CoffeeFiend

It's not like I didn't find these months ago (yes, I can Google too!) But like I said before, it doesn't work right. Many have tried before (including a lot of bright folks), and so far none has succeeded. Good luck, you're pretty much on your own here. Not that I'd even bother at this point as VS2010 should be out shortly. I've been using the RC/Beta for like 5 months already and it's a lot better in many ways. About VS6, no idea as I've stopped using that many, many years ago. You couldn't pay me enough to use it.

I have yet to see a method to slipstream SP1 into VS2008 that works properly. Good luck with that. VS2010 is right around the corner anyway (already in beta).

Happy birthday!! Oh yeah, someone just *had* to link to all these images(!): (don't bash me, I didn't come up with them!)

It better be a LOT nicer than my WRT160N v3 because that thing sucks quite badly in every aspect: poor signal strength, lack of available options -- even basic ones, very slow interface speed and the constant rebooting for any small change, no rp-sma connectors to replace the dinky built-in antennas, nightmare to setup (just wouldn't work), poor stability -- goes offline sometimes and you have to login using the wired interface to restart it (stops being seen by any wireless device out of the blue), takes FOREVER to get an IP from it (10-15 seconds is quite common), ... And yes, that's with the latest firmware too. It's a HUGE step down from a plain old WRT54GL. No 3rd party firmwares support it either... I've replaced it (and previous WRT54GL's) by some ASUS WL-520GU's running a custom version of tomato. Couldn't be happier.

The burnt diode is a unidirectional transient voltage suppressor (it also protects against reversed polarity), and it's on the 5v rail (the other one to the right is on the 12v rail). It shorted out (again, due to voltage peak or being plugged backwards) and it can be removed no problem (it's merely a protection, and it sure did its job here). The thing is, I'd be seriously worried. The drive itself will most likely work after removing the diode, that's not the concern. The concern is what made this happen? If you plugged it backwards (hey, I've seen it done before), then we have our answer (just don't plug it backwards again!) but otherwise... I'd be VERY worried about the power supply's output (nasty voltage peaks can and will damage anything). In fact, if it was a nasty peak on the 5v rail, chances are that this diode saved your entire computer by shorting... And these things don't typically short like this for no reason. I'd be doubly worried if it was a no-name generic PSU (even more so now as it had to provide power on a short circuited 5v rail).

At some point, it's just not worth the hassle (all this, for a uber-slow P2 350 that barely runs WinME?) I'd sooner check local classifieds, craigslist, computer recycling places and what not. You can usually find basic P4's (2.x GHz) for under $100 (I've seen plenty of them being donated/free before). It would be a massive upgrade in every possible way, and it wouldn't cost much more than just a crappy old soundcard (and definitely less than trying to upgrade it part by part from ebay or such)

I have voices in the center channel and so on. There's nothing fake about it.

I hate buying keyboards. Because I know what I want doesn't exist. Model M's are nice in a way and not... I *LOVE* keyboards that use switches (better than crappy membrane based keyboards -- but then again anything's better than a laptop keyboard IMO). Just not the old ones that go CLING! at 100dB like the model M's (it sounds kind of like a machine gun when I use one of those). I much, MUCH prefer the Alps sliders personally (even better feedback/touch, less force, and much quieter too), like found in Dell AT101W and the like. A more modern version would be the Matias Tactile Pro (v3.0 should come soon). Some people swear by the cherry switches in the Das Keyboard too... Then again, I don't want of a crappy old PS/2-only (yes, there are PS/2->USB adapters, I know) keyboard like the AT101W, nor its lack of any multimedia buttons, and I really miss having that slight "bend" in the rows like nicer Microsoft keyboards have. Same story for the Tacile Pro and Das Keyboard... Unfortunately, there's no perfect keyboard with the features I want. Either it's a great keyboard (layout, functions, looks and all) but with sucky keys *or* great keys but everything else sucks. YMMV indeed.

I have 5.1 audio (AC3 in movies, using AC3Filter) working fine over both toslink and spdif (optical and coax) on the very same board...

By using the forum search function, or looking at the first sticky in this section.

Fix the checksum in the PE header, compress it, replace the old file on your CD. Done.

Are you trying to say the WinNT 3.1-era installer XP used wasn't broke? Because using floppies to load mass storage adapter drivers was great? (could be manually added to the CD, I know -- but still, it's no match) Because the partitioning (and text setup phase overall) was good? Because maintaining images for each HAL is fun? (could be worked aroud, but still a major PITA) Because maintaining images for each language is the best we could hope for (and I mean even patches and SPs are different)? Because the kludges to add a lot of drivers were nice? Because the plethora of disparate scripts+bat/cmd files+.reg files and so on was the way forward? ... Seriously, it was WAY beyond overdue to be replaced with something from this century. It's a very good thing it changed, and it's definitely for the best. Yes, you have to learn something new and then, that's just the nature of computers (and progress). The crappy old outdated installer is one of the things I miss the least about XP (not that I actually miss anything about it) BTW, cluberti's blog covers a lot of this stuff.

I bet you didn't even try searching. First stickied topic at the top of this section.

I was curious about how many apps it supported. It seems to have the basics covered: <fhprograms><p id="142"><fp> <fn>3DMark03.exe</fn> <pfloc>Futuremark\*3DMark*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="109"><fp> <fn>3DMark05.exe</fn> <pfloc>Futuremark\*3DMark*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="143"><fp> <fn>3DMark06.exe</fn> <pfloc>Futuremark\*3DMark*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="54"><fp> <fn>7zFM.exe</fn> <pfloc>*7-Zip*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="227"><fp> <fn>a2free.exe</fn> <pfloc>a-squared Free</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="135"><fp> <fn>abiword.exe</fn> <pfloc>abisuite2\abiword\bin</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>abiword.exe</fn> <pfloc>abiword\bin</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\abisuite\abiword\v2"> <v name="Version"/> </k> </reg> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\abiword\v2"> <v name="Version"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="83"><fp> <fn>ACDSee*.exe</fn> <pfloc>ACD Systems\ACDSee\*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="2"><fp> <fn>Ad-Aware*.exe</fn> <pfloc>Lavasoft\*Ad-Aware*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="244"><fp> <fn>Adobe AIR.dll</fn> <pfloc>Common Files\Adobe AIR\Versions\1.*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="111"><fp> <fn>Photoshop.exe</fn> <pfloc>adobe\*cs*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="10"><fp> <fn>AcroRd32.exe</fn> <pfloc>Adobe\*Acrobat*\*Reader*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>AcroRd32.exe</fn> <pfloc>Adobe\*Reader*\*Reader*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>AcroRd32.dll</fn> <pfloc>Adobe\*Reader*\*Reader*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="255"><fp> <fn>AIMP2.exe</fn> <pfloc>AIMP2</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="49"><fp> <fn>alcohol.exe</fn> <pfloc>Alcohol Soft\Alcohol 120</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="162"><fp> <fn>attmain.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Thingy*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="278"><fp> <fn>VideoConverter.exe</fn> <pfloc>Any Video Converter</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="105"><fp> <fn>ares.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Ares*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="57"><fp> <fn>ati2dvag.dll</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32</loc> </fp> </p><p id="196"><fp> <fn>autoruns.exe</fn> <pfloc></pfloc> <pfloc>*autoruns*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="67"><fp> <fn>avant.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Avant*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="99"><fp> <fn>ewido.exe</fn> <pfloc>*ewido*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>avgas.exe</fn> <pfloc>Grisoft\*Spyware*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="156"><fp> <fn>AxCrypt.exe</fn> <pfloc>Axon Data\AxCrypt\*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="114"><fp> <fn>IconWorkshop.exe</fn> <pfloc>Axialis\*IconWorkshop*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="113"><fp> <fn>BearShare.exe</fn> <pfloc>*BearShare*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="42"><fp> <fn>BitComet.exe</fn> <pfloc>*BitComet*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="89"><fp> <fn>bsplayer.exe</fn> <pfloc>Webteh\*Bsplayer*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="1"><fp> <fn>CCleaner.exe</fn> <pfloc>*CCleaner*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="129"><fp> <fn>cdbx*.exe</fn> <pfloc>*CDBurner*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="106"><fp> <fn>CDex.exe</fn> <pfloc>*CDex*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="79"><fp> <fn>CloneCD.exe</fn> <pfloc>SlySoft\*CloneCD*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="78"><fp> <fn>CloneDVD2.exe</fn> <pfloc>Elaborate Bytes\*CloneDVD*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="127"><fp> <fn>coreftp.exe</fn> <pfloc>*CoreFTP*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="155"><fp> <fn>cpuz.exe</fn> <pfloc>*CPU*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>cpuz.exe</fn> <pfloc>*CPU*\*CPU*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="289"><fp> <fn>CrossLoopConnect.exe</fn> <pfloc>CrossLoop</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="70"><fp> <fn>cuteftp.exe</fn> <pfloc>GlobalSCAPE\*Home*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="206"><fp> <fn>cuteftppro.exe</fn> <pfloc>GlobalSCAPE\*Pro*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="225"><fp> <fn>CPWSave.exe</fn> <pfloc>Acro Software\*Writer*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="88"><fp> <fn>cwshredder.exe</fn> <pfloc></pfloc> <pfloc>*cws*</pfloc> <pfloc>*cool*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="66"><fp> <fn>daemon.exe</fn> <pfloc>*DAEMON*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="214"><fp> <fn>MusicConverter.exe</fn> <pfloc>Illustrate\dBpoweramp</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="165"><fp> <fn>DCPlusPlus.exe</fn> <pfloc>*DC++*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="160"><fp> <fn>DeepBurner.exe</fn> <pfloc>Astonsoft\*DeepBurner*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="237"><fp> <fn>Defraggler.exe</fn> <pfloc>Defraggler</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="87"><fp> <fn>DivX Player.exe</fn> <pfloc>DivX\*DivX*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="91"><fp> <fn>DVD Shrink*.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Shrink*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="24"><fp> <fn>emule.exe</fn> <pfloc>*emule*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="269"><fp> <fn>Evernote.exe</fn> <pfloc>Evernote\Evernote*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="166"><fp> <fn>FeedDemon.exe</fn> <pfloc>*FeedDemon*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="73"><fp> <fn>FileZilla.exe</fn> <pfloc>*FileZilla*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="12"><fp> <fn>Firefox.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Firefox*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="93"><fp> <fn>Flash*.ocx</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32\Macromed\Flash</loc> <loc>%WINDIR%\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash</loc> </fp> </p><p id="94"><fp> <fn>NPSWF32.dll</fn> <pfloc>*Firefox*\plugins</pfloc> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32\Macromed\Flash</loc> <loc>%WINDIR%\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash</loc> </fp> </p><p id="95"><fp> <fn>flashget.exe</fn> <pfloc>*FlashGet*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="34"><fp> <fn>foobar2000Test.exe</fn> <pfloc>*foobar*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="107"><fp> <fn>Foxit Reader.exe</fn> <pfloc>Foxit Software\*Foxit*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="163"><fp> <fn>fraps.exe</fn> <loc>%SYSTEMDRIVE%\*Fraps*</loc> </fp> </p><p id="245"><fp> <fn>FrostWire.exe</fn> <pfloc>*FrostWire*</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\FrostWire"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg> </p><p id="81"><fp> <fn>getright.exe</fn> <pfloc>*GetRight*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="84"><fp> <fn>Gizmo.exe</fn> <pfloc>Gizmo Project</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>Gizmo5.exe</fn> <pfloc>Gizmo5</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="74"><fp> <fn>GMailFS.dll</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32\ShellExt</loc> </fp> </p><p id="215"><fp> <fn>GOM.exe</fn> <pfloc>GRETECH\*Gom*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="264"><reg> <k hive="hkcu" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\Google Chrome"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg> </p><p id="41"><fp> <fn>GoogleDesktop.exe</fn> <pfloc>Google\*Desktop*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="182"><fp> <fn>googleearth.exe</fn> <pfloc>Google\*Earth*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="183"><fp> <fn>SketchUp.exe</fn> <pfloc>Google\*SketchUp*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="96"><fp> <fn>googletalk.exe</fn> <pfloc>Google\*Talk*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="31"><fp> <fn>GoogleToolbar1.dll</fn> <pfloc>*Google*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>GoogleToolbar.dll</fn> <pfloc>Google/Google Toolbar</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="253"><fp> <fn>GPU-Z*.exe</fn> <pfloc>*GPU*</pfloc> <pfloc></pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="296"><fp> <fn>Growl.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Growl*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="179"><fp> <fn>hamachi.exe</fn> <fn>hamachi-2-ui.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Hamachi*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="266"><fp> <fn>Handbrake.exe</fn> <pfloc>Handbrake</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="61"><fp> <fn>HijackThis*.exe</fn> <pfloc></pfloc> <pfloc>*Hijack*</pfloc> <pfloc>Trend Micro\*Hijack*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="29"><fp> <fn>ICQ*.exe</fn> <pfloc>ICQ6*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="38"><fp> <fn>iMesh*.exe</fn> <pfloc>iMesh Applications\*iMesh*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="187"><fp> <fn>ImgBurn.exe</fn> <pfloc>*ImgBurn*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="291"><fp> <fn>InfraRecorder.exe</fn> <pfloc>InfraRecorder</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="293"><fp> <fn>InfraRecorder.exe</fn> <pfloc>InfraRecorder</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="229"><fp> <fn>inkscape.exe</fn> <pfloc>Inkscape</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="103"><fp> <fn>ipoint.exe</fn> <pfloc>*IntelliPoint*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="102"><fp> <fn>itype.exe</fn> <pfloc>*IntelliType*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="92"><fp> <fn>iexplore.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Explorer*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="17"><fp> <fn>i_view*.exe</fn> <pfloc>*IrfanView*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="154"><fp> <fn>IsoBuster.exe</fn> <pfloc>Smart Projects\*IsoBuster*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="51"><fp> <fn>iTunes.exe</fn> <pfloc>*iTunes*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="283"><fp> <fn>iTunes.exe</fn> <pfloc>*iTunes*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="72"><fp> <fn>IZArc.exe</fn> <pfloc>*IZArc*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="62"><fp> <fn>java.exe</fn> <pfloc>Java\jre*\bin</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="153"><fp> <fn>JetAudio.exe</fn> <pfloc>*JetAudio*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="231"><fp> <fn>k-meleon.exe</fn> <pfloc>K-Meleon</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\K-Meleon"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg> </p><p id="130"><fp> <fn>KeePass.exe</fn> <pfloc>*KeePass*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="247"><fp> <fn>KMPlayer.exe</fn> <pfloc>*KMPlayer*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="82"><fp> <fn>LeechGet.exe</fn> <pfloc>*LeechGet*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="37"><fp> <fn>limewire.exe</fn> <pfloc>Limewire*</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\limewire"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="197"><fp> <fn>SetPoint.exe</fn> <pfloc>Logitech\*SetPoint*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="200"><fp> <fn>MagicISO.exe</fn> <pfloc>MagicISO</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="274"><fp> <fn>mbam.exe</fn> <pfloc>Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="58"><fp> <fn>maxthon.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Maxthon*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="203"><fp> <fn>MediaMonkey.exe</fn> <pfloc>*MediaMonkey*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="122"><fp> <fn>WCESMgr.exe</fn> <pfloc>*ActiveSync*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="137"><fp> <fn>mbsa.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Baseline*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="243"><reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\silverlight"> <v name="Version"/> </k> </reg> </p><p id="189"><fp> <fn>miranda*.exe</fn> <pfloc>Miranda*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="141"><fp> <fn>mirc.exe</fn> <pfloc>*mIRC*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="217"><fp> <fn>Miro.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Participatory*\*Miro*</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="SOFTWARE\Participatory Culture Foundation\Miro"> <v name="Version"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="28"><fp> <fn>msmsgs.exe</fn> <fn>msnmsgr.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Messenger*</pfloc> <pfloc>Windows Live\*Messenger*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="238"><fp> <fn>JkDefrag.exe</fn> <pfloc>*JkDefrag*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>MyDefrag.exe</fn> <pfloc>*MyDefrag*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="208"><fp> <fn>mysqld-nt.exe</fn> <pfloc>mysql*\bin</pfloc> <loc>%SYSTEMDRIVE%\mysql*\bin</loc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\mysql ab\mysql server 5.0"> <v name="Version"/> </k> <k hive="hklm" key="software\mysql ab\mysql server 5.1"> <v name="Version"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="297"><fp> <fn>NeroStartSmart.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Nero*</pfloc> <pfloc>*Nero*\*Nero*</pfloc> <pfloc>*Nero*\*Nero*\*Nero*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="199"><fp> <fn>netscape.exe</fn> <pfloc>Netscape\*Netscape*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="257"><fp> <fn>nLite.exe</fn> <pfloc>nLite</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="186"><fp> <fn>notepad++.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Notepad*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="207"><fp> <fn>nsis.exe</fn> <pfloc>NSIS*</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\nsis"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="55"><fp> <fn>nv4_disp.dll</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32</loc> </fp> </p><p id="36"><fp> <fn>ObjectDock.exe</fn> <pfloc>Stardock\*ObjectDock*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="110"><fp> <fn>soffice.exe</fn> <pfloc>*OpenOffice*\program</pfloc> <pfloc>*OOo*\program</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="45"><fp> <fn>opera.exe</fn> <pfloc>Opera*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="284"><fp> <fn>orbitdm.exe</fn> <pfloc>Orbitdownloader</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="16"><fp> <fn>outpost.exe</fn> <pfloc>Agnitum\Outpost*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>op_mon.exe</fn> <pfloc>Agnitum\Outpost*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="80"><fp> <fn>*Paint Shop Pro*.exe</fn> <pfloc>Corel\*Paint Shop Pro*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="86"><fp> <fn>PaintDotNet.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Paint.NET*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="212"><fp> <fn>pwsafe.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Password*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="224"><fp> <fn>PDFCreator.exe</fn> <pfloc>PDFCreator</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="268"><fp> <fn>peazip.exe</fn> <pfloc>PeaZip</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="150"><fp> <fn>pg2.exe</fn> <pfloc>*PeerGuardian*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="46"><fp> <fn>Picasa2.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Picasa*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>Picasa3.exe</fn> <pfloc>Google\*Picasa*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="40"><fp> <fn>Pidgin.exe</fn> <pfloc>Pidgin</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="77"><fp> <fn>POWERARC.exe</fn> <pfloc>*PowerArchiver*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="134"><fp> <fn>PowerDVD.exe</fn> <pfloc>CyberLink\*PowerDVD*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>PowerDVD8.exe</fn> <pfloc>CyberLink\*PowerDVD*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>PowerDVD9.exe</fn> <pfloc>CyberLink\*PowerDVD*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="192"><fp> <fn>PrimoPDF.exe</fn> <pfloc>activePDF\*PrimoPDF*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>PrimoPDF.exe</fn> <pfloc>Nitro PDF\*PrimoPDF*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="198"><fp> <fn>procexp.exe</fn> <pfloc>*process*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="254"><fp> <fn>putty.exe</fn> <pfloc>PuTTY</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="9"><fp> <fn>QuickTimePlayer.exe</fn> <pfloc>QuickTime Alternative</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\QuicktimeAlt_is1"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="27"><fp> <fn>QuickTimePlayer.exe</fn> <pfloc>*QuickTime*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>QTTask.exe</fn> <pfloc>*QuickTime*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="147"><fp> <fn>QCDPlayer.exe</fn> <fn>QMPlayer.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Quint*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="124"><fp> <fn>Rainlendar*.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Rainlendar*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="39"><fp> <fn>realplay.exe</fn> <pfloc>Real\RealPlayer</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="175"><fp> <fn>vncviewer.exe</fn> <pfloc>RealVNC\*VNC*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="216"><fp> <fn>recuva.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Recuva*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="118"><fp> <fn>RootkitRevealer.exe</fn> <pfloc></pfloc> <pfloc>*rootkit*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="235"><fp> <fn>Safari.exe</fn> <pfloc>Safari</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="35"><fp> <fn>SamurizeServer.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Samurize*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="239"><fp> <fn>SbieCtrl.exe</fn> <pfloc>Sandboxie</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="140"><fp> <fn>sandra.exe</fn> <pfloc>SiSoftware\*Sandra*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="265"><fp> <fn>Scribus.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Scribus*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="193"><fp> <fn>seamonkey.exe</fn> <pfloc>*SeaMonkey*</pfloc> <pfloc>mozilla.org\*SeaMonkey*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="59"><fp> <fn>Shareaza.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Shareaza*</pfloc> </fp></p><p id="169"><fp> <fn>SharpReader.exe</fn> <pfloc>*SharpReader*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="171"><fp> <fn>SwInit.exe</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32\Macromed\Shockwave 10</loc> </fp> <fp> <fn>SwInit.exe</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32\Adobe\Shockwave 11</loc> </fp> </p><p id="43"><fp> <fn>Skype.exe</fn> <pfloc>Skype\*Phone*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="44"><fp> <fn>SAM.exe</fn> <pfloc>*SAM*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="69"><fp> <fn>SmartFTP.exe</fn> <pfloc>*SmartFTP*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="190"><fp> <fn>spamihilator.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Spamihilator*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="164"><fp> <fn>speedfan.exe</fn> <pfloc>*SpeedFan*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="3"><fp> <fn>SpybotSD.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Spybot*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="226"><fp> <fn>SpywareTerminator.exe</fn> <pfloc>Spyware Terminator</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="52"><fp> <fn>spywareblaster.exe</fn> <pfloc>*SpywareBlaster*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="22"><fp> <fn>kpf4gui.exe</fn> <pfloc>Kerio\*firewall*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>kpf4gui.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Sunbelt*\*Firewall*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>SbPFCl.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Sunbelt*\*Firewall*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="167"><fp> <fn>SUPERAntiSpyware.exe</fn> <pfloc>SUPERAntiSpyware</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="32"><fp> <fn>Smc.exe</fn> <pfloc>Sygate\*SPF*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="213"><fp> <fn>SyncBack.exe</fn> <pfloc>2BrightSparks\*SyncBack*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="194"><fp> <fn>TaskSwitchXP.exe</fn> <pfloc>*TaskSwitchXP*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="270"><fp> <fn>TeraCopy.exe</fn> <pfloc>TeraCopy</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="13"><fp> <fn>thunderbird.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Thunderbird*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="176"><fp> <fn>vncviewer.exe</fn> <pfloc>*TightVNC*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="249"><fp> <fn>TortoiseProc.exe</fn> <pfloc>TortoiseSVN\bin</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="64"><fp> <fn>trillian.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Trillian*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="125"><fp> <fn>TrueCrypt.exe</fn> <pfloc>*TrueCrypt*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="121"><fp> <fn>TUGZip.exe</fn> <pfloc>*TUGZip*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="4"><fp> <fn>TweakUI.exe</fn> <loc>%WINDIR%\system32</loc> </fp></p><p id="205"><fp> <fn>UniExtract.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Extractor*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="195"><fp> <fn>Unlocker.exe</fn> <pfloc>Unlocker</pfloc> </fp> <reg> <k hive="hklm" key="software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\uninstall\Unlocker"> <v name="DisplayVersion"/> </k> </reg></p><p id="112"><fp> <fn>Utorrent.exe</fn> <pfloc>*uTorrent*</pfloc> <pfloc></pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="15"><fp> <fn>winace.exe</fn> <pfloc>*WinAce*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="11"><fp> <fn>winamp.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Winamp*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="25"><fp> <fn>wblind.dll</fn> <pfloc>Stardock\Object Desktop\*WindowBlinds*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="50"><fp> <fn>WMPLAYER.EXE</fn> <pfloc>*Media Player*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="128"><fp> <fn>WinDVD.exe</fn> <pfloc>InterVideo\*DVD*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="240"><fp> <fn>WinPatrol.exe</fn> <pfloc>*BillP*\WinPatrol</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="5"><fp> <fn>WinRAR.exe</fn> <pfloc>*WinRAR*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="248"><fp> <fn>WinSCP.exe</fn> <pfloc>WinSCP</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="188"><fp> <fn>WinSnap.exe</fn> <pfloc>*WinSnap*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="6"><fp> <fn>WINZIP32.exe</fn> <pfloc>*WinZip*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="178"><fp> <fn>wireshark.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Wireshark*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>ethereal.exe</fn> <pfloc>*Ethereal*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="294"><fp> <fn>XBMC.exe</fn> <pfloc>XBMC</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="151"><fp> <fn>xchat.exe</fn> <pfloc>*xchat*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="53"><fp> <fn>YahooMessenger.exe</fn> <pfloc>Yahoo!\*Messenger*</pfloc> </fp> </p><p id="68"><fp> <fn>Konfabulator.exe</fn> <pfloc>Pixoria\Konfabulator</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>YahooWidgetEngine.exe</fn> <pfloc>Yahoo!\*Widget*</pfloc> </fp> <fp> <fn>YahooWidgets.exe</fn> <pfloc>Yahoo!\*Widget*</pfloc> </fp></p></fhprograms> I thought code boxes had scrollbars Sorry for the long & verbose XML. Haven't looked at UpdateNotifier or Secunia PSI yet. It would be nice to just have a always up-to-date XML feed or something... But here, the program grabs the infos it's told to (using that XML above), and then reports those numbers to the server, which in turns compares it against its own (non-public) list of latest versions, and then sends us a page with the results. Just like I don't care for these installers that come with a lot of already outdated freeware (most of which I don't want, and all of which will be grossly outdated by the next time I'd use it). Ideally, these programs would use such an XML feed that contains the URLs of the latest versions of each app (not necessarily just freeware -- shareware like winrar could be on there too), lets you select them, downloads them (via wget or whatever) and finally installs them. It's very simple to do, but it would be a major PITA to maintain the XML file (and pay for the hosting costs if it ever became popular)

I'm well aware of those things. I never had a use for tunneling a single port like that. Most of the time, I want a wide range of ports, and a VPN just works WAY better overall (IMO). I've never actually seen anyone who made use of such features either. Which I've never had a need for and is completely pointless IMO (mind you I do have a debugging proxy for web development, and a squid install too) Which I don't want of and have no use for (FTP/FTPS works just fine for me, directly and/or through VPN, depending). 99.99999999% or so of the population wouldn't know how to use it anyways (and basically no computers around have the software to use it preinstalled either). There's many other ways to move files around, most of which are far simpler and good/secure enough for the vast majority of the population. And again, none of these commands will actually do anything on a "standard" Windows install... And I'm just not installing a SSHD everywhere, on every computer at home, work and everywhere else I go either. Especially when it doesn't really offer me anything I want or need in the first place. Nevermind firewalls and NAT getting in the way of ~99% of practical uses I could come up with. SSH was just a way for me to open a terminal to do simple things, and I just can't be bothered with it anymore (besides the odd network device, for which I use a ssh client). Remote desktop works great, is plenty fast, and covers pretty much all my needs. I've given up on SSH about a year ago. Only Linux users seem to be into that stuff (and I've mostly given up on wasting time with that as well)

Plain old remote desktop. 99% of what I want/need to do are GUI based, and SSH doesn't make much difference for the other 1% either.

Try copssh (not that I use it anymore)

Both bluetooth and wifi (besides a few 802.11N devices that also operate on 5.0GHz; most still don't) are on the same 2.4GHz band. You might also have cordless phones that operate in that band and a few more wireless devices (video cameras, etc). Your microwave uses that range too... And you might have nearby neighbors who cause further interference. There's just too much stuff crammed in that crowded piece of spectrum already. So transmitting more stuff in there (i.e. activating your bluetooth stuff) means more interference, so your wifi slows down further...

You might have access point isolation (or whatever it's called in your router) enabled.

Look here for more. Either ways, acronis trueimage is where it's at IMO.

I said in %temp%. If you go there, you will find a log file.

On this page (it's also the release date of the Win9x package with the same version number). It's very easy for anyone to put the wrong date on a web page anyways. That date you're mentioning seems to be the date the page was last updated. Then again, it's not even an official build, so there's no way of knowing for sure (the last SVN commit was many months ago, and 99.9% of the code in SVN hasn't been updated in 3+ years) MPC has been stale for quite a while. And there's nothing that it does that MPC HC doesn't do, or doesn't do better.

The installer leaves a log file behind (in %temp%, called dd_dotnetfx*.txt IIRC). I'd have a look at that instead (open with notepad, ctrl-F, search for "error" or such -- you should find something quickly)

MPC's homepage is here. The latest official release is dated August 18th 2007. As for v6.4.9.1, it was released on 2008-10-05, and it was mostly a bugfix (compiled with new libpng, which is still outdated) but otherwise still the same stale project. "so we continued the Guliverkli project under the name of Home Cinema including many bug fixes and 64 bit support." That part is self-explanatory I believe. MPC HC, hands down. LOADS more great features and updates. DXVA support for H.264 and VC-1, 64 bit versions, uses the new EVR renderer, better playback support using built-in codecs, built-in subtitle support, ... So much new stuff I couldn't possibly list half of it. There's no reason to keep using the old outdated MPC.

First, as for the dual or quad, when it comes to encoding, the choice is obvious. Most modern codecs (e.g. x264) will make use of all cores just fine so it's a lot faster using a quad (basically twice the speed, at the same clock more or less) It very much depends on how much you're willing to spend. On a large budget, Core i7 at first seeems like the obvious choice (which you don't want seemingly). But below that... Both Intel and AMD have quads that encode quite fast (unless it's high def content, in which cases all existing CPUs sem ridiculously slow) With AMD (assuming your board supports it), you could get a AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE. Total expense? Around $190. With Intel, going with a CPU with very similar performance (within 10% or so) in most benches i.e. a Core 2 Quad Q9550, you're out about $210 for the CPU, and then another $100 or so (more if you want fancy) for a P45-based motherboard i.e. about 2/3 more money for the same performance. Again, assuming your existing motherboard can use the newer AMD chip, otherwise it's nearly a tie (both in performance and price) If either of these choices isn't fast enough for you (basically the same speed in both cases) then you're basically back to the Core i7 option (for perhaps 15% or so more encoding speed and twice the price or more). Not that I'd be buying a Core i7 even if I had the money, Lynnfield being better performance for less (and not using the same socket either -- most Core i7's with be EOL'ed early next year) i.e. a Core i5 750 is faster than a Core i7 920 and costs less as well, and the motherboards are cheaper too. The cost is essentially the same as getting a Q9550 + motherboard, except here you'll need DDR3 as well (small price to pay for such a move IMO) Then again, not knowing which board you have (and which CPUs it'll take), which video apps or codecs you're using, what kind of source content, it's hard to be more specific than that. In some cases, I/O speed can be quite a bottleneck too.