24217 + Interview Questions in Hardware in Hardware Page 160 InterviewSolution

7951.	Solve : If You Had To Take Your PC In For Repairs....?
Answer» I asked this in another thread, but it was a tangent, I wanted to ask in a separate thread. Sometimes your PC needs something beyond internet help, it needs a live person to diagnose. I think I have been burned using staples, so when I have a problem again, I don't ever want to be in this position. What do you all recommend? Why is it places like staples/best buy aren't that good? As a consumer, that stinks because they are in every market and have easy name recognition! If I have to look in the phone book, well one that varies city to city, and two, tough to know if they are good or bad. Just so I and other like me do not get sucker punched by staples, any general criteria on how to find and where to go for a good in person PC repair (Too bad you all do not solicit yourselves for in person repairs!)You might think about getting a warranty when you buy. But EVEN that can be a risk. http://www.technibble.com/national-it-warranty-companies-the-good-and-the-bad/ BTW, Staples is mentioned in the article.Without knowing any shops where you live (or even where you live for that matter, you don't need to share that here though) we couldn't really recommend a good place to go. Finding a shop without a reliable recommendation is trial and error really. Usually, when you find a good shop, you'll know it. They'll do it right, they won't give you excuses that just aren't possible, and they'll stand by the work they do. They won't do things to prove you wrong, they'll do things to prove themselves right. Look some up in the yellow pages, like I suggested. You don't have to pick one right off the bat, go around and just TALK to a few and get a feel for how they treat their customers. Be straightforward with them, tell them you're looking for a good computer place to rely on. When you find somewhere you think might be pretty good, take your laptop in. Many places will diagnose the problem for little or no charge, and many have a "if we can't fix it, you don't pay" policy as well. Look for things like this as you talk to them.Many Communities have local PC User groups...some even do repairs for people that cannot do it themselves... However they would be the ones to ask for recommendations on good shops. Quote from: bluecountry on September 30, 2011, 11:01:07 PM Why is it places like staples/best buy aren't that good? Although typically I don't really like anecdotes, I feel this is not something that was an isolated incident. I have a friend who used to work at a Future Shop (pretty much the same sort of store as Best Buy). She knew what she was doing. I don't recall the exact occurence, and it was what she told me so it might have be a bit different from what really happened (but I trust her). Anyways, I'm sure you know about all that warranty stuff they are supposed to offer people. They had some "super" plan (or some ridiculous name) that was totally over the top in price. A customer asked about it, and she basically told them "If you are going to get a warranty, just get the regular one". Of course one of the Derps WORKING there heard this utter travesty (Customer service? WHAT? HOW DARE SHE!) and the bossman was not pleased, and she got a lecture about how she should always upsell everything, regardless of- and I quote- "how useless it is to them, because it's money for us". This is quite unfortunately a very common attitude with big box stores, and also some smaller shops. I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense. Even if you were to "lose money" on a repair or sale (By which I mean not squeeze every single cent out of them by making up stuff and trying to sell stupidly overpriced warranties that you can't even use half the time)- you would still gain a loyal customer if you do it right. As far as I'm concerned, if you lie or cheat somebody, they will find out eventually, and even if they didn't, it- well it's just not right, obviously. You are providing a service, and the customer pays for that service. The last thing you want to do is alienate customers which easily falsifiable nonsense, because they will just go elsewhere for that service. Whereas if you establish a repoire as somebody who they can trust to not cheat them for unnecessary money, they won't only become repeat customers, but when one of their friends or relatives has a problem, they might say "Well I know this one place run by a great guy, I get my computer fixed there all the time and he's great"- and word spreads. It's service stores staffed by exactly those types of folks you want to find. I'm sure there are some big box stores that are like that, even up to their managers, but they are still under a lot of pressure from head office to PUSH the unnecessary crap, which puts salt in the tea (so to speak). With a smaller repair shop, it's repeat customers and word of mouth that they rely on to make a REASONABLE profit, not over-the-top upselling and lies. Now, to be fair, this doesn't mean that you can trust every single small operation; there are quite a few unscrupulous ones, so like Quaxo says you'll have to search around. You should be able to tell by their demeanour and conduct, at least hints of their true intentions. Something else I've noticed is that around here Computer Repair shops seem to appear rather often in all sorts of places but I've noticed it's only the ones I hear good things about that last very long, so you might want to see how long they've been in operation.BC_Programmer, you finished September with the best post of the month. He does that regularly...at all times of the Month... Quote from: BC_Programmer on October 01, 2011, 09:54:46 AM They had some "super" plan (or some ridiculous name) that was totally over the top in price. Yeah, when I was in high school I worked in the computer department of a certain large office supply chain. We were required to upsell the extended warranty plans, and we got commission if the customer bought it. The bigger the package they bought, the bigger the commission. Quote As far as I'm concerned, if you lie or cheat somebody, they will find out eventually, and even if they didn't, it- well it's just not right, obviously. You are providing a service, and the customer pays for that service. Absolutely agree with you there BC. Basically, I treat my customers the way I would expect them to treat me if I were their customer. I make money, but I'm not in it for the money. I enjoy this line of work. No lies or trying to lose the customer in technical nonsense they won't understand. Quote I'm sure there are some big box stores that are like that, even up to their managers, but they are still under a lot of pressure from head office to push the unnecessary crap, which puts salt in the tea (so to speak). Our department manager was pretty nuts about pushing that stuff, but our store manager wasn't. He pretty much let me do what I wanted because whatever I was doing, customers were actually coming to find him to compliment me. I remember there was this Nigerian guy who used to always come in with his entourage and he absolutely refused to be helped by anyone but me. Apparently he was a diplomat or something. People would also come in and ask us to do service for them, but at that point in time, our chain didn't do in-house service. We were, however, allowed to do out-of-store service in our own time for the store's customers. I remember one lady wanted to give me $50 just to come over to her house and hook up her new computer she bought from us. I told her it was simple and tried to show her, but she insisted that I just come and do it, which I did. I told her she didn't need to pay me $50 for that, but she insisted on paying me for my time and no less than $50. Good man!

7951.

Solve : If You Had To Take Your PC In For Repairs....?

Answer»

I asked this in another thread, but it was a tangent, I wanted to ask in a separate thread.
Sometimes your PC needs something beyond internet help, it needs a live person to diagnose.

I think I have been burned using staples, so when I have a problem again, I don't ever want to be in this position.
What do you all recommend?

Why is it places like staples/best buy aren't that good? As a consumer, that stinks because they are in every market and have easy name recognition!

If I have to look in the phone book, well one that varies city to city, and two, tough to know if they are good or bad.

Just so I and other like me do not get sucker punched by staples, any general criteria on how to find and where to go for a good in person PC repair (Too bad you all do not solicit yourselves for in person repairs!)You might think about getting a warranty when you buy.
But EVEN that can be a risk.
http://www.technibble.com/national-it-warranty-companies-the-good-and-the-bad/

BTW, Staples is mentioned in the article.Without knowing any shops where you live (or even where you live for that matter, you don't need to share that here though) we couldn't really recommend a good place to go.

Finding a shop without a reliable recommendation is trial and error really. Usually, when you find a good shop, you'll know it. They'll do it right, they won't give you excuses that just aren't possible, and they'll stand by the work they do. They won't do things to prove you wrong, they'll do things to prove themselves right.

Look some up in the yellow pages, like I suggested. You don't have to pick one right off the bat, go around and just TALK to a few and get a feel for how they treat their customers. Be straightforward with them, tell them you're looking for a good computer place to rely on.

When you find somewhere you think might be pretty good, take your laptop in. Many places will diagnose the problem for little or no charge, and many have a "if we can't fix it, you don't pay" policy as well. Look for things like this as you talk to them.Many Communities have local PC User groups...some even do repairs for people that cannot do it themselves...
However they would be the ones to ask for recommendations on good shops. Quote from: bluecountry on September 30, 2011, 11:01:07 PM

Why is it places like staples/best buy aren't that good?

Although typically I don't really like anecdotes, I feel this is not something that was an isolated incident.

I have a friend who used to work at a Future Shop (pretty much the same sort of store as Best Buy). She knew what she was doing. I don't recall the exact occurence, and it was what she told me so it might have be a bit different from what really happened (but I trust her). Anyways, I'm sure you know about all that warranty stuff they are supposed to offer people. They had some "super" plan (or some ridiculous name) that was totally over the top in price. A customer asked about it, and she basically told them "If you are going to get a warranty, just get the regular one". Of course one of the Derps WORKING there heard this utter travesty (Customer service? WHAT? HOW DARE SHE!) and the bossman was not pleased, and she got a lecture about how she should always upsell everything, regardless of- and I quote- "how useless it is to them, because it's money for us". This is quite unfortunately a very common attitude with big box stores, and also some smaller shops. I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense. Even if you were to "lose money" on a repair or sale (By which I mean not squeeze every single cent out of them by making up stuff and trying to sell stupidly overpriced warranties that you can't even use half the time)- you would still gain a loyal customer if you do it right. As far as I'm concerned, if you lie or cheat somebody, they will find out eventually, and even if they didn't, it- well it's just not right, obviously. You are providing a service, and the customer pays for that service. The last thing you want to do is alienate customers which easily falsifiable nonsense, because they will just go elsewhere for that service. Whereas if you establish a repoire as somebody who they can trust to not cheat them for unnecessary money, they won't only become repeat customers, but when one of their friends or relatives has a problem, they might say "Well I know this one place run by a great guy, I get my computer fixed there all the time and he's great"- and word spreads.

It's service stores staffed by exactly those types of folks you want to find. I'm sure there are some big box stores that are like that, even up to their managers, but they are still under a lot of pressure from head office to PUSH the unnecessary crap, which puts salt in the tea (so to speak). With a smaller repair shop, it's repeat customers and word of mouth that they rely on to make a REASONABLE profit, not over-the-top upselling and lies. Now, to be fair, this doesn't mean that you can trust every single small operation; there are quite a few unscrupulous ones, so like Quaxo says you'll have to search around. You should be able to tell by their demeanour and conduct, at least hints of their true intentions. Something else I've noticed is that around here Computer Repair shops seem to appear rather often in all sorts of places but I've noticed it's only the ones I hear good things about that last very long, so you might want to see how long they've been in operation.BC_Programmer,
you finished September with the best post of the month.
He does that regularly...at all times of the Month... Quote from: BC_Programmer on October 01, 2011, 09:54:46 AM

They had some "super" plan (or some ridiculous name) that was totally over the top in price.

Yeah, when I was in high school I worked in the computer department of a certain large office supply chain. We were required to upsell the extended warranty plans, and we got commission if the customer bought it. The bigger the package they bought, the bigger the commission.

Quote

As far as I'm concerned, if you lie or cheat somebody, they will find out eventually, and even if they didn't, it- well it's just not right, obviously. You are providing a service, and the customer pays for that service.

Absolutely agree with you there BC. Basically, I treat my customers the way I would expect them to treat me if I were their customer. I make money, but I'm not in it for the money. I enjoy this line of work. No lies or trying to lose the customer in technical nonsense they won't understand.

Quote

I'm sure there are some big box stores that are like that, even up to their managers, but they are still under a lot of pressure from head office to push the unnecessary crap, which puts salt in the tea (so to speak).

Our department manager was pretty nuts about pushing that stuff, but our store manager wasn't. He pretty much let me do what I wanted because whatever I was doing, customers were actually coming to find him to compliment me. I remember there was this Nigerian guy who used to always come in with his entourage and he absolutely refused to be helped by anyone but me. Apparently he was a diplomat or something.

People would also come in and ask us to do service for them, but at that point in time, our chain didn't do in-house service. We were, however, allowed to do out-of-store service in our own time for the store's customers. I remember one lady wanted to give me $50 just to come over to her house and hook up her new computer she bought from us. I told her it was simple and tried to show her, but she insisted that I just come and do it, which I did. I told her she didn't need to pay me $50 for that, but she insisted on paying me for my time and no less than $50. Good man!

7955.	Solve : Asus ENGTX590 issue?
Answer» So, recently picked up an asus gtx590 and started having the display randomly go BLACK then come back on after a short time gaming. Overclocking it anywhere past stock clock speed gets the black screen coming and going more often. Possible power supply issue? Had a galaxy gtx480 super oc and oc'd that past stock oc and never had this issue. Tried same 280.26 nvidia driver and installed the new BF3 nvidia DRIVERS and no change. Any thoughs? PC specs asus m4a88t-v evo/usb3 mobo amd 1100t oc'd 3.928ghz 8gb vengence ram 1600mhz oc'd 1648mhz corsair tx850 psu h7 cooler w/thermaltake fans 2tb hdd asus cd/dvd drive 120mm case fan, 8mm case fan, 70mm case fanTake the RAM back to normal speed/voltages....bet it goes away...I shal give that a shot when I get home.Set ram dropped bus speed down to bring ram clock back to 1600mhz and no black screen so far. Had crysis2 going for an HOUR straight with clock on the 590 to 625mhz with no crashes or black screen. Thanks!Excellent... Welcome Aboard !Just my luck. Started doing it again. Only after an hour of gameplay. Set the 590 back to stock settings and no change. Sometimes does it after a game is started up.Remove and reseat the ram,on the system and press f8 to safe mode.click on start-control panel-remove programs and remove the game as your pc does not meet the requirement or not compatible.try this and LET see what follows

7958.	Solve : NO BOOTING AND NO DISPLAY?
Answer» 845 GRG M/BOARD LIGHT IS GLOWING, -H/DISK LED IS GLOWING CONTINUOUSLY, - DVD PLAYER IS WORKING, -KEY BOARD LED IS ON, -MOUSE LED IS ON. -PROCESSOR P-IV FAN IS WORKING -BUT NO DISPLAY ON MONITOR AND NO BOOTING. GIVING 2 FAST BEEPS FOLLOWED BY 3 SHORT BEEPS. (CHECKED WITH BEEP CODES BUT NO CODE RESEMBLES THESE CODES) -SWAPPED BOTH 512 MB RAM ONE BY ONE ON BOTH SLOTS STILL PROBLEM EXIST. What brand BIOS? If Award then 1-1-3 means "CMOS read/write failure". Diagnosis: There is most likely a problem related to the motherboard. Recommendation: Troubleshoot the motherboard. http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/mbsys/gen_Failure.htm Try cleaning it as well, while you're at it change the thermal paste on the CPU.It is AMI BIOS. tried to boot with bootable cd, still no result.The Intel 845 (Pentium 4) motherboard SERIES was introduced in September 2001 and used in mass MARKET machines such as Gateway etc. Thus machine is likely to be venerable. Maybe also check CMOS battery and - if recently assembled from parts check compatibility of parts, especially since 5 beeps is listed as CPU error. Over the YEARS, I've been given several PC's that were apparently DEAD. Once on the bench, I pulled the CMOS battery(s) and checked them with a digital volt meter. In every case the battery was effectively Dead (checked out at less than 3 vdc.) After letting the PC set, totally UN-Powered, for a half hour or so, I put in a new CMOS battery, plugged in the power cord and the PC would boot up normally. Then after resetting the time, date, etc, in the bios, the PC would boot up and run normally as if nothing had ever happened. If this only happened once, I'd probably not even mention it, but since I've seen it happen several times, it's at least worth a mention. If you had a PSU tester, I'd suggest testing the PSU for a missing voltage. My own PC failed to boot recently and I pulled out the ram sticks and cleaned them and then the PC booted up normally. So there are several things that can prevent a PC from booting up. Good Luck, The Shadow

7959.	Solve : Problems with Canon MF5700?
Answer» I have 2 Canon MF 5700s. Problem with one is that when it prints, there is a line about 2" in from left margin that messes up the characters going right down the PAGE. If there is a BLANK spot on the page, it leaves a black mark on the page. I thought it might be the cartridge. Have cleaned it off and same thing happens. So, I tried the cartridge in the other printer, and no problem. The problem only occurs when printing - not copying or when receiving faxes. Any ideas? The troubleshooting manual doesn't address this issue and can't find anything online. It is REALLY becoming a problem for me and I don't want to spend the money to get a new printer if I don't have to. ThanksDoes printing from a different program change anything. Try OPENING a page of whatever in notepad and printing it.

7960.	Solve : My Graphics Card Problems?
Answer» My Acer Aspire 5735Z has a Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics card, and while attempting to game upon my laptop I have experienced issuses with the graphics card, I have been on a game tester site to see the cause of my problem and it has said that my graphics card is failing on all games. However when I look in detail at the key components needed within my graphics card, my card covers them all, but yet it fails the overall test. Can anyone HELP or ADVISE me on a solution to this problem?The Intel GMA 4500MHD is not a dedicated graphics card. It's not for gaming. Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_GMAEven the highest rated Intel chipset (Intel HD 3000) is useless for gaming, and the 4500 is ranked at about half of that that is. Intel chipsets are really only good for EVERYDAY computing. If this were a DESKTOP, I'd recommend getting a good card put in, but given that the Aspire 5735Z is a laptop, you won't be able to change this. If you want to want to play games, I'd suggest building a decent desktop system. If you want to play them on the go for whatever reason, get a decent laptop with at least an Nvidia or ATI chipset in them, but you probably still won't get as good performance like you would with a desktop.

7962.	Solve : No speaker icon displayed?
Answer» After installing the new windows xp sp3,my system(DELL laptop) lost speaker icon in the system tray and can't play MUSIC,even though the drivers are installed with sound driver but i still have this windows media player msg error:wmp can't play this file,UR...and so on plz help? Try playing your music file using other media player like VLC, what's the RESULT?

7966.	Solve : Not starting?
Answer» Hey, So, I have a desktop that I built myself about a year ago. It was working just fine until summer when I tried to move it into a new case (dumb idea). I moved all the parts over being careful not to short anything. Anyways, as soon as it was done I booted up and normal functions worked just fine (internet, word, etc) but when I would try to play any games (specifically minecraft) the computer would run for 15 minutes or so and completely lose all power. There was no error message, just simply loss of power. After trying a whole bunch of things, including 2 new power supplies of different larger voltages (no success), trying new RAM, and taking out my video card and using the onboard mobo video processing, I came to the conclusion that it was the motherboard. So, a few weeks ago I sent that back to the manufacturer (everything is under warranty) and got it replaced. Today I reinstalled everything with the new motherboard and went to finally use the computer. Except now when I press the power button the computer starts for a split second and then completely turns off. I have tried a few different power supplies and no success. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with something like this, or if I just need to take it in somewhere. I'm really confused what could be wrong. The COMPONENTS are: Intel H55 Micro ATX Motherboard GeForce GTS 250 Video Card Intel i5 Dual-Core Clarkdale CPU Ripjaw 4GB (2 sticks) RAM Hitatchi Deskstar 1 TB Hardrive Blu-Ray drive Any help would be greatly appreciated.Might be a weak CMOS battery. Replace or reinsert after a couple of minutes. Diagnosing this type of behavior could be something else but you could start simply from the battery. When you moved everything, did you REMOVED the processor and/or CPU fan? If so, did you reapply thermal past before putting it back together. It's possible it is overheating. Depending on the condition of the transfer between the processor and the CPU fan's heatsink, the computer can overheat in as LITTLE as 5-10 seconds from powering on and automatically shut off. Sometimes it won't overheat until you actually apply some load to the processor, such as you were having an issue with before.I tried the CMOS thing, took it out and put it back in - nothing. I don't have another to try right now, but I could get one tomorrow. I didn't reapply paste, didn't even think of it. You think it could overheat that QUICKLY? Right now it's starting for literally a second, right after I press the power button it dies. Another thing to note is that after it does that I press the power button again it won't start but if i unplug it and plug it back in it will do that same start and die thing before not starting again. The protection from thermal events is caused by auto shutdown. You need another battery. Use also first onboard video and a stick of RAM alternately. Make sure the Heatsink and processor are locked properly.Whether or not it's the issue, you might want to reapply thermal paste. Clean off the old paste from the processor and COOLER and reapply. This will at least eliminate that as a possible culprit. Best to clean it off with just a bit of rubbing alcohol applied to a cloth. Depending on the conditions, it doesn't take long to reach a shutdown temperature. I've worked on computers that didn't have thermal paste applied or the the paste "seal" was broken by removing the cooler from the CPU. Like I said, depending on the system, this can cause it to overheat when a decent load is applied, or in some cases in a few seconds from boot. From what you're saying, where it's shutting down within a second of booting now, this might not be the case but at least we can eliminate this possibility.Ok, so progress. I did the thermal paste thing and the computer started. Now, I have the issue that I'm not getting pictures on my monitors. I have a 2 screens and it was set to multiple monitors until I had this issue. Any suggestions?So the computer is staying on now after applying paste? If it is, disconnect one of the monitors, reseat everything and make sure each goes in firmly, check all the power cable connection and fan connections and make sure they're connected properly.

7968.	Solve : since win 8 install my pc can't boot andi can't access the bios?
Answer» Hello, i have a very recent pc and ihad win 7 64 bits ultimate on it but since i installed windows 8 developer preview my pc doesn't boot and i can't access the bios. i've tried the change the jumper setting to clear cmos but it didn't work. i've put the dvd of my asus MOTHERBOARD and i get a screen but still can't access the bios. i have some red lights on my motherboard (leds) and they light but don't dash they light themselves one after one (they indicate where does the problem COME from if there is a hardware issue) and after they light they all turn and the pc stays on but nothing happens. i've not yet tried to remove the bios BATTERY for 5 or ten minutes. it will be my NEXT try. if anyone could help me. the dvd of my asus motherboard is bootable normally.Does the computer boot normally without the Windows 8 disc in?

7969.	Solve : HDD Partioning?
Answer» Is it possible to unpartion a HDD? If so, how would you go about it?Can you give some more information about what you want to achieve. You can delete,move,resize partitions using programs like Paragon Diskmanager. There are other programs some FREE. If you want to recover a drive after partitioning then I can recommend some programs. LisaCheck this: How can I Unpartition my Hard Drive?When you acquire any HD Management (partitioning) software, like Paragon or Easeus, there will be an option in the program to make a Recovery CD. Always do that! Then you can work with the software on multiple PC's without installing the software on them. You can even repartition the HD on a PC that will not boot into Windows. Having ONE extra partition on any computer is really a good idea and very handy for storage of PICTURES, MOVIES, etc., that you don't need on your C: drive all the time. When someone GETS crazy and makes too many partitions on their drive, HD management can become a real nightmare. Good Luck,

7970.	Solve : Should I try lowering my graphics card fan manually or leave it alone??
Answer» I have an asus geforce gtx 560 dcii oc, and when i play mafia II it slowly but eventually starts to get really loud. So I was wondering if I could manually lower the fan speed so I don't have to hear it as much. Is it normal for a graphics card to get that loud? I have to put on earphones everytime I play otherwise I have to hear that fan going. The only THING that worries me is that allowing the graphics card to heat up too much can CAUSE performance drops.Those fans...especially on graphics cards should never be throttled back...it's normally the hottest component in a PC... Remove the card and take it to the store and fit a replacement fan for it...i suggest a ball-bearing one for longevity.Hi again Patio, and group. I think any PC tech would agree that the fans on VIDEO cards are the pits (cheap crap) and will be the first ones to GO in any PC. When the one on my own vid card started growling, I took it out, cleaned it, re-oiled it and put it back in. A few months later I had to do it all over again. Then it finally BIT the dirt and totally froze up. I took it out and replaced it with a CPU fan from an old K6 chip. I secured it to the top of the heatsink with HOT Glue. The larger fan is very quiet and provides much better cooling than the stock fan. Here's that video card with CPU fan. So, take out the fan, clean it and the heatsink, really good and that may help. When those little fans and their heatsinks get dirty, cooling suffers and the fans will have to run harder to COOL the GPU. Good Luck Mate! Howdy Shadow...good to seeya.TY everyone, I will take your advice as a future reference.

7971.	Solve : Monitor shuts off?
Answer» TROUBLE shoot VIEWSONIC monitor, it comes on then shuts off? TRIED DIFFERENT systems, cords. Model VX2255wmb, M# VS11661 ThanksIt's dead.

7974.	Solve : LOL How To Turn on Wireless Connectivity?
Answer» So I get my PC back from staples, but cannot get the internet. I CONNECT wirelessly, it claims my wifi is turned off and NED to hit the key to TURN it back on. Any clue what this is on a Sony Vaio with Windows Vista?What MODEL is it? Have you consulted your manual or the Sony website?Called Sony, were worthless. Computer has no manual, is a VRN-CR190.Mod, delete, 1.5 HOURS later, solved.LOL.

7978.	Solve : strange keyboard failure?
Answer» During windows xp setup after the drivers have been LOADED keyboard stops responding on a PENTIUM 3. Try a PS2 keyboard...not USB.Did that work??? If not you may NEED to UPDATE your keyboard Driver if it is connected by USB Denis

7973.	Solve : computer sometimes not starting?
Answer» hi all. i have a friend that has a 3 year old Acer Desktop Pc (not sure on the exact model) but it is sometimes having the problem where it starts to load up windows and crashes on the 'Sliding Bar' screen. Then after being forced to do a hard shut down, the computer comes completely dead. The computer doesn't even try to start up, no fans, nothing. The only way that I can see to FIX this is to UNPLUG the power and a minute or two later after plugging it back in it springs back into life as if nothing ever happened. This is a random problem. I can't really see any pattern with it. I have already installed a new PSU, in case that was faulty, and cleaned out the heat sink and re-applied thermal paste in case it was over heating (desperate stab in the dark) and shutting it self down. I'm kinda at a loss here, can anyone think of anything it might be? Thanks, Luke It could very well be the RAM-try each stick of RAM in each DIMM slot. Is it possible to boot other OSes(i.e. Ubuntu) from a USB drive/DVD? This happens randomly, as you say...[/size]Thanks for replying. Unfortunately he is at university at the moment, so I don't have access at the moment. But would failing RAM cause it to not respond to the power button all together? To be honest, I've never tried to start up a computer without it - I'm not sure on the outcome. Also, how would taking the power out help? Do you think that is just a coincidence? I have the Windows Ram testing software to test it. I also have the 'Ultimate Boot CD' that tests all kind of stuff (not really had a chance yet..) But it sounds like the RAM is a good possibility with it's age and price range. If these all come back okay, then I'll lend him some spare RAM for a while to see if fixes it. LukeRun MemTest from the UBCD...let it run at least an hour... Any errors at all and you have a bad stik of RAM... If it doesn't even respond to the power button... 1) Bad PSU 2) Bad On/Off Switch 3) Bad PSU Cable (I once bought a REPLACEMENT for my PSU thinking it had fried. RMA'ed it because the replacement still wouldn't turn on. I was sitting there scratching my head when I suddenly thought of the power cable. Both PSUS are still as good as new.) 4) Dead Motherboard. If you attempt to boot a computer without RAM, there will be beeps from the case speaker(If you have installed one. Please consult your motherboard manual for beep codes.) If you attempt to boot a computer without the CPU, it will not beep, fans will run, and need to hold the power button for around 10 seconds to turn the system off. If you attempt to boot your computer with a fan with a faulty RPM sensor, it will have symptoms identical to that of booting without a CPU. If you attempt to boot a computer without a PSU... well... good luck.

7976.	Solve : laptop doesnt power on?
Answer» Hello I have a HPG50-109NR laptop. But for some reason the power doesn't turn on. I plug in the AC adapter. It only LIGHTS right next to the ac adapter input on the laptop. I tried pressing power button while having ac adapter pluged in as WELL as the battery. I don't even hear the fan turning on. No response even if I take out the battery. Please help find out the find out the diagnosis of my laptop. Thank you If you leave the laptop charging does the battery charge indicator LED ( light ) ever change from orange charging to green fully charged status? If it NEVER makes it to green it could be a bad battry that wont take a charge. If you charge it and it finally goes green, keep the as adapter plugged in and try to power up laptop. Also, have you tried powering the laptop up with the ac adapter powering it with no battery present. ( a friend showed me that his laptop could actually run without battery direct from ac adapter, while I didnt think this was possible, on his model it worked.) He had a bad battery pulling down the ac adapter, so there wasnt enough power to power the laptop, but removing the bad battery load from the equation, it powered up when powered from ac adapter direct without battery installed. Also any additional info would be helpful, such as if it was acting up prior to this final failure, was the battery life not so GREAT to show that the battery may have been on its way out, or was this laptop involved in an accidental situation of dropped, drink spilled on keyboard, ect.

7977.	Solve : Printer and printing problem?
Answer» Hi Everybody I have been trying to print a document and I seem to be having some problem printing. 1. When I go through the steps and I hit print, nothing happens I have tried several times nothing happens. \ 2. Then I chick on the PRINTER icon on the bottom tool bar on the desk top then a box COMES up comes which says HP Officejet 4500 (name of my printer) - use printrer off line ( I have wireless printer connection) 3. Then inside the box a list of the number of times I tried to print the document. 4. Then on the bottom it will say 6 document(s) in queue. What does this MEAN and what can I do to corect this problem and print the document. Thank you for your help Do you think the printer is damaged? Did it work for several weeks and then one day quit? Are you using a wireless router? What changes did you recently make? Which OS do you have? Quick fix is to remove the printer, reboot and install all over again from the HP install CD. Don't SKIP any steps. Do it just like they say in the setup guide.

7982.	Solve : Canon MP250 Replacement Ink?
Answer» I bought a replacement non CANON CARTRIDGE for my MP250. The ink in the ORIGINAL had RUN out but it was still printing although unreadable. I replaced it with the new one but I keep getting the "not recognised" message. I have tried resets and also the tip I found about PUTTING sticky tape over the contacts but still getting the E14 message. Can anyone help other than suggesting that I send it back, or that compatible cartridges don't work. Thanks DylanIt's cheaper to throw it away & buy a new printer. I see that one was $38 at Walmart.

7987.	Solve : Is this the black death??
Answer» I have a EMACHINE T6212. Windows XP. My screen started to vibrate and I thought that I NEED to upgrade my onboard video card. I bought a new video card and insert it into the connector. But my monitor was still plugged to my onboard video card. I turned the machine on, and it was just like before my screen was vibrating. I realized that I forgot to plug my keyboard and I turned off the machine to plug the keyboard and restart again. That was the end of it. My monitor always showed that "No signal" and it is black. I cannot see anything. Only time I was able to see was when my monitor was plugged to my onboard(old) video card, I pressed R key when booting and, recovery option showed to ask me if I WANT to format the machine. I WOULD really appreciate if anyone can help me with this problem. 'Vibrating screen' can be anything farm a bad monitor, bad CABLE, bad video card, bad PSU and so on. Try another cable and monitor. Or try both monitor and cable on another PC. Do you have the documentation for emachine T6212? If not: http://support.gateway.com/us/en/emac/product/default.aspx?modelId=1638 Gateway does emachines.

7991.	Solve : DUAL CORE PROCESSOR?
Answer» How do you KNOW if you have this?? Where in the pc and what should it say? You'll FIND this information in - SYSTEM INFORMATION - it tells you What CPU you have, your hard drive, your memory etc etc

7992.	Solve : screen Acer Aspire 5920g?
Answer» Hi everyone, I have an ACER Aspire 5920g. 2 questions: The screen is broken, as in, externally is fine, but inside something broke and I have a BIG black stain on 1/3 of the screen. Qs1: Can it be repaired or do I need to buy a new screen? What price am I looking at to buy or repair? Will reparations be 100% good or is there a chance they won't .... in which case better off buying a new pc. Q2: It has Vista, which I don't want! Will it run well with both W7 and XP ? Would you reccomend one of these two? I'll use this pc fo general stuff like skipe, chorome, office, itunes, VLC, and to play WOW... of course! xD Thanks, G.If you go to a professional, to get a new screen, it could cost you $200+ easily. Doing the repair yourself, after you find and purchase a replacement screen, unless you've got some technical EXPERTISE, you could wind up with an expensive paper weight. Have you tried it with an external MONITOR? That would be the cheapest way out, if you use the little PC at home. Just a thought. I have a Compaq laptop with a dead keyboard, but the little PC still runs great with an external keyboard, so that's the way I run it. I don't throw anything away, if it has an ounce of use left in it. Good Luck, Hey, thanks for reply and idea, which does make sense. Unfortunately due to my lifestyle (travelling a LOT) it has to be a lap top... Thanks again for replying. Ps. looks like will cost me about 140 €, so about 200 dollars, you were right.

7993.	Solve : Partition Problem Unable to Shrink?
Answer» Hello All I am trying to create a 50GB partition on my HD. However when using Windows 7 Disk Management its telling me the following: *************************************** Total SIZE before shrink (MB)----------------476938 Size of available shrink space (MB)----------9594 Enter the amount of space to shrink (MB)----9594 Total size after shrink (MB)-----------------467377 *************************************** When I try to change the amount I want to change the amount in the enter line and hit enter nothing happens The only amount that works is 9594. Could some ONE help me with this problem. Thanks Ralph You can use other partition tools. From my personal EXPERIENCE, partition tools may fail if there is a significant issue with the disk. Either an unusual LAYOUT of the files system, or a defect on the disk itself. I don't really know. I have come very close to losing all my data. I now make sure I and prepared to restore all if I wish to change my partitions. One that works well almost always is: EASEUS partition manager http://www.easeus.com/ Another way is to just get a new drive. Create new partitions on the drive and move your stuff onto nit. Now you also have a backup. This is the conservative way.Thanks for the reply. Looks like I may have to to try an out side app.

8000.	Solve : Dell Precision 530 last RDRAM model 02/2002?
Answer» I think it is a hardware problem, but it may not be (?) I have a Dell 530 with dual 280 GHz Intel processors with an Adaptec SCSI controller (biggest effectively for 32 bit I believe) 4932 or 3932?, dual cheetah 15K scsi's, and 4GB RDRAM. XP Pro version 3. Every few years it acts up by showing 3 yellow lights on diagnosis and won't start up every time. Usually the fix is a new SCSI harddrive cable (because of cable ends loosen up) or my spysweeper is about to run out. I got a new cable and a new ($2 off amazon) spysweeper and it worked for about a month. Now the 3 yellow lights (which code out to a new bios, which I checked my is still the latest version, or a mobo - hope not). Here is the sequence of events on the screen: 1. Dell bios processes, 2. Windows first dos screen processes, 3. The Adaptec runs through all 15 slots of both sides of card I think and it finds the one I am using for Raid 0. 4. Then it STOPS with the cursor blinking_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Also, recently it started up better in the summer with cool AC blowing vs. cool days without AC blowing. The new SCSI cable is a China special and does not seem to fit TIGHT like they have in the past. Both of these factors may point to another cable from a more reputable (Country) manufacturer. But the sequence in where the start up screen stops may point to a new controller card. I just have one monitor, key board, and mouse hooked up to trouble shoot and it still does nothing. Please help. I also have a Matrox AGP card, an MMS 4 way , and a dual video cards, so one of them may have gone out. Not only do I not know how to trouble shoot the hardware, but now I have to find a way to get it started back up too. Thanks!!Replace the cable.... Then TRY swapping in a new PSU...see if that changes anything...

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