jaclaz

By convention, sentences with a little hook sign "?" appended are meant as "questions". It would be nice to have "answers" to them. Examples of issues connected with wrong .inf or EDID: http://superuser.com/questions/713487/getting-proper-resolution-with-windows-7-and-older-monitor https://www.omnivex.com/support/kb/204 http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/cs-030332.htm You could try updating (or downgrading) your video card drivers (or maybe even uninstalling and re-installing them might do) Try checking the monitor with: http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm and try making an EDID override .inf jaclaz

Unfortunately no. If you are having a "click of death", the CAUSE is very different (and unfortunately there are NO known AFAIK DYI way outs for it). In the case of the LBA0 or BSY the issue is that the firmware on the disk enters a "loop" of some sort. Imagine (in pseudo code, batch in this example) that it is executing a program like: @ECHO OFFSETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONSSET Counter=0:repeatSET /A counter+=1SET /A Issue=%RANDOM%/512:loopECHO %Counter% %Issue%IF %counter% GTR %issue% GOTO :loopIF %counter% LEQ 9 GOTO :repeatIf you run this program a few times, you will soon enter a loop from which you can only exit by pressing Ctrl+C. The "click of death" is instead seemingly like the program file would be missing altogether. The Ctrl+C is a sort of "reset" similar to the procedure for BSY or LBA0, there are no solutions (short of re-writing the batch) for the missing file. You are very welcome , though I am afraid we won't solve the problem. jaclaz

Well, if you had read it, you wouldn't be asking questions about TTL levels/adapter cables (that have been detailed in it). As well, if you do not report that you tried swapping Tx and Rx, since my crystal ball is (again ) in the shop for maintenance, I have no way to know that. The point of note here is that you are seemingly NOT in a LBA0 or BSY case, but even for them the "original" way to access the terminal was to completely separate the PCB from the disk, procedure that was later replaced by insulation the motor or head contacts. As a matter of fact the "intermittent" nature of your issue could actually be connected to bad contacts, so removing the PCB and thoroughly cleaning contacts wouldn't be a bad idea anyway. The "3.86 Gb size" is usually connected to yet another issue, however, and - usually - with a number of "clicks" when spinning up, called in jargon "click of death", see: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/?p=862696 http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/?p=1086659 jaclaz

Why not using Task Manager (adding the relevant columns to the display)? http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/how-to-use-the-windows-task-manager/ http://www.online-tech-tips.com/windows-xp/an-introduction-to-the-windows-xp-task-manager-processes-programs-and-performance-part-2/ jaclaz

READ the read-me-first: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/143880-seagate-barracuda-720011-read-me-first/ it will answer most of your questions. Try with the PCB completely detached from the disk. Try inverting Tx and Rx. jaclaz

Before I forget , in order to keep things as together as possible , here is another example of when a "peculiar" setting/edit is needed: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/149758-win7pe-se/page-6#entry1067197 Basically, if a "dual boot" BIOS/UEFI CD/DVD is made with OSCIMG using grldr (but I believe *any* non-2048 or non 4096 bytes loader are likely to behave the same ), on some older BIOSes the thingy won' t boot and there is the need to edit the "Size to be initially loaded" to 2048 bytes. jaclaz

Just in case: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/83347-vxd-files-structure-and-disassembly/ http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/135527-vxds-and-related-stuff-help/ And of course: http://jls.chez.com/vxdasm.html Maybe some of our good 95/98 aficionados members may try to contact the Author of the tool above and/or the guys here: http://www.techsoftpl.com/vxd/index.php who seemingly provided at the time useful tools (Commercial) to see if - given that expecting nowadays any income from the sale of these tools is futile - they would be so kind as to release a public, free, version. jaclaz

Ah well, if they asked for it, then that's fine. , after all the good google guys' motto is "Don't be Evil": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don't_be_evil jaclaz

I wouldn't be so sure/I don't know. The point is that the TTL level in the given link is given as 5V TTL (seemingly the "wrong" one or TTL/CMOS), you possibly missed the READ-ME-FIRST: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/143880-seagate-barracuda-720011-read-me-first/ particularly point 6 and the visual representation (original page is down now, but till viewable through Wayback Machine): https://web.archive.org/web/20140829053839/http://www.interfacebus.com/voltage_threshold.html AND point 10. This might also possibly clear the matter: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/152653-bsy-bug-for-seagate-momentus-72004/?p=972251 the difference between SHOUTED ENGLISH and whispered English easier to grasp . So, while it is well possible that the Author of the "hacking adapter" is "wrong" (and the actual TTL level between the Prolific chip and the Max213 is the "right" one at 3.3V) I would need some definite report of this hack (or of a similar one) working with one of these stupid 7200.11's before being convinced that it could represent a viable solution. jaclaz

Sure the HAL is "involved in it", but I believe that it is only one of the variables in the equation. jaclaz

To be fair, once upon a time in a far away galaxy, in order to be able to drop support you needed to provide it until the change. Otherwise people won't notice it. Claiming that you supported it and that you will stop doing that on a given date (and bragging a lot about it and how dangerous it will be if you don't switch to the new supported OS before that) is not exactly the same. jaclaz

Well, of course it's up to him , but it is not particularly difficult/complex, anyone with a minimum of patience/attention can do it, see this as an example: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/139328-disc-drive-unable-to-eject/ jaclaz

IRQ issues are very tough to pinpoint and troubleshoot, there are so many variables in the *whatever* that causes their assignments that it is often impossible to solve them, especially on a laptop as usually these have a somehow "reduced/locked" BIOS and of course you can not make experiments disconnecting/recoonecting cards/devices. Usually (but not always) the "internal" PS/2 pointing device is "connected" with the keyboard (and that would be IRQ1 http://www.sebsworld.net/information/?page=IRQ this would explain why the PS/2 internal device "locks" *somehow* the keyboard. jaclaz

And are all these dramatic changes relevant enough to justify the quantum leap of naming the thingy Windows 10 (as opposed to Windows 8.2, which is what the thingy actually is - though possibly Windows 8.1.1.1 would have been even more suited) ? jaclaz

No. Fully half the people in the world may be ignorant, in the sense of not knowing or not knowing enough about something (ignorance has nothing to do with intelligence or lack of it, and can usually be cured ). Please take note how "serious lawsuit" could be considered an oximoron , and you need a special license to post one of those on MSFN Seriously, the point is IMHO not much about the actual data (if any), but about the concept, you are asked to authorize the collection of *any* data in an unspecified amount, with unspecified means, and without any control on which data is collected and transmitted. I personally find this a "serious" issue. jaclaz .

You paid for regular (current version and it's updates) activation keys, not for the Beta Program. Usually a list of current users is made, an then from it a certain number of Beta Testers are chosen according to any among these: people that substantially contributed in early (or however previous) developmentpeople that the developer simply likes to includepeople that are drawn at random from the listPoor little thing, you were not chosen among the elected ones and you weren't lucky enough to have a winning ticket of the lottery , I feel for your pain, it is ... , it is .... unfair . jaclaz

Very good The conflict on the PS/2 port is "strange", however traditionally 2K has a tendency (whenever *anything* is not exactly as it expects) to start creating "crazy" IRQ/resources conflicts (often very difficult to solve, if possible at all). jaclaz

Often (but of course not always) disassembling a CD or DVD drive and cleaning it thoroughly solves this kind of problems. Typically, whenever a disk is inserted (please read as the tray is closed) the head with the laser pickup "seeks" for the disc tracks and if it fails to detect a disc *whatever* is in the cache remains there. Both a dirty laser lens or any kind of dirt making the head "sticky" can prevent this to be done (the "queer sound" may be the head failing to move as expected to get to the track due to some dirt or dried up lubricant on the sled). jaclaz

Nice guide ! Though I didn't know that driver signing was different between Vista and 7 http://www.davidegrayson.com/signing/ is it possible that the issue is due to the change in the .inf (and thus of the hash in the .cat file)? jaclaz

Should we wait 84 years for this feature? jaclaz

Do you mean that the army (of which country?) is not legit or that it is "gross stuff"? Actually if I had to find a number of kids willing to use weapons/combat I would be likely to place ads on a gaming platform, on specific games, like on Call of duty or other FPS's , more than I would on the Wii and on Guitar Hero or on a smartphone on Candy Crush Saga. jaclaz

And once you "detect" a drone, what is next step? jaclaz

Yep, by "warm" I meant (as an example) that capacitors would still be charged if a reboot is done after the thingy is powered on a few minutes), still on the "pure anecdotal" style, I had once a PC with a PSU that simply could not bear the "spin up" current of two internal hard disks when "cold" started, but that could "just make" it in a reboot. jaclaz

Is the message "missing bootrec" or "missing BOOTMGR"? jaclaz

When you say "power down and restart" you mean: the PC the monitor the PC and MonitorIf #1 or #3 it sounds like an issue on the PC side (which more or less means the video card). Is it an "onboard" card, right? Which EXACT make/model? Which EXACT driver are you using? Is the monitor recognized by its EDID or is it "generic"? What I would do (in this order): Clean throughly the inside of the PC. <- this won't make any harm, and actually is "good maintenance" Try with another monitor <- (only if you have one handy) Try running another OS <- (let's say a Live Linux, as long as it has a 1600x900 resolution, to exclude the OS/drivers) Check the PSU (or change it temporarily with a new, surely working one <- I know this sounds "weird" but I have seen PSU's starting to degrade creating every kind of strange issues[*}, the fact that once the PC is "warm" everything works may be connected with a power issue, like when "cold" booting some higher peaks of current are needed.jaclaz [*] JFYI, most recent case was an old motherboard that ran NT 4 and Win2K for years, to which I reinstalled a "fresh" Win2K that developed (at random) a "phantom" Serial and a "phantom" Parallel port, creating a mess of IRQ's/resources conflicts (while the non plug 'n play NT 4.00 worked fine on it), a new PSU and hep! everything was back to "normal".