Well, it says "Local Access Only". You'll probably have to figure out why your router is not giving you access to the internet.

Well, it says "Local Access Only". You'll probably have to figure out why your router is not giving you access to the internet.

Bingo. I get this frequently, due to both my crappy router and crappy wireless card. Repairing the connection solves it, normally,

If there are specific locations in the house where the signal is bad to nonexistent, you may be able to focus it. Look up on google on how to make directional antenna's for routers. It may help. Also see if you cant switch the channel the router is using. Its likely that if you live in a populated area that there is interference with other nearby routers.

A question -- how else do people isolate problems with computers?
For example, if I'm having trouble opening a file, I try another program to see if its the file or the program. Or, if I suspect the OS is doing something weird, I pop in a Knoppix disc to check it out. Or safe mode. Or inspecting crash dumps. Or VirusTotal (thing that lets you run a file through 30+ AVs)

I found these hardware flowcharts, which is pretty good, I'd consider buying the book if I were to go into computer repair --
http://www.fonerbooks.com/pcrepair.htm
The poster is pretty cool, too, but a) you have to take it into a printer shop to print properly and b) I have no room!

google the problem, see what its related to, test that part. Check the error logs, etc. I just kinda go on intuition, it works most of the time.

I prefer to isolate problems before working on them so I don't waste my time or mess up things further.

Firefox:

Has an option so it remebers your open tabs, and reopens them all when you open and close firefox.

Somehow i've accidentally told it not to. Where do i look to re-enable this feature?

Firefox:

Has an option so it remebers your open tabs, and reopens them all when you open and close firefox.

Somehow i've accidentally told it not to. Where do i look to re-enable this feature?

I think it's called Session Manager, but I can't remember where it is. I googled it and got an addon. (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2324) :dunno:

Nah, its just a standard feature.. this is on college computers so i don't think i could add stuff anyway

http://support.mozilla.com/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?locale=en-US&comments_parentId=55062&forumId=1

1. Enter about:config in the Location bar
2. Type browser.sessionstore.enabled in the "Filter"
3. Make sure the browser.sessionstore.enabled preference is true.

I've heard about these little boxes that allow you to plug in the peripherals, and switch them between computers easily. what are these officially called?

A/B switches. They're not as common as they used to be, what with networking and all.

Sounds like an A/B switch.

Edit: Blast you, Turner! :mad: :lol:

thanks :) 10chairs

Oh, I'm used to calling them a KVM switch (keyboard, video, mouse). I use one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switch

Also commonly known as KVM switches.

edit: I thought the law of averages would protect me from cross-post. :(

Hehe. Do you ever find yourself becoming anxious when you go to hit the submit button? (Don't answer that :D)

There's a lot of crossposting lately. :lol:

There are also USB hubs, now that many peripherals use USB.

Is it true that "kernel panic" is the Linux version of the BSOD?

EDIT: Also, why on YouTube would turning on HQ make the video turn green? I can see the shapes, but it's all green static. when I go back to normal quality, it's fine. :dunno:

I would think that is caused by the clip not being up to being expanded. So it's giving your browser bad info.

I would think that is caused by the clip not being up to being expanded. So it's giving your browser bad info.

Thanks. I thought it may have been do with a codec, because I often noticed if I used the wrong codec on a video exported from VirtualDub or Avidemux, the first few seconds would be funny colors and/or froze, then it'd work okay.

That could be. the millions of codexs needed to play everything on the net is annoying as hell.

I've been considering convincing mom to let me order this (obviously, we need a paypal first) and me self-install in my home computer, just to get used to plugging things in. Is it a good price? (I'll be sure to measure my case fan, first, the 120mm one is 8.99. The reviews are good, they push a lot of air, although tend to be noisy.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998108

That could be. the millions of codexs needed to play everything on the net is annoying as hell.

I've found ffdshow to be a good video decoder.

I've been considering convincing mom to let me order this (obviously, we need a paypal first) and me self-install in my home computer, just to get used to plugging things in. Is it a good price? (I'll be sure to measure my case fan, first, the 120mm one is 8.99. The reviews are good, they push a lot of air, although tend to be noisy.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998108

Hard to go wrong for $5. But you really don't need something with multi colored lights.

Hard to go wrong for $5. But you really don't need something with multi colored lights.

Well, if you have a choice between a boring looking one and a cool colored one, and they're both the same price and features, what would you go with? :p

I mean, it's not my main deciding feature.

I'd go with a review that said it lasted a long time or was quiet. ;)

I've been considering convincing mom to let me order this (obviously, we need a paypal first) and me self-install in my home computer, just to get used to plugging things in. Is it a good price? (I'll be sure to measure my case fan, first, the 120mm one is 8.99. The reviews are good, they push a lot of air, although tend to be noisy.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998108

Newegg.com doesn't ship to Canada.

And paypal is brutal, go with some other form of payment.

Well I was thinking also a computer shop around here may be able to order direct from manufacturer, or something. I don't think straight when I'm all doped up on ibuprofen (old injury flared up again)

If you have four rubber pads at the bottom of the case, and one of them falls off, can that increase the noise in the HDD, optical drives and/or fan? I noticed that when pulling it out to send in, just one of those stick-on rubber things, so perhaps the case was rattling a little more than it should have?

Newegg.com doesn't ship to Canada.

And paypal is brutal, go with some other form of payment.

Newegg.ca doesn't ship to Canada? http://www.newegg.ca/ http://4fxearth.net/phpBB2/smilies_mod/upload/d6954bbe44b0aa08f2efed9c7284ce9f.gif

Newegg.ca doesn't ship to Canada? http://www.newegg.ca/ http://4fxearth.net/phpBB2/smilies_mod/upload/d6954bbe44b0aa08f2efed9c7284ce9f.gif

newegg.ca ships to Canada, newegg.com doesn't. ;)

newegg.ca typically isn't best for prices in Canada though.

I know, but there aren't many computer stores around here (I think some big-box stores, Staples, and a few small businesses) that sell stuff. The two main ones I can think of are G & G Computers & Failsafe.
http://www.gandgcomputers.ca/
http://www.failsafe-computer.com/

I think we used to get keyboards at failsafe (they kept breaking, either because we spilled drinks on them or the cat decided it was a nice bed), before we had a car, because everything else was too far away. Then we got a car and they moved to the other side of town. (Correlation = Causation? Nah.)

Audacity? You'll need lame_enc.dll, though.

Is it free?

Audacity is free. So is lame.

If you have a choice between a slower dual-core processor (for this example, say 1 GhZ) and a faster single-core (2 GhZ), which would be more powerful/efficient/better? (This is purely hypothetical, I'm not even sure if there's a 2 GhZ single-core.)

EDIT: This is also assuming they're the same brand/line, e.g. AMD Athlon (which, IIRC, makes both single and dual-cores)

ANOTHER EDIT: Also, what are the advantages of dual-core processors? If I understood an article I read correctly, you can run two processor-intensive tasks without so much lag, is this correct?

Id always always choose the dual-core. Better multitasking, a lot more games can take advantage of them too. This is Zelig's territory to explain.
The only benefit I see from a single-core is power usage.

The only benefit I see from a single-core is power usage.

And price?

its not a worthwhile downgrade in price. Much better performance/$ for a dual-core than a single core.

If you have a choice between a slower dual-core processor (for this example, say 1 GhZ) and a faster single-core (2 GhZ), which would be more powerful/efficient/better? (This is purely hypothetical, I'm not even sure if there's a 2 GhZ single-core.)

EDIT: This is also assuming they're the same brand/line, e.g. AMD Athlon (which, IIRC, makes both single and dual-cores)

ANOTHER EDIT: Also, what are the advantages of dual-core processors? If I understood an article I read correctly, you can run two processor-intensive tasks without so much lag, is this correct?At a ratio of 2:1 in performance, the single core is undeniably better. (Note that clock speed is not always the best metric of performance) Having one core means that the entire CPU can be used to run a single sequential task. this is not possible with two cores.

The advantage of dual is that they are much cheaper than single cores with double the speed of the core; it is cheaper for hardware manufacturers to add more cores than to speed up a single core.

The disadvantage is that adding an additional core does not increase application performance by the speed of the core. Depending on the application the observed speedup is much less. Applications that are made to use more cores run faster with more cores. Many applications cannot use more than 1 core. Most do not receive the x2 speedup of running on two cores. Even applications that are made to run on multi cores, the benefit of adding more cores decreases quickly with the amount of cores.

Therefore the optimal solution is to have a small number of fast cores. I would recommend 2 in the current market. I haven't looked at any numbers, but as a programmer I understand the difficulty of balancing an application over multiple cores. It is difficult and there are few ideas on know to make it easier.

And price?

You can get a 2.0 GHz dual-core Celeron for $50 and a 2.8 GHz dual-core Athlon 64 X2 for $58.

Not really any useful savings worth mentioning by going slower than those.

edit: FWIW, dual core has been mainstream for years now, there really isn't any meaningful discussion regarding single core processors anymore. Intel is set to unleash their dual-CPU Xeon setup tomorrow, for 16 threads of fun, and their dual-CPU i7 platform very shortly.

I get it now, thanks. :)

If you switch a processor in a computer, does it require a reinstall?

The only benefit I see from a single-core is power usage.For a buyer this is not a factor. A single core may use less power than a dual core, when run at full capacity, but the issue with dual core is that it is rarely run at full capacity. So you are sacrificing performance for power.

It is really hard for a non trivial application to be balancing itself such that it is always doing to computations at a time during high load (whenever something needs to be computed ASAP). This is as needed to fully capitalize on two cores. Doing four or eight calculations at a time is even harder.

I read somewhere that if you have CPU-intensive programs which don't take advantage of dual-core, you can simultaneously run two of them at the same time without them competing. Is this true?

I read somewhere that if you have CPU-intensive programs which don't take advantage of dual-core, you can simultaneously run two of them at the same time without them competing. Is this true?Generally Yes. It will also make it easier to multi task since the OS and other non intensive processes are not competing with the 1 intensive program you are running.

Depends. Folding at Home is one example I can think of where you can run more than one copy, as long as each process' Machine ID is different and their work directories are different.

I agree with Souron for explaining this a handful of posts back.

IMO dual core processors are an unfortunate complication to the processor world caused by the relative difficulty of manufacturing single cores at higher speeds. Getting them to use their processing power efficiently is an oxymoron.

What is the best way to transfer files (movies, music) from laptop to computer?

I have a memory stick of 500 megish but it blows since movies are bigger.

I don't have the cable you need either. I've been looking.

What is the best way to transfer files (movies, music) from laptop to computer?

I have a memory stick of 500 megish but it blows since movies are bigger.

I don't have the cable you need either. I've been looking.

I've used writable CDs/DVDs. Preferably RW as you can reuse them, although more expensive. Make sure to add the music as files, more efficient, and you can get a huge spindle of discs at a decent price.

Or an external HDD, they can have more space than USB drives. And you can also use for backup, but if you do use as backup go with a reliable brand (from what I know, Western Digitals and Seagates are pretty decent. A good way to check a specific drive is to check the reviews on Newegg, even if you're not buying it from there.)

The third alternative is to get one of those external drive cases, but I don't know much about hard drives for laptops, if they need a different one or not.

Or just get another USB stick. :p

I don't have a burner on my laptop.

I have an external HDD backup of 200 gig. But it's broken.

Is it something you need a cord for?

I have a portable hard drive, which is smaller than a standard external, and it came with the cord. One end plugs into the USB port on the computer, the other one (which is a smaller version of a USB plug) goes into the drive.

I also think some bigger external drives need to be plugged into an outlet, as the USB doesn't provide enough power for it to run.

What is the best way to transfer files (movies, music) from laptop to computer?

Via network. Put them on the same network, and share the appropriate folders.

Do mainframes still exist? I tried googling it, no luck.

Very much so. IBM still makes them.
A mainframe is pretty much a computer focused on a lot of calculations with a lot of input/output.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mainframe_computer
LTG aimee, or at least LTW.

What are they used for?

Did you read the link?

Okay, now I see. Was looking in the wrong section of the link. Stupid me. :blush:

I want the clock in my tray to show seconds. Right now it says 2:19 AM, I want it to say 2:19:48 AM. Is this possible? I can't find anything in the regional or date and time settings. Google shows me some shareware stuff but I don't want that. It's Vista.

Dont think Windows has the option to do that. They removed it back in the Windows 95 days because it was using up too much memory, and never put it back. Imho, I dont mind it. A changing seconds display in the corner would attract my attention too much and distract me from what I am doing.

In RAM, what does "random access" mean exactly? I know that on older computers, they ran on tapes, which all the programs were in a certain order, and you had to rewind or fast forward to the program you wanted. While on hard drives you don't have to, it'll find it on its own. Does it have anything to do with that?

In RAM, what does "random access" mean exactly? I know that on older computers, they ran on tapes, which all the programs were in a certain order, and you had to rewind or fast forward to the program you wanted. While on hard drives you don't have to, it'll find it on its own. Does it have anything to do with that?

LTG aimee, or at least LTW.

Indeed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAM

You know, aimee, I can appreciate your inquiring mind. Really, I can. But a lot of these could be answered with a few searches on Google or Wiki. ;)

It makes sense now.

Another question: While in the repair shop, I seen a computer with four optical drives. WTF???

There's nothing stopping you from doing that. The reason to do that if they are read/write drives is to do a lot of disk copying.

Well, I didn't see exactly what they were.

My new computer comes with LCD monitor. :)

Why exactly don't you touch LCD screens? The tech teacher said not to, but didn't explain why. Googling just brought up a bunch of LCDs with "Touch" in their name.
EDIT: Googled with different terms. Seems like it'll "induce dead pixels." Induce is a fancy word. There's a few dead pixels on this screen but they're off to the side.

Also, are LCDs better for the eyes? Googling seems to indicate it is, but it was all antedoctal, and also something about not having as much monitor flicker. My mom says she doesn't have half as many headaches since she got the LCD.

Another question: I was reading up on BIOS viruses, and one of the sites said that the BIOS chip is usually detached from the mobo. Does this mean, that if you wreck your BIOS, you can simply pop in a new chip? The only thing I found was a picture of somebody using a tool to pull out the BIOS chip.

I want the clock in my tray to show seconds. Right now it says 2:19 AM, I want it to say 2:19:48 AM. Is this possible? I can't find anything in the regional or date and time settings. Google shows me some shareware stuff but I don't want that. It's Vista.

You could try analog clock. IIRC, on Windows 98 I'd use ClocX. (http://www.clocx.net) On my new Vista rig, there's a built-in one.

Also, did a quick search on some freeware sites. In particular, this one (http://www.freewarefiles.com/Sarbyx-TrayClock_program_23731.html) replaces the Windows clock and will allow you to show seconds (and also has skins).

My new computer comes with LCD monitor. :)

Why exactly don't you touch LCD screens? The tech teacher said not to, but didn't explain why. Googling just brought up a bunch of LCDs with "Touch" in their name.
EDIT: Googled with different terms. Seems like it'll "induce dead pixels." Induce is a fancy word. There's a few dead pixels on this screen but they're off to the side.

Also, are LCDs better for the eyes? Googling seems to indicate it is, but it was all antedoctal, and also something about not having as much monitor flicker. My mom says she doesn't have half as many headaches since she got the LCD.

Another question: I was reading up on BIOS viruses, and one of the sites said that the BIOS chip is usually detached from the mobo. Does this mean, that if you wreck your BIOS, you can simply pop in a new chip? The only thing I found was a picture of somebody using a tool to pull out the BIOS chip.

You don't touch most LCD screens because the surface is not hard. So if you pressed on them you could damage what is behind the surface, or damage the surface. You particularly do not want to touch the surface of anything that might scratch or cut through it. You can still clean it, but do so very gently. A touch screen is built differently, and made to handle it, but you still have to be careful about damaging the surface.

The LCD refreshes different from a CRT. The CRT both projects more light towards you, but because of the nature of the way it refreshes, it is prone to giving many people eye strain. And that leads to headaches. Basically, most do not refresh fast enough so that the average person sees it flicker.

Whether or not the chip that stores your BIOS can be pulled or not depends on how the mobo is built. I'd really have to research or see it to know.

Thanks.

Here are the specs on my new computer. How decent are they? (I'm paying the same amount I was on the old one, not losing any money from transferring as my other one died completely.)

Computer: FOXCONN MCP61M05
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Brisbane, BH-G2)
2200 MHz (11.00x200.0) @ 2210 MHz (11.00x200.9)
Motherboard: FOXCONN M61PMV
Chipset: nVidia nForce 6100-405/430
Memory: 4096 MBytes @ 315 MHz, 5.0-5-5-15
- 2048 MB PC5300 DDR2-SDRAM - Kingston 2G-UDIMM
- 2048 MB PC5300 DDR2-SDRAM - Kingston 2G-UDIMM
Graphics: XFX GeForce 8400 GS
nVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS (G86), 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM
Drive: WDC WD5000AAKS-22A7B0, 488.4 GB, Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Drive: , IDE
Sound: nVIDIA MCP61 - High Definition Audio Controller
Network: NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Build 6001

Will provide other details if required. (It has an LG DVD-RW for optical drive. I don't know why it didn't show up properly in the program. :dunno:)

Thanks.

Here are the specs on my new computer. How decent are they? (I'm paying the same amount I was on the old one.)

Computer: FOXCONN MCP61M05
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ (Brisbane, BH-G2)
2200 MHz (11.00x200.0) @ 2210 MHz (11.00x200.9)
Motherboard: FOXCONN M61PMV
Chipset: nVidia nForce 6100-405/430
Memory: 4096 MBytes @ 315 MHz, 5.0-5-5-15
- 2048 MB PC5300 DDR2-SDRAM - Kingston 2G-UDIMM
- 2048 MB PC5300 DDR2-SDRAM - Kingston 2G-UDIMM
Graphics: XFX GeForce 8400 GS
nVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS (G86), 512 MB DDR2 SDRAM
Drive: WDC WD5000AAKS-22A7B0, 488.4 GB, Serial ATA 3Gb/s
Drive: , IDE
Sound: nVIDIA MCP61 - High Definition Audio Controller
Network: NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic Build 6001

Will provide other details if required. (It has an LG DVD-RW for optical drive. I don't know why it didn't show up properly in the program.)

Worth maybe $550, total.

Well, it certainly runs those stubborn games more smoothly than my other one. And it has a 500 gig WD hard drive, which is a huge plus with me, as I was planning to get one anyways.

On an earlier note, The most common alternative to random access is sequential access.

Liquid crystals are delicate and can be snapped if put under pressure. The individual crystals are very small. Old LCD screens had thin glass holding the crystals in place that was also easy to break. I find modern LCDs to be more tolerant of bad treatment.

I think you'll do fine with vista, its teeth are mainly for show. Get into it and you'll be able to make it much more like XP. You'll want to turn off a few services and learn about the hard links to the user files so the access denials won't bother you. The start menu can be set to the classic view if desired.

I found a registry hack (http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/add-take-ownership-to-explorer-right-click-menu-in-vista/) that let me take control of folders that refused to delete, without going through command prompt (it was in context menu, should be useful). I'll be looking around a bit for more stuff.

If you don't have control of a folder to delete it, chances are good you shouldn't be deleting it in the first place.

No, it was actually a folder I copied from my portable drive with the installer for ATI Tray Tools in it. As I don't have an ATI card anymore.

Zelig, do you by chance work for microsoft?

Zelig, do you by chance work for microsoft?

No, Mac OS is an awesome multipurpose desktop OS, and various Linux distros excel for various purposes... however, people have far fewer illegitimate complaints about these operating systems than they do about Vista, so I don't get to respond to them as often.

FWIW, I imagine that if I actually worked for MS, I'd have to be less obtuse, and more friendly regarding Vista. All the official MS responses (via press releases, blogs, etc.) to problems with Vista are pretty neutered down, when they could have been calling out a lot of the complaints for being totally baseless.

edit:

And on that theme (;)):

I think you'll do fine with vista, its teeth are mainly for show. Get into it and you'll be able to make it much more like XP. You'll want to turn off a few services and learn about the hard links to the user files so the access denials won't bother you. The start menu can be set to the classic view if desired.

Really not much point in disabling services, unless the service is doing something you don't want it doing, it's pretty much useless in terms of affecting performance.

Also not sure why you'd want to get rid of the search bar on the start menu, it's magnificent, I can open any program on my PC in about a second by hitting the windows key, hitting a few letters, and hitting enter.

edit2:
Some nice sources re: services, for anyone who's interested:
http://blogs.technet.com/askperf/archive/2008/11/18/disabling-unnecessary-services-a-word-to-the-wise.aspx
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=34&threadid=1678445&enterthread=y&arctab=y

Yes, but I don't like vista indexing my drives so the search is more or less out unless I'm looking for something I've lost. I tend to organise my things my way and don't have much need for the assistance.

I'd disable superfetch as I don't like my drives chattering unless I'm doing something. I don't tend to have access time issues anyway. I believe that if I started something I'll have to wait some number of seconds as a matter of course and if it takes longer than that, I've let my system get out of shape and should fix it (but it doesn't happen often).

I'd also disable user access control. I don't want my hand held so much. I don't put vista on the net, and if I did might consider a third party application level firewall.

I like UAC, it'll keep stuff from installing without my permission (especially after that run-in with WinFixer last year), but it'd be nice to disable it for specific programs (for example, it pops up whenever I open HWiNFO32, which I use quite a bit for diagnostics and sensors.)

My friend mentioned she'd like Vista on her computer, and I offered to help her find a cheap and legal copy online, and then she accused me of "ruining the fun." Go figure. :dunno:

Yes, but I don't like vista indexing my drives so the search is more or less out unless I'm looking for something I've lost. I tend to organise my things my way and don't have much need for the assistance.

I'd disable superfetch as I don't like my drives chattering unless I'm doing something. I don't tend to have access time issues anyway. I believe that if I started something I'll have to wait some number of seconds as a matter of course and if it takes longer than that, I've let my system get out of shape and should fix it (but it doesn't happen often).

I'd also disable user access control. I don't want my hand held so much. I don't put vista on the net, and if I did might consider a third party application level firewall.
I turned it off at first too, but then when I reinstalled, I noticed that after a day or two, it only kicked in occasionally.

Another one: How much "breathing room" is required for the computer case fans to work as well as they can? Me and my mom are diagreeing -- I'm saying a lot of ventilation is good, she says it's just a big waste of space. (Also somewhat important as we live in small apartment.)

Thanks.

I like UAC, it'll keep stuff from installing without my permission (especially after that run-in with WinFixer last year), but it'd be nice to disable it for specific programs (for example, it pops up whenever I open HWiNFO32, which I use quite a bit for diagnostics and sensors.)

Found something. The miracles of a quick google search!
http://dailyapps.net/2008/05/tip-quickly-disable-uac-for-specific-specific-programs/

I also made it so 7-Zip will open zip files, as the built-in one.... I just don't like it. And also made a normal account for mom so she can mess around in Vista without me worrying about her messing up my desktop or anything. (She said she wanted to try it.)

Yes, but I don't like vista indexing my drives so the search is more or less out unless I'm looking for something I've lost. I tend to organise my things my way and don't have much need for the assistance.

I'd disable superfetch as I don't like my drives chattering unless I'm doing something. I don't tend to have access time issues anyway. I believe that if I started something I'll have to wait some number of seconds as a matter of course and if it takes longer than that, I've let my system get out of shape and should fix it (but it doesn't happen often).

I'd also disable user access control. I don't want my hand held so much. I don't put vista on the net, and if I did might consider a third party application level firewall.

Indexing in Vista is toned down from XP, it doesn't index your entire drives, just your personal folders, which you can further tweak. Indexing you start menu speeds up the search box on it, which is super useful.

Superfetch is one of the best features of post-XP Windows, without it, you're simply wasting any unused RAM, and there's essentially no downside to it. It only has heavy HDD access on boot, and even then, it's got low I/O priority, so it shouldn't affect performance of anything else.

UAC wasn't a bad idea... but that isn't enough to convince me to ever enable it.

I turned it off at first too, but then when I reinstalled, I noticed that after a day or two, it only kicked in occasionally.
I tried it for longer than that, if that's what you're thinking. I found it inconvenient when looking at cds and the thought of new things on the drive being double handled was what I didn't like.
Another one: How much "breathing room" is required for the computer case fans to work as well as they can?
Breathing space is unnecessary. What is important is how much air gets to the parts and how hot it is before it gets there.
Indexing in Vista is toned down from XP, it doesn't index your entire drives, just your personal folders,
Another thing I find inconvenient. Usually I know where my personal files are... so I might be searching for a system file, windows wont find it and then I have to suggest it looks harder (unless I turn all this off).

Breathing space is unnecessary. What is important is how much air gets to the parts and how hot it is before it gets there.

My mom's computer desk leaves very little room (about 1/2 of an inch) between the desk and the side of the case. Wouldn't this be bad for it? (For comparison, I have about 6 inches between the side of the case and the desk. I sometimes stick papers or books down there, so it's not totally wasted.)

Sorry, I was thinking about inside the case. Yes, the distance from the wall can be important. There's the surface area available for the air to escape, and the inefficiency of the air turning the corner against the wall (puts pressure back into the path of the oncoming air). The simple way to figure it is to listen for increased fan noise caused by it working against these pressures. (then of course, double it for good measure)

I tried it for longer than that, if that's what you're thinking. I found it inconvenient when looking at cds and the thought of new things on the drive being double handled was what I didn't like.

Neither indexing nor precaching should be screwing with stuff from disc drives.

Another thing I find inconvenient. Usually I know where my personal files are... so I might be searching for a system file, windows wont find it and then I have to suggest it looks harder (unless I turn all this off).

Indexing shouldn't work like that, search will simply be faster in indexed locations, it won't fail to find something that isn't indexed.

I also have indexing disabled in general, since I know where all my stuff is, but I can't think of a good reason to disable it for the start menu.

Visiting again :)

<problem fixed after another re-install>
If anyone wishes, these quesitons are still puzzling me:

- I am wondering what is Microsoft's policy with regard to a corrupt OP disk. I.e. if I bought a new hard drive would I retain my copy of Vista?
- Is it possible (in theory) to transfter OP (Vista) files from an old laptop(PC) disk to a new one?

IIRC, it's only a "different computer" if you change the mobo.

Thanks about the air circulation. Another one: If you buy a new, standard low-end desktop, and then only replace the parts when they crap out, how long would it approximately be before everything's replaced? Not looking for the exact time, more like a general time frame (e.g. "a few months" "maybe 10 to 15 years," etc)

IIRC, it's only a "different computer" if you change the mobo.

Thanks about the air circulation. Another one: If you buy a new, standard low-end desktop, and then only replace the parts when they crap out, how long would it approximately be before everything's replaced? Not looking for the exact time, more like a general time frame (e.g. "a few months" "maybe 10 to 15 years," etc)

There really is no way to know. Parts don't have a certain lifespan.

Visiting again :)

<problem fixed after another re-install>
If anyone wishes, these quesitons are still puzzling me:

- I am wondering what is Microsoft's policy with regard to a corrupt OP disk. I.e. if I bought a new hard drive would I retain my copy of Vista?
- Is it possible (in theory) to transfter OP (Vista) files from an old laptop(PC) disk to a new one?

MS wants to force you to buy a new copy of Windows for every computer. To this end they have designed it so that you can't even change the hardware config very much without them calling it a "new computer" :rolleyes:

FWIW, I generally end up with a total rotation of hardware over the course of 5 - 6 years. Even then, it often isn't "worn out" or "broken", just that I want a newer/larger/more powerful item.

I do tend to replace the mobo, cpu, and RAM as all one "unit", though.

I think this has been taken out of context. Windows checks for hardware changes to prevent sharing the copy amongst different people and their different computers. Nowhere that I know of does it say that you can't take your copy with you when you buy a new system. It's always been that you buy a licenced copy of windows independently of the computer. The idea of it coming with the system is a microsoft scheme to get windows on all systems if possible, thats all.

I've been installing a few games on Vista. However, for a few of them (and they're designed to run on Vista), the shortcuts don't show up in the Start Menu. WHERE ARE THEY????

Just go to the install folder and make your own. Not that hard ffs

Yeah, that's what I did. It's still weird that the icons weren't there.

EDIT: I found where the icon was. It was stuck under this Vista thing called Games Browser.

I read somewhere that if a CD drive spins slowly, it's more likely to recover data from a damaged CD. Is this true? (Googling brought up a few things, but they seemed to contradict each other.)

Another one:

I have this game from 2006 or so, before Vista came out. And it writes a folder to the Application Data folder, which in Vista has a different name and location. How exactly does Vista tell the installer where to put it?

Also, why exactly did it say to insert the second disc into the floppy drive when it's on a CD? :lol:

The installer probably uses a system path variable, so Application data is something like %APP DATA% which each OS knows where it is. Its usually not an absolute location.

Does it really matter? If the game installs fine, does it matter at all?

Just wondering. Thanks. :)

MS wants to force you to buy a new copy of Windows for every computer. To this end they have designed it so that you can't even change the hardware config very much without them calling it a "new computer" :rolleyes:
Thats what I've been experiencing :)
I do hope they make the right choices with Windows 7.

FWIW, I generally end up with a total rotation of hardware over the course of 5 - 6 years. Even then, it often isn't "worn out" or "broken", just that I want a newer/larger/more powerful item.

I do tend to replace the mobo, cpu, and RAM as all one "unit", though.
It seems to be my case was well when I think of it. I always try to hold on to dying computers, scavanging parts for future use, but the way things are going it is more of a hobby than a real investment. I've changed 4 PCs over 15 years of usage and one of them simply burned down after a year due to bad manufacture.

I think this has been taken out of context. Windows checks for hardware changes to prevent sharing the copy amongst different people and their different computers. Nowhere that I know of does it say that you can't take your copy with you when you buy a new system. It's always been that you buy a licenced copy of windows independently of the computer. The idea of it coming with the system is a microsoft scheme to get windows on all systems if possible, thats all.
I do understand that it is not supposed to be like that. However with Windows Vista there are no clear instructions as to how to extract your copy of Vista if you, say, decided to use it with another computer (shocking example, I know).

Question
I've reinstalled everything on my laptop that hasn't been used for two months. Only problem remaining now is that I cant run the old copy of Northon 360 I've purchased. Direct load from Program menu and the command prompt are giving me tons of icons on the toolbar. These icons dissapear when I scroll over them. So far I cannot google out the problem :confused:

To 'extract' Vista you get a serial key reader that tells you your current serial key and download a copy of Vista. Then when installing, you use the serial key you got off your old machine.

why would you use Norton? Get avast or AVG and get rid of norton.

For serial key, I use Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder. Will also get the keys for some other programs, if youre lucky.

I also second AVG or Avast.

To 'extract' Vista you get a serial key reader that tells you your current serial key and download a copy of Vista. Then when installing, you use the serial key you got off your old machine.
Cooler than I thought ;) It is even easy to find!

why would you use Norton? Get avast or AVG and get rid of norton.

I would be more than glad to, but I still have a subscription. Does me no good though, it doesn't work.

Question -- I got a broken NES for free. I think the problem is that water and dirt got into the inside. It will turn on, but the cartridge (which is in perfect shape) freezes and shows messed up graphics, then it wouldn't load at all. Any idea how to fix it, or should I just start looking for another?

I did google, but seems most of them were different types of damage. Adding "water damage" brings up either some plumbing company or random games with water in them.

I'd open it up and clean it out on off chance it's something stuck in there. If that doesn't fix it, you're probably screwed.

Basically try to clean off any circuit corrosion caused by the water catalyzing oxidation reactions (i.e. 'rust').

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/19/how-to-clean-up-water-damaged-electronics/

We'll leave the deets to Grynx, but basically this rescue mission involves complete disassembly of the affected device, rather counterintuitively running the circuit boards under more water, and using an alcohol-based cleaning agent (not gasoline, warn several commenters) to brush the remaining rust/calcium residue from the guts. Money quote from the article: "If the substance is already dry, as it was for me, then use your wife’s toothbrush (you don’t want to use your own, right?) to brush off as much as possible."

Thanks. I'll open it up sometime to see if it's rusted out.

Should I take any anti-static precautions, or is that only for computers?

Personally, I wouldn't bother, (I don't bother with computers either), but it really depends on your setup. If you're going to be rolling around your chair and shuffling your feet on a carpeted area and it's a low humidity environment it might be wise.

And pretty much anything electronic is susceptible to some degree to electrostatic discharge. I don't know about how much NESes in particular are.

Question
I've reinstalled everything on my laptop that hasn't been used for two months. Only problem remaining now is that I cant run the old copy of Northon 360 I've purchased. Direct load from Program menu and the command prompt are giving me tons of icons on the toolbar. These icons dissapear when I scroll over them. So far I cannot google out the problem :confused:
Anyone?!!...

I do understand that it is not supposed to be like that. However with Windows Vista there are no clear instructions as to how to extract your copy of Vista if you, say, decided to use it with another computer (shocking example, I know).

Do you mean that you bought a computer with vista on it but didn't get the install cds?
I've reinstalled everything on my laptop that hasn't been used for two months. Only problem remaining now is that I cant run the old copy of Northon 360 I've purchased. Direct load from Program menu and the command prompt are giving me tons of icons on the toolbar. These icons dissapear when I scroll over them. So far I cannot google out the problem :confused:
Not sure I understand the problem. Is it activated?

Do you mean that you bought a computer with vista on it but didn't get the install cds?

Not exactly. I've solved that one, but the problem was as follows. The disk was corrupt and thus I was unable to run Vista in anything but safe mode. I've re-installed Vista and was caught in a "boot loop". I've ran a Disk check and it froze too. By that point I was condidering getting a new PC and, thus, was curious about Vista copyright issues. Then I re-installed Vista again and managed to run a Disk scan. After a few scans I am now able to use my computer normaly, but the curiosity remained.

I am now faced with another problem:
Not sure I understand the problem. Is it activated?
Yes, I've re-activated it. After a period of non-usage I re-installed Vista (see above ;) ) and the antivirus.

I am not able to run anything under Northon 360 except the live update. Running the scan through the icon and directly under Windows "command" gives me nothing but a bunch of icons appearing on my toolbar. Most are with a red cross like shown here (http://news.softpedia.com/images/news2/Norton-Antivirus-And-Norton-360-Vulnerable-Patch-Inside-2.png). Some are with a green one. If I scroll over them they dissapear.

P.S. Every time I start the OP I get "You aleady activated your account" message. Obvisouly a mistake in installation, but I've done everything I could.

Is that your own screenshot? What are the "details" that are available?

Is that your own screenshot? What are the "details" that are available?

No, I just used it as an example to show what icons appear on my toolbar. As a matter of fact this screenshot is the menu I am not able to access. At all. I tried automatic support and it does not work as well. My last option is the phone which is what I can use only on Monday.

In my experience odd problems with closed source antivirus programmes typically end with talking with them and/or installing the latest version. If you have an account for updates it may be worth acting as if you'd lost the install CD and getting it from the net.

In my experience odd problems with closed source antivirus programmes typically end with talking with them and/or installing the latest version. If you have an account for updates it may be worth acting as if you'd lost the install CD and getting it from the net.

My version is downloadable anyway.... so that is not problem.

I now ran into something else. I cannot start Opera from desktop! Something is seriously messed up somewhere in my tuning of Vista.

EDIT: Correction. I tried to load Opera - no sign that it has started. However when I tried a reinstall it said that the Opera was running. The problem is not in the firewall as I thought, but somwhere else.

Have you tried reinstalling Norton (with a clean install -- I'd use Revo Uninstaller)? That may work. My mom sometimes have trouble with her Norton (I tried convincing her to use AVG, she didn't want to) and a clean install always works for her.

The last resort may be to reinstall Windows.

Tried. Twice. No go....

A complete clean install? e.g. deleting registry? Its also possible one of your other programs deleted a file Norton uses. Do you have a system recovery? If so, revert and delete each program one-by-one to identify it. :)

A complete clean install? e.g. deleting registry? Its also possible one of your other programs deleted a file Norton uses. Do you have a system recovery? If so, revert and delete each program one-by-one to identify it. :)

Even if I did that it would not explain how my Opera stopped functioning one day after install :p

Have you contacted Norton? I think you said you had a subscription, perhaps they'll have an idea.

Here's a question: I've read to have a computer at least 6 inches above the floor in case of flooding. However, I'm on the second floor and we dont flood the sinks or bathtubs (and they wouldn't reach my room anyways.) And my new computer stand (the other one collapsed 30 minutes ago, when we removed the computer to move it to the new one) doesn't have a place for the CPU. Would it be ok to have it on the floor?

Also, whats the best "home-made" way to clean LCD screen? I googled and got a whole bunch of stuff, and I just want to know a good, reliable way. Thanks. :)

Also, can driver problems be a physical cause? The tech guy says the RAM frying in my old one was partly due to the power surge, partly to do with the mobo starting to crap out. My video card was integrated and I think you all know my driver problems. Could this be it?

If the hardware is unstable, then drivers may be glitchy. This has been said many times over the course of the thread aimee, please learn to read.

Are you prone to flooding? If not then I wouldnt worry about it. Id worry more about the dust your pc is taking in when its closer to the floor.

Here's a question: I've read to have a computer at least 6 inches above the floor in case of flooding. However, I'm on the second floor and we dont flood the sinks or bathtubs (and they wouldn't reach my room anyways.) And my new computer stand (the other one collapsed 30 minutes ago, when we removed the computer to move it to the new one) doesn't have a place for the CPU. Would it be ok to have it on the floor?Of course it's okay, don't be silly.

Also, whats the best "home-made" way to clean LCD screen? I googled and got a whole bunch of stuff, and I just want to know a good, reliable way. Thanks. :)Water + rag.

Also, can driver problems be a physical cause? The tech guy says the RAM frying in my old one was partly due to the power surge, partly to do with the mobo starting to crap out. My video card was integrated and I think you all know my driver problems. Could this be it?No.

Something is seriously messed up somewhere in my tuning of Vista.
If you say that you've just reinstalled vista then perhaps you wouldn't mind going again before you get too far adjusted. Format first of course. This may not seem too helpful but it can be the quickest and most thorough fix. You obviously seem to have an underlying problem.

BTW, when you make your initial adjustments to vista over the first few days, write everything down. Not only will it help for next time but you'll have a traceback path in case something goes wrong.

The tech guy says the RAM frying in my old one was partly due to the power surge, partly to do with the mobo starting to crap out.
What percentage was due to the power surge and how much was it the mobo? (J/K:mischief:)

Also, can driver problems be a physical cause?
If you mean that one way, there are cases in history where software was able to control a piece of hardware into destruction...either by exceeding mechanical or electrical limits. If you mean the other way then yes, I could see faulty hardware confusing a driver (so to speak) or at the very least, faulty RAM causing a driver to malfunction.

I was trying to open a program and got this:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7250/whatelsecanmakeaprogram.jpg

um....ok? What else can make a program stop working? A herd of camels running over the computer?

That's like asking "Why did the car stop running?" Too many possible answers without enough information to give the correct one.

I realize that you may not know what's going on, but just because you can't see something go wrong, doesn't mean it can't happen. Computers are very frustrating that way.

Question -- I got a broken NES for free. I think the problem is that water and dirt got into the inside. It will turn on, but the cartridge (which is in perfect shape) freezes and shows messed up graphics, then it wouldn't load at all. Any idea how to fix it, or should I just start looking for another?

I did google, but seems most of them were different types of damage. Adding "water damage" brings up either some plumbing company or random games with water in them.

You can buy a non-broken one for fifty bucks. Unless you enjoy the mystery, just buy a new old one.

I don't know what sort of "messed up graphics" you mean, but whenever mine's being fussy I soak a q-tip in rubbing alcohol and run it along the cartridge connection just before inserting the cartridge. Also, I've removed the top and I weigh down the thing with a big book or two to make sure it's really in place.

Game Genies can help, oddly, too.

Fixed my last problem for the day. Was easier than I expected. Thank you those that helped!

I would like to put a new graphics card in my computer, but here are my limitations:

Slimline case, so i would need a low profile one
180W power source

I would lean towards just getting a new computer, rather than getting a new case. Does anyone have any suggestions, besides just getting a better computer to play one game?

You can buy a non-broken one for fifty bucks. Unless you enjoy the mystery, just buy a new old one.

I don't know what sort of "messed up graphics" you mean, but whenever mine's being fussy I soak a q-tip in rubbing alcohol and run it along the cartridge connection just before inserting the cartridge. Also, I've removed the top and I weigh down the thing with a big book or two to make sure it's really in place.

Game Genies can help, oddly, too.

The problem is... I CAN'T FIND ONE!!! And I can't buy online, as we have no creditcard and paypal doesn't like our bank account.

I would like to put a new graphics card in my computer, but here are my limitations:

Slimline case, so i would need a low profile one
180W power source

I would lean towards just getting a new computer, rather than getting a new case. Does anyone have any suggestions, besides just getting a better computer to play one game?

I think the Radeon HD4650 is currently the fastest low profile card.

We need more info about your power supply though, wattage doesn't tell us anything, the +12V rating would be useful.

Is there an official name for the spaces where you can insert extra optical drives or CD drives? I didn't know how to google this. :blush:

Drive bays.

Thank you!

I knew it was something along that line. At first I thought "ports," then "harbors." And I knew those both wouldn't work.

Harbours...bays...what's the difference:p

I was in Revo Uninstaller deleting an incompatible game, and I noticed something called "System Requirements Lab." Googling brought up this. (http://www.systemrequirementslab.com) What is it?

It downloads a small program that tests your system to see if you have the necessary minimum and recommended specs for a number of games out there.

The problem is... I CAN'T FIND ONE!!! And I can't buy online, as we have no creditcard and paypal doesn't like our bank account.

Try my suggestions, after you've cleaned it out. Don't worry about opening it up, unless you try to use it as a popcorn bowl you're not going to do much more damage than time already has. There are a lot more suggestions on the internets. We love our NES.

If you can't fix it, you can buy online, some eBay sellers will take mailed money orders or you could buy a prepaid debit card at the local Kwik-E-Mart. (I'm not sure, but I can't see why they wouldn't be available in Canadaland. http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_gift_card.html ) That'll work just like a credit card for online shopping.

Thanks. We did try a prepaid mastercard, but I couldn't get paypal to accept it, so I just spent it on a spindle of CD-Rs and a game.

No, use the prepaid card to buy from the sellers directly, not through paypal.

Okay. But how can I do that if the only way through ebay is paypal?

When you go to pay for it, you can enter credit/debit card info instead of a paypal acct.

Thanks.

Anybody have an idea how to remove stubborn Firefox 3.0.8 tags? (One of the addons I use most often doesn't like them, and I never use them anyways). First I tried deleting them from the bookmarks manager, but nothing happened. Then I tried deleting from the bookmarks themselves -- but when I click off the bookmark, the tags magically reappear!

Any idea? Thanks.

EDIT: Yes, I did google. And tried several solutions.

ANOTHER EDIT: What do you know! 8 minutes after I posted this, I can delete tags from the bookmarks! Never mind. I guess threatening electronics really does work. ;)

ANOTHER EDIT: What do you know! 8 minutes after I posted this, I can delete tags from the bookmarks! Never mind. I guess threatening electronics really does work. ;)

One job I had, we had an HP5000 printer. Two, actually. Anyways, we used to print out these monster 80k page billing reports at the beginning of the month. 2 was worse than 1, but if we didn't threaten abuse (and occasionally deliver a kick to the main door) the printers wouldn't work.

So, yeah, it does work. At times. ;)

One job I had, we had an HP5000 printer. Two, actually. Anyways, we used to print out these monster 80k page billing reports at the beginning of the month. 2 was worse than 1, but if we didn't threaten abuse (and occasionally deliver a kick to the main door) the printers wouldn't work.

So, yeah, it does work. At times. ;)

80,000 pages? Thats a lot of paper! Thats like a pallet a week.

80,000 pages? Thats a lot of paper! Thats like a pallet a week.

But computers were to usher in the paperless workplace.. :mischief:

One job I had, we had an HP5000 printer. Two, actually. Anyways, we used to print out these monster 80k page billing reports at the beginning of the month. 2 was worse than 1, but if we didn't threaten abuse (and occasionally deliver a kick to the main door) the printers wouldn't work.

So, yeah, it does work. At times. ;)

What did you use to carry them? better yet, what did you use them for?
80,000 pages is a lot of text.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, cheap monitor wall mount? Id need something that can hold up a fairly hefty 22" display with an option for larger ones down the road. it should also not be one of those low-profile mounts because that will put the monitor too far from my eyes. I've found a few on monoprice.com, but honestly, this is a topic I have no idea about.
And similarly, I already have a 1680x1050 22" monitor. Would it be more worthwhile to get a second one and a pair of wall mounts or get a single 1920x1080 22"? I can potentially go bigger than 22", but Id love to keep the price under 200$ with either option.

My Computer Tower/ Chassis has this huge ceiling fan on it, the fan when turned on makes this large noise as if its banging on it, it really sounds discomforting, when its off ive looked briefly at it and see nothing it can bang against.
Any Ideas whats possibly wrong with the fan?

Maybe the bearings have worn-out / lost their lubrication?

um to add, the computer is only a few weeks old, it only makes a noise when turning it on its relatively silent when using the actual computer. Its Thermtelake, dont know how to spell the name so excuse me :P

i really hope i dont need to return it for warranty... so soon, since everything else is installed.
If i have to send it back, can someone tell me how to claim warranty on a chassis, do i need to take out all the parts

My HP will sound like a jet engine trying to take off when I first turn it on. Only lasts for a few seconds and then quiets down. It could be just the start up. If it's not doing it all the time, I would just fire an email off to whomever holds your warranty and ask them if that's normal. Might also be a good idea to ask them how to claim a warranty repair.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good, cheap monitor wall mount? Id need something that can hold up a fairly hefty 22" display with an option for larger ones down the road. it should also not be one of those low-profile mounts because that will put the monitor too far from my eyes. I've found a few on monoprice.com, but honestly, this is a topic I have no idea about.
And similarly, I already have a 1680x1050 22" monitor. Would it be more worthwhile to get a second one and a pair of wall mounts or get a single 1920x1080 22"? I can potentially go bigger than 22", but Id love to keep the price under 200$ with either option.

CRT or flat screen? Flat screens weigh very little. So are easy to hold up. For CRTs, there are plenty of choices in wall mounts for TVs that will work. They don't break.

My Computer Tower/ Chassis has this huge ceiling fan on it, the fan when turned on makes this large noise as if its banging on it, it really sounds discomforting, when its off ive looked briefly at it and see nothing it can bang against.
Any Ideas whats possibly wrong with the fan?
When your system boots, the fans spin up at 100%. My tower too sounds like a jet engine cus every single one of 8 fans goes to 100% for a few seconds. Its perfectly normal and should only concern you when its making lots of noise during regular operation.
CRT or flat screen? Flat screens weigh very little. So are easy to hold up. For CRTs, there are plenty of choices in wall mounts for TVs that will work. They don't break.
Its an LCD, but I was asking for some specific mounts. As I said, total newbie in this area and looking on newegg and monoprice hasnt helped.

Look at the back of your monitor and see if it has a place to attach something like this http://www.amazon.com/Peerless-Articulating-Wall-Mount-Display/dp/B000BYCNM8 LCDs really don't weigh very much.

I read never to plug in a power supply unless it's connected to a mobo or dummy test. Why not?

The PSU needs to have a load on it to work properly, afaik.

Cutlass: I know it has a VESA 100x100 mount, Ive figured that out. I was asking if anyone has reccomendations for specific ones, or is it something that any generic mount will do for?

The PSU needs to have a load on it to work properly, afaik.

Cutlass: I know it has a VESA 100x100 mount, Ive figured that out. I was asking if anyone has reccomendations for specific ones, or is it something that any generic mount will do for?

I really think any of them will do. Each mount will say how large a monitor they will handle. The steel frame of the mount itself will be more than strong enough. You just need to make sure it is strongly attached to the wall and monitor.

And what about which option is better? A new higher-resolution monitor to replace this one, or a second one of the same resolution? Im leaning to a second one since my GPU cannot handle highest settings for current new games above 1680x1050

The PSU needs to have a load on it to work properly, afaik.

What would happen if you didn't put a load on it? Would it not turn on? Would it explode into a fireball? Would it just pop, sizzle, smoke and then die?

From wiki:

Although a too-large power supply will have an extra margin of safety as far as not over-loading, a larger unit is often less efficient at lower loads (under 20% of its total capability) and therefore will waste more electricity than a more appropriately sized unit. Additionally, computer power supplies generally do not function properly if they are too lightly loaded. Under no-load conditions they may shut down or malfunction.

They just wont work.

And what about which option is better? A new higher-resolution monitor to replace this one, or a second one of the same resolution? Im leaning to a second one since my GPU cannot handle highest settings for current new games above 1680x1050

That's kind of a personal preference. Personally I wouldn't use a resolution like that unless the monitor was at least 28". I don't like little tiny text. If I really wanted more desktop area, I would be more likely to use 2 monitors than a higher resolution.

That's kind of a personal preference. Personally I wouldn't use a resolution like that unless the monitor was at least 28". I don't like little tiny text. If I really wanted more desktop area, I would be more likely to use 2 monitors than a higher resolution.

Text is trivial to increase in size.

The only reason lower resolution is ever better is to lighten 3D workload.

FWIW, I would never go below 1920x1200/1080 on 23" or larger.

My mom always have a low resolution as if it's too large, she can't see anything at all. Not just text. I tried enlarging everything for her but she didn't like that.

Text is trivial to increase in size.

The only reason lower resolution is ever better is to lighten 3D workload.

FWIW, I would never go below 1920x1200/1080 on 23" or larger.

Yeah, but you have to change so many things to get it right everywhere. It's just not worth the aggravation. And then you have to change all the word processor programs to display it one size, but then change anything you want to print. Pain in the ass.

They just wont work.

Ah dang, I was hoping for a huge fireball explosion. :(

Yeah, but you have to change so many things to get it right everywhere. It's just not worth the aggravation. And then you have to change all the word processor programs to display it one size, but then change anything you want to print. Pain in the ass.

You don't change the font size, just select "fit to screen", and let it do that for every document.

You just need to change the view settings in your OS, web browser, word processor, and pdf reader, takes about 60 seconds, and should cover 95% of the text you read.

You don't change the font size, just select "fit to screen", and let it do that for every document.

You just need to change the view settings in your OS, web browser, word processor, and pdf reader, takes about 60 seconds, and should cover 95% of the text you read.

And gain what? What would be the point?

More room on your desktop?

You don't get more room if you have to go back and make everything larger n order to see it ;)

If you don't change the icon size too much, you can stuff more icons in.

One thing I love about Windows XP & Vista is the ability to align icons to a grid! (No more trying to keep them straight!)

Text is trivial to increase in size.

The only reason lower resolution is ever better is to lighten 3D workload.

FWIW, I would never go below 1920x1200/1080 on 23" or larger.
Now if I can only find a decent pair of high-res monitors that wont empty my savings.
We're talking about 22" monitors here which is just about the maximal size Id want to go with per monitor. I set a specific distance away from my monitor because otherwise I get neck and eye strain to see it well.

If you don't change the icon size too much, you can stuff more icons in.

One thing I love about Windows XP & Vista is the ability to align icons to a grid! (No more trying to keep them straight!)


I think Windows 98 and 2000 had the ability to do that.

98 didn't. I don't know about 2K, we had it for a few months before my mom's computer got XP, but I don't remember.

If I have 10 icons on my desktop, that too many :p

And gain what? What would be the point?

Stuff isn't as pixelated.

That's always been the point of higher resolutions.

98 didn't. I don't know about 2K, we had it for a few months before my mom's computer got XP, but I don't remember.

Right click on desktop > Arrange Icons > Auto Arrange. Just checked it on a W98 pc, it exists :P

Yes, but not the actual grid. That's what I like. You can drag icons everywhere and they'll end up straight.

that works as well. I have no idea what you did with your pc that has/had 98 on it, but mine does it just like 2000, XP and Vista do.

I think I sometimes used Auto Arrange, I don't remember, the next time I fire up the spare computer I'll take a peek.

Stuff isn't as pixelated.

That's always been the point of higher resolutions.

There's very little notable pixilation at more medium resolutions.

There's very little notable pixilation at more medium resolutions.

Yes, because medium resolutions have medium sized monitors.

1680x1050 on a 28" monitor is going to look really bad.

1920x1200 is good on a 24" monitor, 2560x1600 is good on a 30" monitor.

Sheesh and I thought my 20" monitor was big...

Yes, because medium resolutions have medium sized monitors.

1680x1050 on a 28" monitor is going to look really bad.

1920x1200 is good on a 24" monitor, 2560x1600 is good on a 30" monitor.

So then why are we not seeing 42" monitors with resolutions above 2560x1600 +?
Because we sure as hell have 30"+ screens, they just all default to 1080 resolutions. (Im fairly certain the answer is largely due to price feasability, but by now there are bound to have been at least a few high res 30"+ models)

Sheesh and I thought my 20" monitor was big...

Honestly, the price difference between monitors is small enough that it isn't really worth getting anything smaller than a 22".

17" - $100
19" - $120
20" - $130
22" - $150
23" - $190
24" - $250
27.5" - $350
30" - $1000

The 20" is actually what came with the computer.

And remember I have space constraints, too! (Did I spell that right?) I can't fit anything bigger onto my desk. Well, I probably could, but I'd have to rearrange the whole thing and I have no other place for the other stuff, really.

So then why are we not seeing 42" monitors with resolutions above 2560x1600 +?
Because we sure as hell have 30"+ screens, they just all default to 1080 resolutions. (Im fairly certain the answer is largely due to price feasability, but by now there are bound to have been at least a few high res 30"+ models)

Mostly since people going for bigger than 30", they're going to want to watch movies, and because of the scaling, 1080p content is going to look worse on a 2560x1600 screen than on an equivalent 1920x1200 screen.

3840x2160 screens give perfect scaling, starting at around $40,000.

3840x2160 screens give perfect scaling, starting at around $40,000.

How big is that??? A movie theater???

I think IBM used to have some 20-22" monitors that had that, or at least a similar resolution.

I'd hate to see windowed 800x600 games in that....

Anybody got a good, easy-to-understand tutorial on how to install a floppy disk drive? Preferably one that would be easy to print out. I did google, but got lost.

EDIT: Never mind. Found a good one googling with different terms. http://www.buildeasypc.com/hw/howto/instfdd.htm

Here's a conundrum. When Im chatting with someone in GTalk and go to voice chat, they can hear me fine, and the client shows that the other person is talking and they verify their mic works fine, but I cannot hear them. i've checked Sound options and the speakers are not set to exclusive mode.

EDIT -- Randomly pushing buttons works its magic again. Turns out I could hear people, they were just very, very quiet due to the way Matrix Mode works on my speakers. Turning it off puts them back to full-volume

Question -- I was trying to record a video with FRAPS 1.9 (which is the last freeware version), but nothing happens when I press the hotkey! (This is in Nintendulator.)

I read never to plug in a power supply unless it's connected to a mobo or dummy test. Why not?
As Genocidicbunny said, they won't start without one.....but that's not the reason.

A switch mode power supply relies implicitly on regulation of the output. When no current flows, regulation cannot take place and the supply internals can be subjected to higher voltages than intended.

98 didn't. I don't know about 2K, we had it for a few months before my mom's computer got XP, but I don't remember.
IIRC even windows 3 could align icons to a grid.

Well, I didn't find it. Must be some registry thing I didn't know about.

If anyone misunderstood, here's what I talk about: http://malektips.com/xp-desktop-align-icons-grid.html

A switch mode power supply relies implicitly on regulation of the output. When no current flows, regulation cannot take place and the supply internals can be subjected to higher voltages than intended.There are plenty of switch mode supplies that self regulate a constant voltage from no load to full load. I would be fairly surprised if computer power supplies wouldn't have such supplies, given the fact that peak power and standby power requirements are so different.

Do you know of any cases where this sort of failure actually occurred?

I found
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDI-16m3xwM

Do you know of any cases where this sort of failure actually occurred?

No. It's mainly an attitude, really. Engineers are supposed to provide quiescent and bleeder currents and technicians are supposed to assume these haven't been provided. At the very least this helps in case of a fault. It also provides a fundamental operating procedure framework.

peak power and standby power requirements are so different
Minimum working currents should be significantly higher than the starting currents for the regs.

Question -- I was trying to record a video with FRAPS 1.9 (which is the last freeware version), but nothing happens when I press the hotkey! (This is in Nintendulator.)

1) Why aren't you using ZNES?
2) Fraps can only capture data from directx apps (afaik). Nintendulator might not employ directx.
3) Use ZNES. It even has a video and sound capture feature own its own.

1) Why aren't you using ZNES?
2) Fraps can only capture data from directx apps (afaik). Nintendulator might not employ directx.
3) Use ZNES. It even has a video and sound capture feature own its own.

1. I've never heard of it. Thanks. :)
2. Okay, I understand now.
3. Thanks.

I noticed the other one's getting close to 1000 posts, so decided to make a new one. :) No questions yet.

You're supposed to wait until it gets to 1000 posts.

A question -- I tried using a few programs to get the SMART data from my hard drive (just wondering what grinding is), but both of them couldn't detect it. HWiNFO32 could, but I dont know if it's accurate (or "garbage data") or how to read it. I have a WD 500 gig. I did try running as administrator.

EDIT: Excessive grinding was just anti-virus. I'd still like to know the SMART data, though.

A few screenshots. (I only showed one of the programs I tried, as the other two looked the same.)
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/7804/drivev.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/735/drive2s.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4407/drive3.jpg

Another question: Unless it's doing a virus scan or copying a bunch of files from a CD something, I never hear my WD drive. Are all of them this quiet???????

Unless the hard drive is actively loading something yes. Otoh, I cant even hear mine when it is crunching unless I put my ear right up to the case. Sound of the fans drowns out what little noise makes it past the isolation on the HDD's.
And I think that threads are allowed to get past 1000 posts now, so, best to keep that one thread. It may have some info useful to someone.

And I think that threads are allowed to get past 1000 posts now, so, best to keep that one thread. It may have some info useful to someone.
They are not, although the general practice is when it passes 1000 to start a new thread and have the mod lock the old one, which should be linked in the OP.

Threads in the Off Topic forum are still limited to 1000 posts. Threads here are not, necessarily. In any case, this still has at least two and a half pages of life, yet. ;)

Threads merged.

My hard drive's light is really active, but when I open Process Monitor to see what it is, the light turns off. But as soon as I close process monitor, it starts back up again. What does this mean?

Hopefully not some malware.... I know my antivirus isn't running....

Vista may be indexing your HDD, but as soon as you open process monitor it stops being idle and so the service temporarily pauses.
Get Process Explorer (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx) As it can show you the I/O for each process. That should help you see which one is making all the calls to the HDD.

WD drives (their standard ones) have a rep for being quiet. Just the thing for you and me ;)

Thanks :)

Vista just told me that AVG wasn't turned on, and when I went to check, AVG had this huge ugly popup at the bottom telling me to upgrade to one of their paid products. I can't find anything in the options for it. What now, other than switch to Avast or something?

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/9954/grrrr.jpg

That pop-up is always there.
I ignore it.
Your AVG is still working, as the overview shows.

See the thing saying: Anti-Virus - Active. That means AVG is still running. Vista can be a bitpremature to say SVG isn't working. Also that pop up can be closed, click "hide notification".

It's also there in the paid version but there it has news of recent viruses/boasts about detection rates.

Thanks :)

The thing is, it was Vista twlling me it was inactive.

Vista is incorrect.

While it's a nice idea, I generally don't pay attention to such notifications from windows. In fact, I generally turn them off too when I think about it.

AVG will tell you if it's not working.

So I'm not the only one that does that :)

I might go out on a limb and guess that AVG has manipulated vista for it's own purpose.

What is a good, quiet, slow (I know you're thinking WTF? just read on and you'll understand) and not real expensive DVD-ROM? My current DVD-RW drive is really noisy, and I'd like a second slower one, not just for the noise but other reasons too. But the noise is important reason, my mom thought I had the vacuum cleaner running!

How's this setup look? Anything that you'd change?


http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/2453/acomputer.jpg (http://img18.imageshack.us/my.php?image=acomputer.jpg)

Thinking of finally upgrading, I just need to pick a case that's cheap, sturdy, big, not horribly cheap looking or gawdy. Any suggestions for that? I'd like one big enough to not have problems when I get a bigger heatsink eventually. Also, would like to keep it around $625 total.

I'd go for a larger hard drive and a less powerful PSU. I'd prefer Intel, but I haven't looked at Phenom X3 benchmarks.

I don't know about the case on your list (the thumbnail is way too tiny to tell), but see-through cases are good idea (IMHO). Not only do they look cool, but if the computer's malfunctioning you can take a look inside without opening it up.

I don't know about the case on your list (the thumbnail is way too tiny to tell), but see-through cases are good idea (IMHO). Not only do they look cool, but if the computer's malfunctioning you can take a look inside without opening it up.

There's no case on the list, and having a window wouldnt help you if its malfunctioning. You'd still need to get inside of it. A window is just for looks.

.... and a less powerful PSU.

Peace of mind now, upgradeability later?

I'd go for a larger hard drive and a less powerful PSU. I'd prefer Intel, but I haven't looked at Phenom X3 benchmarks.

Well I wanted a psu with enough extra juice to power any new video cards that may come along or if I want to crossfire maybe, would a 550 have enough for that?


About larger hard drive, I have a 160gb one now and even when I first put it in and went 2 and a half years before reformatting it finally I still had 65gb left and that's after whatever downloads I had ever wanted. I'm just getting a new one anyone because I figure a nice fresh one would be quicker plus SATA over my IDE one now.

I was going to go Intel but the AMDs now are pretty good especially for games which is the main thing I want it for, and cheap, so I can get that extra core to run background things while the other 2 game or whatever, over an Intel dual core.

I don't have a case on that list, but I was thinking about the Antec 300, but I've been reading some bad reviews about it being kind of shoddy and noisy.

There's no case on the list, and having a window wouldnt help you if its malfunctioning. You'd still need to get inside of it. A window is just for looks.

Oops, I thought there was, didn't look closely enough :blush:

I meant to tell if something got unplugged inside. e.g. If the hard drive got unplugged, I think it'd show a No Operating Sytem Found error. So if you can see inside, you can tell if it actually got unplugged or if you accidentally wiped the drive. :lol:

Plus it's kinda cool to see the inner workings, at least.

Well I wanted a psu with enough extra juice to power any new video cards that may come along or if I want to crossfire maybe, would a 550 have enough for that?
Yes. When you are looking for a PSU just search for one that is Crossfire certified or whatever they call it.

About larger hard drive, I have a 160gb one now and even when I first put it in and went 2 and a half years before reformatting it finally I still had 65gb left and that's after whatever downloads I had ever wanted. I'm just getting a new one anyone because I figure a nice fresh one would be quicker plus SATA over my IDE one now.
The price difference is low enough between 500GB and 1 TB that there is little reason to not upgrade.


I don't have a case on that list, but I was thinking about the Antec 300, but I've been reading some bad reviews about it being kind of shoddy and noisy.
Newegg seems mostly postive and I like my Antec 900, FWIW.

Well the 1TB is $40 more. Not much when you consider how much more you're getting, but wouldn't it be slower? I'd prefer it to be quicker than to have more space I won't be using, but the 10000rpm ones are too expensive or too small.

Now I figured, might as well get a good case and just spend the damn extra $20-$30 something extra over getting some cheap piece of crap, so now I'm trying to decide between whether I want the toolless things and rubber gromets to make things quieter of a Cooler master case(a 690 I'm looking at) or the extra large exhaust fan on the top of the antec cases(still thinking of the 300 mostly, unless I find another site with it for much cheaper)

10000 RPM are only for those who like cutting edge. Just make sure it's a pretty decent RPM and there's enough RAM and processor speed should be fine. I'd recommend putting in more RAM to cut down on swap file usage, swap files can be slow sometimes.

Well that's why I'm getting the 4 instead of 2gb like everyone keeps telling me is all I'd need. It's cheap as hell anyway so why not.

Also freed up $20 by noticing that the video card I chose is a combo deal with the cpu I chose. Also noticed my mobo is DDR2, not 3, so I stepped the RAM down to 1066, $563 without the case with these changes.

unless you're going to overclock and want a better fsb:ram ratio, id go for DDR2-800 RAM. I bought 1066 and now I sorta regret it. It took several RMA's to get working set. Most often, the DDR2-1066 chips are factory-overclocked DDR2-800 ones.

Well the 1TB is $40 more. Not much when you consider how much more you're getting, but wouldn't it be slower?

Typically, larger drives are faster. However, drives within the same family (such as these two might be) probably differ only by the number of platters and so are probably identical in speed.

Now I figured, might as well get a good case and just spend the damn extra $20-$30 something extra over getting some cheap piece of crap,

Bear in mind that some of the money tied up in a good case might be in the drive quick release mechanisms or internal lighting/fannage or whatever. Thought I'd mention that in case you only want something sturdy that will keep things quiet.

Typically, larger drives are faster. However, drives within the same family (such as these two might be) probably differ only by the number of platters and so are probably identical in speed.



Bear in mind that some of the money tied up in a good case might be in the drive quick release mechanisms or internal lighting/fannage or whatever. Thought I'd mention that in case you only want something sturdy that will keep things quiet.

My suggestion for a case is get one with the most mountings for fans, but the least fans mounted. Then get some scythe or noctua quiet fans.
My Antec 1200 came with 6 fans mounted, but damn are they loud. Even on the lowest setting, they drown out the noise of my GPU fan going at 90%. Which is hard to do since it sounds like a jet engine.

On the topic of GPU fans. Why does my GPU fan at 90% sound passable, but at 100% it ramps up to be so loud that I can hear it from the next room? I've checked, and from 50% to 60% to 70% etc to 100%, the RPM increase is the same each 10% level. Yet the noise increase isnt linear like that. Anyone wanna explain this to me?

Energy expenditure versus linear velocity is in fact logarithmic.

Energy expenditure versus linear velocity is in fact logarithmic.

Wait, wouldnt that mean that the energy increase from 90-100% would be less than from 80-90%? In that case, noise increase too should be less, not more. Unless im not getting something here.

80-90% is a 1.27 times increase, 90-100% is 1.23 times. However there are various extraneous issues that affect the results.

For example, The human ear's sensitivity to sound (which is also logarithmic) will at different sound pressure levels display varying sensitivities to a given frequency in a way that doesn't seem logical, and is related to its physical construction.

Another issue is the whistles and such that may only resonate at higher wind speeds, for whatever reason.

Then there are bearings, that get unduly noisy with a certain amount of pressure (lubrication issue or whatever).

80-90% is a 1.27 times increase, 90-100% is 1.23 times. However there are various extraneous issues that affect the results.

For example, The human ear's sensitivity to sound (which is also logarithmic) will at different sound pressure levels display varying sensitivities to a given frequency in a way that doesn't seem logical, and is related to its physical construction.

Another issue is the whistles and such that may only resonate at higher wind speeds, for whatever reason.

Then there are bearings, that get unduly noisy with a certain amount of pressure (lubrication issue or whatever).

The sensetivity makes more sense. The pitch does increase quite a bit. One of the things I think it may be is that at 90% and below, the air can get out through the grille relatively well, but as soon as the fan goes above that, there is such an increase in resistance, the volume goes up a lot more than the numbers would predict it to.

Well, that's two more points I didn't think of. The turbulence will cause a buffeting noise as you suggest, and a reduction in the effective air flow and a back pressure on the fan, which may increase the pressure on the bearings.

The other is the pitch. We have a varying sensitivity to pitch. We are very sensitive to a typical higher pitched human whistle, for example. Here is a curve that demonstrates it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher-Munson_curves

How do you mount a windows 98/fat32 hard drive into a winxp/ntfs machine? I've got to pull some data off, and this older computer is being very resistant to mounting. It shows up in drive management, but xp won't let me access it.

Is this a separate drive from another computer? Is it on its own on an IDE cable on the secondary IDE port? Is it designated hidden? Did it work on the other computer? Can you install it as the primary and only drive and boot from it? Do you have the geometry set up right in the BIOS (large/LBA etc)?

I have seen cases where the wrong geometry will show a partition but not a file system. XP knows how to do FAT32.

edit: oops wrong thread

If you download ISO images meant for a CD, will it work if you try burning it to a DVD?

Is this a separate drive from another computer?
Yes
Is it on its own on an IDE cable on the secondary IDE port?
Yes. The drive is also set for cable select. I'm assuming it's the secondary, as my machine is SATA.
Is it designated hidden?
I don't believe so. I didn't see anything about hidden in the drvmgmt program. It shows up as healthy and active.
Did it work on the other computer? Can you install it as the primary and only drive and boot from it?
It is the primary on the other system. I will not be installing it as the primary on mine. I'm really leery of setting up a gateway primary fat32 partition on an HP desktop. Especially when the HP is seven years newer. I've had problems at work with the same brand computers getting imaged to a different model number. I'm not wild about trying to install it as the primary on my machine.
Do you have the geometry set up right in the BIOS (large/LBA etc)?
I'm not quite sure what that means. I've never heard of geometry set up in the bios...
I have seen cases where the wrong geometry will show a partition but not a file system. XP knows how to do FAT32.
I was pretty surprised that xp wasn't picking up the FAT32. I have a portable hard drive that I formatted as a 20gb FAT32 partition to hook onto his machine...

I'll take it into work. We have an IDE/USB interface there, and hopefully that'll work. If worse comes to worse, I'll install Win2k on one of the extra machines we have and see if it reads it then.

Have you tried making sure you have permissions on the disk? I don't think that should matter with a fat32 partition, but it's something to look at. It's been a few years since I installed an old HDD in a pc to copy files, but that was a problem for me once upon a time. You have to take ownership of it and give yourself admin privileges over it.

Also, assuming it shows up in the drive management, maybe you can pop in a Linux Live CD see if it shows up there? (If it does, you could probably copy it to a USB storage. Wouldn't recommend copying to NTFS unless the specific live-cd supports it)

@ aimee: Rumour has it that Nero will do it. Select your image then use a drop down box to select dvd over cd.

@ Turner: If your BIOS is not set up correctly with the drive then the OS you use is irrelevant (unless it is a *nix system).

The w98 machine might have wanted 'Large' access and your current machine might be defaulting to LBA addressing. Enter your BIOS setup and find your drive on the first or second screen (the one that lists the drives). Select it and change the addressing method/access mode. Try each of the available modes, each time booting windows to see if it works.

Thanks, all. I'll try those.

Is it true that a brand-new computer, fresh out of the box, is more likely to fail then one that's been used for a few months? (The bathtub curve.) I know this is true for hard drives, but is it also true for other hardware?

Statistically, I don't know. But if you've been using it for a few months, odds are that none of parts has a manufacturing defect and that it is assembled correctly. So there is very little likelihood of a failure at that point that wouldn't have shown up immediately. So if there is something wrong with the way it was built, you are more likely to see it immediately than in a couple months.

Typically, larger drives are faster. However, drives within the same family (such as these two might be) probably differ only by the number of platters and so are probably identical in speed.



Bear in mind that some of the money tied up in a good case might be in the drive quick release mechanisms or internal lighting/fannage or whatever. Thought I'd mention that in case you only want something sturdy that will keep things quiet.

Well I'm getting the 640gb now, it's only $7 more, there's no reason not too.

About the case, I found the CM store selling refurbished 690s for $50, with $30 shipping, and I found the Antec 300 at Staples for $60 free shipping, so $20 difference, I'm leaning towards the 300 for the more exhaust(that's more import than intake right?) so the only issue is if it's big enough really.

Now I just have to wonder why it seems every single DVD drive sucks ass according to reviews on Newegg, everyone is loud, doesn't do something it's supposed to, and is slower than advertised.

I have this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106266
Its not loud unless you have a dvd or cd in it burning.
There's also this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106288

I had a Lite-On on my old computer. Don't take my case as a single deciding factor, but it was a bit noisy and I got a few coasters but not enough to worry about.

I've never had a hard drive that was loud enough to be heard over the cooling fans. My dvd drive is pretty loud though.

I've never had a hard drive that was loud enough to be heard over the cooling fans.

I'll take that to mean you've never had a Maxtor. :lol::lol::lol:

Sorry, couldn't resist...

I had 1 Maxtor. No problem with it.