andrescasta

I?m hoping someone on here can help me with my problem, because I?m at my wits end. I have tried everything I can think of, and have not found a solution so far. When I try to install WinXP Pro from an OEM disk onto my Raptor drive, it starts the install, goes through the formatting of the drive, install all of the software, I go past the point where it asks me for the network info, and the time-zone and such. Then it reboots and this is where the problem starts. Among the problems, it cannot find the OS, or it boots up, gets into windows and reboots, continuously. I usually can boot into safe mode, but as soon as I boot into regular windows, it starts the crap all over again. I get various error messages, all indicate the install was not done correctly. (searched google) My system specs: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe BIOS 1015 AMD 3500+ Enermax EG495P dual 12v rail Sound Blaster 5.1Live (removed it to eliminate it as the problem) BFG 6800GT (only one) Samsung DVD/RW Raptor 74GB Sata WD 80GB IDE Maxtor 300GB WD 8GB IDE (yes 8 not 80) Fuji 7.6GB 1GB (512MBx2 matched pair) Corsair Memory This is what I have done so far to eliminate it as the problem: Memory ? memtest boot disk, no problems during 25 hour test, also used different memory during a different install, problem still persists WinXP CD ? used a copy (CD only, no key) from work to see if scratches on the CD could be causing the problem, problem persisted on Raptor, but installed without problems on the 8GB WD Raptor Drive ? ran WD drive test, all tests past, also wrote zeros to the drive after the nth failed install Video Card, CPU, Enermax PSU, Memory ? all work without any freezes, lock-ups or error messages when I use the 8GB drive and its copy of WinXP Pro, I also ran Prime95 stress-test for 39 hours without any problems. I thought it might be the Raptor, since I can install windows on a IDE drive and it works fine, but the WD test showed no problems. Also, if I make the raptor a slave on the system I can fill it up without any problems. I really don?t know what else it could be! Anyone have any ideas?andrescaste

In acctual physical testing against non-synthetic (3DMark is a synthetic test) the differances in non-multithreading processors is minimal at best. Comparing an AMD64 to a Dual-Core Intel is a larger differance then comparing a Turion 64 to a Pentium M. Just because a processor can handle 64bit data streams doesn't mean it's "better" for handling 32bit data streams, in some cases they handle them worse (compare a Turion 64 against a similar speed P-M Dothan running Excel scripts with embedded VB, the Turion will show signs of sluggishness first and this is from personal experiance since I have HPs, Dells, Gateways and IBMs in my household for personal testing)I'm a Dell guy, but I'm a rough and tumble nerd first; if you're wanting to play games while running multiple apps (P2P and FRAPS) in the background, go AMD all the way. If you want a system that can crunch that raw data while your background scripts post data to an access database, Intel.In the end though, really, system performance isn't completely dictated by one component (processor) but the combination of components. You could have a system with 4 CPUs, 10gig of RAM, 1TB HDD of HDDs and an NV 7800 512... but if your HDDs only spin at 4500 RPM and they are ATA100 and are not on independant channels... well needless to say that system will only crunch data as fast as that HDD can read/write over that slow channel. One must look at the WHOLE picture to choose a good system.andrescasta

Thanks , I did try lowering the Sound Acceleration using DXDiag, it still did the same thing. I think I'll try defragging my HD, since it's been ages since I last did it. Goarmy, I had to setup Q4 on my own, since for some strange reason, the game insists on putting my system at Low Quality and 640x480 (Doom 3's auto-detect configuration pegs my system at High Quality, while F.E.A.R. sets it at a combination of mid-high settings).andrescasta

Hi guys!!I've having quite a bit of a problem with Quake 4. Everytime, somebody talks our some other sound effect is sounded, the game will stutter and as you can guess by the frequency of the fire fights and talking in this game, the game stutters like mad, almost bordering on unplayable. I've tried updating my chipset and sound drivers, underclocking even using the beta Catalyst 5.10a in the hopes that this problem will go away, but to no avail. If anyone has a solution or suggestion, I'd highly appreciate it. Thanks in advance guys!!PS. I don't really think that it's an issue of my system can't play the game since I don't really have any performance problems of any sort with F.E.A.R. This ir my system:Asus P4S800-MX Mobo2.8 P4 CPU1024 PC3200 RAMSeagate Barra IV 60GiG HDWestern Digital 120GiG HDRadeon X800 Pro Graphics CardVideomate DVB-T300 TV Tuner CardAudigy PCI Sound CardWin XP Home, Fully up to date, SP2 etcandrescasta

I was hoping there would be a sticky on this topic but I could not find a thread dedicated to this. I have no idea where to start with trying to understand simply how to convert my techno mpeg videos to dvd's for friends. I've searched the internet on dvd basics and all I get is technical info that's way beyond my understanding of this subject. All I want to know is what is the process here? I want to recording on dvd+rw using my dvd drive. I tried using Roxio, Mpegtmg program, Nero, and DVDfab. None of them are able to record the files to a dvd format to my dvd+rw. Only one of them was able to drag and drop an mpeg to the disc (Roxio). It burnt, but when I try to play it my computer crashes. I also understand you must do a complete formatt of these disks too? What is the file conversion involve, what type of .xxx file and I trying to change these too? I just want my friends to be able to pop a standard dvd into their non-computer dvd player and watch it. Why does this crap have to be so complicated?? andrescasta

Hello all,My network is fine and dandy, however our router is a Linksys 4-port with a built in firewall. Normally this wouldnt be an issue, however both me and my brother constantly fight over the DMZ Host because we both download frequently when we're both on. For normal downloads and IRC it doesnt matter, but for BitTorrent it matters very much because even with port filters unless you're outside of the internal firewall (via DMZ Host) you can only see and recieve from 1/8 of the "peers and seeds" you'd get from being the DMZ Host. Needless to say, the one outside the firewall gets good speeds the one not outside gets low speeds.The "fighting" has come to a climax with him physically rerouting outside of our router completly (using a second computer and a 4port switch) which kills any prospect for other access on the network due to our ISP's single IP limitation.So with the backstory laid out i pose my questions to the community. Is there a way to completly disable the internal firewalls on Linksys routers? If not completly disable, is there a way to set multiple DMZ Hosts via additional software? And lastly, if neither of the above are possible, does anyone know of any good (relativly cheap) 4-8port routers without such an internal firewall?Thanks ahead of time.andrescasta

Ok, my motherboard has stopped recognising my TV tuner card.I have now tried new drivers, even cleared the CMOS & re-installed Windows.After the reinstall it found my soundcard but listed my TV card under the wrong area in Device Manager. It listed it as a multimedia device under imaging devices, instead of Sound Video & Game Controllers.I installed the drivers & now it can't find my sound card. After clearing the CMOS, it found my TV card but then failed to install it. Now it appears not to see it again.Now in Device Manager, it has suddenly displayed yellow exclamation marks next to:Microsoft Kernel DLS Synthasizer andMultimedia ControllerIt also seems to have mucked up my webcam as that has suddenly got an exclamation mark against it too.I've taken the cards out & put them back. I've checked & there are no IRQ conflicts.Does anyone know what may be wrong?Thanks for any help,andrescasta

My System:Asus P4S800-MX Mobo2.8 P4 CPU1024 PC3200 RAMSeagate Barra IV 60GiG HDWestern Digital 120GiG HDRadeon X800 Pro Graphics CardVideomate DVB-T300 TV Tuner CardAudigy PCI Sound CardWin XP Home, Fully up to date, SP2 etcWell, I put the card in,booted to safe mode, rolled back to a decent restore point and now I can go into Windows normally but the card is listed as "Multimedia Controller" under "other devices". It should be under "Sound,Video & Game Controllers" as that is where it has always been before.I install the drivers and the card is still undetected. There are about 10 driver listings in "Add/Remove Programs", most of which give me an error when I try to delete them.Not sure what to do now, any ideas?Thanks for the help,andrescasta

HI,I had to uninstall & remove my TV tuner card, then install again.Now, with the card in it's PCI slot, Windows get's stuck at that blue bar stage. The 3bars just stop scrolling. f I power down & remove the card, all is ok.The card use to be ok. I've removed all drivers etc.Is windows reading in some data at the blue bar stage? Can I go to a place to delete all records of the card so it does it from scratch?Grateful for any help,andrescasta

The paranormal experiences were creepy, but they were *pointless*. They were random, for no reason whatsoever, youd end up back where you started, unless you get smacked by some weird half-bodied ghost thing, which might kill you in the nether realm. And wtf were those anyway? There was not a single endearing character in the entire game for you to love or hate. You are nameless and voiceless. Your squad members lack all personality and are with you for seconds at a time, with no explanation as to where or what theyre doing. Team leader is good for nothing but cursing every now and then over the radio. Other characters include the fat computer nerd guy, who was absolutely ridiculous in every way. He shows absolutely no fear when you run up on him, he's a petulant *BLEEP* throughout the entire game, gives away his position while eating cheesy poofs (come on!!), and gets shot at the end for "doing his job", which of course, was never explained, all the while being terribly acted. Alice wade, was a dumb idiot girl, who again, showed a complete lack of personality or emotion. Shes apparently super smart, but not smart enough to realize that running around this place is going to accomplish anything but getting yourself shot by the nameless army of paxton (why are they following him again?) or the ATC (again, who the hell were they?). Of course that doesnt happen, she gets captured by paxton of all people. Who is the main villiain throughout the entire game, and ends up going out like a sucker because you see him in your psychadelic trance, you shoot him once and he dies! Then you snap out of it, and its real. What kind of a game is this? Then theres the old dude who shoots the fat guy and does something through the glass at the end of the game that is so unmemorable that even though I beat it a few hours ago I still cant remember it. Then you press a few buttons, snap a few thingies into place, run out, finally get outside and see the light of day for the first time in the entire game, and then theres a nuclear explosion, WHICH YOU SURVIVE, only to wake up in a helicopter, which the little girl jumps up into. Why is your mom, in child form, which of course, makes no sense, trying to kill you? I honestly fail to see what part of the story or characters are interesting. Never mind the fact that you accomplish absolutely zero throughout the entire game, as your first objective "catch paxton fettel" will be your last, since something always gets in the way. Most games have bosses because killing one grants you a feeling of accomplishment, something which unfortunately, this game is completely and utterly devoid of. If they wanted you to feel like you were doing something in the real world, they would have clued you in as to wtf you were doing, and done away with the random nameless enemies and monotonous environments.andrescasta

It doesnt get any better. Honestly, if youve played it for an hour or two, you might as well have played the whole game. You are slightly less likely to get hit while leaning though. I thought the weapons were good, except for the smg and rifle. They dont have the powerful feel, they just feel weak. If anything, the volume on the gunshots needed to be turned up. That being said, if youve never played HL2, Doom 3, Max Payne 2, or Halo 2, you will probably think this is the greatest game ever. All three of those games were amazing in their own right. They had their low points though, and after playing them, those low points would make you want to not play them again. Doom 3 had a complete lack of story, since it was told through the retarded idea of voice messages. But it was *darn* scary, and at the very least, in the end of doom 3 you went through a vast change of scenery, to mars, to hell, and back again, and it was incredible. Fear managed to take the annoying parts, and leave out the good parts. The change of scenery is more like one type of building to another. Max Payne 2 had slowmo, and psychadelic experiences. But it was a very story driven game. The psychadelic experiences only furthered that, and the slowmo was cool, but you had to save it, and couldnt use it for every encounter. With a lack of expository storytelling to support it, the psychadelic experiences make almost no sense at all in fear. The ability to use slowmo constantly cheapens the game entirely. Again, takes the bad parts, leaves the good parts. Half-Life 2 was a game where you had to piece the story together as you went along. You didnt know what was going on in the beginning, and slowly but surely it all came to you. But you didnt learn this all from voice messages strewn around on random telephones in the game. You met characters, those characters told you what they knew, some helped you, some hurt you, but in the end, the story made sense, and you were a part of it. In fear, youre just plain lost. They tried to make a situation where you pieced the story together piece by piece, but it just didnt work. It was alright in doom 3 because there wasnt really meant to be much of a story. But this purports to be a story driven game thats supposed to scare you, and if it cant get the story across to you effectively, what the hell is the point. HL2 also had a weak, abrupt ending. But what followed up to that ending was practically orgasmic. You could tell the ending was coming, because the sh*t basically was hitting the fan. There was some resolution. Halo 2 had a very weak ending. But at least there was a boss fight, however weak it was. But it left you with a wtf, here comes the sequel ending. Fear just makes you wonder wtf they were thinking. In fact, the story is so weak, I still dont understand who the girl is, and who I was. Halo 2 also suffered from a problem where the entire level was so monotonous, and you were never given a clear goal on where to go. Often times Id find myself backtracking without even realizing it, because everywhere looks the *darn* same. Likewise for fear. I dont want to give the impression that I'm completely ragging on the game. I had fun. The gfx, sound, etc, made it a fun play. I had a good time cause of that. But never again, Im done with it. andrescasta

I have come to the conclusion that it is the biggest waste of potential ever. The gfx, sound, and combat were second to none. Ill give it that. But every other part of the game was horrendous. It was like they took the worst of doom 3, max payne, halo 2, and half life 2, sprinkled in a little metal gear solid and the ring, and this is what came out. Doom 3 should have taught them that there is nothing worse than having to trudge through nearly the exact same type of environment for the entire game. But you do. Story? What story? It still doesnt make any sense. It has about as much story as doom 3, and considering the way its told, which is almost exactly the same, through little voice messages, should not be surprising. It was a bad idea in doom 3, and its still a bad idea. You dont know who you are, you dont know who youre fighting, the ending doesnt make any of that clear, and throughout the entire game your doing something which inevitably gets pushed back even further. You barely ever accomplish a single thing. You barely interact with anyone, and those that you do, the interactions are pointless. The characters in the game are terrible. Halo 2 should have taught them that theres nothing worse than an ending before the game is over. There isnt even a boss fight. Its just, thats it? Wtf? The ending is nearly torn directly from half-life 2...I mean, theres even a giant orb! At least there was *some* closure in half life 2. What would really be cool is if every now and then throughout the game you get sucked into a psychadelic experience that makes nearly zero sense...was fun in max payne, but now it just seems retarded. Speaking of max payne, never mind the fact that the entire game youre fighting the same enemies (enemy soldiers), all of which are no challenge at all because you just hit the magic slowmo button, put a few nails in their head, lather, rinse repeat. And its not even that scary. Spooky, sure, but just like doom 3, it wears off quick. Then the rest of the game becomes a test of your patience. It was interesting, and would have been better if it was half as long, had at least one boss, at least one major change of environment, and at least some sort of interesting story. The official theme of this game is "wtf?", and not in a good way. Just look at it as a shooting gallery. andrescasta

I currently have 2x 250gb Samsung p120's setup in raid 0 in my computer. Iv started looking at SCSI drives because i want some more speed (iv discounted the raptor because i can get 15k scsi drives cheaper). The scsi drives iv been looking at are the Maxtor Atlas 15K II 36.7 GB SCSI Ultra320 drives. Has anyone had any experience with these? They seem to get good reviews. I'v got an Asus A8N Premium motherboard which means im also going to have to purchase a SCSI controller card. Unfortunaltly i know nothing about SCSI, iv never used it, and i dont know what to look for I want something that is reliable, easy to setup, and relativly cheap. Does anyone have any recomendations for a good controller card? At the moment, this card here looks fairly promising: Dell 3DC PERC SCSI RAID controller card . Would this be compatible with the drives im getting? Im fairly proficcient with everything else on pc's, and i build my own, but SCSI is new territory for me.

Thx ya'll, i appreciate it. Probably going to go with the x800 pro.andrescasta

I'm looking for a step above 9800 Pro. I personally have a 9800 pro, and am not impressed with its performance. That said, the unit in question, ie the one i'm going to replace, is in a different system. I'm replacing a 9600 Pro which is oc'd/softmodded to xt. Even a 9800 would be an improvement for that 9600...but i want to go one step higher. Recommendations please! Nvidia or ATI only. Limit of $230 or so. andrescasta

I think it really depends on what your usage is. In development if I tried to use a 5400rpm drive compiling a large project I would want to puke For uses that can be drive intensive like that there is absolutely no way the 100gb 5400rpm will keep up to a 7200rpm.andrescasta

thanks again. Gaming is not my only concern, but the only concern that would require a good GPU ;-) To myself I made the deal to not got below the performance of an ATI x700. Otherwise I would be looking at the D810 as well. My biggest issue is than I am so much used to IBM thinkpads and to their trackpoint navigation. Just to perform a test I started up Unreal Tournament 2004 and disabled the trackpoint to play with an external mouse. It was really weird for me. Anyway as mentioned above I am willing to pay more just to have the little *BLEEP*-nub.First I was thinking about the new IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad Z Series, but in general the 70m series is the same as the D810.Actually to sum up what I use my notebook for is everything that can be replaced by a computer is done by the computer. So I don't have a Stereo and I don't have a tv. I do all that with the PC (listening to music, watching tv and DVD). I work in IT and do a lot of scripting, sometimes programming, but in general a lot of writing and don't want any keyboard with flexing. In privat I record music and need a high resolution to be able to see all the tracks and faders. And then again since childhood I always played on the PC and also love to game. I also travel a lot, but don't mind carrying the extra weight and don't need too much battery power, since most of the time I always find some kind of power source to use.Today between i9300 and M70 I get these results onlinei9300 -> 1699.- EUR | M70 -> 1750.- EUR17" WUXGA screen ----- 15,4" WSXGA+ screen6800 Go GPU ----- Quadro FX 1400 GPU8x +/- DVD/RW ----- 24x CD/RW + 8x DVD-ROM combo100gb 5400rpm HD ----- 40gb 7200rpm HDThe rest of the configuration is basically the same. Concerning the last two options (optical drive and HD) I already have an external 16x DVD Burner and in my current laptop a 60GB 7200rpm HD that I intend to use in the next laptop as well. Everything on the left looks peachy ;-) but it's missing a trackpoint.I guess I just have to find out what sacrifices I am willing to make to have a trackpoint navigation..... andrescasta

Thank you for your replies. I am currently between the Inspiron 9300 and the Precision M70. Next to the XPS these are the best performers for 3D games (the XPS is overpriced IMO). And compared to the Inspiron the Precision has a pointer navigation as well, which means for me that for games I do not need a mouse (I am currently with an A31 IBM thinkpad and played games such as Unreal II and Half-Life 2 with a trackpoint). But the price difference is just too extreme. I am wondering if in case the components such as the harddisk, cd/dvd, ram are actually the same, the casing quality comparable and the only difference left is the 3 year warranty I would dare to hope that I could get a better price for the M70 using these arguments.Amazing I am basically willing to pay 200.- $ more and go with a smaller display just to be able to use a pointer instead of being bound to the touchpad or external mouse.....andrescasta

Hi, are there differences in quality concerning the Latitude/Inspiron/Precision models?For example are the more expensive latitudes more sturdy, have higher quality components or are they all the same in all 3 different product lines?andrescasta

If you want extreme performance like 1600x1200 or more get the XPS Gen 2. The M70 will basically give you the same gaming performance as the 9300. The video card in the Ferrari is ATI's version of the Nvidia 6600 Go, which will allow you to get decent framerates. For you, I think the best laptops would be either the 9300 or the M70.The Ferrari is also good,but the graphics cards in both 9300 and M70 will outperform the X700 in the Ferrari. Hope this helps.andrescasta

My brother have it (M70 2.13GHz 1GB upgraded to 2GB, 60GB 7200rpm) but I've not done anything testing on it yet except benchmarks. Without overclocking the 3DMark05 was around 2,700. A lot of people report much higher (3,500 plus) with overclocking.The only negative points I would have is that the key travel is a little shallow (probably a matter of personal taste) and it does get warm underneath which can be an issue if you use it on your lap and hope to have children at a future date (I'm not bothered as I've already got 3 )On the plus side it is small enough to be portable, has a good screen (no dead pixels but a little light leakage) and is solidly constructed.andrescasta

I have a Dell Inspiron 5100 and I am DESPERATELY trying to install ATI Mobility Radeon 7500 Win2k drivers. There was an anonymous posting from a user who said that the drivers worked but that he had to download a modder tool to install them. What is a modder tool? Has anyone else had any success installing these drivers on a Dell Inspiron 5100?andrescasta

The mother boards are:original board: Intle D845PESVnew board: DFI NB80-EALooking at the Celeron one of the pins are busted, blows that idea.I'll give the other PSU a try.andrescasta

The only other PSU I've got is a 325watt. I've tried to fix the pins on the Celeron, they're just so damn small.Yes, the new CPU has been tried on the same Mother Board as the old Celereon. Also, on a brand new Mother Board.Thanks for the quick response!andrescasta

After installing a new 2.8 GHZ P4 my computer will not boot. All fans spin but no POST. Another interesting fact is that my CD-ROM will not power up either (works on my old 333mhz system though).Reading around I've learned that the problem is either:1)mother board2)CPU3)PSUI have tried it with a brand new MB but no success, still no POST. Is it possible that my cheap 425watt PSU will not generate enough power for this new CPU (even though it successfully powered my 2GHZ celeron)?Unfortunately, the pins on the older Celeron got bent so I cannot test with this.What I have tried so far:- reseating all devices (CPU, RAM, etc..)- reseting CMOS- made sure all jumpers are corectly set- removing all devices except CPU and fans (no beep when RAM is removed)- brand new mother boardandrescasta