My NSWP (new system welcome package :woot:) has arrived today, it looks like this:

http://img843.imageshack.us/img843/6821/img0937l.jpg

Once the new rig is here, no SBP for me in the following weeks, I assume. :D

Now I just need a new chess program, but I am not sure that I like these new menus by Microsoft, what are they called in English? Ribbon menus? Also, I do not like the trend with Chessbase to now have two engine versions (single versus multiple CPUs, the latter costing twice the money, almpost 100 Euros), and selling the opening book separate: another 30 Euros. Maybe I just stay with the old software I have. If it becomes something new, it most likely will be the new Hiarcs or Rybka. But only if I do not need to invest into a new wheel.

Any recommendations for a good but not too expensive FFB wheel? The G27 is not acceptable for me (pricing). Something in the 90-150 euro range, please. Not many PC wheels seem to be around anymore, but some PS3-wheels that claim compatability with PC via new drivers. Example wopuld be the Logitech FF GT. Good one? Alternatives?

In this day and age having a computer with only 1 hard disk is incomprehensibile. You should have bought 2 hard drives and put them in raid 1. At least if one of them goes kaput you still have your system going strong and can later add a new disk and mirror automatically.
In this way there is no need to backup your data on an external hard drive.

Whoops ArmA 2 Combined Operation! Make sure to try ACE 2!!! Won't regret it a bit! :yeah:

Shogun 2 Total war is not bad either if it's your thing. Probably not because sim is your thing and Total War is not a sim. :DL
Ext HDD is much safer for keeping backups as it's not always connected imo!

Right that.

However, there is a small chance a second internal drive will be added later in case I find that I have compatabolity issues with FS9 or GTR2. The second drive then becomes an XP boot. If there is no need for a separate XP boot, I do not need a second itnernal drive. That simple! To have a second drive just because it is en vogue, is no argument for me.

Then you have misunderstood what raid 1 is about. Its not about having a backup, its about redunduncy so that when one of the hard drives fails you can still use your computer. With only 1 hard drive, if it fails you're going to be without a computer even if you have a backup on an external disk. :smug:

Rescue or windows disc after having mounted a new drive. Indeed the volume image function of W7 does exactly that - I have tried it out just three days ago on the W7 laptop of a friend of my parents. First it created an image to an external HD, then it burnt a rescue disk.

Exactly. And from the moment the hard drive fails to the moment you install a new fresh drive your computer is down. See, with a raid 1 you wouldn't have to take down your pc, just take out the failing drive and put in a new one, all the while your pc is still working. No downtime.

And if you're worried that raid 1 doesn't work with xp don't. I have xp, and its installed in a raid 1 configuration with multiple partitions. I've had it since 2006, and in fact 1 year ago one of the drives went bad. No problem I still continued to use the computer while the new drive arrived. And then took out the failed drive and installed the new one. The system continued working and remade the raid 1 in the bakground automatically.

Believe me motherboards supporting raid 1 (even without a dedicated hardware controller) is one of those thing that make computing less stressing in case something goes bad. Not using this feature, with drives that cost pennies these days is just a bad tactic.

The issue I rate as more liekly than hardware failure, is malware. and to have both drives permanently connected to the systems meas that if you detect a malware on one drive,m you cnanot trust the other any more.

And there you are in need to copy back a backup from an external source with an image, and manually copy all changed datafiles since the image was created.

I don'T know how fast Windows 7 will slow down over weeks and months (during booting), but with my old XP system i made it a habit to make a total cleanup and do a fresh install once a year. A RAID 1 does not store the original, fresh state of the installation on the day you built it, but accumulates all faults and changes and complications and slowdowns that have been stockpiled since then.

Got a phone call from that shop just a minute ago.

:D

Ich bin dann mal weg...

:cool:

I'm back with a wide big grin on my face! :yeah:It's fast, it's quiet, it looks good. And by mistake they gave me a Win7 Professional instead of the ordered Home Premium - but billed me for the latter.

I was lucky that they had ordered new boards with the new non-defective intel chips already a long time ago - else, so I learned today, i would have needed to wait until late April, or even May. That recall must have been a big and very costly mess for Intel. :o

You've got those B3 huh.

7 Professional arrrgh why lie is so unfair. :D

:damn: :damn: :damn: :damn: :damn:

Less than 5 minutes after I typed about grining face and fast system - the whole new shine ended abruptly and brought me back to harsh life's reality.

System suddenly rebooted automaticall into a startup repair procedure, found some missing files, repaired them, rebooted again, scanned again, then had a system restore point activated from DOS screen, rebooted a third time and then produced errorcodes over startup repair procedures being offline, some number stuff, then auto failover and corrupted files, and finally a HD cycling through the latter steps over and over again. All the time booting started with "scanning devices, no device found!", but for six hours the system ran nevertheless. Ventilators are very qiet, so is the PSU, just the HD was amazingly loud.

:damn: :damn: :damn: :damn: :damn:

I think it is either the HD, or some controller on the mainboard. Typoing this from my old system again. I already have had options tweaking and installing done worth 6-7 hours.

:damn: :damn: oh, I already had that...

Gloomy mood, great disappointment - and no glorious new flyight simming over here. But a long sunday ahead instead.

Will use the opportunity to get another HD installed anyway. It was the only component I left to their choice, and they gave me a Hitachi with 16 cache, while all others they have have 32 cache - and down to one Euzro for exactly the saqme price (for a 1 TB drive). Want that WD they have instead.

If you have any theory what it could be, let me know.

Yes, an Asus P8H67-B3. If it is the mainboard and not the drive, then I am screwed. All 30 boards they got Friday morning, were already out of stock after just one and a half day. With my money gone I then can wait a very long time.

I don'T believe it, the web is full of people hjaving the very same problem like I have:

Some were given answers that they have changed their hardware. But I haven't changed hardware - the whole combo is brandnew...?!

try this skybird:
plug the new drive into the old system
test the drive

or plug the old drive into the new system