New PC - Mac or Other?

[dgallina]

IMO there are advantages / disadvantages to both. The choice depends on what you value the most (money, stability, amount of software, etc)

The Mac version is updated less often and takes more hardware resources (and more expensive hardware) for the same performance. There's less Mac software for content creation as well.

OTOH, the Mac is mostly immune from the support messes that happen on the Windows side. I don't have to refresh / reformat my Macs and don't spend time troubleshooting them the way i do with the gaming PC.

For *me*, I'm happy to spend more on the Mac hardware and have less software choice knowing that I won't waste time making stuff work. But that choice / balance is different for everyone. When I was a relatively poor student, for example, I couldn't have afforded Mac hardware. If I *only* played games with my computer, I might also choose a PC since the Mac has limited game inventory.

Diego

 

[amigacooke]

Since I've started picking my prospective games up from KickStarter, where a great number of projects include a Mac version, the games problem seems to be easing. Of course Rome II means I'll be firing up Bootcamp in September.

The Mac version is updated less often and takes more hardware resources (and more expensive hardware) for the same performance.

The Mac version has never been updated.

 

[angelah]

Haha, that's a great stress reliever.

I'm assuming you have a copy of 32-bit XP available; OEM versions such as those from Dell, HP, etc. usually won't work. First, find out the motherboard make and model using Belarc once you get your new PC, or call Zoostorm. Once you have that, you can get drivers for the appropriate model here:

http://uk.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/download-center.aspx

Download the XP ones onto a memory stick. Be sure you're downloading the XP 32 bit versions, not the XP-64 ones (unless you have XP-64. I do and love it! ) You'll need the Chipset, Audio and VGA/Video drivers. Also grab the LAN driver if you want to be able to use internet on the XP partition. Some of my partitions DON'T have the LAN driver and, thus, no internet, which greatly improves performance and eliminates the need for anti-virus software, firewalls, etc. You can still email, do internet, download, etc. from the Win7 partition when it's running. Just something to consider.

You/your friend will have to install the second disk in a spare drive bay. One that's done, dual booting with two or more hard disks is simply a matter of popping your XP CD in the drive and installing it on the second disk. Just be sure you know which is which. Windows will identify the drive by it's hardware name or manufacturer ID. I prefer to temporarily unplug any other drives while formatting with Windows, only because that eliminates any possibility of formatting the wrong drive (and I have many drives with similar or identical IDs, so it's quite possible) but not everyone does that. Just as long as you install to the right drive, you'll be fine. Once Windows is installed, run the driver installers from your USB stick. That's it.

When you go to start your computer, you hit F12 as it's starting to select which Windows partition. Your second drive will probably be called "HDD1", assuming the Zoostorm folks set up your machine properly, while the Win7 drive will be on HDD0. If you want to make the XP drive the default one the computer boots to, go into the BIOS and try to find an option called "Set Boot Priority" or "Set Boot Order". Make HDD1 the first on the list and HDD0 the second. Save and exit.

I don't know if TRS2006 would benefit from the /3Gb switch that lets would allow Trainz to use more memory than it normally would. Maybe someone else can chime in on whether that's worth enabling on XP.

Hi there,
Belarc isn't being very informative about which version of XP I have, 32 or 64 bit, it only states :-
Windows XP Home Edition Services Pack 3 (Build 2600)

Main Circuit Board (I think that is the Mother Board?) Hewlett-Packard 09F0h bus clock 800 MHz, BIOS: Hewlett-Packard 786DI v01.03.05/18/2005 (which tells when it was assembled I think...)

Processor is a Pentium 3.40GHz, 16 kb primary cache, 2048 kb secondary cache, 64 bit ready (which maybe tells us it is 32 bit....?
Multi-core.

It's all Chinese to me but maybe you can make some sense out of it....

Free space on E: is 280 Gig. Should be plenty shouldn't it?

As my server uses OE for my mail I have no idea how to get that working in W7, I tried but failed on the laptop. My temptation is to wipe the C: and install XP on the new PX... if the second drive idea cannot work of course, that would be the best solution.

(So far I have shot the best cards in our competition 10 metre pistols... but more to shoot yet so I could get knocked off my perch.... haha)

Blessings,

Angela

 

[ray_whiley]

According to my copy of 'Brilliant Windows XP' by Steve Johnson, XP Home is 32-bit; 64-bit is XP Professional. Now, of course, I stand to be corrected - as usual!

Ray

 

[johnwhelan]

Hi there,
Belarc isn't being very informative about which version of XP I have, 32 or 64 bit, it only states :-
Windows XP Home Edition Services Pack 3 (Build 2600)

Main Circuit Board (I think that is the Mother Board?) Hewlett-Packard 09F0h bus clock 800 MHz, BIOS: Hewlett-Packard 786DI v01.03.05/18/2005 (which tells when it was assembled I think...)

Processor is a Pentium 3.40GHz, 16 kb primary cache, 2048 kb secondary cache, 64 bit ready (which maybe tells us it is 32 bit....?
Multi-core.

It's all Chinese to me but maybe you can make some sense out of it....

Free space on E: is 280 Gig. Should be plenty shouldn't it?

As my server uses OE for my mail I have no idea how to get that working in W7, I tried but failed on the laptop. My temptation is to wipe the C: and install XP on the new PX... if the second drive idea cannot work of course, that would be the best solution.

(So far I have shot the best cards in our competition 10 metre pistols... but more to shoot yet so I could get knocked off my perch.... haha)

Blessings,

Angela

I thought the UK had stopped allowing pistol shooting since I was there, air pistol perhaps? I used to be able to group ten shots in half an inch at twenty yards but that was with a .22 and a long time ago.

Your XP is almost certainly 32 bit.

Cheerio John

 

[angelah]

Hi all, The saga continues.... As you can see the new keyboard does not 'Return' so it's all on the same line..! And the new PC is up and running and is fast.... While my friend and me were plugging things in the phone rang and it was my server who said my password had been compromised and they suspected I had something on the PC - how right they are although neither McAfee nor AVG found anything. Next problem was the drives in this new machine are Sata types while in the old they are IDE's, so no connection is possible. The solution we are working on is to transfer the whole of E: onto the external F: and then, as that uses one of the smaller plugs (can't remember the name right now') it can be plugged into a spare USB (remembered it) socked at transferred onto here. But first I think it should be scanned with Malwarebytes to see if anything migrated from C: drive. How is that for a game plan???? Next I need a new keyboard or use the old one for now to get Returns working, I cannot keep typing all on one long line like this. .......... Angela

 

[RRSignal]

I mean you should put the second drive in the new computer. Obviously, you'll want to back it up first, lest you lose all your meshs and Trainz things.

When you get the new comp, run Belarc before doing anything to find out the motherboard make and model. You *might* be able to find it watching the POST screen (the screen that comes up the moment you turn your computer on), but that can vary. You also might be able to find the make and model during boot by hitting the Del key and looking somewhere in the BIOS screen. But Belarc is probably the easiest and most reliable method. You may also be able to look in the new computer's manual. If so, double-check that it has dual-boot capability. If it's truly a Gigabyte board with a Gigabyte, Award or AMI BIOS, it will. Gigabyte is my favorite motherboard manufacturer and the fact that they provide so many good boot options is part of the reason why.

Again, once you know the model of the motherboard and have the drivers in hand, installing a second OS is simply a matter of plopping a drive in and formatting it with Windows. Ok, maybe it's not the easiest thing for everybody, lol, But if you can get it to work, it's worth it. Technically, you might be able to do this without formatting it by making the "partition active". But I'd have to walk you through that and, frankly, reformatting is usually desirable because you typically get tremendous performance and stability benefits from it.

BTW, XP Home was only made in 32-bit, so you definitely have the 32-bit flavor.

Oh, I would keep that old computer around, though. Maybe get a KVM switch if you don't have space or spare monitors, keyboards, etc. I've found having two computers, simultaneously running, helps a lot of asset creation and is invaluable in accurate route-building. Using the KVM switch I can switch my screen and controls back and forth rapidly as needed. It works much better than trying to switch out of Trainz - which often doesn't play well with the browser anyway - just to look at Bing Maps, take a measurement in Wikimapia, use Google Street View, etc. and then switch back into the program.

 

[RRSignal]

Hi all, The saga continues.... As you can see the new keyboard does not 'Return' so it's all on the same line..! And the new PC is up and running and is fast.... While my friend and me were plugging things in the phone rang and it was my server who said my password had been compromised and they suspected I had something on the PC - how right they are although neither McAfee nor AVG found anything. Next problem was the drives in this new machine are Sata types while in the old they are IDE's, so no connection is possible. The solution we are working on is to transfer the whole of E: onto the external F: and then, as that uses one of the smaller plugs (can't remember the name right now') it can be plugged into a spare USB (remembered it) socked at transferred onto here. But first I think it should be scanned with Malwarebytes to see if anything migrated from C: drive. How is that for a game plan???? Next I need a new keyboard or use the old one for now to get Returns working, I cannot keep typing all on one long line like this. .......... Angela

Ah, just saw your update. Well, you can get a SATA-to-IDE adaptor like the one sold here in the U.S. on Amazon (see links below), but the drive will run like a slug. If you can spare some cash, maybe look at getting a cheap SATA hard drive. Or, better yet, an SSD to use as the second drive in the new computer. I saw a 128gb SSD on rebate the other day for about $70 USD. They're on sale or rebate all the time so if you don't have the money now, maybe that's something for the future. I run a 128 Gb SSD as a Trainz drive - nothing on it besides Trainz - and it definitely helps with stutters, loading, etc. The drive is far too small to hold my "full" Trainz installation, but I do have a TS12 (49922) installation that has my favorite routes, including bits and pieces of my 'megaroute'.

Please read my earlier post and the mention of the KVM switch before throwing out your keyboard. If this is something you would consider, most KVMs (at least most budget ones I've seen) prefer the old-style connectors for mice and keyboards as opposed to USB.

http://www.amazon.com/IDE-SATA-Adapter/dp/B000RK89M4


These will allow you to connect your keyboard to your new computer.
http://www.amazon.com/SANOXY®-USB-P...TF8&qid=1372172545&sr=1-2&keywords=ps2+to+usb

http://www.amazon.com/PS-Female-USB...372172545&sr=1-3&keywords=ps2+to+usbtigerdire

I have this KVM switch, but there are much cheaper versions out, probably in the U.K.:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5591183

Keep in mind that if you reformat the C: drive in your old computer and get a KVM switch, you partially eliminate the need to install XP on a second drive in your new computer because you'll already have an XP machine. in fact, you'll have two working machines that you can run simultaneously. You CAN still add a second drive to the new computer, if you want to be able to run XP on a faster, hotter, more modern machine. And, personally, I think getting an SSD is a worthwhile investment all by itself; slapping XP on it and making it a boot drive is a bonus (though I'm still not nearly convinced enough on the reliability of SSDs that I would build routes or assets on them. Everything on my SSD is fully replaceable if something happens.) Just suggesting some options here.

BTW, I'd make sure you have some kind of anti-virus software installed on the new computer before plugging the portable drive into it. Also, I recommend disabling AutoRun on Windows 7, just in case some malware does make it onto the portable. You can use this tool:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9741395

You can use this tool if you ever decide to turn it back on again:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9743275

 

[shaneturner12]

Angela - if the 'return key' issue is only cropping up on Internet Explorer, try using compatibility mode (which is usually an option under Tools).

Shane

 

[dnevans8]

Angela - to get the return key to work without changing your Internet Explorer settings you can make a change in the forum settings.

go into settings at the top of this page,

then, General settings down the left hand side

then, towards the bottom of that page under Miscellaneous Options click in the Standard Editor button

then save changes in the bottom right corner.

As you can see above this also keeps the returns from notepad.

 

[angelah]

Settings?

Angela - to get the return key to work without changing your Internet Explorer settings you can make a change in the forum settings.

go into settings at the top of this page,

then, General settings down the left hand side

then, towards the bottom of that page under Miscellaneous Options click in the Standard Editor button

then save changes in the bottom right corner.

As you can see above this also keeps the returns from notepad.

There isn't a 'Settings' at the top... Angela

 

[angelah]

Found it - I think. I wasn't logged in so it didn't show.
And that's another thing, I click remember me and it doesn't..!! I have to log back in every time.

Angela

 

[angelah]

The saga goes on....
Having run the new PC for a few days now I an finding difficulty with Trainz assets. I had a lot on my old PC that have been put onto an external drive and that plugged into here, but transferring them (installing) into Trainz does nothing, they don't list in Surveyor and yet they are in Dispatcher - weird..!!
So okay, I'll go-get all missing assets for a route that used DS (mainly) content. So ages and ages later I had a list in W7 Downloads and went religiously through that installing one at a time.
Still they do not list.......... I am at a loss.

My laptop went fine whn my friend set it back a few days to a point before that 103 point Update and we set it NOT to install anything unless I gave it the go ahead. Yesterday morning when I turned it on what came up - 103 downloads were being installed...!! And yes, they did install and messed up IE yet again. The bloody thing very nearly went through the window.. I am totally fed up.
And that's not the end of it. I went on the DS (on this PC) to look at assets, no downloads or anything like that, just to look, and came out. PC said there was a problem with IE and needed to shut down, which it did, but it never rebooted. When I started it again the process got to where the password goes in - and stayed there for 1.5 hours. I couldn't shut it down normally so had to hit the button, I don't like doing that. Next boot up it did exactly the same thing...
Great I thought, and muttered quite a lot of nasty words at it...
One last go before I take it out for the rubbish men to collect... this time it gave me the option to start in Safe Mode and that then went into a problem search for whatever was causing the shutdown. Back up and running now, well for now might be better, because Win 7 for me is not the best association. I have a good mind to get my friend to wipe the drive and install XP. At least that worked. And it worked in IE without a lot of little menus demanding I do this or that, updates for whatever appear on a regular basis. And I would dearly like to get rid of that mess on the left side of the screen that appears every time I go to an IE page with a list of suggestions for other sites. If I wanted other sites I would go there and I don't need to be treated like an idiot - thank you very much. Clicking it off is only until the next page, so in this forum I am forever clicking it off, as I am on the DS.
Just bought a new FCT and that is useless because whatever I download doesn't work.

I am beginning to wonder what the hell I have bought here and am thinking of buying another PC without an OS on it - as I was in the first place, at least I would be able to use 11.8 gig of stored Trainz assets that are being denied me at the moment..

So a VERY unhappy bunny...

Angela

 

[rickf77]

Sorry you're having all these problems Angela. I wish I knew how to help. Keep at it my friend. I'm sure with the help of some of the wiser folks, you will get it all sorted out. Sooner than later, I hope.

Cheers.....Rick

 

[angelah]

Sorry you're having all these problems Angela. I wish I knew how to help. Keep at it my friend. I'm sure with the help of some of the wiser folks, you will get it all sorted out. Sooner than later, I hope.

Cheers.....Rick

Yeah, thanks. Help/advice seems to have dried up now but perhaps I could ask a question of everybody.

As I now have a 64 bit system and all my other stuff is 32 bit it doesn't seem work any more on this PC. For instance all my assets on both Dispatcher and Custom although imported do not show in Surveyor so I am unable to use them. Yes, the World folder is in at 15.8Gb, I checked.

So my questions is, as I have the standard Win 7 at 64 bit, if I upgraded to the Win 7 Professional which it seems can run in either 32 or 64 bit modes would all my content then show up if the PC was set to 32 bit?
I am told my problems arise from trying to run old stuff on a new PC, rather like trying to fit a Rolls car engine into a Rover.... it wouldn't work.

So help on this one would be appreciated.

Angela

 

[clam1952]

In the absence of any 2004 / 2006 users replying.

TC3 works in Win7 home premium and Win7 pro. Needs to be installed as administrator and preferably not in Program Files, pretty sure that the same same applies to 2004 and 2006 according to several posts on here which I can't find at the moment.
Brief Explanation, Microsoft have locked down Program files so you cannot always write data to programs installed in there that need the data in their folders. Running in an Admin account alone doesn't give you full admin privileges any more you have to take the additional steps below regardless of what account you are using.

To run as administrator you have to right click on the program and either select run as administrator or better to make it permanent select properties, Compatibility, tick run this program as administrator, Apply, ok. Do not select anything else, it's not needed most 32 bit programs other than ones pre win98 run perfectly well in a 64 bit OS without any need to change anything. Occasionally you may have to run an old installer in compatibility for an older OS but the program usually runs OK.

I expect you have probably already done this but you also need to make sure you have DirectX9C installed, DX10 and 11 are not fully backwards compatible. Shane's site has the links for installing it http://trainz.shaneturner.co.uk/tutorials/index.php?page=updating-directx

Plus you might need to replace the Graphics drivers supplied with the OS with ones provided by the manufacturer so you have OpenGL. Required for content Manager in 2006 upwards.

Same run as admin may help with Gmax as well which works perfectly well in Win7 any version.

 

[johnwhelan]

As I now have a 64 bit system and all my other stuff is 32 bit it doesn't seem work any more on this PC. For instance all my assets on both Dispatcher and Custom although imported do not show in Surveyor so I am unable to use them. Yes, the World folder is in at 15.8Gb, I checked.

So my questions is, as I have the standard Win 7 at 64 bit, if I upgraded to the Win 7 Professional which it seems can run in either 32 or 64 bit modes would all my content then show up if the PC was set to 32 bit?
I am told my problems arise from trying to run old stuff on a new PC, rather like trying to fit a Rolls car engine into a Rover.... it wouldn't work.

So help on this one would be appreciated.

Angela

The 64 bit instructions are a superset of the 32 bit ones so basically any 32 bit program should work under a 64 bit operating system as well as a 32 bit one. Win 7 pro should be the same as win 7 standard or win 7 home edition. The APIs are slightly different and the security is a bit tighter hence the advice to run as admin and install not under program files.

I'd reinstall under a different folder and try again.

Cheerio John

 

[angelah]

The 64 bit instructions are a superset of the 32 bit ones so basically any 32 bit program should work under a 64 bit operating system as well as a 32 bit one. Win 7 pro should be the same as win 7 standard or win 7 home edition. The APIs are slightly different and the security is a bit tighter hence the advice to run as admin and install not under program files.

I'd reinstall under a different folder and try again.

Cheerio John

Thanks John, for the info. Not sure how to install under a different folder, they usually just open and go where they want to, there is no selection bar available. For instance all I get with a program like Paint.net is whether I want a fast or Custom installation, doesn't ask where to...

Mark is back in circulation so maybe he can figure it out....

Blessings,

Angela

 

[captainkman]

Thanks John, for the info. Not sure how to install under a different folder, they usually just open and go where they want to, there is no selection bar available. For instance all I get with a program like Paint.net is whether I want a fast or Custom installation, doesn't ask where to...

Mark is back in circulation so maybe he can figure it out....

Blessings,

Angela

Hello Angela,

Usually the Custom option allows you to specify an installation path if you aren't given the option before that stage.

Hope this helps.

Kieran.

 

[geophil]

With Windows 7 64bit (and Windows Vista 64bit as well) one has to talk about two new aspects, compared to Win XP 32 bit.

One is the 64bit environment, the other a nasty little bugger called UAC (User Account Control).

Let's start with 64 bit. The x64 systems, as they are often called, aren't pure 64 bit systems. Thanks to the ideas of AMD a good ten years ago, x86-64 (or x64) systems are a mixture of both 32 and 64 bit. Good enough to make full usage of the 64 bit address space but also still running all the 32bit applications in native mode without any performance penalties. This is good as all the older stuff keeps running. The other approach, the Intel Itanium IA64, which is true 64 bit, would not be able to run 32bit software natively. Because of this drawback IA-64 never gained much market share and is largely considered dead.

On x64 Windows has to organize the coexistence of 32 and 64 bit. You'll find the footprints in system folders or in the registry. For instance, there are two program folders on the C: device, one named x86 for 32 bit and one without a suffix for 64 bit. Then you may come across the name stub WOW64 which stands for "Windows 32 on Windows 64". The registry has nodes named this way, so have several Windows directories.

Usually it all works out nicely. 32 and 64 bit applications don't interfere with each other. And as a pure consumer you shouldn't have anything to worry about. (It's different for software developers, though.)


The other thing is UAC. Basically this is a means to protect you from malware. But it does this in a rather peculiar manner. I think we have to blame it to the success of XP. In the mid 90s we had two different flavours of Windows: the Win95 line for consumers and Win NT for professionals. With Win XP both lines were merged. In fact, Win95/98/ME was given up and NT ruled. (XP's internal version number is NT5.1) XP brought an enormous amount of new consumer-type customers to the NT line and with them the manufacturers for consumer grade software. Microsoft must have thought not to lay high hurdles for those groups, to make it as easy as possible for them to migrate to the NT line. By nature, Windows NT is a multi user system, with a fine granularity of individual user and group rights, as it is common in operating systems for professional use. The concept of user rights, however, was unknown in the Win 95 line. So, multilevel access was largely abandoned in XP, by simply making every user an administrator. This also helped many of the software developers who had never seen NT before (and didn't have a clue about other systems like Unix either). It had the disadvantage that all the rogues of this world benefited from this as well. As software installed with admin privileges, all the malware, accidentally launched, could easily take over system control. And it happened a lot as we all know.

For Vista, Microsoft decided to put up a barrier. Now, in a classic Unix system, even on a desktop, the every day user is not an administrator. The every day user cannot cause much harm. He will not accidentally install malware, as the system would simply refuse to install it. NT originally had the same concept. Now, with all users being admin in XP, Microsoft feared that putting the standard security policies back in place would have disastrous consequences. They didn't dare it. Instead, they invented a new construct which they called UAC, User Account Control. It basically says that while you still are an admin with all the privileges, you no longer have your admin rights if you want to exercise them. Weird, but true, unfortunately. In Vista (NT 6.0) you had to confirm being the admin every two minutes. In Win 7 (NT 6.1) the system takes that decision for you most of the time, but you can bring back Vista behaviour by adjusting a slider in the system settings.

One aspect UAC addresses is that you must grant yourself explicit admin rights when installing software. That's a good idea and complies with the original concept of multi user systems. But on those other systems you, with an ordinary user account, would never have been granted admin rights in the first place.

Another classic security concept is the separation of program and data. Executable program files can only be installed with admin privileges, but every user has the right to use these programs with his own data. So, the program files are put to a place with read-only access to everyone, while the data for the program is put elsewhere, to the personal data space of the individual user. Unfortunately, many consumer grade software manufacturers didn't understand or recognise such requirements, and put all the binaries and all the user data in the same place, i.e. C:\Program Files. On a desktop there is only one user, isn't there? So, one of the UAC tasks is to separate program and data. If the manufacturer didn't care, UAC will. Theoretically.

I won't go into details here but you may guess there are quite a few side effects. In the end, to avoid them, people will tell you not to install legacy software into C:\Program Files. As other directories are not monitored by UAC, this will work. But you won't have UAC protection either.

In the Windows registry you will find nodes named "Virtual Store". These are intermediate layers created by UAC to hide software non-compliance. You may also read about manifests to trigger specific UAC behaviour. It's all quite complicated.



The duality of Win32 and Win64 on one side, and UAC compliance and non-compliance on the other side lead to an interesting number of combinations, all on the same system and at the same time. Surprisingly, it all runs pretty smoothly, most of the time.

But the pitfalls are there, and, coming from XP and using legacy software, you are likely to encounter one or two, sooner or later. Be assured, though, all the older 32bit applications, unaware of UAC policies, will still run, if you observe a few hints. It would be much better though, that software products for Windows adhered to standard security policies as they always did for Unix.