How to Use Windows

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.

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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.

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I just bought a used PC running Windows XP. It had been really fast loading and running programs and accessing the web, but suddenly it slowed down to a complete stop. I had to unplug it just to shut it down. So, I unplugged the Ethernet cable and it worked fine.

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I’ve got two monitors: a slightly older 24-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2443 BWX and a brand-new 22-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2233 RZ. I am attempting a dual-monitor setup for Illustrator/Photoshop purposes (as well as animation and other forms of graphic design) on a Radeon HD 4850 X2 with Catalyst 9.8 drivers. Out of the box the color representation couldn’t be worse. The new monitor is extremely blue and the old one looks better, but is still a tad red

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I have an Acer Aspire 5100 with a Phoenix BIOS. It came with an AMD Turion 64 single-core processor; I decided to upgrade to an AMD Turion 64X2 TL-64 dual-core processor. The computer recognizes everything but the processor model: In Device Manager it says “AMD processor model unknown.” The computer recognizes both cores of the CPU and gives the correct clock speed. How do I get my computer to recognize the processor model? —Kevin Rush First, Kevin, props for upgrading a notebook CPU.

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I am currently running a semi-old computer: a 3GHz Pentium 4 on an Asus P4C800-E with an AGP expansion slot. It has 4GB of PC3200 DDR, a 500GB hard drive, and a BFG GeForce 7800 GC 265MB videocard on the AGP slot. I’m getting ready to upgrade to a newer AGP card: the HIS Radeon 4670 1GB, to be exact.

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I have a Thermaltake DuOrb CPU cooler and when I installed it, I tightened the screws until I felt some tension, but I’m not sure that was the right thing to do. I have a Q6600 CPU and the temp was 34-36 C at 2.4GHz (stock). I overclocked my CPU to 2.8GHz and the temp went up to 38-42 C (idle). If I overclock to 3.0GHz the CPU gets too hot—55-65 C idle. Is there a proper way to tighten a CPU cooler for optimal performance?

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I bought two laptops for my two granddaughters about a year and a half ago. Now both have missing keys. Is there a way to purchase replacement keys, or do I need to buy a whole new keyboard? These two laptops are both Compaqs sold by HP

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