Some queries on what to install

[Paparazzi]

Hi folks...
Am sure someone can help me with all of this... though the last point may not relate to software..

I've just formatted my PC for the 5th time in the year (partly to have a clean slate) and each time, I've put in Win XP Pro. My PC is a PIII 550mhz, 512 cache, 384MB Ram, 15 + 6 GB Hardisks, a TNT Riva 32MB, Graphics card, ...

This time, I'd like to install just whats necessary and would like to know ...

1) Is the installation of Directx 9 really necessary? Not really a gamer (well... I'm 37 and dont play these kinda Computer games ) but my son plays some of those games that Id on't think is really graphics intensive... Mostly free ware stuff as I really can't afford paying for games that outgrow the kids at the pace they grow.

2) Do I really need to have the latest Graphics drivers or are the ones that come with XP Pro sufficient? Oh.. one problem I have here is that at statup, I see the card shown as 32MB, but when it gets to the OS, it only shows as 16. Put in the latest drivers... and makes no diff... Read somewhere that the RIVA does have this problem with XP.

3) Is there a way I can get rid of the Movie Maker... want to remove all the garbage...

4) Ok... this does not relate to Software... Like I mentioned earlier, I've got 2 hardisks. Each have 2 partitions... After the last format, I get the 2 partitions of the first disk showing as dirves C & E and that of the second disk D & F. Why is this the case? I mean, should it not appear logically as C & D and then E & F for Disk 1 and Disk 2 respectively? Is there a way I can get it back to how it was and should be viz C&D and E&F?

Will really appreciate help.

Cheerios

[AZImmortal]

1) installing dx9 probably won't be necessary if u don't play newer games, but if u're worried about installing things that'll take up unnecessary space, installing dx9 will just replace ur existing dx version (whatever that may be, i don't remember which ships with winxp).

2) installing newer drivers isn't necessary if u're not having problems with the drivers u use now, but can give performance boosts (not always, but it's what they strive to do). once again, if u're worried about hdd space, new drivers will replace existing drivers. i haven't heard about the 32mb/16mb problem, so i can't really help u there.

3) i don't think so.

4) go to Control Panel > Admin Tools > Comp Management, and click on Disk Management in the left of the window that pops up. ur disks and partitions will appear in the pane on the right. u can then right click on each partition and choose "Change Drive Letter and Paths".

[Paparazzi]

Thankyou so much AZImmortal

1) U mean, no extra files are going to be added??? Will it help with Music and Movie files??? I mean things like Winamp uses direct show, so, will that help boost clarity or give me mor features? Its version 8 that ships with XP and then 8.1 cameout almost immediately to fix something but does not ship with XP.

2) Yeah... some crazy problem... I had this problem and then put in the latest drivers... came up with nothing positive. I then did a search on the net to see if someone had faced the same kind of problem and saw that all with the TNT RIVA XP combination had it and that each one of them recommended not to buy the mentioned Graphics card... but then I got it for free from a my colleague in the IT department... Guess, I can't grumble after having it up from 8MB. Who knows... maybe it really is giving me 32MB as shown while booting up but just displaying it as 16 in XP (Is there a way to check it out?).

3...

4)... thank you so much for this in particular... was getting really bugged at seeing the order messed up

Thanks again and...
Cheerios

[AZImmortal]

np, glad i could be of service. round 2:

1) installing a new dx possibly (more like probably) takes up more space, but it'll probably be an insignificant amount. it's pretty much only for games and won't help with audio/video playback.

2) it says in ur advanced display properties that the card has only 16mb? if that's the case, u can try using SiSoft Sandra Standard and run the Video System Information module and see what that has to say about how much ram u have on the card (i'm not 100% sure the Video System Info module is in the Standard version since i use the Pro version).

3) i feel the same way...

4) i like my drives in a particular order as well, so i know what u mean.

if u need more help, u know where to post.

[rocky]

Wow thats a trip down memory lane the ole 32/16MB memory problem.

Now I'm not saying that im a 100% certain it is this but unscrupulous manufacturers used to program the bios to report that it had 32MB but when actually installing the driver it would read the true amount which is 16MB.

It was a means of saving money and ripping off customers.

The standard drivers that come with XP are performace crippled so you should really install the drivers go to Nvidia.com website and download them from their.

Your not really going to be able to trim XP down, Directx9 and windows media player9 and around the same size or only a few megabytes more than their previous versions. You can get by without WMP9 if you installed the WMP9 codec package, other than that no real need for it if you dont want it.

(you don't need DX9 though as their are no DX9 games yet available the majority of the stuff is DX7+DX8)

You can uninstall a few more bits from XP if you follow in the intrusctons from this link - scroll down to where it says add/remove Link

You'd do more performance wise by tweaking the services that run in the background.

As for the partitions well when you deleted the first two and it created them again it saw that one of the partitions already has a D: label and so created the next new partition after C: as E:

Go to the "control panel" and click on "administartive tools" and select "computer management" then select "disk management" and right click on any drive and select"change drive letter and paths"

[AZImmortal]

thanx rocky, but i already basically said all of that.

[Paparazzi]

Ok... So, now points 1,2 & 4 are settled... Got it all set (specially those disordered drives).

Sandra is coming in... bout 70% so far .... I use a dialup! And my wife was wondering what I had to do with Sandra ....

Anyways... will have Sandra take a peek and will get back with the result later in the day.

Thanks a lot to the two of you'll. Its people like you'll who helps us not to be scared to ask!

Cheerios

[ckin2001]

you can probably delete the movie maker directory.

there is a utility that does this on winME - i cant find one on XP yet.

[damiandimitri]

did you also install an add/troyan/dailer remover??

i never used it till i got this strange toolbar a few weeks ago.
COuldn't get rid of it...

Afther scanning my computer i had several other "dangerous" cookies etc on my pc.

[Paparazzi]

Originally posted by damiandimitri
did you also install an add/troyan/dailer remover??

i never used it till i got this strange toolbar a few weeks ago.
COuldn't get rid of it...

Afther scanning my computer i had several other "dangerous" cookies etc on my pc.

Whats that??? Or is that a reply that was to go into another thread?

Cheerios

[damiandimitri]

no..it was just an advise...you asked what software to install

or did you only want advise on the software you mention in your first post

[Paparazzi]

ah! ok! Thanks for the tip

Ok... I got Sandra to check the power of my vision (Graphice ) and she reported back with 16 :eek: so, I guess, a Co like the Nvidia does those cheap tricks too...

Well, Guess everyone is an opportunist.

Anyways, Thanks to all...

Cheerios

[rocky]

To clarify Nvidia doesnt do that and it was the manufacturers of the card who did. Infact I remember them saying that they introduced something into the drivers to always read the correct amount of memory no matter what the bios says when they heard what some manufacturers were doing. (probably unliscened manufacturer as well)

Nvidia only makes the chipset and their are many different makers of the actual video cards and no one could get away now with what was done then.

[ckin2001]

Originally posted by rocky
no one could get away now with what was done then.

LOLOLOL - oh my.

[damiandimitri]

didn't get that part........

[rocky]

ckin2001

Do you have some current examples of this type of fraud???

When the TNT2 was out their were a lot of video card makers besides ATI and Nvidia(e.g.S3,Pvr) and the market was still very young and people were more easy to dupe into buying shoddy or remarked products.

If any manufacturer like gainward or connect3d tried that today it would be all over tech sites so fast and face the wrath of ATI and Nvidia.

Well... do you have anything to back up your "Oh my" comment

[ckin2001]

Originally posted by rocky
Well... do you have anything to back up your "Oh my" comment

did you read anything about the 3dmark tests? simply because they are caught doesnt mean that they didnt do it.

the tnt was out 3 years ago ?

[AZImmortal]

at least 5 or 6 years ago for the original tnt.

just to clarify, u guys (rocky and ckin) are talking about different things :bigsmile: :

rocky's saying that nvidia's not to blame for card makers overreporting how much memory they have on their cards, which is true cuz they only supply them with the chipset and don't make the cards themselves.

ckin's right about fraud still going on, such as with the 3dmark tests and nvidia, but this is nvidia's action, not the card makers.

ckin: do u see the tire a lot in strongbadia? :bigsmile:

[rocky]

Edit:saw the above post, that explains things:

What are you talking about,

I'm talking about the fact at the begining of the 3D accelerator market their were lots of companies producing the various graphics cards based on the chipsets from the various competeing companies eg. ATI,NV,S3 etc and that some of those companies took it upon themselves to rip off their customers by falsely stating the amount of memory contained in the video card by programming the bios to display a higher amount that was actually present.

When Nvidia found out it was not happy and I remember them (i'll try and dig up a link but this was a good few years ago) responding to it in that they would make sure the drivers would always read the correct amount regardless of what the video card bios says and that it would go after the manufacturers which it did and I cetainly haven't heard of case of this kind since that happened and it was to the best of my knowledge confined to the TNT2.

It's also very difficult for this sort of thing to happen anymore because the market has gotten alot more mature and has polarized into two camps who both stictly control the flow of chipsets to their partners in manufacturing.

In fact the only thing remotely close to that kind of activity that still goes on was the remarking of Intel CPU's and none of these companies were official partners they were all grey market suppilers.

If you accusation is that because Nvida "optimized" for 3Dmark that means the must have been in league with this underhand practice... yeah right and so was Intel because it was infulencing BapCo's sysmark.

[ckin2001]

Originally posted by AZImmortal
at least 5 or 6 years ago for the original tnt.
ckin: do u see the tire a lot in strongbadia? :bigsmile:

//meant the tnt 2 - but i didnt type it

i just played the tire game in strongbadia - got bored around 100. the cheat is way cooler than the tire.