oldwolf

I just use my comp. If I dont want to damage anything I just slot in another drive. I got 2x80gb 1x160gb 1x60gb all in removable racks. If I stuff something up I just reinstall the OS and do it differently. I just couldnt be bothered with virtual machines, prefer having everything run at full speed. Also this way I can run Linux, (whatever flavour I like), win98, winxp, or anything else that I decide I want to try this week.

Dont trust SP2, also have a couple of programs that dont like SP2, (picaview, and others)

Thanks for the replies. Replacing explorer didnt work. Couldnt do a repair. had to do a full install. Now Im in the middle of resetting all my bits and pieces, EG.........Firewall, Antivirus, Video and Sound drivers, chipset drivers, etc, etc, etc. bloody windows!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey All I have a slight problem with windows. When I turn the computer on, windows gets to, what I presume is the desktop, but, there are no icons, no task bar, no start button. No nothin!! I just have the wallpaper, the cursor, (which I can move around), but nothing else. Sometime I can get task manager up, but not always. I am presuming it is getting stuck on something, but i hve no idea what. I havent installed, removed, added, anything in the last couple of weeks. Its also not oc'd. I have removeable racks so I can run 3 - 4 different drives, (thats why I can post now). Also had no probs playing games, eg... FEAR, Doom 3, Farcry, Dungeon Siege 2, UT, BattleField 2, etc. System as follows......... AMD Athlon XP 3200+ GA 7VT600 L 1.5 Gb Kingston Value Ram WD 160 Gb Seagate 80 Gb MSI 6600 GT 128Mb SB Live 5.1 Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse Asus 1608P DVDR Liteon 52x CDR/DVD Combo Coolermaster Centurion Case Coolermaster 350W PSU (came with case) Windows XP SP1 NVidia 71.89 (no probs so havent changed) If anyone has any ideas, Im all ears. Thanks in advance. oldwolf

Do you have anti virus running?? Ive heard that this can stuff up the install of things some times.

G'day welcome to the real world (Im from melb)

Mine hasnt changed in a couple of months. I like things nice and easy, I can find stuff then. ]My Desktop

Are you sure its an Asus A7V8X?? Mine doesnt have firewire and accordin to this A7V8X, i doesnt. So double check your board.

Do you have a mobo that has onboard grafix?? If so that could be where your missing 128mb has gone

Hi Anomaly Hope this helps a bit. Because you want to do some heavy stuff, (for me anyway), Cad, programming etc, I would probably recommend the Intel 3.2ghz, for (what I believe is a better numerical setup), You will have to find the best motherboard to go with it, possibly the ASUS P5GD2 Deluxe, I dont know Intel boards at all, with at least a gig of ram, if you are going to play things like BattleField 2 you will need 2 gig of Ram. Because you want to play games, I would like to suggest at a minimum you get the GF6600GT, and possibly the GF 6800GT, or Radeon XT800XT, all with 256mb ram. Also for games and you want music I would suggest a Creative Audigy 2 ZS soundcard, with a good set of speakers, depending on how good you want it to sound probably a set of 5.1's or 7.1's. Next is storage, get the biggest HDD you need, probably a 250Gb - 300Gb, for speed get a SATA drive. Then a DVD writer, Dual Layer 16x. with possibly a 16x DVD Rom for disc to disc copying. For a monitor I would suggest an LCD 17" minimum, 19" for the best view, with the lowest response time, currently 8ms. Get the best case you can possibly afford, something that is roomy, has a couple of fans, with room to add 1 or 2 more if needed, on the subject of cooling, get a good cooling setup for the CPU, I dont use any but people will let you know what is available. Also get the best power supply you can, something from Antec, Thermaltake or whatever esle is available where you live, around the 500watt capability. Built in network is OK for net use. I think that is about all you will need, others will let you know if I have left anything out. I personally use 3 AMD systems, but I have heard that Intel have the better chip for heavy duty progs like Cad etc. If we can help anymore just ask and we will see what we can do

A lot would depend on a couple of important things................. How much do you want to spend, What do you want to do with it, Do you want AMD, or Intel, Do you want it to be reasonably upgradeable for the next year or two. If AMD, a good nForce 4 board, 3200+ or better chip, at least a gig of ram, do you want ATI or nVidia, do you need sound and speakers. DVD DL burner, LCD or CRT. Intel I dont know much about Intel these days as Im an AMD person. So as you can see there is a lot to think about. I cant give any other advice until you decide which way to go, sorry. Hopefully someone else can give you more info. oldwolf

Good choice

Mines oldwolf, and sons is either kika, devil_mclaren, or arsekika.

Im from good old OZ I think there a few of us here too.

SIS onboard graphics wont be helping, you may need to get a reasonable video card.

Im the same, I hang around here a couple of hours a night after work, I dont post much, (I think this is #18 o 19), I have assisted 1 guy here in Aus, but I have learned quite a lot. I look back through the older posts, and see what problems people had a year or 2 ago, and compare with whatever probs I had back then. I have also noticed that people here are much more likely to ask for more info on what sort of gear you have, what drivers/revisions, etc, to help them assist in whatever problem they are currently looking into, than flaming anyone for having out of date, or lesser gear than they themselves may have. I am in Australia, and find quite a bit each day new, as the time difference is quite substantial. The only thing I really have to say, is, I ENJOY my visits here, something I cant say about other places I visit. I lurk, but i learn. oldwolf

Have read and heard some good things about the ASUS DRW 1608P. They are upposed to be a very good drive. will write @ 6x on 4x DL media. will write @ 16x on most 12x, and some 8x -/+ media. Doesnt have RAM support but who needs it these days. oldwolf

You shouldnt have any problems at all. A lot of OEM's are doing just that, a burner and a ROM. I got hat setup too and havent had any probs at all. oldwolf

Going by the pics, they look like they have standard screw positions, so they should fit OK. Dont have those brands in OZ, so I cant help with recommendations on them.

I voted Yes, again with reservations. I have 3 full legal copies of XP Pro, coz I have 3 comps. Same with Office. I have 2 full legal copies of Photoshop 6.0, as I only need that many. I have full legal copies of, Winzip, ACDSee, Acronis True Image, Partition Magic, Macromedia Studio, (that was expensive),and several other progs, in games I have, Doom 3, Halo, RTCW, Unreal, Unreal Tourney, and several others, and lots of music. 95% of what is on my disk is ripped from my CD's. (Its also amazing what the magazines, (at least here in Australia), will put on thier cover disks. Thats where I got Acronis, ACDSee, and a couple of other smaller apps) I have also got some downloaded MP3's, coz I didnt know the artist/group, or song, so I dled them and if I like it then I will buy it. I also have a couple of games that I have borrowed from friends to see if I like them, if I do I buy it. I have Apps that I have borrowed also, again If I like it I will buy it. I am 48 with kids, a wife, a mortgage, bills, car, etc, etc, etc. I make an average wage, same as many others on here, I have found that if I want something I have to save up for it, and buy it when I have the money. If I NEED something, I will try freeware/shareware. If it doesnt do what I need, I will d/l or borrow it. But I will always buy it if it is useful to me. So if this is Piracy, it wont go away, even if Co's bring down the price, all it means to me is that I will have to save less in a shorter time. But to each thier own.

48 married with children, 21 years this November, no grandkids tho.

Always build Its more fun that way, especially if it doesnt work first boot.

Are you ABOLUTELY SURE you got the right bios??????????? Not trying to be funny, but for eg. my board........GA 7VT600, has 2 revisions, and my old Asus had 3 revs. So I had to triple check I had the right board. Your problem sounds as if you have the incorrect bios revision for your board. oldwolf

NP I use IT warehouse, but I know they are a bit dearer, but they also give good service. Unlike come others I could do without. Need anything else just yell