Wolf87

Check all Bios settings. The 15-16 Megabytes memoty hole must be disabled to avoid crashes in Windows 2000.

DVD playback uses an overlay. Any graphic processing power granted to high resolution (more than 1024x768) is simply lost to the DVD. The same applies to color depth. The screen comes out true color even if the graphic card is set a 4, 8 or 16 bit color. 800x600 at 16 bit is probably best. All DVD playback is 24 bit true color through sharing of color samples on 4 pixels transferred to an overlay inserted in the analog VGA signal downstream from graphic hardware through pixel replacement called colorkey. Check paragraphs 3.4, 4.1, 4.4 and 4.6 in DVD FAQ, June 22, 2001: http://dvddemystified.com/dvdfaq.html#3.5 I found Power DVD 3.0 the most unsatisfactory DVD program for Windows 2000. I have full versions from four different sources (coming with Sony DVD, Hercules Geforce 3, etc.) and they are all worthless. Mostly they have been optimized to install on Windows 98 & Millenium. The setup files can even terminally destroy DirectDraw capability under Windows 2000 by applying Microsoft DXTXTRA.EXE indiscriminately. Then you are left to reintall Windows 2000. Erase registry regional code registry key, the first bizarre line in HKLM, software, Microsoft, to be able to change regional code in Windows 2000 if the DVD reader is not hardware locked: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ ,x%"/ ] My conclusion: on a dual boot system, set Intervideo WinDVD under Windows 2000 and set Cyberlink PowerDVD under Windows 98 or Me.

Copy the Nero Aspi driver and copy it directly to CDRWin directory: ftp://ftp.ahead.de/wnaspi32.dll Or use ForceAspi to update a full system wide aspi layer: http://www.cyrus.troy.btinternet.co.uk/downloads.htm Ignore Adaptec Aspi warnings that apply to their aspi32.exe file. Get Adaptec Aspi Check utility to check the installed Aspi version: http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/support/driverdetail.html?filekey=aspichk.exe

Explore this site and somewhere there also is a file to enable bi-directional control in Windows 2000, with file name "w32bidie.exe": http://www.lexmark.com/drivers/index.html

A) A very simple idea is to disable all pointers and pointer options in Intellipoint Properties: -Pointer shadow; -Pointer should be none -Hide pointer; -Pointer move to selection Many motherboards used to exhibit sound and graphic anomalies (jitter and mouse lock) with those options enabled until Bios upgrades came. Check mouse drivers list in device manager; it should look like: c:\winnt\system32\drivers\ipfilter.sys -file version 3.20.0484 c:\winnt\system32\drivers\mouclass.sys -file version 5.00.2139.1 c:\winnt\system32\drivers\mouhid.sys -file version 5.00.2142.1 C) In Registry, only the lines in Current Control Set have to be dealt with, but only after the necessary preliminary backup: 1) Try changing the PNP parameters "QueueSize" and "SynchIn100ns": [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\*PNP0F03\1_0_21_0_31_0\Device Parameters] "Migrated"=dword:00000001 "EnableWheelDetection"=dword:00000002 "MouseDataQueueSize"=dword:00000064 "MouseResolution"=dword:00000003 "MouseSynchIn100ns"=dword:01312d00 "SampleRate"=dword:00000064 "WheelDetectionTimeout"=dword:000005dc "MouseInitializePolled"=dword:00000000 2) Try changing the Mouclass parameter "QueueSize" here too: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Mouclass\Parameters] "ConnectMultiplePorts"=dword:00000000 "MaximumPortsServiced"=dword:00000003 "MouseDataQueueSize"=dword:00000064 "PointerDeviceBaseName"="PointerClass" 3) Try changing this mouhid parameter Dword "PointerAsAbsolute" to 1: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\mouhid\Parameters] "TreatAbsolutePointerAsAbsolute"=dword:00000000 D) Improve responsiveness of the OS: Enable this to avoid OS processes paging to HD & change Dword to 1 [HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Control/Session Manager/Memory Management]: "DisableExecutivePaging" "IOPageLockLimit" change it to 1048576 Decimal. E) Enable mouse priority threading & CPU allocation First right click My computer, Advanced, Performance options, select background services to enable use of priority levels. Then right click taskbar, TaskManager, Processes. From the Menu choose View, Columns, enable Base Priority & increase pointer.exe. Of course, increasing performance has meaning and effect only when the system already functions properly. Allocating hardware resources may still help.

The game Unreal Tournament plays much better with OpenGL.

I do not have any MSI motherboard. Irq 12 is the standard Irq for polling of PS/2 mouse device. If possible do not allocate other devices to Irq 12. USB simply needs one Irq and 5 is irrelevant and OK. http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/...SRCH&SPR=IM Some ideas: 1) You could reinstall without ACPI. Push F5 and F6 right at the beginning of Windows 2K installation. Choose Standard PC and install the controller driver when required. ACPI may create those anomalies. 2) Start, Run, Regedit and make a Registry backup. Then modify those registry entries to increase mouse ring buffer in: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\msi8042\Parameters MouseDataQueueSize - Increase this number; decimal 100 may be doubled. MouseSynchIn100ns - Increase this number; 20,000,000 = 2 seconds. 3) Put your keyboard on USB. Many keyboard have both PS/2 and USB plugs but the drivers work correctly only for USB. Since mouse and keyboard use common resources that impedes mouse functioning. So 2) and 3) are easy to check but very probably 1) is the solution.

I do not have that motherboard but these ideas may help: Check for BIOS lines related to the mouse. Sometimes a line in PCI configuration allows allocation of interrupt 12 to other devices. Do not allow that even if it refers only to PS/2 functions. Try Via 4-in1 2.9 because of improved stability with less bugs. Try disabling any other USB device while you test the mouse and try switching the mouse in any alternate USB port (reinstall drivers). The Intellimouse driver sometimes needs to be removed and reinstalled at least 2 times before working correctly. If you decide to replace board, take care to choose another brand name with a different chipset.

Move all shortcuts from within All Users, Start Menu, Programs to yourself (main user) folder, Start Menu, Programs. Then right-click taskbar, choose Properties, Advanced, Re-sort.

VGARTD.VXD was created as a patch to the dynamic memory manager in Windows 95, to allow this new memory type. Executing textures from main memory is a feature supported by Windows 95 with DirectX* 5.0. http://support.intel.com/support/technologies/graphics/agp/lk_issues.htm This memory type is supported without VGARTD.VXD in Windows 98 and Windows 2000: the format of the GART is unspecified and left to the graphic card hardware designer. To see data structures such as texture maps as a contiguous block, AGP hardware is equipped with core logic to translate addresses through a memory-based graphics address remapping table, or GART. This address remapping applies only to a single, programmable range of the system physical address space designated as memory aperture by the Bios. Windows 2000 has nothing to do with that. Perhaps you refer to the fact that any memory aperture fixed at 16 Megs or less disables the AGP and lets the graphic card operate just as on a PCI bus but with more speed.

Since Blue Shift brings graphic improvements maybe DirectX 8.1 Beta would help for D3D. It fixed Kyro 1 et 2 problems, improved high precision textures et patched quadratic interpolation. Many minor bug fixes also improve speed: http://www.clubic.com/t/gen/fl341.html

Microsoft held by Appeal Court to be a monopoly wielding anti-competitive and illegal tools and activities. The first Judge's public statements outside of the courtroom gave rise to an appearance of partiality and although no evidence of actual bias was found the judicial process appeared tainted. Remedies shall be granted on a per se basis for specific violations after a hearing by a new judge not giving rise to suspicion of bias. http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/06/28/microsoft_file/decision.pdf Extracts from text of the Judgement found here: http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/06/28/microsoft_file/decision.pdf "After carefully considering the voluminous record on appeal —including the District Court’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, the testimony and exhibits submitted at trial, the parties’ briefs, and the oral arguments before this court—we find that some but not all of Microsoft’s liability challenges have merit. Accordingly, we affirm in part and reverse in part the District Court’s judgment that Microsoft violated § 2 of the Sherman Act by employing anticompetitive means to maintain a monopoly in the operating system market; we reverse the District Court’s determination that Microsoft violated § 2 of the Sherman Act by illegally attempting to monopolize the internet browser market; and we remand the District Court’s finding that Microsoft violated § 1 of the Sherman Act by unlawfully tying its browser to its operating system. Our judgment extends to the District Court’s findings with respect to the state law counterparts of the plaintiffs’ Sherman Act claims. We also find merit in Microsoft’s challenge to the Final Judgment embracing the District Court’s remedial order. There are several reasons supporting this conclusion. First, the District Court’s Final Judgment rests on a number of liability determinations that do not survive appellate review; therefore, the remedial order as currently fashioned cannot stand. Furthermore, we would vacate and remand the remedial order even were we to uphold the District Court’s liability determinations in their entirety, because the District Court failed to hold an evidentiary hearing to address remedies- specific factual disputes. Finally, we vacate the Final Judgment on remedies, because the trial judge engaged in impermissible ex parte contacts by holding secret interviews with members of the media and made numerous offensive comments about Microsoft officials in public statements outside of the courtroom, giving rise to an appearance of partiality. Although we find no evidence of actual bias, we hold that the actions of the trial judge seriously tainted the proceedings before the District Court and called into question the integrity of the judicial process. We are therefore constrained to vacate the Final Judgment on remedies, remand the case for reconsideration of the remedial order, and require that the case be assigned to a different trial judge on remand. We believe that this disposition will be adequate to cure the cited improprieties. In sum, for reasons more fully explained below, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand in part the District Court’s judgment assessing liability. We vacate in full the Final Judgment embodying the remedial order and remand the case to a different trial judge for further proceedings consistent with this opinion."

The appeals court ruled that Judge Jackson improperly conducted himself in the case, leaving himself open to the appearance he was biased against Microsoft: "We vacate the judgment on remedies, because the trial judge engaged in impermissible ex parte contacts by holding secret interviews with members of the media and made numerous offensive comments about Microsoft officials in public statements outside of the courtroom, giving rise to an appearance of partiality," The Appeals Court's ruling questioned the partiality of Thomas Penfield Jackson so his final judgment is vacated in full and case is remanded to a new judge. Back to square one. Read full Judgment text here: http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/06/28/microsoft_file/decision.pdf

I also found it creates some instability and gives little or no improvement. Better to disable management counters with program exctrlst_setup.exe and try the memory tips from Ars Technica site.

To which opinion I heartily subscribe.

A week with ACPI revealed three new concerns: -occasional loss of control of mouse and keyboard with selection tab moving around; -occasional throwback to desktop in games while music plays on; -severe loss of stability when memory is fixed at Cas 2 in Bios. ACPI at least helped to efficiently reorganize the 5 USB. Coming back to Standard PC solved all the problems and further grants full computer stability with the ram fixed at 2-2-2 in Bios which shows ACPI exacts a price in computer clock cycles and stability.

Notetab creates the basic autorun.inf file. A text file with *.inf. The content is [autorun] plus reference to some executable and some icon on the CD. See the content of the Descent 3 CD-ROM autorun.inf: [autorun] open=Descent3AutoRun.exe icon=Descent3AutoRun.ico Windows 2000 will recognize it if this Dword is active in Registry: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Cdrom] "Autorun"=dword:00000001

Windows 2000 out of the box Aspi layer is incomplete. The 4.60 file is part of a generic Aspi layer. Get the program Force Aspi here and install: http://www.cyrus.troy.btinternet.co.uk/downloads.htm

On checking those three toolkits only the first one, Windows 2000 ACT 1.1, creates valid registry files for the game Heavy Gear 2. The key fixes: -for DirectX 6.1 "file version info lie" -for Windows 95 "Windows 95 info lie".

Sorry, I tried the W2K ACT on Heavy Gear 2 and just found out about the bad link in the previous post. No need to wait for July Webcast. First get QfixApp from Application Compatibility Toolkit. As you correctly remarked, Microsoft hides those goodies: 1- Get Windows 2000 Application Compatibility Toolkit 1.1 here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/defa...ompositedoc.xml but read the notice "The Windows 2000 Application Compatibility Toolkit version 1.1 is incompatible with Windows 2000 Service Pack 2. An updated toolkit will be released soon." This is not quite true since I did not find problems after first right clicking Apcompat.inf, in folder \WINNT\ServicePackFiles\i386 containing the installed Service Pack 2, and choosing Install. Then proceed to install Windows 2K ACT 1.1. Through Start Menu go to Programs, Application Compatibility Toolkit, QFixApp which opens up a Program Window. Choose in insertion line at top the program file Heavy Gear 2.exe Mark two items: Force Version Info Lie (DirectX success 6.1 return) and Windows 95 Info Lie (Windows 95 success return). Click advanced tab and a window opens on the right. Clik on bottom to make a Reg Fix. Go to C:\WINNT\AppPatch folder and click on HeavyGear2.reg. Start Heavy Gear 2 with RunHG2.exe. It will play normally. 2.- Get Windows XP Beta 2 Application Compatibility Toolkit here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads/defa...ompositedoc.xml 3.- Get DosFreak's tweaked Windows XP (Whistler) Application Compatibility Toolkit at www.freedrive.com with login: Ntcompatible1 and password: Ntcompatible1. Get both the *.msi and Apphelp files.

Microsoft Windows 2000 Application Compatibility Toolkit 1.1 is here: http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesk...amp;SPR=WIN2000 Check the Webcast on ACT and QFixApp, July 24, 2001 by Brian Dowds: http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesk...amp;SPR=WIN2000 Check previous post on this page by DosFreak for Whistler Application Compatibility Toolkit 2.0.

These few preliminary steps can ease SP2 installation: Remove all mouse configuration and software (Mouseware, Intellimouse). Choose debugging "none" in both Startup and recovery (right click My Computer, Advanced tab) and in DirectX Control Panel and Diagnostic. Upgrade to DirectX 8.1. Move to VGA by uninstalling Video drivers. No overclocking and check your ram timings as standard in the Bios. Install SP2 and retrace steps.

The Nero wnaspi32.dll is best installed and kept only in the Nero folder and while the 4 generic Aspi layer files reside in the Winnt system folders. Check if you have the Nero version for Windows 2000.

It is not clear that the Santa Cruz is the responsible party to those throw back to desktop (like in Shogun Total War even with 12.41 Detonators) but it remains the prime suspect. Pushing the hardware acceleration tab to the left creates more problems than it solves with DirectSound 3D and EAX 2. Turtle Beach have delivered efficient drivers in the past and the next drivers set should resolve any problems with DirectX 8 before Whistler goes on market. Now Via has bugs and problems with SB and SC but my computer is Intel. ACPI causes slowdowns and may be involved. It resolves annoyances like SWFF2 now working in Tachyon the Fringe and occasional USB mouse lockups after installing Lexmark USB printer. But it all might come from the known unresolved bugs in Nvidia nv_disp.dll driver file. Nvidia promised a patch on June 22, 2001. Baldur's Gate 2 presented sound problems with Santa Cruz but their new patch for Windows 2000 solves those. I consider the Santa Cruz a superior gaming alternative to SBL and it also includes a 5.1 hardware decoder making it preferable for DVD.

This used to be the procedure as indicated by DosFreak: "Heavy Gear 2 Use QfixApp on Heavy Gear 2.exe and click "Win95VersionLie.dll" Click the "Advanced" tab. Then click "Create attributes file". Then go to the AppPatch folder in the Windows folder and click on Heavy Gear 2.reg Now all you have to do is run the game like normal from the Shortcut! Reinstall this .reg if you reinstall windows!" This worked for me using the Windows 2000 Application Compatibility Toolkit on Windows 2000 SP1 but it did not work using Whistler ACT 2.0 on Windows 2000 SP2. Any help to resolve this matter would be greatly appreciated.