Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread II

[aimeeandbeatles]

What sort of issue would cause every computer in a neighborhood to lose packets at a certain time each day (it was usually afternoon, which usually is when latency would get worse because of everyone coming home from work and going on Facebook to play Farmville or whatever), and the ISP going out to check a bunch of phone lines? This happened recently.

Also, I get a little mixed up: Is good latency high or low?

 

[Cutlass]

If it's all happening the same time of day, it's probably a congestion issue. Too much use of the local segment all at the same time.

 

[GoodGame]

http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/L/latency.html

latency

(1) In general, the period of time that one component in a system is spinning its wheels waiting for another component. Latency, therefore, is wasted time. For example, in accessing data on a disk, latency is defined as the time it takes to position the proper sector under the read/write head.

(2) In networking, the amount of time it takes a packet to travel from source to destination. Together, latency and bandwidth define the speed and capacity of a network.

(3) In VoIP terminology, latency refers to a delay in packet delivery. VoIP latency is a service issue that is usually based on physical distance, hops, or voice to data conversion.

Internet/Network Latency is "bad" from the user's perspective since it can slow down the response to commands, increase website load pages, cause high "ping" in online games. Ping is "round-trip" latency from the user to the server and back to the user, measured as a seconds. So high "ping" is bad too.


And what Cutlass said. To many people using the same part of the network at the same time with too high a bandwith demand (e.g. streaming videos and games at the same time). I guess a web application like I guess Farmville is, would not be the main cause of it. But it could even just be the peak demand, regardless of what they're doing bandwith-wise.

 

[Cutlass]

If it is happening at a specific time every day, there's a possibility that a business on that segment is running backups every day at that time.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

The only businesses I can think of in the area are a convenience store (which I don't think uses the internet except maybe the debit machine), a gas station (which does has internet as they were having issues), and a warehouse.

 

[Zelig]

If you take all the innards of a PC out and put them into a new case, will Windows 7 think it's been re-installed and require a new validation? (Assume the CPU is not removed or replaced, but putting everything in the new box would require disconnecting everything else and then reconnecting.)

I want to put the guts of my current PC into a HTPC case and put all new stuff in my old case. My Windows 7 copy is OEM and if I remember correctly the license is only good for one install.

Maybe, in any case, it's been my experience that phone calls to MS are a pretty painless affair.

The EULA of the OEM license is kind of vague, if you're the PC builder, you're allowed to make repairs as necessary to a PC with the same license. I'm sure you can parse the legalese better than me anyway, but worst case scenario, a phonecall to MS should re-enable it for you.

The license is tied to the motherboard

Wrong.

 

[GoodGame]

Maybe, in any case, it's been my experience that phone calls to MS are a pretty painless affair.

The EULA of the OEM license is kind of vague, if you're the PC builder, you're allowed to make repairs as necessary to a PC with the same license. I'm sure you can parse the legalese better than me anyway, but worst case scenario, a phonecall to MS should re-enable it for you.

I think OEM version allows multiple installs but the license is usually limited to the one COMPUTER in theory. If you change the motherboard and CPU MODEL, then it's technically a brand new build. Changing RAM, GPU, HDD, should not be a problem. I'm not sure if they track that info to tell if you've broken the license or not. Try Google. From what I've read the OEM license IS TIED to the mobo and CPU.

Buying a full retail version is basically unlimited calls with no more than an automated internet/phone call. Takes about 1 to 10 minutes to complete.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Is there such a thing as a battery-powered router and modems for when the electricity goes out but the phone/cable lines are still up?

 

[Cutlass]

You could get a UPS to plug them into. They don't take much juice.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

My mom won't get a UPS as we "already have one" which doesn't work. And I don't have the money or I'd get one myself.

 

[Zelig]

If you change the motherboard and CPU MODEL, then it's technically a brand new build.

No, this is never made explicit.

If you send your computer back to Dell and they change the motherboard from a PCS-1207P to a PCT-1208R because they've stopped manufacturing the motherboard (same deal for the cpu), it's still the "same machine" and covered by the same license.

You have similar leeway when you are the system builder.

 

[GenMarshall]

So what if the case is when it's a built from scratch that you built with your hands and have to replace eather the motherboard or the CPU?

 

[civ_king]

So what if the case is when it's a built from scratch that you built with your hands and have to replace eather the motherboard or the CPU?

Are you using OEM or retail?

 

[Volum]

1. Recently bought my brothers "old" computer, it didn't have a wireless internett card so i bought a D-Link usb plung in thingy 300 mbps that worked perfectly for about a week downloaded games on Steam with over 2 mbps speed. Now the internett disconnects every few seckonds, and then connects again a few seckonds later. Been going on for about two days. Toughts?

2. I have a 30 day trial of Norton 360, should i buy it when my trial is up or just go with AVG or similar.

 

[shadowplay]

1. Recently bought my brothers "old" computer, it didn't have a wireless internett card so i bought a D-Link usb plung in thingy 300 mbps that worked perfectly for about a week downloaded games on Steam with over 2 mbps speed. Now the internett disconnects every few seckonds, and then connects again a few seckonds later. Been going on for about two days. Toughts?

The USB connection may be loose. Are you hearing that sound-effect Windows plays when a USB device is plugged in/unplugged?

Also, how far are you from the router?

2. I have a 30 day trial of Norton 360, should i buy it when my trial is up or just go with AVG or similar.

Go with a free one. I recommend Avast!, it loads faster than AVG.

 

[Volum]

I tried it and it does'nt seem to help, seemed a little better at first but it still disconnects/reconnects frequently. Trouble is it seems like my phone who is connected to the same wifi works fine, i'l bring my labtop after the weekend to confirm it out but i suspect it might be limited to the desktop. The routher is placed exactly 1 floor above me in my landlords living room, however if distance was the problemi don't understand how it could work withouth problems for about two weeks.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What would happen if you took a router and then took an ethernet cable and plugged both ends into the router.

 

[Cutlass]

What would happen if you took a router and then took an ethernet cable and plugged both ends into the router.

Nothing.

 

[GenMarshall]

Are you using OEM or retail?

We'll, im asking in the event that comes across to me in the far future. What if it's an OEM disk? and What if it's a retail disk?

On that topic, is it possible to get an OEM OS disk for a new build?

 

[illram]

If you're building your own computer you should buy the OEM version. They're cheaper and you can get them online at places like Newegg.