How to Use Windows

I followed Maximum PC ’s “Clean Start” article (February 2009) and used Acronis True Image to set up a weekly full disk image. My XP Pro system is installed on C:, which is a 1.5 TB hard drive. I have another 1.5TB hard drive of the exact same make and model, to which I write the weekly image. I have 120GB of free space on the C: drive, but the backup drive is already full! The destination drive contains no files except the image; is it possible for an exact image of a C: drive to be bigger than the original (by more than 10 percent)

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

One evening my house’s master breaker box was shut off while my computer was still on. I went into the BIOS and ensured that all my settings were set as before, but since then, every time I start up my computer cold it starts to spool up, then stops for about two seconds, and then boots. If I restart after my machine has been running for a while, it boots with no delay. I went into the BIOS to see if there was any problem in the APM settings, but I still got delays during cold boots

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I built a new Core 2 Quad Q9400 machine on an Asus P5Q Deluxe board with 4GB of Corsair DDR2, a 74GB Raptor, and a GeForce GTX 260. The problem is that it starts up really slowly. The rig will POST and go through hardware boot but right before the Windows XP logo comes up, I get a black screen for seven to eight minutes.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I’m having a problem with my default resolution when running Far Cry 2 in DirectX 10 mode. When I run Far Cry 2 in DirectX 9 everything seems to be OK, when I select DirectX 10 mode, the display expands to what looks like 860×600. I’m running the Asus PT6 Deluxe Motherboard, Intel Core i7 920, 12GB of DDR3, and Windows Vista x64. I have two ATI Radeon 4870s in CrossFire, running a Dell 24-inch LCD at 1920×1200 resolution. I’m using the latest ATI Catalyst Control and driver in CrossFire mode.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I want to buy a new CPU, one that will support new features like hardware virtualization. Before I move to Windows 7 from Windows XP, I wish to find out if its Windows XP Mode will work for my 32-bit programs under the 64-bit version of Windows 7. Has anyone even tested this? —Mitch Miller Mitch, Windows XP Mode, the virtual XP install that you can use in Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate, is 32-bit. And you won’t be able to use hardware 3D acceleration in Windows XP Mode.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

Does the orientation of a hard drive correlate to its life expectancy? With a series of lovely grinding sounds, the 750GB Seagate hard drive in my Thecus NAS failed and all data was lost. The hard drive only lasted a little more than two years. The NAS (and thus the hard drive) stands upright, but in most desktops the hard drives lie flat. So, does the orientation effect the hard drive’s life expectancy?

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I need to back up my files in anticipation of upgrading my rig from 32-bit Windows XP to 64-bit Windows 7. I don’t own an external hard drive and can’t afford to buy one (being a poor college student). I do, however, have a rig with two hard drives.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I have an HP HDX18T laptop with an external drive that holds my old stock 250GB/5,400rpm 2.5-inch drive. The external case uses an internal SATA connection and has both a USB 2.0 and eSATA connection externally for my laptop. I’ve read that there is a theoretical transfer rate of 4GB/s with eSATA, but I’m lucky to get 40MB/s copying to or from. Can you tell me what I’m missing?

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I have a problem with my X-Fi Platinum setup. It worked fine on my old Dell 8200, but I recently upgraded my mobo to an EVGA nForce 780i and now the front ports don’t seem to work. What gives? I reinstalled the drivers several times and nothing. The main card works just fine, but the drive bay interface is the whole reason I bought the card in the first place. —Rocco Nicoletta Since the card works with the rear ports for both output and input, the Doctor is going to assume it’s something as simple as a loose connection or damaged cable that occurred during the motherboard move. You should power down and unplug your system.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC

I plan to install a second-generation Intel X-25 80GB SSD drive in my system. I have heard that SSDs suffer speed losses when they are written over compared to when they are new. How would a page file affect this? —Jon Coulter Yes, many SSDs suffer slowdowns when writing over memory blocks that have previously held data, which is why the TRIM command (see this month’s White Paper) was introduced. Windows 7 supports the TRIM command, which is basically a garbage-collection routine that prevents this type of slowdown during writes, and many drive manufacturers have released similar garbage-collecting programs—usually named wiper.exe or something similar—for you to run on your SSD periodically.

For the full story, go to Maximum PC