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March 2002

Tuesday, March 26, 2002

GeForce4 Ti 4200 In April Nine11 @ 9:08 Comments

G-Spot got word from Nvidia the elusive, yet sexy in a cheap kind of way, GeForce4 Ti 4200 will be shipping by the end of April. It's the same as the GF4 Ti 4600 and GF4 Ti 4400, but a little slower. I'd expect the $200 4200 to be the next bang-for-the-buck card, and for companies like Gainward to pop off Golden Samples with faster memory and stock OC'd speeds which will get yer geek-blood boiling!

IWill KK266+R Problems Cage @ 5:24 Comments

Well, tuck another one under the belt.

That Shafter system with an iWill KK266+R motherboard is fixed - finally.

Here's how it went -

John and I showed up at the Shafter school, and found out that one of the systems that I had built using an IWill KK266+R motherboard (w/AMD Athlon 1.1 GHz cpu, 256MB RAM, GeForce2MX-200 video card) wouldn't even Power On and Self Test.

After ruling out connection problems to the monitor and power supply, I proceeded to swap out parts with an identical system sitting next to it. Power cord - nope. Monitor - nope. Video card - nope. Memory - nope.

I took the system home, and started swapping out parts there. CPU- nope. Clear the CMOS/BIOS - nope.

Resigned to the possibility it might be the motherboard, I stopped by Computer Renaissance and picked up a new MSI K7T Turbo 2 motherboard.

I got home, replaced the motherboard, and tried again. Nope. Nothing. Nada. It wouldn't even POST. Getting a bit suspicious, I swapped the power supply out with a 350W Enermax power supply. Brett had an entire system pretty much die when a power supply went out on his Dad's computer.

I installed the brand new Enermax PS, and the board still wouldn't POST. It was getting power, since I could see the CPU fan spinning.

After doing a Google search, and doing some reading about similar problems I remembered that the MSI board comes with a bracket which has an LED display showing error codes (along with some extra USB plugs). I stuck the LED back plate in, and connected it to the motherboard. Crossing my fingers I turned the system on, and of course once again it wouldn't POST. The LED display was frozen with the very first check, and all 4 lights were on. According to the K7T Turbo 2 manual this indicates, "The D-LED (diagnostic indicator) will hang here if the processor is damaged or not installed properly."

Ok, so it might be a CPU problem after all. Sure, maybe I'd cracked a core, or it had over heated. Once again I swapped the CPU out with one of my older systems, which had an identical Athlon Thunderbird 1.1 GHz CPU.

Nope, same problem. No POST, nothing.

Argh!!

After beating my head against the wall, I decided that maybe the new MSI motherboard had been Dead On Arrival. I'd swapped everything out and in several times, and that was the only component that might be defective. So last night I went back to Computer Renaissance, and exchanged it with another MSI KT7 Turbo 2 motherboard.

Being the suspicious sort, I decided that before I opened up the new motherboard I would once again try to use the IWill KK266+R motherboard. I don't know why, but I had a hunch that maybe the power supply had been the problem before when it had failed in Shafter.

I hooked things up, and voila! The System POST'd successfully. Whew! Ok, now I had something. From here on out it should be pretty straight forward, right?

Well, that was only the beginning.

My first problem was that my Microsoft IntelliEye USB mouse would not work. I checked, and nope, the USB port in the BIOS was not disabled.

I removed, and re-installed the mouse under Windows(Me). Nope, no go. Windows would find the mouse, but the mouse pointer would not appear.

Well, maybe the USB ports needed to be re-installed I thought. Nope, no go.

Hmmm....

Ok, so now what?

Once again I got a little bit suspicious. I recalled from my first battle with the IWill KK266+R motherboard that the USB implementation seemed to be a bit flaky. Ok, a lot flaky. Numerous posts on the Usenet newsgroups about USB problems came back to mind. The IWill board ships with the USB ports disabled by default in the BIOS, that's how flaky it is.

So here's what I did.

1. I removed the USB mouse entry in the Windows ME Control Panel/System applet.
2. Next, I removed the entries for the USB hub and devices.
3. I shut down my system.
4. I re-booted the system, entered the BIOS setup screen, and enabled only 1 of the 2 USB ports, and shut the system down again before booting to Windows.
4. I stuck an adapter on the end of my Microsoft USB mouse, and connected it to one of the PS/2 ports.
5. I powered up the system, booted to Windows, and the mouse was back.

Ok, at least I could live with that. Sure, the mouse should work with the USB port, but at least it was working.

Getting brave, I plugged in another USB (Logitech digital) mouse, and low and behold it worked as well!

Huh?

Ok, so maybe the USB port was working again.

I un-plugged the Logitech mouse, removed the PS/2 adapter from my Microsoft mouse, and plugged the Microsoft IntelliEye back into the USB port.

Amazing! The Microsoft IntelliEye USB mouse was working.

It appears that the USB ports do not get installed correctly if they are not left DISABLED the first time you boot into Windows. At least under the set of circumstances that I faced in this instance.

Bah!

Ok, all was well, right?

Umm....No.

That would have been too easy.

The Windows display was set to 256 colors. No, it wasn't in SAFE mode, it just had been set that way, probably from one of the kid's games that was on it at school.

No problem, I thought. I brought up the Windows desktop display properties, and clicked on the "Settings" tab.

*CRASH*

The monitor went black, and the system hung. I had to do a cold re-boot to get back into Windows.

Well, maybe it was just a fluke.

I tried it again.

*CRASH*

Once again, the monitor went black when I tried to click on the "Settings" tab.

Hmm.... "Well, maybe the video card was damaged when the power supply went bad," I thought.

I pulled out a GeForce2 GTS from one of my systems. I plunked it in, and booted back into Windows.

The card was detected quite nicely, and.....Yes, YES, YES! Now I could get into the "Settings" tab without the system crashing.

Life was looking up. It was a bummer that the video card might be bad, but at least the system was looking pretty good.

Next, I went into the Advanced tab under the Windows Display/Settings tab.

Yep......

*boink*

At least this time all that happened was that a Windows error box popped up, with some message about a program crashing. Well, no biggie, I thought. I had swapped in a different video card. Maybe the drivers were just a little bit flaky now.

Next I moved on to checking out the sound. I hadn't heard the Windows startup sound, and that bothered me a bit.

I quickly found out that while the onboard sound was enabled, it wasn't working under Windows.

I checked the motherboard on-board enable/disable Audio jumper, and it was set correctly. I un-installed and re-installed the audio device under the Windows System/Device manager, and still no go. The D*! thing would recognize the device, install the drivers, but the sound was not enabled under Windows.

After spending some time looking at the Windows sound settings, it became quite clear that Windows would not let me select and enable the on-board sound.

Once again I went back to Google, and searched for some help in the newsgroups and Web. I came across this site - http://www.x-faqtor.com/KK266.htm - which has an excellent FAQ about the IWill KK266 motherboard. I found some new drivers for the on-board sound, and tried them out.

Nope, no luck. The setup program appeared to crash, with another error message about some .dll program.

"That error message looks familiar!” I thought. That was the same one I got when I went into the "Advanced" settings for the video card.

I went back to Google, and plugged in the name of the program that had crashed - "rundll32."

The second search entry pointed to a Microsoft support page - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q138835.

Ok, that sounded promising. I followed the simple instructions, and re-booted Windows.

Woohoo! I had sound.

Not only that, but also no more error messages for the video card Advanced Settings tab in Windows.

Getting a bit cocky, I went ahead and swapped back in the GeForce2 MX-200 card that had originally been in there. It worked as well!

I shut down the system, re-booted, and everything still worked fine.

Next, I went to Windows Update, and grabbed some files for Internet Explorer security updates, and DirectX 8.1.

I'm happy to say that everything is working just fine now. The IWill KK266+R board is stable, and Windows seems to be solid.

So there you have it.

I'll take the system back to the Shafter school after a few days of testing. I have to work tonight in any case.

Wednesday, March 20, 2002

Age Of Mythology Web Site Launched Nine11 @ 6:17 Comments

In case anyone missed it, Microsoft has launched a web site for Age of Mythology. This will probably be the next big LAN game over at Cage's pad, which is both bad and good. The bad thing is AoM isn't too different from AoE, but the good thing is AoM isn't too different from AoE. Does that make sense? If you need some help, check G-Spot's multimedia archive for AoM.

DDR Optimization Guide Nine11 @ 6:05 Comments

Athlon OC has an easy to read DDR Optimization Guide, which should help anyone confused by BIOS geek-speak.

Sunday, March 17, 2002

That's Unreal! Nine11 @ 9:38 Comments

G-Spot got the scoop on a few changes for the next Unreal games. Basically, they're gonna call 'em Unreal Episode II and Unreal Tournament 2003, and they're ditching the multi-play for UEII. That kinda makes sense, but it also makes UEII a much less attractive game. Both are slated for a (late) summer release.

Saturday, March 16, 2002

Virtua Tennis PC Nine11 @ 9:49 Comments

I noticed DemoNews got the demo (go figure) for that good 'ol Dreamcast game, Virtua Tennis. Honestly, I've always been curious about VD... er... VT and almost bought a Dreamcast for $50 just so I could see what the big deal was. The cool thing about the PC version is network play. Can you say LAN Love? Keep in mind the game is like 46 hamster years old, so the eye candy may not be so sweet. I'm working this weekend, so I probably won't be able to give it a try for a few days.

Friday, March 15, 2002

Light Fan Mod Nine11 @ 9:40 Comments

bit-tech has a pretty cool Light Fan Mod. Even if you don't plan on doing something like this, it's rather nifty and worth a looksie.

CPU Tachometer? Nine11 @ 9:27 Comments

Now I've seen everything. Xoxide is selling an analog CPU Tachometer which hooks up through the serial port. I can't wait to see some kid with one of these mounted on his monitor along with a shift light which lights up when he needs an upgrade.

Tune-up, Tune-out Nine11 @ 9:15 Comments

I took the plunge last night and sweated through a system tune-up, which consisted of tweaking memory and overclocking. The whole ordeal took on a kind of Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde persona with the tweaked memory settings improving things a bit and taking a major nose-dive with overclocking.

Tweaking the memory settings was pretty easy. All I did was a quick search on Google to see what everyone else is pluggin' in, and copy 'em. Seriously, I'm not that big of a geek and couldn't give a rat's ass about the delicate intricacies of system memory optimization. The settings in bold are the ones I used:

Host Clock

Manual

4-Bank

4 Level

Then I screwed up everything by overclocking, and it took me about 3 hours to find my original combination of values in BIOS. I was able to POST at 1725MHz from a stock speed of 1530MHz, but booting to Windows was a pipe-dream. Lesser OC'd speeds would get me into Windows, but my system was too flaky and wouldn't play nice no matter how much Mega Head 'n Shoulders I used. Stability is King, so I set her back to the stock speeds.

In the end, my 3DMark 2001 SE score went from the 6900's to the 7200's. Not a big gain, but that's a little closer to my personal goal of 8000... which I never told anyone... because they'd laugh at me... I'm such a loser... I need a hug! Overclocking was a bit of a disappointment, but things are so much better than they were with my old system.

Thursday, March 14, 2002

I'm Baaaaaaaack! Nine11 @ 15:02 Comments

I finally got my cable modem working. Of course, it took a call to remind Time Warner them I've been waiting for a little digital love, so they told me to re-set my modem (unplug it & plug it back in) which seemed to do the trick. Wonder if that would've worked yesterday? Oh well...

I've been outta things for what could be called a couple of dog years, so I'm just gonna write off this past week. Our visitors, being smarter than the average bear, are probably on top of things anyway. If anything catches my eye from here on out, I'll post it.

My new puter is humming away nicely, which means it's about time to screw things up with a little system tuning and overclocking. Out the door, I'm getting a 3DMark 2001 SE of 6900 and some change, which is much better than the 2300's I was gettin' before. I don't really need to mess with things too much at this point, but curiosity is gettin' the best of me. If you don't hear from me, you know why.

Sunday, March 10, 2002

Road Runner Fall Down, Go Boom! Nine11 @ 3:50 Comments

I'll be offline till later this week because my cable modem seems to have taken a dive. There's been some road construction close to my home, and I think Terry The Trencher musta plowed my line. Time Warner said things will be spiffy sometime later next week. I'm already going through withdrawals...

Miracles Do Happen Nine11 @ 3:45 Comments

Miracles do happen because I got my case last Friday. Of course, the orientation of the blowholes was a little funky and So-Trick had to change things a tad. The top blowhole was cut as ordered, but the one on the side was swapped out for a hole cut in the side right where the power supply is. The hole exposes the fan, which is normally on the under-side of the PS, and pulls cool air from outside the case through the PS. Everything is finished off with black plastic trim and fan grills.

The finished product is pretty damn slick, and I'm over at Cage's pad sponging off after gettin' some of that good 'ol LAN Love. The other guys seemed to like it enough, so I guess the blood, sweat, and tears were all worth it... not that I'm showing off or anything... it's more of a function over form sorta thang. My pop and I installed the handles, which make it much easier to cart around, and stealthed the CD drive bay. I'll post more later this week.

In the end, So-Trick did their best to smooth out a bad situation. I got a better case-cooling design and a free Enermax 330W PS. Unfortunately, I still got everything late and popped a few veins in my head. I feel better about the whole situation, but there are plenty of other businesses which carry similar products and services. I'll have to do some serious soul-searching before ordering from them again.

Wednesday, March 6, 2002

The People Have Spoken Nine11 @ 11:27 Comments

Well, I got a few opinions about what to do with my dilemma at So-Trick Computers (look at yesterday's posting if ya missed it). Responses were pretty much in my favor, so at least I know I'm not off-base over the way this thing is playing out. The feedback generally landed like this:

The customer is always right (even if they're wrong) and I should take my business somewhere else.
Watch them and make sure the delivered product is kick-ass because they owe me that after everything that's happened. If it isn't, start complaining like an ex-girlfriend.
Hold out, hope for the best, and review the product.
I'm not a pussy... whew!

Well, I tried to cancel the order but got some static from the owner. He assured me the delivered product will be of the highest quality and he'd eat the cost if it wasn't... whatever that's worth. I'm left waiting and wondering if it'll show up on Friday.

In the end, I really hope So-Trick doesn't make me it's bizatch even if I feel like one already. Reviewing the product may let me vent a little, but it'll be really difficult to keep an open mind and be fair. Swinging by ResellerRatings.com is always another option.

Tuesday, March 5, 2002

Not So-Trick Computers Nine11 @ 11:38 Comments

I'm a little angry right now but, being a former business co-owner, I know exactly how not to handle a customer complaint. When there's a problem, you don't raise your voice and say "What!" and "What's your problem, dude?!" Basically, that's what happened when I called So-Trick Computers. I had asked about the status of my order this AM, was told it had been shipped, and they'd call me in 2 hours. After 3 hours, I called again and was told they had boxed the case and had it ready to go but still had to install the fans in it. Other than that, it was 80% ready to go. Er, okay. Of course, I didn't understand and said they didn't even process my order because it's just a case with fans.

That's when the owner, Robert Harvey, started his tirade, told me I didn't know what the hell I was talking about, how I shouldn't tell him to do his job, and that he was just gonna cancel my order and refund my money. Evidently, they had bothered to cut the blowholes and dropped the ball after that, which accounts for the "80% done" which he mentioned before... my bad. He really caught me off guard, and I made the foolish decision to let them finish the work and overnight the case to me if they'd cover the extra shipping charges.

The more I thought about the whole situation (missed order, inaccurate details about it having been shipped, the subsequent verbal abuse) the more I didn't wanna do business with So-Trick. I called back and asked if I could just cancel the order, which Robert Harvey refused to do because I had said "okay" to the overnight thang 5 minutes before. Damn, I would've canceled the first time if I didn't have that deer-in-the-headlights thang going on. Now, I'm supposed to have the finished product by Friday.

Honestly, I really wanted to do business with So-Trick because they have that professional touch to their web site and product line. They also have fair prices and a good shopping cart. Unfortunately, all that goes out the window when you get Robert Harvey on the phone and he becomes abusive and complains about how busy he and his brother are, how they are "60 orders behind", and about how they need to hire two more employees. Sorry, but that has nothing to do with my situation. In all fairness, he said he'd send the case and, if I didn't like it, they'd let me keep it and refund my money. I have no intentions of ripping them off, but I really hope something magical happens this Friday and makes all this madness go away.

In my younger days, I would've got on my soapbox and shouted at every web site I could think of warning them about these guys. I made a few mistakes, but I think it's a 10/90 split between myself and So-Trick. So, what would you do? Sit tight and hope things turn out okay, or get on the horn and rip 'em a new one? Lemme know what you'd do, or if you think I'm being a pussy, or whatever.

Sort-of Followup: Just to let you know my day wasn't totally shitty, a pal of mine dropped off $40 and I got an oil change and tire rotation on my truck for $2 (disposal fee) because they didn't get the right replacement center cap for one of my wheels. Now, that's customer service!

Friday, March 1, 2002

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet! Nine11 @ 14:15 Comments

I placed my order with NewEgg.com on Wednesday and got it today! Man, that was fast. Since I had ordered so many different components, I figured I wouldn't see them till next week. The packaging is top-notch as well, unlike Multiwave. Taking all into consideration (good prices, good packaging, speedy service), I'd have to say my first experience with NewEgg.com was pretty sweet!

Now, all I need is my case. Damn UPS Ground...