Alien

Brian, you were supposed to say 265, not 159.

Quote: Funny how all the IT people can work it flawlessly and the "know it alls" cannot. I'm not sure whether you were including me with that, but I'm not actually an "IT person" like you, Clutch, etc - I'm just what I guess you americans would call a natural-born-nerd. Quote: I have installed it 3 times on my Desktop and 2 were for going from NEW MB, Hard Drive, and Video Card, and the other one cause I felt like a new install. Course' that was when I had a VIA MB. I'm like jdulmage when it it comes to this - I just can't resist the urge to tweak or try things differently, which either requires a reinstall, or I make 1 of those really silly mistakes that we all do froom time to time, & it ends up being easier [not to mention quicker] to reinstall than to try & undo the prob.

Why would anyone want to use MS's built in firewall, when you can get ZoneAlarm for free?

Quote: Alien's got a point... if your system's working, don't sweat it too much! Even if it's not working, he still shouldn't be worrying about that particular message [which is which is part of normal operation]. Next he'll be saying that his computer keeps giving a single short warning beep a couple of seconds after he's turned it on!

Bruce - it's supposed to do that, just forget about it.

Quote: Thanks for your advice Alien. To be honest I don't have the parts or the desire to make up a device like that (i'm staying in my old room at my parents house until I start my new job in late august, so its only a temporary problem). I didn't mean to gut your own hoover! LOL. I meant keep an eye out incase you see 1 in a skip/dumpster/whatever - you don't need the rest of it to work, just the socket/connection & hose to be intact. Or you could go to a junkyard or something to see if they have an old broken cleaner that has the right parts. But anyway, if you don't mind the heat, I guess that's your call. Quote: I think i'm going to replace these huge old, storage heater like iiyama monitors for a couple of LCD monitors when I get some cash in the bank. As for cooling the CPU i'm probably going to go for some sort of water cooling in the nearish future possibly when I upgrade. LOL about the monitors. I know what you mean, I have an 11-ish year old 20" Eizo Flexscan 9400 that puts out a fair bit of heat, as does my ancient 8-channel, push-button 21" TV. I also have the airing-cupboard in my room, & all the central heating pipes go under my floor, so I know how you feel. As to water-cooling.... I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to go that route. @ present, if I was to try something like that & there was an accidental leak & something got fried it would take me ages to replace. Maybe if/when my financial situation improves, then I might look into it. Hmmm - maybe in winter I could run a pipe from my PC through my fish tank, then I'd keep my fish warm & my PC cool.

Quote: http://www.cluboverclocker.com/guides/top_ten.htm Another decent "Top 10" list to look at maybe for you... * APK Yeah, very interesting - I clicked the link, it opened an IE window, I went to maximise the window & XP told me thet it [iE] was not responding. As this doesn't normally happen to me I think I'll blame the website.

RandyC - 1 thing you could try is doing something I saw on a modding site one time. I'm assuming you have a front intake fan, yes? Your problem is that the PC's temp depends on the air that it can take in, right? & the room air is too hot, soooo.... what about getting air from somewhere a bit cooler, like outside. You could do this a number of ways, but I think the easiest would be to cannibalise an old vacuum cleaner for parts. You know the sort that have the long bendy hose that is detachable? & you just push it into the hole it connects to & twist it to lock it in place? Well I was thinking that you could cut out a section of the cleaner's casing that incorporates the socket thingy for the hose, cut a hole in front of your case in front of the fan, & mount the piece from the cleaner there. Then all you have to do is move your PC to be neear the window, hook up the hose, & hang it out the window. You might wanna put some mesh over the end of the hose as well, to keep bugs out.

Quote: Windows is easy, but not stable, user friendly but causes a good deal of agrivation. Linux is stable, but not easy, not user friendly, causes a good deal of agrivation but for different reasons. Errr.. not on my machine - XP is very stable. As to ppl being frustrated with Linux for different reasons... nope, same reasons - h/w compatibility. I used to have probs with XP, which I attributed to several things, including XP, VIA, ATI, & my old soundcard - a Videologic Sonic Vortex 2. Eventually i found out that it was all down to the SV2, so I replaced it with an Audigy, & now everything's just fine. The last time I tried Linux the prob I had was that I couldn't get my SV2 to work, & that was even with the help of a linux "guru", I don't mean someone who just acts like he knows it all [he does act like that, but that's beside the point ], I mean the last time I spoke to him he was busy making his own conversion of Linux for a non-x86 platform. Although, having said that, I think I read somewhere that there are now drivers that come with Mandrake [the version of Linux I would use if I did have a go @ it again] for the SV2, so I'd [theoretically] be able to use the SV2 in a 2nd box that I will most likely build from old parts just for the sake of having a fiddle with Linux. I also know that the SV2 used to work with older versions of Mandrake, but they had problems with other hardware of mine, so linux isn't immune to the same problems ppl have with XP.

159

Quote: You might want to be careful hooking it up. A lot of the Delta 60mm fans pull too much juice to be fed properly from a mobo fan header. You can easily burn the header out. From what I've read, you may also want to make sure you have a fan guard on it too - it vants to suck your bloooood!

Quote: Oh - And before anyone tells me that the case design is part of the cooling system (directed flow). I know this, that is why I put the comment at the top about "If...the covers off." Most case design below 0 is pretty terrible for cooling matters. Errr... I'm not so sure I'd agree with that. I have a Fortrex "Magic" MG-780 full tower, which cost me £45 & I don't think it does too badly. Ok, so I have modded the fan mounting behind the CPU by making it 1 nice big hole instead of loads of little 1s, & I've also made it big enough for a 92mm fan, instead of the original 80, but that's the only mod I've done to it.... so far [although it also has an 80mm in the front bottom mounting position]. I do plan to do more, as my room does get fairly warm this time of year, but then I also have a CPU that puts out a bit more heat than yours or jdulmage's - I have a an Athlon XP 1900 [1.6Ghz] - which @ present is idling @ 52&degC [system @ 31&degC], tho it was as low as 44&degC yesterday morning when I woke up [i hadn't just turned it on either, it's on 24/7]. Quote: My 650 Athlon ran at 57 celcius last night, but you have to remember, it's 41 degrees in my house. That was with a triple fan and heatsink too. 41&degC in your house??? I thought Canada was supposed to be cold??? That's over 100&degF, isn't it? I don't know how you can stand it!

Don't they work with the default drivers that some with XP?

Well I haven't played any of the above mentioned games, & I've never been into D&D-style computer games, but someone recommended I try the demo for Dungeon Seige. Needless to say I soon-after got the full game. I thought Max Payne was addictive, but nowhere near as much as DS! As to what M4C was saying about the differences iin abilities & usefulness & tactics of different character types, I don't know how other games of the genre handle such matters, but in DS my original character [i have 7 + a mule] is now a not-too-shabby fighter, as well as a moderately decent combat mage. That's the good thing about DS, you can build a character's abilities up in 1 area, eg melee or ranged combat, & then when you get it to where you're moderately comfortable with it, you can start developing his magic skills, or the other way round. Anyone playing it & got a favourite spell? mine's Explosive Powder - requires combat magic level 3, but is so useful as it acts like a cross between a bouncing bomb [as in WWII & the Dam Busters] & a grenade. Even better is, when you get the hang of it you can use it to drop it on nasties who are below you, ie when you're @ the top of a cliff & they're down below. Due to some quirk of the game, it's supposed to have a range of about 10 or 12, but under the right circumstances you can hit a target 2 or 3 times that distance away. Really reduces the risk of your characters getting any retalliatory damage. <edit> PS - definitely a GOTY candidate. </edit>

Quote: But, the Creative/Via issues are much less prevelent with the Audigy. Errmmm.. I'm not so sure that's 100% accurate in all cases. Before buying my Audigy from OcUK. I had a chat with 1 of their tech support ppl, as they [OcUk] have a pretty good rep, plus they used to sell the exact model of mobo I have & still sell the Audigy, so I figured it made sense to ask them. Apparently it's a bit hit & miss - you could have 2 identical mobos, & an Audigy would be fine in 1 & not the other. I told them I had a KT7A-RAID v1.3, & they said they couldn't recall any issues with that specific v., though there were some issues with some boards of earlier model, but apparently the KR7A-RAID which is newer, has even more issues with it than the Live did. That's what he said anyway - so it's hit & miss. If it makes you feel better, I spoke to Creative tech support & if you ask CL if a card is ok with your mobo, they say yes, & you're not happy with it [even if you just don't like it & it's working ok] you can take it back within the 1st 30 days, which is apparently on top of your normal rights.

's ok, I got both, but thanks anyway.

"Best" is a relative term, but my favourite 1 is SpeedFan.

Well, I think I read that Seagate has already made a drive for it, & Iwill has apparently made mobos & PCI cards, so might not be too long. Rumour has it that someone was going to try & use the technology for possible networking applications, but then religious luddites heard about it.....

Personally, I think anyone planning on designing a webpage/site ought to read this page 1st.

Yeah, but Sapiens - look @ what [specific, not just manuafacturer] mobo chipset he has...

IIWY, I'd contact Creative themselves & ask them if they know of any issues between your mobo chipset & the Audigy before buying it. If you had a KT133A I'd say go right ahead & get 1, but from everything I've read the KX133 is not 1 of the most problem free chipsets VIA ever produced.

Quote: Can't you use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard thingy to save a copy of the settings you like and then restore them at any point down the track? TBH I haven't tried it. I didn't know you could pick & choose stuff in as much detail as individual registry keys. I think I had a quick look @ it, or read something on it & I seem to remember getting the feeling that it was a bit clumsy & all-encompassing, rather than something that would offer me the precision I want, eg my settings, only my settings, & nothing but my settings. C: is the only drive that gets affected when I do a reinstall, & I only normally keep Windows itself & my installed progs on C. Everything like My Documents, swap file, my music, images, Favourites, Desktop, all downloaded/stored messages from OE, my OE addressbook, etc, etc are stored on other partitions. The only things i want to automate really, are the installation of XP itself [which reminds me, I've got a help file from the support tools thingy to read through for settings that can be used in the Unnattended.txt file], my settings for windows stuff [like disabling low space warning & telling it where my folders like My Documents are], & if possible the VIA 4-in-1s, & the drivers for my Radeon & Audigy.

Quote: regedit.exe /s regfile.reg Cheers for that Julian, that puts me 1 step closer to totally automating &/or streamlining the setup & install of XP & the settings I like.

My PC - all the fans & the HDDs, it's actually kinda soothing.

I only have 3 really, & they are able to be set through windows itself or TweakUI, it's just quicker to have them as .reg files. I tell you what would be useful, for both your site & me, is knowing how to add/merge .reg files via the commandline &/or a batch file. I know it would most likely involve calling a DLL, I just don't know which.