Getting older programs to run on Windows XP

 Most programs run properly on Windows XP. The exceptions are some older games and other programs that were written specifically for an earlier version of Windows. To run your program on Windows XP, you can try the following, Run the Program Compatibility Wizard. As an alternative, you can set the compatibility properties manually. Update your program, drivers, or hardware. These options are covered in detail below.

The Program Compatibility Wizard
This wizard prompts you to test your program in different modes (environments) and with various settings. For example, if the program was originally designed to run on Windows 95, set the compatibility mode to Windows 95 and try running your program again. If successful, the program will start in that mode each time. The wizard also allows you to try different settings, such as switching the display to 256 colors and the screen resolution to 640 x 480 pixels. If compatibility problems prevent you from installing a program on Windows XP, run the Program Compatibility Wizard on the setup file for the program. The file may be called Setup.exe or something similar, and is probably located on the Installation disc for the program. To run the Program Compatibility Wizard click Start, click Help and Support, click Find compatible hardware and software for Windows XP, and then, under See Also in the navigation pane, click "Program Compatibility Wizard."

Set the compatibility properties manually
As an alternative to running the Program Compatibility Wizard, you can set the compatibility properties for a program manually. The settings are the same as the options in the Program Compatibility Wizard. To set the compatibility properties for a program manually Right-click the program icon on your desktop or the shortcut on the Start menu for the program you want to run, and then click Properties. Click the Compatibility tab, and change the compatibility settings for your program.

The Compatibility tab is only available for programs installed on your hard drive. Although you can run the Program Compatibility Wizard on programs or setup files on a CD-ROM or floppy disk, your changes will not remain in effect after you close the program. For more information about an option on the Compatibility tab, right-click the option and then click "What's This."

Update your program or drivers
If your program does not run correctly after testing it with the Program Compatibility Wizard, check the Web for updates or other fixes, as follows:

Check the Web site of the program's manufacturer to see if an update or patch is available.
Check Windows Update to see if a fix is available for the program.
Click Home on the menu bar of Help and Support Center, then click Windows Update in the right pane.

If the program is a game that uses DirectX, ensure that you are using the latest version of DirectX. In addition, check the Web site of the manufacturer of your video card or sound card to see if newer drivers are available for either of them.

Getting Counter-Strike Source to work

Getting Counter-Strike Source to work

Step 1- Download cssource_notcracked_beta_emporio.rar, cssource_cracked_emporio.rar and cssource_updates_emporio.rar (make sure this update is V2).

Step 2- Extract cssource_notcracked_beta_emporio.rar to a folder (for this example we will use E:/CS: Source*), then extract cssource_cracked_emporio.rar to E:/CS: Source*(overwrite all files) and finally extract cssource_updates_emporio.rar(V2) to E:/CS: Source* (overwrite all files).

Step 3- Make a NEW steam account(We will use Bob1g2** for this example).

Step 4- Now here comes the tricky part. After you have made a NEW steam account, get any counter strike: condition zero key (and no i won't tell you one) off the internet. Launch steam and click on Condition Zero in the Avaible Games list. Click on Register this product and click next. Once you get to the point where it says, "Steam is processing you request" open up Task Manager (Ctrl, Alt, Delete at the same time) and click on steam.exe and once the steam window has 1 bar that is yellow, click terinate process on the task manager.

Step 5- Open up steam again and check if Condition Zero is in your My Games list. If it isn't then repeat Step 3 using a different key untill you get Condition Zero is your My Games list. Once you get it in your My Games list then, download Codename Gordon and once it has finished downloading, launch it. Once you get into the menu, then click exit.

Step 6- Go into the folder where you installed steam and copy ClientRegistry.blob into the folder where you installed CS: Source.

Step 7- Go into the folder where you installed CS: Source and open up SteamApp.cfg.

Step 8- Once you have opened up SteamApp.cfg, edit it so it only has this in it:

CODE

SteamAppId=10
#SteamAppVersionId=0
SteamInstallPath="E:/CS: Source*"
# [as is clearified later on, this should be your email address:]
#SteamAppUser=aalb002@cafe.boomtown.net
SteamAppUser=Bob1g2**


Make sure you change the Bob1g2** bit to the new steam account you created and the E:/CS: Source* to where you installed counter-strike source.

Step 9- Make a sortcut of hl2.exe with these in the sortcut(without the quotes) "-steam -game cstrike"

*Change this to where you installed CS: Source.
**Change this to your new steam account.

Downloads

cssource_notcracked_beta_emporio.rar- fxp://cs.rivera.ru/games/Counter-Strike/CS_Source/client/cssource_notcracked_beta_emporio.rar

cssource_cracked_emporio.rar- fxp://cs.rivera.ru/games/Counter-Strike/CS_Source/client/V2/cssource_cracked_emporio.rar

cssource_updates_emporio.rar(v2)- fxp://cs.rivera.ru/games/Counter-Strike/CS_Source/client/V2/cssource_updates_emporio.rar

Limit is 100 users max

Other things you should know

Don't download the V3 update since that doesn't work yet.

If you get a error saying that you are not subscribed, then do steps 4-6 to make it work again.

If you get unable to set mode then do this:
go to your registry -> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Valve\Source\Settings -> look up the entry "ScreenRefreshRate" -> doubleclick -> type your favourite monitor hz value into the field (i.e. 100hz, if your monitor can handle it) -> change the base setting from hexadecimal to decimal -> finished. (excerpt taken from flinkerhamster tutorial)

Some Servers

1. 66.199.235.42:27014

2. 24.141.2.86

These servers have being tested by me and are working.

Getting A 1gb Yahoo China Account

Getting A 1gb Yahoo China Account

1. Sign for a yahoo ID... you can do this in my.yahoo.com. DO NOT check the automatically create an Email address
2. Clear ALL cookies
3. Activate mail account at cn.mail.yahoo.com
(you get 100Mb storage first *don't worry*), then sign-out
NOTE: FYI, the two boxes in the activation page is lastname and firstname

Upgrading to 1Gb Yahoo China Account
1. Sign-in to Yahoo Messenger, add a contact, sign-out
2. Go back to cn.mail.yahoo.com (all pages would be in Chinese)
3. Click the 1G orange label (graphic) *look at the lower right of the page*
4. Type-in your Yahoo ID and Password *look at the bottom of the page*
5. You'll go to two more Chinese pages (Just click the bottom centered label in the page)
6. Tadah!! Your upgraded to 1Gig and your default is English with Free POP3

There's no pesky graphic or flash ads at the moment... but your email add would be username[at]yahoo.com.cn

I think that's good enough for people without Gmail