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nightthief

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  1. I regularly customize the Vista Start menu folders. As such, let me provide some general advice, and then address your specific questions.Vista's start menu is an amalgamation of two separate directories and their subdirectories. The first of these is the global or all users start menu while the second is the currently logged in users start menu. While these each have default locations which can be altered, the easiest way to locate either one is by right-clicking on the Vista Orb and selecting Explore All Users... for the all users start menu or selecting Explore... for the current user's start menu. (When organizing my start menu, I normally open both directories in different explorer windows and then show the two windows "Side by Side." Anything that appears in either of these directories will appear in the start menu you see when you click on all programs on the Vista Orb (aka Start) Panel. The main difference is that the All Users Start Menu appears for all users of the computer system (so should have any shortcuts to programs you want everyone to be able to access) while the Current User Start Menu is specifc to the logged in user account (so should only contain shortcuts to programs you don't want other users to access). Since my system has only one user, everything goes into my All Users Start Menu directory structure. Vista's Start Menu has one minor annoyance. If a directory exists under the All Users Start Menu at the root level, but no corresponding root level directory exists (even though such could be an empty directory) under the Current User Start Menu, then said directory will appear in the Vista Orb (Start) Panel's All Programs display - but cannot be expanded or otherwise accessed. To avoid this annoyance, I create all my folders for organizing the system under the All Users Start Menu\Programs folder. Those created here display and can be accessed without regard to having duplicate access folders in the Current User Start Menu. Inside the All Users Start Menu's Program folder, I create a set of directories for organizing my installed applications. Among these are Accessories, CD & DVD Support, Emulation, Games, Internet, Multimedia, and System Utilities. Under some of these I have additional directories to better organize the contents. For example, my Applications folder contains subfolders for Business, CAD/CAM, Graphics Arts, Music, Software Development, and Video Editing. I put only the icons to launch individual applications into these organized folders, putting in auxiliary icons needed for a specific program in a subdirectory of the same name as the program's launch icon. All the chaff (readme's, web links, uninstall icons, etc) I discard. this allows me to quickl;y find any application I want by function - while the search bar at the bottom of the Orb Pnel allows me to even more quickly find them by name. As for your questions: 1 & 2> are commonly caused by the existance of dual start menus (one for all users, the other for the current user). Renaming or deleting a directory in the Orb Panel when it exists in both start menu directories, will default to affecting the Current User. The other entry will remain untouched, which will make it appear as if another directory was created after a rename or delete. You can either edit the directories as I do with Windows Explorer or simply delete/rename the second folder to eliminate it. If a folder or icon does reappear after it is deleted from both start menus, then this is likely being caused by a setting in the specific application. WinRAR, for example, has an option to create a program group (aka start menu entry) that is necessary to first create your icons but should be unchecked after you have organized the start menu to prevent WinRAR from recreating the start menu entries. In some cases, there are programs which absolutely refuse to stop recreating their start menu entries or will crash if they are not detected where the installer placed them. In these cases, I copy the icons to where I want them, then right-click on the aberrant folder and set its properties to hidden -> applying only to selected items. This allows me to organize things as I wish, while suppressing the display of the folder the application requires to function properly. 3> May be a function of what I described in the paragraph above, so read it for a potential solution. In other cases, this is caused because the installer for XYZ application failed to properly create a shortcut with the Start In directory properly specified. In these cases, the only choice you really have is to edit those shortcuts to include the proper Start In folder. Commonly insuring the Start-In folder points to the applications actual install folder under Program Files (or wherever you specified to install it) will alleviate the problem.
  2. Please see the following Microsoft page for ordering alternative media (aka 64-bit if you own 32-bit ot 32-bit if you own 64-bit) at a substantialy reduced price (around $10 USD). http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033...ia/default.mspx
  3. When you ae in the Vista installer, you will come to a screen which asks for a key. Leave the key field blank and uncheck 'Activate Automatically." When you attempt to go past this screen, Vista will give you a warning and ask if you want to enter a key. Tell it no, and Vista will then prompt you to ask what version of the OS you want to install. It tells you that you must choose the version you have a key for, but you can actually choose any of them. Make your selection and check the acknowledgement message at the bottom and then countinue on with the installation. When the installation completes, the version of Vista you selected willl be running in trial mode - and, more importantly, your friend's legitimate key will not be compromised. Trial mode is a built-in, fully functional demonstration mode of Vista which allows you to see it before you decide whether to buy or not. You can do anything in trial mode that you can ina fully activated copy, with no restrictions. When the trial-mode runs out, however, the OS will enter into what is called Reduced Functionality Mode which allows you to do nothing other than enter a new key, activate the system, or surf the web. All other functionlity is disabled. If 30-days is not enough time for you, Microsoft does allow the trial mode to be extended for 30-days (from the day you extend it, not cumulatively). In order to do this, open a command prompt with administrator privileges and enter the command SLMGR.VBS -ReARM You may do this a maximum of three times - giving a potential maximum of 120 days to test the OS before you make your decision. And before anyone tries to claim this is somehow enabling sofware piracy, this information has been published by Microsoft and is completely within the bounds of their End User License Agreement (EULA). This is a legitimate trial mode which Microsoft has made available to the public.
  4. Please read: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platf...PAE/pae_os.mspx
  5. Direct-Sound is far more than merely an API. In addition to having a programming interface for applications, Direct Sound requires the ability to take exclusive control of the sound hardware and pass that control to the application in question. When in use, no operating system components sits between the the application and the device itself. It is this ability for an application to directly control sound hardware which was removed from Vista - which is why the Direct SOund API is now worthless. The best that can be done is to convert Direct Sound calls through an emulation library. With such a system, the application will believe it has direct sound control, even though it does not in reality. This requires that the emulation library be able to duplicate every function of a specifc sound card in software, and then take action through the interfaces Vista actually has to recreate the desired sound on whatever hardwae the computer has. Fortunately, there is such a project being developed, known as ALchemy. This is an open-source, public project, sposored by Creative Labs) which is building an emulation library which will translate from Direct-Sound to the Open Audio Layer (Open AL) which Vista fully supports. The initial version of this library is designed specifcly for Creative Labs' X-Fi series of sound cards. Furter revisions are planned to expand the support to cover all cards made and sold by Creative in the past few years. While no mention is made of this project being intended for non-Creative cards, I am currently using it on my own system with a Realtek AC'97 sound system. The library is not perfect and still needs a considerable amount of work, but it does improve the compatability of older game titles. (As an example of this is the game Max Payne. Without ALchemy, the sound is very basic and all ambient sound comes through as garbled and very annoying noise. With ALchemy, all background sound is working properly, all regular sound effects have the environmental sounds I expect, but the digital voice-over during the game is completely silent.) You can get more information at http://preview.creativelabs.com/alchemy/default.aspx
  6. See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033...ia/default.mspx to order the alternate media at a significantly reduced cost ($10/per disc).
  7. The AUDIO_TS folder, while present on many DVDs, has nothing to do with the audio heard during video playback. Instead, this folder is used for specialized Audio DVDs (a higher-quality version of regular mmusic CD's). For Video DVDs, all video and sound data is within the VOBS in the VIDEO_TS folder. That you are getting no sound when playing your burned disc means that no sound was burned to the disc when you used Nero. This could be because of the version of Nero you are using, a missing CODEC for decoding the audio from the recorded shows or for encoding the audio into the VOBs for the DVD, or no sound having beien recorded through your TV tuner to begin with. To give you any further guidance, I will need to know what version of Nero used (7.????), what Nero function you used to burn the movies, what program you used to record the video with, and what tv tuner/capture device you are using. IN addition, it would be helpful if you could load one of the recorded TV shows (not from the DVD, but from the hard-drive file it was captured to) and try playing it back on the computer.
  8. Instead of using Creative's drivers, give the kX driver set a try. This is an open-source, professional-quality sound driver which works with the entire Audigy line but provides far higher quality audio output than Creative's own drivers do. Moreover, the driver is fully Vista compatable. It's only downside is that it doesn't support EAX, which is really irrelevant since Vista doesn't support it anyway. Latest Version: http://download.kxproject.lugosoft.com/dow...v3538m-full.exe Suport Forum: http://www.driverheaven.net/kx-project-aud...-support-forum/
  9. Vista 32-bit has a maximum memory space of 4GB. The memory space includes not just your RAM, but also your I/O addressing space, ROMs, and Mapped Video Memory. As a result the usable amount of RAM on a 32-bit system is 3GB, regardless of whether or not you have more installed. To use a larger amount of RAM, you have to be using a 64-bit computer system and would need to install Windows Vista 64-bit.
  10. You can do so, even with the upgrade DVD, by doing the following:1. Install Vista in trial mode: Boot the Vista Installer DVD. Select your language options and click on Install now. When prompted for a cd key, do not enter one. Instead leave the field blank and uncheck the option for activate automatically. (You will be asked to confirm proceeding without a serial and then told to select which version of Vista to install. Select the version your upgrade key is for - Basic, Premium, Business, Ultimate.) When prompted for the partition to install to, select it and then click on advanced disk options on the right. Select format to erase the partition you will be installing to. Follow through with the rest of the installation as normal. 2. Upgrade the trial version to the full version. From the desktop, (re)insert the Vista install DVD. follow the procedures you used to upgrade XP to Vista. --- If you attempt this method and the first phase of installation fails, then there is a conflict between Vista's drivers and a hardware device on your system. In this case, you should remove any superflous expansion cards from your machine and use the bios to disable any ports you do not intend on using. Sometimes it is better to disable everything except the bare minimum to perform an installation (hard drive, dvd drive, video card, keyboard, mouse) and run the installer. After installation is complete, reenable those items which you will want - one item at a time - and let Vista install and test it's drivers. While this may seem cumbersome and is definitely time-consuming, you can find what device is causing the incompatability and either disable it or locate a compatable driver for it so it can be used without crashing the system.
  11. vaughaag, Try updating your video drivers to the latest ones on nVidia's website. Some earlier releases of the driver resulted in a blank screen being displayed when trying to use media center. In addition, you can try holding the ALt Key and tapping the Enter key after Media Center launches. This toggles Media Center between operating in full screen mode (the default), and Windowed mode on your desktop. If you are experiencing any problems associated with refresh rates, screen resolutions, or selected video output, thi s should let us know.
  12. Sorry about that, MtK... RDP is short for Remote Desktop Protocol. In reference to these instructions, it means you should install and use the Remote Deskop Client (you can find it in Microsoft's downloads section of their website) under Windows XP and use that client to access and configure the Vista machine. (From what I understand, this is because some of the XP drivers when used with specific cards cause Vista to come up with a blank black screen during the installation process. The RDP connection, however, will not be blnked allowing you to finish the configuraton. As for the Catalyst Control Center, I do not believe any version of it other than the one with the Vista drivers will function under Vista. (Unfortunately, that version will not function with the XP drier you need to install.) You can always try to install the earlier Catalyst Control Center(from the XP driver), but you will definitely have to install the .NET framework v2.0, first. (Again, a Vista version of this is available through the Microsoft download site.) As an alternative, you might consider installing ATI Tray Tools. (Do a simple google search for it and you should be able to locate it's homepage.) This application runs in the taskbar notification area and provides easy access to all the different driver configurations that ATI's CCC and Control Panel offer - and a whole lot more. I do know that the latest version of this freeware program works fine under either Vista or XP, so should mesh with your new XP driver successfully.
  13. The Radeon 9000 Pro is a Direct-X 8.1 card which is below the minimum required specifcations for running Windows Vista. No Vista drivers are made for it and none ever will be. However, there is a reported method of getting it to function somewhat in Windows Vista using the XP drivers. This method, however, requires that you have a second machine runnng XP and that you install the driver using Remote Desktop: 1) Create a new administrator account with password, or put password on your primary account (administrator). 2) Enable Remote Access (via Safe Mode). 3) Make sure the laptop is accessible through network, worthwhile to give a static IP, or record down the IP address. Also worthwhile to remember the computer name if you have Dynamic IP. 4) Reboot the laptop and leave it connected to the network. 5) Use an XP RDP Client, and access Vista's Remote Access. 6) Connect without username/password from XP RDP Client, and when on Vista's "Welcome Screen" logon with appropriate details. 7) View Device Manager, making sure that System devices > AGP Controller is enabled. Check Display Adaptor > Radeon 9000 is installed. 8) Right-click on Radeon 9000 and update the driver manually with the INF from XP driver. 9) Reboot
  14. From another fourm where success is being reported:
  15. Have you downoaded and installed the current video drivers from ATI? Using the Catalys 7.3 (last version) or 7.4 (current version), I am able to adjust the monitors relative positions with either the Catalyst Control Center or the Vista Display Settings dialog.
  16. It doesn't work. If I try to drag it all the way to the left, it stops and leave a portion of the column viewable. If you reread my post, I said to drag the divider between the directory tree and the favorite links areas (both of which are in the left-hand navigation pane) up if you want to hide the favorite links. If, instead, you want tu turn off the navigation pane in its entirety, then click Organize->Layout->Navigation Pane to toggle it.
  17. Such ileet skills and a hacker by choice. I fear you. :ph34r: hahahahha, I just had to be a smartass toward you on even making a comment about you being a hacker by choice. Only a kid would make such a comment. That gave me a great laugh tonight. Thank you for demonstrating how knowledge has degenerated over the years. What you term a hacker (ie a person who breaks into computers, etc.) is properly termed a phreaker or breaker. Neither are hackers, although the press certainly enjoys maligning the term.. 'Hacker' is a term which originated in the early 70's and has absolutely nothing to do with such illicit activities. If you care to be "smart" instead of simply being a "smartass," you can take the time to learn the true meaning of the word. Here's something to get you started: (link). As for me being a kid, I only wish I were again. I'm not, however, and the last 47 years haven't been exactly kind. Still, I've learned a lot more in my days than you apparently have - starting with manners.
  18. I'm not sure if there is a way to turn it off ccompletely. However, if you open a new Windows Explorer window, drag the divider between the Favortie Links section and the directory tree option (hiding the Favorite Links by doing so), and then close and reopen Windows Explorer, then the OS will remember that state and all future Explorer windows will have the directory tree maximized.
  19. That is strange. I just updated my own system to the 7.4's, deleted the files in the Windows\Performance\WinSAT\DataStore folder and reran the assessment without any problems. Do you have User Account Control turned on, by any chance? If so, Vista would not have actually deleted the files in the Datastore folder for you, but mirrored the deletion using your user data folders. Check to make certain UAC is turned off before you delete the files and run the assessment.
  20. What Procesor & Mobo you get will also depend on what else you will be using with it. Due to changes in many of the newer motherboards, you may or may not be able to transfer your current Power Supply, Ram, and Video Card. If you can tell us what you have there which you would like to resue, we can give you better advice. To give you a brief, I just recommended a replacemtn motherboard (with integrated video), CPU, ram, and power supply for a gentleman for a little over $250.
  21. In short, no. The previos editions of explorer are dar more than the simple executable - numerous resources spread throughout the OS make them up. No version of the explorr interface from a previous edition of Windows can be brought over to a newer version of the OS. Yes, your impression is erroneous.The Vista Windows Explorer interface retains all of the capabilities of the XP & 2003 versions, but adds a number of useful features to make your use of it easier. While it may appear unusual and confusing at first glance, it is not as strange as it first appears. The screen is divided into two main areas, a left-side navigation pane and a right-side contents pane. Both panes The contents pane is not much different from what has been seen before: it displays the contents of the folder you are currently looking at and is able to display the data in a Detail view, as a List, as Tiles, or as thumbnails. Where it differs from Vista is that it's thumbnail view can be scaled in size, ranging very small to very large, while it's detail view has different default columns selected depending ont he type of data being viewed. The left-hand Navigation pane is similarly enhanced over that used in older versions of Windows. While the navigation pane does display and use a directory tree (just as earlier OS's use), it adds a Favorite Links section which gives one click access to the folders you most frequently use. By default, the two functions are given equal amounts of space to work in, with he Favorite Links at the top and th Directory Tree below. Fortunately, it is easy to adjust the amount of space for each component (simply drag the bar which seperates them up or down) or to switch quickly to displaying either one by itself (click the little up/down arrorw next to that bar). A third pane is not turned on by default. This pane, caled the Preview pane, shows you the contents of the currently selected file without needing to launch anoher aplication. This works with various common file formats and is extensible through plugins to handle newer ones. Unless you are using a widescreen display, however, the use of all three panes does take up too much space. However, it is a very useful feature for those who have lots of documents they are constantly having to look through. As with the other panes, this can be resized at will. Above the main pane areas is a bar which holds a list of common tasks. In the older version of explorer, if you closed the navigation bar, you were presented with a list of contect sensitive actions you could take in its place. This bar does the same thing, but is visible at all times - eliminating the need to close the navigation bar just to do something. Above this is where the menubar appears. In order to conserve space, however, the menubar normally does not display. Tapping the Alt key, however, instanty displays it and you can set it o lways on through the standard Windows Exolorer properties dialohg Above the menubar is the URL/Address Bar. As with previous instances, you can type any path into this box to go straight to it. Unlike previous editions, however, the path in the address bar doubles as a set of navigation links, allowing you to click on any compoent to quickly go to parent, grandparent, and sibling directories without having to deal with the directory tree. To the right of the Address bar is a quick search box. Typing anything into this box will perform a search based on the folder you are currently viewing. This search box can accept filenames, file sizes, dates, or even complex query commands. More interestingly, after a search has been created, you can save it too your Favorite Links portion of the Navigation bar so you can access it again quickly. This can be extremely useful, as the saved search is dynamically and automatically updated as you create, rename, delete, and move files. (For example, you can save a search for pictures that will allow you to quickly get an updated list of all pictures on your system.)
  22. One of my systems has 1GB of RAM, a 1.8GHz CPU (Athlon XP 2500+), a Radeon 9600 graphics card, and an old abit NF7-S2 motherboard. That system works fine under Vista. Admittedly, it was almost top-of-the-line three years ago when I built it, but it is a far cry less powerful than today's best systems.Where Vista wants hardware is in the amount of memory installed (512MB is barely functioning, 768MB is usable, 1GB is decent, & 2GB maximizes performance) and the video card installed (forget pre-DX9 graphics adapters, as they will not be up to par for Vista). While top-of-the-line is not needed, trying to use an old Pentium III and 128MB of RAM on a Trident Blade is not going to cut it.
  23. I have been working with computers since the early 70's, having cut my teeth on an old PDP-11 and the Altair. I am a hardware engineer by trade, a programmer by necessity, and a hacker by choice. There are very few applications that I have not put my computer system to. As such, try to refrain from talking to me as if I were a neophyte.My own network consists of seven systems. Three are running Vista Ultimate (two with Office 2k7 and one with 2k3), three are running XP (one with Office 2007 and two with 2k3), and the final one - my server - is running Win-2k3. I use a variety of applications on my network, including the Office Suite with Exchange on my server. The compatability issue you mention has nothing to do with Vista, but is a result of mixing and matching Office 2003 and 2007. As for Photoshop, I am far from being a regular user I regularly use multiple layers, alpha channel composition, numerous filters, channel substitution, masking, custom brushes, color correction & normalization, and much more. I have never encountered any "glitches" as you claim I would have. Your comments about the Video system are just as innacurate. While metadata specifying permissions and security have to be accessed for every file, there is virtually no difference between how they are implemented in Vista and how they were in XP & 2003. On all three systems (and even older version of NT such as 4.0 and 3.51), the security metadata associated with every single file on the computer must be accessed every time the file is. The "burden" you claim DRM to be is a myth. Likewise, you are in error when you claim that DRM exists because Microsoft wants to control what you do. While the latter may or may not be true, the implementation of DRM was imposed by the content providers. Microsoft had a choice of either implementing it as the license for interoperability with their media requires, or simply refusing to support it at all - and thus locking all of the Vista users out of being able to use such titles. Quite frankly, Microsoft would have been foolish to take the latter route. As for your claims of a complete dearth of hardware support for DRM, you really need to check your facts. Both the Radeon x1650xt graphics card in the box I am currently typing on and the Ben-Q monitor attached to it are fully HDMI/HDCP compliant. With the exception of some minor bugs in the current ATI Catalyst video driver, HD video plays without a problem. Not only is this hardware compliant, but so are my 8800GTS card and the Dell monitor it is running. In fact, there are both a handful of cards and displays which support HDCP. Even more, those people who don't have such hardware, can simply bypass the DRM requirements using the current release of AnyDVD. The one place I will give you credit is in your statement that most Businesses should not adopt Vista & Office 2007. I do agree with you on the conclusion, but find your reasoning grossly innacurate. Vista offers a considerable boost in productivity for those who have learned how to use it. (And, yes, I have been using Vista for quite a long while - having played with the Alphas and then converting my primary machine to run Vista exclusively starting with Public Beta 1.) Among Vista's many improvements are the streamlined user interface, intelligent use of rendering hardware, instantaneous searches, AI guided cache and memory management (Readyboost, Superfetch, ReadyDrive), and a very robust security subsystem that protects the system against crashes and malicious code. As for stability, my current uptime is now at 187 days, 14 hours, and 22 minutes. The only reason I agree with your conclusion is because of the economic equation. Due to the newness of Vista and Office 2007, all current schooling is still focused on the XP/O2k3 system. As such, neither employees currently working for a company nor the potential employes they might hire are going to have the skills for the new paradigm. This necessitates retraining on a mass scale, a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. Moreover, until users become proficient with the newer sysems, productivity losses would be guaranteed. Businesses are far wiser to avoid a switch at this point, leveraging the expertise they already possess for XP/O2k3, and wait on switching until such time as the home & enthusiast markets (and any formalized training which arises) provide a reasonable level of proficient users.
  24. Neo, Deleting all the files in the aforementioned directory and then rerunnning the Self Assessment Test is precisely how I fixed this on my own system. Since this does not work for you, the first place I would check is your video-card drivers. Both ATI and nVidia have released new drivers on their webpages which claim to correct bugs in the Assessment test - with ATI's old problem being the worst since it crashed the test. Download the new drivers, uninstall your current ones, and then install the new set.
  25. AutoCAD 2004/2006/2007" - 2004 does not work. 2006 will with an update patch. 2007 works fine. Photoshop cs2 - Yes. 3dmax 6/7 - Yes acdsee 2.4 - Yes winrar - Yes. I have used various versions from 3.41 to he current beta and all have worked. nero - Although earlier versions of Nero 7 had issues, Nero 7 has been stable under Vista for awhile.alcohol 120% - yes adobe pdf reader - Yes, it works. However, the Adobe Reader 8.0 installer has a conflict when extracting itself from a single executable archive. The newest release is supposed ot have corrected this issue. bitcomet 0.56 - Works fine. ewido - I don't use it, so couldn't say. firefox - It certainl;y does. nod32 - Yes, it works. My preference, however, is Avast - which also works. winpcap - It will work under 32-bit, but not 64-bit, due to driver signing issues. Make sure to obtain the latest version. macromadie studio mx - Works fine for me. kmplayer - Also works.
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