I was very pleased with the M-Audio Audiophile 192 soundcard. Excellent performance and drivers that were MUCH more user-friendly than Audigy's. Because of a rather catastrophic system crash (XP), I was pretty much forced into getting a new computer; Microsoft will not help me fix the old one.
And guess what? No support by M-Audio for Vista despite XP being discontinued and all new computers being sold with Vista. So now I have to shell out a couple hundred MORE dollars to get something compatible. Until then, my measurement capability is now close to zero.
Sorry to waste bandwidth complaining, but I needed to vent. I still don't feel any better. Now that Audigy and M-Audio are crossed off my list, any moderately low cost suggestions would be appreciated. I liked the line level balanced I/O of the M-Audio 192 and would hate to give that up...
And guess what? No support by M-Audio for Vista despite XP being discontinued and all new computers being sold with Vista. So now I have to shell out a couple hundred MORE dollars to get something compatible. Until then, my measurement capability is now close to zero.
Sorry to waste bandwidth complaining, but I needed to vent. I still don't feel any better. Now that Audigy and M-Audio are crossed off my list, any moderately low cost suggestions would be appreciated. I liked the line level balanced I/O of the M-Audio 192 and would hate to give that up...
Trivia: there's a difference between Stags' Leap and Stag's Leap. No matter, they're both overpriced swill. A nice belt of '89 Ogier Cote-Rotie might settle me down.
A thousand bucks for a new computer and I can't use my less-than-a-year-old soundcard.
OK, it won't settle me down.
No announced date. No confirmation that such a day ever will come.
A thousand bucks for a new computer and I can't use my less-than-a-year-old soundcard.
OK, it won't settle me down.
No announced date. No confirmation that such a day ever will come.
SY,
I recently got a laptop computer (free) which had nothing on it, except for the flashy looking sticker on the bottom which said "Windows XP Professional" and a lot of numbers.
With this, I simply called Microsoft and they sent out a new series of XP Professional CDs which I then loaded.
If you've still got this sticker, then you should be able to get them sent out (cheap) to be reloaded by yourself onto your PC. I'm assuming you have a desktop of some sort - I've been told that 192 won't work on a laptop, which is why I haven't bought it.
I recently got a laptop computer (free) which had nothing on it, except for the flashy looking sticker on the bottom which said "Windows XP Professional" and a lot of numbers.
With this, I simply called Microsoft and they sent out a new series of XP Professional CDs which I then loaded.
If you've still got this sticker, then you should be able to get them sent out (cheap) to be reloaded by yourself onto your PC. I'm assuming you have a desktop of some sort - I've been told that 192 won't work on a laptop, which is why I haven't bought it.
vinylkid58 said:
Microsoft doesn't sell it anymore, so all new desktop PCs are pre-loaded with Vista. When they did sell it, it cost more than a new sound card. I didn't particularly want to make the change to Vista, but it's Hobson's Choice.
Cloth Ears, what's the secret to getting through on their tech support number?
http://www.ncixus.com/products/6526/N09-01153OEM/Microsoft/
Buy it with a mouse and some other sundry computer component and you count as an "oem system"
By all means don't be forced to go Vista.
If your computer still has the XP serial key sticker (as mentioned previous), then all you need is an XP cd of the same type to re-load XP back on. That sticker is your license, not the Disc.
Buy it with a mouse and some other sundry computer component and you count as an "oem system"
By all means don't be forced to go Vista.
If your computer still has the XP serial key sticker (as mentioned previous), then all you need is an XP cd of the same type to re-load XP back on. That sticker is your license, not the Disc.
Don't know about the situation there, you guys, but in this nook/corner of the world, one can still buy (legally) XP and XP Pro. Vista is total CRAP, and can't be handled by nearly all PCs about 1 to 2 yrs old. A friend just bought a brand new Dell laptop, upgraded for Vista, and it hang every time he tries to use it. In the end, back to XP.....
SY said:
In Napa, I don't know. But over here in Aus I've started to use my mothers' (patented?) method for getting help from Microsoft. The secret is to play helpless. Not stupid, or abusive, or dumb, or frustrated, just helpless. So you'd be asking "What do I do now" (plaintinvely), not "I've tried this and it didn't work" (in an knowing tone). Swallow a little pride (I did, and it worked) and see if you can get my result:
I rang up our local number and just said what I had (an 'empty' PC) and let them guide me through it. They checked what I had on the PC (it was asking for a system disk
), and then asked me to turn it over and then told me what the label meant. And then said I could get the disks sent out to me for $41.75 Australian.If you've got the 'sticker', on your old case, then I'd suggest that you try this with gently massaged truth. A new hard-drive after your old one broke and now your computer is asking for a system disk that you don't have. See, it's almost the whole truth and nothing but... you could even give them a sob story about how you've got someone trying to recover your precious memories (photographs) from the old drive.
Apologies for sounding like I'm trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs (at 96, I think she already knows), but this is how mum explained it to me. And I've worked in mainframe IT for 26 years, so of course I thought I knew it all. Oh boy, was I wrong. I think it's something to do with the training they give the people on that number that means that the helpless get more out of it than the technically savvy.
Anyway, my rant over also... Good Luck!
Banned
Joined 2002
ruerose said:
I agree, but on the other hand, we all now know why ms products are so well pirated. SY, did you know you still can buy a dell computer or build your own and get winodws xp ?
Have you tried to connect or use your soundcard in Vista ?
C'mon this is DIYaudio, we are all here to help, i bet we can help you get back up and running again. I know im willing to help.
maybe time to buy a mac
Jase
Banned
Joined 2002
I just wanted to note also, if you look on your cd key that is on your older computer it will say OEM or not, plus winodws xp home or professional, It is not illegal to download windows xp pro-oem it is only pirating if you use some one elses key, HOWEVER you already own the key. I have lots of OEM burned cd's they are my tech cd's Microsoft does not say even when you call in that it's pirating IN FACT they actually recommended it to us when we bought our oem pr-suit pack that we back them up and used the burned copies just in case.
if you need help Just say so
if you need help Just say so
You can still load XP by using the XP Home Edition UpGrade Pack.
But for this upgrade to work, you will need a licensed copy of any Windows OS. It can be a Win95, Win98, Me etc. As long as it can detect an original Windows OS, whether on your hardisk or a CD, it will continue to install the entire XP.
Amazon sells XP Home Edition Upgrade for $99.49
http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Window-Home-Upgrade-Version/dp/B00005MOTE
Hi SY,
I just loaded a new (to me) computer that was blank using another XP pro CD. It did it's thing and even software advantage liked it. The sticker is the license, so just borrow someone's CD.
My hard drive is going bad, so I'll have to spend more time loading another drive in this computer. If there was no sticker, it would have got Linux Redhat for sure.
Just got an interesting email from HP. They are supporting Linux for instrumentation. LXI
-Chris
I just loaded a new (to me) computer that was blank using another XP pro CD. It did it's thing and even software advantage liked it. The sticker is the license, so just borrow someone's CD.
My hard drive is going bad, so I'll have to spend more time loading another drive in this computer.
If there was no sticker, it would have got Linux Redhat for sure.Just got an interesting email from HP. They are supporting Linux for instrumentation.
LXI-Chris
SY, why did you have to buy a new laptop just because XP "crashed"? Just get/burn a bootable copy of winXP and start all over. It's tougher for me though, as I spend a good 3 days straight or more tweaking the hell out of even XP, and removing tons of bloat. I'll more than likely be using XP pro for the next 10 years, or at least until there's a good enough reason to upgrade. Any future Windows release, including Vista, will just be added useless bloat that uses resources and hogs the hell out of your machine. So yeah, I usually spend about a WEEK or so tweaking the GUI, registry, and memory settings to optimum settings for the specific PC I'm working on, and THEN start loading any other software, which takes another day or so. THEN I spend about another day or so..organizing everything to my obsessive compulsive standards. 
Anyhoo, purchasing an overpriced prebuilt laptop probably wasn't necessary.
Oh yeah... stay away from MS tech support. It's completely useless.
...Same goes with any other kind of so called technical support.
Instead, spend some time learning and reading all you can for a while (like you probably have with audio and whatnot)... it'll more than likely save you a ton of money and hassle in the long run, for years to come.
Anyhoo, purchasing an overpriced prebuilt laptop probably wasn't necessary.
Oh yeah... stay away from MS tech support. It's completely useless.
...Same goes with any other kind of so called technical support.
Instead, spend some time learning and reading all you can for a while (like you probably have with audio and whatnot)... it'll more than likely save you a ton of money and hassle in the long run, for years to come.
Read Neal Stephenson's In The Beginning There Was The Command Line. If I had the time, I'd go for a Unix set-up, but as I don't I choose the flexibility of MS over the dependability of a Mac. Each to their own as they both have their flaws...peranders said:
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