any hope for chronic discoer

[flatiron1]

Don't want to sound like a whiner but I have just about had it. Cable  guy was out yesterday and changed all my outside connectors and gave me a new modem still discoing 4 to 6 times a night.


Only option I can see is trying it with DSL or maybe trying the 10 meg option with Charter for $10.00 more a month. I currently have 5 meg cable with Charter. Would running game with mcaffe off possibly help any and is there any risk. What about firewall settings.



System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 4/28/2009, 20:39:08
       Machine name: JAMES-PC
   Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.090302-1506)
           Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
       System Model: Inspiron 530
               BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
          Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU     E6550  @ 2.33GHz (2 CPUs), ~2.3GHz
             Memory: 3326MB RAM
          Page File: 1520MB used, 5365MB available
        Windows Dir: C:\Windows
    DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
     DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 32bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
      Display Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 1: No problems found.
        Sound Tab 2: No problems found.
          Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D:    0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw:  0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay:  0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow:  0/6 (retail)

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
        Card name: NVIDIA GeForce 8300 GS
     Manufacturer: NVIDIA
        Chip type: GeForce 8300 GS
         DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
       Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0423&SUBSYS_049410DE&REV_A1
   Display Memory: 1521 MB
 Dedicated Memory: 113 MB
    Shared Memory: 1407 MB
     Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
          Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor
      Driver Name: nvd3dum.dll,nvwgf2um.dll
   Driver Version: 7.15.0011.7824 (English)
      DDI Version: 10
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
 Driver Date/Size: 10/7/2008 14:33:00, 5963776 bytes
      WHQL Logo'd: Yes
  WHQL Date Stamp:

[WMLute]

I would look at your system then.  The PingPlot you posted didn't seem to look like you should be getting constant disco's.  (Granted Skuzzy can run a reverse trace and check from his end)

First thing to do is to go to www.blackviper.com and use the guide found there to trim down all the Windows Services that are running and probably shouldn't be.  I have 13 Services running (i've had it in the past as low as 10-11) and you should try to get yours down around 16-18 ish.  BlackVipers guide will explain what they do and if the services is needed or not.  I tend to follow the BareBones on the Guide but that is not for everybody.


The next step would be to to MSCONFIG (Start - Run - MSCONFIG) click on the STARTUP tab, and get rid of anything in there that is checked that is not needed.  (pretty much most things in there are not needed.  I run my firewall, a program for my mouse, and I think that is all I have in there checked).  When in doubt, GOOGLE it and read what it is and what it does.  Just like the Services less is best and you should try to have as little running in there as possible.


I would then download, install, and use the program HiJackThis (it is free.  u can find it at www.download.com) and get rid of all the remaining garbage that is running in the background.  Carefull with HiJackThis.  Take the time to learn what it does and how to use it.  Again, GOOGLE is your friend and if you are not sure what something listed in HJT does, do a simple search and read.  GENERALLY the last part in the line entry in HJT is what you should search for.

*Example*
O4 - HKLM\..\Run: [IntelliPoint] "C:\Program Files\Microsoft IntelliPoint\ipoint.exe"

I would GOOGLE ipoint.exe and learn that is for my mouse which I custom program the buttons so I want to leave this running (unchecked)

O23 - Service: SiSoftware Deployment Agent Service (SandraAgentSrv) - SiSoftware - C:\Program Files\SiSoftware\SiSoftware Sandra Lite 2009.SP3\RpcAgentSrv.exe

I would GOOGLE RpcAgentSrv.exe and see that this is for Sisoft Sandra and I really don't need that running at all times so I would check it and click FIX CHECKED.

When I do a System Scan with HJT I have 3 items.  Less is best.

You would be amazed and just how much crud is running on your system.  Between Services.MSC, MSCONFIG, and HiJackThis you will be well on your way to a "clean" system.  Remember, GOOGLE is your friend here, and less is always best


(edit:  I might add while you are at www.download.com grab 2-3 diff anti-spyware programs.  Most will only find 20-30% of the junk out there so you need to run several of them to have a chance at clearing it all out.  AdAware, Spybot Search and Destroy, and SpywareBlaster would be a good start.  Do all of the above and get back to me in a few days when you are done and let me know if you are still having disco's)

[The Fugitive]

Your ping doesn't look bad, but like Skuzzy said, when it runs through "xxxx.Level3.net" all bets are off.  Picture the internet like a highway. Level3 is that section that when things get busy is grid locked and doing that stop and go crap for hours.  So your connection does the same thing, one minute its fine, next it has too many things running through it and packets are getting lost. Switching to another provider might help, but its no guaranty.

Stream lining your computer like WMLute said never hurts, and is something you can take care of yourself. Turning off antivirus software while play the game is a good idea, just remember to turn it back on after playing. AlacrityPC is a good program to use. It takes a bit to set it up the first time, but after that its just a single double click and the game starts. The program is free, install it and configure a profile. You can set it up to turn off everything you don't need running to play the game, as well as turning off your antivirus. It will also clear your ram and start the game. When you close the game down, it will RESTART everything you had it turn off automatically.

[Skuzzy]

You need to stay on top of your video card driver.  NVidia has had chronic problems with Vista drivers.  1.5GB of RAM taken up by the video card driver is just stupid.

[flatiron1]

Thanks all. I went to blackviper and used the tweaked settings for services and was able to cut off 44 services which leaves 83 still on. Also did the #5 and 8 on the top 9 tweaks for vista. will see how this does and get back to you. Hijack this kinda scares me so will wait on that and alcritypc

[Skuzzy]

You have to be kidding?  At one point you had 127 background processes?  That is just insane.  A reasonably clean Vista system has around 35 processes running.

No wonder you are having problems.

[flatiron1]

no that was services, I currently have 48 processes but have not worked on that part yet.

[Skuzzy]

DOH!  You did say services.  My bad.

[Dragon]

He said :DOH"  LOL

I had nothing but problems with cable, especially during the evening hours when people were doing the on demand movies, switched to dsl and no problems since.

I always fly with @ 180 services and 62 processes running and almost never get below max frame rate.

[flatiron1]

ok installed alacrity and have services  down to 22 and I think 2 programs running while in game. Game running fine but not been on long enough to see if discoing is helped. Still need to work on processes.The Hijack this scan did not seem to have a lot of excess at first glance.

[WMLute]

ok installed alacrity and have services  down to 22 and I think 2 programs running while in game. Game running fine but not been on long enough to see if discoing is helped. Still need to work on processes.The Hijack this scan did not seem to have a lot of excess at first glance.

For the most part, all you are doing with HiJack this is turning off programs that run "kinda" in the background "just incase" you launch the program so it loads faster, turning off programs that are constantly scanning for updates, getting rid of Browser Helper Objects, etc, etc, etc.

HJT does not delete programs, or prevent them from running.

*examples*
My HP printer was running software in the background that was constantly checking for updates and "phoning home".  I got rid of all HP related software and when I am in Word and click PRINT it fires up just fine and prints.  It just takes a 1/2 second longer to get started.

BHO's.  Do you REALLY want YAHOO TOOLBAR on your browser?

You are correct to be carefull w/ it, and just GOOGLE everything you have questions about.

Alacrity is a great program that was designed for Flight Sims.  (I almost posted about it myself)  Once setup it will turn off a lot of 'fluff' when you launch AH an then turn it all back on when you exit AH.

When my computer is sitting idle I have 17 Processes running.

[flatiron1]

seems to be discoing less, only three times since new tour started. Will continue to tweak. Thanks for the ideas.


One question what does Skuzzy mean by this

"You need to stay on top of your video card driver.  NVidia has had chronic problems with Vista drivers.  1.5GB of RAM taken up by the video card driver is just stupid.".

[Denholm]

The video card driver is the software used by your system to make sense of the systems inside the video card. Once the system can make sense of what the video card is all about, it can use it to display graphics in a way defined by the drivers and your personal preferences.

However, NVIDIA has been having troubles making drivers for their products which work on Vista machines. This is what Skuzzy is talking about. In one instance, the drivers consumed 1.5 GB of RAM, or, to put it in perspective, almost half of the RAM on your system, when it should only be using about 100MB max.

Therefore watching how your video card performs, checking for newer drivers, and staying with drivers which you know actually work would help you, "stay on top of your video card driver."

[flatiron1]

things seem to be looking better. no disco tonight.

Here is a good tool I found.


http://www.ccleaner.com


has a nice way to keep the cookies you want and has a registry fixer. free

[Denholm]

Glary Utilities, from what I've heard, is better.

Glad it's working better for you.