Recent Posts

201

DesktopCoral / Re: Widgets?

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on April 05, 2009, 03:17 PM »

That second link is an error because it is locked out for donators of DC only, but it was a link to a discount for Chameleon Startup Manager.

202

Living Room / Re: Conficker - The Facts

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 31, 2009, 11:29 PM »

Can someone here assure me that the computers I have are safe (at least to an extent)? I've reformatted 2 computers within the last 3 months, I really don't want to do it again...

Basics:
All computers running Spyware Terminator w/ ClamAV
All computers running Windows Firewall
All patches from Microsoft/Windows Update applied
All computers behind firewalled router w/ OpenDNS nameservers
My primary computer has DMZ enabled, but Windows Firewall enabled as well

Passwords:
My two computers have a dictionary word (although long) password
Dad's computer has a non-dictionary combination word
Home file server requires no password to access via the LAN (can't remember if it has a logon password or not, it does an automatic logon at boot)

What are the chances of any of my computers being infected? What else should I do to lockdown my home network so I don't catch hell if we end up getting this crap?

EDIT: The file server computer had no password assigned to my account (Administrator rights), fixed that...

203

Living Room / Re: What is Twitter: A Funny Sarcastic Cartoon

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 25, 2009, 11:39 PM »

Here's a cody-fail for anyone that needs it on March 28th.

-40hz (March 24, 2009, 05:22 PM)

Why? What's happening on March 28?

-Deozaan (March 25, 2009, 11:09 PM)

I assume it is a reference to the scheduled downtime stated here.

204

Living Room / Re: Sound problems: help please?

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 25, 2009, 10:13 PM »

Alright, I'll remove the sound driver and the device from Device Manager and see what happens.

205

Living Room / Re: Sound problems: help please?

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 24, 2009, 09:00 PM »

Vista's volume "center" (the control panel applet) and the tray icon both report the correct volume and device (Realtek HD Audio) immediately at boot. It is also the "Default," so Vista should use it automatically (no need for the AHK app with Vista). Might try disabling everything else though - didn't think about that.

Last second edit: A friend *just* asked me to voice chat - I plugged in my mic and went to Xfire's Voice options to check the devices. It crashed. This doesn't look good

206

Living Room / Re: Sound problems: help please?

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 24, 2009, 08:16 PM »

The X-Fi card is running fine so far... I don't see why the onboard sound would be having issues though. The machine is only about 20 months old (I got it summer of 2007)... strange.

The CPU did seem to overheat a few days ago (an uncommon but expected occurrence: 100-115 (F) degrees on a typical day (was about 85 or so today- not quite summer- coupled with the computer being in an enclosed area), but not to the point of the computer doing anything but lagging due to CPU sleep commands. The computer is running cool right now though (and was earlier with the issues), so I doubt that is related.

207

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 24, 2009, 07:20 PM »

Rofl @ Control+V

<offtopic>
This could be good or bad, depending on your view of it:

I was playing a game similar to Charades at OMGPOP.com (previously iminlikewithyou.com) and one of the words that my friend got was "Paste." He drew "Control + V".

I got it within 5 seconds.

(This also happened to me, with Copy. I did the same thing back to him.)

</offtopic>

208

Living Room / Sound problems: help please?

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 24, 2009, 06:48 PM »

Alright, a quick Google didn't turn up anything useful by any stretch, so I'll see if someone here has some wisdom on what is going on with my machine

I have 2 sound cards in my machine:
 - Onboard Realtek HD Audio (rear and front panel used, latest drivers)
 - Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Gamer Pro (PCI, infrequently used, latest drivers)

The problem is with the former (the latter has it's own share of problems, but that's for another time) - if I launch an application, one of two things will happen:

 - Normal operation, no problems whatsoever (minus usual program bugs and whatnot)
 - Normal operation, without sound (everything else works fine)

There is no connection to anything else (any other problems) on the computer - the whole thing runs fine except this. The problem is, it seems once a program has this "glitch," every 2nd launch it fails to supply sound. For example:

• Friend wants me to race on Need for Speed: Most Wanted
• I launch NFSMW, works fine
• I close NFSMW, and resume work/play/writing/whatever
• Friend wants a rematch
• I launch NFSMW, get to the "wear your seatbelt <insert stuff no one above 12 listens to here>" and there is no sound output
• Close NFSMW via Alt+F4 (for other apps, a "normal" close works as well)
• Relaunch NFSMW, sound is present once again
• Repeat as necessary

And it is not limited to that one game: Miro is doing it now, and VLC requires a similar approach:

• Play media file, no problems
• Media file stops
• Drag new media file onto VLC
• Media file plays, without sound
• Stop playback (not pause), Resume playback
• Sound resumes as normal

What the f*ck is going on? Firefox does not seem affected by this yet (knock on wood), as YouTube videos play fine - but I close FF so often that it could actually be every other "good" launch for all I know.

As soon as I post this I'm going to switch off to my X-Fi and see what's going on. Thanks in advance for any ideas or input

Last-second-edit: Also, sometimes when plugging in/removing headphones from the front jack, Windows Explorer will lockup and if I open Vista's sound controls, it too will freeze. The sound icon will also vanish from the taskbar when Explorer recovers.

Afterthought edit: This has only been occurring for about a week now. I haven't made any significant changes to anything (just moving files and whatnot, no drivers/devices/hardware changes) around the time it began. The most recent change was about a week and a half ago I attempted to install my old Dynex WGP-USB dongle, failing (no Vista drivers); I removed all traces of that though.

209

Living Room / Re: Who else is sick of difficult word verifications on the web?

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 22, 2009, 02:48 PM »

The true solution is word problems!

"In A.D. 2009, tragedy was beginning. Sally is on a train traveling west at ninety-nine miles per hour. Johnny is on a different train, on the same track, traveling east at four-hundred-thirty-eight miles per hour. The trains are two thousand six hundred fifty-three miles apart. Sally and Johnny are on the way to destruction. They have no chance to survive. How long do they have left to make their time? (You may assume that all Zigs are taken off.)"

-Deozaan (March 22, 2009, 02:10 PM)

ROFL

210

General Software Discussion / Re: IE8 on the loose!

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 20, 2009, 12:26 AM »

Any idea when it will be released through Windows Update? Patch Tuesday maybe?

I don't wanna have to go around and update all these machines manually (I'm lazy lately )

211

General Software Discussion / Re: Any software that could generate screenshot like this [pic]

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 15, 2009, 12:01 AM »

That's a pretty clever idea.. perhaps i should add it to Screenshot Captor..

-mouser (March 14, 2009, 07:11 AM)

+1

212

General Software Discussion / Re: PortableApps - Manage your collection of install-less utilties and usb drive app

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 13, 2009, 09:44 PM »

+1 for Geek.Menu - I set it up today to use a custom background on startup and switch back on removal, and I like it much more than the basic PortableApps.com Menu

My 16GB flash drive has about 5GB of PortableApps and data on it, and counting.

213

Living Room / Re: How to *really* test if your HD has bad sectors or not...

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 12, 2009, 07:12 PM »

Yea, I need a couple hundred more gigs- even my external HD is filling up because of disk images...

What does this have to do with bad sectors?

-f0dder (March 12, 2009, 10:44 AM)

If I am correct, a BSoD or some other major error would occur when a drive attempts to write to a bad sector or cluster. By filling the *entire* drive, there would be no possibility of a bad sector because an error would be thrown. Right?

214

Living Room / How to *really* test if your HD has bad sectors or not...

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 12, 2009, 01:10 AM »

Goes to show that not only can I be a complete moron at times, but I also put my computer through hell while doing so. This would be defined as the most idiotic, dangerous, insane way to check your disk for issues...



Window's disk cleanup notification bubble appeared and told me that I had "Low Disk Space on Drive C:" (this was after I noticed the decline from 1.04GB to 780MB to 180MB). As I type this post, it brought up a congratulation message telling me that I was able to recover enough space for Windows to not die:

Spoiler

[Window Title]
Disk Space Notification

[Main Instruction]
You have successfully resolved the low disk space condition. Your C:\ volume now has 160 MB of free space remaining.

[Content]
To free up additional disk space by deleting unused programs, open Programs and Features.

Open Change or remove a program

[OK]

I wouldn't recommend trying this on your own, unless you are a little on the crazy side (ex: me).

I now have 5.96GB free on C (good riddance Need for Speed Undercover!), and am going to continue installing my new game (seen in the screenshot).

215

Living Room / Re: adding memory to my Dell Precision 380

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 09, 2009, 06:35 PM »

Head over to www.crucial.com and have the scan tool there get the info for you. I've bought all my RAM upgrades there (minus one that was incompatible) and they all work perfectly

Also, just buy it (the most you can get at the fastest speed) there and install it yourself (it isn't very difficult, just a tad hard on the fingers).

EDIT: As mizraim points out, if you are on 32 bit Windows then you can only use 3.5GB of memory. 64 bit can go to insane limits with RAM.

216

DC Gamer Club / Re: Explore Island - A *MASSIVE* Trackmania Track

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 06, 2009, 11:59 PM »

  That's alright

Xfire doesn't spam (I think I've only gotten password recovery emails), but it is annoying having to keep track of where you have accounts and what for and blah blah... my KeePass list is *way* too long.

Unless your going to use the whole package, an account there isn't of much use anyways.

217

DC Gamer Club / Re: Explore Island - A *MASSIVE* Trackmania Track

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 06, 2009, 08:54 PM »

Bump!

Explore Island Beta 7 Special Edition ("Winged In Dreams" - named after a story of mine), just done. It took me over 10 minutes to complete it (I did forget ONE checkpoint).

This map is just so big now I don't have to add much for it to look like a lot - here is a rundown anywho:

• Added road between residential and commercial areas, also branches off to meet up with "Skate Park" road
• Added road under one of the highway sections, connects to above road (between res/commercial, good for quick access if your using it, but it isn't wise to go vouch for it if you're not)
• Added racetrack to the island - another completely optional "fun" addon, but you MUST visit it to finish the race (don't have to get on)
• Removed broken mediatracker camera when leaving airport
• Added some new flora ( FINALLY, I know) and a new hill
• I'm sure I forgot something...

This track is so big and incorporates just about everything that the Island environment offers...

• Flatout speed
• Swerves/slow corners
• Obstacles
• Switchbacks
• Chicanes
• Half-pipes
• Massive jumps
• Tunnels (both types)
• Mediatracker effects (intro, ingame "FX")
• Vast environment
• Numerous decorations
• "Stunt Park" area
• "Racetrack" area
• As well as signs to help you along the way

Also, a friend of mine asked me a while back because I keep calling these Beta releases - I will make a final release probably once the FPS gets too low to be playable. I want to push as much in as I can, but not make it unplayable.

Video:

Yes, because I am so nice and have no life and nothing else to do I took the time to make a small little overview video of the map. Nothing much, but if your not a United player (or TM player at all for that matter) this can let you see what the map looks like without having to shell out any cash

Video link: http://www.xfire.com/video/87102/

218

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 04, 2009, 05:59 PM »

Not sure if this is pushing the "NSFW" label, but my friend and I found it be a good laugh... no offense to the Macintosh owners out there, either

(Do not click if you're easily (even not so much) offended, have a significant other around, or have a drink )

Spoiler

[16:40] 歐陽·笑岩™: ok why cant they make the voodoo more 1337
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger (me): dude
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: when your like
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: *pull out laptop*
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: people are like
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: HOLY SHIT THATS AN $8,000 laptop
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: and immediately girls are like
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: LET ME BLOW YOU
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: lmao
[16:40] [ToW] BabyTiger: thats why you get a Voodoo
[16:40] 歐陽·笑岩™: LOL
[16:40] 歐陽·笑岩™: dude i lol'd
[16:40] 歐陽·笑岩™: at the part when u said
[16:40] 歐陽·笑岩™: LET ME BLOW YOU
[16:40] 歐陽·笑岩™: XDD thats jsut too funny

The flip side (just as bad as the above) - note the emphasis :

Spoiler

[16:41] 歐陽·笑岩™: voodoo looks like a old macbook pro black '
[16:41] [ToW] BabyTiger: no see
[16:41] 歐陽·笑岩™: well
[16:41] 歐陽·笑岩™: kinda kinda
[16:41] 歐陽·笑岩™: like
[16:41] [ToW] BabyTiger: when you go and get a Mac
[16:41] [ToW] BabyTiger: all the guys are like
[16:41] [ToW] BabyTiger: LET ME BLOW YOU
[16:41] [ToW] BabyTiger: lmao!
[16:41] 歐陽·笑岩™: XDDD
[16:41] 歐陽·笑岩™: XDDDDDDDDDD

I'm still laughing about that, 20 minutes later...

219

Living Room / Someone needs to expand our WikiPedia article

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on March 01, 2009, 03:40 PM »

I noticed this about 2 weeks ago while at school, browsing for info on DC (school project). The DonationCoder page at WikiPedia is a mere two (you could argue three) paragraphs, we don't have any image (Cody or anything), and I really think it would be beneficial to have an elaborate set of information out on WP.

I would offer to do it (or just do it myself), but IMHO I don't believe I know that much about DC's background and whatnot (more of a job for mouser or someone else that has been here since "way back when"). There is a lot that goes on here that I don't pay enough attention to, to be honest. I don't want to look like an idiot posting incorrect information

Just pointing it out, hoping someone can find the time to fill in some more info.

URL: http://en.wikipedia....g/wiki/Donationcoder

220

Living Room / Re: silly humor - post 'em here! [warning some NSFW and adult content]

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on February 28, 2009, 05:32 PM »

The Matrix runs on Windows???

Watch it here:

http://www.dailycupo...rix-runs-on-windows/

-40hz (February 28, 2009, 02:00 PM)

I saw that one a couple days ago... amazing video

"I hope you have cookies enabled"

221

Living Room / Re: Another Silly Meme: Put your music player on shuffle!

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on February 27, 2009, 07:00 PM »

When you don't know, you LOL

Please don't do this much brendon i'm trying to get over that LOL addiction 

-mahesh2k (February 27, 2009, 06:55 PM)

That's actually a demotivational poster saying... lol

I mean, heh.

222

Living Room / Re: Another Silly Meme: Put your music player on shuffle!

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on February 27, 2009, 06:42 PM »

I'm in! *Shakes iPod Nano*

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It - Dem Franchize Boyz
Good song, strange answer

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Make It Rain - Fat Joe
When you don't know, you LOL

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GIRL?
Easier To Run - Linkin Park
The irony of this is astounding... good song too

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
Hell March - The Music of Command & Conquer Red Alert
O_o *no comment*

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Over and Over - Nelly
True to an extent... not much luck with girls

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Hell March Remix - The Music of Command & Conquer Red Alert
I do get mad a lot I suppose...

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Back That Azz Up - Juvenile
*wtf, no comment*

WHAT IS 2+2?
Hampster On A Piano (Eating Popcorn) - Parry Gripp
Oh yea,

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Every Time I WoW ft Meghan - crazycrash
Omg.. I just got hooked on WoW too...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
You'll Be Under My Wheels - The Prodigy
Sounds painful

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
We Really Do This (Instrumental) - DJ Nasty ft. Mims, Pitbull, Red Cafe & Curren$y
The non-instrumental version works I guess

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
XP Sounds Attempt - Robbi-985
I do love Windows...

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
4000 Degrees Kelvin - Valve
I LMAO'ed. Hard. No other comment.

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace
Heh, the irony...

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Get Low - Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz
Great song, but... at a wedding? Whatever...

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Like A Pimp - David Banner
I LOL'ed - *no comment*

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
We Love You, Dr. Freeman - crazycrash
Heh... gaming FTW! Black Mesa ftl, Aperture Science FTW!

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Aryx - Unknown Artist
Ironic that one of my songs that I found without an artist would be this one...

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Meaning of Life - Disturbed
In a way...

WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
I'm In Love With A Stripper - T-Pain
Uhh... ... ... alright then?

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
All These Things I Hate - Bullet For My Valentine
H*** yea! The song, not the answer.

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
Real Big - Mannie Fresh
I do spend a crapload of money on stuff...

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Halo Theme Mjolnir Mix - Marin O'Donnell
Gotta love the HEADSHOTS and the TEABAGS

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Crank Dat Halo 3 - crazycrash
Amazing song, completely off-the-wall answer. Love Halo. Whatever.

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Leave Out All The Rest - Linkin Park
It *is* somewhat of a love song... maybe... *crosses fingers*

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Playin' Wit My Nose - Meesy Marv
WTF? I thought I deleted this song. No comment on the nose thing, that's just weird.

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Don't Stay - Linkin Park
Damn...

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Breaking The Habit - Linkin Park
Damn, if that one isn't true then none of these are...

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Forgotten - Linkin Park
Once again, true...

WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Numb - Linkin Park
And finally, true again.

EDIT: Just for the LOLs, the song after these was "Stop What You Are Doing - Valve" - just thought that was pretty strange

223

Announce Your Software/Service/Product / Re: Finally perfected my download commenter after only 8 years

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on February 26, 2009, 09:17 PM »

In the old days of DOS BBSs, most files came as archives containing a FILE_ID.DIZ.  You ran programs that would extract FILE_ID.DIZ and/or DESCRIPT.ION files, and compile them into an allfiles list.  Very useful idea; what a pity "progress" has destroyed it...

-rjbull (February 13, 2009, 05:33 AM)

I still download archive files (ZIP, RAR, 7z...) with those files - interesting to know what they are (or were) for. Heh.

Also, good idea for info on files (Really_Long_Setup_Program_Filenames_Can_Get_Annoying.exe), but does it preserve the data when moved to another directory? What about from NTFS -> FAT32 (or any other conversion)? Also, out of sheer curiosity, would the info be readable under any standard Linux file browser (eg: Nautilus)?

224

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: Nag@Me - very simple reminder application

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on February 26, 2009, 07:35 PM »

Brilliant - now it's perfect! 

-CleverCat (February 26, 2009, 02:37 AM)

Thanks, glad you like it!

make a web page for it!

-mouser (February 26, 2009, 03:03 AM)

I don't usually make individual web pages for my apps, but I have uploaded it to my website - I *might* add pages for individual programs, though (if so, this one will be first). :undecided:

225

Living Room / Re: Meme time! Five Things People Don't Know About Me

« Last post by wreckedcarzz on February 23, 2009, 05:59 PM »

5% leet. Yes, that means that i tend to go "LOL", "ROFFLE" and "OMFG" out loud.

I just got the habit of it.

-mahesh2k (February 23, 2009, 02:16 PM)

High 5