Pavilion 9694c running XP - need help!

[Elad_1]

I'm running XP (NTFS) on this computer and need urgent help. The thing keeps crashing! I also recently installed a GeForce Ti 4200 and now I get bluescreens and crashes. I tried updating my BIOS but when I got to the A:\ prompt it said at the top of the screen "Windows Millenium" and nothing I did worked - someone help!

[Ron Kinner]

Go to windowsupdate.microsoft.com and click on Scan for Updates. Odds are you have a bad driver for your 4200. Perhaps MS will have a new one for you.

Otherwise try:

http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?IO=det_xp_winxp-2k_29.42

(This one's from June 11, 2002 so has to be newer than the one that came with it.)

unless you are running 64 bits then there is a different driver on the same site.

Ron

[Elad_1]

Well, the first thing I did was update my driver using the latest from nVidia's site. That was even prior to the errors. How do I know if I'm running the XP/2000 or XP/64-bit?

[Roger Faucher]

Elad:

The 64-bit version is for Windows XP running on a 64-bit processor like the new Intel Itanium. Chances are very good you want the other one!

Roger

[Roger Faucher]

Elad:

Do I understand this correctly? You were having problems with crashes before you installed the GeForce4, then installed it and things got worse? If so, you may want to consider removing it and resolving the first problem, then re-installing the video card. Also, we could use some 'definition of terms'. What do you mean by "crashes"? Do you mean a lockup/hang with no mouse pointer movement and CTRL/ALT/DELETE has no effect? If yes, one or more of your fans may have stopped or may be running slow.

Please let us know your definition of 'crash' and what message you get with the BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death).

Thanks.

Roger

[Elad_1]

Right, sorry. Well, by a "crash" I mean that I get a box that pops up that says the program isn't responding, and asks me if I want to send the error report (or something similar of that sort), and then terminated the program. The blue screen of death, surprisingly, hasn't happened since I uninstalled one of the games I was using (America's Army) - but I was getting a message about some sort of memory dump problem. As for the BIOS problem, that's clear and simple. I followed the instructions on HP's website for updating BIOS on a Windows XP machine, and I go to the A:\ prompt that they talk about, and none of the commands worked (it said Windows Millenium at the top of the screen).

I hope that clarifies some things so that you could further assist me. :-
-Elad

[Richard_86]

Bad News !!! I ran xp for a while and went back to 98 because of crashes and memory dumps.
I still have some problems however I know as long as I have this PC there will be problems if you know what I mean.

[Roger Faucher]

Elad:

Is this the procedure you used to create the BIOS update floppy? At what point does it fail? Do you get the A:\> prompt? Can you enter the C: command? ETC, etc. Have you tried using a second floppy and reformatting it and making sure there are zero errors on the floppy disk?

Is it always the same program that crashes? Is it the same one, two, or three programs? Can you capture the error message (move the dialog box to the top, left of the screen and press the Print Screen (PrtScrn) key, then open Paint and do Edit/Paste and File/Save) and post it.

I would disable all the 'startup' programs and monitor the system. If it seems to work, add them back in (one at a time)until you've got the programs identified which cause the problems.

Sorry, I know it's not much help, but you really need to gather more info so we can nail this own. Sorry it took so long to reply, I must have missed an e-mail message.

Roger

PS: How much RAM do you have installed?

[Roger Faucher]

Elad:

Sorry, I forgot to include the BIOS update link:

http://www.hp.com/cposupport/personal_computing/support_doc/bph06631.html

Roger