Question about Server 2008 (same issues as Vista) and mp3

jeremym · #1 (**permalink**) 02-08-2008

The problem i am having is this...The Server 2008 installed fine on my little home server here. Runs smooth. However when i try to play MP3s on it it will run but if i start doing anything else next thing i know my cpu usage spikes to 100 and the song slows down and gets all choppy. Just opening media player sets my cpu usage at 15 percent doing nothing. This happens using the onboard sound and it happens if disable it in the bios and use the audigy.

Question i have is anyone have an answer to this? I would like to play music under Server 2k8 if anyone can figure this out. I know that vista has issues with nforce 2 but i never did know what the exact issue was that prevented nvidia from releasing the driver for it.

Im thinking there is some sort of issue with how the resources are handled with this Athlon XP cpu on this chipset. However i have read where others have had no issues at all using Vista on their nforce 2's. Either they are lying or they know some trick. The vista trick should work on server 2008 as well.

What i have done trying to solve the problem. Keep in mind i did this AFTER i found the problem so its not causing it:
Installed XP drivers for the memory controllers, Gart, and IDE
Used a Sound Blaster Audigy
Tried to force XP amd driver but failed.

The system its running on:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe
Amd Athlon XP 3000+
eVGa 6600GT AGP
1GB of ram
Audigy sound card
120gb WD HD using PATA

Anyone think that using a Pentium 4 2.4 to 3ghz cpu would do any better? I might be able to find an AGP DDR1 board that will run a Pentium 4 cpu. Would save me money on having to buy new ram and a new card. Plus i think intel has drivers for their older P4 socket 478 boards.

kemical · #2 (**permalink**) 02-08-2008

Your talking about quite old hardware there jeremym. These latest 'OS's are really designed for a more multi-threaded CPU so maybe thats why your seeing the spikes? It is known though that Vista works better on newer hardware maybe Server2k8 is the same. Drivers designed for this hardware was never really envisaged to be working beyond XP. Same goes for the Operating systems they are designed to be used with relatively modern rigs..

jeremym · #3 (**permalink**) 02-08-2008

You are more than likely right to be honest. I do have a 2.4ghz pentium 4 sitting here that has Hyper threading...think that will fair any better?

kemical · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

It may.. but it's not just down to the chip really. The whole mobo is an aging platform and as you already know, your pc is as strong as the weakest link.
You can get some pretty cheap upgrades out there.. I remember a really good article from TomsHardware site, lol I found it, check this out:
Extreme Overclocking Potential – Intel’s Pentium Dual-Core E2140 : Ultimate Budget Overclocking Box - A 3.5 GHz Core 2 System with a €49 CPU
This is a budget system that gets you to 3.5GHz! It's a great read if nothing else..

jeremym · #5 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

I just figured it would run a little better on it. It meets the reccommended cpu speed requirements and is half way between minimum and recommended ram size. Plus i have seen people claim they are using vista with no issues on this board. You would think Server 2008 would work too.

I currently have a socket 775 3.4ghz pentium 4 sitting here but im looking for a motherboard for it. Perhaps i will just go that route if i can find a board

kemical · #6 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

That sounds like a better option as decent mobos don't have to cost the earth. Have you tried Googling for an answer? Sometimes it's amazing what shows up and you never know, you may get some satisfactory results after all.

jeremym · #7 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

Yea i have googled the crap out of this topic. There really isnt any valuable help i can find. Actually i cant find anyone else with the same problem..thats why i posted this question here, nforcershq, and vistax64 forums.

I know that when i installed vista on my wifes old computer that was running an NF7-S 2.0 board it ran like crap on it as well. However she wouldnt let vista stay on there long enough for me to find out what all was wrong other than it just being slow.

There is a reason nvidia didnt release drivers for this chipset and they refuse to support it. This might be the reason. :/

kemical · #8 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

Well you've done everything I'd have done. It's a shame really, all that hardware.. Do you have brothers or sisters it could go to? It's not really worth a great deal even if you could sell it.. I guess it's even a little too old to make a decent media centre. My old stuff usually goes to my brother, even so, I've still got dual-core chips, cases, HDDs and fans lying around. I keep meaning to build a media centre myself but always find something else to spend my money on. There should be some sort of trade in/recycle centre where if you trade in a certain amount of old gear you'll get something up-to-date back. You could have set amounts like 3x40GB HDDs=1GB DDR2 RAM or
4xPentium III=Heatsink & fan, it could catch on, you never know lol.

jeremym · #9 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

well i do have two little boys

However one is 5 and he already has a computer i built and the other is 2 so he is not in need of one.

I did, however, think perhaps i should build a windows xp media center pc and set it up to the tv. Would be nice to have free dvr and still be able to play music from my server, browse the internet etc...from my tv.

The only downside to it is DirecTv. I dont know how that exactly would work. Unless i can find some sort of card that would go inside my pc that can decrypt the signal OR find a pci card that is able to take my card and use the programming im already paying for. I cant seem to find anything like that here in the U.S.

But back to the original problem. Thank you for at least helping...this is the first forum and the only forum that has replied to this problem with at least some guidence

kemical · #10 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008

I can perhaps point you in the right direction regarding media players.. I checked on Newegg (as you live in the states) and they have several items which may help. This one:
Newegg.com - Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-950 with ATSC/NTSC Tuners USB TV stick - Retail
is like a USB stick but is actually a TV tuner.

This is a whole page full of TV tuners.. Again it's from Newegg, I think you can also get them in PCI so you won't have to worry about having a modern PCIE slot. Anyway here's the page:
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!