hardware recommendations for ToEE

- More memory installed is better for the game.
- Do NOT install an addon audio card if the computer already has audio.
- Definitely install a new addon video card, preferrably, a new AGP video card.
- If you previously tweaked the BIOS settings (not knowing why), reset the BIOS to the default settings, NOT optimal or other settings.
- Install Microsoft DirectX 9c.
- Use windowsupdates.microsoft.com site to have Windows update itself for CRITICAL and also HARDWARE updates, but NOT recommended updates.
- Optionally, you can search for and download and install the Bink RADtools and the Miles Audio System for Windows.
- If you have Windows 98, search for and download and install Diskeeper Lite version 7 (free) and run it before and after installing and patching ToEE, OR if you have Windows 2000 or Windows XP, use the built-in Disk Defragmenter before and after installing and patching ToEE.
- Use the NO-CD fix for the ToEE game.

 

Everyone loves useful freeware!..

Top 100 FREE Downloads - freewarefiles.com

 

Keeping Windows Secure
-> http://www.freewarefiles.com/news/showarticle.php?articleID=25
Submit Date: 01/12/2005 | Views: 4379 | Category: Articles & Howtos
By Christopher Walsh

Steps to making your computer secure and healthy
We have devised this important list of steps for Internet users in an attempt at keeping unwanted elements off of your computer. As a user of the Internet, your computer becomes an open door to spyware, virii, hacks and even backdoor trojans. This guide will ensure that your computer is safe from these harmful components.

Spyware:
As a rule, spyware is defined as software which is usually installed on your computer without your knowledge which collects all kinds of information from your computer and sends it back to a third party. Common occurances of spyware can happen when you install "adware" programs such as Kazaa which install another application which embeds its-self in your computers file system. The motives to including spyware in software is simply monitary. Many software developers which use this form of trickery make the bulk of their profit from third parties which pay for each installation.

Here are some excellent tips on completely removing spyware from your system:
Download Ad-Aware. This is probably the most useful utility on the market. A personal version is available as freeware and free to install on any system. Ad-Aware is available directly from Canadian Content.
Check other spyware utilities. To each his own, there are alternatives available to the most popular on the market. Be sure to check these if you believe there's something left on your system.
The best tip to avoiding spyware all together is downloading only the programs you trust. Never click "YES" when requested to install software from a web site unless you trust the source and you are expecting to receive the message.

Firewalls:
One of the most important steps on preventing attacks and PC hacking is installing a firewall. You could never imagine how much time and hassle may be saved by installing this simple utility. A firewall is a small utility installed on your system which prevents unauthorised programs from accessing your Internet connection. They are also useful for filtering out unwanted port-scans which test your computer for vulnerabilities. If an unwanted visitor want to do harm to your computer, a firewall is the most effective way in preventing it. We've compiled a list of firewalls available directly from Canadian Content. You are free to download and test them depending on your taste and level of computing:

Norton Personal Firewall. A commercial solution available to end-users. Effective and user-friendly.
Sygate Personal Firewall. A safe, yet advanced firewall solution. Sygate filters out most everything by default.
Download other firewalls. Canadian Content has compiled a comprehensive list of other firewalls available free for download.
We'd also suggest keeping your personal computer up-to-date. Microsoft Windows incorporates a more advanced Windows Firewall in it's lastest Service Packs, eliminating the requirement for other third party software.

Anti-Virus:
Virii have plagued the Internet for years and this year is no different. Each month, we witness an increased number of virii floating around email address lists and what was a growing trend in unwanted rubbish being installed from web sites profiting off of it. Thanks to the latest Windows Service Pack (2), the web site virii have been eliminated for a large part, but that doesn't stop the spread of virus-email and other forms of attack. With that, we'd suggest keeping up-to-date software on hand to detect, combat and prevent these outbreaks in exposing your computer to the insecurities of the Internet and the new-age script-kiddies.

Be sure to look at the following solutions:
AVG Anti-Virus. A free, personal anti-virus program which makes available all of the features of a full commercial anti-virus program available to everyone.
Norton Anti-Virus. A commercial solution with access to daily updates; automatically!
PC-Cillin House-call. A free online virus scanner which wipes your system clean of known virii and possible threats. Highly recommended.
Other Anti-Virus programs. Canadian Content has compiled a list of useful anti-virus utilities free for download.
Whatever you choose to protect yourself from virii, make sure they are all up-to-date and competent at detecting the most modern forms of virii.

Update Windows:
If you're a Windows XP user, you a most surely aware of the new capabilities offered which automatically keep your system like new. Unfortunately, some guides and web sites suggest turning off the default updates which supposedly slow-down your system. They actually don't, and use only a certain amount of bandwidth when updates do take place. If you're using a broadband connection, you'll surely never notice automatic updates.

Make sure your Windows stays updated, follow these steps: Goto your control panel through the start menu, select "System". From the box listing general details about your computer, hit the "Automatic Updates" tab. Make sure the automatic setting is setup for daily. This will ensure that each day your startup your computer, you'll have peice of mind. If you're not using the latest version of Windows XP, goto the Windows Update web site available at Windowsupdate.Microsoft.com.

Secure Browsers:
As my colleagues will often mention, Internet Explorer is not the safest nor the best browser currently available. Every week, there are more holes found in the software and while windows update will also keep Internet Explorer up-to-date, Microsoft does not document nor does it make public all security glitches. It's main rivals will often remind users that it's not safe to use Internet Explorer anymore.

Please, take a look around at other browsers. You might warm up to having the option of tabbed-browsing. Additional peice-of-mind is always refreshing. We've reviewed a couple, too:

Opera. Fast, free, handy. Three words describe Opera. Other nice features include the quick options of built-in popup blocking and also the option of remaining anonymous. It's also able to prevent ad publishers from getting surfing and browsing habits sent through http headers in Internet Explorer.
Mozilla Firefox. Open-source community-driven browser with tons of options, open secuirty features and the ability to filter out pretty much anything.
In any event, keep your chosen browser clean from malware and make sure you upgrade to the newest stable versions when they become available.

Conclusion:
By following the preceeding steps and choosing the best software available to you, you'll give yourself peice of mind in your daily online activities. The most important factor in making yourself secure is keeping up-to-date and surpassing the status quo. Make your life easier and less stressful by keeping your computer clean.

Article provided by:
Canadian Content Staff
Email: technology @ canadiancontent.net
http://www.canadiancontent.net/tech/

________________________________________

Here's what I posted previously...free scans!

FREE - Single file executable antivirus scanners
* Nothing is installed, they are programs that scan for viruses when run.

FREE - online Internet antispyware scans
* Check toward the bottom of the post of the link...look for "Alternately".

 

Thanks a bunch, Krunch! I have Win XP and 512 Ram--looking into what video card I have. I never intentionally tweaked any BIOS, nor am I ready to try to untweak one without a techie friend on the phone. But apparently my clock speed is off, giving me 1.15 Ghz instead of 1.53....
I shall disect your instructions and try to follow them, and is WinXP worse than Win98 second edition for slower processor computers? I know the old 750 Mhz with 512RAM system with Win 98 2nd edition used to run Very Sweet. I am wondering if WinXP is gobbling too much of this cheesy 1+Ghz processor...

 

Are you kidding me? Is there something really called TweakXP?

 

More RAM installed is always better when using Windows XP. You don't have to disable processes running on Windows XP, just install more memory. Windows XP is a total memory hog and works much better with more memory installed.

 

In reference to a post..."how to upgrade your system and loose everything.."...I replied:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uhm, can you say External USB2 hard drive? You could have copied your data to the External USB2 drive before the changes.

Also, if you had Acronis True Image Personal Edition for 50 US dollars, you could have made a digital snapshot image of the entire hard drive [all of the partitions] that could have been written to the External USB2 drive. And, then, you could have done your upgrade dual-boot where, after the Acronis software would have been installed on the new computer setup, you could use the Acronis software to "explore" the image file and copy data from the image to the new computer setup. Plus, if you decided you hated the new computer setup, you could have restored the image back to the hard drive and overwritten the new computer setup and have your computer back to exactly where it was before you started.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plain and simple, an External USB2 drive is awesome and can prevent grief.
83.99 US $ Western Digital Essential WDXUL800BB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive - Retail
-> 80GB 7200 RPM 2MB Cache

 

-> Acronis True Image

Acronis True Image 9.0 now includes the disk cloning and disk deployment capabilities. If your hard drive is full, Acronis True Image will help you to quickly and easily deploy a new hard disk on your PC — migrating all data, operating systems, programs, software patches and updates, configuration files, preferences, e-mail and everything else automatically!

> Clone an old hard disk drive to a new one
> Install new hard disk drive as a boot disk or as an additional storage device
> Re-deploy old hard disk
> Resize transferred partitions to match new hard disk size*
> Create, copy, move, and delete partitions
> Securely clean and wipe old hard disk

!!! also writes image files it makes to network drives and usb drives, not just hard drives in a computer
!!! can make and use a bootable WindowsPE CD disk with its own operating system files

 

Windows XP memory requirements according to a memory module manufacturer
________________________________________

Administrative and Service Personnel
* Light to Medium: Word processing, email, spreadsheets, fax and communications, Internet = 128MB to 256MB
** Medium to Heavy: Complex documents, running multiple applications, business graphics, presentation software = 256MB to 512MB

Executives and Analysts
* Light to Medium: Proposals, graphic presentations, project management, databases, Internet = 128MB to 512MB
** Medium to Heavy: Statistical applications. large databases, complex presentations, video conferencing = 256MB to 1024MB

Engineers and Designers
* Light to Medium: 2-4 color line drawings, multimedia presentations, photo editing, web development, sound editing = 256MB to 1024MB
** Medium to Heavy: 3D CAD, animation, complex photo editing, real-time video, digital imaging, solid modeling = 256MB to System Maximum
________________________________________

memory types: taken from http://www.geeks.com/pix/techtips-JUL28-05.htm

SDRAM, or Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory, is a few generations old at this point, but may still be found in a good number of computers. This type of memory is/was available in approved speeds of 66 MHz, 100 MHz, and 133 MHz, and was sold based on these speeds ratings, ie. PC66, PC100, and PC133. SDRAM for desktop computers features 168 pins for electrical/data transfer on a module measuring roughly 5 ¼†long. SDRAM for notebook computers features 144 pins for electrical/data transfer on a module measuring roughly 2 5/8†long. SDRAM could be found in early Intel Pentium and AMD K6/Athlon systems.

RIMM (Rambus Inline Memory Module), also known as Rambus or RDRAM, was a format launched by Rambus as a successor to SDRAM. The rating for RIMM memory is based on the maximum theoretical bandwidth (in MHz) and included speed ratings of 800 MHz, 1066 MHz, 1200 MHz, 1333 MHz, and 1600 MHz. Early Intel Pentium 4 processors adopted the technology, but that was about the extent of RIMM’s desktop popularity. Some server applications and home electronics devices (such as the PlayStation II) also utilize RIMM memory, but DDR memory was launched at about the same time and eventually stole the show.

DDR, or Double Data Rate SDRAM, was the follow up to SDRAM which is still in use today. The ‘Double’ part of DDR comes from its ability to transfer twice the data of an SDRAM module operating at the same speed. This is accomplished by the fact that DDR technology can send data on both the rise and the fall of a clock pulse, while SDRAM only sends data on the rise. DDR is marketed much like RIMM, as it uses its maximum theoretical bandwidth (again in MHz) to describe the various speeds available. Standard speeds of DDR include PC1600, PC2100, PC2700, and PC3200. The bandwidth can be tied directly to a memory clock speed, with the following correlation: PC1600 – 100 MHz, PC2100 – 133 MHz, PC2700 – 166 MHz, and PC3200 – 200 MHz. Many times, these speeds are referenced by a DDR rate instead of these straight clock speeds, so PC3200 would actually be called 400 MHz DDR, for example. Non-standard DDR may be capable of much higher speeds, and products carrying ratings such as PC4000 or PC4400 are readily available. SDRAM features 2 notches, while DDR features 1 notch at a different location.

DDR-2, or Dual Data Rate Two SDRAM, is the second generation of DDR memory and is just now reaching a price and performance level to make it more viable for mainstream computer systems. DDR-2 provides almost double the (theoretical) data transfer as DDR, but it still sends data on the rise and fall of the clock pulse. The improvements are achieved through an increased number of memory buffers, lower electrical consumption, improved physical design, and an improved prefetch. The problem with most present DDR-2 is that these improvements are wiped out by a higher latency within the memory, and the actual improvements over DDR at the same speed may only be 5% or so.

 

XP SP2 affects using IE

thanks to snapfiles for content I put in a PDF file, attached at the bottom of this post.
-> snapfiles.com/xpsp2_downloadchanges.html

refer also to my previous post Pop-Up Blocker

PS: enjoy!..

 

Internet Explorer Overview

Windows XP Service Pack 2: What's New for Internet Explorer and Outlook Express

 

talking about memory and what correct memory module to buy for your computer

****************************************

Crucial website information
Crucial memory tool ... what memory to buy
-> Crucial Memory Advisor Tool
* Notice there is a drop-down menu to search for memory by motherboard manufacturer

-> What does all this technical stuff mean? [non-ECC, CLn, etc. technical terms for memory types]

****************************************

Kingston website information
Kingston memory tool ... what memory to buy
-> Kingston Memory Configurator
* Notice there is a drop-down menu to search for memory by motherboard manufacturer

Kingston HyperX memory - hi performance memory
-> HyperX is available in both single channel and dual channel memory kits
!!! FSB333 and slower Intel/AMD P4 motherboards use single channel DDR RAM only. !!!

****************************************

Corsair website information
Corsair memory tool ... what memory to buy
-> Corsair Memory Configurator
* Notice there is a drop-down menu to search for memory by motherboard manufacturer

****************************************

[EDIT] PS: For example, if someone has a HP Pavillion XT919 desktop computer, use the memory configurators to search for XT919 to generate search results--the Kingston configurator returns
KTH-PVL100/256
for 256MB RAM modules, the maximum size of memory module in a XT919 computer. From the search results you can do one of three things.

(1) You can buy the memory directly from the memory configurator web site.

(2) You can copy the memory model name, for example - an XT919 desktop, copy and paste
KTH-PVL100/256
to the search field on the pricewatch.com site memory page and choose the least expensive reseller company who has the memory you want to buy.
* Personally, I like pricewatch.com. You can use pricegrabber.com or other common, safe sites.

(3) You can google or yahoo a search for a company that sells
KTH-PVL100/256
memory.
* HINT: For a google search or yahoo search, add the word cheap to your google or yahoo search.

****************************************

 

Knowledge Base - building systems

-> detailed how-to articles for system builders

 

Another RAM memory tool to learn what memory module to buy

Note: Check Post # 88 for another computer memory tool