almccoyjr

Hey Parky, "Old" habits are hard to break especially when results are good. The "page/swap" file debate still goes on and it probably always will. Some apps are codeds so well that the S_F isn't really needed. What I found on my system when upgrading was that if I had only the Raptor installed with OFF, OS, other programs and the S_F "sitting" there, I had a baseline started using Performance Test. I set OFF, S_F, boot then windows and picked up about 2%. I set the S_F to 16gb and now was almost at 4%. I installed the 1TB and placed the S_F on the first track and was now at 11%. I then changed the S_F to 8.75gb and was at 13% from the original baseline. I then put in an open block right after the swap file and picked up almost 1-1/2%, now at 14%+. I'm still trying to figure out why that happened. I've got several differing opinions regarding that last change. All "free" increases; with only the time taken to optimize. It does and can make a difference when ALL the pieces of the system are factored in. The current crop of drivers really do seem to bring out the best in hardware in 64bit OS. As to RAID, "fekkin" is good adjective. How do "fekkin" defrag a RAID drive? "Parallel, mirror, sequential, oh 'fekkin' my!" plug_nickel

Hey VP, I've been using UD2/3 as well and IMHO, Disktrix really knocked it out of the park with UD3. I've started to watch how some of my apps change and am learning to partially compensate for that by allowing extra free blocks on the track for those apps. Defrag is a snap now. Three OS's...I can't wrap my head around one let alone three. plug_nickel

Something is askew. The primary should follow Administrator and then default, guest, public. Since you're not running any "low level" admin accounts, ie, Vmware or...it should be: Administrator Mike Default Guest Public Since you've got admin permissions working, I wouldn't worry about it until you eventually do a reformat and install of the OS. plug_nickel

You're not sounding snarky BirDogICT. I went back into some much older snippets I'd saved from another forum where unclean was gimpyguy and his tone and demeanor really had taken a turn. I hope he's ok. Sorry. Back OT. For those who are running a single hd of 600GB or larger, put OFF on the first track followed by swap file, boot sector and then Windows. This will give you a much faster prefetch since the the hd heads are reading OFF/swap file sequentially and will give a good balance between "OFFing" and the the more mundane windows programs you're running. A long time ago, I ran some tests doing just that and found that even on 5400 rpm hd, having the swap file follow the primary app you wanted to run made a difference in performance. On a 7200 rpm hd, the gains are even better and all it takes is some "pre-flight" time to do it once and your done. I currently run a 600GB WD_Raptor as primary with a 1TB WD_Black Caviar as secondary. I have the swap file (fixed at 8.75GB) on the first track of the secondary with all my flight sims on the primary. I have 6 sims, then my boot sector listed as the 7th allocation followed by windows. My boot time is 16 seconds. I don't load a lot of resources at start up I can wait that long. It takes me longer than that to manually cold start my Nupe. plug_nickel

Strange that your admin went askew. Take a look under C Users and see if the primary follows Administrator. My primary is my initials as is my computer name. I have VMware_Admin, followed by Administrator then the Primary (using my initials) locked. You my not have anything before the Administrator folder if you're not running any virtual machines; they require admin rights so on my system, they're listed first. Turning off UAC can be done only by Primary Owner. You may or may not have to go through a logon process to turn off UAC. It depends on how the OS was first installed. During the initial install of the OS, you can choose to setup as Administrator via login or a Primary where admin permission is automatic and further permission requests to change or alter any files or folders are not needed. plug_nickel

Good to see you've got a handle on admin; bad that you have to go through the reinstall all over again. I take it that you're not the only one using the pc, hence the reason(s) for not installing the OS with you as primary, or owner. Not having to go back and forth with admin login/permissions is so much simpler and cleaner for maintaining files, etc. plug_nickel

When on the ground, I always use manual start; however, I must confess that I also use the "E" to try and restart when in the air. I simply haven't found a mechanic that will ride with me to spin the prop when that situation arises. I believe it has something to do with not being able to leverage the prop properly while in even a shallow dive. plug_nickel

Unless the software is "coded" for x86 install in a 64bit OS or program files for a 32bit OS, I do a dedicated install to the hd where all the programs are placed individually as their own directory, not in "program files" or "program files(x86). Makes troubleshooting program problems a breeze. SirMike1983...It sounds like you're not running as administrator if your "my documents" is locked. You should only have a lock on the primary admin account when running as admin. All the files are then accessible. plug_nickel

The only advise I would add to the above is to place the swap file on the outer most track of the 1TB drive. For this, you'll need a dedicated payware program like O&O, UD3 or ? plug_nickel

Xp Pro 64 can indeed "make" 32 bit apps run "faster", but not directly. FSX can utilize up to, but no more than 4gb of system ram when run in a 64 bit OS and FSX is a 32 bit app. I also run a couple hydraulic/servo system apps that are 32 bit, but also can utilize up to 4gb of ram in 64 OS when compiling accel/decel timing relationships. Page file will be accessed quicker in a 64 OS because of the amount of memory that can be utilized and the efficiency/sophistication of the 64 bit drivers that are developed for hardware. XP 64 drivers were not completely developed. That's one reason I left XP 64; Thrustmaster never had a driver for the Cougar Hotas that would work in XP Pro 64. A well written 64 bit specific driver in a 64 bit OS will outperform the its 32 bit counterpart in a 32 bit OS. It simply has more resources to draw on. XP Home "leaked" memory more so than XP 64, but XP 64 still "leaked". It handles processes better than XP Home and that leads to more available system memory. The OS in and of itself doesn't equate to "faster", "better" gaming unless the game/app is written to take advantage of the 64 bit operating environment. You can have a "perfectly" fluid game at 35fps and one that has micro stutters at 60fps. It strictly depends on where those intense rendering scenes occur and how the hardware handles them. Just some thoughts and experiences. plug_nickel ps: check the availability of XP 64 drivers for all of your hardware before committing.

You're quite welcome Parky. Semaphore flags, before wireless. Notice the word old between "data" and WRT-54G. I'm using a WRT160n w/DD-WRT firmware and it doesn't even have an USB external connection. That's old. I guess I should have used the word ancient instead of old. plug_nickel

Von Paulus +1 plug_nickel

I'm running a Linksys WRT 54G wireless router with DD-WRT 3rd party firmware, Does the DD-WRT firmware replace the semaphore flag "data" that old WRT-54G router used? plug_nickel ps; be very wary of any MS troubleshooting triggers.

Excellent! Done in the best tradition and philosophy of the "ghetto mod". plug_nickel

Oh man...PLEASE update when you can. T-34 v Tiger w/early Zeewolf mod and Panzer Elite "P3" are really long in the tooth. plug_nickel

Another troubleshooting option is to run Process Monitor. Using "Z" to watch your fps load, run a full campaign/quick flight to establish a time line for a couple of major frame rate drops and then compare the time with what data ProcMon was capturing. Windows 7 and Windows System Internals forums can aid with the setup and interpreting the data/processes. plug_nickel

Hey R_L Ain't it a hoot to run the sim at those levels on an "old codger" system! My specs: CPU: Core 2 Duo X6800 @ 3.47, fsb 1066 - stock voltage, CM Hyper 212+ single fan Mobo: Evga 680i-SLI, socket LGA 775 Memory: G.Skill 8gb DDR2-6400 @ 4-3-4-3-2T - stock voltage V.C: Evga GTX 260/216 - stock settings/voltage @ 576-1242-999 S.C: Onboard sound - Realtek HHD 1: WD Raptor 600gb with OFF placed on first track HHD 2: WD Black Caviar 1tb with 8gb page file placed on first track Case: CM HAF932 Mon: Sony GDM-900FW 24" flat panel glass @ 1920x1200 75hz PSU: Zalman 850 (best efficiency at room temp for the money when on sale) Running OFF-HItR @ 5-5-4-5-5. I use terrain to navigate and clouds for both defense/offense Still using Alacrity because W7_ULT 64 leaks memory like a sieve and consumes resources and SP1 didn't fix it. plug_nickel

A "general" rule of thumb regarding performance: A slow cpu paired with a fast gpu will not give great results when overclocking the gpu. A fast cpu paired with a slow gpu will produce better results when overclocking the gpu. Also, keep in mind the type of vc you have and the pci-e spec of the board. An "older" gpu will be limited by it's headroom on a 2.0 board. A newer gpu, 2.0, will not be able to utilize the overall design efficiency it's capable of due to the limits placed on the older pci-e port, but will yield some significant improvements because it will not be limited by it's lack of physical headroom as an older card is. Speaking strictly about Nvidia cards, I've found that a very mild oc of the core coupled with an aggressive oc of the vram while trying to maintain as low a voltage increase as possible yields the best results. With 8gb of DDR2-6400, lower latency is better than higher clock speeds which often require an increase in voltage which generates a good deal of localized heat on the board. DDR3 ram is just the opposite, depending on the board. Higher speeds over lower latency yield better results. plug_nickel

Glad to hear you're up and running again. And guess what I found on my early a.m. Google jaunts yesterday, an install document for the PSU in jpeg format. I swear, with enough filters, you can find anything on the WWW. plug_nickel ps: very nice screen shot

When I was running my 8800GTX, after trying several newer drivers, I always came back to 260.99 WHQL. It seemed to work best for me. plug_nickel

Once you've finally determined that your memory is good and that the PSU is the problem, I have an "old" Nspire 650w PSU that has served me well as a testing platform. You can have it if it'll help out. Temporary ground crew mechanic. plug_nickel

Very interesting post. I, for one, am not motivated by any of the "political" parochial views or motivations that may or may not be intended, nor by the historical distance of or by the past or present proximity of any events that a game/sim may develop from. What "drives" me to really become involved in a sim is the team that develops the sim, the fidelity and depth of the sim and to some extent, the passions and insight of forums that members develop from being involved with a game/sim. The only flight "game" that I still keep that doesn't use any TIR support is Luftwaffe Commander. I think it was the first and only game developed in the genre strictly from the German side. It's a shame it wasn't developed further. The more "recent" game/sims like OFF, FC2, OF, FF5, DCS A-10 demand your attention due to their complexity, systems accuracy and historical relevance and portrayal, hence the very steep learning curves. The current state of development, the accuracy to flight modeling, the fidelity that unfolds during a mission or campaign is what makes me want to be the most honest "pilot" that I can be and that means I need to understand the game/sim from all points of view. To me, a nationality only matters when I'm "flying" for that side. And in that regard, I "suspend" my personal convictions and learn more about the history and cultures because I want to know what was happening "locally" when involved with any squadron and the nation they're flying for. 5 cents worth of op. plug_nickel

Makes sense to me after having seen the inside of your case...hehehe...Still poken' at ya. I was finally able to get the F-16 cold start down to 4 minutes in OF and FF5 without having to use the kneeboard. The learning curve is very steep indeed, but it is a little easier since your flying analog/mechanical and not digital fly-by-wire. I remember the first time I tried to go to full afterburner in the Falcon. I had missed a step in setting up the throttle during startup and when I pushed it past the detent, well lets just say that it was more like a fart than a good push. I've just picked up a second used Cougar joystick and am in the process of modding it for floor mount using an extension and will have 4 small oil filled shocks mounted to the base of the shaft to give it that "mechanical" feel. plug_nickel

Just poke'n at you Parky. Looking at your wiring, I surmised that you had at least 4 hd's. Cleaning up the wiring would entail a major drive cage mod. plug_nickel

Shame on you Parky for subjecting that awesome GTX 590 to that "rat's nest" of wiring. The X-Fi I can understand. You need to take your "mechanic" out back and give them a good dressing down. plug_nickel