WinMe Problems

[razbus]

Can anybody help me out with this?

In what order should the hardware drivers be installed. I have installed 4X a fresh new version of WinMe and have had problems every time with the system locking up. Here is my hardware:

Abit KA7
Athlon Slot-A 800MHz (not Overclocked)
Creative Annihilator2 GTS (not Overclocked)
Creative Platinum Live sound card
3Com 3C905B-TX NIC
Iomega Zip 250i IDE
Sony 100e CDRW IDE
Kenwood CDROM IDE

I am using the latest drivers. I think it is something with the Via 4in1 drivers, but I do not know.

Has anybody had similar problems?

 

[Baldy18]

I had the same problem with a completly different hardware setup. I installed several times and it would either lock up or give me so many errors that use was impossible. I now have it working great due to some luck but this is what you should do.

Make sure that before installation you format and clear the partition table. Wipe everything clean. Then install. If that doesn't work install 98se and and load your drivers, make sure that everything is working properly and then install ME as an upgrade. This should solve your problem.

 

[razbus]

This is a brand new partition every time I do a new install. If I do the upgrade from 98SE it is even worse-- Blue screens during the upgrade process.

Here is what my system id doing:
1. it will hang before loading the desktop

2. after it loads the desktop but before asking for the networking passwords it will hang

3. then around 30 minutes later the system will start to stutter like, hang for about 15 sec. run ok for a few seconds, hang again .... this will go on for about 5 minutes and then the system totally locks up.

All I will be doing at the time is surfing the net.

After installing everything the system will run great until I shut it down and it powers off. After it shuts down and starts up it starts to get wacky.

 

[Baldy18]

hhmmm.... my problem was more with blue screens right on startup and kernel errors. Did you have any problems when installing or using 98se? Although I am not real familiar with Via chipsets WinME is real sensative when it comes to hardware and it maybe having problems with your drivers. Make sure you have the newest versions and that they are specifically made for WinME. Also you may want to try and run in AGP 2x instead of 4x.

 

[razbus]

If i upgrade from 98SE to WinMe I get the Blue screens during installation.

I will have 98SE running perfectly - no problems.

The Via website does say the drivers are for WinME, they are Version 4.25a

I was talking with my friend (he builds PC's ) on the phone and he said I should try this:

1. install WinME
2. Printer drivers
3. Via AGP drivers ONLY (USB and INF drivers only to resolve problems)
4. Video Drivers
5. Sound Card drivers
6. MS DirectX 8
7. NIC drivers

I figure it sounds logical to me, will try it again tomarrow. Thanks for your assistance and help. I will update this thread tomarrow and let you know what happens.

 

[vfrjim]

Try something more basic, format your drive, install the video card only, install the OS, make sure that you use the newest release drivers only. Then add 1 card at a time till your system hangs, then troubleshoot from there.

Jim

 

[Viperoni]

Your friend smokes crack

OS
Via 4in1
Via Hpt370 (if applicable)
Via USB
SCSI card
Video card
Sound Card
DVD Decoder card drivers (if applicable)
NIC/modem (if needed)
DX8 (if you want it)

 

[razbus]

My friends setup worked - hell runs smoother then it ever has. Thanks for everyones help and ideas

 

[przero]

Try removing the Creative Sound card. Had the same problem. It's on the shelf and the system works fine. Fix from Creative (2 weeks to reply) has not been attempted!

 

Try win 2k

 

[crazychicken]

bad idea to ever upgrade
we all know the microsoft programmers suck and can't write clean code for their life

I say go for linux, but if you can't figure that out, then install ME fresh.

 

[JoeDaddy]

I agree with przero, remove that live card.
I had theproblem either upgrading or doing a fresh install of WinME. My computer would reboot and detect new hardware. Once it got to Soundblaster 16 Dos Emulation it would lock up. I also think that Creative has new drivers that are specific to WinME

 

[Motorheader]

If PnP OS is set to yes or on in the bios, turn it off. Also, you may want to turn on the ACPI function of the bios when making that step - whether it be a clean install or an upgrade. I have not had any problems with the VIA and WinME - either upgrade or clean. It does help to not have anything but the video card in the system when doing the install of ME.

 

[BlueWeasel]

I just finished installing ME Lite today and I ran into a sound card related problem. I have a MX300 and when I would be installing the drivers (either reference or Diamond's) the computer would hang up when it was recognizing and installing the drivers for the SoundBlaster Emulation. And when I would reboot it would still recognize and hang up again just as soon as ME started back up.

It took me 2 formats before I figured out that I had my LPT port set to ECP, and it was requesting the DMA adddress (3) that the SB Emulation needed. Once I changed it to SPP in which DMA was not being used, everything worked fine.

This is probably not the solution to your problem, but I just thought I would give it a shot. . .

 

[ThundercatHO]

i had a problem with the sound drivers loading, they hang forever and locks up when trying to install them
i had to pull the sound card out several times before the drivers would install
i just intalled it over and over then it finally worked

 

[razbus]

It turns out that my Abit KA7 likes the SC in PCI slot 3, since moving it there I have not had any problems. Thanks for all of the ideas and help.