Hello, a few problems thought resolved are back

Okay, I will do all those in about a half hour-I have some other things I need to do right this minute. I have gone to the NVIDIA website and downloaded their latest drivers that apply to my computer. I will tell you what they are in case there is something wrong there. For GeForce 6150LE - Nvidia driver, date-12/5/2007, version 6.14.11.6921 Network Bus Enumerator - Nvidia driver - date-2/17/2006, version 50.2.3.0 Nvidia networking controller - Nvidia driver - date-2/17/2006, version 50.2.3.0 Nvidia nforce 430/410 serial ATA controller - there are 2 of these, driver Nvidia, date - 4/24/2006, version 5.10.2600.666 The only language I have loaded is English I have the only account on this machine, the guest account is turned off, and I will do the msconfig right now, then go do my 30 min worth of stuff. There are only 6 things listed and checked in msconfig: 2 ad aware 1 z client 1ctfmon.exe 1 winpatrol 1 NVsomething

Consider adjusting your Monitor Resolution setting to 1600 X 1200
(that is the max allowable for that particular monitor)
Icons may appear smaller than you prefer but otherwise performance could only be improved.

I don't know what to say about ctfmon.exe
Since you have it marked to "turn off advanced text services", it should be off.
We could go after it more agressively, but you indicate your machine is running well and I like the principle:
If it ain't broke, don't be fixin on it.

You can safely disable any/all NVsomethings via MSCONFIG
They are simply resolution helper controls to be used if you need to change specifics, mostly for gaming.

Your Graphics Adapter is "onboard"… meaning it is built into your motherboard and runs from an installed chipset on the board, instead of from a PCI, PCI-e Graphics card which would be added if you wanted to buy and improve graphics performance for higher end uses like video rendering and gaming. <– otherwise, this GPU is just fine for your machine.

Here is the correct Driver for NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
http://www.nvidia.com/object/winxp_169.21_whql.html

CindyM,

In the video/graphics Driver world these days, it is less mandatory to uninstall the old driver before installing an update.
This is because, most of the Driver information gets overwritten by the new Driver information.
Control Panel - Add/Remove is generally sufficient for uninstalling the old Driver before updating.

BUT, there are situations where it can be useful to use a dedicated Uninstall Tool.

• If moving from one brand of card to another, (changing from nVidia to ATI)
• If moving from a newer Driver to an older driver that is recommended specifically for your hardware
• If in the process of installing an update you encounter problems, or performance changes negatively

The first two instances do not apply to you.
The third one might.
So I'd give a Driver Uninstall tool a try if I were you.

nVidia "had" always offered a free uninstall tool, but now offers this "paid" third-party tool for $9.99
http://www.drivercleaner.net/

I wouldn't spend the money, and there is a free third-party uninstall utility highly recommended by experts, here:
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=1655

I'd recommend you use it, then give a fresh try at installing the nVidia Driver that I linked for you above.

Best Regards

Hi Doug, The graphics driver you linked above is the one that I installed, but I will try the removal tool you recommended and do a reinstall. I will also change the monitor resolution to 1600 by 1200. I had to uncheck the box which says hide all modes that are not supported by the adapter to adjust the resolution, is that okay? Kind regards, Cindy

Hi CindyM, Good work so far! Make only one change at a time. For instance: Change the screen resolution to 1600 x 1200. Then run a fresh Pit Test to see if the video performance has improved. Then change your screen resolution back to your current settings (1440x900 pixels) Then use the driver uninstaller to uninstall your present nVida Driver Then install the recommended driver Then run a fresh Pit Test to see if the video performance has improved. If not improved… Then change the screen resolution up to 1600 x 1200 Run a fresh Pit Test to see if the video performance has improved. If not improved… Then change the screen resolution down to 1024 x 768 Run a fresh Pit Test to see if the video performance has improved. ________________ I am hopeful that from the above description you will recognize the benefit of changing only one setting at a time. I realize that you have already stated that your machine's function has restored sufficiently to good performance, that any additional adjustments are more in response to recommendations here in this thread, than from your own evaluation that something still needs to be fixed. If your machine is performing to your satisfaction, it is entirely up to you if you wish to continue with any of the above recommendations, or not. Best Regards

I will try your advice, one item at a time, since that makes the most sense. I will let you know as soon as I receive a better video performance result, and thank you.

……………………………………………………………………..
………………………………..video speed
Thu Feb 07 2008 16:40:29 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time) 12607 6086 >>51<< 4753 1112 45 0
Tue Jan 29 2008 20:19:51 GMT-0800 (Pacific Standard Time) 12638 6674 >>226<<4996 1120 46 0

CindyM,

By looking at the PCPitstop Test History, I find the above.

The changes made between January 29th and February 7th, include installation of the "supposedly updated" video driver, and the "disabling" of various nVidia items via CodeStuff Starters.

The problem certainly "could' be a compromised installation of the video driver, which would be repaired by using the Removal Tool and then re-installing the video driver as previously instructed above.

Or……….
I suppose it is possible (I have never heard of it happening before) that some of the nVidia startup items are required for full function of that video chip's function.
__________________

After attempting the above one-at-a-time steps, you could also restore the nvidia related startups (again one-at-a-time) to see if one of those startup items restores full video performance.

The items to consider Re-Enabling one-at-a-time include:
NvCplDaemon
NvMediaCenter
nwiz

I tried all the suggestions with regard to the monitor resolution and no matter what I do to it, the pcpitstop tests come back with low video performance. Last night I tried to update the nvidia nforce networking drivers to the one that the nvidia website said were for my computer, and it knocked out my ethernet driver completely, so I could not access the internet at all. I tried reinstalling the network interface card, but received a message about a pnp error, something not being found, so unable to reinstall. I did a system restore to the previous day, and am okay now, except for the past problems that I cannot seem to fix. The main problem with not being able to even view my ethernet stuff is that I cannot send a fax or receive a fax from my computer, which I had always been able to do before. I can try your suggestions from 2/12, and I will. Is there anyway that you can hook up to my machine remotely to see what I am missing? You probably don't do that, but I would like it. Okay, I'll try some other stuff, and I will use the uninstall tool again and see if I can start from scratch without completely removing my Lan access. Cindy Happy Valentine's Day, and I hope everyone remembered at least a card for their significant other! Me, I still have to go out and get one for my husband.

Now I cannot seem to download the uninstall program from the 3D GURU page. I am getting very frustrated with this computer and my inability to fix it.

Hi CindyM,

I think I overlooked your interest in using FAX. Sorry.

Here's the short blurb from MS Help center about using FAX in MS XP

Using FaxFax provides you with complete fax facilities from your computer. You can configure fax settings, send and receive faxes, track and monitor fax activity, and access archived faxes. Using Fax, you can choose to send and receive faxes with a local fax device attached to your computer, or with a remote fax device connected to fax resources located on a network.

Fax is not installed by default during Windows Setup.

To install the Fax component
Open Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel.
Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
In the Windows Components Wizard, select the Fax Services check box, and then follow the instructions on your screen.
Notes

To open Fax after installation, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Fax Console.
For more information on using Fax, click Help in Fax Console

.

Please tell us about the physical equipment you use for FAX'ing

Hi Doug, I just use my computer for faxing, if necessary I scan the item in and send. I am very familiar with MS Fax, console and everything, I have all ready had it set up to send and manually receive, it's just when I tried to use it last week it would not receive, and I did everything exactly as I always have. I probably forgot to tell you that I do use the fax, does that tie into my ethernet card problem or the driver at all? I am going to make another attempt at downloading the uninstall tool, and try removing one thing at a time and reinstalling, after I'm sure I have copies of the old drivers backed up to an external hard drive, which I do. I just forgot last night that I had backups. Then I am going to spend the rest of the evening with my husband since it's Valentine's Day, but I will be back tomorrow and I will let you know how the above went. Thank you again, and Happy Valentine's day to you and your significant other! Cindy