PC amateur hour continues, crashes already?!

[humidore]

So I am now ready to install games and programs on my new PC, which has 2 partitions. C drive for Windows XP is 60GB and D drive was meant for games/media and is 170 GB. Now I've noticed after installing MS Office that it automatically went to C drive, and my D drive is empty. Is there a way to make a D drive "Program Files" and "My Documents" the default location, as the respective C drive equivalents now are?

And as a side question, if I were to uninstall MS Office and try to reinstall on my D drive, would it take up one of the licenses (there are 3 on this Home and Student version), or would some registry already on my PC now let it recognize that it's the same computer? Thanks!

[mguiddy]

Probably need to install the drivers (windows doesn't have support for gigabit ethernet out of the box does it?). Also make sure it is turned on in the bios, though it should be if the lights are on.

The 1394 network adapter is the firewire port, by the way.

[humidore]

Probably need to install the drivers (windows doesn't have support for gigabit ethernet out of the box does it?). Also make sure it is turned on in the bios, though it should be if the lights are on.

The 1394 network adapter is the firewire port, by the way.

Gotta love those moments where you know absolutely nothing about anything you are doing! I was trying to change the IP address on the firewire port, doing all sorts of crazy stuff...

[humidore]

New question above...it never ends!

[Vinny]

The C drive is always the default installation destination for everything. You can install programs/grams where ever you want but when installing it, you have to manually set it to install to the D drive rather thant the C drive.

Actually, for most programs I'm almost certain that once you install it, you can just copy the whole folder over to another drive and run it from there (you'll have to update your short cuts and whatnot).

[mguiddy]

I think TweakUI (search for Microsoft Powertoys) has the option to change the "Program Files" and "Documents and Settings" directories.

[humidore]

The C drive is always the default installation destination for everything. You can install programs/grams where ever you want but when installing it, you have to manually set it to install to the D drive rather thant the C drive.

Actually, for most programs I'm almost certain that once you install it, you can just copy the whole folder over to another drive and run it from there (you'll have to update your short cuts and whatnot).

I see...A message about installing into an already created directory popped up when installing CoD4, so I kind of hesitated putting it somewhere other than the default. Thanks for all the help.

[Liquid 2]

The C drive is always the default installation destination for everything.Incorrect.

The default drive/partition is the one the OS is on. For most people, that's the C:\ drive, but that's not always the case.

[Aberforth]

The C drive is always the default installation destination for everything. You can install programs/grams where ever you want but when installing it, you have to manually set it to install to the D drive rather thant the C drive.

Actually, for most programs I'm almost certain that once you install it, you can just copy the whole folder over to another drive and run it from there (you'll have to update your short cuts and whatnot).


There might also be registry entries that need to be updated.

[[Square]]

I just hit the "custom" install button whenever I'm putting a new program on my PC. Just make the same path name that was originally suggested except have it starting with the other partition drive letter. The difference is that if you hit "typical" it will automaticallly go to your C drive (which you don't want).

[n25philly]

Many programs automatically install into the C: directory and some have problems when they are in a different partition. You are better running programs from the C: drive.

[humidore]

Hmm, well the honeymoon is over: my system crashes out of games liek CoD4, Quake Wars, and STALKER pretty frequently (could not get more than an half an hour playtime in before either system reset or crash to desktop). This also occurred while watching a 720p episode of LOST...I thought I had graphic settings too high (most were on highest), but then I don't get why watching a video would cause a crash as well. I appreciate any ideas you might have!..

My system:
mobo- ASUS P5N-E SLI
OS- Windows Home XP, SP2
CPU- Intel Core Duo E6750 @ stock 2.66Ghz
RAM- 2GB G Skill SDRAM DDR2 800
DVD- 1x Samsung 20xDVD burner
HD- 1x 250 GB Seagate
GPU- 512MB 8800 GT (nVIDIA Detonator 69.21)
PSU: OCZ Stealth Stream 600w

Temps taken from Aida32 report:
Motherboard 34 °C (93 °F)
CPU 25 °C (77 °F)
Aux 30 °C (86 °F)

If there is a better diagnostic tool to check vitals, let me know.,,

[sasukekun]

http://www.memtest.org/

[SpecTrE3353]

Could be bad memory. I would try the link posted above.

Could be the OS install. I had an install of XP once that had severe frame rate and crashing problems. I reinstalled using another disc/version and everything was fine.

Could be drivers. Make sure everything is completely up to date.

Most likely however, based upon your description of "crashing randomly regardless of being in or out of a 3D game" is that you are overheating or having PSU/power problems. Look online to see what kind of CPU/motherboard temps your setup should be getting. Use an application like SIS Sandra Soft to write your temps to a log file so that when a crash happens you can go back and see what the temps were at. If it seems like your stuff is running too hot, then you need to get a better CPU heatsink/fan, make sure your case fans are running, and make sure your computer is not jammed into a tight and/or hot spot. You should have an intake AND exhaust fan on your machine that pulls cool air in the front and pushes hot air out the back.

Also make sure that you have a good quality PSU. Very cheap or low quality PSU's will have power fluctuations and this can cause weird behaviors like crashing (although I think this is less likely than the overheating idea). Make sure everything in your case is being powered properly. I once had a friend who plugged a fan power slot into his video card. Make sure that all your components are plugged into solidly to their slots/power cables.

Good luck... keep us updated with your progress and we will try to help.

[humidore]

Thanks, I will try memtest when I get back tonight from work. I forgot to mention I was running the games at 1680x1050 resolution...

[n25philly]

Hmm, well the honeymoon is over: my system crashes out of games liek CoD4, Quake Wars, and STALKER pretty frequently (could not get more than an half an hour playtime in before either system reset or crash to desktop). This also occurred while watching a 720p episode of LOST...I thought I had graphic settings too high (most were on highest), but then I don't get why watching a video would cause a crash as well. I appreciate any ideas you might have!..

My system:
mobo- ASUS P5N-E SLI
OS- Windows Home XP, SP2
CPU- Intel Core Duo E6750 @ stock 2.66Ghz
RAM- 2GB G Skill SDRAM DDR2 800
DVD- 1x Samsung 20xDVD burner
HD- 1x 250 GB Seagate
GPU- 512MB 8800 GT (nVIDIA Detonator 69.21)
PSU: OCZ Stealth Stream 600w

Temps taken from Aida32 report:
Motherboard 34 °C (93 °F)
CPU 25 °C (77 °F)
Aux 30 °C (86 °F)

If there is a better diagnostic tool to check vitals, let me know.,,


any error messages? if so, post them it will be easier to diagnose.

[sasukekun]

When you use memtest, make sure you run separately on each memory stick, then together.

[humidore]

So I first ran Windows Memory Diagnostic and some errors did pop up, but I was running both sticks on accident. Then I ran memtest for about 12 hours with no errors on one stick, then 6 hours on the other, no errors...With both ran for about 2 hours and no errors. Then i looked in the settings and changed the Memory Sizing to All, and automatically got tons of errors (checked each stick individually and then together, same deal). The errors came up immediately after changing the memory sizing, so I am wondering if I just set it to something I shouldn't.

Since the crashes happen when I run something memory intensive (games/hi resolution videos), I am tempted to say its the RAM. Even Peggle (the one that comes with Steam) caused a crash, leaving me to believe less it is a video card driver issue...I am going to RMA my RAM with G Skill then I guess, and pray a new set allows me to use my PC for what I built it for!

Thanks for the Memtest suggestion/other help. Any other ideas would be great.