Recent Posts

2801

Living Room / Re: Whole Room Watercooling

« Last post by Deozaan on July 30, 2015, 04:19 PM »

Yeah. That or buy an air conditioner.

2802

Living Room / Re: TouchPad for PC w/Windows 7 vs. carpal tunnel ?

« Last post by Deozaan on July 30, 2015, 04:18 PM »

Thumbs are not immune to RSI (or RSI-like symptoms).

-Deozaan (July 30, 2015, 12:37 PM)

I guess I must have a superstrong thumb 

-dr_andus (July 30, 2015, 03:50 PM)

I've been using trackball (thumb) mice for probably 15-20 years. I'd probably be having wrist problems if I had been using a regular mouse all this time. I think it's just that anything used repetitiously over long periods of time will lead to these kinds of issues. Maybe it would be best to swap between the two every so often to give your body a break.

2803

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 30, 2015, 12:59 PM »

So, as mentioned before, I had some problems making the upgrade. I'll write about them here just in case they help anybody else.

As I said earlier, I tried the Windows Update method and it got to somewhere above 75% of the installation process, into the "configuring programs" part of the install. Then it rebooted and said "Restoring your previous version of Windows." When I got back into Windows 7, there was no error message or any indication of why it failed. And somehow Windows 7 was deactivated and said I had 30 days to activate. So I reactivated it.

Then I tried using the Media Tool, selecting the "upgrade this PC now" option. Though the process was slightly different, it did pretty much the same thing, getting to something like 87% of the way through the installation before rebooting and restoring me back to Windows 7 again. This time there was an error message. Once again Windows 7 was deactivated. So I reactivated it again. Then I researched the error message.

Ultimately, I decided the problem was that I was using Junctions to store my data in places where the OS didn't want them, with the Junctions tricking the OS into thinking the data were in the right place. So I formatted the OS drive, installed Windows 7 fresh, then installed only SP1 from Windows Update, then used the Media Tool to upgrade to Windows 10. Additionally, since it was a fresh install anyway, I customized the upgrade option to not keep any programs or personal files, so it would be a clean install of Windows 10. I also disconnected my computer from the internet to prevent it from "checking for updates" forever (and because I read that that could help with the particular error message I had gotten). And it worked!

I got Windows 10 installed and loaded. But then I ran into another problem. Windows hadn't activated during the install because I had disconnected my PC from the internet. So I plugged it back in and connected and tried to manually activate and I kept getting an error saying it wasn't activated. I'd click the "more details" link which would pop open a little dialog box, but it was blank. I tried this multiple times over the course of a few hours and kept getting the same issue. Only one time when I clicked the "more details" link did it actually show anything in the dialog box. It gave an error code and had a message something like "couldn't reach the server or the key is not valid." I suspected that Microsoft's validation servers were being hammered by people upgrading to Windows 10, but was in contact with others who had successfully upgraded and activated, so I was getting concerned that for some reason, Windows 10 wouldn't activate, especially since the installation kept deactivating my Windows 7 install.

Again, this happened over the course of several hours. Finally, I decided that if it wasn't going to activate, I was just going to go back to Windows 7 (and possibly try upgrading again in the future). I asked someone I know to type "slmgr /cpr" in their cmd prompt to see what it told him, he said it said his computer was authorized permanently. Mine had said something different when I tried it, but I couldn't remember what it had said, so I tried it again, and this time it said mine was activated permanently.

So I checked the activation status and it said Windows 10 was activated.

Phew!

I'm noticing quirks and bugs as I use its features. I don't think I've ever been this early of an adopter of a new Microsoft OS. But I'm trying to make use of the Windows Feedback app to report bugs and things like that.

One thing I can say is that it's very simple to add multiple user accounts to Windows, which is something I've never tried before because it seemed messy and complicated to me in the past. Well, it was simple for me, anyway. I had to "invite" my wife via email to add her account to this device. She set up her account on this PC this morning while I was still asleep. So I don't know what she had to go through to do it. But if she figured it out without my help, it's probably not too difficult of a process.

Anyway, this is long enough for now. I may write more about my experiences later.

Maybe I really should try Edge instead of automatically replacing it with my usual browser?

-Curt (July 30, 2015, 04:19 AM)

Edge is a nice browser. Give it a try.

2804

Living Room / Re: TouchPad for PC w/Windows 7 vs. carpal tunnel ?

« Last post by Deozaan on July 30, 2015, 12:37 PM »

Many years ago, at the first sign of RSI I switched from an ordinary mouse to a succession of ergonomic mice with trackballs, so all you move is your thumb (or fingers with some models), and I stopped having problems. Every time I have to use an ordinary mouse I'm amazed that they are still being made and people still use them. As long as you have a thumb (or other fingers) and you can move it, I can recommend any of these.

-dr_andus (July 30, 2015, 08:08 AM)

I recently had to switch from a (Logitech M570) trackball to a regular mouse because my thumb starts hurting any time I use it on my trackball.

Come to think of it, it's been nearly a year since I made the swap, and my thumb still starts to hurt after a few minutes of using it in a similar manner (such as swiping around on my tablet).

Thumbs are not immune to RSI (or RSI-like symptoms).

2805

Living Room / Re: The end of the hard disk

« Last post by Deozaan on July 30, 2015, 01:31 AM »

The announcement last week by Intel and Micron of what they call 3D Xpoint memory technology has changed that.  This is non-volatile memory capable of densities up to 10 times greater than NAND, byte-addressable (unlike NAND, which is addressed in blocks) and as fast as DRAM.

-xtabber (July 29, 2015, 10:32 PM)

The announcement video seems like something out of the early 90s, but it explains what's going on:

2806

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 05:37 PM »

I finally got Windows 10 to install by doing a fresh Windows 7 install and then downloading Windows 7 SP 1, then running the Windows 10 Media Tool and selecting "Upgrade this computer" and then I disconnected my computer from the internet after the Windows 10 data had downloaded so that it would skip all the "checking for updates" stuff that takes forever.

Also, since I was on a fresh install, I told the installer not to keep any of my files or programs or settings.

Aside: I accidentally typed "adn" in this message and Microsoft Edge autocorrected it to "and" for me.

2807

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 03:08 PM »

I tried again using the Media Creator tool and got the same result. It failed at about 87% or so into the installation process and restored Windows 7. But this time when it booted into Windows 7, it gave me an error message and some clues as to what the problem(s) may be.

0x8007002C-0x4000D

"installation failed in the SECOND_BOOT phase with an error during MIGRATE_DATA operation"

I found the same error code on this help page, but I'm wondering if the issue is related to my... er... unique! customizations I made to the OS.

In my efforts to separate user data from the OS drive, and since Windows 7 won't really allow you to move your User directory to another drive, I did the Next Best Thing^TM and moved as much as I could to another drive and then used SymLinks/Junctions to make the OS think the files/folders were where they belong.

I guess I'll try a fresh Windows 7 install and see if that will upgrade to Windows 10 (after downloading SP1 and other required updates).

I just reinstalled Windows 7 in May and have been unhappy with a few of the choices I made in the process, so I've been considering a fresh install anyway. I'll keep you posted.

Right now I envy Deozaan ("restoring to your previous version of Windows")!

-Curt (July 29, 2015, 01:39 PM)

I'm sorry things are not going well for you, Curt! While it's not working for me, at least there hasn't been any data loss!

2808

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 01:29 PM »

By the way, Windows 10 seems to come with P2P updates built in. I'm not sure if the default is to have you serve downloads for other users over the internet or if I changed the setting to over the network sometime when I didn't realize what it means, but...

-Deozaan (July 29, 2015, 01:11 PM)

On my fresh upgrade, the final option ("PCs on my local network and PCs on the Internet") was selected.

-ayryq (July 29, 2015, 01:19 PM)

That sounds like bad news for people who have data caps set by their ISPs.

2809

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 01:11 PM »

By the way, Windows 10 seems to come with P2P updates built in. I'm not sure if the default is to have you serve downloads for other users over the internet or if I changed the setting to use the internet sometime when I didn't realize what it means, but...

2810

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 12:19 PM »

Has anyone successfully upgraded through Windows Update? I got over 75% of the way through the upgrade process (to the "configuring settings" part of it) and then my computer rebooted and said "restoring to your previous version of Windows" and now I'm on Windows 7 again.

2811

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 11:31 AM »

Just finished my installation on a second computer, and once again, File Explorer jump lists don't work, this time except for network shares.

-ayryq (July 29, 2015, 11:19 AM)

Do they appear and clicking them doesn't do anything, or do they not appear at all?

Are they customized (you manually added something to the jump list) or are they the ones that are automatically added to the jump list?

2812

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 11:02 AM »

I just finished downloading both x64 and x86 ISOs of Windows 10 Pro (10240) and now Windows update is telling me I can upgrade to Windows 10...

2813

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 10:52 AM »

http://www.microsoft...e-download/windows10

-Curt (July 29, 2015, 10:37 AM)

I'm currently downloading Windows 10 with that link. It allows you to "upgrade your computer now" or "create installation media to install Windows 10 on another computer" and the second option has an option for either ISO (CD/DVD) or USB.

2814

Living Room / Re: Ouya acquired by Razer

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 10:41 AM »

While Razer is not retaining interest in OUYA hardware or related other assets, it does plan to publish Android TV content and Android-based TV console games under the OUYA moniker as a separate interest.

Dang. I was planning on making games for OUYA someday. Just hadn't gotten around to it yet.

2815

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 29, 2015, 10:32 AM »

Hm... So I can either 'manually' download Windows 10, and have it now ... Or, I can wait for the reservation to take forever to get on with it.

-Stoic Joker (July 29, 2015, 08:47 AM)

Got a link to the manually downloaded ISO?

2816

Living Room / Re: Whole Room Watercooling

« Last post by Deozaan on July 28, 2015, 09:08 PM »

I only watched the first vid, but I saw him use a hole saw on the top of a new machine build.
Nobody stood by with a vacuum cleaner hose to catch the debris as the hole saw chewed into the case.
Somebody -please- tell me that wasn't a metal case, and that he didn't shower metal bits and dust all over the insides of a new mobo and peripherals. >.<

-bit (July 28, 2015, 03:05 PM)

I'm pretty sure the case was empty when he was cutting through it.

2817

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 28, 2015, 12:53 PM »

KB2952664 installed perfectly fine for me the first time I tried. It didn't give me any trouble.

-Deozaan (July 28, 2015, 11:40 AM)

As did mine appear to. Then it added itself to the list again, and again... If I have time I'll post a screen shot when I get home...the damn thing is quite literally listed in history as having been successfully installed five times (in a row).

-Stoic Joker (July 28, 2015, 12:49 PM)

I checked for more updates multiple times after installing it and it isn't showing up again (yet). So we'll see what happens.

Maybe KB2952664 was the reason why Win 10 failed to install on my machine?

-Curt (July 28, 2015, 11:25 AM)

How did you get an upgrade prompt already?? Is it tomorrow in you part of the world?

-Stoic Joker (July 28, 2015, 12:49 PM)

I wondered that, too. But then I decided that maybe Curt hadn't yet even installed the "Reserve your Windows 10 today!" thing yet, and that it was that. If that wasn't clear, I mean maybe it's the update that makes the Windows 10 logo appear in the tray.

2818

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 28, 2015, 11:40 AM »

KB2952664 installed perfectly fine for me the first time I tried. It didn't give me any trouble.

2819

General Software Discussion / Re: Windows 10 Announced

« Last post by Deozaan on July 28, 2015, 04:32 AM »

Candy Crush Saga was recently added to "My Library" in the Microsoft App Store.

It didn't automatically install the game, but I see no way of being able to remove something from your library once it has been added. I'm opposed to Candy Crush Saga and all of King (the company who made Candy Crush Saga) based on principle. I don't like that Microsoft has given them inflated usercounts by automatically adding it to every Windows 10 account library.

Guess I have no choice but to rate the game 1-star.

2820

Official Announcements / Re: DonationCoder Major Upgrades - Progress Report Thread

« Last post by Deozaan on July 28, 2015, 04:21 AM »

This is probably the link I click the most on this site, both at the top and bottom of the page (depending on which is closest to where I am).



I'd keep the "member bar" minimized/hidden were it not for the fact that doing so will ALSO hide the search bar, which I use often enough that minimizing/maximizing the "member bar" section is a hassle. But if the search bar were always visible, I'd have it minimized all the time. It just wastes space at the top of every page, which is especially troublesome when viewing the site on mobile devices.

When I say "member bar" I mean that section at the top of the page with your avatar, that you posted a screenshot of several threads above. The one with the "since last visit" link we're talking about.

2821

General Software Discussion / Re: What's living in your taskbar notification area right now?

« Last post by Deozaan on July 28, 2015, 03:38 AM »

While we've kind of digressed into application memory usage, can I ask what those using the Dropbox client show it's memory usage as?

-4wd (July 26, 2015, 09:30 PM)

15,300K while idling on my PC (Win7 x64).

2822

Living Room / Re: Whole Room Watercooling

« Last post by Deozaan on July 26, 2015, 01:15 AM »

I was just about to go to bed, then I started this video, not realizing it was a multi-part series. Now I'll never get to sleep!

Gotta watch 'em all!

2823

Living Room / Re: Animal Friends thread

« Last post by Deozaan on July 25, 2015, 10:13 PM »

I don't think you need to pay to say things on Reddit. But I don't know. I don't visit the site much and I've never tried leaving a comment. I'm not even sure I have an account.

That said, I think Reddit uses Imgur for all image uploads.

2824

Living Room / Re: I'm ready to join the HTPC (home theater pc) revolution - what to get?

« Last post by Deozaan on July 25, 2015, 09:58 PM »

You could go with something like the Odroid-XU4 ($74) with the CloudShell ($39) to connect a hard drive and use that as your NAS/HTPC.

2825

Living Room / Re: The end of the hard disk

« Last post by Deozaan on July 25, 2015, 09:48 PM »

They could form The Last LLC and all their products could be branded The Last.

Whatever product they made, it would be The Last product.