I've been using BlackICE PC Protection for years on my 32-bit Epox 8RDA+
running WinXP Pro SP2 (as well as other machines) w/o problems. A month
or so ago I built a new box based on the 9NPA+Ultra. I'd slipstreamed
SP2 into my Windows XP install CD, so I used that and then applied all
the necessary updates from Microsoft. This system is running no software
that I was not running on my 8RDA+.
Shortly after installing Windows, I installed the latest version of
BlackICE, which was version 3.6cor at the time. Almost immediately, the
machine started rebooting upon network access. So I uninstalled BlackICE
and the machine went back to being rock solid. Over the last few weeks,
I've continued to tweak my sytem, disabling unnecessary services and
installing the rest of my software (again, nothing that wasn't running
fine on my 8RDA+).
I planned to try BlackICE again once I'd tweaked the system and turned
off unnecessary services, figuring something was conflicting with the
BlackICE service. In the meantime, I've been using the Windows Firewall
without incident.
Well tonight I finally got around to installing WSFTP Pro 2006.1, and I
found that Windows Firewall blocks outgoing FTP! I tried creating an
exception for WSFTP, as I really don't want to open ports 21, 22, 990
and possibly others just so I can do an occasional
FTP. (WF also blocks
outgoing FTP from the Windows command line.) Unfortunately, creating the
exception for WSFTP did not resolve the issue, so I turned off the
Windows Firewall, disabled the service, and installed BlackICE 3.6cou
(now the latest version). Almost immediately, the system started
rebooting. It seems worse than I recall when I initially installed
BlackICE 3.6cor.
When I installed my system, I used v6.70 of the nVidia unified drivers.
Having heard there were issues with the firewall and storage drivers, I
did not install these.
As my home LAN is behind a Linksys router, it's not imperative that I
run a software firewall. But I like to for extra security, and once I
get around to installing my ServU FTP server, I will definitely want a
software firewall, since I will have to open & forward multiple ports on
my router.
So my question is, has anyone heard of issues with BlackICE and 32-bit
Windows XP SP2 on 64-bit platforms? I'd really like to be able to run
BlackICE, because I happen to like it, and also because I'd just renewed
my license for two years before I bought the hardware to build my 64-bit
system.
My system specs:
EP-9NPA+Ultra
Athlon64 3800 Venice
Kingston HyperX PC3200 2x512MB (model A)
Asus Geforce 6600
Seagate 160GB SATA2
Seagate 250GB SATA
NEC ND-3540A DVD writer
Lite-On XJ-HD166S (16x DVD-Rom)
Any insights greatly appreciated!
Regards,
Margaret