Pcs Just Piss Me Off

[Tramposch 1]

I bought a new laptop about this time last year and I was super excited. I dropped 750 cash on it and expected a lot. I tell ya, it was great at first. With Vista pre-installed and everything running fine, I couldn't've been happier. Then I started to notice flakiness in the OS. Naturally I just reinstalled and thought it to be one of those common problems with factory OS installs. Well a year later I just dropped Vista for Windows 7 and XP. And soon I am thinking about dropping Windows all together. I honestly have had nothing but problems.

On XP, even with all the current drivers installed I still have hardware problems. And they just come and go. I consider myself rather experienced with computers, but this just makes no sense to me. I have also been getting quite a few "serious system errors" in which I receive this error code:

BCCode : 1000008e BCP1 : C0000005 BCP2 : BF039614 BCP3 : ADBBC820 BCP4 : 00000000 OSVer : 5_1_2600 SP : 3_0 Product : 256_1

As to what it means, I don't entirely know. It might be a defective part. I will probably never find out because I am selling it to a friend (evil, I know) and buying a MacBook. While I can't completely drop Windows, I will be for the most part. I will just have it ready in a VM for any use I need.

I am not sure if I can even blame a single person for this whole dilemma. Microsoft isn't completely at fault, while neither is Toshiba (the maker of my laptop). And if I tried to get to the bottom of it, I would probably be doing a wild goose chase and just uncover nothing.

I think by the end of this month, I will be saying goodbye to PCs and Windows. Slowly, the takeover by Macs will begin.

The plan is to buy a MacBook for me. Then a few Mac Minis periodically down the road to replace other computers in the house. Then an iMac for my dad. I just can't stand it anymore...I don't want to live in a world where MS controls my life. Apple is just the better way to go, for me.

I've had it. And I am pretty glad to see this phase end. I will be contributing to Apple's market share for the rest of my life, that is for sure.

[Saint_Michael 3]

It would seem that it is the drivers that are causing the problem and so you need to check which drivers that are causing the problems and to help you out with that check out this guide on stops to take to figure out what is causing XP to produce those errors for you. Odds are it would seem that drivers were causing all your problems and odds are Windows 7 was helping along the way as well and so it is the matter of updating drivers and what not to make your computer run smoother, maybe the hard drive and the RAM need to be replace and that might solve some issues.

Also I wouldn't say its evil but outright wrong that your going to give you friend a defective computer and make him solve all the problems that you have yet to figure out.

[Tramposch 1]

I have checked all of my drivers, and they are all up-to-date. I will go through them again to make sure, however. And I will also read through that guide.As for replacing parts - it isn't really worth it to me. I will just deal with it until I get the MacBook.My friend knows about the issues. I told her up front, but she just wants a laptop for normal usage, and for normal usage this thing works fine.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

Dropping Windows for a Mac? I would have to pass on that, myself.If I left Windows for anything(which I honestly wish I could) it would be Linux.But sadly I can't because I game too much, .Linux needs to pick up the ball and start supporting DirectX or something. It seems that it's the biggest issue with gaming on the system anyways. And as far as I know Microsoft releases an SDK for DirectX, so it's not like the source code and all is hidden. I'm sure if Linux developers could create a full operating system, they could make something compatible with DirectX, .Anyways, sorry to hear about your issues man. But don't go to the dark side(Mac). Windows > Mac, . Unless you are into video and photo editing, of course.

[truefusion 3]

Linux needs to pick up the ball and start supporting DirectX or something. It seems that it's the biggest issue with gaming on the system anyways. And as far as I know Microsoft releases an SDK for DirectX, so it's not like the source code and all is hidden. I'm sure if Linux developers could create a full operating system, they could make something compatible with DirectX, .

You've just spoken a Linux taboo. But on a more serious level, rather than having Linux support DirectX, why not have the game developers develop their games using OpenGL? Isn't that more logical? Last i checked, you have to pay to use DirectX, where with OpenGL you don't. Not only would these companies save money, but it would make their development easier when trying to support multiple platforms. And from the comparisons i've seen (i.e. graphic-wise) of OpenGL vs DirectX, there's really very little difference. The thing is that some Windows versions either don't support OpenGL or only support OpenGL 1.1. I'm not sure about Vista or Windows 7, but if they have DirectX 10, then i don't see why they should be diverse by having OpenGL 2.0. That is, the same logic should be expected like with other Microsoft programs, like Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.

[DeM0nFiRe 0]

Truefusion, it's not as simple as that. I mean, most games are available for OpenGL and DirectX, but think about the most efficient engines, like Source. Source games are only for DirectX. So, why is that? Well, fact of the matter is DirectX is faster than OpenGL. Now, theoretically DirectX and OpenGL should achieve the same result, only with different ways to get there. However, the video card manufacturers know that most gamers are on Windows, so they don't take as much time to implement OpenGL as they do with DirectX.As for the OP, I have to be honest with you. 90% of problems people have with PCs are operator errors, and not the fault of the OS or PC. I recommend that you do not try to dual boot, and just go for Windows XP. Also, do not let Windows find your drivers for you, go to the website of hardware manufacturers.

[Tramposch 1]

I am not dual booting now. And I didn't let Windows find the drivers for me. I got all the different names of the components. I know what I am doing here. I am not the average user. But even with the newest drivers for each thing, it still isn't working well...In good new, though. It seems that just taking out and putting my RAM back in stopped the crashing. I have not crashed yet, so that is looking pretty good for now. I still just hate Windows. I just...like Macs. And I don't want to argue why because its just a personal preference.PCs still piss me off though. A lot.

[truefusion 3]

Truefusion, it's not as simple as that. I mean, most games are available for OpenGL and DirectX, but think about the most efficient engines, like Source. Source games are only for DirectX. So, why is that? Well, fact of the matter is DirectX is faster than OpenGL. Now, theoretically DirectX and OpenGL should achieve the same result, only with different ways to get there. However, the video card manufacturers know that most gamers are on Windows, so they don't take as much time to implement OpenGL as they do with DirectX.

So DirectX isn't faster than OpenGL but better supported? We're back to where i started then. If it's the card driver developers' fault, then complain that you're a paying customer and shouldn't be limited by the desires of others when it is more than possible to (better) support these other engines. Linux users that use Nvidia cards complained, and now Nvidia Linux drivers are increasing in support for 2D acceleration. No graphics card manufacturer would (or should) advertise that they support OpenGL 2.0 or greater if they didn't support it in the card itself; therefore leaving the card driver.

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PC has become synonymous with Windows, though not true.

[Tramposch 1]

Does anybody know what a DCOM error is? I am getting one and it causes my computer to shut down. It has something to do with a service not being able to start...I will look around on Google too.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

So DirectX isn't faster than OpenGL but better supported? We're back to where i started then. If it's the card driver developers' fault, then complain that you're a paying customer and shouldn't be limited by the desires of others when it is more than possible to (better) support these other engines. Linux users that use Nvidia cards complained, and now Nvidia Linux drivers are increasing in support for 2D acceleration. No graphics card manufacturer would (or should) advertise that they support OpenGL 2.0 or greater if they didn't support it in the card itself; therefore leaving the card driver.

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PC has become synonymous with Windows, though not true.

Wait, so you're saying that the difference between being able to use openGL and directX isn't just software based? I was under the impression that they were both solely software.

If it really is hardware, then yeah...I don't quite understand why the video card companies wouldn't support both, if nothing else so that linux users would want to purchase them as well.

As for the "cost" of developing on Directx, and/or using it...It doesn't seem to be an issue, being that most game companies develop on Windows.

Wouldn't it be possible to emulate directx for end-users to play directx games without it?

[DeM0nFiRe 0]

Truefusion, my point was that it is not the fault of the software developer that they are forced to make their games us DirectX. DirectX is just, in practice, faster than OpenGL because, to video card manufacturers, it is not cost effective to put the same kind of effort into OpenGL since most gamers are on Windows. It's actually pretty funny, because most gamers are on windows because DirectX is faster. It's a cycle that has to be broken before windows can be taken down as top dawg in the gaming world. Also, it is not a matter of implementing newer versions of OpenGL, it's a matter of implementing them well. OpenGL 2.0 or greater is fully supported by the cards in that you can use the functions in the library, it's just not as fast as DirectX.And to the Original Poster: Didn't you say you were using Windows 7 and Windows XP? I took that to mean that you were dual booting.

[truefusion 3]

Does anybody know what a DCOM error is? I am getting one and it causes my computer to shut down. It has something to do with a service not being able to start...I will look around on Google too.

Might be a DirectX COM object error, if such a thing even exists; not sure; not even sure how a DCOM error might even occur. Never ran into anything like that before when i was using Windows. I don't develop under Windows—and with MinGW, i hope to never have to.

 

Wait, so you're saying that the difference between being able to use openGL and directX isn't just software based? I was under the impression that they were both solely software.

 

If it really is hardware, then yeah...I don't quite understand why the video card companies wouldn't support both, if nothing else so that linux users would want to purchase them as well.

 

As for the "cost" of developing on Directx, and/or using it...It doesn't seem to be an issue, being that most game companies develop on Windows.

 

Wouldn't it be possible to emulate directx for end-users to play directx games without it?

From my understanding of OpenGL, it was made to be hardware independent; merely a link to the hardware. But by switching over to OpenGL, the money wasted on royalties in order to be able to distribute your game under DirectX could be used for something else. And since these companies would be able to make their games supported on other systems easier (since there would be less code to modify), that would increase income. And, concerning emulating DirectX, though i wouldn't call it an emulator, i think Wine is as close as you can get to that today.

 

Truefusion, my point was that it is not the fault of the software developer that they are forced to make their games us DirectX. DirectX is just, in practice, faster than OpenGL because, to video card manufacturers, it is not cost effective to put the same kind of effort into OpenGL since most gamers are on Windows. It's actually pretty funny, because most gamers are on windows because DirectX is faster. It's a cycle that has to be broken before windows can be taken down as top dawg in the gaming world. Also, it is not a matter of implementing newer versions of OpenGL, it's a matter of implementing them well. OpenGL 2.0 or greater is fully supported by the cards in that you can use the functions in the library, it's just not as fast as DirectX.

They're not forced to. Concerning performance, i can easily pull up an article that says DirectX isn't inherently faster^[*]—it's not hard. There are many things to consider when determining which one is faster. Good algorithms is one of them. And in your previous post you included support from hardware (though, obviously, there is more than that). As i've said before, i'm not sure about Vista and above, but i know for a fact that Windows XP has OpenGL 1.1. It would be unfair and false to run a game in Windows XP under both DirectX and OpenGL if they didn't upgrade the installed OpenGL to a newer version (if it's at all possible to upgrade it; which would only help DirectX's monopoly if it couldn't be). People now-a-days are bound to have DirectX 9 or greater on their systems. Most gamers are on Windows not because DirectX is faster than OpenGL—they probably couldn't care less, since most gamers don't design games anyway—but because Windows holds a monolopy for games. I know and have seen plenty of people who would move instantly to another operating system if their games were supported on these other systems. Gamers don't care what engine the developers use so long as they can play the game they purchased. I've never heard of anyone complain about Quake concerning performance where it wasn't their hardware that allowed for slow performance. Quake 3 Arena ran pretty well on my old Windows XP machine on an Intel i810.

 

If anything, it could be argued that the reason why game developers would find OpenGL to be slower could be due to incompetence. Since they've been developing for DirectX for so long, OpenGL would be, if not already, a new language to them that would take time to get used to and increase in competence to the same degree as with DirectX. The problem with monolopies such as this is that in order for there to be a change, the consumer normally is the one that needs to change first. But the consumer is unlikely to change until the developers include diversity. People shouldn't do things for the love of money, they should do things because they enjoy doing what they do. If i were a developer, i wouldn't want just one market to play my game; not because of the extra income, but because i designed something and i would want it to be played by everyone.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

Yeah, regarding Wine, it supports almost none of the games that I play. They have been working on getting my games up on it(AOC, Warhammer, Lineage II, etc.) but keep having issues either getting past the beginning screens or logging in.I was going to swap over to Linux a long time ago just because I heard it's a lot better/more customizable than Windows, but I never could get the games to work,=/

[Saint_Michael 3]

To me. I think Wine only purpose was to run windows applications and not games because odds are most of the applications use the same code unlike PC games. Which they develop their own gaming engines and thus side stop a lot of the programming necessary to get games running and so I think the only way WINE will be able to run games on linux is that the developers of WINE need to access to those gaming engines and then make mods or patches for it.

[rpgsearcherz 5]

That's my understanding too, but though a lot of work many people have gotten some games to work.It's something about copying the directx files over into linux or something, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.Like on a few games they installed the game on Windows, then copied all the files to linux(since you couldn't install on Linux obviously), but on most of the newer games even that does no good.