As posted in a edit on the first page of the thread.. for those using O&O defrag and seeing visual corruption of the bootime interface, here is the fix from O&O Software







This problem does happen when our graphics driver is not compatible with your graphics card. Please rename the following file:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\oobctm.sys

eg. to

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\oobctm.bak

This file is the grahics card driver for O&O Defrag. If the file is not there, the Windows default driver will be used for offline defragmentation instead.

Note: Don't open O&O Defrag after you rename the driver, this will cause to reinstall the driver again. Therefore change the settings for the offline defragmentation before.

Restart your computer and the offline defragmentation should run. If you can see everything correctly, do the following after Windows is loaded:

- close O&O Defrag if it was open

- delete the file C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\oobctm.sys

- create a file in this folder with notepad and name it "oobctm.sys"

(please take care that the file extensions are correct and are not hidden by Windows explorer)

- open O&O Defrag, it should not install the driver again

=====================================

raptorx wrote on Mar 24^th, 2009 at 9:06pm:



yes, its normal

NickN wrote on Feb 23^rd, 2009 at 1:58pm:


Stupid question, Nick. After we revert, to we again run:

rundll32 advapi32,ProcessIdleTasks

Thanks.

Nick, (or anyone else who might have a good suggestion)

I have followed your excellent setup guide with great results up until a recent hardware upgrade.  In December I upgraded my computer with a new Gigabyte motherboard (EP45-UD3R) and added some Corsair XMS 2 RAM to bring my system up from 2GB to 8GB.  I also wiped out the computer and clean installed XP 64 bit as I was running XP Home 32 bit before and wanted it to recognize the extra RAM.  I kept my processor which is a 2.4 GHz Q6600.  I also wanted to overclock the processor eventually.

I setup XP64 according to your guide after I installed the operating system and some other software (MS Office, Photoshop, etc.)  The Windows setup process was complete.  I didn't have time for FSX the last few months so I never installed it to check it out on the new hardware until now.

So, now I went back and checked through your checklist completely again to make sure all the Windows XP stuff was set correctly still and it was.  I also rebuilt the page file as per your guide and finished the XP setup.  I installed FSX with Acceleration.  I then defragged per your guide using O&O version 11.  I only have 34 processes running at boot.  The short version of this story is FSX is only running at 10-11 fps and it is very jerky and stutters.  When I go into spot view I lose all sound and it is even more jerky.  With my old hardware I got 20fps flat with the default flight which is what I'm using now to test it out.  I have no addons installed besides Acceleration as I only wanted to set up FSX for now and then possibly try Tile Proxy out.  The only other thing I have done was overclock the processor to 3.2 GHz however I switched back to a non-overclock and the stuttering and jerkiness was still present.  Any ideas?

Here are my full system specs:

Q6600 2.4 GHz Processor
8 GB RAM (Corsair XMS 2 DDR2 800) [PC2 6400] - These are in 4 slots at 2GB for each stick
Nvidia 7950 GX2 1GB Video Card
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R Motherboard

The only fsx config changes I've made are Job Scheduler, Disable Preload, and Hide Info Text - The problem still exists even with Job Scheduler not in the config.

Thanks for any help you may be able to provide!

Brandon

thetford569 wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 3:51pm:


Brandon in lack of a better response I have often experienced worst performance after an initial install of FSX.  Don’t ask me why, just seems after a few flights and several days after the install things seem to smooth out.

I suspect you tried all the usual:
1) Latest bios
2) Assuming you are using onboard sound?  In any case all latest drivers. Disable onboard sound if using separate sound card.
3) I use the 182.5 drivers with Enhancer per Nick’s instructions with good results.
4) All latest MS updates.
5) Update Directx
a) Also go to FSX main folder “setup” folder and update Directx there as well.
6) Run through the bios settings and see if everything in there is setup ok.
a) Memory timings, voltage, e.t.c.
b) Load defaults usually a good place to start. Change to optimized defaults later.
7) Stick with 4GB memory, ensure you are using correct two slots (1 in each channel same coloured slots)
8) Check system Device Manager for errors.
A) Ensure IDE Primary and Secondary is set to DMA mode.
b) NCQ if available is disabled.

That’s all I can contribute, hope it works out.

thanks Nick.  I will work my way down the list and check the FSX Tuning Guide this weekend.  I actually have not seen that guide before and it gives me several items to try.  The only guides I had seen were the XP Tuning and FSX Setup guide which I have followed to the t.  If I can't figure it out with this I'll let you know.  Thanks again Nick and also to you truck911 for the list of items to check.

Brandon

After setting up FSX correctly, if i then install other programs (non fsx related), do i need to re-run a space or name defrag?

os is on c: drive, and fsx is on d: drive (separate physical disks)

Thx!

nyfirefly11 wrote on Apr 9^th, 2009 at 3:00pm:



It depends on how big the software is that installs.. For small progs no.. for larger just do the monthly maintenance routine when its time..for something big, yes, I would