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Old May 13th 10, 08:13 PM posted to microsoft.public.windowsme.general
Hironimus Potroast
External Usenet User
 
Posts: 3
Default Is there still a free AV for ME?

The Hardware Compatibility List (and the Hardware). NT versions have this
list - I suppose you'd call it a database - off hardware compatible with the
OS. Obviously nothing later than the OS is on there. It can cause problems,
though it's such a long time since I had them that I don't recall the
details. But with hardware nigh on 10 years newer than the OS it can be
difficult to get to where you can install the drivers required to run it.
Particularly when, as even with XP, you need a floppy to supply them during
installation. I have an XP disc I built for installing the VIA raid drivers
automatically, but I can't be bothered for Windows 2000, which isn't in any
sense necessary and it would require finding out what hardware is the
problem in the first place (and maybe it isn't just one component either!),
if indeed it could be 'fixed'. I don't have enough time to spare to look on
it as a challenge so that is that.

Dave Lee Travis and Travis Bickle. I did a search on the name to see what
you would find only to find someone has already done that one! I am
mortified. But that is the internet for you, helps you see your true
insignificance in the universe, creatively-speaking. So, I'm someone else
now. Can't remember who though!

Mr Moonlight


webster72n wrote:
"Dave Lee Travis Bickle" wrote in
message ...
Oh, yes. Windows 2000 won't install on the new board. It is almost
certainly due to the HCL not matching enough of the H. The
installation hangs.


The question now is: fix it or leave it, I suppose?
Oh yeah, and what does 'HCL' and 'H' stand for?
Didn't have too much time for searching, but aren't Dave Lee and
Travis Bickle two different characters?
Hopefully you find it in your heart to excuse my ignorance.

Harry.


Dave Lee Travis Bickle wrote:
Thanks for the thought, Harry. I fried the MB same as I did with the
last pc - playing with the BIOS. But this time was about a year ago
and yes, a decent MB is cheap enough but as there were a couple of
specs of the original I didn't like, I got a different one (which
almost certainly necessitates replacing other components to match -
which is an excuse to upgrade them too).

Whereas for a decade I had a VIA chipset, now I have nVidia - inc.
onboard graphics far better than the GeForce card that expired
before the MB did and mainly why I determined to get a new MB which
in turn, frankly, is what tempted me into playing with the BIOS,
i.e. the risk of frying it was acceptable and I think I was
counting on it. Not only do I now have SATAII controllers to go
with the SATAII HDs that were already in there, I can run Aero
without needing a seperate card, though the RAM limit is still 2G.
The nVidia RAID is incompatible with DriveImage whereas the VIA's
worked a treat, by which I mean DI could see the drive(s) from DOS,
so I'm not using RAID any more - but being able to use SATAII data
transfer more than makes up the performance loss and the backup
regime I've instigated is better for having two seperate disks
instead of two mirrored, and of course I have twice as much disk
space available (though DriveImage from DOS cannot see beyond 137G -
so you put partitions for holding stuff that doesn't need backing
up, there).
There is one fewer IDE controller, so I backed up certain stuff -
such as my mp3 collection (of a year ago), and jpegs etc - to one of
the PATA drives, zero-ed the other and removed them both (which
makes room for a 2nd fan). I lose the useful option of having XP
(and/or any other OS) on a PATA drive disabled in the BIOS. I used
to turn the computer off, leave it off for a good few minutes, turn
it back on and go straight into the BIOS, enable that PATA
controller and boot to this 'hidden' OS and scan the disks in
everyday use from that. Even if I had the old HDs in there still,
my DVD-RAM is PATA. Previously I could disable one controller and
leave the other enabled. Now to have a PATA HD in there disabled by
default I would have to buy another DVD burner, though maybe that
is not such a bad option (except that I'd rather build another pc
than continue upgrading this one). Currently - though it is a
limited solution - I have an encrypted XP installation on the 2nd
disk. Shane

webster72n wrote:
"Dave Lee Travis Bickle" wrote in
message ...
Apologies if I came across as unnecessarily abrasive at any point,
Harry. I've been getting the feelimg I was, though I'm too tired
now to read back through and verify that. Anyway, no, all this is
on one pc - as I suspect Noel may have said (but I'll know
momentarily). Almost all the systems I'm running lately or have
run are virtual machines. I actually tried installing some of the
older ones to the real hard drives, but they simply won't
anymore! 9x was never entirely stable on the 'this' computer -
but since I rebuilt it (after frying the MB) not even Windows
2000 will install on it!

After reading Noel's notes I was able to add 2+2 together.
And no need to apologize, we go back way too far for that.
But you frying the MB?
How in the world did you manage such a feat?
Anyway, a decent new MB isn't all that expensive, is it?
If it weren't for the big water tub between us, I might have
stopped by and help you with the repair work.
I am sure you'll get it straightened out yet yourself, so you can
install Win2000.
You've got my complete moral support.
Now I must find out who Dave Lee Travis Bickle Is or was.

Chow,

Harry.


Shane

webster72n wrote:
Hello Shane:

At the time of my posting the 'names game' didn't occur to me.
Since it does now, I shall respectfully regress and live with my
choice(s). You must have quite an assortment of pc's at your
disposal. It is always good to be in touch with you.

Cheers,

Harry.


"Dave Lee Travis Bickle" wrote in
message ...
Oh yes, forgot to add: end of 2010 is the date supplied by Alwil
to Jerry Martin as reported here a month or so ago (which I
found by searching, i.e. if I'd seen the thread previously I might
have realised Rocky T had contributed to it before informing
him of what he knew before I did). Though the question then becomes
which is better: to continue using a product that will be
essentially pointless in just over 6 months or switch now to
one that could still be getting def updates for years? With my
situation it is different in that - apart from NOD32 being
arguably a lot better than Avast! - it was paid for, so why not
keep using it to the last? Though - while the 98/ME version of NOD32
v.2 not only
still works perfectly well in Windows 95 (a quality now as rare
as what comes out of the back of a rocking horse) let alone 98
and ME - I continue to run the NT version (of v.2) mostly to
get the def updates for use in portable installations. It is a
shame that those will end when the licence does, but it sure as home
isn't
worth the price *just* to keep an updated thumb drive
installation. Stinger is not worth bothering with. I don't know
why McAfee do, let alone the humble user. Their sdat scanner
either run from DOS for
FAT or from a BartPE (which can also be run from USB) for NTFS,
can't be trusted after the recent McAfee FP debacle. It is nice
to have something other than Sysclean, but Sysclean is pretty
good - if you scan without cleaning, then interpret the results.

Oh, look at the time!

Toodle-oo!

"HRH The Example John Smith"
wrote in message ...


"webster72n" wrote in message
...


"HRH The Example John Smith"
wrote in message ...


"Rockytsquirrel" wrote in message
...
Avast 4.8 still works on ME and does update several times
a day..

Til the end of 2010, apparently. I tried it but it almost
continually popped up notifications of the new build and as
it wasn't immediately obvious how to turn that off, I
uninstalled it.

Not so sure about the end of 2010,
and I don't have the problem with those notifications anymore
since I renewed my registration.
IMHO Avast is still the best.

You haven't tried enough alternatives then, Harry. Incidentally
it also caused problems in 2 or 3 of the systems I installed it
on - on which I now have either NAV2002...or nothing. This is
no longer anything to do with the interface, as I don't give an
inverted dos about that when it is on a system I rarely use.
btw I had only recently registered it, on account of the first
key I used was out of date. Really, if you mean 'the best AV'
you're seriously
deluded. Personal
preferences aside, Avast! shows the occasional good result in
tests but spends most of it's time at or maybe slightly above
mediocre - rather like AVG, which I used to swear by (as far as
free AVs go), but I was never under the illusion it was 'the
best'. While I still have a little time left on my NOD32
licence, I am migrating to free Avira - using it here in
Windows7 as I type. Once you disable the nag screen it is
pretty good (probably is
*with* the nag too if you can stand that sort of thing). I am
undecided as yet as to just how good Antivir is - though as
with all of them it varies over time anyway. Certainly these
days, though, I will go with the German product over the Czech
products any day of the week. Rather like if any version of
Linux was polished enough to stay on a primary here (I just
tried Kubuntu 10.04 both on the metal and in VPC and neither stayed
more
than 5 minutes, failing as miserably as *buntu always does
except for the too-easily pleased) it would be the
originally-German openSUSE. Though I think Beemers and Porches
are a variation on crepe. Harumph!