ross_aveling

Try this; http://www.ntcompatible.com/thread30204-1.html

Originally posted by Dapper Dan: Quote: 1. Will a new XP install wipe my drive and format with NTFS automatically? No, not at all. The setup routine has a decent enough partition manager. You can create new partitions and review existing ones. It gives you the option to leave the file system of partitions as they are or to format as FAT, FAT32 or NTFS. Quote: 2. Will XP overwrite the MBR as 98SE does? Yes. Quote: 3. Will I have to have a working network connection to install? Not as such. If XP needs activating (see below) you'll need internet access to complete the procedure (unless you activate over the phone). Quote: 4.Other than typing in the product key, will my newly installed XP contact Microsoft for some sort of substantiation procedure so I can use it? It depends on the edition of XP. Volume license versions do not need to be activated, retail and OEM ones do. Quote: 5. Is there a way to make a boot floppy with XP in case something goes amiss? You can boot of the XP CD and use a facility called the Recovery Console. It presents you with a CLI that allows you to perform maintainance tasks such as repairing MBR's, enable or disable system services etc. You can read up on it here. Having said that, am I right in saying you wish to use XP only to be able to access Partition Magic 8.0. If so, there is an setup program on the PM8 install CD that let's you create a floppy disk set [2 disks] that enables you to boot off them and run PM8 from there (GUI screens and all). You do have to have access to a Windows machine to be able to create the disks though; if you can get hold of a Windows PC it may save you a lot of hassle. Hope I was of help to you.

Here is a link to Creative's site with drivers for Windows NT 4.0. The download you want is first on the list.

You'll have to give us some more info. Is there any particular reason why XP won't let you use Outlook?

Hey, nice post there Alec. That is indeed an easier way to do it. I popped over to Sysinternals' BOOT.INI reference page and was quite astounded with the range of tweaks/switches available. It’s a good read for anyone interested in a little tweaking; heck, I don’t think Microsoft's documentation is as good!

Some instructions here.

If you can confirm that your network cards are ok, the cable you've got is almost certainly not a crossover cable (or worse it's shot). You can compare the wiring at both ends of the cable; if the colours are exactly in the same order then it'll be a normal 'straight through' cable, otherwise the green and orange wires should be swapped at one end.

Originally posted by Donna Novak: Quote: If I install a PCI card in my computer can I disable the old/original one in Device Manager or does it have to go through the BIOS. The old one is attached to the Motherboard. How do I go about installing a new one? Thanks I'm guessing you're replacing your sound card or similar. Although you can disable items in Device Manager, it's best to disable them in the BIOS (this can free up valuable system resources). Once in your BIOS (pressing F1/F2 or DEL etc. at startup), they'll be a section called 'On-board Devices' or something similar. You can set the item you wish to disable to be On, Off or Auto. Auto is supposed to be able to sense that you have placed an addin PCI card and should turn off the item in question automatically; although sometimes this doesn't always work as expected. It's best to set an on-board device to Off if you replace it's functionality with a PCI card. Do this before you install the new card. Once the BIOS has disabled the on-board hardware, install the PCI card and Windows will run through it's driver routine as normal.

Originally posted by j3mma1: Quote: 1) the keyboard doesn't work, only the vowels appear on screen and are accented, none of the other keys (including enter etc)work 2) When you double click on desktop icons the properties box opens and not the program A long shot… but these first two queries can be attributed to the ALT key being 'stuck' down. I've seen this happen for no apparent reason (and on many versions of Windows). Usually pressing the ALT key (and sometimes ALT GR) will return the keyboard input back to normal. Also, make sure that the StickyKeys accessibility feature is disabled; you can turn it of by visiting ‘Accessibility Options’ in Control Panel. Lastly, this could also be an indicator that the keyboard has a physical problem and maybe on it’s way out. Originally posted by j3mma1: Quote: 3) Microsoft Office (2000 professional) programs do not run properly, cannot access any options on taskbar etc Again, when pressing ALT and right-clicking on a running task on the TaskBar causes the target program to be bought to the foreground rather than displaying the usual move, close etc. context menu. Originally posted by j3mma1: Quote: 4) It wont let me do a system restore, the mouse will not click on ok, to allow me to continue in the menu Not sure about this one however. Maybe hitting enter will allow you to continue (if it's the default command button anyway, does it have a thicker border around it). Originally posted by j3mma1: Quote: Most other programs are running fine. I have rebooted my computer (With restore discs) twice now, and each time it has worked fine for about a month and then reverted back to exactly the same problems . this time, it is switching between working and not working, sometimes it works perfectly, but not for long As this behaviour seems to be sporadic, this may indicate that it is indeed StickKeys getting in the way and ‘sticking’ down the ALT key. Anyhoo, I hope that I may have been of help to you. Post back if I’ve missed the target...

I’m using a northwood P4 running at 2.4Ghz (no o/c) using the stock Intel heatsink (with one 120mm case fan) and generally get around 38°C when idling. Always make sure that your motherboard is running the latest BIOS revision. My temps dropped by 5 degrees after A-Bit realised the calibration on the temp sensor was way out and issued an update.

Originally posted by american zombie: Quote: Don't want to jump to any conclusions but this can also happen if the person has a pirated copy. Bingo. All copies of HL2 that use an illegal key exhibit this behaviour at some point. Expect your Steam account to be disabled in the next cull (and quite rightly so).

Originally posted by Waffler: Quote: Indeed, avatars would be a very good feature. I can't help thinking it would be abused though, so maybe they have to be authorixed by a mod before they can be used. Should senior members perhaps be allowed to have a custom avatar?

You'd be best getting hold of Symantec Ghost 9.0. It will do a better job of imaging your disk(s) than Nero would.

Hi there, Have you applied the latest patch? Also, make sure your video drivers are the most recent version.

That is a possible solution. Be aware that you should never attach anything onto an IDE channel that already has a hard disk (unless you're adding another hard disk). CD-ROM and Tape drives can seriously affect the performance of the HD (it's all to do with ultra DMA modes you see). If you are running your hard disk off an SATA connection (or you have additional IDE channels on a PCI controller) separating your optical drives is probably the best config you can have (it helps greatly when performing copying CDs). That is how I have my drives setup; my HD is an SATA device. That being said, in the past when I had a DVD-ROM (as master) and a CD-RW (as slave) on the same channel, I never experienced any problems whatsoever.

The web site for the free games is here. As for the minimum ages, I think that all the GTA games have been classified as 18's on their release. This is in the UK, it may be different elsewhere.

Originally posted by Alec§taar: Quote: This one (Barney Calhoun): * THAT'S ROBERT DOWNEY JR. IF I EVER SAW HIM! Check it: Agreed, he would make a great Barney. Just need to fatten him up slightly me thinks.

Firstly, make sure that your video card drivers and DirectX installation are up-to-date with the latest versions. What video card has your machine got? Have you been able to run GTA3 before? As for the age rating, mine has a big red 18 on the box. BTW - Rockstar have just added GTA2 to their list of classic games that are available free from their web site. Wicked.

No worry's Alec, get yourself some good earned rest . As for HL2 characters, visit here.

Originally posted by Mutasem Semakieh: Quote: ...any thing that prevents a game from crashing on him just because of a file acting up. I've seen many PS/Xbox games completely hang requiring the machine(s) to be re-started. Fair enough, it may not happen as much as some PC games, but once is enough. At least on the PC you have the ability to patch the game and fix the problems in most, if not all cases. I bought Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly for the PS2 and it was the most bugged (read un-finished) game I have ever come across; on any system too. That cost me 30 UK pounds and there was no way I could make the game playable. The shop wouldn't refund my money, as in their mind, the game was in the proper [non] working condition as supplied from the publisher. Thank God for eBay. As for stability on the PC, I have never had any problems with any of my games, Half-Life 2 included (and I've probably bought over 20 in the last year). I'm sure if you asked many of the seniors on NTC, they'll probably say the same thing... funny that! EDIT - Going back to the HL2 vs Halo 2 thing. Let's just say that they are both very good games in their own right. The important thing to remember is that Halo 2 will be way better on the PC than it's XBox dwelling counterpart. 8)

Originally posted by Alec§taar: Quote: Janet Reno as a man, eh? lol... shame on you!!! LOL. As in Janet Reno, the US' first woman Attorney General! Nice suggestion there Alec but I suspect she'll have problems getting Father Grigory's east European accent down to to a tee.

Originally posted by Waffler: Quote: Jesus Christ Ross! Could you have casted any better! (Walken over Buscemi definitly though) Although I searched for Doom, Halo and Deus Ex(production cancelled *sniff*) and they all came up as films in production. So maybe HL will follow suit, who knows? Perhaps I'm in the wrong job . I agree that Walken would probably make a better G-Man, but Buscemi just has that weird aura about him. As for the other productions, I hear that the Doom movie is going to be nothing like the game (more like Resident Evil, pah!). Loads of people in uproar 'bout that. Hop over to http://www.dmop.co.nr to sign a petition against the movie. As for a HL film, I honestly think it would spoil the franchise. The whole point to gaming is that you can put yourself into the shoes of the hero. In essence, the closest most of us will ever get to actually being in a movie. Maybe that's why most game to movie licenses fail... we just don't like other people playing the hero role; ie. I'm Gordon Freeman and always will be . Hope you get what I mean anyway, lol. Originally posted by dosfreak: Quote: Do you have to subscribe to Steam before watching? Yes, and it takes at least an hour of authentication before the movie starts.

How are you hanging them off your system? Are you installing them as a master and a slave on the same IDE channel?

Gordon Freeman - Edward Norton Alyx - Kristin Kreuk The G-Man - Christopher Walken (or Steve Buscemi) Barney Calhoun - Clive Owen Dr. Eli Vance - Morgan Freeman Dr. Kleiner - Ed Harris Dr. Judith Mossman - Annette Bening Father Grigory - Jean Reno Dr. Breen - Sean Connery Odessa Cubbage - John Cleese

I like this in the terms and conditions (in uppercase too): Quote: c). THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY IN A BETA TEST STAGE AND WE DO NOT GAURANTEE THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE A PRODUCT FROM www.TECH4FREE.COM, EVEN IF ALL OF THE REQUIRED STEPS ARE COMPLETED IN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ABOVE. WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO GET YOU YOUR PRODUCT, BUT BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS UNTESTED, WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO DENY ANYONE THEIR FREE PRODUCT, NO MATTER WHAT THE REASON. Let us know if you get your free kit...