Syncope

While I know what I'm in for in the next few weeks/months, I will nonetheless put on my stupid-mask and complain to the [gaming] companies about their software not working on Win2k. I figure that pretending to be a clueless user who thought Win2k was the natural successor to Win9x will hopefully convince those companies to update their programs for us "morons." Heck, I can't tell the difference between a CD-ROM drive and a hard disk--or at least that how I will want to appear. (Real-world example: "I know how much RAM it's got, but I don't know how much ROM.") The squeaky wheel gets the oil. [This message has been edited by Syncope (edited 15 February 2000).]

I’m looking to extend they life of my dual-PII 333MHz (IntelliStation M Pro, LX chipset) until the end of this year (when I’m due for a new one). I’m not interested in overclocking. Also, I wish to keep the machine fully intact instead of migrating some components to a new machine. So, buying something more expensive with an eye to the future isn’t something I want to consider, as by year’s end it’ll be ‘crap’ anyway. PII 450s are now between $100-$120. So, for $250 (incl. S&H) I could get 2 new CPUs. My questions are… 1) Will a PII 450 work with the LX chipset, or does it only work with BX? 2) If it does work, will I actually see an appreciable speed increase (say, maybe 25%)? Other recommendations are welcome. I’ve considered a GeForce, but from all that I’ve read I doubt it would do diddlysquat for what’s now becoming a low-end machine. Machine: 2x PII 333MHz (LX) 128 MB ECC RAM (66MHz) 4.3 GB UW-SCSI-3 HD CD-ROM, SCSI-2 TNT(1) V2 (SLI) WinNT (soon Win2k)

I got AGP. It's FX that doesn't do AGP.

Two items to add: 1) I had the same problem after installed the Sidewinder software (this was with Win95). Uninstalling the software didn't help, I had to reformat the HD. This was about a year ago. While the intended use of the software is helpful, I obviously never reinstalled it. 2) I've read in a few places that Sidewinder joysticks have problems with a 100MHz bus--they will only run properly on 66MHz busses. This, however, might have been specific to NT4 SP5. Alas, I hope all problems will get fixed. I've been without a joystick for a year now, because the MX300 drivers don't support SMP in NT4, leaving me to use the onboard sound, and without a joystick port. I want to fly again.

NVIDIA's reference drivers (offcially up to 3.68, http://www.nvidia.com/Products.nsf/htmlmedia/software_drivers.html ) should do the trick. Also, as noted on the front page, you can download 3.75 drivers from this German page ( http://www.3dwin2000.de/ , driver links in left-hand column). However, I would wait on installing 'unoffcial' drivers until someone else has tested them and come back with positive results.

Don't bother waiting for Diamond drivers for the MX300. Diamond/S3 shipped the MX400 today, and I'm sure that the MX300 will now become a 'legacy' product--meaning "fuhgettaboudit."

MS's next step should be to make an OS that automatically multi-threads, instead of the application having to be SMP-enabled. I believe the BeOS does this, and others as well, and the performance gain for SMP machines is supposed to be great. Then it'd really make sense to have a multi-CPU box. Right now I run NT4, dual-333, but it's more for geek reasons than necessity.

Are the instructions in the FAQ posted on NT Compatible still valid, or is there a better way now to get the V2 to work? The only drivers I can find in RC3 are Banshee and V3.

Hot Damn! You are the man.

Assuming someone were to burn a CD for me with Win2k RC3, which might be available for download from certain FTP sites on the Net, and furthermore, assuming that this kind person called this CD “Win2k_R3” instead of “Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM,” and also assuming that the Win2k RC3 boot and installation disks call for a CD entitled “Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM,” would one, in any way, still be able to install Win2k RC3 should one only be in the possession of a CD call “Win2k_R3?” What’s your hypothetical solution, assuming a ‘re-burn’ is difficult to come by?

WOOHOO!!! It worked. Thanks to Chameleon for his site. Thanks for SHS for the info above.

I asked in the ‘hypothetical’ because if this were happening in real life, I’d probably be annoying some law enforcement agencies. However, for the sake of clarity, here it is in the plainest English: I downloaded Win2K RC3 Pro. (.cab files and 1 executable). Someone was kind enough to burn it to CD for me (not a boot-CD). I made the four boot-floppies (another .exe download) to install the OS. However, the person who burned the CD named it "Win2k_R3" instead of "Windows 2000 Professional CD-ROM", but the boot-floppy installation procedure calls for a CD with the latter name (rather than what my CD is named) and won't let me proceed with the installation. Getting the CD reburned with the proper name is currently not an option. Question(s): 1) Can I still somehow complete the installation with this mis-named CD? 2) If 'No' to (1), can I somehow do a dual-boot install on my NT machine with this ill-named CD? 3) If 'No' again, can I use the files on the CD to upgrade Win2K Beta3 to Win2K RC3, as I still have the original Beta3 CD from this spring?

...dying to get a hold of such a joyous product, how would one actually go about obtaining it? Not that I wish to suggest any illegal or nefarious actions.

DING!!!

I know the drivers exist (TNT1, V2-SLI, MX300). I tried W2k Beta 3 and loved it, but couldn't use it because the necessary drivers didn't exist. Now they do exist. In fact, I've been running my dual-PII as a solo-PII because the NT Aureal drivers don't support SMP. But now...I just can't wait until the final version of W2k is released. However, it seems RC3 would answer all my prayers. Heck I would buy RC3 from Microsoft.

There is indeed a conflict between the V2 and some S3 cards. A fix is available here: http://www.3dfxgamers.com/view.asp?PAGE=V2drivers I'm not sure if it will cure your particular problem.

To my knowledge, Q3T, or the upcoming Q3A, does not use DX of any flavor, in any way (corrections welcome). What will make for a better Q3T on your machine is an improved implementation of SMP support. Although it currently works, it isn't optimized...yet. You should simply make sure that all your device drivers support SMP, then you'll have all the fun.