Vista and power supplies (Death?!)

Antikorper · 03-24-2008, 05:01 AM

Well, being that I've been a real Vista hater ever since the Longhorn beta, I haven't decided to install Vista on this pc, until about ~4 days ago. It's been doing its job fine, at running every day applications and the like. Before you ask, I've checked and re-checked the specs required and beat them by enough.

In any case. My computer is on basically 24/7. Old Linux habit, I suppose. But I notice that when I turn a game on, Vista doesn't realize that I have it running and it needs to uncap my resources to allow the game to run properly. I turned on Counter Strike, of all the least resource intense games I could find, and my computer just shutdown mid-game. So, naturally, I pressed the power button and oh, looky. It didn't work. I put my hand near the back of the computer to see if maybe the plug had somehow fallen loose and I came to great surprise. My power supply was hot enough to burn my fingers. Even now, as I'm typing this, Vista is trying to regulate my fan speed to 'reduce power consumption.' My video cards fan isn't on, and I'm getting thoroughly annoyed. If anyone knows of a way to tell Vista to piss off and uncap my resources, I'd praise them with all the chocolate I got from grandparents at easter.

Thanks for your time.
Jordan.

**warlordfmike** · 03-24-2008, 06:50 AM

open the sidecase and see how many watts the power supply is and
post the brand/model# it might just be that u dont have enough watts

what model video card it and post ur system specs

**Placehold** · 03-24-2008, 08:15 AM

Hey Antikorper

Welcome to TSF

It sounds like Vista power mode might need adjusting along with a little clean out

Try this

Start\Control Panel\System and Maintenance\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings and then from the drop down menu select High performance

You will also find that in the window below the drop down you can gain access to the proccessor managment and adjust the minum to something like 100 (%) so that while playing games you can still maintain a high processor speed

Also try adjust the performance aswell

Control Panel\System and Maintenance\System\advanced (tab)
Under performance select settings and a new window should open
Select adjust for best performance

Regards

Craig

Antikorper · 03-24-2008, 08:18 AM

It's a 450 watt psu. Couldn't tell ya the brand. It came with the case (eMachines). it's a decent power supply, and it runs my video card fine. Vista is the only OS that has this problem. Anyway, specs are as follows.

AMD 3500+ 64bit @ 2.2g
1.5g DDR2 dual channel.
nVIDIA GeForce 7900GS OC 256.
Microstar mobo. Again, came with the case.

It's done me well for two years, and nothing like this has happened before. 's why it's bothering me.

Edit::

Posted just after you, Craig. Didn't see it yet. I've done all that. Any other suggestions?

**Placehold** · 03-24-2008, 08:28 AM

lol no problem

You could try the Compatibility

1. Right click on the application icon and choose “Properties”
2. Click the “Compatibility” tab.
3. Enabling the check boxes next to: “Disable virtual themes”, “Disable desktop composition” and “Disable display scaling on high DPI settings”
*Windows turns off Aero and all that other resource-hungry GUI crap while you’re running the game.

4. Running it in “Windows XP compatibility mode” might make a difference.

you could try uninstalling the sound driver and remove the ATI Catalyst and try just installing the stand alone driver for the video card.

Once Vista reboots install the sound card and go to Device Manager and install just the driver for the card. See if that helps.

Regards

Craig

Antikorper · 03-24-2008, 08:35 AM

That's the problem though. It has nothing to do with my sound or video. I just did that after reading and still the same thing. Vista is completely limiting my power supply. It won't let it push power out to any of my stuff. Unfortunately, I'm going to quite simply reformat. I would have liked to give Vista a real shot, but this power supply limiting crap is bothersome.

**Placehold** · 03-24-2008, 08:45 AM

I haven't experienced anything yet where people have been limited by the power supply, If you reformat the system and perform a clean install and this work then it might not be the power supply but maybe virus or setup related

Keep me posted on this thread of your results

Regards

Craig

03-24-2008, 05:01 AM	#1 (permalink)
Antikorper Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3 OS: Windows Vista.	Vista and power supplies (Death?!) Well, being that I've been a real Vista hater ever since the Longhorn beta, I haven't decided to install Vista on this pc, until about ~4 days ago. It's been doing its job fine, at running every day applications and the like. Before you ask, I've checked and re-checked the specs required and beat them by enough. In any case. My computer is on basically 24/7. Old Linux habit, I suppose. But I notice that when I turn a game on, Vista doesn't realize that I have it running and it needs to uncap my resources to allow the game to run properly. I turned on Counter Strike, of all the least resource intense games I could find, and my computer just shutdown mid-game. So, naturally, I pressed the power button and oh, looky. It didn't work. I put my hand near the back of the computer to see if maybe the plug had somehow fallen loose and I came to great surprise. My power supply was hot enough to burn my fingers. Even now, as I'm typing this, Vista is trying to regulate my fan speed to 'reduce power consumption.' My video cards fan isn't on, and I'm getting thoroughly annoyed. If anyone knows of a way to tell Vista to piss off and uncap my resources, I'd praise them with all the chocolate I got from grandparents at easter. Thanks for your time. Jordan.

03-24-2008, 06:50 AM	#2 (permalink)
warlordfmike TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: huntington tx east texas Posts: 631 OS: microsoft® Vista home Basic™ Sp1 My System	Re: Vista and power supplies (Death?!) open the sidecase and see how many watts the power supply is and post the brand/model# it might just be that u dont have enough watts what model video card it and post ur system specs __________________ "im a dude that lives in the middle of nowhere. i live on a road that the address has fm in it. the fm means FROM somewhere to the MIDDLE of nowhere lolololol" Warlordfmike of TSF SensorsView . WinRaR . Belarc . Windows Performance Tool . Belarc Advisor . DriverMax . Advanced Task Manager . Driver Detective

03-24-2008, 08:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
Placehold Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 847 OS: Vista home Premium My System	Re: Vista and power supplies (Death?!) Hey Antikorper Welcome to TSF It sounds like Vista power mode might need adjusting along with a little clean out Try this Start\Control Panel\System and Maintenance\Power Options\Edit Plan Settings and then from the drop down menu select High performance You will also find that in the window below the drop down you can gain access to the proccessor managment and adjust the minum to something like 100 (%) so that while playing games you can still maintain a high processor speed Also try adjust the performance aswell Control Panel\System and Maintenance\System\advanced (tab) Under performance select settings and a new window should open Select adjust for best performance Regards Craig __________________

03-24-2008, 08:18 AM	#4 (permalink)
Antikorper Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3 OS: Windows Vista.	Re: Vista and power supplies (Death?!) It's a 450 watt psu. Couldn't tell ya the brand. It came with the case (eMachines). it's a decent power supply, and it runs my video card fine. Vista is the only OS that has this problem. Anyway, specs are as follows. AMD 3500+ 64bit @ 2.2g 1.5g DDR2 dual channel. nVIDIA GeForce 7900GS OC 256. Microstar mobo. Again, came with the case. It's done me well for two years, and nothing like this has happened before. 's why it's bothering me. Edit:: Posted just after you, Craig. Didn't see it yet. I've done all that. Any other suggestions?

03-24-2008, 08:28 AM	#5 (permalink)
Placehold Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 847 OS: Vista home Premium My System	Re: Vista and power supplies (Death?!) lol no problem You could try the Compatibility 1. Right click on the application icon and choose “Properties” 2. Click the “Compatibility” tab. 3. Enabling the check boxes next to: “Disable virtual themes”, “Disable desktop composition” and “Disable display scaling on high DPI settings” *Windows turns off Aero and all that other resource-hungry GUI crap while you’re running the game. 4. Running it in “Windows XP compatibility mode” might make a difference. you could try uninstalling the sound driver and remove the ATI Catalyst and try just installing the stand alone driver for the video card. Once Vista reboots install the sound card and go to Device Manager and install just the driver for the card. See if that helps. Regards Craig __________________

03-24-2008, 08:35 AM	#6 (permalink)
Antikorper Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 3 OS: Windows Vista.	Re: Vista and power supplies (Death?!) That's the problem though. It has nothing to do with my sound or video. I just did that after reading and still the same thing. Vista is completely limiting my power supply. It won't let it push power out to any of my stuff. Unfortunately, I'm going to quite simply reformat. I would have liked to give Vista a real shot, but this power supply limiting crap is bothersome.

03-24-2008, 08:45 AM	#7 (permalink)
Placehold Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 847 OS: Vista home Premium My System	Re: Vista and power supplies (Death?!) I haven't experienced anything yet where people have been limited by the power supply, If you reformat the system and perform a clean install and this work then it might not be the power supply but maybe virus or setup related Keep me posted on this thread of your results Regards Craig __________________