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Putting new computers together from scratch is relatively easy. A much bigger trick is totally moving an existing software system including the OS and every piece of software on the computer to a totally new hardware base. Symantec offers a commercial product (Ghost) which is supposed to do that but which is problematical for several reasons. The Free Software Foundation offers a stunningly good piece of software along such lines: http://www.clonezilla.org I've used Clonezilla for work projects which have mainly involved cloning linux systems, and last week put it to a kind of an ultimate test which it passed easily....

I'm considering upgrading an older PC to a faster PC -- faster CPU, more RAM -- but with minimal disruption to my installed programs and without having to "upgrade" from XP to Vista. Current PC uses include: Internet surfingSome graphics editingEditing/burning home movies onto DVDNot much gaming Current system specs:  CPU: AMD Athlon 2600+    Graphics card: ATI All In Wonder 9000 Pro (64MB DDR AGP)    HD: Western Digital WD1200AB 120 GB     Am also considering getting a Mac, but for this thread I seek feedback on whether I can just migrate my current HD and Graphics Card...

RECOMMENDATIONS WANTED FOR REBUILDING MY COMPUTERI built this system 7 years ago and it has performed well until now.  The motherboard won't post, so I have decided to upgrade but would like to use as much of the legacy devices that I have as possible.  Here's the main specs on the system I want to upgrade: Motherboard (non-posting now): Soyo SY-KT333 Dragon Ultra Platinum (ATX form factor - Soyo no longer makes motherboards) Processor: AMD Athlon XP 2100 (socket A) Video card: BioStar GeForce 6800 (128mb, AGP) Ram: Corsair DDR 3 1024gb dram sticks   HHD: 2 Maxtor 80gb ATA...

Eight ships that were supposed to be the government's latest, best weapon for stopping terrorists, illegal immigrants and smugglers now float unused in a U.S. Coast Guard shipyard in Baltimore, the symbol of a nearly $100 million taxpayer debacle. Instead of patrolling, the ships were deemed unfit for the high seas after just a couple of months of use and eventually will be dismantled without ever fulfilling their promise. The Coast Guard hopes to finally put the problems with its much maligned "Deepwater" program behind it, taking ownership this month of a brand new 418-foot national security cutter that was...

WMAL just updated and improved their web site last week. Next to the "What's Hot" red tab section, there's an "Insider Central" red tab on the right side of the screen. I see nothing inside that Insider Central box, which is perhaps 2" x 3", except a blank powder-blue colored box. I was told that I should see a 7-tab slide show under "Insider Central". In the "What's Hot" box I see all kinds of things going through -- Top News, Local News, G&A, Chris Plante & Insiders ( a 5-tab slide show). I contacted Comcast customer service (I have...

Anybody know? Walmart? Circuit City? Ain't got the patience for Vista.

I have finally decided to take the plunge. Last night I upgraded my Vista desktop machine to Windows XP, and this afternoon I will be doing the same to my laptop. Look & Feel Windows XP has quite a cartoony look and feel compared to the slick look of Aero Glass, this is mostly offset by the lack of strange screen artifacts caused by malfunctioning graphics code. You know, almost like static on the screen. This was a once or twice monthly occurance on my laptop, and happened on my desktop whenever I logged in, and also whenever I played...

The Air Force completed a four-phase transition of the Global Positioning System ground segment to the new Architecture Evolution Plan on Sept. 14. AEP was delivered by the Space and Missile Systems Center's GPS Wing to the 50th Space Wing to replace the legacy 1970s-era mainframe computer at Schriever AFB, Colo. SMC managed the development, integration and test with the Boeing Company, who led a joint Boeing-Lockheed Martin contractor team, to design and build the new system. The transition was executed by the 2nd Space Operations Squadron from the 50th Space Wing and the 19th Space Operations Squadron from the...

The ambitious goals of the state's universal health insurance law collided with reality again this week, as officials struggled to balance broad coverage for the uninsured with concerns about forcing those who already have coverage to buy more. In the end, state officials yesterday recommended dropping one of their key requirements for comprehensive basic insurance and allowing residents extra time -- perhaps more than a year -- to obtain higher-quality insurance. All state residents, however, will still have to buy some insurance by the July 1 deadline set in law or pay a penalty.

LONDON (AP) -- A first-class passenger on a flight from New Delhi to London awoke to find the corpse of a woman who had died in the economy cabin being placed in a seat next to him, British Airways said today. The flight's economy section was full, and the cabin crew needed to move the woman and her grieving family out of that compartment to give them some privacy, the airline said. The first-class passenger, Paul Trinder, told the Sunday Times newspaper that he was sleeping during a February flight from India and woke up when the crew placed the...

I have decided a short guide is in order for anybody who is wondering about Upgrading to Vista or purchasing a new PC with Vista. I will do this in a question/answer format to make it easier on my pre-coffee morning mind. The very first question everybody should be asking themselves is, Do I need to?If XP is working fine for you and your computer is working fine, don't upgrade. Adopting early on usually means that you will have to deal with the craziness of incompatibilities with some of the older software you may have or some of the older...

Many people are upset by the fact that the economical, "upgrade" version of Vista won't accept a Windows XP or Windows 2000 CD-ROM as proof of ownership. Vista Upgrade is said to install only to a hard disk that already has XP or 2000 already on it. But I've tested a method that allows you to clean-install the Vista upgrade version on any hard drive, with no prior XP or W2K installation — or even a CD — required. Save by avoiding the 'full' version Windows Vista, in my opinion, is a big improvement over Windows XP in many ways....

Updated Ark Royal sails back to sea with new muscle SHÂN ROSS THE Royal Navy's biggest warship passed under the Forth Bridge and headed out for sea trials yesterday after a comprehensive £25 million refit to transform her into the service's only combined troop and aircraft carrier. HMS Ark Royal has had an internal refurbishment which will enable her to transport up to 600 Royal Marines to any flashpoint in the world. The impressive aircraft carrier is now considered "one of a kind" following the £25 million upgrade at Babcock's shipyard in Rosyth, Fife. The upgrade includes a third mast...

The Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant has undergone a $22 million upgrade to bring more fresh, potable water to Baghdad residents. The facility serves the Rusafa area in northeast Baghdad. Courtesy photo Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant Gets Upgrade Renovations include state-of-the-art pumps, pipes, filters and a new chlorination system. By Norris Jones Gulf Region Central District US Army Corps of Engineers BAGHDAD, Aug. 9, 2006 -- For nearly two years, the Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant has been undergoing a $22 million upgrade to bring more fresh, potable water to Baghdad residents. That facility serves the Rusafa area...

MiG 27 Fighter Bomber Will Have New Engines General director of the Salyut Moscow Machine Building Production Plant Yury Eliseev has announced at the Farnborough Airshow in Great Britain that a new engine will be used in modernized MiG 27 fighter bombers, the main aircraft of the Indian Air Force. The new engine, the AL-31F, will be 200 kg. lighter than the R-29B-300 used previously, and have one metric ton more propulsion (12,300 kg./sec.) than its predecessor. It will also use 15 percent less fuel. The Indian Air Force has 150 Mi G27 Bahadur models and will modernize 60 of...

Mars robots to get smart upgrade By Jonathan Amos BBC News science reporter, in Baltimore Dust devils on Mars: Catch them if you can The US space agency's rovers will get a software upgrade to allow them to make "intelligent" decisions in the study of Martian clouds and dust devils. The new algorithms will give the robots' computers the onboard ability to search through their images to find pictures that feature these phenomena. Only the most significant data will then be sent to Earth, maximising the scientific return from the missions. Nasa says its robotic craft will become increasingly autonomous...

Mozilla Firefox 1.5.0.3 has been released. This update fixes a publicly disclosed denial of service weakness. All users are encouraged to upgrade to this version. The bugfixes previously planned for Firefox 1.5.0.3 were shifted to 1.5.0.4, and a quick update was released shortly after the recent 1.5.0.2 release to address the publicly reported issue.

Cindy receives hurricane upgradeHurricane center says review finds July storm was stronger than first thought, adding a 15th hurricane to record 2005 season Saturday, January 28, 2006 By KIM LANIER Staff Reporter Cindy, a tropical cyclone that hit the northern Gulf Coast last July, officially became a hurricane this week -- the 15th of the record-setting 2005 Atlantic season -- after experts re-examined the strength of its winds. Cindy was thought to have struck southeastern Louisiana late on July 5 with winds close to 70 mph. But National Hurricane Center forecasters reviewing Slidell, La., radar data determined that a small...

Upgrade launches forces on a $52bn shopping splurge By Frank Walker January 15, 2006 AUSTRALIA'S Defence Force is about to embark on its biggest weapons buying spree since World War II, spending $52 billion on new planes, ships and tanks. The massive expenditure will make Australia's navy, army and air force the most powerful and high-tech military in the region well into the 21st century. The spending splurge comes not to combat the war on terror, but because much of the Defence Force's most costly equipment is 30 years old and has to be replaced. Pressure from international arms firms...

Thunderbird 1.5 Released Scott MacGregor writes: "The final release of Mozilla Thunderbird 1.5 is now available for download from getthunderbird.com. Users of RC1 should see the update soon. If you are using RC2, then you already have 1.5 final.""Thunderbird 1.5 introduces several new features including a software update system, spell check as you type, built in phishing detector, auto save as draft, and support for deleting attachments from email messages. Message filtering has also been improved with new filter actions for replying and forwarding. Saved search folders can now search folders across multiple accounts." "More details can be found in...