This isn't really a bug, but...

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 1:54 pm

I'm not sure how or why this happened. Whenever I play a game with ZSNES, it freezes up every six or eight seconds for about half a second. It was working fine just the other day, and I've tried various versions to see if they worked. None did. I don't see what could've created this problem, since I had it working yesterday.

If anyone could help me, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Post by **Agozer** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:00 pm

Scan your system for spyware/viruses just in case.

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:25 pm

Agozer wrote:Scan your system for spyware/viruses just in case.

That's been done. I'll do it again though, for the hell of it.

Post by **Agozer** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 2:55 pm

Hm. Are there any processes running in the background that might consume resources (a lot I mean)?

xamenus · Post by **xamenus** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 3:41 pm

You could enable High Priority Mode in the Options menu and see if it helps.

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:47 pm

Agozer wrote:Hm. Are there any processes running in the background that might consume resources (a lot I mean)?

No, not at all. I have 256 megabytes of RAM, and the only thing I had open was my browser.

IceFox wrote:You could enable High Priority Mode in the Options menu and see if it helps.

This seemed to fix the problem. Thank you very much. However... why did this need to be enabled now, but not before? A version confliction, perhaps?

Post by **Agozer** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:21 am

Ephemeral wrote:why did this need to be enabled now, but not before? A version confliction, perhaps?

High Priority mode usually gives more trouble on *most* systems, rather than doing any good. Hence why it is disabled by default.

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:24 am

Agozer wrote:
Ephemeral wrote:why did this need to be enabled now, but not before? A version confliction, perhaps?
High Priority mode usually gives more trouble on *most* systems, rather than doing any good. Hence why it is disabled by default.

I understand that, but... why did I have it working well before without it enabled? That's what I meant.

Post by **Agozer** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:28 am

Ephemeral wrote:
Agozer wrote:
Ephemeral wrote:why did this need to be enabled now, but not before? A version confliction, perhaps?
High Priority mode usually gives more trouble on *most* systems, rather than doing any good. Hence why it is disabled by default.
I understand that, but... why did I have it working well before without it enabled? That's what I meant.

That a question only you are capable of finding the answer. To help you get started, what kind of software/hardware have you install prior to the problem?

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:45 am

Agozer wrote: That a question only are capable of finding the answer. To help you get started, what kind of software/hardware have you install prior to the problem?

Yeah, quite right. I didn't install anything prior to the problem. I had an older version of ZSNES, and it worked fine. I think it was 1.40 or 1.41. Then I deleted that and got the latest and a plethora of other versions, but they didn't work either.

Sith · Post by **Sith** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:49 am

It's obvious some program that is recently installed is sucking up more of your CPU's power.
Edit: oops the message above mine was posted when i was typing mine.

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:53 am

sith-smasher wrote:It's obvious some program that is recently installed is sucking up more of your CPU's power.
Edit: oops the message above mine was posted when i was typing mine.

Yeah... it has nothing to do with that. I have more than enough free RAM. In truth, I really need to reformat. It's been too long.

creaothceann · Post by **creaothceann** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 10:31 am

Processing power has nothing to do with RAM.

Bacon · Post by **Bacon** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 11:43 pm

Freezing like that is sometimes caused when the thermal paste between the sink and the processor starts dissapearing, sounds weird but it has happened to me before, basically the processor is overheating, what cpu temps are you getting right now?

Sith · Post by **Sith** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 12:56 am

Bacon wrote:Freezing like that is sometimes caused when the thermal paste between the sink and the processor starts dissapearing, sounds weird but it has happened to me before, basically the processor is overheating, what cpu temps are you getting right now?

If that's the problem,then you could modify your case and put in an extra fan.

kevman · Post by **kevman** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:00 am

Sith-Smasher wrote:
Bacon wrote:Freezing like that is sometimes caused when the thermal paste between the sink and the processor starts dissapearing, sounds weird but it has happened to me before, basically the processor is overheating, what cpu temps are you getting right now?
If that's the problem,then you could modify your case and put in an extra fan.

Actually, no. If the thermal link between CPU and its heat sink degrades, a shop-vac wouldn't be enough fan to keep the CPU cool. He'd need to reapply the thermal paste.

Sith · Post by **Sith** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:56 pm

I'm a PC newbie so i'd like to ask:Does that stuff degrade on all PC's?
Like because of age?

Edit:And when and why does the CPU overheat?

Kagerato · Post by **Kagerato** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 8:21 pm

Sith-Smasher wrote:I'm a PC newbie so i'd like to ask:Does that stuff degrade on all PC's?
Like because of age?

If one is talking in practical terms, no. Assuming the paste was applied correctly the first time, it's relatively uncommon for it to fail during the lifetime of a normally operating system.

Generally, the paste only fails in specialty circumstances -- overclocking is one of them. So long as the processor remains within the recommended operating temperature range (which varies greatly by chip), you'll be fine.

As for the causal factors of CPU overheating, there is only one core reason: insufficient cooling. Thermal paste, the CPU heatsink, and any CPU or case fans all play a role in keeping the unit cool. The paste, because it directly touches the unit itself, is responsible for radiating much of the heat away to locations (such as the heatsink) where it can be dispersed and dealt with more effectively.

Even if there is good thermal flow between the core unit and the heatsink, strong circulation is still required in order to prevent the case temperature from gradually increasing. Normally, there is a CPU fan and a case fan -- the former spreads the heat away from the heatsink and into the surrounding air. The case fan is primarily responsible for forcing the air inside of the case to the outside. (Of course, this system only works because the ambient/environmental temperature is lower than that of the air temperature inside the case.)

Some nutcases out there have replaced fan-based systems with actual water-cooling units. It's too expensive a setup for most people to care, and introducing water near electronics may not be particularly wise. However, water cooling is far more efficient than air movement systems at radiating heat away. (Refrigerators and air conditioners both use water cooling, so this practice was inspired partly by experience.)

Sith · Post by **Sith** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 9:37 pm

Kagerato,with people like you on the board i won't be a Pc newbie for long.

Ephemeral · Post by **Ephemeral** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 4:42 pm

Thanks for all the responses guys, but I'm still not having the best of luck. High Priority Mode didn't really fix my problem; must have been something else. Anyway... I'm not sure what it is, but whenever I open ZSNES (any version, it seems) my hard drive (possibly) gets drastically louder (could be something else---I haven't checked inside to listen). I do not recall this occurring when I last used ZSNES.

My computer hasn't been formatted since we got it (about two years ago), so that needs to happen soon. Any suggestions are still very welcome, though. I'm not a newbie, I'm just really confused as to why I used ZSNES flawlessly in the past, and now (no matter what version!) it's malfunctioning.

Here are my computer's specifications:
• Intel Celeron processor (2.70 GHz)
• 256 MB of DDR RAM
• 64 MB Intel video card (integrated 82845G/GL/GE/PE/GV)

Yeah, I know my hardware is terrible. Definitely time for a new computer; forget upgrading.

Fan temperatures:
Sensor -- Current | Low | High | Average
Case -- 114° F | 111° F | 120° F | 113° F
CPU -- 32° F | 32° F | 32° F | 32° F

What would be the most efficient way to customize ZSNES, considering the above? I know that I should be able to run ZSNES without any problems. Any assistance will be immensely appreciated.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 10:38 pm

Make sure that you delete the .cfg and .dat files generated by ZSNES between versions.. if you do not do this, then this is the most likely cause of the problem..

Sith · Post by **Sith** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 11:24 pm

How come your avatar is so blocky?

snkcube · Post by **snkcube** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:58 am

Sith-Smasher wrote:How come your avatar is so blocky?

Because that's how a SNES game looks like.

Sith · Post by **Sith** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:04 am

snkcube wrote:
Sith-Smasher wrote:How come your avatar is so blocky?
Because that's how a SNES game looks like.

I see,but don't recognize this character though.

Post by **Agozer** » Sun Jul 31, 2005 1:43 am

Sith-Smasher wrote:
snkcube wrote:
Sith-Smasher wrote:How come your avatar is so blocky?
Because that's how a SNES game looks like.
I see,but don't recognize this character though.

Magus from Chrono Trigger. Quite obvious.