Brian Frank

Just get the latest from Highpoint for the HPT366 controller. I've run that setup, and my dad still does, and it works. DO NOT install the Intel ide drivers and the Highpoint controller drivers at the same time. The most recent BIOS version for the motherboard is the TH bios version, for the motherboard only! At least that was the case a month or so ago...

You need the udf.sys update for EZ CD Creator. They have the specific download on Roxio's website for it. Also, having the modded BIOS could cause problems. I had a BSOD with the udf.sys before, but not with Sandra. The new udf.sys file fixed things until I got the 1007 BIOS for my Asus A7V, of course this doesn't help you right now, but at least there is a permantnent fix for it.

That udf.sys file just needs to be updated/reinstalled. There is a specific file for that one from Roxio/Adaptec. Utimately the fix came from going to the 1007 bios on my Asus A7V motherboard, but that won't help you if you don't have one. Getting the udf.sys update fixed things for me when I had that popping up, although it wasn't with Sandra.

You shouldn't need to get any drivers for it in Win2k. All you need is burning software, like Easy CD Creator or Nero.

However, Linux can read FAT32. That's nice so that you can keep some files on the Windows partition and use them in Linux w/o having to put the same data on two partitons.

Look under the video menu, wherever that is in the game. I don't have it so I can't say for sure where you could find it.

Win2k will disregard the ACPI settings in BIOS. I really suggest you leave ACPI alone, as everytime I've messed around with it, I had to reinstall Win2k.

Also, right after your done installing Win2k, install the Via 4-in-1's first thing. Then go ahead and install the other stuff.

If it has drivers for Windows NT, you could try to install those. Not saying it'll work, but it's worth a shot.

The evian.sys file is only with the NT/2k drivers for the Promise FastTrack100 with RAID. The normal Promise ATA100 controllers w/o RAID do not have this file. I don't know what it's supposed to do, but it just was screwing things up. All I had to do was start Sandra and then exit out and it would BSOD, and it was the only program that would do anything like this. As far as things go, it's running smoothly with the overclock. I didn't have to up the voltage too much, just 0.1 volts from the default voltage keeps it running smoothly. It runs anything without crashing or lock-ups so far as I can tell. Unreal Tournament and Serious Sam run without problems, though the Voodoo 3 is getting a bit long in the tooth for Serious Sam.

I'll make a copy of my games for my other machine, as I see no good reason to buy two copies of the same software. Of course, you'll understand why I despise the XP activation. I have gotten a leagal copy of Office 2k for cheap student discounts ($10USD, NO KIDDING!)and hopefully I can snag Win2k so I don't have to use my dad's copy anymore. Looking at piracy as a whole, there are the "pirates" and the software owners. Like any owner, the software owners don't appreciate having there things taken without asking, and especially if they are losing profit. I would be pretty pissed myself if someone stole my stuff and then sold it to someone else, or even gave it away, that's still my stuff, not his. I do wish that this product activation would not restrict the use to one pc; I was thinking 2 or 3 max. Some software is really pricy, especially, as pointed out before, Windows. I'm sorry, but MS does not need to release an OS every year. Why? There really is no overwhelming threat to Windows on the home desktop, unless you count the Mac, but that is really harmless. Linux is cool, but I don't see it being the home desktop OS for the foreseeable future, unless some massive changes are put up. Of course it's not just Windows either that's expensive, a lot of software is expensive, some of it, like Photoshop, are deserving of the expense, but I really question it when programs cost an arm and a leg. Software vendors are well within their rights to go after pirates, so long as the legitimate customers don't get bit by the policy. I go to the local stores and get my software, so I have no problems with piracy.

I've heard of SBLive! cards causing problems. You may try to uninstall the SBLiveware and drivers and the card itself. Then see if it does the same thing. This is just a guess, as I don't own a SBLive! card. Another thing I though of is the possiblity of it being an issue if you have a Via-based motherboard. In that case, getting the latest drivers should help. Also, if you switched motherboards along with the new PIII, that could easily be the root of your problem. The fix for that is a clean install. It looks like you've got a dual boot machine with ME/2k. It would be helpful to have all the partitions as FAT32 and not a FAT32/NTFS combination. I'm not saying that's a problem, but it's worth investigating. On the BSOD, can you see it list any file as a culprit. I.e. .sys files?

To add to what CUViper said, one end is blue and should be plugged into the motherboard IDE connector, and the other end into the drive. Not saying your ignorant, but just checking for something as minor as that, because I've done plenty of stupid stuff with cables before that ended up being a Duh!

The only game that I've had anything remotely like that is HL and all games off of it: In D3D, everytime I'd exit a game, the screen would go black, no freezing at all, I just couldn't see anything, so I had to set it to Open GL. That's the only thing I can think of, although I can't guarantee it applies.

Hey, thanx, PsychoSword!

Man, am I glad I don't own a SBLive! card...

It depends if you just want a soundcard or a whole bunch of extras. The Game Theater XP has an outside box that everything is connected to, whereas the other cards have the connections on the card itself. I'm not really to up on the SBLive! issues, since I don't own one, but I believe there is a patch out for the Via 686B southbridge with newer Via-based boards, and if I'm thinking correctly the patch is included in the latest Via 4-in-1's (4.3x) I don't have any of the mention cards: the Guillemot Maxi Sound Fortissimo. Never had an issue with the card working right. On both WinME and Win2k, there were drivers for the Yamaha sound engine with the OS. There are drivers for it, but I just haven't installed them and it works fine with out them. Of course, make sure you have good speakers to go with that soundcard.

I would look into trying out some different drivers, specifically the nVidia reference drivers. There are quite a few leaked ones, so pick some and try them out. You will need to look at the 12.xx Detonator drivers as they are the only ones that support the MX400.

I'll try that, Cardinal. Thanx

Yeah, I agree with clutch. I tried to switch Win2k from an ACPI system, but it didn't work. The IRQ sharing does not pose a problem really. I have a ton of stuff on the same IRQ, but I have had no problems with it. If it's not causing hardware problems for a cold hard fact on your system, leave the IRQs alone, unless you want to drive yourself nuts. Seriously, if you want to have that much RAM, Win2k will make better use of it. I've also heard Win9x cannot handle more than 512MB without a problem, and that may be pushing your system. The Asus card: If you don't have the Deluxe version, go with the Nvidia reference drivers. I've found that the manufacturer's driver's screw stuff up. I'd get BSOD's after exiting a game due to the drivers it came with. I got the reference drivers and everything worked fine. The 12.00's are supposed to be pretty good, but try some out and see what you like.

For the most part the KII is an excellent value for the price. And unlike ATI they don't seem to have a problem writing drivers for it. I'd have to do some more research, but it looks pretty cool.

Did you get any formatting software with the drive? You should be able to format it with the software. You may need a Win98 startup disk, but that's it. I'm not familiar with IBM drives, and have never had or used one. Have you tried formatting it from within My Computer?

Oops. I meant boot off the Win2k cd, just like you would to install it, but you should see the option to repair a Win2k installation. You will have the option to use an ERD (Emergency Repair Disk) but you won't need it for this at all. Of course do this after the WinME install is completed and after you've booted into it so you can use it. If you've got a second hard drive, just install ME on that and then run the repair option off the Win2k CD. It's not necessary to put ME on a primary partition, though. Of course, that doesn't hurt anything. Win2k has a boot loader, which I like better than Boot Magic, but that's just me. Once you've run the repair option, you will have your choice of Win2k and WinME (it may say just Microsoft Windows for it though) with the default booting OS as Win2k and 30 seconds till it boots to it, unless any key is hit.

NTFS might, but not FAT32. I have my two drives on my main rig divided up like this: 20.4GB---C:Win2k,4.65GB; E:Games,8.83GB; F:Acid (a music program)3.61GB; G:Extra,1.94GB; 15GB---D:Swap,954MB; H:Mp3s,4.64GB; I:Video 8.31GB. C: is the only drive I use NTFS, and that seems to make the rest of the system more reliable, even though it is FAT32. I do it this way to keep things in order. It is recommended that you have Windows on it's own partition with the swap file, or give the swap file it's own partition, and then partition the rest of the drive or leave it as is. That way, if Windows gets screwed up, all youre data is safe. Also, take into consideration how critical the data is on the pc's. If it needs to be safeguarded, make both drives NTFS for security purposes.

Get this patch here: http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/athlon-duron/amd_win2k_patch.html That should clear things up.