ConQueso

I'll play the demo once it's out, but I'm not paying $50 for the game. Think I'll wait until it's about a third of that price. For those that have finished Doom3 and wish to crap there pants some more, System Shock 2 was ranked the Scarriest PC Game Ever Made (pre-doom3 that is, although I'm not so conviced D3 will be scarrier). The hardest part is finding a copy. Best bet is Ebay or a bargain bin that's been frequented by people who don't realize how good a game SS2 is. If you get a copy, the install may require a "-LGNTFORCE" switch to force the install. The game will need the patch, and to make the enemies look a lot better, try the Rebirth Mod. So why am I plugging a 5 year old game? Because it's that good. Even before the rebirth mod. It's a classic, one of the best games ever made, and sadly many gamers know little about it, let alone have played it. It was re-released once by EA, although now the rights to it are divided so another rerelease or (sadly) a sequel are unlikely. Oh, and don't blame the mod creator for not up[censored] his site in over a year. He got hired on to do Arx Fatalis 2 using the Half-Life 2 engine, so he's a little busy.

Many applications only put out to stereo even if you have 5.1 enabled. If you wish to see if your center speaker works in a game, try it out there, provided the game can make use of 5.1 surround. If you don't have such a game, you could download a demo of a game with such surround capabilities, or even get Army Ops (which isn't a demo, but a full game, and a good one at that) and try it out. Some surround speakers have a mode (Logitech calls it "Matrix" ) that will force a mix of the left and right channels to the center. Perhaps your speakers have this. Or, there might be an option in your soundcards control panel. Either way, this isn't 5.1 discrete channels, but if the app isn't putting out an separate signal to the center channel, than it's got to be faked someway if the center is to put out sound. Do you have a version of PowerDVD that has 5.1 surround available? If so, have you checked the preferences in PowerDVD to have 5.1 activated? I don't know much about winamp. Not sure if it uses center or not.

I've tried altering (silencing via sound recorder in accessories) 2 wav sound files (a very common looping sound file that is rather uncessessary sound-cue wise) so that I could play with windows media player playing music in the background, while still hearing the rest of the games audio. Problem is, the game doesn't load after doing this, so it seems that it checks for any changes, or perhaps just can't handle them. I've tried silencing both the 11 and 22k versions of these 2 sounds but that didn't work either. Now, this of course isn't a big deal, but if you happen to have an idea, or just would like to help out for the sake of a challenge, feel free. Fast music would go so well with this game with the main engine sound loop gone. The wav files appear to be all of the games sound effects (short of music) and are in there own wav directory.

Gil, are you using the speaker test mode to listen for the center channel or a 5.1 application with 5.1 enabled? Oimi, might want to try running the latest driver ( http://us.creative.com/support/downloads/ ) installer executable file instead of manually up[censored] the files through the device manager. Might also want to uninstall the old software first through start > settings > control panel > Add/Remove software. Be sure to carefully read the information about each file before downloading. Have you changed any of the BIOS settings regarding PCI?

Having problems with Pod Racer. Have the new executable (XP solid color screen bug fix). For some reason, the only way (with a nostromo n45 and a logitech Formula GP) to get turbo to function, is to bind nose down (must be held down for turbo charge option) to an axis. Then it works fine. Even if accelerate and nose down are bound to the same axis. But as soon as I try to bind it to a key, the charge indicator just flashes like the button is on turbo. Holding down a key does the same thing. I've tried uninstalling the old n45 and GP drivers and installing the latest, nada. Changing the Bios settings for the keyboard, nada. Changing the in XP keyboard settings to slow and slow repeat, nada. Uninstalling the IntelliType Drivers, nada. Disabling any keyboards that might be joystick-virtual, nada. Checking that game is running in normal CPU priority, it was. Slowing it down, nada. For some reason it appears that any button be it key or joystick, is out of wack in some turbo mode (judging by the extremely fast menu highlight toggles and flashing on and off turbo charge tach thing. Anyone have any suggestions?

OK, so I gave up on trying to fix it momentarily, and just decided to try it with the nose down set to an axis. So I copied my character from my old install over (that had the same problem) (for all the parts and qualifications) and noticed when going through the menus that, whadaya know--the keyboard isn't making going through the menu selections at a billionth of a second each. So I try out the steering wheel button hoping for the same result, and it works. I'm fairly certain that any keyboard/joystick change I made last I'd tested afterword. So I don't really know what did it. But, hey, it works! I just hope it doesn't go back. BTW, keyboard or gamepad wise, racer isn't that great of a game. But with a steering wheel and a fully upgraded (best parts only available in junkyard) and fully repaired parts, the speed really is a kick. The demo doesn't really show just how fast the game gets. (it also doesn't accept the bug fix files from lucasarts, so those with 2000/XP will likely have problems with the demo). The AI is only a threat in a couple of the more difficult courses, but if you like to try to better your times (game keeps track of best 3 lap race times and best lap time) or race against a friend's time, it can be great competition. From what I've heard, it's much faster on PC than console, and the arcade version seemed slower as well. Just be sure to uncheck the taunts unless you want to hear Anakin's and the other characters annoying sayings. The graphics and 16bit textures don't really stand up to games today, but this hardly matters as they all end up being a blur anyways when traveling above mach 1. Nor should it be pretty, as with a game that runs this fast, you absolutely will not want any drop in framerates just so a rock you see for one second looks prettier. I don't suggest getting a steering wheel for the game, but if you have a steering wheel, the game is well worth the $10. Has anyone else here played Racer with a steering wheel? What do you think?

I'm a HUGE SS2 fan. It's still my favorite single-player FPS game. You might want to consider using the Rebirth mod. Screenshots and more can be found in the link. [edit] Whoah, didn't realize the thread was so old at first... Wonder why it even came up as a link... Oh well. Still a good mod. [/edit]

Went to do a normal error check from windows XP home edition, just installed today, right clicked c drive > properties > tools > error check > checked both boxes > OKed checkdisk on reboot. when it rebooted it said it cannot access the volume. I tried disabling viruscheck in BIOS and a couple other things, it didn't help. Now I would like to get it to run sucessfully or at least stop trying. So far I've found these but the first doesn't help, and the second doesn't seem to apply, though I'm not certain. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;823439 http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=235771 It doesn't give me the exact error listed in the top link, but it very similar. Turns out I cannot boot to safe mod or command prompt. Eventually, the HD light stays on, but nothing happens, even after waiting a while. Any ideas? Everthing seems to work fine in Windows XP home on when it gets there, and it's fresh off a new formatted reinstall of XP home. Boot sector was even scanned with latest NAV 2004 with updates, before and after reformat, and shows no viruses. Will run a complete scan, though I'm doubting the previous viruses lingered. Any ideas?

Hmmm... Not sure about the HD... Just (literally) found some new info and am trying to put it all together. http://search.microsoft.com/search/resul...+chkdsk&s=1 I don't think the logs have been saying "Windows has made corrections to the file system." or "Windows found problems with the file system." So is this just simple housecleaning?

Here's the pixel glitch, back again... http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showthread.php?p=1511268#post1511268 The old cable seems to help, but it won't do 3 no prob scndsks in a row like on the alt HW. ;(

1) Originally it was using an UDMA cable. When I threw it into my spare parts computer, it was using a standard IDE cable. It currently still is, and will scndsk a few times using it immediately after OS install (as done on the spare parts rig). After I do that, I'll probably test it in the same (original) computer, but using a different UDMA cable. 2) I ran the "no problems" chkdsk scans on the alternate HW with only the OS installation, no updates, no NAV etc. (not even SP1). I'll run the next set of scans under the software conditions. Right now I'm trying to figure out the the HW situation so I can return the computer to my friend. The windows disk can be used if need be for a scndsk. So I'm putting the NAV situation on the back burner. 3) I'll have to check that later, as I'm reformatting the HD again ATM.

OK, I've done a fresh install after a quick zero out by the samsung utility on different hardware. The first chkdsk was more of the same, Cleaning up of minor inconsitancies on the drive. Then the next 3 all had no problems: "Windows has checked the file system and found no problems." Next, I put it back, but use the same cable as is attached to it now. Hopefully it's the cable and not the mobo.

Thanks. I think I'm going to put this HD in my spare computer, reinstall the OS on it and run a chkdsk on the separate hardware. Will report the results later.

Recently reinstalled a friends OS and updated it all and whatnot (Since I have DSL and know computers more than she). Got everything updated, latest drivers, latest bios and latest critical updates and whatnot. Her HD has some viruses, so I zeroed out the HD even though the boot sector hadn't been pegged by NAV as infected. Everything works fine, and then I install NAV 2004. Then, things still work fine, unless I chose to do a chkdsk (system drive) on reboot, or a safe mode launch. Can anyone who has NAV2004 duplicate this problem? If you try to duplicate the problem (do so at your own risk) I'd suggest trying the safe mode bit, as the chkdsk of the system drive results in chkdsk trying and failing on each boot. (and CtrlAltDel didn't reboot when going for safe mode, had to use reset button) I litterally did a chkdsk (ran fine) then on next boot installed NAV, then rebooted and live-updated until it was completely up to date. Then did another scndsk, and it failed. As did attempts at safe mod afterword. A samsung disk utility can't seem to find any errors with the drive in three passes. The drive is 2 years old. Trying to dig in symantec knowledge base about it... I know you can chkdsk from the recover console, but then you've got to get out your windows disk and what about safe mode? [Edited by ConQueso on 2004-06-22 00:48:34] [Edited by ConQueso on 2004-06-22 00:50:54]

Well. I think the BIOS is doing better. I'm going to run the Samnsung test again. So far the drive has passed once. I'm not certain how thorough it is either, I'll time it to give a rough estimate. All tests but the surface scan don't take very long. I think there is only a breif read/write test... Found out it's the NAV 2004 softare that seems to be causing the chkdsk boot problems. As I fully updated the system without it, did a chkdsk, installed NAV, updated it, ran a chkdsk, and have the same problem back. It also is still preventing safe mode. NAV also seems to have caused this. Haven't found much about this from the Symantec knowledge base or Google...

Did BIOS flash to latest version. Still wondering about the "Cleaning up 19 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9", is this a bad thing or just NTFS drive maintenance that should be expected? Exactly how bad of a thing is it for checkdisk to report these? Digging up a log from a scan on one of my computers revealed a log devoid of "Cleaning up 19 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9"-like entries, and a message saying something like "Windows found no errors on this drive" immediately under "free space verification is complete. Couldn't get anywhere with the 1001 bit, but it was the same number on the above mentioned log as well... Currently running a samsung drive test utility.

(CHKDSK EventLog) Originally posted by ConQueso: Quote: Code: Event Type: InformationEvent Source: WinlogonEvent Category: NoneEvent ID: 1001Date: 6/19/2004Time: 12:50:53 PMUser: N/AComputer: COMPUTERDescription:Checking file system on D:The type of the file system is NTFS.A disk check has been scheduled.Windows will now check the disk. Cleaning up minor inconsistencies on the drive.Cleaning up 19 unused index entries from index $SII of file 0x9.Cleaning up 19 unused index entries from index $SDH of file 0x9.Cleaning up 19 unused security descriptors.CHKDSK is verifying file data (stage 4 of 5)...File data verification completed.CHKDSK is verifying free space (stage 5 of 5)...Free space verification is complete. 35005603 KB total disk space. 929104 KB in 8606 files. 2116 KB in 551 indexes. 0 KB in bad sectors. 76231 KB in use by the system. 65536 KB occupied by the log file. 33998152 KB available on disk. 4096 bytes in each allocation unit. 8751400 total allocation units on disk. 8499538 allocation units available on disk.Internal Info:e0 23 00 00 d0 23 00 00 64 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 .#...#..d(......38 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 72 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 8.......r.......48 fa 7b 00 00 00 00 00 b6 dc 52 06 00 00 00 00 H.{.......R.....8e bd 9f 00 00 00 00 00 4a 96 a1 1e 00 00 00 00 ........J.......68 8c 1f 4e 02 00 00 00 a6 4e 60 7b 02 00 00 00 h..N.....N`{....99 9e 36 00 00 00 00 00 9e 21 00 00 00 00 00 00 ..6......!......00 40 b5 38 00 00 00 00 27 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 .@.8....'.......Windows has finished checking your disk.Please wait while your computer restarts.For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp. What are the relevant statements regarding possible drive problems, and what do they mean and to what degree?

Granted, this is only listed as applying to: Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional But under "More Information" it states: Quote: The fixmbr command causes this error message to be displayed on your computer system whenever you run the command, regardless of the state of the Master Boot Record (MBR). Might this also apply to XP?!? This might explain why after "fixing" the MBR and checking it probably less then five minutes later, it still needed "fixing". ;( http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;266745

OK the manual and the readme that came with the flash say to select menu option update bios including Boot Block and ESCD. But the Flash screen clearly says Update Bios without Boot Block and ESCD. What should I do?!?

Here's the bios updates. It's looking very likely I'll update, so don't rack your brain trying to figure out if I should. I'm mearly posting them in case you or another reader are interested, since I'm going through the hassle of reading them all anyway. 101 First release. It needs to use bundled aflash.exe from 101nvm.zip to update it. 103 Fix Fan Speed error after unplugging fan connector. Set Thermal chip temperature offset for TouroughBred CPU. 104 New BIOS support XP2400+ and above. 105 Enhance DDR module compatibility. 106 Support new CPUs. Please refer to our website at: http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx 107 Support new CPUs. Please refer to our website at: http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Originally posted by AlecStaar:Either I overlooked you had done a bad flash, or you did not mention it... Does not matter either way! Sorry for being vague. I meant years ago on a completely different system. (I would've mentioned that if it were this system as it could relate, but you don't know what I would or wouldn't mention of course, so anyway.... ) As far as the bios goes, I'm starting to think it's the main problem as well. With the new battery the bios still can't make up it's mind as far as quick posts or slow posts. Am currently "zeroing out" the entire HD. Will likely flash the BIOS when that's done. Will try to report back soon after I have something new to report.

Originally posted by AlecStaar:P.S.=> At the software level, you look "SOL" (outta luck politically correct term lol)... next, look over your mobo tech specs, & see if there is a BIOS update! It may correct for it since you think this is the ORIGINAL bios level revision still... OEM of that mobo may have fixed it to interact with windows better! Samsung tools are not a bad idea either... GOOD LUCK MAN! apk Ya, that's why I asked earlier about the BIOS flash. After getting burned on a bad flash, I try to put that off until a last resort. I'll probably look through the BIOS update fixes if the HD utility does a lengthy test. If I know I have to, I definatly will. If it's less then a 'probably need to' than I'll put it off to a last resort. Question: Is a Clear CMOS in effect done when the BIOS is updated, or is that an exclusive process? I was thinking the flash essentially did a clear, but I'm not certain.

The link was the first link of the thread. If you looked at it, you mighta thought, "Well, that doesn't help much" and forgot about it. I don't think this forum allows image posts, but I've started a thread at beyondunreal about just the CMOS clear. If you'd like to have an up close look at the 1.00 mobo from manual, and a macro shot of my 1.03 mobo, here is the link. http://forums.beyondunreal.com/showthread.php?p=1505467 Still working on the HD utility (put it on hold for a few to make the image in link)

OK, am in the process of getting a samsung HD utility. I'll report back with the results soon after I get them.

OK, just so I don't forget stuff, I'm going to post when I think of something. I'm not trying to spam or bump the list, but I just figure it's easier for you to know what you have and haven't already read if you don't have to check old posts for new edits. The BIOS version I'm pretty certain is the one that came with the mobo originally. If it wasn't, it was updated withing months of putting the system together, meaning over a year ago easily. I'm reinstalling because of the viruses, just to clean things up, and also I put in a CD-R/W drive that's new to the system, it uses the drivers in windows, haven't forced any new drivers on it. Before first reformat, it installed and burned 1 cd adequately, using nero 5.5.