Computer Questions Not Worth Their Own Thread II

[aimeeandbeatles]

I have an MKV file. The audio codec is FLAC. I am trying to encode it to a 600 MB AVI. AutoGK doesn't support it, and Avidemux and VirtualDubMod both crashed (Avidemux I think was due to the audio codec, dunno about the other). I looked into Avanti/ffmpeg but Im not sure how to get a specific output filesize. I tried something called mkv2avi but 4 hours in (at 95%) it crashed and made me very angry. Does anybody have any other suggestions? I looked at these.

 

[Reiser]

Can I send pictures to my computer from my DSi XL without using the Internet or Facebook?

 

[Till]

I have an MKV file. The audio codec is FLAC. I am trying to encode it to a 600 MB AVI. AutoGK doesn't support it, and Avidemux and VirtualDubMod both crashed (Avidemux I think was due to the audio codec, dunno about the other). I looked into Avanti/ffmpeg but Im not sure how to get a specific output filesize. I tried something called mkv2avi but 4 hours in (at 95%) it crashed and made me very angry. Does anybody have any other suggestions? I looked at these.

Why not use Virtualdub? Virtualdubmod has been dead for years.

Download -> Open file -> select some codec > save as avi

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

VirtualDub I didnt think supported MKV.

 

[PeteAtoms]

Maybe SUPER?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I tried SUPER and it didn't work. VirtualDub says "unknown or unsupported file type." maybe I ought to extract the audio and video and convert them invididually and remux.

 

[Till]

Oh, my bad. You need Avisynth then. See here and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXLEAScqN0U.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Thanks.

 

[Fr8monkey]

My F'tard computer is starting to P*** me off! I start playing a game I play almost every day (sorry not Civ.. ). All of a sudden, I get a "No Signal" message on the screen, goes blank and I have to restart the computer. I haven't changed the settings or anything in case your wondering. Is it an overheating problem or a software problem or what?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Does the sound get stuck too?

Either way, sounds like the graphics adapter is shutting off. Install RealTemp or RivaTuner and see what kinds of temperatures the graphics card is running at. If the graphics card is idling at above 80C, then its very likely that under load it is overheating and shutting down.

If on the other hand, the temperatures are more like 60C idle, but the sound also starts looping when the display turns off, its quite possible it's a driver issue thats causing a full on crash.

 

[Fr8monkey]

In game the sound kinda had a 1/2 second loop untill I stayed very still.

EDIT: Ran temp test and had 59c on 100% load.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Question: Whats a good way to backup an entire data partition at once? What I do is I use Microsoft SyncToys to sync savegames/appdata (e.g. IM logs) into the data partition. I need something I can use that can also make changes (e.g. moving files around or renaming them). Would DriveImage XML or some other alternative work?

 

[PeteAtoms]

I like CloneZilla... it'll clone a disk/partition or image it. I've used it twice successfully to image/restore my laptop's HDD. The text-based interface is a little daunting, but the tutorials online are good to read through. I just used default settings.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Thanks

Question: How does an image file spontaneously shrink? I didnt open it in any image editors (just image viewers) so I cant have accidentally done that. I also dont use any image optimizers.

 

[Turner]

In my experience, images do not spontaneously shrink. They have to be manipulated in some way for the file size to decrease.

 

[PeteAtoms]

What's keeping console gaming systems from using SSD's instead of HDD's? Or at least offer that option? Wouldn't it make the console run cooler and quieter (w/ the xbox's ability to write games to the drive, there would be no spinning disks)?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

What's keeping console gaming systems from using SSD's instead of HDD's? Or at least offer that option? Wouldn't it make the console run cooler and quieter (w/ the xbox's ability to write games to the drive, there would be no spinning disks)?

1. Expensive.
2. SSD is still pretty primitive and theres the write cycle problem (some people worry about that even tho, practically, it wouldnt run out for years).

 

[civ_king]

cost, a 250GB SSD isn't cheap

aimee, it isn't years, it's decades

 

[PeteAtoms]

Well obviously* I'm not talking about SSD with the same volume as HDD's. I get by just fine with a 12GB HDD in my xbox.

*EDIT: My bad, maybe it wasn't obvious... but I knew about difference in size of equally priced SSD's and HDD's already

 

[Genocidicbunny]

There's little benefit to a console from a SSD of that size. Consoles inherently don't rely on mass storage, so upgrading it is not necessary.