Computer/Technical Help

I'm looking into a new graphics card. What's a good PCI-Express one that won't break the bank?

Basically I want to be able to play Doom 3. My computer has a dual-core 2.8gHz processor, and a gig of RAM. My video card now is a pretty basic Intel which may or may not be integrated. I haven't opened it up to check, but Gateway's website says it can have "up to 224MB of video memory." Does that mean with the existing accellerator, or am I unable to get a 256MB card?

Edit: I'm looking to spend around or a little more than $100. I'm poor.

If it's Intel, it's integrated no questions asked.

What are you willing to spend?

EDit: Your options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLis...Submit=Property

quote:

Originally posted by KrangIn that case, here's something you could try. Navigate to the Shell Icons registry key, then right click the Shell Icons folder and choose Export. Leave the "Selected branch" setting as it is, then save the file anywhere on your computer. Next, change the icons to your second icon set, then save the registry key again. Repeat the process until you have a .reg file for each icon set. Now, whenever you want to switch to a new icon set, just double click one of the files you saved, answer "Yes" to the prompt, and restart your computer (you may need to delete the icon cache again).

code: 1: HKEY_Classes_Root\AVIFile\DefaultIcon\

contains an icon for my icon set, and numerous other keys do as well. should i just export each one and keep them together, and run them as a group when i want to use an icon set? i think that would work.

in uninstalling one program, My Music and My Pictures icons returned to default. what were the keys to mod those?

edit: bah. the day my computer goes w/out problems is the apocolypse. i have a flash generated screen saver. now it won't run. says it can't find the file swflash.ocx . i tried reinstalling the program but it wouldn't let me uninstall, saying the same thing. so i uninstalled and reinstalled new versions of Flash and Shockwave player, and i still get the same problem. what gives?

OK, I'm going to splurge slightly and I think I'll go for a Geforce 6600GT or ATI x550.

I still have one question: My computer is advertised as having "up to 224 MB video memory." Would that be from the old video card or would that be a limit as to what kind of replacement card I could get?

quote:

Originally posted by NVWC2006 code: 1: HKEY_Classes_Root\AVIFile\DefaultIcon\ contains an icon for my icon set, and numerous other keys do as well. should i just export each one and keep them together, and run them as a group when i want to use an icon set? i think that would work.

Oops, I didn't know that your themes include filetype icons as well. Actually, you could just back up those keys, then use Notepad or another text editor to copy the contents of the new .reg files and paste them at the end of the appropriate icon set .reg file so that each theme will still be contained in one file.

quote:

in uninstalling one program, My Music and My Pictures icons returned to default. what were the keys to mod those?

Actually, the icons for those folders are not stored in the registry. Instead, they are stored in hidden files named "desktop.ini" within each folder. To backup and restore those, you could copy the desktop.ini files into a ZIP file for each icon set.

quote:

edit: bah. the day my computer goes w/out problems is the apocolypse. i have a flash generated screen saver. now it won't run. says it can't find the file swflash.ocx . i tried reinstalling the program but it wouldn't let me uninstall, saying the same thing. so i uninstalled and reinstalled new versions of Flash and Shockwave player, and i still get the same problem. what gives?

Make sure that you have updated Flash player for both your default browser and for IE (even if you don't use it). If that's not the problem, try searching your hard drive for swflash.ocx and copy it into "C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash". If that still doesn't work, go to Start->Run and enter this command:

regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\swflash.ocx

quote:

Originally posted by Mike OK, I'm going to splurge slightly and I think I'll go for a Geforce 6600GT or ATI x550. I still have one question: My computer is advertised as having "up to 224 MB video memory." Would that be from the old video card or would that be a limit as to what kind of replacement card I could get?

That refers to the old card, since non-integrated graphics cards almost always have RAM amounts in powers of 2 (64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, etc.).

It took a while, but I backed up all the keys and made one file from them. Now I can start making different Icon Sets, and hope that I can reset them to normal if neccesary ^^;;

On the flash thing, it didn't work. I found the file in some WINNT Uninstall directory, copied it over and ran regsv32 like you said, and it said that it was successful. But when I went to run the Screen saver, the same error came up. If it helps any, the C:\WINNT\system32\Macromed\Flash folder contains now swflash.ocx, Flash8.ocx, GetFlash (updater program) and GetFlash.exe.manifest

I restarting the computer and that didn't help either.

If you want new antivirus, avast and AVG Antivirus are both known as very good anti virus programs. Also, Zone Alarm offers a basic free firewall for Home computers.

I use a mix between ZoneAlarm, avast, as well as Spybot and Ad-aware (spyware and adware killing programs with links on the first page of this Topic), and have not had any virus, trojan, or spyware problems since I started using them.

They are large files, so if you don't have a broadband connection, it will take you some time to download. Also, you have to uninstall your original antivirus before installing avast or AVG, but that may give whatever virus you currently have free time to spread more.

Okay...I'm back with more mysterious prompts!



What is mcinfo.exe? I thought that it was odd that it didn't pop up in XP style....all I did was hit the x and I'm curently doing a virus scan now...seeing as how I got a prompt saying that the firewall stopped a virus, but it didn't quarentine it so I forgot the name of it...

I really don't think this DSL of mine is protected aganst anything and my firewall I alredy had on this thing is a total crap.

EDIT: BTW, I got it off of Livejournal if anyone's wondering so....it's not an ad or anything.

quote:

Originally posted by NVWC2006 On the flash thing, it didn't work. I found the file in some WINNT Uninstall directory, copied it over and ran regsv32 like you said, and it said that it was successful. But when I went to run the Screen saver, the same error came up. If it helps any, the C:\WINNT\system32\Macromed\Flash folder contains now swflash.ocx, Flash8.ocx, GetFlash (updater program) and GetFlash.exe.manifest I restarting the computer and that didn't help either.

One last suggestion you could try is to copy swflash.ocx to the same folder as the screen saver itself. If none of those solutions worked, that unfortunately means that your version of Flash is not compatible with your screen saver. First, see if there is an updated version of the screen saver from the place you downloaded it from. If not, you could also try uninstalling Flash and installing an older version (5.0 or lower), although that may break compatibility with other programs or sites that use Flash.

quote:

Originally posted by Green_Bird Okay...I'm back with more mysterious prompts! What is mcinfo.exe? I thought that it was odd that it didn't pop up in XP style....all I did was hit the x and I'm curently doing a virus scan now...seeing as how I got a prompt saying that the firewall stopped a virus, but it didn't quarentine it so I forgot the name of it... I really don't think this DSL of mine is protected aganst anything and my firewall I alredy had on this thing is a total crap. EDIT: BTW, I got it off of Livejournal if anyone's wondering so....it's not an ad or anything.

Mcinfo.exe is part of your virus scanner, although it looks like some of its files are not installed properly or are corrupt. If you still have the original installation disc, try uninstalling everything related to McAfee, then install them again from the original disc (be sure to update your definitions afterward).

Yeah, that didn't work. and i need the new flash.

it's weird. i can go to the screen saver's folder, and run the flash file, and it works fine. but i can't run it as a screen saver.. is there another way just to make a flash file run full screen as a screen saver?

quote:

Originally posted by Krang Mcinfo.exe is part of your virus scanner, although it looks like some of its files are not installed properly or are corrupt. If you still have the original installation disc, try uninstalling everything related to McAfee, then install them again from the original disc (be sure to update your definitions afterward).

The thing is....I use Norton and McAfee was on here when I got it and it's still running in the background....that's the only thing I can think of as to why it would pop up. But I did everything within my knowlage of computers to stop it from doing that, and yet it still runs (I posted about that a while back I do belive...)

quote:

Originally posted by NVWC2006 Yeah, that didn't work. and i need the new flash. it's weird. i can go to the screen saver's folder, and run the flash file, and it works fine. but i can't run it as a screen saver.. is there another way just to make a flash file run full screen as a screen saver?

Oh, I assumed that the flash file was embedded into the screensaver, but in that case, it's easy to fix the problem. There are several programs that will allow you to use a flash file as a screen saver, so you can just download one of those and point it to the .swf file.

quote:

Originally posted by Green_Bird The thing is....I use Norton and McAfee was on here when I got it and it's still running in the background....that's the only thing I can think of as to why it would pop up. But I did everything within my knowlage of computers to stop it from doing that, and yet it still runs (I posted about that a while back I do belive...)

Oops, I forgot that you mentioned that earlier. Did you try both suggestions that I mentioned last time to remove any remains of the previous virus scanner? If so, try going to Start > Run and run the command:

services.msc

In that list, look for anything related to McAfee or Network Associates. For each entry, double-click it and click the Stop button. After that, set the Startup Type to "Disabled" and click OK.

quote:

Originally posted by Krang Oops, I forgot that you mentioned that earlier. Did you try both suggestions that I mentioned last time to remove any remains of the previous virus scanner? If so, try going to Start > Run and run the command: services.msc In that list, look for anything related to McAfee or Network Associates. For each entry, double-click it and click the Stop button. After that, set the Startup Type to "Disabled" and click OK.

I disabled everything and yet....it still pops up saying I need to update....I did everything you said and it still runs.....so I really don't know what do do....

quote:

Originally posted by NVWC2006 If you want new antivirus, avast and AVG Antivirus are both known as very good anti virus programs. Also, Zone Alarm offers a basic free firewall for Home computers. I use a mix between ZoneAlarm, avast, as well as Spybot and Ad-aware (spyware and adware killing programs with links on the first page of this Topic), and have not had any virus, trojan, or spyware problems since I started using them. They are large files, so if you don't have a broadband connection, it will take you some time to download. Also, you have to uninstall your original antivirus before installing avast or AVG, but that may give whatever virus you currently have free time to spread more.

Thank for telling me , I finally downloaded AVG Antivirus after it took 2 hours to download. I'm in the installing process and it's asking me for the License Number and it said that it might be sent to your email wich in no way I gave my email so I don't know how to deal with this and I have to do this fast or else this computer is set to crash with the Trojan Virus that's inflicted inside the Hardrive.

OK, so I got a new video card. Yay, CompUSA had it for $20 off.

But one problem: It's a little blurry. Text is straining my eyes.

Edit: Nevermind, changing it to 75Hz fixed it.

It may also be due to the fact that some cards like to apply a hideous filter to your screen, usually interpolation... May want to look that up in your card options and axe it.

quote:

Originally posted by JAYCZero Thank for telling me , I finally downloaded AVG Antivirus after it took 2 hours to download. I'm in the installing process and it's asking me for the License Number and it said that it might be sent to your email wich in no way I gave my email so I don't know how to deal with this and I have to do this fast or else this computer is set to crash with the Trojan Virus that's inflicted inside the Hardrive.

It's possible that you downloaded a pay-for version of AVG on accident.

To be more specific, the 30 day free trial of AVG is the file http://www.grisoft.cz/softw/70/filedir/i...71t_371a669.exe

30 day trial sounds sorta crappy, though, you'd probably have to reinstall it once a month to make sure it stayed active.. avast offers free service by the year, you simply give them an email and they'll send you a free code. you just repeat it once a year to continue their free service.

i downloaded avast while i was on dialup and it took a long time, though i don't remember how long. but i think it was smaller than the 21 megabytes that AVG is.

quote:

Originally posted by Green_Bird I disabled everything and yet....it still pops up saying I need to update....I did everything you said and it still runs.....so I really don't know what do do....

First, please double check that you have tried each of these:

• Uninstalling everything related to McAfee and Network Associates through Add or Remove Programs on the Control Panel
  
• Running "msconfig" from Start > Run and unchecking everything related to McAfee and Network Associates on the Startup tab
  
• Running "services.msc" from Start > Run and stopping/disabling everything related to McAfee and Network Associates

If you have already tried these, try rebooting into Safe Mode, then looking under C:\Program Files for a folder related to the old virus scanner (probably something similar to "Network Assoiciates" or "McAfee"). Try renaming the folder to something else (that way if anything goes wrong, you can boot into safe mode again and change the name back). If it works and no other problems show up, it's safe to delete the folder.

lol all those programs stick their logo really big in front of the animation. but now that i know such a program exists, i can look for it myself.

is there a way on Windows Media Player 10 to set it so when you put a CD in, that a picture of your choice from your computer is the album picture displayed?