Driver question from newbie

I read in Maximum PC magazine that you should periodically update the chipset drivers for your mobo? The only Intel driver listed on the MSI website was released in September 2003 (v5.02.1002) and reads "Add support for Intel 848P and 865GV". According to my literature, my mobo is an MSI 875P NEO-LSR 500/800MHZ (whatever that means)...how do I determine if this driver is the correct one?

These are the latest INF drivers that MSI has released. There are newer ones available from Intel that are not specifically for your motherboard but some people have installed them successfully. Personally I don't think you should make this change unless your having a problem related to your current INF drivers. Most people say you should install the INF files IMMEDIATELY after installing Windows and before anything else to avoid conflicts with other drivers. IMO I don't think you'll see any real performance increase with this type of upgrade...It's more to add functionality and solve existing problems.
If you decide to go ahead, you should make sure XP System Restore is functioning and create a restore point before applying the update so there's a chance you could recover easily if you have to.

Similar Messages

Yet Another Hard Drive Question from a Mac Newbie

I apologize in advance for the length of this post -- as I state in the subject line, I am a complete Mac newbie.
I just took delivery yesterday on a new (early 2008) Mac Pro. I purchased and installed an additional 8GB RAM, and ordered it with a 500GB HD (Seagate, it looks like) and purchased two 750GB Hitachi HDs for bays 2 and 3. I will be doing a fair amount of photo editing, and also plan to partition the OS drive to run XP using bootcamp, but also plan to use VM Fusion.
I am thinking of partitioning the boot drive with 250GB for OS X and apps, 150 GB for XP and apps, and ~66 remaining possibly to be used as scratch memory for CS3, though it sounds like this may not be enough. The bay 2 Hitachi would be used for all my user data (photos, music, docs, etc.) bay 3 would be for backup initially, possibly using Time Machine? (other recommendations welcomed). As space becomes an issue in the future, I will invest in a fourth internal HD, and at least 2TB external HDs for backup.
Does this seem like a reasonable plan? If so, how do I go about formatting the drives and installing boot camp, Fusion, etc., and in what order? Also, how best do I organize my existing files from my current Windows machine as I copy them to the new user data HD, so they can be accessed as needed by both OS X and XP?
Thanks for your help.

I like the boot volume to never get beyond 50% used. Enough room for burning dual-layer DVDs can be 50GB for best results. And to force the system to use the first outer tracks.
I hope you are concurrently zeroing both drives. SoftRAID is my choice for driver for RAIDs and you can cancel safely at any time. There are also excellent tools for checking sectors and mapping out bad blocks.
I put Vista on its own 10K Raptor. I had it on the boot drive but I am always changing my mind, my drives and setup. Vista needs at least 40GB and that is with all my major documents and files on another drive which holds 150GB out of 450GB.
You set the preference for what drive to use as scratch in CS3 or other programs. And you want to disable Spotlight indexing on any scratch or editing partition. Scratch can be a drive, a volume, a stripped array. Any 'normal' partition though don't use the default (journaling) feature is all.
How large? I'd have to see and know how large files, work flow, and how long you work between projects. The nice thing, erase the scratch volume between projects but it is possible to use 300GB when you work on 1.5GB files and above.
One early Mac Pro owner wasn't able to work as they wanted until they had 10-12GB RAM, boot RAID0, and RAIDs for scratch and data (saving 2GB files and not having to wait forever, which even a minute can feel like forever).
Disk Utility: Partition. You can even partition 2+ drives, just make them the same, and first create 2 partitions (100GB on each?) and then stripe the first "Untitled 1" of each into 100GB x n array. Stripe or mirror the "Untitled 2" or leave those are two unique non-RAID volumes. Sounds harder than it is.
Scratch = temp space and designed to not be saved, to be erased as needed.
SoftRAID.com 3.6.6 makes it easy to create, delete, erase volumes and arrays as needed. Leopard has improved on non-RAID but not with RAIDs (for those that change their minds).

Quick driver question from a newb

So, for sound card drivers, should I uninstall the old ones first before installing the new drivers? (kind of like videocard drivers) or with creative can I just install and be on my way?

I already have good karma, I don't need your help.
You are asking a question about javascript in a java forum. The two have nothing to do with each other.

BPS questions from newbie

Hi SEM gurus,
I am a newbie to SEM. I was put into a SEM project that my company is implementing. I have gone through internal training but still I have some questions.
1. How does 'fields to be changed'/'fields for conditions' relate to single/multiple selections?
2. What is meant by 'internal creation of planning packages'?
3. Is FOX related to transformation library?
4. Is Data Slice in same as that in BW?
5. Where can I find more information to better understand BPS? I am more BW than BPS. My colleagues passed me some course manuals but I need more foundation materials. Any useful links?
Hope you gurus could throw me some hints.
rdgs,
Bryan Lee

Hi Bryan,
> 1. How does 'fields to be changed'/'fields for
> conditions' relate to single/multiple selections?
Fields to be changed typically have only single or range values for source values and single values for target values.
Fields for conditions usually support multiple selections.
> 2. What is meant by 'internal creation of planning
> packages'?
When you execute a planning function, the data of the planning package is processed in subsets. Those subsets are created by BPS. The users does not see them. If you are in BPS0 you can use "Execute with Trace" and each line in the trace corresponds to one internal package.
> 3. Is FOX related to transformation library?
There's no relation. FOX have it's own set of functions.
> 4. Is Data Slice in same as that in BW?
There are no data slices in BW.
> 5. Where can I find more information to better
> understand BPS? I am more BW than BPS. My colleagues
> passed me some course manuals but I need more
> foundation materials. Any useful links?
There are a few books out. Search Amazon or SAP Press for "BPS".
Regards
Marc
SAP NetWeaver RIG

Few simple questions from newbie

I'm new to Java, but i've worked a lot with action script... it didn't help a lot :) Here are my few beginner questions:
What does: public, static, abstract, void... and other things mean in front of the class name?
How can i call variables from another classes: if i have one class that does one thing and stores the result in a variable, how can i use that variable from a different class?
How can i call the input window to enter the value for variable? I've tried with importing "io.inputstream" library, and used the "extend" thing, but i still cant call the input window?

I came to Java from ActionScript too, and I must say having ActionScript as your first programming language does NOT make it easy to learn other languages. I was incredibly lost when starting with Java.
What does: public, static, abstract, void... and
other things mean in front of the class name?You'll find all that in the Java Tutorial
How can i call variables from another classes: if i
have one class that does one thing and stores the
result in a variable, how can i use that variable
from a different class?To use the variable from another class, you need to make a call to the class. Let's say you're in ClassB; you would make a call to a ClassA variable by doing something such as:
ClassA.myVar.myMethod();
How can i call the input window to enter the value
for variable? I've tried with importing
"io.inputstream" library, and used the "extend"
thing, but i still cant call the input window?I recommend reading the tutorial before you try anything like that.

A really stupid question from newbie...

hello all,
i am very new to java and i am trying to build a j2ee application...
rite now....i need to let my app communicate w/ an outside program thru' XML..
i had just learnt many thing about java w/ xml and i decided to use the XMLEncoder... it seems quite simple to use...BUT i have no idea on how to send/receive these XML files...i had thought of using socket connection, but i just found out that an EJB wouldn't allow socket networking... i bet this must be quite a stupid question coz i found nowhere teaching me this...=P
if u know about this, pls point me to some relevant docs / sites....i am anxious to learn about it...
thx so much,
karloogunna~

hello maesj, rune, and others,
thx alot for your advice...
and here's the environment i am working in:
OS: w2k
JDK: 1.4.1.01
j2ee: 1.3.1
jboss: 3.0.2
i am using flash as my UI, so i need communication
between the j2ee app and flash.
the data transfer involves a number of arrays of
objects (each object w/ a list of attributes...) so, i
think using XML as data-exchange is quite suitable (am
i wrong on this??)I don't know the first thing about Flash, but using XML as a means for exchanging data seams like a good idea, for the scenario you described.
>
and i am reading about the message-driven beans, i see
that they got a function onMessage() from where i can
get the XML strings (?), but i don't know how i can
feed these strings into this JMS from flash...do i
need to write a small java program on the client
side?I haven't that much experience with Message Driven Beans. What I do know is that they employ the Java Messaging Service (JMS). If you write a small client appplication with JMS support... you might be close.
>
also, i am not sure if i can send out XML strings
through the message-driven beans, i am reading on the
JMS...it got the MessageProducer, MessageConsumer,
MessageListener, and MessageSelector....should i be
using this? or can i use this together with the
message-driven beans??
In a Messaging system you will need message producers, and message consumers. To enable two-way communication, you can setup both the EJB and the client to handle both. When a message arrives at the consumer (or subscriber if you like), the JMS Service invokes the onMessage method. So you should implement your logic in the onMessage method, for example inspect the XML content, and act upon its content.
i am very sorry for my disorganized questions...(i
used to do low-level programming =P)
and really thank you for your advice!!!!
No problem, the amount of information to read can be quite overwhelming. Using JMS is just a suggestion, and might be considered overkill for your application. If you're using an IDE, like Sun ONE, creating a message driven bean is easy, and can be tried out, without too much hours passing.
Kind Regards,
Rune Bj�rnstad.

Question from newbie J2ME - USB - Joystick...

Hi,
Forgive my possibly naive question since I am new to J2ME.
Is it possible to connect an external device to a cell-phone's USB device and have a Java J2ME program communicate with the external device by sending/recieving USB commands/data?
For example, can I connect a joystick that works using USB to a cell phone and play a J2ME game using a joystick?
Thanks!

the code you provided does not set the command listener for Disclaimer screen.
If the listener is not set anywhere else, that might be the reason for NPE indeed.
BTW, given design of the class, I'd add a line right after addCommand looking like:
setCommandListener(this);

Two questions from newbie (just got my Zen Micr

Hi, just got my Zen Micro after reading up on lots of players. Two quick questions if i may:-
. Why the difference in keyboard icons? I notice on some that the 'back' button actually has the word 'back' written on it whereas others only have the arrow.
2. After i've charged the player (for 5 hours minimum on first charge?) should i immediately update with the two firmware downloads before adding songs?
Thanks in advance
Jaff

jaf089:
. The face plate has changed, presumably for international markets where people don't speak English.
2. The player will be charged in a maximum of 4 hours. The way to tell its charged is once the charging icon and glow stop, wait another 30 minutes for the final slow charge, then it will be ready.
You don't need to update with two different firmware updates, you can go straight to an update without one beforehand.
The .0.03 update fixes a battery charging bug, if you don't have this already, but allows the player to stay accessible with MediaSource.
The v2 updates give the player MTP access (driverless access with Windows XP and Windows Media Player 0). Be warned though, some people have had stability problems with both the connection and software after this upgrade.

Fast User Switching Question from newbie

Hi
This is probably a simple question, so I apologize in advance...
I was looking around in system preferences and was customizing a few settings. Prior to my changing "something" I had my user name in the title bar (upper right) and I could switch to my other account via a pull down menu. My user name is no longer in the title bar and it seems that the only way I can switch accounts now is by using the Shift-Cmd-Q option now.
How do I get the user name back in the title bar so I can switch accounts like I used to do?
Thanks
RIch

Found it by searching, apparently a fairly common prob. It works now.

Simple questions from newbies

Hi Gurus,
Please kindly state the examples of month end reconcilliation done between AP,GL and AR and PO.
Secondly, why will i want to Reverse Accrual,Reclassification and temporary adjustment journals, Please "Gurus" explain each.
Thirdly i reversed an unposted journal,what effects does it have or do i need to post both original and reversed together.

My 2 cents here.
We only reverse expense accruals and not inventory accruals. The reason is when we receive the inventory purchases, we have material (inventory account) that we have not paid for yet (inventory accrual). In PO shipments we decide whether we accrue on receipt or not. For inventory destination and inventory items, it is must, but inventory items to expense destination, expense items to expense destination and no item purchases (service), we can turn it off. Which means though material or service is received, you do not have any evidence for the material or service you have received (because there is no accounting created even if you have received in system).
To estimate your expense accruals, you run a program which generates your expense accruals between your expense accrual account (cr) and account entered in the PO distributions (Dr.).
When you match the invoice to PO the same account entered in the PO distribution will be debited again crediting your liability account.
This will be double accounting entry for this account, if you do not reverse.
Thanks
Nagamohan

I had to get my hard drive replaced from Apple, I lost all of my music obviously. My question is, how can I get all my music off of my iPhone onto iTunes? Since it's a new hard drive, the iPhone isn't recognizing this as it's home computer.

I had to get my hard drive replaced from Apple, I lost all of my music obviously. My question is, how can I get all my music off of my iPhone onto iTunes? Since it's a new hard drive, the iPhone isn't recognizing this as it's home computer.

You will need to use third-party software to transfer music from your phone to the iTunes Library. I recommend Phone to Mac - Pod to Mac | Macroplant.com.

Two really embarrassing questions from iPod newbie!

Although I've been using Macs since the steam-powered Mac SE, I've never actually owned an iPod (until now), because I never listen to music 'on the go'.
However, I've just ordered an 80Gb Classic from the Apple Store, principally as a handy way to have all the songs I've written or played on in one handy, small location.
However, because I've never owned one before, I have a couple of questions that probably seem +really stoopid+ (red face)...
1. I guess I will copy all the songs from CD to iTunes on my iMac and then upload them to the iPod. But will I have to keep all those songs in iTunes? If I subseqiently delete them from iTunes, will they be automatically deleted on the iPod the next time I try and copy any songs from iTunes to it?
2. When I copy the music files to iTunefrom CD, can I copy the music files to an external Firewire HD, not my main hard drive? There are a lot of songs to copy and I don't want to fill a significant chunk of my main hard drive if I don't have to. Would iTunes 'see' them on an external HD? Or can I copy them straight from the CDs to the iPod via iTunes, without physically copying them to an HD at all?
Sorry for the basic questions, I hope someone can help.

Robin,
You might want to consider a few things before you wipe your iTunes library clean (assuming you have already trasnfered them onto your iPod).
If, for some reason, you need to restore your iPod and put music back on, iTunes will have to transfer that music back to your iPod. If you have wiped your iTunes library clean that could mean spending a lot of time REformatting your music collection to put back on your iPod.
Also, I have had a few instances where, although I have iTunes set to 'manually' manage my transfers, iTunes has deleted all of my music. Thank God I had my library on my hard drive as it only meant a 20 minute sync to transfer 6,000 songs back on.
If hard drive space on your desktop or laptop is limited, iTunes offers a way to 'backup' the library on DVD+R or similar media. So, for about $10 in blank DVD costs, you can just make a portable backup to put in a drawer.
Just PLEASE think about these issues before you put music on your iPod and delete it from your hard drive. From experience, things happen and you don't want to go through the 'ripping' hassle again! (ripping, the term for making mp3/wma/aac files from a CD)
Last, if this is your first attempt at putting your music collection on your computer, you might want to keep them there. You might be surprised at how handy it is to have all of your music in one place close by, especially if you invest in a pretty moderately priced speaker setup for your computer.
Best of luck!

Question from a Newbie wireless user

Please excuse the naivete of this question. I'm completely ignorant on everything pertaining to wireless internet. My old Powerbook 400mHz G4 Titanium has never had wireless of any kind until this week when I bought a PCMCIA wireless adapter. Never used wireless, don't know anything about it.
I started following the instructions on the PCM adapter this morning to get it all set up. I plan to toggle back and forth between wired internet at home and the wireless adapter when I'm out on the road.
I was surprised when I saw the window where I enter my settings that there were no less than ten different internet services flying around the room in my house! I guess I have a lot of wireless neighbors and I could easily access their bandwidth.
I imagine the same would go when I'm in town sitting in the library. They welcome you to use their internet access, but it's in a busy end of town and I'm sure I'll see numerous services available there too.
So I'm clueless on this topic. Again, I've never used wireless internet before - but I've read about these guys who've been arrested in front of coffee houses for stealing bandwidth at WiFi hotspots when they weren't paying customers.
What's the deal with sitting in your living room and using your neighbor's internet access? I know it's not ethical and we should all get our own, but what are legalities? And say I hopped on to someone's internet access +quite accidentally+...how does one get caught if you do it quietly? And have people actually gotten into trouble beyond these two guys that made national news?
I guess my main question is exactly how careful do I need to be to set the correct access service when there are ten immediately available in a public place? Can I just click on whatever signal is strongest and log on without fear of being caught?
I hope somebody knowledgeable can set me straight on this.
Thanks.
-JOHN
ps. Here's the news item on these guys stealing wireless internet access:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2007/05/michigan-man-arrested-for-using- cafes-free-wifi-from-his-car.ars

You may find this technical article I've written helps you:
http://homepage.mac.com/rfwilmut/notes/wireless.html
It is fairly long, but it was originally written in response to some questions from a non-technical friend, and so I've tried to keep it as straightforward as possible.

Miscellaneous - Questions from a Newbie

I just got my iPhone this week and some questions popped up. I know that some of them might fit better in other categories than "basics"...
1. Sync with Outlook - I was under the impression that the iPhone syncs up with Outlook but:
a) How can you mark an Outlook Appointment as "privat" so not everyone in your company who has access to you calender can read it?
b) Why are no documents synced, which are in a Calender Appointment save in Notes? (The Text in Notes will sync, but no PDFs for example...)
c) When I reply to an E-Mail, the info that an when I replyed is not saved in Outlook
d) in Outlook I can mark e-mails with priorities... this is not shown on the iPhone
e) can the Auto-reply or Out-of-the-Office message set or changed from the iPhone?
2. Mail
a) I have differnt E-Mail accounts and would like to use different signitures for each account... the is an App, but thats too complicated. Is there a way to have an automated signature for each acount (this should be a basic feature!!!)
b) Can I save e-mail attachments in specific folders? (eg a word doc)
3. Media
a) How can i created different Folders in the photoalbum, so I can sort them and don't have to scroll for ages...
b) Can I get access to the Folders on the iPhone, so I can copy (for example Music) for differnt sources to the iPhone?
c) Is there another Sync programm than iTunes?
d) Can I delete Apps which I don't use (eg. Weather, Stockmarket...), but which are allready installed when i bought it
4. Sounds and Alerts
a) Can i create my own ringtones (eg an mp3)?
b) Can I add other alert sounds (for E-mails for example)
c) How can I change sounds for different Events (New Mail, Alert...)?
5. Connectivity
a) Can I sync the iPhone over bluetooth?
b) Can I use the iPhone as a modem for my laptop? how?
c) If stolen, can I remotely delete it or search it via GPS?
6. Battery
a) is it normal that when you use push mail and make a couple of calls a day the battery only last for max. 20 hours?
Thats the first lot of question from week one... Thanks in advance for replys and the awaiting answers
Axl

I can answer some of them:
Is there a way to have an automated signature for each acount (this should be a basic feature!!!)
No
b) Can I save e-mail attachments in specific folders? (eg a word doc)
No. You can't save attachments - just view them
b) Can I get access to the Folders on the iPhone, so I can copy (for example Music) for differnt sources to the iPhone?
No. The iPhone cannot be directly accessed like a hard disk. There are third-party apps that allow this to a certain degree, but you can't add Media to the iPhone via this method.
c) Is there another Sync programm than iTunes?
Not really. There's some that may do some features, but not a complete replacement for it. What's wrong with iTunes?
d) Can I delete Apps which I don't use (eg. Weather, Stockmarket...),
No. But you can move them to a different Home screen.
a) How can i created different Folders in the photoalbum, so I can sort them and don't have to scroll for ages...
http://www.question-defense.com/2009/08/15/how-to-create-photo-albums-on-your-ip hone-on-a-windows-xp-computer/
a) Can i create my own ringtones (eg an mp3)?
Yes. Google "create iPhone ringtone" for a variety of options
a) Can I sync the iPhone over bluetooth?
No.
b) Can I use the iPhone as a modem for my laptop? how?
Yes, although it depends where you are. See:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3574
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2756
c) If stolen, can I remotely delete it or search it via GPS?
Yes. See MobileMe's "Find My iPhone" feature:
http://www.apple.com/mobileme/features/iphone.html
a) is it normal that when you use push mail and make a couple of calls a day the battery only last for max. 20 hours?
Quite possibly. Battery life seems to be reduced in the latest firmware and lots of people are awaiting a fix from Apple.

MBP Late 2008 Hard Drive Questions

Hi,
I have used PC most of my life and have used Mac OS when related to graphics and video, i find both to have their own benefits. I finally bought my first mac, it got delivered yesterday, the macbook pro late 2008, i got it on a good sale which however limited me to get the 320GB 5400rpm model, and i actually was aiming to get 320GB 7200rpm model. Now that i have this laptop, i wanted to install a new 320GB 7200 rpm hard drive since this laptop model allows you to do that yourself without voiding the warranty. In order to do so, i got this and plan to use my current 5400 rpm drive as a USB:
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Hitachi/DIY0A57547F8/
first of all, as someone new to mac, and even though i have been super impressed by the quality of this product, my first disappointment is the fact that apple offers you to easily replace the hard disk in the mbp but does not sell the hard disk at the apple store or on phone, or allow you to bring the laptop in for HD replacement, and expects you to fill this nice beautiful laptop with third party products, (i wanted a hard disk with the an apple sticker on it just like my current one has - i know its a Hitachi... but apple has the thick black apple sticker on it!! ), i was on phone with apple for 30 mins and they eventually couldn't sell it to me after being confused about it, all they could offer me was a replacement laptop with a 10% restocking fee charge (approx $250). i contacted a mac authorized service center and they quoted me "$332" for that hard disk from apple (Hitachi 7k320), its at $95 (and a -$20 rebate) at buy.com - without the apple sticker, same model.
now that disappointment aside, i am still optimistic with my choice and have the following questions, please correct me if any of my understanding anywhere in this post is incorrect:
1. when i install my new hard disk, what type of disk formatting should i use? - i want to be able to boot from windows xp x64 professional, i will be using it almost as much as i will use mac osx (for graphics n video), since i want to be able to run some particular PC applications on full speed that i constantly use and also play some PC games (i know many people here may argue that i dont need windows at all, however i assure you i have some good necessity for it ). Will the Mac OS Extended (Journaled) formatting allow me to boot from xp later? any tips related to this area?
2. There are 2 ways to install my new hard disk.
Route 1: http://eshop.macsales.com/techcenter/techtips/sparedrive.cfm
Route 2 (considering since my mbp is new and fresh out of the box 1 day ago): http://eshop.macsales.com/techcenter/index.cfm?page=/manuals/mac/clondata.html
which one would you recommend?
3. Once i have the hitachi 7k320 installed, and the 5400rpm that came with the product removed, should i expect any different or limited service/warranty from apple care? if anything ever goes wrong in the mbp (except the hard disk), i can send it to apple with the replaced hard disk in it and it will all be acceptable and OK, right?
4. Has anyone here installed a Hitachi 7k320 drive in a MBP Late 2008? if yes, were there any sort of noise/vibration issues after installation?
5. What brand would you prefer for an internal drive for the MBP Late 2008? it originally comes with a Hitachi.

1. Prep the new drive as follows:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one (1.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
7. After formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Complete your OS X installation. You can restore other pre-bundled software using the Install Pre-bundled Software installer that is on the OS X Installer Disc One.
In order to install Windows you will need to use Boot Camp Assistant in the Utilities folder to create the Windows partition on your hard drive and assist with the installation. You can install the 32-bit version of XP w/SP2 or SP3 or Vista 32-bit or 64-bit. Windows drivers are included on your OS X Installer Disc One and should be installed after you boot into Windows.
If you must use the 64-bit version of XP you cannot use Boot Camp, but you could use VM software such as Parallels or VM Fusion. See the following:
Windows on Intel Macs
There are presently several alternatives for running Windows on Intel Macs.
1. Install the Apple Boot Camp software. Purchase Windows XP w/Service Pak 2 or Vista. Follow instructions in the Boot Camp documentation on installation of Boot Camp, creating Driver CD, and installing Windows. Boot Camp enables you to boot the computer into OS X or Windows.
2. Parallels Desktop for Mac and Windows XP, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. Parallels is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
3. VM Fusionand Windows XP, Vista Business, or Vista Ultimate. VM Fusion is software virtualization that enables running Windows concurrently with OS X.
4. CrossOver which enables running many Windows applications without having to install Windows. The Windows applications can run concurrently with OS X.
5. VirtualBox is a new Open Source freeware virtual machine such as VM Fusion and Parallels that was developed by Solaris. It is not yet fully developed for the Mac - some features are not yet implemented - but it does work otherwise.
6. Last is Q. Q is a freeware emulator that is compatible with Intel Macs. It is much slower than the virtualization software, Parallels and VM Fusion.
Note that Parallels and VM Fusion can also run other operating systems such as Linux, Unix, OS/2, Solaris, etc. There are performance differences between dual-boot systems and virtualization. The latter tend to be a little slower (not much) and do not provide the video performance of the dual-boot system.
See MacTech.com's Virtualization Benchmarking for comparisons of Boot Camp, Parallels, and VM Fusion.
Boot Camp is only available with Leopard. The Boot Camp Beta that was used with Tiger has expired and is no longer available for use. So contrary to the other poster's comment, Boot Camp isn't truly "free." You must purchase Leopard to get it.
As for warranty if you read yours you will find the caveat that if you perform a DIY replacement your warranty is not affected unless you cause consequential damage in which case the warranty will not cover that damage.
I have installed several Hitachi drives in my laptops, but not the current model. I've no complaints.

Driver question from newbie

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