running in Fax Sharing mode, a mixture of double-byte
character (DBCS) and single-byte character (SBCS) systems
may not be used. Both the host and client machines must be
using the same type of character system.

When setting up the WinFax Fax Sharing host machine, you must
close and then restart WinFax in order for all settings to
be activated.

Be aware that a Fax Sharing Host may take a relatively long
time to close if attached Clients are shut down without first
exiting the Controller.



Dial-Up NetWorking in Windows 95
================================================== ===============

If you use the Fax Sharing feature and you also connect
to the Internet using your modem (via a dial-up connection), you
are prompted to connect to the Internet each time you start
WinFax.

Quick Fix: When prompted, click Cancel, as you do not need
to connect to the Internet to use WinFax.

There are two ways to handle this situation on an ongoing basis:

A You can click Cancel each time this dialog appears (as
mentioned above). This option is best suited to those who
connect to the Internet more frequently than they use
WinFax, or for those who cannot change their Internet
connection method because of corporate standards.

B You can change your Internet connection method to the
network option so that this dialog does not appear when you
start WinFax. When you next want to connect to the Internet,
you must then change your connection method back to the modem
option.

If you want to use Option B, do the following:

1 Click the Windows Start button, point to Settings, and then
click Control Panel.
2 Double click "Internet".
3 Click the Connection tab.
4 Do one of the following:
- If you have Internet Explorer 4.0 installed: Enable Connect
To The Internet Using A Local Area Network.
- If you do not have Internet Explorer 4.0 installed: Disable
Connect To The Internet As Needed.
5 Click Apply.


================================================== ============
DIALING AND AREA CODE ISSUES
================================================== ============

When setting up a WinFax dialing and location Area Code Rule,
note that if you enable the All Calls Are Local checkbox, all
calls made to the specified area code will be dialed as local
calls, regardless of their exchange.


================================================== ============
EMAIL ISSUES
================================================== ============

When setting up email accounts that you plan to use with
WinFax, do not use password containing HI-ASCII or DBCS
characters. User names containing HI-ASCII or DBCS
characters are permissable.

If you are using SMTP/POP3 Internet mail, you should connect to
the Internet before using the Send Fax By Email feature, in
order to avoid possible login error messages.

If your Send Fax By Email recipients are running virus detection
software, the self-viewing executable file format in which
faxes sent by email are packaged may cause a false virus alert.


================================================== ============
MODEM ISSUES
================================================== ============

3Com US Robotics modems
=======================
If you install your USR modem in Windows as a "Standard modem",
Windows will send the wrong TAPI commands to the modem,
causing errors. To avoid this, install your USR modem using
the USR-supplied INF file.

If you use the following USR modem:
USR 56K WIN INT soft modem, #5690, VXD 10/29/99, VXD rev.1.00.028,
call discrimination may not function. Contact your modem provider
for the latest driver updates, as support for this feature may be
provided in a future version of the modem.

If you are running a USR Professional Message modem, a memory modem
capable of receiving and storing fax messages while WinFax is not
running, you may encounter the following problem. Normally, WinFax
simply downloads messages stored in the USR Professional
Message modem when it is started. However, if the modem's memory
is filled to capacity, some message file corruption can occur.
We therefore recommend that you run WinFax on a regular basis
to avoid this problem. In extreme cases, the Controller will
experience a General Protection Fault, and you will need to manually
clear the data stored in the modem (all messages will be lost).
To do this:
1) Run the Windows HyperTerminal utility provided with your
operating system.
2) On the dialog that appears, leave the Connection Description
field blank.
3) Click File/Properties, and in the Connect Using field, ensure
that the USR Professional Message modem is selected.
4) Type AT+MEM, and press Enter.
5) Close HyperTerminal.


================================================== ============
ISDN ISSUES
================================================== ============

At the time of this software release, not all ISDN card
manufacturers had Windows 2000 drivers available for testing.
Not all ISDN cards may work with WinFax if you are running
Windows 2000. Contact your ISDN card manufacturer for more
information, and for the latest updates and drivers.


================================================== ============
MICROSOFT EXCHANGE/OUTLOOK ISSUES
================================================== ============

In Outlook and Outlook Express, any names entered must not
exceed 70 characters (35 DBCS characters), or the WinFax
phonebook scrolling and searching capabilities may be impacted.

If you upgraded to this version of WinFax from the WinFax
Starter Edition, when you receive a new email message
you may not be able to click on any options on that
email, and you may get an "out of memory" error. If this
happens, close the message and, on the Outlook Tools menu,
click Accounts. Then set another email account as the Default.


================================================== ============
LOTUS NOTES ISSUES
================================================== ============

If you are running Lotus Notes and WinFax, WinFax may not
be able to automatically update your Path variable to include
your Lotus Notes location. If this occurs, you will be prompted
to edit your autoexec.bat file to contain the path location
in which you have installed Lotus Notes.
For example: "path=%path%;c:notes"
where "c:" is the installation location
Note that this issue applies to Windows 95/98 users only.
For related issues applying to Windows NT/2000 users, please
see the section entitled Windows NT/2000 Issues.

If running Lotus Notes with WinFax, your WinFax
email login may fail if you use a login name containing
double-byte (DBCS) characters.

If running Lotus Notes with WinFax, your WinFax email
functionality may fail if Lotus Notes is installed in a
directory containing double-byte (DBCS) characters, or if your
Lotus Notes ID contains double-byte characters.


================================================== ============
AOL ISSUES
================================================== ============

If you install WinFax and you use AOL 3.0 or AOL 4.0
Preview Edition in Windows 95, you will experience problems
using the AOL internal browser.

To resolve this issue, upgrade to AOL 4.0 or use another browser
(for example Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer) to access
the Internet.

The Send Fax By Email feature is not available to AOL users.


================================================== ============
WINDOWS NT/2000 ISSUES
================================================== ============

WinFax NT/2000 Server
=====================
Please note that WinFax is supported on Windows NT/2000
workstation installations only. It is not supported on
Windows NT/2000 Server.


WinFax NT/2000 Service answers all calls
========================================
By default, the WinFax NT/2000 Service is set to Automatic
and loads when NT/2000 starts. This allows WinFax to
accept faxes before you log into NT/2000. (The WinFax
NT/2000 Service intercepts all calls.) To avoid possible
conflicts with Remote Access Service and other services
that rely on the modem, set the WinFax NT/2000 Service
to Manual or configure Call Discrimination.


Call Discrimination and Distinctive Ring
========================================
At the time of release, Windows 2000 did not support the
Call Discrimination and Distinctive Ring telephony services
in WinFax. Check the Microsoft Web site for recent updates
or service packs which may provide support for these
features.

Notification and Fax Forwarding Rules
=====================================
Notification and Fax Forwarding rules will only be applied
to new calls after you log into Windows NT/2000.


Lotus Notes and Windows NT/2000
========================================
If you are running Lotus Notes and WinFax together
under Windows NT/2000, WinFax may not be able to
automatically update your Path variable to include
your Lotus Notes location. If this occurs, you will be prompted
to manually edit your environment path variable to
contain the path location in which you have
installed Lotus Notes. To do this, open your Windows
Control Panel, double-click System, and click the
Environment tab. Add your Lotus Notes location to
the existing Path variable.


================================================== ============
WINFAX/MOBILE ESSENTIALS ISSUES
================================================== ============

If you are running Mobile Essentials and have it set to manage
WinFax settings (in Other Programs), you must set up WinFax to
use Windows dialing, as TAPI is required to support switching
dialing information at location change.


================================================== ============
CONCORD SERVICES ISSUES
================================================== ============

If you are running Windows 95/98, the Concord Services
Fax Broadcast feature may not work on some modems. Please contact
Concord Services for more information.

Cheers

Nodnerb2
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Old July 2nd, 2003, 07:18 PM     #6 (permalink)
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Bump, Anyone any ideas??????????????
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Old July 2nd, 2003, 07:27 PM     #7 (permalink)
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The memory, as installed, should be OK, those 440 boards weren't usually too fussy.

Win 98 should have the appropriate drivers for the disk controllers, but check in the control panel to see if perhaps they are running in 'real mode' . Updating the drivers from a Win98 disk ought to do the trick. Or, Computer Technician number 1,2,3 etc., tried, through software, to enable something higher than UDMA 33. Those motherboards won't do any faster and trying to make them do so just fouls them up.

Finally, in the Control Panel, take a look to see if the hard drive has DMA enabled. This can make a HUGE difference in HDD speed and throughput. The WD is certainly DMA capable, so if you get a warning, you can safely ignore it.

The boot-up time issue really does point to hard drive speed.
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