Swimmer

-Doesn't even show spec's on motherboard (MAIN component)

-2g's and he's not even SLI'd? Is this a joke?

Well researching before posting would be a good start...

The motherboard is based on the Nvidia nForce 650i SLI chipset..

The XPS 630 supports single & dual graphics options from both Nvidia

Very nice.. kinds sucks that it has vista..

I have never used Wubi..  But I took a look at Ubuntu's project page and here is what I found:

Upgrading from 7.04 to 7.10

Upgrading from 7.04 to 7.10 is NOT supported, due to the fundamental differences between 7.04 and 7.10. The best route is to uninstall and install Wubi-8.04 (you can save the old installation files and access them from 8.04) or [WWW] move your 7.04 installation to a dedicated partition via LVPM, then [WWW] upgrade using the standard upgrade-manager tool.

Here is what I am going to predict.. 

June 30, 2008 is the last day that you will be able to legally buy a computer that ships with Windows XP from the factory.  Based one what I have seen with Vista and the experiences that I have had with it in the lab... Microsoft better be pushing Windows 7, the next version of the OS, really fast!  The scheduled release date of Windows 7 is 2010.  Meaning that there will most likely be a gap between XP ending its shelf life for system builders, Jan 31 2009, and windows 7 shipping.  The difference in date is OEM vs. System Builder licensing.

So back to the question.. What do I think..

Personally I think that Ubuntu 8.4 is going to be pretty amazing..  I have been running 7.10 for quite a while now on my eeePC and love it.  The sad thing is that my eeePC has like a 1/4 of the power of most of the laptops running Vista and it still can run Compiz Fusion, which IMO is better than Aero.  Also if you notice the release schedule for a bunch of the consumer distributions, openSuSE, Fedora, Ubuntu..  They are all shipping the next version either in April or June.  Meaning that they are positioning themselves for the loss of XP from the big system builders.  Which could make some one really consider Linux or OS X as a possible solution over a Vista machine. 

However, I don't see Linux as the OS of the future right away.  It is making huge headway in the business world because of the scalability and the cost compared to Windows to run as far as servers go.  I think it is going to take a generation being started on or forced to use Linux before we make the huge switch.  From what I remember my family didn't move to 95 until I was already in school that had windows 95.  What needs to happen is have a few sys admins for schools that have balls make the move to Linux as the OS for their clients. Add that to the slower convergence of new hardware to support on Linux... I have a Dell D830 with the dual dock..  The laptop has an x3100 graphics card, which is currently supported by Linux.  However, the x3100 has been black listed by Compiz fusion and running dual screens is out of the question because of the way that X configures the card though the docking station.  So until Linux can do everything hardware wise..

Well I will get off the soap box for now.. 

Boot back into the recovery prompt and run: fixmbr.  This will rebuild the master boot record, boot.ini, as an adminiatrator.  If I remember correctly that should fix the issue.  I think this also would have fixed you original issue..  so you would not have had to create a custom boot record.

I am on my phone so I cant look at the link.. However all that a small business would really need is Windows 2003.  The different levels specify different seevices or specialities, ie data center, enterprise, small business, and web server.  For a small business... small business is the way to go.  As long as Active Directory is used for computer policy/user policy DNS is taken care of.  Active Directory requires Dynamic DNS, a MS technology, in order to function. 

I have worked with the Enterprise version the most..  Basically you could run a 5-20 client business with web, vpn, Active Directory, and file share/profile management from a single server..  However this is not the best idea for a mulitude of reasons, but it is possible.  If you have any questions post them.

Try rinning Prime95 for afew hours...  I am thinking it might a cooling issue and that the PC is rebooting/shutting off to protect the processor.  I can't think of anything that would cause the primary drive to not appear on boot...  It could be hardware failure, improper grounding in the case..

I saw the lastest build of Ubuntu break apt-get following an update late last month...  I am not a Ubuntu user.. however make sure that you are not in the process of running an update when you are trying to access apt-get..  try running this command at it will tell you if the apt process is rinning: ps -aef | grep apt

If you arehaving issues trying to ping the ISPs dns then there is a serious problem...  Post a tracert..  Are you 100% sure that this is a issue regarding the ISP's network and not a routing/hardware issue on you side?

It is a known problem..  It is related to the limited memory dor the device to use.  The WRT54g has a simular issue with Bit torrent traffic that causes the device to crash and/or network throughput to drop to kb/s.  The only way around it is to update the firmware to whatever the latest is, or purchase a router that is supported by DD-WRT.  Linksys is know for crappy firmware.

I started a new job a while back and today I was in a meeting with the big wigs. They are buying two new laptops to give away to our under privelaged students for Christmas. The budget is 1200 bucks but I am sure they would like to come in under budget. So I need help finding a good laptop for 400-500 bucks. I dont really want them to have mail in rebates. It doesnt have to be a beast, its not a gaming rig, its more for school but of course we want it to be as nice as possible. Thanks in advance guys. 

Here are a few of my personal choices...

Asus Eee PC: http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm

And if your company is looking for a write off.. One Laptop Per Child.. http://laptopgiving.org/en/index.php  Their hardware is getting rave reviews from users..  $399 you get one and one is sent to a third world country..

Introduction:

With the latest release from the Smoothwall Open Source Project, the need for an update version of this guide was apparent.  This project has gone from a complete DIY to a very robust solution for a soho or small business.  Add in the flexibility of the hardware that is being used, the Nokia IP330 series, and the end result can be one of true pleasure.

Disclaimer: testmy.net and its mods are not responsible for any damage to hardware, software, systems, or bodily harm if you decided to attempt this.  I strongly recommend that you attempt this only if you are confident in your computer skills and have some time to troubleshoot. 

Background:  What is the Nokia IP330?

The Nokia IP330 was originally released in 1998-1999 and was about $5,000 US.  Since then hardware and software for hardware firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) have improved greatly.  As companies often grow, their equipment is replaced and you can normally get this off-lease or refurbished equipment on sites such as Ebay.com for fairly cheap.  I was able to get my hardware for $63.00 shipped.  This included an AMD K6-2 400MHz CPU, 256mb of SDRAM, and a 2 GB hard drive.  What this piece of hardware is, basically, is a computer packed into a 1u rack mount case. 

      The hardware is the foundation on which the software will run.  As of right now I know of a few different configuration of this hardware.  I was one of the fortunate ones who got a 400 MHz processor.  Most of them, that I see now, are 266 MHz.  The other thing that is important is the amount of ram.  The hardware supports up to 512mb of ram.  From what I can tell it takes just standard PC100/133 SDRAM.  As far as the hard drive goes, I am pretty sure you can use what ever size you need up to about 20GB.  The smaller the hard drive the more often you are going to need to clear out the logs so that you don

I will throw my 2 cents into the jar..  I have done this a few times to athlon xp processors before..  I always remove the pad with nail polish remover and a cue tip..  The get a damp lint free cloth take off any excess nail polish remover..  Let the heat sink dry..  The apply about a grain of rice to the surface of the heat sink and with an old hotel key spread it over the top.  This fills in the cracks.  The apply some to the top of the processor die and clamp into place.  I have always used artic's composit compound not the silver..  There were issues where the silver could short the processor if any got on the PCB. 

You want to see a nice keyboard check this out.. http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/keyboards/keyboard/devices/192&cl=us,en

It is one of the best keyboards I have ever seen.  It is a lot like a laptop keyboard, short key strokes, and it is pretty comfortable to type on!

Can you screen shot CPU Z's process info and memory info.  It has been a while since I have messed with multipliers...

I think the x5500 is a 5.1 speaker set and the other two are mice/keyboard.

I still love my z2200 speakers and the original MX1000 mouse.

2.4 might not but 802.11a will..  Plus on top of that 5GHz has an even shorter range and is really picky about obstructions..  That would be why most if not all long haul wireless is 2.4.

Right..  But normally a thermal event doesnt fry other components. 

Wow.. Computer 101 is to never, I mean absolutely never, run a modern PC with out an active cooling heatsink..  I am afraid that your process is done, which I am sure that you already figured out. 

I also noticed the plastic square (between the processor and motherboard) where the processor snaps into place was broken into two pieces.

If the motherboard is physically damaged I wouldn't dump another processor into that motherboard.  The chance for a short it too high in my opinion.  I would replace it.  Also after a processor has cooked most of the time some of the plastic melts below the processor depending on how long was run.  Again I would replace it.

As far as the rest of your stuff... It should be alright assuming that there was not a power surge cause by a short or anything.  Frying a processor doesn't do anything to the rest of your system.  I am kinda surprised that your BIOS didn't see that the processor was approaching critical temp and shut down.  Most of the time you would have to set it up but it is well worth it!  Instead of being up for 5-10 seconds as soon as it reaches a dangerous temp the BIOS would throw the " O' shit flag" and shut the PC down. 

I wouldn't spend any money on testing your ram at BB.. It isn't worth it and my guess is that they will say that it is all bad after they hear you story...

The said part about all of this is that China, Japan, and other eastern countries have full port speed connections.. that would 100/100 fiber.  The problem is that the government, the US government, doesn't give the big telcos any tax breaks for laying fiber.. So not only are they paying for the equipment but they are not getting any tax breaks for doing so.  Verizon is doing this so that they are ahead of the market..  Comcast cant compete in FIOS areas..

The worst comparison is in the newest and shiniest broadband technology: Fiber. In Japan NTT residential connection (100 Mbps down/up) costs $49 a month. In US, Verizon FiOS (30 megabits down/5 megabits up) costs $191.20.

That is of this year.. http://gigaom.com/2007/07/13/oecd-report-in-us-broadband-is-really-expensive/

Yup.. cause your wireless operates like a laser.. I forgot, my bad.  The last time I checked I am 1.9 meters aka 6' 2".  So at .85 meters you are telling me that half of my height isn't a big deal when it comes to signal propagation.

Either way it is almost a meter.. So saying that LOS is all that you need is incorrect..  You still have to calculate for the extra meter circle at the mid point.. 

Where did you got your "knowledge" that a computer monitor operates at 2.4 GHz???

Another funny thing is according to him:

" you might have a clear "visual line of sight". however, this does not mean that you have a clear "radio line of sight."

--> If you will say you have clear "visual line of sight" it means no obstructions which simply means you have clear "radio line of sight" ofcourse.

Alright first off CRTs can cause EMI.. Which would distort the 802.11 signal.  Try placing your router next to a TV.. Weird stuff will happen..

Also there is more than just LOS to wireless..  I can have LOS but still not have a connection.  802.11 is not a laser!  It acts more like light.  So, you have to deal with Fresnel Zones.  If you are pushing a 4 mile link you then have to plan for 48ft in the shape of a circle at the mid point around the center of the connection.  Any thing in that 48ft will cause signal problems or cause the entire link to drop.  This is why Wifi providers use towers!  To to say that you have LOS means nothing in the grand term of things.  You have to have LOS and Radio LOS.  Just because you have one does NOT mean that you have the other.

A nice little tool for Fresnel Zones and 802.11 in general http://www.zytrax.com/tech/wireless/calc.htm

I don't think creative support loss less.. My Vision:M doesnt at least.  320 is a good bet since you are using high quality head phones.

The answer is still no.. The main reason for this is that unless you have leased lines, like T-1, there is really no way to bond them into a super line.  Even if you did have dual T-1 lines and you dropped a ton of money on a router that could do link aggregation, browsing and downloading off of the internet isn't going to be at 16mbps.  It would only be as fast as the link that you are put onto when the TCP call goes out.