Well, last time I checked, the HDD was running DMA mode 5, and the DVD/CD-R was running at DMA mode 2. I wish they'd have split them up onto 2 separate IDE channels .. not a good idea to have any DVD/CD device on the same channel as your main HDD. I did have an older system (at work), which I had a hard time getting into DMA mode (using XP) .. had to put an 80 pin cable on it and keep the master by itself on the primary IDE channel. However, when it was in PIO mode, I never had the clock like CPU Pulsing.
Didn't know about Li batteries not liking deep discharges. Mine hadn't been discharged in months, so I thought it was time to give it a work out. I have an older Inspiron 7500 and have discharged its battery every 3-4 months and its still going strong (knocks on wood). Most of the time, when I use the 8200, I leave it plugged in, so that the CPU runs at the full 2 ghz. The primary use for the 8200 is a "portable game machine", for taking to LAN parties and gaming over the home wi-fi network.
I think I have the same problem. I would reboot and everything works fine. When it happens I try to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. I noticed that the onboard network card wasn't working and Norton Antivirus didn't load normally. I have no Idea what the cause of problem is so I hope you can figure it out. I thought it might have something to do with IRQs, but I only know enough to get myself in trouble.
I have nearly the same configuration as you. Only the difference is I have 512 MB ram. I just did a fresh install of windows XP along with the new bios version. I don’t think mine was caused by the battery going out. If you find solutions to the problem please post them.
Well I disabled 'software cable detect' and everything seems to be working fine, but my pulsing is an intermitant problem. If the problem returns I'll come back and let you know.
On a side note...I was useing a program I saw on techtv's website to see where my system processes were going. Honestly, it wasn't much help but it is cool. The little thing is just like Windows Task manager' Processes tab but gives you a bit more info. Its called procexp by Sysinterrnals.com and its free. When I looked to see where my processes were going I saw that the system Idle was droping to 64 and the DPC (Deffered Process Calls) would spike to 34. In this instance it didn't really help, but I could see where it could come in handy.
Thanks for the help Ryri. I hope this solves the problem. I was just wondering one thing. What is the 'software cable detect.' I'd like to know what I'm doing when I disable it.
When I got home, I decided to boot up the Inspiron, and hit the Fn + F7 key combo to get rid of thesmaller window that the Dell Logo shows up in, as well as the initial Win XP Pro screen. It reverted to this size after flashing to BIOS A11, but that put it right. When it finally booted, I noticed something else! The pulsing was stopped!
CPU Usage shows 0% steadily! I was thrilled .... until I went to MY COMPUTER and did a "properties" to bring up the computer CPU info ... it has fallen back to 1.2 ghz (and I'm running a 2 ghz CPU)! I went into the BIOS and checked the AC POWER "speed step" setting. It was set to MAXIMUM CPU, which should make me boot to 2.0 ghz. I tried again. Same thing ... no pulsing, but stuck at 1.2 ghz. I went back into the BIOS and turn "Intel Speed Step" OFF, which, again, should make the computer come up at 2.0 ghz. It STILL boots at 1.2 ghz.
So, it looks like I solved one problem, and got another. I don't know why the Fn + F7 combo straightened out the pulsing problem, or if it did, or if it was seredipity? Now I'm totally confused. I may try to reflash the BIOS to see if that brings back the Max CPU speed. If you've seen THIS problem, let me know! Tnx!
Make sure you have the speed step fix installed- otherwise the computer may get stuck at 1.2ghz
I have no idea what 'software cable detect' is. I assume it sends packets to the network card even if it's reporting no cable and waits for a response. Somehow it eats up a lot of CPU timem.
I loaded a utility named "CPU-Z" on the Inspiron, just to be able to check the CPU on a continuous basis. It reported that it was running at 1.2 ghz. However, when I launch a game, or other CPU intensive app., it jumps back up to 2.0 ghz, so I guess that "Smart Speed" option in the BIOS is working. I could SWEAR that the computer used to run at 2.0 ghz *all the time* when I had it plugged in to AC before. Well, if this is the best I can do, I guess I'll be satisfied with it, as the computer is now at least usable. I'd prefer to be in control of the CPU speed. I do let it fall back to 1.2 ghz on battery, but I'd like it to run at full potential on AC, which is how I have it set up in the BIOS.
Ryri, I don't know of a "Speed Step fix". If there is one, could you post the details? TNX.
Thanks again to all who have posted. This is like a 1000000% better than Dell's tech support!
Bill - Insp. 8200, P4-2.0ghz, 640MB Ram, UXGA+, WinXP Pro, ATI Radeon 9000 64Mb, Linksys G Wi-Fi
In general, I've been pretty disappointed with "driver update" downloads from Dell. For over 6 months, I tried to get them to realize that they had written a bad implementation of the ATI 9000M driver, and to fix it. Finally, in desperation, I took the upgraded driver which they'd written for the Inspiron 8500/8600 models, and modified the INF file so that I could use it on my 8200. Darn shame when you have to resort to doing stuff like this for yourself. It would have taken them 5 minutes to make this upgrade available for 8200 users ... My patch isn't perfect, but it worked good enough to eliminate the "black screen" I was getting when trying to play Lucas Art's Star Wars Ep. 1 Racer game.
I'll try the Speed Step patch when I get home tonight ... tnx!
Installed the "Speed Step Fix for Windows XP" tonight. I was wondering what this would do, since I never installed Speed Step in the first place. However, after I rebooted, nothing abnormal happened, and the computer continues to run without the 'pulsing CPU' problem. It still comes up at 1.2 ghz, but, it jumps up to 2.0 ghz when I launch any kind of game or processor hungry app. So, guess my problems are solved.
Thanks again, very much, to all who contributed to this thread. Have some "butterbeer", or "firewhiskey" ... or whatever is your favorite, and enjoy the weekend
bacillus
2 Intern
•
14.4K Posts
0
January 21st, 2004 14:00
btw repeated deep discharging of a Li ion battery hastens it eventual death!
cooncat
7 Posts
0
January 21st, 2004 15:00
Well, last time I checked, the HDD was running DMA mode 5, and the DVD/CD-R was running at DMA mode 2. I wish they'd have split them up onto 2 separate IDE channels .. not a good idea to have any DVD/CD device on the same channel as your main HDD. I did have an older system (at work), which I had a hard time getting into DMA mode (using XP) .. had to put an 80 pin cable on it and keep the master by itself on the primary IDE channel. However, when it was in PIO mode, I never had the clock like CPU Pulsing.
Didn't know about Li batteries not liking deep discharges. Mine hadn't been discharged in months, so I thought it was time to give it a work out. I have an older Inspiron 7500 and have discharged its battery every 3-4 months and its still going strong (knocks on wood). Most of the time, when I use the 8200, I leave it plugged in, so that the CPU runs at the full 2 ghz. The primary use for the 8200 is a "portable game machine", for taking to LAN parties and gaming over the home wi-fi network.
Thanks for the resonse...
Bill
ca92253
2 Posts
0
January 21st, 2004 19:00
I think I have the same problem. I would reboot and everything works fine. When it happens I try to see if there is anything out of the ordinary. I noticed that the onboard network card wasn't working and Norton Antivirus didn't load normally. I have no Idea what the cause of problem is so I hope you can figure it out. I thought it might have something to do with IRQs, but I only know enough to get myself in trouble.
I have nearly the same configuration as you. Only the difference is I have 512 MB ram. I just did a fresh install of windows XP along with the new bios version. I don’t think mine was caused by the battery going out. If you find solutions to the problem please post them.
Message Edited by ca92253 on 01-21-2004 01:41 PM
ryri
2 Intern
•
360 Posts
0
January 22nd, 2004 00:00
go to the properties of the lan card in device manager.
disable 'software cable detect' and 'enh lan pwr mgmt'
cooncat
7 Posts
0
January 22nd, 2004 09:00
Well, after I recently flashed to BIOS A11, I disabled the on board LAN device, so I no longer have that device
in my device manager. I can look around at other devices to see if they might have some kind of advance
power management. I'm pretty sure I disabled that in my Linksys G PCMCIA Wi-Fi card. Good suggestion!
I'll take a look. I checked again last night. All is normal in Safe mode. In normal mode, the 1 second pulsing
returns.
Inspiron 8200, P4-2ghz, 640MB, ATI Radeon 9000M, 40GB HDD, FDD, DVD/CD-RW, Linksys G Wi-Fi
TNX - Bill
ca92253
2 Posts
0
January 22nd, 2004 18:00
Well I disabled 'software cable detect' and everything seems to be working fine, but my pulsing is an intermitant problem. If the problem returns I'll come back and let you know.
On a side note...I was useing a program I saw on techtv's website to see where my system processes were going. Honestly, it wasn't much help but it is cool. The little thing is just like Windows Task manager' Processes tab but gives you a bit more info. Its called procexp by Sysinterrnals.com and its free. When I looked to see where my processes were going I saw that the system Idle was droping to 64 and the DPC (Deffered Process Calls) would spike to 34. In this instance it didn't really help, but I could see where it could come in handy.
Thanks for the help Ryri. I hope this solves the problem. I was just wondering one thing. What is the 'software cable detect.' I'd like to know what I'm doing when I disable it.
cooncat
7 Posts
0
January 22nd, 2004 21:00
Tonight's update on the problem,
When I got home, I decided to boot up the Inspiron, and hit the Fn + F7 key combo to get rid of thesmaller window that the Dell Logo shows up in, as well as the initial Win XP Pro screen. It reverted to this size after flashing to BIOS A11, but that put it right. When it finally booted, I noticed something else! The pulsing was stopped!
CPU Usage shows 0% steadily! I was thrilled .... until I went to MY COMPUTER and did a "properties" to bring up the computer CPU info ... it has fallen back to 1.2 ghz (and I'm running a 2 ghz CPU)! I went into the BIOS and checked the AC POWER "speed step" setting. It was set to MAXIMUM CPU, which should make me boot to 2.0 ghz. I tried again. Same thing ... no pulsing, but stuck at 1.2 ghz. I went back into the BIOS and turn "Intel Speed Step" OFF, which, again, should make the computer come up at 2.0 ghz. It STILL boots at 1.2 ghz.
So, it looks like I solved one problem, and got another. I don't know why the Fn + F7 combo straightened out the pulsing problem, or if it did, or if it was seredipity? Now I'm totally confused. I may try to reflash the BIOS to see if that brings back the Max CPU speed. If you've seen THIS problem, let me know! Tnx!
Bill
ryri
2 Intern
•
360 Posts
0
January 23rd, 2004 01:00
Make sure you have the speed step fix installed- otherwise the computer may get stuck at 1.2ghz
I have no idea what 'software cable detect' is. I assume it sends packets to the network card even if it's reporting no cable and waits for a response. Somehow it eats up a lot of CPU timem.
cooncat
7 Posts
0
January 23rd, 2004 08:00
Okay, here's the latest update.
I loaded a utility named "CPU-Z" on the Inspiron, just to be able to check the CPU on a continuous basis. It reported that it was running at 1.2 ghz. However, when I launch a game, or other CPU intensive app., it jumps back up to 2.0 ghz, so I guess that "Smart Speed" option in the BIOS is working. I could SWEAR that the computer used to run at 2.0 ghz *all the time* when I had it plugged in to AC before. Well, if this is the best I can do, I guess I'll be satisfied with it, as the computer is now at least usable. I'd prefer to be in control of the CPU speed. I do let it fall back to 1.2 ghz on battery, but I'd like it to run at full potential on AC, which is how I have it set up in the BIOS.
Ryri, I don't know of a "Speed Step fix". If there is one, could you post the details? TNX.
Thanks again to all who have posted. This is like a 1000000% better than Dell's tech support!
Bill - Insp. 8200, P4-2.0ghz, 640MB Ram, UXGA+, WinXP Pro, ATI Radeon 9000 64Mb, Linksys G Wi-Fi
bacillus
2 Intern
•
14.4K Posts
0
January 23rd, 2004 08:00
cooncat
7 Posts
0
January 23rd, 2004 09:00
Tnx, Bacillus, I'll go look later, after work.
In general, I've been pretty disappointed with "driver update" downloads from Dell. For over 6 months, I tried to get them to realize that they had written a bad implementation of the ATI 9000M driver, and to fix it. Finally, in desperation, I took the upgraded driver which they'd written for the Inspiron 8500/8600 models, and modified the INF file so that I could use it on my 8200. Darn shame when you have to resort to doing stuff like this for yourself. It would have taken them 5 minutes to make this upgrade available for 8200 users ... My patch isn't perfect, but it worked good enough to eliminate the "black screen" I was getting when trying to play Lucas Art's Star Wars Ep. 1 Racer game.
I'll try the Speed Step patch when I get home tonight ... tnx!
Bill
cooncat
7 Posts
0
January 23rd, 2004 21:00
Installed the "Speed Step Fix for Windows XP" tonight. I was wondering what this would do, since I never installed Speed Step in the first place. However, after I rebooted, nothing abnormal happened, and the computer continues to run without the 'pulsing CPU' problem. It still comes up at 1.2 ghz, but, it jumps up to 2.0 ghz when I launch any kind of game or processor hungry app. So, guess my problems are solved.
Thanks again, very much, to all who contributed to this thread. Have some "butterbeer", or "firewhiskey" ... or whatever is your favorite, and enjoy the weekend
Regards ... Bill