I won't ask what it cost. The specs look decent. You have twice the RAM that my desktop has, but a slower speed (2.0 Ghz vs. my 2.95 Ghz). If you didn't have Windows 7 before, you're gonna love it! It has the stability of XP with some of the better features that Vista tried. I have always been a desktop guy, so I know diddly-squat about laptops. My biggest fear with laptops has been overheating. It just seems like there couldn't be enough airflow to keep a serious GPU cooled in a laptop. But like I said, I know diddly about them. Not much point in posting the links and specs that I was going to now.

RE: Keyboards and mice - I have always stuck with Logitech. They have proven to be good equipment for the buck.

Here's hoping it all works out for the best...you deserve it after the problems you have had recently.

Thanks !! I've got my fingers crossed. It has two gigantic fans sticking out the back, and it weighs enough that I will have to switch sides I carry it on frequently to keep from looking like Sigrid on one side and Amusei on the other from lugging it around.

Well... I'm having computer troubles of my own, it would seem now.

I was attempting to defrag my hard drive, but the program I was using crashed every time I tried, corrupting several vital files in the process. This rendered Windows unable to boot properly. Last time I use an off-standard defragging program....

I'm restoring a backup of my system now, which thankfully, I was able to import all of the data I wished to keep (game files, savegames, story drafts, pictures, etc.). I should be back up and running in about an hour or so. In the meantime, I've borrowed my mother's computer to type this out and keep me occupied.

EDIT: OK, I've finished my backup and got most everything back in the state it was when the crash occurred. I do need to re-install my sound card's drivers but that won't be too hard.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 15 2011, 10:09 PM

I hope this isn't catchy...first mALX, now you...nervousness is setting in.

ROFL !!!! I hope not too. If I have to spend much more time on this round screen monitor I will start swaying when I walk like a sailor on leave. I have to get a keyboard and mouse for my laptop - I rest my wrists right where the touchpad is and it is extremely sensitive. Just hovering over it makes it flip through stuff. On the Oblivion game I kept drawing my sword out and attacking people without realizing it. Thank goodness I was unarmed when I punched out Uriel Septim.

You punched Uriel Septim? How dare you?

I would look to see if you can adjust the trackpad to ignore light touches. Mine (Apple Mac Book Pro - four years old) has a system setting that allows me to adjust the trackpad sensitivity.

Ditto on external mouse and keyboard. Using the built-in input devices on my laptop just aggravates my carpal tunnel.

Mine is starting to get hinky - I'm trying to figure if it's the recent system update that's buggy, or if my logic board is finally going. I've never used a lappie longer than two years . . .

But this one is soooo cool! I edit all my photographs on it, and all my writing (backed up to external disks and the cloud, of course).

Which reminds me, I've got to back up my Aperture library. I'm off now.

Lol.

BOLD: Would that be in the control panel?

Welp. I'm not near a Windows computer to verify, but I think that is correct. At least, it's where I recall all the system settings dwelling on those machines, anyway. But I've only used up to Windoze 2000 (sucks). XP was the best version I've used, and the version I'm most familiar with. But that's where I would look for it. If you want, PM me and I'll send you my email; you can then send me screenshots of the control panel contents and I can help you find the right place to go. Or else you can wait for TK or one of the other Windows users to chime in and help ya out. I'm used to clicking on things until I find what I'm looking for, so I don't always remember how I get there!

BTW, I've heard good things about Windows 7, and I mean really good things. Stuff normally reserved for Mac OS X (the best OS out there, though I can't vouch for Linux, never having used that one). So it seems you've finally got a MS product that actually does what it's supposed to do!

This post has been edited by haute ecole rider: Mar 16 2011, 01:45 AM

You've obviously never tried ME before. Why did M$ even bother to release that bug-ridden piece of trash?

And let's not forget the debut of Plug-n-Play on '98. That was fun.

I don't usually use laptops, though, so I can't vouch for where the touchpad controls would be located. I hate touchpads, anyway, so the sooner you can get your mouse, mALX, the better.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 16 2011, 01:59 AM

Touchpads for laptops often have a third-party app controlling them. Often it will put an icon down on the right hand side of your taskbar. See if you can find that, and change the settings.

Otherwise try Control Panel -> Mouse, and see if the pad is listed under connected devices, and try adjusting it from there.

If worse comes to worse, go to Control Panel -> Device Manager - Human Interface Devices. The touchpad should be listed there. Right click on it, and Disable it. That should shut it off completely.

I fell in love with 7. When I had to replace my Vista OS computer, the new one had 7. The guys were able to clone or port or whatever my whole old machine into the new one thanks to some whiz bang 7 feature. I don't mean transferring data files or whatever, I mean cloning an entire complex mod-enhanced installation and dropping it into the new machine.

Once they fired it up my whole patched, modded OB installation ran perfectly. Even my desktop complete with wallpaper was there on start up. A new computer, but no reinstalling. How cool is that?

I got a wireless mouse and it works great! Calibrated the colors on the screen so this site looks brown/tan like it is supposed to (instead of neon purple) - now to figure out the touch pad. I didn't find it under control panel - I miss my icons that tell what is in control panel instead of these elegant looking phrases all bunched together under a heading. I wonder if I can fool with that and fix it the way I like it too?

This post has been edited by mALX: Mar 16 2011, 02:07 AM

I believe it might actually have been just as simple as plugging in your hard drive to a different computer and upgrade-installing Windows. Upgrade installs do not require a full reformat of the disc, see. If your Hard Drive follows SATA protocols (which nowadays most of them do), they are universally compatible. You can plug it into any computer and it will work without any need to tinker with drivers or any of that beeswax. Since your hard drives were not harmed when your previous machine kicked it, all that really needed to be done was take your drives, upgrade-install to Win 7 (which was possible because you previously used Vista), give you some nice shiny new hardware, plug in your HDD and kaboom!

Just in case you were wondering how that happened.

But what if you got a new drive in the bargain? Well, simple -- they did all the work on your previous drive... then cloned the data over to the new one. I use that sort of technology all the time (in fact, just today).

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 16 2011, 02:14 AM

I'm notorious for re-using my hard drives from dead/dying computers.

Most recently I upgraded the HD in my laptop computer. Instead of tossing/recycling the old drive, I bought a external HD enclosure for it (FW 800 compatible - I love speed), cloned it to the new drive, then re-formatted the old drive and now I use it for backup of all my photographs. It works just fine for that purpose.

I'm just geeky that way. Dad taught me to DYI, and I just extended it to my computers.

Ugh! I remember WinME, and I couldn't agree more. I have come to believe that ME was to XP what Vista was to Win7. Just an experimental sandbox for M$ to try new stuff.

I do know that I love Win7. All the better features of Vista without that horrid memory hogging.

I am looking at a new motherboard and processor and I'd like to know your thoughts on this before I go out and drop some coin.

I was considering the Intel i7 2600
http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-2600-Proces...0457&sr=8-2

It appears to be no different than the Intel i7 2600K which is $30-$40 more.

Is this a suitable processor for gaming? Are there any others you would suggest?

This post has been edited by King Coin: Mar 18 2011, 05:02 AM

Let's see, Core I7 2600...

Quad core, check.

Hyperthreading, check.

3.4GHz, check.

You're good.

I know this because I'm running on a quad core without hyperthreading at 2.40 GHz heavily modded without issue.

Do keep in mind that Oblivion is not really going to care much about the first two features, though.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 18 2011, 05:12 AM

Thanks for the input.

I'm thinking ahead to Skyrim and possibly other games. I wouldn't be buying a quad just for Oblivion.

What is the difference between the 2600 and the 2600k?

EDIT: it appears that the only difference is the onboard graphics. So, the 2600K is not really worth dropping the extra coin on.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Mar 18 2011, 11:23 PM

Okay, just finished my backup.

Here's what I do: I make a full copy of my hard drive, exactly as it is, onto a separate drive that I keep on standby, disconnected from my PC's power grid most of the time. This ensures that no malicious programs have any hope of harming the contents of that disc.

What do I keep on that disc? Everything. State of Windows, games, etc. It is a perfect copy of my primary hard drive at the time the backup was performed. So good is it, in fact, that if I encounter a problem on my primary disc, I can still boot my computer into my secondary disc in case there's anything important I wish to add to the backup that wasn't there previously.

This sort of a backup is known as a disc clone. Every file, in exactly the state it was in, gets copied to a separate hard drive. If my PC's primary drive gets corrupted, I have a very effective and simple "undo" button.

Also, the software I use to make the clones is operated outside of Windows. It's the main reason I still have a 3 1/2in. floppy drive, actually.

Benefits?
-Extremely easy to do
-Provides a backup I can actively manage
-Ensures no data corruption or damage from malicious programs
-No need to pay for some shifty online service
-If all else fails, I can boot into the backup disc just in case it is needed

Downsides?
-It takes a while
-You need to remember to keep the clone updated, because reverting to an out-of-date clone can cause you to lose a lot of work.

This post has been edited by Thomas Kaira: Mar 20 2011, 06:21 PM

Speaking of which - I just got my PC back from the shop. They copied all my files onto an external hard drive thingy (375 gig). They were supposed to put them back on the PC when I got it back but had not done it. When I complained they said I could do it myself or leave it another few days (after I drove over an hour to get to their shop).

I took the PC and external drive - but don't know how to get my files back on there.

Then, the PC was filthy and filled with dust when they handed it to me. I said, "What's this? Why didn't they clean it when they were working on it?"

They said I didn't ask them to. So I told them to CLEAN IT !! I had to wait another half hour, they give it back to me, and as I am carrying it out, the case falls off. They didn't put the screws back into the case. I had to bring it back in, and they said, "Oops!"

Geek Squad, people. Take it as a warning.