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2176

Living Room / Re: Open source remake of the classic game Elite

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 03, 2009, 12:11 PM »

Anyone manage to get version 1.73.4 to run on a GeForce 7 series card? I have updated the drivers and it still doesn't work.

The earlier version (1.6x) works fine.

-Carol Haynes (November 03, 2009, 03:28 AM)

You might be able to find an answer on their forum: http://aegidian.org/bb/index.php

-40hz (November 03, 2009, 09:00 AM)

Thanks I had looked there but didn't find the answer. On closer inspection I edited the Start menu shortcut and added the -nosplash option. Works fine now.

I can't really see why disabling the splash screen made a difference but it did

2177

Living Room / Re: Open source remake of the classic game Elite

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 03, 2009, 03:28 AM »

Anyone manage to get version 1.73.4 to run on a GeForce 7 series card? I have updated the drivers and it still doesn't work.

The earlier version (1.6x) works fine.

2178

Living Room / Re: Open source remake of the classic game Elite

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 02, 2009, 06:29 PM »

Cooo what a blast from the past. Unfortunately my old BBC Micro (that I played Elite on) packed up after a year in the garage!

It will be kind of fun to see it again

2179

General Software Discussion / Re: Surprised by Win7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 02, 2009, 05:02 PM »

The entire business with drive letters is a kludge. It will never be a real OS until they do away with it.  There needs to be standardized storage identification that allows a user assignable alias for a friendly name.  If all the stuff is moved to another storage location the friendly name should just be associated with the non-volatile ID.  Anything less is just hobbyist crap.

-MilesAhead (November 02, 2009, 03:09 PM)

Win7 goes some way towards that by the use of Libraries. No real need for users to even be aware of drive letters.

2180

General Software Discussion / Re: Surprised by Win7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 02, 2009, 02:49 PM »

The problem with drive letters is the way Windows installs itself. Basically if you install windows XP on a disc that already has partitions it will assume a random one of those is drive C: and allocate a new letter - which is a real pain.

With Vista and Windows 7 BCD is more logical. It assumes that when you boot into that version of windows then the current version windows drive must be drive C: which saves a lot of confusion.

It doesn't change Active partitions etc. on the disk. In fact if you install Windows 7 on a blank disk C: won't be the active partition because it sets up a small dedicated boot partition (pretty pointless if you ask me but MS seem to think it is more secure) - if there is already an active partition all the Boot stuff is placed there.

Eg. if you have Windows XP installed already and you clear enough space for Vista or Windows 7 (which isn't IMHO just Vista with a coat of paint) and then install Vista/Win 7 the boot stuff will be placed in a boot folder on the Windows XP partition (which is left as the active partition).

2181

General Software Discussion / Re: Surprised by Win7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 02, 2009, 05:17 AM »

I just installed it (boot directly from the DVD rather then inserting the DVD when Vista is running as you normally do for an upgrade) and chose the customised install options. It installed fine alongside Vista. Just make sure you rejig partition sizes to leave either blank space or a blank partition for the new OS to install on.

One point to note is that if you install Win 7 as a dual boot it will more than likely put all its boot components on the existing partition. Don't be tempted to simply delete the Vista partition in the future as it will mean your Windows 7 install won't boot afterwards!

One good thing about the BCD boot management is that you no longer have to worry about drive letters - each operating system boots in as drive C once installed.

2182

Living Room / Re: Seriously, wtf is going on with Apple's Mac vs. Pc ads?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on November 01, 2009, 03:16 PM »

It's interesting there is a blue screen - my memory of working with the early Macs in the 80s was of a blank screen with a picture of a bomb in the middle. At least BSODs give you some info as to what has gone wrong - Mac never did (apart from a cryptic undocumented long number).

2183

General Software Discussion / Re: Surprised by Win7

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 31, 2009, 08:46 PM »

I have to say I am not finding it significantly slower than XP. I have XP Pro on a machine with a dedicated GeForce 7300 512Mb card, separate sound card and dual core CPU and Win 7 Pro on a more basic set up using integrated GeForce 7100 graphics, integrated sound and single Core CPU (with full Aero and I haven't even turned off non-essential services such as Indexing). Both machines have 2Gb of memory

OK the Win7 install is much newer but it is certainly quicker than my XP machine which is surprising given the sing core CPU and integrated graphics/sound. I am sure I will notice a difference if I start using VMWare or Photoshop on Win 7 but for day to day office type stuff Win 7 feels smoother.

(PS I also have Vista Ultimate on my laptop with Win 7 Pro dual booting - Win 7 knocks the socks of Vista on the same machine)

2184

General Software Discussion / Re: How the mighty have fallen: TuneUp Utilities 2010

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 31, 2009, 02:01 PM »

The Registry Optimizer *always* breaks MS Office 2003 installation

-tranglos (October 30, 2009, 06:58 PM)

This is the reason why you show never let any program optimize the registry. Stay away from them all.

-Eóin (October 31, 2009, 01:43 PM)

There is a reason Microsoft Office always installs shortcuts in non standard ways and also a lot of blank 'stubs' in the registry. Almost every registry cleaner/optimizer zaps the lot and Office ceases to work properly. There are two fixes:

1) Run MS Office Repair
2) Don't use registry optimizers - they ALWAYS cause more problems than they solve.

2185

General Software Discussion / Re: Paragon Drive Backup+Recovery 10 Free - good full drive imaging tool

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 30, 2009, 09:18 PM »

Windows 7 provides the same backup features in all versions (I believe). It uses VSS to produce consistent images (for image backups) and can write those images to CDs, DVDs, Hard disks and network folders and produces a bootable rescue CD to restore images. Compression seems reasonable. Maybe I will be brave and try a restore!

File backup is pretty basic - but it makes sensible automatic selections of folders to backup and again uses VSS to get consistent file sets. Best bit is it can be scheduled and it has a cleanup tool to free up space from old backups.

You can only recover individual files/folders from file backups - image files can only be restored in their entirety.

I presume the image backup system works - it says it has completed a full backup - and interestingly if you have a multipartition system you can create multi partition images and choose what to restore in recovery.

OK it is very basic but for most people it will do the job and at least they haven't restricted it to Business and Ultimate like they did in Vista.

As someone who builds and sets up systems for clients I think it is going to be a really useful way to produce quick and easy images of systems for quick recovery. And it doesn't cost anything!

For me as windows 7 becomes more prevalent I will be pointing users towards Windows Backup as it is very easy to use and manage and it is already there. Let's hope there are no gremlins in the system and that they maintain some form of forward compatibility in windows 8 etc. (one of the bugbears of Windows Backup in earlier windows editions).

Personally I am using Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 (the new corporate version) or at least I am trying to. Acronis seem to have a death wish as they have released a corporate version that is chock full of bugs! They claim it is Windows 7 compatible (and Vista) but both systems have a UAC prompt during startup because Acronis haven't yet worked out how to program in Admin mode without UAC complaining! Their suggestion is 'turn UAC off' !! Having said that it is the least of their worries, the last version they released caused BSODs on many machines, they replaced it with a version that cured BSODs but can't use VSS on Windows XP to create consistent images. All in all a dogs breakfast. Trouble is TrueImage Echo Workstation doesn't apparently work with Windows 7 (not that I have tried it) so corporate users have no choice but to upgrade to B&R10 if they want to use Win7.

DriveImageXML is free for home use and now supports XP, Vista and 7 and can also be added to a Win PE boot CD to allow backups of other versions (e.g. 98 and 2000). Partition handling is still a bit clunky and it seems a bit geeky for the average user.

2186

General Software Discussion / Re: Paragon Drive Backup+Recovery 10 Free - good full drive imaging tool

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 30, 2009, 08:18 PM »

Don't forget that all Windows 7 flavours come with built in imaging and file level backup both of which can be scheduled.

2187

Living Room / Xara Xtreme 2 for $19 until 6th November

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 30, 2009, 11:40 AM »

Xara have a special off at the moment on version 2 of Xara Xtreme.

It isn't the latest version but it is a good app and presumably if you want to there is no problem upgrading to the latest version.

See http://site.xara.com/offers/xaraxtreme/ for details

The full cost of Xara Xtreme 5 is $89 and Xara Xtreme Pro $249

To upgrade from Xtreme 2 would cost $59 / $159

So a purchase of Xtreme 2 and an upgrade to version 5 would save $11 on a first purchase of Xtreme (ie. about 12.5% discount) and $71 saving on Xtreme Pro 5 (about 28% discount).

Note upgrades from version 2 are supplied as unlockable downloads AND a CD version with loads of clipart/fonts etc and a 450 page manual.

2188

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: A Map of where Baby Cody Visits?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 26, 2009, 10:46 AM »

There are plans in the pipeline to make it easier to view in sequence. Veign is working on it (or at least it has been added to his list)

2189

Living Room / Re: Is Website-Watcher 5.0.5 infected with Win32/Induc.A virus?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 25, 2009, 06:18 PM »

Update: http://www.aignes.co...&highlight=induc

2190

Living Room / Is Website-Watcher 5.0.5 infected with Win32/Induc.A virus?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 25, 2009, 06:14 PM »

I just running a full system scan and NOD32 reports that Website Watcher is infected with Win32/Induc.A virus.

I am running WW version 5.0.5 (my updates have expired so I can't update to a newer version without paying).

I looked up this virus on Sophos and it says:

W32/Induc-A is a virus that infects Delphi files at compile-time. As such, these files cannot be disinfected and need to be recompiled cleanly.

W32/Induc-A searches computers for installations of Delphi, then attempts to temporarily modify SysConst.pas, and compiles this to infect SysConst.dcu. The original SysConst.dcu can be restored from the backup made by the virus in SysConst.bak.

Infected SysConst.dcu files are detected as Mal/Induc-A, and infected SysConst.pas files as Mal/Induc-B. These behavioural genotype detections detect all infected versions that we are currently aware of. However, we would still like to see more samples of SysConst.dcu, SysConst.bak and SysConst.pas from any Delphi developers potentially affected by this virus, especially if you have customized versions of these units.

Further analysis of W32/Induc-A can be found in the following blog article: Compile-a-virus - W32/Induc-A

PLEASE NOTE: Because infected executables are produced at compile time by infected Delphi development environments, we are seeing many cases of infected files coming from genuine software vendors. These are not false positives. Clients and software developers seeking to understand why their software is deing detected as W32/Induc-A should see this blog artice.

The emphasis is mine.

This has not shown up until I did a manual scan. Is anyone else experiencing this? Try scanning the folder Program Files\Website-Watcher and see if your AV reports a problem.

As stated above this is a compile time problem for Delphi builds that have got infected and so if true would mean that Website-Watcher's developer systems are possibly infected. I don't want to contact them until I am sure it is a problem with them rather than a cross infection opn my system.

So far no other Delphi based apps have shown up (and my drive C: has been fully scanned) so it doesn't look like cross infection.

Anyone any other feedback on this?

2191

General Software Discussion / Re: wanted: simple, stable bittorrent client for windows

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 25, 2009, 06:03 PM »

uTorrent works fine here. Simple to use - just install and go. Works well with PNP capable routers without the need for setting up rules to open ports.

2192

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: A Map of where Baby Cody Visits?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 25, 2009, 05:06 PM »

OK I have updated each point to include a date (not all that accurate but in the correct sequence).

I have also set the 'additional info' link on each map point to the thread created by the user with Baby Cody photos.

2193

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows Security Essentials

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 25, 2009, 02:28 PM »

When I downloaded a fresh copy of the same file from the same location, my copy of MSE detected TrojanClicker:Win32/Yabector.A
Virus Total report:
File unlocker1.8.7.exe received on 2009.10.25 06:19:07 (UTC)
Result: 5/41 (12.2%)
Ikarus   T3.1.1.72.0   2009.10.25   Trojan-Clicker.Win32.Yabector
Microsoft 1.5202   2009.10.25   TrojanClicker:Win32/Yabector.A
NOD32 4539      2009.10.24   a variant of Win32/Adware.ADON
Prevx   3.0      2009.10.25   Medium Risk Malware
Sunbelt   3.2.1858.2   2009.10.24   Trojan.Win32.Generic!BT

-IainB (October 25, 2009, 02:22 AM)

Strange - I am running NOD32 build 4541 (and have run all previous builds since version 2) and it doesn't object to unlocker at all (and never has). I am also running AVAST on other computers and again no objection. Unlocker runs in the background on my system all the time and I use it often. Having said that a manual scan of the installer by NOD32 now flags up a 'potentially unwanted' and 'variant of ...' which suggests that it is using heuristics catch rather than an actual known trojan.

If you look at the changelog you can see:

Unlocker 1.8.7 - 01/05/2008

- Fixed bug: Unlocker should not create event logs anymore.
- Fixed bug: Unlocker should not take minutes to close on certain configurations anymore.
- Fixed bug: Unlocker should not lock DLLs not used by Unlocker anymore.
- Fixed bug: Fixed potential driver bug.
- Fixed bug: Miscellaneous handle leaks.
- Improved behavior: Improved deleting/renaming/moving files such as C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\Flash9e.ocx for example.
- Improved behavior: When right-clicking files or folders and selecting Unlocker, those are automatically deselected. It helps with movie files and removable drives.
- Improved UI: Icon looks correct now on Windows Vista
- Promotional feature: Added fully optional shortcuts to eBay during the installation. Simply untick "eBay shortcuts" in the choose components page during install if you do not wish to have those.

(my emphasis).

The file causing problems is an ebay_shortcuts file whis is copied to the application folder but not executed if you opt-out during installation.

Unlocker itself doesn't have any problems with AV products - it is just the promotional add-on they have stupidly chosen to include.

If you are unhappy with this simply uninstall Unlocker and remove the Program Files\Unlocker folder

If you didn't opt-out you can use the following to clean up any unwanted crap (cut and paste into a text file and save with a .BAT extension then run it from a command prompt or download it from the attached ZIP file):

[Select]

#From http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t116627.html
start /wait unlocker1.8.7.exe /S
ping -n 2 127.0.0.1 > nul
DEL /F /Q "%ProgramFiles%\Unlocker\eBay_shortcuts_1016.exe"
DEL /F /Q "%UserProfile%\Application Data\Desktopicon\eBayShortcuts.exe"
DEL /F /Q "%UserProfile%\Desktop\eBay.lnk"
DEL /F /Q "%UserProfile%\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\eBay.lnk"
DEL /F /Q "%UserProfile%\Start Menu\eBay.lnk"
REG DELETE HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run /v UnlockerAssistant /f

If you want to use unlocker without the money making add-on download version 1.8.5 from:

http://ccollomb.free...ld/unlocker1.8.5.exe

which doesn't contain the eBay bits.

2194

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: A Map of where Baby Cody Visits?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 25, 2009, 05:56 AM »

OK - map set up. I will add places in order as BabyCody visits people. Currently the only place marked is Mouser's abode while I wait for nudone to send me some details then I will add myself and Ampa.

Anyone heard from Ampa recently?

Here is the map:

http://plarker.com/map/BabyCody

Mouser if you can embed this somewhere the code is:

[Select]

<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://plarker.com/embedded.php?map=BabyCody&zoom=1&type=m"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://plarker.com/map.php?map=BabyCody&zoom=1&type=m" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">Baby Cody's World Tour</a></small>

Update:

I have added 4 pins now - so all we need to know now is where is is now!

If you have a visit please PM me with a link to a google map with your location and a preferred photo and I will add your details - it would be useful if you could also send me your address, real name and the comment you want displayed.

If you are unhappy with the details I have added please tell me what you would like me to remove. Currently I am adding a location address, DC username & real name, a photo and a comment. The location address doesn't include the house number or name (just a location).

2195

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody with Ampa... and time to move on.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 22, 2009, 02:02 AM »

OK I will have a go at that if people let me know where he is/has been.

2196

Living Room / Re: I am looking for the best DIY/Barebones Laptop......

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 21, 2009, 03:45 AM »

I second that notion.  I once considered building my own laptop and didn't find any aspect of it worth my time, money, or otherwise.  I would strongly recommend buying the best laptop for your needs that already exists.

-superboyac (October 20, 2009, 06:43 PM)

And in that vein I'd love to know of a site where you could enter in what features you'd like in a laptop and have it spit out a range of makes/models, not being restricted to whatever the site's trying to flog.

-4wd (October 20, 2009, 09:01 PM)

Try http://www.dabs.com/...d-pdas,laptops/11105 - you just click the bits you want to narrow down the selection.

My previous comments didn't take note of the word laptop in the original post. Personally I would avoid building laptops at any price - by all means add more memory or bigger hard disks but I would have thought the whole process of building something has the potential of producing a very expensive brick. Heat kills laptops at the best of times but amateur building is likely to just make things worth (no comment on your abilities).

For me desktop builds are good fun (though not espeially cost effective any more) but laptops .... nah life is too short.

In recent months I have fallen in love with the Sony VAIO range. Sony may be the spawn of the devil when it comes to DRM etc. but they sure can build laptops.

2197

Living Room / Re: I am looking for the best DIY/Barebones Laptop......

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 20, 2009, 05:21 PM »

If money is really no object I wouldn't bother with a barebones system - buy all the components and case to house them separately so that you get exactly what you want.

Barebones systems from ASUS often look like good value but they don't usually have top of the range components.

Having said that I am not sure I would buy into top of the range components again in the future. My last builds were top of the range - trouble is you pay a premium price but 6 months later it is run of the mill. Also I have had two expensive motherboards fail in my last 4 builds and the manufacturers don't honour their warranty (eg. ASUS give 3 years on mobos but they don't have stock 2 years on).

To my mind a sensible economic compromise needs to be made when specifying a system - there is no point in paying three times the price for components only to find a few months later the boxes you can buy in PCWorld are higher spec for $500.

2198

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody with Ampa... and time to move on.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 19, 2009, 10:43 AM »

I'd like to see the map posted somewhere too - I don't mind keeping it up to date if hosts let me know their location.

The problem is where has he got too? Since Ampa posted nearly three weeks ago the little chap has gone very quiet ... and so has Ampa.

Maybe BC flew off with Ampa's girlfriend (always was a possibility) and Ampa has given chase!

2199

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody with Ampa... and time to move on.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 19, 2009, 07:08 AM »

Has he gone - if so where is he now?

I presume because of the deafening silence from UK members no one else wants a visit.

Members from other countries where should he visit next?

2200

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on October 18, 2009, 03:55 PM »

Chances are poor Carol, and other UKers, will get the screw. Lots of software companies when setting UK software prices usually just remove the $ off of the US price tag and replace it with a £.

-Innuendo (October 18, 2009, 12:05 PM)

Well, last time I looked $1.00 ≈ 0.68€ or £0.62 -  so that amounts to a pretty nice discount if that's how the distributors handle currency conversions.

-40hz (October 18, 2009, 03:14 PM)

How do you work that out? If $1=£0.62 that means MS charge £1 in the UK so we pay $1.61 for the same item (give or take a cent). Doesn't looklike much of a discount to me.

Actually I now have a MAPs subscription so I get 10 copies of Windows Professional included + 10 copies of Office Enterprise (plus copies of Home Server/SB Server/Server Standard/Exchange/SQL Server etc and Visual Studio) for 'in-house' use - on average they all work out about £12 a copy for  each even if I only use Windows/Office. OK I am only using 4 copies of each so I don't get the full benefit but it ain't a bad deal.