There are reports that the latest round of security patches from Microsoft are causing a black screen of death for some people. Thankfully the problem only seems to affect Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users running certain security programs. A third party fix is available to anyone experiencing this issue.

Microsoft apparently made changes to the Access Control List (ACL), a list of permissions for a logged-on user. The ACL interacts with registry keys, creating visible desktop features such as a sidebar. However, the latest patches appear to make some changes to those registry keys. The effect is that some installed applications aren't aware of the changes and don't run properly, causing a black screen.

Comments

Bookmark:

Longtime [H] forum member Jonah "ManCannon" Massey has been selected as one of the top 8 finalists for his original game idea "The Artifact." Jonah needs your vote to move on to the next stage and, as an added incentive, you can even win an Xbox 360 just for voting. Go vote!

I've been selected as one of the Top 8 in this year's Unlock Xbox contest. What this means is that out of 1500 entries, my game idea, The Artifact, has been selected as one of the eight best. Now it's up to America to vote in the Top 3, through Xbox Live and the Unlock Xbox website. So that's the short version. If you'd like to vote for me.

Bookmark:

Cases & Modding
Fractal Design Define R2 System Enclosure @ Metku
In Win Maelstrom Full Tower Computer Case @ Tweaknews
NZXT Tempest EVO @ techPowerUP!

ETC.
Building a New PC Tutorial and Walkthrough (video) @ PCPer
Chrome Detailing: Previewing Google's New OS @ HotHardware

Bookmark:

I saw this post in the HardForum pointing to this WideScreenGaming forum thread. It is interesting because the OP is discussing using a passive DisplayPort to SVGA adapter in order to get 3×1 Eyefinity working. As we all know, an active adapter is required for successful DisplayPort to DVI Eyefinity. But it does certainly seem a less expensive passive adapter can be used for an SVGA connection. We pointed out the thread to Eyefinity Godfather Carrell Killebrew at AMD and this is some of what he had to say.

The capability was built-in to SunSp*t but as things got closer and closer to launch we had to focus on what we knew we could deliver (within that time-span). Where things ended up w.r.t VGA was that there were so many possible resolutions, refresh rates, older displays, etc. that we punted and declined to specify scenarios that could use VGA. There are modes in SunSp*t that are useful, but the number of possibilities vastly exceeds our ability to verify they all work.

There are "opportunities" to experiment and discover what does and doesn't work.

So while SVGA is not exactly what many Eyefinity users will find to be preferred due to technical limitations, it might get you into Eyefinity at a lower price point for the time being. Remember this is not officially supported by AMD, so your mileage may vary.

And yes, "SunSp*t" is Eyefinity's internal code name.

Ongoing Discussion.

Bookmark:

What is the best way to market a tough laptop? Install them in buses…as folding seats. Insert your own "takes an ass-beating" jokes here.

Comments

Bookmark:

Walking through the store with your arms out like Frankenstein smashing TVs as you murmur "hammer, hammer, hammer" repeatedly is not the best way to get your holiday shopping done.

A shopper reported seeing Eberle smashing TVs while saying "hammer" in a monotone. Another witness said Eberle was "walking like Frankenstein." Eberle led police on a chase through the store, taking swings at officers with the hammer.

Comments

Bookmark:

In the time I’ve been reviewing power supplies here at jonnyGURU.com, I’ve tested big power supplies, little power supplies, and just about every power supply in between. Until today, I’ve never gone looking to completely max out my testing equipment. But that’s about to change. Dear readers, I give you one of only two power supplies currently on the North American market capable of over 1500 watts of output. I give you the Silverstone Strider Series ST1500.

link

Bookmark:

There are a lot of choices on the market today to cool your CPU, which range from all-in-one kits to modular kits, but by far the Domino from CoolIT is one of the best we have seen.

link

Bookmark:

Do you have one of the new i7 or i5 processors yet? You do? I guess you’re probably going to overclock it too. That’s why you bought it, right? Our next review sample, the Titan Fenrir, is ready to take your air cooling on head first. “But, wait. Who is Titan? What is the Fenrir?,” you ask. Titan is a new kid on the cooling block and they’ve been making some noise with the performance on their Flagship Cooler, Fenrir. Taking its name after the Norse demi-god wolf who bit the hand off the God Tyr, the Fenrir has turned out to be quite the cooler among some air cooling enthusiast circles.

link

Bookmark:

“The GeForce GT 220 video card’s 48 processing cores do not really provide enough horse power to play today’s popular game titles with some of the eye candy turned on. With twice as many stream processors the EVGA GeForce GT 240 SuperClocked video card is able to better play games and our testing showed that in certain scenarios this video card can nearly double the performance of the GeForce GT 220. If you don’t use anti-aliasing and use resolutions of 1280×1024 or 1440×900 for gaming then this card is a very good choice. For those looking for a budget graphics card that is overclocking friendly, we found this retail boxed card to overclock very well. Overclocking core from 550MHz to 665MHz and the stream processors from 1340MHz to 1810MHz was a much higher overclock than what we expected, but we’ll take it and run. For a single slot graphics card these are very impressive numbers and the 400+ MHz increase we got on the stream processors is what really made a noticea

ble difference in games and applications. If you happen to be running applications like F@H you know how big of a performance difference this overclock will make! ”

link

Bookmark: