[HyperShock1088]

Logitech g5 mouseSoundblaster x-fi extremegamer soundcardSennheiser hd555 headphones OR Medusa 5.1 surround sound headphonesmust haves of a top gaming pcedit: I would strongly recommend the sound card, with the onboard sound you have posted you will be crippled in any game that requires you to use hearing at all(a.k.a. fps). Other than that it's a pretty good pc, I would suggest the g5 over the mx as well but they are both good.

[Arther]

SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT PLEASE READ Ok what a night....my new pc has gotten worse. 1st it was me thinking that my H/D might be bad, but the PC was working fine. I decided to replace my very old sound card with a new one. So I went out after work yesterday and bought a new sound card and the Norton Ghost program. I planned on going home and installing the new sound card then ghosting my H/D so that when they send me my new one it would be easy change over. So I get home yesterday do a windows update, then I removed the old sound card drivers and did a reboot. That is when noticed that it was taken my pc forever to reboot/shut down. So I thought that was strange but I trucked on. I turned the pc off, opend it up and put the new sound card in. I then turned the pc back on and logged in. then I installed the new sound card drivers. I then went to reboot again and noticed it was still taken for ever to reboot/shut down. Again I thought this was strange. I decided to try and figure out why it was doing this. Other than taken for ever to shut down the pc was working fine. I called a friend and askd him what could be causing this. He said to make sure the on board sound was turned off in BIOS just to make sure that was not causing a conflit so I did that. Problem still there. Then we thought well maybe when I uninstalled the old sound card drivers something went wrong and they did not uninstall correctly. So I reinstalled them (new one's are on the pc by this time). Nope problem still there. So then I thought well let me try a system restore, maybe that will take care of it. So I did a system restore to the day before. Nope problem still there. All along the pc is working fine, I can check my e-mail, load games up, open up several funcions and windows it just was taken a really long time to reboot or shut down. So then I rememberd that right after I got home my system asked me to install a windows update. So I think well this might be the problem. So I go and look on the windows update site and see there was a update that I had installed. But the update says once installed you can not uninstall it. I thought to my self why did my system download it in the 1st place. So I go to the windows secrutiy center and notice that my windows firewall is on and windows update is set to auto download and install. I never use these settings but maybe when I got this new machine I forgot to turn that crap off. So I decided to turn both of them off. Then I thought let me try another system resotre and this time make sure that it does not restore those settings. So I do another system restore to the day before the update and once logged in I make sure the settings are turned off. Then to my delight my system starts shuting down and rebooting like normal. I think to my self wow maybe it was the automatic windows update that was trying to connect to the internet and check for updates each time I was trying to do a reboot or shut down, and that what was taken so long. So I do several reboots and shut downs and everything seems to be working fine. By this time I have spens hours and hours messing with this. I then go to install the new drivers for the new sound card and when I go to do a reboot it starts again....I think to my self $&#* @$&% you get the point. I think to my self that it could not possible be the new sound card because it was not ever installed yet when this problem 1st started. However just to make sure I decided to put the old sound card back in the pc and go from there. So I turn off pc, take out new sound card, put old one back in fire pc up and start to install the old sound card drivers. Not part way through the install of the old sound card drivers I notice it was taken a really long time to load simple drivers. I look at my lcd display screen that shows my pc temp, fan speed, HD activity ect..and notice that my HD is not being accessed and I don't here it either. So I check task manager and see that "System Idle Process" is useing up 99/100" my system just sits there doing nothing. So I hit the reboot button and logg back in and try to install the drivers again. Again it does it..but this time I just wait it out, now it gets about half way on the install and the pc reboots its self. I think what the hell...so I log back in and try to install again. It finally gets installed and ask for a reboot, so I wait forever for it to reboot and then the real fun starts. When it was rebooting It would get just about to the windows logg in screen then I would see a blue scrren flash real fast with some wording on it and it would reboot again. It did this a few time and finally allowed me to logg back into windows. Now at this time I decided to do another system restore but this time I will do it 2days back when I know for sure the system was working perfect. So I do that and once it was done I logg back in and it picks up printer,sound card and hub on my monitor. I try to reinstall the old sound card drivers again and it would get about a 1/4 way through and BAM I got the flash of the blue screen and it would reboot its self. It did this a few more times, and finally I was able to logg back into windows. Then it did it again but this time I stopped on the blue screen and said that "there was a problem with my hardware and to protect windows the system has shut down..ect...ect..something like that" So I do a reboot and get the screen that gives a choice of starting up on safe mode, normal mode ect..I pick normal mode and it loops again and again. Then finally I get logged into windows. At this point I have no idea what is going on. So I do a system resotre to one day before. I get logged in and everything seems to be fine. But then the same blue screen pops up and give me the same message. So now I unplugg my speaker, my hub for the monitor..and only leave the mouse, keyboard, and nic cable for internet plugged in. I finally get logged back in and start trying out diffrent functions, I even load up EQ2 and logg into several toons and even let it run for about 20 min with out any problems, I then logg out of EQ2 and load up 3Dmark and run it several times. Everything seems to be working fine, BUT then when I try to do a shut down I get the blue screen again givng me the same message. Again it take me to screen with safe mode or normal mode. So I pick normal mode and logg into windows. I then do a complet shut down. I go to bed, and when I wake up to head to work I turn on the pc and when it is about half way done loading up again it reboots its self and goes to either safe mode or normal mode..so I pick normal mode it brings up the windows logg in screen and just shut it down and head to work. So as you can see for some reason my dam PC just went crazy. The only thing I can think of to do is try a windows repair or a complete re-format. Does any one have any other ideas????Sorry here is my pc set up:1000 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0132RU Power Supply Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6700 (2x 2.66GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSBMSI P6N SLI-F nForce 650i SLI Chipset w/7.1 Sound, Gb LAN, S-ATA, USB 2.0, IEEE 1394, PCI-E MB 2048MB [1024MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair XMS2 Xtreme w/Heat Spreader More Options8800 GTX 768mbGaming HARD DRIVES [Serial ATA-150, 10,000 RPM] WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 16M Cache Hard Drive More Options 18X Dual Format/Double Layer DVDR/RW CD-R/RW Drive 18X Dual Format/Double Layer DVDR/RW CD-R/RW Drive Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard Windows XP Home w/SP2

[spike]

Just to refresh our memory's, please list your CURRENT comp. spec's.

[Arther]

added system information above..let me know if I missed anything important

[spike]

Norton Ghost May be your problem, I just spoke to one of the guys here at the shop, who reminded me about his comp. and how, after he loaded norton ghost, his comp. did the same thing yours did, what he did was to do a system repair, this was necessary, due to the intrusive nature of all of nortons products, the process is as follows;Repairing Windows You can repair your Windows XP installation by rerunning the Windows Setup program. This option is quick and not that difficult, ALTHOUGH YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL THAT YOU DON'T CHOOSE THE WRONG REPAIR OPTION!!!!!!Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM drive and restart your computer. If you see a Press Any Key To Boot From CD prompt, tap the spacebar. The Windows Setup program runs automatically. When you reach the Welcome to Windows Setup screen, DO NOT choose the option to repair your system with the Recovery Console! That option takes you to a highly technical command-line environment. (A technical support professional may be able to walk you through making repairs in the Recovery Console, but don't go there alone.) Instead, press Enter to continue the Windows Setup program. After you accept the license agreement, Windows searches your hard disk for an existing installation of Windows. If it finds such an installation, it offers a menu that includes a repair option. Press R to perform the repair

[rgreen4]

Spike - I started to post and when I went back to check on something your post came up. I cannot agree more. I used to be a Norton Ghost fan, but no more. They have not kept it up with the current market and in fact they no longer offer it on their website. I discovered it when I attempted to use Ghost 2003 on my new machine with ICH8 drive controller and had to upgrade to Ghost10. What a waste of money. It wouldn't boot the recovery disc either. Unfortunately this was a download. Their support was absolutely worthless.My policy now is NO NORTON/SYMANTEC PRODUCTS[i]I use Acronis. Arther take it back if you can.

[Arther]

Thanks for the feed backThere is one problem with that theroy I never actually got a chance to install norton ghost. Heck I never even got it out of the box yet. All I did was come home, do windows update, uninstall old sound card drivers then try to reboot and the system just starting taken forever to reboot/shut down. Then over the course of a few hours it starting just rebooting its self, or giving me the safe mode option, or giving me the blue screen that tells me there was a problem and windows was shut down for protection.

[spike]

Ok, your hardware installation, has a problem, go ahead and do the repair I posted, EXACTLY as I described, and lets go from there.Either way, a software error/ hardware error. your registry has become corrupted, and unless you can find that specific error and repair it, then going back to the disc is the quickest way to fix this, you will have to load the new sound card again, but we'll cross that bridge, when the time comes.Never do multiple changes at the same time, EVER, you can't find which thing was the problem.

[Arther]

Thanks a ton for the help so far guys. And yes I will take back Norton ghost. I just bought it yesterday and have not even opend it yet. I should have known better concidering I uninstalled Norton systemworks from my old pc a long time because it was a pain to deal with. When I get off work today I will head home and pull out the new sound card. Then I will try to do a repair with only the keyboard, mouse, and monitor hooked up. Hope this will take care of the problem. Then I will one by one start adding things back on like sound card, monitor usb hub, printer..and keep fingers crossed. Of course if that does not work I will just reformat the pc. This by chance would not be a sign of a bad H/D ???

[spike]

[quote:6d732e523f]Of course if that does not work I will just reformat the pc. [/quote:6d732e523f]Just follow my directions and you will likely NOT have to reformat[quote:6d732e523f]This by chance would not be a sign of a bad H/D ???[/quote:6d732e523f][/quote]Not likely.

[Arther]

Cool thanks for the info. I will do the repair when I get home today and once it is all and done I will post here with results. But man I tell ya what before this started to hpapn and I was able to load up EQ2 and supreme commander so I can check out the graphics ....man it looked awsome!!!Can't wait until I can actually sit down and enjoy this machine. Of course loading the games and my scores on 3Dmark to me still seem to be a little slow/low cincidering the set up I have. i would have expected it to load faster and get better score's

[spike]

The 3D Mark scores, may be a bit low, and AFTER you get the system stable, you can check some of the web sites and get different ways to improve your scores, a little tweaking and some configuration settings and you will likely see some improvement. Building and configuring a new comp. can be frustrating, at first, just take your time , go slow, and do the research, and you should have a very nice set up.

[Arther]

Well so far so good. When I got home the other day I decided to just be on the safe side and do a re-format. It took maybe 30min from start to finish, I then installed MB and GC drivers and did about 50 reboots just to make sure the pc was working correctly. I then slowly started to install other things and slowly started to update stuff. I even loaded up a few games on it eventuly and ran them a bit to make sure. So far so good..the only thing I have not re-hooked back up to the pc is the usb hub from my monitor and my printer. Side note: has any one used these new USB 2.0 wireless nextwork thumb drives?? If so has any one had any problems with them?? For some reason the pc that I replaced with this new one is locking up from time to time. My old pc has always worked perfect, and all I did was move it from my office to my bedroom. The only thing that is diffrent about my old pc from one room to the next is that I added the USB 2.0 wireless thumb flash card, it is a smaller monitor (in my bedroom) and a diffrent printer (which I installed the drivers for) and a diffrent keyboard. Now I would not think the plug & play mointor would cause any problems, and I would not think the keyboard would make a diffrence. The printer might (but it is a fairly new printer, and I installed the drivers for it) so the only thing I can think of is the new USB 2.0 thumb flash card??Any ideas

[spike]

8) Glad you got the new one going again, but as for the USB wireless thumb drive, I have no experience with them, and I try to avoid anything and every thing wireless.

[Arther]

Now that things seem to be working correctly on my new gaming pc I was wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I am getting the most out of my pc with out overcllocking??I do not want to mess with O/C but if there where small minor changes I can make to my pc to make sure I am getting the most out of it, like change a setting here, run a program there..ect...??Again my current system is:1000 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0132RU Power Supply Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6700 (2x 2.66GHz/4MB L2 Cache/1066FSB)Asus P5N-E SLI nForce 650i SLI Chipset w/6-channel CODEC, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, IEEE-1394 Dual PCI-E MB 2048MB [1024MB X2] DDR2-800 PC6400 Memory Module Corsair XMS2 Xtreme w/Heat Spreader More Options Nvidia Gforce 8800 GTX 768mbGaming HARD DRIVES [Serial ATA-150, 10,000 RPM] WD Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 16M Cache Hard Drive More Options 18X Dual Format/Double Layer DVDR/RW CD-R/RW Drive 18X Dual Format/Double Layer DVDR/RW CD-R/RW Drive Logitech X-540 5.1 Surround Speakers + Subwoofer Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard Logitech MX518 Gaming-Grade Optical Mouse Windows XP Home w/SP2

[spike]

Yes, and the best thing to do is look at some of the O/C forums, they still have some good ideas, even if you don't O/C, and Tomshardware , .....do a google search for windows tweaks, ....also check out ; http://www.blackvipe...vicecfg.htmThis has always been a good site for tweaks, this guy knows his stuff.

[rgreen4]

You are calling it a USB wireless thumb drive and then a USB flash card. Is it a USB wireless card, or is it a USB memory stick. I don't think they have been combined (yet). I have seen them, but never used one. My system came OEM with wireless PCI card.Are you sure the USB port on the machine you are plugging into is 2.0 and not 1.1? I don't think 1.1 has enough throughput.Does the wireless work?

[Arther]

Sorry I know I keep calling it the wrong name. It is a wireless card that plugs right into USB that looks just like a external flash drive. I was told they are kinda new How would I be able to make sure that my pc supports USB2.0 ?And yes the wireless network works fine all my other computers are connecting to the internet just fine. The reason this PC did not have a wireless card was because it use to be my main pc which was pluged directly into my rounter but then I got a new pc and moved this one from my office to my bedroom.