Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread II

[bhsup]

To return the computer to the state you bought it (sans bloatware) you need a Windows disc. If you don't have one, you may be able to get Microsoft Support to send you one. Then just do a clean install.

http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

Thanks to Zelig for giving me this link not long ago. You'll still of course need your own legitimate product code, and you'll need to be sure to download the correct image.

 

[civ_king]

Couldn't he just spend a couple hours in msconfig?

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

If someone installed a new OS or upgraded to a new OS on a laptop with a built-in webcam, and they didn't install or re-install *any* drivers or software for the built-in webcam or w/e and rendering it effectively useless; if someone different wanted to invade privacy and use the webcam without the laptop's owner's knowledge, would they still be able to do it?

 

[Narnia]

If someone installed a new OS or upgraded to a new OS on a laptop with a built-in webcam, and they didn't install or re-install *any* drivers or software for the built-in webcam or w/e and rendering it effectively useless; if someone different wanted to invade privacy and use the webcam without the laptop's owner's knowledge, would they still be able to do it?

I don't know for sure, but couldn't they just hack the laptop and install the proper drivers?

 

[Souron]

Couldn't he just spend a couple hours in msconfig?

That might work out, but why do that when you can spend much less of his own time reinstalling windows, and be more sure of the result?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

If someone installed a new OS or upgraded to a new OS on a laptop with a built-in webcam, and they didn't install or re-install *any* drivers or software for the built-in webcam or w/e and rendering it effectively useless; if someone different wanted to invade privacy and use the webcam without the laptop's owner's knowledge, would they still be able to do it?

A bit of duct tape over the camera is probably quicker and more effective.

 

[Narnia]

Does anyone know of any good books/other resources that talk about the basics of working with sound? (like processing a recording of a speech so that it sounds good?) Thanks

 

[Quackers]

Thanks for the tips on my computer issues guys. I was planning to dump all my important data onto an external HDD when I realised today that may not be the correct solution. I realise that when i turn my computer on the performance is quite good but over time the performance drops! Even when I have only one programme up the whole lappy feels sluggish. I'm thinking my laptop is overheating! So I'm going to take apart my laptop get to the important fans and have a good poke around to try and clear everything out to get a better air circulation to cool my computer down quicker. Is my diagonosis right with the information i have so far? Am i doing the right thing?

 

[Souron]

Not necessarily. It could be background processes and services with memory leaks. Older computers will crash when overheating, newer ones will turn off the turbo features and therefor run slower.

As you're thinking about taking the laptop apart, beware: you need to put it back together again. Take too many things apart and you might not be able to do it. However, just removing the bulk of the case, and air blasting as much dust as you can is relatively simple. Do not detach the CPU fan, unless you're willing to replace the thermal compound. It is, however, a good idea to unplug the CPU fan when cleaning, because forcing the fan to spin could potentially induce a current back through it's power wires.

 

[PlutonianEmpire]

It doesnt matter. Stop posting vids and stop sapping my data quota! Just the embed loading is data quota-sapping enough!

You can disable their auto-loading.

So, how do I disable video auto-load? As in, making the embed not appear at all?

 

[Mise]

If your laptop's still under warranty then don't take it apart, just take it back to the shop.

How much RAM do you have? You might want to add more RAM. It's easy to do this.

Get a compressed air can thing to blow out the dust if that's defo your problem.

 

[Quackers]

Not necessarily. It could be background processes and services with memory leaks. Older computers will crash when overheating, newer ones will turn off the turbo features and therefor run slower.

As you're thinking about taking the laptop apart, beware: you need to put it back together again. Take too many things apart and you might not be able to do it. However, just removing the bulk of the case, and air blasting as much dust as you can is relatively simple. Do not detach the CPU fan, unless you're willing to replace the thermal compound. It is, however, a good idea to unplug the CPU fan when cleaning, because forcing the fan to spin could potentially induce a current back through it's power wires.

Thanks for the tips. I'm only going to remove the casing and assess it from that point.

If your laptop's still under warranty then don't take it apart, just take it back to the shop.

How much RAM do you have? You might want to add more RAM. It's easy to do this.

Get a compressed air can thing to blow out the dust if that's defo your problem.

I will check if its under warrenty thats quite a good shout.
Ram 8GB. When I first got this laptop I could play Starcraft 2 on Ultra graphic settings, now when I play it on the lowest settings I get FPS issues when I have a lot on my screen. It's sad

 

[shadowplay]

If you have 8gb of ram that wouldn't be the issue, that's plenty.

Cleaning it out isn't a bad idea. Some laptops can be a little tricky to disassemble without proper instruction... lots of hidden screws...

I found some guides on youTube for my specific laptop that helped me quite a bit:

Spoiler :

Link to video.


Link to video.

Take a look around, there's probably guides out there for your laptop.

RE: compressed air. With my laptop, the dust was far too deep inside the machine and far too entrenched in the fans that I couldn't get the bulk of it out with compressed air without disassembling it first. It was a pain in the ass but made a huge difference in the end for me.

 

[Quintillus]

I'd also check your laptop manufacturer's website for a service guide if you decide to disassemble it to get rid of all the dust (which certainly can cause overheating). I don't know how good all the various manufacturers are about service guides, but Dell is pretty good about that, and if you have it up on another computer or print it out ahead of time, you won't need YouTube videos (which is a good thing if you don't have another computer to view them on while de-dusting). I'm sure at least a few other manufacturers also have good service guides.

 

[civ_king]

Thanks for the tips on my computer issues guys. I was planning to dump all my important data onto an external HDD when I realised today that may not be the correct solution. I realise that when i turn my computer on the performance is quite good but over time the performance drops! Even when I have only one programme up the whole lappy feels sluggish. I'm thinking my laptop is overheating! So I'm going to take apart my laptop get to the important fans and have a good poke around to try and clear everything out to get a better air circulation to cool my computer down quicker. Is my diagonosis right with the information i have so far? Am i doing the right thing?

do Control-Shift-Escape and go to performance to see how how intensively the CPU is being used.

 

[Radio Noer]

So I got my new processor, basically all I have to do is take out the old one and clean off the heatsink with isopropyl alcohol and a q-tip. Then add thermal paste (rice sized) to the top of the processor, reattach fan, and go?

 

[Souron]

No, don't use a cotton q-tip. Use a microfiber cloth. Or lacking that, a coffee filter. Cotton is not lint free. Look at pictures for how much thermal paste to apply. Words like "rice size" can be imprecise.

However, most processors these days come with a fan and thermal compound, so unless you have your own cooling system, all you need to do is follow the instructions that come with the product. No need for alcohol or anything.

 

[GoodGame]

The prepackaged eyeglass wipes are usually ok for cleaning the cpu surface without leaving lint. If you weren't sure of the suitability of the solution on them, open them, let them dry out a bit, then apply an alcohol cleaner.

 

[Radio Noer]

I successfully installed the new processor, I was surprised by how easily the old thermal paste wiped off with a microfiber cloth.

 

[LucyDuke]

So, how do I disable video auto-load? As in, making the embed not appear at all?

What browser?