WRX_Rocky

Has anyone been able to get the old TOCA Race Driver 2 to work in Visat 32bit? Seems this is one of those that also install Starforce in the background without even telling you! And even though I tried to update SF to the latest version, and tried all the compatability modes for this game, it just won't play. But what is really funny - TOCA2, and ANCIENT game, will actually install, play, and even am able to use the newer Logitech G25 steering wheel with it! And, even though much dated, this game is still one of my favorite race games! Sure, I guess I might try Race Driver 3, but I had some old save gamse with RD2, and it had the Audi TT DTM car in it, which I really wanted to race with

Which version of Windows? XP or Vista? I eventually went to Vista as my XP seemed to drag on forever to boot to the desktop. Could never figure out what was causing it, and Vista finally came out, so what the heck . . . . could be your anti-virus checking everything before it lets the boot complete? Only fix if you did not want to upgrade to Vista (if your problem is with XP), is a clean install and watch what you install carefully. Maybe install a little at a time until it slows down again, and thus you know what caused it. Uninstalling everything, even using registry scanners/cleaners never helped either

Well, being a bit of an old timer here (I still remember when McAfee was FREE, and about the only one around). I used to bring my own floppy in to work to clean our systems LOL. Later I used Norton AV and utilities to repair systems. Around the time of Windows 3.1 and then 95/98, McAfee had a nasty habbit of halting the systems with a strange green line on the top of the screen. Norton, as you just now have noticed, has so much JUNK DLL's running in the background, that it just about takes over the computer from you! And it just kept getting more bloated as time went on. So those two have not been in my possesion for a very looooong time! I tried Trend in XP for awhile, but it blows. Eventually went with AVAST and AVG when they were the only ones for a long time who had XP 64bit versions. Were not too bad, but both would sometimes lock up Outlook real bad and make it time out when recieving mail. I don't want to get into it with you about Zone Alarm, but that firewall will NEVER TOUCH one of my hard disks ever again! When version 6 came out, it hosed a lot of user's systems! Read their forum a number of times, and some got quite violent about their problems. Many went back to version 5. So for awhile, until I went with Vista 32bit, I had either AVG or AVAST, and just let the XP Firewall do what it wanted. I never seemed to have any problems with attacks. Now with Vista 32bit, what joy, NOT!!! LOL. This time, I figured I would be smart, and try Microsoft's own One(DON'T!!!!)Care. Well lets see now . . . . . . 1) It has a built-in defrag THAT NEVER DEFRAGS or completes one ever (and no way to control it, no drive map, and no analyze) 2) Antivirus, that in 2 DAYS OR RUNNING NONSTOP (in the background, and bringing the system to a crawl), never completed a scan 3) Firewall that continually asks to allow programs (usually after the program has started, and so is hidden - messes up things like World of Warcraft every time there is an update!!!) And the list for that one goes on - just look at their support forum (that really isn't even staffed by MS folks, just helpers) So now, sort of like you, I too am looking for the perfect solution that does WHAT I want, WHEN I want, and HOW I want it. And also not use so many system resources, that I can't use the computer for 3 days. Yes, I too am willing to pay if need be, but which one? Currently, I have gone to: Diskeeper for defrag and LOVE IT! Now trying the AVG Internet Suite (so so) About to try Panda AV/Firewall Suite But might look into the NOD32 you are talking about. I seen it somewhere else too, I think it came with a motherboard, or something . . . . but I do NOT want to use Zone Alarm ever again!

Currently, my specs are: EVGA 680i SLI motherboard (AR version, P27 BIOS) Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 4 GIG OCZ SLI PC2 8500 RAM SB X-FI Extreme Music (using mobo sound now UNTIL CREATIVE gets off their buts and makes a REAL driver for this card!!!!!!!!) EVGA 8800 GTS CO 500 GIG Seagate SATA II HD 500 GIG WD SATA II HD (3) Maxtor 350 GIG SATA I HD (2) LG Lightscrive DVD burner 3.5 floppy (4) 60mm fans (1) 120mm fan Silverstone Zues ST75ZF 750W PSU (quad rails) Samsung 20.1" LCD (6ms) which runs at 60mhz, and using a dual DVI cable connection Vista 32bit with NV 158.18 drivers, NV 15.00 chipset drivers 2 GIG PNY Flash Drive (ReadyBoost) I, and others, have had some problems with this motherboard (there is now a new REV A1 board out). As this seems to be pretty much a reference based board, I was wondering if there might be a better one out there (for games). I have read some good reviews on the new ASUS Striker Extreme, but in the past, many have complained about ASUS. Anyone have suggestions?

Does anyone know where I could find a white paper or tech article about the importance of rebooting Windows XP frequently? I used to be a tech at my company, until we got outsourced. So now I work in a call center there as an support admin for the phone system software (Genesys). We have hundreds of computers, and are constanly having problems with them. Like anyone with common sense knows, even XP needs to be rebooted once in awhile to clear out corrupted DLL's still in memory, or a corrupted pagefile, or a patch pushed through SMS. or any number of other reasons. What they do now, is each user just logs off, and the next one logs in. Most of these computers have never been rebooted for MONTHS! I tried to explain this to my team and boss, but one of the fellow workers I have to deal with (UGH!!!!!) shoots down every ooone of my suggestions at every chance he can get - even though I was a TECH in my company for 12 years!!!!! So if there is any tech document hard copy I can use, it would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks

Currently, I have the ASUS A8N-32SLI mobo with the AMD 64 X2 4400+ CPU, 3 GIG of dual Corsair ram, (2) EVGA 7900GT in SLI mode, (3) 250 GIG SATA and one 500 GIG SATA II drives, SB X-Fi sounds card, and a few other goodies. But the system seems to either be getting slower, or the games are getting tougher for it to run well. Now I am wondering what to do next? I have seen reviews and heard that Intel has finally gotten its act together now with the CORE 2 Duo, and is now the choice for a gaming rig. So now I am wondering what to do next? I play mostly military sim-like games (GRAW, BF2, BF2142), racing sims (GTR and soon GTR2), and online games like WoW and EQ2. Would it be worth it to upgrade the mobo, ram, and CPU? But on the other hand, it seems that the consoles are now getting MORE importance, and PC games are starting to dwindle! Epic even stated that they will not be making a computer version of Gears of War, which from the screenshots I have seen, looks killer! So would getting an X-Box 360 be better? Or wait for the PS3 to finally get back to normal pricing? What a tough decision! Now, if I go with the Intel Core 2 Duo, which is the best mobo, and which CPU? These have gotten more complicated than the old days when a Pentium P90 meant it was a 90mhz speed CPU. Now it seems that you can't tell what speed ANY Intel or AMD chips are. Thanks

Here are my full specs: ASUS A8N32 SLI DLX (1103 BIOS) AMD 64 X2 4400+ 3 GIG Corsair XMS RAM SB X-FI Extreme Music (2) EVGA 7900 GT CO (12.03 BIOS) in SLI mode and 84.56 drivers 500 GIG Seagate SATA II HD (3) Maxtor 350 GIG SATA I HD LG Lightscrive DVD burner Liteon DVD burner 3.5 floppy (4) 60mm fans (1) 120mm fan Gigabyte G-Power Pro CPU cooler Silverstone Zues ST75ZF 750W PSU (quad rails) Samsung 20.1" LCD (6ms) which runs at 60mhz, and using a dual DVI cable connection

I have been using COX Cable Internet for some months now, after being sick and tired of DSL. At first it was great! But now, for about a month, the connection has been getting slower and slower. And when I try to watch any streaming video (Opsgear has killer mil-sim paintball vids), it stops dead right in the middle. It is acting like there is a time limit or TTL problem. The problem is with my XP 32 bit partition. When I boot into XP 64bit, everything seems ok. So I am wondering: Is there something from the SBC DSL days that is interferring with the cable connection? Some settings that need to be changed? I had once used DR TCP from DSLREPORTS to change settings for the old DSL connection, maybe need to change or dlete some of what it did? Some old software causing problems? The 64 bit partition does not have much installed on it, cause it was a pain to find needed drivers, so never really used it for much. On XP 32bit, I have Zone Alarm 6.5, MS Defender, and Kaparsky A/V. On the 64bit I use the built in firewall, and Avast A/V. Could the problem be within those? Of course, one easy solution would be to just format and start over. But I have a lot of files and customizations over time that I don't want to loose, or take a month to get back to where its at now. Any thoughts? It might just be some simple settings. Thanks

Well, as I said, the problem is "somewhat" fixed. When I checked the Speakeasy Speed Test, it shows an amazing 31104kbps upload, and 935kbps download speed. Well, I also just got an E-Mail from COX saying that they upped our speed from 9 to 12. So, the movies stream fine and all, but I still have MSIE6 stall a lot on oppening web pages every so often.

WOW!!! I did some more research, and found this program called Cablenuts: http://dslnuts.com/software.shtml It worked WONDERS! But make sure to also get the update to it at: http://dslnuts.com/update.shtml And this helped as well: http://www.tweakxp.com/article37124.aspx Now I am able to stream the videos again - even faster than before. Am now a happy camper. Hope this helps someone else too.

Quote: If you're losing your connection on a regular basis, either your modem is faulty, or you need a new ISP. Cable has two things going for it, number one is speed, number two is that it's always on. Well, I did call Cox and they checked my pings, and all was ok. But again, the weird part is when I am in regular XP 32bit, I have these problems. But when I boot into XP 64bit, there are no problems. So doubt its the modem or the connection. The items I think it could be: 1) some bad MS patch for XP 32bit is interferring with the connection 2) something I may have installed (but were only games) 3) tried disabling Kaparsky and Zone Alarm, but maybe need to remove both completely? 4) somewhere in the registry there are screwed up TCP/IP settings 5) maybe some old DSL settings in the registry messing things up? But I did remove all traces of the SBC DSL software (or maybe it did not do a clean uninstall???) 6) some setting in MSIE 6? But same stalling when I use Firefox.

Ok, uninstalled Defender and installed Spyware Terminator. Shut down all of those, and used Firefox instead. This time the video got to 3/4 complete, then the connection just dies. So it went further, but still no bananas. It is almost like something messed with the time to live setting, idle time, or some sort of cap on connectivity. I really don't want to redo the whole system, but guess I just might have to, or start building up the 64bit partition into my main system now

Installed the Spyware Terminator like you suggested, nothing to clean. Did a check on what was running in the background with Task Manager, and all the files checked out and what I have in use. Ran the Tweak Test at DSL Reports, and everything was fine (no suggestions for DRTCIP), though did show a 2 second stall. Already have Firefox, so tried that with streaming video, and it stopped at the same spot. Some setting in my system must have changed that is causing the connection to go idle. In my 64bit partition, everything runs fine, no stalling. Weird.

Weird that there is the same post by pinkvus? That is my post, but so is this. Perhaps there was a glitch in the database here? As to the firewalls, I only run one - ZA in the 32bit and the MS built-in one on the 64bit. Not both at the same time.

I was using ZoneAlarm PRO for a long time, but the latest updates totally hosed my system, as well as a LOT of other's (see their fotum and you'll know). I am currently trying Sygate's, but it is an old version, and now they are part of Norton (which I am not too sure I like from other problems and services running in the background taking up resources). So I just don't know where to go to find honest reviews, or which brand to get. What a shame these days. We buy the fastest CPU's, best vid cards, tons of RAM - only to be slowed down by anti-virus, anti-spyware, and firewall software.

This is my rig: ASUS A8N32 SLI DLX (1103 BIOS) AMD 64 X2 4400+ 3 GIG Corsair XMS RAM SB X-FI Extreme Music (2) EVGA 7900 GT CO (12.03 BIOS) in SLI mode and 84.56 drivers 500 GIG Seagate SATA II HD (3) Maxtor 350 GIG SATA I HD LG Lightscrive DVD burner Liteon DVD burner 3.5 floppy (4) 60mm fans (1) 120mm fan Gigabyte G-Power Pro CPU cooler Ultra XConnect X2 550W PSU I am wondering if there is enough power coming out of my Ultra X2 for all this. It has two 12V rails (17A/18A). As it is not that expensive of a unit, and its all "glitzy" (though got to just LOVE those modlular cables!!!), it might be more hype than power. I had been thinking about the new Silverstone PSU's, specially the modular ST60F, which has four 12V rails. But now there is the 750W 75ZF that all 4 rails are rated at 18A. Others I was thinking about are: Enermax Noisetaker II 600w Enermax Liberty 620W Antec NEO HE 550 Antec TP II 550 Antec TrueControl II 550 FSP Epsilon 600 FSP Epsilon 700 Thermaltake Silent PurePower 680 OCZ PowerStream 600 Tiger Series 550W BFG 650w PSU Any suggestions? Thanks

Even as nice it is, there are still some games that choke it! Also, as nice as it is, I am out of a job. The company outsourced my entire department last month. So, unless I find something soon, maybe you might see some parts of it

Well, as I had just bought the Ultra only a few days ago, I can return it. It is nice, it is quiet, it has "glitz" value if you like that, and it has modular cables - though not enough SATA ones. But, I just went ahead and ordered the new Silverstone ST75ZF 750W PSU. What a beast this one is! All four 12V rails are 18A each. Sadly, it is not modular, and only has a single 80mm fan (I like the larger 120mm ones better), but I would imagine it won't heat up much unless it is really pushed (seems I won't be, yet ha ha), yet it will have more than enough power for what the near future might hold (Aegis X-Physics cards????). So can't loose with this one: http://www.silverstone-usa.com/products-75zf.htm

Which would be the fastest setup for 3D games like Battlefield 2, D&D Online, FEAR, HL2, etc 7800 GTX (with 512 megs of ram when it comes out) 7800 GTX (256 megs) or dual 7800 GT in SLI mode

But again, my question is, with most of it pretty much being near the same cost, which would be the faster setup, yet also able to use all the bells & whistles and at high resolution (1600X1200). 7800 GTX with 512 megs of ram (and high clock/mem speed, and a wee bit higher cost) 7800 GTX with 256 megs of ram (and still somewhat higher clock/mem speed) (2) 7800 GT with 256 megs ram in SLI mode

I have SBC, so I have the 2Wire router that does have a hardware firewall built into it. I also have an Asus A8N SLI DLX mobo with also on the NVidia nic, it has a built in firewall. But nowhere can I find proper info on how to properly set it up. So I believe I have disabled it for now (the software to control it has only gotten me deeper in trouble LOL). And the few choices the 2Wire web based software gives me, I am not sure that is right either. So I am now using the Sygate FW, but as it is old, and is the freeby with no more support, I don't have much control over it as well. Now, if ZA has finally fixed then ver 6 problem, that could be an idea as I AM a paid and registered user - but am just a bit afraid of trying them again.

Recently, a lot of programs that I try to start from the XP START menu have become extremely slow, and even lock up my system for almost 1 1/2 minutes now. Sometimes even longer! I mean, if I even click on something as simple as Solitaire, it will take forever for it to pop up on the desktop, and during that wait, even task manager does not update or move (so can't see what is going on!!!!!!). I checked for viruses, checked for spyware, stopped a few un-needed services, ran checkdsk, ran defrag, cleaned up temp files, updated drivers, triesd stopping some startup programs with MSCONFIG, updated the BIOS, just about anything I could think of. And still it is slooooooooow! This is driving me nuts! And I have an ASUS A8N SLI DLX mobo with the AMD 64bit 4000+ (so NO SLOCH CPU!!!), and 3 GIG of Corsair ram in dual mode. So this system should SCREAM. It does on my other partition with XP 64bit, but not on the 32 bit version. Anyone have any ideas??????

Thanks Sampson, I think Vsmon was the problem. And I don't have the FREE version of ZA, I own the paid for full suite version. Will try that Sygate you mentioned. Thanks!!!!!!!

Well, Zone Alarm must have been the problem! Cause the rest of tonight has been just fine. All the programs and start menu items are as fast as they used to be. Just hope that the Windoze firewall and the 2Wire hardware firewall are enough

Somehow or other, my reply about the ram did not show up??? I have (2) 1 GIG and (2) 512 meg of Corsair XMS memory of the same type, same CAS, and same speed. With each in their respective channels, this works. Now, tonight I *THINK* I found what is the problem - ZONE ALARM!!!!!!!!!! VSMON.EXE which is part of Zone Alarm was always taking just about the most memory and CPU time of all programs running in the background. I disabled it and rebooted, and now everything is peppy again! I tried this because I just remembered all the horror stories I recently read on the ZA web forum about the last few updates being problems for a lot of folks. So right now, I am using just the Windoze built-in firewall until I can figure out what to do, or what OLDER version of ZA was the better one to use. This just absolutely STINKS how we have to have all this stuff running to keep our computers safe from jerks!!!!!!!