GuitarGuru

Nixdy, Actually, I have many networks that I support that have NT 4.0 Servers and have XP Pro PC's that joined the domain with no problems and are running perfectly. So in answer to your question, yes XP Pro is compatible with NT 4.0 Server. As to why it isn't joining, I'd need more info. Hope this helps, Jason

Hello, Well there are a few things that could cause your issue. The first one could be a bad powersupply. I realize you say it is 500W, but that doesn't mean it hasn't gone bad. I have had top notch powersupplies go bad in a month. Also, since I am unsure of the age of your motherboard, I'll mention that a couple years ago motherboards were susceptable to capacitors leaking which shows that symptom. If you look at the capactors around or near the CPU and where the powersupply connects to the motherboard it is easy to spot. They will either be buldging or leaking, therefore a bad motherboard. Another thing to look at is, did you forget to plug in your CPU fan or accidentally knock the wire off the connector? If you have an AMD CPU it doesn't take much for it to shut down since they get very hot. The last thing is a video card, however, your symptoms probably point to the other 3 issues moreso then a video problem. Hope this helps, Jason

What you really need is a simple broadband router. They can be purchased quite inexpensively since most people are buying wireless routers these days. A router would allow you to hook the DSL up on the outside, then allow you to hook up as many computers as you would like on the inside. You could use your existing switch if you need more inside ports then the router would provide (most little routers have 3 to 5 ports). This way you can specify your own internal network and subnet. I saw broadband routers on special for as little as $15.00 at a computer store near me (Detroit Metro Area). Currently you are using public IP addresses on your two machines which is not really advisable for security reasons. My home has about 4 computers, 1 Server, a network printer, and an XBOX all networked and sharing the same DSL connection using my router. For just a few bucks your home network will be setup properly and not just pieced together. Hope this helps, Jason

Yes it will work. In essence with have two NAT's going on assuming you are not bridging either device. It sounds like you want to buy another router for a permanent use elsewhere but want to the router to add another temporary etherport to an existing setup. Keep in mind, if you are just wanting Internet that should work just fine. If you want to use instant messaging and/or gaming you could run into port issues going thru two routers unless of course you properly configure the ports/port forwarding in both. That sounds like an ugly mess to me and not worth the effort for a temp fix. Hope this helps, Jason

PRF, You do not need the computer to join a domain for it to get Internet on a corporate network. If DHCP is setup somewhere within the network (On the Server, Router, or Firewall) and the XP Home computer is setup to obtain an IP address automatically, simply plugging it in the LAN will allow it to get out to the Internet. If there is no need to get data from the Server etc., your all set! I have clients that have salesman that bring their XP Home Edition laptops into our networks all the time and just plug in. Hope this helps, Jason

Limits, OK. When you do a "clean" install Windows XP from either a retail or OEM disk, you would boot from the Windows CD to install. One of the first questions that comes up is Hit F6 to install additional drivers. You would hit F6. Further on in the installation it will ask for you to put a floppy in (with your SATA driver) and it can then get a driver to install on your SATA drive. If you didn't do this, your SATA drive will not show up as a drive to install Windows. Also, you say your ATA133 is set to master, but is it on its own IDE cord/channel? If it is sharing a cable/channel with your other HD that is probably what is causing your problem. Windows does not like two drives on one IDE channel even though people do it all the time. Everyone of my systems has each device on its own channel and never in a slave master situation. What I would do is move your backups to one of the other drives and do a clean install of XP on the SATA drive. Hope this helps, Jason

Nate, Good news is this. If you are wanting to install a CD Burner to get data off your PC, I am pretty confident the 1 GB requirement wouldn't really apply for your immediate use. That requirement would be if you were copying a CD. The ideal way to copy a CD is to read it into the computer, then burn it back on a blank disk. Obviously you would need at least 700MB of free space to do that, more realistically 1GB. I know some people copy CD's on the fly from a CD-Rom to a Burner directly, however, in my experience I have gotten better results using the image method. As far as installing a burner yourself, it is literally 3 wires. You could simply remove the bad CD-Rom and put the Burner in its place. I would not attempt to install the burner in addition to your CD-Rom, but rather instead of. Also, I'd buy one that comes with Nero Burning Rom software as it is very reliable. Hope this helps, Jason

Limits, You didn't mention if what version of Windows your running. There are a couple things that would come to mind. When you say "grinding" do you mean physically grinding or HD thrashing? Is it possible the system HD is heavily defragged? Also, usually you would want your fastest drive (SATA) as your system drive. Also, I notice you mention that you have two IDE drives one with Windows installed. Are two the HD's sharing and IDE cable as a slave and master? It would be advisable to make the drives each a master on their own IDE channel for best performance. In an ideal world, I would probably install Windows on the SATA drive, and use the other two drives for data as the faster the system drive, the faster the entire system is. I hope this helps, Jason

Chris, Have you check your system for Spyware? Ad-aware from www.lavasoft.de is an excellent free program that you can remove all Spyware from your system. It also has a button to update itself as new varients of Spyware are discovered. Install the program and update first, then run it. I suspect that is your issue. I even found Spyware on my new laptop before it was even hooked up to the Internet. Good luck, Jason