Hi All
I have had a few problems with WD crashing over the years under XP and Win 7 on my office computer and I am wondering if it is everything else I am asking the computer to do that is causing the problem - so I was wondering if I use an old PC capable of running XP??? but not using it for any other purpose what would be the most stable OS to use. I suspect could find an old 98 or 2000 OS CD somewhere if that was the best way to go or whether XP is the way to go.
Cheers
David
I run a dedicated WX PC using Windows 7 32 bit and it runs just fine with the following software on 24/7:
Weather Display
Nexstorm
NSLog
Webcamcapture
Fwink
AISDispatcher
AIS Server Lite
Air Nav Radar Box (not currently running as the box got zapped #-o)
WASP2
Start Watch
I also have WXSim, WXSimate and Digital Atmosphere set to run every three hours.
This is on a 3 year old Advent tower with AMD Sempron 140 (2.70 Ghz) and 4Gb of RAM. 
If you have a spare tower case then why not build a new PC? I did one a couple of years ago with a new motherboard with AMD Phenom 3 cord processor & 500Gb hard drive, both from Maplins “seconds” list, and a new install of Windows 7 64bit. IIRC it cost about
David E, which version and build of WD?
what weather station type?
I use a Low spec Net PC
works great, the 10.37R series of WD
Hi David,
I use an old box with only XP on it, Newest version of WD, and I have plenty of problems, lol. Crashes, not uploading, not disconnecting from the server. Right now I am trying a different hosting company to see if any of my problems stop. If that doesn’t solve any problems, my next step is to put together or buy a new computer with an updated OS. Is XP part of my problems, I don’t know, it could be any weak link in the process to get the weather displayed. When my weather station is up and running it can run great for months and perhaps a year or so with little trouble but then it always seem to eventually crash. I have been here and using XP since 2005(?).
Good Luck
yamiacaveman
I just upgraded to a Davis vp2 wireless, I run it on a toshiba I5 cpu with 4Gbram, Win7 64Bit. I have the latest Wd and am runnung a usb data logger. I had a litle problem with the usb drivers, But sorted that. Been running 24/7 for about 3 weeks. Not a problem at all. I also run my CCTV security system on the same computer. So impressed with the setup now. And the Vp2 is just great.
yamiacaveman, you do not say what weather station type
or version/build of WD, etc
I’m running a Compaq Evo D510 (small form factor) with a 2.0 GHz P4, 512mb ram, 40Gb HDD & Windows XP Professional SP3 which I purchased from a used computer store in August 2011 for $30 with 24/7 weather station operation being sole intended use.
The computer is running StartWatch 1.1.1, Virtual VP, Weather Display, VPLive and WeatherLink.
The security software is Avast Free Edition (not that bad on memory + free) & Cyber Power PowerPanel Business Edition which interfaces with a 600W / 1000VA UPS to monitor & control system shut down in the event of a prolonged power failure.
I’ve stripped virtually everything out of the system with the exception of core windows components and the on board sound card drivers which try and re-install automatically (sort of hard to prevent that when the card is soldered to the motherboard).
The computer draws a steady 50 watts, the router, cable modem & VP console together draw another 5 watts which gives a total steady draw of 55 watts. The UPS in theory should operate for ~60 minutes before the auto-shutdown kicks in. I’ve had 0 problems as far as crashes/failures/upload errors and the like. In fact about two months have passed since I last touched the computer mouse which was this evening to try see my system specs for this post.
I have been contemplating upgrading to a micro form PC (Asus or something similar) to push my wattage down to about 10 watts steady.
While I love windows 7 64bit, for the purposes of an always on machine that must maximize system resources I think XP is still the best and the least complicated when it comes to giving programs universal administrator privileges. Sure, your capped at 4 GB of ram but I think for most users that’s ample and most micro form systems have reduced processing power, something windows XP handles far better than windows 7 (Microsoft just wont admit it).
I’m using a Davis vp2 wireless, and always running the latest versions of WD.
you do not say if its a USB data logger
if it is, then make sure to update to the latest silicon labs USB driver
there is a FAQ about that