[mezigues]

Hi all


I'm new here and looking for help
I recently switched my gaming PC from XP sp3 to win 7 ultimate (x86)



everything works just fine except for 2 little problems:

1/ in games, even thought, they run just fine otherwise, opening large lists takes like 5 seconds
one example: in Mass effect 2, it occurs when i want to select weapons for a mission in the armory
it also occurs in other games, but always doing similar thing (opening inventorys, armories, ect...)
the same action was done instantly when I was running XP
the games run just fine otherwise

config:
power supply 850w OCZ
processor Q9650 (not overclocked)
mobo asus striker 2 extreme
4 GB ram (not overclocked, linked)
graphics card sapphire HD5870 (1Go)
HDD for o/s only: SSD OCZ (agility) 40GB
storage HDDs (I also install games on them): 2x 1TB hitachi sata

all drivers up to date (checked again today)




2/ my second problem is I use a domestic network between my computers
there are 3:
a PC I use as multimedia server running XP pro sp3 which is always on
my gaming PC which runs win7
a laptop running XP pro sp3

the workgroup is "mynick-home" for the 3 comps

I can access each comp using shotcuts I made (simply stating the IP adress of the comps) and file sharing works, but:
- in the win7's explorer, "network" only shows the win7 comp (itself)
- in the XP computer's explorer, network only shows the XP comps

it's quite annoying for me since I can't explore the network from a player's open file menu and therefore I have to open a folder using my shortcut and drag and drop the file/folder



any help greatly appreciated

Edited by mezigues, 15 September 2010 - 11:45 PM.

[Advertisements]

Hello and Welcome to GeeksToGo,

First off, Mass Effect 2 has a known problem with load times on C2D (Core 2 Duo) and Core 2 Quad core chips on windows vista and windows 7. It has to do with process affinity meaning load times in game are alot longer than they should be. To fix this load up the game and alt-tab to the desktop. Bring up the task manager and select mass effect 2, Right click on it and select Process Affinity. Then un-check cores 0, 1, and 2 leaving 3 selected so the game runs on a single core. Hit okay. Then repeat the process again but reelecting all the cores and hit okay. Your load times should be back to normal.

Are you sure the Windows 7 Computer is on the same workgroup. IIRC Windows 7 defaults to HomeGroup or similar when a Clean install is applied. To change the workgroup of the computer in question follow the directions listed on this site http://windows.micro...ate-a-workgroup

After doing that make sure under Advanced Sharing Settings in the Network and Sharing Center that Network Discovery is on. After doing the above you should now see the Windows XP Clients/Computer on your network.

[amw_drizz]

Hello and Welcome to GeeksToGo,

First off, Mass Effect 2 has a known problem with load times on C2D (Core 2 Duo) and Core 2 Quad core chips on windows vista and windows 7. It has to do with process affinity meaning load times in game are alot longer than they should be. To fix this load up the game and alt-tab to the desktop. Bring up the task manager and select mass effect 2, Right click on it and select Process Affinity. Then un-check cores 0, 1, and 2 leaving 3 selected so the game runs on a single core. Hit okay. Then repeat the process again but reelecting all the cores and hit okay. Your load times should be back to normal.

Are you sure the Windows 7 Computer is on the same workgroup. IIRC Windows 7 defaults to HomeGroup or similar when a Clean install is applied. To change the workgroup of the computer in question follow the directions listed on this site http://windows.micro...ate-a-workgroup

After doing that make sure under Advanced Sharing Settings in the Network and Sharing Center that Network Discovery is on. After doing the above you should now see the Windows XP Clients/Computer on your network.

[mezigues]

thanks for your helpful answer!


about the game: it solved the problem, thanks a lot

about the network I got less lucky and the problem remains
I've double checked (for like the Nth time since I've started looking into it actually) and yes:
- the workgroup is the same for all 3 computers ("mynickname-home")
- Network discovery is up and running (I even checked the service and it is running and set to "automatic")

what startles me is that I can access each comp form another using a simple shortcut to the IP
another detail: I can access µTorrent's web-ui from each comp
from what I understand, everything that works by targeting an IP of my network works just fine but explorer must access it in some other way
quite a mystery here... ^^

Edited by mezigues, 15 September 2010 - 08:54 AM.

[amw_drizz]

try this guide on troubleshooting and setting up windows 7 home networks http://www.howtogeek...ndows-7-and-xp/

[mezigues]

hi again and sorry for the delay (I'm in another time zone)

I've carefully looked into the guide and there are only 2 differences with the setup on my computer:
- the part about printers (I don't have a printer so I didn't follow those steps)
- the fact that a password is set

about the password setup, I'm not willing to do that because it will bug me day after day
Only people I trust can physically access my computers and I don't want to have to type a password each time I want to do something (start the computer, access the files from another computer, ect...)

the setup however is exactly identical to what this guide shows in every other way

[mezigues]

I'm back to say I've solved the problem

It's quite stupid, to be honest
everything was correctly set up, but they managed to put a troubleshooting utility in a very well hidden place!

in "network and sharing", at the top of page there's a "map" of the network and, to the right, there's a "see full map" link
it showed the same so called map and a clickable link saying some items couldn't be shown

clicking it lead to a reboot prompt and there it was: every computer's explorer now shows the whole network

to make sure, I rebooted, expecting to have to do the thing again but no: it's solved


anyway, thanks for your help

[happyrock]

thanks for letting us know...
posting your results will save someone with the same or similar issues a bunch of time