My Computer and I: One Way Out

My Dell Studio XPS 8100 has served me well for years now. Sooner or later, however, problems will arise, often ones that are difficult to troubleshoot. That goes with any computer system, anyway.

I have no formal training in information technology, yet I try to troubleshoot computer problems myself. With that arises a somewhat crude scientific investigation, testing one component at a time until the issue is located and fixed. So, what is the problem this time?

The problem:
While playing World of Warcraft, the game would go through random cycles of lag spikes and catch-up, lasting up to minutes at a time, sometimes disconnecting completely. While surfing the Web, webpages would randomly take minutes to load, if at all, and refreshing would sometimes retrieve the webpage in full.

My Computer and I: Spring Cleaning

I have bought a new(er) Dell Studio XPS 8100 and since retired my Dimension 8400. Despite a fresh system, sooner or later, problems will arise, often ones that are difficult to troubleshoot. That goes with any computer system, anyway.

I have no formal training in information technology, yet I try to troubleshoot computer problems myself. With that arises a somewhat crude scientific investigation, testing one component at a time until the problem disappears. So, what is the problem this time?

The problem:
Apparently randomly, the display's screen would go blank. Unlike last time, the problem would correct (temporarily) by pulling the plug and rebooting.

My Computer and I: Fumbling in the Dark

My desktop is a 3-year-old Dell Dimension 8400. It was high-end at the time it was bought, but regardless is starting to show its age. I have upgraded some of its parts since then to keep playing World of Warcraft bearable, but of course it will need to be replaced eventually.

I have had my share of computer problems with my current computer (not suggesting that Dell is necessarily a poor computer assembler, mind you). Other than high school computing studies, I have had no formal training in maintaining a computer, so I usually need to end up experimenting when something goes wrong. Without further ado...

The Problem:
My LCD display suddenly stopped working. The screen went blank, even though the tower still seemed to be running.

My Computer and I: Rat-a-tat-a-tat

My desktop is a 3-year-old Dell Dimension 8400. It was high-end at the time it was bought, but regardless is starting to show its age. I have upgraded some of its parts since then to keep playing World of Warcraft bearable, but of course it will need to be replaced eventually.

I have had my share of computer problems with my current computer (not suggesting that Dell is necessarily a poor computer assembler, mind you). Other than high school computing studies, I have had no formal training in maintaining a computer, so I usually need to end up experimenting when something goes wrong. Without further ado...

The Problem:
I had upgraded the video card (to an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS). After its installation, the computer tower would emit a noticeable low-pitch rattling sound. It was easily recognised as percussion and distinct from beeps emitted from the system speaker.

My Computer and I: Connection Degeneration

My desktop is a 3-year-old Dell Dimension 8400. It was high-end at the time it was bought, but regardless is starting to show its age. I have upgraded some of its parts since then to keep playing World of Warcraft bearable, but of course it will need to be replaced eventually.

I have had my share of computer problems with my current computer (not suggesting that Dell is necessarily a poor computer assembler, mind you). Other than high school computing studies, I have had no formal training in maintaining a computer, so I usually need to end up experimenting when something goes wrong. Without further ado...

The Problem:
World of Warcraft's latency would be satisfactory when first logging on, but would increase over time, eventually causing WoW to disconnect.

My Computer and I: Errors #134

Computers are only as good as people make them. Since human beings are prone to mistakes, the computer systems they build will likewise contain faults.



My desktop is a 3-year-old Dell Dimension 8400. It was high-end at the time it was bought, but regardless is starting to show its age. I have upgraded some of its parts since then to keep playing World of Warcraft bearable, but of course it will need to be replaced eventually.

I have had my share of computer problems with my current computer (not suggesting that Dell is necessarily a poor computer assembler, mind you). Other than high school computing studies, I have had no formal training in maintaining a computer, so I usually need to end up experimenting when something goes wrong. This regular will document my adventures in rectifying problems my Dimension 8400 experiences. Without further ado...

The Problem:
World of Warcraft would crash due to an Error #134.

Here is an extract from one of the many crash logs that WoW's diagnostic spat out:

World of WarCraft (build 9056)
Exe: C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WoW.exe
Time: Oct 23, 2008 8:46:14.671 PM
User: XXXXXXXX
Computer: XXXXXXXX
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This application has encountered a critical error:

ERROR #134 (0x85100086) Fatal Condition
Program: C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft\WoW.exe

Failed to read file DUNGEONS\TEXTURES\WALLS\BM_HFIRE_SEWER01.blp.

Debug Details:

[2] err=0 text=SFileReadFile - DUNGEONS\TEXTURES\WALLS\BM_HFIRE_SEWER01.blp - Data\expansion.MPQ
[1] err=0 text=LoadSectorTable failed
[0] err=5 text=Win32 Read - Data\expansion.MPQ
Storm Error Msg:Reached the end of the file.

Background Information:

• The variant of the Error #134 I experienced involved the system's reading a game file but failing. Unfortunately, this is still rather vague, so I had a difficult time troubleshooting it (it took a good year to resolve it).
• WoW is memory-intensive compared to other computer games in the market. A memory upgrade would likely be more cost-effective than a video card upgrade.
• Data would exist in the hard disk, hard disk controller, chipset (made up of the northbridge, southbridge and internal bus), RAM, memory controller, memory bus and graphics bus before reaching either the CPU or video card for processing. A fault in any of these components would corrupt the data in it and hence cause this error.
• I essentially needed to find out which of the said components was acting up and deal with it accordingly.

The Circumstances:

• The problem only really manifested itself after I installed the Burning Crusade expansion.
• Restarting the computer would lessen its frequency.
• A different file would fail to be read each time.
• Dalaran was a nightmare. I would crash every five minutes within its walls. I ended up binding my Hearthstone elsewhere and missed out on running Violet Hold in the meantime.

The Experience:

• Deleting the WTF, WDB and Interface folders: I will be frank; this did not work.
• Running Blizzard Repair: Unfortunately, this did not work either. However, I ran this utility multiple times and noted that the utility would find something to fix each and every time. Interestingly, this note was not needed to solve the problem.
• Updating the video card driver: This caused WoW to crash sooner. It also made the UI overlay blink at random times. I ended up rolling it back to the original (3-year-old) driver.
• Testing the RAM by running Windows Memory Diagnostic: WMD would test the memory modules to find any physical defects. The entire memory space passed, though borderline modules would act up only when working under a heavy load (like serving models and textures to WoW). WMD did not perform any stress testing, and WoW still kept on crashing.
• Testing the hard drive: To do this, I essentially copied the client onto a USB hard drive and ran it from there. The idea was: a) if WoW did not crash, it was the hard drive's (or possibly the controller's or bus') fault; or b) if WoW kept on crashing, the hard drive was fine). WoW crashed yet again.
• Replacing memory modules: By this stage, I was desperate and relying heavily on the results of the hard drive isolation test above. I was also determined to not miss out on the full Wrath of the Lich King expansion experience. I waltzed over to the nearby computer shop, bought a matched pair of 1GB 800MHz DDR2 memory modules (unfortunately they did not stock any 533MHz ones) and replaced the oldest matched pair on the motherboard (the factory-default 256MB 400MHz ones). To my amazement, WoW did not crash as often as it used to!

Implications:

• The factory-default RAM modules were borderline faulty! Naughty Dell; I never suspected until I started playing WoW.
• Random files would fail to be read because different files would be stored in the faulty cell(s) in different times.
• Restarting the computer empties the RAM (which is good if there is lots of junk in there).
• Dalaran is probably the poorest-designed capital city in WoW to date. Not only does it have multiple levels (note the Sewers), it is also quite cramped and would concentrate so many players in its small area.