RAM issue?

[thirdxstrike]

{Sorry I didn't get back around to the other post...My computer just stopped doing anything all together, so we formatted... }

Okay, my issue...I have 768 MB of RAM on this computer now, and when somebody's not online, we're playing games. I play my Sims 2, mostly. But after about half an hour of playing, I have to exit and restart the computer. My little light stops flashing and the game acts as if it's only using about 64 MB/RAM. It's so choppy, I can't do anything with it. And with my internet (really only on mine and my moms' users (we're the main users, Dad's never on and my brother uses mine or moms' if he gets on after us))...I swear, as soon as I log on and open up my internet (still with AOL ...still with dial-up, but I KNOW that's not the problem... ), the light goes off, it's slow (again, like it has no RAM,)...It's just a big annoyance. When it gets too bad, I run spyware scanners and virus scanners, but it doesn't really help...At least not for long. I found that keeping Task Manager up and in the taskbar helps kind of...But I still get a very delayed, slow, less than what this computer could do response. Also, I can't just switch users because I get NO RAM that way. I have to restart and log on to my own user, open up Task Manager...And when I play my Sims, I have to close EVERY PROGRAM except Task Manager and Explorer for it to run right! Sometimes I have to close out BigFix or Quick Time (neither of the two are anything I actually use) to clear up even a smidgen of space to let my internet run! UUUUGH!

I don't know, I just have a strange feeling this thing could preform better! Any ideas?

[Big Booger]

What are your other system specs? I mean it could be your video, it could be your hard disk, it could be your processor. Games are really video hungry, so your video card could be the culprit.

It could be bad ram. To test it use a ram tester:

http://www.memtest86.com/

Also do a defrag, reinstall the game. Patch the game.

There are other things to try later on but these would be the first that I would attempt.

[Conan]

Yup I agree run memtest.

[phishhead]

also could be due to heat. I mean you sound like youre at a full load if you need to close everything. but would help if we had your system specs to better troubleshoot.

[thirdxstrike]

Win XP Home Edition...eMachines computer...40 GB hard drive...2.5 GHz processor...There're 4 user accounts on here, and no guest account is active...Er, what else?

And for the life of me I cannot figure that memtest out.

[Big Booger]

Win XP Home Edition...eMachines computer...40 GB hard drive...2.5 GHz processor...There're 4 user accounts on here, and no guest account is active...Er, what else?

{double post, sorry}

I'd be more keen on your video card. Does it have an onboard graphics solution? If so, then I'd guess that is why it starts off working fine and then starts playing slowly. Onboard graphics use system ram to run a game. Plus the game itself uses system ram.

Couple of other questions, is the processor a celeron or pentium?

Have you defragged the hard disk lately?

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...october08.mspx

Take a look at that article if you are unsure of the process.

Another MS website detailing the process;

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;314848

But honestly, I think it is your graphics card or lack of:

Maxis has released information on the system requirements for "The Sims 2." If you have a T&L (info about what T&L is below) capable video card with at least 32 MB of video RAM (such as nvidia GeForce 2 or better or ATI Radeon 7000 or better) then you need at least:

* 800 MHz processor
* 256 MB RAM if Windows XP
* 128 MB RAM if Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 gigs of free hard drive space

If you have a non-T&L capable video card (such as TNT2, Intel, or Rage for example) then you need at least:

* 2.0 GHz processor
* 256 MB RAM if Windows XP
* 128 MB RAM if Windows 98, Windows ME, or Windows 2000
* At least 3.5 gigs of free hard drive space

Recommened video cards (and the more video memory the better):

* ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
* Nvidia Geforce 4
* Visit "The Sims 2" official website for a more detailed list.


They recommend an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro to run this game. IF you are using onboard graphics *which emachines uses to minimize cost, then I recommend purchasing a new video graphics unit.

If you tell us the model number of your emachines, we may be able to find a match for you. Should be Like TIXXXX or something like that.

The cheapest I found for a 9800 PRO 256BIT card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814102477R

Good ol newegg. At 99.00 it will really put the pep in the step of your computing! Especially with Sims 2!

[thirdxstrike]

The computer's a T2542...It just tells me it's a standard video driver...And that I have a Video BIOS Version 2759. ? Bleh. I'm defragging right now...I can deal with the Sims not working after quite a while of continuous play...But what about the rest of my computer? Why is it like it refuses to work unless I'm scanning something, closing something else, or have Task Manager in my tray?

I'm so computer illiterate.

[rik]

But if it plays fine at first then seems to slow to a crawl I would be more inclined to think Spyware. What do you have running in MSCONFIG|Startup or Non-MS Services?

[thirdxstrike]

MSCONFIG:

qttask (Quicktime)
REGSHAVE (?)
SsAAD (for my MD player...Sony program)
mcmnhdlr (McAffee)
mcvsshld (^)
mcagent (^)
mcupdate (^)
AOLHostManager
AOLDial
PortAOL
aim
WkDetect
MsnMsgr
AOL

COMMON STARTUP?:

Adobe Reader Speed Launch
BigFix
Exif Launcher (camera.)

NON MS SERVICES:

AOL Connectivity Service
AOL TopSpeed Monitor
AOL Spyware Protection
LexBce Server (printer)
McAffee.com McShield
McAffee Security Center Update Manager
McAffee.com VirusScan Realtime Engine
MSCSPTISRV (Sony)
MD Simple Burner Service (Sony)
Office Source Engine (unknown manufacturer?)
PACSPTISRV (Sony)
Sony PTSI Service
SonicStage SCSI Service (Sony)



Hope that is what you needed...?

[Big Booger]

Let's remedy any spyware issues as rik has notably pointed out:

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-...bj=dl&tag=top5

Get lavasoft, update it, and then run the scan. Then take a look over at our very own egghead's spyware removal thread;

http://www.techzonez.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9739

Run those suggestions and then confirm if you have adware or spyware. Delete and remove as necessary.

Then I'd recommend a virus scan, update and so on make sure you are clean in that department. And by scan, I mean by using another virus program or service other than your usual one. If your usual virus scanner is missing a virus or two, then it will never clean... that is why it is good to try to use some online virus scans from time to time just to check.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

Several scans available there.


If everything checks out, then I would take a look at the video card. Upgrading might be a good idea. Especially if you are gaming. But if it has worked fine in the past and just now has started troubling you then, more than likely rik is right and you have spyware, virus, or something like that.

Before getting the new video card, you might want to try to reset your PC back to factory specs using the disks provided by emachines.

YOu might also want to take a look at the latest downloads for your hardware from the emachines site:

http://www.emachines.com/support/pro...es&model=T2542

Seems you do have an onboard *the video is located directly on the motherboard of the computer, video card. It is an Intel 845GE/GV based video graphics solution. The driver is located at the link above.

Maybe a graphic driver might help. A defrag certainly will help.

You might want to reinstall the Operating system on that machine if it has been a while since last it was installed. Sometimes a fresh install can be the fastest remedy to some of the more perplexing issues..

By the way if you want to upgrade your graphics for gaming, your PC does support 1 AGP slot.

Take a look: HERE & HERE

If you are curious about that process.

[thirdxstrike]

I have Ad-Aware...My degfrag cleaned up a ton of stuff...{Running Aw-Aware now}...I'll run Panda Active Scan; I've used them before. And my last OS reinstall was late April/early May. Really not that long ago, because I just very recently installed my Sims, which worked fine with the upgraded RAM before the OS reinstall.

[efc]

Another thing to check is the number of programs that load during boot. The easiest way I have found to manage this is with Startup Manager. Download at the bottom of this site - startman.exe

If you let software and Windows xp do their thing, a couple new system will have a dozen or more unnecessary loading during boot. They range from Java to media player to print trays, etc. None are necessary. If and when one is needed, it will load at that time.

The only things that load at boot on my machine is my AV program and desktop.ini

[thirdxstrike]

Okay, after using Panda Active Scan, I discovered that McAffee sucks and I'm chunking that and putting Norton back in. I downloaded and ran all spyware checks that I had time for, and I installed and enabled that IE-SPY (?) thing in the registry. It seems to be working just fine now, I don't have Task Manager up and haven't had any problems.

...Also...My game ran fine...

Thanks for all your help. You guys are great!

[Big Booger]

Glad to hear.

[silverbot01]

CPU is the biggest issue with this game, adding ram more than 512MB won't even add performance, and the video card you choose for Sims 2 won't make a difference past a certain point which is pretty low end by now.

Your CPU seems good though, quite good enough for this game anyways, despite the integrated chipset you are using you should be fine. If you want any better performance right this second, you could downgrade to 512 ram, because The Sims 2 is weird and happens to improve, just dont remove any more because it only works to a certain point, or at least thats what I have seen in performance reviews of the game.

For spyware use Spybot S&D or Ad-Aware, I use both since that seems to work better and they don't take alot of time to work. Viruses are old news right now, but its possible its an issue, in that case search your services/running applications and look them up and find a way to remove them, anti-viruses just cause more problems than they create.

On another note, don't buy from eMachines?