XP Gaming Problem

[WildFire]

Ok, I just got XP and all of a sudden BF ain't working online. It lags (as in "connection problem" every minute...and no thats not exaggerating, it happens roughly every 68 seconds). Does anyone have any clues how I can fix it? Because of this problem Ican't play any online games at all because this happens. Take CS for example, I can play for about 1-2 minutes and than it freezes. When it unfreezes 5-10 seconds later, I could be dead because I couldn't see anything that happened.

I am running on the Dell XP home version, wireless cable connection with Zone Alarm and MaCafree virus scan.

 

[Turner]

Have you tried turning on the compatibility mode for it? Is this XP Home or Pro? I use pro, and have never had a problem. Go to the properties page of the executable, and you can set the compatibility there. Should have it's own tab.

 

[Archer 007]

He said in the post that it was Home edition

 

[Aphex_Twin]

So one more gaming problem with XP. What's new?

 

[WildFire]

Originally posted by Turner_727
Have you tried turning on the compatibility mode for it? Is this XP Home or Pro? I use pro, and have never had a problem. Go to the properties page of the executable, and you can set the compatibility there. Should have it's own tab.

Will try tomorrow, really hope this works.

 

[Turner]

Originally posted by Aphex_Twin
So one more gaming problem with XP. What's new?

The funny thing is. . . I have never, ever ever had a problem with Gaming on XP. Diablo 2, Starcraft, warcraft, civ2, civ3, Elite Force, Armada 1 & 2. . . all kind of games I've played on my system, and never have I had a problem. Maybe it's just XP Pro. . .I dunno tho.

Originally posted by WildFire


Will try tomorrow, really hope this works.

Good luck. . .any chance of installing Win98 on a dual boot partition? That would help.

 

[IceBlaZe]

I never had problems with XP aswell... (Pro)
Gaming or otherwise..

 

[jeannie]

I bought a home computer about 18 months ago (Compaq) and it had XP Home as the operating system. I soon installed all the Windows updates, and very quickly my computer slowed to a crawl - it couldn't even start up any Microsoft Office application if I'd already started one (even if I'd closed it). The solution, according to the advice I got from Compaq and several friends I trust, was to restore the system to the original configuration. I didn't like the answer, but that's what I had to do.

It took me a couple of days to get the system back to what I had before the restore (including all the Windows Updates), but the system wasn't slow anymore.

I replaced the system a couple of weeks ago (faster processor and other stuff), and I haven't had problems with the new one, either.

So maybe like me you just got 'unlucky'. Of course, I'm convinced that one of the Windows Updates screwed the system up, but since I restored and reinstalled the updates without a problem (and installed them with my new system, too), it's probably me just being judgemental about B. Gates' company!

 

[Jeratain]

Originally posted by WildFire
I am running on the Dell XP home version, wireless cable connection with Zone Alarm and MaCafree virus scan.

First off, I hope your computer came with XP already installed. If you bought it and upgraded to XP from another version of Windows then that was a mistake. Always do a fresh install of the OS if you want it to run smooth and (relatively) flawlessly after install.

Second, shut down your virus scan and Zone Alarm and see if you can run the games better without them. Also disable any other junk programs you have running at startup. For instance, people who use Microsoft Office typically also have FastFind or whatever it was called that loads at startup - this is useless, disable it. Too many programs running simultaneously can interfere with your software. Zone Alarm can especially get buggy with online games sometimes.

Another thing you may want to do is that if you are using a router, make sure the ports that your online games use are open using port forwarding.

Another obvious solution is to do the following: Update Windows, update your video card drivers and any other miscellaneous drivers, update your games if there are any available patches.

And if all else fails, go to the website of the game in question and check their forums for similar problems/solutions.

Last but not least, if all else fails, reformat

 

[IceBlaZe]

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.php

That should help you out with Jeratain's tip.

 

[CornMaster]

Might want to disable hibernate....and any auto-updating stuff....that can slow you down...and the time syncing server....not a lot of bandwidth...but I just hate that thing.

 

[WildFire]

Thanks everyone (including cheetah!).

Its pretty much gone now and I am free to play online!