Hi! I just got a new computer and bought XP for it. After installing I've ran into twice as much trouble as I can handle. My computer keeps rebooting at it own leisure every now and then. Most problems occur when I play games, so I'm guessing I have some problems with my vga card. My system: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor ASUS A7S333 mb MSI Nvidia GeForce4 video card Seagate Barracuda IV HD Creative Audigy Bulk soundcard Logitech mouse, keyboard USB 56k Modem The error msg I get the most is: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL System error, category: (102), Event ID: 1003 Error code 0000000a, parameter1 0c53e400, parameter2 00000002, parameter3 00000000, parameter4 8050e50c. That error repeats with different parameters while playing CIV III, sometimes when I'm online, while playing "sacrifice" etc. Quite often to say the least. I also get other errors every now and then. My video driver nv4_disp has twice got in an infinite loop while playing sacrifice. WIN32K.SYS caused a crash once while playing CIVIII. BAD_POOL_CALLER was one system error. USBPORT.SYS caused a system error while I was online once. Oh and PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA has occured multiple times, but that one might've disappeared during my update process. What have I done so far? Well, I have the most recent drivers for my video card, sound card, modem. I also downloaded AGP drivers for my motherboard. Sacrifice and Civ III have also been patched to new versions. Oh and windows patches haven't helped either. What could be wrong? No hardware seem to use the same IRQ address so now resource sharing problem or? Is my 300W power supply enough for my system? Is some of the hardware incompatible? My friend mentioned something about DMI or what not, but I don't know what he meant. Something about the DVD-ROM and sound card sharing memory? Well good luck with analyzing this one! If you can explain any of the probs I'd be ever so grateful! I really hope you can crack it. It's really not very nice when expensive new equipment seems to be unusable.

Did you do a fresh install of WinXP? I've heard people who upgrade from other versions of windows without formating their hdd's first encounter many problems. also, is your power supply approved by AMD? I would recommend an approved psu with at least 400W for an AthlonXP 2000+. I run my 1600+ AthlonXP with a 350W psu and have encounter no problems so far. Hope this helps.

Hi Arne, How are you doing? First of all, I'm very impressed that you were able to write down all that errors, which I could never do :)). I got a question for you: Are you playing w/ the original CD-game or using game-crack? About the IRQ: More than 1 hardware can use the same IRQ. Sometimes, some of them don't like to share. Just move each hardware (nickcard, soundcard, any other except your video card) around. Everytime you install a hardware, restart the system, then install another one, then restart the system.... This is all I got for you for now. And I hope it helps you out. Happy

Because this is a big issue to me I'm stating this point. Here is the low down from AMD's own web site. AMD Athlon™ XP processor-based systems do not require special or specific models of power supplies to be used. Additionally, because system power requirements vary greatly from system to system, AMD does not stipulate an appropriate size of power supply to be used on AMD Athlon™ XP processor-based systems - power supply size should be based on the combined power requirements of all system components. The above information is taken directly from AMD's web site. KTTD

Aren't you glad you installed XP, which has been proven to be the most fast, stable, and reliable operating system in existence?

are you overclocking?reduce the clock speed update all the motherboard drivers. remove any pci cards. remove all but one stick of ram. test after each step to confirm efficacy.

hello: i would suggest a larger wattage powersuppply first 400watts min. also after xp is loaded do you go to windows updatte site often? how much system ram do you have? hopefully minimum 512 how many open windows do you have when system crashes? also with all of these software problems why not start with a fresh copy of xp fresh installs and all required software upgrades. ......neil