Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in .

A DIY computer almost always means picking out hardware.
I have built some desktops myself, but never anything to be proud of. I look for budget stuff and I get stung by low cost junk. So now I ham asking. If I do a search for budget hardware guides, How will I know if it is junk or not?
Example: I LOOKED for 'Budget Gaming PC Guides' and found:

http://compreviews.about.com/od/tutorials/a/DIYBudgetGamePC.htm

http://elitegamingcomputers.com/good-cheap-gaming-computers/

http://imnotbermuda.com/2014/07/12/guide-to-budget-gaming-pc/

Are any of the above honest? If not, please provide a good link.
Thanks  They are all a bit of a jumble if I'm honest.  Especially that first one that tells you to use the power supply the case includes, it should be basic knowledge that these are GENERALLY terrible.

As far as quality on parts, brand is important, For motherboards I only look at Gigabyte or ASUS and for power supplies I only tend to look at the likes of XFX, Corsair (Non CX/VS series), Antec, SuperFlower, Seasonic.etc.  The brand of RAM isn't that important though and if budgets are really tight you could always get a cheap case, although they can be noisy and a right pain to build in.

The key thing to remember is to stick with quality, even the most basic Celeron based office PC I build will still get a Gigabyte/ASUS board and a good power supply (USUALLY Seasonic OEM ones at that level).  It's a bad idea to compromise on quality just to save a bit of MONEY, it'll likely cost more in the long run.

Gaming PCs are not cheap, when you start TRYING to cut corners you will have trouble.  You get what you pay for.Budget and gaming don't belong in the same sentence just as Army intelligence; jumbo shrimp...and organised religion don't either...

The Gateway desktop GT4016 was hard to power up, had to play with it awhile, finally it quit, the power will turn on with fan, but the BLUE light on the switch WONT turn on & link to the monitor. Before this happened, I would unplug it from the back many times, & eventually get it to turn on. Before this happened the Lite-on DRIVE would not play any cd I placed in the tray, no action.

What do you think, a bad relay in the power supply, or a bad hard drive?
Sounds like it could be one or the other...or both...
For the PSU test SWAP a known good one in of the same or greater wattage...you'll know overnite...
For the HDD DLoad and run the Free diags. from the manuf. site....run the long test.

Hello....

Im having some real computer issues and COULD sure use some help! As you can tell from my headline to the post my disk drive is saying unallocated. I know how to work around a computer for the most part but am still learning and by no means am I an expert so need it to be EXPLAINED to me easily.  My disc drive has had one issue before where my son accidentally formatted it, but was able to recover the data using the administrative prompts (but at least then it would show up under my computer as a drive, it just would say that it was empty). It worked for a few months and I tried to use the drive a computer at work and it told me it needed to be formatted. I hit cancel and took the drive off the computer. When I got home to use it there was no longer a visible drive. It still makes a tone when plugged in, and the light on the external drive lights up but there is no drive to be seen. 
When I go to disk management on my windows 8 computer it shows it in disk 1 as:

Disk 1

Unknown                                        931.51 GB

931.51 GB                                      Unallocated

Not Initialized

 I talked to Seagate Backup support to try and get some answers and they told me that it was a damaged partition which if I WANTED them to help me fix it was going to cost money. I BASICALLY hung up on them and set on a MISSION to figure it out myself. I saw a video which told me to get the software ezeUS data recovery software and use the option to fix my partition. I did this and still no change to anything, everything looks the same.  Now im stuck and have no where to go from here! hopefully someone here can help me get back all my family photos, and videos. I would like to get my disk to be recognized again, and still have my files on the disk. Is this possible? or am I SOL!!!!

- A regular Joe


[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]Did you follow the instruction from hardware wizard setup? http://www.partition-tool.com/partition-recovery-wizard/partition-recovery.htmI did but my version looks a tad different then thatHi

Perhaps try http://findandmount.com/download/

This is easy to understand and use and is free

hi, i have a 2TB WD hard drive that is asking me to format it before it will let me use it. i have a huge amount of information (photos documents movies ect) that i need to save before formatting. please help!
any programs that are recommended to try and save info from the hard drive without formatting it 

extra info:
it will show up as local drive when plugged in but will not allow me to enter the hard drive,
have attempted different cables and other computers with no luck

SOS!!


Is the data accessible on another PC ? ?

What has happened since it worked properly ? ?

Is it being reported as RAW in Properties ?(Thanks for such a quick response)

The most information obtainable was the hard drives old name which no longer displays when plugged in to my pc which is Windows based. (It just registers as local disk ) when clicked on displays a warning along the lines of 'this drive must be formatted before use' when plugged in to a Mac i am still not able to access or view any files within the hard drive but it does still show the hard drive name.

The hd hasn't been dropped or been susceptible to the elements or physically damaged nor has it been on contact with any viruses

As for your last question I am unsure as to what you refer to (apologies)

not sure if this helps>

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]Post a pic of Disk Management...
In the MEANTIME check the questionable HDD in the same spot with Properties...
Your 2nd image is a DVD drive...not the one your speaking about.`Fro general information.
A limited number of USB to IDE adapters have wrong y firmware. I do not believe this never applies to any SATA spatter, just the older USB IDE devices.

The drive is not formatted correctly but works as long as you use that very same apter.  Sorry, I don't kn ow where that is documented. Many posts all over mention it, but I don't kn ow if any ever explains how it happens.
Once you format the drive, you can not get the data that had been stored with he wrong drive geometry.   

Maybe the OP had used an old adapter and then put the drive into a PC with the correct HD controller.
 patio
image 1:
left is disk management
right is what pops up when i try and right click and explore the disk

image 2:
picture of correct disk (not my dvd drive *face palm*)



[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]As is suspected it is being reported as RAW....which means it was unplugged too many times without using safely remove.

You will need a partition recovery app such as GetDataBack (not free) to SEE if you can retrieve /repair the data...oh, this doesn't sound good

would you have a couple of links you could suggest for free partition recovery app's i can download and try?
alternatively please post a link to the GetDataBack download page so i can give that a go.
what is the likely-hood oh something like this being successful?


cheers again for the help! 
Here Ya Go...

Also just found out Easus has a Free one as well...i have not tested it as of yet...Currently waiting for the program to run through will post results when done fingers crossed
If that doesn't work, you would have to pay someone to do advanced drive recovery....and that is NOT anywhere NEAR cheap. ($500-1000+ depending on exact damage.) Most places that offer that service don't make you pay anything if they can't get it back though.

Good luck man.

Also you could try this, which is free: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDiskThe easeUS one worked a treat, I was able select a recovery method that just looked for IMAGES. Was able to view previews of them on the free version and then once obtaining a licence I was able to save them all to another drive. It took on the good side of 5-6 hours to complete a 9 gb data 'find and rescue' but regardless I got what I was after. further more am now completeing a full recovery of the HD which includeds close to 1T of movie files (of course all downloaded legally)
Only downside.
Licence was around $100
I'm sure there are cheaper options but this was very user friendly and worked first time
Thanks all!

Ps: would recommend safely removing external drives XD Quote

Only downside.
License was around $100
I'm sure there are cheaper options but this was very user friendly and worked first time
Thanks all!

I have been taking a look at reviews, benchmarks, and much more and I am having TROUBLE with choosing between the
GeForce GTX 970 and the Radeon R9 290x. Which do you THINK is better? What graphics card do you prefer? Keep in mind the
price range I am LOOKING at is around the 300$ price range (I plan on buying either of these cards used).

Radeon R9 290x: http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-PCI-Express-Edition-Graphics-21226-00-53G/dp/B00GRNUNQU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1411515467&sr=8-3&keywords=Sapphire+r9+290x

GeForce GTX 970: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclocked-256bit-Graphics-04G-P4-0974-KR/dp/B00NI64A7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411610189&sr=8-1&keywords=GeForce+GTX+970

I am planning on building a new gaming computer. I am sure of what components to get....
Besides the graphics card. I am having trouble choosing between the Radeon R9 290X and the
GeForce GTX 770. They are both about the same price range and given that I am fairly new to this
Process of choosing components I am asking for your opinion. If you feel as if you need to look at my other components, please do so by visiting this pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/UiA3Acs1
Also, for specifications, here are the Graphics CARDS' links:

Radeon R9 290X: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GRNUNQU/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?qid=1411493336&sr=8-9&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

GeForce GTX 770: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00CZIQXBA/ref=mp_s_a_1_fkmr0_1?qid=1411493420&sr=8-1-fkmr0&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

Please, feel free to comment and state your opinion. Make sure to take into consideration my other components (To make sure that either one of these graphics cards will WORK best with my build)
Also, if you believe that NEITHER of these are good options, please state what GPU you think is best.
Thank you SOO much for your time.

Here's a LIST of high end GPU benchmarks:
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

The Radeon is better, but I'm a little biased. I would always pick nVidia over AMD, but it's personal opinion. Kind of.

I have an Acer Aspire 4741G. When turned on only dispays flashes of Post Boot & flashes of Win7 booting up SUCCESSFULLY. MUSIC, which signals the successful loading of Windows sounds but screen REMAINS blank.

When I attach Monitor via VGA Port. None of the 'boot up' displays, not even flashes, but full display ie. Win7 requesting password appears and is stable.

My first conclusion was that a component in the LCD was suffering heat stroke ie. Working, "HEATING up, Dying, Cooling, Working, Heating up-------so on"

After reading posts on this Forum started to think that it could be a corrupt BIOS. The result that I'm getting with the VGA attached monitor, I believe doesn't support this.

Any clues??? thank you in ancipitationHave you tried with other monitors/is that monitor known good? Can you boot to safe mode or enter bios?

I have my LAPTOP SONY VIAO PCG-61211W almost 1year stocked and it is not working.

i can turn it on and has the light button, but it suddenly turn off in a second repeatedly. i OPEN the case and i tried to reset the memory, hdd and the processor and placed new thermal paste and cleaned the exhaust fan, while the case is open i tried to turn it on, the fan is working and it synchronized with the light button but again my laptop is repeatedly on and off.

kindly give me a advice to fix  the problem of my laptop. thank you!Usually if only fans spin up and it doesn't turn on, it's a dead motherboard. Any beep codes?there's no beep at all. is there another way to fix the motherboard?Not unless you're a computer ENGINEERING major and know advanced CIRCUITRY and have spare materials.

Best to buy a new motherboard or check your warranty.all i know about motherboard is to reheated the chipset. is that helpful?You can try it if you have no warranty. It may help, it may not. If you have warranty, I definitely WOULD not try it.

There's no easy way to diagnose exact motherboard problems.As has been said above, if it is under a year old it is most LIKELY still under warranty, use this!

I upgraded from a AMD R9 270x (Not overclocked at all) to a GTX 970 (Also not overclocked) today. - Both at stock settings.
The GTX 970 consumes less wattage than the R9 270x, however within 30 minutes of playing skyrim, my entire PSU went up in sparks and such, i know 500w is sorta scraping the boundary for these cards, but either way, it should not explode my PSU, and considering i have been using a card that uses more power for around a year now, it doesn't make sense..

My PSU is dead, so i used an old one, however i cannot test the graphics card, so i don't know if it is dead..

Would this PSU be good? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Corsair-750W-CX750-80-PLUS-Bronze-Power-Supply-Quiet-Gaming-Certified-PSU-ATX-/111263301978?pt=AU_Components&hash=item19e7cf415a
I don't REALLY have a massive budget.. But any suggestions would be nice.

Hopefully, if my card is destroyed, i can get a refund, as that's not meant to happen...

My old PSU was a RK-P650 Power Supply. (In a mid-tower case)
500w is a bit tight but your issue was using a CHEAP PSU, I doubt this was ever capable of producing 500w.

That one would work but 750w is overkill and the Corsair CX range isn't that good (although it is at least safe).  For that card you would be fine around 550w as long as it is a QUALITY unit.  Something from a better Corsair range than the CX, or from XFX/Seasonic/Antec would be fine.

Quote from: killerloader on September 24, 2014, 10:51:32 PM

Hopefully, if my card is destroyed, i can get a refund, as that's not meant to happen...

this is the computer i have in mind


Yoyotech Warbird RS2

its for extreme gaming and a youtube channel, if you can suggest ONE that would help
That looks okay other than the MSI brand of motherboard - Not a GREAT brand.

Personally I would consider something like this: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-052-OG&groupid=43&catid=2475&subcat=2602 - The price is very close once you select a GEFORCE 780 VIDEO card and copy of Windows yet uses a better ASUS motherboard.

You may also WANT to use the specs of those as a template to build your own.

I was working on my buddies COMPUTER, after he has been having troubles with it for a while now, especially online.  Its a Compaq with Vista on it.  First thing I did was take it all apart and thoroughly CLEAN the case out and all the innards and then put it back together.  I then started it up and began to go through everything checking for problems.  I eventually ran an error scan on the hard drive and let that run through.  It came up with a TON of errors and even after letting it sit and scan for well over 24 hours, it was not scanning very much anymore.  Within a 12 hour period, the message on the screen only added one thing and i believe it said something like: trying to fix error in sector .... then the next message was the same thing.  Like it tried to fix, but failed and was trying again.  I got fed up of waiting so long, so I hard restarted the computer and basically had to revert the computer back to factory settings, which wiped all of his information.  Now here is where it gets CONFUSING.  I have recently graduated from COLLEGE with my Associates in I.T., so I kind of know my way around computers, but I have never even heard of this before.  Whenever I have encountered HDD's that have bad sectors on them, they have all been junk and had to get tossed.  After the computer restored to factory settings, I did the test again, but this time the HDD came out perfectly clean.  Not a bad sector on it.  Absolutely nothing wrong with it at all.  I have proceeded to get the computer back up to date, and I am basically ready to give it back to him, but I needed to find out if anyone else has ever had something like this happen?  Is it possible it was a virus or worm or something that was messing with the hard drive.  Like I said, I have never heard of that happening, and as far as I have ever known, if it was a worm, then wouldn't the HDD be shot?  Either way, I will make the suggestion to get another HDD installed for backup, in case this one decides to take a dump again.Can you post the hard drive report next time for checking? Is it a windows checkdisk startup or a software diagnostic test? The bad sectors are blocked off when found....that's why they aren't showing now...Hi there

This is quite rare and sometimes happens when different software is used for the scans. I see that the situation here is different.
From my experience, I think it is a good idea to check the drive with the manufacturer's software. You are fortunate that the drive seems OK now, but I would not rely much on it. Backup drive or scheduled backups on an external may be a nice advice.

Hope this helpsWelcome Aboard R2....

Good to have a Rep around.Thanks!Hi

Sad that you didn't make the first thing you did a full backup of the hard drive, which could have saved your friends data.

Before you give the computer back it would pay to do some more diagnostics on that drive. It maybe that is thermal and is failing when warm. A program that is really good is MHDD from here http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/

I polity suggest   you get a copy of Minitool Disk manger (it's free) and use the boot cd to backup hard drives before reloading windows. If this isn't possible because of to many bad sectors or a failing hard drive at least use the file manager built in to copy off what is important. Doing a windows reload and losing someones data is what gets the computer industry a bad name.

Case-sharkoon vs3-s black midi tower gaming case
Processor-Intel core i3 4150 3.50GHz
Motherboard-gigabyte ga-h81m - d2v micro atx socket -1150 motherboard
RAM-8GB (2x4GB) crucial ballistix SPORT 1600MHz cl9 ddr3 dual channel kit
Power suply - 750watts arianet ace extreme series power suply
Hard drive - 500GB segative barracuda st5000m00z
Graphics card -nvidia quadro K600
Operating system- windows 7 HOME premuim so-1 64bit
Dvd drive - Samsung ah-11 8bb/Bebe black 18x saga dvd
Cpu cooler-Arctic alpine 20 plus co Intel 2011 processor cooler
TOTAL PRICE= £364.60Here are a few pointers, do not buy it as it currently is:

• CPU and motherboard is okay.
• That video card is not suitable for gaming.  For gaming you need something from the NVIDIA GeForce line.  On a budget I wouldn't go below the GeForce 750.
• Don't bother with a separate CPU cooler, use the stock one.  The money can be spent better elsewhere.

Hello.

I want to KNOW does this laptop runs Grand THEFT Auto San Andreas. I want to play only multiplayer mod of san andreas. And i need very cheap laptop.

Laptop : http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/laptops-netbooks/laptops/laptops/lenovo-g50-30-15-6-laptop-black-10022697-pdt.html

Sorry for my bad English, i live in Europe Or can i WATCH HD VIDEOS in youtube with no LAG

Will this start an age of buying powerful gpus for lower tier machines?WELL ... yes and no... that is there MAY be some games out there that are written to take advantage of this and place a CPU essentially at idle with the video card doing all the work, but if playing older games that are written not to take advantage of this, you will find that the CPU would be quite busy to play the games and so you would want to not be running a Intel Atom or Celeron or low end weak AMD CPU.

I think the best example of this is the game Unreal Tournament 99. It was written back when most people had single core computers and many people were running with integrated graphics because the integrated graphics were plenty to play it. As I learned later when playing this game on newer hardware, it did not take too well to multicore CPU's such as my AMD Quadcore. And so I had to specify CPU Affinity to use a single core of the 4 that are available to get the game to run correctly.

Playing UT99 on this newer computer with overkill video card for UT99, the CPU would get busy and you would probably ALSO have to specify core affinity to get the game to run properly, however it seems as though the AMD CPU's are more prone to this problem with UT99 vs Intel for some REASON. * Also UT99 seems to peg the core to nearly 100% while running no matter how powerful of a multicore AMD CPU you are running. I tried this out on these AMD CPU's and all have had issues without affinity set ( Athlon II x4 620 2600Mhz, Athlon II x2 215 2700Mhz, Athlon 64 x2 4450B 2300Mhz, and Sempron x2 2200 2.0Ghz ) all of which acted up without affinity set with core usage bouncing imbalanced erratic and the game performance acting glitchy with frame lags etc even with  nVidia and ATI video cards.

Oddly testing with Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4Ghz 4MB Cache and Pentium E5400 2700Mhz core affinity does not need to be set to run correctly, but the game makes these CPU's run at about 60% for both cores.

This game UT99 is very CPU dependent vs GPU dependent. And so the video card would be essentially idle pretty much in rendering the simplicities of this game, mainly because the game was engineered to be more cpu dependent especially with software graphics rendering if not using a system with a good GPU to tap into. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_rendering


This link below is pretty good on explaining how it came to be etc for Mantle Multicore in relation to PS3 etc
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/63428-closer-look-amds-mantle.html

So after about 2 months of working on PARTS for this build, I think I've come To a final rig. This is for a non-overclocking, and long lasting build. I would like some opinions before I order all of the parts. Is there any incompatibilities? and will everything balance out and will it preform for a good few years? Thanks!

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($230.98 Newegg Canada)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($26.79 DirectCanada)
 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($119.98 Newegg Canada)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming SERIES 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($175.98 Newegg Canada)
 
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($82.99 Canada COMPUTERS)

Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($77.95 DirectCanada)
 
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($379.99 NCIX)

Case: Enermax ECA3280A-BR ATX Mid Tower Case  ($74.99 Amazon Canada)

Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Platinum 650W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply  ($113.80 DirectCanada)

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD WRITER  ($19.95 Vuugo)

Total: $1303.40

Hello!! I plan on building a NEW Gaming PC, I have picked out what components I plan on getting and I NEED your help
To justify whether or not these components are going to run well with one another, and will run almost ANY computer-intensive
game (Such as CRYSIS 3, Metro: Last Light, Battlefield 4, ARMA 3, etc.) on High-Ultra settings with an FPS that averages at around the 60
FPS BENCHMARK. Also, take into consideration to ensure that each component will fit with one another on the MOBO and will not bottleneck.
Thank you SOO much for your TIME, and I hope you will help me with this build that I plan to be tremendous!!!

Pastebin Link to Components: http://pastebin.com/gPZanzzH


PS: Considering that I plan on getting a GeForce GTX 970, is GIGABYTE a well option for this particular GPU?Isn't this like the 5th thread you've opened for this?Locked - please don't double post.

How to replace RAM (from 1GB to 2GB) in Dell Notebook
I have a DELL Notebook Inspiron 10.1"( Windows 7, 1GB Ram, 250GB Hard Drive ) and I like to upgrade the Ram to 2GB as I feel very slow when surfing the Internet. Kindly please advise Where and What kind of Specification of the RAM I can get from, also any info about how to open to replace it. Thank you very much !
JohnYou can find video guides for Dell notebook on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IrTmtEa_kk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-QlFMpGJm0
You did no give the model number.
You MUST have the laptop off when working on it.

On your laptop go to http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/homepage.  In the MIDDLE of the page there is a box that has a link to "download the scanner".  Running that scanner will tell you what memory you have and what you can add.  It will also offer to sell you the RAM you need.

Look on the bottom of your laptop and see if there is a small removable cover held in place with a screw.  If so, that should be where you add the new memory.  We would need the exact model number of your Inspiron to give a better ANSWER than that.

Hi, I'm Adam. I'm wondering If this graphic CARD right here: MSI GeForce GTX 750 2GB PhysX CUDA, Is better than this: Nvidia Geforce GTX 580?I'd AVOID MSI and get that card from EVGA, XFX, or some other brand including PNY as being trusted more than MSI.

The 750GTX is better than that 580GTX as shown here: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-GTX-580

Although its interesting that this site shows the 750GTX being better in all specs,and then at the bottom of the page they seem to have it coded incorrectly to where the 580 and 750 benchmark results are inversed when comparing stats that are correct to the bar graph at bottom of page.Try Anandtech for GPU comparisons...How about This one? https://www.komplett.no/zotac-geforce-gt-740-2gb-physx-cuda/817124 (Is this any good?) And This one https://www.komplett.no/zotac-geforce-gt-730-4gb-physx-cuda/822439And Also theese: https://www.komplett.no/gainward-geforce-gt-720-2gb-physx-cuda/823040 and  https://www.komplett.no/asus-geforce-gt-720-2gb-silent-physx/823180.

I just want to know which are the best here.Well, the 720, 730 and 740 are low end cards so are significantly worse than the 750ti.

The 750ti and 580 are pretty close in terms of PERFORMANCE, the 580 being possibly slightly better.  However, the 580 is a much older card and will use significantly more power than a 750ti.Just please TELL me, Which One of them are the best?Personally I would go for the 750ti, the 580 is getting a bit old nowadays.Im talking about the other graphic cards. I posted link. Are they any better than 580?As I stated, the other cards you posted are all worse than the 750ti and therefore the 580.  What are you trying to do here ANYWAY?

Hey, so when I was playing LoL with my brand new PC, I was getting 60 fps. Now it's suddenly lowered to 30-40 fps. Why?What is make/model of new PC and if a desktop computer did you add a better video card or just running with integrated. Also is there anything else running at the same time that would make the system busy while also playing LoL to where the frame rate drop may be CAUSED by the CPU being busy which would choke off BUS bandwidth with the GPU for the game? Lastly did you make any changes to the games video settings or your DISPLAYS video settings such as set your display to a higher resolution or set the video settings to max in the game when they were prior set to normal etc?I didnt customize anything anywhere I need to know what you have for a make/model of computer so I can see its strengths and weaknesses and point you in a direction to go with this.... please share computer make/model such as I am on a Dell Dimension E310 right now typing this with a Pentium 4 3.0Ghz CPU and 2GB of RAM running Windows XP Home Service Pack 3. ( The Dell Dimension E310 info is a good start and any specifics such as CPU if a specific model came in a variety of CPU options, Memory if any was added as was with this Dell I am on, as well as what operating system if the system had an OS choice such as this Dell was available for XP or Vista when it was sold back in late 2006. )This could take awhile...Hey, its a PC from custom parts though. Dont really remember the parts :D
Ill try though. Motherboard is Asus A55BM-E, HDD Seagate barracuda 3.5,gb ram kingston, CPU AMD athlon x4 II 740, Asus radeon HD 6670 2GB GPU, Seasonic SS-350ET PSU Oh by the way Windows 8 Thanks for the info...

Hardware wise, its not that bad of a computer... looking into the CPU I was SURPRISED that although an x4 CPU, its actually 2 cores with 2 logical cores per physical so its really sort of a Dual Core Hyper Threaded to have 2 cores per core type of CPU. I have an Athlon II x4 620 2.6ghz Socket AM3 which is 4 physical cores, but your CPU beats mine out on the benchmarks by a good amount.

The video card you have is not super powerful, but its also not the weakest on the market either. I am actually running the ASUS HD 5450 1GB which is weaker than yours and my frame rate when playing LoL with Windows 7 64-bit with 4GB of DDR2 800Mhz at normal default settings is around 40 to 60 fps, and with games like WoW its like 30-60fps at High settings, but Ultra(max) settings for WoW drops my card down into the 20s, and sometimes the high teens when in raids and lots of stuff is going on in game with visual effects. So most games I run at normal or 1 step above normal if the frame rate is still above 30 fps.

Looking online to see if there was anyone else with an issue like yours, to see if Riot added a texture update etc that may have made the game more GPU intensive, I actually came across this, which might fix your problem. I haven't played LoL in almost a year to give you any up to date info on that game other than whats on the web.

http://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/254ryd/league_of_legends_fps_fix/




Hey, riot didnt make any VU in game or anything, so again, might I be keylogged? Quote

might I be keylogged?

Also is there anything else running at the same time that would make the system busy while also playing LoL to where the frame rate drop may be caused by the CPU being busy which would choke off BUS bandwidth with the GPU for the game?

Then I dont understand what you mean.

I am currently in the process of building a GAMING computer. Its not going to be highest quality, but I have a budget of $1700. I currently built a setup with PARTS on PC Part Picker so I am posting this here for your input on something better than what I've listed for same price or cheaper if possible. Thanks.

My Setup Here:    http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/dVQDmG
Looks good, just a couple of points.

Your CPU is the i5 4690 so you won't be able to overclock it, if you want the ability to overclock you will need the 4690k.

That CASE already includes all the fans you need, for a system like yours you will not need to add more.

The stock cooler will have paste preapplied so you will not need your own (unless you just fancy having some around as spare).I don't plan to Overclock as I won't need it. With a GTX 760 I should be able to play most games on Med-High or even Max. The fans are replacements because their red colored, the stock fans are blue. The THERMAL paste is just for keeping spare around in case I ever change CPU's. Thanks for the input though.Ahh yeah, I meant the 4690k. :p

If you want the inside lit up red you would be best to also get a strip of red LEDs rather than just using fans as they don't spill that much light into the case.I switched to the 4690k anyways. Its only $20 or so more. I am thinking of LED strips aswell as the red fans.For those who don't want to open the link to view the parts:

Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core
Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 M/B
G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB DDR3-1600
Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD
Western Digital CAVIAR Blue 1TB 7200RPM
EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB
NZXT Phantom 530 (Black) ATX Full Tower
XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified
Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit)
Asus VS248H-P 24.0" Monitor
Aerocool Shark 120mm Red
Aerocool Shark 140mm Red
Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard
Genius Gila Wired Optical MouseI've updated my build. Please check it out and provide your input.

My new budget is $1100, no longer $1700, sadly.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/XjGJNG

This build come to $1,050.43That still loots absolutely fine however your are row missing a copy of Windows you could get a cheaper case to be able to accommodate this.

I KEEP on getting the message Ink Pad Full etc, which I can override with Resume button.
I see some 'loose' ink inside, so ... how do I remove the ink pads to clean? http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6154288_replace-ink-absorber-canon-printer.html
Yes, THANKS, that gives me the general direction, but I still have difficulties in removing the (which?) rubber FRAME.  Iattach a pici of the 'hole' with the cartridges pushed to the left.  Can you tell me which PART should be (?)LIFTED out?

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]

Could anybody RECOMMEND me a wireless keyboard and mouse? I am looking for the SET, which would be rechargeable by a USB cable (I don't know if SOMETHING like that even EXISTS). My idea is like, i have wireless keyboard and mouse until the battery is uncharged, then i will plug a cable and I have wired keyboard (and mouse) until the battery is fully cahrged, then unplug the cable and again. I didn't find anything like that, so if anybody here has heard about it, please give me an advice or recommend me a simillar oportunity. Tanks a lot in advance the even better choice would be combo with some kind of recharging dock station on wireless base, but maybe this is very high tech See Here...Well, thank you. But it seems like there are only mice with charging dock station. I have never found a keyboard, which will by rechargeable due to USB cable for instance. Is it such a huge technological problem to make something like that, or I am just a bad googler?? Mouse- aint cheap Razer Ouruboros and i dont know about the keyboard

Hi guys, I built my PC around two years ago, didn't have a problem for a long time.

Build:
i7 3770K 3.5ghz
eVGA GTX 680 (factory OC)
16 GB Corsair Vengeance 1866 (4*4gb)
ASUS Sabertooth Z77
Corsair HX750 Modular/Gold Cert

Starting a little over a month ago, my PC would randomly TURN off and reboot ONLY when in high-req games like GW2/Contagion/etc. It would not crash in browser/VLC/even League of Legends or FTL. I should note that it was NOT overheating, my cpu temp was a little high (80C) however I could run Prime95 and hit 100C without an issue, and my cpu should not shut off until 105C. I could mine dogecoins and still not go over 75C.

After some testing, it looked like my RAM slot #1 was dead, as games were running seemingly fine with no RAM in that slot, so I RMA'd my motherboard. I also bought a new cpu fan just for the *censored* of it. I even reinstalled windows ENTIRELY, full wipe. Windows SFC found no problems, chkdsk found nothing wrong.

Got my new motherboard and cpu fan in, my temps dropped considerably and everything seemed fine. For two weeks. Last night my PC randomly shut off in firefox, not running any games at all. Today I tried running Contagion and my PC shut off within 10 seconds. My cpu temp was 45C when it shut off, wasn't checking my gpu at the time, but I'm SURE it was under 60C with how long I was playing before it died.

At this point I don't know what the heck to do. I still have warranty on most parts, but fixing this is taking a lot of time, especially considering I had to yell at ASUS for 4 hours to get them to process an advanced RMA.

Any help would be awesome. Let me know if you need logs or tests or anything.Clean the event log.
Stat up the machine and play the game or program taught makes it stop.
Reboot and look at the event log. Report what went down.

Looked through, and there's no log at crash time other than on reboot "previous shutdown unexpected." Maybe your eyes can see more. Attaching logs for app and sys.

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space] Quote from: InfamousMyzt on SEPTEMBER 21, 2014, 07:25:25 PM

Hi guys, I built my PC around two years ago, didn't have a problem for a long time.

Build:
i7 3770K 3.5ghz
eVGA GTX 680 (factory OC)
16 GB Corsair Vengeance 1866 (4*4gb)
ASUS Sabertooth Z77
Corsair HX750 Modular/Gold Cert

Starting a little over a month ago, my PC would randomly turn off and reboot ONLY when in high-req games like GW2/Contagion/etc. It would not crash in browser/VLC/even League of Legends or FTL. I should note that it was NOT overheating, my cpu temp was a little high (80C) however I could run Prime95 and hit 100C without an issue, and my cpu should not shut off until 105C. I could mine dogecoins and still not go over 75C.

After some testing, it looked like my RAM slot #1 was dead, as games were running seemingly fine with no RAM in that slot, so I RMA'd my motherboard. I also bought a new cpu fan just for the *censored* of it. I even reinstalled windows ENTIRELY, full wipe. Windows SFC found no problems, chkdsk found nothing wrong.

Got my new motherboard and cpu fan in, my temps dropped considerably and everything seemed fine. For two weeks. Last night my PC randomly shut off in firefox, not running any games at all. Today I tried running Contagion and my PC shut off within 10 seconds. My cpu temp was 45C when it shut off, wasn't checking my gpu at the time, but I'm sure it was under 60C with how long I was playing before it died.

At this point I don't know what the heck to do. I still have warranty on most parts, but fixing this is taking a lot of time, especially considering I had to yell at ASUS for 4 hours to get them to process an advanced RMA.

Any help would be awesome. Let me know if you need logs or tests or anything.

It is a Gateway GT4016, it has other issues since I talked to you, a power problem, wont turn on all the WAY, the fan will run, but wont blue light to the monitor.
I have since replaced the power supply, same thing happens, new motherboard, same thing happens, what else would that leave?
Prior to this, I had suspected the motherboard, as the audio was lost, & had to replace a stand alone CARD on it to get it going, & the optical drive looked like it was burned out, as it used to burn & play dvds, cds, etc,, but wont recognize them now.
After I installed the new motherboard yesterday, it turned on & ran fine for 1/2 an hour, but after SHUTTING down, will not want to turn back on.What MAKE and model PSU ? ?
Have you REMOVED the dead optical drive ? ?
A faulty one can cause boot issues...

A Little while ago I replaced my stock CPU cooler with the Corsair H60 Liquid cooler. Things went well, load noise went way down and tempuratures followed suit. However all of a sudden I'm encountering over heating problems from as little as 25% CPU load. What's even stranger is that my idle temps are perfect. Currently sitting at 35°C (95°F).
When I replaced the cooler I used new Thermal compound (didn't realise at the time that the H60 came with one of those thermal pads).

So to some up:

- High load temps but low idle temps
- New Thermal grease
- Little dust build up

Please no one suggest knackered thermal sensor on CPU.

(It's my profile computer btw)

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]The fact that the temperature spikes up quit quickly, rather than taking some time to heat up, suggests to me that either the cooler isn't making PROPER contact or that the pump isn't working as it should - as opposed to the cooler being unable to deal with the heat output and getting saturated.
First thing I'd check is the pump, how is it currently connected?  if it's on a motherboard header, try it on a Molex to 3 pin fan adapter if possible, just to rule out either the header or the board doing something funny with voltage/speed control.
If it does the same thing directly connected to the PSU, is the pump vibrating, making any odd noises, or is it totally silent?  There should be a slight hum, a bubbling noise or anything odd could indicate a trapped air bubble, whereas total silence might mean it's not functioning.
Is the radiator getting warm at all, or staying stone cold?  That could also indicate an air lock or lack of heat transfer.
Finally it's worth removing the cooler just to make absolutely sure it's seated properly, you should have a good spread of thermal paste and indication that it's contacting across the whole base, not, say, skewed to one side.  This is quite unlikely if it was working fine before and if the PC hasn't had any knocks or bangs to unseat the cooler, but it's worth checking as a last effort anyway. Quote from: Calum on September 08, 2014, 12:09:33 PM

First thing I'd check is the pump, how is it currently connected?  if it's on a motherboard header, try it on a Molex to 3 pin fan adapter if possible, just to rule out either the header or the board doing something funny with voltage/speed control.

If it does the same thing directly connected to the PSU, is the pump vibrating, making any odd noises, or is it totally silent?  There should be a slight hum, a bubbling noise or anything odd could indicate a trapped air bubble, whereas total silence might mean it's not functioning.

Is the radiator getting warm at all, or staying stone cold?  That could also indicate an air lock or lack of heat transfer.
Finally it's worth removing the cooler just to make absolutely sure it's seated properly, you should have a good spread of thermal paste and indication that it's contacting across the whole base, not, say, skewed to one side.  This is quite unlikely if it was working fine before and if the PC hasn't had any knocks or bangs to unseat the cooler, but it's worth checking as a last effort anyway.

I could try that but my experience with older motherboards tells me that the BIOS will not POST if a CPU fan is not detected. Haven't put it to the test recently though. Also speed fan & SIW report good RPMs from the pump and fan.

I have never known the pump makes any noise, but if it were not functioning at all then the surely the CPU would overheat very quickly at idle speeds. I'll give it a bit more attention though.

As it turned out there was a build up of dust between the radiator and the fan (not visible until dismantled), but this has only improved the situation. I had to stop a Prime95 stress test after reaching 75°C (167°F). I'm sure when the water cooling was originally installed the tempuratures did not exceed 65°C (149°F). Anyway I will be checking the pump mounting later. I will keep you apprised.

After taking the time to convert all my temperatures to imperial I realised that you (Calum) are also from the UK England/Scotland/Wales/Ireland

Checked pump/heatsink mounting today (sorry about the delay, time has not been allowing recently). I replaced the thermal paste and have yet again seen only minute improvments (now takes a few seconds longer to cook).

I can feel heat through the pipes and in the reservoir/sump but the radiator feels quite cold although I havn't sustained any high tempuratures for any length of time. How would a air bubble or lock present itself? And can you bleed it?

What did the spread of paste look like, did it look like it was making good, even contact across a good patch of the CPU?

stick to what we know is best. Air... It helps you live!

Hi I wonder if someone could help my DH, he purchased some new speakers yesterday and were working fine but what seems to happen is that during playback for some reason the sound vanishes and thinks it should be on headphones hence why he can't hear anything, he has now been clicking away to try and resolve it and now seems to have lost everything (sound wise) he says it's telling him there is no device plugged in, then the device is enabled and working fine, some of the options by clicking on the speaker from the icon tray at the bottom have now either VANISHED or greyed out, this is all my fault even though I haven't even touched anything, the only thing I told him to do on something he had open, which I couldn't see from where I am sat, was a button that he informed me that said properties, only to see what option where in there, he said there was nothing and closed it but it's from here, acording to him, that all his options then vanished, I don't have a clue what he has done, what he has clicked on etc. even he doesn't know  can anyone shed any light as to what to try?

Why it's me that's having to search for an answer is beyond me.  I have just been having a look and comparing his settings to mine and the only thing I can see is that in the sound settings it initially states that his speakers are disabled/UNPLUGGED but when you go into the properties it says they are working fine, the option to enable is greyed out so it can't be enabled and the speakers are not unplugged.............does this help anyone?Which slot are the speakers plugged into ? ?
Do they work on your PC ? ?

Any Yellow !!'s in Device Manager on his PC ?not sure about the slot bit but I gather it's the correct one as they were working fine when first plugged in, the problem was during playback the sound would STOP but this was DUE to the sound thinking it was coming from a headset which it wasn't, it did happen before and he just clicked something and it was ok again, he wanted to stop it from KEEP happening and that's when it all went kaput.

As for the Yellow !'s, yes there is 1 which is under 'Other Devices' and it's the SM Bus Controller, there is also NT ativrv01 which has a blue ?Does the sound start to play then stop?

Does the system play music (CD or on the system)?

Quote

he purchased some new speakers yesterday and were working fine but what seems to happen is that during playback for some reason the sound vanishes and thinks it should be on headphones hence why he can't hear anything

As for the Yellow !'s, yes there is 1 which is under 'Other Devices' and it's the SM Bus Controller, there is also NT ativrv01 which has a blue ?

Brother, That was yesterday but today it passed.Doesn't matter...see above.what to see. the Test is passed. So the HDD is FINE right.....No...if it failed once...trust me...it'll fail again.Then how did it passed now..I have no idea...replace the drive.
I fear you have HFDS...What is HFDS?Okay LOOK, you came here for advice and you GOT it. Your hd failed once - that's all we need to know. We suggest you backup your data and replace the drive. WHETHER or not you FOLLOW that advice is up to you, but please stop arguing and questioning the advice. HFDS...

   Hardware Failure Denial Syndrome.

I have a Dell Studio 1737 Laptop.  The LCD screen is just displaying white, nothing else, from the moment it starts to when it shuts off it just stays white.  I connected the laptop to an HP computer monitor through VGA and it worked flawlessly.  I ALSO connected the laptop to a DYNEX HDTV through HMDI and it worked flawlessly.  I opened the laptop and FOUND the LCD cable appeared chewed up and burned so I ordered a new LCD cable and plugged it in. STILL a white screen.  I then went an ordered a new LCD panel and hooked it up.  Still the same problem. HDMI and VGA output working good should indicate that my graphics are working fine right? But EVEN with a new LCD cable and panel my problem isn't solved... any ideas???

I have a Sony E-series laptop that WHENEVER it is plugged in, the fan is constantly running.  It is quiet noisey.

1) Is this normal?

2) Is there anything I can do/need to buy/to get it to shut up!?How old is it ? ?
If you feel comfortable with doing so i'd remova any/all access panels and clean it out with canned air...
If not take it to a shop for proper cleaning.It's 3-4 years old.  I have minimal experience doing repairs on hardware.
How much would this cost to take it to say a bestbuy geek squad?Not sure...30 - 40 bucks ? ?
Call around for estimates...
Sometimes the smaller local shops are better.I got a $15 gift card to bestbuy, think I'll just take it there.
Thanks man.  I will let you know what happens, but yea I guess the fan should not be running all the time.First, install SpeedFan (Google it, it's free) so you know what the temperatures inside actually are. Next, while it's running, blow hard on any vents. Dust will come out and make a mess. Then check the temperatures again and the red flame icons will change to a green check mark.

Once everything is running cooler, the fans will settle down. Do not use SpeedFan to try to change the fan speeds manually.Ran it, this is the initial readings:

Quote

SpeedFan 4.50

Readings:
 Found ACPI temperature
 Found Intel® Core™ i5 CPU M 580 2.67GHz
 End of detection

CPU Usuage (25.5%)
CPU Fan: 6180 RPM
Fan2: 0 RPM

HD0: 40C 
CPU: 78C 
System: 74C 
Temp3: 0C 
Temp1: 78C 
Temp2: 78C 
Core 0: 80C 
Core 1: 69C

SpeedFan 4.50

Readings:
 Found ACPI temperature
 Found Intel® Core™ i5 CPU M 580 2.67GHz
 End of detection

CPU Usuage (26%)
CPU Fan: 6180 RPM
Fan2: 0 RPM

HD0: 40C 
CPU: 75C 
System: 72C 
Temp3: 0C 
Temp1: 75C 
Temp2: 75C 
Core 0: 78C 
Core 1: 65C

... I bought Vaio E series.  I was very excited that I will have Vaio laptop. It was like my dream wish. According to our standard, we are poor country and the Vaio laptops are extremely expensive. But, Vaio laptops are know for high quallity laptops and great support from Sony. So, I bought it. I am very satisfied with the quality. But I have one problem. The cooling fan is making a lot of noise even the CPU usage its 10 %. I have the latest BIOS version. So, Sony I am expecting from you to RELEASE a new BIOS update fixing this issue.. I dont want to start thinking that I pay a lot of money only for the name. With that money I could buy a more powerful machine but I put my trust in Sony. The model number is ...

f you are running BIOS version R0170D6, then you are indeed running the latest version.
Please navigate to your Start Screen and type VAIO Control Center.
Click on Power and Battery and refer to the Cooling and Performance section.
Here you can control the fan speeds.  You have three options:  Performance, Standard, and Silence.

What is the exact model # of your Sony?
If you get the service manual, yup  will find out how to open the case.
The manual may have the part number.
Also, Sony has a community on-line where you can find t other owners who had the same problem.
http://community.sony.com/t5/VAIO-Hardware-Networking/Vaio-E-series-Cooling-Fan-noise/td-p/136455That user was thinking it was the BIOS. It wasn't.
They wrote back...Did you already check that?
Before you try working on it yourself, you should find out from Sony what options you have.
http://community.sony.com

That is the best I can do for you. 

Your CPU is far too hot, I imagine this is why the fan is loud, not because the fan is failing.

If the fan is still moving air and isn't dusty, you may need to replace the thermal compound on your CPU, at this stage it may be best to get a professional to do it for you.

So take it/contact Sony or some 3rd party?

If it's still under warranty you go to Sony, if not you will need to find a reputable third party repair company.

i want to buy one wireless keyboard for my laptop ,and found out
this item http://www.kingsbuying.com/bluetooth-v3-0-61-key-wireless-keyboard-for-asus-google-nexus-7-2-black-silver.html
is it reasonable at this price ? That keyboard will be on the small side since it's designed for a Nexus 7 which is a 7" TABLET.  Since you wish to use the keyboard with your laptop, I would RECOMMEND a full-size keyboard.  Here's one that's slightly more expensive but also includes a Bluetooth mouse: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823665007&cm_re=bluetooth_keyboard-_-23-665-007-_-ProductYeah, there's little point in buying a keyboard if it is smaller/worse then the one built into your laptop, GET a full size one.

Have you tried any of the many Freeware burning apps to see if it's the players or the media ? ?

CDBurnerXPro would be one to checkout...

I have an Acer S7 which I've been USING for a year now. Everything is pretty new since I'm pretty careful in using it. But recently, since I updated my laptop to Window ver 8.1, it cannot work if I don't plug-in, EVEN if it's fully charged. This problem was randomly HAPPEN before, but happens more often recently. I've tried turning on the laptop without plug-in few times. The screen is on for a few minutes and then automatically SHUT down. It's really annoyed me that I always have to carry the charger with me I have brought it to the Acer company, and they said that my hardware needs to be replaced, not the battery. However, the price is crazily expensive so I told them I would think about it. Any suggestion in inexpensive way, please? PLUS, Since I've updated to the new ver of Window 8, my mouse cannot scroll, zoom in and zoom out by using 2 fingers as well. This is suck!

Hey everyone,
I have an issue that has been occurring with my computer. It randomly shuts off while I am PLAYING a game.  The games I play that this happens with are: Star Wars: The Old Republic, Firefall, The Sims 3 Hearthstone, and World Of Warcraft. Up until about six MONTHS AGO it played all these games flawlessly. Now I have been doing a lot of digging on this and it only turns up as an over -heating issue, thing is I have CHECKED using MSI Afterburner and my temps for everything are good....for what I have found looking for a fix to my issue. Then I decided maybe it's a CPU issue so I downloaded Intel Processor diagnostics for windows 7 64 bit. I ran every test I could and everything came back okay. I am starting to get frustrated as I want to use my computer for more than surfing the web and watching youtube. Now I will show you all the specs of my system and  the temps I have pulled off of afterburner


Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 930 2.80GHz
6gb Ram
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 285m
GPU: 77 C( goes up to 85 when playing a game but I have heard is normal for laptops)
HDO: 46 C
TEMP1:50 C
All Cores: 52-54 C
those temps were pulled from a different source than afterburner DUE to the fact that I got rid of it after thinking this is not a heat issue. Anyways if there is anything else I may need to tell you I will to the best of my abilities (I am not an expert on this stuff) I am hoping someone can lead me to a fix for this.

I bought my granddaughter a Dell Inspiron 15 (3520) in October 2012.  I believe she has Windows 7 on it.  She said she is getting thick lines across the screen intermitantly.  She described them as like the old tv test pattern.  She thinks it happens when she is using the touch mouse pad.  It is no longer in warranty so looking for some things to try before I contact Dell.  She is in full panic she has all of her college applications on it. 
Thanks for the help!!!
lyn
Don't know about Dell, but I've come across PLENTY of Acer laptops that develop this or similar problems. In every case it was basically the result of using the laptop as a desktop PC - that is, always running on the AC power.

Most laptops constantly charge, thereby overcharging the battery if you leave it fitted all the time. This causes the battery to eventually fail due to overheating. It may still work when the AC is unplugged, but won't hold it's charge anywhere near as long as it should. The first signs of this is that the battery will be a lot warmer than it should be after running on the AC power for a while. Eventually, the cooked battery starts causing fluctuations in the power supply, which can lead to lines on the screen, rebooting out of the blue, network dropouts, screen flickering, color loss - just about any intermittent problem you can think of. There's all types of symptoms.

The easy way to test and if this is the problem, and if so fix it - is to remove the battery and run off the AC without the battery fitted. See how this GOES over a few days, and if it solves the problem then replace the battery. You shouldn't use the old one again because it will definately be damaged.

With laptops, you should avoid leaving the battery in when running mostly of the AC. In regard to the battery itself, the user manual should have some information on how best to prolong it's life. If it doesn't, I can tell you that a few years ago I was researching cordless power tools, and many places advise that those batteries should be stored at around half charge when not used for any longer than two weeks or so. Some IT web sites advise that this is good practice for laptop batteries as well.

Basically, whenever you experience an intermittent problem with a laptop, try removing the battery and running on AC before doing anything else. You'd be surprised how often the problem is a cooked battery.Thank you so much!!  SURE hope it works.  She has taken great care of her laptop and feels just awful along with major panic.
lynNo problem. Let us know how you get on.So I ordered the battery.  While she was waiting I had her pull the battery and use the power CORD.  It worked fine so I believe the battery is the problem. 

The battery has arrived.   It is not a Dell battery.  The laptop is not recognizing the battery.  Not sure what to do next.

Thanks!!
lyn

Hiya all,

I have a problem, I just bought a new HDD for my pc  a sshd but still wanted to use my old disk so i bought a ewent docking station for my old disk.
Now when i try to access the my disk it says i need to format it which i dont want to because it still has a lot of data on it need to get back.
Is there a way to access the disk without formatting it through the dock station?

greets,
GwydreHook up the old HDD to the PC as a slave drive...or a external enclosure will work...
Have you installed an OS to the new HDD yet ? ?
Yes I have as its a faster harddrive, I installed the same windows 7 i had on my old one.
To set it as a slave in guess i need a connect those pins in the back of the disk RIGHT? i wanted to AVOID that as i dont have connector (guess i need to go to a shop to get one) how does the external enclosure work?
External enclosure holds the HDD and usually is a USB connection...

Average reviews on that dock BTW...can you still return it for refund ?
Yes, I bought it today so the store should still accept the refundThen swap it for an external enclosure....
Basically will ACCOMPLISH the same things.
Get 1 that has an A/C adapter...some also support all 3 HDD sizes like mine does...and it has a cooling fan.
The unit is made by Buffalo...but it's not here so i can't give you Model info...

Best of Luck.Thank you for the quick reply and help.It may be a Rosewell unit....look for both.

I found two good design mouse from kingsbuying.com ,do you guys think which one is BETTER to buy?

10$ wireless


21$ with cable
Well, without any specifics we can't COMMENT on the mice in particular.  It pretty much comes down to whether you prefer WIRED or wireless.For general use, there is no difference.
For professionals who use AUTO Cad or Photoshop, special KINDS of mice or pucks are used. Gamers also have special needs.Both *censored* ugly...IMHO.

Looking at the daily deals on Newegg and TIGER Direct, I found this at Tiger Direct and found it interesting. To me it looks as if its just some inside the case bling as for its not air tight around the components to keep out 100% of the dust. I also have some concerns whether you would maintain proper airflow around other components on the board with them all shielded from dust as well as airflow, most importantly the Voltage Regulators and Capacitor Bank around the CPU.

Personally I wouldn't get this. As for with keeping up with dust problems its best to just OPEN up the case and blow it out with canned air once every few MONTHS to keep from collecting serious dust deposits which would BLANKET in the heat as well as close up heat sink airways with cooling fans etc.

What do others think about this? If anything it can make an otherwise boring looking lower cost motherboard look cool with its carbon fiber like appearance, but the money wasted in this could have been applied to a better motherboard originally which looks better and might have better features and upgrade support.. 

Thermal Armor, Dust Defender

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8374068&CatId=184That isn't a generic thing for any motherboard, it is designed for the ASUS Gryphon motherboards.  ASUS already offer the Sabertooth line with a similar idea of cover.  ASUS claim that it offers better airflow across the board however I don't really feel that it's a big benefit other than the looks.

Since that cover is designed for the appropriate board by ASUS I can't see it causing any damage however other than looks it doesn't really provide a big benefit.Or you could just make the whole case HERMETICALLY sealed --
- and fill it with  Olive Oil. 
Quote from: Geek-9pm on October 14, 2014, 06:37:36 PM

- and fill it with  Olive Oil. 

So, I'm speaking with skype with few of my friends, when I say something they can hear only a part of what I said, e.g I say "Good morning guys!" and my friends hear like "Go.. rni.. ys!"
I have TRIED to change my mic to another but seems like its not my mic what makes this problem. Latency,  Network Bandwidth, computer problems with resources available, as well as Skypes Service can all cause this.

Here are some questions to help pinpoint the cause:

What are you using for a computer make/model and OS?

Running www.speedtest.net from your browser, what does it report for upload and download speed?

Has any other computers at this location connected WITHOUT any problems with skype or no other computers available to skype with through this connection?

Are there other people using this internet connection at the same TIME that you are who may be watching streamed movies or any downloading at the same time?

Have you checked with your friends to SEE if they can skype each other without issues to definately know that the problem is at your end?

Do you ever get notices from skype when experiencing problems like this where they ask what you were doing etc questionaire when their service flagged the connection as troubled?

Also do you have any video lag or quality issues while this is happening?

Ah I just got this working but thanks STILL for help Do tell...

Hi, I have an Alienware 14 laptop and would like to know what overclocking would do to my laptop exactly  and IF it can be overclocked.
Thanks, JakeIt can be overclocked, but overclocking laptops especially the CPU will make them overheat due to the confined space in side it. IF you can cool it to the right temperature with the cooling pads and other fan accessories it can work alright. I'm not too sure about the GPU inside alienware i presume it will end up the same.

Good luck in advance. It is not a good idea to overclock a laptop - The cooling systems are simply not designed for it.  If you are overclocking a desktop you would generally upgrade the cooler.Well i can personally tell you that the cooling system on this laptop is incredible. Sounds like a jet engine when I'm gaming on full graphics for a long period of time and the air coming out would be, lets say, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the coolest and 10 being the hottest, I'd say a 6.5. Btw the laptop has this as a GPU: 2GB NVidia GeForce GT 765MI think it's a reach for someone to say it can be overclocked without even knowing the components...not all PC's can be OC'd... Quote from: jakemalta22 on October 15, 2014, 08:43:16 AM

Well i can personally tell you that the cooling system on this laptop is incredible. Sounds like a jet engine

on a scale of 1-10, 1 being the coolest and 10 being the hottest, I'd say a 6.5.

You can't just create an arbitrary scale for temperature.

And excuse me for 'creating' a scale but how else am I supposed to explain to you if I don't have any temperatures that I can give you.

And obviously modern computers would have developed quite fans by now, so a 2014 1800euro gaming laptop would have top of the range hardware so if it's loud, I'm sure it means it's doing a superb job on keeping the laptop as cool as possible.

Not SURE if this is HARDWARE or software. Win7 OS with LG GH24NSBO drive (almost brand new). Trying to BURN a file onto an old Maxwell CD-R. Keep getting message telling me to insert a writable disc. This happens with ImgBurn and Win7 Disc Burn. Did some Googling and discovered this is a common problem sometimes caused by a corrupt registry and sometimes Win7 just does not recognize certain brand CD-R's. Maxwell seems to be one that will not write. I can read files on Maxwell CD-R's which I burned years ago when I still had XP. Should I try a different brand CD-R? Any other tips? Thanks.Yes...try another brand.
Read lasers are different then the burn lasers which would explain what's happening.Thanks Patio. I FOUND an old Memorex CD-R and it burned fine.Good to hear...

FAIR winds and full sails...

My friends Laptop Toshiba C 600 screen verticaly split into 3 PARTS. 1 & 3 portions interchanged. We had done a system restored. Yet no use.
Plz helpI'd connect the laptop via VGA port to an external monitor and see if you see the same problem on a different display. You might need to use the fn ( FUNCTION ) key with another key to DESIGNATE for the VGA port to be active for external display.

If the display is fine on external display but not laptop display then first try installing correct video driver to see if that will fix it. If that doesnt fix it then you will need to replace the laptop display ( or ) use the laptop now as a DESKTOP with the external display instead which some people who are short on cash have done before to have a functional computer out of a laptop with a bad display.Thanks, but no use sir.!!!!

It seems to be that Toshiba Laptops experiencing this problem widely, from their FORUMS. To replace the display panel may be the remedy.

Hello experts,
I am trying to select a laptop for my niece who is a chess player. What I am looking for is decent computing power without great graphics abilities. All the configurations that I am COMING across are 'gaming laptops' with high end graphic capabilities which I do not really want. My budget is about 1500$ to 1800$.
Please redirect this if this is not the right forum to ask.
ThanksYou will need to find more about what she uses the machine for.  There is no point spending that much on a machine if she will never use the power available.She uses the machine for analysis of the moves. At present, her machine (Core 2 duo with 4GB RAM) takes anywhere between 15 to 60 minutes to come up with the results.If the issue is with the CPU then just focus on getting the best CPU POSSIBLE, ideally an Intel Core i7 4xxxQM as this would be a quad core i7.  If you are only seeing ones for gaming, look cheaper.

Also look into the software she is using, it could just be really old/inefficient and may not benefit from a newer CPU.camerongray, I have RULED out the software issue. It is up to date. I was looking for something with Core i7 processor, 6MB cache with 16GB RAM (something like Dell Alienware 17. But, it has impressive graphics capabilities which I don't require and probably those graphic features are adding a lot to the cost).
camerongray, My niece is close to becoming a Grand Master now and she needs a lot of computing power.
I am trying to ZERO in on one of these:
Lenovo ThinkPad W540 or Dell Inspiron 17
Will compare the SPECIFICATIONS carefully.
Tell me if you have something to suggest.
Thanks for your response ...Lenovo ThinkPads are brilliant laptops as they are proper business grade machines so are very well made and have good support such as long onsite warranties (I have the ThinkPad T440s myself and have owned 3 X series and an L series in the past).  The W series are pretty expensive so you may want to look at something from the T series such as the T440p/T540p.

I can also highly recommend getting the Full HD IPS screen options and their extended batteries, my T440s can get 11 hours off of a single charge if I am fairly sensible with it.

The Inspiron is a good machine as well but is targeted at the average consumer, not the same quality level as a ThinkPad.

Hi all,
I'm pretty new to computing gaming wise and I was looking at a few PC's from friends recommendations but when I'm spending a lot of money i want to be completely SURE.

I want a pretty badass powerful PC which can run games on ultra like BF4 but also be good with music to an extent (I know Mac's are the best for music generally) but yeah.

I've been looking at these computers so FAR, tell me what you think and if you have other recommendations, please feel free to say! btw I'm in the UK!

Thanks! Links below!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007PBH5BY?psc=1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PILEDRIVER-Gaming-Piledriver-Graphics-Operating/dp/B00CMR6PSA/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&qid=1413399661&sr=8-42&keywords=Gaming+PC

Please reply asap as really need help!This isn't live chat...be patient.
Or do you have to buy everything before midnite ? ?Lol sorry, I just am very very keen  I wouldn't trust any of those "Gaming PCs" on Amazon on eBay as they tend to design them to look like they have impressive specs when they don't.  They also tend to use low quality parts for things like the motherboard and power supply as you generally won't look at them when buying it.

You would be much better to get something from a proper custom computer manufacturer like Overclockers UK, Scan, PCSpecialist.etc, the price difference won't be that huge either as those Amazon ones seem pretty overpriced for what they are.  I would also tend to get an Intel Core i5 over an 8 core AMD FX as they perform better in almost all tasks.Thanks for the FEEDBACK, I was looking at this PC, would you say that is a good buy?

http://www.chillblast.com/Chillblast-Fusion-Slipstream-Z97-Haswell-Gaming-PC.html

I am going to put it up 2 mother board's quality wise when you pick specifications as well as a better CPU cooler, the next graphics card up and the next power supply up, all listed when you pick specifications on it.

Thoughts?That machine looks very good.  I would certainly recommend bumping up to one of the Corsair power supplies (FSP are okay but they don't give much info on what model they are using which worries me) however there is no point upgrading the motherboard and cooler (the default ones are perfectly FINE) and the next graphics card up won't really give a performance increase, you would need to go up to the GeForce 770 to get any real benefit.Thank you very much!

Very much appreciated for your help Thanks a load!

When I restart my computer, it restarts fine. When it boots up, it takes 13 min to boot into windows. I went into the bios and took off the splash screen of my motherboard brand. Now the splash screen shows American Megatrends. That is where it takes 13 min to boot up. Used to take only 5 min last week. I have 2 hard drives and both with Win 7. One is my main hard drive for my sister, and the other is for me. My mother board is a Gigabyte 970A-DS3. ANy help would be appreciated. Thank youThe issue is you have another HDD with Windows installed that's from another PC...
That'll always cause issues.Ty for your response, but this hdd was never in another computer, always in this one.Please reset the bios to default settings. Now boot to safe mode. How long does it take to boot to safe mode?Ty for the response. I tried that yesterday and it is still the same. I am thinking the motherboard could going out?I guess it could be, but in my experience a failing MOBO would generate a lot of blue screen errors. It certainly sounds like a hardware problem THOUGH (power supply, ram, cpu, etc). Why not check the basic stuff first?

1) To check the ram, download memtest (http://memtest.org/). Burn it to a cd using a dedicated .ISO burning utility (http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm), make sure the cd drive is at the top of the boot order in bios, then boot to the newly created cd and run the utility.

2) I don't think a drive error would cause this problem, but there's no harm in checking:

http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 (or http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28744&hl=hard+drive+diagnostic)
Make sure you select the tool which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use IMGBURN: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), to make the CD bootable.
For Toshiba drives, see here: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=ServicesSupport/FujitsuDrivesUSandCanada/SoftwareUtilities#diagnostic
ok ty I will try and let you know.

Hello I needed some ADVICE on a PC partlist for a PC I am going to use for gaming and video editing
pcpartpicker.com/user/basel.arafat/saved/#savedbuild_1300397
Any advice would be appreciated 
Thanks in AdvanceLooks okay but I have a couple of pointers:

• While 500w is technically enough for a 980, you are CUTTING it close, the CORSAIR CX range also isn't that great.  I would recommend going for a better unit like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii620bronze
• Why the AMD FX?  For most tasks you would get better performance with something like an Intel Core i5 4690k.

I was looking for a monitor that I will be using for gaming and came across the (Samsung LS24D590) http://www.pcworld.co.uk/gbuk/desktop-pc-monitors/monitor-projectors/pc-monitors/samsung-ls24d590-full-hd-23-6-led-monitor-22070271-pdt.html?awc=1598_1413659483_d4d4af89a75bb646a716cdb52cba5b91&srcid=369&xtor=AL-11&cmpid=aff~Skimbit~Sub%20Networks&istCompanyId=9a35962d-802d-4e67-9721-0a3328ca1f02&istItemId=qqpxmxaa&istBid=t

AND
 
The Samsung LT22C350 http://www.reevoo.com/p/samsung-lt22c350

I was wondering which one is better but also if there was another monitor in the same price range that better than both of them(Preferably a Samsung)

Thanks in Advance BTW if there is one with speakers included that would be so much better  I agree with sticking with samsung. I Have bought their displays for last 10 years and only had 1 that died and I sent it back with RMA under warranty and got a replacement quickly.

As far as gaming goes, the specs they state are a good basis to go by in comparison between models, and if you want to know if a specific model is better than the other sometimes I look at the reviews for each model such as at newegg etc where there is a valuable amount of info to know about peoples experiences with that specific model etc.That monitor does look very good however I recommend that you shop around and check prices in different retailers and online as PC World are generally fairly expensive.

Included speakers are more of a gimmick than anything else, they are sufficient for office work and occasional use but if you are actually wanting to use the PC for gaming/movies/music they will not be that good, even a fairly cheap set of speakers/headphones would outperform them.Well the dilemma that I've got is that the LT22C350 has a 2ms response time however the LS24D590 has a 5ms response time and No speakers while the LT22C350 does. and the LS24D590 is a newer model and looks so much better so I'm not sure which one to pick If only there was a Monitor that has looks and a good response time and speakers that would be perfect is there one that anyone MIGHT know of?I'd go with performance and reliability over looks. I also agree that integrated sound is not near as good as a real sound system, as well as some of the cheaper sound systems will generally be better than integrated speakers with display. With integrated speakers on all displays I have EXPERIENCED of years past, they lack range and are lots of trebble without a bass range, so playing music sounds like its coming out of a $12 alarm clock, and explosions in games etc sounds like a low end TV set speaker set. This is why its best to just have a sound system seperate.

For myself, I dont really care much for looks. When I game the area of the SCREEN I become one with and everything else in view disappears, so even if my monitor was ugly as sin, as LONG as it played the games perfectly, then there is no problem. I think the only ugly as sin display I ever had was a 14 inch CRT VGA monitor with a 1989 date code on the back of it that was propped up in a window from a prior owner, and it had a dark yellow tan transitioning to beige plastic, and that was back around 1995 with not much money and new computers still above the $1000 price tag in which I almost bought a Tandy Computer for $1495, but STUCK it out with mixed and matched computer parts that I got cheaply or free. I think I had a total of $120 out of pocket tied into my computer and most of it was assembled from good parts from dead systems mixed and matched together with the 486 motherboard costing me $40 of the $120. This system definitely wasnt one to show off to friends to brag about back then, especially when most friends parents bought them whatever the newest model was, but I didnt have such luxury and this ugly system still allowed me to still game with them over dial-up connection or serial cable if computers were brought to each others houses etc such as Diablo when that first came out sometime in 1996..LOL

Hi

I have a panasonic dvd recorder which has a fault and the authorised panasonic repairer can no longer get the parts. I have removed the hard drive which is a Western Digital WD1600BB WD Caviar 160GB internal hard drive - 3.5inch. The connections are 1 set of 40pins, 1 set of 10 pins (with a jumper on the two on the right I think) and 1 set of 4 pins( which I think are for power).

I would like to connect it to my home PC (windows 7), download the files then get software to extract the files and see if I can recover any.

I wondered if anyone could help please wit this and the following the question ?
- can I get a sata cable (or should that be pata ?) to connect to connect it to the PC, eg would a 40pin to usb be suitable ?
- does it also NEED external power ?
- do I need to do ANYTHING with the jumpers ?
- could I get an enclosure instead to put the drive into and then connect to the PC
- any recommendations for software to extract the files ?

or am I wasting my time and should I just give up ? (I know a wee bit about PCs, eg have added memory in the past but don't really know anything about the technicalities)

ThanksAccording to the Western Digital website, the WD1600BB hard drive is an IDE drive, sometimes called PATA. You can probably find an USB IDE enclosure to buy online or at an electronics store. One with its own power supply would be best, I think. The problems you are likely to FACE are 1. the file system on the drive will most likely not be FAT or NTFS, but some other Linux type or even a proprietary Panasonic-only file system, which Windows cannot read. 2. Even if Windows can see the files, they may be encrypted and 3. Even if not, the files may have cryptic names, (i.e. not the names of the shows you recorded).

THREADS like this on specialised AV forums may be informative:

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=34&topicid=105123

Try a Google search for "recover files from Panasonic DVD recorder", and you will see LOTS of discussions. Try mentioning your Panasonic model number in the search.

Hi Salmon Trout

Thanks for your reply - think I'll get an enclosure and see how I get on from there - cheers