First time computer builder - simple question(I think)

Im putting together my first computer so far without much problem
This is hardware I have
380W Antec Power
865 neo2 board
2.8 p4 processor
2x512 mb corsair memory
lite on cd-rw
plextor dvd-rw
200gb western digital special additon hard drive.
(which came with ata ultra controller card)
My question is this:
How should I set up my two optical drives and the hard drive on my available ide connections. Of course I have the two regular ide ports 1&2 and I have the ide3 next to the serial ata ports. I also have the ata ultra controller card plugged into one of the pci ports which gives me two more ide ports. I ve read through the forum listings and have not came across a simple description of how I should configure my hard drive and optical drives. How should I hook up these drives and what settings should I use (master/slave). Any help would be appreciated If it seems like I'm asking dumb questions it's just because I'm real new at this and want every thing to be perfects. thanks

IMHO
I would take out ata controller card. Your MB has enough....
Primary IDE - master - your WD harddrive
Primary or Secondary IDE - slave - you lite on cd-rw
Secondary IDE - master - plextor dvd-rw
If you will install XP + service pack 1 your harddrive should be OK.
PS - Just finish to build about the same config....
But I made my dvd-rw - external
added later AFAIK Your 3rd IDE will not support optical drives.
It is possible to put bootable harddrive on third IDE, but I it is not very simple
and have no big advantages

Similar Messages

First time computer builder - using K7N2G-LISR

Here is my story:
I am a first time part by part computer builder, I have installed every product except a CPU and Motherboard seperately. This was my first time buying each part on its own and assembling it myself though.
The parts I am using are:
MSI K7N2G-LISR motherboard
Athlon XP 2400
512 MB 2700 DDR Corsair XMS Ram
40 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM HD
Sony 32x CD-Ron
Integrated Graphics
400W Power Supply
Vantec Aeroflow heatsink
I had some trouble installing the heatsink. I had both paste and thermal pads, since it was my first time doing this and thermal pads seemed alot easier, I tried out one of them. I continued putting the PC together and everything was working just fine.
I got to the BIOS and messed around with the settings a bit. I realized I accidently set my HD as slave to the CD-Rom. I also set it to High Performance, and allocated 128 MB of ram to the onboard graphics. Before exiting out of the bios, I checked my CPU temp and it was a whopping 64C/148F. After I powered down, I fixed my HD/CD-Rom to the proper settings, and took off my heatsink.
I removed what was left of the thermal pad and scraped as much away as I could. I then put a little layer of thermal paste on top of the CPU using the credit card method. I had a little trouble putting the heatsink back on, using its side clip.
The computer refuses to boot up at all now.
The diagnostic lights will vary depending on what settings I have, between:
(R= Red, G= Green)
R G
R R
(Memory Detection Test)
I don't know how long it is supposed to sit there, but I gave it a minute. This was the first hang-up I encountered. I had two sticks of 256 MB so I alternated between the two sticks in different DIMMs, but nothing worked.
After screwing around and putting the original settings back (with the HD/CD-Rom) I got this message:
G G
G R
(Testing Real Time Clock)
It hung there for a while too.
I left the HD/CD-Rom configuration, removed the ram, and got:
R G
R G
(Testing base and extended memory)
Again, it just sat.
No matter what I do, I can't seem to get past this stage.
My question is this:
Did I fry my CPU? If not, could you think of something else preventing me from starting up?

Well it's certainly possible that you did fry the CPU but I don't think so at this point...
Do this:
UNPLUG the machine
UNPLUG the MB from the PS
Ground yourself if possible otherwise make sure you have touched METAL on the case prior to unplugging it. And don't walk around on the carpet or shuffle your feet.
Set the HD on the Primary IDE as Single Drive/Master
Set the CDROM on the Secondary IDE as Single/Master
Take off your Heatsink and clean it really well and get ALL of the old goo off of it and the processor. Use Orange Clean as I've found it really does the best job. Put the paste (Arctic Silver II if you can get it) back on and install the fan/heatsink again.
Install 1 stick of memory in slot 3
Plug in the Floppy
Plug in the system fans and the power hookups
Plug in the MB to the PSupply
Find the jumper to reset the CMOS/BIOS and set it to clear
wait the amount of time it says in the manual and set it back. sometimes you have to remove the battery to get it to reset so you might just do that first and then do the jumper
Plug in the PS and start up the system and see what happens.
If it doesn't start you may have fried any number of things in the machine so you'll have to start replacing them one by one to figure out what the problem is.
Hope it works tho!! 8)

Good book for first-time computer user?

I need to teach someone who has never used a computer how to use one. I have used computers all my life, so I don't know where to start. I thought I'd get a book. If it were Windows, I'm sure I could find a hundred books for a newbie. On a Mac, though, I'm not sure what exists out there, because most new Mac users have used Windows, whereas most new Windows users have never used a computer.
Does anyone know of a good book that teaches a first-time computer user how to use a Mac?

The David Pogue books are excellent but first, have you seen Mac 101?
-mj
[email protected]

First time to build computer - Need help

Hello, I just finished putting my computer together. It was my first time and I think everything went pretty well. I just finished putting Windows XP on it. However, I have a few questions/problems still:
1) Whenever I turn the computer on it still has a screen with Platinum on it saying tab to post | del to enter bios. Is this normal?
2) After that screen goes away, it stops loading and says "Press F1 to continue, DEL to enter SETUP" and I have to make a selection.
3) After I press F1 to continue it says Press<Ctrl+S> or F4 to enter Raid Utility, but I dont have any raid stuff. If i leave it alone, then it enters into XP
4) After XP loads, if I try to goto my computer I get a blue screen. It says MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION on it towards the top. Towards the bottom it says
*** STOP: 0x00000009C (0x00000 and some more numbers). How do I fix this. I don't know if this helps, but I have a 200GB harddrive that was brand new, and whenever I booted with XP CD it said it only saw 131,000+ MB. I said to format anyway, hope that didn't screw me up.
Thanks for the help.

1. It's a normal default setting for the bios screen to show the logo. I personally don't like it, so I turned it off. You can access it in the "Advanced BIOS" page of the bios.
2. Something must be in error to have the system stop booting. The bios only stops on errors. I wouldn't be overly concerned yet though. Default settings on the board make it stop on all errors. It should give you a reason why it's stopping so look at the screen when it stops and tells you to hit F1. That should give you an idea of what needs fixing.
3. Just turn off the RAID function. It's in the "Integrated Peripherals" screen.
4. Could be any number of reasons, checking your memory would be a good first step. As to Windows only seeing it as 131GB, that's probably because you installed with an older version of Windows XP, before SP1. Back then it couldn't see drives bigger then around 139GB. Install SP2 and you shouldn't have a problem. Just make sure that your BIOS sees it as 186GB. That's what 200GB drives usually show up as.
Michael

Trials and Tribulations of a First Time MSI Builder

I'll try to keep this short and sweet (IMPOSSIBLE!), but hopefully this may make sense to some of you out there who have sought and found solice here on the MSI boards....
First off....I'm a first-time MSI MB user.....my system specs are as follows:
Voyeurmods Verge X case
MGE Vigor 500 PS
Athlon 64 2800
MSI K8T Neo FSRII
1 gig Kingston 400DDR (KVR400X64)
1- 80 gig Barracuda SATA
Thermalright SLK948U and TT UFO fan
Aopen DVD/CDR combo drive
TT Hardcano 12
Enermax 6 fan controller
Asus 9800xt
Audigy Platinum
and assorted other fans, belts, and whistles......
Now...the story and the point behind this post:
I have only built one other comp....2.4 Pentium Platform......nice, stable rig.....a few extra goodies to qualify it as a "semi-mod"...but it was a great system to cut my teeth on, and in all fairness, I had a lot of extra help with cables/bios/cpu install, etc. I wouldnt call it a "from-scratch" set up...Never one to NOT jump into the deep end of the pool, I decided to move up a bit and try a new build from scratch....I wanted a decent rig...strictly gaming......as close to state of the art as my budget would allow, but I was prepared to make exceptions......
My original MB of choice once I settled on an Athlon 64 was the Abit KV8. It was a great-looking MB; I thought the OATES cooling system was a significant upgrade from a lot of others...and I liked their "UGURU" system management tool...unfortunately, the Abit MB is now sitting in a trash bin....I have to say that, all emotion aside, Abit wont be seeing my cash any time in the future.....to call the OATES system a total failure would be an understatement...only AFTER I started reading the Abit boards did I realize that virtually every builder was removing the plastic OATES shroud and tossing it away.......the screw alignment in the OATES portion of the board, coupled with almost any aftermarket HS/fan alignment warps the board slightly and doesnt allow multiple sticks of memory to sit properly in the slots......if you folks think thats a joke, just check out the Abit forums.....I'd say that right now, the negative reviews of the KV8 boards are surpassing the "positive" reviews by a ratio of 2 or 3 to 1. And then try RMA'ing the board once its warped!
Now granted, the Thermalright SLK puts a hell of a stress load on the CPU section of the MB through sheer weight alone, but the MSI board, TO ME, seems to be a bit "beefier"....a tad thicker in construction. I dunno...maybe its the layout, or weight distribution. But I digress and this was "supposed" to be short and sweet....
Many hours of bareboning the build with the Abit board resulted in me switching manufacturers and trying MSI. Everything I tried....all the tech support....all the forums and Abit messageboards.....litterally swapping out every piece of equipment....nothing got that Abit board to boot up. I was getting error messages that werent even acknowledged by the manufacturer! Folks, you have NO idea how much better a product MSI is putting out compared to Abit.
For starters.....the board sits damned near perfectly on the standoffs.....one does NOT have to remove the video card to get at the memory slots (the Abit board requires MOST if not all video cards to be removed if swapping memory in slot 1)...the layout of the SATA and IDE brackets seemed a bit more ergonamically proficient on the MSI board.....about the only thing that appealed to me (initially)more on the Abit board was an "on board" LCD error check system that seemed to be a bit easier to use than the MSI D Bracket system. I say "seemed to be", but again, going back to basic board layout and design, the LCD's are virtually covered by the IDE cables that have to sit over the LCD's because of their close proximity to each other. Nice idea. Poorly executed.
So....if any of you first-timers have concerns about choosing the MSI board, start breathing easier.....once I switched boards, and used the exact same components as my first try with the Abit board, the K8T Neo started up first time out of the box.....everything about this board (knock wood), so far, has been great, and I also have to say that the help that all of you here dish out has made this experience nothing short of amazing.
Jocko, whoever the hell you are, you are my new Obi Wan Kenobi! Your advice in a few threads to newbies like myself was so damned "dead-on" ....so accurate...its like you know these boards and systems from the circuit on up! And I have to thank you right now for helping me even though we never exchanged emails or posts......many, many, many thanks!
Also, Mike...your thread for first-timers......it should be part of the itinerary for ALL newbies. Thanks for taking the time to share....
Finally...some additional thoughts that may help others ( or may not):
1. Configuring the BIOS is, to me anyway, always a bit scary. I like pointing and clicking...I hate pressing enter and using arrow keys...there are just too many damned choices and I'll always wonder if I made the right ones......scan back a few threads and search out any of Jocko's advice regarding the initial load of Windows and SATA drives...he makes this part easy. Also, there are several websites that give advice on optimum BIOS configs....you can find many links here on these forums.
2. If any of you want custom modded cases at decent pricing, dont be afraid to use Voyeurmods. Everything about Brian and his crew is top notch.....the customer service....the shipping.....the Verge X case is simply perfection.....I cant say enough nice things about them.
3. Kingston memory can be purchased directly from their USA website at fairly discounted pricing from just about anyone else on the web.....I paid $139.00 for 2 512 sticks of 400 DDR(not per stick...$139.00 total) a while back...pricing changes weekly so if you like Kingston product, check them weekly for specials...so far it has worked perfectly in my rig, and because you are buying direct, the warranty is as good as it gets.
4. The Thermalright SLK 948 is one hell of a heatsink, and the TT UFO fan that sits on top of it makes for one nice combo! My CPU refuses to overheat under load, and I cant say enough about how easy it was to install on the board. If any of you want a superb aftermarket product this does the trick nicely.
5. Any idea why the 2 power slots on the MSI MB are on opposite sides of the board? That was the one glitch I found on these boards that Abit did right...place the 2 power connections side by side for better cable management.
6. If on the first power up the entire system stays dark, chances are it AINT a bad Power supply...more than likely its front panel headers in the wrong slots..check your wiring. If there is just a slight glimpse of power and it cuts out immediately, its almost assuredly wrong wiring....the PS is shorting itself out.
7. On the HOT topic of power supplies....my MGE has 20 amps on the 12 volt line...I know, I know....its barely adequate to some of you....but I have to say this in as nice a way as possible: folks, it AINT always the power supply when a problem develops. I have read countless.....COUNTLESS posts/threads on both Board forums where a problem is "diagnosed" as being a crappy power supply. Some folks wont even discuss any other issue until a different PS is installed. The sad/funny thing is....if you read back through the threads here, as well as the Abit boards, I'd say 90% of the solutions to the problems didnt end up being the PS at all! Its more like: 30% user error....20% memory...10% CMOS clearing....20% component failure(including MB)....10% CPU seating.....10% PS.
8. Do....regardless of how much extra work is involved here....DO utilize a barebones build BEFORE you install in the case and hook up all the peripherals.....it cuts out SO many potential problems before they happen, and just makes so damned much sense. I know its extra effort, but if youre a first timer, and you want that first boot to take place; you want that main screen once you press "DELETE", this is the way to go.
9. Clearing CMOS. LOL! Yup......oh the errors of first- timers like myself!!!!!! Dont even bother posting here until you make sure you cleared the CMOS properly, and if youre not sure how, dont be afraid to ask stupid questions like I did here.
10. Dont be afraid to use cardboard as your anti-static material under a barebones...it works well...costs nothing...and your only potential issue is heat build up if your CPU freaks out.
11. DONT overuse your Artic Silver 5 on the CPU.....forget all the advice about "spreading out evenly" a thin layer of silver all over the CPU cover.....use the "grain of rice" method in the center.....a very small amount spreads out like you cant imagine! After I removed the HS from the CPU on the Abit board, I couldnt believe how thoroughly well the paste had spread over the CPU cover. If I had used more, or spread it out, the TR SLK would have forced it well over the sides of the CPU.
12. DONT be afraid of the BIOS. The MSI manual actually does a pretty decent job of guiding one through the initial set up, and YES...do NOT forget to press F10 to save all your changes.....it took me a couple of tries to make sure the changes "took".
13. DONT panic if you miss the F6 move on Windows install for SATA drivers.....it seems that on XP home, pressing F6 when prompted to made no difference.....30 seconds later the "add 3rd party drivers" screen comes up anyway.....for reference sake, my total Windows XP install took 16 minutes from start to finish.
14. Loading the VIA SATA drivers at that point in Windows is tricky for one very simple reason: the floppy doesnt have any "scroll down" arrows for multiple driver install. They are hidden UNDER the initial screen....press "S" when prompted for the initial driver....and then scroll down under the first batch to find the second one...highlight it and press "S"....dont panic if the screen doesnt change immediately...it "feels" like Windows lags a bit but the screen DOES change.
15. SATA cables dont always "sit" snugly in Barracuda drives...I tried 3 different cables from legit manufacturers in 2 different Seagates....they all fit...they all work...but just a tiny amount of pressure unseats them....use caution and try to keep any other cables from pressing OVER the SATA near the HD.
16. Bench test your system for at least 24 hours of continuous useage before you move it or do anything else with it......it just makes sense to see if anything shorts out or heats up......
Feel Free to email me ([email protected]) if you have any questions or want any ideas.....MSI has made my first real build a blast!
JJ

Hi
Welcome, glad you got some benefit from the threads, it all so easy once you've done it a few times, aint it.
Glad your going well, now you can help others
you could also join the folding team and help medical research.
enjoy
cheers
jocko

Building a hp8673C driver (first time driver builder, coaching appreciated)

I've got a HP8673C Synthesized Signal Generator, communicating with Labview over GPIB-USB-HS cord (Labview 8.6.1 on Windows XP). There is no existing driver, so I am setting out to build one. I have never built a driver before, so here it goes.
What I've done so far:
Downloaded and installed the NI-488.2.3.0 driver.
Watched the NI presentation on the Instrument Driver Development
found the operating manual for the device (link) on the Agilent website.
created an instrument driver project, made an icon, and started testing the codes.
First question: Why does the error query vi have a loop in it? When I query the message on my device ("MG") it returns a 2 digit number error code. "00" is no error, and any non "00" code is an error. When there is an error (say, "20"), then it never stops the loop of the error query (because the return number is not equal to zero). It seems like I should just take the loop out, but I wanted to check why it was there in the first place.
Second question: Using the NI-488.2 Communicator, I query the device "*IDN?". It returns "FR03000000000HZ"; this also resets the HP8673C, and shows the error corresponding to "Invalid HP-IB code" on the device... any ideas what's happening here? Is there something I should be doing to EOS? I don't really understand what the EOI is or what my device requires.
Any help is greatly appreciated. In doing this project, I am hoping to learn more about how Labview works too, so feel free to point out things that I should know in general, especially if I'm missing steps. I hope it helps other first time driver builders too.
Attached is the driver project as it currently stands (mainly so you can check the error query vi if you want to).
Attachments:
hp8673C.zip ‏106 KB

The basic approach you are taking is the right one, since there are no existing drivers for that instrument. There are for the 8671, but I don't know how similar those instruments are.
The first thing you have to keep in mind is that the instrument you have is old. Very old.
The second thing you have to keep in mind is that the instrument driver project wizard creates a template based on an instrument that uses the SCPI standard. The instrument you have does not use the SCPI standard. Thus, several things that the template creates will simply not work correctly for the 8673C or won't apply.
With respect to your questions:
The Error Query has a loop since that's what most SCPI-based instruments work. They will have an error queue, and querying for an error will return the first error in the queue. You then repeatedly query the queue to get the next error until you get the response of "+0, No Error".
The *IDN? query is a SCPI standard. Your instrument does not support SCPI, so it does not know what that command even is. Instruments from that era had commands which were two or three characters long.
The Initialize VI performs an ID query (which you would need to chage to reflect the 8673's actual command and response) and then performs a reset or default setup. The Reset VI sends the *RST command, which, again, is a SCPI command. You would need to change this to the appropriate reset command for the 8673. A quick look at the table of commands seems to indicate it's probably the "IP" command. The default setup just sends REN which is remote enable. I think the 8673 should be OK with this, but you'd need to confirm it by looking at the manual. But then maybe you want the "IP" command here instead.
What I would suggest doing is to make things simple by creating individual VIs for each command that you are likely to use. This will allow you to test things one at a time, building up a usable library.

First time PC build. Please help.

So first off I'm pretty amateur. I have been running Pr elements on an old destop for a while and putting together a few little DSLR projects. Im starting to get a few more serious projects and need to upgrade things. I was tempted to go down the Mac route but have pretty much opted against that. I am planning on getting Production Premium, as I can get student pricing. Going this route I really need a good computer that I can rely on to cut and color quickly. Keep in mind that Im not doing anything really fancy. Mostly simple edits with coloring and other basic effects.
This is what the computer shop recomended based on what I thought I needed. The price came out a little higher than Id like, so any recommendations would be really appreciated. I am really not much of a computer guy so I have no idea if there are any problems with this setup. Is it too much for what I'm doing? What would you do to make it better?
Antec P193 Full Tower
Antec True Power 1200W Power Supply
Intel Core i7 2700K 3.5 GHz (Quad Core Hyperthreaded)
ASUS SKT1155 Intel Z77 Ivy Bridge Motherboard
16GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 1600MHz Ram
Patriot 240 GB Wildfire SSD Hard Drive (OS drive)
Seagate Barracuda SATA/600 3TB Hard Drive (Data Storage)
ASUS Blu-Ray Writer 12X
Internal Card Reader All – in – One
PNY nVidia Quadro 4000 2GB DDR5 256bit Graphics
Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
3 Year Warranty
$3249.95 CAD
I appreciate anyone who can take the time to answer this question from a beginner.

>Patriot 240 GB Wildfire SSD Hard Drive (OS drive)
I agree with Harm... I have Win7 64bit Pro and CS5 Master Collection and MS Office Pro and "several" other, smaller programs on my boot drive... and only 60gig is used... I do have my work load spread across 3 drives
My 3 hard drives to edit AVCHD are configured as...
1 - 320Gig Boot for Win7 64bit Pro and all program installs
2 - 320Gig data for Win7 paging swap file and video project files
When I create a project on #2 drive, the various work files follow,
so my boot drive is not used for the media cache folder and files
3 - 1Terabyte data for all video files... input & output files (*)
(*) for 4 drives, drive 3 all source files & drive 4 all output files
Search Microsoft to find out how to redirect your Windows paging swap file
http://search.microsoft.com/search.aspx?mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US
>Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
Unless you are on a "business enterprise network" where you need the advanced features of Ultimate, all you need is Win7 64bit Pro
Even if you are not going to overclock your CPU look into a better cooling aftermarket CPU fan
Be sure you have plenty of "large, quiet" case fans
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/652694 includes a link to the computer I built... outdated now, but still works well for me

First time Final Cut beginner question- how to get the timeline back?

The first time I opened Final Cut on my own, I accidentally closed the timeline box. How do I get it back?
~Krista

Hmm...that's strange. Try this: From the FCE menu bar, select Window>Arrange>Standard
If that doesn't do the trick, your FCE Preferences may have gotten corrupted. Trash them exactly as described here:
http://fcpbook.com/Misc1.html

First Time MacBook Pro Owner - Questions

Hi everyone...
I'll first say that this is my first Apple machine and my first laptop, so I'm entering new territory...that being said, my apologies if some of my questions seem silly.
1) In a general sense, are laptops any more fragile (for lack a better word) than desktop machines? I ask only because with laptops having batteries and other different components when compared to desktops, I am curious as to whether or not there are certain precautions I need to take with my MacBook Pro.
2) Along the same lines as 1), how should I handle my laptop when not in use? Should I put it to sleep every time? When should I put it to sleep as opposed to shutting it down? With my PC desktop, I'd just leave it running for days on end and I never encountered any problems with it.
3) I tend to leave my laptop plugged in to the AC power adaptor while in use...will this cause any problems in any way? I've heard that the MacBook Pro has a built-in feature where it will not "overcharge" the battery, but I wanted to make sure leaving it plugged in all the time will not damage it or the battery.
Also, if you all have any general maintenance or usage tips for me given my utter lack of knowledge about Macs and laptops in general, I'd appreciate it! I plan on making my recent investment in my MacBook Pro last as long as I can!
Thanks!
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.9)

PhiPsi JB:
First, welcome to Apple Discussions and congratulations on your new MacBook Pro (MBP). I bought one last November and I have been very happy with it. I agree with Templeton but I some other suggestions as well.
Since portable computers can be moved around, it's much easier for them to be damaged than a desktop Mac. As I'm sure you already know, your new computer will get all your attention and the older ones don't get as much use. So, I'm sure you will be using your MBP a lot and it will collect your most recent and precious data.
If you drop your MBP (God forbid!) then you will want to have a backup of your data so you can easily recover after it's repaired. My suggestion is to use a program like SuperDuper! (don't let the name fool you) to backup your system drive to an external hard drive. In my case, I partitioned my external drive with the first partition being a complete copy of my MBP's original system drive configured for my network. Then if I have any future problems, I can reboot back to the original OSX to troubleshoot any problems.
The second partition of the external hard drive has multiple images of my system drive after any updates. That way if, for some reason, an Apple update doesn't work, I can revert my system drive back to how it was prior to the update. Of course, I always do a backup prior to doing ANY updates. That's just good sense.
If you can afford it, purchase Applecare to protect your investment. It's expensive up front but if you ever need it then it will be cheap insurance.
If I'm not using my MBP for a while, I like put it in its case. It not only protects the unit but also keeps it clean. The thin aluminum case is prone to dents so by keeping it in its case, it will stay looking like new. I don't know if you have a glossy or matte screen finish but be sure to get the proper cleaner to clean your screen with. If you don't then whenever you clean your screen you could scratch it.
Finally, purchase a cover for the area where the heel of your hands rest on the MBP case on either side of the mouse pad. Others have reported that over time, stains and pits have appeared on the case which, I believe, was reported to be caused by sweat. I bought a plastic cover for that area in an Apple store and it helps keep my MBP looking clean.
Enjoy your MBP and I hope you never have any problems.
Gerry

A relatively simple question ( I think)

I'm pretty new to java. I've read a few books and been practicing the basics, and now I'm attempting to learn a bit more through the creation of a simple game. I've been able to get a lot of the groundwork down, however, I'm having trouble figuring out just how to do one of the simple things that I need.
This game is grid based, and each time a sprite moves it moves a uniform distance of one tile (around 20 pixels). I need to set it up, however, so that the characters don't just "pop" to each location, but that they actually use their walk animation to travel one square's worth of distance.
I'll post the simple code I tried, along with my thoughts on why it doesn't work, and then I'd like to know if I'm just going about it all wrong, and I should try another method, or there is an error in my code. My comments in the code explain what's going on (or supossed to be).
public void moveLeft() { //this method is called when the left arrow is pressed
    moving(); //this is a method that simply sets the sprite's animation to a walk loop and changes a couple status variables
    int x = getXPosn(); //get the current x position
    int y = getYPosn(); //get the current y position
    int newx = x - 20; //newx is where I want the sprite to end up
    for (int n = x; n > newx; n--) {
        setPosition(n, y);
    stopLooping(); //stops the looping animation
}Now that seems pretty straightforward to me. I set the sprite to its walking animation. I get the current position, and tell it to go 20 pixels to the left, by decrementing 1 pixel at a time. Then, when it gets there, stop looping the animation.
However, what I end up with is the same as if the for loop is nonexistant and I just used setPosition() to "warp" the character to the new spot. The animation never takes place, and the sprite doesn't "slide" along the screen like I want. Is this because the for loop just processes so quickly from x to (x-20) that its unnoticable? And if so, how do I slow it down so that I can see this animation?
Perhaps I'm going about it all the wrong way, and there is a better method for getting at what I want. Any help would be greatly appreciated. For what its worth, I do know the moving() method,looping, stopLooping(), setPosition(), and all of that works. When I set it so that holding down an arrow key moves the sprite, it works fine. The sprite moves around, with the walk animation as long as the key is being pressed. That's just not what I need to do here. I just want it to walk a fixed distance, with its animation, from a key press.

well, it may have bloated my code a bit, but it works. I believe that once I get more of the game elements in place, I'll be able to simplifiy it, but I'm trying to take my time and get each part working solidly before adding more.
//I have a method that updates my sprite's x,y position each time through the gameloop by simply doing
locx += mx
locy += my
//where locx, locy is the current location and mx, my is the amount of movement (either positive or negative);
//Then, I needed 2 methods to get it to stop when I wanted.
public void stepLeft() {
       int x = getXPosn(); //returns the value of the current x position
       moving();
       setStep(-1,0); //this method sets the movement amount each update- (-1,0) means move left 1 pixel on the x axis each update
       moveLeft((x - 20)); //sends the value of where I want the sprite to end up when I'm finished to the other method I created
public void moveLeft(int x) {
       while (getXPosn() > x) { //this loop runs while the x location of the sprite is greater than the location I want it to end up at.
           isStill = false; //this is just a boolean identifier
       stopMove(); //A method that just stops the looping animation and resets the movement to (0,0)
}I tried to get it all in one method, but was having trouble, with using getXPosn() in the same method that I needed to check getXPosn() later. It kept creating infinite loops, because (getXPosn() - 20) would change based on the sprite's movement. So my workaround was to send it to another method for the loop.
As I said, I think this is a little bloated for what the code will be when I'm finished. I need to turn my background into a grid and I'm going to define each tile at some point. Then, I can go back and alter this code so that it just checks if its going into the boundaries of a new tile, rather than needing to use so many methods.

Please help with first time PC build

As a guy coming from a 8 year old 3,1 MacPro into PCs I need a bit of help evaluating all the different combinations when it comes to building a PC.
I'm woking in CC mainly with After Effects and Premiere. In AE I'm working with Element 3D/optical flares, getting into some C4D.
Premiere mainly with HD and Blackmagic cinema dng & prores. Working with some 4k Red footage. Additional CC applications but After Effects and Premiere are the main concern. Also, hoping to use Resolve, but haven't.
I'm not going to be building it myself, there is a computer place that will be assembling and this was their suggested build with parts that they usually use with workstations along with some of my input from looking online. I think the vast amount of work they do is for gamers, and since I won't be gaming at all I want to make sure this is a solid work machine.
Motherboard : 2011-v3 : ATX : X99S SLI PLUS : MSI
CPU : Intel Core i7 5820K (6 x 4.0 GHz Overclock, 12 x threads)
Case : ATX : No PSU : P70 Silence (Black) : Antec
PSU : 750W : Smart Standard 80 Plus : SP-750PCBUS : Thermaltake
RAM : Desktop DDR4 : 16GB/Kit : PC4-17000 : Crucial
Cooling : CPU : Liquid : 120mm : Kuhler H2O 650 : KuhlerH2O650 : Antec
Video Card : PCI-E : NVIDIA : GTX 970 : 4GB : ZT-90101-10P : Zotac
HD : SSD : 250GB : SATA3 : Samsung 850 EVO (OS, Programs)
HD : HDD : 2TB : SATA : WD2003FZEX Black : Western Digital (media, projects)
HD : SSD : 500GB : SATA3 : BX100 Series : CT500BX100SSD1 : Crucial (media cache, previews, exports)
I have a couple of 500GB 7200 seagate drives that were in my mac pro that I will probably bring over to keep photos, documents and other personal stuff.
I have a 3TB caldigit vr raid that I'm thinking I can connect to the pc via esata
As a potential extra I'm considering a 4TB backup drive where I can copy everything over incase of a drive failure.
I appreciate any input, thanks

Thanks,
I've been reconsidering my build in light of what you said and I'm hoping you could look it over.
PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA 850 - $174.99
CASE - Fractal Design Define R5 - $139.99
I'm still not sure about cooling. The R5 has 2 fans included, on on the back and one of the front. Is that enough or do I need another?
CPU cooler - From what I understand I will still need a fan on the CPU and I've seen the Noctua NH-D15 and Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO on other forums. Thoughts?
I have no experience over clocking so I'm thinking I will just leave the CPU as is. Correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard the 5820 is a better price/performance value than the 5930 so I'm thinking it's worth it to save the $250. Unless this CPU only makes sense if you OC
CPU - i7-5820K Haswell-E 6-Core 3.3GHz- $469.99
Motherboard - Asus 99-A - $334.99
Originally I had the regular Crucial Ram picked out but It looks like the Crucial Ballistix Sport has a higher speed and is on sale for basically the same price. Latency is 15 for the regular and 16 for the ballistix? Is that the right call?
RAM - Crucial 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 2133 PC4-17000 - $449.99
OR
RAM - Crucial Ballistix Sport 32GB (4x8GB) DDR4 2400 PC4-19200 - $439.99
Video Card - GIGABYTE GV-N970G1 Gaming-4GD GTX 970 - $449.99
System Drive - Samsung 850 Pro 256GB - $194.99 2 of these one for system and another for media cache, previews, and exports.
Am I forgetting anything?
Thanks for taking a look

Using SPAM/SAINT for the first time (Many doubts and questions)

Hi all,
I'm newbie using SPAM/SAINT and SOLMAN.
I've mande a maintenance optimizer task for the SOLMAN system here in the company.
My actual installed components are:
SAP_ABA     700     0012     SAPKA70012     Cross-Application Component
SAP_BASIS     700     0012     SAPKB70012     SAP Basis Component
PI_BASIS     2005_1_700     0012     SAPKIPYJ7C     PI_BASIS 2005_1_700
ST-PI     2005_1_700     0006     SAPKITLQI6     SAP Solution Tools Plug-In
SAP_BW     700     0013     SAPKW70013     SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0
SAP_AP     700     0010     SAPKNA7010     SAP Application Platform
BBPCRM     500     0009     SAPKU50009     BBPCRM
BI_CONT     703     0005     SAPKIBIIP5     Business Intelligence Content
CPRXRPM     400     0009     SAPK-40009INCPRXRPM     SAP xRPM/cProjects/cFolders 4.00 (ABAP)
ST     400     0012     SAPKITL422     SAP Solution Manager Tool
ST-A/PI     01J_CRM500     0000     -     Application Servicetools for CRM 500 / 5
ST-ICO     150_700     0009     SAPK-15079INSTPL     SAP Solution Manager Implementation Cont
ST-SER     700_2007_1     0001     SAPKITLOM1     SAP Solution Manager Service Tools
I've made the search and found a lot of info.
Some kernel updates (I386 on my case), and my first question is: "How do I update this? Is it safe to be the first thing to be done?" Is it only copy to the Run directory (usr\sap\<SID>\SYS\exe\run)?
Also a component BC-FES-IGS has some updates, but I don't know what is this and how to update. (it says: Installation for SAP IGS integrated in SAP Kernel igsexe_16-10003071.sar)
All the rest (SAPK* files), seems to be normal patches that is possible to use spam to update them. Correct?
How to use SPAM/SAINT? What is used in one time, and on others? Do they do the same?
Regards,
Pedro
Edited by: Pedro Taveira on Aug 17, 2010 5:20 PM

Hi Pedro,
Some kernel updates (I386 on my case), and my first question is: "How do I update this? Is it safe to be the first thing to be done?" Is it only copy to the Run directory (usr\sap\<SID>\SYS\exe\run)?
As SolMan is a dual stack machine, you can use JSPM to update the kernel. Another way is to extract the Kernel SAR files into the exe\run directory. It is a best practice to update the kernel before the support packages. Take a backup of the existing exe directories before you update the kernel and also pay good attention while downloading the kernel. you need to take care while choosing the correct version of the kernel (either 32 bit or 64 bit and ITANIUM or XEON). If you choose the wrong kernel, then ur SAP system will not come up.
Also a component BC-FES-IGS has some updates, but I don't know what is this and how to update. (it says: Installation for SAP IGS integrated in SAP Kernel igsexe_16-10003071.sar)
Extract the IGS SAR also along with teh kernel files.
All the rest (SAPK* files), seems to be normal patches that is possible to use spam to update them. Correct?
Yes!!! You may have to update the latest SPAM/SAINT (SAPKD700*) before updating the SP's.
How to use SPAM/SAINT? What is used in one time, and on others? Do they do the same?
Support Packs can be updated using SPAM and the add-on upgrades has to be done using SAINT.
Regards,
Varadharajan M

First time upgrading, a few questions..

I'm an existing Verizon customer with the original Droid I got when it first released and looking to get the iPhone 4S when it releases.
I plan on pre-ordering it tomorrow on the 7th. I'm not gonna wait until 3:00 EST, but will do so in a reasonable morning hour.
A few questions:
1.) My contract ends sometime in November (Whenever the Droid 1 came out). I am still grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, correct?
2.) When upgrading to a new phone, are there other fees I should be expecting? (Just so I can get the pre-rage out of the way.)
3.) When I pre-order from the website, I am pre-ordering through delivery, correct? I can't have it put on hold for me at my local Verizon/Apple/Best Buy/etc.?
Thanks in advance.

ICanHearYou wrote:
I'm an existing Verizon customer with the original Droid I got when it first released and looking to get the iPhone 4S when it releases.
I plan on pre-ordering it tomorrow on the 7th. I'm not gonna wait until 3:00 EST, but will do so in a reasonable morning hour.
A few questions:
1.) My contract ends sometime in November (Whenever the Droid 1 came out). I am still grandfathered into the unlimited data plan, correct?
Your data plan should not change. That's what I was told.
2.) When upgrading to a new phone, are there other fees I should be expecting? (Just so I can get the pre-rage out of the way.)
No, just the cost of the phone.
3.) When I pre-order from the website, I am pre-ordering through delivery, correct? I can't have it put on hold for me at my local Verizon/Apple/Best Buy/etc.?
Apple's website specifically says the phones will be delivered. Can't really find any specific language on Verizon's site, but I think they also will ship the phone directly to you.
Thanks in advance.

First time importing CD - easy question

I'm about to import my first CD into iTunes. I have almost no experience with iTunes. The goal is convert my 500 or so CDs to ALAC.
I've learned how to set iTunes to ALAC and I've popped in a CD. I can see iTunes has already retrieved the CD title and track names.
What I don't see is the cover art. When I rip the CD to ALAC, will the cover art be embedded in the file? I want to make sure the cover art is in there so it displays even when I'm not connected to the internet.
Can anyone help?
-JOHN

Thanks for the reply, ejpre. You answered my question perfectly.
I did notice that I had to add the picture to the "get info" page several times before all thumbnails in the folder showed the image art. iTunes showed the art right away, but for some reason the thumbnails in the file folder didn't all convert. Some did - some didn't.
I guess that's just a glitch or a bug.

First Time User, have some questions...,

I've recently obtained mainstage and I'm very interested in using it. I have a weaker computer, but I wouldn't be pushing it real hard I don't think...,
My questions are:
-Is there a way I can map drum loops to a keyboard (either my computer keyboard or midi/usb one) so I can change them on the fly?
-Similar to above, could I map voice mods to a button?
-I'm interested in looping, much like Imogen Heap or Zoe Keating. Is there a way in software to do this? I can sing/play something and it will record and play it repeatedly until I stop it with a button push.
Thanks in advance

The program you want is Ableton Live. It is made to do what you are looking for. You might (and I mean "might") be able to achieve something similar with Mainstage but not without compromise. Ableton Live is the standard for live recording and looping.

First time computer builder - simple question(I think)

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