bphlpt

Well, I'll agree with Phaenius that I don't think that any of his cables have failed with a complete short. Yes, he could have either a weakened spot in the internal cable insulation causing leakage. or he could have a loose, failing, or slightly corroded connector which would cause a deteriorated signal to be transmitted, or he could have a very small piece of something conductive that has gotten into his system and is slightly, and/or occasionally causing a very small short under certain circumstances, frequency vibrations, or whatever. But I've already said all I need to say about cables. If any of those possibilities of failure are the case, hopefully he will discover, or at least dislodge, whatever was there when he does his cleaning next week. If his thorough cleaning makes no difference, then we'll be back to assuming that he either has a failing set of active speakers or a failing sound card or front panel. But since the receiver/passive speakers sound fine, I would bet it's the active speakers. If anyone has any ideas how he can narrow down which part is bad without swapping parts out I'm sure he would appreciate finding out about such a method. Cheers and Regards

Since your pics above indicate that you were down to ~3MB, I would say that is definitely a problem. How did you possibly expect updates to install with no space to use? As far as iTunes is concerned, I think that what tomasz86 and BWC were saying was that you will have a better chance of success if you do not try to reinstall it until after Windows Update has managed to successfully install all the potential updates that it suggests. Since you have totally filled your HDD to the point that it's performance is bound to suffer even if you are able to eventually get all the updates installed, you might want to consider wiping it clean and starting from scratch. Using some of the recommended methods found on this forum to update your source offline before installing it will end up taking up less room on your HDD once installed. And you are bound to not need all the software you have installed so this time only install the software that you have proven that you need. Both of these approaches will help leave you with a more stable and responsive system. Cheers and Regards

What size is your HDD and why is it so full? I think for best results you need to provide enough space for it to download all the updates at the same time that it thinks your system needs. Not to mention enough room for the paging file, hibernation, if used, temp files, apps you've installed, such as iTunes and the temp space they require, etc, etc. Cheers and Regards

Regardless of what the logs say, what happens when you restart and go back to Windows Update now? Does it still offer any updates as needed, or is it satisfied? Cheers and Regards

Nah. Let's just wait until the OP provides any useful new information. Until then I think we've said all we have to say - at least I have. Cheers and Regards

Do you mean besides it no longer indicating them as an applicable update necessary to install? If you got the "Installation Complete" message and after restarting and going back to Windows Updates if it no longer offers it as an update, then you can assume it's installed correctly. Yes there are other ways, but that should do until you can get Windows Update satisfied that you are up to date. Cheers and Regards

Since Xeno has not been seen here in over six months, and as you say he appears to be inactive at sourceforge and the KernelEx home page, perhaps some of the other more senior members here might have suggestions as to how/where to post your work. Cheers and Regards

Agreed, that wouldn't be nice, and no, I'm not intentionally making fun of you. I apologize if it came across that way. None of us know the problems, difficulties, or disabilities that someone else has to deal with unless we are told about them or they are evident in some way. I think most of us assume that others have similar capabilities and resources that we do, within reason (money, time, and knowledge differences are obviously assumed), and our comments and advice is based on that. All of us can only make suggestions based on our knowledge, experience, and our perception of the capabilities of the person we are making our comments to. You might be surprised to learn that there are members, even administrators, on this board with worse problems and disabilities than whatever yours are. I'm sure that everyone that has been making comments in this thread would bend over backwards to modify their comments to suit your circumstances, if they could be modified, if they knew what those circumstances were. You are right that we should not speculate, and if you do not wish to elaborate further that is perfectly alright as well. It is none of our business, and I for one will not ask anymore nor make further suggestions involving other people or moving any of your system outside of your room. Hopefully, everyone else will be just as considerate. That does leave us in a bit of a quandary, however. As I stated above, it seems that odds are that whatever is causing your problem is somewhere in the physical hardware chain between the sound card and the speakers. This might be a shortcoming of mine, but I know of no way to test that chain and determine where in that chain the problem lies without taking that chain apart, examining each piece, and, where possible, interchanging pieces with known good pieces. Sometimes, in my experience, the problem has just "magically" fixed itself by my taking it apart and putting it back together. I'm sure if anyone did know of another way to help you isolate which component it is that is causing the problem, in your home with minimal equipment and expense, they would volunteer that information. Since it used to sound better, then deteriorated over time (sorry, I forget whether you said if it got worse gradually or all at once, and that difference could be important when it comes to figuring out why the problem occurred), then if you have not changed the music sources or software programs you were using (any version changes or updates to any software or OS or drivers coincidental with the start of the problem?) or typical settings you used in those software programs such a level or EQ settings, then this also seems to point to a failure that has occurred somewhere in the hardware chain. As to the various cables involved in that chain, I personally have had cables fail internally between the wire and connector inside the cable itself. This caused intermittent problems depending on the actual position of the cable as it sometimes made connection and sometimes didn't. I've also had situations where plugged-in cables have had pressure or torque put on them in such a way that the connector on the board that the cable was plugged into broke, or broke away from the board, sometimes completely and sometimes partially causing intermittent problems. I've also had situations where corrosion occurred in some part of the connector, on either the cable part or the board part. Sometimes this was due to a manufacturing defect in the plating and sometimes it was due to poor maintenance, ie moisture apparently got in "somehow". Other times connections just got loose "somehow". In all of these cases, when I first thought about it I dismissed these possibilities as "not possible" because everything looked right at first glance. You really can't tell until you look very, very closely and feel and test each connection. I only make these suggestions because I have run into every one of these situations at some time or another in the past 40 years. And looking at them, disconnecting and reconnecting them will cost you nothing but time and effort. This of course assumes you are able to do this, and I will not suggest it any more on the chance that you are not able. Not necessarily, it all depends on the type of damage. A damaged speaker cone might only sound bad at certain frequencies and/or volumes, for instance. Any chance that you are victim of a power surge, brownout, or lightning strike anywhere in your area? All of those could have caused electronic problems that might only show up in certain areas, such as sound output. If there is a failure on the sound card, unless there is obvious damage, either a loose component or blackening evident anywhere on the board, I'm not sure how you are going to be able to confirm that without swapping either the board into another system, or another board into yours. If the problem was always evident for all music sources and when listened to through active speakers, passive speakers, or headphones, then it would seem to be a pretty safe bet that the sound card was at fault. If it is only evident when listened to though some of the output methods, then it still might be the sound card, or it might be something unique to that channel, the active speakers or the front panel for instance. If it is only with certain sources, then it would be easy to blame the source, but if that exact same source used to sound fine, then I don't know. There is definitely a best way, from both a sound and equipment safety point of view, to make your level and EQ settings, as submix8c and others have pointed out. Make the biggest adjustments as close to the speakers as possible to avoid over-driving the next "stage" which could lead to clipping. But again, if the exact same settings with the exact same hardware and the exact same software used to sound fine, then they are probably not your problem now. However, it is true they might have caused an electronic component to fail if it was over-driven in the past. Whatever you are able to narrow it down to, I don't know how to confirm that is the problem without swapping parts to verify the problem follows the part or goes away when that part is replaced. Once you confirm what failed we can discuss further what might have caused it and how to prevent it from happening again. I have noted and very much appreciate the fact that you have kept a decent tone throughout this thread. I hate to think how it could have devolved if you had not. Thank you. Good luck to you and keep us informed of your progress. Cheers and Regards.

@conductor71, if you found the ReadMe confusing, but were able to get it to work, you might contribute to the community by posting an "improved" ReadMe so that others have better success. Cheers and Regards

Though you have again quoted information that you have found about the product, you still have not answered the question. Have you actually tried it? Assuming you have not, please do so. Cheers and Regards

@Kabiaru, If at all possible, please post a video screen capture showing exactly what you are doing. I'm sure that Andre will be able to spot what you are doing wrong. Cheers and Regards

I can't. Why not? You have no friends that would help you out and let you plug your card in their system for 30 minutes to play some music you both like? While I appreciate your talking, and thinking and wondering why this problem occurred and how to keep it from happening again next time, you are getting ahead of yourself. The first thing to find out is WHAT the problem is. What part is it that has a problem? Then try and find out what part of that part is the problem. ie if it was a cable, was it just loose? If it was the sound card is it a faulty capacitor? If it was the active speaker, is the problem with the electronics or the cone of the speaker? Just finding out what the problem is might go a long way to figuring out the why and what you need to do to minimize the chances of it happening again. if it was a capacitor or something that failed, there's probably not a darn thing you could have done to prevent it. Rare but it happens. Bottom line, figure out the what before wasting any more of your, and our, time discussing the why. Until you figure out the what, you are just guessing. As much as jaclaz is correct that a lot of the thread can be fun banter, I think many are becoming tired of it, including me. Nothing new, move along, nothing to see. As jaclaz says, you have been talking for a month when you could have done everything we asked you to do in an afternoon if you had one cooperative friend. Buy him a beer and play music you both like and he'd probably be glad to help you wipe things down while you talk. Quit talking and start doing! Cheers and Regards

Are you really wanting to code your own duplicate finder script? Out of curiosity, why? Wouldn't just using one of the many free duplicate finder programs be easier and faster? What are you really trying to accomplish? Cheers and Regards

@Phaenius, I'm not sure what you want. I'll assume you have a real problem that is manifesting itself in distorted sound. The problem must be in either: 1) Your ears 2) Source, ie CD or whatever 3) Software -- a] Driver -- b] Music player 4) Hardware -- a] Speaker -- b] Cable - include all aspects of all cables such as the wire, connector, connection itself ie loose, corroded, or dirty -- c] CD drive -- d] Computer -- e] Sound card I don't mean to be a smart aleck with (1), but you have never mentioned whether anyone else hears the same problems that you do. If only your ears are good enough to hear the problem, I won't say the problem doesn't exist, but I don't know if we can help you. For (2), if you have tried several sources, such as different CDs, and the distortion is always with certain ones then Trip's comments might be in play and you'll have to find better versions of that music. For (3), if you have tried multiple drivers and music players and the result is always the same we will assume that is not the issue. Which leaves (4), the group with the largest number of pieces, most of which are inside your computer case. All the items in (4) are physical items. In my mind, if there is a potential problem with a physical item, you have to physically look at it to try and find the problem. That's the real reason that I have been harping at you to clean everything - to force you to look at everything very closely. But you have just kept repeating what you say you are hearing, which we can't really understand since we can't hear it ourselves. You say you assume your cables are fine, but even if they are, until you have actually disconnected each one and looked at it closely and reconnected it, making sure each connection is snug, there are potential sources of problems there. There were some suggestions made as to how to try and trace the signals through your sound card to see if you could isolate where in the sound card the problem is occurring, but you admit that you do not have the knowledge, equipment, or facilities to make those tests and, even if you did, you wouldn't be able to repair it, it would just be confirming where the problem lies, IF it is in the sound card. The only other way I can think of to isolate the problem to a particular part of the hardware chain then is to swap parts, (cables, sound card, speakers, computer), with those from another system until you find which part the problem follows. But you say that is not possible for you to do either. The more frustrating the problem is to find, the more you need to throw out the feelings you have that "It can't be ____". If the problem was something simple I'm sure you would have found it by now. So suspect everything until you have done everything possible to prove the part is good. You have described the problem as best you can, drawn diagrams, etc. I guess you were hoping that someone would say " Oh yeah, I had that happen to me. Change setting X to Y and you'll be good to go." Doesn't look like that is going to happen. And you've probably heard the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over in the same way and expecting a different result. Doing things your way hasn't been working for you. You might need to do things in a different way. You came to us asking for advice. We have given you advice as best we can. You have chosen to follow very little of it. You believe most of it won't do any good. It might not, but you won't know until you try. If you choose not to try, then I really don't know what you want from us. Good luck to you. I still will be very curious to know if you ever find out what the problem really is. Cheers and Regards PS: I don't think anyone suggested connecting your headphones to the rear of the card. Unless one of the connectors is specifically meant for headphones I don't think that is a good idea, as you found out.

New spammer just made nine posts - http://www.msfn.org/board/user/372742-nancyblkburn8/ Cheers and Regards

I doesn't really seem to be a "Software" issue either, but since there is not a "File System Issues", for lack of a better name, or "Disk Management" category, I guess it will do Cheers and Regards

That should be able to be done via batch, but you might also try the free bulk rename utility - http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php. One of its options is to remove a fixed number of characters from a fixed position in a file name so that fits your current situation. It also has many, many other options. Cheers and Regards

Larry you are correct, of course. My apologies. I forgot that the same thing happens with my own transparent GIF avatar, which you so wonderfully made for me. What can I say? It was a long night last night. It will be interesting if the new avatar you made for Kel exhibits the same behavior. Cheers and Regards

They look great Kels! Good job Larry! My only comment would be that the true "square" corners and the rectangular outline of the avatar show up over at Wincert, such as here - http://www.wincert.net/forum/topic/10836-win7-47gb/#entry94120. I'm sure they can be made transparent. The corners on the sig show up as round(ish) as possible. Cheers and Regards

Which OS are you running? Note it says: Have you modified your OS in any way or is it straight from MS? Cheers and Regards

If you have a volt/ohm meter, which usually has sharp probes, you could see if the metallic area is connected (shorted) to any of the pins. Test this while system is powered down and unplugged to be safe. You could also try to see with a sharp knife if you could make a mark in the metallic colored area, maybe even see if there is plastic underneath. For that matter, you could see if you could scratch through the non-chipped black area of the plastic to confirm there really is metal underneath the plastic. I still believe it's solid plastic. Or just leave it alone and hope for the best, since it is not causing any problems now. I wouldn't suggest trying to cover up the metallic area with anything since I would think it is likely that whatever you use might eventually flake off while plugging in a cable and gum up the connector deep enough that it would be difficult to clean out. Cheers and Regards

I guess you could copy/move the summary, since each item has reference links to the posts in this thread where they are discussed? Then we could see which thread continues to get posts? Cheers and Regards

As far as I know, and from looking at all the female USB connectors that I have access to, that piece of black plastic is solid black plastic with no metal underneath it. I suppose there is a remote chance that your case is unique, but that doesn't seem to make sense, since all the pins rest against it. Being a conductor, such as metal, could lead to problems, I would think. There is also a remote chance that if you believe the defect is metal that it could be solder that got stuck on top of the plastic, but if it is that it should be able to be pried off. If it really is metal underneath a plastic coating and the plastic is chipped, exposing the metal, then I suppose there is a chance of that creating a problem depending on (1) how far around the chip is, (2) what that metal is connected to, (power, ground, or what?), (3) whether it is possible to create a connection across multiple pins on the USB cable as you are plugging it in or even touch any of the pins for that matter, etc, etc. It's hard to say, but I have a hard time believing that black plastic is not solid black plastic. If I'm wrong, it won't be the first time. Cheers and Regards

It might help if you provide the link to the page where that theme link is found, along with the link to the theme itself. The link to the page is important so that we can help you look to see if there are any special instructions and confirm indeed that this is from a MS site. But you should be able to install .themepack files with a simple double-click. See - http://windows7themes.net/how-to-install-windows-7-themes.html. Cheers and Regards

I'm wondering how good a performance one can get on modern hardware running Win98 in a VM in a stripped down 2000/XP/Linux host? If passable, I guess this could be a solution for modern equipment.. Anyone have experience with this, and if so, have a recommendation for which VM offers the best performance and hardware compatibility? Just curious. Cheers and Regards