Oh For The Love Of God!

[Biggles7268]

now that it's fixed go buy a new friggin computer

[Ouroboros]

Congrats Fwee. And from now on, don't chew on the cables, they're not made of cheese you know.

[Fweethawt]

now that it's fixed go buy a new friggin computer

Why do I need a new computer? This one is workin' fine.

[AgnosticBob AtheistPants]

Yeah I'm not one for upgrading I used 98SE for years then moved to ME which is a stablier version of 98.

 

 

ME was a pile of CRAP. 98SE was FAR more stable than ME. If you used ME frequently and had no problems with it, then maybe there IS a god!!! Bill Gates be his name...

[euphgeek]

now that it's fixed go buy a new friggin computer

Why do I need a new computer? This one is workin' fine.

You don't. Despite what some people have said, Windows 98SE was the best 9x generation OS Microsoft produced. And even a computer like yours that was new five or six years ago should be able to run Windows XP without any problems.

 

Congratulations on getting your soundcard working again. Sometimes the drivers can get corrupted and they need to be reinstalled.

 

On a related note, I'll be getting my A+ Certification (PC technician) in one or two weeks. I've been putting it off too long. I could kick myself for not getting it much sooner!

[Caretaker]

NOTA. It has been sitting right here on the desk for months now.

Hmmm.... Have you taken it out for a good dusting in recent years?

[Fweethawt]

NOTA. It has been sitting right here on the desk for months now.

Hmmm.... Have you taken it out for a good dusting in recent years?

Khan, I was thinkin' that maybe, just maybe, you missed this back on page one.

I laughed at this part of the instructions:

Opening the case is a huge hurdle to get over for many PC users. Trust us, there's no boogie man in there, though there may be some dust bunnies!

I remember the last time I had to take my computer into the shop. I was completely embarassed about the amount of dust bunnies that were in there. I couldn't believe it! I keep my computer pretty clean now though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fweethawt]

now that it's fixed go buy a new friggin computer

Why do I need a new computer? This one is workin' fine.

You don't. Despite what some people have said, Windows 98SE was the best 9x generation OS Microsoft produced. And even a computer like yours that was new five or six years ago should be able to run Windows XP without any problems.

Really?

 

I asked the guy at the shop (where I took it to the last time that I had a MAJOR problem with it) what it would take to update my computer to XP. Once he took a look at the specs of my computer, he told me that if I were to add everything that it needed to run XP, it would end up costing me more than if I just went out and bought a new computer. (and he doesn't sell new computers either in case you think he was just making a sales pitch)

 

Congratulations on getting your soundcard working again. Sometimes the drivers can get corrupted and they need to be reinstalled.

Thanks.

 

I scared the crap out of myself once I fixed it.

 

It was a little after 3:00 am when I did it. The house was quiet and everyone else was asleep. I reinstalled the driver and went right to opening an MP3 in order to see if it worked. You see - I had forgotten that my volume level was still up approximately two thirds of the maximum.

 

When it came on, I was like, HOLY SHIT!!!

 

Then I just started pushin' buttons to try and get it turned down as quickly as possible.

 

I don't have a volume knob. I have to use the volume control buttons on the keyboard or the slide bar on the screen.

 

[AgnosticBob AtheistPants]

I asked the guy at the shop (where I took it to the last time that I had a MAJOR problem with it) what it would take to update my computer to XP. Once he took a look at the specs of my computer, he told me that if I were to add everything that it needed to run XP, it would end up costing me more than if I just went out and bought a new computer. (and he doesn't sell new computers either in case you think he was just making a sales pitch)

 

Yep. I've been successful with a P2 450 laptop with 256MB of RAM, but it would ONLY run things like Office and surf the net. Try playing any games and you're grinding to a slow and painful halt. I've also had a P2 450 desktop with 512MB of RAM and it would play some of the older first person shooters like Quake 2, HalfLife (the original, not HL2) and it did fairly well. If the processor is a Celeron below 1Ghz and not a Pentium 2, 3, or 4, you can expect it to crawl with XP on it. Don't even bother with anything below a P2 450. Also, the more RAM you can cram in the system the better. Some of the older ones won't take over 512 though, and 512 is going to be the minimum you'll want in a system running XP. It is an absolute memory hog.

[euphgeek]

now that it's fixed go buy a new friggin computer

Why do I need a new computer? This one is workin' fine.

You don't. Despite what some people have said, Windows 98SE was the best 9x generation OS Microsoft produced. And even a computer like yours that was new five or six years ago should be able to run Windows XP without any problems.

Really?

Yup. You betcha. The minimum specs for Windows XP are well below any computer that would have been new five or six years ago.

I asked the guy at the shop (where I took it to the last time that I had a MAJOR problem with it) what it would take to update my computer to XP. Once he took a look at the specs of my computer, he told me that if I were to add everything that it needed to run XP, it would end up costing me more than if I just went out and bought a new computer. (and he doesn't sell new computers either in case you think he was just making a sales pitch)

That is what came to mind first, but if he wasn't trying to sell you a new computer, he's at least mistaken. I have a Dell that was new about five or six years ago, and it runs Windows XP just fine. A lot of techies, unfortunately, tend to think like techies who want the latest and greatest to run the latest and greatest applications and games and forget that the general public doesn't spend 24/7 at their computers.

Congratulations on getting your soundcard working again. Sometimes the drivers can get corrupted and they need to be reinstalled.

Thanks.

 

I scared the crap out of myself once I fixed it.

 

It was a little after 3:00 am when I did it. The house was quiet and everyone else was asleep. I reinstalled the driver and went right to opening an MP3 in order to see if it worked. You see - I had forgotten that my volume level was still up approximately two thirds of the maximum.

 

When it came on, I was like, HOLY SHIT!!!

 

Then I just started pushin' buttons to try and get it turned down as quickly as possible.

 

I don't have a volume knob. I have to use the volume control buttons on the keyboard or the slide bar on the screen.

 

ROFL! I know how that is! I've had to jump for the volume control on my own speakers once or twice.

[euphgeek]

I asked the guy at the shop (where I took it to the last time that I had a MAJOR problem with it) what it would take to update my computer to XP. Once he took a look at the specs of my computer, he told me that if I were to add everything that it needed to run XP, it would end up costing me more than if I just went out and bought a new computer. (and he doesn't sell new computers either in case you think he was just making a sales pitch)

 

Yep. I've been successful with a P2 450 laptop with 256MB of RAM, but it would ONLY run things like Office and surf the net. Try playing any games and you're grinding to a slow and painful halt. I've also had a P2 450 desktop with 512MB of RAM and it would play some of the older first person shooters like Quake 2, HalfLife (the original, not HL2) and it did fairly well. If the processor is a Celeron below 1Ghz and not a Pentium 2, 3, or 4, you can expect it to crawl with XP on it. Don't even bother with anything below a P2 450. Also, the more RAM you can cram in the system the better. Some of the older ones won't take over 512 though, and 512 is going to be the minimum you'll want in a system running XP. It is an absolute memory hog.

128 MB of RAM is the recommended minimum amount for Windows XP, and is what I have on my wife's computer running Windows XP, so 512 MB is a bit of overkill, unless you play a lot of the games you mentioned. For non-gamers, I would recommend about 128 to 256 MB of RAM.

 

In any event, there is no need for Fwee to upgrade to XP if Windows 98 serves his purposes. The old adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes to mind.

[Fweethawt]

WARNING!!

STUPID QUESTION AHEAD!!

 

Okay, my soundcard issue is no longer a problem and my computer is back to normal. However, after some thinking about upgrading, I'm beginning to ponder the idea of getting a DVD/CD player/burner for my system.

 

I found what seems to be a pretty good buy over at this site that scitsofreaky provided earlier in this thread.

For cheap computer stuff, I like http://www.tigerdirect.com Good deals.

 

Now, I've read everthing that I could at that site about DVD/CD burners, but I didn't find anything that enables me to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how to determine if a specific drive is compatible with my computer.

 

Here is the one that I'm looking into possibly getting---> CLICK HERE.

 

If you scroll down a bit on that page, you'll see where it shows pictures of the front and back of the drive. So, my question is this; If the back of my current CD ROM/BURNER is plugged into the same way that this drive is set up, does that mean that it'll work on my computer? If not, what else do I need to know before I make the mistake of buying the wrong drive?

 

My computer is currently set up with a regular CD ROM and a separate burner. Whould I be able to get away with installing two of those exact drives on my computer?

 

Okay, my stupid questions are finished for now. If you don't understand what I'm asking, I'll give it another shot.

 

[qadeshet]

The DVD writer should work as long as your system meets the minimum system requirements.

 

Min Req:

 

Pentium III 800 Mhz.

256 MB Memory

 

Recommended Req:

 

Pentium IV 1.0 Ghz.

512 MB Memory

 

Installation instructions

[Fweethawt]

The DVD writer should work as long as your system meets the minimum system requirements.

 

Min Req:

 

Pentium III 800 Mhz.

256 MB Memory

 

Recommended Req:

 

Pentium IV 1.0 Ghz.

512 MB Memory

 

Installation instructions

Where at on that page did you find that .pdf ? The reason I'm asking, is because your link isn't working for me for some reason.

 

I thought that I covered everything, and I never ran across anything there that showed the minimum requirements. (which, btw, my computer does NOT meet. )

 

I have a Pentium III 700 (or 733) Mhz with only 128 MB of memory.

[qadeshet]

I found the system requirement info at the NEC web site. Do you have Adobe acrobat installed? You need it to view PDF files.

[Fweethawt]

I found the system requirement info at the NEC web site. Do you have Adobe acrobat installed? You need it to view PDF files.

Yeah, I have Adobe installed. However, I'm at work now, and the IT dept. might have made some downloading restrictions here that I'm not aware of.

 

Thanks for the info. Maybe I'll take a stroll on over to NEC's site and see what else they have that might work. I'm more or less looking into DVD burning for data storage moreso than watching or burning movies.

[qadeshet]

I use a CD burner. A CD holds 700 MB and the system requirements are less.

[Fweethawt]

I use a CD burner. A CD holds 700 MB and the system requirements are less.

A CD burner is what I've been using for data storage of my MP3 collection. However, my collection has grown so much that whenever I get a lot of new CDs to add to it, I end up having to rewrite my entire collection onto a new set of CDs. (which sucks, btw)

 

If I switch to using DVDs for data storage, instead of getting a measley 700mb per disc of storage space on CDs, with a dual layer DVD I can get up to 8 or 8.5 gigs on a single disc.

[qadeshet]

Research any DVD player to make sure you meet the minimum requirements. Installation is easy.

[Fweethawt]

Research any DVD player to make sure you meet the minimum requirements. Installation is easy.

I'm still trying to find where that .pdf that you provided is actually at. I didn't find an NEC site that shows their merchandise, so I definitely didn't find any Min. Req. listings anywhere yet.

 

 

Also, the reason that I was looking at that particular drive is because it does it ALL. It reads and burns every "type" of DVD out there while still acting like a regular CD drive/burner.

[qadeshet]

Here is the web page. Click on the quick setup guide.

 

NEC optical drives

[Dark Helmet]

Yeah I'm not one for upgrading I used 98SE for years then moved to ME which is a stablier version of 98.

 

 

ME was a pile of CRAP. 98SE was FAR more stable than ME. If you used ME frequently and had no problems with it, then maybe there IS a god!!! Bill Gates be his name...

 

Whoever created ME (no, not you mom ) will probably end up in the seventh level of hell, alongside the Three Traitors. When I first got my Generic Clone Pc it was running that piece of crap. Nothing worked, I bought winxp and since then my life has been full of roses, bunnies and rainbows.

[euphgeek]

Fwee, I'm dubious of a DVD writer like that needing minimum specs as high as what they list. I got a DVD writer installed in my system, and it has lower system specs than yours does (except for the RAM). My DVD writer (listed here) does everything you llsted, plus it won PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" award.

 

I would guess that the minimum specs are probably just for recording on-the-fly, i.e., if you're recording directly from a video camera hooked up to your PC. I've been able to write files to DVDs with my DVD writer without any problems. I haven't even made a single coaster with it. I would find it very surprising if the DVD writer you found did not function on your system.

[Fweethawt]

Fwee, I'm dubious of a DVD writer like that needing minimum specs as high as what they list. I got a DVD writer installed in my system, and it has lower system specs than yours does (except for the RAM). My DVD writer (listed here) does everything you llsted, plus it won PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" award.

How much RAM does your system have? (this stuff is starting to look more expensive the more I look into it.)

I would guess that the minimum specs are probably just for recording on-the-fly, i.e., if you're recording directly from a video camera hooked up to your PC. I've been able to write files to DVDs with my DVD writer without any problems. I haven't even made a single coaster with it. I would find it very surprising if the DVD writer you found did not function on your system.

I'm not interested in doing any on-the-fly recording, that's for sure. But I would like to ask you how things have worked out for you as far as using the dual-layer writing.

 

I did a bit of reading on that site in order to better understand exactly what dual-layer writing is, and I'm liking what I'm reading. Have you had any problems writing in dual-layer mode, or haven't you tried it yet?

 

Dual-layer writing is right up my alley for what I'm looking into DVD burning for. (data storage) Also, in dual-layer mode, are you able to write in "sessions", or do you have to do everything at once?

[euphgeek]

Fwee, I'm dubious of a DVD writer like that needing minimum specs as high as what they list. I got a DVD writer installed in my system, and it has lower system specs than yours does (except for the RAM). My DVD writer (listed here) does everything you llsted, plus it won PC Magazine's "Editor's Choice" award.

How much RAM does your system have? (this stuff is starting to look more expensive the more I look into it.)

I have 256 MB of RAM, but only a 650 MHz CPU.

I would guess that the minimum specs are probably just for recording on-the-fly, i.e., if you're recording directly from a video camera hooked up to your PC. I've been able to write files to DVDs with my DVD writer without any problems. I haven't even made a single coaster with it. I would find it very surprising if the DVD writer you found did not function on your system.

I'm not interested in doing any on-the-fly recording, that's for sure. But I would like to ask you how things have worked out for you as far as using the dual-layer writing.

 

I did a bit of reading on that site in order to better understand exactly what dual-layer writing is, and I'm liking what I'm reading. Have you had any problems writing in dual-layer mode, or haven't you tried it yet?

I haven't tried it yet, but the reviewer for PC Magazine had no problems. The URL is below.

Dual-layer writing is right up my alley for what I'm looking into DVD burning for. (data storage) Also, in dual-layer mode, are you able to write in "sessions", or do you have to do everything at once?

I believe you can do it either way, just like regular writeable CDs and DVDs.

 

Here is the PC Magazine review of the Pioneer DVR-R100 I linked you to above. Unlike the one you were looking at, its documentation doesn't list any minimum hardware specs. You can see the article here:

 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1884278,00.asp