Category: Technology

Symptom: You try running Quicktime media player from Apple on your Windows Vista PC and after a few seconds playing, Quicktime chashes and gives you a buffer error.

If this is you, then you are probably running SATA drives using an NVIDIA RAID Driver. If you run Quicktime files from the Internet they work great but any file on your hard drive will crash the Apple player.

Don’t panic, this is normal behavior, albeit, very irritating. The solution is that you need to run the files from either a USB hard drive or an IDE one. At this point neither Apple, Microsoft nor NVIDIA is admitting that there is a problem.

See thread that Apple has on their website.

If I play any files encoded in the MOV file format that are stored LOCALLY on any of my 3 internal SATA HD’s, the file play for a few seconds with sound, but without video, then eventually the buffer overrun error occurs.

If I stream the EXACT SAME file via the internet, or my local home network, or play them from my external USB HD, USB Thumb drive, or even burn them to CD/DVD and play them from that, I do not encounter the buffer overrun problem, and the files play just fine, even the files that are in high definition. I’m not an expert, but in my case, this may point to poor Nvidia SATA drivers, although I could be wrong.

Just to recap. If I play any MOV files from the internal SATA HD’s attached to my motherboard directly, I get a problem. If I stream them, or play them from another storage medium, I do not encounter a problem.

The US Senate is not the only thing running amuck this week. If you are running Windows Vista with any flavor of NVIDIA RAID then this could be a challenging time for you. The NVIDIA drivers that were just released via both their website and Microsoft Update are causing major issues for many folks that rely on RAID controllers in their computers.

The drivers from the Windows Update and those from NVIDIA totally kill my RAID 5 array. I get the legendary “blue screen of death” and the system reboots into the boot window where you can choose Last Known Good Startup. This will get your computer back up but then a window asking to install the new RAID drivers greets you. If you say NO the system tries to install the driver anyways.

My immediate concern is that I need to kill the automatic update from prompting me to install the RAID drivers each time I boot my computer. Sounds like a registry tweak or I need to delete a downloaded update program on my hard drive.

The support boards at NVIDIA’s website are full of stories by other hearty souls dealing with the same type of issues.  The drivers are part of the 158.18 update. The manufacturer considers these drivers a Beta for Windows Vista. Half of this driver package can be installed automatically; the Ethernet, SMBus & SMU, however, the RAID portion cannot. Don’t install the RAIDtool application. If you want to try this part of the driver package then create system restore point and give it a try. Oh, and good luck.

I went on the website for my motherboard and their driver site had an additional nugget of information missing from both the NVIDIA and Microsoft websites that I had already deduced from reading the support forums on the NVIDIA site, these RAID drivers must be installed by booting your system with the original Vista DVD and pressing F6 to install additional drivers.

For those of you that are not familiar with the significance of this fact, it is important. First, it means that the driver that Windows Update is trying to force feed me will never install correctly. Since my bootable driver is my RAID array, the driver that Windows is trying to replace is currently in use whenever my system is running. In fact my system cannot run without it.

Second, I need to create a floppy disk with the updated drivers in order to update the RAID drivers. There are actually two drivers that need to be updated. Once the NVIDIA update is downloaded and expanded, the necessary drivers can be found at the following location: C:\NVIDIA\nForceWinVista64\15.00\IDE\WinVista64\sataraid. Copy all files in this directory to your freshly formatted floppy drive. (Before trying this update, it would be good to locate your original 64-bit drivers and have that floppy available just in case you need to undo this experiment.)

Insert your Vista DVD in the driver, set BIOS to boot off of this drive and start the system on the DVD. When prompted, press F6 key to install additional drivers. You may now select the first driver from the floppy and install. Next press the S key to install additional drivers and select and install second driver from the floppy. If you mess this up, reboot and do over. You cannot damage your system and have made no changes to the drivers at this point.

Disclaimer: This next step is based on experience and I am relying on memory because I have not done this in a while. Next select Repair. (The goal on this step is to get the drivers on floppy copied to hard drive to replace old drivers.) If floppy is still in the drive this should happen without much user input. Once the system has completed repair, remove floppy disk and DVD and reboot. If system successfully reboots then you are done.

I am leaving for a much-deserved vacation and won’t be trying this before I return. If you run this update, write me and let me know how it went.

Last week I loaded the April 3 Security Update from Microsoft onto my work computer.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/update/bulletins/200704OOB.mspx

This update was marked as Critical and was released early just to get it in circulation. Unfortunately it created a .dll conflict error.

RTHDCPL.EXE – Illegal System DLL Relocation
The system DLL user32.dll was relocated in memory. The application will not run properly. The relocation occurred because the DLL C:\system32\HHCTRL.OXC occupied an address range reserved for Windows system DLLs. The vendor supplying the DLL should be contacted for a new DLL.

In all my years of computing I have never before seen that error. I restored my system to an earlier date and again loaded the update with the same results. I searched in vain on the Microsoft website to find an explanation for this error. While the computer seemed to perform correctly, I wanted to be sure my system was ok.

I looked up all the .dll files mentioned in the error message and found that the one triggering the error was a RealTek audio driver. I went to the RealTek site and downloaded their HD audio update and I no longer get the error message.

Why there was conflict between Microsoft and RealTek I don’t know but I hope the security update was really that important.

UPDATE
After this blog was posted, Microsoft released a patch.

Update for Windows XP (KB935448)
Date last published: 4/10/2007
Download size: 702 KB
Install this update to resolve an issue where certain third-party applications may not start, and you receive an error message: “Illegal System DLL Relocation” after you install security update KB925902 (MS07-017). After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

Well I finally got my new computer up and running. I wanted a machine that was fast with lots of storage and room to grow. I think I have achieved that and more.

Unlike the strawman arguments found in the Apple advertisements where the PC is prepping for surgery to upgrade to Vista, I wanted a system made to use the new OS as it was supposed to operate.

Just a comment, I do find the hypocrisy of Apple in their ad campaign intolerable. Back when Apple had their own operating system—before they junked it and went to a Unix-based OS and Intel CPU chips—I tried one of their computers. After a short time I gave it away to a friend that wanted an Apple system. Their Soviet-style business model stinks and their computers are overrated. Clearly viewers of Oprah and AOL users are the target market for their computers.

If you want a more neutral evaluation of your computer’s ability to run Vista, run the Vista Upgrade Advisor tool at http://www.cnet.com/4520-33_1-6671810-1.html

Anyway, I went to tech nerd heaven a.k.a. Fry’s Electronics and purchased the following:
AMD dual core processor 5,000 MHz
2 GB 800 MHz RAM
Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 Motherboard
Three 500 GB SATA II Hard-drives in RAID 5 Array
Antec 900 Mid-Tower Case for Gamers
Striker 600 Watt Power Supply
Nvidia 8800 SLI video card with 640 MB RAM

The Gigabyte motherboard was actually the second motherboard I tried for this system. Originally I had purchased an Abit Fatal1ty board but it would not work correctly so I took it back. The Abit board was very frustrating, I don’t know if it was the board or the Kingston RAM but the machine would randomly lock-up at various points in the start-up sequence, even when making changes to the BIOS. In addition, I could never successfully format the RAID 5 drive. I tried Windows XP Professional, Home and Professional x64 and none would install.

The only way to get an operating system installed was to break the RAID 5 apart and install on a single drive. But still there were random lock-ups.

The Gigabyte board worked perfectly the first time. Getting past the two hour step on formatting the hard-drive was concerning but the rest of the process went quite rapidly.
After installing to OS, which ended up being Windows XP Professional x64, I installed the drives from the motherboard DVD and ran Windows Update. After just four downloads the system was up to date. One of the updates was Service Pack 2 with an impressive 351 MB download; but at 2 a.m., that was a rapid download.

It took over five hours to transfer my music, photos and video files to the new computer via our home network. The 10/100 hub got quite a workout. I haven’t verified to transfer size yet but it was probably in excess of 250 GBs.

I still have some more preps to do to the system before I finally get Vista installed.

I went to the HP website and downloaded drivers. I found that my replacement Photosmart printer had drivers but my nice scanner was no longer supported. HP had a note where my scanner driver should be located informing me that my device must be more that seven years old and therefore is no longer supported. My HP Scanjet 6200c is a business quality scanner that connects via USB cable. It seems such a shame to part with it.

On a brighter note, I have found something to replace my Computer Associates anti-virus product. I bought the CA virus program because it is supposed to work on Windows XP Professional x64. It does seem to work except that it won’t scan incoming e-mail, which is probably the most vulnerable access point to my computer and the most likely avenue of attack.

It appears that the Kaspersky Internet Security 6.0 will work on 64-bit versions of Vista and XP. It is less of a performance hit than Symantec or CA products. I was impressed that Kaspersky found two Trojans and another virus in my e-mail that were not detected by the CA anti-virus program. The Trojans were from spam while my friend that uses exclusively Apple products sent the other virus. The program made a great first impression. http://usa.kaspersky.com/products/internet-security.php

In order to keep my computer running properly, I will need to get the new version of Diskeeper to keep my drives defragmented and running their best. Since my Raid 5 array is more than 768 MB, I need the Diskeeper Professional Premier edition. http://www.diskeeper.com/defrag.asp

Thankfully, both Kaspersky and Diskeeper have demo programs that I can test drive on my Vista OS.

Lastly, I have decided to switch which version of Vista that I will be installing. I had planned to install Windows Vista Ultimate but I have decided to purchase Windows Vista Home Premier. The only difference seems to be features that I will not need.

One area that I have been diligently researching for several days is the issue of Windows Vista and which versions are 32 bit, 64 bit or both. Microsoft has neglected to document this up front. Yesterday I was finally able to get some definitive answers to this mystery.

Vista is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, but some are easier to obtail than others.

The following Vista versions are available as 32 bit programs when purchased retail.
Home Basic
Home Premium
Business

At this link you can upgrade your 32-bit Vista to 64 for a nominal fee.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx

Windows Vista Ultimate has both 32 & 64 bit versions on the installation DVD.

Another nugget on this page is that all 32 bit versions of Vista are limited to 4 gigabytes of RAM while 64 bit OS can support up to 128 GB of RAM depending of which version that you are running.

32-bit versions of Vista will support 16-bit applications but the 64-bit OS won’t unless you are running Microsoft Virtual Machine 2007, which will be a free download later in the year. Virtual Machine will allow 64-bit operating system to operate 16-bit programs in a virtual environment running older versions of Windows. Virtual Machine 2004 is available for download now.

Also Microsoft is offering an upgrade special that can save you money over the retail prices. If you buy either full or upgrade version of Vista Ultimate, then you can also purchase license for two copies of Vista Home Premium for $49.99 each. This is simply a key to use same DVD that you already purchased to install the operating system on additional computers. See the link below for details.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/familydiscount.mspx

I’m really looking forward to getting myself a computer that can put Windows Vista to the test. Unfortunately, I will not be running out on January 30th to buy the new operating system from Microsoft.

First, I want to know if there are drives available run my hardware. When I upgraded to the 64 bit version of Windows XP many of my otherwise perfectly fine printers, cameras and other gadgets no longer worked. The lack of support by manufacturers was significant.

In addition all my trusty computer utilities were instantly obsolete. In fact most software companies still don’t support 64 bit operating systems. I had this wonderful OS with no antivirus, defrag or registry cleaning ability. Many programs that I rely on would not work and were not going to be supported by software makers. This included many 32 bit programs. By design no program with 16 bit code will run on a 64 bit OS. This includes Windows Vista. There are supposed to be both 32 and 64 bit versions of the new OS but information is not easy to find on the Microsoft site.

While a few companies finally did patch their code enough to run on a 64 bit OS, most also decided that I must be a business if I run a 64 bit OS and priced their products accordingly. Microsoft doesn’t even fully support the 64 bit version of XP. Their new OneCare product with anti-virus and other utilities will not work on their 64 bit OS.

64 bit computing is here to stay but will Vista be fully supported by the industry from the introduction on January 30? HP will not even release a list of their products that are supported in Vista until the 30th.

Will hardware manufacturers have a variety of drivers ready? Will they let us Beta Test their drivers and then find something that works or have they done their homework?

Based on my experience with 64 bit computing thus far, I recommend caution before blindly upgrading to Vista. In fact, Microsoft doesn’t even allow me to upgrade my OS to Vista. I must wipe the drive and start over.

If Microsoft can’t fully support their own software, what hope is there that the entire industry will do better?

Six months ago my wife and I finally brokedown and purchased a 42” Samsung LCD television. Like a good husband, I obeyed my wife and went to the local Comcast office and to get their high definition receiver with DVR. We hooked-up the composite cables and entered the world HD TV.

Shortly after we got everything hooked-up and running we began to encounter issues with what we called “pixelization.” Instead of the crystal clear image we had hoped to see we found many stations unwatchable. Many programs that we recorded for our small son from the PBS Sprout station were just a series of colored boxes that changed every few seconds. Many recordings had no audio. Some stations such as HBO just gave us a black screen with no picture. At other times these same stations seemed ok.

We finally quit relying on recordings of Thomas the perky little Tank Engine; opting instead to buy several DVDs just so the baby could have a morning visit with his friends from Great Britain.

After several months of really poor performance from Comcast and the obligatory visit from the repair guy, I finally decided to make the switch to satellite. First we switched our ISP to Frontier. This was a difficult decision because it is the only choice available to us in our area and Frontier has a checkered track record. It has been slower but more reliable than Comcast.

Next we chose DIRECTV. Why? Simple the children come first and DIRECTV is the only satellite provider to carry PBS Sprout.

We went to our local electronics store and paid for the installation and equipment. This part is strange on two accounts. First, although you pay for everything they only give you the DVR boxes not the dish or basic receiver units. Second they had no HD DVR units in stock. At the time of our purchase the DIRECTV website was placing folks on a waiting list. I had to drive to another store to get our HD DVR unit.

During this time I found-out that the DVR unit needs two feeds from the dish (ours has four) so that you can record one show while watching another. Once I learned this little nugget, I had the mental picture of a knuckle dragging guy with a staple gun in one hand tacking wires all over the side of our house and a drill in the other putting holes through our walls. To avoid this scenario, I chose to run coax cable from the point where the dish would be installed to the room with the HD TV.

I used a low voltage cutout and cover plate for the cable and as an added bonus I ran CAT 5 cable at the same time. All were purchased from the local Home Depot.

Next the installers came and installed the equipment; mostly. The only issue that they were unable to resolve was connecting the HD DVR unit to our HD TV. After an hour of messing with our HDMI cable connection, they gave-up. We were told the Receiver was defective. We were to contact the store and get a new unit. After talking to three different people at the store, we finally reserved another unit at another store. My wife and I went to the other store, picked up the unit and installed it with the same result; the TV flashing a No Sync Signal error in a blue box on the screen.

My wife went to Google and found the answer by looking-up the wrong model of Samsung television. The bottom line is that the Samsung units require a signal of 720i but the DVR unit defaults at installation to 480i.

I proved this by connecting the DVR unit with composite cables. I was then able to configure the DVR box and activate the service.

Then I set the unit to 1080i and connected my HDMI cable and I had a picture. However, to keep it that way, I needed to program the DVR unit to only use a resolution of 1080i. Oh, the composite cable and HDMI can both be connected at the same time.

Last, the dish installers never have contacted us to see if the TV is working. It’s been a week now.

Oh the picture with DIRECTV, I describe it this way: Comcast is like listening to a Salt Lake City AM radio station late at night and DIRECTV is like your favorite song on local radio in FM Stereo. In other words, satellite is far superior. IT ROCKS!!!

I downloaded Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 yesterday. Some bugs were encountered quite soon after installation.

First, I am using MSN Messenger to manage a Hotmail account. My computer at work keeps asking me if I want to install Windows Messenger every time I check my e-mail. This never happened until I installed IE 7.

Secondly and more importantly, I can’t get links on some websites to function. I tried to make my son a doctor appointment today but was unable to do it because IE 7 could not navigate on the Kaiser website.

In the first screen shot, you will see ranges of the alphabet that are clickable in previous versions of IE but will not function using IE 7.

To get to this screen go http://www.kp.org
Click on A Member
Select your Region select Northern California and click continue
From pulldown menu go to Locate our services and select Facility Directory

In the second screen shot, the departments should be links to another page but they also will not work. This example can be reached by selecting Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center.

When these issued are resolved I will be sure to let my readers know the fix is available.

04-27-2006
Additional Bug
In Hotmail, when I select Print View, the window that it brings-up does not have a print icon on the menu. I found that pressing Control and P key simultaneously will bring-up this print menu.

Just when I though that I had conquered all the pitfalls and perils of my 64-bit Windows XP Professional, I found the mother of all incompatibilities. Microsoft Office will not run on Microsoft’s cutting edge XP Operation System!

Let me explain. My computer is running Office 2003 with the basic office suite of programs and it runs just fine, but on Friday I tried to install my Microsoft Publisher and Microsoft Frontpage off of my Office 2000 CDs. This attempt at installation ended in completed disaster. My computer failed to respond properly after the installation went bad. So just like Microsoft has trained me to do, I rebooted my computer. Oops! I got the error that my Registry is corrupt and I needed to repair it.

Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

This message is worse that the dread blue screen of death. Thankfully, I used my wife’s computer and went to work on the Knowledgebase at Microsoft. I found a five page procedure to follow to restore the registry. Basically you need a coordinated attack using the XP installation disk, Microsoft’s handy support article and a floppy drive.

1 Delete Corrupted Registry
First boot to Repair screen using the XP installation disk. Next run batch file created by cutting and pasting text file from Knowledgebase article to floppy disk. Run text as batch file per instructions.

2 Restore Original Registries
Then reboot into Safe Mode. Copy and rename back-up copies of Registry files from Restore Point to temporary location. This puts computer back to condition at original OS installation.

3 Restore Previous Good Restore Point
Run second batch file created on the floppy per instructions. Now computer can see existing Restore Points.

4 Restore Point
Then reboot into safe Mode. Select System Restore to select previous Restore Point.

Then reboot normally. You will probably be prompted to register your copy of Windows prior to successfully booting the computer.

This procedure to recover the Registry also works with 32-bit versions of XP.

I went looking on Microsoft’s website for an explanation why my computer died. It was then that I discovered
Note Microsoft Office 2000 has not been tested on any 64-bit versions of Windows operating systems.

Apple Computer has released a software patch titled “Boot Camp” that will allow an Apple with Intel processor to dual boot to either their OS X or Microsoft Windows XP. Apple won’t support the “Boot Camp” software or the XP installation on their computers.

Why Apple thinks this would encourage PC users to switch to their overpriced computers is unclear. The articles that I read also does not state whether you will need to get proprietary drivers to make Windows XP run on your Apple.

A more detailed article can be found at C-Net.

See Apple Press Release.

It is unclear whether there are architectural differences between the Intel Pentium family of processors and those being utilized by Apple that could affect the performance of Windows XP on the Apple platform.

In previous generations of Microsoft Operating Systems based on Windows NT, Microsoft supported RISC microprocessors such as MIPS,  Alpha and Apple’s Power PC. This was discontinued many years ago.

Last time, Microsoft modified their OS to run on the Apple platform and this time Apple has modified their platform to run Microsoft’s OS.

It is fun to watch the love/hate relationship that Apple has had with Microsoft over the years. If Microsoft hadn’t bailed-out Apple a few years back Apple’s music download and iPod empire would never had been possible and Windows Vista would never have been created.