Zxian

Ok... isn't Maxthon IE based??? Maxthon uses the IE core. It doesn't use the IE connections like some other IE based browsers (the ones that people call IE skins).

As for this... I would say that Firefox has more features than IE. The Tabbed browsing feature is worth it to make the switch in itself. However, it does have a few drawbacks. Right after a standard install (from the Firefox website), it'll eat up about 40MB of RAM on my system (512 total installed). To get any useful functionality, you have to go searching for plugins and then install them on top of everything else. For a basic user (someone who isn't completely computer literate), it takes quite a bit to get Firefox to have "full" functionality. I use Maxthon. It's a smaller installer, and it uses a lot less RAM (11MB right now ). Right from the setup, I have access to mouse gestures, Super-drag-n-drop (right-click drag a link and it opens in another tab), Tray icon options, Favorites Groups, URL Alias, URL Key (use an F-key for a webpage), Full download control (what media get's downloaded), and of course, as any good browser should have, a very good pop-up blocker. All of these are simply options in the browser, not plugins. If you want plugins, then you can find those as well to do other crazy stuff. Conbining this with JavaCool's SpywareBlaster (which everyone should install and run on their system, it doesn't have to be running to work), I haven't had a single piece of spyware on my system for a long time (can't even remember). Firefox just takes too long to configure to get it to my level of functionality. The high RAM usage is also a real turn off, since I like to be able to close the browser to the system tray (basically just keep it in the background, 2 MB of RAM) and then run it when I need it. Another disadvantage to Firefox is that you need another plugin to show all webpages properly. Yet another thing to find and download.

Yep... Tools->Options->Other->Advanced Options Uncheck "Warn before permanently deleting items" Cheers!

No, I don't think that that's the reason. I've tried this after a simple boot and I'm usually sitting at about 15 MB of RAM for explorer.exe. When I open Windows Explorer (Win+E), and then minimize it, the RAM usage drops to 600K or so and then starts to increase gradually. As for the reason... I have no clue... P.S. If you read his post, he said that he wasn't having any problems with CPU usage.

You can get PerfectDisk to work without PDScheduler running all the time. You just need it to start up when you want to do a defrag. As for a clean and optimized system... I think that I've done a pretty good job for that with my laptop. Just 20 processes running at startup with only having disabled many services that I don't need. Have a look! Desktop Automatic Services Some of those services are normally set to manual, but since their dependencies are in automatic, I've set these to automatic. Please note that if I wanted to... I could get rid of AveDesk, CursorXP, Rainlendar, and wbload (WindowBlinds), and I'd almost be as low as Jeremy (almost...)

With the CIH virus, you had no access to the mobo at all. When your computer turned on, everything would be powered, just not doing anything. Win98 is more common than you think. It's my alternative (I haven't tried Linux yet) for systems that just don't have enough system resources for XP (Anything under 600 MHz, 128MB RAM).

@XMac You can easily fix this with a simple rule (ah, the power of Outlook). Just make a rule that moves the e-mail to a "G-Mail Sent Items" folder when you receive it if your e-mail address is in the sender's address (i.e. you sent it). You can also set it to mark the message as read. That way, if you ever have to send a message via the web interface, Outlook will download it and simply store it on your computer. I simply have another .pst file that handles my GMail stuff and my Sent Items folder is in there.

Well... according to every test out there... Kaspersky hasn't caught 100% of all the viruses... so therefore there has to be at least one that it hasn't caught... However, I think that there are two ways that you can go about keeping your system secure. First is to have a program that scans everything that's ingoing and outgoing from your computer and stop the problem before it even exists (i.e. real-time scanning). The second way to go about it is to leave your computer open in real-time and occasionally check for problems when you think that something is amiss. I personally go for the first method. Imagine that you end up catching the Cherynobl virus (it's still out there people!!!). The Cherynobl virus was written back in 1998 by a university student in taiwan. Essentially what it does is erases the first 1024 cylinders of your hard drive (the ones that are required to have your boot sector on) and then flashes your BIOS to nothing. As of that point, the only way to use your computer is to get a new motherboard, because the old one is fried. All realtime scanners will pick up on this virus nowadays, but if you're relying solely on manual or scheduled scans to find viruses... then you're pretty much hooped when you get hit by this (I've seen this happed to one of my friend's computers, one with a $300 mobo... eep). As for these "tests" that were completed (the one that Zaldhie and Schadenfroh have posted about), I'm how the people who conduct them actually do the tests. Do they infect a bare windows computer with a bunch of viruses and see if the AV program can fix up the damage that was done? or do they install the programs and then try to infect the computers? I, sadly, used to be a big fan of Norton (I was naive and thought that the biggest was the best... how wrong of me), and I eventually got sick of my rediculous startup times, so when my subscription ran out, I started to use the trial versions of various programs. Avast didn't give me enough control over what was going on. AVG just had a hideous interface... I could barely find the manual scanner... BitDefender was easy to use and configure (I tried the combo package with firewall and all). I was completely blown away by the fact that NOD32 was so fast and efficient. I guess it's the engineer in me that just appreciates the magic of good software. I may not have been so thourough in finding so many viruses, but my friend and I complied a CD with 400 MB of "cracks" from eMule (we used his secondary boot of Mandrake to make sure that none of the files were cleaned). Then we both started our Windows XP computers (both SP1a and with all ciritcal updates) and popped the CD into the drive. My NOD32 quarantined the files right on the CD!!! The log file said that NOD32 quarantined every single file on the CD. On his computer, he had to copy the files to his hard drive before his AV would say anything. Once we were done, we checked at three online scanners (Panda, Norton, and one other one, I forget which) and both of our computers were clean. I'm gonna stick with NOD32. It's stupidly fast and has caught everything up until this point. Chances are that I'll never leave until the day that I do get a virus on my computer (8 months so far... even with that onslaught of viruses). P.S. People who say that NOD32 cuts corners... it does!!! but in a really smart way... it doesn't scan inside .wav files for viruses (just as an example, and other file types that can't be used to infect a computer)

It's a humourous add, considering that there are people who want to kill the IPod program since it "promotes piracy". Not all downloaded music is pirated. Remember the days of MP3.com? I listen to a trance artist right now who doesn't use any hosting for his mixes because he distributes them on Bit Torrent. Of the 12 gigs of mp3's that I now have on my comp (that's not even with all my CD's ripped), almost all of them are legit from either free download sites or from CD's. 2 gigs are all from the good ol' days of MP3.com, and another 3 are from DJ GT (the forementioned artist) and his partner Project C. The rest are all ripped from my CD's (VBR 128-320 Lame 3.96) or found from other sites.

I couldn't find anything there that would remove the Search from the start menu. The entry "Remove the Search Button" refers to removing the button in Explorer at the top of the screen (next to the Forward and Back).

Hi everyone, I'm using the Classic Start Menu in WindowsXP Pro, and I'd like to get rid of the Search entry. I've tried to remove it using the Group Policy Editor, but that also removes my ability to search for files in general, which I'd still like to be able to do. Is there any way to have my cake and eat it too?

The "Wake" ability of the scheduled tasks doesn't work when you put a computer into hibernation, as far as I know. You have to realize what hibernation is, it's essentially a full shut down, but all your current programs and such that were in memory are stored on the hard drive. When the computer's fully shut down, there is no way for Windows to initiate a scheduled task, because Windows doesn't keep track of time while the computer is in hibernation. The Wake feature does, however, work with a computer in Standby. This is because Windows is still active, just in a low power state. Hope this helps.

I don't think that you can simply drag an m3u playlist into a data CD and have it load the mp3 and .ogg files that are in the playlist. I've tried messing around with the various types of CDs that you can make with Nero, and I haven't been able to do what you ask... Sorry to be of no help...

Touchpad only when I need the mouse... keyboard shortcuts rule!!! Go WinKey!!! If I'm going to do any image editing or gaming, then I'll hook up my mouse.

Why is there no Atari here?!?!?! I'd have to say that the moment Sony released the PlayStation they have been on top of the video game market. PS2 is a better console than XBox in terms of graphics and rendering. Anyone who argues that XBox is better than PS2 should think about what kind of hardware the two systems have in them. The PS2 works on a truely 128-bit 300MHz RISC processor, while the XBox is chugging away with an almost stock Intel Celeron clocked at 733 MHz. The Celeron is still performing calculations in a 32-bit world. MS got around this by adding some fancy circuitry and memory around the processor so that it can ultimately handle 128-bit instructions (take any Electrical Engineering course to understand this). However, just by simple math, it would take at least 4 clock cycles for the most basic 128-bit calculation to be completed in the XBox. The only advantage that XBox has over PS2 is the built in hard drive. But... is this really that big of an advnatage? When you're racing a car on a track, it's very important to be able to hear the engine, tires, and the rest of the car in general. Same deal in Gran Turismo 3 or Project Gotham Racing. I don't really want to listen to my own music while I'm playing these types of games. In fact... there aren't any games that I'd want to play where I'd have music in the background, except for maybe Final Fantasy or something like that. As for the network connection, the new slim-line PS2's are coming out with this built in, so that old-advantage of the XBox is gone. And then there's size... the XBox is HUGE!!! I like the fact that I can pack my PS2 into a carrying case (with all cables, 2 controllers, and about 6 or so games in their original cases) which measures about 12"X12"X4" (the PS2 carrying case by Sony). The XBox is fat and heavy. There's no way that I'd be able to lug around an XBox to a party or something (like testing the projectors at my university ). Not to mention that except for Halo 1&2, Playstation has way better games. So... end of story, PS2... all the way... P.S. It's probably common knowledge to most, but it's still funny that people have been able to run Linux on the XBox... a Microsoft product...

I think the problem that you're running into here is the fact that you're trying to make an MP3 CD, but you're trying to add Vorbis files. Even if you were able to get the Vorbis files onto the CD, most MP3 CD capable players don't support Vorbis formats. You won't be able to get the .OGG files onto the MP3 CD with Nero or any other program for that matter.

Like another post said... WTF?!?!??! That stuff is just messed... and really really creepy.

The manner itself will work for an external drive. I just tested it out. However, when you go to try to remove the drive (like when I want to take my laptop away with me to school), Windows will keep telling you that a program is still accessing the drive and you won't be able to remove it "safely". If you've simply got this drive hooked up for more stoage at a desktop computer, then go for it. Hope this helps.

The UXTheme.dll file is simply a file that allows you to use non-MS created themes. The patcher is very quick in doing its work and the split second that it took is normal. Try to think of it in a similar analogue. Let's say that you have some .pdf files (Acrobat files) that you want to read. Windows won't let you read those files on it's own, but you can download and use the Acrobat Reader to read the files. The UXTheme.dll patcher is like the Acrobat Reader. It lets you use the themes that you have downloaded (these are like the Acrobat files). You can go ahead and use StyleXP if you wish and it doesn't cause any problems for you. I simply never liked the interface and preferred to change the settings with the Windows options instead. As for applying the skins that you have downloaded, all you have to do is copy the themes that you have into a folder that you want them to be named in the specified .../themes directory. For example, if I had downloaded a theme called MooCow, I would need to make a directory like this C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\MooCow\ and then put all the files that were included in the download into that directory. Then you can open up ThemeXP or the Display properties and then you'll be able to select MooCow from the menu. As for Winamp, I find it to be the best player out there... period. I've tried so many others, and none provide the simplicity of Winamp while still delivering really awesome sound quality. As for the screenshot that I posted, Winamp stays on top, no matter what I do (unless I specifically minimize it). That there is just the slim mode of the MMD3 skin (available at the Winamp website) I've tried JetAudio, and it just doesn't seem to have as many nicities as Winamp. The best way for you to figure out which one you like better is to download both and use each one for a full day or so. After that, you'll be able to figure out which one works for you. Each of us has our personal tastes. Just because I like winamp doesn't mean that you will.

That is exactly what a hacked UXTheme.dll file is. Click here for the UXTheme.dll pack for SP1, and here for SP2. The ntoskrnl.exe file is the file that essentially loads the NT Kernel, or the underlying program that is, in fact, Windows. Obviously, if this doesn't load properly, then Windows doesn't load properly. With some boot screens, people have completely replaced the ntoskrnl.exe file with a cracked one that contains different images (hence the different boot screen). Where the problem lies is in the fact that the ntoskrnl.exe file is different with each service pack that is released. In other words, if you have a boot screen that is supposed to work for Service Pack 1, and you have Service Pack 2, then Windows won't load. Sorry, I guess that I should have been more specific by what I meant by "Windows Desktop Screenshots". It's acutally another part of this forum that you can find here.. Have a look at the many different desktops that are available. As for the sounds within WB, yes you can turn them off. To do this, go to Basic Settings (in WindowBlinds) and uncheck the box that says "Use skin sounds (if any)". Then click on "Apply settings". You should be good to go. As I said before, I would recommend re-applying the default boot screen and using BootSkin from StarDock from now on. As for the media player docklet in DesktopX, I can't really help you there, since I've never used DesktopX. I would personally recommend using WinAmp as a media player. It's a very good, simple, and solid media player that supports more file formats than you or your grandmother can handle. There's tons of skins for WinAmp as well, so you can make it fit with the rest of your desktop. Here's a screenshot of my desktop with Winamp sitting at the very top of the screen. As you can see, I found a skin that fits really well with the WB theme that I'm using. Screenshot (Yes, I have a widescreen display. That's why it looks wider than a standard dekstop) Don't hesitate to ask more questions. Information is free around here, with no strings attached (other than that you're courteous and respectful, which you have been so far )

If you're worried about screwing up the ntoskrnl.exe file, have a look at StarDock's BootSkin. It's totally freeware, and if a skin doesn't apply right, then you'll still get through to Windows as normal (you just won't see the progress). There are also some funny bootskins that you can apply with it... like one big BSOD... a great prank to play on a friend or co-worker... I also think that you'd like this one...

I'm wondering one more thing about that test... there's no mention of real-time scanning capabilities. Did you ever notice any general system slowdown while running any of the specified programs? When I used to have Snortin Norton on my desktop, I'd always see this annoying little window pop up by the system tray telling me that NAV was scanning some file. Did you ever experience any of this when you created a new file/downloaded something/etc?

Using WindowBlinds. I have it not only for it's skinning ability, but also for the fact that you can pin windows on top, roll them up to the titlebar, and minimize them to the system tray. Also, it doesn't use up that much resources on my comp... 388K memory and 1580K VM right now...

I've always thought of OC'ing as a bad idea. Especially for the fact that if something fries and you've OC'ed, then you're probably out of pocket a few hundred dollars. If your CPU is running at only 20 degrees C, then sure, go for it, but if you've got an (already searing hot) P4-HT processor, then I'd say no go. As for the question: I'd say 10 deg cooler. I've got the patience to wait those extra 15 mins for a DivX movie, and what's another 5 fps if you've already got a system that can pump out 50... Personally, I've never been able to notice the difference between 50 fps and 55...anything above 40 or so all looks the same to me. Also... I'd still rather go for an older Althon with more L2 cache over the Sempron anyday. 256KB L2 cache simply doesn't cut it anymore these days. My laptop (Pentium-M 1.4GHz with 1 MB L2) will completely kick-butt against anything comparable in the laptop field (i.e. P4 2.4, 512KB L2) pricewise (even when configured in a desktop. When actually crunching data, the L2 cache does more than most people think. [Edit] Apparently the L2 cache doesn't do as much as I thought... I know for a fact that the 128K that sits on most Celeron processors is what causes them to be a total pain in the a**, but when you're talking about higher end processors like the ones in the test, it seems that it doesn't make that much of a difference. Maybe I'll look into the 90nm Sempron next summer when I have some moolah to spend on a new desktop.

Here are some pics of my laptop (with my Partial Differential Equations homework as well...). Specs Intel Pentium-M processor 1.4GHz 512 MB PC2100 DDR RAM 40GB HD DVD/CD-RW drive ATI Radeon 9200 Mobility 32MB Built-in 802.11b Wireless 15.4" WXGA screen and some other basic stuff... Best part is... 6 hours on battery with normal usage (5 if you use wireless). External stuff... Altec Lansing AP3 2.1 speakers the Sub is under the desk Logitech MX500 mouse Dell e772 17" monitor Desk and stuff Hehe Gotta be proudly Canadian...eh!