hey, havn't been here for a while because our computer crashed and my w&w saved games lost but not 'my documents' files :D .. but its only a game.
But i dont know if i'll still keep on playing, but i'll stick around to see wat goes on :D

[ 02-22-2004, 01:26 AM: Message edited by: eternal mat ]

Bummer! Sorry to hear about that, but if there's a bright side to it, you probably know how to play the game better now....

At least your documents were saved. That's a plus [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]

Give it a go again when you can. We'll be cheering for you!

Sorry to hear that. :(

I definitely think you should go for it again. As Bungleau stated you will be better able to build and structure you party now that you know how it works. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Thats not cool. I've noticed a lot of issues of late. In fact my own "steiner" is showing issues of intergalactic influence.

But hey, I always see it as a challenge, what caused it, and how to overcome it.

But as mentioned, you have a better grip on your new party.

Sorry to hear about the computer problems, eternal mat! Hate when that happens!

Do consider starting over again. I normally start a game, play for a while until I feel I have an understanding of what is going on and then really start the game. Those trial runs have always proved useful! :D

Wyv

Hmmm... just occurred to me that I may be joining you shortly. One of the hard drives on this machine is starting to whine noisily on startup every so often. Not all the time, but enough... I suspect I have a hard drive getting ready to fail. Now, where did I put those backup procedures.... :confused:

...well nothing great is really happening at the moment [img]tongue.gif[/img]
I reckon i'll keep playing, but my parents are still fixing the computer up. so it'll be a little while to go :D

Better the save games than your documents I guess. ;) Sorry to hear about yor problems.

Bungleau, are you sure it's the harddrive. One of my fans, I suspect the one on my graphics card whine every time I start my computer.

Hmmm... no, Willow, I'm not sure it's the hard drive. I just put that new vid card in; maybe I'll take another peek at it to make sure there are no wires in the way.

Come to think of it, this pretty much started around the time the new vid card went in. Thanks for the suggestion; I'll check that out more tonight.

B, if you put that new 52 series in, THAT is your noise. Take a closer look at it, it has that humongus dual channel plastic spaceship looking thing on it, right? Takes up 2 slots, and the fan is enclosed inside the tunnel. I don't have the specs commited to memory, but it takes more than 30 nano-seconds for that particular card to energize and the fans to "come on-line".

I know your experience is way to high to have inadvertantly left a cd in the optical drive, so that goes without a mention.

[ 02-25-2004, 10:58 PM: Message edited by: Felix The Assassin ]

Hmmm... I'll check after I shut the machine down, Felix, but I'm not sure what you mean by "two slots". It's an AGP card, and I've only one AGP slot (which it fills admirably). IIRC, there was only one fan on top of this one, but I didn't pay much attention to it that way.

And the noise doesn't happen all the time. Intermittently when booting up, and if I power down, it comes up silently afterwards.

I'll post more in the morning, once I have something.

Danke.

Checked last night... and there's one big fan on the vid card processor, about 3 inches in diameter. Nothing was near it. The CPU fan was also free of neighboring wires.

And this morning, it whined at the start, behaving nicely the second time.

Well what you could do is to start the computer with one side off. You would most probably be able to locate the noise. If it's the fan on the graphics card it's not all that serious if it should die, ifyou have adequate ventilation of your computer. And you can use Speedfan to measure the temperature. Of course if it is the fan on the graphics card, and your card is brand new, return it and get a replacement.

Felix, AFAIK the FX5200 only occupies the AGP slot. The later models however, occupy the AGP slot as well as one PCI slot for their oversized fans. One more reason to get an ATI card instead. ;)

[ 02-26-2004, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: WillowIX ]

Hmm, Are we talking FX 5200 or the FX 5200 Ultra?
The newer Ultra edition has a large volume quick fan mounted center mass of the AGP slot connector. It is incased with-in a "space ship" module housing. This housing drops down into the lower PCI slot, and on some boards will not allow the use of the PCI #1 slot.

Anyhow, I'm tinking the noise is comming from this fan. As per Willows instructions, do a cold power up with the side off and listen for the noise.

We're talking a 5200 straight. Next time I boot, I'll leave the side off and see what's going on. Of course, it's the side next to the wall... :D

Thought I'd add an update. The noise does not seem to be coming from the vid card... largely because the vid card looks like it has a cooler on it, not a fan. If I get more patience, I'll investigate more.

It may or may not be coming from the CPU cooling fan, so I think I'm going to spend a couple of bucks and replace it. Far cheaper than replacing a CPU, for sure...

Well you should definitely replace it since it probably won't last long. However, you could try to clean it first and see if there's a difference. It could be dust that's causing the noise. I have that problem with one of my fans. I usually have to clean that out every two weeks.

Straight 5200 does not have a cooling fan, it has a medium profile heat sink. Cannot be the problem.

Check the CPU cooler, sometimes they get a little out of alignment when components get replaced. The preffered way would be to remove the cooling system, clean the contact pad, reapply a little thermal compound to the contcat point and reinstall. Also, check your case fans, and if you have a side mount check it, as they have a tendency to get torqued.

HDD make a very distinct sound, it's a metalic, scratching, sand in your disc brakes, electro-mechanical screech. There are many S.M.A.R.T. HDD readers out there, use a free one, and read the status. Here is one:
http://download.com.com/3000-2086-10...ml?tag=lst-0-1

This taps into the HDD self diagnostic report system, and "should" produce a user readable explanation of the system diagnostic.

HDD are "always-on" devices, until one sets it otherwise in the power management area. Just a little advice, never set HDD to power down or go to sleep under power settings. That is adding undue stress, and taking life cycles off of device.