Real World Specs for FS 2004

On Fri, 18 Jul 2003 14:51:14 GMT, Harold A. Climer
wrote:

I have been reading a bit about the new MS FS. What are the "Real
World " Specs for this program?
I have an 800 MHz, computer, running Windows 98SE, 256 Megs
of RAM, a 120 Meg Hard drive, CD-ROM etc. I also have an ATI Radeon
7500 Video card. I also have Windows XP Pro that I have not installed
yet. Will this cut it? Any advantage upgrading to Windows XP?



Harold A. Climer
Physics/Astronomy Lab Instructor
U. Tennessee At Chattanooga

Notes below might help...................

Starting Flight Simulator

· Double-click the Flight Simulator 2004 icon on the Windows desktop.
Note: You'll need to have Disc 4 in your CD drive each time you start
Flight Simulator. If you've chosen Compact installation, you'll also
need to keep Disc 4 in your CD drive during flight.

· If you chose not to have Flight Simulator add a desktop icon during
installation, you can start Flight Simulator by using the Start menu.
Click Start, select Programs, select Microsoft Games, select Microsoft
Flight Simulator 2004, and then click Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.

====================

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Installation Tips
If you are having problems installing Flight Simulator 2004: A Century
of Flight, use the following methods in the order below.

1. Before installing software, make sure to close all open software
applications including antivirus software.

2. Inspect the CD-ROM for visible deformation or scratches. If the
disk is damaged, contact Microsoft Sales to obtain a replacement
CD-ROM. The phone number for the sales office in your area can be
found at http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide. Note: If the CD-ROM was
provided with your computer, contact your computer manufacturer to
obtain a replacement CD-ROM.

3. Clean the CD-ROM. To do this, use a CD-ROM cleaning kit, or gently
wipe the silver side of the CD-ROM with a soft, lint-free cotton
cloth. Do not use paper cloth, which can scratch the plastic and leave
streaks. When you clean the CD-ROM, wipe from the center of the disc
outward. Do not use a circular motion. If the issue continues to
occur, clean the CD-ROM with a damp cloth or a commercial CD-cleaning
solution. Dry the CD-ROM thoroughly before you insert it into the
CD-ROM drive.

4. If the issue still occurs, adjust system settings for your CD or
DVD drive. For instance, reduce CD Caching, disable DMA, or turn off
Auto-Inset notification. More information on how to do this is
available in the Microsoft KnowledgeBase article "Q218617 How to
Troubleshoot CD-ROM Read Errors" which is available online at
http://support.microsoft.com/support.../q218/6/17.asp.


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Hardware
Video Drivers and Graphics Cards
If you want to see better graphics, you may need to update your video
card driver from the card manufacturer. Video card drivers are pieces
of software that tell Microsoft Windows how your video card functions.
When you have configuration problems with a game and the display, your
usual best course of action is to upgrade your video card drivers to
the most recent version.
For more information and help on installing drivers, please visit our
Configuration Support pages. From the Windows Start menu, point to All
Programs, point to Microsoft Games, point to Flight Simulator 2004,
point to Troubleshooting, then click Configuration Support.

====================
Installing the Latest Video Driver for your Video Adapter
Your video adapter or its drivers may not be recognized until you
update your drivers to the latest version. Use the DirectX Diagnostic
Tool to determine the version number of the video driver installed on
your computer:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type dxdiag, and then click OK.

3. Click the Display or Display 1 tab.

4. Under Device, note the Name, Manufacturer, and Chip Type, and under
Drivers, note the version number on the Version line.

5. If multiple video adapters are installed in your computer, repeat
steps 3-4 to determine the version number of the video driver for each
additional video adapter installed in your computer.

6. When you have noted the version numbers for all of the video
drivers installed on your computer, click Exit.
Contact your video adapter manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain
and install the latest driver for your video card.

====================
Laptop displays in full-screen mode: The display adapters on some
laptop computers may let you select a resolution that is larger than
the LCD device can support. In these cases the view may be cut off
when running Flight Simulator in full-screen mode. To see the full
screen image, either reduce the resolution or use windowed mode.
Driver updates do not resolve this issue.
ATI (http://www.ati.com/na/pages/na_index.html)
· ATI Radeon Mobility 6P: Screen display image is too big for the
screen in full-screen mode at resolutions greater than 1024x768. To
see the full screen image, use resolutions no higher than 1024x768 or
windowed mode. Driver updates do not resolve this issue.
· ATI Radeon Mobility 9000: Screen display image is too big for the
screen in full-screen mode at resolutions greater than 1024x768. To
see the full screen image, use resolutions no higher than 1024x768 or
windowed mode. Driver updates do not resolve this issue.
· ATI Radeon 7200, Windows 98 SE and Windows ME, retail driver: Upon
launching Flight Simulator, the error message "Fs9 has performed an
illegal operation & will be shut down" is generated and you cannot get
into the game. This does not occur with Windows XP.
· ATI Radeon 7500, latest drivers: Line is drawing on the back wing of
Cessna Skyhawk SP and Cessna Skylane airplanes.
· ATI Radeon 8500, retail drivers: Various textures may be missing.
· ATI Radeon 8500: Using this card with Windows 9x and Windows ME will
cause Flight Simulator to crash. Updating to the latest drivers will
fix this problem.
· ATI Radeon 8500: Using this card with Windows XP and the retail
drivers will cause the computer to stop responding. Updating to the
latest drivers will fix this problem.
· Gateway ATI Radeon VE, Windows ME, retail driver: List selections do
not highlight, but instead outline, when you are selecting airports,
aircraft, seasons, flights, time of day, resolutions, and other
elements in full-screen mode. The latest driver v4.13.1.3233 from
Gateway fixes the problem.
· When using the ATI All-In-Wonder 128 graphics card, the sun may
appear distorted or be absent when the MIP mapping quality is set to
anything other than 4.
· ATI Rage 128 with the latest drivers: At resolutions of 1024x768 and
above, pressing ALT causes graphics display problems. At resolutions
below 1024x768, however, such problems do not occur.
· ATI Rage 128: If you see random colored triangles drawn on the
screen, your ATI Rage 128 card needs an updated driver.
· ATI Radeon DDR 64 MB in Windows 2000, retail drivers: Polygons may
flash on the screen, usually when the airplane is flying.
3Dfx (http://www.3dfx.com)
· Voodoo 5 5500, Windows 98 SE: Weather effects, such as rain and
snow, may not display properly.
· Voodoo 5 5500, 64 MB, Windows 98 SE, all drivers: When pressing the
ALT key or when selecting from the drop-down menus during a flight,
objects, such as airplanes, buildings, and clouds, may not display
correctly. You may also notice lines on the screen.

Creative Labs (http://www.creative.com)
· Creative Annihilator Pro, Windows 98 SE, retail drivers: The game
will not run.
Elsa (http://www.elsa.com)
· ELSA Gladiac MX, all retail drivers: The numbers on the back of the
Cessna Skylane appear as a black square in the preview window.
Intel (http://www.intel.com)
· On the Intel 845 chipset with driver versions above (newer than)
33.17, fog may not display properly under low-visibility conditions.
Setting the visibility to 10 miles may cause display problems.
Matrox (http://www.matrox.com)
· Matrox Millennium G-200: Rain and snow are not animated. Airports
may look white at night.
· Matrox Millennium G-400, Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, and Windows XP,
retail and latest drivers: The game may lock up, usually when the
aircraft is flying. The problem is less frequent with Windows XP.
· Matrox Millennium G-550 in Windows ME, latest drivers: Background
screen will be corrupted in full screen mode. Use windowed mode
instead.
Nvidia (http://www.nvidia.com/)
· Nforce motherboards with integrated audio may require upgraded BIOS
(Basic Input/Output System) and drivers.

S3 Graphics (http://www.s3graphics.com)
· Savage IX with latest driver: Clouds in the distance may appear in
front of the horizon. These clouds disappear in Slew mode.
· Super Savage IXC and Twister K, latest driver, Windows XP: The
aircraft and runway may disappear when you select weather.

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Joysticks
· Having two joysticks installed on your system may cause stuttering
in Flight Simulator. Remove the unused joystick from the list of
joysticks in the Game Controller dialog box in Windows to solve the
problem.
· When using the Microsoft Sidewinder Force Feedback 2 joystick and
running Windows 9x or Windows 2000, you need the version 4.0 driver
for the feedback to work properly. If you do not have the version 4.0
driver, once you select the Forces tab in the Game Controller dialog
box in Windows, the forces stop functioning until you exit and restart
Flight Simulator. The Sidewinder 4.0 drivers are available when you
purchase a Sidewinder 4.0 product.

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Setup
· It is not recommended to install Flight Simulator onto FAT 16 drives
because the space requirements are incompatible.

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Troubleshooting
There are two easy ways to help you troubleshoot when you start Flight
Simulator using the Start menu.
Reset Defaults
Reset Defaults resets the defaults to the baseline configuration that
is most appropriate to your computer's hardware and drivers. By
choosing this option, any customization of keyboard and joystick
assignments will be erased and replaced with the default options. If
you have made changes to Flight Simulator 2004 and are now
experiencing performance, graphical, or controller problems, then
Reset Defaults is an excellent first troubleshooting step.
· Click Start, select Programs, select Microsoft Games, select
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, select Troubleshooting, and then
click Reset Defaults.
Safe Mode
Safe Mode places Flight Simulator 2004 in a Software Video Rendering
mode that is independent of the video hardware and its drivers. This
mode is useful in diagnosing hangs and crashes as being specific to
your hardware and drivers, and, in some cases, may be the only way for
you to start and use the simulator. If your issue disappears in Safe
Mode, it's a good idea to updating your video driver.
· Click Start, select Programs, select Microsoft Games, select
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004, select Troubleshooting, and then
click Safe Mode.

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Viewing and Printing the Flight Simulator Manual with Adobe Acrobat
Reader
Using Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can view and print the .pdf file
version of the Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight manual. The
..pdf file for the Flight Simulator manual is located on Flight
Simulator Disc 1, in \Extras\Adobe.

====================
Accessing the Adobe folder and its contents
1. Insert Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Disc 1 into the
CD-ROM or DVD drive.
2. In Windows Explorer, double-click the CD-ROM or DVD drive,
double-click the Extras folder, and then double-click Adobe to open
the folder.
====================

====================
Installing Adobe Acrobat Reader
· In the Adobe folder, double-click the appropriate file for your
version of Windows:
o Double-click rp505enu.exe for Windows 98.
o Double-click AdbeRdr60_enu.exe for Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows
2000, and Windows XP.

====================

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Operating System
· If you install Flight Simulator on a Windows 9x machine, then
upgrade your computer's operating system to Windows 2000, the
operating system upgrade moves your document folder containing Flight
Simulator files, such as saved flights and flight plans, to the root
of the system drive (for instance, C:\my documents), rather than
user\my documents. You will need to move the files to user\my
documents\flight simulator files\ when the operating system upgrade is
complete
· If you re-install Windows, you also need to re-install DX9a (on
Flight Simulator Disc 1).

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Kneeboard
· The Navigation Log page of the Kneeboard shows estimates for Ground
Speed, Fuel Usage, and Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) for each
waypoint, as well as blocks for the corresponding "Actual" data
blocks. If you load a flight you've saved, the "Actual" data blocks
are blank until you arrive at your next waypoint. To view the Actuals
data for a saved flight, see the Navigation Log dialog. (On the
Flights menu, select Navigation Log.)
· If you save a flight with the Kneeboard open on a second monitor,
the Kneeboard will be hidden when you load that flight on a computer
with only one monitor. Restarting Flight Simulator will make the
Kneeboard visible on a computer with one monitor during this flight.
Note: The Kneeboard will be visible on a computer with one monitor if
the flight you select was saved on a computer with only one monitor or
if the Kneeboard was not positioned on the second monitor when the
flight was saved when using a computer with two monitors.

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Scenery
The world on your disk
· If you chose Compact installation, and you fly through several
geographical areas in one Flight Simulator session, and you have
limited hard drive space, you may notice slow performance. This is
because Flight Simulator is reading the scenery off the CD and storing
it in a temporary cache on your hard drive. This is not a problem if
you fly in only one area, but with longer flights spanning several
scenery areas, system performance may be affected.
Water effects
· If you cannot see water effects when you have set Water Effects to
high, you may have to adjust the Terrain Detail slider to the second
highest setting. If either slider is set to its maximum setting (all
the way to the right), the other slider will automatically move to its
second-highest setting. To adjust terrain detail textures go to the
Settings menu, click Settings, and then click Display. Slide the
Terrain Detail Textures slider to the second highest setting, and then
click OK.
Other
· If you clear the scenery cache when exiting Flight Simulator, the
scenery indices will be rebuilt the next time you launch Flight
Simulator. This will occur each time you clear the scenery cache when
exiting. If you do not clear the scenery cache when exiting, the
scenery indices will only need to be built once. Cache emptying is
turned off by default.

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Simulator
In-simulator help
· When accessing help while flying in the simulator, the Learning
Center may show display problems if you press ALT+ENTER (change
between windowed and full-screen mode) while viewing it.

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Aircraft systems
· There is no autothrottle arming switch in the Learjet 45 like there
is in Boeing aircraft. The autothrottles are automatically armed in
the Learjet. Disengaging the autopilot in the Lear does not disengage
Airspeed Hold. The pilot can disengage Airspeed Hold by pressing
CTRL+R or clicking the IAS autopilot button on the panel.
· In the Boeing 747-400, the control to set the COURSE is on the upper
right corner of the Nav Display. The Course indicator works with the
APR, LOC, BC, and NAV hold modes. Click the CRS on the Nav display to
change the course. The key command for changing course selection is V.
Then use the = or - keys to choose a new course.

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Simulation systems
· When you fly the introductory flight and Flying Lessons, the flight
planner menu is disabled until you restart Flight Simulator.
· If you increase the simulation rate, computer-generated AI aircraft
are disabled above 4x.
· If you use the Slew feature, when you disengage it your aircraft
will be at cruise speed. Be careful that you don't slew to a low
altitude at which cruise speeds would cause your aircraft to crash.

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Multiplayer
· Manually opening ports when behind a firewall or NAT solution:
The ports you need to open:
Port Protocol Inbound / Outbound
23456 UDP Both
6073 UDP Both
For more information on how to manually open Multiplayer ports when
behind a firewall or NAT solution, see the Troubleshooting Multiplayer
Issues article, and the Troubleshooting Multiplayer Connections
section of the Multiplayer Connect article in the Learning Center.
· The Asante FR3004C Non-Universal Plug & Play router is not supported
unless you set your IP addresses manually.
· The Asante FR3004C Non-Universal Plug & Play router is not supported
and cannot connect both internal and external clients to the same game
hosted inside the NAT.
· Only internal clients of Windows 98SE ICS can see a game that is
hosted on an ICS Server. Clients external to a Windows 98SE ICS
machine cannot see or join games hosted on an ICS Server.
· If you end a single-player mode flight with the ATC window open and
begin a multiplayer session, the ATC window will remain open, but will
be inoperative during the multiplayer session. Since ATC is not
designed to work during multiplayer sessions, you can close the ATC
window by clicking the headphone icon on the instrument panel or by
pressing ` (ACCENT).
· If you are using Windows 9x or Windows ME and type multi-byte
characters (such as Korean, Japanese, and Chinese characters) in a
multiplayer chat session using the in-game scrolling chat text, the
multi-byte characters may not be displayed correctly. To display these
characters correctly, use the Multiplayer chat window.

· If Flight Simulator is in full-screen mode and you access
Multiplayer from the left side of the main screen, the Internet
Explorer browser will appear behind Flight Simulator when you click
the Zone icon in the multiplayer connect dialog box. Click the browser
window or the icon on the task bar to bring the browser forward. Note:
The browser will not appear behind Flight Simulator in full-screen
mode if you click the Zone icon from the Flight Simulator menu bar
along the top of the screen.

· If you experience problems on the Microsoft Base Station MN500, such
as being unable to connect an internal Windows ME client to a game
hosted internal to the NAT MN500, you should upgrade the firmware. The
latest firmware version is MN500_runtime_v1.08.003.dlf. You can find
the upgrade at
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/br.../download.aspx.
Multiplayer Connections
· You should have a high-speed connection if you're hosting a large
Internet Multiplayer session. Conversely, if you connect to the
Internet using a dial-up modem, you will need to keep your sessions
relatively small.
· When you are in an MSN Gaming Zone game (host or client) you can
disconnect from the Multiplayer session and reconnect to another
host/session via a direct IP connection, but not a Zone connection.
· The Zone lobby can accommodate 16 players. The default Max Player
setting for Flight Simulator on the Zone, however, is 8 players, and
you cannot change the Max Player setting while in Flight Simulator in
the Zone. Therefore, the Zone uses the host's Max Player setting from
the previously hosted game. If you are attempting to host a game with
up to 16 players and some players are getting the error message "The
selected session is full of players, would you like to join as an
observer?", here is a solution:

1. The host can create (host) a LAN game or Direct IP game and set the
player limit to a number between 1 and 16.

2. The host must exit that session.

3. The host should launch a Zone session.
The Zone game will use the previous Max Player setting.

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Miscellaneous
· To directly launch a default flight:
The option to disable the opening screen and directly launch a default
flight can be set in the Flight Simulator configuration file. To
disable the show opening screen and directly launch a default flight,
you must edit the fs9.cfg file. To disable the opening screen, set
Show_Opening_Screen=0 in the fs9.cfg file.
The fs9.cfg file is located in:
o Windows 2000 and Windows XP: C:\Documents and
Settings\username\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9.
o Windows 9x and Windows ME: \WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\FS9
· Aircraft Preview Box in Full-Screen Mode: If you are in the
full-screen mode, the preview box that displays the aircraft you have
selected is inactive. The mouse cursor does not appear and cannot be
used to move the aircraft. To use the mouse to move the aircraft in
this window, press ALT+ENTER, which will switch the program to
windowed mode. Because the mouse does not work on the preview box in
full-screen mode, it is not possible to set the spot camera direction
from the View Options dialog when in full-screen mode.
· In the Learning Center article Troubleshooting Basics, under the
subtitle of Adjust Display Settings, the procedure to change the
display settings in English Windows XP doesn't match the procedure for
Chinese Windows XP. To get the display property in Chinese Windows XP,
click Start. Click Control Panel. Click Display and Theme. Then, click
Display, and the display property will pop up.

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Learning Center
· If you see columns and/or boxes of text that overlap, update your
version of Internet Explorer (www.microsoft.com/downloads).
· Controlling the Engine article in the Learning Center: The procedure
to control the magnetos should read:
To control magnetos
o Press M followed by the + (PLUS) key or the - (MINUS) key.
-or-
1. On multi-engine aircraft, Press E, 1 to select Engine 1; press E, 2
to select Engine 2, etc.
2. Press M followed by the + (PLUS) key or the - (MINUS) key.

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Flying Lessons
· If you see columns and/or boxes of text that overlap, update your
version of Internet Explorer (www.microsoft.com/downloads).
· To make Flying Lessons easy to follow and fly, set units to U.S.
Standard rather than International (metric). For more information, see
the article Changing International Settings article in the Learning
Center.
· In some flying lessons that require navigation with instruments, IFR
weather (cloudy conditions with low visibility) may not be present. To
set low-visibility weather conditions during these flights, press the
ALT key, then choose Weather from the World menu. Click User-defined
weather and then click the Customize Weather button. Set Clouds to
Overcast. Set Precipitation to None. Set Visibility to 1 mile / 1.6
km. Set Wind speed to None. Click OK.

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Century of Flight
· If you see columns and/or boxes of text that overlap, update your
version of Internet Explorer (www.microsoft.com/downloads).

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The Air Traffic Control (ATC) system
· Visibilities are not given in fractional amounts by the ATC system.
If the visibility is set to 1 ¾, for example, ATIS and AWOS will
report it as 2 miles.
· With the Autotune feature, the transponder squawk codes are
autotuned upon issuance of IFR clearances. If you cancel IFR, you
should manually tune back to 1200 if you want to use that transponder
code. Similarly, you should manually squawk 1200 when you cancel
flight following.
· After takeoff from a CTAF or uncontrolled airport, at about 200
feet, the ATC menu switches to the "VFR en route" state. If you want
to do a Touch and Go, you have to reselect the airport and announce
landing intentions. Upon landing, the Announce Take-off menu appears.
· The ATC menu is disabled in Instant Replay and Flight Video. This is
deliberate.
· Clicking OK from Map view cancels your IFR (in other words, it
resets ATC, IFR, and the current Flight Analysis data) if you have
made changes in Map view. If no changes are made in the Map view,
there is no problem. However, if you do make a change in Map view, the
program will cancel IFR when you click OK.
· You have to assign yourself a flight number if you want to hear a
flight number as your call sign. To assign a flight number when you
are creating a flight, click Select Aircraft, and then click the
Change button next to ATC Name. Then type the number into the Flight
number box. If no flight number is used, then ATC calls aircraft by
tail number.
· ATC doesn't always detect taxi routes as seen in the scenery, so if
you select Progressive Taxiing you may be routed in a direction that
does not appear to be the most direct path.
· If ATC is using the runway with the ILS, you get an ILS approach. If
ATC is using the other runway, you get a visual approach.
· Sometimes a controller and a computer-generated aircraft's pilot
have the same voice. When this happens, it may sound like one big
instruction from the controller because the readback is virtually the
same as the initial instruction. This is necessary because of the
limited number of different voices.
· When ATC text is off and no pilot voice is selected, you may
experience brief periods of silence.
· Sometimes, your aircraft is told to hold short even if it is already
on the runway, if a computer-generated aircraft has requested takeoff.

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Sound
· When you change the sound settings in the sound quality slider while
a flight is in progress, the new sound setting does not take effect
until you either reload the aircraft you're flying, load a different
aircraft, or reset the flight.
· If you experience "popping" or other low sound quality, try
upgrading your sound driver or experiment with the sound settings.

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Weather
· If you select the weather theme "Major Thunderstorm," fly a flight,
and then change the weather theme, you may still hear thunder for a
few seconds after loading the new weather theme.
· The settings at individual weather stations cannot be changed on the
Flight Instructor advanced weather dialog box. You should only set
global weather.

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Kiosk
· When using Windows 2000, if you encounter Kiosk titles that appear
twice, refresh the screen by pressing ALT+TAB to go to the desktop.
Then open a folder, if one is not already open. Drag the folder window
on top of the area with the double titles (which forces the screen
area to refresh), and then press ALT+TAB to return to the Kiosk mode
in Flight Simulator.

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Imported and Third Party Software
· Airport 2000, version 3: Some textures do not load correctly. You
may find that some objects are either untextured or appear black.
· Older add-on aircraft that were created using third party animation
tools are often not fully compatible with Flight Simulator. Flight
Simulator will still load the aircraft if you click the Yes button
when prompted to choose whether you want to continue loading the
aircraft. The incompatibility, however, may cause Flight Simulator to
become unstable, the aircraft to function incorrectly, or both.
Contact the aircraft software manufacturer for updates (not
Microsoft).
· We have eased the requirements for imported aircraft to just the
..mdl and the .air files, but that may allow for some aircraft to be
imported with other components missing, such as gauges, panel
backgrounds, sound files, and textures.

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Viewing Images
· If you encounter an image that appears to be absent, clipped, or
does not display completely, refresh the screen by pressing the back
button and then return to that screen.

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Installing Windows Media Player to View Videos
If you did not install Windows Media Player (WMP) while running the
setup program, you can still install it. Simply place Flight Simulator
2004: A Century of Flight Disc 1 in the CD drive. The WMP files are
located on Flight Simulator Disc 1, in \Redist\WMP.

====================
Accessing the Windows Media Player (WMP) folder and its contents

1. Insert Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight Disc 1 into the
CD-ROM or DVD drive.
2. In Windows Explorer, double-click the CD-ROM or DVD drive,
double-click the Redist folder, and then double-click WMP to open the
WMP folder.

====================

====================
Installing Windows Media Player
· In the WMP folder, double-click the appropriate file for your
version of Windows:
o Double-click MP71.exe for Media Player 7 on Windows 98.
o Double-click MPSetup.exe for Media Player 9 on Windows ME and
Windows 2000.
o Double-click MPSetupXP for Media Player 9 on Windows XP.

I agree. They were going to pry win98 from my cold dead hands...I wasn't
about to give Uncle Bill any more money. But I bought an upgrade for $100.
XP is VERY stable. No more crashing and/or praying. If your not sure, you
can do a dual boot thing with both Win 98 and XP. I did , but just this
week deleted 98.

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 01:23:08 -0400, "Mr Zee" wrote:

I agree. They were going to pry win98 from my cold dead hands...I wasn't
about to give Uncle Bill any more money. But I bought an upgrade for $100.
XP is VERY stable. No more crashing and/or praying. If your not sure, you
can do a dual boot thing with both Win 98 and XP. I did , but just this
week deleted 98.



I had Millenium - the ultimate o/s nightmare. Couldn't figure out all the quirky things the
commputer was doing. Found that by also 'biting the bullet' and loading XP, the nightmares are
over and my computer enjoys sweet dreams now. Have not had ONE crash or lockup in 2 months.
With ME, they were almost hourly. Gotta give Bill his dues on this one.

I had Millenium - the ultimate o/s nightmare. Couldn't figure out all the quirky things the
commputer was doing. Found that by also 'biting the bullet' and loading XP, the nightmares are
over and my computer enjoys sweet dreams now. Have not had ONE crash or lockup in 2 months.
With ME, they were almost hourly. Gotta give Bill his dues on this one.

XP may be the most stable windows yet, but it's VERY BAD news for
internet security. check out http://grc.com/dos/winxp.htm

Not that any of this has anything to do with flight simulators. If you want
your PC to be secure, Linux or Windows, you need to pull the network cable
out of the wall.

i'm not saying my system is absolutely secure, but think as a mac user i
have less to worry about than PC guys, also because my system is
protected by a firewall. that firewall keeps logging incoming attempts
to connect to my system on port 137, which is AFAIK used for windows
file sharing. this tells me there are loads of bad guys out there who
keep trying to install their zombies or bots or whatever on other
people's systems. as i said, my firewall blocks those attemps, the
windows file sharing function is off, and those windows programs
wouldn't run anyway...

On Wed, 23 Jul 2003 09:31:30 +0100, H M wrote:

Not that any of this has anything to do with flight simulators. If you want
your PC to be secure, Linux or Windows, you need to pull the network cable
out of the wall.

i'm not saying my system is absolutely secure, but think as a mac user i
have less to worry about than PC guys, also because my system is
protected by a firewall. that firewall keeps logging incoming attempts
to connect to my system on port 137, which is AFAIK used for windows
file sharing. this tells me there are loads of bad guys out there who
keep trying to install their zombies or bots or whatever on other
people's systems. as i said, my firewall blocks those attemps, the
windows file sharing function is off, and those windows programs
wouldn't run anyway...


I've a PC with Windows XP and with my system, I've thrown everything at it that can be and
nothing has penetrated. I go do DSL Reports, run all there tests, including the one where they
deliberately try to break through and they all come up empty. Keeping everything updated and
configured correctly assures maximum protection.

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 13:56:19 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
wrote:

Not that any of this has anything to do with flight simulators. If you want
your PC to be secure, Linux or Windows, you need to pull the network cable
out of the wall.


No. If you want your PC to be secure, you take hold of the processor
box, unplug all the cables and weld the sucker up in a steel box
several inches thick.

Paul
---------------------------------------
Milton Keynes - twinned with Mos Eisley

"John" == John Steed writes:

When Linux is seen more and more in the corporate domain you'll
start reading about all of it's security vulnerabilities.

John Don't tell that to the Linux advocates. According to them
John you don't need an anti-virus program because you won't get
John any using Linux. I've used Mandrake and there are always
John security issues with each version, only problem is that
John getting all of those updates is a royal pain in the butt
John compared to Windows.

All systems have bugs, and vulnerabilities will come up. People do
talk about Linux security vulnerabilities, along with those of all
other operating systems, but some get fixed faster than others.

I haven't used Mandrake, but updating the works in Debian is pretty
much a one-liner, including dependency checks etc.

I suspect the main issue which comes up is that the Windows
environment tends to be much more homogenous, and the sole vendor
likes to integrate "features" which bite their users later. Everybody
have Outlook? Yup. How about executable spreadsheets and Word docs?
Yup. Poor default choices in one app allow rogue code to exploit the
idiot features of another, creating a huge market for a potential
virus.

You can send viruses to me too, but neither Gnus nor Mutt will try to
execute them, and you won't find an Outlook address book for further
targets either.

Cheers,
Tim

--
Man is the best computer we can put aboard a spacecraft ... and the
only one that can be mass produced with unskilled labor.
-- Wernher von Braun

"John Steed" wrote in message
...
Getting a Router can be a big help too. They can't attack your machine
if they can't see the IP address. With a Router they see the router's
address and not your PC's.

A router can help, to be sure. But all that does is add an extra layer for
an attacker to get through. Routers can be hacked too (though, since they
are simpler devices, it's harder to do).

Even a hardware firewall isn't perfect.

Pete

H M wrote in :
XP may be the most stable windows yet, but it's VERY BAD news for
internet security. check out http://grc.com/dos/winxp.htm


What, as opposed to the security in Windows 98?