Posted 09/15/09 at 04:25:35 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

I am planning on building a new video-editing system and have never configured SATA devices before.

Does the SATA architecture work in a similar fashion as IDE (i.e., master and slave devices per channel) or are the ports single-homed? I was planning on building a system with RAID 1 OS drives, a separate swap file drive, and RAID 1 data drives. That would use up five ports if they are single-homed. Which brings me to my second question: Is there a benefit to having SATA optical drives or should I put them on the IDE channels?

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Posted 09/14/09 at 02:25:49 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

After four years of running a very fine system that I built, I would like to upgrade it. I’m not sold on Vista yet, so I would like to know how far you can upgrade a machine and still be able to install/activate the computer’s original Windows XP operating system. I want to upgrade the mobo, CPU, RAM, GPU, etc. I would also like to upgrade the hard drive. I have Googled this question but can’t get a straight answer. What concerns me is that Microsoft will see my upgrade as a whole new computer and not allow me to activate.

Read on to see the answer to James' question.

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Posted 09/04/09 at 01:15:53 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

I have two hard drives in my system. I had XP on my C: drive and I installed Vista on drive G: after a virus ran rampant through my XP system. I had it set up as a dual-boot machine for a while until I got a chance to get everything installed and running under Vista. Now I want to format the XP drive, but I realized that Windows can’t because the Master Boot Record is on that drive. Is there any way to move the MBR from the XP drive to the Vista drive so I can set the latter as the primary boot drive in my BIOS?

Read on to see the answer to Ian's question.

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Posted 09/03/09 at 05:30:55 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

I recently downloaded a program called Zitec E-Z Checker from Download.com and installed it. I determined it didn’t do what I was looking for and ran the uninstall program conveniently included with it. What I got was an error message, in Italian no less, that said the uninstall program was unable to uninstall the software, but offered no remedy. When I tried to use the Install or Add or Remove Programs feature in Windows XP, I got an error message that said it was unable to uninstall E-Z Checker due to a file sharing problem. I used another program (ZTREE) to attempt to manually remove the files, and got the same message about a file sharing error. I tried emailing Zitec, but they have not responded. I don’t know what the “file sharing error” is or how to fix it so I can delete or uninstall the E-Z Checker software. Meanwhile, it was still popping up every time I rebooted. I removed the link in the startup menu, and it doesn’t pop up any more. Various spyware and malware programs have not detected it as a threat, but I’d like to clean it out. Any suggestions?

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Posted 09/02/09 at 06:45:08 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

I have a problem installing Windows XP Pro. I started with an Intel D975XBX motherboard and could not get XP to install. It would BSOD every time at 38 percent completed and then just stop. I tried every conceivable hardware configuration possible with no success. I purchased another Intel board, a DP43TF, with the same results loading XP Pro. In exasperation I purchased an MSI motherboard and XP loaded without a hitch and is working fine. I wanted to build another computer and purchased a new Intel quad-core CPU. I tried both motherboards with the same results. I contacted Intel tech support and was told that to load XP Pro with an Intel motherboard you need an install disc with at least SP2. This provides the drivers for the PCI Express ports, which SP1 does not have, and that is why it’s blue-screening. Is this true? If it is, how do I get a copy of XP Pro with SP2 on it? I have five versions of the OS, all with SP1 or earlier. I do not want to pay a $59 service fee to obtain a copy of SP2 when you can download it for free. Can you give me some help in getting the right disc? I am tired of giving money to either Intel or Microsoft.

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Posted 08/28/09 at 05:05:00 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

Doc, I recently built a new computer with the following specs: an EVGA Intel X58 motherboard, a Core i7 920 2.66GHz CPU, three sticks of 2GB OCZ Gold DDR3/1600 RAM, an EVGA GeForce GTX 280 SSC Edition 1GB GPU, and a Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium soundcard.

When I installed the memory, the motherboard ran it at 1,066MHz, far below what my memory is supposed to do. I’m aware that memory sticks generally report the JEDEC speeds to the mobo, so I wasn’t surprised by this. I just went into the BIOS and set it to what’s written on the sticker on my RAM: 1,600MHz, 8-8-8-24, and 1.65V.

However, I just read your “Pushing Core i7” article and now I’m wondering. Even though the startup screen for my mobo now says the memory clock is at 1,600MHz, is it really running at that speed? According to the article, I’d have to change the uncore speed to double the desired memory speed, which I believe on a 920 would require changing the base speed. I didn’t do anything other than change the memory settings in the BIOS. So what’s my memory really doing?

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Posted 08/25/09 at 06:15:46 PM by Gordon Mah Ung

In the two years since we reviewed the first version of ID Vault, phishing attacks have increased by more than 180 percent, identity theft is up 25 percent, and organized crime has figured out ways to hijack financial sites and DNS servers.

For the most part, putting financial information into a browser is about as safe as walking through Central Park in one of those Chuck Bronson Death Wish movies.

So, you’d think ID Vault would be one of those tools you’d put on a chain and wear around your neck everywhere you go, but it isn’t. For those not up on ID Vault, it’s an encrypted USB key that stores your user names and passwords. If you want to go to your bank, eBay, or Amazon, you plug in the ID Vault and use a virtual keyboard to punch in a code (to thwart key loggers). The ID Vault client on your PC then goes to the site, makes sure you’re actually on a legitimate IP address for that particular website, and logs in for you.

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Posted 08/25/09 at 04:17:43 PM by The Maximum PC Staff

In the PDF archive of the July 2009 issue you can find:

• Make your PC Bigger, Faster, and Stronger.
• Low-cost Videocard Roundup
• The state of PC gaming
• Awesome Product Reviews, including Polywell's X5800A-Extreme
• Ask the Doctor
• Best of the Best
• Step-by-step guides to improve your PC
• And a whole lot more!

Click the "read more" link to download the PDF issue today!

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