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runningfool

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Posts posted by runningfool

    looking for a good replacement for explorer

    in Software Field

    Posted

    im sick of having to hide the taskbar, so im in the market for a shell replacement for explorer. i already use a rocketdock plugin to replace the start menu, so i dont need any "right click --> start menu" functionality. and i dont do anything in explorer more advanced than navigating folders or copying/deleting/moving files. ideally id like something more stable and less resource hungry than explorer is. and i run 64-bit xp so id probably need a 64-bit version of something. ive tried xplorer2 (too many features ill never use) and just about every blackbox variation (UGLY), but i just keep coming back to explorer.

    does anyone have any suggestions or know where i can find a list of decent windows shell alternatives?

    audio problems when using dvd backup programs

    in Software Field

    Posted

    how often do you defrag? i had an old laptop that seemed to go nuts every time i defragged (i used diskeeper at the time...but i know better now). after a day or so, the sound was fine again. maybe certain system files being moved around during defragmentation is messing things up?

    btw, my sound card is SigmaTel, so its not a problem exclusive to a single hardware manufacturer.

    Zune Drivers for 64-bit XP

    in Software Field

    Posted

    alright so im not really sure this is the ideal place to ask, but...

    a few weeks ago i bought a Zune (80GB) solely for the fact that it has widescreen and i figured re-encoded DVDrips would look nice on it. My only problem is that both the driver and software (released by Microsoft) do not support my operating system (64-bit XP). through a little bit of luck ive managed to get the zune software installed and working, but still havent found a working driver to get my computer to recognize my zune. ive tried looking/asking on various zune forums, but theyre filled with MS fanboys who have no idea what theyre doing and drivers that either used to work or never worked.

    so other than running 32-bit XP in VM or dual-booting, does anyone know how i could get my computer to recognize my zune? maybe someone knows how to get the drivers working?

    audio problems when using dvd backup programs

    in Software Field

    Posted

    my problem is simple...recently whenever i use RipIt4Me + DVD Decrypter + DVD Shrink to backup DVD's, audio playback sounds crackly (sort of how it would if there were high disk usage). but it only happens when im doing something involving DVD backup. the source files dont have to be on disk...they can be IFO's on the root of my drive that DVD Shrink is using to make an ISO. so i guess the problem may have to do with high disk usage. also, dvd decrypter seems to be taking much longer: what used to take Decrypter 20 minutes now takes well over an hour. lowering the process priority of dvd decrypter and dvd shrink does not fix the audio problem.

    but whats really confusing is my computer specs alone make it so this should not be happening:

    -200 GB 7200RPM HDD - literally a week old, tested for bad sectors and there werent any.

    -4GB 667MHz DDR2 RAM

    -Intel T7500 Dual Core Processor @ 2.2 GHz. Processor is not damaged, and other CPU-intensive activities do not effect sound quality.

    -nVidia GeForce 8600M GT

    -Windows XP Pro x64, disk gone through nlite to remove features and add all hotfixes, tested in VM and several "real" installs

    -all drivers have been checked to make sure they are up-to-date, and any new versions available were installed

    -paging file DISABLED

    -recently defragged using JkDefrag 64-bit version

    -all unnecessary services disabled

    -no spyware/rootkits/trojans/viruses/etc. scanned with AVG Anti-Spyware, Spyware Terminator, NOD32, Spybot S&D

    -BugOff, Spyware Blaster, Spybot S&D, PeerGuardian and Rogue Remover protection is enabled

    -the only non-critical processes running in the background are rocketdock and peerguardian, which means that unless im doing something on my computer, theres almost no processor or disk usage, and barely 200MB of memory being used.

    and there are only a few things ive done recently that i think could cause this:

    -defragged for the first time in a month (and somehow important files got moved around when they shouldnt have?)

    -as a test, disabled the event log, system event notification and com+ event system services. they have since been re-enabled (ive heard screwing with event log can be bad)

    -messed around with some settings in Group Policy Editor (maybe i disabled some kind of important disk caching feature?)

    -Installed a new version of Nero 8 Micro (8.2.8.0 somehow screwing with something?)

    ...........so basically im at a loss for what the problem could be. in the past, with the exact same hardware on the exact same OS, backing up dvd's went much faster and didnt screw up the sound. this isnt a HUGE issue (its not the end of the world for me to just avoid listening to music while im ripping dvd's) but it would be nice if someone knew what the hell i did and could tell me how to fix it.

    Post your Firefox look

    in Software Field

    Posted

    firefoxui6.th.png

    i removed the taskbar and maximized firefox for the most possible browser window. no toolbars, and anything i that i couldnt remove i compressed using add-ons. oh and the default firefox theme b/c its clean simple and functional.

    Firefox Ultimate Optimizer

    in Software Field

    Posted · Edited by runningfool

    umm ok...but how exactly does it work? if its just dumping most of firefox's memory to your paging file, then all youre accomplishing is significantly slowing firefox in exchange for a few megs of RAM. not only that, but i always disable my paging file and leave everything in memory. if it still works for me then the developers got really creative with prefetch or memory management.

    EDIT: program didnt do a thing for me. so its either trying to access a paging file i dont have, or it cant handle my custom SSE2 build of firefox :P

    [Desktops] January 2008

    in Graphics Showcase

    Posted · Edited by runningfool

    screenjan08oj7.th.jpg

    only things changed from last month are a few rocketdock icons, and of course the wallpaper. i may not have any widgets, gadgets, sidebars, etc...but then again this is what my task manager looks like:

    taskmgrfm0.png

    EDIT: desknewpl1.th.jpg

    ^new screenshot...THIS is the one im entering in the contest. after some digging around, i found these 2 cool docklets for rocketdock. and since i didnt need the ugly taskbar anymore, i got rid of it!

    Upgrading CPU

    in Hardware Field

    Posted

    Ya know I did just that (XP 64bit) just 2 days ago.

    Man it was nasty. Seemed alot slower than regular XP and wasn't customizable at all. Plus there was alot of wasted space time and resources with the 32 bit subsystem stuff they have in it. (Just to keep compatability with everything out there) Didn't work out well. If you got the time and the need you can get a trial of XP 64 bit and try for yourself but as my 2 cents go its in the trash bin of my mind now :D...

    I really have disliked vista but after getting this rig and trying a pre-integrated version of SP1 (I have an MSDN account) it seems like SP1 just MIGHT make vista worth it. So I would wait untill you can get SP1 final preintegrated disks for retail untill you go for vista.

    YOU DITCHED 64-BIT XP???? :crying_anim02: lets see, where to start...

    my laptop has a T7500 dual core processor and 4 gigs of RAM. i decided to switch to 64-bit xp because 32-bit xp can only detect up to like 3.5 gigs of RAM. also, a 64-bit OS is significantly faster with audio/video encoding tasks. which is good since i do a lot of...ripping dvd's and encoding them to my zune :icon_cool:

    and...wasted space? after using nlite to fully update my XP x64 disk (all updates, WMP11, IE7, nlite tweaks and removals), my disk is barely above 400mb. the only "wasted" space ive noticed is that theres a sysem32 folder and SysWOW64 folder (sepatates the 32 and 64-bit system files). i turn off my paging file, disable unnecessary processes, and watch windows FLY. then theres the fact that most windows-based security threats do absolutely nothing on x64, since all the important system files are 64-bit.

    btw, customizing windows resources is a pain, but it can be done. google "restorator 2007".

    [Desktops] December 2007

    in Graphics Showcase

    Posted · Edited by runningfool

    simplicity:

    33e8441313668.gif

    nothing has been cut off, this is my full screen. i didnt like the clock or the start button on the taskbar, so i removed them. the only process running that isnt absolutely necessary is rocketdock :pirate:

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