Hi everyone, I just built my 2nd computer, and after several attempts at building a stable machine, itseems that my problems are resulting from me skipping a crucial step in the reinstallation process. I have worked stubbornly for the last month or so trying to do this all on my own, but im begining to realize that im not the expert computer person that i once thought i was.

here is everything i know about my current setup:
Intel Duo Core 6300 1.86Ghz Processor
Asus P5N-E SLI motherboard
BFG GeForce 7950 GTOC 512 mb graphics card
250 GB Western Digital Harddrive (current slave)
80 GB Western Digital Harddrive (current master)
Memorex 52x32x52x16x DVD drive
cheap old CD drive
Dynex 5.1 sound card
logitech 5.1 audio speakers
1 GB Ram
Windows XP Professional (2003)


Problems that I wish i could fix:
Install Windows - I don't know what im doing wrong, but i cannot seem to correctly install windows without some sort of unknown problem showing up after a few weeks. Its also possible that my windows problems are resulting from other things, but i was wondering if someone could post a link showing how to completely wipe old harddrives and install a fresh copy of XP

Correct Video Card Driver - this Nvidia card is my first, and it seems that i have not yet picked the right driver for it to run on. I have initially ran my computer off of the driver that BFG gave me, but im not getting any of the special features that i paid for with this somewhat expensive card. When i went to nvidia.com, and downloaded the latest driver(93.71 if i remember correctly) i would get tons of driver problems that would result in a bluescreen or a system restart. Alot of times, it would occur while i was on the internet, viewing websites with embedded video files or shockwave or flash files, but ive never been able to identify the exact issue. One time, i tried using a 92.5 driver, but i dont think i correctly installed this either. so with this issue, i would greatly appreciate if someone could show me the correct driver that i should use with my current build, and give me brief instructions on how to correctly install the driver

-->Viewing windows media files - I'm thinking this is a problem resulting from not having an updated Windows Media Player, or having the wrong video card driver, but i thought i should still mention it. Whenever i try to view embedded WMV or avi files or just plain old files through Windows Media Player, they are extremely dark, and its almost impossible to see them. If anyone knows why this is happening i would love to find out.

-bios-should i update my bios system? ive heard mixed opinions on this, and im not sure if i should update it throught the asus ez-flash system, but this could be also a source of my problems

-Java- I've been having problems with installing the correct version of java, I dont know what it is that has been causing me to have problems with this, but everytime i install java it seems to lead to more problems, so im looking for the correct version that i should use

-Video Files/Codecs - I like to use bittorrent for watching movies, and alot of times the files cannot be read because they are in the wrong format. My question is, is there a certain codec pack that will NOT mess with my video card when i play games, and is it safe to use VLC? or should i just use a video convertor? In the past, i was told that the video convertors that i used did not coordinate with my video card driver, and it was the reason why i would recieve blue screens and fatal errors in games. If there is not a suitable solution to having extra codecs without the chance of it messing up my video card drivers, please let me know, because i would gladly sacrifice a few video files for my video card driver to work

Hard Drives- currently, i have a 250GB hard drive as my main, and a 80GB hard drive as my slave. My plan is to wipe both drives for a fresh installation of XP. All of my music, pictures, and important text files are on the 80GB slave, and nothing of real value is on the 250GB master. Currently, my computer is only recognizing 130GB on the 250GB drive, and this is because i was not able to run the included CD that would let my computer recognize all of the drive, so i want to switch all of my important files from the 80gb slave to the 250gb, then, reformat the 80gb drive, and install xp as a fresh copy. Then, i will copy all of the important files on the 250 gb drive to the new master, the 80 gb drive. I will wipe the 250gb drive, then move all the important files from the 80gb to the 250gb and keep them there after i have run the harddrive CD that allows all 250GB to be used on the drive. Whew, sorry if this was all confusing, but if you could follow my jumbled plan of thought, could you tell me if this seems correct?

-Royale Nior - I recently found an XP theme that i love (Royale Noir: secret XP theme uncovered - istartedsomething) and i have been told that it could be leading to my computer restarts, but i dont really see how it could work. Does this theme seem like it would cause any problems? I couldnt find anything wrong with it myself, but i wanted to ask all of you guys if you would find it harmful to my system

So after all of this, i would first like to thank you for at least taking the time to read my response, i know its long, but i wanted to give you everything i knew so you could maybe see a simple problem i was overlooking. What im trying to do is just have a computer that can run my games(BF2, WC3, maybe Spore someday), be up to date with XP, and have all the current drivers that will work with each other. The main thing seems to be my video card driver, but i wanted to bring up all of the other issues just in case. I think the most helpful thing i can receive from you guys would be a step by step procedure of installing and updating the basic components and softwares i need to run my computer. the other issues are not immediate problems, but i would like to at least be able to see my computer work and run for such simple things as viewing webpages and listening to music


thank you again, and I appreciate everything that comes in,
a humbled computer user

Hi Jordanvincent and welcome to the board,


First off, to completely wipe your drive try this:

Darik's Boot and Nuke (Hard Drive Disk Wipe)

Next, for a good explanation of Windows reinstall, check this out:

Windowsreinstall.com - XP, Vista upgrade, install, reinstall, uninstall and repair guides

Hope all goes well for you, keep us posted.

The video card drivers should be updated after you run Windows update until there's nothing left to fix ( may take a while ...)
Newer Video-card drivers could be "looking for" elements of Windows that are not there in an older version. SP2 can still be ordered on CD-- for those of us like me-- with an older-release of XP the cost-- (just shipping/handling $4.95 ) it is worth the investment. Don't know how long MS will keep them available. (support for XP allegedly ends in 08)

Order Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD

it save time/bandwidth and usually installs without trouble-- then you go get the rest from windows update. faster & easier with the disc available-- and there are no restrictions on its use you can let your buddy borrow it for his PC --legally !

After you get Windows straightened out... then go download the latest drivers-- as a precaution-- during install of that (or any) driver, disable your AV temporarily. AV programs sometimes mistake parts of legit drivers as viruses during install-- causing corruption-- and problems. I'll check back tomorow see how its going or if you have more questions

ok, i wiped the drives like bandit recommended, and then i updated windows completely. I'm now at the point where i should update my video card drivers. should i download the latest version now? and is this the right copy for me? --->(ForceWare Windows XP/2000 32-bit) im not exactly familiar with the terminology that nvidia uses, but im guessing a 7950 is a 7 series?

You should always go Windows, Chipset drivers, Video card drivers, other hardware drivers, then software.

That driver should be it-- there's a small link on the left of the page that says "Products Supported"-- gives a list.

7950-GX2 ?