Tommy

Welcome to MSFN! Glad to have you here!

I'd go with Boingo as well. For whatever reason...there's an issue with the Intel Wireless Manager and the only way I ever got it to work again is reinstalling it...and not restarting it, since the driver itself wasn't changed. But anytime you shut it down or restarted, you'd have to do it again. It got very irritating. Boingo works great and I'd recommend using it.

I personally always preferred the classic theme UI. It's fast, snappy, and to me looks cool. The fact that Windows 10 removed it all together just makes me a bit disgusted. I don't really like the entirely flat look in the UI. But so many things have followed that trend as far as logos go, Google even being one of them. A bit of why I don't care for Windows 10's UI also stems from the fact that we use it at work and for the older people who don't get on the computer much but needs to in order to request time off or look at the pay stubs...I always have to tell them how to navigate. One question I have is...what was wrong with the Windows 98 styled start menu? Or really, the 9x/NT4/2000 styled one? With Windows 10, I discovered that you can log off by right clicking the start menu flag and choosing shut down or sign off. Most of the others that help people when I can't tell them to click on the start menu and then click on the little person looking icon and then signing off. Why does something simple like that have to be tucked away? I liked when you'd click on Start (can you truly even call it a "start" menu anymore?) I guess it does say "Start" when you hover over the flag. But you'd click on it and you had actual text of what each option did. Shut down...log off...help....search...etc. I can't completely knock Windows alone because most software developers are moving towards picture only icons. Remember the older IE versions? Back, Forward, Stop, all of those were listed under the respective icon buttons. Now you don't get any of that. Now you have to tell someone to click on the little house icon if you want them to visit their homepage. It's so frustrating because not everyone understands these types of terms. I also don't care for the "other user" option on Windows 10. I can't speak for Windows 8 but especially on Windows 2000/XP, I preferred always being able to type in your username and password instead of bringing up the last user like Windows 10 seems to do. That throws people for a loop too, more than you know. I liked the CTRL+ALT+DEL to log in which it is obviously capable of doing if enabled...but then you just had a popup window asking for your credentials. Easy peasy! Then again, these are people who complain about having to change their password every year as they finally got this one down pat. Now...for a company like Meijer which I work for...for those who don't know, it's basically a supermarket like Walmart but is privately owned and only in 6 states right now. But they're in a bit of a pickle and have things set up so archaically because many of their training modules use Flash which is obviously going away. Many things we use also rely on Internet Explorer. So for most things, we have to use IE but then for training, we have to switch to Google Chrome. Some want to use Chrome for everything but that's not possible as some things are broken in Chrome and don't function properly in it. We did use Windows 7 before it was retired and that was set up a bit differently as they had Flash for IE installed but then they had removed it about a year before we moved to new computers with Windows 10 on them. I did prefer Windows 7 only because it was a bit more configurable and they had a generic user account rather than utilizing our own accounts like we do on Windows 10. We're still using Windows Server 2008 R2 for Citrix and I'm sure other things so I'm assuming that they're receiving custom support for it. But I am a bit concerned with how some of these things are going to measure up, especially when Flash goes away. I really don't think there was a lot of planning ahead for these things. I know I'm sort of straying away from the actual OS discussion but so much of this ties into the poor planning of deployment and maintaining which I'm certain also isn't being done. When we got these new computers, they weren't too bad. They use Ryzen 5 processors and have 8GBs of RAM installed...but they're slowing down so much already that people are complaining quite a bit. What also gets me is they're still using Windows 10 version 1803 which has this problem we've dubbed as the black screen of death, where the screen goes black randomly for no seemingly good reason and even though the computer hasn't crashed, you can't see a thing and the only thing you can do is hold the power button down and restart the computer. Horrible when you're in the middle of working on something! But to really cut to the chase, I'd be all for a new version of Windows that was designed for real simplicity. For those like me who preferred Windows 98 and didn't care how "modern" it looks. Straight-forward and functional are good enough for me. While Windows 7 was probably the best OS Microsoft cranked out for a while and is probably the best of the NT 6.0 line...even it wasn't 100% straight-forward as previous versions. Windows 95 was probably a hallmark staple in the Windows series because of how much more straight-forward it was to use. No guessing what buttons did, it just told you in the UI. The OS/UI didn't assume that every person on the planet who uses that software knew what the picture icons meant. While I've figured most of them out, I'm a guru who works with this stuff day in and day out so I get it. But for those who don't use computers very much or have a hard time with them, MS needs to either have an option or a separate version of Windows that could be inter-compatible with updates but go back to some of the original Windows 95 roots that also maintains security and integrity of Windows NT. And of course, not completely forcing updates and restarts whenever the OS feels like it. And honestly, as I mentioned up above...why does the OS have to be so large in filesize now? Many have been able to whittle down the OS to much smaller sizes which means lower overhead and most likely speeding up the OS itself. Even powerful PCs can start stumbling the more the OS is patched and the size continues to increase.

Windows 1.0 to Windows XP were the best versions of Windows. Windows Vista onwards....not so good. I just have a real problem with the way Windows NT 6+ operates. It's much slower and requires a lot of power to operate smoothly. But even then, I feel it hiccups a lot more than something like Windows XP did. I absolutely hate how it handles updates. To be honest, I generally preferred the Windows Update website. From what I can see, Windows 10 doesn't even really give you the opportunity to see what updates are available or what they do like Windows Vista and 7 did. Windows 10 isn't horrible as long as it is heavily tweaked and much of the spy stuff turned off. But once updates start patching themselves to the OS, it doesn't take long for hard drive space to go away. I know hard drives are getting cheaper and larger but I still don't see why it needs to take so much space. The only really good solution is every year or so, slipstream all the latest updates into Windows and reinstall from that media so you don't have to worry about extra overhead in patches. I feel patches are just that, patches. The only really good way to ensure your system is trouble free is have them applied right from the very beginning.

This is really not a help topic, so I'm moving it to the funny farm as it seems more fitting here. Moved from NT forum to Funny Farm

It's almost June, why is this relevant now? Topic LOCKED

Yes, thank you for correcting me. Ugh, again my mind isn't cooperating so I reread this several times and I saw you said replacing the inf files with the ones found in the link you provided. In that thread, I saw there was a file uploaded that looked to be BlackWingCat's and then there was mention of a beta driver, which had a thread of its own. So which driver should I download and then use the INFs from Lenovo's package to slipstream into my installation? Though my ThinkPad isn't an i version, it really shouldn't be any different than bluesteel's.

This is what I kind of figured but I wanted to be sure, plus I like having things documented in a very easy to understand format for other people. That and because my mental health is very bad right now so I'm missing obvious details, such as you mentioning removing the NTx86 references in the other thread and I couldn't understand why it wasn't working. Maybe you can answer this as well, but what makes the newest HFSLIP package better than some of the older ones, like the 2012 version that included Service Pack 5.1? It seems the older one had more updates and the newer one has fewer. Were some of the updates just redundant, caused problems, or a mix of other things? I was taking a look at one of the websites last night but I didn't get too far on it, I think it was located a few posts down from the link you posted concerning nLite and slipstreaming with HFSLIP.

Thanks for the reply, this was actually the thread I was looking for! I somehow missed the tidbit about removing NTx86 so I'd get the "iaStor.sys is corrupted, press any key to continue". So let me be sure I'm doing the right stuff here. Opening up iaStor.sys, I see this. [Manufacturer] %INTEL%=INTEL_HDC,ntx86 So, should I change it to this? [Manufacturer] %INTEL%=INTEL_HDC Then I see [INTEL_HDC] [INTEL_HDC.ntx86] %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104 %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104 %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104 %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104 Should I remove the first INTEL_HDC and then remove the ntx86 such as this? [INTEL_HDC] %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C3&CC_0104 %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_27C6&CC_0104 %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_2822&CC_0104 %PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104.DeviceDesc% = iaStor_Install, PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_282A&CC_0104 And also, should I do the same with the iaACHI file, remove all ntx86 references as well? Once all that is done, should I then nLite the driver and use HFSLIP or is there another method to integrate these files into the source without using nLite?

I'm going to unearth this because I'm trying to do this very same thing with a my ThinkPad X201, but with Windows 2000 and having similar results. So the bad thing about this computer is that it doesn't come with a CD drive so installing via USB is just about my only option. I used tomasz86's latest HFSLIP pack along with a driver from blackwingcat, the one that brings up an error mentioned above. If I used anything other than blackwingcat's, it would say "iaStor.sys is corrupted". Well, after digging I found blackwingcat's and thought I had some promise but alas, it "works" but then I'm just greeted by the same bluescreen I would with a vanilla HFSLIP package, inaccessible boot device. I know it's not just a bad image because it works in a VM, unless it's because it doesn't load the driver for it. The one part that concerns me is that I've seen a few things. 1. Blackwingcat says Extended Kernel is needed to install but I haven't seen the minimum version that it needs and with the newer HFSLIP, I'm not even sure of Extended Kernel is even slipstreamed into it anymore. 2. Some of Tomasz86's UURollups used to be in exe slipstreamable format, and I swear even a few weekly ones from 2013 were as well, which I would think should be sufficient for this to work. Unfortunately, the ones remaining online are in 7z format, making slipstreaming impossible to my knowledge. And we know, at least to my knowledge, that blackwingcat's version were never slipstreamable. So that's an issue too. 3. I've also seen reports that I should slipstream the SATA driver using nLite first....and then slipstream packages via HFSLIP. I don't know if it just can't see my USB drive and that's what causes the invalid boot device during setup or not. I also hooked up a USB DVD drive but for whatever reason, it will not boot off my Windows 2000 media, the very same image that is bootable from a USB stick will not boot from a USB DVD drive, but it's not the drive because Windows 98 will boot from the DVD drive. I believe I have all the needed drivers for it that would make it work and do what I need it to do after installation except for WiFi, which I can just use a USB stick if need be. Edit: Heh, my bad, I know there was a Windows 2000 version of this thread floating around somewhere describing this same problem. Strangely enough, Windows XP Pro x64 worked 100% without a hitch on my laptop, even without a SATA driver. But I ended up splitting this into my own thread so it is relevant.

Try this: https://web.archive.org/web/20190504074634/http://w2k.flxsrv.org/cgi-bin/dl.cgi?file=win2k_14466.zip

You got that right! I actually purchased Mafia 2 on Steam a while ago before getting it again on GOG Games since I didn't know about the latter before. But being on Steam, I have access to the Definitive Edition of Mafia 2 so I downloaded it. Eh, it's okay for what it is but I think we could've lived without it. Now had there been cut content and other goodies, then I would've been happier, but I thought Mafia 2 looked really good as it was. I have very mixed feelings about the original Mafia remake. From the leaked trailer, I truly hope the voice isn't going to be Tommy's new voice. Michael Sorvino is Tommy Angelo and therefor really should return. Let's just say I am excited to see what is in store because it looks like a lot of love is going into it, and they promise that it's going to be reminiscent of the original Mafia we all know and love. But how much of it is going to be the same? I hope Django Reinhardt tracks come back along with the handful of Mills Brothers, but that could be debatable since I believe both Steam and GOG versions have the music removed because of licensing issues. I know you can restore them but what does this mean for the new game? Will there be radio stations like Mafia 2 and 3 or just generic area music? So many variables. How many cars back then even had radios anyway? But anyway, I'm excited but proceeding with caution as well. Luckily I have a heavily tweaked version of Windows 10 Pro 64-bit alongside my Windows 2000 installation so I should be good to go once the new Mafia comes out. My PC can handle the new definitive edition quite well with the settings cranked up except for a few small areas that lag a bit but otherwise it's pretty smooth.

Kinda like LiMu Emu, especially with that stupid siren they have. All a bunch of ear rape to ensure you stop what you're doing and look at it.

I'm pretty used to his website, so I know where most stuff is. Are you looking for the "latest" driver from NVIDIA, or the latest driver from blackwingcat? http://blog.livedoor.jp/blackwingcat/archives/1114373.html You may want to start with driver 335.28 if you can, then update to the last 359.06 beta driver. What card do you have?

Sounds like it is onboard graphics? It also sounds as if this is a computer tower as in a desktop, not a laptop. Another cheap solution would be to upgrade to the GeForce 8000 series. You can find super inexpensive cards on eBay which Windows 10 would support. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR1.TRC0.A0.H0.Xnvidia+geforce+8400.TRS0&_nkw=nvidia+geforce+8400&_sacat=0 For an 88 year old, that would be way more than needed for their use but still compatible with Windows 10. I just wouldn't go into detail why it would be needed, but just suggest that an inexpensive part is needed in order to ensure full compatibility.