I dont knowwhat did the tag at the top of the list of tweaks say?I can tell you this... the odds of you having ANY trouble are very SLIM if you installed WindowsXP using a GENUINE MICROSOFT XP SP2 install diskThat

Nick. How can I tell if my install is a original XPSP2 disk? Will it say on the disk? Thanks Tim:-)

1. IS the computer a Dell or other OEM?a. if so, look at the disk that came with it and see if it says WindowsXP SP2b. If not and you built yourself you must have purchased WindowsXP, look on the install disk or the box it came in because as I recall it will say "complete with Service Pack 2" or SP2If it is a OEM like Dell and even if it says SP2, if the disk is old (2004-mid 2005) you may still be at risk but if it says SP1 do not use O&O for any reasonIf your disk was purchased at a store by you and its an original MS disk and it says SP2 is included, the odds are you are fine.Genuine Microsoft disks are typically printed with holograms on them tooLast... I have had people check their disk and find out later that disk was not used to install Windows by a tech or someone else. So you see, if you did not personally install Windows and you dont know for sure whats in your machine, then my posting whats safe and what isn't only goes so far.

One other thing too..With Mike I do feel partially responsible because he did ask and I asked him about his install but in my rush to try and do my daily work with GEXn Europe, be involved with forum assistance and make my normal rounds I forgot to ask about the burn date on his slipstream disk so in that case I do assume some of the responsibility, not because I am responsible, but because its the right way to approach the situation in that case.If I screw up i will be the first to admit it and I will also be the first in line to help, partially my fault... or not.:)

Re: "the interrupt" just by clicking on "the Big Red X" to stop then closing the gui. Sounds bizarre, yes I know; like I said I can't blame O&O because, really, I have no clue... is more than likely something I did. I just can't figure out what; I've been using Windows since Win 3.1 and this was a first for me.I had absolutely no clue about the HAL/SP2 issue... I thought slipstreaming was more or less a time/space saving thingy (wow... kind of like a "worm hole"). Ah, the price one pays for self-building )-: A thousand thank-you's for this info.Rob O.

>Sorry you had the problem you did.Oh no no Nick

Is the disk you have now a MS disk or was it a download that you burned?Either way, all you really need is the full network version of the x64 SP2 update... I just check and apparently they merged them and only supply the full update nowgo figure... I wonder whyhttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...&displaylang=enSlipstreaming you will need to learn how to do that if you have never done it before.. You can slipstream SP2 into your Windows XP x64 Edition CD by copying the contents of your CD to a folder on your hard-drive, and issuing the following command from a command prompt: http://forums.avsim.net/user_files/186041.gifIn the example above, place the x64 SP2 installer download from MS and the entire contents of the Windows XP x64 CD you currently have into a folder named: C:XP64 After the process completes, download Microsoft Corporation.img http://neosmart.net/downloads/miscellania/...Corporation.imgand use it as the bootsector for your CD. If you

Not trying to be mischievious, but I thought a few of you might like to read this review before making your decision. This would apply especially to those who are feeling a little wary of using O&O at this point. http://www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/P...iew-18844.shtmlDespite all that has been said, I am a long-term user of PerfectDisk and have come to rely on it utterly. Okay, for games like FSX where huge file loads are involved O&O's COMPLETENAME defrag/placement solution may be the way to go for optimal file access/loading times. However, I do wonder just how significant this is in terms of overall improvement of in-flight performance.If you have survived reading this thread to this point, you will know that my D: partiton remains essentially as it was following defragmentation with O&O as per Nick's detailed instructions. I have Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo XI and it is the slowest loader of all the PSP series. Prior to O&O it was taking 13 secs to load first time following a fresh boot. This time remains unchanged.FSX prior to O&O was taking 56 secs to load first time to the Settings screen and 2mins 45 secs to load the default flight at Friday Harbour. Again little or no change. However, I have noted a change in FS9. I have a saved flight over Snowdonia NP in N.Wales, UK and the scenery is VFR Photoreal. Prior to O&O I measured the loading time on 5/06/07 (reported at Avsim) and it was 2mins 40 secs. Now the time is 1min 50 secs!! Perhaps this has something to do with the average size of each file - smaller in FS9 than in FSX (?).So, the performance improvements may not be uniform across the board. Why this should be I do not know, but, for what it's worth, these are my findings after brief testing.O&O may be the best solution for programs like FSX where huge numbers of files are being loaded, but I do wonder whether other programs are seeing similar improvements in loading performance. I've just loaded Microsoft Word and although I have no record of actual loading times it feels about the same as prior to O&O.However, as with everything computer related YMMV. Also, as has been pointed out, my partitoned configuration is far from being ideal from a performance point of view, but it suits my purpose perfectly and I ain't changing it for no one! :) My brief dalliance with O&O was merely to satisfy my curiosity and unfortunately that curiosity very nearly killed this particular cat ...lol!REMEMBER EVERYONE - MAKE BACKUPS BEFORE DOING ANYTHING LIKE THIS!MikeASRock 939Dual-SATA2, AMD Athlon 64X2 4800+ (2400MHz)(Toledo), 2GB Crucial PC3200 DDR400 Ram 3-3-3-8 (2T)(Dual Channel), (PCI-E)Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB (Catalyst 7.10 WHQL), Samsung SyncMaster 226BW 22" LCD Display Monitor (1680x1050x32), SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum (Drivers version 5.12.0001.1196 WHQL), WD Caviar SE16 250GB (WD2500KS) SATAII + Hitachi Deskstar T7K500 ATA133 UDMA-6 (320 GB), ASUS DRW-1608P2S Optical Drive, Antec P150 case with NeoHE 430W PSU, CH Products USB Yoke, Pedals and Fighterstick, Creative Gaming Headset HS-900, TrackIR Pro ver. 4.1 (build 29) with TrackClip Pro, Logitech MX1000 Laser Mouse, Windows XP Home Edition (SP2), DirectX 9.0c

> Is the disk you have now a MS disk or was it a download that you burned?It's an MS disk... well I mean it's the holographic one and I have the little sticker that I was "supposed to" place on the comp. It has the product key and the COA (is the "dual hole" version I reckon). And I just did a "COA Comparison" and "Disc Comparison" and got Success for both checks there.> ... I just check and apparently they merged them and only supply the full update nowYes... this is how I did my last patch with SP2.And btw the gal I just spoke with at the Microsoft System Builder Component Replacement Team said it was $30 for a disk which has, and I quote, "SP2 embedded" in it.I was about to order it, but after seeing your excellent instructions, and given I can get a Nero Trial @ http://www.nero.com/enu/downloads-nero8-tr...04f8ce34e0ba95b I am about to do this slipstream build myself (and finally figure out how to "automate" the whole thing" re: the product key/settings). :-DLOL... I had googled slip-streaming and had download a few docs... no need to mess with that now!One more question, how much do I owe you? :-D Thanks

MikeIts the location of your D partitionthe head has to go for a drive-------------------------------------------------> all the way over here to find every single file-->Mine only goes this farWhen you add up that STROKE the head has to make for every file read it makes a huge differenceAnd Mike, we are not talking about a program loads here either.. that is also relative to several other things, not just the hard drive., we are talking about file loads in sequence based on the sim and how it calls them, both FS9 and FSXTwo professional have told you what your weakest link is in that system and its the fact that D is sitting behind C and the hard drive has to seek 10 times further than the people who are raving about this process just to get to a single file.I really wish you could have continued to experience the performance you said you saw before the system went down... unfortunate that you never really got to see the MSFS differences however given the head on your drive has to go across town to get every file... I have serious doubts you would have seen anywhere near what everyone else sees in gain.All's well, that ends well though. And that was the most important part to me.:)

Tell ya what RobHold off on that payment until you get a clean XP install going, (make sure to wipe that disk clean with no partitions, first) load up the defrag and check.. dont load anything else, just the drivers and the defrag... run the passes and see what happens. If its all good which I suspect it will be, go for the restyou will have to re-run the defrag passes after everything is loadedOnce its all up and running.. I'll take a Bacardi-n-cokeIf its still not working, it's on the house.LOL!:)

Hi Nick,I do hear what you are saying and I'm sorry to keep thrashing this, but I can't get my head around the fact that if the drive head has moved a certain distance to get the first file in a named alphabetical sequence, why does it not then stay in position to pick up the rest of the requested files in that sequence?If this is indeed how the read head behaves then surely my partition setup becomes less relevant. Or maybe, I am misunderstanding the process and what you are saying is that if we are dealing with multiple blocks of named sequential data then the drive head is moving back and forward across the partition boundary to start accessing each subsequent block. Also, the access times would depend on where the FSX and/or the FS9 installations have been placed on the platters and neither of us know the answer to that one, or so I would assume.When I installed FSX and FS9 the partition data and free space would first have been defragmented/consolidated by PerfectDisk. Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that the original installations would have been laid down in one contiguous block which would remain largely undisturbed until O&O did its COMPLETE/NAME thing. I know I'm probably being far too simplistic about all this and it would certainly be helpful to see how a system comparable to mine behaves performance wise having had the O&O treatment. For my part, performance in both FS9 and, to a lesser extent (with the usual caveats), FSX, seems perfectly fine. Following the initial loading of a flight I see very little in the way of HD activity, which is why I wonder about the actual in-flight performance advantages of using O&O. I suppose such optimization may help to alleviate HD seek time-related stuttering but, again I don't see much of this. Maybe I'm just lucky and should count my blessings. You've been very patient, Nick.I'll shut up now!Regards,Mike

Mike1. I assure you, that data on D is not at the beginning of the disk where rotation and geometry works for you at top efficiency. That is not a theory, it

Deal Nick!Well, making that SP2 slipstream was a walk in the park. And I found the tool to do the automated install on the x64 install disk, so that will be a nice bonus! LOL... I am actually excited about doing a fresh install so I can see how this "trimmed out/hands-off" version handles.I don't know why I was so shy about doing this before. I just doesn't make any sense (to me now :-P ) to install XP w/o the Service Pack slipstreamed.See! I said this was a good thing! Learning new stuff and plus I'll get to do the O&O Defrag from the git-go!Thanks a mil!Rob

RobBe careful with automated tools that set up Windows before the install. Those tools are know for having conflicts if they are not specifically designed or patched for the upgraded files... (MS does periodically upgrade their service pack install files and things like the IE7 installer) those tools can damage the install if they are not patched themselves to work correctly with the service packs or updates being applyed to the CD.. so please be careful with trying to get fancy. I understand the desire to take shortcuts but when it comes to a clean install of Windows, unless you are a network admin trying to cut down on costs and time, its best to just sit there and do it yourself.