[Ivor C&G Scarf]

I have an Acer Aspire 5050 originally with Vista and now running XP SP3 [a clean install after reformatting the drive]. I changed bacause it started being horrendously slow. However, it runs exactly the same in XP as it did in Vista:

1. Always works perfectly in Safe Mode;
2. Sometimes works in normal mode sometimes it won't - it freezes just after windows loads but before applications are started;
3. Keyboard & touchpad whilst working in Safe Mode do not work in normal mode when the laptop is frozen. However, the mouse does work.
4. Network works in both modes.
5. In normal mode, taskmanager shows that 'System' takes up between 35% & 45% CPU, whereas in Safe More it shows as 0%.

I used Acer's XP drivers then used Driver Genius to update the them.

A specialist says that the machine's hardware appears to be working OK.

So, what does full working mode do that Safe Mode doesn't [or vice-versa!], PLEASE?

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Hello,
Are there any yellow or red marks in Device Manager? If there are, please post a screen shot showing what they are.

[makai]

Hello,
Are there any yellow or red marks in Device Manager? If there are, please post a screen shot showing what they are.

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

Thanks for the reply.

There are no red/yellow marks. Al the [correct] drivers are present [checked with Driver Genius].

As it is a clean install, obviously there are no viruses.

[makai]

This sounds like a driver problem. Safe mode only loads the bare minimum drivers.

When you installed XP, was the chipset driver the very first driver you installed? Chipset = SM bus driver = CPU driver (I believe this is what ACER is calling it on thier website).

The chipset driver is the first driver that needs to be installed as it allows the bridge chips to communicate with the CPU and control all bus activities.

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

Yes.

It's worked fine all day today - apart from once when I restarted it after an XP update. I've found that if I remove the power lead and the battery is left to run down [only takes 5 minutes!!] it will restart OK. If I remove both the lead & the battery it will freeze.

It seems to be OK when restarting from hibernation - obviously the 'problem' has already been loaded.

I've also installed & run speed fan - but I'm not sure what I'm looking for there [HHD - 35; core - 65; temp (ACPI) - 58].

Thanks for your continued help & suggestions.

Edited by Ivor C&G Scarf, 28 September 2009 - 02:40 PM.

[dsenette]

could also be an app loading at startup....ACER has been known to have some funky little control apps for their hot keys and such...i've had quite a few run like stuck pigs with the acer software on it

you could disable all your startup items in MSCONFIG and reboot (start > run > type msconfig > press enter > go to the startup tab and uncheck everything)...if it boots up fine and isn't slow or freezing with all the items unchecked go back to MSCONFIG and check one item, lather, rinse, repeat until the lockup/freeze happens again (remember only check one item at a time)....if/when it locks up go back to MSCONFIG and let us know what the last item you turned back on was

[makai]

65 degrees seems warm, but it may be because the laptop is running full speed. Is this an AMD chip? From the Acer website, it seems to be. I'm not that familiar with AMD, but does the laptop have power options where you can command the cpu to run at min, then during peak requirements, run at max. PowerNow! for AMD is apparently the same as "Speedstep" for Intel.

It really sounds like some kind of driver/software conflict as Safe mode is fine. When you installed XP, did your disc already have SP3 on it, or did you upgrade to SP3? What you might do is use msconfig to disable startups to see if something can be isolated. I'm going to assume you know how to use msconfig, but if you don't, let me know.

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

65 degrees seems warm, but it may be because the laptop is running full speed. Is this an AMD chip?

Yes, Turion 64.

Does the laptop have power options where you can command the cpu to run at min, then during peak requirements, run at max. PowerNow! for AMD is apparently the same as "Speedstep" for Intel.

No.

It really sounds like some kind of driver/software conflict as Safe mode is fine. When you installed XP, did your disc already have SP3 on it, or did you upgrade to SP3? What you might do is use msconfig to disable startups to see if something can be isolated. I'm going to assume you know how to use msconfig, but if you don't, let me know.

Installed XP Pro then SP3.

However, the problem started whilst Vista was installed. So I have theoretically narrowed it down to a common Vista/XP driver that is not loaded in Safe Mode. It also loads the desktop and the date and then freezes.

So far Acer have not been able to help, but I'll put this last thought to them.

Edited by Ivor C&G Scarf, 01 October 2009 - 02:58 AM.

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

could also be an app loading at startup....ACER has been known to have some funky little control apps for their hot keys and such...i've had quite a few run like stuck pigs with the acer software on it

you could disable all your startup items in MSCONFIG and reboot (start > run > type msconfig > press enter > go to the startup tab and uncheck everything)...if it boots up fine and isn't slow or freezing with all the items unchecked go back to MSCONFIG and check one item, lather, rinse, repeat until the lockup/freeze happens again (remember only check one item at a time)....if/when it locks up go back to MSCONFIG and let us know what the last item you turned back on was

Unchecked everything and it froze!

Let the battery run down, and it restarted OK.

Edited by Ivor C&G Scarf, 01 October 2009 - 03:30 AM.

[makai]

Sorry I couldn't get back sooner, but I was redoing a machine for someone and also hunting for a car for my sister.

Let the battery run down, and it restarted OK.

Does this mean it's working fine now in normal mode?

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

Not always!

Yesterday I restarted it following a Windows update. It froze. I unplugged the power lead, let the battery run down, and hey presto, it started OK!

Once it's managed to get going it works perfectly. There's just that glitch which sometimes happens on start up.

For what it's worth, Acer didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about, let alone attempting to give a solution!

[makai]

I wonder if your CPU is overheating since you're not running any power management. Reading links on Google lead me to the AMD driver page for the Turion processor. It seems the power management application must be gotten from AMD. HERE's the link to the page.

On the page, there are drivers for linux and Windows, so you need to read the descriptions. It looks like this... AMD Processor Driver Version 1.3.2.0053 for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64)... is what you need. The link on the page is dtd 8/31/2007, but when I click on it, the page it leads me to says it's been updated 6/12/2009. It also states it's for XP SP2... no mention about SP3.

There may be other applicable drivers on the page for your processor, but since I don't know what you might need, I can't tell either way. I recommend you create a System Restore point before installing any driver from the page... just in case.

By the way, did you ever install any AMD Processor drivers when you installed XP?

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

I wonder if your CPU is overheating since you're not running any power management. Reading links on Google lead me to the AMD driver page for the Turion processor. It seems the power management application must be gotten from AMD. HERE's the link to the page.

On the page, there are drivers for linux and Windows, so you need to read the descriptions. It looks like this... AMD Processor Driver Version 1.3.2.0053 for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64)... is what you need. The link on the page is dtd 8/31/2007, but when I click on it, the page it leads me to says it's been updated 6/12/2009. It also states it's for XP SP2... no mention about SP3.

There may be other applicable drivers on the page for your processor, but since I don't know what you might need, I can't tell either way. I recommend you create a System Restore point before installing any driver from the page... just in case.

By the way, did you ever install any AMD Processor drivers when you installed XP?

Thanks, Makai.

Yes, the latest AMD processor drivers were installed.

I have downloaded PowerNow and will install it. I will let you have the results later.

[makai]

By the way, I guess I should have asked earlier... is this still under warranty? It seems weird that you have reactions from the OS by pulling the battery, having the ac and battery connected, not connected, etc. Why it would affect the OS is strange.

[Ivor C&G Scarf]

By the way, I guess I should have asked earlier... is this still under warranty? It seems weird that you have reactions from the OS by pulling the battery, having the ac and battery connected, not connected, etc. Why it would affect the OS is strange.

No, not under warranty. The problem started when it was 15 months old & running Vista. It's now 2 years old. [It's actually my daughter's for her university work. Both My son & I have Acer laptops and they are outstanding. I also have a lower grade Acer tower which I use as a back up machine.]