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Rumors of my death and dismemberment were also exaggerated.For the record, to quash the other rumors;I did not "come out of the closet" and move to San Francisco.
I did not enlist in the Iraqi Army as a mercenary (My Mama didn't raise no dummies!)
I was not kidnapped and marooned on a desert island by Rich Garber.What happened to me was an unprovoked dastardly attack by a conspiracy of Microsoft and Commonwealth Edison, a power pop that fried my surge supressor (I didn't even know that was possible, but the little bugger is dead!), destroyed my system registry and all the backups ("scanreg-restore" from the DOS prompt gave me a brand new install instead of the one I had), and even took out my microwave oven, VCR deck, and burned out about a dozen light bulbs.This is where it gets wierd, the Marias Pass FPS test showed that some people were getting better results than others on identical machines. That proved that the performance you get out of any given system depends on how well you have it tweaked, and after screwing around with Win 98 SE for several years I had mine tuned for pretty good performance. Well, I did it once, I should be able to do it again, right?
Nope. After suffering thru all the usual clean install BS (fatal exception error, if this problem persists contact the program vendor, who will ignore you) and installing all the updates and patches, I was only getting about half to two-thirds of the former speed, with FPS of 7-12 on PO&N6. I confirmed this with benchmarks from 3DMark2001SE ( www.madonion.com ), getting benchmarks in the 6000 range when I had previously exceeded 9000. No matter what I did, I couldn't get that 9000 back, and herky-jerky low FPS in trainsim. (I had a hell of a time re-installing trainsim too, but that's another story.)After a couple of months screwing around with it, I found an old 13 gig hard drive that still had a working copy of my previous windows install on it, so I copied the entire windows folder (I'm pretty sure by now the actual system registry is one or more of the files in the \Windows\System\ folder) to my current HD, and now I have 9300 on the 3DMark2001SE benchmarks, and back to the normal 18-30 FPS on PO&N6.Exactly what the difference is I have no clue, and why I couldn't duplicate whatever I did before is totally baffling. Obviously a major difference somewhere, but it's nothing obvious. I guess the moral of the story is I'd rather be lucky than good, and from here on I'm keeping a complete backup copy of the entire Windows folder rather than relying on registry backup/restore utilities.Well, now I got some catching up to do, I D/Led Seaview 3 and the infamous Mike Vone's roller coaster route, and my youngest son is in kid heaven. PO&N7 has made no progress at all to date, and I suppose it will be a while before I get back to it.

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No, I am not working for KUJU. [View All], sniper297, 10:38 PM, Mar-23-03, (0) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., cn_bayview, Mar-23-03, 10:47 PM, (1) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., TedB, Mar-23-03, 10:51 PM, (2) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Coonskin, Mar-23-03, 11:00 PM, (3) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Vulcan Foundry, Mar-23-03, 11:05 PM, (4) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Motley24Crue2, Mar-23-03, 11:23 PM, (5) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., rgarber, Mar-23-03, 11:38 PM, (6) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., kyleh24, Mar-23-03, 11:51 PM, (8) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., velvetsky, Mar-24-03, 02:43 AM, (12) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., calr, Mar-23-03, 11:48 PM, (7) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., bnsf1959, Mar-24-03, 00:20 AM, (9) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Emu Farmer, Mar-24-03, 01:41 AM, (10) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., drjoe, Mar-24-03, 02:22 AM, (11) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., LocoRo, Mar-24-03, 05:56 AM, (13) Episode VI - Return of the coconut god!, IcyFire, Mar-24-03, 07:19 AM, (14) RE: Episode VI - Return of the coconut god!, mrmike, Mar-24-03, 07:53 AM, (15) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., smmille1, Mar-24-03, 08:12 AM, (16) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., rgarber, Mar-24-03, 09:56 AM, (18) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., OTTODAD, Mar-24-03, 10:13 AM, (20) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Tree Frog, Mar-24-03, 09:48 AM, (17) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., OTTODAD, Mar-24-03, 10:07 AM, (19) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., andrewpickell, Mar-24-03, 10:19 AM, (21) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., shadowr434, Mar-24-03, 10:50 AM, (22) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., sd70mac6662, Mar-24-03, 11:11 AM, (23) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., henry3, Mar-24-03, 12:14 PM, (24) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., dvdhoven, Mar-24-03, 12:33 PM, (25) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., lfriddle, Mar-24-03, 01:36 PM, (26) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., ricksan, Mar-24-03, 02:47 PM, (27) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., jvizoso, Mar-24-03, 03:00 PM, (28) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., carlylet, Mar-24-03, 03:04 PM, (29) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., CRSD40, Mar-24-03, 03:19 PM, (30) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., MikeSimpson, Mar-24-03, 04:05 PM, (31) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Hawk, Mar-24-03, 04:22 PM, (33) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., ATF1224, Mar-24-03, 04:16 PM, (32) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., baldwin, Mar-24-03, 04:40 PM, (34) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., ssw, Mar-24-03, 06:22 PM, (35) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., CGW409, Mar-24-03, 06:29 PM, (36) Night of the Living Thread, sniper297, Mar-24-03, 08:51 PM, (37) RE: Night of the Living Thread, Stooopid_person, Mar-25-03, 05:17 AM, (39) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., Mark_Blum, Mar-25-03, 00:12 AM, (38) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., dejoh, Mar-25-03, 05:12 PM, (40) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., jfroth1, Mar-25-03, 10:47 PM, (41) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., JivaGoswami, Mar-26-03, 07:33 PM, (42) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., CSX_CW60AC_GregMarck, Mar-26-03, 08:59 PM, (44) RE: No, I am not working for KUJU., rowhoe, Mar-26-03, 08:54 PM, (43)

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Welcome Back Sniper!!!!
:D

Rob.
Mile 21.0 CN Oakville Sub.

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Let me be the first to welcome you back, Sniper.Glad to see you didn't do any of the things you mentioned.Ted

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It is so great to have you back with us, Jim.We were the less without you.Andre "Coonskin" Ming

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Welcome back Jim, good to hear from you. Sorry to hear the gremlins have been to your place too. I too have just lost my main system and I am currently reviving my old celeron 900 with 20gig HD. The real fun starts when it takes up to a week to get the darn thing runnning at what could be considered a normal speed.Fun and games....indeed !

Models currently building:
Westrail P Class (GE CM25-8)
Queensland Rail 1300 Class
Queensland Rail Diesel Tilt Train
Tasrail ZC Class
Tasrail Z/ZA/ZB Classes
Tasrail D/DQ Classes

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Welcome back Jim I have some pretty good framerates on NEC V4 usually between 12 and 30 and in heavy areas it can drop to 7... boo kinda sucks now as far as Tweaking goes what can be done to Boost overall performance.My system specs areIntel Pentium 4 1.7GHz
1 Gig Rambus (Rdram)
ATI Radion 8500
120 Gig 7200 RPM Drive
Sound Blaster Audigy gamer
Windows XP homenow im not Complaining at all after all i build this system and it's very stable hasn't crashed once in 5 months since it's been up im just wondering if there are other areas that can be tweaked Robert Steskal
Philadelphia, Pa

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*flabberghasted* Well... if that wasn't Jim I had locked up on that island, wonder who it was? Rich Garber

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Luckily I haven't had to use this, but here is my set up, for a backup. I bought a $60 40 Gb hard drive and installed it in the case, but it is not normally connected to anything. I have it set to slave. When I get ready to back up, I power down, open the side of the case, plug in the power connector and middle connector on my hard-drives IDE cable to this "back-up" drive. I then boot to a "ghost" floppy. I copy complete hard-drive to hard-drive. Power back down, unplug ide and power cable, then boot normally. I do this once a month. This back up drive just sits in the case, isolated from power or computer until ( hopefully never ) needed. This is the cheapest "poor mans" back up that I could come up with. I'm glad you were able to salvage most of your work. Kyle

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LAST EDITED ON Mar-24-03 AT 02:43 AM (EDT)

>*flabberghasted* Well... if that wasn't Jim I had locked up
>on that island, wonder who it was?
>
>Rich Garber ME!LOLMatt13 year old Steam Loco driverCelebrating Sea View's 50th Birthday!http://www.train-sim.com/dcforum/DCForumID15/1010.html

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Welcome back, Jim. You were really missed. Glad to see that you are alive and well.If you had been working for KUJU, I imagine some significant improvements would have been made, LOL!Cal Rasmussen
Beaverton, OR
cal.rasmussen@verizon.netColumbia Gorge Route (Phase 1 track completed, building roads, buildings, planting trees.)

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Welcome Back Jim! I thought you got lost on some island somewhere. Anyway, It's good to see you back.
Ken
Muschka Activity Works
(F-Units are courtesy of Santa Fe Railway Historical and Modeling Society)

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G.Day Jim, Welcome back my guru

Frank the Sandgroper

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Most power companies have an "un-advertised" surge protector that is installed somewhere near the meter. This is usually offered to businesses, but if you persist, you can get one for your home. Similar devices are available for phone service too. Does not eliminate need for surge protection inside, but the ones at my office saved computer and telephone equipment when there was a lightning strike of the overhead lines somewhere near my office. Look into it. Can be costly to replace all that stuff.
Joe Morris

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Welcome back Sniper
Greetings Roland
Netherlands

fan of Christrains©
www.christrains.com

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Welcome back, JimOh man, Things have changed since you left, I now have a high end gaming monster I built (p4 2.66, 1gig ram, radeon 9700 pro) and have been loving your PO&N route! It simply kicks ass man, especially running it in full detail

Shawn shawnssk@yahoo.com
Screen Shot Forum Mod
TKW & YLW Repainter

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Hi Jim,
Welcome back,needless to say you were sorely missed. My Computer specs are in my profile
Mike
"

This Smile says it all"

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Hmm. And how are we supposed to know that you're the real Jim and not some impostor sent by Kuju to shut us up while they keep the real you locked in a sub-basement somewhere?

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Ah Ha! Just as I thought! *steps up to microphone* So I emailed Kuju directly and within 30 seconds (years might be more appropriate), I got *microphone squeal* back a uncertified encrypted unbreakable coded message that reads something like this...*uncrumples paper*"Yeah right! Like we would really have someone working with us with a name like Sniper. Get real!"And there you have it! *microphone squeal* Uncertified plagueriezed made-up on the spot proof that Sniper is working for Kuju.*steps back from microphone and approached by two men in long trenchcoats*Somebody spiked my root beer? You're taking me where? Rich Garber

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Didn't know you had in in you, Rich ! Still rolling around laughing ! I am going to be really cross with KUJU if Jim's Route is not one of those featured on their new "MSTS ADD-ONs" Web Site they are alledged to be working on ! ARE YOU READING THIS, KUJU ? O t t o

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Whoopee! Yea ! Sniper is back !They were about to take down the Coconut Idol.Bill Burnett

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REALLY GLAD THAT YOUR ARE ALRIGHT, JIM ! This is unmistakably SNIPER Parlance and Screenshots style I and no doubt many others have been missing since before Christmas ! I can stop worrying now. The FORUM just is not the same without your contributions !!!Great to have you back ! O t t o

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JimWelcome back, it just wasn't the same forums without you.- Andrew

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Jim, welcome back friend, its been quiet here without you. Frank Roberts
Fed Ex Freight
P&D Driver

"Sometimes I dream about being carried off by a big giant squirrel. Does that make me a nut?"

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Christ the forums aren't teh same without our resident Sniper
welcome back

formerly known as sd70mac666 until the forum software decided to hate me

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> No, I am not working for KUJU.YOU'RE NOT!!! Oh, @%#&)#(! There goes the hope for an *awesome* MSTS2! Though I'm glad none of the other rumours are true. Welcome back, Sniper! It hasn't been the same in here without you.Henry

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Hey Jim! Great to see you're back. Real great! Welcome aboard, captain.Dick van den Hoven

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I'm still not totally convinced. I'll watch the number of posts in the next few days. That will be the test. (I'm almost convinced that Sniper and Coonskin are one and the same based on that alone).After working in television and trying to keep transmitter facilities on the air in all types of weather and power conditions, I have concluded that it doesn't matter what you do for prevention. When your number is up, it's up.Larry

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Welcome back, Jim.I finally D/L'd PO&N6 a few weeks ago while I was on Asian duty. The variety of scenery is remarkable. I used it (with attribution, of course) as a stand-in for eastern Washington in a recent teaser shot of my now-released locomotive project.Looking forward to your future efforts.Rick Grout
Portland, OR

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:-))

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It's great to have you back. I thought maybe you had been highjacked by the CIA to design a suitable railroad for our troops to use in the Middle East. I watch for the summer thunder storms and turn my machine off quickly. It's those unannounced spikes in the off season that scare me to death. We do not get many, but some have made me sweat bullets until I had wife's and my machines restarted.SNIPER'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!Carlyle Thompson
ACL Purple and Silver

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Welcome back Jim.

-----------------------------

Kyle Norek, Milepost 76 on the NS Buffalo Line
MSN Messenger: crsd40@hotmail.com

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But is it really you Jim, this could have been a pre-recorded pre-Kuju message recorded before your transfer? No photos to measure the distance between your nose and ear-lobes?However just in case it is really you, Welcome Back from your kangaroo hugging friends.Glad to hear from you again,

Mike

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DITTO all of the above.
Looking forward to your babbling rhetoric and unchallengeable humor, again.
Hawk"Some caught a plane, some rode the train.
Head for sunshine, leave the rain."

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Welcome back Jim!

Jake Mensel - Norfolk Southern Winston-Salem District

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Aaaaah! Bliss is me. My regular dose of PO&N is back. Welcome back Jim, thought you had gotten yourself lost somewhere, by the looks of those weeds and cobwebs.
mervyn@madasafish.com

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WB Jim- We coulda used that dragon of yours a few times.....

Bradley Linda
Waco, Texas

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Welcome back Jim
And here I thought you were hanging out in Baghdad just waiting for a certain so and so to stick his head in your crosshairs:)Gary S

"Some say this country's just out for a fight. After 9/11 man I'd have to say thats right"
"Have You Forgotten"
Darryl Worley

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Man, I thought this would be dead by now.You guys are right, I could be a doppleganger and not even know it!
That East Virginia & West Metro guy probably has his "Jims" confused, I think that's either Jim Steven or Jimmy Hoffa he's holding captive. Whaddya expect from a guy who gets 10 mixed up with 11?
I AM currently lost on a bunch of islands somewhere, but that ain't Rich, it's The Froggy Formerly Known As Southern Railway.Unfortunately there's no way to find my way out of here in a hurry, them speed limit - tight curve traps get me every time.

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> I AM currently lost on a bunch of islands somewhere, but
>that ain't Rich, it's The Froggy Formerly Known As Southern
>Railway. All you have to do is drive straight on. But, you'll end up only on another island...

------My favourite LUL train------

HAPPY NOW? It's not moving anymore.
It's still the same train but in another livery, that's all.

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Humpf!Well, I'm glad you're back, but like my momma would have said:Whatsamatter? You don't have a dime for a phone call? I was worried SICK about you!etc... etc... etc....
Welcome back, Jim! Mark
A Southern Railway Fan

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Hey Snipe. I bet your glad the Chicago winter is just about over. Now you can watch those slow freights rolling through the west side. I've been gone for about 3 month's too. The major thread killer.Dejoh

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And all the while I thought that The ChiTown Curmudgeon and our MSTS friend, colleague Shepley, FINALLY retaliated your offense with a missile of his own after he found your coordinates... Boom/Sizzle!Naw. Don's a gentleman.Hehe, Kuju could be so lucky to buy your talent.Best of all, Great to see that you are OK Jim.
:>]...ain't pc's just a thrill....John Roth

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Hey! Hello! I'm so glad you are around again! I was afraid to ask where you'd been!
Respectfully
jivajiva

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welcome back, the fourm has been 'lacking' alot of different things without you.Greg
HighV0lt6ge - AIM/AOL
gregoryis411@hotmail.com'No matter how far we've come, I can't wait to see tomorrow.' Linkin Park - With You

Click Here for information on what u can do: http://pages.m80im.com/?Qzo1OToyMDIzNDA=

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Is KUJU hiring? I'll go to work for them. Don't know how to do anything but i'll work like hell.

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