jaclaz

I guess we might need to temper *somewhere else* http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/172160-why-does-win-87-suck-so-much/ adding something like "it is vital to disable one of the most prominent features of Windows 8/8.1 in order to use instead of it (which sucks) a third party tool that actually works" jaclaz

My personal view of the "market" is the following. The "normal" first time usage for nlite (home user) is: try making a build removing everything install won't work as expected (wrongly, in the sense that what was expected was not correspondent to the choices made) try another build removing something less build won't work as expected (wrongly, as above) come here whining about re-adding something that is missing in the install be advised to re-build without removing this and without removing that try another build removing something less build won't work as expected (wrongly, as above) loop to #8 until install works as expected (either because choices were chosen correctly or expectations have "lowered") Then there is a fork, a number of users (let's call them, just for the sake of distinguishing them from the rest, "average") will then never use it again until a new install is needed AND - for whatever reason - the original build was lost (otherwise they won't run it again, ever), whilst the rest of the people will use it several times, and again, and again. These latter category can also be divided in sub-categories: the "kids" (just wanting to have some fun)the "tweakers" more or less the same people that hang around MSFN and similar boards (also wanting to have some fun, while learning new, strange things)Than there is the, vaster than what may seem, category of "wannabe IT" (those that have used nlite - notwithstanding it's license - in a commercial environment, like small repair shops or "casual IT's"), these are another category that used nlite over and over (and over). Then the real "business IT's" that have been prevented from using nlite till now (though they had interest in it) and that resolved to test it at home or however "privately". To sum up: "average" <- will use nlite once and never again in several years, until a new version of Windows comes out, they might be OK to pay some (small) one time license fee linked to the OS version"kids" <- will use nlite all the times they see fit but will use a cracked version"tweakers" <- will either use nlite all the times they see fit AND pay for a reasonable license fee (but won't likely renew it at each and every new MS OS, unless it is a very, very low fee) OR they will lose interest altogether in the tool"casual IT's" these are the same that used nlite for years in violation of it's license, they will probably use the same "cracked" version as the "kids" or however they are not going to pay proportionately to the use they will do of the tool"business IT's" <- they might be - if interested - willing to pay adequate amount of money for licenses, even year subscription for the license to the program AND for support for it.Consider how nlite has been in early times something IMHO, if not *needed*, at least *advisable* but nowadays it has (IMHO) lost a lot of momentum for a number of reasons. The "switch" between NT 4.00 and 2K was a 5x (from 150 Mb to around 700 Mb on disk) in times where disks were 2.1 Gb or 4.3 Gb The "switch" between 2K and XP was (very near in time to the above) a 2.5 x (from 700 Mb to 1.8 Gb) in times where disks were what? 20 Gb. The "switch" between XP and Vista never happened The "switch" between XP and 7 was a 10x (from 1.8 Gb to 18 Gb or so) in times where disks were 500 Gb and more The "switch" between 7 and 8 will be a 1.2x (from 18 Gb to 24 Gb or so) in times where disks are 1000 Gb and more and even SSD's are 256 Gb or so jaclaz

Yep, the point here is (after having ruled out a possible "generic" hardware issue) if the "conflict" you have experimentally found with the stupid Insyde BIOS is limited to the installation (as is/was the case of Qemu) or if it prevents (after having somehow "hacked" a 2K install on it) the running of the OS. jaclaz

Sure , an AC outlet (grounded) has three contacts (everywhere) live/neutral/ground. Since the 70's (at least in Italy) grounding is compulsory on ALL sockets. The plugs may have two (ungrounded) or three (grounded) pins, and the plug is compatible to both. Of course only Class 2 (double insulation) devices can have a two pin plug, as well as lighting appliances. But often an issue may be not the grounding (in the sense of a third cable, yellow/green along the standard, connected to the plug and the use of a three contact plug) but the grounding in the sense of how well the grounding wires are connected to actual ground, it's not rare the case of a bad ground or of oxidized contacts/loose bolts/etc. making the ground partially or totally ineffective. About AC, not only there is the 120 vs 240 V difference, but in the US electricity is @60 Hz while in EU it is @50Hz, which is a further issue for anything containing an electric motor, i.e. even if you use a transformer to make the voltage correct, an EU motor will run roughly 20% faster in the US and viceversa a US motor will ruin roughly 20% slower in EU. jaclaz

Do you have available a Windows XP source for doing a test install? This would rule out the hardware as possible source of the issue and would give us a fair view of which drivers are used in it. jaclaz

As I see it the issue is not about the malware and the few millions subscribers/customers of No-Ip that suffered the black out, but a lot about MS self-appointing as Internet Police (actually Internet Vigilante) and to a Federal Judge actually authorizing that. A couple related articles: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140701/07252927743/dangerous-ruling-judge-lets-microsoft-seize-redirect-no-ip-domains-without-notice.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140701/15030927747/microsoft-insists-that-no-ip-outage-was-due-to-technical-error-rather-than-gross-abuse-legal-process.shtml Set apart the point about how good actually is the "good cause to believe" it is unprecedented I believe that a judicial order of such potentially devastating consequences has been granted "filed under seal" and with a bond of only US$ 200,000. The peeps at No-Ip had however a nice comment : http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9249509/Microsoft_admits_technical_error_in_IP_takeover_but_No_IP_still_down jaclaz

Hey jaclaz, let me get this right, are you saying (with a sad face) you would rather have a free solution of a lesser quality than a full-time dedicated product, which requires compensation on my end? Actually I am saying NOTHING at all (in the sense of nada, zero, zilch) if not that I was surprised by this announcement and that I will need (and I believe a few more people will) some time to put together a thought upon comment. jaclaz

You might need to allow for a few day to let people recover from the SHOCK of the announcement. jaclaz

My bad , I read this: as: While you meant: jaclaz

Well, there is no way, with a tester/multimeter to say if a circuit is grounded properly (and certainly reading *wherever* 12V has nothing to do with grounding a 200-250V AC circuit). The phase/live is not (please read should not) be a problem, however, if there is a leak or bridge deliveriing some voltage to the chassis, it is easy enough to invert (re-insert, rotated by 180 degrees) the plug. jaclaz

Maybe unuseful, but have you tried running CRU? Some reference: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/171222-getting-1600-x-1200-resolution-on-a-new-pc/ jaclaz

You lose. A similar approach ("named" pins for "live" and "neutral" or "polarized" plug/socket) only apply in the UK and in Denmark, in the rest of Europe it is indifferent (as the plug can be inserted both ways in the socket), i.e. plugs are not polarized, with the exception of the French standard (which however has not a standard for polarization in France), but that is observed In Czech Republic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_power_plugs_and_sockets Spain uses the German Schuko plugs/sockets. Still, a socket may be grounded fine, but there could be parasite currents on both the live and neutral cables, and Dogway's PC, new as it might be it's power supply, may have a leak nonetheless. jaclaz

But you have also a broken google AND assumed that the issue was not with Virtualbox, you know, like: https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/11841 http://4sysops.com/forums/topic/windows-server-2012-r2-on-virtual-box-error-0x000000c4/ Have you tried with the "setextradata" command? jaclaz

And not prosecuted : http://almostmakessense.com/?comic=use-common-sense jaclaz

Here you are, be my guest : jaclaz

Maybe connected, maybe not, I have seen stupidly powerful videocards in laptops with the GPU connected to the heatsink by means of "thermal pads" (as opposed to thermal paste) that over the years dried up (or however were not anymore a good means to transmit heat to the). Cleaning and putting new thermal paste worked for them, lowering noticeably temperature. It is very possible that replacing the "dried up" thermal pad with a new one would do the same, of course. jaclaz

Borg are not about war , they are about peace . jaclaz

Not only it is possible, but it also very probable. : But this could also be caused by the fact that over the years and with the experience gathered in fighting the increasing dumbness of the parts of the OS that you find dumb and that you replace/fix/tweak, you have become much better at it. So, not only you may say that "some parts of Windows (and 3rd party applications) are still getting better, moving into the future." , but you could add that at every new release you are faster and more successful in tweaking it to actually make the overall feeling/usability even better. jaclaz

Then temper it! A half-botched, unoptimized system (possibly on the lower level when it comes to processor speed and amount of RAM) HD based vs. a powerful, optimized and tweaked system based on SSD's (and specifically finely tweaked to your specific likings). And the second seemed less clunky than the first in your comparison. Hardly surprising. Just for your interest, I have just driven a friend's BMW 535i over a few hundreds kms trip. Although I have never had a particular liking for BMW's, I have to admit that my 12 years old Mercedes Class C is less comfortable and noticeably slower. jaclaz

Actually I was trying to say that possibly the "average Joe" is less stupid than what appears from the mentioned post, i.e. that telemetry data either did not provide anything useful, or never actually existed or were faked/changed/modified to have the (stupid) decisions appear as a form of democratic vote and not coming from the (perverted) minds of the MS management. When the stupid UI was in development, how many PC's providing telemetry had touchscreens? How was the data coming from a vast majority of users with a keyboard and mouse "transformed" into "swipe this" or "swipe that"? How an interface that has pretty much separate searching "areas" (i.e. local PC vs. Local Network vs. "the Internet" thorugh any browser+search engine) can have provided data supporting the "generic" search everywhere or "Smart Search") of Windows 8 (now a bit changed in 8.1)? Look at how Paul Thurrott (which is already in backtracking mode, however) is drooling with satisfaction at the results of a search for Paris: http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-81-tip-configure-smart-search jaclaz

To be picky (as I actually am), we were told that telemetry results were used to "reshape" the UI (and to change the way we should interact with the stupid OS), and thus we quickly came to the conclusion that the blame was to be put on the mentioned clueless neighbour or on some other more or less demented "average Joe". But what actual data did the telemetry provide? Would it not be a more logical explanation that they did what they already had in their (perverted) minds since day one, and used the telemetry results as an excuse to justify the (foolish) decisions and putting the blame on the collecticity? A new version of "Officer, the Devil made me do it..." jaclaz

Yep. Just as an example, unlike Trip, on my back porch/hallway I have a movement sensor activated rather powerful halogen lamp 150 W . The sensor has an ambient light, so that the motion sensor is not activated if not when it is "dark enough". The sensor also has a switch off timer (if no further motion is detected) after 1 1/2 minutes. When I (or wife) come back home in the afternoon/evening it gives us time enough to find the keys (in a BRIGHT light) and open the door. As well when people/friends come, they are greeted by a well lighted path. Considering the passing of cats (that sometimes trigger the motion sensor ) this thingy is switched on, say, 15 times per day (actually per night). 15x1.5=22.5 minutes or roughly 1/3 of an hour, more exactly 0.375 150x0.375=56.25 Wh per day To be fair I have to add the very low power the sensor needs, less than 1 W, so I have to add around 24 W/h, making it overall 80 Wh per day. Halogen lamps are far less sensible to power cycles and short length of them, and the cost of a "no name" one is around 1.5 €, such a lamp lasts (in real life) 2 to 3 years or more. Trip (assuming he is using a 11W CLF) will "save" energy by having it 24x11=264 Wh per day, i.e. roughly 4 times what I use, with the "advantages" of having a completely unneeded light during daytime and a lower level of lighting at night. If he bought a "good brand" CLF, he probably have paid it around US$ 9.00 or so, i.e. roughly 4 times or around € 6.00 and have hopefully double the life, between 4 and 5 years. jaclaz

Sure , I just wanted to provide you (in case of need) with handy references to "previous art" confirming how your attribution to the Dark Side is/was entirely correct. : The last reference proves how this evil marketing trick was used as far back as at least in year 2000, i.e. 14 years ago, so the nefarious label is not a new idea of the MS marketing folks, but it is in itself outdated or using their own term "legacy" (this time meaning not that "it works"). jaclaz

Yep , that was exactly the reason why I studied and documented the various versions available: http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/171749-bootsectexe-various-versions-compared/ There are I believe more versions/models of the "ASUS eee 900" then stars in the sky, can you post please the EXACT model? Have you checked the requirements of Windows 8.1? http://windows.microsoft.com/it-it/windows-8/system-requirements There is a video on installing the Win 8.1 upgrade to a running Windwos 8 on a eeepc 900: it is possible that the issue is with just the "direct install" of the 8.1 and can be worked around. jaclaz

A "good" lamp (both CFL and LED) *should* have on it's packaging two important info's: 1. expected duration (number of hours expected when continuously on before failure) 2. expected number of lighting switches (number of time it can be switched on before failure) There are "particular" CFL's with a high number of rated switches. http://ec.europa.eu/energy/lumen/overview/howtochoose/packaging/packaging_en.htm Point is that these data, at least for CFL's I used till now are very optimistic and are not even go near the much more frequent than expected failures (either number of switches or lifetime[1]) The new GE Led lamps I just installed are, as said, rated for 25,000 hours and 25,000 switches. Averaging the usual 3 hours/day and 3 switches/day, i.e. 1,000 hours and 1,000 switches yearly cycle, they should last 25 years. "Common" CFL's, rated for 6,000/6,000 or 10,000/10,000 i.e. theoretically lasting between 6 and 10 years, should last less "in real life", along results of studies such as: https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2008/data/papers/2_111.pdf which concluded that these are influenced not only by the number of switches, but also by the average time the lamp was on before being switched off, i.e. shorter average on periods correspond to shorter lamp life, and they come to an estimate of a reduction of expected life: that can be grossly approximated by the equation 1 year=1,500 hours. The lowest specs CFL's around (the 6,000 hours type) should thus last on average 4 years. In practice it is rare that a common CFL lamp on average lasts more than one year. jaclaz [1] Yes, I am the kind of guy that does have a luxmeter and that believes that when a lamp takes more than 60 seconds to get to "full light" and it's "full light" is around 50% or less then what it provided when new it is to be replaced. (please consider how these decadence in lighting capabilities is a sign of progress, before a lamp was either on or off (binary), CFL's are anything between bright and very dim over the course of their life).