Posts by Catweazle

cheese, if that's an Asus P4C800E Deluxe Gold, motherboard you're looking at, then it's damned expensive!

The ABit IC7 Max3 is just as well featured, quite a bit cheaper, and is reported by many people to overclock better.

regret. Suddenly I

Go the 9800 Pro. The 9600XT is pretty ordinary in comparison.

Which motherboard? You've mentioned manufacturer and chipset, but what's the model number?

It's a pretty good rig, matey, but it depends what you consider to be l33t ? The rig's gonna be fine for games for at least 18 months to come, if that's what you mean!

There's no need to change Operating Systems. Windows can be used with other Web browsers than Internet Explorer. Unfortunately, the only alternatives most people get to hear about are Netscape and MSN Explorer, both of which add inherent problems of their own. A browser such as Mozilla, or Opera, for example, will eliminate a lot of the problems people subject themselves to.

As a matter of fact, there's no need to stop using Internet Explorer. A small handful of sensible habits while on the Web, and problems simply won't occur.

A google search would turn up discussion papers, but at a quick glance, you'd have to put increased aggressive behaviour and impotence at the top of the list. Perhaps the two are linked? :)

Oh my! That's trying to reduce life to simple 'either/or' situations, isn't it?

Performance enhancing drugs aren't something which will magically transform a 'dud' into a 'superstar', but by enhancing strength, stamina and so on, but they will generate a better 'base' to work with. Practice is still necessary, inherent skill is still necessary, but if you gain an unfair 'edge' as a side-effect of having used such substances, then yes! Taking them has increased those factors, even if only indirectly.

nightmare -> terror

heh heh...

Thanks for the comments, oalee, and I don't disagree with a word in them!

It's a sad fact but true that people, presented with a "Do you wish to download and install......." dialogue box, feel compelled to click 'OK'. Not me mate. My immediate response is:

"Hell, no! I just bloody want what I asked for!"

My aim here is simply to generate a bit of discussion, in the hope that some people will read it and realise that prevention is always better than cure. Come on everybody, add your 2c please!

heh heh..

Sounds like you get as frustrated as I do, seeing the problems people continue to have!

http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread5013.html

I see a lot of topics posted in this forum, and in quite a number of other forums I participate in, which post 'Hijackthis' logs and end up with detailed and technical procedures to follow to rid systems of internet 'nasties'.

And I have to wonder - just what's the point to it?

Doing things the easy way is usually the best way to go, and that's what I do myself.

I keep AdAware and Spybot Search & Destroy installed on my systems. I never click on dodgy looking website buttons. I never get infested with spyware, and I never get my homepage hijacked. Those tools I've mentioned keep the systems clean, without the need to resort to registry editing, using other tools, deleting things manually or anything of the sort.

And if I inadvertantly click on something dodgy, having those programs I mentioned installed and configured correctly will almost certainly provide me with protection anyway. See crunchie's post in this topic for information about how to configure them.

Perhaps the 'Hijackthis' approach isn't the best option to take? What do others think about it?

Clean install would be my preferred option too. Anything less is risking exacerbating existing installation problems.

heh heh..

I saw an article recently on how to make them 'stick'.

This question has made me wish I remembered where I saw it, as I'd like to use it myself!

Edit: Here it is!

Revisit the site. That should make the favicon reload into the browser cache. If not, delete the Faourites entry and add it again.

When you've got them all back, download install and use FavOrg
http://www.pctip.ch/downloads/dl/18699.asp

Ooops - beaten! :lol:

Hi,

This happens because of a few reasons:

- You've 'cleaned' the hard drive, emptying your browser cache

- You've had a browser window 'crash', corrupting your 'favicons'

or a few other reasons. The best way to fix it is to delete the website's 'Favourites' entry, and then add it again.

Any Windows 2000 'gurus' here?

That process does work with Windows 98 and Windows Me, it doesn't work with Windows XP and I don't think it works with Windowss 2000. But I'm not sure about that last one :confused:

Anyway, I'd be more inclined to pop it in as slave, and copy across data files for backup before trying the process regardless of which version of Windows was being used.

Yes, a motherboard replacement is definitely classified as a 'new system' under Microsoft's License terms. You can get around it if you've purchased the OEM edition as a 'bundled' item with other internal component(s), but you need to mount a case with Microsoft's reactivation personnel to do so.

Did you reactivate your copy by telephone or by internet? Are you sure that's an OEM copy you have there? I've had others claim the same as you in the past, and it's turned out that they actually were using a copy of Windows XP Professional Corporate Edition, which doesn't contain product activation technology.

I've several OEM Windows XP Home Edition CDs here, and I've tried to make them do just what you describe. They just won't do it! In fact, changing a motherboard usually results in a system which won't even boot, as changing a motherboard represents a change to about a dozen components. That's why it's classed as a 'new system'.

Have you had to format, and after you've reinstalled everything you've had to download those damned Security updates all over again?

I'm betting you don't want to be faced with that onerous task again, and you don't have to. Microsoft has made available, free of charge, a 'Security Update CD' which contains all the security updates issued prior to October, 2003.

The updates cover Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. You'll also find a free 12 month trial version of both AntiVirus and Firewall Software included.

UK Windows users can order their copy by visiting http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-gb;securitycd

Windows users from elsewhere in the World will need to follow the links from Microsoft Worlwide http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/ to track down the order page for their own region.

Oh wow!

I'd not realised that in this day and age steroid use could be so prevalent in any major competitive sport. If comments like these are any indication of the situation there then it's an absolutely unforgivable scenario. Yes, oalee, steroid use gives you an 'edge', increasing your abilities artificially. Good grief, it doesn't matter what the professional sporting competition is, over here in Australia if you get sprung with too much cough medicine in your system you've probably just blown your career!

Damn eh! Just what is the situation there at present, WEATHER CHANNEL? Most of the articles I found were a year or two old.

eerrr.... uummmmm................

Tell them the "error code" is xxxxxxxxxxxx bad sectors! Do you have Consumer Rights legislation where you live?

sheep -> follow

stopped, reflecting upon

If you're getting lots of bad sectors, then the drive has problems and you should be getting it replaced under warranty, not attempting to 'fix' it.

It's not real hard to do an In-place upgrade, and you don't have to sit there watching!

Here's the Microsoft info:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341&Product=winxp

Why get too technical when it's not necessary?

I can't believe the answers I'm seeing here - they're rather bizarre responses to a simple question!

An 'In-place upgrade' should reset the lot. It'll activate as a new installation. All it does is reinstall Windows over the top of the existing installation, using the codes and keys of the new OEM CD. You even have to install updates again afterwards.

Edit: Yes DWard, you'll be able to re-activate. The worst you'd cop would be the need to reactivate by phone, but I doubt that would happen.

Grandparents -> Me !

but not hungry

Another couple of points as well:

If that floppy drive is an old, used one, then try a new floppy drive. Windows XP seems to be a bit 'tochy' with older floppy drives ;)

The other thing is - why do you need it?

You can install Windows XP by booting from the CD!

fistdog, you can certainly delete the \windows directory and install Windows XP, but what's the point?

It won't pick up your installed programs properly, it'll leave your 'My Documents' folder in a mess, because Windows XP uses a very different structure, and it'll leave you with a very inferior FAT32 file system!

Leaving your existing Windows installation there, and installing XP as an 'Upgrade' over the top of it is a far superior method to what you suggest.

And performing a 'Clean Install', as mentioned, is the best way of all.

You're clinging to outdated ideas, and convincing yourself that they're the 'easiest way', when in fact they're not. You don't need the DOS prompt to put XP on there easily!

If you want to load Windows XP, the absolute best way is to back up all your data, bott from your XP CD, and use the install routine to delete your existing partition, create a new one in its place, format it using the NTFS file system, and then clean install Windows XP.

The setup routine will do the lot of that for you - you don't need a boot disk at all, nor Fdisk!

A clean install is way better, because an 'upgrade install' only inherits any problems the Windows 98 installation already has! ;)

(And it will have some!)

Fidelity -> marriage

Yes, I have windows xp, the motherboard is a Biostar P4VTB, and yes, I have already tried to boot from the hard drive. Does that mean there is no hope for it as is? If I need to reinstall windows, how can I do that and still keep all of my settings and installed programs in place, and if I need to reformat the hard drive, how do I transfer my programs and settings over. And when I do reinstall windows, can I still activate it under the same security key.

You've 'fallen foul' of XP's product activation anti-piracy measures :sad:

Try an 'In Place Upgrade'. This Microsoft article describes how.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341&Product=winxp

If that doesn't resurrect it, then it's a format and clean install, and in that case your programs and settings are gone, and will have to be reinstalled. Changing a motherboard should be prepared for beforehand, not afterwards.

As long as your Windows XP is a legitimate, retail version activiation will be fine. At worst you'll have to ring Microsoft's activation centre and activate by phone.

But if you've an OEM copy, you shouldn't have upgraded. Changing a motherboard for that one is classified as a 'new system', and breaches the license agreement.

Spybot Search and Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=dowload

That'll get rid of it. The thing is a 'nasty'.

Another good 'un is Belarc Advisor http://www.belarc.com/download

I'm sure he just said he doesn't know!! Perhaps he yelled at it! :lol:

Best option would probably be to put that drive in another machine as a 'Slave Drive' and copy your data files across and burn 'em to CD for later use. You can't 'get some programs off of it' - you'll need to install those again later from CD.

And if you're getting 'stack overflow' errors even when you try to reinstall, it's time for a format, and its possibly time for a hardware check as well. Have you changed any memory modules lately? That's the first place to look.

Well golly gee, TallCool1, that post just got you to 666.

Your next comment will designate you "The Neighbour of the Beast!!"

I'd agree with modem drivers as a possible cause. But I'd check for Spyware and Malware also.

Optical mice can get the 'jitters' at times, and the only real 'cure' is to find the surface that works best to use it on. Mine works best on a wooden desktop, while others have found their optical mice to work best on a 'cleaner' surface.

If it's jumping from spot to spot as she works, check 'Mouse Properties' in case there's simply a 'Snap To..' function enabled that's causing confusion.

Otherwise, check the machine for Spyware and other malware.

Alcohol -> Restaurant

there floated a

painfully, crawling naked

You borrowed a copy off a friend! :eek: Look out in 30 days time!

But seriously, this trend towards including the installation files on a hidden partition is insidious. At the very least, a 'Recovery CD' should be provided, in case of drive failure or viral corruption.

Matter of fact, if that's Windows XP there, and you've already tried to boot up with the hard drive after changing the motherboard, you're best to format and reinstall right now!

It is possible, some of the time at least, to swap your existing Windows XP installation over to another motherboard. Trouble is, you need to make some driver changes first, boot from your Windows XP CD without letting the system start to boot from hard drive first, and then perform an 'In Place Upgrade' install.

You still need to re-activate afterwards, and if you've allowed the system to attempt booting from hard drive, forget it!

Something's toast, anyway, from the sound of it. Most likely mobo, RAM or CPU, but power supply is a possibility. You'd need to be swapping bits in and out to be sure.

That sounds a tad pessimistic, but so does your description.

Broadband -> speedy

heh heh...

That puts your birthdate at around the time my wife and I were deciding 'enough was enough' in regard to kids. We already had a houseful! :cheesy:

Is there actually any sounds or signs of activity inside the case? Is it the machine that won't start, or just Windows? Is there even a processor fan operating after you power up?

If not, try disconnecting everything possible and powering up with just processor, RAM and display card hooked up. (Hey people, anyone know the keypress to get old IBM machines to display POST info at startup? - I think it was <F1>, but I'm not sure)

Anyway, if your system seems to be showing signs of activity that it diodn't before, start connecting everything else up, one by one, and try to identify the source of problems. If it's a hardware failure, as seems the case from your description, then you gotta find which bit by trial and error, pretty much.

Not real sure about your question, mate, as I've not really followed Major League Baseball. I enjoy watching competition come Olympics, but that's about it.

On a side issue, though, do you reckon those steroids would impact favourably on hand injuries? One of my sons played competitive baseball up until he was 15 (it's played pretty much as a Winter Sport regionally in Australia) and by that time hed broken just about every bone and dislocated just about every joint in both hands!

Being a tad concerned about this, I had some serious discussion, and was told that injuries of this kind and extent are pretty common amongst baseballers.

At 15, he swapped over to Football (the real, bone-crushing 'Aussie Rules' kind) and I was pretty glad about that.

I reckon it was a 'safer' pursuit!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Go on then! I will have a response! It may not be completely on topic, but take what you get! :D

No, you played off a comma that wasn't there and threw me!

where I found

If that's Windows XP there, then a motherboard replacement should ideally be accompanied by a clean install.

:eek: :confused: