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Title: Help with slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 27, 2006, 09:41:16 PM Ok, so I upgraded recently.
MSI K8N Diamond Plus with FX-55... Grabbed another gig of ram while I was at it... Threw in a 1900XT... New power supply, of course... Now why does my computer take forever to boot up? Title: Slow boot process Post by: schild on August 27, 2006, 09:41:56 PM How much USB stuff do you have plugged (in)? What order is it looking for boot devices? Still have a floppy drive?
Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 27, 2006, 09:50:18 PM Now why does my computer take forever to boot up? Need more information.Title: Slow boot process Post by: Engels on August 27, 2006, 10:01:47 PM Now why does my computer take forever to boot up? Define forever, and at what stage does it seem to be hanging the most? Also, did you just plug in your old hard drive to the new motherboard and let her rip? Because right there could be the source of your problem. Most changes like that prevent booting at all, but in some cases the chipset is similar enough that it will boot to your OS, but your OS is still trying to find the missing components of your old motherboard and other discarded hardware. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 27, 2006, 10:44:03 PM New hard drive didn't fix it.
Ok, you know where the Windows screen pop up and that little blue bar floats across the loading indicator? It crosses that thing 17 times. That's the hang up. Checks the cd-rom, then the hard drive, all others in boot order disabled. No floppy connected currently. Lots of USB thing-a-ma-bobs. Umm...5? Yeah, 5 USB thingies. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 27, 2006, 11:02:33 PM New hard drive didn't fix it. Is this a fresh install/reinstall of Windows XP?Ok, you know where the Windows screen pop up and that little blue bar floats across the loading indicator? It crosses that thing 17 times. That's the hang up. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 27, 2006, 11:12:59 PM Yes, a fresh installation of windows xp...
It didn't start out with 17X.. But it quickly jumped up there, just from updates and installing drivers and anti-virus Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 27, 2006, 11:20:39 PM Yes, a fresh installation of windows xp... How long does it take if you boot into Safe Mode?It didn't start out with 17X.. But it quickly jumped up there, just from updates and installing drivers and anti-virus Edit: At this point I would suspect your anti-virus software -- it may be checking certain key files at startup. Try disabling that. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 27, 2006, 11:53:11 PM The anti-virus is AVG free. Is it known to do evil shit like that?
I'll have to check it's options once I get home, I guess. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Engels on August 28, 2006, 12:05:03 AM Next time you have a chance, type msconfig into your run line, then check out the start up tab. Your culprit is probably in there. Quicktime, Real player, Java, all like to put crap in your start up processes that aren't necessary and just hog resources. I'm not saying its one of those three, in fact, its likely its not one of them, but some other 3rd party software that's clogging the works. Its either that, a virus or a corrupt install somehow. Check your Event Viewer under Administrative Tools to see if there are any obvious start up errors.
Title: Slow boot process Post by: Bunk on August 28, 2006, 12:10:52 AM I was going to say the same thing. Run MSCONFIG and get down to your virus scanner and pretty much nothing else. I run AVG and it doesn't take any significant amount of boot time.
Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 28, 2006, 12:14:01 AM Next time you have a chance, type msconfig into your run line, then check out the start up tab. Your culprit is probably in there. Quicktime, Real player, Java, all like to put crap in your start up processes that aren't necessary and just hog resources. Those things typically load up after you get past the Windows XP splash screen though -- his delay is earlier than that.Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 12:19:50 AM Okay, I'll check out msconfig when I get back to my apartment.
I know it's not Quicktime or Real, since I don't have them. And the slowdown occurred well before I installed Java. I'll be sure to check the Event Viewer too. It's been rather frustrating to upgrade and then have a slowdown >:[ Title: Slow boot process Post by: Engels on August 28, 2006, 12:23:47 AM Good point. So my bet is checking the eventlog, and failing that, seeing if safemode makes it boot faster. If even safe mode fails to speed things up, there's some serious issue, either with corrupt OS files or some piece of hardware, although lord knows how to figure that out. Do you have any extraneous PCI stuff working? Or strange USB devices, aside from simple plug and play stuff like headphones and joystick?
Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 12:36:26 AM Negative on extraneous PCI or strange USB devices.
USB is for keyboard, mouse, printer, webcam, external dvd drive. 1900XT is PCI-16 with standard ATI catalyst. The only other slot thingy is the little "extra 2 usb port" card. One internal cd-rom, one SATA 250gig drive (WD). Power supply is Hiper Type-R 580W Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 01:57:56 AM SafeBoot cut it down to 6 blue floaties.
Don't see that event viewer thingy right off...could be the nicotine withdrawal headache... Startup just has normal stuff i recognize...webcam, AVG, msn msgr, googletalk, java, and then some system32 stuff. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 28, 2006, 02:30:05 AM SafeBoot cut it down to 6 blue floaties. Hmm...when I boot into Safe Mode the blue bar doesn't even show up on my computer, and on a full boot it only goes across 9 times. Assuming your AV isn't running in Safe Mode (it shouldn't be) my guess at this point is that your hard drive isn't transfering data at full speed -- i.e. it's not using the fastest UDMA mode. Are you using an 80-conductor IDE cable or a 40-conductor one (assuming you are using IDE)? Also under the Device Manager check your drive controller(s) and see what transfer mode they are set to.Quote Don't see that event viewer thingy right off...could be the nicotine withdrawal headache... It's under Administrative Tools.Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 04:40:54 AM It's SATA...brand new (for me) Western Digital 250g.
Checked the event viewer. Nothing surprising during booting that I can see. Did see the point where Starforce killed my external DVD/CD drive, though. Space Rangers 2? Not worth my drive. Title: Slow boot process Post by: schild on August 28, 2006, 04:52:54 AM On my old computer, having my external (usb 2.0) dvd drive made the bootup take about 10x as long. That's why I asked. I would almost bank on it being a combination of starforce and that drive. Remove Starforce (good luck) and unplug the drive, see what the results are.
Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 05:47:05 AM The external was never in the boot sequence. Not ever. It boots to my internal cd-rom, then the hard drive. All other slots in boot sequence disabled.
Tried removing the external drive. No change. Hopefully the Starforce is gone. My external drive had worked just fine until I used it to try to install Space Rangers 2. Either there was an extreme fucking coincidence, or Starforce killed my drive. Title: Slow boot process Post by: schild on August 28, 2006, 06:00:22 AM There are no coinceidences with Starforce. Ever. It is perfectly valid to blame them for any problems you may have with your computer. Hell, it's valid to blame them for things that have nothing to do with your computer.
Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 06:05:03 AM Well, the slow boot thing was around before the Starforce.
But my drive had worked fine before. No problems ever. Only had it a few months. Tried to install Space Rangers 2 using it. Got some weird error. Tried it on the internal drive, installed just fine. External drive hasn't worked since the Space Rangers 2 install error. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Engels on August 28, 2006, 09:26:08 AM Just a small clarification, although it probably won't help you with this problem:
Boot sequence, as set up in BIOS , just dictates which devices your BIOS checks, in order, before it finds a bootable device, such as a CD rom, floppy or any hard drive you chose to be the main bootable drive. Having other drives plugged into your pc doesn't make them part of the boot sequence in BIOS, but once the BIOS has handed over control of the boot process to the selected drive with your OS on it, the OS itself tries to negotiate connections with all your existing periferals, including your USB keyboard mouse, camera and USB drive. Yes, even your keyboard, which works under BIOS functions, needs to have Windows drivers loaded for it to work within the Windows environment. In other words, all your devices become part of the Windows boot process. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 05:45:22 PM You are correct. That does not help me with my problem.
I used the little program from the boycottstarforce boys. Hopefully the force is no longer with me. If I go into the msconfig and turn stuff off...aren't there some things I should definitely leave alone? And how do I know for sure what those are? I have no clue what some of those system32 entries do...but they intimidate me into thinking they are perhaps essential to correct functioning of the system. Since it still took 6 floaties even in safeboot mode....is there some other problem this could be? I dunno, RAM or something? That's the only other thing I can think about that would be causing slowdown that early....but I just added a second gig to that, so it doesn't make sense for it to be slower. ~sigh~ This process used to be easier. P.S. FUCK YOU WINDOWS!! I LIKE TO UPGRADE MY SYSTEM!! I LIKE TO SET UP NEW BOOT DRIVES!! YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO ACTIVATE AS MANY TIMES AS I WANT, CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY I SPEND ON YOUR STUPID FUCKING PROGRAM!! I DO NOT LIKE HAVING TO CALL YOUR FUCKING OPERATORS AND EXPLAIN THAT I UPGRADED MY SYSTEM AGAIN TO GET YOUR STUPID ACTIVATION CODE!! HATE HATE HATE LOATHING FIRE DEATH PAIN TORTURE TORMENT HATE!! Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 28, 2006, 05:55:38 PM If I go into the msconfig and turn stuff off...aren't there some things I should definitely leave alone? And how do I know for sure what those are? Pretty much everything under the Startup tab is nonessential. It may break something if you turn it off but it won't keep your machine from booting.Quote I have no clue what some of those system32 entries do...but they intimidate me into thinking they are perhaps essential to correct functioning of the system. Well if you don't mind showing us what you have running on your machine and how your browser is configured, run HijackThis (http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/programs.php) and post the log file.Quote Since it still took 6 floaties even in safeboot mode....is there some other problem this could be? I dunno, RAM or something? That's the only other thing I can think about that would be causing slowdown that early....but I just added a second gig to that, so it doesn't make sense for it to be slower. You could try taking out that extra memory just for fun.Title: Slow boot process Post by: Lt.Dan on August 28, 2006, 08:45:57 PM If I go into the msconfig and turn stuff off...aren't there some things I should definitely leave alone? And how do I know for sure what those are? You can just google the name of the executable listed in task manager - there's plenty of free sites that'll tell you what each one does. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 28, 2006, 09:19:57 PM OK...things I will do when I get home.
Try turning off the startup stuff. Try booting up with out the second gig of ram. Need to open the little boi up and transfer stuff from old hard drive anyway. Desperately wish for a cigarette. Run Hijack This and let y'all go hogwild. Title: Slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 29, 2006, 04:13:44 AM Logfile of HijackThis v1.99.1
Scan saved at 8:13:03 PM, on 8/29/2006 Platform: Windows XP SP2 (WinNT 5.01.2600) MSIE: Internet Explorer v6.00 SP2 (6.00.2900.2180) Running processes: C:\WINDOWS\System32\smss.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\winlogon.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\services.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\lsass.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\spoolsv.exe c:\program files\common files\logitech\lvmvfm\LVPrcSrv.exe C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.EXE C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgamsvr.exe C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgupsvc.exe C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgemc.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe C:\WINDOWS\system32\svchost.exe C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE C:\WINDOWS\system32\wuauclt.exe C:\Documents and Settings\<Deleted by Trippy>\Desktop\HijackThis.exe O2 - BHO: SSVHelper Class - {761497BB-D6F0-462C-B6EB-D4DAF1D92D43} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_08\bin\ssv.dll O2 - BHO: Windows Live Sign-in Helper - {9030D464-4C02-4ABF-8ECC-5164760863C6} - C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Windows Live\WindowsLiveLogin.dll O9 - Extra button: (no name) - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_08\bin\ssv.dll O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Sun Java Console - {08B0E5C0-4FCB-11CF-AAA5-00401C608501} - C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_08\bin\ssv.dll O9 - Extra button: Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe O9 - Extra 'Tools' menuitem: Windows Messenger - {FB5F1910-F110-11d2-BB9E-00C04F795683} - C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe O16 - DPF: {6E32070A-766D-4EE6-879C-DC1FA91D2FC3} (MUWebControl Class) - http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftupdate/v6/V5Controls/en/x86/client/muweb_site.cab?1156577559796 O18 - Protocol: livecall - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL O18 - Protocol: msnim - {828030A1-22C1-4009-854F-8E305202313F} - C:\PROGRA~1\MSNMES~1\MSGRAP~1.DLL O20 - Winlogon Notify: WgaLogon - C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\WgaLogon.dll O23 - Service: Ati HotKey Poller - ATI Technologies Inc. - C:\WINDOWS\system32\Ati2evxx.exe O23 - Service: ATI Smart - Unknown owner - C:\WINDOWS\system32\ati2sgag.exe O23 - Service: AVG7 Alert Manager Server (Avg7Alrt) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgamsvr.exe O23 - Service: AVG7 Update Service (Avg7UpdSvc) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgupsvc.exe O23 - Service: AVG E-mail Scanner (AVGEMS) - GRISOFT, s.r.o. - C:\PROGRA~1\Grisoft\AVGFRE~1\avgemc.exe O23 - Service: Creative Service for CDROM Access - Creative Technology Ltd - C:\WINDOWS\system32\CTsvcCDA.exe O23 - Service: Logitech Process Monitor (LVPrcSrv) - Logitech Inc. - c:\program files\common files\logitech\lvmvfm\LVPrcSrv.exe Edit: took out name Title: Slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 29, 2006, 04:25:45 AM Don't see anything odd at the moment. Some more suggestions:
Check again that you don't have StarForce running (http://www.glop.org/starforce/detect.php) Run something like HdTach (http://www.simplisoftware.com/Public/index.php?request=HdTach) Check to see if your motherboard/chipset has updated SATA drivers Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: UD_Delt on August 29, 2006, 07:19:39 AM You don't happen to have an iPod do you? If I have my iPod connected my laptop won't boot up at all. It just hangs on the windows splash screen.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Sky on August 29, 2006, 07:42:50 AM Quote P.S. FUCK YOU WINDOWS!! I LIKE TO UPGRADE MY SYSTEM!! I LIKE TO SET UP NEW BOOT DRIVES!! YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO ACTIVATE AS MANY TIMES AS I WANT, CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY I SPEND ON YOUR STUPID FUCKING PROGRAM!! I DO NOT LIKE HAVING TO CALL YOUR FUCKING OPERATORS AND EXPLAIN THAT I UPGRADED MY SYSTEM AGAIN TO GET YOUR STUPID ACTIVATION CODE!! HATE HATE HATE LOATHING FIRE DEATH PAIN TORTURE TORMENT HATE!! Yes, your hate makes you strong! Come to the Dark Side! (http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/index.html)Put the OS you paid for on anything you want without a hassle. As a bonus, no registry! But you have to see Microsoft's point of view. Piracy is destroying their business. They only made $3 BILLION (http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=31331) in net profits in Q1 2006. Are you some kind of terrorist pirate commie? Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Yegolev on August 29, 2006, 08:44:38 AM Smells like hardware. If they mystery continues, I suggest stripping down to base hardware and see what you get. You know, single DIMM, boot disk, vid card. Add shit until it breaks again, and you have your part.
Alternatively you might search support forums to see if any of your parts have issues. Title: Re: Slow boot process Post by: Yoru on August 29, 2006, 10:56:17 AM P.S. FUCK YOU WINDOWS!! I LIKE TO UPGRADE MY SYSTEM!! I LIKE TO SET UP NEW BOOT DRIVES!! YOU SHOULD CONTINUE TO ACTIVATE AS MANY TIMES AS I WANT, CONSIDERING THE AMOUNT OF MONEY I SPEND ON YOUR STUPID FUCKING PROGRAM!! I DO NOT LIKE HAVING TO CALL YOUR FUCKING OPERATORS AND EXPLAIN THAT I UPGRADED MY SYSTEM AGAIN TO GET YOUR STUPID ACTIVATION CODE!! HATE HATE HATE LOATHING FIRE DEATH PAIN TORTURE TORMENT HATE!! If you think it's bad now, wait until you see what Microsoft has planned for Vista and beyond. :nda: but the current activation/licensing scheme is nothing compared to their internal roadmap. That and a beefed-up WGA give me the big skeevies about Vista. Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Engels on August 29, 2006, 11:11:03 AM Smells like hardware. If they mystery continues, I suggest stripping down to base hardware and see what you get. You know, single DIMM, boot disk, vid card. Add shit until it breaks again, and you have your part. Alternatively you might search support forums to see if any of your parts have issues. I concurr. Could be a failing ram stick or simply that you put in the floppy drive cable in the wrong way. Its been known to happen. Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Miasma on August 29, 2006, 11:15:22 AM They accidentally leaked the pricing for vista yesterday. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20060829/tc_pcworld/126942) Vista "Ultimate" is $450 US. That's crazy.
As for the PC I also think you should strip it down. You mentioned that you "grabbed another gig of ram", are you sure it is the same type as what you already had, if you have four slots are they paired correctly? Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 29, 2006, 04:09:28 PM I tried taking out the other ram. No joy.
Double-checked the motherboard manual. It's in the right slots. HDTACH read: WDC WD2500KS Tested on 2006-08-29 at 21:50 Random access: 13.2ms CPU Utilization: 7%(+/-2%) Average read: 53.0 MB/s No cables in the wrong way. Floppy drive not even connected. Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Lt.Dan on August 29, 2006, 04:10:29 PM Bloody hell, for $450 you could buy a cheap computer with Vista installed then use the back-up disks to upgrade your existing PC.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 29, 2006, 09:01:34 PM Have you double-checked that you don't still have StarForce installed?
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Xerapis on August 30, 2006, 12:30:59 AM Yes. NOOOOO Starforce. Ran the uninstall, triple-checked the drivers folder, checked the drivers again through the device manager, and even cleared out the registry with regedit. Had to change the permissions first. Fuckers.
It's dead, Jim. And I had the slowdown before the Starforce. Not that Starforce is innocent, by any means. It DID kill my external drive. Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 30, 2006, 01:09:10 AM Out of ideas at the moment then.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Yegolev on August 30, 2006, 08:16:52 AM RMA + buy something else?
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Wolf on August 31, 2006, 02:05:05 AM Why don't you just pick up the whole thing and get it to where you bought the new harware? Let them figure it out, that's what their job is, right?
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Trippy on August 31, 2006, 02:08:16 AM Why don't you just pick up the whole thing and get it to where you bought the new harware? Let them figure it out, that's what their job is, right? Well, since it otherwise seems to be working fine they'll probably just say "working as intended".Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Engels on August 31, 2006, 08:58:54 AM Xerapis, did you try simply using your old ram? Its not clear from your post if you simply stuck to the new ram or went back to the old one. Also, post the specs on your ram sticks. Often times a ram mismatch can cause system slowness, although most of the time it simply will refuse to boot. Scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of solutions, I know.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Brolan on September 01, 2006, 08:56:35 PM Stuff to try:
USB - You tried eliminating USB devices during the boot, right? If not, boot with each disconnected and see if that helps. BIOS - Do you have the newest firmware for your motherboard? If not, try updating. You can also try reloading the BIOS defaults and doing a cold boot. Windows - Do you have the newest drivers for your devices? Try to update as many as possible. Good luck! Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Flood on September 01, 2006, 11:23:05 PM Just to chip in here.
I don't want to cover any old ground since everyone gave you good advice, and some of the guys are extremely knowledgeable about computers (Much more so than me). That being said, my gut tells me to tell you to make sure all your devices and components have the correct and/or most recent drivers and firmware installed. Sometimes something real oddballl can cause your rig to hang or drag. (I just updated my DVR's firmware for example) I'd do some Google-Fu on your mobo's BIOS and possibly SATA drivers, and do some research to see if there's a "proper" way to install or config your mobo. Again as an example - I am a DFI user, and when doing a fresh install of OS and system drivers if you install the Nvidia IDE drivers at all it gives you the haunted rig and makes your comp display all sorts of erratic symptoms. My feeling is cables plugged in wrong, something not updated or something not configured properly in your BIOS. Doesn't seem like a component thing, seems like Windows trying to smooth over something in it's system files to me. *shrug* Title: Re: Slow boot process Post by: Lantyssa on September 05, 2006, 05:48:00 PM It's SATA...brand new (for me) Western Digital 250g. I recently got a SATA drive to replace my IDEs, but before using it had to do an emergancy backup of my friend's machine. It took forever, but seemed to work without any other problems. When the drive couldn't be seen by his motherboard I figured out the problem...Have you tried setting the HD's jumpers from SATA2 to SATA1? I would think your board could handle it, but it is a similar enough problem it could be worth trying. Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Furiously on September 06, 2006, 07:25:17 AM Have you tried defragging your harddrive recently? Your swap could be all over the place?
I went in and turned off quicktime and messenger and I think I saved about 7 seconds on my boot time. Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Engels on September 06, 2006, 08:39:44 AM What chipset is the motherboard? I ask because some NForce chipset motherboards want to load their own IDE drivers, which work with non-raid SATA drives, and this has been known to cause some issues.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Trippy on September 09, 2006, 05:15:23 PM Some nice tips on speeding up your boot process. (http://www.intelliadmin.com/blog/2006/09/why-windows-takes-so-long-to-start-up.html)
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Strazos on September 09, 2006, 10:40:16 PM Ooo, some nice things in there, thanks.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Reg on September 16, 2006, 06:04:43 AM Getting rid of that prefetch crap made a huge difference for me even after the boot was completed. Normally when I exit from something memory intensive like Civ 4 my PC spends a couple of minutes grinding away as it deletes the swap file. After getting rid of the prefetch folder and setting it to only cache system files that happens a whole hell of a lot faster too. I guess not having all that trash preloaded into memory means my swap file is smaller.
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: sinij on September 16, 2006, 08:28:06 AM They accidentally leaked the pricing for vista yesterday. (http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20060829/tc_pcworld/126942) Vista "Ultimate" is $450 US. That's crazy. So what do you get for all that money other than more DRM support? Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: Strazos on September 16, 2006, 12:23:24 PM Which one is the version that a gamer will need?
Title: Re: Help with slow boot process Post by: caladein on September 18, 2006, 12:06:46 AM Which one is the version that a gamer will need? Well, if you take each of the three versions you'd probably be looking at (Home Basic/Premium and Ultimate) and compare their summaries to say... XP Home, Pro, and Media Center's it'll probably be: Home Basic -> XP Home, i.e. avoid like the plague Home Premium -> XP Home + MCE Ultimate -> XP Pro + MCE That's of course grossly oversimplifying it, but my money is on Home Premium being the sweet-spot for most here (although I'm sure Home Basic would play Halo 2 :roll:). I'm still going to be a lemming and get Ultimate once SP1 comes out of course. |