Kieran

I had a very similar problem with a maxtor h/d after i put W2k, with it starting spining up and down, disk errors etc. So i eventually unloaded w2k (after trying all the updates), put 98 back on , and same problem. Lots of people replied to my postings about my problem saying my drive was on its way out (it wasn't even a year old), but i wasnt convinced. However, what i had done just b4 i installed W2k, was upgrade my memory, and coz of my board layout, i disconnected the ide lead temporarily, then put it back. So i figured maybe i had pulled the lead a bit too hard, just enough to create a bad connection, so i whipped it out, and resqueezed the plastic connector where the cable goes thru the insulation displacing connections, in the hope of making a decent connection. Did it work...yep, not had the problem since...YIPPEE!!!!!

Well, i tried it on 98 and W2k. I already had a a few tweak programs on, but i got to admit, it seems snappier to me

Nope, i have a standalone machine. I have 2 errors that log up in event manager, on says the IRP stack size is invalid, so it is ignoring it, the other says it can't load a startup file 'MFX' i've tried to repair the IRP stack size (Using Xteq ), but to no avail and tried to find where my registry loads MFX, but can't any ideas? or configuarion changes i should make. Regards Kieran

I personally use Zonealarm, mainly coz it catches outbound traffic, There is a way you can test your firewall whatever it is. Go to www.grc.com there you can test your firewall for intrusion security via the web using his 'shields up' test . This Gibson guy wrote optout , to test for spyware and has since written lots of other security related testing programs, many of which are freeware. He seems to be the man regarding internet security You can download a copy of one of his programs called leaktest, which tests outbound protection of your firewall rgeards Kieran

I ran a diagnostic utility by Maxtor, which if all runs well, is the same as the factory certification (the drive is only 10 months old). I ran the long advanced burn in test, which took 3 hours, and it reported the drive as ok. I am wondering if it has something to do with the VIA 4.31 drivers i loaded (which i have now upgraded) because the problem first reared its ugly head the very instant i installed them and rebooted. I am in a quandry as to what to do now really, whether reformat and reload w2k, or reload w98 or just to wait and see, since most of the time it behaves itself.... don't know at the moment, but the drive is backed up in case the unspeakabe happens

One of them said something about not finding a file or something..i can't remember to be honest. However over the past couple of weeks i've intermittantly had disk errors flagged up on the event manager, and i've heard the Hard Disk spin down and spin up spuriously accompanied by some horrible clunks. Yesterday was a nightmare , i couldn't even boot, and my disk wasn't recognised at all, then suddenly it was fine!!! What i did was to check all my ide cable connections, and although they all felt ok, i gave them a bit of a push. Then i unloaded the VIA supplied IDE controller software, and loaded the M/soft one, and it ran virtually all day with no problems. I downloaded the SP2 full version from M/Soft (106 meg..on a dial up 56k modem .i went to bed and left it to get on with it). I did get a blue screen saying the disk was corrupt when i tried to install that..but i had magic folders active which hides folders, i removed the hidden folder, and ran it again, this time it installed with no problems at all. I have checked my disk with different utilities, and they all say my disk is fine, so the problem with the disk spinning down could have been a driver issue, since it only began to occur when i installed the VIA 4 in 1 ver 4.31 chipset drivers. I've now installed the 4.32 ones, but it automatically skips the IDE controller stuff, only installing the AGP driver so my IDE drivers are now MSoft ones courtesy of the full SP2 update (i only had the small (10 meg)'intelligent' one while all this crap was going on. So now i wait and see, but so far its looking good. If the problem continues then i'm gonna wipe my h/d and takeit from there , using the full SP2 straight after W2K has gone on.

Hi all, yet more questions. When my windows 2k shuts down it seems really fast, when the PC powers down the Hard disk light is still on and i get a small clunk from my hard disk , i didnt notice this on Windows 98. A couple of times when i've restarted the PC i've had a blue screen error message, or the system files on the hard diisk can't be found, however all i normally need do is to reboot the machine and it works ok. Any ideas on why and if W2K should shut down that fast. It goes thru the normal screen of saying saving personal settings and then windows is shutting down, but all this takes only a few seconds once the desktop disappears. regards Kieran

I had a problem with Norton Ghost, everytime the CD had to be changed coz it was full, it threw up an error. The Norton FAQ / support was as much help as a chocolate teapot, and reading it was like reading an instruction book for the space shuttle ..in Russian!! Anyway i got Powerquest, and it was brilliant,,easy peasy lemon squeezy, no problems or hitches!!!

Ps. i have SP2 installed

Hi can anyone explain why i can t run 16 bit apps. The problem seemed to start when i moved wowexec.exe because i was suspcious of what it was. ANyway, i found out it was a W2k file, so i put it back. But although it shows in the processes of the task manager, it shows no mem usage. But bottom line is that i cant run a 16 bit app now. How do i repair this problem since i want to update my via drivers but it won't run the setup exe, saying it can't find it or a file needed. cheers Kieran

Hi, i'm new to Win2K, but i love it. I have one question. when W2k starts up, after all my tray icons have loaded etc, if i click to open a program, there is often a 10-15 second delay before it opens. Once W2k has been running for a while it seems ok, and progs activate really quickly. I used file mon, and the number of calls to files, even when system is fairly idle, seems huge. I know that a prog called encrypt which allows me to access my uk info database is constantly making calls, but even disabling that doesnt help me when i first start w2k up. Is this normal, or can i do anything about it regards ]Kieran