Testing of the system

Hi All
we have updated our BI system from a patch level 10 to 18..so now can any one tell me as to wat are the parameters which has to be checked to ensure that the old developments have not changed..can anyone share a doc abt the procedures in doing it if avaialable.
thanx in advance..

Hi Shilpa,
There is no standard procedure to test the system. The easiest way test is to run all the process chains in the system and see if all the loads are sucessful. If any object was affected by the upgrade, it will cause the process chain for the data load that uses that object to fail, and you can easily identify any discrepancies.
Also, in most cases DataSources are the objects which are usually affected by upgrades. So any load failures due to a DS being inactive or changed is a good indication of changes due to the upgrade

Similar Messages

Java.io.FileNotFoundException: test.txt (The system cannot find the file sp

Hi All,
am getting the following error, help me out. Thanks in advance...
java.io.FileNotFoundException: test.txt (The system cannot find the file specified)
     java.io.FileInputStream.open(Native Method)
     java.io.FileInputStream.<init>(FileInputStream.java:106)
     java.io.FileInputStream.<init>(FileInputStream.java:66)
     BinaryStreamServlet.doGet(BinaryStreamServlet.java:13)
     javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:690)
     javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:803)
I have placed "test.txt" in the path"D:\Backup\Tomcat web server\apache-tomcat-6.0.14\webapps\examples\WEB-INF\classes\test.txt".
web.xml entry is as follows,
<servlet>
<servlet-name>demoservlet2</servlet-name>
<servlet-class>BinaryStreamServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet-mapping>
<servlet-name>demoservlet2</servlet-name>
<url-pattern>/demoservlet2</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>
Source code:
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import java.io.*;
import javax.servlet.*;
import javax.servlet.http.*;
public class BinaryStreamServlet extends HttpServlet{
public void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response)
throws ServletException, IOException{
response.setContentType("text/plain"); /* set the MIME type */
     File f= new File("test.txt");
     byte[] arBytes = new byte[(int) f.length()];
     FileInputStream is= new FileInputStream("test.txt");
     is.read(arBytes);
     OutputStream os = response.getOutputStream();
     os.write(arBytes);
     os.flush();
}

I have one Drivers.xml file in /WEB-INF that i want to read .but everytime i get exception file not found..
i m trying to read this xml file in DriverUtilties.java (a non servlet class)
inside of /WEB-INF/classess folder is there and hierarchy for non-servlet class DriverUtilties is :- com.dds.apps.ptes.pidentifier.admin.util.common.DriverUtilties
what code shall i write so that i can read the xml file. ???
where i set in classpath ?
MYCODE is like this :
public static final String DEFAULT_FILE = "/WEB-INF/drivers.xml";
InputStream in = new FileInputStream(DEFAULT_FILE);
Thanks in advance

Unable to create RFC iviews - connection test of the system failed

hello,
I always try to configure my system to run an RFC iView...
The connection of myt system is failed for 1 of the 4 tests.
i don't know why.
I have filled this fields :
- application host
- ITS host name
- ITS path
- ITS protocol
- Logical system name (not sure it's correct)
- Sap client
- Sap system ID
- SAP system number
- Server port (not sure it's correct)
- System type
- Web as host name
- Web as path
- Web as protocol
and i have this error :
SAP Web AS Connection
Test Details:
The test consists of the following steps:
1. Check the validity of the system ID in the system object
2. Check if the system can be retrieved
3. Check if a SAP system is defined in the system object
4. Validate the following parameters: WAS protocol; WAS host name
5. Check HTTP/S connectivity to the defined back-end application
Results
1. The system ID is valid
2. Retrieval of the system was successful
3. The system object represents an SAP system
4. The following parameters are valid: Web AS Protocol (http) Web AS Host Name (wsapv49.dhcp.xxx.xx.xxxx:8045)
5. HTTP/S connection successful
ITS Connection
Test Details:
The test consists of the following steps:
1. Check the validity of the system ID in the system object
2. Check if the system can be retrieved
3. Check if the system object has a valid system alias
4. Check if a SAP system is defined in the system object
5. Validate the following parameters: ITS protocol; ITS host name
6. Check the validity of any user mapping in the system object
7. Check HTTP/S connectivity to the defined back-end application
Results
1. The system ID is valid
2. Retrieval of the system was successful
3. Retrieval of the default alias was successful
4. The system object represents an SAP system
5. The following parameters are valid: ITS Protocol (http) ITS Host Name (wsapv49.dhcp.xxx.xx.xxxx:8045)
6. HTTP/S connection successful
Test Connection with Connector
Test Details:
The test consists of the following steps:
1. Retrieve the default alias of the system
2. Check the connection to the backend application using the connector defined in this system object
Results
Retrieval of default alias successful
Connection failed. Make sure user mapping is set correctly and all connection properties are correct.
Test Connection through the DQE
Test Details:
The test consists of the following steps:
1. Checks the existence of a backend admin user ID/password in the system properties.
2. Checks the existence of a default alias for the system.
3. Checks the DQE connection.
Results
1. DQE admin user ID or password is missing in the system properties. Make sure those properties exist for this system object.
2. Default alias of the system exists.
3. DQE connection successful. If you continue to experience problems, verify the DQE admin user ID and password properties for this system object.
can you help me to end this configuration?
thanks a lot.
(reward points for helful answers...)
Adrien

doesn't work, doesn't work... :o(
I found this in "analysis" -> "Debug"
error 3 mai 2007 16:49:32:168 Failed to get connection for system final
/System/Server com.sap.portal.ivs.connectorService sap.com/irj admin ITEM-31892 Server 0 0_33638
error 3 mai 2007 16:49:32:168 (R3/BW) Failed to get connection. Please contact your admin.
/System/Server com.sap.portal.connectors.R3 sap.com/irj admin ITEM-31892 Server 0 0_33638
i found too a -BIG- file in the directories, "last block" of the file
#1.5#000D56D8CEA2005D0000001500000FC400042F9201A5E5D2#1178204046283#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#1a943a10f98511dbc5d6000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_3##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server/WebRequests#Plain###Processing HTTP request to servlet [dispatcher] finished with error.
The error is: com.sap.tc.webdynpro.clientserver.session.CloseResponseException: The connection is closed.
Exception id: [000D56D8CEA2005D0000001300000FC400042F9201A5E071]#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA2005D0000001600000FC400042F9201A76132#1178204046383#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.client.RequestInfoServer#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.client.RequestInfoServer#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#1a943a10f98511dbc5d6000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_3##0#0#Error##Plain###Cannot send an HTTP error response [500 Application error occurred during request processing. (details: com.sap.tc.webdynpro.clientserver.session.CloseResponseException: The connection is closed.)]. The error is: com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.exceptions.WebIOException: An attempt to write after the stream had been closed.
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.runtime.client.GzipResponseStream.write(GzipResponseStream.java:209)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.runtime.client.GzipResponseStream.write(GzipResponseStream.java:193)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.runtime.client.HttpServletResponseFacade.writeError(HttpServletResponseFacade.java:952)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl.sendError(HttpHandlerImpl.java:955)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl.handleGeneralException(HttpHandlerImpl.java:860)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl.processError(HttpHandlerImpl.java:851)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl.runServlet(HttpHandlerImpl.java:401)
     at com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl.handleRequest(HttpHandlerImpl.java:264)
     at com.sap.engine.services.httpserver.server.RequestAnalizer.startServlet(RequestAnalizer.java:347)
     at com.sap.engine.services.httpserver.server.RequestAnalizer.startServlet(RequestAnalizer.java:325)
     at com.sap.engine.services.httpserver.server.RequestAnalizer.invokeWebContainer(RequestAnalizer.java:887)
     at com.sap.engine.services.httpserver.server.RequestAnalizer.handle(RequestAnalizer.java:241)
     at com.sap.engine.services.httpserver.server.Client.handle(Client.java:92)
     at com.sap.engine.services.httpserver.server.Processor.request(Processor.java:148)
     at com.sap.engine.core.service630.context.cluster.session.ApplicationSessionMessageListener.process(ApplicationSessionMessageListener.java:33)
     at com.sap.engine.core.cluster.impl6.session.MessageRunner.run(MessageRunner.java:41)
     at com.sap.engine.core.thread.impl3.ActionObject.run(ActionObject.java:37)
     at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
     at com.sap.engine.core.thread.impl3.SingleThread.execute(SingleThread.java:100)
     at com.sap.engine.core.thread.impl3.SingleThread.run(SingleThread.java:170)
#1.5#000D56D8CEA2005D0000001800000FC400042F9201A765B7#1178204046383#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#1a943a10f98511dbc5d6000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_3##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server/WebRequests#Plain###Cannot send an HTTP error response [500 Application error occurred during request processing. (details: com.sap.tc.webdynpro.clientserver.session.CloseResponseException: The connection is closed.)].
The error is: com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.exceptions.WebIOException: An attempt to write after the stream had been closed.
Exception id: [000D56D8CEA2005D0000001600000FC400042F9201A76132]#
and with another test connector
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200600000001800000FC400042F921D02D625#1178204505301#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.engine.services.servlets_jsp.server.HttpHandlerImpl#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_14##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server/WebRequests#Plain###Processing HTTP request to servlet [dispatcher] finished with error.
The error is: com.sap.tc.webdynpro.clientserver.session.CloseResponseException: The connection is closed.
Exception id: [000D56D8CEA200600000001600000FC400042F921D02D1AE]#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200560000001600000FC400042F921D39B77B#1178204508896#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#ID\#(J2EE3363800)ID0180043050DB10318128463979236974End.32388e30f98711dba6e6000d56d8cea2##0#0#Info##Plain###wdDoInit()-> enter#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200560000001700000FC400042F921D3AE547#1178204508977#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#ID\#(J2EE3363800)ID0180043050DB10318128463979236974End.32388e30f98711dba6e6000d56d8cea2##0#0#Info##Plain###connectToSystem()->Selected Systemnull#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200560000001800000FC400042F921D3BE964#1178204509037#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.provider.configurationmanager.ConfigManagerReader#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.provider.configurationmanager.ConfigManagerReader#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#ID\#(J2EE3363800)ID0180043050DB10318128463979236974End.32388e30f98711dba6e6000d56d8cea2##0#0#Info##Plain###getElement(String, Filter, int):NamedLocatedElement!ConfigManagerReader.SEARCH_FOR!CTC#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200560000001900000FC400042F921D414CF2#1178204509397#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#ID\#(J2EE3363800)ID0180043050DB10318128463979236974End.32388e30f98711dba6e6000d56d8cea2##0#0#Info##Plain###wdDoInit()-> leave success#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200560000001A00000FC400042F921E69A639#1178204528816#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#ID\#(J2EE3363800)ID0180043050DB10318128463979236974End.32388e30f98711dba6e6000d56d8cea2##0#0#Info##Plain###wdDoModifyView()-> enter#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200560000001B00000FC400042F921E69A953#1178204528816#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#sap.com/tcwddispwda#com.sap.tc.lm.ctc.ccl.templateinstaller.TemplateInstallerCompView#Administrator#49##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#Administrator#fd2a66f0f98611dbcb21000d56d8cea2#ID\#(J2EE3363800)ID0180043050DB10318128463979236974End.32388e30f98711dba6e6000d56d8cea2##0#0#Info##Plain###wdDoModifyView()-> success#
#1.5#000D56D8CEA2006E0000010500000FC400042F9231C81C6F#1178204853786#com.sap.portal.connectors.R3#sap.com/irj#com.sap.portal.connectors.R3#admin#47##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#e91a07a0f98711db85f4000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_9##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server#Plain###(R3/BW) Failed to get connection. Please contact your admin. #
#1.5#000D56D8CEA204E70000000100000FC400042F9231C90EA8#1178204853846#com.sap.engine.services.dqe#sap.com/irj#com.sap.engine.services.dqe#admin#47##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#e91a07a0f98711db85f4000d56d8cea2#Thread[Log_Worker_6,5,SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_Group]##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server/DQE#Plain###mai 03, 2007 17:07:33.786 [SAP_HOST|4039|SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_9] <CONNECTOR.ERROR> Error trying to establish connection to the EIS : final Connection Failed: Nested Exception. Failed to get connection. Please contact your admin. #
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200690000001E00000FC400042F92335B4C9E#1178204880215#com.sap.portal.connectors.R3#sap.com/irj#com.sap.portal.connectors.R3#admin#47##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#e91a07a0f98711db85f4000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_35##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server#Plain###(R3/BW) Failed to get connection. Please contact your admin. #
#1.5#000D56D8CEA200690000002000000FC400042F92335B4FE3#1178204880215#com.sap.portal.ivs.connectorService#sap.com/irj#com.sap.portal.ivs.connectorService#admin#47##ITEM4531892.dhcp_J2E_3363850#admin#e91a07a0f98711db85f4000d56d8cea2#SAPEngine_Application_Thread[impl:3]_35##0#0#Error#1#/System/Server#Java###Failed to get connection for system #1#final#
i happy to carry my life's number one goal with another guy
(thanks, again and again)
Adrien
Message was edited by:
        Adrien Loire

SCAT - Tester in the Test Package

Hi! All Experts,
I have created a Test Package and assigned Tester to each Test Case. e.g.Data Entry Clerk to Test Script A, Approver to Test Script B.
However, when I run the Test Case in the Test Package, the system always logon as user "ALE-BATCH" and run the Test Scripts A and B.
Is it possible to logon as the Tester and run the Test Script ? E.g. logon as Data Entry Clerk and run Test Script A, then logon as Approver and run Test Script B ?
Thanks in advance for all the advise.

It is because I have picked a RFC Destination with default user id ALE-BATCH and password.
To solve this, I have to build another RFC Destination which will prompt for logon ID and password.

I have error while testing the system created from a sap business objects template in SAP portal

I have error while testing the system created from a sap business objects template in SAP portal. Error text:
com.sapportals.connector.connection.ConnectionFailedException: Connection Failed: A nested exception occurred. Could not initialize physical connection. Connection Failed: A nested exception occurred. Could not initialize physical connection. Connection Failed: A nested exception occurred. Could not create JCO connection. 'mshost' missing
I configure integration SAP portal and SAP BW system. All system requirements are complied.
Environment
SAP Business Objects 4.0
SAP BW 7.31
1.     I configure SSSO between SAP BW and SAP Business Objects Enterprise 4.0
2.     Next I setting integration SAP PORTAL with SAP BW system
3.     I download certificate from portal. Select Certificates and key (http://sapserver:port/nwa) – See scren_
4.     In next window selected Ticketkeystore and Saplogonticketpair-cert( near part window form)
5. Select Export entry button and binary format file certificate for download. Press download.
6.     Save certificate file in local PC folder
In next step need export certificate file to SAP system. Sequence of step:
1.       Run STRUSTSS02 transaction .
2.       Chose certificate ->import.
3.       Select downloaded certificate file
4.       Select Add to certificate list button and Add to ACL button
5.       Inter System ID and Client(000)
6.       In next I download iview sap business objects template into sap portal: System administration->transport->Import. And select and download sap business Objects iview template in .epa format into sap portal.
7.       Result – downloaded iview.
8.       In next step I create system from template. System administration->system landscape.
9. In next step I input parameters for my system in Connector category, Sap business objects and user management categories: See screen _2
10.   When I created the system and test the connection error occurred: See screen_3
This issue is important enough. I would be grateful for opinions and ideas. Thanks in advance.

Did you find a solution?

For one Urgent Change during performing the Approval(chnging the status to 'To be Tested') system does not recognize any changes using the CTS WBS BOM in the development system. The transaction is therefore incorrect or the status was reset by the system.

For one Urgent Change while performing the one of the Approval before changing the status to 'To Be Tested'
We are getting below error.
The system does not recognize any changes using the CTS WBS BOM in the development system. The transaction is therefore incorrect or the status was reset by the system.
COuld anyone please help us to know, How it can be resolved?
We also have this below error.
System Response
If the PPF action is a condition check, the condition is initially considered as not met, and leads to another warning, an error message, or status reset, depending on the configuration.
If the PPF action is the execution of a task in the task list, and the exception is critical, there is another error message in the document.
Procedure
The condition cannot be met until the cause is removed. Analyze all messages in the transaction application log.
Procedure for System Administration
Analyze any other messages in the task list application log, and the entries for the object /TMWFLOW/CMSCV
Additional Information:
System cancel RFC destination SM_UK4CLNT005_TRUSTED, Call TR_READ_COMM:
No authorization to log on as a trusted system (Tr usted RC=0).
/TMWFLOW/TU_GET_REQUEST_REMOTE:E:/TMWFLOW/TRACK_N:107
For above error Table /TMWFLOW/REP_DATA_FLOWwas refreshed as well but still the same error.

If you are in Test System, you can use function module AA_AFABER_DELETE to totally delete the depreciation area (tcode SE37, specify chart of depreciation and depreciation area), After that recreate your depreciation area and run AFBN. But before you do that, have you created a retirement transaction type that limits the posting on your new depreciation area? If not create one.
Hope this helps.
Thanks!
Jhero

Write Back Error The system is unable to read the Write Back Template 'test

Write Back Error The system is unable to read the Write Back Template 'test'. Please contact your system administrator. OK
But, the update button is on.
It did work and now it doesn't... nothing of course that we know of has changed. We got this message when we started and the name of the file was what we put as template name in obiee instead of webmessage name but the update button was off.... now we have update button on and same error.
File is on unix and we have made 777 so it's open to the world.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<WebMessageTables xmlns:sawm="com.siebel.analytics.web/message/v1">
<WebMessageTable lang="en-us" system="WriteBack" table="D_EXEC_METRIC">
<WebMessage name="test">
<XML>
<writeBack connectionPool="writeback">
<update>UPDATE D_EXEC_METRIC SET EXEC_METRIC_ICON_WID = @{c3}, EXEC_METRIC_COMMENT='@{c7}' WHERE SECTOR_WID=@{c0} AND EXEC_METRIC_WID=@{c2}</update>
</writeBack>
</XML>
</WebMessage>
</WebMessageTable>
</WebMessageTables>
thanks in advance for your help!

You're better off searching for an answer to this question in the [OBIEE Forum|http://forums.oracle.com/forums/forum.jspa?forumID=378].
The topic is discussed at least twice a month so there's tons of posts with all the answers you need. Make a forum search for writeback and you'll have your answer.
Cheers,
C.

How to configure a test sever with the system copy with prd data

Dear All ,
I need to configure a test sever with the system copy with prd data.
Please any one can suggest the step by step process to do the same configure and system copy.
Regards
kumar

Dear All,
I am facing problem in system copy. I want to knoe the way after restore i can move all the data and server data in one drive .
Now the error is resolve by changing the initTAT.sap the value tape to disk but now stuck in the drive for restore it is asking which is not there at os level.
BR0252E Function mkdir() failed for 'M:\oracle\TST\SAPDATA4\PRD33' at location
BrDirCreate-1
BR0253E errno 2: No such file or directory
BR0252E Function mkdir() failed for 'M:\oracle\TST\SAPDATA4\PRD32' at location
TO solve the above problem i have created ad network drive for this but once all the restore will be completed than how i can i move the data form network drive to on drvie.
Please suggest
Regards,
Kumar
Edited by: kumarmoh on Jul 21, 2009 1:43 PM

Hello everyone...I got my very first macbook pro just today and i have a problem deleting the "test" user account. if i can't delete it, the system won't let me turn off the system. I don't know what to do! HELP!!!!

hello everyone...I got my very first macbook pro just today and i have a problem deleting the "test" user account. if i can't delete it, the system won't let me turn off the system. I don't know what to do! HELP!!!!

Have you created another admin user? Go to system preferences click users and click the + to add a user; if you haven't already. Once you have another admin user other then the "test" user make sure you're signed out of the test user account. Sign in with the alternate ADMIN USER that you just created or had created already and go back to SYSTEM PREFERENCES and click the same USERS icon near the bottom. Now select the TEST user and click the - sign. This should prompt you if your sure you want to delete the user account. And your done.
New User created and Test User deleted... I hope this helps.

When I try to use the Vision Acquisition vi, I get an error message saying that " The system did not receive a test packet from the camera."

Error -1074360271 occurred at IMAQdx Start Acquisition.vi
NI-IMAQdx: (Hex 0xBFF69031) The system did not receive a test packet from the camera. The packet size may be too large for the network configuration or a firewall may be enabled.

Bruce Ammons wrote:
Did you try disabling test packets? I know Basler cameras have a "Enable Test Packets" setting buried in Advanced Network settings or something like that. You have to change the setting in MAX to show all settings instead of just acquisition, then locate the setting. I have been told regularly that the setting must be turned off for Basler cameras to work properly. Perhaps your camera has the same setting and the same requirement.
Bruce
A very specific firmware revision for certain Basler cameras had an issue where the test packet would not be sent for certain packet sizes and certain specific conditions, causing a false report of a test packet failure when a normal acquisition would in fact succeed. However, this was fixed in later firmware revisions and I have never seen a similar issue on any other types of cameras.
Aside from this specific case, if a test packet fails, it generally means an acquisition will as well. Given that Pleora's software can acquire, we can rule out networking topology and hardware, assuming you are using the same packet size as the Pleora software is. The only other thing that would seem a likely candidate would be a software issue like a firewall or some other filter driver that is interefering with IMAQdx receiving the data.
Eric

HP Pavilion M7-1015dx (0% of the System Memory tested OK)

I own an HP Pavilion laptop Model: m7-1015dx It was factory installed with Windows 7 (64 bit)
8GB Memory / 1 TB Hard drive (5400 RPM)
8GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
My son spilled a drink into the keyboard of my laptop. When I discovered the problem, I turned off the computer, removed the battery, turned it upside down and let it dry for five days.
After turning it on, I discovered that the OS system was missing. Prior to the spill, I had upgraded the OS by installing Windows 8.0 Pro. Initially having the 8.0 Pro disks, I thought I could just install the software and all would be fine. I later discovered that I need to install the Recovery disks first, before installing 8.0. (I've ordered disks. They are on their way.)
I ran tests.....(I've downloaded photos of each test.)
First, it looks like I've fried my Hard Drive. I have removed the hard drive and inserted it into a USB HDD docking station in hopes to retreive all of my files. The docking station is detected by the computer WITHOUT the hard drive snapped in, but...is NOT detected when the hard drive is connected. (This analysis makes me think all of my files are gone.)
Question: Can a professional retreive my lost files off of the hard drive?
Second, one of the other tests, shows 0% of the system memory tested OK. Can I assume that I've also lost my 8GB Memory? If I am correct, would that be 8GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM) ?
Question: Can I purchase two new Dimm cards to replace the ones that I think are also "fried"?
When I inserted the 8.0 Pro software, the computer detected the software program and looked as if it were going to install it after I keyed in the Product Key Code....so to me the CD drive is in working order....as well as the processor.
Also, they keyboard and the keyboard back light works and fully functional as well. I haven't had an opportunity to test the speakers or the preinstalled webcam.
Question: Is it worth it for me to purchase a new hard drive and the (2 DIMM) or do you think my computer is a lost case?
Again, I have downloaded pictures of the computer screens when I ran the computer tests.
Any help, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi Caren4u2. Sorry to hear about the accident. Spilling liquid on electronics is never fun, although I have experienced the cliche 'peanut butter sandwich' in my Blu-Ray drive.
Data recovery is possible. Most liquid damage on a hard drive, just damages the hard drive controller, leaving the actual data in tact. A local computer shop might have a trick or two which MIGHT recover data, but if you are serious about it, you will have to look into one of the bigger companies which have specialized equipment to take the platters out of your drive to recover data. This usually costs big bucks. I have no specific advice on this, other than 'research' and weight the pros and cons of keeping the data vs losing the data forever.
If the system is failing the memory test, it is not possible to determine if it is RAM related Due to the nature of the damage liquid can cause. The memory might be fine but the system board is possibly not capable of testing the RAM accurately. It is hard to say without testing the RAM in a comparable notebook to see if they function or not. If you are just hedging your bets, RAM is a less expensive fix. A local computer store might be able to verify if the RAM is working rather quickly.
To find out the base costs of repair, you should contact support. Also you should ask to verify if you have an ADP (Accidental Damage Protection) warranty or not, that would be a game changer for you:
HP Technical Support, North America 1-800-474-6836. For all other regions click here.
TwoPointOh
I work on behalf of HP
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How would one test the system response of the following example control loop

Basically, I want to control the upstream pressure in a pipe, using a single setpoint PID loop on a valve. As the pressure changes up or down, upstream, I want to open or close a valve appropriately to maintain say 5kpsi.
I will used the advanced auotune PID loop, My instrument provides a 4-20mA, and my valve accepts a 4-20mA signal.
Would I be able to simulate this without taking the equipment to a live system? I have a simulated 4-20mA that I could inject into the DAQ and increase/decrease as required to simulate pressure changes, and the DAQ could give a 4-20mA signal to the valve.
But how would this all work in practice. Id like to see the valve respond, but unsure how I would be able to verify the valve response and upstream pressure
Any ideas or tips?

You should be able to simulate without equipment to get the PID response you are looking for. The best place to state would be the LabVIEW example programs. Use Help -> Find Example and search for PID. I used this one to get the PID response I was looking for: C:\Program Files\National Instruments\LabVIEW 2011\examples\control\PID\Autotuning PID Online.vi
SOme systems respond quickly and others much slower. Some systems can't deal with overshot and there are many design considerations. You will need to tune the PID look for what is best for your system.If the system is straight forward and you can apply "rules" then consider the Fuzzy Logic controller. I have had success with both but there is no magic answer for PID loops except trial and error.
Matthew Fitzsimons
Certified LabVIEW Architect
LabVIEW 6.1 ... 2013, LVOOP, GOOP, TestStand, DAQ, and Vison

AirPort Extreme extends my network and has worked well for three months. Now it can no longer extend the network and flashes Amber. I have restored to factory settings moved it closer to time capsule and rebooted the system without luck

i have a blinking Amber on my extreme now and it cannot extend the network. It was working fine and nothing has changed. I have restored to factory settings moved it to another room and rebooted the system without luck. Any suggestions

What OS are you running?
Please give me a screenshot of the current AE setup..
I strongly recommend if you have issues.. take control of all the variables. Apple routers have too much auto..
Here is a list that I use for setups when using Yosemite.. but it relates to any OS.
You will need to factory reset again to get going.
Factory reset universal
Power off the AE.. ie pull the power cord or power off at the wall.. wait 10sec.. hold in the reset button.. be gentle.. power on again still holding in reset.. and keep holding it in for another 10sec. You may need some help as it is hard to both hold in reset and apply power. It will show success by rapidly blinking the front led. Release the reset.. and wait a couple of min for the AE to reset and come back with factory settings. If the front LED doesn’t blink rapidly you missed it and simply try again. The reset is fairly fragile in these.. press it so you feel it just click and no more.. I have seen people bend the lever or even break it. I use a toothpick as tool.
Then redo the setup from the computer with Yosemite or whatever you are using.
1. Use very short names.. NOT APPLE RECOMMENDED names. No spaces and pure alphanumerics.
eg AEgen5 for basestation.
Use AE24ghz and AE5ghz for wireless on each band, with fixed channels as this also seems to help stop the nonsense.
2. Use all passwords that also comply but can be a bit longer. ie 8-20 characters mixed case and numbers.. no non-alphanumerics.
3. Ensure the AE always takes the same IP address.. this is not a problem for router but if the AE is bridged you can have trouble.. Try using the static IP method or control it via the main router dhcp reservations.
4. Check your share name on the computer/s is not changing.. make sure it also complies with the above.. short no spaces and pure alphanumeric..
5. Make sure IPv6 is set to link-local only in the computer. For example wireless open the network preferences, wireless and advanced / TCP/IP.. and fix the IPv6. to link-local only.
6. Set up the extend to the Express using 2.4ghz and then see how good or bad the connection is.. this is better in the old v5 utility but if you hover your mouse over where it shows connection an extra chunk of info comes up.
I have specifically used 5ghz to make the extend.. because by testing it works better.. but do not be fooled.. this good connection is poor.. the RSSI.. which is difference signal .. at -79dbm is down the bottom of the stable.. and it drops out on a daily basis.. you want to see that signal around -60dbm at min.
There is a lot more jiggery pokery you can try but the above is a good start.. if you find it still unreliable.. don't be surprised.

Upgrading JWS applications installed in the system cache (enterprise)

Hello,
On request from several customers, I've looked into the best way to install a web start application for all users on a computer. These customers have users sharing computers, and the IT department doesn't want to be inconvenienced with installing applications on every user profile on every computer. The following articles provides a thorough explanation into how this can be done.
http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/javaws/developersguide/javaws.html
http://download.oracle.com/javase/1.5.0/docs/guide/deployment/deployment-guide/properties.html
By specifying the system deployment.config and deployment.properties files and performing the following installation command as an administrator, the application is made available for all current and new users with shared icons on the desktop and the start menu. This works actually very nicely.
javaws -system -import https://server/app.jnlp
However, I'm running into different problems when trying to upgrade the application. The application uses an online shortcut (but can be run in offline) and the update check is set to background.
If an ordinary (non-administrator) user start the application when a new version is available on the server, web start downloads the new version in the background, but into the user's personal cache! When restarting the application, the old shared version still starts. Web start does not download the new version, presumably because it found the new files in the personal cache.
Another approach I tested was to use offline icons and manually performing a new system installation/import. This downloads the new version into the shared system cache, but leaves all shortcuts invalid. Now the only solution to start the application is to run it from Java Control Panel. It's not even possible to recreate the shortcuts.
I'm wondering if I'm doing anything wrong or if there exists some best practices for enterprise installations that I'm not aware of. I'm suspecting that these problems are due to limitations or bugs with JWS, but I thought to check with the community before reporting it officially to Oracle.
The customers are using client computers with Windows flavours.
I've been testing on Windows 7 64 bit using the 32 bit JRE 1.6.0_u23.
Any suggestions would be really appreciated. If you are handling enterprise installations in altogether different manner, don't hesitate to respond.
Thanks.

Hello,
Were you able to solve your problem?
Actually, I'm planning to install the application for all users in a system and I'm on the investigation process.
In fact, these are my concerns:
- What is going to happen if a user with limited permissions tries to install a javaws application and it has been enable to be installed on system cache?
- Where the deployment files need to be located? In the web server (where jnlp is located)?
- Could system cache installation be performed automatically (when jnlp file is launched) or it would be performed by a system administrator?
If you could share some information on how you installed a javaws application for all users, I would really appreciate it.

This is a test of the Edit button

I am using Harm's original guide posts to see what's happening with the edit button
How do you set up your editing machine in terms of disks for maximum performance and reliability? (SSD's are left out here.)
This is a question that often arises and all too often one sees that initial settings are really suboptimal. These rules are intended to help you decide how to setup your disks to get the best response times. Of course the only disks in an editing machine must be 7200 RPM types or faster. No GREEN disks at all.
Rule 1: NEVER partition a disk. You may ask why? First of all, it does not increase disk space, it just allocates the space differently. However, the major drawback is that for a partitioned disk the OS must first access a partition table at the beginning of the disk for all accesses to the disk, thus requiring the heads to move to the beginning of the disk, then when it has gotten the partition info move to the designated area on the disk and perform the requested action. This means much more wear-and-tear on the mechanics of the disk, slower speeds and more overhead for the OS, all reducing efficiency.
Rule 2: Avoid using USB drives, since they are the slowest on the market. Do not be tricked by the alleged bandwidth of USB 2.0 advertisements, because is just is not true and remember that the alleged bandwidth is shared by all USB devices, so if you have a USB mouse, keyboard, printer, card reader or whatever, they all share the bandwidth. Stick to SCSI or SATA disks or e-SATA. If needed, you can use Firewire-800 or even Firewire-400 disks, but they are really more suited for backups than for editing.
Rule 3: Use at least 3 different physical disks on an editing machine, one for OS/programs, one for media and one for pagefile/scratch/renders. Even on a notebook with one internal drive it is easy to accomplish this by using a dual e-SATA to Express card connector. That gives you an additional two e-SATA connections for external disks.
Rule 4: Spread disk access across as many disks as you have. If you have OS & programs on disk C:, set your pagefile on another disk. Also set your pagefile to a fixed size, preferably somewhere around 1.5 times your physical memory.
Rule 5: Turn off index search and compression. Both will cause severe performance hits if you leave them on.
Rule 6: If the fill rate on any of your SATA disks goes over 60-70% it is time to get a larger or an additional disk.
Rule 7: Perform regular defrags on all of your disks. For instance, you can schedule this daily during your lunch break.
Rule 8: Keep your disks cool by using adequate airflow by means of additional fans if needed. You can use SMART to monitor disk temperatures, which should be under 35 degrees C at all times and normally hover around 20-24 C, at least in a properly cooled system.
Rule 9: If people want raid, the cheapest way is to use the on-board IHCR or Marvell chip, but it places a relatively high burden on the CPU. The best way is a hardware controller card, preferably based on the IOP348 chip. Areca ARC and ADAPTEC come to mind. 3Ware uses it's own chipset and though not bad, they are not in the same league as the other two. Promise and the like in the budget range are no good and a complete waste of money. Expect to spend around $ 800 plus for a good controller with 12 connectors internally and 4 e-SATA connectors. Important to consider in a purchasing decision is whether the on-board cache memory can be expanded from the regular 256/512 MB to 2 or even 4 GB. Be aware that 2 GB cache can be relatively cheap, but the 4 GB version extremely costly ($ 30 versus $ 300). For safety reasons it is advisable to include a battery backup module (BBM).
Rule 10: If you can easily replace the data in case of disk failure (like rendered files), go ahead and use raid0, but if you want any protection against data loss, use raid 3/5/6/10/30/50. For further protection you can use hot spares, diminishing downtime and performance degradation.
In general when you get a new disk, pay close attention to any rattling noise, do perform regular disk checks, and in case of doubt about reliability, exchange the disk under guarantee. Often a new disk will fail in the first three months. If they survive that period, most of the disks will survive for the next couple of years. If you use a lot of internal disks like I do (17), set staggered spin-up to around 1 second to lessen the burden on the PSU and improve stability.
Hope this helps to answer some basic questions. If not, let me know. Further enhancements and suggestions are welcome
==============================================================================
For AMD setups, disregard the mentions of sockets and the like but the general recommendations still hold.
When you need a new PC for editing purposes, you basically have three choices:
1. Buy an off the shelf system from companies like HP or Dell.
2. Buy a custom built PC from a specialist company, like http://www.guygraphics.com/
3. Build it yourself.
Solution 1 can offer good prices if you stick to their standard configurations and it is easy. But remember that these companies make their profit not on the base system, but on all the options they offer. If you follow their recommendations and upgrade memory, hard disks, or choose a better video card or a faster processor, they steal you blind.
I have nothing against HP or Dell, I have bought systems from them, but usually that was because of a great offer with all the features I needed at the time and applied to notebooks, desktops and servers.
Solution 2 is usually costly, but you get what you pay for. You get the expertise of the seller/builder in selecting the right components, he builds it, installs the software and tests it before delivery. The downside is that often these specialists have their own favorite hardware, like Matrox or Canopus and try to get that into the deal, which increases the price.
Solution 3 is usually the most cost effective and the most flexible, but the largest drawback is that you need to choose all the right components, to be aware of potential incompatibilities and build it yourself. Many see that as a major stumbling block, but really it is not difficult. Another drawback is support. You have to do it yourself.
The first steps to take are twofold:
1. What material do you want to edit and how do you want to deliver the results?
To put it bluntly, if you want to edit material, recorded with a mobile phone, a digital still camera, recorded off the internet from YouTube or similar, recorded from TV, grabbed from the screen, encoded with any unsuitable codec like DivX, XVid, or the like, or ripped from DVD, and that is your major purpose, no need to read this further, just use a consumer application like Windows Movie Maker or Magix for your editing.
This guide is for people who use a VIDEO camera and want to edit that.
So for people with video cameras, what is the main format you use? DV, HDV, DVCPROHD, AVCHD, XDCAMHD, other?
Do you deliver for the web, on BR or DVD or all of those?
2. What is your budget?
Once you have answered these two basic questions for yourself can you start the selection process.
It will require you to read quite a lot about PC's. Good general sources of information are:
http://www.tomshardware.com and http://anandtech.com
As a general rule of thumb you can say that the minimum requirements in terms of CPU, despite what Adobe mentions as minimum requirements, are:
1. For DV: Core 2 Duo
2. For AVCHD: i7 with HT or dual Xeon's 55xx
3. For other HD formats: Core 2 Quad
It generally does not pay to get the fastest CPU, unless you have an unlimited budget. Their price/performance is usually not the best and you will find a step down gives you nearly the same performance at a much lower price. And there is always overclocking, but I'll come back to that later. To give an example, the Core 2 Extreme QX6850 is currently more than 4 times as expensive as the Core 2 Quad Q9550, but does not deliver any noteworthy performance improvement. And both are quad cores.
To help you narrow down your choices, it is worthwhile to have a look at these charts:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desptop-cpu-charts-q3-2008/Cinema-4D-Release- 10,835.html
Likely a new version for Q1-2009 will come out shortly.
In deciding on your shortlist, keep in mind that for video editing FSB speed and cache size are very important. First look at FSB speed (the higher the better, so if you have the choice between 1066 or 1333 FSB, always choose the higher one if it fits your budget). Next narrow down your choices by selecting the CPU with the largest cache. 6 MB L3 cache is better than 3 MB.
Let's assume that after studying all these sites and reading a lot about CPU's, you have made a shortlist of possible candidates, that fit the minimum requirements indicated above, you have to identify what socket the CPU uses. Is it a 775 pin socket (Core2), a 1366 pin (i7 or Xeon 55xx) or a 771 Xeon 54xx or lower (old generation) socket. This will largely determine your choice of motherboard and memory type you need and as a consequence the case and cooling you need.
In general the chipset on a 775 mobo uses DDR2, dual channel memory, which is widely available and relatively cheap. On a 771 mobo the memory used is FBDIMM (fully buffered DDR2) with ECC (error correction) which is much harder to get and significantly more expensive. On a 1366 mobo the memory is triple channel DDR3 which is faster than DDR2 but also more expensive. For Xeon 55xx based boards memory used is FBDIMM's triple channel with ECC, which is hard to find and costly.
The main difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is that dual channel requires two populated memory banks for dual channel operation, whereas triple channel DDR3 requires three banks populated. That is the reason that mobo's with DDR2 usually come with 4 or 8 GB RAM and DDR3 mobo's with 6 or 12 GB RAM. DDR3 is faster (at the same specs) than DDR2. To complicate matters further, most 775 mobo's offer 4 memory slots, 1366 mobo's usually offer 6 memory slots and 1366 dual socket Xeon boards usually offer 12 memory slots.
I see you are losing interest, this is getting way too complicated. Well, I'm sorry but if you want to make an informed decision on what your next system should be, you need to understand these basics or buy a Dell or HP or even Alienware (a Dell subsidiary). And I continue to bore you with these technicalities in order to help you make a good purchasing decision.
When selecting a mobo for the CPU you have selected, read tests on TomsHardware or AnandTech to help you find the good performers that have the right set of features for your job. Good brands are ASUS, Abit, Gigabyte and MSI for single socket use, for dual socket the best one to check out is SuperMicro or possibly Tyan.
Pay attention to the features a board offers, like dual NIC's (network interface controller), dual firewire, number of SATA ports, chipset used for the SATA controller, IHCR and/or Marvell raid capability, on board sound, etcetera. Pay special attention to the board layout, where the PCI-e slots are located in relation to PCI slots. I have once built a machine where I knew I had to use a PCI firewire board and due to the location of the PCI-e slot and the size of the video card (dual slot size) the PCI slot was no longer accessible. It caused me quite some headaches to find a PCI-x firewire replacement board, because I had forgotten to have a close look at the mobo layout. Just a warning, so you don't fall into the same trap I did.
Ok, we have now decided on the CPU and the mobo. Let's have a look at memory.
General rule: Get as much as you can and don't spend it on higher clock capable versions! You will gain more from slower memory in large quantities, than from faster but less memory, even with 32 bit apps like CS4. One of the side effects of more memory is less use of a pagefile, which is far slower than RAM, so even if the application can not access more than 4 GB, your pagefile use will be much lower with more memory installed.
Memory is offered with various ratings. Often in marketing jargon these are dubbed as PC3-8500 or PC3-10600 or PC3-12800 up to 16000. This is all hype. The price tag increases significantly with higher numbers but the performance gain is negligent, in the order of 1 or 2 %. Your best bet is to get memory that is suitable for the FSB speed you have. If you have a FSB of 1333, use memory for 1333 FSB (10600), if you have a FSB of 1066, get 1066 capable memory (8500), it is a complete waste of money to get 1600 capable memory if your FSB does not support it. What is important however is to get the best timings you can find.
The lower the CAS latency, the better. Also look at tRAS (ROW-ACTIVE-TIME) results. These timing figures may give you better performance than spending money on higher clocked memory. On my system I have 6-6-6-18 timings for memory (even when overclocked by 35% and without increasing the voltage), which gives far better results than 9-9-9-27 timings. BTW, timings are usually measured in CAS, RAS-to-CAS, tRP and tRAS sequence. The lower these numbers, the better it is.
In general get at least 4 GB on a 775 or 6 GB on a 1366 mobo, but you may benefit from doubling these figures if you are multitasking, for instance having PR, AE and EN open for dynamic linking, or changing to PS for text or still manipulation.
Next: Storage. I point you to a previous guide I made which gives you the basics about disk setup:
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/427772
Next cases. I suggest to only look at big towers or server towers, depending on the mobo of your choice. For dual CPU sockets a server tower is almost always a must, decause of the use of e-ATX size mobo's and the requirement for specialized cooling, often using an air duct, which is only available in server cases. SuperMicro is a prime supplier and my personal favorite in terms of build quality, expansion capabilities and reliability. Be aware however that the power supply in those cases are pretty noisy. For single CPU solutions there are many choices, often based on looks. What is much more important however is the expansion room and the airflow in those cases. You don't want to pimp your editing machine with LED illuminated fans, transparent sides and the like. It needs to be functional. Antec, CoolerMaster, Lian Li and ThermalTake are common brands and worth having a look at. Looking at smaller cases with a sexy look will often lead to disappointment in the future, since they often lack the capability to add additional disk drives or burners internally or get so full with equipment, that cooling is going to be a real problem. Do take into consideration that you may need 1 or 2 5.25" slots for burners.
Warning: COOLING is essential for reliability and longevity of your system. We'll get to that in a minute.
If you work long form projects, have a multitude of projects or other situations that may require a large number of disks in use or for backup, it is worth to have a look at cases that offer SAS backplanes and (hot-)swappable disk cages. Often on various sites you may find entries to case modding, where you can find other disk cages that allow you to use four 3.5" disks in the space for two 5.25" slots. In my case I had 6 3.5" slots as is was delivered. I have modded my case to now contain 14 3.5" disks just on the front with room for another disk. To avoid disappointment in the future and a lot of work of rebuilding your PC into a new chassis, plan ahead for the storage requirements you may have in the next years. If you start out with 4
disks now, but expect to use 8 next year, be sure that they fit in, even if it requires different disk cages. Make sure that there is adequate cooling for the disks in the disk cages, preferably with 80 or 120 mm fans in front of the disks and use a replacable dust filter.
By this stage we have found the CPU, mobo, memory, hard disks and case. Time to have a look at video cards.
General: CS4 will not significantly benefit from a high end video card. The marketing hype wants us to believe that the nVidia
Quadro CX will give enormous benefits for encoding H.264, but that is just what it is: "Hype".
For general NLE work you are better served with more CPU power, more memory and more hard disks and possibly a better raid controller with more cache than with a video card that costs you at least $ 1 K extra in comparison to very good cards. Better spend the money where you benefit from it. SLI or CrossFire is a complete waste of money and only applies to gamers. Everybody serious about video editing will NEVER install a game on his machine so forget about those things.
If you make sure that you have at least 512 MB on a decent modern video card, you will be hard pressed to see significant differences in performance. ATI Radeon 4xxx and nVidia GT 2xx series are all well up to the task for editing. If you use GPU intensive plug-ins like Colorista or Magic Bullet you may be wise to choose for the more powerful versions of these cards, since these plug-ins are very demanding when rendering.
These video cards get very hot in practice and especially under load. If your case is very full or you have another card in the next PCI-e slot, reducing airflow to the video card, you may consider exchanging the stock cooler on the video card by a special cooler like the Accelero Twin Turbo from Arctic Cooling to keep temperatures in hand.
Now go to http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp and use the PSU calculator to roughly decide what your power supply needs to deliver in terms of Wattage. I strongly suggest to get the PRO version (it is cheap!) but it saves you from fatal mistakes. A PSU (power supply unit) is one of the most overlooked and neglected components in a PC and very often the cause for all kinds of mysterious faults, hangs, BSOD's, restarts etcetera. Let me tell what nearly happened to me when building a new PC. I had checked the power supply requirements, checked reviews online and found one PSU that appealed to me, based on the reviews. It was a Zalman 1000 W. Great, looks good and in stock at an attractive price. I then got the pro version and rechecked, with the extra info on the various rails. The Zalman did not have enough power on the 5V rails that I needed. So I had to change the PSU, otherwise I would have been in for a lot of strange, unexplainable and foreall unexpected hangs, restarts and the like, apart from the reduced life expectancy of the PSU.
Now, we're finally getting somewhere. Only cooling is left, then all the hardware components have been chosen.
CPU cooling: Again check sites like AnandTech. They regularly perform extensive tests on CPU coolers. Be aware that test results differ widely from site to site, but some of the names to consider are Noctua, Scythe and Thermaltake. It is best to choose a vertical heatsink cooler with 'push-pull' configuration, meaning one fan in front to push the cooling air in to the heatsink and the other fan at the rear to pull out the air. That generally delivers the best cooling performance. These things can be quite heavy so they are not suggested for LAN parties. Install it and leave your PC where it is, otherwise the weight may damage your mobo. When installing the heatsink be very sparing in applying cooling paste (Arctic silver is a good
suggestion).
If you have followed my advise in getting a big tower you have room for additional fans in the case. There may not always be holes to attach screws for mounting, but what also works quite effectively is using heavy duty double sided tape to attach fans to a side, on the PSU (if it is mounted at the bottom of the case). Scythe has some very good fans that give a large airflow at reasonable RPM's and low sound levels.
Once you have built your system you need to decide what OS to use. 32 or 64 bit? The point seems moot now. 64 bit Vista is your best option currently. No driver problems anymore, somewhat decent stability and the use of all your installed memory. Windows 7 is only a RC currently, so I would not advise that on a production machine, but on another machine I would definitely try it. It is as stable as Vista is now, but drivers are still somewhat lacking. XP is out, despite the best stability on a clean and mean system, due to the 32 bit nature.
After installing the OS, first check your device manager. Make sure that all your devices are working and there are no warnings. Then update Windows, drivers and other system utilities. Then check your hardware, using CPU-Z and HWMonitor, check the cooling and voltages. Your disks should be below 35 C at all times. Then tune your Bios. Once you have completed these steps, proceed with installing your software. Start with essential system tools like Process Explorer, Beyond Compare, etc. and then continue with tuning Windows, removing sh*t you never use on an editing machine, like MSN or Games, setting unneeded services to manual, disabling Windows Defender and installing Symantec Endpoint protection if you have it, and only then start installing CS4 and related programs.
When all is well, you may consider to start overclocking. TomsHardware and AnandTech have published several articles on how to do that. If you do it right you will not lose stability and may get significant performance gains. It does require more attention to the temperatures in your case.
When I recently built a new system, my first PassMark (a common benchmark testing program) score was around 3600. After finetuning the system, optimizing Windows and overclocking, I got a PassMark score of 4733.8, which even after a month is still number two in the worldwide ranking.
For my system specs, look below, maybe you can derive some ideas from it for your next configuration:
http://www.millcon.nl/Harm/PCResults.jpg
I hope this has been informative and that you can profit from my remarks.
I'm sorry this was so long and taxed your patience to the extreme.
Further suggestions and enhancements are welcome.
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Yes, I'm going to tax your patience again. This is a guide to setup Vista 64 for NLE work, well it actually applies to any kind of work, but NLE machines may profit more than an Office/MSN machine. One caveat: What I suggest here is a lean and mean machine that is mainly dedicated to NLE work.
First: It is always best to start with a clean install and a complete reformat of the disk. That will ensure that your registry is clean and leaves no leftovers from a previous install. Do not partition the drive, format the whole disk as one.
After installation has completed, first select Control Panel and Personalize. Select Change Desktop icons and ensure that at least Computer is selected. You can choose other icons as well if you want to. I have all 5 selected.
Next check Device Manager (right click This Computer, select Properties and then Device Manager) that you have no problems with drivers for any of your hardware. If there are any yellow exclamation symbols, solve these issues first by having Vista search for drivers and if it comes back with the message that no drivers could be found, get the latest 64 bit driver from the internet for this device.
Once Device Manager has no more problems, go to Windows update and install all critical updates. Nothing more at this moment. After installation and rebooting, again check Device Manager for problems. There should be none. Otherwise get on the internet again and reinstall the latest Vista 64 drivers. Next right chick This Computer and select Manage and go to Event Viewer. Open the Windows Logs and click on System. Scroll through the events and check out any errors or warnings you see. Search the Microsoft Technet for solutions. This is the link to the very informative Technet site to help you solve any issues you may have: Microsoft Technet
Next go to Control Panel, select Programs and Features and select turn Windows features on or off. You may not need anymore than these Windows Features and possibly less, for instance if you don't use a network printer. Also this may be a good moment to turn off User Account Control via Control Panel/Security Settings.
Next go to Vista Services and use the instructions and the table shown to modify the services, so only those are started that are needed in your situation. Anything not needed will only increase boot time and will consume resources, placing a higher overhead on the system than needed.
After rebooting, update all your drivers if you have not already done so. For instance, if you have an ATI card, download the latest drivers, but remember you can do without the Catalyst Control Center. Their drivers are typically denoted by y.m (year, month) so currently the latest is version 9.5
Now go to Control Panel, System and select Advanced system settings, select Visual Effects and select Adjust for best performance, apply and then select the Advanced tab, click on Performance settings, select the Advanced tab, Select Adjust for best performance of programs and then change the Virtual memory. Setup your pagefile with a custom size with equal numbers for Initial and Maximum size on another drive than your C disk and set the C drive to No paging file. If you have read my Storage rules for an editing rig guide, you know you need a fixed size of around 1 to 1.5 times installed memory, unless you have lots of RAM, then you can easily go lower.
Reboot and right click on This Computer, select Manage and select Disk Management. Select drive C, right click Properties and make sure that Index this drive for faster searching and Compress this drive to save disk space are both turned off. Click Disk Cleanup and clean what can be deleted. Repeat these steps for all of your drives. Next go to the Tools tab and select Defragment Now and defrag all drives. While you are at the Disk Defragment window, setup a daily defragging schedule, for instance during your lunch break. That will keep your disks optimized.
This will make sure that the space previously occupied by the pagefile on the C drive is reclaimed and that the new pagefile on another drive is not fragmented and at the very beginning of the drive in the fastest location (at least if the disk was newly formatted and not used).
If you haven't done so yet, completely turn off the Sidebar and do not have it autostart.
No application has been installed yet, so it is time to start with some essential utilities.
The first thing I do is turning off Windows Defender and install Symantec Endpoint Protection.
Next I install Ccleaner. A very handy freeware tool to keep your system and the registry clean and to remove or disable registry based auto startup programs.
The next one to install is the Sysinternals Suite and most notably Process Explorer, Process Monitor and Autoruns. Depending on your use, other utilities in the Suite may be nice to install as well. Installation is done by extracting the relevant files to the C:\Windows directory. Run Process Explorer once and in the Options menu select Replace Task Manager.
Other utilities I install (but of course you may have different favorites) are Beyond Compare, HWMonitor, SpeedFan, SnagIt and 1ClickPCFix
You are now ready to install your regular software. After installation, registration and activation of all your software use Ccleaner, Tools to check for unnecessary Startup entries in the registry. Disable or remove them. Next check your registry by scanning for issues and fix selected issues. Defragment all your disks again and make a restore point.
If you want to get rid of the ridiculously large shortcut arrow at this moment, go to this site: Remove Shortcut Arrow and follow Method 1.
Reboot and you are ready to go with a hopefully much faster and efficient Vista machine.
If you encounter difficulties and have problems that want to ask about on the forum, be prepared to include a screenshot from Process Explorer and either HWMonitor or Speedfan and a link to DXDIAG.txt
Thanks for your patience and I hope you have found some tips and tricks to improve performance.

In general theory, one now has the Edit button for their posts, until someone/anyone Replies to it. I've had Edit available for weeks, as opposed to the old forum's ~ 30 mins.
That, however, is in theory. I've posted, and immediately seen something that needed editing, only to find NO Replies, yet the Edit button is no longer available, only seconds later. Still, in that same thread, I'd have the Edit button from older posts, to which there had also been no Replies even after several days/weeks. Found one that had to be over a month old, and Edit was still there.
Do not know the why/how of this behavior. At first, I thought that maybe there WAS a Reply, that "ate" my Edit button, but had not Refreshed on my screen. Refresh still showed no Replies, just no Edit either. In those cases, I just Reply and mention the [Edit].
Also, it seems that the buttons get very scrambled at times, and Refresh does not always clear that up. I end up clicking where I "think" the right button should be and hope for the best. Seems that when the buttons do bunch up they can appear at random around the page, often three atop one another, and maybe one way the heck out in left-field.
While I'm on a role, it would be nice to be able to switch between Flattened and Threaded Views on the fly. Each has a use, and having to go to Options and then come back down to the thread is a very slow process. Jive is probably incapable of this, but I can dream.
Hunt

Testing of the system

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