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"Minimum" requirements are meaningless with most software products. I'm not familiar with Windows Eight, but it does defy common wisdom that software gets more bloated inefficient with every release, and less compatible with older systems that have no commercial value anymore. According to Wiki, Win98 "requires" 16 MB of RAM. Let's bump it to 32 MB. The naked OS with very lean drivers (implies ancient hardware) will boot, but you won't be able to add any applications or allow to for registry growth. Software publishers seem to have a vague definition of what constitutes a functional computer, and leave options open to stretch the facts with cherry picked cases. For example, we can see here a demonstration where Win Eight is supposedly faster or on par with XP, and of course more "secure" than anything that came before it. And yet, it takes the multi-core PC more than a minute to open the Event Viewer with its logs fully parsed. A similar amount of data is read with the older XP's management console in seconds. That is unless you were to compare a Pentium II doing the same operation. Microsoft somehow manages to get away with taking credit for faster processors, video cards, HD audio and megapixel pictures, as if their OS somehow was crucial in enabling these parts to work. I've had a rather "upbeat" first experience with XP's GUI. I think I was impressed by its warm color scheme. The PC in question had the standard reddish Luna theme, but also the brown "Autumn" wallpaper. In retrospect this was rather silly. But that is how I remember. The PCs I got to work with were a generation behind with quarter the memory (64 MB) running Win2K.

The difference between portable and installed versions is merely the location where the settings are saved. If a blank file called "portable.dat" is found, the program saves its settings in the program directory as opposed to the registry. Further experiments revealed a problem. Some of the forms have Part headings as white text on black background. With a color override, that text also becomes black and invisible. I don't know how to solve this efficiently, except by "printing" to a new PDF file and editing that to make the text white again.

"Registry Workshop" ($30) allows several Explorer-like operations, such as copying of keys and drag-and-drop. There are three versions covering all OS down to win98. It can export any key as binary data for editing as a file.

There aren't as many choices as it seems. Zip contains the same exe installer. MSI is a special format for system administrators that only causes grief to regular users. Get the 'portable' version to test the software without any changes to your system. Get the 'EXE' installer to install it with file associations and browser integration (optional).

If I print the forms in PDF-XChange Viewer, they do print out as blue WYSIWYG. I assumed the OP wanted a more legible, economical or faster print in black. I can also Export form data, which produces an XML file with all the fields and none of the formatting. I don't know what uses such an XML would have. I can also save a filled out form, so that it can be opened later with all the data in it. The color override I suggested is only for display and print. I can save a document with black type if I produce a new PDF by printing the form out. This does require a "Pro" version of PDF-XChange. I don't see any practical reason for doing this. One minor issue I can see is that the text doesn't seem to fit neatly in the boundaries of each field. There is not enough padding around text. I don't know it this is a design issue or a flaw in XChange.

PDF-XChange Viewer has an Accessbility setting to Override Document Colors. It's under the program Preferences. I was able to change all text including the form fields to any color. However, this changes the colors of all text to be the same, not just the fields. I used these Forms for testing.

Thank you for posting the sample. It looks like the second line doesn't make use of font hinting, essential instructions in quality fonts that cause lines to intersect at right angles and form symmetric circles to improve readability at low resolutions. Maybe Microsoft counts on users having ClearType enabled where the issue is less pronounced. I'd consider the update buggy and broken. One more reason not to blindly accept updates in general.

You could post a small screenshot illustrating how exactly a page with Times New Roman at a few different point sizes looks.

A little too "austere". I find that the win95 neutral grey color clashes oddly with ClearType; it's almost depressing compared to the default reddish tint on 2k/xp. ClearType makes text purple for no reason on my basic LCD, observed at a steep angle and also when I scroll. People have contradictory impressions about the quality of type under Win Ten. It doesn't use ClearType in this sample, which is also the way I prefer. I suspect that many reports of Win Eight Ten feeling faster can be explained by the system being new and also freshly installed. But Microsoft of course takes the credit for the amount of RAM in the system. And the video card's power is also the product of their DirectX. If only they added small enhancements like this one. One registry association for HKCR\Directory allows to launch CMD from it.

1. Foobar2000 + foo_midi plugin is a self-contained setup that doesn't depend on a sound card or drivers. The program comes with a few software emualation variants of the Yamaha OPL3. It supports most VST instruments, such as the Yamaha S-YXG50. I think it requires at the very least an XP SP3 system (won't work on SP1 or 2k). 2. Yamaha MidRadio. A player with a VST instrument built in (S-YXG2006LE). It is in Japanese, which isn't a problem considering it's simple player. But the interface has some oddities that arise from the fact it's made for a foreign culture. Actually works on Windows 98 and up. English version with an earlier S-YXG50. 3. VanBasco Karaoke Player. A more featured player offering some control over the performance, such as visualizing and muting individual instruments. Does not include a synthesizer, and plays on whatever sound card is installed into the system. 4. A sequencer such as REAPER would offer even more control and editing options, as well as rendering to an audio file. Out of all synthesizers, the S-YXG50 (MU50 sample set) has the most balanced General MIDI sound set. I have no idea which programs are compatible with Windows Eight. That's the price you pay for early adoption: you've got no software. The first two choices are highly likely to work, being standalone programs.

To get "subpixel" resolution the image must be resampled. There is no way around it. Some software may perform it automatically, but it still does it (and it's a pain if it can't be controlled). You will lose some precision, which may not be noticeable on smooth photographs or anti-aliased shapes or type (which themselves already have gone through the process of oversampling, and have fractional pixel resolution), but definitely will blur out sharp transitions like the pixel art "51", assuming it was part of the actual picture you're working on. However, you could resample only the layer that needs to be moved, and leave other layer(s) untouched. Copy it out into a new document, upscale it by a factor of 2, move it, for example, by adding 1px in the Canvas Size dialog. Downscale it to 50%, move it back into the original document. You might want to experiment with different resampling algorithms to balance sharpness and ringing. I know some versions of Photoshop have different Bicubic modes. You might even save the isolated layer as a PNG file with transparency and make use of another software product to resize it, should its result be more pleasing to the eye. If the movable layer was ever in vector format (such as if it was distorted text), you could go back to it's source file, and move the coordinates of it's shapes by the amount required, and repeat any raster editing it has to have.

How is the "HDD Accelerator" a significant improvement over a regular disk cache that is part of every OS, works transparently, and doesn't need to be installed or paid for?

This BSOD will occur with many modern usermode software, such as Media Player Classic HC or FileZilla (even if they work on lower versions such as Win2k). I thought it was specific to SP1, but apparently not. To me it sounds like a major bug in XP that has been since fixed in SP3. I once read it had to do with "alignment", but nothing concrete. I have even set up a virtual machine with SP1 to test new recent programs before I run them (since reinstalling Windows is a major undertaking with many issues). Overall SP1 still has its uses with older games and very low spec machines.

I would like to see a list similar to the one for Win98. How exactly is the SSE2 instruction set connected to applications not working under XP? We have had various 'optimized' binaries with SSE2 and SSE3 for quite a while without issues.

Thank you for the reply. I dismissed the possibility of using a batch file early (my bad), because I didn't want a command prompt to become visible. But actually, at least if run from the Task Sheduler, a batch can be executed silently. I have come up with these working solutions. Set service start type to Manual. SpecialPollingInterval can't be reduced to below about 60 seconds, or else the time isn't applied. :STARTREM Test for network availability.ping -n 1 192.168.15.254 | find "TTL=" >nulif errorlevel 1 (goto WAIT) else (goto SYNC):WAITping 127.0.0.1 -n 3 >nulgoto START:SYNCreg ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient /v SpecialPollInterval /t REG_DWORD /d 0x3C /fsc start W32Timeping -n 1 -w 70000 192.168.254.254reg ADD HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient /v SpecialPollInterval /t REG_DWORD /d 0x1C20 /fsc stop W32Timesc start W32Time Ask for a resync a few times. Time becomes available after 8-12 sec. Some resyncs are ineffective because the time is "stale" (whatever that means). :STARTREM Test for network availability.ping -n 1 192.168.15.254 | find "TTL=" >nulif errorlevel 1 (goto WAIT) else (goto SYNC):WAITping 127.0.0.1 -n 3 >nulgoto START:SYNCsc start W32Timeping -n 1 -w 4000 192.168.254.254w32tm /resyncping -n 1 -w 4000 192.168.254.254w32tm /resyncping -n 1 -w 4000 192.168.254.254w32tm /resyncREM sc stop W32Time How to wait for network in a batch script when booting on Windows Server? The WikiHow guide seems to be missing one step that can prevent the time service from starting except when it is run on schedule every week. Windows Time starts/stops at system startup. I ran into this case here as well, where it was stopped due to unavailable network.

Windows 98 actually provided a second more informative message in such a case: EXE expects a never version of Windows. Upgrade your Windows version. It is not often that 9x does something better than NT. I've previously used Stud_PE to adjust this header.

Further investigation reveals that manual syncing from the command line w32tm.exe /resync is successful most of the time. The service does not change time after the initial NTP sync. The time sample is also not compared against MaxPosPhaseCorrection. W32time then proceeds to wait the specified interval, and after the next communication with the server does in fact set the time as expected. It does not matter if the computer has just been booted up, or if only the time service restarted. Clock remains wrong for the duration of SpecialPollInterval. I tried creating a scheduled task that would run w32tm /resync at boot time and log in, but it failed because of "stale" time data. Log indicates that after "receiving valid time data" it gives up because "W32TmServiceMain: resync req, irreg already pending". Then later it proceeds to "resync req, irreg now pending" after which time is set. Then it tends to alter between "already pending" and "now pending". I tried with 1 hour interval. 120 seconds also worked but is excessive. 151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ---------- Log File Opened -----------------151118 10:44:52.4375000s - CurSpc:15625000ns BaseSpc:15625000ns SyncToCmos:Yes151118 10:44:52.4375000s - PerfFreq:1571416c/s151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: Found provider 'NtpClient':151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'Enabled'=0x00000001151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='%systemroot%\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='C:\Windows\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='C:\Windows\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'InputProvider'=0x00000001151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: Found provider 'NtpServer':151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'Enabled'=0x00000000151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='%systemroot%\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='C:\Windows\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='C:\Windows\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'InputProvider'=0x00000000151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: Found provider 'VMICTimeProvider':151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'Enabled'=0x00000000151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='%SystemRoot%\System32\vmictimeprovider.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='C:\Windows\System32\vmictimeprovider.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'DllName'='C:\Windows\System32\vmictimeprovider.dll'151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'InputProvider'=0x00000001151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'PhaseCorrectRate'=0x00000007 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'UpdateInterval'=0x00057E40 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'FrequencyCorrectRate'=0x00000004 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'PollAdjustFactor'=0x00000005 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'LargePhaseOffset'=0x02FAF080 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'SpikeWatchPeriod'=0x00000384 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'HoldPeriod'=0x00000005 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'MinPollInterval'=0x0000000A (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'MaxPollInterval'=0x00000011 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'AnnounceFlags'=0x0000000A (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'LocalClockDispersion'=0x0000000A (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'MaxNegPhaseCorrection'=0x7FFFFFFF (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'MaxPosPhaseCorrection'=0x7FFFFFFF (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'EventLogFlags'=0x00000003 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'MaxAllowedPhaseOffset'=0x00000001 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - ReadConfig: 'TimeJumpAuditOffset'=0x00007080 (2)151118 10:44:52.4375000s - lastClockRate=156250, clockPrecision=-6151118 10:44:52.4375000s - SetTimeSlipNotification succeeds with 0x00000000.151118 10:44:52.4531250s - W32TmServiceMain: RequestNetTopoChangeNotification Succeed151118 10:44:52.4531250s - DomainHierarchy: LSA role change notification. Redetecting.151118 10:44:52.4531250s - ClockDisciplineThread: Starting: SetUnsync: LI:3 S:0 RDl:0 RDs:0 TSF:0x0 LastUTC:130780151118 10:44:52.4531250s - Starting Providers.151118 10:44:52.4531250s - Starting 'NtpClient', dll:'C:\Windows\system32\w32time.dll'151118 10:44:52.4531250s - LoadLibrary151118 10:44:52.4531250s - NtpTimeProvOpen("NtpClient") called.151118 10:44:52.4531250s - StartNtpProv151118 10:44:52.4531250s - sysPrecision=-6, systmeClockResolution=156250151118 10:44:52.4687500s - NtpProvider: Created 2 sockets (0 listen-only): [::]:123<0x0>, 0.0.0.0:123<0x0>151118 10:44:52.4687500s - StartListeningThread completed!151118 10:44:52.4687500s - PeerPollingThread: waiting forever151118 10:44:52.4687500s - StartPeerPollingThread completed!151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'AllowNonstandardModeCombinations'=0x00000001 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'CompatibilityFlags'=0x80000000 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'SpecialPollInterval'=0x00000E10 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'ResolvePeerBackoffMinutes'=0x0000000F (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'ResolvePeerBackoffMaxTimes'=0x00000007 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'EventLogFlags'=0x00000003 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'LargeSampleSkew'=0x00000003 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'Type'=NTP (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'NtpServer'=192.168.15.254,0x01 (2)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - ReadConfig: 'ManualPeerList'(parsed)='192.168.15.254,0x01'151118 10:44:52.4687500s - AddNewPendingPeer: manual151118 10:44:52.4687500s - StartListeningThread completed!151118 10:44:52.4687500s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 0.000s151118 10:44:52.4687500s - StartPeerPollingThread completed!151118 10:44:52.4687500s - NtpClient started.151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Successfully started 1 providers.151118 10:44:52.4687500s - /--TimeProvider: All providers started151118 10:44:52.4687500s - | Name:NtpClient, Started:1, Input:1, Marked:0, RefCount:0, DllName:C:\Windows\system32\w32time.dll151118 10:44:52.4687500s - >--151118 10:44:52.4687500s - | Total:1, Input: 1, Marked: 0151118 10:44:52.4687500s - \--151118 10:44:52.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting i16.000s (1024.000s)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - PeerPollingThread: WaitTimeout151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Resolving manual peer: 192.168.15.254,0x01151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Create new peer associations: #1151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Association: (Local) 0.0.0.0:123 => 192.168.15.254:123 (Remote)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Created reachability group: (151118 10:44:52.4687500s - 192.168.15.254:123,151118 10:44:52.4687500s - )151118 10:44:52.4687500s - PollIntervalChange(): clear: host 0 = max 17 151118 10:44:52.4687500s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 0.000s151118 10:44:52.4687500s - PeerPollingThread: PeerListUpdated151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Reachability: Attempting to contact peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123).151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Polling peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)151118 10:44:52.4687500s - Sending packet to 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) in Win2K detect mode, stage 1.151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PollIntervalChange(192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)): reclamp: 17 -> 10 (min=4, max=17, sys=10)151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Peer poll: Max:3600.0000000s (special) Cur:00.0000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: WaitTimeout151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: PeerListUpdated151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - ListeningThread -- DataAvailEvent set for socket 1 (0.0.0.0:123)151118 10:44:52.4843750s - ListeningThread -- response heard from 192.168.15.254:123 <- 192.168.15.30:123151118 10:44:52.4843750s - /-- NTP Packet:151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | LeapIndicator: 0 - no warning; VersionNumber: 3; Mode: 4 - Server; LiVnMode: 0x1C151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | Stratum: 3 - secondary reference (syncd by (S)NTP)151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | Poll Interval: 17 - out of valid range; Precision: -14 - 61.0352æs per tick151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | RootDelay: 0x0000.0FFBs - 0.0624237s; RootDispersion: 0x0000.1332s - 0.0749817s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | ReferenceClockIdentifier: 0x82EB1443 - source IP: 130.235.20.67151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | ReferenceTimestamp: 0xD801E7F3010ACA41 - 13059488371004070900ns - 151151 11:39:31.0040709s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | OriginateTimestamp: 0xD7D659A478000000 - 13056633892468750000ns - 151118 10:44:52.4687500s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | ReceiveTimestamp: 0xD801E93433340BEF - 13059488692200012900ns - 151151 11:44:52.2000129s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | TransmitTimestamp: 0xD801E934338A1400 - 13059488692201325700ns - 151151 11:44:52.2013257s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - >-- Non-packet info:151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | DestinationTimestamp: 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 0xD7D659A47C000000151118 10:44:52.4843750s - - 13056633892484375000ns151118 10:44:52.4843750s - - 151118 10:44:52.4843750s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | RoundtripDelay: 14312200ns (0s)151118 10:44:52.4843750s - | LocalClockOffset: 2854799724106800ns - 47579:59.724106800s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - \--151118 10:44:52.4843750s - ListeningThread STC:130782151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) is not Win2K. Setting compat flags.151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PollIntervalChange(192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)): peer receive: 0 -> 17151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Peer poll: Max:3600.0000000s (special) Cur:3600.0000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Response from peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123), ofs: +2854799.7241068s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Logging warning: Time Provider NtpClient: The time sample received from peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) differs from the local time by 2854800 seconds. The transmission delay from the server was 7 milliseconds. 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 5 Age:5 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:08.0000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 4 Age:4 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:12.0000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 3 Age:3 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:14.0000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 2 Age:2 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:15.0000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 1 Age:1 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:15.5000000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - 0 Age:0 Ofs:+2854799.7241068s Dly:+00.0312500s RDly:+00.0624237s Dsp:00.0156861s RDsp:00.0749817s Pnt:00.0000000s Dst:00.0313111s FDsp:07.7500000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Reachability: peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) is reachable.151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Logging information: NtpClient is currently receiving valid time data from 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123).** 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - W32TmServiceMain: resync req, irreg already pending.** 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting i15.984s (1023.984s)** 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - W32TmServiceMain: Network Topology Change** 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - TimeProvCommand([NtpClient], TPC_NetTopoChange) called.** 151118 10:44:52.4843750s - NtpProvider: Network Topology Change151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Reachability: removing peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123). LAST PEER IN GROUP!151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Peer (special) now pending: <Name:192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) poll:3600 diff:2130582587 last:130594886922084818 resync?:FALSE>151118 10:44:52.4843750s - Peers reset: p-p:0 a-p:1 a-x:0151118 10:44:52.4843750s - NtpProvider: Created 2 sockets (0 listen-only): [::]:123<0x0>, 0.0.0.0:123<0x0>151118 10:44:52.4843750s - StartListeningThread completed!151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 10:44:52.4843750s - StartPeerPollingThread completed!151118 10:44:52.4843750s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting i15.984s (1023.984s)151118 10:44:52.4843750s - W32TmServiceMain: RequestNetTopoChangeNotification Succeed151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: PeerListUpdated151118 10:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 10:45:08.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout151118 10:45:08.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting 1024.000s151118 11:02:12.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout151118 11:02:12.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting 1024.000s151118 11:19:16.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout151118 11:19:16.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting 1024.000s151118 11:36:20.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout151118 11:36:20.4687500s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting 1024.000s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: WaitTimeout151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Resolving manual peer: 192.168.15.254,0x01151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Create new peer associations: #1151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Association: (Local) 0.0.0.0:123 => 192.168.15.254:123 (Remote)151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Created reachability group: (151118 11:44:52.4843750s - 192.168.15.254:123,151118 11:44:52.4843750s - )151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PollIntervalChange(): clear: host 0 = max 17 151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 0.000s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: PeerListUpdated151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Reachability: Attempting to contact peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123).151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Polling peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Sending packet to 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) in Win2K detect mode, stage 1.151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PollIntervalChange(192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)): reclamp: 17 -> 10 (min=4, max=17, sys=10)151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Peer poll: Max:3600.0000000s (special) Cur:00.0000000s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: WaitTimeout151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - ListeningThread -- DataAvailEvent set for socket 1 (0.0.0.0:123)151118 11:44:52.4843750s - ListeningThread -- response heard from 192.168.15.254:123 <- 192.168.15.30:123151118 11:44:52.4843750s - /-- NTP Packet:151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | LeapIndicator: 0 - no warning; VersionNumber: 3; Mode: 4 - Server; LiVnMode: 0x1C151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | Stratum: 3 - secondary reference (syncd by (S)NTP)151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | Poll Interval: 17 - out of valid range; Precision: -14 - 61.0352æs per tick151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | RootDelay: 0x0000.121As - 0.0707092s; RootDispersion: 0x0000.128Ds - 0.072464s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | ReferenceClockIdentifier: 0x82EB1443 - source IP: 130.235.20.67151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | ReferenceTimestamp: 0xD801F45B010D71B6 - 13059491547004111400ns - 151151 12:32:27.0041114s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | OriginateTimestamp: 0xD7D667B47C000000 - 13056637492484375000ns - 151118 11:44:52.4843750s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | ReceiveTimestamp: 0xD801F7444373BD18 - 13059492292263484800ns - 151151 12:44:52.2634848s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | TransmitTimestamp: 0xD801F74443916BB5 - 13059492292263937700ns - 151151 12:44:52.2639377s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - >-- Non-packet info:151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | DestinationTimestamp: 151118 11:44:52.4843750s - 0xD7D667B47C000000151118 11:44:52.4843750s - - 13056637492484375000ns151118 11:44:52.4843750s - - 151118 11:44:52.4843750s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | RoundtripDelay: -452900ns (0s)151118 11:44:52.4843750s - | LocalClockOffset: 2854799779336200ns - 47579:59.779336200s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - \--151118 11:44:52.4843750s - ListeningThread STC:361182151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) is not Win2K. Setting compat flags.151118 11:44:52.4843750s - PollIntervalChange(192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)): peer receive: 0 -> 17151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Peer poll: Max:3600.0000000s (special) Cur:3600.0000000s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Response from peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123), ofs: +2854799.7793362s151118 11:44:52.4843750s - Logging warning: Time Provider NtpClient: The time sample received from peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) differs from the local time by 2854800 seconds. The transmission delay from the server was 0 milliseconds. 151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 5 Age:5 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:08.0000000s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 4 Age:4 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:12.0000000s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 3 Age:3 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:14.0000000s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 2 Age:2 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:15.0000000s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 1 Age:1 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000004s Dst:16.0000004s FDsp:15.5000000s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 0 Age:0 Ofs:+2854799.7793362s Dly:+00.0312500s RDly:+00.0707092s Dsp:00.0156860s RDsp:00.0724640s Pnt:00.0000000s Dst:00.0313110s FDsp:07.7500000s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - Reachability: peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123) is reachable.151118 11:44:52.5000000s - Logging information: NtpClient is currently receiving valid time data from 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123).** 151118 11:44:52.5000000s - W32TmServiceMain: resync req, irreg now pending.** 151118 11:44:52.5000000s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting i0.000s (511.968s)** 151118 11:44:52.5000000s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout** 151118 11:44:52.5000000s - Sample Prepared at 130566374925000000 for peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)** 151118 11:44:52.5000000s - NtpClient returned 1 samples.151118 11:44:52.5000000s - Sample 0 offset:+2854799.7793362s delay:+00.1019592s dispersion:07.8381500s151118 11:44:52.5000000s - Intersection successful with 0 dropped samples.151118 11:44:52.5000000s - 0: Sample:0 SyncDist:558891296 SelectDisp:0151118 11:44:52.5000000s - Sample 0 chosen. Select Dispersion:00.0000000s STC:361182151118 11:44:52.5000000s - ClockDispln Update: LastUTC:361182 SO:28547997793362 KPhO:0 *PhO:28547997793362 uT:230402 SD:39190750 LI:0 S:4 RDl:1019592 RDs:78481500 TSF:0x0 Unset->Hold151151 12:44:52.2949612s - ClockDispln Discipline: *SET*TIME* - PhCR:11328570 KPho:28547997793362 (AUDIT)151151 12:44:52.2949612s - ClockDispln Discipline: *SKEW*TIME* - PhCRR:0 CR:156250 PhCR:11328570 UI:360000 phcT:230403 KPhO:0151151 12:44:52.3418362s - Logging information: The time service is now synchronizing the system time with the time source 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123).151151 12:44:52.3418362s - Logging warning: The time service has jumped the local system clock by +2854799 seconds. This occurs when the time source and local system time are far enough apart that clock rate adjustments cannot be made to reach the time specified by the time source.151151 12:44:52.3418362s - TimeProvCommand([NtpClient], TPC_TimeJumped) called.151151 12:44:52.3418362s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting 1024.000s151151 12:44:52.3418362s - W32TmServiceMain: ********** Time Slip Notification **********151151 12:44:52.3418362s - ClockDispln TimeSlip:TimeSlip LastUTC:361187 SetUnsync: LI:3 S:0 RDl:1019592 RDs:78481500 TSF:0x0 ReleaseClock2CMOS151151 12:44:52.3566250s - TimeProvCommand([NtpClient], TPC_TimeJumped) called.151151 12:44:52.3566250s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting i16.000s (1024.000s)151151 12:44:52.3566250s - PeerPollingThread: PeerListUpdated151151 12:44:52.3566250s - Polling peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)151151 12:44:52.3722500s - Peer poll: Max:3600.0000000s (special) Cur:00.0000000s151151 12:44:52.3722500s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151151 12:44:52.3722500s - PeerPollingThread: PeerListUpdated151151 12:44:52.3722500s - PeerPollingThread: waiting 3600.000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - ListeningThread -- DataAvailEvent set for socket 1 (0.0.0.0:123)151151 12:44:52.4035000s - ListeningThread -- response heard from 192.168.15.254:123 <- 192.168.15.30:123151151 12:44:52.4035000s - /-- NTP Packet:151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | LeapIndicator: 0 - no warning; VersionNumber: 3; Mode: 4 - Server; LiVnMode: 0x1C151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | Stratum: 3 - secondary reference (syncd by (S)NTP)151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | Poll Interval: 10 - 1024s; Precision: -14 - 61.0352æs per tick151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | RootDelay: 0x0000.121As - 0.0707092s; RootDispersion: 0x0000.128Ds - 0.072464s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | ReferenceClockIdentifier: 0x82EB1443 - source IP: 130.235.20.67151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | ReferenceTimestamp: 0xD801F45B010D71B6 - 13059491547004111400ns - 151151 12:32:27.0041114s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | OriginateTimestamp: 0xD801F7445B4BC6A7 - 13059492292356625000ns - 151151 12:44:52.3566250s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | ReceiveTimestamp: 0xD801F7445D004EFD - 13059492292363286000ns - 151151 12:44:52.3632860s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | TransmitTimestamp: 0xD801F7445D1B9FF6 - 13059492292363702800ns - 151151 12:44:52.3637028s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - >-- Non-packet info:151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | DestinationTimestamp: 151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 0xD801F744674BC6A7151151 12:44:52.4035000s - - 13059492292403500000ns151151 12:44:52.4035000s - - 151151 12:44:52.4035000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | RoundtripDelay: 46458200ns (0s)151151 12:44:52.4035000s - | LocalClockOffset: -16568100ns - 0:00.016568100s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - \--151151 12:44:52.4035000s - ListeningThread STC:361191151151 12:44:52.4035000s - PollIntervalChange(192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)): peer receive: 17 -> 10151151 12:44:52.4035000s - Peer poll: Max:3600.0000000s (special) Cur:3599.9687500s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - Response from peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123), ofs: -00.0165681s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 5 Age:5 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000024s Dst:16.0000024s FDsp:08.0000000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 4 Age:4 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000024s Dst:16.0000024s FDsp:12.0000000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 3 Age:3 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000024s Dst:16.0000024s FDsp:14.0000000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 2 Age:2 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000024s Dst:16.0000024s FDsp:15.0000000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 1 Age:1 Ofs:+00.0000000s Dly:+00.0000000s RDly:+00.0000000s Dsp:16.0000000s RDsp:00.0000000s Pnt:00.0000024s Dst:16.0000024s FDsp:15.5000000s151151 12:44:52.4035000s - 0 Age:0 Ofs:-00.0165681s Dly:+00.0464582s RDly:+00.0707092s Dsp:00.0156865s RDsp:00.0724640s Pnt:00.0000000s Dst:00.0389156s FDsp:07.7500000s** 151151 12:44:52.4035000s - W32TmServiceMain: resync req, irreg already pending.** 151151 12:44:52.4035000s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting i15.953s (1023.953s)** 151151 12:45:08.3566250s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout 151151 12:45:08.3566250s - Sample Prepared at 130594923083566250 for peer 192.168.15.254,0x01 (ntp.m|0x1|0.0.0.0:123->192.168.15.254:123)151151 12:45:08.3566250s - NtpClient returned 1 samples.151151 12:45:08.3566250s - Sample 0 offset:-00.0165681s delay:+00.1171674s dispersion:07.8383351s151151 12:45:08.3566250s - Intersection successful with 0 dropped samples.151151 12:45:08.3566250s - 0: Sample:0 SyncDist:558969188 SelectDisp:0151151 12:45:08.3566250s - Sample 0 chosen. Select Dispersion:00.0000000s STC:361191151151 12:45:08.3566250s - ClockDispln Update: LastUTC:361191 SO:-165681 KPhO:0 PhO:-165681 uT:4 SD:55424744 LI:0 S:4 RDl:1171674 RDs:78483351 TSF:0x0 Unset->Hold151151 12:45:08.3566250s - W32TmServiceMain: waiting 1024.000s151151 13:02:12.3722500s - W32TmServiceMain: timeout I am considering a small 3rd party program now because this is too overcomplicated, starting with the setting names like "phase". The fact that the service doesn't work right away also makes network or setting troubleshooting difficult, because we can't see the result immediately.

I am trying to use the built-in Windows time client to adjust the time on a Windows Seven computer with a bad CMOS battery that cannot be easily replaced. It is not working. I am now experimenting with the settings on a virtual machine also running Windows Seven to find the correct settings. It is also not working. Time is kept on a network router running an NTP server. The machine has network up, can ping the router and other computers. Internet is for the machine is blocked on purpose. I have set the time to the past and tried to correct it. No change to the system clock happened. I have adjusted the settings of "MaxPosPhaseCorrection" and "MaxNegPhaseCorrection" to accept any time. Neither 0xFFFFFFF (8 years) nor 0x7FFFFFFF worked. All settings of W32Time The Event Log reports the time difference received, and says that "valid time data" is being received. Screenshot of Event Log and current time Using a 3rd party application called Chameleon Clock allows to correct the time immediately. Screenshot of Chameleon Clock The application is a bit of an overkill, old, might not be compatible with Seven, and might crash. I'd rather use the Windows service which is always installed anyway. I've previously successfully used the time service on Windows XP, and all took to make it working was to increase the permitted PhaseCorrection. Edit: I have solved this problem by installing Meinberg NTP 4.2.4 for Windows The program has a GUI wizard for setting up the initial configuration and easy to understand documentation. It works with default settings, which include an option to accept any time on startup. Memory usage is about 850 KB. So far it has worked flawlessly on the real computer. Some easy to understand documentation for W32Time: MSDN - Windows Time Service Sysadmin Lab - Configuring NTP on Windows 2008 R2 If somebody knows how W32Time can be tweaked to work reliably from the start, please post.

The influence it takes to present old style as "modern" still amazes me. I wish the basic Windows UI was still there, especially in Server editions. I bet Classic would be more responsive, because fancy shadows wouldn't be required to visibly draw one window on top of another. But actual work is needed to make the various windows look neat without any controls clipping or text not fitting in. That effort is probably considered not cost effective. I wish they left the simplified PC Settings panel for novice users, and provided an "advanced" link in each category that opened a relevant applet from Control Panel when the user decides to learn more. The right to customize Microsoft software can no longer be taken for granted. What should be a simple choice, a checkbox in settings, now requires more or less hacking. And Microsoft apologists will be happy with whatever the company puts out. That is depressing. Like here, an eye-candy animation in Office 2013 is discussed. The setting existed, it had already been implemented, but hidden at that time, because we must accept the company's decision for what is best in all cases. If it is not the best, we must change the case (buy a faster PC to draw the fancy animation).

Where does the list of "All Apps" appear when the item is clicked? Can we get a "flyout" style cascaded menu listing the Start directory like in Win 98/2K? Without that I would consider the Start menu non-functional.

InstallShield has often failed me on non-standard customized systems which have missing or different shell folders. I have a feeling that some software wants to appear as a more serious if it is deployable by Windows Installer... Luckily Opera 11 and later no longer have an installer. Instead, Opera copies itself to the destination directory. And if it can't start, then it is likely it won't load later in use either until something is added to the system.

Windows Installer and InstallShield can break for a hundred reasons, and often the error messages are misleading. They both suck individually, and even more when combined. Try the "classic" Wise installer instead. http://arc.opera.com/pub/opera/win/1063/en/

I did not know the "linux players" could handle SWFs. Apparently it also works with SMPlayer both over network and with local files. It can pull most video and audio streams out of SWFs, and plays nothing from SWFs containing only "vector" data.

Once discovered that the video is a single SWF file, it is indeed quicker to skip analyzing the page each time, and simply perform "View Source" - Ctrl-F - ".swf", and copy the link. To speed up page loading, while videos are gathered, I can press F12 in Opera to temporarily disable Java Script and Plug-ins. This will prevent the videos from ever starting to play unnecessarily, and we will get the download prompt upon visiting application/x-shockwave-flash links. Once done, press F12 again, to restore normal behavior of playing SWFs in browser. I believe the question was how to download this and similar videos with a "general method" which can be applied in a number of cases, including when Lenovo potentially upgrades their site. The unnecessary embed in this thread plays every time I read it. Edit: You could put the standalone Flash Player's single exe file on the CD along with the SWFs. A point of caution is that, when run, the Flash Player will register associations of its file types with Windows, which would become invalid once the CD is removed. Not that big of a deal. Just run another Flash Player that exists on HDD to retake the associations.

The scripts that run on mouseover and upon scrolling do noticeably slow down my Opera browser, which doesn't have great performance by today's standards. This is compared to the older DDG page. The horizontal scrolling band with definitions is particularly slow to appear.