This section of Deadnet is all about computers. Hopefully it will help you get the most from your system, your games and the Internet. The file is currently divided into the following sections:
Dead's PC
Optimising System Performance
Tips and Cheats
My PC
This is just a quick bit about my actual system, so you can get a rough idea of what i'm using to create this site, my games etc.
The basic system is a P200MMX with 32Mb EDO RAM, 2.6Gb HD, Cirrus Logic 2Mb SVGA card, 24X LG CDROM, SB16pro and Rockwell Waveartist midi card, 36.6 Internal modem and 200Watt speakers. Since i got it i've added a M3D card, which for £40 gave me a much needed 4Mb graphics accelerator. It isn't cutting edge anymore (never really was), but it is only about £25 and to be honest, games like QuakeII, Forsaken and so on do look amazing with one. A printer and scanner were in order, so a Lexmark 1100 (repalcement for a Lexmark 1000 which died before the warranty ran out
Optimising System Performance
This section is dedicated to tips and hints to help you keep your system running as well as possible. All of the following advice is follwoed at your own risk- all I can say is that it works for me! All advice is for Windows '95 only, though I asume some of it will also work in Win'98 and/or earlier windows versions (such as using defrag).
Your Hard Drive
There are a number of steps which you can take to keep your hard drive running well which won't cost you any money at all!
Defragmenting Yes, I know it's a chore, but defragging your harddrive once it gets to about 3 or 4% does seem to help. Disable your screensaver (it'll cause the program to restart each time it kicks in with the effect that you'll never finish), close down any background utilities which access the hard drive (such as the distributed client) and then run a full defragmentation with the option 'check for errors' also enabled. Go and read a book, this'll take a while.
Changing the Settings This one is less obvious. Hold down ALT and double click on the My computer icon on the desktop to bring up the System Properties Box (also available via the control panel). Go to performance and select 'File System' from the Advanced settings box out at the bottom. Set 'Read ahead Optimization' to Full and change the 'Typical Role of this machine' to Network Server rather than Desktop Computer. Apply the changes then OK your way out of the various menus. This tweak added 5 to my Hard Drive benchmark (Using WinCheckIt4.0).
Tweaking the OS
In addition to keeping your hard-drive tidy and unfragmented, you can also make several improvements to your OS.
IE4 If you're using Win'95 but not IE4 then I would personally reccomend getting it if you use an earlier version of IE (Netscape Users may wish to stick to just a single browser). I wouldn't have the active desktop on full blast with news and sport being streamed across the desktop, but i would use it as it allows JPG backgrounds (considerably smaller than the standard BMP format) and the ability to add a programs toolbar to the Taskbar allows all the non-system icons to be kept off the desktop and still in easy reach- in fact, using the toolbar is often easier than going to the desktop.
TweakUI This part of the PowerToys suite is just so useful, it's like the Windows equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife. If you've unistalled programs but their names still appear in add/remove programs (ie, they're still in the registry), or if their file type is still present on the new function when you right click but doesn't work then Tweak lets you get rid of them. It also allows easier adjustment of menu speeds etc rather than fiddling with the registry, allows the appearance of shortcuts to be altered, Modified Boot settings, Paranoia mode and extensive repair abilites. You can find it on Microsoft's site, as part of the powertoys which are also usually available on PC magazine coverdsisks such as PCFormat (where I got it from). I could upload it to here if there is sufficient demand, I doubt MS would mind as it boosts popularity :-)
Send To options I have found it useful to include an option to Send to Notepad, a useful way of reading helpfiles which have no file association, or for editing C or HTML code directly. To do it, go to C:\windows\SendTo\ and right click to create a new shortcut. Choose NOTEPAD.EXE from C:\Windows as the applcation for the shortcut to point to. You'll also need the rename it to prevent the right click-->send To section being absolutely huge. Adding quikview (it's in the viewers subdirectory of the system directory) in the same way is also a big help.
Control Panel Adding the control panel to your start menu enables you to select individual components of it rather than have to load the lot, which always seems to take a long time reagardless of the machine. It's a bit complex though, so read this part carefully. Right Click on the start button and choose open to bring up the rooted start menu explorer window. Right click in some blank space and choose New->Folder and give it the following name with ALL the punctuation:
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
The Folder created in the Start Menu will list all current Control Panel Options and as new ones are added (such as RealPlayerG2 or QuickTime) it'll automatically update for you.
Tips and Cheats
I honestly feel that cheats aren't really worth it, as they take a lot of fun out of the game. So instead, i'll concentrate mainly on strategies and techniques rather than give me everything cheat codes!
Carmageddon
An all time favourite, Carmageddon is just so much fun to play- the graphics might not be awesome, but the Physics is and the humour and gameplay are just outstanding. But, only if you're any good- otherwise, it's frustrating. So, here are a few pointers:
Master the controls. I wouldn't bother with a joypad, the default keyboard set up is pretty much perfect, although some practice is needed. So start up a new game simply for this purpose- learning how to drive. Before you even embark on your career you should make sure you know how to rapidly spin the car 180o by using the handbrake, and be able to slide it perfectly around a corner.
Upgrades. Go for armour first as upgrading your speed instead will cause massive amounts of damage when you hit stuff. Take speed over offensive, as you can waste a car by hitting him faster but can't win a race more quickly or get away from a tough foe by adding some more spikes.
waste 'em. This should be your strategy for completing a race, not finishing all the laps (especially on the last few levels where time is short and laps are long). By heading for checkpoints, only 2000creds are earnt, but a series of collisions will get you that and more time, plus there's a greater chance of stealing a car for yourself.
Don't dis' the cops until you're about Level 3 armour/offensive/speed- you'll only come of worse. Try not to mow down peds when they're around, as they'll come after you.
Don't drive off straight away on the starting grid if you're not on the back row- instead, reverse into the car behid to do some damage and earn some time early- if the level starts in a blocked alley, ram him right into a wall!
Tough opponents like the plow are a nightmare to waste early on, so don't bother. Instead, lure them off the edge of cliffs or if at all possible, off the edge of the level- on many races, there's a point where the ocean cuts off and anyone who crosses will be wasted (you know, the points where you auto-recover). If this ain't possible, position yourself so that there's a lamppost between you and them- they'll drive head on into it and suffer frontal damage!