GP4 stuttering - all of a sudden - why?!

So I have been playing GP4 for a while now, 8 months.

So, about 5 nights ago, the game starts stuttering a bit - not too much but enough to affect my laptimes by a few 10ths, which is irritating. I would like to know if there is any way to test whether it's my graphic card, processor or hard drive - or any of their drivers?

And I know it's not normal because it hasn't ever stuttered like that before.

What I have tried thus far:
1. Completely clean install - didn't work.
2. Re-installed DirectX 9.0c - didn't work.
3. Put GPxPatch on 0, 1 and all processors - didn't work.
4. Re-installed graphic drivers - didn't work.
5. Defragmented - didn't work.
6. Played standard GP4 from GP4.exe, not GPxPatch - didn't work.

One thing that bothers me - and it could somehow be related to this, I don't know for sure - is that after running 'chkdsk c: /f' and/or 'chkdsk c: /r', I get the error that indexes $SII and $SDH have been re-entered on file 0x9.

Here is the complete log:

Windows has finished checking your disk.
Please wait while your computer restarts.
Checking file system on \DosDevices\C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.
Cleaning up 8 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 8 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.
Cleaning up 8 unused security descriptors.
CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...
File data verification completed.
CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...
Free space verification is complete.

78140128 KB total disk space.
32204584 KB in 79035 files.
32496 KB in 10917 indexes.
8 KB in bad sectors.
180180 KB in use by the system.
65536 KB occupied by the log file.
45722860 KB available on disk.

4096 bytes in each allocation unit.
19535032 total allocation units on disk.
11430715 allocation units available on disk.

Internal Info:
90 b2 01 00 6b 5f 01 00 15 07 02 00 00 00 00 00 ....k_..........
7d 01 00 00 01 00 00 00 56 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 }.......V.......
5a bc 64 02 00 00 00 00 d0 dc ad 3b 00 00 00 00 Z.d........;....
76 37 a4 03 00 00 00 00 66 5d a3 ae 03 00 00 00 v7......f]......
9a 5a 9d 2d 04 00 00 00 96 fc d1 1f 08 00 00 00 .Z.-............
99 9e 36 00 00 00 00 00 f8 37 07 00 bb 34 01 00 ..6......7...4..
00 00 00 00 00 a0 9c ad 07 00 00 00 a5 2a 00 00 .............*..

That scan was done from the XP recovery console, but even from the normal scan it says the same.

Now, the problems here are:
1. It still does it even when GP4 isn't installed - I even deleted the 'Infogrames' folder. So it's not corrupted GP4 files.
2. The fact that it never actually 'repairs' the said file, but always finds the same fault with the same file.
3. It always reports '8KB in bad sectors' (see above).

Now, my feeling is that this has to do with either my processor or my graphics card, but how do I know definitely? Is there a test to be done? A program I can download that can assist me in checking the health of my pc?

As I said, this only really affects my GP4 - my Visual Studio 2005 seems to be running fine, and I haven't had any BSOD's yet, so I dunno if maybe it isn't the hardware itself but rather that same file as mentioned above?

How can I determine which file is 0x9?

Another curious thing is, when I press 'O' ingame - viewing
Processor Occupancy, as you know - it gets smooth again, while holding it in. As soon as I leave the button alone again, it stutters again, which is weird. And it's not only my imagination - I was viewing a driver in cockpit view and kept O in for almost 2 laps, concentrating on any stutters I may be able to observe, but not one single stutter.

So I am desperate and would appreciate any help on this, and I don't want to completely damage it seeing as I work on the laptop.

My Specs again:
- Intel Centrino Duo T2300 1.66GH 980MHz FSB Processor
- Intel 945 Graphics Media Accelerator
- 2GB DDR2-800MB RAM

I play the original GP4...

Thanks again, and I am looking forward to any advice.

though it was uninstalled the application (grand prix 4) is still possible find "trash" in the system registry, so delete the following keys:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4\1.00]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4\1.00\Install Dir]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4\1.00\Version]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4\Audio]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4 Patch]
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Infogrames\Grand Prix 4 Patch\1.00]

don't forget to reboot the PC and after that then yes, you can reinstall... what the application "Visual Studio" has to do with the grand prix 4? in relation to the 8K... may be an inaccuracy of the operating system or even the hard disk is damaged... depending on where are these bad sectors you may continue to use it or not :p

----signature--------------------------------------------------------

RELEASE => Physics (under FIA Technical Regulations)
MagicDatas? Setups? Pit Stop Strategies? Track Specific Performances? Up2Date GP?
Power Torque Curve? Where's this stuff? All download is available at ..



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2009 02:27PM by phantaman.

Thanks man!

So these entries could be the 0x9 file that is referenced in chkdsk???

please read the additional information :p

----signature--------------------------------------------------------

RELEASE => Physics (under FIA Technical Regulations)
MagicDatas? Setups? Pit Stop Strategies? Track Specific Performances? Up2Date GP?
Power Torque Curve? Where's this stuff? All download is available at ..

No. I just mean that VS2005 can be a very processor-hungry app sometimes, but it still seems to be working OK.

But you wouldnt be running VS2005 while playing GP4 so :p.

Its a good sign that when you hold o to view the processor occupancy if goes completely smooth, as it s highly unlikely be a hardware fault. My guess is something with the Graphics Card drivers has changed. Try changing the AA/AF settings in the driver control panel, or try compltely removing the graphics card drivers and reinstalling them (or a newer version if you fancy).
Make sure you remove them proplerly (See guru 3d.com for tools and info to help you with this).

Let us know how it goes,

Wills

__________________________



Help keep our forums tidy.

Use the search function...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/24/2009 09:02PM by Willb.

Maybe it gets nervous because you have too high expectations.

---

I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy

Lol Zaz... hehe. No I only noticed it because it was fine all this time, from December til now, so it was clear to see.

Anyways, it seems that changing the 3d settings of the graphics card to 'Default' and changing the frame rate from 30 to 28 did the trick... It's more of a workaround rather than a solution, but I'll settle on that for now. And yes I also have a feeling that file that's corrupt is something between Directx or some system files.

Also, obviously I don't play GP4 while using VS 2005... :P was just stating that it was still performing optimally, so I doubt that it's the processor.

But thanks for the advice guys! Will keep you updated on if this workaround really works.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2009 12:49PM by Ho3n3r.