My "dream Computer" - Finally Purchased ... But...

[CosmicSurfer]

To all those that helped me on my quest for my dream computer.. THANK YOU

SPECS

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

Cooler - Thermaltake Ultra 120 Plus Fan TT LED 120MM

MotherBoard - ASUS P5KR

Case - Thermaltake Kandalf VA9000SWA

Power Supply - Enermax 460W

Hard Drives - Seagate Sata2 > 80GB (O/S), 250GB (Apps), 2x320 (RAID 1 - Data)

RAM - 3GB - Geil/800 DDR2 - 2x 1GB, 2x 512MB

VGA - Galaxy Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 256MB DDR3

Creative Sound Blaster - X-Fi Extreme Audio

DVD - ASUS DVD-RW LiteScribe + ASUS DVD-ROM

Floppy Drive

TT Black Light

Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 2232GW

Speakers - Altec Lansing 2.1 - ATP-3

O/S - XP-Pro

TOTAL Cost - Approx. 67,000 Baht

The Case has a total of "7" fans.. and is so quiet that my Room A/C makes more noise.

And now the real work starts.. Loading Drivers Anti-Virus, Firewall, Software, configuring Network with my Laptop and getting the settings just Right.

BUT... Even dreams have Clouds...

2 things right off the Bat...

1) First the VGA Card <Galaxy Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 256MB DDR3> came with a THAI Driver...

so all Screens and setting related are in Thai... I've tried to find an English driver on the net... But the info for the Driver listed in Device Manager Properties doesn't match the Driver Info I find on-line.. so I'm not sure which one to download... and of couse I've never had to change one before... so it's making me stressed out to deal with it.

2) The Date/Time in the Tool Tray is also in Thai... (makes me wonder WHY???)... and I can't seem to find a way to change it to English... I'm old enough now... showing the year as 2550 is disconcerting.

How can I Fix this???

Can anyone help me with these 2 issues, so I can get back to the more serious business of playing with my new computer???

Thanks again to All

CS

Edited October 10, 2007 by CosmicSurfer

[stumonster]

go get the latest forceware drivers for nvidia cards

http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads35.html

they are about 30+ meg , and choose your OS - they are for all nvidia cards

[Guest Reimar]

It's not because of the driver, is because of that Wndows XP you use is an Thai Edition!

The Nvidia Driver will install in the OS-Language! The Date and Time you've to chage via Control Panel to the English type!

But the best is to change Windows XP to native english and not a Thai edition!

[Firefoxx]

To change the way the computer shows dates, go to the regional settings.

As stunmonster says, you don't need to use the same model. Just use the generic forceware drivers.

Your ram configuration baffles me.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

There's no "thai version" or "thai edition" of Windows XP. It supports (out of the box) thai as one of several asian languages.

To get the driver to english you will need to uninstall it first - unfortunately a software once installed "in thai" will stay that way After you've done that, do the following:

Click "Start", then "Control Panel".

Go to "Regional and language options".

On the first page (Regional Options) chose which you like - for example "English - United States" for the display of dates, currencies etc. Click "OK" to complete.

Then open "Regional and language options" again, this time chose the third ("Advanced") Tab. In the drop-down box you can select which language "non-unicode" programs will install in - set this to "English - United States" or which ever you like. Click "Apply" and then "OK", and then restart the computer.

Now when you re-install your VGA driver, it will be in english (or whichever language you chose). And so will any subsequently installed program

Best regards......

Thanh

[Guest Reimar]

Hi

There's no "thai version" or "thai edition" of Windows XP. It supports (out of the box) thai as one of several asian languages.

To get the driver to english you will need to uninstall it first - unfortunately a software once installed "in thai" will stay that way After you've done that, do the following:

Click "Start", then "Control Panel".

Go to "Regional and language options".

On the first page (Regional Options) chose which you like - for example "English - United States" for the display of dates, currencies etc. Click "OK" to complete.

Then open "Regional and language options" again, this time chose the third ("Advanced") Tab. In the drop-down box you can select which language "non-unicode" programs will install in - set this to "English - United States" or which ever you like. Click "Apply" and then "OK", and then restart the computer.

Now when you re-install your VGA driver, it will be in english (or whichever language you chose). And so will any subsequently installed program

Best regards......

Thanh

Thanh,

you're wrong: there is an Thai Edition of Windows XP and with this version you'll get many of the help file for example in Thai language only and some others like the NVidia drivers!

I've serveral of this original Windows XP Pro CD's! And if you use the CD-Keys which was coming with this Editions with original English Editions they don't work! I had this problem by one of my customer with more than 40 computers and I was need to get a special "Activation" from MS via phone call to Singapore. And I was even need to send them a copy of the Licenses Stickers by Fax. That procedure has need 3 Day's!

So believe me I know exactly what I'm talking about!

[Mozikillah]

Is this dream PC of yours for gaming??

Cuz i noticed an GF7300GT All is well, except for your VGA card..

you could of gotten a

- Cheaper Case

- Stock CPU cooler

- Audigy 2 ZS soundcard

and could of gotten your self a decent VGA card..

3GB ??

Edited October 10, 2007 by Mozikillah

[stumonster]

Is this dream PC of yours for gaming??

Cuz i noticed an GF7300GT All is well, except for your VGA card..

and could of gotten your self a decent VGA card..

3GB ??

the 7300 is a bit weird - what was the problem with an 8600 ?

and 3 gig ??? its better than 2 but a matched pair of 2's might have been a wiser choice

[Tywais]

Your ram configuration baffles me.

That is a little odd. Only reason I can think of was pulling it from his previous system and using it with the new one.

[CosmicSurfer]

Hi

There's no "thai version" or "thai edition" of Windows XP. It supports (out of the box) thai as one of several asian languages.

To get the driver to english you will need to uninstall it first - unfortunately a software once installed "in thai" will stay that way After you've done that, do the following:

Click "Start", then "Control Panel".

Go to "Regional and language options".

On the first page (Regional Options) chose which you like - for example "English - United States" for the display of dates, currencies etc. Click "OK" to complete.

Then open "Regional and language options" again, this time chose the third ("Advanced") Tab. In the drop-down box you can select which language "non-unicode" programs will install in - set this to "English - United States" or which ever you like. Click "Apply" and then "OK", and then restart the computer.

Now when you re-install your VGA driver, it will be in english (or whichever language you chose). And so will any subsequently installed program

Best regards......

Thanh

As Usual.. you guys are the best when it commes to troubleshooting.. Thanks All...

I'll try and address all your comments with this one Post...

First...I did manage to change all my Language issues.. Date and Nvidia driver, by going to the Regional Settings Control and making all the Changes you suggested... and when I did.. it fixed all the problems.. No need to uninstall and re-install any drivers..

Second... I don't know if this XP is a Thai version or not.. but as of this moment I'm not aware of any Thai in menues or HELP files or anywhere it shouldn't be.

Third... 3GB RAM.. distributed in 4 Slots, matched Pairs... 2x 1GB & 2x 512GB = 3GB... which according to my research is the maximum XP will "see". and when I boot or go to My Computer Properties.. That is exactly what Windows is reporting.

Finally... I'm NOT a Gamer, but I am a music lover and decent sound is more important to me then a super fast Video card. Choices and compromises had to be made.

But I am paronoid about heat and losing Hard drives because of it... (which may have just happened to my External Laptop Data drive... in the shop trying to be recovered for the SECOND time in 1 week.) I also want this computer to last AT LEAST 5 Years. So a LARGE, Expandable, COOL & Quiet case were part of my criteria going in to this project.

So as the old adage goes (and I think it's still relevent today).. "Buy the BEST computer you can afford". Which doesn't mean I'm Rich.. I'm just tired of my computer becoming dated every time there's a new technology introduced.. and the specs for this machine should handle anything new in the pipeline, with only some minor tweaks.. Even the MotherBoard is DDR3 compatable, up to 8GB of RAM, and the case will handle up to 6 Hard Drives Internal Plus External drives as needed, including e-Sata and FireWire.

Thanks again ALL... Until the Next time,

CS

[CosmicSurfer]

the 7300 is a bit weird - what was the problem with an 8600 ?

and 3 gig ??? its better than 2 but a matched pair of 2's might have been a wiser choice

The price difference between the 7300 and 8600 was not justifiable for my use (Not being a gamer) and the money saved allowed me to choose a faster CPU and add another Hard drive to make a RAID Data configuration.

(Once Bitten Twice Shy.)

Also 4GB of Ram (2x 2GB) would have been a waste.. the last Gig not being 'seen' or used by Windows...

If and When I upgrade to VISTA or 64 Bit, I can always pull the 2x 512 and replace them with 2x 2GB... But this will not be for a few years I imagine.. at least until SP2.

CS

[onethailand]

XP Pro supports 4GB.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/platf...PAE/PAEmem.mspx

I did say earlier that 3GB was strange... I bet that the 4 RAM modules you bought combined were more expensive than 2x2GB modules...

Nvidia does do Thai drivers - so does HP/Compaq. But all you need to do is go to Nvidia, find the correct model, and download their latest drivers. Or, in your case, change the regional settings - meaning that Nvidia loaded a multi-language version on the installation CD. I'd still be tempted to go and download the latest English-only version.

Heat is definitely a problem for most computer components and hard drives are especially susceptible. But if you have a reasonably cool room and you have a strong exhaust fan, you would've been ok as long as you left a little space between the hard drives (but I notice you have 4, so who knows). I actually mounted cheap hard disk exhaust fans in the front of my old computer and they worked perfectly well.

But then again, I've been an overclocker since 1995 (until now, there's no need any more). So I understand cooling very well

[cobra]

Great system,

You were prudent to get the large case, I have quick-change drive cages which are very convenient and also run a RAID 0 config.

It is likely though you'll been upgrading your cpu well before your five year window, (duo to quad),

[Firefoxx]

Me, I've overclocked since the days of the 8088 CPU (really, I'm not kidding). Thing about overclocking is that it's not always the same for everyone, since people aren't aiming for the same things. Some people go to extremes to get the highest clock possible, going for liquid nitrogen, water cooling, etc. Others clock as much as the CPU will handle with a quiet setup. I've had a few harddisk failures from poor cooling of the hard drives, so with my case, all hard drive cages (I have 11 hard drives in my case) have a fan. All the fans in my case are big, since small but strong fans are LOUD.

It's arguable whether overclocking is needed right now. I still overclock my CPU, even though it's a Core 2 Duo... because it still helps in games and multimedia (which I do a lot of), and because I'm getting essentially the performance of a 20,000 baht CPU from a 4,000 baht CPU, without spending 20,000 baht.

Actually, it would have been smarter to go with 2GB (1x2) when using XP, and then upgrade later to 4GB (1x4) when you switch OS's. XP already has plenty of headroom with 2GB.

[ajarnmark]

Finally... I'm NOT a Gamer, but I am a music lover and decent sound is more important to me then a super fast Video card. Choices and compromises had to be made.

This spec for music only?

I think it is more like carrying an ant on a super sonic plane, IMO.

I think you could better get a nice sound card and speakers with a moderate PC and you could have save around 30-40K.

[ajarnmark]

Me, I've overclocked since the days of the 8088 CPU (really, I'm not kidding). Thing about overclocking is that it's not always the same for everyone, since people aren't aiming for the same things. Some people go to extremes to get the highest clock possible, going for liquid nitrogen, water cooling, etc. Others clock as much as the CPU will handle with a quiet setup. I've had a few harddisk failures from poor cooling of the hard drives, so with my case, all hard drive cages (I have 11 hard drives in my case) have a fan. All the fans in my case are big, since small but strong fans are LOUD.

It's arguable whether overclocking is needed right now. I still overclock my CPU, even though it's a Core 2 Duo... because it still helps in games and multimedia (which I do a lot of), and because I'm getting essentially the performance of a 20,000 baht CPU from a 4,000 baht CPU, without spending 20,000 baht.

Actually, it would have been smarter to go with 2GB (1x2) when using XP, and then upgrade later to 4GB (1x4) when you switch OS's. XP already has plenty of headroom with 2GB.

How did you manage to overclock 8088?

[onethailand]

Me, I've overclocked since the days of the 8088 CPU (really, I'm not kidding). Thing about overclocking is that it's not always the same for everyone, since people aren't aiming for the same things. Some people go to extremes to get the highest clock possible, going for liquid nitrogen, water cooling, etc. Others clock as much as the CPU will handle with a quiet setup. I've had a few harddisk failures from poor cooling of the hard drives, so with my case, all hard drive cages (I have 11 hard drives in my case) have a fan. All the fans in my case are big, since small but strong fans are LOUD.

It's arguable whether overclocking is needed right now. I still overclock my CPU, even though it's a Core 2 Duo... because it still helps in games and multimedia (which I do a lot of), and because I'm getting essentially the performance of a 20,000 baht CPU from a 4,000 baht CPU, without spending 20,000 baht.

Actually, it would have been smarter to go with 2GB (1x2) when using XP, and then upgrade later to 4GB (1x4) when you switch OS's. XP already has plenty of headroom with 2GB.

LOL. Back in those days they didn't call it overclocking, they called it experimental I considered all the peltiers and nitrogen setups but decided that that kind of overkill wasn't useful - I wanted an OC setup that could be done and not cause a catastrophic failure if something went wrong. My first overclocking started with Pentium 66 and Cyrix chips.

So quiet setup, sort of - but I did go out and find the best CPU fans available and that was no easy task in Thailand. As integrators, we also often got to pick and choose particular lots - so if we happened to find a CPU with a lot number that was known to be good, we'd grab it. I actually had a Dual Celeron 100 setup, with each CPU overclocked to 233, with IDE Raid 0-1 on Promise controllers, on an Abit mainboard... that was one mean machine, and still didn't require anything other than slightly better fans. On top of that I had an overclocked S3 ViRGE 8MB video card as well - cheap Taiwan component - performing better than any NVidia or ATI card at the time.

And you're right about small fans - I learned that the hard way - but I also wanted full control of airflow so there wasn't much choice.

I don't OC much any more because I'm not a gamer nor do I have need for speed any more. But I do miss those days...

And I also said 2GB would be sufficient... and that the next logical step up was 4GB - but I guess he wanted to max out his specs based on what he had read.

11 hard drives? Just like my former partner Roy...

Edited October 10, 2007 by onethailand

[xerxes]

Hmmm... I bought a computer at about the same time (2007-09-20)

from M. Inter Co., Ltd.

see the attached image for the details.

Hope this is useful for other people as well...

i researched on toms hardware guide, anandtech ...etc before deciding.

Now i'm thinking of getting a laptop as well. This one's quite old and has started sporadically dying on me with IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL errors and all... sigh.

yours is more expensive though! Must be the coolers & the case and such.

I really wish now i'd gotten the front-loading Cases for the RAID HDD. Sigh

[beekaykay]

Me, I've overclocked since the days of the 8088 CPU (really, I'm not kidding).

I'd have loved to see you try and overclock an 8088 (8/16 bit hybrid) which had a clock speed of 4-12mhz, or better still the very first single Chip MP by Intel introduced in 1971 the 4004 (4 bit) which had a clock speed of 0.74mhz, I would have had a front row seat for that

[SpaceKadet]

You've got a KickAss system there CS. I've been using ASUS MoBo for all my builds for the past 9 years. Right now I have Asus P5B deluxe x2. Great audio card too. Mine is X-Fi XtremeGamer, same chipset as yours.

Reply to onethailand:

XP Pro (and Vista) supports 4GB but due to bugs in the code can't use more than 3.2 or so GB. Even the Asus Mobo manual says:

"If you install Windows XP 32-bit version operating system, we recommend that you install less than 3GBof total memory."

CS did the right thing, got 3GB distributed over 2 channels for fastest access.

Needless to say, Linux doesn't have such restrictions and will use any size memory.

[dave_boo]

You've got a KickAss system there CS. I've been using ASUS MoBo for all my builds for the past 9 years. Right now I have Asus P5B deluxe x2. Great audio card too. Mine is X-Fi XtremeGamer, same chipset as yours.

Reply to onethailand:

XP Pro (and Vista) supports 4GB but due to bugs in the code can't use more than 3.2 or so GB. Even the Asus Mobo manual says:

"If you install Windows XP 32-bit version operating system, we recommend that you install less than 3GBof total memory."

CS did the right thing, got 3GB distributed over 2 channels for fastest access.

Needless to say, Linux doesn't have such restrictions and will use any size memory.

This is a common misconception I hear alot. Granted Linux is much better than Microsoft products, but both have the same problem in their 32 bit offerings. A 32 bit OS can by definition only address 2^32 bits of physical address space, i.e. 4 GB. Now, if you're sitting on 4 GB of RAM, how can that 32 bit OS access the ROM on the mobo, RAM on your videocard(s), etc(technically it can't see the top bit of the 4 GB because that's where the bios maps all of the other physical memory to and than shoves the rest of the RAM above that point)? Intel, having realised this problem added PAE(physical address extension) to the Pentium Pro. The Pentium Pro has been the basis for all x86 chips that have followed, and therefore even current 32 bit only chips actually have 36 bit physical addressing capabilities (2^36 ends up being ~68 GB). Granted, the motherboard's chipset has to support it also, but the basis has been there. Simply adding /PAE to your boot.ini file loads that kernel. Even better, now that we live in an era of DEP, simply having the /NOEXECUTE switch forces it also along with your DEP. We have to point out though that this isn't a pancea, because most 32 bit software will NOT look above the 4 GB limit, thus if you are trying to fill the memory with applications you'll fail. Linux is a little more fun because to get your PAE working you're most likely going to need to recompile the kernel.

[CosmicSurfer]

You've got a KickAss system there CS. I've been using ASUS MoBo for all my builds for the past 9 years. Right now I have Asus P5B deluxe x2. Great audio card too. Mine is X-Fi XtremeGamer, same chipset as yours.

Reply to onethailand:

XP Pro (and Vista) supports 4GB but due to bugs in the code can't use more than 3.2 or so GB. Even the Asus Mobo manual says:

"If you install Windows XP 32-bit version operating system, we recommend that you install less than 3GBof total memory."

CS did the right thing, got 3GB distributed over 2 channels for fastest access.

Needless to say, Linux doesn't have such restrictions and will use any size memory.

Well Thanks SpaceKadet... I tried to get something that would be attuned to my everyday needs with room to upgrade and expand in the future. Also, It was cheaper to get 3GB of Ram.. I figured I could always swap the 2x 512MB with 2x1GB when I upgrade to VISTA (in about 3 years or after SP ... maybe SP3)

But my dream computer has cost me some loss of sleep.... First the was a problem documented above about the nVidia Driver and Thai language.

Then there was a problem (another thread about this somewhere) with a crashing O/S and conflict with DVD Burning Software.. That took a little time.. Some advice from Reimar... an O/S Re-Install and a few Trips down to Pantip to rectify. Believe me.. I love my HUGE Quiet CASE, but it's a real pain to carry back to Pantip.. There are some benefits to small and compact.

And with all this RAM I'm still having some issues... For some reason my Maxthon Browser freezes up and I need to close it. And sometimes I lose Right-Click ability on all programs... It just won't work... unless I close some program, or window.. Its like it's RAM short, which is impossible. My RAM check always shows between 1.5-2GB FREE. But if I close something the Right-Click comes Back!!! Is this an O/S Issue?? Bad RAM??? How to find out??? Driving me crazy!!!!

It's the little things.. after spending so much, I want EVERYTHING to work properly. So when I discovered that Jedi had neglected to connect the TOP FireWire port.. (I have 2 FireWire.. one on Rear and one on the Top with a USB and Mic Headphone jack) back to Pantip .. Then After I got back home I finally tried the Headphone and Mic.. found that they weren't connected either.. (OK, My Fault I should have checked it when I was at Pantip for the FireWire).. So Back again to get it connected... Got it back home... Used it for a while and then discovered that my Mic wouldn't work any longer... So Back to Pantip where they reloaded the O/S...which was actually a lucky thing for me.. because while they had the box open they heard a slight ticking sound coming from one of the RAID drives.. so ...

Before they pulled the bad drive, I had to Copy all my data over to the Apps drive, as They worried that By Swapping the Drive and re-establishing the RAID I would lose all my Data.. Which is something that confuses me.. isn't this what Raid was all about?? Having an Immediate Copy made so I wouldn't lose data if a Drive failed??

But they insisted and I'm glad that I did it.. because of course they did lose all the Data when the Second RAID drive was re-installed... (BTW.. I had to wait a week for that to happen, because suddenly the wasn't any Seagate 320GB drives available anywhere in Panrtip (they said Thailand).. due to some fire somewhere)... anyway that made 2 more trips back to Pantip... Finally got it back and got it home... Only to discover that my Mic was no longer working... AT ALL... Originally it would not work on the Top.. Now It was totally gone.. Top AND Back... So Back to this Board to try and understand why.

BTW... My O/S is WinXP Pro SP2... a Pantip copy, so I thought maybe it was an O/S problem, and I was ready to bite the bullet and spend another 5,000 Baht Plus on a Legit O/S... But First I went through a series of Driver Checks, updates and un-installing, as JEDI not selling the Creative SoundCard, didn't have a Driver for it, and they installed the On-Board sound driver on the last O/S re-install.. So a conflict was possible.

Nothing worked... THEN... I started to have major feedback on my speakers... Connected to the back... or connected to the top... Everything worked fine, but at 3am one morning, like a Ghost, it just started to Feed... What a way to wake up!!! After that it would work then Feed intermittently.. finally just feed... So I gave up and prepared to bring it back to Pantip...

Or maybe it was/is the O/S... So I prepared to spend the money to buy a legit one...

BUT I began to worry that the problem was a Bad SoundCard which, as I said, JEDI doesn't sell, so I bought it at HardWare House.. Meaning that even though Jedi installed it, it was warrantied through Hardware House... OK.. No big deal... I pulled the card myself and took it only back to Pantip... They tried to install it in a shop computer to test.. But couldn't find a spare mic in the shop.. so The Tech guy took it down to the Service office on the mezzanine floor and they told me that They may have to send it back to SINGAPORE to get serviced.. 1-3 week wait.

Now before the final part of my story, let's not forget about all the work re-setting up the computer after every O/S Re-install...

I finally got it back the Soundcard back yesterday.. They said that they gave me a new one... Fine.. got home and reinstalled the card, plugged everything in... AND.. on the boot... I'm already hearing Feedback.. Pulled the jack.. took my wife's speakers.. plugged them in.. still Feedback, so now I've eliminated the speakers from the equation... and I doubt it's the Brand new Card, so either it's the O/S (Buy-Buy 5,000 Baht plus) or something else.. what could it be???

Brainstorm!!!!I opened up the back and disconnected the plug from the soundcard to the TOP Mic/Headphone jacks. EUREKA!!! FINALLY SILENCE... Checked everything out.. configured Mic, checked speakers... All OK.

EXCEPT.. I still have 2 jacks on the top of my Beautiful New Computer that won't work.. Is it a Bad Cable connector?? Bad Port???

Do I schlep this humongous box back to JEDI in Pantip.. AGAIN... Or just blow it off and learn to live with it??

And what about the Right-Click problem I mentioned above??? Do I Change the O/S to a legit?? Will that solve it? or NOT?? Throw more money at this machine or maybe it isn't the O/S and it's Bad RAM?? How to Know?

Now I find (just started yesterday or maybe longer) that after the right-click problem starts, I can't open any other program, unless I close something.. like now I'm trying to open Wordpad. FreRAM Pro is showing 2047MB of Free Ram. But I still can't right-Click to copy this post, or open WordPad to save it... WHY ????

OK.. time to close this, post it and Re-Boot.. only way to clear the problem totally... if only temporarily.

Any advice on this would be helpful.

Thanks again for your support.

CS

[bkkperson]

I just cant believe this..

Who goes out and spends 69,000 baht on a new system and then goes and buy a Pantip copy of XP

I hope you know that nowadays Microsoft checks whether your system is genuine before you can install updates etc and if it finds your machine aint genuine then it will basicly shut it down so eventually you'll only be able to access the desktop and nothing else...

Why o why would anybody do that.....

[LivinLOS]

I just cant believe this..

Who goes out and spends 69,000 baht on a new system and then goes and buy a Pantip copy of XP

I hope you know that nowadays Microsoft checks whether your system is genuine before you can install updates etc and if it finds your machine aint genuine then it will basicly shut it down so eventually you'll only be able to access the desktop and nothing else...

Why o why would anybody do that.....

You obviously know very little about getting around WGA.

I dont use XP anymore (tho my Vista is similarly activated) but I never had problems getting any updates.

[CosmicSurfer]

I just cant believe this..

Who goes out and spends 69,000 baht on a new system and then goes and buy a Pantip copy of XP

I hope you know that nowadays Microsoft checks whether your system is genuine before you can install updates etc and if it finds your machine aint genuine then it will basicly shut it down so eventually you'll only be able to access the desktop and nothing else...

Why o why would anybody do that.....

Like the Man said (That's you, LivinLOS) I get all the XP security Updates... The only updates I don't get are software Upgrades.. and after 6 Months, is there is any really good stuff, I can always just get an updated copy of WinXP, no sweat.. and That's an OLD.. VERY OLD... Internet rumor that MS is going to shut you out of your computer... That's only something that Steve Jobs does to his Apple Fanatics. If MS ever does do that, so I buy a legit Copy at that point.. No Loss, No Foul... Just taking advantage of what is available now

BTW... Anty knowledgable person knows that to avoid MS scanning your computer for a Pirate Software, you just DO NOT Download and NEVER Install "Windows Genuine Advantage" Service Update.. I always monitor my MS Updates.. and always Reject that one.. It's easy to instruct your Auto Up-date to ignore it for ever in the future.. But Best to ALWAYS do a Custom Install, so Choose "Notify ONLY" on Auto-Update.

I've ALWAYS only used legit Windows in the past, but at this stage in the XP Life-cycle you would expect that MS would drop their price to a reasonable level for older products... after all, I do believe that they have recouped their development costs long ago.. I hear that they even made a few Baht profit. It's a rip-off that they continue to sell XP at such a high cost... I have no pity for them if a few of us poorer users enjoy their older but more stable technology at a reasonable cost.

Live and let Live, I always say.

CS

Edited January 31, 2008 by CosmicSurfer

[dave_boo]

You've got a KickAss system there CS. I've been using ASUS MoBo for all my builds for the past 9 years. Right now I have Asus P5B deluxe x2. Great audio card too. Mine is X-Fi XtremeGamer, same chipset as yours.

Reply to onethailand:

XP Pro (and Vista) supports 4GB but due to bugs in the code can't use more than 3.2 or so GB. Even the Asus Mobo manual says:

"If you install Windows XP 32-bit version operating system, we recommend that you install less than 3GBof total memory."

CS did the right thing, got 3GB distributed over 2 channels for fastest access.

Needless to say, Linux doesn't have such restrictions and will use any size memory.

Well Thanks SpaceKadet... I tried to get something that would be attuned to my everyday needs with room to upgrade and expand in the future. Also, It was cheaper to get 3GB of Ram.. I figured I could always swap the 2x 512MB with 2x1GB when I upgrade to VISTA (in about 3 years or after SP ... maybe SP3)

But my dream computer has cost me some loss of sleep.... First the was a problem documented above about the nVidia Driver and Thai language.

Then there was a problem (another thread about this somewhere) with a crashing O/S and conflict with DVD Burning Software.. That took a little time.. Some advice from Reimar... an O/S Re-Install and a few Trips down to Pantip to rectify. Believe me.. I love my HUGE Quiet CASE, but it's a real pain to carry back to Pantip.. There are some benefits to small and compact.

And with all this RAM I'm still having some issues... For some reason my Maxthon Browser freezes up and I need to close it. And sometimes I lose Right-Click ability on all programs... It just won't work... unless I close some program, or window.. Its like it's RAM short, which is impossible. My RAM check always shows between 1.5-2GB FREE. But if I close something the Right-Click comes Back!!! Is this an O/S Issue?? Bad RAM??? How to find out??? Driving me crazy!!!!

If it is your RAM, running Memtest will quickly tell you. You can also remove all sticks of RAM except for one, reboot, see if there's a problem. If no problem, keep adding sticks of RAM till you find an issue. That's another reason I don't like Windows. I install RAM to use it, not see it sit idle. STOP SWAPPING NOW! </rant>

It's the little things.. after spending so much, I want EVERYTHING to work properly. So when I discovered that Jedi had neglected to connect the TOP FireWire port.. (I have 2 FireWire.. one on Rear and one on the Top with a USB and Mic Headphone jack) back to Pantip .. Then After I got back home I finally tried the Headphone and Mic.. found that they weren't connected either.. (OK, My Fault I should have checked it when I was at Pantip for the FireWire).. So Back again to get it connected... Got it back home... Used it for a while and then discovered that my Mic wouldn't work any longer... So Back to Pantip where they reloaded the O/S...which was actually a lucky thing for me.. because while they had the box open they heard a slight ticking sound coming from one of the RAID drives.. so ...

Sorry to hear that the build quality was so shoddy. You really need to run a smart test on all your drives.

Before they pulled the bad drive, I had to Copy all my data over to the Apps drive, as They worried that By Swapping the Drive and re-establishing the RAID I would lose all my Data.. Which is something that confuses me.. isn't this what Raid was all about?? Having an Immediate Copy made so I wouldn't lose data if a Drive failed??

I'd be very leery of this store. Had they simply taken the 'ticking' drive out, and immediately put in the new drive, your controller would have asked if you wanted to rebuild the array. That is assuming that they were using RAID-1

But they insisted and I'm glad that I did it.. because of course they did lose all the Data when the Second RAID drive was re-installed... (BTW.. I had to wait a week for that to happen, because suddenly the wasn't any Seagate 320GB drives available anywhere in Panrtip (they said Thailand).. due to some fire somewhere)... anyway that made 2 more trips back to Pantip... Finally got it back and got it home... Only to discover that my Mic was no longer working... AT ALL... Originally it would not work on the Top.. Now It was totally gone.. Top AND Back... So Back to this Board to try and understand why.

The cynical side in me says they sold your harddrive.

BTW... My O/S is WinXP Pro SP2... a Pantip copy, so I thought maybe it was an O/S problem, and I was ready to bite the bullet and spend another 5,000 Baht Plus on a Legit O/S... But First I went through a series of Driver Checks, updates and un-installing, as JEDI not selling the Creative SoundCard, didn't have a Driver for it, and they installed the On-Board sound driver on the last O/S re-install.. So a conflict was possible.

I'm a little confused; is your onboard sound currently the Creative card or onboard? As a side note, you can d/l the iso for the Creative card here.

Nothing worked... THEN... I started to have major feedback on my speakers... Connected to the back... or connected to the top... Everything worked fine, but at 3am one morning, like a Ghost, it just started to Feed... What a way to wake up!!! After that it would work then Feed intermittently.. finally just feed... So I gave up and prepared to bring it back to Pantip...

Under the assumption that it is onboard sound, I'd be worried that the motherboard was going belly up. Since the SATA controller was built into the mobo, and you're having sound problems, I'd be looking at blaming that.

Or maybe it was/is the O/S... So I prepared to spend the money to buy a legit one...

BUT I began to worry that the problem was a Bad SoundCard which, as I said, JEDI doesn't sell, so I bought it at HardWare House.. Meaning that even though Jedi installed it, it was warrantied through Hardware House... OK.. No big deal... I pulled the card myself and took it only back to Pantip... They tried to install it in a shop computer to test.. But couldn't find a spare mic in the shop.. so The Tech guy took it down to the Service office on the mezzanine floor and they told me that They may have to send it back to SINGAPORE to get serviced.. 1-3 week wait.

Now before the final part of my story, let's not forget about all the work re-setting up the computer after every O/S Re-install...

I finally got it back the Soundcard back yesterday.. They said that they gave me a new one... Fine.. got home and reinstalled the card, plugged everything in... AND.. on the boot... I'm already hearing Feedback.. Pulled the jack.. took my wife's speakers.. plugged them in.. still Feedback, so now I've eliminated the speakers from the equation... and I doubt it's the Brand new Card, so either it's the O/S (Buy-Buy 5,000 Baht plus) or something else.. what could it be???

Brainstorm!!!!I opened up the back and disconnected the plug from the soundcard to the TOP Mic/Headphone jacks. EUREKA!!! FINALLY SILENCE... Checked everything out.. configured Mic, checked speakers... All OK.

EXCEPT.. I still have 2 jacks on the top of my Beautiful New Computer that won't work.. Is it a Bad Cable connector?? Bad Port???

Do I schlep this humongous box back to JEDI in Pantip.. AGAIN... Or just blow it off and learn to live with it??

It's possible it's a bad cable. Have you tried hooking up only the Mic and seeing if there's feedback? Or only the speakers? That would quickly isolate which is the problem.

Un

And what about the Right-Click problem I mentioned above??? Do I Change the O/S to a legit?? Will that solve it? or NOT?? Throw more money at this machine or maybe it isn't the O/S and it's Bad RAM?? How to Know?

Now I find (just started yesterday or maybe longer) that after the right-click problem starts, I can't open any other program, unless I close something.. like now I'm trying to open Wordpad. FreRAM Pro is showing 2047MB of Free Ram. But I still can't right-Click to copy this post, or open WordPad to save it... WHY ????

OK.. time to close this, post it and Re-Boot.. only way to clear the problem totally... if only temporarily.

Check your temperatures. That may also be where this is all stemming from.

Any advice on this would be helpful.

Thanks again for your support.

CS

[DragonQuest]

no blu-ray player or blu-ray burner, its not a dream computer sorry pal, waste of 67,000 baht lol.

Edited January 31, 2008 by DragonQuest