Topic: Recurring problem

[Pwilsonscott]

There was a picture as my desktop, which i have removed ( slected none ). The problem is still there, still on this particular game which a single left click sends to the task bar, a double left click runs ok. Other games at the moment are all being sent to the taskbar, all them ran fine this morning. The above mentioned game is a darts demo which was on a free CD. Do you think i should remove it ?

[Pwilsonscott]

Just for extra information, the problem has just occured and a pressed Cntrl/Alt/Delete. Under processes, there are about 40 entries, under CPU they all say 0 except for the game itself which says 99, although this flickers between 97 and 99.  
Under Mem usage all entries have figures in k values, some change in value eg explorer.exe
Thanks again for your interest.

[Pwilsonscott]

Hope this means something. I have just tried to run a game and it went to the task bar and i was returned to the desktop. When i pressed Cntrl/Alt/Delete to pull up the Windows Task Manager, and select processes, all the entries had 0 under CPU heading except the last entry which was called System Idle Process.
Image name = system idle process
User Name = SYSTEM
CPU = 99
Mem usage = 20 k
When i tried to end the process there was a warning message about causing undesired results so i left it alone,
Could this be connected to the intermittent problem ?

[Adept]

Sorry PWS, the System Idle Process is what your PC does when it doesn't have anything better to do  

This problem is taxing our best brains here. We only have two teccies left, who haven't made a contribution yet - so hopefully they will be able to help soon.

Dack and Lobo where are you?

[Dack]

Currently involved in a murder case (honest!) and house repair so will try and have a look at the problem in the morning

Does sound like an explorer or DirectX related issue from the cursory glance I've had.

Firstly worth checking your direct X setup.

From the Start menu choose RUN and then type DXDIAG and press return

This will then carry out the Direct X test - important to note the status/versions of the drivers you have installed (are they certified etc. and does the full screen option work correctly).

I also notice you haven't said what graphics card etc you have installed - I'd guess at a Kyro 2 based one as the Naturalcolor.exe line mentioned earlier seems vaguely familiar. Also worth mentioning what games are showing the problem.

Now off to bed before the girlfriend kills me

[Dack]

Then again  

Could you download and run Hijack this from tomcoyote.org/hjt/

Hit the scan key, save the log anfd then post it here. Just found a similar problem someone had when they had some spyware installed......always best to check.

[lobo]

@Pwilsonscott
It seems to me that it is a graphics problem, is your Video Card up to game specification, also if your CPU is working at 99% all the time that will make any game difficult to run, fitting additional memory may help and allocating more virtual memory would help also

Make a new profile as a games profile and only load necessary drivers and programs and see if that helps (open user accounts in my control panel)

Brian
 

[Pwilsonscott]

Here are the results from running dxdiag
Under display tab -
Name:Radeon 9200SE, Manufacturer:ATI technologies
Chip type:Radeon 9200 SE AGP(0 x 5964)
DAC type:Internal DAC (400 Mhz)
Approx total memory:128.0 Mb
Current display mode:1024x768(32bit)(35Mhz)
Monitor:Syncmaster753DF(X)
Under drivers tab -
Main driver:ati2dvag.dll
version:6.14.0010.6368(English)
Date:25/06/2003 21:40:44
WHQL Logo'd:n/a
Mini VDD:ati2mtag.sys
VDD:n/a
DDI Version 9(or higher)
Under Direct X features -
Direct Draw Acceleration:Enabled
Direct 3D Acceleration:Enabled
AGP texture Acceleration:Enabled
There are options to test direct draw and direct 3D
Notes:no problems found

There is no mention of the drivers being certifed or not, and i cannot find mention of a full screen option.
Under the system tab, at the bottom it says Direct X version 9.0(4.09.000.0900)
I have not yet downloaded and run Hijack from the address given earlier, but i can do that and send you the results after you have seen the above information. Hope it means something to you.

[Dack]

It's under the 'Display' option of dxdiag. You need to press the buttons marked "test directdraw" and "test direct3d".

It will then carry out a few tests - one of these is the full screen option.

The Hijackthis log will give information on what applications you have running at startup etc.

[Pwilsonscott]

I pressed test direct draw, it carried out some tests and asked me what i saw. The full screen test showed a white bouncing box although it did not travel to the edges of the screen.
I pressed the test direct 3D option, it said it would test various things, but each time i clicked on them, it reurned with the message - "you cancelled the test by pressing a key" but i did not touch anything. Is this significant ?

[Dack]

Yes

This sound familiar:
http://oldlook.experts-exchange.com/Web/Graphics/Q_20808658.html

Definately think you need to run Hijack this now - just do the scan - don't try and fix anything yet.

[Sandra]

I cant find where the option is on mine, maybe its because I have a different graphics card in since the last time I saw it, or maybe its because I am not usually awake at this time of day  
Thers an option to reduce the hardware acceleration in case of display problems, if I remember correctly.
If you can find it try dropping it to between half and two thirds of maximum and see if that helps  

[Pwilsonscott]

1. I can get into the tomcoyote.org site but when i try the hijack this option (tomcoyote.org/hjt/ it says the web site is not responding
2. When i run dxdiag, under the Sound 1 tab there is Hardware sound acceleration set to full, the same under the Sound 2 tab. Are these the settings i should reduce ?

[Simon]

It looks like the link Dack posted may offer a solution.  I did suggest scanning with Ad Aware and Spybot earlier on, did you get round to doing that, PWS?

[Dack]

Curiouser and curiouser - I just tried downloading from there and it all worked correctly.

Try here instead:
http://mjc1.com/mirror/hjt/

Failing that:
http://www.merijn.org/files/hijackthis.zip