CPCUG Build Team

April 1999 Seminar

Answers to Selected Audience Questions

BACKUP:

CDROM:

CHIP TECHNOLOGY:

MOTHERBOARDS:
Q1. Can I upgrade without putting in a new motherboard?

A1. There are many upgrades possible without installing a new motherboard. Usually additional memory can be added, a PCI/ISA component can be replaced, and a CPU can be upgraded. Within the processor family the board is designed for, sometimes a new processor can be added. For example, a Celeron 300A can be replaced by a Celeron 433A. To take advantage of some of the newer processing capabilities, clock multipliers, and voltages, often the BIOS must be changed with a newer version. On a few occasions, a vendor will provide a capability to do a family change (i.e. from a 486 to a Pentium) with an adapter, but often the adapter is more expensive than a new motherboard. It still all depends on your motherboard and it's chipset and whatever else you are running with it. See your motherboard manual for guidance on what it supports.

I/O PORTS:

OS SOFTWARE:
Q2. Does an Uninstaller program have to be installed before an application program in order to satisfactorily uninstall it later? Does Win98 include an uninstaller?

A2. Windows 98 includes features that permit one to uninstall a program. Start->Settings->Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs. Since many software programs make complex adjustments to the operating sytem (i.e. registry), the process needs to be tracked so the installation deeds can be undone, this is the role of the Installer/Uninstaller. Most modern software includes these tools in order to install an application.

Q3. A freind who has a 90Mhz Pentium upgraded from Win95 to Win98. He says it brought his computer to its knees. Is 90 Mhz too slow for Win98 or do you think he did something wrong?

A3. According to Microsoft, to run Windows 98, one should have a "486DX-66 processor with 16 MB of memory and 300 MB of hard disk." Practically, a Pentium 133 processor with 32 MB of memory is about the minimum needed for a desktop computer with about 1 GB of hard disk.

Q4.  Is there a program for diagnostics your recommend?

A4. There are many programs for diagnosing problems, some good, some free, some shareware, some for sale, and others not so good. Much depends on the processor and the problem. If Windows runs OK, often that's a good test to make sure everything is working properly. Check-It and AMI Diagnostics v6 are also good test utilities, the latter runs from the Command level.

Q5.  Is Windows 98 Year 2000 complaint?

A5. According to Microsoft, Windows 98 is Y2K compliant with the installation of several patches. See the August 1999 Y2K support disk from Microsoft for additional details and patches. See: http://www.support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q197/4/04.asp

Q6.  Why might I want Windows NT at home in a single user environment? I do statistics, some games.

A6. You might want to use Windows NT at home if you use Windows NT in the office. MS Office runs under both Windows 98 and Windows NT so your statistical analysis should work OK. Games, especially high powered games and some hardware, may not always work with Windows NT, and NT is not plug 'n play nor USB compatible.

MODEMS:

VIDEO CARDS and MONITORS:
Q7. When you increase the resolution on the monitor from VGA to 1024 x 768, how do you keep the print size on the monitor the same? 

A7. You can adjust the size of the fonts you use. Also, under DISPLAY PROPERTIES->APPEARANCE, you can adjust the fonts of the headers as well as the width of the window objects.

Q8. I make graphs with maybe 4000 data points. It takes 10-15 seconds to refresh the screen when I change a line (down arrow). Do I need a better graphics card?

A8. Its difficult to say...what hardware -- processor, ram, video card/video memory -- are you using today. Perhaps you need a 32MB video card, maybe your processor is too slow, and maybe you don't have enough main computer memory and its paging from the hard disk.

Q9. With Windows 98 I plan to use a new 17" monitor. Can I use my old 15" Sony multiscan monitor as a second monitor?

A9. Just install a second video card, and make sure it can drive the old Sony.

DRIVES:
Q10.  What brand hard drives do you recommend?

A10. There are several good manufacturers of hard drives among them are: Quantum, Maxtor, Seagate, Fuji, IBM, and Western Digital

Q11. My computer has a 1.6G hard drive and its nearly filled. Should my new 5.6 G be made drive C and the old one drive D?

A11. Assuming your motherboard supports the sizes of the old and new drive, either way will work. Generally its a good idea to make the newer drive the master and the older one the slave. Some of today's computers can boot either C: or D:. Another approach would be to copy the old C: to the new drive (using a program like PowerQuest's Drive Copy), make the new drive C: and the old drive D:. When the new C: is working satisfactorily, reformat the old drive and enjoy some added disk space.

MEMORY:

PRINTERS:

SCANNERS:
Q12.  If you are buying a new system and your are buying a scanner, should your system include SCSI?

A12. It all depends upon the features you need but in general there's no reason to go with SCSI unless the peripherals you are using demand it.. Also, SCSI will be more expensive, including scanners. You can look to USB as the means of interface, all systems since 1998 that conform to the PC98 spec have this interface.

CASES:

SOUND:

OTHER:
Q13.  If you buy from a local clonemaker, what should you expect to get in the way of documentation?

A13. You get the documentation that the manufacturer sent. And often the dealer installs OEM parts with very limited documentation to save money. So don't expect much.

Q14. Should I build now or wait until later to expect better parts on the market?

A14. There will always be better parts on the market. If you don't buy/build now, you won't have use of your machine until later. In most cases, its always advisable to acquire now, and plan to upgrade and more functionality is needed (for home systems only).

Q15. How much technical expertise do you need to participate in the "build you own" workshop?

A15. None...we provide the expertise, you provide the willingness to learn.

NETWORKS:
Q16. Is speed of CPU vital to a second computer bought to learn (ethernet) networking, or would a second-hand 486 be just as good as a Pentium or Pentium II?

A16. The speed of the second computer is not vital to learning networking, rather its the type of network interface (nic) card you use. A very satisfactory network can be installed on 486 computers. The network speed depends on the type of network wiring, hubs, and network interface cards you intend to use and which OS is installed. Network starter kits sell for around $75 and include two 10/100 nic cards, a 10Mb 4 port hub, and some category 5 cables. Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, and Windows 2000 have the software components to make the network come alive. You can also purchase text books on Novell networking that include 3 user versions of the network operating system software. And Linux also has networking components built-in (but make sure your nic card has a Linux driver either as part of the Linux distribution or included with the card).

APPLICATIONS:
Q17. What are the hardware requirements for video editing?

A17. An AV rated disk drive, either UDMA or SCSI as a drive interface, a fast CPU, a fast AGP video card with lots of memory, a big monitor, gobs of main memory, and preferably another hard disk to store the output of the editing on so you read from one disk and write to another. Video editing is one of the most demanding things you can do on a machine.

Q18. What do you recommend for voice recognition programs?

A18. The more popular ones are Dragon Dictate and IBM's Via Voice! We do not have any experience with either product.

Notice: The above answers are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of CPCUG nor the CPCUG Build Team.  They may not even be the right answers.

Last Updated:  26 Oct 1999