I just seem to have lost 120 Gb of data because my 7-month old Maxtor disk decided to die. I hope the people at Maxtor are happy now.
And of course, I have no backups, because 'it has never gone wrong before!'.
I don't care about the programs, games, music and video. But I do really care about my drawing work, web site material and my school archives.
It hasn't really sunk in yet that I have permanently lost x years of work. If I could just have those three folders back, I don't care about the 100+ Gb of other stuff
Damn. I've really lost it all :|
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Couldn't you retrieve your Web site stuff off of, say, your Web site?
Posted by Harry (Member # 265) on :
Well, yeah. But not the unfinished stuff.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
There's always these guys.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
Usurpers, hoodwinks !! Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
That happened to me with my 40 gig last year. I lost a lot of good music, digital pictures, personal stuff, etc. that I will never find again. I've considered getting it "recovered" as shown above, however there was a lot of 'likely illegal stuff' I really didn't want to answer for.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, unless it's kiddie porn, I don't think they usually care. I don't think they ask for proof that you legally own every bit of software/media on the drive.
I could be wrong, though.
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
On the bright-side, 7 months is *still* within the wimpy 1-year warranty that you get with hard drives now. You can at least get your drive replaced.
In any case, there's a reason why the companies have mostly replaced 3 year warranties with 1 year warranties.
Posted by Saltah'na (Member # 33) on :
Well, unless it's kiddie porn, I don't think they usually care.
Thanks to the wonderful people at Runtime Software, I've actually been able to recover almost everything from my disk!. About 60% of the directory structure was still intact, and a lot more files were found wandering about.
But the disk is very likely fried. I can't even get it to format. EIther way, I don't trust this disk anymore, and will certainly replace it.
Posted by Balaam Xumucane (Member # 419) on :
Congrats Harry. 60%, that's great. As long as it's the right 60%.
I've had mixed luck with Maxtor drives, but a lot of people I know swear by them. Didn't Maxtor used to be Quanum? Those were some garbage. Western Digital has done right by me, but then I always hear horror stories.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
My Maxtor drive started having the same problem again that I had a thread about a while back. So I replaced it today (I'd wanted something bigger, anyway). I went with Western Digital, since my other WD drive has lasted about four years with nary a problem. Though, I've heard the horror stories, too. So, who knows?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Maxtors are meh. IBMs are meh. WDs are meh. Seagates are meh. Samsungs are meh. Hitachis are meh.
So, they all suck.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
I have a Western Digital 40Gb, not one problem in four years. And I've filled it to the brim, taken it for a dance and then deleted half of it, several times over these past years. So they're OK in my book.
Posted by Futurama Guy (Member # 968) on :
quote:Originally posted by Nim the Fanciful: I have a Western Digital 40Gb, not one problem in four years.
My Western Digital 60Gig serves me well, for I am its master. I also have a 6-year old 4Gig (yes, "four") Western Digital which I use to run my OS off of, that is still kicking.
My 40Gig that took a dump on me was a Seagate.
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
My WD 13GB is dying on me after 5 years. But then again, the drive has a life expectancy of 5 years.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
Yeah, I'll be needing to change computers altogether soon, anyway, I need a bigger HD, likle 120Gb, and neither the processor (1600MHz) nor the RAM (512Mb) and graphics card (128Mb) can take what "Far Cry", "Halflife 2" and "Doom 3" is dishing out. Which feels ridiculous, considering what we had six years ago...
I'm playing through "Far Cry" now, it's okay when I'm just walking around and stoeff, I get 100 frames per sec in 1024*768, but when I get into fights or pick objects up from the floor, the processor and graphics card (GeForce 4600) gets into a bottleneck it can't recover from, freezing for a minute or two before commencing, or more often than not, jumping into a Blue Screen Of Death that says either "Page Fault in a NonPaged Area" or "Your NV4DISP.DLL is phuqed, lol!".
Posted by Mucus (Member # 24) on :
quote:Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane: I've had mixed luck with Maxtor drives, but a lot of people I know swear by them. Didn't Maxtor used to be Quanum?
Other way, IIRC Maxtor bought Quantum. I've had about the same luck with any brand, I just look out for the ones with 3 year warranty because I usually end up using it
Nim: I've played FarCry on a friends computer with similar specs. I'd say that the CPU is probably ok (assuming its an AMD) and while the ram is bit a cramped, its not that bad. The video card is definitely the bottleneck, replacing just that would be a lot more affordable than a whole new computer.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
I agree with Mucus. But even so, going from over 100fps to a speed so slow that the computer crashes seems a bit extreme.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
My new mobo/CPU/memory I ordered recently comes with a free copy of "Far Cry" for I don't know what reason. Is it any good?
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
It is very good, in fact I daresay it is the most beautiful Firstperson-Shooter in the market, until "Halflife 2" and "Doom 3" is let out. UbiSoft managed to sneak a 4th Gen game out before the big guns had time to release theirs. So play it while it's new, is my advice.
The human models and intricately detailed weapons are one thing, and the water effects and lightning, but the real meat and potatoes are the extremely big maps. It reminds me of the old "Delta Force" games, only a lot less sucky. You really need a Hummer or a Beach Buggy to traverse the maps and save time. Some newer features (doppler effect, Ragdoll principle on inanimate objects and corpses) round off the thing.
This one gives nice scale.
Also, this one. Guy on boat, getting surprised by antipersonnel rocket. Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Don't play Far Cry for the story, though. Play it for the graphics, the sharp if inhumanly prescient AI, the sound (except the voice acting) and the very very large and beautifully sculpted outdoor levels. And the graphics. Even if you don't have a DX9-compliant video card. They are exquisite. The game's more of a nextgen 3D engine showcase than anything else. But a fantastic (and proprietary no less) nextgen 3D engine showcase with specular highlights and pixel shaders and displacement mapping and stuff. Play it. If only to marvel at the math being whizzed before your eyes.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
I'm probably going to have to end up replacing my four-year-old video card, too. Crap.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Well, that's something I'd do without hesitation if I had to supplant my motherboard, CPU, and memory all at once. It'd just be a real bottleneck otherwise.
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, I already spent over $400 on that stuff. Plus $90 (after rebate) on that new hard drive. I'd like to avoid much more spending at the moment.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
What did you get for that price, then?
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
TSN, give it a try. If you can play in 1024*768 res with medium quality everything, your card is OK.
There is another problem with Far Cry that so far neither the creators, Microsoft or Dell has managed to isolate or compensate for. It has nothing to do with too low memory or shit like that (even gamerz with 3.4Ghz processor and 2Gb RAM and ATI9800 get it), it is some sort of game architecture problem, generates bluescreens now and then. The next patch will probably fix it.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Though, since you've done four years with your old graphics card, you might as well blow an extra $150 on a 9800 Pro now and spare yourself from having to upgrade any of your primary components for the next four.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Or, if he's not desperate to play any new games, he could wait a bit. It's not like the game is going anywhere.
quote:Originally posted by Nim the Fanciful: ...it is some sort of game architecture problem, generates bluescreens now and then. The next patch will probably fix it.
When I was growing up, we used to call that "bad programming".
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Well, that was before Microsoft pioneered the concept of having the beta testing phase come after the product was released.
And the hard drive is a Western Digital 120GB.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Has it got a PCI Express slot on it? (Is that even available yet?)
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
quote:Slots � One AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) 1.5V 4x/8x slot � Five PCI 2.2 32-bit Master PCI Bus slots. (support 3.3v / 5v PCI bus interface)
So, no.
And there are some boards with PCI-E (which, if you're wondering, is not the same as PCI-X) slots out already, but they're still very very pricey and, since there are no PCI-E video cards yet and today's fastest AGP cards don't even max out the AGP bus, also very very pointless to buy. Plus, Tim is a big fat cheapskate, so he wouldn't have bought one anyway.
Posted by Chase Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
What the hell are computers even about? Mine is loud. I wish I could stick some cotton batting into it to shut it up.
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Buy a quieter fan/PSU.
Posted by Chase Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
I DON"T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT IS, OR HOW>
Posted by TSN (Member # 31) on :
Fan: a motorized device with a circular series of blades which spin, creating a flow of air.
How: transport yourself to an appropriate retail store and exchange currency for desired goods.
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
That would entail going outside, though.
OUTSIDE. LIKE WITH SUNSHINE AND PEOPLE AND STUFF. RRR.
Posted by Chase Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
What is a PSU?
HOW DO FANS MAKE QUIET?
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Power supply. That thing you plug the power cable into. Buy one that's advertised as being quiet, and that's powerful enough for your computer. Unscrew the old one, take it out, screw in the new one.
Actually, get someone else to do it. Someone clever and sexy. Called Liam. Pay for him to go there. Buy him a plane.
Posted by Chase Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
That would cause you to be near me.
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
And inhale all that turnip-free breath! York! (phunnie word)
My Dell 8200 was quiet as a mouse when I got it, you didn't even know it was on unless you looked at the HD dioda. But then I bought the first-generation GeForce4-card, whose fan later was revoked and rebuilt by Nvidia (not mine)...
After I had installed it, the comp sounded like a miniature jet engine. *WEEEEEEEEE!!!* Still does...
(*this can be taken as meaning that the computer sounds happy and euforic. Such is not the case.)
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
Well, that's your fault for buying a first generation GeForce 4 card, isn't it? Couldn't you tell by looking at it that the fan would be loud enough to wake the dead?
Posted by Nim the Fanciful (Member # 205) on :
Laff all you want, I've gotten three good years out of this card and it's still going, no point in trading up a 128RAM-card for a, um, *checks Nvidia/ATI* 128RAM-card. That's one of the benefits of buying the first version of a new family of tech-thingies, whatever type of machinery it is. The intermediaries are never as boosting as the next BIG thing, and the last one.
1992: 14" screen -> 15" screen *Wow!*
1995: 15" -> 17" *WHOAH!*
1998: 17" -> 19" *Nice.*
2003: 19" -> 21" *Well...bigger.*
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
But on the negative side, you pay a hefty price premium, and miss out on them correcting all the errors in the second round of cards.
And the amount of memory that a card has really isn't that relevent. You could buy a GeForce IV MX with 128mb of memory, or a top of the range GeForce FX with the same amount. Doesn't meant that the cards are even close to each other in terms of performance.
Posted by Chase Ultra Magnus (Member # 239) on :
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