rec.autos.simulators

> Recently, I purchased the Soundblaster Live! X-Gamer soundcard, and now my
> computer keeps crashing.  I even took the computer in and got the card
> installed for me, and they deleted all info from my onboard soundcard
> (Crystal), and after about an hour, the thing just freezes up.  It only does
> it when I'm playing games, not if I'm doing anything else.  I have Liveware
> 3.0 and the most recent drivers for the soundcard, and I even downloaded the
> most recent drivers for my Voodoo 3 2000 videocard.  Everything I check
> under Device Manager shows everything is working properly, and is showing no
> conflicts.  I haven't had any freezing problems before installing the
> soundcard, and I am really at a loss....any help would be greatly
> appreciated....

> > IRQ's under Windows are supposed to be shareable.

> Windows95 is also supposed to be able to run on a Pentium with 16megs
> of RAM.  

> On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried, has not
> >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really frustrating
> >me...

> You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any chance
> are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ sharing
> between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try moving
> the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not even
> hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned buying
> the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem could be
> with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your old
> speakers?

> To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn on a
> regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or too
> close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's a good
> breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still crashes like
> that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan (fits onto
> the front of the case under the power switch if your case is ATX).
> That should help.

> If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system, then
> it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be sure
> that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the computer and
> then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you to
> press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then look for
> an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be under
> "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you have.
> Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a good
> sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very expensive.
> $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy to
> install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it done.  You
> could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious, just
> someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of people
> on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get access to
> newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> -T

> Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
> something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I did
> get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

> Disk Write Error
> Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> Data or Files May Be Lost

> I've done a complete Scandisk, going with the "thorough" option, and I guess
> what concerns me is that maybe the Hard drive is deciding that it wants to
> retire....any other info would be greatly appreciated re: this error
> message.

> Sys specs
> Win 98
> Voodoo 3 2000
> SB Live! X-Gamer
> 400 mhz Pentium II
> 96 mb Ram
> Most recent drivers....

> Dave

> > On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> > >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried, has not
> > >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really frustrating
> > >me...

> > You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any chance
> > are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ sharing
> > between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> > Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> > before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try moving
> > the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> > Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not even
> > hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned buying
> > the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem could be
> > with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your old
> > speakers?

> > To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn on a
> > regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or too
> > close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's a good
> > breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still crashes like
> > that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> > overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan (fits onto
> > the front of the case under the power switch if your case is ATX).
> > That should help.

> > If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system, then
> > it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> > motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be sure
> > that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the computer and
> > then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you to
> > press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then look for
> > an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be under
> > "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you have.
> > Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> > You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a good
> > sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very expensive.
> > $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy to
> > install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it done.  You
> > could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious, just
> > someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of people
> > on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get access to
> > newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> > -T

> old HDD?

> scandisked it lately, any bad sectors?
> HDD overheating?

> Md

> > Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
> > something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I
did
> > get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

> > Disk Write Error
> > Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> > Data or Files May Be Lost

> > I've done a complete Scandisk, going with the "thorough" option, and I
guess
> > what concerns me is that maybe the Hard drive is deciding that it wants
to
> > retire....any other info would be greatly appreciated re: this error
> > message.

> > Sys specs
> > Win 98
> > Voodoo 3 2000
> > SB Live! X-Gamer
> > 400 mhz Pentium II
> > 96 mb Ram
> > Most recent drivers....

> > Dave

> > > On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> > > >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried, has
not
> > > >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really
frustrating
> > > >me...

> > > You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any chance
> > > are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ sharing
> > > between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> > > Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> > > before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try moving
> > > the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> > > Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not even
> > > hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned buying
> > > the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem could be
> > > with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your old
> > > speakers?

> > > To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn on a
> > > regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or too
> > > close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's a good
> > > breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still crashes like
> > > that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> > > overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan (fits onto
> > > the front of the case under the power switch if your case is ATX).
> > > That should help.

> > > If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system, then
> > > it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> > > motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be sure
> > > that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the computer and
> > > then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you to
> > > press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then look for
> > > an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be under
> > > "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you have.
> > > Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> > > You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a good
> > > sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very expensive.
> > > $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy to
> > > install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it done.  You
> > > could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious, just
> > > someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of people
> > > on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get access to
> > > newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> > > -T

> After every crash, I get a scandisk error, and it "supposedly" gets fixed
> when I do scandisk.  I did a "thorough" scandisk, as opposed to standard,
> and there were no errors.  In terms of overheating, I doubt it since I had
> the computer open with an 8" fan about 2" away from the computer when it
> froze and I got this message.

> Dave

> > old HDD?

> > scandisked it lately, any bad sectors?
> > HDD overheating?

> > Md

> > > Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
> > > something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I
> did
> > > get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

> > > Disk Write Error
> > > Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> > > Data or Files May Be Lost

> > > I've done a complete Scandisk, going with the "thorough" option, and I
> guess
> > > what concerns me is that maybe the Hard drive is deciding that it
wants
> to
> > > retire....any other info would be greatly appreciated re: this error
> > > message.

> > > Sys specs
> > > Win 98
> > > Voodoo 3 2000
> > > SB Live! X-Gamer
> > > 400 mhz Pentium II
> > > 96 mb Ram
> > > Most recent drivers....

> > > Dave

> > > > On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> > > > >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried, has
> not
> > > > >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really
> frustrating
> > > > >me...

> > > > You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any
chance
> > > > are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ
sharing
> > > > between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> > > > Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> > > > before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try
moving
> > > > the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> > > > Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not even
> > > > hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned buying
> > > > the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem could
be
> > > > with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your old
> > > > speakers?

> > > > To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn on a
> > > > regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or too
> > > > close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's a
good
> > > > breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still crashes
like
> > > > that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> > > > overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan (fits
onto
> > > > the front of the case under the power switch if your case is ATX).
> > > > That should help.

> > > > If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system, then
> > > > it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> > > > motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be sure
> > > > that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the computer
and
> > > > then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you to
> > > > press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then look
for
> > > > an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be under
> > > > "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you
have.
> > > > Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> > > > You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a good
> > > > sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very expensive.
> > > > $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy to
> > > > install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it done.
You
> > > > could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious, just
> > > > someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of people
> > > > on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get access
to
> > > > newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> > > > -T

> I also checked the connections to make sure everything was hooked up
> properly...

> Dave

> > After every crash, I get a scandisk error, and it "supposedly" gets fixed
> > when I do scandisk.  I did a "thorough" scandisk, as opposed to standard,
> > and there were no errors.  In terms of overheating, I doubt it since I had
> > the computer open with an 8" fan about 2" away from the computer when it
> > froze and I got this message.

> > Dave

> > > old HDD?

> > > scandisked it lately, any bad sectors?
> > > HDD overheating?

> > > Md

> > > > Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
> > > > something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I
> > did
> > > > get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

> > > > Disk Write Error
> > > > Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> > > > Data or Files May Be Lost

> > > > I've done a complete Scandisk, going with the "thorough" option, and I
> > guess
> > > > what concerns me is that maybe the Hard drive is deciding that it
> wants
> > to
> > > > retire....any other info would be greatly appreciated re: this error
> > > > message.

> > > > Sys specs
> > > > Win 98
> > > > Voodoo 3 2000
> > > > SB Live! X-Gamer
> > > > 400 mhz Pentium II
> > > > 96 mb Ram
> > > > Most recent drivers....

> > > > Dave

> > > > > On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> > > > > >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried, has
> > not
> > > > > >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really
> > frustrating
> > > > > >me...

> > > > > You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any
> chance
> > > > > are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ
> sharing
> > > > > between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> > > > > Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> > > > > before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try
> moving
> > > > > the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> > > > > Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not even
> > > > > hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned buying
> > > > > the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem could
> be
> > > > > with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your old
> > > > > speakers?

> > > > > To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn on a
> > > > > regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or too
> > > > > close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's a
> good
> > > > > breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still crashes
> like
> > > > > that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> > > > > overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan (fits
> onto
> > > > > the front of the case under the power switch if your case is ATX).
> > > > > That should help.

> > > > > If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system, then
> > > > > it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> > > > > motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be sure
> > > > > that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the computer
> and
> > > > > then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you to
> > > > > press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then look
> for
> > > > > an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be under
> > > > > "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you
> have.
> > > > > Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> > > > > You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a good
> > > > > sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very expensive.
> > > > > $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy to
> > > > > install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it done.
> You
> > > > > could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious, just
> > > > > someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of people
> > > > > on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get access
> to
> > > > > newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> > > > > -T

>Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
>something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I did
>get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

>Disk Write Error
>Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
>Data or Files May Be Lost

> On Mon, 8 May 2000 20:59:24 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> >Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
> >something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I
did
> >get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

> >Disk Write Error
> >Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> >Data or Files May Be Lost

> Umm... well, this is a shot in the dark, but... your C drive isn't
> full is it?  Make sure there is a good 50 to 100mb free on the C
> drive.

> Otherwise, my final suggestion, before tossing it into the garbage and
> shelling out money for new parts, is to reformat and reinstall Win98.
> This is an annoying, arduous task, but it may be what the doctor
> ordered, especially if the HD is old and has seen many days of program
> installations and registry edits and so on and so forth.

> -T

> I also checked the connections to make sure everything was hooked up
> properly...

> Dave

> > After every crash, I get a scandisk error, and it "supposedly" gets
fixed
> > when I do scandisk.  I did a "thorough" scandisk, as opposed to
standard,
> > and there were no errors.  In terms of overheating, I doubt it since I
had
> > the computer open with an 8" fan about 2" away from the computer when it
> > froze and I got this message.

> > Dave

> > > old HDD?

> > > scandisked it lately, any bad sectors?
> > > HDD overheating?

> > > Md

> > > > Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
> > > > something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del,
I
> > did
> > > > get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

> > > > Disk Write Error
> > > > Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> > > > Data or Files May Be Lost

> > > > I've done a complete Scandisk, going with the "thorough" option, and
I
> > guess
> > > > what concerns me is that maybe the Hard drive is deciding that it
> wants
> > to
> > > > retire....any other info would be greatly appreciated re: this error
> > > > message.

> > > > Sys specs
> > > > Win 98
> > > > Voodoo 3 2000
> > > > SB Live! X-Gamer
> > > > 400 mhz Pentium II
> > > > 96 mb Ram
> > > > Most recent drivers....

> > > > Dave

> > > > > On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> > > > > >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried,
has
> > not
> > > > > >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really
> > frustrating
> > > > > >me...

> > > > > You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any
> chance
> > > > > are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ
> sharing
> > > > > between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> > > > > Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> > > > > before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try
> moving
> > > > > the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> > > > > Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not even
> > > > > hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned
buying
> > > > > the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem could
> be
> > > > > with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your old
> > > > > speakers?

> > > > > To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn on
a
> > > > > regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or
too
> > > > > close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's a
> good
> > > > > breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still crashes
> like
> > > > > that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> > > > > overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan (fits
> onto
> > > > > the front of the case under the power switch if your case is ATX).
> > > > > That should help.

> > > > > If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system,
then
> > > > > it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> > > > > motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be sure
> > > > > that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the computer
> and
> > > > > then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you to
> > > > > press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then look
> for
> > > > > an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be under
> > > > > "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you
> have.
> > > > > Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> > > > > You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a good
> > > > > sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very expensive.
> > > > > $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy to
> > > > > install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it done.
> You
> > > > > could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious, just
> > > > > someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of
people
> > > > > on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get
access
> to
> > > > > newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> > > > > -T

> The disk errors are probably a result of the disk cache failing when
writing
> back data.  I'd try two things.  Do you still have the HD from an old
> machine or another machine.  Try putting it in as a slave and configuring
> the disk cache to function on that drive.  It may be a bit slower as an
> older drive isn't likely to be as fast or even an UltraDMA but it might
> isolate the problem.

> Memory failure is another potential culprit but it's unlikely you've got
> 96MB lying around.  You might want to examine the simms and be sure
they're
> compatible with the CMOS settings.  It might be possible to check some of
> the simms by simply removing them one at a time and seeing if the problem
> persists.  If you're running 16-16-32-32 you could run W98 on 64MB if you
> had to.

> Good luck

> GLB

> > I also checked the connections to make sure everything was hooked up
> > properly...

> > Dave

> > > After every crash, I get a scandisk error, and it "supposedly" gets
> fixed
> > > when I do scandisk.  I did a "thorough" scandisk, as opposed to
> standard,
> > > and there were no errors.  In terms of overheating, I doubt it since I
> had
> > > the computer open with an 8" fan about 2" away from the computer when
it
> > > froze and I got this message.

> > > Dave

> > > > old HDD?

> > > > scandisked it lately, any bad sectors?
> > > > HDD overheating?

> > > > Md

> > > > > Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash
on
> > > > > something other than a game tonight, and after hitting
ctrl-alt-del,
> I
> > > did
> > > > > get the following error message on the ole blue screen of
death....

> > > > > Disk Write Error
> > > > > Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
> > > > > Data or Files May Be Lost

> > > > > I've done a complete Scandisk, going with the "thorough" option,
and
> I
> > > guess
> > > > > what concerns me is that maybe the Hard drive is deciding that it
> > wants
> > > to
> > > > > retire....any other info would be greatly appreciated re: this
error
> > > > > message.

> > > > > Sys specs
> > > > > Win 98
> > > > > Voodoo 3 2000
> > > > > SB Live! X-Gamer
> > > > > 400 mhz Pentium II
> > > > > 96 mb Ram
> > > > > Most recent drivers....

> > > > > Dave

> > > > > > On Sun, 7 May 2000 19:49:08 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

> > > > > > >And unfortunately, everything recommended, which I have tried,
> has
> > > not
> > > > > > >worked out...I amd totally lost with this....and it is really
> > > frustrating
> > > > > > >me...

> > > > > > You said that your NIC and your USB port share an IRQ.  By any
> > chance
> > > > > > are your new speakers USB speakers?  I'm not sure, but the IRQ
> > sharing
> > > > > > between USB and the NIC may cause problems if you are using USB.
> > > > > > Since you just got the speakers, you wouldn't have had a problem
> > > > > > before since you weren't using the USB port.  To fix this, try
> > moving
> > > > > > the NIC to a different PCI slot.

> > > > > > Of course, if your new speakers aren't USB or if they're not
even
> > > > > > hooked up yet, then nevermind.  It's just that you mentioned
> buying
> > > > > > the new speakers to accent the new soundcard, so the problem
could
> > be
> > > > > > with the speakers not the soundcard.  Did you try it with your
old
> > > > > > speakers?

> > > > > > To test the overheating theory, you can open your case and turn
on
> a
> > > > > > regular household fan blowing into the system.  Not too high or
> too
> > > > > > close, don't want to jostle everything.  Just enough so there's
a
> > good
> > > > > > breeze hitting everything.  Then play and see if it still
crashes
> > like
> > > > > > that.  If it doesn't crash with the fan on, then something is
> > > > > > overheating.  If you don't have one already, get a case fan
(fits
> > onto
> > > > > > the front of the case under the power switch if your case is
ATX).
> > > > > > That should help.

> > > > > > If it still crashes even with the fan blowing into the system,
> then
> > > > > > it's not an overheating problem.  I would guess that it's the
> > > > > > motherboard then.  Check the BIOS like others have said to be
sure
> > > > > > that the onboard sound is disabled.  To do so, start the
computer
> > and
> > > > > > then press delete to enter setup (or whichever key it tells you
to
> > > > > > press for setup).  This will take you into BIOS setup.  Then
look
> > for
> > > > > > an item like "Sound Blaster" or "Onboard sound."  It may be
under
> > > > > > "Integrated Peripherals," but it depends on the type of BIOS you
> > have.
> > > > > > Make sure this option is DISABLED.

> > > > > > You may end up having to get a new motherboard if you want a
good
> > > > > > sound card like the SB Live! to work.  They're not very
expensive.
> > > > > > $100 - $200 typically.  The real problem is that it's not easy
to
> > > > > > install.  You might have to pay a bunch of money to have it
done.
> > You
> > > > > > could try to install it yourself.  It doesn't take a genious,
just
> > > > > > someone who can learn as he goes.  Take it from me - a lot of
> people
> > > > > > on this newsgroup will help you do it as long as you can get
> access
> > to
> > > > > > newsgroups while your computer is in pieces.  :)

> > > > > > -T

>The hard drive is 10.1 gb, and has 3.8 gb free space on it...basically, I'm
>taking the thing back to the shop tomorrow, and going to get them to check
>it out...terribly frustrating....

>Dave

>> On Mon, 8 May 2000 20:59:24 -0400, "Dave St.Onge"

>> >Well, thank-you very much for the tips.....however, it did crash on
>> >something other than a game tonight, and after hitting ctrl-alt-del, I
>did
>> >get the following error message on the ole blue screen of death....

>> >Disk Write Error
>> >Unable to Write to Disk in Drive C
>> >Data or Files May Be Lost

>> Umm... well, this is a shot in the dark, but... your C drive isn't
>> full is it?  Make sure there is a good 50 to 100mb free on the C
>> drive.

>> Otherwise, my final suggestion, before tossing it into the garbage and
>> shelling out money for new parts, is to reformat and reinstall Win98.
>> This is an annoying, arduous task, but it may be what the doctor
>> ordered, especially if the HD is old and has seen many days of program
>> installations and registry edits and so on and so forth.

>> -T