TheFirstMonk

Update: Install is not going well. Instead of installing video card drivers again, I updated Windows using Windows Update first so that I could make sure that wasn't the problem. After successfully downloading the necessary updates, the computer asks to restart. I say okay, and I get the BSOD again after the Windows loading screen with the green bar. Didn't even have to install video drivers to get it this time; this time, I update Windows, and it happens. I don't know what the problem is anymore. I went back to doing a clean install of Windows again. Here's what my plan is this time based on what you guys suggested and what I've experienced: Install Windows OS-done 1. After OS, install chipset drivers. 2. Install audio drivers 3. Install Realtek Lan drivers 4. Install Asus EPU 4 engine 5. Install Express Gate (These are all drivers that are listed in the motherboard manual. I'm installing all of them to be on the safe side, except for Norton antivirus, which I don't want or need.) 6. Install Asus Update BIOS Utility 7. Install Microsoft Directx9.0c(?) (There are more utilities, but I'm installing the Update BIOS utility, so that I can update BIOS from within Windows safely. The Microsoft Directx9.0c is just to avoid any problems with the video card.) 8. Install wireless adapter that will allow me to connect to Internet. 9. Activate Windows online(?) 10. Run Asus Update BIOS utility and download latest from ASUS website. 11. After restart, update Windows through Windows Update. Restart. If successful, then install video card drivers. If not, go back to system restore to beginning before audio driver installation. If necessary, I'll install the wireless adapter after the chipset installation. Install Asus Update BIOS utility. Then I'll connect to the Internet and update to the latest BIOS. Then install everything else, and then update Windows. I dunno, I'm feeling pretty lost here. Anyone else got a better installation plan? I only changed one setting in BIOS, which was the boot order priority (DVD drive first, HD after that, etc.) If everything still goes wrong after this one, I'll probably rip out the 2 GB of memory and replace it with the other stick that came with it. The memory shouldn't be a problem unless I'm supposed to go into BIOS and set the voltage; I left it to auto. If anyone has their own method of installing stuff, I'm open to hearing it, even though I might not be able to apply each step exactly since everyone has different components. I could use the help though.

Lol, I don't know what part of him throwing the shoe makes him look like a girl. I mean, it's not like there's a standard of throwing in this situation like baseball or softball. I'd give the guy some partial credit since he's throwing the shoes from end to end instead of side to side like a boomerang, which is why he probably threw them in an arc. And as for PChan's comment, out of that 50 shoe clip, I'd probably only be able to hit Bush 4 out of 50. And I probably would have accidentally hit the PM because of my lousy aim.

Lol, you got to be kidding me. No offense to us gamers, but I don't think performance enhancers are really necessary for something that does not require heavy physical exertion. At most, we rely on hand-eye coordination, which can be improved in other legitimate ways. (I hear Fatality runs because he claims it keeps his reflexes sharp.) It's not like we do this -----> when we play.

Just saw a short preview of this clip on the news. I was pretty sure it was going to end up here too. That journalist was whipping those shoes pretty hard. If he had more than a 2 round clip, he probably would have kept firing. "This is a farewell kiss, you dog." - quoted by one of the commentators in that youtube video as to what the guy was saying. And Dana Perino, press secretary, apparently got hurt too. Not quite the reception Bush was looking forward to from Iraq as he exits the White House...

Yeah, I remember the "**** in a Box" song with Timberlake, but I just didn't get why he has like 5 seconds of screen time as the janitor. He does sing a bit near the end, but I didn't see why his presence was necessary. I understand that they probably put him in there for fun, but it'd probably make more sense if he was paired with Samberg to do another song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffRGcvjAT94 Has anyone tried this for the boathouse finale? I remember playing this campaign with a couple gc members, and we always had trouble surviving (except for that one time we hid in the closet in the house). They'll probably patch the game later to prevent this exploit, but it looks like it works for now. Just posting this in case someone has trouble (other than me) in beating the Death Toll campaign on Expert.

Lol, yeah I watched this a couple days ago. Their singing style is what makes me laugh, not so much the lyrics. The Timberlake cameo is kinda random though.

Thanks for the suggestions. I rechecked that I connected a 6 pin connector to the video card (I did) and made sure it was attached firmly. There's only one connector that I can see on the card, and only one is required in the manual (I'm not using Crossfire or it would have required 2 connections). I also checked in my manual to see if there was an onboard graphics card on my motherboard; there wasn't. I also rechecked my 24 pin and 4 pin connectors like Norgman suggested, and they're all in there tight. I installed all the drivers for the devices that had exclamation points next to them in the Device Manager (except for the "standard graphics adapter," i.e the Radeon HD 4850), so those should not be variables anymore. I'm going to try updating Vista, but that will require me to install antivirus first (to avoid infection) now instead of the graphics drivers. I'm also going to have to figure out how to make a direct connection between my old and new computer since my wireless adapter on my old computer is not 64 bit capable; it only has 32 bit vista drivers available on the Internet, which doesn't help me much. So, my plan now is: find a way to make a direct connection between my 2 computers to access the Internet for my new computer to update Windows Vista, while a different adapter is ordered through the mail. Until that new adapter gets here, I'm probably going to be stuck tinkering with my new computer instead of actually using it. Thanks for the help though. I'm going to keep searching and losing sleep; so many, many possibilities as to how to fix this problem according to the Internet forums.

Hey all, I built my computer, and I booted it up last night. I installed Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit with SP1 without a problem. I set everything up in Vista, such as username and password, and I was able to shut down and boot up normally. Unfortunately, I can't seem to install the ATI drivers for my Radeon HD 4850 correctly. I installed the Intel Chipset INF drivers first from my motherboard support disc, then I installed the most recent ATI drivers for Vista x64 from their website. After installation, the computer asks to restart. I hit okay, and it gets past the Windows loading screen with the green meter that shows progress. Instead of booting to the welcome page where I type in my password and username, I get a blue screen; I try seeing what it says, but it always switches in under a second. I have to restart in safe mode and go to system restore to an earlier point. The blue screen only shows up after I install the ATI drivers and restart. This morning, I made a clean install of Windows Vista again (with formatting), but I haven't installed anything else yet. What do you guys think the problem is? I don't think it's my memory; I only have 2 GB installed for now until I update Vista so I can use 4 GB. I haven't updated to the latest version of BIOS yet either, although I planned on doing that after I install my antivirus software. Some of the devices in device manager have exclamation points next to them (including the "standard VGA adapter," which is probably my Radeon); I think one of them is for my USB mouse, another is for a USB flash drive I'm using to transfer programs from my old computer to my new one (small programs like CCleaner and cpu-z), etc. I'm thinking about trying to disable the audio since some people say that their 4850 has audio that interferes or something. I don't think I have onboard graphics turned on, although I can't seem to find that device anywhere, so it could in fact be on. I know that there was a hotfix for the 4850 in the summer or some time ago, but I don't know if I should install that and then install the newest drivers (?). It's not the PSU; there's more than enough to power my computer. I don't think it's due to overheating either since I haven't done anything intensive with it, and I haven't had the computer on for more than an hour. My specs: PC Power and Cooling 750W PS Intel Core 2 Quad q6600 CPU Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 Patriot 2GB ddr2 1066 ASUS P5Q SE PLUS motherboard Seagate 500GB HD LG 22x DVD Burner I'll post more info if I eliminate any other possibilities. I'm going to try installing the chipset drivers from the ASUS website and then retry installing the ATI drivers, but I don't think that will solve it. Thanks again for helping me build my computer, guys. Hopefully, I can get past this driver installation mess and actually use my new computer...

It's a good thing that people are spreading this news to show how ridiculous her letter is... she might have moved on to libraries. "Books aren't supposed to be free."

WEP- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy WPA- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Protected_Access I don't know much about WEP and WPA myself except that as dweezil says, I know that WPA is stronger than WEP.

Second trailer for Watchmen: http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/watchmen/ Kind of ambivalent at this point. Rorschach's line, "An attack on one is an attack on all of us" I don't recall from the book (there's another line at the beginning of the trailer with the Comedian that I believe is added, but it doesn't bother me as much), which leads me to believe Snyder took it from NATO: "The [North Atlantic] Council agreed that if it is determined that this was an attack directed from abroad against the United States, it shall be regarded as an action covered by Article Five of the Washington Treaty, which states that an attack against one ally is an attack against them all." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/am...-us-669200.html No doubt Snyder seems to want to invoke a post - 9/11 atmosphere in some way, although I hope he doesn't force it like he did in 300. POSSIBLE SPOILER: I also hope he understands the comparison between what happens in the book and what has happened in real life events of recent memory is what makes that line "An attack on one is an attack on all of us" ridiculous, at least in an ideological sense, which is something I think Alan Moore would have pointed out. Considering that it's just a trailer, it's possible that Snyder does know the fallacy of that remark and that the film may reflect that. END POSSIBLE SPOILER. Still, it looks like he's tried very hard to preserve visual aspects of the comic book (minus Nite-Owl's flabbiness) for the film, so he should be given credit for that. I'm sure most of us are waiting to hear how much of the dialogue is faithful.

Don't worry, Tracid. I'm not on that list either. You can be on my list though... COOL PEOPLE THAT PLAY L4D AND ARE NOT ON VOODOO'S LIST: TheFirstMonk Tracid Anyone else who is cool and plays L4D.

Thanks for the tips, guys. I did do a lot of touching the metal part of the case since I don't have a fancy anti static mat and such. I've installed everything (physically) at this point and made most of the connections to the power supply and to the motherboard. There's one or two connections that I still haven't done (a front USB cable that seemingly connects nowhere, an HD that has a third slot that I don't know what to do with, etc.), but I'll figure it out eventually. I'd like to turn on the computer soon after I make all the physical connections to find out if anything is defective. The problem is that I don't have an OS disc right now (I have a 32 bit Vista one, but I'm waiting for the 64 bit Vista disc that's coming through the mail). Is it possible to configure the BIOS and not install an OS right away? Or should I wait for the disc before turning on the computer? If I do turn on the computer and enter BIOS, can I shut off the computer safely after configuration (I've never updated or changed my BIOS settings on previous computers, so I don't know much about this)? Manual says I can shut off the computer by pressing the power button for more than 4 seconds as a "soft off" mode. On a related note, I'm looking at this to help me configure my BIOS settings: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-bl...-setting-it-up/ I have an Asus P5Q SE Plus motherboard, in case that's important information. I've read the manual, but there seems to be a ton of options that I don't really need or need to change. Here's some that I think would be important: 1. Boot up order- 1st device would be DVD drive, second would be HD? 2. Change voltage settings for memory- mine are for Patriot DDR2 1066 with 2.1v and a timing of 5-5-5-15. Or should I leave this to "Auto," so that it detects the appropriate settings? 3. SATA configuration-AHCI enabled (I'll be running a Vista of some sort, either 32 or 64 bit) I can't think of any other options that are extremely necessary for me to change. Can you guys think of anything? I won't be overclocking, so I assume I won't need to mess with a lot of the voltage options and leave those at default. Also, in what order do you update/install stuff? For example: 1. Start up and configure BIOS. 2. Save changes and exit BIOS. (Shut down?) 3. Install OS 4. Update BIOS through Internet (risking infection or virus through router) or update OS first? 5. Install various programs like anti virus or memory test/ core temp programs, etc.? 6. Install drivers for video card, monitor, etc.? I'm not really sure how to approach installation after option 3, so any clarification on what your experiences are would be really useful. I left out when to test memory or core temperature programs, so that could help too. Thanks for the help so far. If I run into any problems at startup or BIOS, I'll have to ask you all for your help again. Fingers crossed...

Hey, Got all my parts for my new PC. I was looking at tutorials online, like these: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-bl...ng-it-together/ http://www.davescomputertips.com/articles/..._computer_2.php http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com/ I've also been watching some youtube videos: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_quer...q=how+to+build+ I was wondering what kind of tutorials you guys would suggest, like online tutorials I could follow. I've read through the ones I've posted and watched some parts of the youtube videos, but I thought about checking with you guys first before I tried putting it together. Thanks for any help.

Cool. I'm pretty sure I still have a copy of XP somewhere. I might try your method instead. So theoretically, if I were to clean install using the retail upgrade version of Vista Home Premium 32 bit, and then request a 64 bit disc of Vista Home Premium from Microsoft using the key from my retail upgrade copy, they would send me a disc free (although with shipping and handling)? And I would just pop in the 64 Bit disc and upgrade? That's the impression that I get from this: http://forum.soft32.com/windows/Retail-32b...pict363820.html I bought most of my computer parts, and they should be here in the coming days. If assembly/ installation goes horribly wrong, I'll probably send it all back, but I think I'm learning a lot of stuff from you guys and from what I've read online.

That's awful. I bought only two things online on the Thursday BEFORE Black Friday just to avoid situations like that. Really unnecessary for someone to get hurt (or worse) shopping.

Heh, I played Versus Mode for the first time late Friday night. Fun stuff. Got off to a rocky start as Infected, but I think I'm getting the hang of them now.

I guess I'm a Silent Bob from the updated list; I do have a mic, I just don't really use it a lot (not even in Counterstrike). That's 3 personalities covered...guess I'm a noob for now until I learn to shake those bad traits.

Heh, thanks for that link, Preacher. Per gigabyte, that deal is better than the 500GB, but I didn't buy it because I'd be pushing my budget. Very tempting though... I was looking for a cheap Windows Vista Home Premium 64 Bit to buy and found this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...6-488-_-Product Is this a good purchase? I read that the OEM version does not allow any upgrades of the computer in terms of hardware, and it is non-transferable, meaning it can only be installed on one machine. If it's not a good idea to buy it, does anyone know where I could get a good copy of Vista Home Premium? Also, does this method still work? http://www.software4students.ie/How_To_Cle...VD-article.aspx I'm not advocating that I should try something like this *cough* , but I was wondering if it still works (according to the article, it does, but I feel better asking tech experts here. ) Thanks for any help.

Heh, imagine that "GPU" contraption on the paintball range... *Opposite team charges* "Fire Ultimate Paintball Cannon!" Battle ends in 5 seconds. Multiple bruises on opposing team member's bodies.

Thanks for the link to the Seagate HD; I've seen a couple 500GB versions and had no idea what to pick, lol. And thanks for the information on the CPU vs GPU argument. I think I understand it better now. As for your experience with the q6600, I'm wondering how it handles without overclocking. I'm afraid of voiding a warranty or something and generally do not want to push its limits for performance. I know the q6600 is the older type of quad core with more heat issues than the q9000 series, but that doesn't bother me so much. Would it still handle well without overclocking, or would I have to overclock eventually within the next 2 years (since I don't want to upgrade for at least that long) to keep up with the newer CPUs? Thanks for the help so far. Sorry if these questions seem irritating.

Lol. I like the last part- "Reloading!" And single player is just for getting familiar with the maps, anonymo; multiplayer is where we all hang out.

Happy Thanksgiving. Even if you feel down (like me) in general, there's got to be some things to be thankful for. Enjoy!

I think I'm more of a Dancing Dan by accident, but I do have some traits of Norman No Melee, like the fact that I shoot Hunters off of pinned Survivors most of the time. I also ended up in the "Dedicated To" category and needed some extra healing by teammates when I played with Shaft and Peeku today. In my defense, I had never played any maps other than the ones in the demo until now...and I didn't know we were playing on Expert until someone mentioned it.