PIC Autoland in Boston - Not a practice approach

[Steve Dra 7,588]

Hey Rob,I've heard that too, but I had an empty slot and an extra 128 sim (the kid's computer already has its slots full with 3 128's) laying around, so I stuck it in. I haven't noticed any ill effects from doing it, nor have I noticed any increase in performance.I will be eventually moving to XP on my computer (the kid's computer is already there), but I'm waiting to upgrade my MB/processor and make the switch all at once. I'm at the "It ain't broke, don't fix it" stage with my machine, but I'll get bored with it soon. :)Regards,Steve Dra

[Guest MB327]

I upgraded to XP a few months ago and will never go back. BUT, I too have had issues with abrupt restarts while in FS2002, particularly in 3d modes. I have no idea what is going on. These are not lockups. They are full system crashes resulting in a black screen and a full automatic reboot of the system. I get one about every 20 hours or so of flying and they are never when up at altitude but occur in dense scenery areas on the ground in most cases. Weather seems to be a contributing factor rain/snow/multiple cloud layers. The last one was at least 30 logged hours ago so I am due.XP tries to analyze the problem but never pegs it down other that suggesting it is related to a problem with video module or some crap like that. I have upgraded to every set of drivers known to man and even upgraded from a gForce2 TI to a gForce4 MX (big mistake I know - taking it back to Best Buy tomorrow - for real) but have the same issue.My solution was to live with it till this fall and then build a new high end system. I have been advised to consider a case fan but I have held off due to the likelihood of it not fitting well in my HP tower. Perhaps it would be worth the effort so I am going to explore that further.

[Guest]

I am hearing more bad than good WRT WIN-XP lately...some freinds have switched back to Win98se...some love XP...all depends on your system and apps I suppose.Rob.

[Guest ilh]

FWIW, I'm very happy with W2K Pro. I have no desire to move to XP any time soon.Lee Hetherington (KBOS)

[Steve Dra 7,588]

Hey Rob,I've been reading the XP upgrade horror stories as well as the good ones too. That's why I'm still running 98se and living with the "It ain't broke, don't fix it" routine.I have never been one to upgrade for the sake of upgrading (hehe, just look at my other post where I told Dan I'm still running a PIII 600). You'd have to see my setup in person to appreciate why I'm satisfied with it!When I do upgrade, I plan on dual booting and running a few partitions spread over a couple of drives to minimize any downtime (read: If XP and FS2002 act up, I can boot to Win98 and get my flightsim fix) I'm also toying with the idea of building a new system and keep this one in tact as a real backup. But I'm straying waay off topic and could talk (type) for hours on what I'd like to do in the future! Thanks for the FYI, its nice to know that there is such a diversity and wealth of information on this forum! :) Regards,Steve Dra

[Guest WorkingStiff]

Thanks for the offer to help in troubleshooting my problem.Like I said I strongly suspect a power problem....250W is pretty low for an Athlon 1200 Ghz chip and numerous peripherals. The odd thing is when I used Windows 98SE I had no such problems but recently I added a cable modem , an additional hard drive, and Win XP and I have this instability.I just completed a total reformat and reinstallation over the weekend but that didn't solve anything as I discovered last night. Maybe I should try a case fan in the event it's heat related; but then why didn't it show up earlier?

[Guest Dan_Pergau]

I'm with you Lee... I love my Win2k at work and love it even more at home.Dan

[Steve Dra 7,588]

Yeah Stiff,Get at least a 300W as soon as possible, that could be at least a contributing factor to the problem.When I added the 2 extra PCI video cards to my system to setup multi-monitors, COMPUSA conveniently had a 300W ps on sale for $22USD. I couldn't pass that up!Regards,Steve Dra

[Guest]

Dear Mr. Stiffy.Regarding your perplexing power problem(PPP), noted on May 29, 2002, may I suggest you visit the site listed at bottom of this memo to help you with your PPP. At that site you will find a Mother Board Monitor(MBM). You can configure MBM to make log entries (at intervals you select) for all voltages to track your PPP. If you suspect that voltage is an issue and causing your PPP, this tool may assist you in your troubleshooting efforts. In addition, this tool will track the temperatures within your case and that of your processor.Sincerely, Mrs. Katherine.http://mbm.livewiredev.com/PSN: (Personal Stiffy Note)I upgraded to a 400W for my AMD 1800+ and all the goodies (drives, sound, CD-RW, etc). Your hunch about your PS is, most likely, right-on-target. Memory seems to be the most sensitive to voltage dips and, depending on the filtration capacity (capacitors) on your motherboard and the capacity/regulation of your power supply

[Guest WorkingStiff]

Dear Mrs. Katherine (KathyPilot)Thanks for the tip on the MBM utility. I just downloaded and installed it and hopefully it would unearth the source of my problem.