ScinteX

Just want to add my lil bit in I like the people here- they are great. You can post without getting flamed. You can get good solid responses to problems... and usually all of the many ways to skin a cat. I see that some changes are on the cards. I'd like to maybe list a few little enhancements that would really make me happy (user cap on!). It's really hard to find an 'old' post. By old I dont mean years old- just maybe a week or so. The recent forum topics thing is good however if the topic isnt in that then the search yields no results even when I put in the correct criteria. By correct I mean me folloiwng the syntax that is there underneath the search textbox. So I guess maybe a better search would be good- or stick to using Google only? I dont think anyone uses the 'Mark as Solution' button? I never have (I think Im scared of it!).. maybe a bit more awareness could be a good thing. In fact I'm gonna click the FAQ link and see.....well ok its an OS FAQ. Is there a forum guide anywhere?? One thing that I have seen generate ALOT of traffic (as in number of posts) is a points/league table. If you post the solution and the originator marks it as a solution u get points. This site gets lots of new users- and seems to be picked up in the search engines really well. So it's not an attraction problem it is more of a frequency of postings problem. Maybe this is down to a general slow down..... XP is kinda old hat as nearly all problems have been sorted out- I mean solutions posted ont he net. Windows Server 2003 posts are increasing however theres 2 probs with that- not many people have it and also not many people have used it. Of course most people are on XP, 2000... the desktop platforms. The only other traffic generators are new games (grrr@Sims 2!). So maybe we are in need of some more desktop OS excitement!!

WOW! Top man Im pleased for you, that was very lucky!

I am really really pleased with DFI. - in particular the Lanparty series. I usually go for Asus or maybe Aopen. However the DFI package is really fantastic. The only thing the board was missing was firewire, however at the time it was the best board around with SATA (highpoint or Intel onboard), using the new Intel canterwood chipset. Also you get lots of accessories. Build quality is superb and i cannot fault the layout. I use a big coolermaster heatsink, a big Zalman video card cooler and there is still ample space to get around in there. Overclocking is really quite simple and this board was made for it. It screams "spank me" LOL Worth a look anyways

wow what happened whilst i was away? LOLOLOLOLOL

I found out the solution just by searching around.... the Google Master lol Its funny you know, most of the best resolutions come from a bit of searching and some logical thinking.

Thx Alex, appreciated I never ever ever ever use IE unless I have to. may sound over the top but you are right. Since using Opera I have had minmal problems.

Hi Evoada Intermittient problems are always a pain to solve! Thx for that additonal info it does help. When a problem only occurs on a cold start or is worst at that time, it's almost always thermal related. Other than a short, it could also be a lead (wire) with a minor break in it that makes contact after the board heats up and expands. Could also be a crack in the PCB (base layers of the card) that is slowly being aggrivated by the changes from heating and then cooling. As you have new hardware it might be worth getting a replacement. Do a visual check for dodgy looking capacitors. Also inspect the area of the motherboard when the card slots in, and tracks that lead away from the port. Look for any odd colours (discolouring, brown or even worse...black). Another thing it could be is your power supply. You have good kit but it needs good power too! On a cold boot, you have what you call a "High In Rush" current draw and in your case, you might not be getting the power required to boot up properly. On the soft boot (restart), the circuits have had a chance to stabilise and might have enough power to boot up. Are u using a cheap PSU?? Replacing it could fix the problem. However, good PSUs can be pricey. The general rule is buy something with a brand (well known) name on it.

hi alex glad u mentioned those pesky drivers- i too can vouch for the 4.9 drivers slowng my system down. Surprise surprise i get increased hard disk activity. I have to WD Raptors in RIAD 0 and i notice it alot so the effect on a single ID drive I would imagine to be quite detrimental. Anyhow this saves me creating a whole new topic now lol

.......how do u drive this thing?

hi metafizx, The userinit value may have been corrupted by the removal of blazefind. It adds wsaupdater.exe to the logon value in the system registry, sometimes appending it, sometimes replacing it. Running Adaware or other cleaners detects and removes wsaupdater.exe, but doesn't correct the registry damage. Thus, we have a problemo! And.. a fix 8)

i dont believe it i answered this in a duplicate post! I was robbed!

hey mike I have to say you make me laugh- not that I am laughing @ the lack of AGP, its more your delivery I double checked (you just never know) and this confirms it: CNET's review of your PC As far as PCI cards go, do not panic, .. well not just yet I'm assuming you are American (from when you said you have $ to spend)?? If so I hear that http://www.newegg.com and http://www.compusa.com are quite popular. I assume this is true, since I'm in the UK. So looking on those sites I suggest you try these links: PowerColor Radeon 9200 Video Card, 256MB DDR Chaintech nVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Video Card, 256MB DDR I've been fair - 1 nVidia and 1 ATI I couldn't check CompUSA since the site is unavailable (something about 'sorry' and 'restocking' ) Make sure though that you dont get a "PCI Express" or "PCI-X" or "PCI-E" card! This is the newer standard of graphics cards and you'll find they dont fit/work in a regular PCI slot. Ensure that card says "PCI" fullstop Your Intel Graphics are listed as "compatible" for the Sims2 but as you found, yes they work but maybe not to the optimal level. BTW- maybe worth posting on a gaming forum - ask whats the best PCI card. Might get some good replies. Obviously check out the reviews on the above cards before hand - always good to do a comparison and a bit of research. Eventually if you really get into your gaming and start craving for more and more speed & quality I guess you could always replace your motherboard. Of course thats another story! I did that and I ended up replacing everything! I got a bit carried away :x

hey yoep, welcome Your mate is right.... but maybe wrong also! Simply speaking your router (that no doubt has an ADSL modem built in) has the public IP that your ISP gives you. Your PC now has a private IP and is most probably something like 192.168.0.X. There are others like 10.XXX.XXX.XXX - this depends on your specific hardware (and thus, Class). Anyhow, this doesnt always cause problems but can do in some games. Personally I have no problems running any games in multiplayer with my router- I mean without having to tinker with things (they just work). Have a look at this and this. You may have to open up some ports on the router. Also note that apparently NAT isnt offically supported.

hi, Try http://www.ontrack.com for Easy Recovery or http://www.muntime.org/ for GetBackData

Hi Arby, Indeed your suspicion is correct- you need to change the existing driver to one more specific to the graphics in your laptop. Once you load the correct one you should have all of the options that the hardware is capable of- i.e. higher resolution & colours. What's the make/model of your laptop?

Glad that worked! And thanks for posting the additional info re: the boot sequence (I was in a rush!)

Hi & welcome. Theres no easy way of doing this without the help of 3rd party data recovery programs. Ive had a few bouts of success with ontracks easy recovery in RAW mode, but as it generates filenames such as File1.xxx file2.xxx filexx.xx etc it can be a pain trying to recover the files you require. I would rule out a complete restore to the previous state unless you are very very lucky. Obviously you have just realised how powerful Ghost is ;( people have had more success with GetBackData for NTFS but i havent tried that myself.

Try this, usually works. The problem is to with some spyware, and when removed (by adaware) causes the behaviour you guys are describing. First off, boot your computer from your Windows XP restore cd/OS cd, when the menu comes up hit the R key to get to the recovery prompt. The prompt should start off at C:\Windows. Type[font:courier] cd system32[/font]. The prompt should now read C:\Windows\system32 Type: [font:courier]copy userinit.exe wsaupdater.exe[/font] Reboot

what a weird problem!

waffler! Glad u r here; seems you are in the same sort of situation with getting a new card?? I did ask what the model/make was too

What cable do u have between them? You need crossed over twisted pair.... like a regular CAT5 cable but with a few cables swapped over. Have a look here: http://www.homenethelp.com/web/explain/about-ethernet-crossover.asp

This might help: http://www.jsiinc.com/SUBL/tip5500/rh5517.htm Failing that I have seen it on occasions where older cdrom drives refuse to read newer CDs. Must be the way they are burnt. Do other CDs work?

OOPS! Forget that Windows 98/2000/ME/XP; PII 400 or greater; 256MB RAM; ATI Radeon 7500/NVidia GeForce 1 equivalent or greater; DirectX compatible sound card; 28.8k Internet connection; 4X CD-ROM; 500 MB HD space; DirectX 9.0

Just a thought but does that game need a DVD-ROM drive as opposed to a CD-ROM drive?

This should help: http://www.pctechguide.com/tutorials/GraphicsCard_Remove.htm It has pictures and stuff