Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread II

[Zelig]

That's good, but can it sustain 30 fps minimum for hours and hours on end?

Any computer that can't sustain full speed 24/7 is garbage.

 

[cardgame]

Considering most mid- to higher-end laptops today are more powerful than bleeding-edge desktops were when the game came out, it's a foregone conclusion.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Really, really silly question: In Vista, how do you clear out the search index for a specific folder? When I search in that folder I often get files that were deleted/zipped up long time ago. I know I used to know how to do this, but its gone and google keeps telling me just how to disable it.

I found this. In the Control Panel look for the Indexing Options (if you use the fancy new view, I think its under System Maintenance). Then click on the indexed folder you want to delete the index for, then click Advanced, then click Rebuild. Then go take a walk while it does that. And this fixed it for me.

Probably similiar under Windows 7, but I dont know.

 

[Radio Noer]

So, my computer monitor turned white suddenly today, I rebooted and it's working fine now. I did a quick search on Google says it may be something with the solder and heat. Any ideas?

 

[Cutlass]

If it's a heat issue check for dust. Open up the case and take a can of compressed air and blow out all the dust you can. Then make sure all the fans are working, and all the connections are tight.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It could also be a graphics driver issue such as on my old machine (it'd go weird at the most random times; once when checking my email). Checking for newer version or reinstalling wont hurt, at least.

 

[Narnia]

I am currently studying for A+ certification. I'm using the book ExamCram compTIA A+ to study however I'm having trouble understanding the hardware part (motherboards, ram, cpu, ect). I don't have any difficulty with the software side of things, just the hardware part. Does anyone have any study tips for learning the stuff about hardware or know of any good resources? Thanks

 

[Cutlass]

What is it that you don't understand? You don't need to know the engineering of how they are put together, just what each does and how they function together.

 

[Narnia]

What is it that you don't understand? You don't need to know the engineering of how they are put together, just what each does and how they function together.

I have a lot of trouble with the names and statistics. I can remember what stuff does, but I can't remember things like how many pins are on a DDR2 memory module or what the transfer rate of DDR2-800 is. (answers according to my book are 240 pins and 6,400 MB/s transfer speeds). Also, when learning about processors, I was confusing acronyms on occasion if both acronyms stood for processes that were similar

 

[Atticus]

Do they really require that you know by heart the amount of pins and that kind of stuff? Isn't the usual thought that you don't have to know it, since you can always check it up?

 

[Cutlass]

I have a lot of trouble with the names and statistics. I can remember what stuff does, but I can't remember things like how many pins are on a DDR2 memory module or what the transfer rate of DDR2-800 is. (answers according to my book are 240 pins and 6,400 MB/s transfer speeds). Also, when learning about processors, I was confusing acronyms on occasion if both acronyms stood for processes that were similar

You don't need to remember the statistics for all the various brands and models. That you can look up, and it's always got new things coming on the market and old things being dropped. So unless you're working as a physical system designer or builder you only really need the generalities. Those things in the book that they tell you to memorize, well you just need to work on your memory. If you can remember Windows commands, you can remember them, with a little effort.

I think what you need in this respect is to just relax and memorize through repetition until you know it.

 

[Narnia]

Do they really require that you know by heart the amount of pins and that kind of stuff? Isn't the usual thought that you don't have to know it, since you can always check it up?

I have no idea what to expect because this is the first certification I've ever gotten.

You don't need to remember the statistics for all the various brands and models. That you can look up, and it's always got new things coming on the market and old things being dropped. So unless you're working as a physical system designer or builder you only really need the generalities. Those things in the book that they tell you to memorize, well you just need to work on your memory. If you can remember Windows commands, you can remember them, with a little effort.

I think what you need in this respect is to just relax and memorize through repetition until you know it.

Good point. Thanks

 

[Atticus]

Then you should try to look if you find past exams to give some idea. They're also good practice.

 

[Narnia]

Then you should try to look if you find past exams to give some idea. They're also good practice.

Where can I find those at? That would be VERY helpful

 

[Atticus]

I don't know how it's around the world, but here at least you can find old exams on almost any field. I based the suggestion on the assumption that it's so there too, but quick googling gave only some sample questions from exams. Try these:
http://certification.about.com/od/apracticeexams/A_Certification_Practice_Exams.htm
http://www.proprofs.com/certification/comptia/a-plus/
http://www.simulationexams.com/certification-exams/a+-certification.htm
http://certification.comptia.org/Training/testingcenters/samplequestions.aspx

I have found often it useful to use other sources for studying too. Particularly helpful are some very brief condensations of the subject. I don't know if wikibooks is any good, but anyhow they give you the idea almost at a glance.

 

[Narnia]

I don't know how it's around the world, but here at least you can find old exams on almost any field. I based the suggestion on the assumption that it's so there too, but quick googling gave only some sample questions from exams. Try these:
http://certification.about.com/od/apracticeexams/A_Certification_Practice_Exams.htm
http://www.proprofs.com/certification/comptia/a-plus/
http://www.simulationexams.com/certification-exams/a+-certification.htm
http://certification.comptia.org/Training/testingcenters/samplequestions.aspx

I have found often it useful to use other sources for studying too. Particularly helpful are some very brief condensations of the subject. I don't know if wikibooks is any good, but anyhow they give you the idea almost at a glance.

Thank you very much

 

[Quintillus]

A program that I've found useful for memorizing things (vocabulary, Javascript syntax, etc. - it would probably work for this, too) is Anki. It's like flashcards, but better. The better part is that it uses mathematics and pschology to time when to quiz you on items again - ideally, shortly before you'd forget them. That way you aren't wasting time reviewing things you already know, but also are actually reviewing and learning the things that you have trouble remembering. There's also a cram mode for the night before the exam, though that's more like regular paper flashcards.

Cutlass is right that things like how many pins memory has isn't something you'll need to have memorized in practice - you'll just need to be able to figure out when you need DDR2, DDR3, etc., and how to install it. All DDR2 (except laptop DDR2) is going to have the same number of pins, so it's not something that can really be messed up. But for exam purposes, a program like the above could prove useful in memorizing it until the exam's over.

For the actual transfer speeds, at least recently, it's been multiply the number on the end (such as 800) by 8, and round to the nearest hundred. As far as I know that hasn't changed recently, and it works at least as far back as DDR2, probably farther.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/samsung-found-infringe-most-apple-231101124.html

My smartphone is one of them. How will this bullcrap, and the fallout from this bullcrap, affect my Galaxy?

 

[cardgame]

It won't.

 

[Quackers]

My computer has just slowed down. Things feel noticably sluggish.

What should I do about it?