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I have and older laptop and it seemed to start slowing down and lagging a bit. I started upgrading the things I know how to do. First new battery and power supply...no problem. then 1G RAM DDR-667, PC2-5300, SODIMM...no problem. Upgraded to Windows7 Home...no problem. Last, added 1 G more RAM...problem black screen. I powered the laptop down, removed the battery, held power button for a second with no battery and installed the 2nd memory card like I had 1 week prior, but when i put the battery back in and powered it on...nothing but lights (power, internet connection, etc) just a black screen. so I started over and took it back apart and checked it all again. NOTHING. started all over and removed the new Ram cards and replaced with the old 512 cards. NOTHING. a computer guy told me it was the wireless card () But I got a new one anyway and installed it. NOTHING. I am lost and now have $170 in upgrades and O/S and I don't want to throw it away or SELL it for parts. PLEASE HELP. I read your forum first and tried everything you told others to try ALREADY. (no RAM beeps, yes) I know, you're probably thinking $170...why not buy a new one, but I am partial to this one   
I was running Windows7 Home, Microsoft Security Essentials, 80GHD, and basic ADOBE products, GOOGLE Chrome.....Wat U̶̲̥̅̊ need to do un screw d laptop and check d batery connector on d board read it with U̶̲̥̅̊я̩̥̊ meter and clean d ram port den cover it up and check again I did that. it still doesn't work. motherboard or CMOS battery? anyone get a fix with either of these?I'm assuming it doesn't work even with an external screen, thus riling out the screen just not working as opposed to the laptop not passing POST?  And, have you tried removing the CMOS battery for a few hours, or replacing it with a new one?
If so, remove everything you can from the laptop - unplug the keyboard, use one module of RAM, remove the battery, even try reseating the CPU, and so forth.  If it doesn't work in as bare a configuration as is possible, you're almost CERTAINLY looking at a dead motherboard.Is it the correct RAM ? ?

I have a PC with a Pentium Dual Core E5700 processor, 2 GB RAM in a ATX cabinet.

I have been facing a problem for the past few weeks. The CPU switches off without warning. This happens sometimes in a few minutes after switching on, sometimes after several hours. The screen goes BLANK, but the Power LED continues to glow. The restart button on the CPU also becomes unresponsive. I have to do a hard reboot by pressing the power on button for several seconds, or wait for few minutes after which the CPU reboots on its own.

I suspected a problem with the SMPS and changed it. The problem persisted. I then did a fresh install of the OS - Win 7 Pro. But the problem continues. Though the room tha houses my PC has no Aircon, the temperature is a reasonable 30 Deg C, which should not cause overheating. In any case, I have an additional CPU fan, as I am in a hot country.

Since the win resintall has not solved my issue, I guess it is a hardware problem. I have double checked all CABLES and slots too. When you say " the temperature is a reasonable 30 Deg C" - Are you REFERRING to the room, or CPU temperature?I mean the room temperature.

i built my girl friend a computer. never had an issue till she left it on in a thunder storm. when power came back on she turned on comp and nothing. she brought it to geek squad and they said her "PSU was fine its prob the mobo". bought her a new mobo, hooked everything up, and when i turned it on the fans would spin and then turn off. spin then off. so i bought her a new PSU. same issue. bought new CPU same issue. there are no beeps. took out RAM and no beeps.

please help! girlfriend is bugging the crap out of me!! lolSo you mixed new parts with potentially cooked parts? or is the new motherboard with new CPU, RAM, and PSU?

If you mixed new parts with old parts that could be bad you have to go through a process of elimination to try to FIGURE out what is the cause of the failure.

Generally a PSU is the first thing to blow or stress with a good surge and no protection, however if your still on dial-up and the modem got HIT it can blow the 56k modem and the modem can keep the system from posting/booting up properly.

What parts are new and what parts are from the old build. What are the make/model# of new parts and make/model of the computer that is being repaired with these parts. You might have a mismatch such as memory etc.first i replaced the mobo (cause i was told the PSU was ok). i replaced it with the same board i had before. gigabyte Z68A-D3H-B3.

then when i saw what it was doing i replaced the PSU. old one is Antec neo eco 620W new one is a kentek 700W (POS)

then i changed out the CPU with the same kind intel i3 core 2120 3.3 ghz.

then i talked to a pc repair guy and he said to take out the memory and see if i get a beep, which i did not. i didnt change the memory cause i figured if i didnt get a beep theres something else going on. memory is 2 4gig corsair vengeance

then i came on here and here we are...Is there a speaker connected here as shown in the pic? If no speaker is connected you will not get a beep code output. Some boards come with speaker soldered on, but this board requires one to be connected in order to get your beep codes.

I have seen many times in the past with people bringing me computers and they claim they do nothing, no beep codes etc, and then I open the panel and there is no PC Speaker connected. I connect my spare PC Speaker and its screaming about memory etc.


[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]well as a matter of fact......NO! (feel like a noob) never even thought of that.  ill take the one off mine and put it on hers and see what i get for beeps. im sure theres a PAGE on here with all the beep codes. youve been a big help thx!No problem... Hopefully your board will be able to tell you the root cause.

Here is a pic with beep codes for that board from the manual page 97 here: http://www.manualowl.com/m/Gigabyte/GA-Z68A-D3H-B3/Manual/207322

I like to use the beep code look up for the manufacturer of the board to look up codes that are not the norm. While most the of the common beeps will be listed, sometimes there are special beeps that are different that can tell you more than the basic common beeps if a different beep pattern is observed. Laptops are even more fun with different blink codes that change between models.



[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]well i put in the speaker and no beeps This board has integrated video, so I would unplug all that is not required to post, disconnect all DRIVES, remove video card or any other cards that were added.

Make sure the power supply is connected with the large 24pin and then make sure the 4 pin 12volt is connected. Connect monitor to the VGA port of integrated video and see if you can get it to boot.

If no boot, remove ram and check for beep code again. If no beep code then it looks to be a bad board possibly, but make sure the new CPU was installed and not the old CPU before claiming bad board.

I have also seen boards before that have had bent pins in the CPU socket cause no beep codes before or thermal compound getting into the socket before and doing this, but generally its a bad board when it wont give post beeps. CMOS reset can be attempted, but I dont think it will help. Quote from: craven on August 08, 2013, 03:22:11 PM

ishe brought it to geek squad and they said her "PSU was fine its prob the mobo". bought her a new mobo, hooked everything up, and when i turned it on the fans would spin and then turn off. spin then off.

Hey guys , new here , glad to be a part of all this.
The thing im here for is that my girlfriend's laptop is Fujitsu Siemens Amilo Li 3910 and it has
about 4gb ram , 1,3gb VIDEO  Intel Express Series as shown above
Processor 2GHZ Dual core (rated as 3ghz)
And i cant run league of legends at lowest Graphic options possible - when i do that i GET around 20-30 FPS at maximum , i've turned on everything on max
and it can run at max of 42-5 Frames per second.
I am currently Using Windows7 Ultimate 32 bit verson on her laptop.
The issue came after the reinstallation.I reinstalled her windows because it had not been reinstalled for 3 years (since she bought it , it was getting slow so i decided so)
I firstly used a 64 bit version of Win7Ultimate yet it didn't fix it when i CHANGED it.
I HAVE updated all drivers  using the sites for the pc (fujitsu.com) and their recommended programs like driverdesktop or whatever. i've downloaded drivers from the site
I went to INTEL.COM and there i searched for the display graphic drivers , downloaded them for the correct OS verision etc , installed them yet nothing, I checked League of Legends'  Forum and there i saw i needed Microsoft frame network etc. i installed all of the programs recommended from there that are used to (Dx11, Adobe air etc)
Still nothing
Before the reinstall this Laptop could run LoL On 60FPs med graphics , i cabnt get it to 40 with The lowest atm, i do not know what is the problem.
Is it The os ? - a  friend of mine told me that it can be the OS but i cant help it , changed it 2 times
Drivers-  I searched drivers for nearly 50 hours , downloaded all kinds of progarms , driver packs , went to the Company sites (intel , fujitsu etc) Nothing worked
Additional Programs- Am i forgetting something that is a key to graphic performance ?
Graphic card optimization - I heard and actually applied some improvements to the graphic card but it doesnt do a key change to the whole situation

PLEASE HELP


Too Long;didnt read; ~

Video Card
Minimum: DirectX 9.0 capable video card support Shader 2.0
You Have: Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
 Video CardClick here for the latest Video Card drivers.
Upgrade Suggested
Features: Minimum attributes of your Video Card
Required    You Have
Icon    Video RAM    64 MB    1.3 GB
Icon    Hardware T&L    Yes    Yes
Icon    Pixel Shader version    2.0    4.0
Icon    Vertex Shader version    2.0    4.0


<  This cant run LOL on minimum graphics with Lowest graphic options possible (with more than 20 FPS)
Updated all drivers from the sites
Added all programs. Help. (This issue is from after reinstalling windows)
http://www.systemrequirementslab.com/CYRI/Requirements/league-of-legends/10933?p=aLaptop may have been slowing down due to heat issue. After the rebuild was the computer still laggy? I'd run speedfan on this and check temps.

As far as Intel Integrated Graphics go, they are not very powerful even if you have 1.5GB RAM allocated to it.

INFO I found online:

Quote

Fujitsu-Siemens AMILO 18.4in Notebook Li3910.
Intel Pentium Dual Core T3400 processor. 2.16GHz processor speed. 1MB cache. 4GB DDR2 RAM. 18.4in screen size. Resolution 1680 x 945 pixels. Widescreen HD+. 320GB SATA hard DRIVE capacity. Multiformat dual layer DVD RW optical drive. Intel GMA 4500M graphics card. Up to 1759MB graphics memory. 13 in 1 media card reader - compatible with MS, SD, miniSD, MicroSD, MMC, RS-MMC, MMC-Micro, Mobile MMC, MSPRO, MS-Duo, MS-PRO Duo, MS-Pro HG Duo, M2 (some through adaptor). 3 USB ports. 1 Ethernet port. Integrated HD sound card. 0.3Mp webcam with low light technology with auto focus, auto brightness adjustment. 802.11b/g wireless enabled. Windows Premium operating system installed. Software included: Microsoft Works, Microsoft Office - trial version, Internet Security Suite, DVD burning and playing software. Up to 3 hours battery life. Size (H)3.8, (W)43.8, (D)28.5cm. Weight 3.3kg.

Hello
 Can anyone Please tell me if it's possible to build a laptop from scratch?

All I can find are Websites that do customization & that's not what i'm looking for.

I'm looking for a UK website to buy from not an overseas site.

Thanks 4 Your Time
Carl

In a word, no.
Yes, it's theoretically possible, but it would be so time consuming and expensive it would completely defeat the purpose.  You can buy barebones laptops and add your own CPU, RAM, and HDD within the limits of the chipset, but that's just precisely what the websites offering customization do, and to buy a barebones yourself will mean you'll be paying an inflated price as they're normally sold only to OEMs, and losing out on the benefits of buying from a company like that (for example, warranty and technical support).
Why do you want to build your own?Hi
 The thought came too me when trying to buy a new laptop,  Not sure which are good to buy & which are not.
I'm wanting a decent laptop with good graphics & speed plus built in webcam, Wi-Fi etc  but don't want to spend more then £400 Quote from: Believil on August 12, 2013, 08:38:19 AM

I'm wanting a decent laptop with good graphics & speed plus built in webcam, Wi-Fi etc  but don't want to spend more then £400

I have an HP 6480 all in one printer,scanner,copier, fax. I encountered a paper jam using the ADF while making a copy. After clearing the  feeder jam, and finding no other paper JAMS I attempted to make the copy using the FLAT glass panel. When I pressed the copy button, a loud grinding noise was heard from the front right side in the area of the printer cartridge carrier, and a Paper jam message was displayed. After no other paper jams were located and pressing the OK button, the grinding sound in the area of the cartridge carrier was heard again. Paper was fed and the page was printed, but the cartridge carrier appears to be hung up on something that I can not see. I can SLIDE the carrier left from it normal REST position but when it automatically resets and starts a new print function there is the gear grind sound.
My question is; Is there a way to safely & easily REMOVE the  cartridge carrier and see what might be causing the grinding /obstruction sond.
I have attempted to align and clean the cartridges but receive a failure messages. Any suggestions or help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.  I suggest you contact HP

My Transcend 8GB usb pan drive is not format. Its showing ERROR is "THE DISK IS WRITE PROTECTED"

PLS GIVE ANY SOLUTION......Some of their Models have a micro switch to write protect the drive.This happened to me once with a 32 GB Patriot drive. It worked fine for several months, but then I got that write protected error. It ENDED up being a known issue with the drive. I  emailed Patriot and they quickly sent me their formatting tool specific to the drive and now it WORKS again.

Hello, today i was playing a game called Team Fortress 2 and Whilst i was WALKING my keyboard SUDDENLY didnt work i then turned off the PC and turned it back on the computer lights turned on the off the fan started and that doesent turn off, i then let it on for 5-10 min to see if something happend but there wasnt please help as this is my brothers computer and he's gonna beat the sh*t out of me if i dont fix it.
PS: The computer is around 3 Years old
Note: Sorry for my bad English i'm writing this on my IPad and i'm only 11 (Name of PC is in Title) WINDOWS 7 as OS.
PC Problems: Bad Battery (NEEDS Charging 24/7Remove battery and let laptop set for about 15 min and then plug battery in and see if that helps. Seen laptops act this way and completely removing power for like 10 or 15 minutes and plugging battery back in it then turns on and is fine.

Also try to boot the laptop off of just outlet power pack power with battery removed and see if it will run connected off the power pack without battery installed. Sometimes batterys fail and will pull the power down to where the laptop can not function.

Hello. I'm new to this site so if I am posting in the wrong place then i'm sorry and I will repost in the correct subforum. Three days ago i received the Gamer Xtreme 1353 from CyberPower and the ASUS VG Series VG278H Monitor. The GPU is a Nvidia Geforce GTX 650. I have the monitor and gpu connected via an hdmi cable. The screen resolution is set to 1920x1080 (native) YET the screen is very blurry and text is quite distorted. I have the latest driver for the gpu, HOWEVER the VG278H only has DRIVERS for windows xp/7. I did attempt to download the windows 7 driver (not sure if this is a good idea anyway) however it said no system hardware could be detected. Any help would be very much appreciatedhttp://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-usI have the latest driver for the graphics card, not exactly sure what else i can do.Are you able to test either the monitor on another PC, or the PC on another monitor,. to determine which is causing the PROBLEM?  Alternatively does the monitor support a different input, like DVI or Displayport, which you could try to SEE if it's just the HDMI causing problems?

i have a dell vostro 260 with an i3 and want to upgrade, what motherboard/ processor/ SSD can I buy without spending a fortune?

I have already installed a G-force GT640 and added 2 x 4 Gb CORSAIR Vengeance RAM's.

Any advice is gratefully received.What do you want to GAIN from the upgrade?  By which I mean, what do you do with the PC?
Additionally, what's your budget?I use it for gaming, most of the time it 'copes' but i'm wanting my machine not to struggle as sometimes I have to drop out of a GAME at a crucial point because my pc freezes or causes a ping so high I have to rage quit which is really frustrating!

My budget would be as little as possible (having 3 lovely drains on the resources (the kids)) so i'm not looking for the top of the range, just something I can put in that will mean that for example I can turn the graphics up to high in GAMES like PS2 and still have a descent enough FPS.

I heard it can be tricky upgrading a Dell so any advice would be great!

Any ideas?

ThanksA faster CPU may help a little, but your GT 640 will be holding you back in most games.  A decent graphics card will however require you to upgrade the PSU, and potentially the case as it doesn't look like it has all that much airflow so a faster card may run quite hot.
Newer Dells mostly tend to be standards compliant unless they're the really tiny ones, so I can't see anything stopping you from upgrading most parts.
An SSD will help your system feel much, much faster in terms of booting up, shutting down and loading programs and files, but won't help game performance.  I'd recommend the Samsung 840 Pro, Crucial M4, or Plextor M5 series drives.

Hi,

I purchased a new desktop computer to replace my old one. I would like to install the IDE hard drive from my old PC into my new PC that has only SATA connectors.


Any recommendations of reliable brands for the IDE to SATA adapter/converter that does not cost too much for what it's worth?


thank youYou might use a USB to PATA adapter.
Hi Geek,

Thanks for the suggestion, I've thought of that already but I'd rather STILL use an internal IDE to SATA converter solution.OK. Are you sure your motherboard does not have an IDE connection? Every motherboard I have owned always had at least one IDE connector. Even my SFF desktop has one for the CDROM.
EDIT: The adapter you want is on Amazon for under $20. No need to BUY a PCI card, the RIGHT adapter fits on the back of the IDE drive and uses the same power connector. Never use one, but Amazon is careful about selling junk. It is always good junk.
Be sure and SELECT if you want to an IDE drive or a SATA drive. The have both KINDS of adapters.
thank you Geek. I'll check out what Amazon offers.  Got one of these sitting in a drawer.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132012&Tpk=RC-215%20SATA%20controller%20card

If your new computer has a PCI slot, then this is available.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815104214

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007607%20600022626&IsNodeId=1&name=SATA%20%2f%20IDE

Hey everyone i have this HP Laptop and i really need firewire port to transfer my video tapes from camcorder to my laptop. How can i know if i could install firewire card on my laptop or not?

Thx
Here are the specs:

You can't install a PCI card into any laptop, but you can usually install an Expresscard Firewire adapter.  However, your laptop lacks any expansion ports at all from what I can see.  You could possibly get a USB to Firewire adapter, but from the little I know of them they can be a little hit and miss.As Calum said you cannot install a PCI card into a laptop.  Your laptop model also lacks the "expresscard" slot used by laptop firewire cards.

While you can get adapters for Firewire to USB, you have to be very careful as they rely on the firewire device to be "USB Aware" so it can output USB data through its firewire port.  Not many devices can actually do this so you would need to contact the manufacturer of the firewire device to see if it is "USB Aware".

Failing that, the only option is to replace the firewire device with something USB capable or use it on a different machine that has a firewire port.Does the camcorder not have any video out ports ? ? Quote from: Calum on August 12, 2013, 05:18:34 AM

You can't install a PCI card into any laptop, but you can usually install an Expresscard Firewire adapter.  However, your laptop lacks any expansion ports at all from what I can see.  You could possibly get a USB to Firewire adapter, but from the little I know of them they can be a little hit and miss.

As Calum said you cannot install a PCI card into a laptop.  Your laptop model also lacks the "expresscard" slot used by laptop firewire cards.

While you can get adapters for Firewire to USB, you have to be very careful as they rely on the firewire device to be "USB Aware" so it can output USB data through its firewire port.  Not many devices can actually do this so you would need to contact the manufacturer of the firewire device to see if it is "USB Aware".

Failing that, the only option is to replace the firewire device with something USB capable or use it on a different machine that has a firewire port.

Does the camcorder not have any video out ports ? ?

So you are saying i cannot install a " Expresscard Firewire adapter" because my laptop doesnt have an expansion slot?

I'll try to buy a USB to firewire adapter. when you say hit and miss do you mean they would affect the quality or wouldnt work at all?

Correct.

Camerongray has explained it better than me, basically if the camera isn't USB aware it won't work with the adapter, if it is USB aware then it should work fine.

what abt memory card slot? my laptop has the slot to put memory cards like for cameras.. so isnt same as express slot?

For general referee. Many, if not most, laptops have a slot for a PC Card. It was once called a PCMCIA, but later the name was changed. The slot provides a 32 bit interface and DMA. But it is no longer just a memory card. There are many different kinds of external devices that can connect to the right PC Card via the PC Card slot on the side of the laptop.

But as for PCI, only a few laptops weer made with a mini PCI slot. Never got popular.

When shopping for laptop, make sure it has a PC Card slot if you ever want to use various external devices.
Remember, it is now called PC Card
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PC_Card

Hello everyone, it has been a very long time!
I have a question for someone who works on laptops.. I am a desktop kind of guy, I will try to post short bullets instead of long paragraphs.

Laptop is a Toshiba Satellite A665-S6065 Bios v 2.30
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate
Specs: I7-720QM
Nvidia 330M
8GB DDR3 memory
500GB 5200 RPM Hitachi DRIVE


June 2013:
While doing some gaming and memory intensive applications the laptop would BSOD. I would get a Blue screen at least once or twice a week.
Ran memtest86 and Windows memory diagnostic everything checked out.

July 2013
Went to toshiba's website and update/ re-install all drivers for the computer.
Laptop starts to act worst. Blue screen still happening, but now laptop would shut itself off randomly. (As in your in the middle of something and then the laptop completely powers off. If to say something overheated. This is just surfing the web.
Run CPU stress test using prime95 - nothing happens (2 hrs)
Run Video stress test using future mark - nothing happens(1 HR)
Rerun memtest and windows memory diagnostic - all pass (after 8 hours)
Run segate HD tools for windows - all ok
Windows is telling me it has problem with virtual memory allocation on my laptop. (Page file set to automatic)
Goes do something which requires a bit of everything( web browser with multiple tabs, loading youtube video... crashes..)

August 2013
Go gets BSOD screen reader and see what is causing BSOD I see pagefile.sys as a problem. Wlan.dll, realteck,dll all errors seems to have ntoskrnl.exe error
Goes get window 7 CD insert and repair windows - after repair try running something that would crash my laptop. Opera with 20 tabs open and then try running a browser based flash game. 1 minute later BSOD,
Use command prompt and tried sfc /scannow. Everything checked out ok.
Went to My Computer and scheduled a disc check. Also checking free space while it is running. - Comes back and find that the laptop shut itself off.

Turns laptop back on, and enter hard drive password. - Laptop shuts off after 10 sec. Try again, does the same thing....

Go remove 1 memory module - try again laptop shuts off after 10 sec.
Swap other memory module - laptop shuts off after 10 sec.
Swap module slots - laptop shuts off after 10 sec.
Go into System bios and not do anything.... - laptop shuts off after 10 sec.
Remove Hard drive and let the computer sit in the BIOS - laptop shuts off after 10 sec.
remove all memory module - computer receives power but nothing on screen and no beeps.

Thinking something might be overheating. I spent all morning 11:00 pm 8-13-2013 to 4:30 am 8-14-2013 Took the motherboard out and looked for burnt or something that might show what is wrong. Either hardware must have  overheated and broke or capacitor gone bad. Cleaned the CPU fan and heat sink. By the way, OEM likes to smother there components with thermal paste. When I took the heat sink out and saw all the thermal paste I was like *censored*..
Cleaned and looked at CPU and GPU and did not see any burn marks or any indication that heat was a major issue.

Re-apply thermal paste put everything back together and tried the laptop this afternoon. I put in laptop password and 15 sec laptop shuts itself off again.
Try sitting in the bios.. laptop again shuts itself off.

This laptop HD is encrypted with TrueCrypt. The laptop was showing signs of problems with BSOD and I was going to decrypt the hard drive after checkdsk. It crashed somewhere in checkdsk and now the laptop won't stay on long enough to even log into windows.

The laptop does come on still. It will show the Bios welcome screen and then ask for laptop password. As soon as you enter it in or just let it sit for a few sec it would turn itself off.
The same thing goes just sitting in the BIOS not doing anything.
Try using Ubuntu Live CD. - Shuts off while checking system hardware.

Power connector is fine, I also tried running on a fully charged battery only and same problem.

If someone who has more experience with laptops knows what I should look for on the motherboard or what else I can try to test let me know. I am disappointing that this laptop only lasted me 3 years

Lucky I have MOST things backed up on the Home storage server.... though I probably should have a backup to the backup...Very strange.... so it was 10 seconds exactly and it would shut down. You opened the laptop and added new thermal compound and now its shanged to 15 seconds exactly?

Only thing I see that hasnt been done is trying to run the laptop without the battery installed just off of wall power.

Worst thing is that the warranty is likely void by OPENING it up if it still had one active.

I heard of Toshiba suggesting a flash for their laptops to throttle them down to relieve failures, but I dont believe the issue is for the Core i7. I think it was mainly with the AMD CPU's running too hot.

On simple google search it looks like this model may have heat issues, although with what you did it should have cured it: http://www.google.com/#bav=on.2,or.&fp=577560816760f5b2&q=toshiba+satellite+a665-s6065+overheat

Toshiba forums have lots of people angry with issues with the Core i7's in Satellite model, but claiming that the Core i5's are more reliable.WELL, I took it apart again and double checked everything..

Looks like a sensor might be bad somewhere.

I only noticed this when the room was quiet.

When you first turn it on, the fan speed is on slow since nothing is really warmed up yet. If you just let it sit on the password screen about 10 seconds in you start hearing the fans suddenly go full blast like something is overheating and it is trying to quickly cool it. After a few seconds it shuts off.

If you turn it on again immediately it does the same thing.. Slow speed for a few seconds then the fan runs full blast like something is overheating. I even try putting next to a window fan with air directly on the laptop.. same problem

The biggest question is what is wrong.

If it is the CPU pretty expensive to replace but least problematic.. plus I might as well upgrade it.

If it is the chip set, then a new motherboard needs to be ordered and that can get expensive, if the video card is bad new motherboard since it is soldered on.. Plus I got to get the right motherboard because it comes in so many configurations... integrated graphics with i3-i5 clarksfield or  i7 gets the 310M, 330M or 540M.. LED back lit keyboard versions.. (sigh)

I guess if their is an easy way to figure out which sensor is bad and see if it can be patched up it would be easier. I looked at all the soldering and they look ok. I even cleaned the rubber pieces, they are light blue and feels like play dough that covers some chips that connect to the heats ink.

http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/Toshiba,Satellite,A665-S6065,PSAW3U-03Y001,Laptop,System-Boards.aspx <- Big ouch since buying a new motherboard is basically almost half of what I paid for it when new 3 years ago!

What the inside of the laptop looks like: http://www.irisvista.com/tech/laptops/Toshiba-Satellite-A665-A660/laptop-disassembly-3.htm

Also can't tell if a video card is already soldered on or you have to buy your own video card and install it...

When it was new: $900 on newegg.

I currently have it running on bare parts. power connector connected, CPU with heat sink connected and then memory. No Hard drive connected. I try touching some parts to see if something is getting hot fast enough to trigger it.. Nothing. No fan since the fan is just a mini fan blower that basically blows air to cool it and its not really attached to anything.

To bad the BIOS doesn't show any voltage or temps..Speccy will report voltages and Temps...still Free.

Good to seeya again...long time.    I suspect the heatpipe (shown in Step 27) has lost it's cooling fluid.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1663389

Hi all,

I had a look through the forum but couldn't find what I needed.

I have a mostly dead pc (motherboard problem) and need to get the data off two drives.

Unfortunately they are striped using Raid 0 so I can't just take them out to read one at a time.

Short of putting them in another PC, or getting a new mobo, does anyone know of a way I can resolve this one?

Many thanks in advance for any suggestions!

cheers
wayjo
The last time I dealt with this, it was 2 x 36GB SCSI drives running RAID 0 striped and I had to move the drives and the Adaptec U160 SCSI controller card to a WORKING COMPUTER, install the driver for the Adaptec drives for Windows XP and then I was lucky that the stripe was not broken and so I was able to access the data.

While I was going through this process I feared the worst and was prepared to use a software utility called GetDataBack RAID which I own a licensed copy of thsi data recovery bundle, but I didnt have to use the software fortunately. The data is located here: http://www.runtime.org/

*What type of drives are these IDE, SCSI, SATA, etc and do you have a Drive Controller with RAID that can be installed into another computer or was this RAID controller integrated in the motherboard that died?

*If you were using Software RAID vs Hardware RAID it gets more tricky, because you have to introduce the drives to a same version of Windows machine that is healthy and then rejoin the RAID 0 stripe WITHOUT it repartitioning or reformatting the drives. I haven't done this yet, but from INFO I found online, I was really glad I had a regular RAID controller card that was able to be moved over to the other computer to be able to access the data.Hi Dave,

many thanks for the response!

These are SATA drives and I think it was Software RAID. Looks like I need to. One think I haven't tried is booting up another OS from DVD, just in case it is not the mobo.

If I sort it, i'll let you know how it went.

cheers
wayjo

well I've purchased a mother board on ebay that was suppose to be brand new.after assembling it together and plugging it into my monitor nothing showed up on my screen. after go through and trying everything on different computer I've finally diagnosed it was the motherboard. so i open a case on ebay and the seller ask me what comments i was using and i told him. he said that my cpu and ram card was not compatible. I've read that a mobo would config the ram card to work with it ( i could be wrong) and as for the cpu i don't really know. So i wanted to ask the community on there take.
MOBO - Intel BLKDP45SG DP45SG ATX DDR3 LGA775
CPU - Intel SL9D9 Pentium D Processor 925 3.0GHz 4MB 800MHz Desktop CPU Socket LGA775
RAM - KingstonKP382H-HYC 4GB 240p PC3-10600 CL9 16c 256x8 DDR3-1333 2Rx8 1.5V UDIMM,

he was talking as if because its not on the list that it will automatically not work. if that were true would i not hear a POST beep or something signaling it was a ram or cpu problem?I'd find a better CPU that is on the supported CPU list for that board. A Pentium D 3Ghz even with 4MB Cache is going to be a bottleneck if it did work.

If you are looking for a cheap but good performing CPU for this build, I would suggest going with a CPU like the Pentium E5400    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_microprocessors      which is 2.7Ghz and a pretty good Dual-core and is on the supported CPU list. *I have 2 of these CPU's in 2 builds and they are good workhorses for what I use them for. They also are able to run most games with a good video card added. The lightest CPU I'd put in this is a Core 2 Duo. * Some Core 2 Duo's out perform the Pentium E5400, but the E5400 is a newer CPU

*I would suggest staying away from the Pentium E2000 series as for the ones I have worked with in BUSINESS machines are laggy even with plenty of RAM. And with Core 2 Duo's I would suggest the 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo e6600 http://ark.intel.com/products/27250/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E6600-4M-Cache-2_40-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB as for this CPU performs WAY better than the Core 2 Duo e4300 1.8Ghz http://ark.intel.com/products/28024/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E4300-2M-Cache-1_80-GHz-800-MHz-FSB that my wifes HP computer tower initially came with. The 2.4Ghz e6600 vs the 1.8Ghz e4300 is a significant performance gain, especially when it comes to games. She currently games on this machine on the e6600 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM DDR2-800Mhz running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with a GeForce 9800GT with 1GB RAM, and a 160GB IDE HDD for the OS and most games, and 30GB SATA II SSD for World of Warcraft which is 25GB and really performs well on the SSD vs the old slow IDE HDD that I put into this computer. *The original hard drive that this computer had when given to me ( for free ) "dead" was a 320GB SATA II HDD, but the drive was TOAST and the 160GB IDE was collecting dust and so I added a 2x IDE cable in place of the 1x IDE cable to have the DVD/CD-RW drive and HDD on this IDE port and when a deal came by with a close out on a OCZ 30GB HDD for $29.99, I picked it up quickly for her system.

Here are the supported CPU's for that motherboard:
Quote

Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Extreme, Dual-Core Xeon 3000 series, Core 2 Quad, Pentium Dual Core, Celeron 400 sequence, Quad-Core Xeon 3200 series, Celeron Dual Core, Dual-Core Xeon 3100 series, Quad-Core Xeon 3300 series

...
MOBO - Intel BLKDP45SG DP45SG ATX DDR3 LGA775
CPU - Intel SL9D9 Pentium D Processor 925 3.0GHz 4MB 800MHz Desktop CPU Socket LGA775
RAM - KingstonKP382H-HYC 4GB 240p PC3-10600 CL9 16c 256x8 DDR3-1333 2Rx8 1.5V UDIMM,

he was talking as if because its not on the list that it will automatically not work. if that were true would i not hear a POST beep or something signaling it was a ram or cpu problem?

I'd find a better CPU that is on the supported CPU list for that board. A Pentium D 3Ghz even with 4MB Cache is going to be a bottleneck if it did work.

If you are looking for a cheap but good performing CPU for this build, I would suggest going with a CPU like the Pentium E5400    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_microprocessors      which is 2.7Ghz and a pretty good Dual-core and is on the supported CPU list. *I have 2 of these CPU's in 2 builds and they are good workhorses for what I use them for. They also are able to run most games with a good video card added. The lightest CPU I'd put in this is a Core 2 Duo. * Some Core 2 Duo's out perform the Pentium E5400, but the E5400 is a newer CPU

*I would suggest staying away from the Pentium E2000 series as for the ones I have worked with in business machines are laggy even with plenty of RAM. And with Core 2 Duo's I would suggest the 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo e6600 http://ark.intel.com/products/27250/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E6600-4M-Cache-2_40-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB as for this CPU performs WAY better than the Core 2 Duo e4300 1.8Ghz http://ark.intel.com/products/28024/Intel-Core2-Duo-Processor-E4300-2M-Cache-1_80-GHz-800-MHz-FSB that my wifes HP computer tower initially came with. The 2.4Ghz e6600 vs the 1.8Ghz e4300 is a significant performance gain, especially when it comes to games. She currently games on this machine on the e6600 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo with 4GB RAM DDR2-800Mhz running Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit with a GeForce 9800GT with 1GB RAM, and a 160GB IDE HDD for the OS and most games, and 30GB SATA II SSD for World of Warcraft which is 25GB and really performs well on the SSD vs the old slow IDE HDD that I put into this computer. *The original hard drive that this computer had when given to me ( for free ) "dead" was a 320GB SATA II HDD, but the drive was toast and the 160GB IDE was collecting dust and so I added a 2x IDE cable in place of the 1x IDE cable to have the DVD/CD-RW drive and HDD on this IDE port and when a deal came by with a close out on a OCZ 30GB HDD for $29.99, I picked it up quickly for her system.

Here are the supported CPU's for that motherboard:
Here is a comparison between the 2 cheaper CPU's that I suggest the Core 2 Duo e6600 2.4 Ghz vs the Pentium E5400 2.7Ghz : http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/385/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E6600_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E5400.html .... as you can see they are really close in performance and the strengths and weaknesses are stated.

**Also if you want to overclock, the Core 2 Duo e6600 is a great CPU for running it hard and lasting. The CPU that normally runs at 2.4Ghz will run at 3.0+Ghz without any problems as long as you have proper cooling!!! The Core 2 Duo e6600 that is in my wifes computer I purchased off of my brother who ran it overclocked for almost 5 years in his gaming system at 3.2Ghz. I bought the motherboard with RAM CPU and heatsink for $90 and sold the high end motherboard for $50 and kept the 4GB Corsair DDR2 XMS2 800Mhz RAM for my gaming system and installed this CPU into my wifes computer as just 2.4Ghz native clock. *The ASUS motherboard in this HP Pavilion has no BIOS features to overclock and the e6600 is the fastest CPU that is supported by the lower end ASUS for HP motherboard.

*** If you can find a Core 2 Quad for that motherboard that is even better. It all depends on your budget and what this build is going to be used for?

**** The motherboard is an older board and could be still be listed as brand new as long as it was never used prior to you using it, even though its from 2008/2009 http://ark.intel.com/products/34683/Intel-Desktop-Board-DP45SG. I have seen old stock brand new = never used items on ebay before, even items that are over 20 years old and they stopped making the items years ago like 5.25" single-sided floppy disks in a sealed box.

***** Here is a comparison between a Pentium D 945 CPU slightly more more powerful than your current CPU and a Pentium E5400 : http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/309/Intel_Pentium_D_945_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E5400.html

Pentium D-925 is not on the compatibility list for that motherboard, but it should work, since the mobo supports 800Hz bus speed (i.e. E4700-E4300).  I have exactly the same cpu & it's solid & runs cool (30degC).

Don't think the RAM is an issue even though it's a lot faster than you need.

What about the graphics card, you did not specify?

Is this the motherboard?

I'm looking into a new computer for gaming/work(Graphic Design/Webdesign). I'm highly experience in most subjects, but this is confusing me and want people opinion on the matter.
I'm wanting to see if the rig I'm looking at can hold 4 monitors (x2 1920x1080 24" and x2  22'' Muti-touch LED Monitor; 1080p Full HD; Dual Optical Touch 20,000,000:1)

Computer specs are:


Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
North Bridge Chipset: Intel X79 Express
CPU: Intel Core i7-3820 Processor 3.6GHz
CPU Brand: Intel
CPU Core:   Quad-Core
CPU Type:   Core i7
CPU Speed:   3820 (3.6GHz)
Turbo Boost Speed   Up to 3.8GHz
Smart Cache:  10MB
FSB:   5 GT/s
CPU Socket:   LGA 2011
CPUs Installed   :       1
CPUs Supported:   1
Total Memory:   16GB
Memory Speed:   DDR3-1600
Form Factor:   240-pin DIMM
Memory Configuration   4 x 4GB
HD Capacity:   2TB
HD Interface:   SATA
HD RPM:   7,200 RPM
HD Configuration:   1 x 2TB
RAID   AHCI

Multimedia Drives
Optical Drive:   DVDRW
Optical Drive Interface:   SATA
Optical Drive Specs:   24x DVDRW Drive - 16x DVD+R DL; 12x DVD-R DL; 24x8x24 DVD+RW; 24x6x16 DVD-RW; 48x32x48 CD-RW


GPU Type:   NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660Ti
Video Memory:   2GB
GPU Interface:   PCIe x16
Display Interface:
1 x HDMI
1 x DisplayPort
1 x DVI-I
1 x DVI-D

LAN   Gigabit LAN
LAN Data Rate Speed   10/100/1000Mbps
LAN Interface   Integrated
WLAN:   Wireless LAN
Wireless Technology:
802.11b
802.11g
802.11n

WLAN Data Transfer Rate:   up to 150Mbps
WLAN Interface:   PCIe


Card Reader:   Multimedia Card Reader
Media Supported:
Secure Digital
Memory Stick
Memory Stick PRO
SDHC


Power Supply:   500 Watt
Combined +12V Rating:   336 Watts (28A)





So now, will this stat's be able to handle the x2 1920x1080 24" and x2  22'' Muti-touch LED Monitor; 1080p Full HD; Dual Optical Touch? Will it become slow with a Graphic card? Also, I will be running games so will the display impact the quality in game?


Your graphics card supports 4 displays, assuming your monitors use the available outputs.
What will you be doing with the 4 displays?  Do you intend to just use them for normal displays, for example watching a movie on one and browsing on another, while the others display...something (can't think of a use off the top of my head)?  Or, do you intend to game on them all together?
Finally, have you already bought this PC?  If so, I'll say no more, but if not then you can definitely do better for your needs (assuming average prices for all components and you're not getting it for $300 or something, if that's the case go right ahead!).Well, each will be displaying something different. Like Netflix on one, my online chat on another, Photoshop on another, and maybe a online game on or another tab/Skype. Or something around that idea (So I'm not having to keep switching windows[Very busy person online])

"but if not then you can definitely do better for your needs"? As to what I might ask? Have any idea's?
Quote from: SQUIDNow on August 14, 2013, 08:37:17 AM

Well, each will be displaying something different. Like Netflix on one, my online chat on another, Photoshop on another, and maybe a online game on or another tab/Skype. Or something around that idea (So I'm not having to keep switching windows[Very busy person online])

"but if not then you can definitely do better for your needs"? As to what I might ask? Have any idea's?

Then, assuming the monitors you have in mind use the various display outputs available on the card, you'll be fine.  However, bear in mind not all games like running in windowed mode, and if you run it full screen your mouse cursor is often "trapped" on that monitor, so properly multitasking on multiple monitors while gaming isn't always feasible.

If you provide me with a budget and perhaps slightly more specific requirements, sure.  Mainly, the X79 platform is expensive for the performance it offers, you'd be better off going with a Z77 board and a Haswell CPU, say the 4770.  That would give you some cash to spend on an SSD and potentially a better graphics card.  This is slightly based on speculation as at this point I don't know how much this theoretical PC is costing, how much you want to spend, exactly what it's purpose will be, or whether it's a prebuilt system or components you're assembling yourself.

My laptop's OPTICAL drive has CEASED to work recently. Fortunately, I have an internal desktop SATA drive lying around. What is the best/cheapest way to connect it to my laptop? I'm thinking of buying a USB to SATA adapter (which also comes with a power supply) and USE that to connect the drive. I found one here: http://goo.gl/ObLBfU
and it seems like it's only compatible with 2.5"/3.5" HDD, but I don't see why it shouldn't work with a 5.25" Optical Drive (since the connections are the same). Will it work? if not, what is the best solution?It will work on almost anything. The optical drive can take a bit more power, but not enough to make a difference. I have used adapters like that and they do work.  The bad part is that you don't have an enclosure, so it is AWKWARD to move  around. Go ahead and TRY nit, it's  the quick and easy fix to hour problem. Just not very neat. What is the brand and model of your computer?  How old is it?  Does Device Manager show the optical drive?

what happened to my laptop DISPLAY?

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]First thing I would do would be to try hooking up an external monitor.  This will help determine if the problem lies with the graphics card or LCD Panel/Cable.I have had this happen multiple TIMES in my career.

The issue lies with the panel itself normally. The graphics CHIP is fine 99.9% of the time and the issue lies with the connectors at the top of the screen or the 'drivers' of the panel, these are not to be confused with hardware drivers.

The screen cable can also be at FAULT, becoming slightly unseated.

In short, there are no general user ways of REPAIRING this fault, and a LOCAL technician will need to replace the screen panel; and check the cable for you.

my laptop is CQ40-115AU bought around 2009

I was told it is common with AMD CPU but it just got out of hand lately with HIBERNATING during installation of Microsoft Office 2010

I tried installing grano.la app with its default setting but still same.

the i tried DISABLING hibernation (cmd> powercfg -h off)

then managed to get MS Office installed but powered off during Windows Update

I'm just asking around if theres some sort of cpu scaling software so it will dissipate less heat before resorting to convert it to desktop.You might be able to go into the BIOS and have it set to a green setting which will slow it down and make it run cooler. I had to do this with an old Pentium III 600Mhz that had the option to run it at 500Mhz as a way to boost BATTERY life, but it also made it run cooler. When the 10+ year old thermal compound was pretty dry, I did this until I had time to go in and CLEAN off the old and apply new compound. Now I still have laptop and it runs fine at 600Mhz without overheat.I know Windows will hibernate if your battery is low, but I don't think it does when overheating.  Usually your system will just CRASH or turn off. So is your system turning off, hibernating, or both?
I wonder if one of your buttons is malfunctioning and telling windows to turn off or hibernate.
Check the 'change what the power button do' in power options and turn them off.
Get speed fan and take a look at your temps.   You can also use this software to help keep your system cooler.thanks davelembke or that bios setting on cpu speed and skeen on speed fan software. I'll try that when my brother brings back that laptop and update.

Hi All,
Had a spike and the motherboard is toasted. Anyone know where I can buy a new motherboard for a gateway DX4300-11?

Thanks
I would just find out which CPU you have and if it's a full size case shop for a MBoard acordingly...
You may want to consider the opportunity for a complete upgrade as well...SECOND Patio's motion. Not all motherboards support the same CPU lists.

Also, have you checked the POWER supply in the machine? If a spike has indeed occurred then this is usually the first COMPONENT to blow.
Also note that because of the nature of these faults the all, some or none of other hardware may also be toasted.

If you have replaced the PSU and confirmed that the motherboard is at fault;

Searching for your desktop model, your CPU is a AMD PHENOM II X4 805

Myself, I prefer Asus motherboards.

http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/AMD_Platform_Products/

Your current CPU is a AM2+ and AM3 socket.

Your motherboard is (according to gateway) a Foxconn (Bengal) RS780 Motherboard

This is a Micro-ATX board. (uATX)

http://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/M5A78LM_LX_PLUS/#overview

This board fits the specifications for what you need to REPLACE your motherboard with. You may not be able to purchase this board locally.Personally i think the upgrade option makes the most sense at this point considering the cheapo components listed we did'nt know about earlier...

My touch PAD doesnt work properly before I enter my password and enter the windows it works perfect when I touch it, it click on something now it doesnt work JUST CLICKING Please post the LAPTOP model next time. What does it mean when click on something? Have you TRIED CHECKING the touchpad (default) settings?You have inadvertently hit a hotkey that turns the touchpad on/off...consult your manual as all laptops are different.

I just recently acquired 2 used laptops, 1 is a Toshiba Satellite L655, the other is a acer aspire E1-571

The Toshiba runs windows 7,  the computer boots up fine but after the windows logo appears and takes me to sign in, the screen goes white-ish/green-ish  and i am unable to see anything, if I enter the password blindly then the computer logs into windows fine as i can hear the audio of the log in, but I just have a white screen, does the screen need to be replaced or is there a virus or something messing with it?

The Acer has no hard drive, it originally ran windows 8, I have a home edition of windows 7 as well as a COUPLE old 250gb hard drives that I can replace it with, when i plug in the hard drive and turn it on, I moved the cd boot to priority so it loads off the windows 7 disk FIRST, my goal here is to install windows 7 on the hd and use that, but when it starts, it says "loading windows files..." then it takes me to the windows logo where it says "starting windows" but then sits there indefinitely

The hard drives I am USING on the acer are toshiba brand but fit fine, however they do already have previous data from past computers on them, do I need to reformat the drives and partition them first before it will work? or am I missing something else?

If it needs to be reformatted and partitioned, how would I go about doing that, everything I have googled says that you run the HD through the computer and set it up through disk management, but how do I access disk management on it if I can not turn the computer on? do I need an external cable to plug the Hard drive in and then do it through a working computer of Is there another thing I am missing?

Sorry if this does not make sense, I am familiar with the use of computers but things like this I am a complete Newbie, if you need any more information please ask,The Toshiba sounds like it has a problem with either the graphics driver, or the graphics chip.  If you start it in safe mode does the same thing happen?  How about with an external monitor?

The Acer, well, it shouldn't need the drives partitioning or formatting but it might be worth wiping them just to see if it does make a difference.  If you don't have a desktop PC you could plug the drive into, or an external enclosure, your best bet is to load up a Linux liveCD and do it that way.

Hope this helps.thank you for the response

as for the toshiba after i posted this, it began having the messed up screen even on boot up, prior to the windows logo, after turning it on and off a few times it would display again only to go white/green on the windows log in screen (as it was doing,) if i PUT it to sleep and turn it on/off a few times it would display the log in screen fine, it seems anytime the screen goes blank that  makes it go about messing up, I will need to pick up a VGA cable to try an external monitor but was hoping just from the description it could be diagnosed as either a faulty screen or driver/chip error but i guess i will need to pick one up


If i were to plug it in to a external monitor and it displays and runs fine, what would that indicate?


Can we focus on one problem?, not two?
Have you been swapping hard drives between two disparate laptops?  Not a good idea.

As for the Toshiba, you may have to get a replacement LCD. For a test, try deducing the ambient temperature to see if the LCD has a heat problem. Put in in the fridge for twenty minutes  and then see how it looks when you boot it up.

i will try the cool down and get back to you

I have a few extra hard drives that were sitting around so i put one into the acer, the only hard drives I had were originally from toshibas that I had scrapped, do i need to buy a specific acer hard drive? Quote from: Geek-9pm on August 18, 2013, 02:28:26 PM

Can we focus on one problem?, not two?
Have you been swapping hard drives between two disparate laptops?  Not a good idea.

As for the Toshiba, you may have to get a replacement LCD. For a test, try deducing the ambient temperature to see if the LCD has a heat problem. Put in in the fridge for twenty minutes  and then see how it looks when you boot it up.

The external monitor working fine does necessarily state that there is no chipset problem.

Hi there,

Can anyone TELL me whether 2x crossfired Sapphire 7970 graphics cards would fit in my Antec 1200 CASE?  Ive currently GOT 2x crossfired 5870'S in there.

ThanksHave you traveled to the manuf. site and looked up the specs and sizes of the new cards ? ?...that's what i would do.Unless they're some ridiculously oversized special edition of the 7970, yes, they'll fit fine.
As patio SAYS, best to check the ACTUAL dimensions though.

hey guys i BELIVE my on bored sound card may be fried  or DRIVER miss match
i recently added a new hard drive to my pc . my head phones started crackling so i though it was the head phones tried my speaker i use down stairs still no sound updated my sound driver no sound (hd audio driver what was found for searched with windows update) then i downloaded the correct real take audio driver from my mother boards web site still no sound
 ive also attached screen shot from my device manager
Motherboard
   ASUSTeK  P5G41T-M LX


[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]Try a re-install of the original Drivers from the MBoard driver CD...
New drivers are not always better drivers.i have tried that also my sound came back ealier then i launched tf2 then i lost my sound so now this is puzzzling me TF2 ? ?
 I hate some acronyms because i'm simply not a gamer...however this leads me to believe it is in the game SETTINGS itself...team fortress 2 and idont htink its  the game due to the game been the one of the lower spec things i run on my pc due to no sound when i boot the pc up
below are mys system's specs

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
Intel Celeron E3300 2.5ghz
4.00 GB Single-Channel DDR3
ASUSTeK  P5G41T-M LX
GeForce GT 430 1gb
700gb Seagate hdd sata
500 gb hitachi sata hdd
Specs are irrelevant if thats the game it happens in and the sound controls are possibly wonked...
Think about it.but its not just team fortress it happens in its most of my games or if im watching a film ... would a pci sound card solve this issueYes.well thats bazzar a windows update has actualy SOLVED this problem :O :O Quote from: blackrainbow on August 17, 2013, 11:08:36 AM

well thats bazzar a windows update has actualy solved this problem :O :O

I bought a second hard drive for my computer. My computer arrived with one hard drive in it, held in place by these two plastic sticks with small screws in the side. You can gently press on the sides of the sticks and slide the sticks (with the hard drive in between them) out of the place where the hard drive is kept (which I'll just call the hard drive bay for the rest of the post). Attachment 1 should be a picture of the sticks. Attachment 2 should be a picture of the hard drive bay with my first hard drive in it, held in place by the sticks from hard drive one.

Now, I needed more memory on my computer so I bought a second hard drive. It's the exact same model as my first hard drive, and is identical to it. It arrived with no cables or plastic sticks. I found a cable for it easily enough. I can't find the sticks or anything similar. I've searched high and low. From Amazon to Newegg. I've googled everything from "hard drive mounts" to "hard drive holder" to "hard drive caddy" to "hard drive case" to the numbers written on the side of the plastic sticks. I haven't found anything that would work. I'm apparently in possession of the only hard drive holding stick things to have ever been manufactured.

I also thought I was in possession of the only two four inch hard drives to ever be manufactured. Both hard drives are exactly four inches wide. For what I'm guessing is a really, really stupid reason, computer people who you'd think would be logical have taken to calling four inch wide hard drives 3.5 inch hard drives. I googled four inch hard drive questions and learned that. So I tried searching for 3.5 inch hard drive holding things and again came up empty. I've searched and searched and searched and had no luck. I bought a hard drive mount thing that didn't work. I'll elaborate on that below.

Some measurements. My 3.5 inch hard drives are each 4 inches wide. The hard drive bay's inside is 4.5 inches wide. If you measure the whole metal hard drive bay thing, it's about five inches wide, but the inside is 4.5 inches wide. The hard drive holder that I bought that didn't fit is 4.65 inches wide. With the hard drive in the holder thing, it won't fit into the hard drive bay. If I take the hard drive out, I can jam it in there if I bend the holder, but this means there's at least .15 inches too much plastic on the outside bit of the holder. I suppose it would fit if I could somehow shave plastic off the sides, but I don't think I can do that. Attachment 3 should be the second hard drive and the holder thing, attachment four should be the second hard drive sitting inside the holder thing.

So the plastic sticks comfortably fit inside the hard drive bay while there's a hard drive in between them. The second plastic holder thing, however, is .15 inches too wide to fit into the hard drive bay. I've found a bunch of things that won't work while searching for things to put the hard drive in. I've only found two that could work: The plastic holder thing, which I bought and was too wide. And these metal bracket things that apparently you screw into the side of the hard drive. The problem with those is, I don't see how they could work. There should be a picture of the hard drive bay among the attachments. I don't see how the metal brackets would work. It looks like they screw into the side on the hard drive bay, but I don't see how I could screw anything in there unless I could somehow take the entire front end of my computer off.

So yeah, that's it. My hard drive didn't ship with two of those plastic holding things like in attachment one. Those things came with the computer and were holding my first hard drive in. I can't find anything like them anywhere. Does anyone know where I could get those things, or at least what they're called? Anyone have a similar hard drive bay and a second hard drive that they've added? Anyone know if installation of the metal brackets is simpler than it looks? I've already bought one thing that didn't work.

For the record, I tried to search this site for similar questions. The closest I ended up finding was a guide to installing a second hard drive, but that didn't mention acquiring a hard drive holder thing. The hard drives hold 1 TB of memory. The brand is called Seagate. A sheet I have of the stuff in my computer SAYS "Seagate 1TB 32MB SATA3 Hard drive".

This is my third time trying to post this. Luckily I copied my post before posting the first time. I'm going to try posting it now without uploading the attachments, and maybe I can edit in the attachments afterwards. It would say "Uploading attachments." and a percentage, then go to the new post screen (the screen I had before typing in the topic name and description. I'm going to COPY this too just in case it doesn't work again.

EDIT: Posting with attachments wouldn't work. Can't add attachments in the modify screen. I hope my descriptions were okay. It turns out my attachments can't be added because they're over 700KB. Quote from: ExasperatedVulture on August 16, 2013, 01:59:07 PM

It turns out my attachments can't be added because they're over 700KB.

Did you say this was a Dell or HP computer?

Right. Use a photo editor to crop or residue the image. Save it as a JPG with a ration of about 12 to 20 for moderate compression.

Did you say this was a Dell or HP computer?

Lotsa drama for not contacting the case manufacturer...
The HDD manuf. btw have nothing to do with it...

http://www.txcesssurplus.com/servlet/the-8964/HP-406006-dsh-001-WorkStation-Hard/Detail

Google Image Search; entered "hard drive fixing rails" without the quotes; dozens of results... above is just an example.

They are called quite a lot of names...

Computer INFORMATION:

Operating System
   Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
   AMD ATHLON II X4 640   
   Propus 45nm Technology
RAM
   8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 799MHz (9-9-9-24)
Motherboard
   MSI 870-G45 (MS-7599) (CPU1)
Graphics
   Acer G245HQL ([email protected])
   Acer G245HQ ([email protected])
   ATI AMD RADEON HD 6800 Series (Diamond)   
   ATI Radeon HD 4800 Series (Sapphire/PCPartner)
   CrossFire Disabled
Hard Drives
   298GB Seagate ST3320820AS ATA Device (SATA)
   932GB Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 ATA Device (SATA)
Optical Drives
   MagicISO Virtual DVD-ROM0000
Audio
   VIA High Definition Audio


Question is simple, is it bad two run the 4800 Series with the 6800? Will it cause some driver issues?Technically it shouldn't cause any driver issues as long as the version you install supports both cards.  I believe the 4800 series support was dropped at the beginning of the year, so if you use the 13.1 or earlier drivers you should be fine.  You MAY run into some problems depending what exactly you're doing with the cards.  What's the reason to run both together?One card per monitor Quote from: Yasjalnadie on August 23, 2013, 08:24:35 AM

One card per monitor

hey, i am experiencing a very new sort of PROBLEM to me. actually, i encountered a media damage problem with the hard disk, so i got it replaced. now, i am using the new hard disk, and i have installed windows 7 home basic onto my system with no drivers yet.
the main problem now is, as i use my pc, it works fine, but after i shut it down, and try to open it the next time, it shows that "media test failure, CHECK cable". also, it tells me to reinstall my windows cd. so, i enter my windows cd, and then the screen showing "press any KEY to boot from cd/dvd" COMES up. and, i dont press anything there. and the windows just start. and i can use it again.
this has really slowed down my pc and i am allowed to use only a temporary account now, which deletes all the data i store in documents.
please help, i am afraid whether my pc is gonna shut down, or my hard disk is gonna go corrupted in the MIDDLE of my work. as i am doing very important work on my pc now.I would be inclined to check your cables to the hard drive, both power and data, and perhaps try a new data cable and a different power cable if possible.
Additionally, it would be a good idea to check the hard drive for any bad sectors.  HDTune can do a full drive scan and read the SMART data, too.  Do a full scan with it, and see what the result is.

Hello

How would I know if my processor has SSE2 support (whatever that is!)?

Thanks.

High1CPU-Z will tell you the instruction sets your CPU supports, including SSE2.  All modern CPUs support SSE2 though, so unless your PC is pretty old I'd be surprised if it didn't.No, it's quite a new Packard Bell PC.

Thanks for your reassurance and the link. I will download it.

Cheers, CallumNo problem at all.  Your CPU will almost certainly support SSE2 then, but CPU-Z is still a useful tool to check what else is supported and so forth.Yes, it looks a bit complicated but I will give it a go.

Thanks again.

High1If the PC is less than 10 years old it almost certainly has it. SSE2, (Streaming SIMD Extensions 2), was  introduced by Intel with the first VERSION of the PENTIUM 4 in 2001. AMD added SSE2 support with the Opteron and Athlon 64 ranges in 2003.
It's about 18 months old.

I asked because it was an Adobe system requirement to have a 2.0 CPU. Mine is 2.6 so I got the software, but today I lost what I had been working on. A respected Adobe forum contributor said that the PC would not 'hold' the software (a movie-making programme called Premiere Elements 11) due to my CPU - it's a Celeron; 64-bit Windows 7. 4GB RAM and WELL over 200GB free.

It hasn't lost my work before, so I wasn't sure if what I had been told was correct.

Thanks for listening!

High1 Quote from: High1 on August 23, 2013, 02:16:29 PM

A respected Adobe forum contributor said that the PC would not 'hold' the software (a movie-making programme called Premiere Elements 11) due to my CPU - it's a Celeron

Hi..I have been given this Laptop by my brother,it was functioning correctly and Battery Charging ,until,I  TRIED to Power it on today as NORMAL with the Battery and Mains charger installed and it wouldn't power up,absolutely dead! But as soon as I removed the Battery[Dell Type J1KND 11.1V Cap 48W],the Laptop would power up from Mains OK.Does this indicate that the Battery is faulty?is there any way to test it?or is there some other fault with Motherboard etc? any help appreciated  Michael >NB I have tried discharging the circuits by depressing Power Switch for 20 seconds before installing battery and mains adapter but this doesn't make any difference.Almost ALWAYS it is the battery. The test is to try another battery. * Eventually you need another battery anyway. The average life of laptop batteries is about 2 years for many users.


* Yes, there are testers for laptop batteries. Such a tool for commercial USE COSTS more than  a new battery. You can use a common mufti meter, but you need a new battery to use as a reference. Sooner or later you have to buy a battery, even to prove the problem is the motherboard. You don't want it to be the motherboard.http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/Product/inspiron-15r-n5110

http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/04/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&docid=266588&cs=19Thanks for that but I cant carry out fault diagnosis on the battery when the laptop wont power up with the battery installed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  michael Let me make it clear. You buy another battery.
Then, if you wish, you can run diagnostics to see if the motherboard  is at fault. Quote from: thomastt37 on August 16, 2013, 12:48:39 PM

Thanks for that but I cant carry out fault diagnosis on the battery when the laptop wont power up with the battery installed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  michael

Hi everyone,

I need to make a PRESENTATION using a projector which uses a VGA CABLE from laptop down to the projector plug in the wall (it's mounted on the ceiling).  Other laptops work fine and the projected picture is fantastic, but with mine the picture does show eventually however it's distorted and has some slight colour issues, and any change in my desktop will take a while to reflect on the projected image.  The projected image is also static(no motion) 99% of the time.

I've tried different cables with no improvement, and VGA is the only option.  I also know that my laptop uses VGA perfectly with my external monitor at home.

I'm using a Windows 7 HP Pavillion DV5 laptop with an NVIDIA Geforce 9600M GT graphics card which has an up to date driver.


What on earth is going on??
Any help to get a clear image will be hugely appreciated!

Thank you,
MarkTry and change the resolution for the VGA output to the projector.

If this provides no change, check the refresh rate for the output to the projector.It can take some effort to find the refresh rate. Often it is not listed directly in the options. You haven to look for a things that says "show all modes" or something to tat effect.  In Windows  XP it is DISPLAY properties, settings, advanced, adapter, modes.Thanks guys, makes sense - I'm at the venue again just prior to the meeting so unfortunately I don't have much time to troubleshoot but I'll give it my best shot.  At least I've got a few more things to do on so fingers crossed!

Is there a way to SAFELY plug in the output of a guitar amp to the line in port on a computer. (so I can use the workstation) Mine's just an HP desktop.  I could mic it of course but just wondering about the other route as that would isolate the sound from other mics in the studio. There are effects on the amp I want to use. Reading the ads for direct boxes MAKES it sound like that's the answer but someone on a recording forum said no way!The output of a Guitar pickup is higher tan  most microphones, but not a  a lot.
I am supposing that you mean a direct output from the pickup, the guitar itself does not have any power, not even a battery.

When you really bang  on all strings, the output goes up to about 1 volt RMS for a short time and then decays down to a level of 10 0millivolts. The peak might damage the input of a microphone channel. But most guitars have volume controls,. At half open the level is down two orders of magnitude. (That is Geek speak saying it is way down.)
So yeah, you can use either line of mic inputs, but keep the guitar's volume control about half way. Or less.

Note: A problem with instruments is grounding and the kind of connectors USED. The common connectors do not have grounding protection. You could  blow out a preamp just by plugging in a connector. Ask other musicians about this. Or come back here. I am not a musician, but an old audio pro from long ago.


Sorry I was talking not about the guitar but the guitar amplifier.  After reading more I see there are Direct boxes made capable of handling speaker voltages. In this case the amp is capble of 75 watts.Right. Some amps pump over 50 VOLTS into the speakers. The will fry the input of the motherboard.  I supposed you meant right out of the instrument.

Best results are if you use an internal 'bridge' connection. Have a tech SOLDER a connector to the volume control of the amp. That level is 'line'  and often about two volts or less. He can add a simple resistor network to cut down the voltage more, if needed.

I tried searching for similar topics. I went through several pages, but I couldn't seem to find one that matched my situation.

Anyway, I started my computer one morning and nothing came on the screen.

There are two lights on the top of my computer. A blue light with either a sun or gear symbol under it. And a green light with a cylinder symbol under it. When the computer starts, the blue light always comes on, and the fan on the top and back side of the computer start. If the green light comes on, the lights on the keyboard and mouse come on and as far as I know, the computer starts like normal. I'm not sure if the green light stays on the entire time the computer runs or if it's just on while the computer starts up. I know that the blue light stays on for the entire time that the computer is on.

So, I started my computer that morning and nothing came on screen. The blue light came on, and the fans started. the green light didn't start, and the keyboard and mouse didn't light up like they normally do, and nothing came on the screen. I sent it to a friend, who works some manner of IT job and says he's built several computers. He ended up saying the problem was the motherboard. I BOUGHT a new motherboard and PUT it in the computer, then hooked everything up. I don't know much about computers, so I just took a picture of where everything was plugged in and plugged it into the same place on the new motherboard (I tried to buy similar motherboards). I started my computer, the blue light and the fans came on, then the green light came on, the keyboard and mouse lit up, and the normal start up screen appeared. The computer was seemingly fixed.

About two weeks later, the computer was back to not booting again. The same situation; blue light on, green light off, no signal to keyboard and mouse, nothing coming up on screen. Also, there wasn't any beep code either time. Another friend of mine checked out the computer. He guessed that the problem this time was the processor. His reasons for this were:

1: The computer starts, and the computer seems to get power, so maybe it isn't the power supply.
2: The motherboard is brand new, and the green light on it also comes on, and the fans attached to it get power, so maybe it isn't the motherboard.
3: Everything is properly connected.
4: He said something about it not being the video card, I can't remember why. It involved plugging something into something else, and afterwards still not getting anything on screen. So for that poorly remembered reason, maybe it isn't the video card.
5: The RAM sticks are properly connected, so maybe it isn't the RAM.
6. When I put in the new motherboard, I had to remove the processor and attached fan. When I put it back in, I didn't put any thermal paste on the processor. I'd never heard of thermal paste at the time, and didn't know it was a thing. I noticed that the processor had some sort of glue residue on it, and just assumed someone had glued the processor to the metal thing attached to the fan thing for reasons beyond my understanding. I didn't know I needed to re-apply thermal paste (which I didn't have). The residue on the processor was only on a fraction of it.

I've since read a bit about how to apply thermal paste. From what I've read, the processor is supposed to be entirely covered in a very thin layer of thermal paste. I've read both one millimeter thin, and paper thin. The purpose is apparently not to keep the heat sink (I'm assuming that's the copper colored metal thing attached to the fan) from touching the processor. That's what I'd figured it would be. Apparently the purpose is actually to fill in the tiny gaps between the surface of the heat sink and the surface of the processor. Apparently having these gaps filled in by thermal paste helps keep the processor cool.

I'd also read on a site that if your computer does this (starts but nothing comes on the screen) and it's the processor that's the problem, there are a few symptoms. I can only remember one right now.

1: The computer blue screens.

This happened to me a couple of times in the two week period between me replacing my motherboard and my computer going back to not starting. In at least two cases, while a site was loading it blue screened. Normally, if a page on the internet loads too long, it just goes to "Not Responding" and I can end it in task manager. This time though, it just blue screened. And another time, I was playing a game while listening to a podcast. The computer just blue screened suddenly. I don't know if it was because my processor couldn't handle doing both of those, or if it blue screens for some other reason. When I'd get the blue screen, I'd turn the computer off and then turn it back on again and hope it doesn't happen again.

So yeah, I tried to turn the computer on one morning and it just didn't start. The blue light comes on, the fans start, the motherboard light lights up. The green light doesn't come on, the keyboard and mouse don't light up, and nothing comes onto the screen. I told my cousin, who I believe works with computers and who's built several computers some of this. Not anywhere near all this, but I told him about the motherboard light and the fans and such coming on and all that. He said that the processor burning out after working for two weeks due to me not replacing the thermal paste seemed reasonable.

So I've since bought a new processor and some thermal glue. They should be arriving soon. Even if it isn't the processor, the one I've bought is supposed to be better than the one I had, so it's an upgrade anyway. So just a few questions now that I've explained everything:

1: What do you think is the problem? Is it the processor?
2: Is there anything else I should know about thermal glue and how to apply it before trying to put it on my new processor and hook all that stuff up?
3: If it was the processor and the lack of thermal glue that was the problem, do you think the processor is just outright dead, or will it maybe function if I just put it back with thermal paste properly applied?

Some info on my computer:
Old CPU (which I've been calling the processor this whole time): [AM3] AMD PHENOM II X6 1100T BOX
New CPU (arriving shortly with thermal paste): AMD FX-8320 Eight-Core
Fan: CORSAIR H60 LIQUID COOLER BULK
RAM: [DDR3] 4GB DDR3-1600 SINGLE
Video Card: XFX HD6950 2GB VIDEO CARD
Old Motherboard (Pre-first breaking): ASUS M5A97, AMD 970
Current Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0
Power Supply: 800W POWER SUPPLY Quote

4: He said something about it not being the video card, I can't remember why. It involved plugging something into something else, and afterwards still not getting anything on screen. So for that poorly remembered reason, maybe it isn't the video card.

5: The RAM sticks are properly connected, so maybe it isn't the RAM.

6. When I put in the new motherboard, I had to remove the processor and attached fan. When I put it back in, I didn't put any thermal paste on the processor. I'd never heard of thermal paste at the time, and didn't know it was a thing. I noticed that the processor had some sort of glue residue on it, and just assumed someone had glued the processor to the metal thing attached to the fan thing for reasons beyond my understanding. I didn't know I needed to re-apply thermal paste (which I didn't have). The residue on the processor was only on a fraction of it.

There's nowhere else he could have plugged the display into, so unless he tried another video card, it remains a possibility.
Just because they're properly installed doesn't mean one stick isn't faulty.  It's worth trying the memory one stick at a time, or downloading memtest86+ to boot from and test the memory.

You'll certainly need to reapply thermal paste to avoid cooking the CPU.  Best practice is to clean the CPU and heatsink with isopropyl alcohol and a clean, lint free cloth, then apply a dot around the size of a BB onto the CPU, in the middle.  Installing the heatsink then spreads the paste easily, and as long as you haven't put on too much, it won't come oozing out of the side or anything.

It's possible the CPU is dead, although I'd suspect the RAM or video card before that as CPUs very rarely fail.  I've built over 3000 PCs and tested/configured thousands more, and only ever seen maybe 2 dead CPUs out of the box, and a handful, maybe 5, die in use, and all from overclocking rather than overheating or general use.

How do I download "memtest86+"? And also, how would I get it onto my computer? The only thing that starts are the fans and the blue light. None of the things connected to it (keyboard, mouse, monitor) get any signal.

As for testing one stick at a time, I'm assuming I'd do that by trying to start the computer after I've removed one of them, and if it still doesn't work, doing the same with the other stick. Is there more to it than that?

And for the record, the CPU is a year and a half old. I didn't know if you thought it was new from your "out of the box" comment, or if you were just talking about CPUs in general. When I moved it, there wasn't any thermal paste on it. There was a bit of residue, but it didn't really cover anything.

i have a few questions about my pc, i bought a gaming computer about 4 months ago   from the day i got it i uploaded it an from the moment u push the  on switch it takes a good 3 min to get to the desktop, well within the past 2 weeks  i will be doing random things ONLINE,or PLAYING a game or jusst chatting an the entire computer just goes off  kinda like when the power goes out at ur home but this is only the pc  i have cleaned the dust i replaced the power suppy  i have done a virus scan and everything i can think of, after i did the power supply  it let me do whatever for a good 8 hrs, then did it again i went to boot it back up an it would get so far an shut off so i let it sit i am on a mini laptop now the only thing hooked up to the desktop now is the power cord i turned it bk on an its on now  just sitting therelisted below are my specs

CyberpowerPC Black Gamer Ultra GUA250 Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core FX-4130 Processor, 8GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive and Windows 7 Home Premium


AMD Quad-Core FX-4130 processor
3.80GHz, 4MB L2 Cache

8GB DDR3 SDRAM system memory


1TB SATA hard drive


24x DVD+/-R/RW drive


10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet


NVIDIA GeForce GT 610 Graphics
Normally I would start with checking the Power Supply but as you said you have replaced it.

Was the replacement PSU a cheap unit?

Are you able to tell us the wattage rating on your PSU?
I realise you only have a GT610 card in the machine but it is important none the less.

Have you tried running a monitoring program such as Speedfan or Coretemp?

www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/‎

This will allow us to ensure heat is not an issue. When you cleaned the dust out, did you also remove the heatsink from the top of the CPU at all? it is possible that there is limited contact to the CPU causing a slow thermal creep up to shut down due to temperature.

The last thing is the power quality in your household. Do you notice lights dim or interference with any old CRT style Televisions or monitors? It may be that you need a UPS or equivalent in order to keep stable current and voltage going to the PC. Also try another power outlet directly into the wall, TAKING out any power strips or adapters.If it's 4 months old I would be exercising my warranty - that is, after all, why you paid for someone to build it for you.Honestly, DOWNLOAD speedfan and check your temps, make sure its not an overheating issue also, install CPUID, and post your voltages as well so we can see what its pushing at.

I was wondering if there was any quad-core CPU out there that would be supported by a Gigabyte GA-M61PME-S2  (AM2 socket) MOTHERBOARD?
I know it's an older motherboard and highly unlikely but I thought it was worth a shot, thanks!Not sure.
Maybe a AMD Phenom X4 1.8 Ghz Quad Core Socket AM2/AM2+ HD91500DJ4BGH CPU Processor

read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socket_AM2%2BThank you so much!If you head over to the product page on the manufacturer's website and click on Support & Downloads, then CPU Support list, you'll see a list of the supported CPUs, including a ton of quad and hex CORES, and the BIOS version required to support each CPU.
The Phenom X4 9150 REFERENCED above is ancient and more than likely will be hard to find and/or expensive, ESPECIALLY given its mediocre performance.Thank you very muchNo problem at all.

Good EVENING! Can I use an GRAPHIC card PCI-Express 3.0x16 on a motherboard that has an PCI -Express 2.0x16 expansion slot?
Thanks.Yes, they are backward compatible. +1 for yes.

Though please note also you MAY need to FACTOR in your current power SUPPLY unit because if it is a powerful card, you also need to have enough power available to run the card and the correct plugs from the power supply too.

I  have a monitor but the 15 pin CABLE has been CUT off now what as I do have 15 pin cables from other monitors?

JohnOnly OPTION WOULD be to try and solder a new cable on, but I wouldn't see it as worth it due to the age of the monitor.

Hello,

I have problem with AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ CPU overheating and i have tried pretty much everything to solve overheating problem.
At night idle temps are like 50-55*c, full load 90-100*c...During day 58-60*c while idle, in load 5 sec to 100*c,
but it does not shutdown at that temperature, it keep going i did load it to 120*c and stop afraid it will die.

CPU fan speed +- 3200rmp, its clean, i did even wash heatsink to ensure there is no dust, replace thermal PASTE like 10 times with same result.
I have box cooler there is like no chance to not install it properly ^^.
Bios temps are quite same right now 60*c cpu, 40*c system. I have 1 side and 2 back case fans, but temps are same with or without them.
So my question is, since cpu is like 5 years old, i am wondering is there chance that IHS thermal paste is dried up and that leads cpu overheating?

thanks in advance!If you did the thermal paste 10 times why do you think the paste would be old ? ?
Unless your stating it's all been the same product out of 1 tube...yea, i did change thermal paste on cpu, but not in, what am asking is, how much dried IHS(Integrated Heat Spreader) thermal paste affect to cpu temperature?AMD CPUs don't use thermal paste between the die and IHS.
What kind of heatsink is it?  Sounds like it's either not making proper contact or, if it's a heatpipe cooler, that one or more of the heatpipes has a crack in it, which has let the liquid evaporate and therefore the heatpipe has stopped functioning.
The other possibility is a faulty temperature sensor, but it's more likely to be one of the first two. this one

how to check is it making proprer contact? It's not moving at all and i did put all amount of thermal paste on cpu, from alot to verry small amount. All same result with temperature.

edit: At first i thought its sensors, heatsink was warm at 90-100*c, so i start playing game and after like 30min pc shutdown...when u touched heatsink after that it was hot, but i could hold it wasnt that hot to burn my FINGERS like 100*c would do.
OK, not a heatpipe model then so there's no chance of a faulty heatsink, and you said the fan is spinning fine too.

You can check if it's making proper contact in two ways.  Firstly, is the heatsink getting hot, or even warm, or does it stay cold?  Secondly, how did you apply the paste?  If you did it in the way I always do, which is to put a dot around the size of a ball bearing on the CPU, and attach the heatsink, you'll be able to see how it spreads.  It should spread uniformly and cover most of the CPU's surface very thinly and evenly.  If it doesn't, then it's not making proper contact.  This could be due to damage to the heatsink's mounting arms, or damage to the mounting bracket on the motherboard.heatsink is warm/hot depends how much i load cpu..,but never too hot to burn finger..last time i dont know^^, but i did try that way and there was like 3-4mm empty space around PROCESSOR. I dont have thermal paste anymore i wasted 2 tubes trying to sove overheating...guess ill just wait september and buy NEW pc..Just checking, are you overcloking this cpu?NOPE, never did.Also try other temp monitoring software just to make sure its correct. I did try Speccy, Core Temp, speed fan, aida64, everything is quite same +- 3/4*c Quote

but it does not shutdown at that temperature, it keep going i did load it to 120*c and stop afraid it will die.

You can use three monitors on the GTX 680, no problem, you may need to go into the Nvidia control panel and configure it but you can certainly use the DVI port for a third monitor.

Sounds like your under-powered...'cause it should work.

HELP. I have Toshiba SATELLITE laptop and I have just been on taskmaster ( possesses) and I found some thing running so I thought I would stop them, and now nothing works.it is still lit up. but the mouse no longer works so I cant' get on the off button to TURN it off and start again.
also I cant' get to the restore point to go back a day and correct it. I cant' even turn it off MANUALLY. Need immediate help.
please anybody. Quote from: ivanoe on August 23, 2013, 08:53:04 AM

HELP. I have Toshiba Satellite laptop and I have just been on taskmaster ( possesses) ...

I cant' even turn it off manually.

Before I say anything, the following post describes my goal (the title), its problems and the methods with i which i tried to achieve. This did not result in utter failure, but it also didn't end into something very successful. Ill TRY to document every step of my procedure as accurately as possible and will provide links of pictures that could help with understanding the situation. Thx

K, so my dad has this really old Video Camera Recorder (Sony) called HandycamVision CCD-TRV69E (for reference). So from when me and my siblings were little till when he got a much more modern digital recorder he filmed a bunch of stuff on his machine which recorded it on TAPES.
So now we got all these tapes (bout 20) each with i think 1 hr length of recordings each.
My father now wants to digitalize all these tapes. What he does: pulls out another old machine; an SEG DVCR 600 able to transcribe data on said tapes to a re-writable disc.
(btw here is a pic of both the manuals for the two devices: )
Seems easy enough; you just simply plug in the recorder to the DVCR play the tape and press record on the DVCR which basically records your recording onto the CD.
K. Now it gets a little strange. My dad now gives me the CD's and asks me to copy them onto the computer. OK put the CD in and open the file, two options pop up
1. Files currently on disc
    VIDEO_RM
2. Files waiting to be written on disc
    VIDEO_TS
k now i don't know why, but under the first option there are just a bunch of unrecognizable files (which is strange cuz why wouldn't the video files "currently" be on the disc?). Under the second one, this pops up
http://i.imgur.com/PYaOa9O.png

Alright so two things you might notice right away
1. There are five video files instead of one (i previously said each tape was 1 hour long)
2. The video format is VOB (never heard or seen of it before, figured it was some old format)

Alright so I go through this process a few times, and every single time i get the same result: 1 hour tape translates into 5 VOB files. So this isn't even the real strange part, but before I talk about that I'm just gonna say that after converting these files to a more accessible format (using an external program) i found out each one of the bigger files (1 GB) corresponded to about 14:30 min of video and the smaller ones to about 5 min (give or take).

Alright so now the strange part:
Before i converted any of these files to a format I was familiar with i tried seeing what opening the VOB ones would do
Very strangely, every single one i clicked (even the smaller file), even though they all corresponded to different segments of the tape, SHOWED this screen
http://i.imgur.com/igQnETv.png
Don't ask me why or how cuz i have no idea how this is possible, especially cuz i don't know where the 5th video thumbnail is.
alright so after clicking on every thumbnail i noticed
1. they are all varying lengths (different for every thumbnail on every CD)
2. the thumbnails correspond to different filming sessions; not like based on an hourly basis but on an unknown amount of time (for example the last clip is all about our trip to Peru, the second one is centered around Christmas, and so on and so forth)

Now being that part of my goal is to be able to edit these files i need to have them available and compatible to put in a program and this format does not work.
So i did a little search on Google "convert VOB into AVI" and oh! how convenient a small little program going exactly by that name
(here's a pic of the interface of the program: http://i.imgur.com/ZCvLmC3.png)
I download it run it and convert a couple CD's worth of files. In this case; the outcome is (like i said earlier) 5 files with a respectable length of 14:30 min and 5 min just abouts. (unlike how in that strange menu page each thumbnail corresponded to whole segments of film in a certain amount of time meaning that here after 14:30 min it would just cut and you had to move to the next file)
So i say to myself well that's not too bad, but i notice something that is: quality drop is enormous!
here's and example of 3 "big" files and one small one
http://i.imgur.com/dbmhC0X.png
you'll notice the difference of size (almost a fourth of the original!)
I thought it was the AVI format i had selected (mp4) and/or the settings (on the right side(see pic http://i.imgur.com/ZCvLmC3.png)) but found it wasn't the case after trying several different FORMATS (same result, unfamiliar with most of the other formats and settings) with no avail.

So here i am trying to figure out what to do. I've found programs don't tend to like mp4 format but i don't wanna reconvert everything if i can avoid it. I've also found that most of the time the sound is off but I'm sure that can easily be corrected through editing which i haven't really dedicated any time to

So my question now is: is there anything I did wrong or need to do different, and what are your suggestions?

Thank you for your timehttp://www.videohelp.com/This is the right place for help.
Two important things to know.
A. Most DVD players expect the files to be in a format that is used for DVDs, but not a piratical format for use on a computer. The files a re much to large and are not organized as you would expect. The VOB is hard to edit. Both the video o and audio folders may be needed for editing.

B. Movies stored on a computer for viewer and editing in a logical MANNER use formats such as:

Audio Video Interleave or AVI (.avi) Most universal format.

Flash Video (.flv)  This format is also popular, especially after the introduction of flash video players

MP4 (.mp4) The MP4 format is commonly used to store audio and video

QuickTime (.mov)  Used by by both  Apple and Window computers

Windows Media Video (.wmv)This Microsoft developed video format is another of the common formats used on the internet. This format is designed for Windows .

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2852877

You can convert VOB to other formats..
If it is too much work, you may wish to start over.

Many computer users have found that you might  have Video in two or more formats. One for creation of a DVD, another for showing over the internet and possibility another for use on a Android tablet or phone.

Some video editor programs have tutorials the help explain the Babylon of videos formats in common use today and yesterday.
A fair comparison of some popular video software.
http://lifehacker.com/5864841/five-best-video-editors
Also, you can Google "Free Video Editors" if you just want to expand you knowledge without investing money. 

i'm familiar with a couple editors such as virtualdub but the problem i was having with these was that the format wasn't really compatible for some reason Quote from: Geek-9pm on August 26, 2013, 05:12:20 PM

This is the right place for help.
Two important things to know.
A. Most DVD players expect the files to be in a format that is used for DVDs, but not a piratical format for use on a computer. The files a re much to large and are not organized as you would expect. The VOB is hard to edit. Both the video o and audio folders may be needed for editing.

B. Movies stored on a computer for viewer and editing in a logical manner use formats such as:

Audio Video Interleave or AVI (.avi) Most universal format.

Flash Video (.flv)  This format is also popular, especially after the introduction of flash video players

MP4 (.mp4) The MP4 format is commonly used to store audio and video

QuickTime (.mov)  Used by by both  Apple and Window computers

Windows Media Video (.wmv)This Microsoft developed video format is another of the common formats used on the internet. This format is designed for Windows .

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2852877

You can convert VOB to other formats..
If it is too much work, you may wish to start over.

Many computer users have found that you might  have Video in two or more formats. One for creation of a DVD, another for showing over the internet and possibility another for use on a Android tablet or phone.

Some video editor programs have tutorials the help explain the Babylon of videos formats in common use today and yesterday.
A fair comparison of some popular video software.
http://lifehacker.com/5864841/five-best-video-editors
Also, you can Google "Free Video Editors" if you just want to expand you knowledge without investing money. 

Here are some common Intra-frame formats that are good for editing:
( file sizes can be very large, though)
    ProRes
    DV
    M-JPEG
    JPEG2000
    Animation
    x264 lossless mode

System Requirements
Processor
Pentium-IV 1.6GHz or higher (recommended)
Graphics Card
Graphics Card (Must support DirectX 9.0c)
Memory
256 MB RAM of system memory or above (recommended)
Available Slot
One available USB port (preferably USB2.0)
Operating Systems Supported
Microsoft Windows XP/ Windows Vista/Apple Mac
Others
Sound Card (AC97 compatible sound card) [100% of cards in the last 10 years support it]
1GB Free HD Space
CD-ROM Drive (For software installation)

Capture Video Source from VHS, V8, Hi8, etc

They sell capture devices simply to do such a job. Once you get one you can hook your camera up to it with the red/yellow/white RCA jacks and play the videos right on the camera for capture.

Right! Then you can decide what formant you want from the start.
However, the OP had already put the staff on DVD and apparently did not have the files save in a more piratical format.
As for the live video capture devices, they vary a lot for quality, price and ease of use. On eBay the price may be as $10 for just a bit of hardware, or $50 for a software and software combo.

I was using my father's GATEWAY GT5438 this morning when the display froze, I tried using the command ctrl+alt+delete but it wouldn't change so I forced shutdown his computer. When I tried to power it on again his tower would light up and would make the appropriate NOISES but there was no response from the keyboard, mouse, or the MONITOR itself. I have checked that all of the wires were intact, and double checked that the monitor was turned 'on' along with the wireless mouse. He uses Windows Vista on his computer and rarely ever shuts it down. I plan on CALLING Staples when they open to see if they can have a look at it but that will not be for a while and I was hoping somebody on here could ease my mind. I am hoping that it is just something to do with his monitor. He has had this computer for over 6 years.

Hi!
I have a brand new acer aspire laptop running windows 8 which replaced my old dell desktop running xp. I am having issues connecting a usb device (electronic drum kit) to the laptop. I get an error message SAYING the device has malfunctioned, and it doesn't work with the software I use with the drum kit. However, I tried it on the old desktop, and it is working perfectly. Making things more confusing, I don't get an error message if I use the usb3.0 port on the laptop, but it still won't work properly for more than a few seconds with the software.
Does anyone know why it would work on xp but not win 8, and what I can do to fix this problem?
Thanks!You will need Win8 drivers for the device...search at the drum kit manuf. website...I read from multiple sources that no drivers are needed and I never installed any on xp. http://community.alesis.com/alesis/topics/alesis_dm6_drivers_does_anyone_have_the_link_for_download 
(I followed the solution suggested there and it didn't work)

 Is there anything else that could be causing this problem? I tested the usb ports with other devices, so I know they are working.....
Thanks for your help!Btw this is this is the device status: Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (CODE 43).
Again, this is only with the usb2 ports. With usb3 it works perfectly for about a minute, then stops with no explanation. It only starts again if I unplug it and plug it back in (still only for a minute). Quote

I have a brand new acer aspire laptop

How can a new machine have two OS?
Please explain.

I have built a computer that will not post. Tried with 2 different monitors. I did change the video card out and still did not work.  What I have is: MB Asus M5 A97 R2.0.. Ram is 1 stick 8gb Viper Xtreme... CPU AMD FX 8150 8 Core Black Edition... Video PNY Geforce GTX 650ti Boost... PWRS Thermaltake TR2 700W...  1tb HDD.. Blueray DVD and is in a Corsair Case. I have built several pc's and never run into this problem before. The MB has a green light onboard which is green when it is turned on and hear the beep but never see video on screen.  That is why I tried an old 520 card I had which worked on another pc. This MB does not have on board video.  Any help will be greatly appreciated.Have you tried the video card in another slot?
Do you have a known good stick of RAM or a PSU you could try?
Finally, if it's still not working try the system outside of the case to make sure it's not shorting on anything.Does keyboard light up?
Do drives spin?
No beeps?
Fans?Calum: I have tried the video in another slot. I have another pc that I will remove a stick of RAM and try.   I tried a Tri-Core Chip just for grins.  I'm wondering about the MB shorting out and I will try that when I get time, have not thought about shorting MB.
Geek-9pm: all fans work, keyboard lights, hdd spins and dvd lights.
Thanks for the INPUT guys!Study the pastern of normal lights on a keyboard when a PC does power up. The keyboard  light flash not only TESTS the keyboard but also shows the BIOS  is doping the POST. Both CPU mad memory must be working for this to happen.All three lights flash one time on keyboard.  I removed the MB tested still did not work. Found a speaker from old case since one did not come with MB. Thought I had HEARD the chip chirp at startup but no beeps, also tried a different RAM stick. Cleared CMOS.  Tested PSU with gym clip fan runs constance with no ramp up or down.  Stumped now for sure. Normal keyboard flash is:
The three lights  on for one second at power on. This is an electrical response.
Off for several seconds.
Numlock comes on. BIOS tuns it on with software.
Most BIOS default to Numlock on. If it stays off, the BIOS fell into a cyberspace black hole. The CPU stopped. Or never started.have you tried the system with a known good PSU?  If so, it's the board at fault.I'm thinking the board is at fault.  The 3 lights on the keyboard not lighting now when turned on.  Guess I need to contact MFG.Update on POST. I have no problem to say this was my ignorance    and I have not built a computer in a number of years so after GOING back through everything I discovered that this MB requires a 8 pin ATX connector from PSU to plugin on MB, I then got 3 short beeps. I moved the RAM to a different slot 2nd from left and then I got POST, windows 7 loaded and now I'm good. Thanks for all the help I hope this may help someone down the road that may have the same issues.  Glad you got it sorted in the end, it's nice to hear it was a simple solution and not something involving sending parts back and all the hassle that entails

I just bought a new desktop, running on Ubuntu 12.04. There are one DVI port and one VGA port. When I plug in two monitors, the one on DVI does not respond while the one on VGA shows the following:

Attention: Unsupported Video Configuration Detected ACTION is Required
This COMPUTER has an add-in graphics card, but the monitor cable is plugged into the integrated video connector
....

With one monitor plugged in, it is working perfectly. How can I resolve this? Help!Are the two ports right next to each other, or is one vertical and one horizontal?  If the LATTER, the error message is correct - you have one monitor plugged into the graphics card, which is correct, and the other plugged into the onboard graphics, which won't work as they're disabled when a graphics card is installed.  To use two monitors you would need to plug them both into the graphics card (horizontal outputs) if it has two ports.They are vertical. Both of my graphics card and onboard graphics card have one port only.
Is getting a new graphics card with two ports the only solution?
THANKS!

Hello,

I am a complete beginner!

A few days ago my ACER aspire 5532 was dropped about a foot from the ground onto hard floor. After that it would turn on but it wouldn't get past the windows loading page. It would then say it couldn't turn on and it starts to run a diagnostic tool. After ages and ages of waiting, this does not fix it, and it seems to go round in circles.

My neighbor, seems pretty okay with computers had a look at it. He could not open it in safe mode and kept getting the same diagnostic and repair tool that I did.

This evening he used a different operating system to try and access my FILES that way, though we could see some of the folders he could not get further than the 'User' folder, which is what he wanted to access so he could try save my files to an external hard drive.

He then removed my hard drive, put it in some case or adapter thing, and then used a USB to connect it to my other laptop. I assume it acted like an external hard drive.
The same problem occurred, he could not access my personal files or my 'user' folder- (where all my personal files are kept)

he said it was beyond his knowledge to fix it and said I should seek more professional help- his assumption was that my personal files were corrupt.

I'm not too bothered about the machine itself, but my personal files are very important to me and as an idiot, I did not back them up.

Is there anyway I can restore these files?

If this MAKES a difference, I am in Germany, my laptop is british and the guy fixing it is American with an American machine etc. so not sure if it makes a difference that my hard drive is british and we have used U.S machines to load the data.

The machine is an ACER aspire 5532, AMD Athlon 64 processor TF-20, 3GB memory, 250 GB HDD.

(I barely know what these specs mean, I just read them off the sticker)

Please help

CarolineWhen I am faced with issues like this, I use Linux OS which will allow access to the user data that windows will protect access to. Then transfer the data from the user data location to a flash drive and then its outside of the safety of NTFS file/folder permissions. Knoppix, Ubuntu, or Linux Mint can be used to access this data or another distro of your choice. The problem is that windows detects the folder and data behind it as protected.

If you have access to another computer that can burn a CD, DVD, or create a USB bootable flash drive with Linux OS on the media to boot from, you can then bypass ownership security and access the data.Hmmmm, I am not sure I fully understand this. I am almost certain he may have tried that- however it could have been slightly different.

Once my neighbor is home from work I'll show him your response and MAYBE he can try again. Other than that, someone has emailed me saying it will cost me 300-600 euros to fix. So I am eager to find a cheaper solution!Because you dropped it, it's likely there is actual physical damage on the hard drive itself. This is especially true if you dropped it while it was on. It's not a case of the data being corrupted, but more likely a case of it being physically destroyed/mutilated on the disk; Dropping it can cause the read/write heads to flip out  (I mean that literally, not figuratively) over the disk, possibly leaving deep scratches. Worse still, the magnetic material scrapped off will now be floating around the disk itself, waiting patiently to fall on the disk and the read head to pass over it again, causing it to scrape along under the read head and rip off even more magnetic material.What does that mean for the restoration of my files? I would have him remove the HDD and put it in a powered external enclosure...he'll know right away if any data can be salvaged. Quote from: cazaloo90 on August 28, 2013, 09:14:24 AM

What does that mean for the restoration of my files?

I would have him remove the HDD and put it in a powered external enclosure...he'll know right away if any data can be salvaged.

I added a new 1 TB SATA hard drive and it worked FINE for several months. But since last week the video card started crashing and recovering periodically every 1-2 minutes. I disabled the hard drive and everything returned to normal. I suspect it has to do with power supply. Although I have a decent PSU from Antec (I forgot the exact capacity but it is around 500W), I am also running a power-thirsty Gefore 9800 video card. But it could also be SOMETHING minor like an installation issue. I scoured the internet for days without any satisfaction. I hope you guys are more familiar with this issue.  Post all the specs of the PC so we can check...but i also suspect you are under-powered.
How old is this PSU anyways ? ?Based only on he info he gave, he should consider doing a RMA on the hard drive.The HDD is NOT the issue...It's a Core 2 desktop with a 4 GB RAM from Dell. It's pretty much an average 5-6 year old GAMING PC. My PSU is only 2-3 years old.  What model hard drive is it?
This could happen with a Western Digital Green 1tb drive.
If it is one of those drives there is a software fix.

I have a dell inspiron 531. running WINDOWS vista
My device manager says that the integrated graphics card is a nvidia geforce 6150se nforce 430
The driver i installed was from the nvidia website I downloaded geforce 6 series driver.
Is this CORRECT?
I continually get bsod's that say session_has_valid_pool_on_exit
Also the computer will sometimes inexplicably lock up and then blue LIGHT -> i believe it shows hard drive usage
on the case is solid blue.
is this possible motherboard or videocard failure. I checked the power supply with a tester and the hard drive with gwscan and the ram with memtest86 and windows memory diagnostic all passed.
laptop drivers should be obtained from the website of the computer manufacturer. Go to the Dell website, enter your service tag number, and download and install all appropriate drivers. Are there any yellow or red symbols in device manager?It's a desktop actually Quote from: Allan on August 07, 2013, 03:06:08 PM

Are there any yellow or red symbols in device manager?

It's a desktop actually

A week ago, an electrical storm knocked out power in our small town and apparently, knocked my OLD computer down for the count! When I first turned it on, a screen came up stating the computer had shut down due to one of several reasons, and started a 30 second countdown to start up with a few options. Several years ago, I fried the ps2 keyboard plug and have never been able to access the BIOS on start up in safe mode, so I just let it start as usual. This time it didn't. As soon as the start screen came on, the computer shut down. After several attempts, it won't even do that. The mobo fan starts spinning and stops a few seconds later.
That old machine was a generic brand with WinXP home and was used for WEB searches and emails. The newer one is more powerful and I used it exclusively for audio/video processing. It is an HP Compaq dc7100 with WinXP pro.
Before this fiasco, I was in the process of moving info to the HP. Now I have 100 Gigs of my "stuff" on the old machine and would like to know how to get it off the old hard drive.
I thought that if the old hard drive was unscathed, I could put it into another machine and be able to transfer the info eventually to an EXTERNAL drive I have. Is there a problem with this? I would be afraid to try this on the HP, but I have an old 386 with Win 98 se on it. Would the operating system even matter? Both are sata drives. I would appreciate any help with this. I don't know if the hard drive is fried. I hope you can diagnose the situation with the info I've given.Welcome to CH.
Most likely  you can get 'your stuff' off of the old drive.
You said SATA? On the Windows 98 machine? Please clarify The older machine had PATA, not SATA.
Sorry, you are right. The ribbon cable ends on the 386 and the crashed machine appear the same.May I suggest you try a USB drive adapter. About $7 to $12 on eBay. Takes about a week to ship.



The one in the photo about has a  round plug used in Europe. . If you are in North America, you have to get one with the standard blade plug.
I have used these things often. Most of the time they work. But once in awhile they don't. But for the price, it is worth a try.

Otherwise, you have to connect the drive  inside to your new computer. You can try using the ribbon cable for the CD-ROM drive. That should work. Do not power on until you have it all connected. Be careful, drop a screw on the motherboard and it can be damaged.

Thank you for your reply. I'll see if I can find one of these. Not sure if they will SOLVE the problem, but the lost info is worth the price.you can buy one on ebay http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.XUSB+2.0+to+SATA+IDE+2.5+3.5+Hard+Drive+HDD+Adapter&_nkw=USB+2.0+to+SATA+IDE+2.5+3.5+Hard+Drive+HDD+Adapter&_sacat=0&_from=R40 for < US$10

I bought a near identical one to the one PICTURED by Geek, been using for a few days to quickly verify internal SATA drives without putting them in PC.  It comes with all the cables you need, is suitable for ATA and IDE/PATA types, but I have never used mine with IDE/SATA.  Easy to connect.

Ensure you the correct mains plug for your region.

I have a number of small concerns with mine (in UK). The mains adapter gets hot when plugged in.  Not too hot too to pick up, but more than warm.  The mains lead does not appear to be fused [to contain a fuse] (I might be wrong, the plug fits into a wall point, but it is very small, and sealed.  The adapter end is standard IEC (in the UK, 'kettle'), so that lead is easy to replace.  The mains lead does not fit very deeply into the mains adapter and so sometimes does not go in properly.  The adapter itself has a grreen LED on it though, which will confirm that it's plugged in ok though.  The LED takes about 1s to come on after you plug it in to the mains.

(I also bought an IDE <-> SATA adapter which plugs into a SATA disk providing a connection to the internal IDE ribbon cable, I think it works the other way round too, but you might need a variety that has different sex connectors, it was about US$5 including p&p)

Dumb_Question
30.August.2013Right. They are cheap, but work. Do not leave it plugged into the mains when not it use. It should only be occasional use. The thing does overheat and will fail when a certain temperature is reached. You let it cool off and it will work again. Cheap. Thee is no visible fuse.

I dont know what the people did on my pc here that it went to a low resolution suddenly. I just left to go to my work and this HAPPENED.
Im not sure if this is permanent cause i usually just restart when this *censored* happens.
I think its a graphics card PROBLEM.. Im TRYING to remember if there was a NVIDIA control panel in my context menu in the first place because theres CURRENTLY no control panel like that now i dont know.

http://imgur.com/kqPcTeu

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]I'd go to nVidia's website and download latest driver for that GPU and apply that. Although it looks like the video card could be crapping out because of the ARTIFACTS near the icons.

I currently have a older laptop that has this issue, where it first boots up and has only a few artifacts and then as it heats up more show and flicker on and off etc especially when trying to game with it.