DD_Brando

As Jedi said, the 00_6DOF_Tracker_2_0_sHr is a fine place to start. The Default profile is good too, as there's less need to adjust the curves with the more sensitive camera. Charvel's profile for IL-2, for example, was pretty good for TiR 3 but is a non-starter with the 5 software.

It's simple really - start carrying out mass executions of Somalian pirates and the situation will escalate, with Somalis carrying out revenge killings on hostage crews. It would get very ugly very quickly. The Russian approach seems quite balanced really as the coverage of the re-taking of the tanker "Moscow University" shows. It's clear the Russians have thought out their approach - with a secure area to retreat to, with access to the ship's controls and radio facilities - and a response force at hand to carry out an assault and re-take the ship with the only casualty a pirate who was stupid enough to shoot back. Fair play to them - we could take a lesson there.

I'm sorry that I don't have any understanding of spoken Russian, as I would really like to hear the part where someone says "handcuff these guys to the boat and then sink it". If that isn't said, then the pictures don't really say anything at all. B

That's an interesting point Kim, and one which I'm about to undertake. Something has screwed my Windows 7 installation and I am unable to access the 'Microsoft Management Console or my Catalyst Control centre. So I'm about to do a fresh installation onto an OCZ Vertex_2 60GB SSD. Hopefully this will bring me back to normal, and I will be using the back-ups that I have on my 500GB 'storage' drive to restore my settings. I'm not using a mirror 'cos I lost the .tib file for my Acronis - d'oh! But once I have reloaded my drivers and my e-mail and browsers I will use Acronis to back it up. As others have said, it is definitely worth keeping Windows and apps separate from games (using partitions and/or separate drives) and your pics, vids and music. B

Thats exactly wot I just did. Merry Christmas, Brando m8. Thanks for that excellent advise Brando So, other than putting it onto a clean 4.09 for backup, with the UP updater putting 4.10 on we are good to go with our current install? As far as I can see, yes - but I'm not sure what the DDz' current install is for the UltraPack. I've been using the UP2.01 as of 12th June 2010 and I'm not sure whether that changed at the same time as installing 4.10 into the JSGME. What I can say is that selecting any mods at the same time as running the 4.10 is not a good idea. Note also that there are some difficulties with the 4.10 dedicated server - the bug list can be found here @ the Banana forum. I expect they'll be issuing a patch in a short while. Merry Christmas m8s B

It's also easy to just run the UP Updater which will download it and place a 'Stock 4.10m' entry in the JSGME lists.

At the end of the day it makes no difference if Colin Matthews foregoes his bonus. The money stays with BAA and does nothing for the people affected by his supposed inefficiency. Maybe if he'd taken the gentleman's route and blown his brains out with a revolver we might feel convinced that he was sorry

Just another example of the British ability to dither over such important decisions. It goes along with us being pretty well bankrupt since around 1918, and the philosophy of 'make do and mend' that has prevailed ever since. It's become endemic, and you'll be hard put to find any area of our infrastructure that hasn't been blighted by this foolishness. B

I think that the blocky stuff is best corrected by dabbling in the conf.ini file Here's an example for high-end ATI card users - make sure that Catalyst AI is Disabled in the CCC - and you are using latest drivers. [Render_OpenGL] TexQual=3 TexMipFilter=2 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< can be tried at 3 TexCompress=0 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< can be set at 2 if necessary TexFlags.UseDither=1 TexFlags.UseAlpha=0 TexFlags.UseIndex=0 TexFlags.PolygonStipple=1 TexFlags.UseClampedSprites=0 TexFlags.DrawLandByTriangles=0 TexFlags.UseVertexArrays=1 TexFlags.DisableAPIExtensions=0 TexFlags.ARBMultitextureExt=1 TexFlags.TexEnvCombineExt=1 TexFlags.SecondaryColorExt=1 TexFlags.VertexArrayExt=1 TexFlags.ClipHintExt=0 TexFlags.UsePaletteExt=0 TexFlags.TexAnisotropicExt=1 TexFlags.TexCompressARBExt=1 TexFlags.TexEnvCombine4NV=0 TexFlags.TexEnvCombineDot3=1 TexFlags.DepthClampNV=0 TexFlags.SeparateSpecular=1 TexFlags.TextureShaderNV=0 HardwareShaders=1 .................. essential for Perfect mode Shadows=2 Specular=2 SpecularLight=2 DiffuseLight=2 DynamicalLights=1 MeshDetail=2 VisibilityDistance=3 Sky=2 Forest=3 LandShading=3 ...........................................these four settings can be adjusted down if required LandDetails=2 LandGeom=3 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< or 2 TexLarge=1 TexLandQual=3 TexLandLarge=1 VideoSetupId=17 (use the ID number already in your conf) Water=2 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< can be 1 or 0 Effects=1 These settings have worked on-line for me for several years. A friend of mine is using them on a 3870 and anything above that should be good to go.

Have a great time Brando

Thanks ever so much, Arthur B

My suggestion is that whatever he gets, it would be essential to get hold of some sticky-back Velcro to locate the stick-base firmly onto the desk. The AV8R video showed up just how useless the rubber feet are, and I can say from experience that this would be fairly useless and frustrating for a one-handed person. I found a source for Velcro up to 6 inches wide and I use it to hold my pedals to the inclined plate on my play seat. Most hardware shops should be able to obtain it. If your uncle didn't want to stick Velcro to his computer desk, which is understandable, then I recommend a sheet of ply the size of the desk, which can have the Velcro on it, and which can be secured to the desk by small thumbscrews. I would bet he has a few of the latter in his workshop - I need plenty to manage the problems of holding work steady while I saw, hammer or drill stuff. B

I've used Overclockers for nearly a decade and must've spent nearly ten grand with them. Rigs for me, my family, close friends, fellow gamers, complete strangers.......... I just found their stock to be of good quality, and their delivery service is very, very prompt. I nearly never had issues with them, but I got into an almighty row a couple of years back over a malfunctioning motherboard. IIRC it was an Abit with a Uli chipset, designed to run with a 939 cpu, but no matter how I tried I couldn't get it to boot or to load windows or something: so I packed it all up and sent it back after getting an RMA number. After a fortnight I received a package from OC.UK - containing the same bloody mobo! (I always place a small dot on an RMA'd item using a permanent marker, just for this reason.) I got straight onto the sales crew and asked them what they were playing at? The first reply said they had sent me an identical board as a replacement, end of story. I replied, telling them about the identifying mark and the dated photo I had taken before posting it back, and asking what tests they had made to assure that this mobo was actually good? In the meantime I bench-assembled the board, cpu and memory, etc. just to see if they had cured the fault, but it was DOA. The next couple of posts revealed what was really going on. I had really pee'd them off by proving that they had lied; that was pretty clear by the tone of their next post. In return I insisted that they comply with their own ToS and send me a working board AND refund the postage costs that their actions had caused me. By this time I had determined that this model of mobo was no longer in stock, so they were stuck. Their next reply was gloves off time. I don't have the original message but it went to the effect that I must have done something to the board and caused the malfunction myself. I shot off an instant retort, based on the fact that they had sent me back the same board, probably untested, with no mention of any damage. I received no response to that message. In the end I wrote a fairly scathing letter to the CEO, detailing my record of custom and my annoyance at being screwed around over a £65 mobo. I remained polite throughout the whole exchange, but I refused to back down over my rights. The result was prompt and positive. I received an apology and a new DFI mobo within three days of posting my complaint. I wasn't asked for the extra cost of the DFI so I didn't quibble over the postage. I think that some of their Sales staff are young and inadequately trained. When the firm was starting out the tech support was excellent and the sales-peeps were polite and competent. The quality started to drop as the firm enlarged and had to take on new staff. I hope they get their act together for you soon. You are obviously using the right pitch, so lets hope your 'key terms' don't fall on deaf ears. If it goes on I think I still have the email address of the CEO somewhere Ross

Love it! I always felt that an instruction like "Find out the location of your local A&E Department before commencing work" would have helped a lot! I could really relate to: I would add, "Oh, bollocks!" Or frequently,"Bollocks, not again!!" It all reminded me of when my wife and I rebuilt the engine of my Yamaha XS650, using the guidance of the Haynes manual. It was the first time I built anything one-handed and with the help of a woman. Everything was going well as we came to the point of replacing the cylinder block. The mating surfaces were as clean as the proverbial whistle as we spread new Hermetite and laid the base gasket into place...... then we clamped the piston rings using strips of tin-can (as suggested by Haynes) and a pair of tiny thumbscrews, and then we laid that block into place as sweet as could be. All the rings went into the pre-oiled bores with the gaps arranged radially, it was sweet as a nut, and Valda went off to make us both a well deserved cup of tea. In the meantime I tightened down the nuts of the block locating studs and then checked the parts required for adding the cylinder head.... at which point I discovered a rubber ring in the gasket set which looked like an over-large oil seal. As I puzzled over its purpose I suddenly had a vision of a channel, or groove, that ran around within the mating surface on the crankcase which the Haynes manual had provided no info about. I had just realised how essential this component was when Valda returned with tea and cake. I can only say she took the news well. We stripped off the block and the gasket and she restored the mating surfaces again. As a theatre sister in coronary care she had really picked up a lot of skills and those faces were practically sterile when we started over. Big oil seal in place, gasket goo'd on both sides, piston rings clamped, we settled that block back down again without any fuss and stood back to congratulate ourselves. It was then that I noticed that the exhaust ports were facing backwards............ I'm happy to report that it was a case of "third time lucky" and the completed engine was a beaut - but I'd have to add an extra line to the health and safety instructions; namely "Find out the location of your local Marriage Guidance counsellor before commencing work with your wife!"

One way which you can try is the 'agnostic' install. This involves uninstalling all third-party drivers from the donor o/s and allowing Windows to run those devices. It's then possible to transplant the disc and then re-install the drivers as required after the boot-up. It's worked for me several times.

Could this be because the PC you are restoring to has a different ID code? Which Acronis program are you using for these operations? B

I hear you with regard to side-effects! Since I had the brain implants I've managed to give up a couple of drugs that have caused me to get very depressed. I feel a few years younger and lighter. It's good to hear that they are looking to start you back on the "wonder drug" - now that you've got the water problem under control. Hang in there Jim. Best wishes Ross

Quad, 5870 & SSD B

Just fitted mine and it seems to work BUT when I removed the original cover there were no wires attached to it and there was a loose green wire just laying in the bottom of the mounting. Is it worth getting a BT man to have a look? I wasn't watching while the engineer installed the box I have the feeling that a connection to anything isn't required - it's just the proximity of the plate to the cable that does the job. It might be an idea to call in the engineer if you can get him in for free. Ross

I'm glad of the timing of this thread! About a fortnight ago we had a line fault which knocked out the phone but left the Internet intact. I reported it to the robotic fault service using my neighbour's phone - "if you want to speak to a human - tough ****!" - and it was rectified after about ten minutes so I forgot about it. Then, two days later, a real live BT engineer appeared at the door to do some line tests. It turned out that our line was occasionally earthing to a neighbour's line at the exchange and they got that rectified. Cool! But there's an unofficial policy of not leaving the punter without something to see, and it came in the shape of an OpenReach master socket which replaced the 30 year old, round socket that came before. The engineer approved my use of RJ45 shielded cable from there to my router (instead of bell wire) and I got my I-plate for nothing. All in all a timely fault B

Thinking of you Jim. Valda & I send you our very best wishes Ross

The use of plastic piping is definitely cool! I've been looking for a way to (re)build my simpit for quite a while, so this topic is quite an eye-opener for me. Thanks for posting it. B

Wah hay....!!! New install, here we come Oh, bugger, time I grabbed another SSD to accomodate all this.