I tried another version of Radioboss it still does the same crap after 3 to 3 1/2 days it plays a track for 30 seconds to 1min then the audio drops 70% lower this program is junk I have tired 4 different version. Still have not found a free or decent priced computer with decent specs running XP. If I do not find another computer in 5 to 7 days I am done with my internet station. I have spent way to much time testing out Radio audiomation programs to keep going.
DJboutit says: "If I do not find another computer in 5 to 7 days I am done with my internet station."
Carl Blare advises: Give yourself 3-months, DJ... 7-days is not enough time.
Part of this hobby is the trial and error and the exploration and the experimentation that it takes to make everything work.
Working with computers can be like trying to build a house out of gravel... ir keeps sliding apart.
I'm just about to start experimenting with RadioBoss... I'll be happy to post my experience here for others to learn, but I'm getting into it kind of slow because of other projects also sharing time.
Try e-bay. At least you get some sort of warranty from e-bay if the seller is selling it as 'Used' and it doesn't work. You really have to know what you're looking at if you try to buy 2nd hand at pawn shops, garage sales, thrift shops, etc.
I'd go for a laptop - if it's more than a few years old, few want it and generally you can find them for around $50, maybe a bit more (the really old ones generally go for a lot more, as they're considered somewhat 'collectable' - the only collectable thing about most of them is dust). I recently purchased an HP Elitebook (a very decent computer, by the way) with docking station, decent specs, capable of running even Windows 7/8, and paid on a Buy It Now listing C$60 (well under US$50).
You have something else going on. Try collecting stamps.
Would Zararadio work on Windows or would X86 or x64 version of XP better??
I don't think I've ever loaded Zara on a x64 system, at least not that I recall. Almost every computer I've ever used Zara on has been with XP on an older laptop or desktop, with proccesing ranges from petium 1 to 3, and as low as 256mb ram, but usually more like 500-800 but's that's usually all. They all purred along fine with no problem for weeks and even months without a reboot.
However I should mention they were all usually dedicated just for Zara, and I didn't use them for anything else. Also they were "compact" versions of XP, in that I had essentially hacked out all aspects of the operating system which were uneeded and burned a new XP install cd (there are numerous tutorials online on how to do this) --But I just mention that, not any of that is neccessary, but what it does is streamline to the operating system to bare bones and thus makes it run a lot smoother and faster, I use to install XP on obsolete 486 machines like this with great success..
But I digress, so disregard all that, and don't let any of that throw you off.. The whole point is that Zara doesn't require much at all and will run like a champ. I advise to simply use whatever XP machine you can get your hands on and your basically set to go.
Zara itself doesn't need much, but when it needs the cycles, it really wants them - if it doesn't get them, you'll get audio stuttering.
What is best for you really depends on what else you're running on the computer. If you're running audio processing software, streaming encoding or serving, etc., then you really do require something newer than XP as your operating system. XP doesn't multitask all that well, and if your computer has more than 1 core, it doesn't take advantage of the multiple cores. Vista or even Windows 7 would be better choices. And an X64 machine would give you some extra cycles.
Good points. But I just want to mention, although I heard an occassional mention of this "stuttering" or other problem.. I can not recall ever experiencing something like that myself in over ten years time, and I've always utilized old rather under-powered computers.
It never fails to surprise me when I hear people say something like that!
Zara runs fine on x64. The darned thing will literally run on anything. In my experience Zara has not been very demanding on resources but can certainly stutter if something else on the PC starts using the available CPU. This problem can be completely avoided by using a pro-grade soundcard. (The audio files are loaded on the card's RAM and not dependant on the CPU or PC RAM.)
I have only had Zara stutter on a Toshiba Netbook running Win7 Starter.
Yep, Mighty! I have a Toshiba Satellite L745 laptop with Windows 7. It WILL NOT run Zara. I loaded erased and loaded it 3 times. I load the Play List, hit "play" and it blinks. Nothing else. Nothing plays. My Dell 1500 laptop with XP runs it flawlessly. The sound card is shot on that, though.
Doug
I never did find out why that Toshiba had issues with Zara, it would also not run edcast very long either.
I am going to a place that sells used computers I hope Zara will work with Windows 2000 that is all I have. I might have to formant the computer and install 2000.
Yes, both Zara 1.4.4 and 1.6 work well with Windows 2000. In fact, it probably runs better than on XP and newer operating systems. If you want to generate an Internet stream, you'll have to use Oddcast Standalone (as EdCast Standalone doesn't work on 2000).
The biggest problem you might have is to find other Windows 2000 software to support your station, as it's getting very old right now (and maybe device drivers if you have other hardware to support).
I got a Compaq DC5800 with 4gb ram and 250gb hd $70. It took like 90 min to get it to load I pull out the video card and wifi card now it loads. It will take 3 to 5 hrs to format and install windows 2000.
I used to own one of those. It will do nicely, particularly under Windows 2000. Just make sure it has Windows 2000 drivers for it (chipset, audio, etc.).