SwitcherCADIII & Windows XP

[ljcox]

I downloaded the SwitcherCADIII free software from the net some weeks ago. It works well. But from about the same time (I can't recall the exact sequence) I have been having intermittent problems booting into XP.

An error message appears that states that it cannot boot into XP because there may have been a hardware or software fault or the computer was shut down incorrectly etc..
It gives me 3 Start in Safe Mode options, Start Normally & Start from a previous good point.

If I choose Start normally or previous good point, the computer attempts to re-boot but fails again. If I keep trying, it works somtimes.

I can always start in any of the Safe Modes. I also have the option to boot in Windows 98. That always works.

A computer technician reloaded the drivers and the computer worked for 2 days and now has started failing again.

So I suspect that SwitcherCADIII may be corrupting the drivers. Has anyone else experienced this type of problem? And, if so, was it after installing SwitcherCADIII?

Len

 

[audioguru]

I installed SwCADIII on my WinXP system and used it with no problems. :lol:

 

[ante]

Hi ljcox,

If I understand you correctly you have a dual boot system, XP and 98? Your problem might be that if you have both operating systems on the same partion of your hard drive some files fil not work correctly. You should try uninstalling the switcher cad completely and if you get a normal start up after this, you know what the problem was. It is preferable to use separate partions for dual boot if possible.

 

[plot]

I've had switchercadIII installed on my windows XP machine for well over a year now, without a problem.

However, this is where you'd begin troubleshooting. The problems only started to occur after switchercadIII was installed? Nothing else was changed in that timeframe? Have you tried removing the program yet to see if the problem persists?

 

[ljcox]

Thanks for the responses.
ante - I have 2 hard drives, C & D. XP is on C and W98 is on D. So I assume that this is not the issue. There was no problem initially after having the computer up-graded in January. And I previously had W98 & W2000 operating without a problem.

plot - I can't remember exactly when the XP problem started or exactly when I installed SwitcherCADIII. All I know is that the time frame is similar. In other words, I don't really know if the XP problem started before or after I installed Switcher.

Yesterday, I did a Disc Clean-up and then looked at XP Help & support. It said that there is a "Support Tools" option on the XP disc and to do this and that to load. So I inserted the disc and could not find "Support Tools" but found something similar for loading extra functions. I tried to select what I wanted but things changed and I don't know what it loaded. However, it asked me to restart. So I did and hey presto up came XP. I had left the XP disc in the CD reader and it took some time to come up so it must have been installing something???

The XP disc was still in the CD reader when I switched it on this morning. When the XP screen appeared with the running blue (I thought they used to be green) squares - the squares froze and the CD reader light came on. After a few seconds the CD LED went off and the squares started moving. This happened several times. So I assume it was taking something off the disc. It took much longer than usual to bring up the blue "welcome" screen but it did not fail.

Then while using PowerPoint, there was a brief power failure and the computer shut down. (I had removed the XP disc earlier) But when I switched it on, it cam up normally. So I will wait a few days to observe the boot ups before opening Switcher again.

Len

 

[zachtheterrible]

Just delete switcher. Make sure that you use control panel, add/remove programs though, as a manual uninstallation (pressing the delete button) will leave fragments of the program on your computer.

 

[ljcox]

Just delete switcher.

Zach, thanks for the response. Do I need to uninstall Switcher or just not use it for a while? I assume that if I don't open it, it won't affect XP. Is this true? (assuming it is the cause)

Len

 

[zachtheterrible]

Uninstall it foresure. Even if a program is not in use, it can have small files that screw around with the OS, or other programs. There is a possibility that it is fighting with another program in the computer, causing your computer to do strange things. I forget the term for that.

Make sure you uninstall it via control panel - add/remove programs though, to make sure EVERYTHING to do with SWCAD gets removed. Better yet, if there is an uninstaller that comes with the program, use that. I forget if there is one or not.

 

[ljcox]

Thanks Zach