I just got tired of games crashing my computer. Or segfaulting in the middle of the action.
What unstable games have you been playing? Or maybe your system is unstable to begin with.. The only game I've played in the last 3 years that is prone to crashing is Oblivion.
Please list all the games that cause your computer to crash on a regular basis, I really would like to know.
Standalone devices with predictable specs are just more stable than the zoo of general purpose computing systems, be they desktop, laptop, or mobile phone. Keep games where they belong.
Apparently you've never had an xbox crash before...
bought a 2 gig off ebay for 50 bucks. I didn't buy it for movies.. Movies suck, and they are too big, besides I'd have to rip a dvd then put it on my system.. it's a huge amount of work, unless you're shady.
So if I rip a legally purchased DVD movie so that I can watch it on another device, say a PSP, I'm somehow shady? Do you happen to work for the RIAA?
If Microsoft designs a system that prevents users from pirating music, the RIAA will give them kickbacks or some other reward. Or maybe Microsoft wants to get in bed with the RIAA so they can offer a cheaper alternative to iTMS.
However, you're implying a crash caused by hardware failures. My extensive experience with 2000 and XP is that about the only way to get the OS to crash is to have bad hardware or faulty drivers. It's really the only stability problem I've ever seen. I can't recall the last time I saw a Microsoft OS crash where I was convinced it was the OS and not a hardware problem... and hardware problems are not common for me.
I totally agree. The only time I've ever had a bluescreen was due to faulty drivers, Windows XP is extremely stable for me otherwise. If you actually write down the error code from the blue screen, you can usually trace it back to a hardware/driver issue.
Can I submit my seventh grade Spanish book as an example of prior art? It has an interface (a table in the back) that allows the user to select verbs based on tense and person.
No, because this patent applies to conjugating verbs... on a computer.
Yup - there is something about fluorescents that just bug me.
Maybe it's the horrible color temperature? I can't stand flourescents, I need a more naturally coloured light. There are CFLs that are supposed to look more like a regular incandescent, but they still don't cut it IMO.
CFL light = artificial, depressing, mood-altering, eye soar (IMO)
Yes they are great energy savers, but they look like shit.
I imagine a majority of people will just throw them in the garbage just like all the other stuff that shouldn't be put in a landfill. Look at batteries, how many people actually dispose of batteries properly?
Color temperature is a big deal to me. Regular lights are more like the color of natural sunlight, where as a regular flourescent bulb is pure white and reminds me of working in an office.
From wikipedia:
Being a gas discharge lamp, a CFL will not generate all frequencies of visible light; the actual color rendering index is a design compromise (see below). With less than perfect color rendering, CFLs can be unsatisfactory for inside lighting, but modern, high quality designs are proving acceptable for home use.
That pretty much sums up how I feel about CFLs, they are unsatisfactory for inside light. The only part of my house that has CFL's is in my unfinished basement where they are hardly used. Also, I have a lot of 3-setting lamps, I didn't learn until AFTER I bought a package of CFL's that they don't work in those 3 setting lamps.
The white light from CFL's puts me in a bad mood, I need the warm colours of a regular lightbulb.
The Core2 E6600 seems to be a nice bang for the money as it is right around the middle of the currently available speed grades and is the cheapest iteration with 4MB of L2 cache. It also seems to be competitive with dual core AMD products (my usual choice) that are substantially more expensive.
AMD products that are substantially more expensive? What have you been smoking? (Mind sharing?)
I'm going to compare the 2.4ghz E6600 to the 2.4ghz X2 4800+. Let's look at some prices shall we:
So for a X2 4800+ and mobo you pay $476.99
And for an E6600 and mobo you pay $639.98
How exactly was the Intel offering cheaper again? Not to mention the 939 uses cheaper DDR1 and the Core2 uses DDR2, that'll probably set you back even more.
I used to work 12 hours a day 7 days a week doing home renovation (that's 84 hours/week), for a summer job when I was 17. A 60 hour work week may seem like a lot to some white collar workers, but there are a lot of blue collar workers in North America that work those hours. The only real difference is that in North America, people actually get paid a decent wage and the working conditions are much better.
By default Windows XP automatically restarts after an error (without showing you what went wrong). You have to disable this "feature".
Right click My Computer, select Properties
Click the Advanced Tab
Choose Startup and Recovery "Settings"
Make sure the "Automatically Restart" option is disabled
I just built my first AMD system three months ago, I had several bugs/quirks to work out but I think my computer is running pretty stable now.
Playing a simple MIDI file thru Audigy 2 shuts down the whole computer in a minute or so
Does your motherboard have onboard sound? Is onboard sound enabled in the bios? If you use a plug-in sound card (like your Audigy), you have to disable the onboard sound in your bios. Hopefully that resolves your sound card issue, otherwise, I'd say it's either a driver issue or else the sound card needs to be reseated. If you're using windows XP 64bit, this is your most likely culprit, the 64bit drivers are horrible IMO.
Changing game's affinity to just one CPU mid-game shuts down the computer. File copying with the onboard NIC (nForce 570) shuts down the computer - Intel PCI NIC somewhat fixed this.
Have you run memtest86+ to make sure your ram is okay? Have you correctly configured all your ram timings in the bios? Bad ram or incorrect ram settings in the bios will cause instability/crashes/lockups.
Do you have the AMD dual core drivers and AMD dual core optimizer and the Microsoft Dual Core patch for Windows XP installed? With these installed I have 0 problems with any of the games I play (Warcraft3, UT2004, GTA San Andreas, Oblivion (buggy on it's own), SimCity 4, Call of Duty 2, to name a few..).
Here are my specs:
Antec Sonata II case (comes with an Antec SmartPower 2.0 450watt psu) Athlon64 X2 3800+ (socket 939) MSI K8N NEO4-F mobo (bios ver 1.C) 2gig Kingston DDR400 250gig Western Digital HD A cheap $30 Audigy 2 sound card
I went with socket 939 since AM2 wasn't out yet and I avoid getting first-gen tech (wait a few revisions). Just curious, are you using the 64bit of Windows XP?
Have you ever tried to manage a 40 person raid? Now try and imagine managing 80 people... In most raids all it takes is 1 person to fuck up and wipe everyone. Dealing with 40 people is bad enough, let's not get crazy now.
I agree with you, WoW end game is the reason I quit. I had finished all the bg grinding (got all the exalted rewards in AB, WSG and AV for my rogue). I just got sick of having nothing to do end game other than farm for gold to use for repairs/etc while farming molten core once a week. It's just repetitive and Not Fun(tm).
Vista automatically turns off (or you can do so manually) all the advanced GUI features that take up RAM, CPU and GPU time when you run fullscreen applications like videogames.
Previous versions of Windows did this too, thanks to DirectX.
I run windows as an admin since it is much easier (iTunes is broken as a limited user, you can't sync your ipod unless you're an admin. This is just one of the dozens of problems you will encounter trying to run windows as a limited user). I use SysInternals' PsExec to run certain programs as a limited user while I am logged in as an admin. For example, all my firefox shortcuts look like this: psexec -l -d "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe".
PsExec allows you to run a process under alternate credentials.
Here is a description of what the -l and -d parameters do:
-l
Run process as limited user (strips the Administrators group and allows only priviliges assigned to the Users group). -d
Don't wait for application to terminate. Only use this option for non-interactive applications.]
It's not the best solution, but it works, run firefox as a limited user using psexec and then try and overwrite something in c:\program files or c:\windows, it won't let you (which is a good thing).
That is a good point, so how does the software recognize the difference between a command like "delete select all" and someone wanting to write "delete select all" in the editor? I don't know how MS handles this, but if I were to program it, I would have a user-defined key that you have to press down whenever you want to issue a command, that way the program could recognize the difference.
AMD doesn't spend millions on marketting like Intel does, they get geeks and word of mouth to do free marketing for them. I think AMD will always have that advantage in tech circles.
It's Monday on the fateful day of price cuts, and I have yet to see a place online that's presenting the chips at the post cut price. I know it's super early but we all knew it was coming, even the retailers.
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What unstable games have you been playing? Or maybe your system is unstable to begin with.. The only game I've played in the last 3 years that is prone to crashing is Oblivion.
Please list all the games that cause your computer to crash on a regular basis, I really would like to know.
Apparently you've never had an xbox crash before...
So if I rip a legally purchased DVD movie so that I can watch it on another device, say a PSP, I'm somehow shady? Do you happen to work for the RIAA?
If Microsoft designs a system that prevents users from pirating music, the RIAA will give them kickbacks or some other reward. Or maybe Microsoft wants to get in bed with the RIAA so they can offer a cheaper alternative to iTMS.
It's free for now, but it will eventually cost $29.95/mo.
No, because this patent applies to conjugating verbs... on a computer.
Cartoon figure? You mean like Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes.
. jpg
http://clintanderson.com/gallery/microsoft/calvin
I imagine a majority of people will just throw them in the garbage just like all the other stuff that shouldn't be put in a landfill. Look at batteries, how many people actually dispose of batteries properly?
From wikipedia:
That pretty much sums up how I feel about CFLs, they are unsatisfactory for inside light. The only part of my house that has CFL's is in my unfinished basement where they are hardly used. Also, I have a lot of 3-setting lamps, I didn't learn until AFTER I bought a package of CFL's that they don't work in those 3 setting lamps.
The white light from CFL's puts me in a bad mood, I need the warm colours of a regular lightbulb.
I'm going to compare the 2.4ghz E6600 to the 2.4ghz X2 4800+. Let's look at some prices shall we:
E6600 $369.99
X2 4800+ (939) $307.00
ASUS Core2 Nforce4-SLI Mobo: ASUS P5N32-SLI Deluxe $269.99
ASUS 939 Nforce4-SLI Mobo: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe $169.99
So for a X2 4800+ and mobo you pay $476.99
And for an E6600 and mobo you pay $639.98
How exactly was the Intel offering cheaper again? Not to mention the 939 uses cheaper DDR1 and the Core2 uses DDR2, that'll probably set you back even more.
I used to work 12 hours a day 7 days a week doing home renovation (that's 84 hours/week), for a summer job when I was 17. A 60 hour work week may seem like a lot to some white collar workers, but there are a lot of blue collar workers in North America that work those hours. The only real difference is that in North America, people actually get paid a decent wage and the working conditions are much better.
By default Windows XP automatically restarts after an error (without showing you what went wrong). You have to disable this "feature".
Right click My Computer, select Properties
Click the Advanced Tab
Choose Startup and Recovery "Settings"
Make sure the "Automatically Restart" option is disabled
Does your motherboard have onboard sound? Is onboard sound enabled in the bios? If you use a plug-in sound card (like your Audigy), you have to disable the onboard sound in your bios. Hopefully that resolves your sound card issue, otherwise, I'd say it's either a driver issue or else the sound card needs to be reseated. If you're using windows XP 64bit, this is your most likely culprit, the 64bit drivers are horrible IMO.
Have you run memtest86+ to make sure your ram is okay? Have you correctly configured all your ram timings in the bios? Bad ram or incorrect ram settings in the bios will cause instability/crashes/lockups.
Do you have the AMD dual core drivers and AMD dual core optimizer and the Microsoft Dual Core patch for Windows XP installed? With these installed I have 0 problems with any of the games I play (Warcraft3, UT2004, GTA San Andreas, Oblivion (buggy on it's own), SimCity 4, Call of Duty 2, to name a few..).
Here are my specs:
Antec Sonata II case (comes with an Antec SmartPower 2.0 450watt psu)
Athlon64 X2 3800+ (socket 939)
MSI K8N NEO4-F mobo (bios ver 1.C)
2gig Kingston DDR400
250gig Western Digital HD
A cheap $30 Audigy 2 sound card
I went with socket 939 since AM2 wasn't out yet and I avoid getting first-gen tech (wait a few revisions). Just curious, are you using the 64bit of Windows XP?
Have you ever tried to manage a 40 person raid? Now try and imagine managing 80 people... In most raids all it takes is 1 person to fuck up and wipe everyone. Dealing with 40 people is bad enough, let's not get crazy now.
I agree with you, WoW end game is the reason I quit. I had finished all the bg grinding (got all the exalted rewards in AB, WSG and AV for my rogue). I just got sick of having nothing to do end game other than farm for gold to use for repairs/etc while farming molten core once a week. It's just repetitive and Not Fun(tm).
Odd, for some reason I could never get iTunes + my ipod to work as a limited user. Do you have music sharing enabled in itunes?
I run windows as an admin since it is much easier (iTunes is broken as a limited user, you can't sync your ipod unless you're an admin. This is just one of the dozens of problems you will encounter trying to run windows as a limited user). I use SysInternals' PsExec to run certain programs as a limited user while I am logged in as an admin. For example, all my firefox shortcuts look like this: psexec -l -d "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\Firefox.exe".
PsExec allows you to run a process under alternate credentials.
Here is a description of what the -l and -d parameters do:
-l
Run process as limited user (strips the Administrators group and allows only priviliges assigned to the Users group).
-d
Don't wait for application to terminate. Only use this option for non-interactive applications.]
It's not the best solution, but it works, run firefox as a limited user using psexec and then try and overwrite something in c:\program files or c:\windows, it won't let you (which is a good thing).
I think it would be much better if ICANN was run by plumbers, they can handle all the tubes much better.
AMD doesn't spend millions on marketting like Intel does, they get geeks and word of mouth to do free marketing for them. I think AMD will always have that advantage in tech circles.
Only on the AM2 X2 3800+ it seems ATM. Not the old 939 X2 3800+ http://www.cty.ca/details.asp?pid=231
$185 Canadian for the AM2 X2 3800+ is pretty good (considering I paid $350 for the 939 X2 3800+ 2-3 months ago...*grumbles*)