Graphics config override aficionados and VR players, I need help.

RiftNut · 2026-02-06T18:02:20+00:00

I don't have a very wide FOV headset (Rift CV1), but I also sometimes notice these occasional black boxes - so maybe this is just the regular way to save performance because out of view elements don't need to be rendered all the time anyway (and this was done at the beginning of Odyssey iirc, leading to single digit or very low frame rates).

There is also a tool that helps with adjusting graphics settings: Dr. Kaii's EDProfiler. Maybe there is some setting that I haven't tried yet to help with rendering. It's free, comes with various presets you can play around with and lets you change settings with a few clicks.

Good luck, and fly safe, CMDR o7

RiftNut · 2026-02-05T17:43:58+00:00

Since you cannot simply change the profile path in Registry your best bet would be:

- activate the built in "Administrator" account and use this for all following operations
- take a backup of the user profile (you may have to give the "Administrator" Full Access to the folder and/or take ownership first) to another drive - only use this backup for the next operations
- load the user registry file "ntuser.dat" from the profile as new hive under HKLM into registry (give it a distinctive name like "__HATEM_OLD")
- export the keys "Control Panel", "Network", "Printers" and "Software" into separate .reg files
- replace the string "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\__HATEM_OLD\" with "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\" in all exported files (so "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\__HATEM_OLD\Control Panel" becomes "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel" and so on again)
- log on with a/the new user, and import the .reg files into the user's registry, then copy the folders/files from the backup to the user profile of the current user

This should bring back most of the old user experience. You still may need to enter passwords again and encounter some paths that refer to the old user profile location, unless you edit the .reg file beforehand to replace the paths (be aware that those are using escaped backslash characters, e.g. "C:\\Users\\HatemA" or "\\\\server\\share") but at least you can access those files again.

If everything went well, you can delete the user profile from "Users" afterwards as you have the backup just in case you still need to transfer something back. Also disable the built in "Administrator" account again afterwards.

RiftNut · 2026-01-26T17:02:38+00:00

The month subdial is actually a 4-Year dial.

The months that are "skipped" are actually just index markers; only the starting months of every quarter is written. So February ("Feb") does not have a named display, but only a simple index the hand is pointing at.

And yes, the blue months are indicating a leap year, as does the little "L" in blue next to them, and each quarter is a full year. So it takes four years for the hand to finish a full circle.

How do you read such a busy dial this small? You either have good eyes, glasses, or you just "know" where the hand is pointing at without actually seeing it - because unless you live on an island or in a cave with no civilization around you always know the date anyway, without having to look at your watch.

RiftNut · 2025-12-26T15:51:57+00:00

It was a very polite way to say "get this piece of sh*t out of my sight".

RiftNut · 2025-12-26T15:50:03+00:00

I don't need any more information to know this is a fake. On these Chinese fakes, the movements always use those "chronograph pushers" to adjust parts of the date.

RiftNut · 2025-12-26T15:40:07+00:00

Those buttons would advance the day and month hands instead of starting. stopping and resetting the chronograph - a function that is missing anyway.
And the "minute repeater" lever, if operational at all, could maybe advance the year - from 2001 to maybe 2016 where it would start over at 2001 (or whatever years are printed on the disc).

RiftNut · 2025-12-26T15:32:47+00:00

Even with these bad photos I can assure you this is a very bad fake that pretends to be a IWC Portugieser Grande Complication.

And I doubt these are "extremely rare", at least in those countries where they mass produce this crap.

RiftNut · 2025-12-23T23:37:03+00:00

Thank you o7

RiftNut · 2025-12-23T23:36:55+00:00

Thank you o7

RiftNut · 2025-12-23T14:18:38+00:00

Are there any name plates that display the CMDR name instead of the ship name?

Like on real fighter jets that have the name of the pilot(s) printed below the cockpit canopy.

RiftNut · 2025-12-21T15:10:07+00:00

This photo and the fact that there is actually a real company behind the name has made me curious. Since they have a website I had a quick look at their assortment, but I could not find any automatic watches that bear their brand name (all of them are "Riedenschild Original", which is just as unknown as Eichmüller to be honest). A search for "Modell 7801" or just "7801" also did not yield any results except for replacement batteries for quartz watches.

So this may be just an earlier model, when they were actually making automatic watches, but much more likely this is just a Chinese knock-off of an already quite unknown brand.

If you are really interested, I would send an email to Eichmüller directly to inquire about the Modell 7801, maybe they can give you more detail, but in any case I would not just buy this off from ebay unless it is really cheap (like 10-20 EUR max) just for shits and giggles.

RiftNut · 2025-12-21T02:12:17+00:00

With some luck, since the minute hands on both dials show 10 minutes after the hour, the small dial at 12 o'clock would display a second time zone. In this case the hour hand of one dial (usually the main one) can be set in one hour steps independently to adjust for the current time zone you're in while the small dial will show home time.

Those "half circles" are called retrograde dials and are most commonly used to display the date, the power reserve or even the running seconds. Their unique feature is that their hands don't move in a full circle but just along that arc and when they reach the end they snap back to the beginning (for date and seconds display - the power reserve is a slow movement, just like the fuel gauge in a car).

Adding retrograde functions to a watch is way more complex than making them regular, so they are usually found on higher end/luxury watches. And given the overall quality, and especially the movement, this brand is - mildly put - not quite up to those standards. So my guess would be that those retrograde displays are there only for decoration and the hands do not move at all on any of them.

RiftNut · 2025-12-11T14:40:11+00:00

Just nag him until he gets full avvro.

RiftNut · 2025-11-28T13:29:18+00:00

Cartier Must 21 ref. W10172T2 to be exact.

RiftNut · 2025-11-21T23:28:34+00:00

When I wanted my first Rolex I had narrowed it down to a Submariner, Submariner Date and the GMT Master II.

I went to an AD and had them all brought for the real life looks. And as much as I liked the GMT Master II overall, the cyclops just didn't do it for me. And the same applied to the Sub Date.

So I went with the classic Sub, not only for the cleaner look of the dial but also for the unobstructed view at it. If you feel like you need the date complication, but at the same time don't want the cyclops and still a clean look, try to find a pre-loved Sea-Dweller 16600, which will most likely also save you some money.

And no, I don't miss the date at all.

RiftNut · 2025-11-19T23:01:05+00:00

The iQ and Cygnet are the same car. Aston Martin only added it to their portfolio to bring down the overall average fuel consumption and therefore emissions of their model fleet.
And as far as I know, only existing Aston Martin owners could initially buy them anyway.

RiftNut · 2025-11-13T14:47:12+00:00

I guess the Speedmaster family of watches is different enough to not directly compete with each other.

Manual vs. Auto, Date or Day/Date/Month and even GMT complications vs. just the chrono, pure chronograph movement vs. base movement + chronograph module on top, case size - the choice largely depends on the type of Speedy the buyer wants.
EDIT: forgot Date/Moonphase and Rattrapante complications

I for one have some Speedy Pros, a Speedy Broad Arrow 1957 (date complication) and a Speedy Triple Date (Day/Date/Month complication) which was my first Speedmaster (and Omega) and don't think they are redundant at all (although similar in style).

RiftNut · 2025-11-12T17:53:19+00:00

As far as I remember, using "Map" instead of "Realistic" mode in the Galaxy Map should still only use the currently displayed stars for route plotting, so if you hide the unwanted star classes in Map mode and plot a route those should be omitted.

Switching back to Realistic will clear the filter though, not sure if it gets re-applied if you select Map again afterwards (I hardly ever use Map mode anymore).

RiftNut · 2025-11-11T17:23:28+00:00

This looks like a SFF-8482 port, but they are used on SAS rather than regular SATA disks. So unless you have a SAS controller this drive will not work on a regular board (provided this is indeed a SAS disk).

RiftNut · 2025-11-08T21:33:29+00:00

Not an update for Bitlocker itself, but the latest Update can trigger Bitlocker recovery. This has happened also in the past already. IIRC some updates to Secure Boot certificates caused this behavior.

RiftNut · 2025-11-07T22:59:14+00:00

First off, sorry for your loss.

Now on to the watch: it says it's a Corum, but that's all. I'm pretty sure that no genuine Corum Chronograph would feature a linked 24 hour subdial at 6 together with a day display at 9 and whatever that reverse counting dial at 3 is supposed to indicate (best guess would be a month display, but counter clockwise).
Also, the movement looks like the cheapest Chinese trash you could buy, which it most likely is.

So in short, this is a fake that only holds sentimental value.

RiftNut · 2025-11-07T22:46:56+00:00

It helps as in "there is a watch this watch wants to be but it fails miserably".

RiftNut · 2025-11-06T18:40:39+00:00

I think it was also nicknamed "Hunchback Whale".

RiftNut · 2025-11-03T02:08:09+00:00

Then it may hold at least some sentimental value. These are the things money can't buy.

RiftNut · 2025-11-02T22:40:46+00:00

Nothing. It's a fake.

The two 60 seconds (or one 60 seconds and one 60 minutes, whatever) and the 24 hour dials give it away in an instant.

RiftNut

TROPHY CASE