Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
It always amazes me that the regular consumer can get their PCs to run for any length of time. Do you think any of them ever update the BIOS of their machines? For that matter, I tend to avoid upgrading that (it's just asking for trouble), so I can see why he didn't think of it.

And yeah, Starforce. Ack.

-HM
Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
IMO, that guy is obviously a dipshit. sorry to troll, but reading someone elses whine makes me want to stick my ball point pen into my eye socket. I mean jesus, even my technologically challeged wife can keep her lap top running, and this guy writes for a tech magazine... time for a new job buddy, how bout janitorial engineering...
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
The more programs you have, the more high-tech your comp is, the more likely you'll have problems. Remember, that guy had 100s of game on his computer. All you need is for one of them to go wrong, and your computer can malfunction. Plus, the guy was unfortunate enough to install a Ubisoft PC game, all of which use Starforce. It's not very hard to maintain a computer when all you have on it is Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer, a firewall, and an antivirus.
Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I hate to admit this but I had a similar problem with Direct X and ATI drivers(and CivIV)--yup I used a Direct X uninstall utility and royally screwed the whole thing up... However unlike this guy I bit the frickin' bullet and reinstalled XP, I don't get what he's talking about it being a time consuming and primitive process--he's got a P4 3.4 and I'm assuming it comes with at LEAST a gig of RAM... half hour tops (My AMD 3000 with 1.5g takes about 35-40 minutes)--try installing Linux in that time (granted downloading all the patches since SP2 might take a while and reloading his "hundreds of games" will be a pain but his problem not mine)... it is sad when some one who writes for a gaming mag admits to having a problem that has an obvious solution, but then again he reviews the games he doesn't write them--and I'm guessing nowhere does he say that he's a qualified anything...
Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Jesh, in that postion why was he not using seperate drives!

I've used 1 drive for op system and a few core programs, with second drive for games and other software for years! Makes taking care of driver problems and or drive failures much simpler.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Ya. I'd i have gone out and bought a new a drive so that i wouldn't lose anything... In all my years I've never had to do a complete re-install. (came close a few times)

Situations like this are a pain in the ass though, and getting more common.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Rough, but no system should crash simply because of hundreds of pieces of software installed on it. These things make it more important that people know basic matinence and troubleshooting for their computers. Sadly, most designers are making it harder, and giving people even less real information about their systems. Oddly, I try to use third-party software and utilities as much as possible, and often find it works better..