Windows Vista: Q&A/Round table discussion

Post by **[RDH]Zerted** » Wed May 09, 2007 10:30 pm

Buy a new motherboard? Did it fail during a BIOS update? It may be cheaper to buy one of those external BIOS flashers (I forgot their names). I would never update a BIOS through the OS. Always use a boot utility to update that.

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Thu May 10, 2007 6:25 pm

Well it said the update was successful. And i didn't know that .... updating BIOS through the OS is not wise.

Post by **[RDH]Zerted** » Thu May 10, 2007 9:41 pm

So whats happening with your motherboard? You decided to update its BIOS. You downloaded the update, than ran some Windows program to update it. The program said it worked, but when you restarted the computer Windows wouldn't start? If this is the case, then download a BIOS flashing utility and an older BIOS version for your motherboard. Put both on a boot disk (the utility should tell you how to make one), plug in the boot disk, start the computer, and reflash the BIOS to the old, working version.

An OS has a high chance of failure (crashing/freezing/etc...) compared to a simply boot utility. If a BIOS flash/update fails, your computer will not even turn on or it will just beep and beep and beep... The only way to fix this is to physically remove the BIOS chip, put it into another device, and save a new BIOS to it.

If the computer turns on and you can see anything on your screen, you can fix it. It may be faster/easier to just by another motherboard, but I prefer the cheaper method and you normally learn more doing it too.

Edit: Oh, then buy a new motherboard, a new BIOS chip, or physically remove the BIOS chip and get it reflashed.

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Fri May 11, 2007 5:20 pm

computer starts up but an immedate beeping, high pitched noise also. And no visuals. balck srceen.

Post by **ShadowHawk** » Sat May 12, 2007 3:36 am

What's the MB manufacture and model?

Zaborack · Post by **Zaborack** » Sat May 12, 2007 8:33 am

My uncle works with computers(He's the one who put together my PC =D ), and he recommends not to "upgrade" to Vista... yet, in one or two years, most computers will be able to handle Vista and thats when you should get it, he says that if you want a slower PC then ofcourse you should upgrade, and some games also don't work with Vista at all.
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Thats my uncle's words, but I say screw him, I'm getting it as soon as I get a new and faster PC =D
But, this couldn't probably be more convenient for me, since I'll get a new PC by '08 to '09

One of the main and biggest reasons I want it is actually because of Halo 2 Vista, but I also want it because of all of it's other features too, but Halo 2 Vista kinda stands out.
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EDIT: Sorry for going a bit of the subject there, I was on the first page when I wrote this

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:04 am

@Shadowhawk: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... 068983_doc

More info on teh BIOS update: When it was done installing it asked me to restart, so i did. During the restart boot up a screen appear then quickly disappeared. Next screen said, "Invalid Disk" or something like that and "Press any key to continue". So i pressed any key. Booted up complete. Everything looked normal and ran normal. So i continued running AVG free and downloading Nvidia driver update. I leave my computer for a few hours and with Vista (and other computers) if nothing's running it goes into standby mode. I moved the mouse like normal but instead of waking up my computer makes with horrible high pitched whining noise. I shut it down and turned it back on. Same thing. Turned it back off. And has been off since.

I found this site. Just throwing it out there. Random sort of i know.
http://www.msicomputer.com/msiforms2/VistaCapable.asp

Post by **ShadowHawk** » Sat May 12, 2007 1:00 pm

try this:

Turn off the PC and unplug the power cord.
Open the case.
Move the JBAT1 jumper cap from pins 1-2 (normal) to pins 2-3 (clear CMOS).
Keep the JBAT1 jumper cap on pins 2-3 for 15 seconds, then move it back to pins 1-2.
Close case.
Plug in the power cord and turn on the PC.
Enter BIOS setup to change BIOS settings.

See if that works. May not be the solution, but it is something to try.

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Mon May 14, 2007 7:47 pm

Thanks I'll try that. Hopefully i;ll get the time.

Also for the record I'm posting for either my Wii or my 98. Not my broken computer

EDIT: My computer is still nonworking. But i found two answers to the slow internet problem.
1. Uninstall MacAfee
2. Uninstall Update Windows Vista KB929735. Someone on the Microsoft forums did that and he's internet now flies. But he doesn't know what that update purpose was.

EDIT2: I'm now running from my broken computer. It now running thanks to switching JAB1 or something like that from 1-2 to 2-3 then back 1-2. Everything looks normal. Except when i start up. Invalid system Disk. Press any key to continue keeps coming up.

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Thu May 31, 2007 8:22 am

Hey guys! Sorry about the double post but just wanted to let anyone who cared know that changes did happen.
1. My computer is back up and running.
2. I got Shadowrun
3. I need a new rig over all
4. Has anyone every used Killer Network card? I'm looking into it for both gaming and to make my internet go faster on Vista. (It's still slow)

Thanks! And Sorry for the double post.

Adreniline · Post by **Adreniline** » Thu May 31, 2007 2:26 pm

Moving_Target wrote:4. Has anyone every used Killer Network card? I'm looking into it for both gaming and to make my internet go faster on Vista. (It's still slow)

I doubt a new network card would make your internet go faster.

Most Network cards are 10/100mbps, whereas most DSL signals are around 1.5mbps or 3mbps, and cable is more like 7mbps to 11mbps.

You wouldn't necessarily make your internet go faster, and your gaming experience wouldn't necessarily be better unless every one you play with on a LAN game has a card as fast as yours (assuming it's a 10/100/1000mbps card)

Also, if it is a 10/100/1000mbps card, you'll need a new router and some new cables that support the faster card.

My point: It might be more of a hassle to get it how you think it should be, and the end result might not be as good as you were thinking.

If browsing the net is what is slow, then what browser are you using? Sometimes IE6 and IE7 can be significantly slower than Firefox.

EDIT: I went and looked up the Killer Network Cards. I can't determine the benefit of what they're saying cause you need one to find out. But they don't exactly tell you how many mbps it is. Hopefully this won't become another one of those "SoftRAM" incidents like back in '95.

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Thu May 31, 2007 4:03 pm

Now that you say that, getting the Killer may not help as much as i thought. Now is it possible that updating Network Drivers would slow your internet? If so then I'll roll back my driver for it. I'm starting to look for a new one.

Post by **[RDH]Zerted** » Thu May 31, 2007 8:05 pm

Yes, bad drivers can boggle down your network card.

As for the kill cards:

killernic.com wrote:Prioritize your network traffic
Gets data to and from your game faster because Killer's LLR (Lag and Latency Reduction) Technology ensures your gaming data is prioritized above all other network traffic.

You can prioritize your gaming traffic (using QoS), but theres not much point unless you have other heavy internet traffic at the same time. Just close down any open net programs and it doesn't matter.

killernic.com wrote:Offloads Network Processing from CPU
Experience smoother game play during intense action as your gaming network card acts as a co-processor to ensure that your networking gets out of the way of your graphics and CPU.

Sure, but I don't expect the network processing to really boggle down the CPU.

killernic.com wrote:Lowers your in-game Ping
See your enemies a split-second sooner, and get your mouse-clicks to the server faster because Killer bypasses Windows to save precious milliseconds, giving you the competitive edge in first-person shooters.

Exact same thing as the above two quotes just worded differently for marketing.

killernic.com wrote:Game Securely and Download Files without Affecting Game Performance
Run your Firewall and Torrent Clients on Killer's 400MHz NPU instead of your CPU. The Flexible Network Architecture allows your game to run smoothly because your applications no longer need to run on your CPU. Download our SDK and develop your own!

Ok this could be helpful, but downloading/uploading will also take up memory and requires hard drive access. You shouldn't be file sharing while playing intense games.

killernic.com wrote:Plug and Play
Install the card, install the drivers, and the Killer NIC is ready to fight. No special patches, system manipulation, or game integration required – just plug it in and start playing.

Liers. NEVER plug in a PCI card while your computer is running. This is not plug-and-play in away way. You have to shutdown your comptuer, open the case, install the card, reboot, install the drivers (and maybe reboot again), then connect your network cable. Plug-and-play is plugging in a device while the computer is running and having it work automatically without any restarting or driver installing. You would be able to plug it in, pull it out, plug it in, pull it out over and over with no ill effects and have the device work every time.

The card would give you a slight boost in ping and fps, but being $170+ isn't worth it. I wouldn't pay more than $40 for it over a random network card, assuming my motherboard didn't have an integerated one. Of course, I didn't test the card so it may work really great. (Though, I'm not one for trying to squeeze out every fps)

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:00 pm

That's for the opinion Zerted!

I'm going to roll back my network driver soon, because the slow internet happened a little after i updated them.

EDIT after UPDATE: So rolling back my network drive worked. I'm back at normal speed. Going to download a few more videos from Gametrailers.com as my test. Thanks everyone!

Achronos-117 · Post by **Achronos-117** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:45 pm

I know this is a bump but I want to save some time making an entirely new topic.

My question is this: is there a windows vista game compatibiliy patch out there yet? I think I saw it once but then never again (Couldnt download it cause of my buggy update searcher)

Darth_Z13 · Post by **Darth_Z13** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:01 am

Some games that don't work with Vista normally, will work if you change the compatibility mode to Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:27 pm

Plus google or google news Falling Leaf Systems. They're making a program allowing XP users to play Halo 2 Vista and Shadowrun. And they should have LIVE working with it too.

swbf_lase · Post by **swbf_lase** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 12:48 pm

Is windows Vista still worth installing?

If it is, then I think I will give it a go...

Moving_Target · Post by **Moving_Target** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:17 pm

I guess. I still haven't ran into any bugs.
What do you plan on using it for and which version?

swbf_lase · Post by **swbf_lase** » Sun Jun 24, 2007 3:45 pm

Home Preiume or Business. I plan on using it for major programming projects *cough*Shadowhawk*cough*, and gaming.