vikiw_bend

I currently use an HP  Pavilion Elite HPE desktop, almost 7 years old.

• Quad core i7 960@3.2 GHz
• 20 GB Ram, 2 sticks new this year
• 1.5T Seagate HDD
• New GeForce GTX1060 w/ 6GB
• 2 monitors
• Running Chief X9
• Windows 10 64 bit.

Something is going on with the system. I've done checks of the RAM and HDD for physical problems, they are ok. I'm getting BSODs and various other errors.

Two options:

• Have a computer person sweep everything clean and install a fresh copy of Windows 10, then reinstall all my programs, etc. (I thought about doing it myself, but I would probably make things worse), my person estimated about $1700 to do all of it.
• Buy a new system, $2k or more would be the budget.

Advice? Am I beating an almost dead horse to keep the one I have? What would you buy in my price range? NOT HP or Dell. I am done with HP and Dell products.

I need to decide pronto. I am leaving for a week's vacation Saturday, and can give up my desktop to be fixed while I'm gone.Been shopping online, but haven't narrowed it down yet.

Doesn't matter at this point, just want to create the look.

Does anyone know how to create a siding material that is horizontal lap with planks of different widths, example 8", 8", 4"?

Also, David, what is the most efficient way to group the individual files into a package that is user-friendly for the recipient?

David Potter, have you used your technique to create .dwg files that could be sold to a stock plan buyer?

Adding the Complete Break tool to my hotkeys works!! Thanks for the tip, Michael. Larry, thanks for making the vid, but that's the extra step I want to avoid. It's so much easier to press the two hotkeys.

These new tools might be fine for drawing, once you get used to them, but as far as editing, they are frustrating. For instance, they affect your ability to break a CAD line. For instance, you double click the Break Line tool, and in X7 or previous, you now had 2 individual line segments. In X8, no matter how you have the Connect/Disconnect CAD or the Disconnect Edges tools set, a double click on the Break Line tool gives you the same result as a single click: you now have a 2-segment polyline. So there are extra steps required now, to toggle Disconnect Edges and select the line again, then move an end of the line segment.It is a royal PITA. 

Thank you all for your input. The majority opinion seems to be that Windows 10 is just fine. Guess I'll stay with it and learn to work around the annoyances you have spoken of. The local community college continuing ed has a class on Windows 10 coming up soon, think I'll take it.

I just did the free download of Windows 10, but I'm not sure I want to keep it. I'd like to hear others' experiences and pros and cons.

I'm using x8 on a Hewlett-Packard HPE-480t, 64 bit system with 3.2 GHz i7 Core processor, IDE drive, and 9G RAM, and an AMD Radeon HD 5700 series graphics card. I use two monitors. The system is a few years old, but still does what I need.

So, what do you like and not like about Windows 10, and has it had any good/bad effect on your productivity, speed or efficiency using Chief?

I just got a Samsung Galaxy Tab E. Not what I would have picked out for myself, but it was "free" with my new phone (except for the 24 months of monthly access charges). I loaded Room Planner on it with the idea of using it in the field for as-built measurements and layout. But I don't have a clue where or how to start. If I (or an assistant) use a tape measure, then input dimensions manually, will that work out accurately enough to transfer back to CA? Or, can someone recommend a decent priced laser measure? Have you used a laser with a bluetooth hookup, and how does that work out? Does Room Planner handle anything complex?

This is all very new to me - it's always been tape measure, pencil and pad (and lots and lots of time), and now with digital photos for reference. I can use all the help I can get.

Room Planner is cheap, but even so, do you think it's worth having in terms of time saved vs hassle?

Update: I tried to break my line using the icon instead of my hotkey, the complete break icon appeared, I clicked it, and got an assertion failure. Yipes! Sent it in.

That works in X7, but not in X8. There is a new command called Complete Break, but I can't get it to work. According to the manual, you select your line, hit the Break icon, then the Complete Break icon, but the Complete Break icon does not appear anywhere to click. I have Break on a hotkey, and in X7 could just click it twice to make a complete break. I tried assigning a hot key to Complete Break, but it does not work. Time for a bug report.

Not sure if this is a bug, or user error, but WTF is this bizarre linear entity in my camera view, and how do I make it go away?

Scott, I must have a doppleganger somewhere  Thanks for the tips. If I put the wall on the attic floor, it still leaves a triangle gap below. Having a separate layer for those walls sounds like the best idea. Pretty easy fix. 

I have never known how to resolve this situation. You have a second story dormer drawn manually. The walls for the room below do not extend as far as where the main and dormer roofs intersect. In an exterior camera view, there is a triangular gap. Now, if I add a wall section to close in that gap, and do "roof cuts wall at bottom", and indicate a room divider for the lower wall type, it shows accurately on the camera view, and also on an interior camera view, but on the floor plan, the wall still shows up. I've attached a picture. In the past, I've just extended the wall to close the gap when I'm doing exterior views, then pulled it back for the floor plans, but that's a royal pain. Any ideas?

I've had to deal with this situation for a particular builder who combines a special CMU wall product with sections of regular framing. The windows and doors go in the regular framing, and the sections are often barely wider than the window. Chief, being a smarter-than-the-average-bear program, assumes you can't possibly want to do what you are trying to do, so it forces a certain distance for framing. So, either my windows won't center, or Chief makes them narrower, no matter what I input. The workaround I've found is to begin with all the walls the same wall type, the CMU block. Once I've positioned and dimensioned the windows and doors, and as far into the work sequence as possible, then I break the walls and change the sections to framing. And hope nothing changes.

Checked the referenced plans dbx and it is clean, so it's all good. Thanks for the replies.

I am using X6. And I want to remove any links to existing plan files so this is a clean layout template. I deleted all the layout boxes and so far, so good. I was just wondering if there could still be "ghosts" of formerly linked plan files.

I modified an old layout file on the fly while doing a project, but if I saved it as a template before beginning to link files, I can't find it now. So, what is the best way to delete the links in this layout file so I can save it as a template?

Thanks, Joey, that sounds worth setting up.

Thanks, I'll try these suggestions.

I could use some help on this. I use a light gray for entities that are for reference. An example on a current plan is showing the plumbing fixtures on the wall and floor framing plans, or showing skylights "above" on plans other than the roof framing plan. However, when I turn off the colors in the drawing file, or when I send it to layout, everything becomes uniformly black. What do I need to do so that in a monochrome print, entities that are supposed to be "background" will show up as a light gray? I'm using X6. Appreciate the help.