posted
I'm at my wits end, and can't help but wonder why this isn't a common complaint with Corel, or if I'm the only one having this re-occuring problem.
Corel seems to get unstable on me a lot, and then it goes thru this A.R.M recovery process, and then it's a coin toss as to whether my stuff gets saved or not. Usually not.
The most ridiculous part of the whole thing is that I HAVE SAVED all the while, before it gets unstable and then it still loses all my work.
When I reopen the file, it's blank. I'm at a loss! The stuff was saved!!!!
I don't know how many times I've had to recreate something, only to have that dreaded recovery screen come up leading me down the path of doom.
Someone, please give me some ideas of how I can make this stop happening or I'm going to be turning to Adobe.
Exasperated here! ~ janette
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
Not sure which version you are using, I had some flakey problems with X3, but I find X4 rock solid.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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posted
I know this isn't the answer you are looking for Janet, but since you don't want to upgrade right now, until a permanent fix comes up, I would save a file after a certain amount of work was put into it, then duplicate it and work on the duplicate to another point, then save that and again make a duplicate and continue on the duplicate. I know it would be a pain to work that way but it would save time over recreating the file from scratch.
-------------------- Dave Sherby "Sandman" SherWood Sign & Graphic Design Crystal Falls, MI 49920 906-875-6201 sherwoodsign@sbcglobal.net Posts: 5396 | From: Crystal Falls, MI USA | Registered: Apr 1999
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posted
X4 does that to me sometimes when I hit the print button...usually if the drawing has too many lens effects, powerclips, etc. When that happens I publish to PDF & print. The only time I've had Corel lose a file after saving is when I've built a file that has too many pages (around 25 +). That really sucks.
posted
X3 always seemed pretty solid to me. We would sometimes run into some issues with the plotter plugin that we had making the program a little buggy and not saving things. After we would plot something the program wouldn't save the file until you moved something in the file. We have X5 now, both on Vista and 7, and it is a little buggy and crash prone. Your problem could have something to do with a plugin making the program act goofy. If that is the case, there is really not much you can do other than be aware of what causes the instability and save before you do whatever makes the program crash.
posted
Occasionally, I've had that problem with large and complex files (which are, of course, the biggest pain to lose) and handle it the way Dave suggested. Doing that has saved my bacon, if not my sanity, a few times.
I'm using WinXP and Corel X5 on my main computer. I have W7 on my laptop but don't do much Corel work with it unless I'm traveling so I don't have a feel for that combo, although Dan's experience gives me hope that the issue may be eliminated in the future.
-------------------- David Harding A Sign of Excellence Carrollton, TX Posts: 5084 | From: Carrollton, TX, USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
I agree with you Nettie, Corel should be responsible for making their software work. X3 and XP never did play nice for me, although I only recall loosing two files - which in my opinion is two too many! Have you contacted Corel - tell them if they can't solve your problem they shopuld give you a free upgrade till things work. Then again it might be XP that is the problem. I'm happy to be rid of both.
-------------------- “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” -Winnie the Pooh & A.A. Milne
Kelly Thorson Kel-T-Grafix 801 Main St. Holdfast, SK S0G 2H0 ktg@sasktel.net Posts: 5496 | From: Penzance, Saskatchewan | Registered: May 2002
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posted
Does it crash on you while you are saving? If so that is probably why the files are empty. They became corrupt or damaged when you were saving.
I use to avoid A.R.M like the plague.. My thought was if my program is starting to crash, why would you want me to save things mid crash? I could be mistaken, but it seems like that is when I would lose files, when ever it wanted me to go through the A.R.M. Shpiel. The second or third time I lost files because of it I learned my lesson and canceled out of it any time it reared it's ugly, time and effort crushing face.
Like others have stated... Try saving your files as "jobname" then next time: "jobname V2" "jobname V3" etc... I sometimes do this on bigger jobs that go through a lot of changes, so if for whatever reason I have to go back, I can. Newer versions of windows will allow you to go back to older versions of your files if you set it up to do that.
Have you tried opening your backup files? For example: "Backup_of_jobname" Is your Corel saving Backups at all?
As far as Corel acting glitchy: Corel X5 on my Windows Vista work-computer is always acting up. X3 on that same machine is more stable. At home Corel X5 on my windows 7 laptop runs like a champ. Never have any problems with it. But my brother has issues with his X5 and he is on win 7 too, so who knows why it works well on some computers and not others. I personally think X3 is more stable, but I prefer X5 because of it's improved color management tools.
[ March 29, 2011, 05:46 PM: Message edited by: Joseph Diaz ]
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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I have been working like that for years now with this Corel I have now. As a safeguard, I've tried to do just what you are describing. But many times you get into designing, and although I do save, I don't think to be saving copies and copies. It's been acting up on me today, and I think I've just finally had it. haha
I thought I'd post this because I was wondering if others have been putting up with it for years like me too.
I've gotta be honest here, as frustrated as I feel right now, I don't see me upgrading to make Corel act right, when I paid money for a program that should be acting right. I feel like that would be rewarding bad behavior. haha
Not only that, but if I signed on for more of Corel, and then find out it's buggy, ... I'd be fit to be tied. Last Corel I had was buggy, when many were saying Corel X3 was solid and so I updated. I've bit that hook before.
I'd hate to have to learn something new here, but everytime this happens to me in Corel, I wish I'd have started out with Adobe.
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
Janette, this happens to me sometimes and I regard it as a small price to pay for such an easy, otherwise perfect program as Corel X3. For what it's worth, it happened to me in XP and still happens in Windows 7 professional 32-bit.
At the first hint of instability, I restart the computer. I don't wait for a crash or recovery attempt. The computer gives small hints that it's tired and needs a restart. Sometimes F4 stops working. Sometimes node editing gets glitchy. It's usually small things that don't really matter much, but if you just take the computer's hint and restart, these crashes and work losses won't happen.
-------------------- Frank Smith Frank Smith Signs Albany, NY www.franksmithsigns.com Posts: 807 | From: Albany, NY USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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quote:Originally posted by Janette Balogh: I'd hate to have to learn something new here, but everytime this happens to me in Corel, I wish I'd have started out with Adobe.
Haha, I hear ya, although I'm sure you would have similar issues no matter what software you were using. Do a search for "Adobe Illustrator crashes"... I'm sure you will find the same kind of conversations going on.
One more thing: try going to "help" and then "update" and see if any updates are available for your X3. That sometimes helps.
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I save ( EVERYTHING ) mostly .AI files to my external hard drive intermittently while in the process of creating something I don't want to lose. It's a hard habit to get into but it makes too much sense not to do... Also photoshop and Flexi 8.5 stuff.
External drives are really cheap...
[ March 29, 2011, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: jack wills ]
-------------------- Jack Wills Studio Design Works 1465 E.Hidalgo Circle Nye Beach / Newport, OR Posts: 2914 | From: Rocklin, CA. USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
Janette, I can't help but wonder what your computer configuration is and whether or not that might have something to do with it. Are you running anything in the background? Music? Photoshop?
Back when I was running X3 on XP with 2 gigs of ram, I had quite a few ARM issues. When I upgraded my computer to Vista 64bit with 8 gigs of ram on a dual-core processor, the problems went away.
I'm currently running X5 on a 6-core with 8 gigs of ram and have never had an issue. This includes running Photoshop CS5, music and Firefox all at the same time.
posted
Just a thought here,...Have you looked for patches and updates on corel.com or called support for help on these issues? If they are a common problem usually corel is pretty good at fixing them. If they aren't they might possibly be a hardware conflict and or problem that corel might have an answer for you. I don't know the answer here but corel pays folks at their help desk who just might,....it doesn't sound like if it was a consistent problem that they would not have addressed it,unless it is specific to your machine in which case they may just have figured out a remedy if you call and ask.
-------------------- fly low...timi/NC is, Tim Barrow Barrow Art Signs Winston-Salem,NC Posts: 2224 | From: Winston-Salem,NC,USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Crashes are a bad thing, and always targeted in throughout the release cycle and SP's.
As other have indicated, you should check to see if you have the latest service pack for X3 installed. Click on Help>About CorelDRAW and it should say build 7hundred something.
T.
-------------------- Tony Severenuk User Experience Designer, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite http://www.coreldraw.com Posts: 62 | From: Ottawa | Registered: Jul 2005
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posted
I think I've had about three such crashes, (X3 & XP), but was able to go to the auto backup (I set it for every 10 minutes) & that was useable.
Don't try & run Win Media Player at the same time though!
-------------------- "Stewey" on chat
"...there are no limits when you aim for perfection..." Jonathan Livingston Seagull Posts: 7014 | From: Highgrove via Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Thanks for all the suggestions. I will indeed check to see if I have all the updates I need. I will give Corel a call too, when I can devote the time.
Just to be clear tho ... I'm most boggled because I WAS SAVING and it would get rid of what I had saved. Really weird as far as I'm concerned.
Thanks so much everyone for letting me vent. I finally got the little graphic I was trying to design done. Only took me 4 crashes, and 3 recreates to do it. Unbelievable. Corel was having a bad day and taking it out on me. haha
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
Nettie, don't laugh (ok, go ahead!) but I'm on Corel 8 and 9 on win 98 and have never had the issues you are having.
And I'm going to thank you now for this post because I've been wanting to upgrade and was unsure of which direction to take. I think it's time to get brave and walk into some unknown territory. What you're saying freaks me out!
posted
I still play around in Corel X3 and have had the odd crash/freeze on XP and Win 7. As soon as I restart Draw it tells me there is an "autoback-up" file and I open it and then immediately save it as the same name as the original. No serious issues here.
Back in earlier versions I had some issues but not with ver X3.
My "auto-backup" is set to every 10 minutes too.
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
I use X3 on XP (for several years now) and have had no crashing problems at all. I use CoCut to send to the plotter. I just hate to say any of this because I fear jinxing myself.
-------------------- Joy Kjer Art On Display Signs 4001 Randolph St Lincoln, NE
"My life has a superb cast, but I can't figure out the plot." Posts: 445 | From: 4001 Randolph St. Lincoln, NE | Registered: Jun 2002
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posted
Joy.. A word of advice...before you crawl out of bed tomorrow...cross your fingers and say a prayer!!!!!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
posted
Janette, just out of curiosity: do you have Cclean, or something similar? That's what I use, and I recommend it to everyone. If your temp internet files are huge, and/or your registry is huge, computer not like. It also has a feature that lets you check what's in the startup folder. A lot of stuff might be running that doesn't need to. However, the software companies are more sneaky these days, and will have stuff startup and run, but they aren't in the startup folder. Control_alt_delete > processes will show what IS running.
If you already know this stuff, kindly disregard the above. If not, it can make a big difference in how your computer runs.
-------------------- James Donahue Donahue Sign Arts 1851 E. Union Valley Rd. Seymour TN. (865) 577-3365 brushman@nxs.net
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what's for lunch, Benjamin Franklin Posts: 2057 | From: 1033 W. Union Valley Rd. | Registered: Feb 2003
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posted
Set your undo levels back down to around 20. Every time you make a change it saves a slice in memory, After a series of work the memory is full up.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I feel your pain- I have had similar issues before with the stupid A.R.M. crashes and autosave not really working right. I found that it was a computer memory issue and some junk files were using all the available memory and X3 couldn't do what is was supposed to do. I got it fixed, but now about a year later it is starting to do it again.
Are you getting an "out of memory" popup warning?
On a positive note- at least Corel has some sort of autosave feature built in- Adobe Illustrator does NOT- it really sucks when it decides to crash because you really end up with nothing.
One trick that i have found is when I start working on a file, I go ahead and save it and name it before I start building stuff in X3- this way the autosave SHOULD kick in, then I periodically hit SAVE to make sure the latest changes are saved- this has worked in a pinch, but I would still look at the computer memory as the main issue, not X3 itself.
BTW- I was one of those who used Corel for years and years (since version 1), then got really tired of messing with all the PC crap and switched to Macs, and started using Illustrator (on a daily basis). I love not having to mess with all the PC issues, but I really dislike Illustrator-- Both programs have strengths and weaknesses, but I work much better an faster in Corel--If I really need a vector image built quick, I just do it in X3 and import it over to Illy, if I have to. I still use X3 for about half of my work.
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1735 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
It's unfair and inappropriate to assume that other software is just as buggy. I had this problem with Corel Draw V on a PC in 1995 and switched to Illustrator on a Mac. My problems disappeared. Gone. Over. Done.
I didn't (and still don't) prefer Illustrator to Corel Draw. But I'll take the stability and reliability over the flashy effects all day long.
I did, (and still do) prefer the Mac to Windows. But that's a topic for another day.
-------------------- Paul Luszcz Zebra Visuals 27 Water Street Plymouth, MA 02360 508 746-9200 paul@zebravisuals.com Posts: 483 | From: 27 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360 | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Paul Luszcz: It's unfair and inappropriate to assume that other software is just as buggy.
I don't think it's unfair, and certainly not inappropriate. Unless these software manufactures have total control over every aspect of your system, (mac or pc) It is very safe to say that any software can experience issues or conflicts with other software and/or hardware. The point being is computers are like snowflakes. They are all a bit different. Differnt combinations of applications and different combinations of hardware. It's hard enough to design websites that work well on everyones computer, I can only imagine what it is like to develop software.
Like I said earlier on in this thread, A simple Google search will show you countless number of threads just like this but about Illustrator, or Photoshop of Flexi etc... It's just the nature of the beast.
[ March 30, 2011, 10:34 AM: Message edited by: Joseph Diaz ]
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
See, I posted a possible fix and the discussion turns into a MAC is god thread. Geeses.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
I wonder if you are on to something Curtis. It does seem like the longer you have Corel up and running and the more complex the work you are doing, the more it seems to get bogged down. I also noticed a huge difference in the stability of several of my programs including Corel when I upgraded from 4Gb to 8Gb. Especially in Adobe Flash CS3. I wonder if I can make that setting change in Flash CS3 too.
-------------------- Joe Diaz Diaz Sign Art 628 W. Lincoln Ave. Pontiac, IL 61764 www.diazsignart.com Posts: 538 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
HANG IN THERE JANETTE!!! IT'S ONLY MONEY ... UPGRADE, UPGRADE, UPGRADE!!! HAHAHAHAHA
yeah, THIS shouldn't be a mac vs pc thread ... issues will always occur with old software vs new software/hardware, etc., ... i had a similar problem on the one mac i have and had to update to a different OS. painful, but problem solved.
you may just have to bite the bullet and update windows
i finally did go to win7, but now i have to update my corel-!!!! turns out corel 9 won't warn you that you are overwriting a file of the same name if you should happen to type a file name in that already exists. It will overwrite yer work. Gotta get a new version of corel, but i may wait for the next version to come out.
hopefully curtis' solution will work
mr. diaz is right ... mac or pc, it is just the nature of the beast
-------------------- Michael Gene Adkins The Fontry 1576 S Hwy 59 Watts OK 74964 Posts: 845 | From: Watts, OK USA | Registered: Jun 1999
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I think that 4 gigs is a minimum these days. 8 seems to be the magic number. I wonder if bumping up to 16 would make any difference. A lot of my files are at least 50 to 75 megs in size.
posted
I've had X3 loaded on a couple of different computers and configurations- it has worked slightly different on each one, but for the most part has been a real workhorse and stable. Like I said, the issues that I have had was mostly hardware related, not software related.
The issues that I'm having with the A.R.M. crashes on this particular machine seem to involve using CorelTRACE- sometimes it just locks everything up, but then it gives me a "out of memory" warning, which goes back to the issue of virtual memory and the computer not using the resources correctly.
The "Undo Levels" trick that Curtis mentioned above does help- I can't remember what the default is set to. but on one version it was high (like 99 levels)
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1735 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
The only other issue I have noticed lately is opening or importing saved files that have a bitmap in the file- some of them are loading the bitmap corrupt and unusable- but I can open it on another machine and it opens fine...
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1735 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
2 gigs memory here. I have always had my undo set to 25.
I'm trying to get some work out today, so when I free up some time to do this, I'll investigate some of my other settings as well. Any other advise is helpful.
Sure to appreciate the feedback from everyone.
Not a fan of this A.R.M. thing here ... obviously. haha
Micheal .. .doncha love it. It's just money, what'd heck, upgrade. sheesh.
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
I like what Joe says about snowflakes. I believe this is more of an issue with Windows
I had these very same problems some years back using ver 8. What for years was a stable program seemingly overnight became a nightmare. It took only a week or two for it to be impossible to save anything. I posted on here, got a ton of advice, did everything everybody suggested and got nowhere. It seems to me if a program has become buggy and you uninstall it and reinstall it things should be OK. They weren't. I had also installed this same program on another computer running ME. My son has this computer now, still using it and has had absolutely no problems out of ver 8. Of course, since this one is running ME and it hasn't been hooked to the internet in ages, nothing in the os has changed. XP on the other hand, even though it's pretty old itself, gets updated and changed more often then my socks.
-------------------- George Perkins Millington,TN. goatwell@bigriver.net
"I started out with nothing and still have most of it left"
Sometime things get a bit glitchy over time and with custom user settings. You can save your user settings, launch Corel while holding F8 down and it will revert to factory settings, try it and see if glitches smarten up and them reload your previous user settings, if glitches come back then go with factory settings and rebuild your user settings.
Had more issues with X5, couldn't use it in shop on win 7 Machines until service pack 2 was launched.
Dont forget we're all transitioning to a 64 bit universe, there's bound to be teething issues. I expect (hope) X6 will be a true 64 bit application.
I remember when we transitioned from 16 bit to 32 bit, Corel 6 was a dog hastily released to run on windows 95, Corel 7 was much better.
Another thing to consider if you are thinking of changing to illustrator is what becomes of your archived files. How well (or at all) does illustrator deal with Corel files, Will you forever be opening files in corel to export into illustrator. Will you maintain Corel onto new platforms as you replace computers and operating systems. I know we have one hell of a big library of customer files that we constantly use, either to reprint files, or to use elements for new work.
[ March 30, 2011, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: Mike O'Neill ]
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
posted
Janette - coming into this late, and I didn't read all the posts, so maybe this was mentioned -
But.. as a guy that uses Illustrator just about 100% of the time, I can say: Don't look for Adobe Illustrator to be any better - and it's probably worse as far as bugs and stability goes.
At least Corel does an 'auto-backup' which saves a copy of the file you work on as you save along-the-way. Not so with Adobe.
Your file goes south in Illustrator? You have no recourse. And this stinkin' program locks up all the time, and always has since I first started using it 13 years ago... doesn't matter what version either. Out of Memory errors frequently (I have 12 gb of ram - go figure that?!).... and 'Cannot save File' errors as you're trying to save...etc.
So... I say, upgrade to X5 and make sure your auto-backup is setup correctly in Corel.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Rolling On The Floor]](graemlins/rolf.gif)
They are all a bit different. Differnt combinations of applications and different combinations of hardware. It's hard enough to design websites that work well on everyones computer, I can only imagine what it is like to develop software. 
![[I Don t Know]](graemlins/dunno.gif)
Of course, since this one is running ME and it hasn't been hooked to the internet in ages, nothing in the os has changed. XP on the other hand, even though it's pretty old itself, gets updated and changed more often then my socks.
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