A Machead therapist buys a Windows box - fairy tale ending or lesson in frustration?

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A Machead therapist buys a Windows box - fairy tale ending or lesson in frustration?

Date Created: 27 Jan, 2005, 05:32 PM

Through the ill-will of anonymous others, I have returned to the market place to purchase a Windows box to run my Virtual Reality and Biofeedback software.

What remained of my previous box were a PS-2 mouse and keyboard, IBM P70 17" monitor, an IBM 30GB external hard drive, and a licensed copy of Windows (2000 and XP).

What I now needed to be up and running was a basic box: a Pentium IV, a high-end consumer video card, and a good quality sound card.

When I went shopping this week, the IT world was still coming to terms with the MacMini and if it represented good value.

Here in Australia, the least expensive MacMini is priced at $799 retail. For students, it is about $720, shipped.

Now this represents a full system, complete with operating system, iLife applications, modem, network card, hard drive, and firewire connection, as well as USB 2.0 (x2). It also includes a CD-RW, and DVD reader.

Going shopping to some of the well-known PC build shops around Melbourne produced some interesting results.

One store, Centrecom was willing to sell me a full-size case, 3.0Ghz Pentium IV, CD-ROM, and Creative Audio Sound card for a little over $700. To this I would have to bring my own copy of Windows, network card, videocard, hard drive, keyboard, mouse modem and monitor. And all necessary applications.

To which I ask where's the value, apart from the faster CPU compared to the MacMini?

And all in one ugly full-size noisy PC box. No pride of ownership there - just a box to put out of sight and get work done.

I also went to a recommended city store, and located a somewhat better deal, including an 80GB hard drive, nVidia FX5700 128MB videocard, Soundblaster Audigy 2 card, CD-ROM, with a Pentium IV motherboard, network port, with serial ports needed to run the VFX head mounted display - but missing a gameport as on the old machine.

So it seemed a reasonable deal, and I shlepped it home. Installing Windows XP Pro went nicely although it took about 45" (but certainly less than Windows 98 or 2000). Then I installed the sound card software, located in its own Creative cardboard box.

And another hour to intall the Virtual Reality modules (airplane, heights, public speaking, interview, thunderstorms, relaxation) and the security software for a USB key.

That's a few hours' work.

I restarted on numerous occasions as one does, to check the installation of each. All seemed to go surprisingly well.

Plugging in the VFX helmet got a signal going. But trying to get the VR software working saw the screen go to black then go back to the starting point - no go.

Hmm... I went to the video control panel to see if there was a screen resolution problem (the VFX needs to run at 640 X 480), and there was the problem. The minimum resolution available was 800 x 600.

What was more concerning was not seeing any of the nVidia management software which would give me the preferred resolution.

The solution was clear after I ran a piece of very useful diagnostic software called Belarc, a free download which lists all the hardware and software on a PC. The nVidia card was not listed!

Then it dawned on me that perhaps it needed the specific drivers which Windows XP didn't have. Off to the nVidia site and download the recommended drivers and install.

Reboot, and watch the box go through its diagnostics, ask me for my password... and the screen goes black and the monitor falls asleep. Huh?

Wait a while while the PC box churns and its power light flickers with activity, and the box reboots and... the whole cycle repeats... and repeats.

A visit to Google shows this to be a problem previously described but no useful solutions are noted, except to try different drivers, and of course, when all fails - re-install Windows.

Several hours and several installs later, I'm no further along.

The next day, with patients to see, the box is back at the city store being checked in at service. I have decided I want my money back, but a refusal is waiting for me, and a request that I go back and re-install Windows.

But why, I ask? It was a fresh install of Windows. I don't want to spend another 3 hours doing this.

I'm told it's "a Microsoft thing - it's often broken, and needs a second install. I guarantee it will work then."

To which I insist that I will not do a re-install of a fresh copy and please, check the machine. We go a few rounds like this, with him suggesting I am not listening (which produces a wry smile in me since I get paid to listen) and he is after all "a tech. specialist", i.e., I know more than you, but eventually he gives in and says he will re-install Windows (since I told him I have a real copy, not a cracked one) and give me back the machine later in the day. In working order.

To which I agree, and head off to do a podcast with the PDA guy, who coincidentally, has also had enough of his XP box too.

At lunch a few hours later, coincidentally with a fear of flying specialist I work with at Qantas, I get a call from service saying they have identified the problem. The nVidia card has a "bad memory" chip and that explains why it won't work.

Apart from saving myself hours of fruitless software re-installs, I am left wondering how the average punter deals with PC purchases if mine is the norm. Is it, I wonder?

So I am offered a three week wait on a replacement videocard, a cheaper card (which I have seen on my Google searches is very poor) or no card at all, and some money back. I insist on either all money back (never again do I buy without a credit card!) or a replacement card today of equivalent quality.

Off the service guy goes to management, and comes back with the offer of a Radeon card which will work at low resolution, and has dual monitor output. But it won't be ready now until tomorrow.

Somehow, I have a feeling my experience is not at all unusual. My first PC box had a wrong BIOS setting such that it never shut down but always restarted, and eventually got kludged up and slow.

I've got to feel sorry for all those newbies purchasing PCs for their kids who are returning to school this week in Australia, and what they're in for. I hope the kids get laptops since these seem less troublesome than desktops with their miriad of components which don't necessarily get on with each other. More choice - yes? More problems - yes!

And value wise, the MacMini is all over the Windows box experience. I bet you can get one up and running, connected to the web and downloading this week's Desperate Housewives in 15 minutes flat.

I'll keep you informed of my further adventures in Windowsland when the box comes back, but I'm sure this will be an ongoing saga.

Update - January 28, 12.20pm: Got a call from the service desk to say that a Radeon card had been installed, the PC box had been left running for 24 hours and was restarted manually to check for bugs, and some of the VR software not needing the security key (it's a simulated interview for job applicants) works fine.

I insisted being told it will work at 640 x 480 and was informed, "No problems". After putting up a bit of a fuss about being really sure of this, the smart tech guy said, "No problem - and we upped the card from a 128MB to a 256MB card".

Smart work, 'cos it shut me up and I said I'd be in Monday to pick it up...

That's when the test will come to see if the VFX headset works.

By the way, Wired magazine's website has a good article on Virtual Reality- based therapy here.

Update - January 31: Brought the new beast home and started it up with the VFX and IBM monitor sharing the VGA output in piggy back fashion. Couldn't get the resolution down to less than 800 x 600, so played with the DVI second video output which did give 640 x 480 with the VFX plugged in separately.

Flickering, but not vision. Reboot, some more fiddling about with primary and secondary screens, so as to have them both showing the same image (mirroring, as it's called on the Mac) and eventually with both piggy-backed on the VGA output and a further reboot - success!

All the VR modules start up except the Virtual Airplane. Re-install that software, and the same result: tries to start-up, and then falls over, leaving me to ponder what next. I head into the Program files to make sure the necessary files are there - which they are.

I see some of the .avi loops which allows the computer generating graphics to merge with real video, and click on one of the files. Windows Media player opens and offers me an error message, that a codec can't be found.

About to put the Windows XP install disc in, I change my mind and look at one of the support discs for the VR, the one named "drivers" which contains sound andf video card drivers as well as the VFX drivers for the VR setup.

And this is where I note the Indeo drivers, which I don't recall installing. In they go, and boom! the Airplane works fine. As a Mac user, I can't remember the last time I palyed with drivers of any sort - perhaps for my printer, but that's about it.

The Sound Blaster card is next tweaked - it needs a split output since it needs to run the audio through the VFX as well as into my amplifier to power up the Aura Bass Shakers installed in the motion platform which simulates turbulence and thunderstorms (quite effective it is too to judge from the white knuckles I see!).

Creative's software includes tests and the setup passes, as well as the microphone I use to talk to the client, because the VFX produces a very good seal around the ears.

I have some more tweaking of sound levels to do, plus installing Powerpoint for the Virtual Audience slide show. Here, the client can practise their presentation and advance their own slides for practice.

There are wires everywhere, which is a real drawback, to be more complicated when the Biofeedback equipment is installed. All in all, I can say XP is a vast improvement over previous OSs from Microsoft, and I'm not surprised that anyone upgrading from Windows 98 will never think they need anything more than XP.

Until perhaps six months of use, and the vigilance of guarding against malware gets the better of them. My XP box will get used now, remain disconnected from the internet (I'll use a flash drive and CD to upload movies and other files to it from the Mac) and not need too much attention I hope.

It'll never be something I get enthused over or wish I had in laptop form to take with me - it won't be edging out my Powerbook from my grasp, nor taking away the expectation of rediscovering the cleverness of the Mac when Tiger is released soon.

But for the masses who just want to get work done, or the gamers who like tweaking to their hearts' content, the Wintel experience will do fine.

Mind you, I'm thinking that perhaps a Shuttle box might have been a better choice given I just needed to drop in a good video and sound card and nothing else. Maybe in a few months time when I give more presentations and want to demo the equipment. They're not that small, mind you - you could probably cram 14 MacMini's in one Shuttle box (330 x 220 x 220mm vs 152 x 152 x 50mm)!

Perhaps now that Apple has thrown out the challenge of small and inexpensive, the Wintel world will follow - and then again, maybe it won't - or can't.

Update - February 1: Tried the new setup with a patient using the Virtual Airplane and Heights module. The latter uses a stereoscopic setup in the VFX to give a 3D effect, using an elevator to climb 19 floors looking out over an open atrium. Happy to say the patient scored high on the anxiety scale!

I'll install Biofeedback tomorrow, as well as Microsoft Flight Simulator and Midtown Madness, the latter for my driving patients!

Update - February 11: I've installed Windows Xp on a separate partition away from the Virtual Reality/Biofeedback working software, so that games and internet connections, as well as Griffin's RadioShark operate from there - also installed AdAware and AVG anti-virus software. So far, they have caught nothing. Also installed Azureus Bit Torrent client and enjoyed the first episode of Numb3rs.

The machine has been performing well, and patients have been benefitting from the extra zip the Pentium Prescott motherboard, and Radeon 256MB card have to offer.