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New Purchase (8790)... Need Accessories... Full review coming.. - Page 5

post #81 of 107
3/22/06 at 4:17am
Thread Starter 
Here's the conversation that Freejack and myself had.
The link to the drivers are: http://www.promise.com/support/downl...ver&os=0&go=GO

It's the top one that fixes the Windows XP crash.

Quote:
Boogieman117:it's been a long time, but I downloaded the Promise drivers that you linked me too many months ago

Boogieman117:do you rememeber?

(Freejack):did they fix your issue?

Boogieman117:well, I haven't installed it yet because I ran into a question

(Freejack):k

Boogieman117:I attempt to update the driver for the Promise Ultra IDE Controller

(Freejack):no just unistall Microsofts driver and install the promise driver

Boogieman117:well..

Boogieman117:when I try to update the driver, it asks for a model type

Boogieman117:hang on

(Freejack):ahhhh

Boogieman117:winxp promise ultra100 IDE controller, winxp promise ultra100 tx2 ide controller, winxp promise ultra133 tx2 ide controller, etc.
(Freejack):ultra 133 tx2

Boogieman117:ok

David Truesdale (Freejack):np

Boogieman117:should I restart the sager and let windows behave, shut down and install the second drive? or go ahead and install the drive now, then turn it back on?

(Freejack):uninstall the M$ driver and then install the promise driver and reboot

Boogieman117:ok under SCSI and RAID controllers, all I have is the WinXP Promise Ultra133 TX2 (tm) IDE Controller

Boogieman117:I deleted the driver made by m$

Boogieman117:reboot now?

David Truesdale (Freejack):yes

Boogieman117:ok

Boogieman117:here goes nohting...

Boogieman117:everything seems to be running nicely
(Freejack):cool
And the RAM brand, lemme research that one.


RAM Type I purachased:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820155123
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post #82 of 107
3/23/06 at 5:07am
Thanks boogieman. I've downloaded the drivers and ordered 2 gig of ram from newegg. All I need to do now is sit tight and wait for Hitachi to send me a hard drive. I hope they send me a brand spanking new one.
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post #83 of 107
3/24/06 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
Awesome dude.

Just don't expect to play the latest and greatest on the 8790, I'm learning that the hard way.

http://www.straferight.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=141491
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post #84 of 107
3/25/06 at 2:09am
Yeah, I know what you mean. Playing Doom on the 8790 is not the most rewarding experience, that's for sure. I haven't even tried FEAR yet and I don't want to run it on 8790, lol. I'm afraid it might fry my old and frail MR9700. It's already starting to show signs of wear and tear by artifacting on me if I run programs that demand too much like my 3D Aquarium screen saver. A quick restart seems to fix the problem until I run the program again.

I do play CS: Source occasionally and I can get it to run fine at max settings with 4x AA @1280X800. I can get around avg 35-40 FPS depending on map. The clarity is not as sharp as it would be if it was running at 1680x1050 but it's not bad at all and the 4x AA helps a lot to smooth things out. I run HL2 at the same settings.
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post #85 of 107
3/30/06 at 1:24am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mohzzi
It's already starting to show signs of wear and tear by artifacting on me if I run programs that demand too much like my 3D Aquarium screen saver.
File that under WTF and talk to Fried Toast.
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post #86 of 107
6/10/06 at 12:28am
Thread Starter 
Update Time!

General Usage
Computer seems to be a bit sluggish lately, especially Windows. I've used Ace Utilities and CCleaner, but I'm thinking those are the major problems.


Lately, I've been at my sister's home (central air vs. air conditioner = central by a long shot), and have noticed that the laptop doesn't respond very well upon first boot. [Processor: 35-40C HDD #0: 20-30C] After a reboot, the thing works perfectly fine. I'd been watching MobMeter, and it seems that the primary HD starts between 20-25C during the first go-round. After reboot, it jumps to 35-40C, and the computer flies [Processor: 40C+ HDD #0: 40C+]. I notice after playing BF2 (which jacks the CPU temperature to 55C[no pad], the 8790 is on steroids [[Processor: 47-50C HDD #0: 50-55C]].

Cliffs: The hotter the computer, the faster it goes...

Secondary Drive
I've noticed that ever since I got the secondary drive installed (thanks again Freejack), that the computer 'jerks' while doing anything involving both drives.

Example: I have MP3's on the secondary, storage drive. Playing the MP3's through WinAmp or [insert player here]. If I'm opening/saving/doing anything involving the primary HD to think, the music skips. Thinking of reformatting both drives (to be safe) and seeing what happens then.

BTW: Memorex DVD+R, pink spindle 50-pack is THE BEST working DVD rewritable media I've ever used. I borrowed some from work and have noticed nothing but good things so far. Not even a lemon disk yet. So, for all 8790 users with a TOSHIBA SD-R6472, use these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817131887
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post #87 of 107
6/10/06 at 5:30pm
Thanks for the update, Boogieman.

My 8790 has been acting a little funny while booting XP as well. After a clean reformat and a few tweaks, boot time has been decreased, but it hangs on the "welcome" screen for several seconds, and 2 out of 3 times takes additional time to load all desktop items including the Start menu bar, leaving me to stare at a useless desktop background. I'm gonna do another clean start with no tweaks and see if that solves these problems.

I know what you mean about BF2. After doubling my RAM to 2GB, the machine flys after using any demanding programs. Before the extra RAM something like BF2 would bog it down forever after closing the program though. But overall, the machine is still fast as could be loading webpages, Word, and even Photoshop.

I've given up trying to keep my temps lower than ~38-40 idle, ~45 gaming, for the processor. The HD temp is normal, only goes up to 40 most of the time. Never installed a second drive as I didn't feel like dealing with the nuances that people have reported with their 8790s with RAID. I use a Spire Pacific Breeze and it seems to help, especially during BF2 combined with max fans. It makes my room sound like a busy hangar, but what can ya do.

I don't have a DVD burner in this thing, but it is something I am keeping an eye out for.
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post #88 of 107
6/12/06 at 1:55pm
Thread Starter 
Where exactly do you put your Spire at? Can you provide pics?
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post #89 of 107
6/13/06 at 4:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogieman117
Where exactly do you put your Spire at? Can you provide pics?
Sure.


It's juss chillin' in the back. I have it positioned in the middle behind the notebook. It's not supporting the notebook at all, since I am using stands that support the corners. I've experimented with putting it to the side so one of the fans is not under the exhaust, but that doesn't seem to affect things. It cycles air very well no matter where I put it.

And the obligatory night light pic:

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post #90 of 107
6/13/06 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 
Excellent, mine's coming in from Newegg now.
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post #91 of 107
6/15/06 at 10:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nyako
TNever installed a second drive as I didn't feel like dealing with the nuances that people have reported with their 8790s with RAID. I use a Spire Pacific Breeze and it seems to help, especially during BF2 combined with max fans. It makes my room sound like a busy hangar, but what can ya do.
I've got a 100gig Seagate in my 2nd bay and it works fine. Not RAID'd, so I haven't had any of those issues. If you want more space, no sense in denying yourself

Hmmm. Spire Pacific Breeze, eh? Might have to take that one into consideration. Especially now that it's warming up here.
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post #92 of 107
6/18/06 at 1:42am
Thread Starter 
Well, the cooling device, slash, cookie cooling grate is what I use at home..

Normal Use:


Close-Up of Pampered Chef's new line of Laptop Cooling Tech:


8790 Air-Flow Mode:


Movie Mode:


I bought the lil blue dude to play when I'm not at home and don't feel like frying my laptop.
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post #93 of 107
6/21/06 at 1:01am
Thread Starter 
Technicial Update
Had a small scare with the DVD+RW drive, all better.
http://www.notebookforums.com/thread51005.html
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post #94 of 107
11/13/06 at 11:52pm
Thread Starter 
Paging Dr. Boogieman, Your Laptop is Prepped and Waiting..

I had to figure out why my computer started beeping at me recently. Read through this little adventure for tips and tears on a beeping 8790 problem I've had.

WARNING: Some pics may not be work safe for entry-level IT personnel.
http://www.notebookforums.com/thread180182.html
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post #95 of 107
11/14/06 at 1:15am
Man those dust bunnies are NASTY!!!
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post #96 of 107
11/14/06 at 5:06am
Dear Lord! No wonder your '90's been so moody!

Someone needs to buy you an air compressor for Christmas.
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post #97 of 107
11/14/06 at 6:05am
Nothing like having an extra filter in your 'puter
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post #98 of 107
11/14/06 at 10:16pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I'd gotten fed up with the beeping and I didn't know EXACTLY how/where to look until G told me. That and the fact that I've been juggling different things , like school, work, the G/F, my brother-in-law's recovery from double-lung transplants, my volunteer job (www.pfvrs.net) and general social life have kept me from digging in.

If I knew how good it would've helped the temperatures, I would've done it when I had less on my plate.
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post #99 of 107
7/24/07 at 5:11pm
Thread Starter 
Updater!

The 'death knoll' beeping hasn't happened in quite a long time. However, the DVD drive decided to die on me while I was archiving my music CD's... great timing.

I called up Phillips today (thank goodness for the 3 year warranty until 11/07), and got a claims number and they said they'd send a technician out to take a look at my machine.

I'm in the 20678 and 20657 region of the country, and I'm 99.9% sure that there's no tech within 50 miles of me. They also recommended that I ship the machine to Micromedics for repair.

I hung up the phone nicely, and starting searching here and the Notebookforums to get an idea on how Micromedics does their customers. What I'm finding is horrifying. Extensive wait times, packing problems from them, new problems upon receiving a 'repaired' machine, and 1 reply on resellerratings.com that was very bad.

So now I'm at a crossroads. I have a laptop with a bum drive. I have the service manual that I 'found' online and feel confident in my skills to replace the drive myself if I ordered the correct one from Newegg, or another site. But, this would mean that I'd spend $$ on the new drive when I should be sending it in and having others repair it for free minus the shipping probably I'm at work typing this, so I don't have the machine in front of me for Level 2 Support to walk through the troubleshooting process with me.

- Can I demand that they ship it to another company, aside from Micromedics?
- If not, should I go ahead and attempt to swap the drives myself? Like I said, I have the Service Manual. For reference, I uploaded it to share:


I went Newegg'ing for a new drive while at work, this is what I came up with..

Quote:
[what I'm looking at]
Samsung Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151132
Height: 1.3cm
Width: 12.8cm
Depth: 12.7cm

[what I currently have]
Toshiba Link: http://computers.pricegrabber.com/dv...52025/details/
Height: .5in
Width: 5.04in
Depth: 4.96in

Samsung in inches per Google:
Height: 1.3 centimeters = 0.511811024 inches
Width: 12.8 centimeters = 5.03937008 inches
Depth: 12.7 centimeters = 5 inches
When I consider how much it would cost to ship + insurance to Micromedics (if I take that route), it will be less then $60 (new drive price + tax shipped). I just have to call Phillips, let the monkey on the other line decide that my drive is officially dead, and ask him about buying a new drive and if it would void the warranty.
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post #100 of 107
7/25/07 at 9:24am
Thread Starter 
Teh Call of Phillips
Update:
Called Tech Support back, talked to a really nice dude named Gary. By the end of the trobuleshooting, my drive doesn't like CD's at all, but will need a Data DVD only (no more adult DVD's on this thing anymore )

I told him point blank I do not want this thing going to Micromedics. He said he couldn't give is personal opinion as to my choice, but he told me that he understands my problem and agrees with me. Gary seems to know that Micromedics is garbage.

Phillips will be calling me within 48 hours to tell me what my options are.
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