jhawk
asked on
Win 95 crashes under netscape, and randomly
My problems began about a month ago when my computer started crashing randomly after a lightning storm. I figured that the storm was the cause of the crashing, that it probably damaged some of my hardware, ie the hard disk,
since it started being undetected by the BIOS. I scanned the hard disk - no errors on numerous scans. Next I opened the computer up, saw a lot of dust, cleared it out, cleaned the connectors, and replugged the drive. Since then the drive has had no problems. BTW I hadn't installe
d any new software lately. The computer still crashed often, so I reinstalled win 95, and HAD no problems for a week. Now I installed the game Command and Conquer: Red Alert, which prompted for DirectX 3.0 driver installation, which I allowed it to install. Ever since then, my computer has been buggy, crashing mostly when using Netscape 3.0, though with other software less frequently. Everything jams, including the mouse cursor which doesn't respond at all. I had problems with directx 2.0 drivers, though after using 3.0 drivers straight from the microsoft web site, these cleared up. Below I am listing details of my computer, if anyone can help me it would be
sincerely appreciated since I really don't know what to do now,
Jan.
6x86-150+ cpu
triton II (430 vx) chipset
cirrus logic 5440 graphics card (generic)
SB AWE 32 sound card (8 MB additional ram onboard)
16 MB EDO RAM
Seagate 51??? Medalist HD ( 1.0gb)
Windows 95 (original, non patched)
- Tried to install linux on a 200mb partition - failed - gave errors
Microsoft Plus!
4x SCSI CDrom drive
PS I tried uninstalling the directx stuff, ie using the dxsetup program to restore old drivers, but that didn't help
me, it still jams.
since it started being undetected by the BIOS. I scanned the hard disk - no errors on numerous scans. Next I opened the computer up, saw a lot of dust, cleared it out, cleaned the connectors, and replugged the drive. Since then the drive has had no problems. BTW I hadn't installe
d any new software lately. The computer still crashed often, so I reinstalled win 95, and HAD no problems for a week. Now I installed the game Command and Conquer: Red Alert, which prompted for DirectX 3.0 driver installation, which I allowed it to install. Ever since then, my computer has been buggy, crashing mostly when using Netscape 3.0, though with other software less frequently. Everything jams, including the mouse cursor which doesn't respond at all. I had problems with directx 2.0 drivers, though after using 3.0 drivers straight from the microsoft web site, these cleared up. Below I am listing details of my computer, if anyone can help me it would be
sincerely appreciated since I really don't know what to do now,
Jan.
6x86-150+ cpu
triton II (430 vx) chipset
cirrus logic 5440 graphics card (generic)
SB AWE 32 sound card (8 MB additional ram onboard)
16 MB EDO RAM
Seagate 51??? Medalist HD ( 1.0gb)
Windows 95 (original, non patched)
- Tried to install linux on a 200mb partition - failed - gave errors
Microsoft Plus!
4x SCSI CDrom drive
PS I tried uninstalling the directx stuff, ie using the dxsetup program to restore old drivers, but that didn't help
me, it still jams.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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You just have to reinstall the video and sound drivers not with the DIRECT X restore old drivers but with your disk or cd that came with your video and sound card.
I had a similar problem with my Diamond Stealth card. After a little research i found out that my card wasnt completely compatible with the DirectX drivers. The solution for me was to go to the Diamond website and download the absolute latest drivers for my card and install them. The drivers that come with video cards are usually out of date. I've heard that some Matrox cards and a few other brands also require their own drivers instead of DirectX. Cant hurt to try it...
I just re-read your question,
You mouse, it does not work now?
you onboard ram(Packard Bell?) may not be EDO. That can easily cause problems:
And DIRECTX, That's quote a bundle of worms to work with.
Lets do this:
1.Random Lockups and The Big Ugly Blue Screen
Ram Checkers Don't Always Find Bad Ram Chips. Unless memory Chips are extremely faulty,
checking programs are not adequate tests because they do not test RAM in the same way that
Windows uses RAM. Memory checkers use read/write cycles. Since Windows is executing code
from memory, it uses execute cycles. Execute cycles are different from read/write cycles and are
more vulnerable to parity errors. Bad memory chips can also cause the following situations:
1. Fatal Exception errors.
2. Himem.sys load failures in normal or Safe mode.
3. Random lockups.
4. The computer may stop responding (hang) as soon as you turn it on.
Remove or replace memory chips in the computer to see if the problem is resolved.
Try limiting the amount of memory that Windows 95 uses. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to edit the System.ini file.
2. Add the following line in the [386Enh] section of the file:
MaxPhysPage=< nnn > where < nnn > determines the amount of memory you want Win95 to use.
To limit Windows 95 to the first 4 MB of memory, add the following line: MaxPhysPage=3FF
To limit Windows 95 to the first 8 MB of memory, add the following line: MaxPhysPage=7FF
To limit Windows 95 to the first 16 MB of memory, add the following line: MaxPhysPage=FFF
3. Save and then close the System.ini file.
4. Restart your computer. Check how it runs. If OK, then test the next, ie; 8MG
---------------
Go to http://www.microsoft.com/kb/default.asp
Step1, choose win95
Step2. enter cirrus logic 17 articles about it.
------------
Diagnostics are in order here. Lightening may have done something. There are a lot of diags out there. free/shareware.
or you could spend $99.00 on Checkit 4.1 and have a really good tool for diagnostics.
-----------
Directx: How much dram?
Let me know.
You mouse, it does not work now?
you onboard ram(Packard Bell?) may not be EDO. That can easily cause problems:
And DIRECTX, That's quote a bundle of worms to work with.
Lets do this:
1.Random Lockups and The Big Ugly Blue Screen
Ram Checkers Don't Always Find Bad Ram Chips. Unless memory Chips are extremely faulty,
checking programs are not adequate tests because they do not test RAM in the same way that
Windows uses RAM. Memory checkers use read/write cycles. Since Windows is executing code
from memory, it uses execute cycles. Execute cycles are different from read/write cycles and are
more vulnerable to parity errors. Bad memory chips can also cause the following situations:
1. Fatal Exception errors.
2. Himem.sys load failures in normal or Safe mode.
3. Random lockups.
4. The computer may stop responding (hang) as soon as you turn it on.
Remove or replace memory chips in the computer to see if the problem is resolved.
Try limiting the amount of memory that Windows 95 uses. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Use any text editor (such as Notepad) to edit the System.ini file.
2. Add the following line in the [386Enh] section of the file:
MaxPhysPage=< nnn > where < nnn > determines the amount of memory you want Win95 to use.
To limit Windows 95 to the first 4 MB of memory, add the following line: MaxPhysPage=3FF
To limit Windows 95 to the first 8 MB of memory, add the following line: MaxPhysPage=7FF
To limit Windows 95 to the first 16 MB of memory, add the following line: MaxPhysPage=FFF
3. Save and then close the System.ini file.
4. Restart your computer. Check how it runs. If OK, then test the next, ie; 8MG
---------------
Go to http://www.microsoft.com/kb/default.asp
Step1, choose win95
Step2. enter cirrus logic 17 articles about it.
------------
Diagnostics are in order here. Lightening may have done something. There are a lot of diags out there. free/shareware.
or you could spend $99.00 on Checkit 4.1 and have a really good tool for diagnostics.
-----------
Directx: How much dram?
Let me know.