ross_aveling

Just checking, but do you actually have a folder called C:\WINDOWS\THEAHT? Can you list what files are under this folder please. Also, if C:\WINDOWS\THEAHT\AUTOEXEC.NT does indeed exist, renaming it to something else may help.

Great link there AZ, probably one of the most useful sites I've ever seen.

Copy AUTOEXEC.NT from C:\Windows\Repair back to the root of drive C. Does anyone actually know what causes this, it seems to get more prolific by the day!

You can install the Win32 port available here (at the bottom of the page).

Apparently, many 5200 users are getting this error with the latest driver (version 77.72). Try dropping down to version 71.89.

You can download the latest version 9.0 codecs for video/audio playback for use with Windows Media Player 6.4 from here. You'll want the package called 'Codec Installation Package for Windows Media Player 6.4'. Incidentally, to save having to install the full players for RealAudio and QuickTime, Goggle for 'Real Alternative' and 'QuickTime Alternative' respectively.

Yes, info is a little thin on the ground at the mo, but there are some G70/R520 specs here. As for SM3.0, it primarily allows for far more complex lighting/texturing effects. It improves upon the existing technolgies in SM2.0 (apparently without a performance hit) and introduces new techniques for far greater realism. I'm no expert so here's a couple of links to articles from people who are ; http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winhec/partners/shadermodel30_NVIDIA.mspx http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjA5 SM3.0 isn't as yet in HL2. Valve will be releasing a new (free ) chapter that will contain loads of improved graphical features (high dynamic range lighting for starters) which use SM3.0. It's called Lost Coast and should be released pretty soon (although many are speculating that Valve are waiting for ATI to release the R520). Only Lost Coast will have the new SM3.0 support, but it's thought that Valve will add it to the entire game eventually. As for Far Cry, are you both running with exactly the same quality settings?

I concur with Malaris; if you can, wait it out until the next high-end ranges are released by ATI and nVidia. Then evaluate them both at that time to make your decision. Having said that, if you really want to get one now and seeing as you play a lot of Source based games perhaps you should get the 6800 Ultra as it supports Shader Model 3.0. Having SM3.0 would help a great deal when Valve release the forthcoming HDR updates for HL2 and [eventually] CS. Also, as far as I'm aware, Far Cry can use SM3.0 now. Shader Model 3.0 support won't be seen on ATI cards until they release their new super-duper cards based on the R520 chip (currently codenamed Fudo).

Yup, the Viewsonic is indeed a little bit more expensive than normal. But when my girlfriend insists on us buying one to replace "that nasty lump of a CRT" (her words) I can't really object. 8)

Originally posted by jmmijo: Quote: "LASER" LOL! I've just treated myself to a swanky ViewSonic VX912 19" LCD monitor. Woot!.

Hi All, I'm looking to upgrade my system and have decided to jump ship and go with an AMD Athlon 64 CPU. Why AMD? Basically because I'd like to stick with my current AGP video card (a Radeon 9800XT, and still pretty decent IMO) and use my current 1GB of PC3200 (DDR400) memory. The AMD route is my only option as the current high-end P4 motherboards don't have the precious AGP slot and many use DDR2 memory. I'd like to go for at least a Socket 939 3500+ chip and have so far looked at the ABIT AV8 mainboard. I know that there are issues with this board when used with certain Antec power supplies (including mine ;(), so if anyone can recommend another brand/model and perhaps highlight any problems I may face, I'd really appreciate it. TIA. BTW - Would I see a real speed improvement going from a Pentium 4 2.4GHz?

Thanks for the info. It seems that many people are still getting the 'USB Device not Recognized' problem from time to time. Unfortunately there is no easy fix. Firstly, it's recommended that you make sure every one of your motherboard drivers are completely up-to-date, but you probably already knew that. In XP, after a USB port isn't used for a long while the USB driver built into the OS sets the OHCI controller to suspend. When you plug a device back in, it can sometimes fail to 'wake up' properly. This problem was supposedly fixed in SP1 but there is a related registry hack that may still be able to help. Run regedt32.exe and navigate to; HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Usb Create the Usb key if it doesn't already exist. Under this key, create a new DWORD value called DisableSelectiveSuspend and give it a value of 1. Then restart the PC. A long shot perhaps, but I recall having similar problems with a USB hub built into my Microsoft keyboard and adding this key seemed to solve it. It wouldn't hurt in trying . Alternatively, removing all entries relating to USB in Device Manager and all associated USB drivers will force XP into refreshing the USB driver stack. Begin by unplugging all USB devices, then use Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel to uninstall any USB driver software. Next, boot up into safe mode and go to Device Manager. Once in device manager make sure 'Show hidden devices' is checked under the View menu. Uninstall all device entries in this order; 1. USB peripheral devices (printers etc.) 2. HID and/or Composite USB (Human Interface Devices) You're using PS/2 input devices so you may not have this entry. 3. USB Root Hub(s) 4. USB Host Controller(s) (Universal or Enhanced Host Controllers) Then boot back into Windows (not safe mode) and it should populate the Root Hubs & Host controllers again. Proceed to plug your USB devices back in, starting with your powered hub. Be aware that most USB printers and scanners need to have their drivers installed first before you plug them in. Hopefully some of this may be of help, let us know how you get on.

OS and service pack level please.

I can recommend the Netgear DG834 (or the 'G' wireless version). Never had a single problem with it.

I completely sympathise with you Malaris. When I took my GCSEs there wasn’t even an IT related subject available to take. So, whilst it’s good to hear that there is such a GCSE subject available now, having it turn out to be a waste of time is (and I can speak from experience) completely destroying. After school, I moved onto college to take a 2-year GNVQ Advanced IT course thinking, somewhat ridiculously, that I would be progressing my knowledge to an advanced IT level. How more wrong could I have been…..? I can honestly say that for 90% of the course, I spent most of my time writing meaningless papers dealing primarily with basic business principles (health and safety even!!!) and if a computer related subject popped up it would be all about the ‘why’ rather than the ‘how’. Not once did we cover even generalised concepts of programming, networking or systems analysis for example. All this was, of course, before the explosion of the Internet or mainstream OO programming, so you could argue that there wasn’t really anything exciting at the time to keep me interested. As a result, I spent the other 10% trying to break into the college’s Netware network (which myself and the other proper ‘geeks’ did on a regular basis). Having not really applied myself due to a complete lack of interest, I left with a mediocre grade. Whilst I’m sure that the GNVQ course would have benefited some people, it definitely did not suit me. I’m the sort who had spent years beforehand learning everything I could from computer magazines and manuals. Attempting to do a certain thing and when it broke, finding out why it broke and what to do to fix it and ultimately what to know so not to do it again in the future. I'm still a firm believer in self tuition. It sounds like the real problem with these sort of courses is that they are way too general to begin with, plus I also have to question the virtue of having such a qualification under your belt. I’ve not come across one employer that recognises a GNVQ in Advanced IT as an indictor of real IT knowledge. The only thing that seems important these days is to have an industry recognised qualification, like an MSCE for example (something I am working towards at the moment). I just hope your ICT qualification (which I'm sure you'll obtain a good grade at) can prove to be a worthwhile stepping stone for greater oppotunities with future education and employment.

Download the jHexen port from the Doomsday HQ. It enables you to run Hexen flawlessly on XP with much better graphics and effects.

Hi Terry, You'll need a mail server that has the facility to pull emails from any remote POP mail server, in most cases the feature is called a 'POP Retrieval Connector'. Unfortunately most of the free mail servers do not have this as standard. One commercial server that I know of that does have such a connector (simply because I use it) is the Pro version of MailEnable. It costs around US$220; a hell of a lot less than Exchange. I'll look around for other [maybe even free] solutions, but someone else may be able to suggest another server sooner.

Felix is spot on on this. Open up the DNS applet under Administrative Tools, then the properties for your DNS server and select the Fowarders tab. It's best to add at least two IP's for fowarding DNS servers under 'Seleted domain's forwarder IP address list:' These are usually the primary and secondary DNS servers for your ISP, but you can add any public DNS servers if you wish.

Does Device Manager display any other problems with the entry for your sound card (device driver problem, etc.)? Also, have you tried different speakers/headphones?

Some possible explanations here. My betting is that the last answer is the correct one. BTW - One of the mods should rename this thread to 'The Official Three Seashells Thread'.

Originally posted by AndyFair: Quote: Quite a few ATMs still use OS/2 as their OS (saw one booting up the other week, and almost fell over laughing when I saw the bootscreen appear!) Wow, I have seen this on an ATM too! Perhaps OS/2 is still more widespread than we think. I remember being given a demonstration of Warp 3.0 in the April of 1995 (just before Windows 95's release) and being blown away by it. It's a pity IBM didn't ramp up the marketing campaign until it was too late; things could have been very different. I just may have to buy a copy off eBay. 8)

Nope, it only deals with time syncronisation (with Microsoft's public time server by default, unless on domain), and nothing depends on it.

You could always disable the Windows Time service.

There is a simple way that you can actually work out what the best MTU setting is for your connection. It involves finding out the largest packet size that can be sent without it becoming fragmented; and then adding 28 to this value (for IP/ICMP overheads) and that's your optimal MTU setting. Use ping with the following switches; ping -f -l [packet size] [Public IP Address] Try starting with a lower packet size, say 1000 and work your way up in small increments. If the transmission of the packet is unsuccessful, ping will return 'Packet needs to be fragmented but DF set'. Continue increasing the size until you get a return ping. Also try and ping one of your ISP's public IP addresses (their main website address perhaps). In my case (I'm also 2mbit over PPPoA) the largest packet size was 1430, so adding 28 give me an MTU size of 1458. Hope this helps.

Man oh man this Athlon 64 lark is utterly confusing. I'd like to have at least a 3500+ chip but I see that some have 512kb cache and others, 1mb (even though they have the same speed rating!). As for cores, I've noticed some that are Venice based, whilst I've also seen Winchester, San Diego and even Clawhammer mentioned. :x. Is it safe to say, that if I go for one that has the Venice core and as much cache as possible, it'll be the latest (and greatest) version? Cheers guys.