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Like the topic said I just recently changed my Mobo because the factory built one died and now it is saying Vista is not Genuine. Is there any way to fix this?Did you call Microsoft?
Which Vista is it? Did it come with it?
By the way, you did not give us much information.
You must buy the replacement motherboard from the maker.
Normally, the factory VISTA install and the hardware are sold as a 'package' and can not be separated.
Do you have a backup of the original VISTA install?

On this forum we do not provide you with a WORK around for this problem. Otherwise, people would use a work around to separate the OS from the hardware and create pirate PCs..

Next time, when en you buy a PC, get an extended warranty so that the total investment is covered.  Or else be prepared to buy a new legal copy of a new Operating System.  Come to think  of it, that might be the best solution for you at this point.yah, he's TRYING to use an OEM version of Windows on a motherboard not MADE for the disc.I really wish people would stop spelling it "VISTA". it's Vista. It's not an ACRONYM, *censored*. Quote from: EEVIAC on March 03, 2010, 08:54:26 PM

yah, he's trying to use an OEM version of Windows on a motherboard not made for the disc.

I really wish people would stop spelling it "VISTA". it's Vista. It's not an acronym, *censored*.

Yeah that what was I trying to do, but I entered the product key from the OEM which didnt work before just now and it just happen to activate. So problem solved. Thanks guys.

Was given PCI Diagnostics Card

I plugged it into a COMPUTER that is not working. One of the red LED lights is called FRAME and it states that it should be on all the time or blinking but its not on at all.

What is circular frame messageWhat is the brand and model of the card?not sure as it was not in a box, it was in an anti-static bag.

This is the one

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170437491959

You may have to RUN some diagnostics on that diagnostic card.....

SORRY ...couldn't resist.

I'd send it back.Cheers but does anyone know what circular frame message is?a Message frame is the way PCI devices communicate to and from the host Controller.

No idea what a "circular frame message" is, and in FACT the only hits on google are to your other post on computing.net:

http://www.computing.net/answers/hardware/pc-motherboard-diagnostics-card/64236.html

And to the manufacturer page you link to in that post:

http://www.capetronics.com/PC_diagnostics_isa_pci_ver3.2.htm

Quote

FRAME
Frame periods
Lights all the time. Turns on and off only when there is a circular frame message.

Hi  ,

at work I got a "new" Belkin KVM switch that doesn't work properly:
 everytime I start my 2 computers, it doesn't TAKE any keyboard entries and sometimes no mouse commands. And also it switches without my touching it ... after 15 minutes of fumbling around turning off the computers, unplugging the keyboard cable from the switch...it works as it is supposed to without any trouble.

Do you have any ideas? Loose contact?

Here is a quick answer. 

If it is for work, you don't need this kind of time WASTER. Find another solution. CLEAR up some space on your desktop and get two keyboards and two mice.
Return the switch.

I use two PCs, TOW keyboards, two mice and two  monitors. There is a manual switch for the monitors so I can have dual display, but only when i want it.. While Geek-9pm may have had some bad experience with a KVM switch i on the other hand have been using a Ps2/vga KVM switch for years with no problems directly related to it. If this is a new piece of hardware i reccommend returning it for a replacement. I would not GIVE up on the KVM switch route until you have tried another one 1st. If this is a USB KVM switch that might evolve to be more of a problem with your USB ports than the switch itself. truenorth

I am using Windows XP SP2 and Ubuntu 9.04 on a P4 system with intel d845 gvsr mother board. I recently formatted and re-installed my OS. Since then, if I configure my USB ports in Hi-Speed Configuration, the system is not detecting any usb device that is plugged in. But when I configure them as Full-Speed ports by changing the settings in the BIOS, all plugged-in usb devices are being detected but working quite SLOWLY. I tried re-installing the USB 2.0 device drivers but to no avail.

And also when ever i try to connect to internet using a USB connected modem, the internet connection is automatically getting terminated abruptly after 5-10mins from the time i connect. In order to reconnect, I have to restart my PC to reset the ports and then connect again. If I do not restart, it says that the modem in ALREADY in use and does not connect even though the connection is terminated.

The status in "Network Connections" in windows also shows as connected and am not able to neither disconnect nor delete the connection from there also until I restart my PC.

But I am able to access data in my Pen-Drives without any loss of data but at a greatly reduced speeds.

This is proving to be a very big hindrance to my WORK. PLEASE help me out.
Go to the following link, download and install the chipset driver...


HTTP://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=5492&ProdId=1065&lang=eng





There's a few more drivers for that Intel® Desktop Board D845GVSR board, aside from the "chipset" driver; two of which appear to apply to USB 2.0 (although they seem old -  4/8/2002):

     a.  USB: USB 2.0 [USB2.0.EXE]
     b.  USB QFE for USB 2.0 Support [USBXPFIX.EXE]

Hi all! I'm a newbie, and I really need some HOPE for my laptop. <_< I'm not entirely certain if the nature of the problem makes it belong in Hardware, so I apologize ahead of time if I'm not in the right place!

My laptop is an Acer Aspire 5315, and I'm running Windows Vista, Service Pack 1 with Norton Anti-virus (And I can't stand it) and Ad-Aware. I've done a lot of virus scans recently and am pretty certain that isn't the cause of the problem.

The problem is that my computer keeps randomly shutting down without any sort of warning. And yes, I made sure my computer was plugged in, the battery was charged, and that it wasn't overheating. My experience with desktops has always told me that usually, when computers shut down randomly LIKE that, it's the power supply, but with laptops, I'm not entirely sure. At any rate, it has escalated to the point that it won't stay on for more than about 5-20 minutes, and that if I try to turn it back on immediately, it will shut down within about 30 SECONDS in the middle of loading Windows.

I've already taken it into a computer expert once who reloaded Windows after the constant shutting down corrupted it, and took it back to him again when it shut down randomly about three times after that. The second time he claimed that after leaving it running some tests for six hours on his desk, it didn't shut down once. For a while after this, the problem seemed to slow down, but suddenly escalated last night to the point that I was panicking to use the 15 minute window I could get out of it to back up all of my things because the shutting down was corrupting Windows again. I've begun to notice that the longer I let the computer sit without running, the longer it will run afterward, but I'm not entirely certain if this is relevant. I'm at a sort of loss as to what to do at this point, and if anything, would at least like a reason as to why it's doing that if it's entirely unfixable. . .

So, does anyone have a sort of diagnosis for what might be going on? Is it one of those unfixable hardware problems? Do you think it might be wise to attempt to load an available copy of Windows 7 that I have on it to see if it's just Vista itself or something? Any help is greatly appreciated!1.  To rule out the hard drive and all of the software that it contains; boot a "free" memory diagnostic from CD and let it run a few hours.  If you still experience random shutdowns, you'll need to look at:
     a.  Heat
     b.  Power
     c.  Hardware

To minimize the hardware configuration, you could remove the hard drive and battery from the laptop for these tests (as the memory diagnostic doesn't REQUIRE them).

2.  Memory Diagnostic.  Download the "free" diagnostic software at either www.memtest86.com  or www.memtest.org  and create the desired bootable media.  Boot the program and let it run indefinitely ( key to exit).I experienced this not so long ago on a laptop and it turned out it was the memory, maybe look into that

hey GUYS and gals,

so i am no computer wiz. in fact i know nothing. so i went against my better judgement and bought a laptop on e-bay that had been refurbished.

i got the computer this morn ing and it worked wonderfully.

i was under the impression that it had built in wireless, but it didnt. so i bought a usb wireless adapter.

i plugged in the adapter and clicked on the network i wanted. while it was enabling the chord got ripped out of the wall by a co-worker.

i plugged the chord back in (i must mention that the BATTERY does not charge so the chord needs to be in the wall for it to work so it SHUT off immediately in the middle of it enabling) and hit the power button.

you could imagine my frustration when the computer itself turned on but the screen didnt work...i mean pitch black. it seems as though it is booting up and everything the screen is just off.

any ideas or suggestions?

thanks in advance

adami forgot to mention it is an older model dell.....C840


is it possible the LED bulb went when the chord got ripped out of the wall?I'm not much of an expert either but something similar has happend to me ASWELL.. Is the cord you're using have a pack on it of some sort, you might've fried the cord if the battery isn't working.

Was there more to the event than just the cord being INADVERTENTLY pulled out of the wall--such as the computer falling? truenorth

I have a  dell optiplex gx240 1.7 processor It has no RAM, but I installed a 32 m ram all I have laying around as the moment (Dell says 64 Minimum) what I was wondering if a normal working computer has it's ram removed will you still see anything on the monitor? My MACHINE is beeping like something wrong on motherboard and no screen display.

JohnNo it won't...
You will NEED the minimum amount of RAM to get a correct display.

I bought a USB mouse and after I installed their software I noticed that in the DEVICE MANGER their was two entries for the device - One named HID for the USB Mouse and the other is under Mice and Pointing Devices - They each show the same DRIVER which is the most current set point ! Do I need to disable or uninstall the mice and pointing device driver or should they both be running on the system. You need to close Device Manager and forget what you saw.

Hello

My front USB sockets recently broke and so I'm looking to replace it, I believe it's known as a USB PCB?



However, since I don't have a soldering iron (or know how to use one) I need to replace the USB PCB and the little board that it's attached to. I have absolutely no idea what it's called, so heres an (actual) picture:



This came with the case (I presume most are) which was manufactured by Akasa. I've contacted Akasa, but they have no record of the part number (BD4025-01A-G) and this was their reply once I provided pictures/description:

Quote from:

I will have to come back to you once I have CHECKED with one of our engineers on Monday.

I have found one but is in his case on his TESTING station.

I have a usb mouse that won't operate through a usb PORT.  However, it works fine through the ps/2 port using an adapter.  Newer pc running xp.  Older mouse.  Any thoughts?Leave it that way.Gotta ask the obvious questions which you have PROBABLY tried.

Have you tried it on other USB ports, both front and back.  Do other USB devices, thumb drives, cameras, ETC. work on the USB ports?Ok ... duh! ... tried a different port and works.  Obvious first, I should know that.

Hi,

Not sure if this is TV related or PC at the moment.

I have a GTX295 that can run the resolution fine. A samsung 50" 1080i HD t.v.

PC goes from the GTX295 via HDMI cable to the TV and will display the 1920x1080 resolution when it display it about an inch of the actual desktop is past the t.v screen's edges.

Tried all sorts of settings on the Samsung menu and on the NVIDIA Control Panel but it still won't display it correctly.

If the t.v doesnt support the resolution, the screen goes blank and it says "mode not supported".

Any ideas why it won't fit or how i can get it to fit?

Currently running on 720p over VGA as thats the best resolution i can get, HDMI won't even show that as a resolution without forcing it.

AndyA suggestion--is it possible (and i don't know) that changing your input cable type might give you different OPTIONS than what the HDMI cable is needing to function? I am doing this also  via an HDMI/Computer but i am not using an HDMI cable connection.truenorthThanks for the reply truenorth, not sure what you mean though .

When plugged in with VGA (like at the moment) i select the Input as PC.
When plugged in with HDMI i select the input to HDMI.

I don't see how you're doing HDMI to the computer without a HDMI cables, its sort of impossible lol. UNLESS you're using a DVI (digital) cable, they can output way beyond HDMI resolutions.OK this is not going to be a clear as i would have prefered but this is what i have and how it is connected.
  There is a PCI card in my Dell XPS that has 3 output CONNECTIONS. These connections look like miniature coax cable connections.However at the other end (the HDMI TV)  they are red/yellow/white RCA male plugs that are plugged into the video RCA input and the right left audio input of the TV.
  When i go through the "input" options choices on the menu of the TV i select HDMI to receive the signal from the computer. I wish i could tell you exactly what the type of PCI card it is and what the cable is called. MAYBE someone else (or yourself) will know from my description what it is i have. If i can be of any further help please ask.truenorthThanks for the reply truenorth. Although I'm not sure what gfx card that is it sounds like it is using S-compent, more commonly used on the xbox360 before it was given a HDMI connected. It does display 1080i bu lt sadly that doesn't help me. Only DVI and HDMI socket on the GTX295.

Cheers ANYWAY for the suggestion.

I'm trying to track down problems on a Soyo Dragon KT400+ Ultra (Athlon XP 2200+) system.

Having read a lot of threads on power supply issues, I would like to get opinions on the voltages read by the Soyo Hardware Monitor:

Vcore = 1.6v

+3.3v = 3.2 to 3.21v frequent fluctuation between these two values

+5v = 4.89v / 4.86 occasional fluctuation

+12v = 12.41 mostly, 12.48 occasional fluctuation

DDR = 2.47v / 2.49 occasional fluctuation

AGP = 1.48v

Also

Fan Speed = 5114 / 4963 occasional fluctuation - I think this is the sensor resolution because there are no intermediate values. Same with values above.

CPU = 54 C / 55 C sometimes

CHA = 42 C / 43 C sometimes

I saw that EARLY Athlon XP 2200+ models ran at 1.65v, but I checked the serial number against the AMD paper and confirmed this is a 1.6v model.

Thanks.It all looks normal to me.  Try this monitor to see if there are any variances.  The standard version is free.
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.phpI had 3 SOYO MBoards in years past...
Their diagnostic reporting was rarely accurate...
I'd suggest Speedfan and the Paid version of Everest to get a benchmark of those voltage readings and then compare all 3Thanks. I wasn't sure how close to rated voltage it was actually SUPPOSED to be.

I'll download the suggested software and run more tests. Quote from: jkolak on March 07, 2010, 04:55:28 AM

Thanks. I wasn't sure how close to rated voltage it was actually supposed to be.

My "A+" cert prep recollection is the voltages need to be within five percent (+/-) of the spec value.

I am running xp pro, 2.13 dual core, 8500 gt video, 3.25 ram, intel mb 975x
I need help on this ! I installed giga ware 25-1141 VHS to dvd video converter soft ware .I am using this to monitor my surveilance camera (swan wireless security camera) it seems to record for about one hour then it gives an error notice or it will say that it will not record because of copy right problems Does anyone have a clue for this ? I CHECKED the manual to no avail on info with this problem all answers are appreciated ,ThanksWhat does the error notice say / have you checked the manufacturers website for FAQ or support?

Alan <><  It's no error, it's an annoying copyright protection feature on that software 'vhs to dvd video converter' you are using. After an hour it stops to prevent people copying movies, etc. Without major hacking and probably breaking the law you will probably have to just find different software that doesn't do it.Is there any soft ware out there that will legally do this ? It sounds more like a hardware problem with the converter than a software issue, or did it come with software you loaded on your PC?  There are other converters that I've never heard of a time out problem. Quote from: Azzaboi on February 28, 2010, 10:53:51 AM

It's no error, it's an annoying copyright protection feature on that software 'vhs to dvd video converter' you are using. After an hour it stops to prevent people copying movies, etc. Without major hacking and probably breaking the law you will probably have to just find different software that doesn't do it.

It's no error, it's an annoying copyright protection feature on that software 'vhs to dvd video converter' you are using.

Source ? ?

BTW there's nothing in that link to validate what you stated...

Several minutes into recording a home video tape ONTO my pc, an error message popped up saying that copying of copyrighted material is prohibited, and the recording stopped. Clearly, my home video has no copyright!

"I kept getting messages that I'm trying to record copy-written material but these are home movies taken from a camcorder. Got this message 15 times per vhs tape. That in of itself is a deal breaker. "

The converter does the job of converting your tapes to your hard drive, but the software that comes with the converter (Arcsoft Showbiz) is bad. Every so many minutes, an error message comes up saying that recording copyrighted material is prohibited, and the recording stops

I have over 450000 mb of free disk space but can only record on average 10 mb of video. this is a home video so there is NO anti piracy involved..in fact the video is from the mid 80's .

Plug in the hardware and IMMEDIATELY go find another software to use. The software is totally non-functional.

We bought a lenovo G450 and install windows XP Pro with Service Pack 2. We just downloaded the drivers from lenovo web site. but we have a hard time installing sound and video driver. In the web site it has two drivers for the video the Intel Onboard GRAPHICS Driver and the NVIDIA Display Driver. We want to install the NVIDIA display diver but there is an error SAYING that there is no drivers supported. We have downloaded the MS .net Framework 3.5 and install in the laptop but there is no improvements. same error appear on screen every time we install the NVIDIA driver.


Please help.. hope to here from you.... Use the link.. Under "chipset" download and install the Intel Chipset driver for Windows XP.  Then try installing the other drivers again..


http://consumersupport.lenovo.com/en/DriversDownloads/drivers_list.aspx?CategoryID=370748thank you for the reply sir but we already download the chipset and all other drivers in that web site before and the same problem we encounter. Is there any video CONTROLLER for that NVIDIA that i need to download? because in the case of the audio i can not install the audio driver right away. what i did is download first the audio controller in the G400 because we can not see any controller under G450. we already search other lenovo model but we fail. Where did you get the Windows XP installation disc?

Is there any anti-virus installed?


Look in device MANAGER, and see if there are any yellow exclamation marks. Right-click on the device with the error, select properties, and post what the device "status" is..

Nop, we didn't see any yellow exclamaition in the device manager. We just install the intel graphics accelerator as of now but we want to install also the NVIDIA display driver. We believe that it would enhance more the display of the lenovo G450 laptop when we play games. Am i right? compared on using the onboard intel graphics display. That's the main reason why we would like to install the NVIDIA display driver. Or is this lenovo G450 laptop has other display card aside on the onboard display jut like the PCsGetting the driver directly from nVidia might be better.  Use the link, click on the "driver and downloads" tab, and see if nVidia will scan your system and give you the latest driver for your nVidia hardware..   I'm not a huge gamer so I couldn't tell you if Intel's Accelerator hardware would be better than nVidia's..



http://www.nvidia.com/object/product_geforce_g105m_us.html
I already tried your suggestion to visit the nvidia web site and let them scan our laptop.  But the result is this " The manufacturer of this system requires that you download the drivers for your GPU from their support site". As i've said we already downloaded and install all the drivers from their web site for windows xp but same problem we encounter. Update your computer to Windows XP serv. pack 3, and try again..Does it mean i need to re format again the laptop sir? or can i download the service pack 3? can you give me a link.Run the Windows Update utility under the START/All Programs menu, select "custom" and it will search for all available Windows updates for your system.  Select Service Pack 3, download and install it..   Make sure you get all the latest security updates as well...not sure if Service Pack 3 includes all those, but I think it does..

You don't have to reinstall Windows or format anything..I already downloaded and install the service pack 3 in this lenovo G450 model 20022 but after i run the NVIDIA SETUP, same problem i encounter. Or is there really other video aside from the intel onboard graphics driver with this lenovo G450 model 20022 laptop? I don't know what else to recommend other than contacting Lenovo for support..

I have a computer running on windows XP and I took out the hard drive,
I then installed different hard drive that has windows 2000 after setup recognizes it it WIL start to boot but about after 10 SECONDS STOPS. Is there anyway of seeing what is on this drive?  I even put the XP setup disk in cd rom but it will not read goes DIRECTLY to hard drive and tries to load windows 2000 and I have set the boot order in setup to read the cd rom first.  If I can never see the files will I need a program running off the floppy drive to gain access to the hard drive such as reformat?

John Replace the XP drive by itself...
Re-boot a few times til it works normal.
Then hook up the Win2K drive as a slave by setting the jumpers correctly on the back of the drive...
Re-boot.
It should boot to XP and the Win2K drive should show up in WIN Explorer...If you want to run Win2k, you'll have to do a Repair Install (if there was one with Win2k?) if the hard disk came out of a different machine.  If you only want to see what's on the drive, then do as Patio suggests, just don't expect the Win2k hard drive to boot, until you repair or reinstall.I got it to work with both drives in the same machine.

I will leave them both in the machine.

John

Extend Desktop on GX280 SFF.
A ATI X1300 did not help. It has just the normal DVI connector. not the other thing.
A DVI to 2VGA did not do it.
A Google search shows that other people have the same issue.
The chip set inside the GX280 is already a dual chan graphics. But the output is not available.
It has to be a half high video card to fit the SFF desktop case.
But it is hard to find a half high with two outputs.

Any ideas?
(Yeah, get rid of the GX280. That works. But can I KEEP the 280?)
So what you're WANTING is to either get this card to work, or to find a "half high" card that has the dual connections? By "half high", do you mean Low Profile?RIGHT. I should have said low profile.
As far as I can tell, you never do this with a single DVI connector.
Nor can you with a single VGA port. (Not talking about a fancy EXTERNAL gadget that costs more that the card.) 
There seems to be a lot of confusion over this. Please give me a heads up. The only info I can find is a special card that has a 59 pin connector and a Y cable that does tow independent DVI ports.
For some reason dual can chips out there put on low profile cards with just one connector. Why oh why did they do that?
My guess is that I will have to buy yet another low profile card. Please tell me I am wrong.This card has dual monitor support with either 2 DVI's, 2 VGA's, or DVI and VGA. It comes with the same "Y" cable you specified. Its an older card though, and it might not be the best for performance. It shouldn't require much power though, so you should be good there. Not too sure if it supports the "Extended Desktop" you're wanting. I think it's the same card you're refering to in your last post.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103011Thanks for the help. You work seems to confirm what I found. You you provided a clue. The link tells about the DMS-59. I found:
Quote

DMS-59 is a 59-pin electrical connector generally used for COMPUTER video cards. It provides two DVI outputs on a single connector. An adapter cable is needed for conversion from DMS-59 to DVI or VGA, and different types of adapter cables exist

If your computer has a socket processor, it may have a thermal pad. Thermal pads, unlike thermal grease, need to be warmed up so the heat sink can be separated from the processor. You can warm up the thermal pad by turning on your computer and letting it RUN for approximately ten minutes.

Warm up your computer BEFORE removing the computer case cover.

My computer keeps turning itself on and off again and again i had it fixed but it still does it occasionally i have no idea whats CAUSING this PROBLEM and i need HELP plssssss


my computer model is packard bell intel CELERON D 2gb and windows xp1) Please provide more information about exactly what is happening and when it happens. As much information as possible - IN DETAIL

2) What did "they" do when they fixed it?

3) Worst case, you can always take it back to whomever fixed it before.

Hi guys, i'm able to get my pc running, all the COMPONENTS are running, however my monitor is not able to detect any signal. I've changed a new vga - analog connector and it didnt solve the issue. Which hardware shld i test next? My graphics card is only abt 1year + while my hard disk has been ard for like 5years +.
I'm nt sure which is at fault. Can some1 give me pointers? Quote from: wrathing on March 06, 2010, 10:28:15 PM

I've changed a new vga - analog connector and it didnt solve the issue.

Hi last week i had problem with my computer, it kept freezing randomly several time, so I tought that I would format and everything would be fine so I switched to windows 7 and it kept freezing. So i tought I would check up my CPU if the thermal glue was out but when I turned the computer on it was shutting down automaticly, so I went into the bios and found out my cpu was at 82 celcius degree, I GUESSED the fan wasnt properly pinned in the motherboard so I put it back and I used a BIT of STRENGHT to pin it correctly, since then when I open my computer it wont even boot on the bios, like I turn it on, the fans are starting, my led turn open, but nothings happening on the screen, and theres normally a sound when I start my computer but now theres nothing.

Think you guys could help me?

(btw sorry for the english faults i'm french) Quote from: Yewt on March 06, 2010, 06:55:27 PM

So i tought I would check up my CPU if the thermal glue was out

If you removed the heat sink from the cpu, you need to clean off the old thermal grease with alcohol, thoroughly, from the heat sink and AND cpu, and apply a new layer, did you do that?

Post the specs. of your computer, also.  Make/model

No I didn't

hello i baught a liteon dvd writer and win i plug my DATA cord to the mother board it causes my computer not to reboot up right it will try to reboot get so far shut down and try again over and over i did get it to reboot all the way fore a few minutes and the dvd player work fine then it shut down and try to reboot again with no luck when i unplug the data cord it boots up fine and stay on please helpIs there another computer you can install the drive into?

This will help determine if the problem is the drive or your computer..

Have you tried plugging the drive into a different controller (connector) on the motherboard?no i dont have another computer to try it on i did try puting the data cable in the other spot but made no differentI think either your power supply is failing, or the drive is defective.

Have you tried another cable?  Do you have another one that you can borrow, perhaps from another device?

no i dont the only other one i got is pluged into the hard drive and i think its got a different end i will probaly have to by another data cord and try itWhy don't you just contact the manufacturer of the drive for support?  Maybe they'll send you another drive.

But still, we haven't ruled out the psu, yet..

If you can FIND your self a digital multimeter, I can help you test the power supply in your computer...



1.  Power Supply.    Perhaps you've exceeded the capacity of the power supply...

Were you "replacing" an OPTICAL drive or adding one to your system?

2.  Disable Auto RESTART.  Your system may be "blue screening".  From the Windows Advanced Options menu, use the up/down arrow keys to select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" and press key.

Hopefully it will stop on a blue screen.

3.  Blue Screen of Death (BSOD).  Report the "exact" STOP code string with its four parameters as well as any SHORT error string and/or software module it might name.

4.  Windows Advanced Options Menu.  Use the <F8> function key during system startup to access the Windows Advanced Options Menu.  Tap the key once or twice per second as you startup the computer (or immediately after POST completes and screen flashes black prior to displaying Windows XP logo with its processing bar display).adding one

I recently purchased a 3D capable MONITOR to be used with Nvidia 3D Vision.  After having the old 20" HP 2009m monitor sitting off to the side for a few days, I figured I'd try to hook it up and run two monitors, something I've never attempted before.

I would like to keep the game on the first monitor running in full screen mode, as it is needed to run 3D Vision.  I am able to run a video on the 2nd monitor, or DISPLAY a web browser, but clicking on them CAUSES the full screen game on the first monitor to minimize.  Is there any WAY to prevent this from happening?

Intel Core I7 920 (2.66GHz)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285
Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Never mind, answered else where.  Looks like a 3rd party program may do the trick.Got a link I would be interested in that

If I want to format a hard drive to install windows xp PROFESSIONAL, how do I do this?
Boot to the XP CD and before the install routine begins you'll be given the option to format.10-4 Thank you
You're welcome.I want to format a harddrive  but it won't list on "my computer" with my other harddrive in place and in it's own windows and other as a slave. I can put it in alone and it will go into windows but won't go anywhere. There is no program to open anything. I can go to windows update from control panel and on net that way but that is it. I thought I'd format it and reload windows but can't. Think I got some virus but ANTI virus FINDS nothing Keyboard won't work at startup. Wanted to do repair but again keyboard won't work. Other harddrive works fine in same computer. OS Name   Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version   5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer   Microsoft Corporation
System Name   GPOPS-66561E3BA
System Manufacturer   939M2
System Model   939Dual-SATA2
System Type   X86-based PC
Processor   x86 Family 15 Model 35 Stepping 2 AuthenticAMD ~2400 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date   American Megatrends Inc. P2.30, 9/25/2006
SMBIOS Version   2.3
Windows Directory   C:\WINDOWS
System Directory   C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device   \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale   United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer   Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name   GPOPS-66561E3BA\GPOPS
Time Zone   Central Standard Time
Total Physical Memory   2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory   1.40 GB
Total Virtual Memory   2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory   1.96 GB
Page File Space   3.85 GB
Page File   C:\pagefile.sys
Thanks for any help
Welcome to CH. This is the forum ever. But it is not a chat room and you did it right by putting all the info first. Do you have the original Install XP CD either from Microsoft or  the manufacturer?
Here are the general instructions.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/install-reinstall-uninstall
Please COME back after you LOOK it over.
I did and I know that.   I tried to get into setup but pressing delete doesn't work.  ps2 for keyboard doesn't work either for both drives.  I've ran AVG and Trend Micro house calls anti virus and they find nothing.  Went to microsoft for keyboard drivers and nothing helps. With this drive everything works but can't get to set up. I'm puzzled. Don't know what to do. Never had this problem before. I have built other computers. But never ran into this. Thanks  If I can't get to setup I can't set it to open with DVD drive to repair windows or reinstall it. Yes I have original windows disk.Adding onto a Topic never works well because you don't get the individual attention even though your issue may be similar...
That being said what type of HDD is this and is it being recognised by the BIOS at boot time ? ?This one is a MAXTOR STM3320620A  320GB  and the one I am having the most problem with is a Maxtor Dimondmax 6L160PO 160GB Quote from: Gpops on March 08, 2010, 08:03:41 PM

This one is a MAXTOR STM3320620A  320GB  and the one I am having the most problem with is a Maxtor Dimondmax 6L160PO 160GB

This one is a MAXTOR STM3320620A  320GB  and the one I am having the most problem with is a Maxtor Dimondmax 6L160PO 160GB

This one is a MAXTOR STM3320620A  320GB  and the one I am having the most problem with is a Maxtor Dimondmax 6L160PO 160GB

At boot time on the bottom of the splash screen it will tell you what key/s to hit to enter Setup...

Daughter has Dell Insperion 1300 Laptop, about 3 years old.  Presently upon startup she gets message re "bad battery".  Not ready to exspend funds at the moment (CHEAP)  , she wants to know if there is likely to be any problem continuing to use the unit at home with the "CHARGER" continuously plugged in?  Until the battery starts leaking...no it shouldn't be an issue... Quote from: schuarta on March 02, 2010, 08:08:55 AM

...Not ready to exspend funds at the moment (cheap)  , she wants to know if there is likely to be any problem continuing to use the unit at home with the "charger" continuously plugged in?...

Just my 2 cents for those who are seeing this.....
I travel alot and always want to be ABLE to see my tv and also when at home I want to see my tv while on my PC (dual monitors) and i dont have a TV in the home office (dont want to pay FIOS) for ANOTHER box. 
So I use HAVA. I have used HAVA for close to 5 yrs now and it is perfect.  I dont have a TV Tuner in my pc or laptop. I can also WATCH my home TV on my pc and laptop and using my PHONE. 
You can buy either a 2 yr contract to Hava for $9.95 a month ( http://www.myhava.com/product_hava_titanium_hdsubscribtion.html?subscribenow=Monsoon+%249.95%2Fmonth ) or just but the box (depending on HD or not) it can be as little as $149 dollars with no fee after that (http://www.myhava.com/product_hava_platinum_hd.html this is the one i have).
I dont know if that is what Bill is looking for but I think Hava covers many of the needs as I read it.
Alex
Head of TechGeekandMore

Hello!
I just recently got a laptop with a BUILT in microphone and camera..
But the microphone sounds horrible. It MAKES the audio I record skip around and there is a lot of static.
I've tried to TURN up the sound volume..but I'm not sure what else to do! Please help? It would be much appreciated~!Buy a new Microphone!Laptop microphones are usually complete junk. It doesn't help that they are also about 3 inches from your laptops fans.

you can get a cheap external one. This is the one I use

Sorry if there's not enough information, I had to make this post very quickly. Tell me if you need more info.

I came HOME from class today to a great surprise. All of a sudden my computer has decided to stop taking INPUT from my keyboard or mouse. Earlier today it was working fine, but for some reason it hasn't ever since. This occurs during both bootup(can't GET into BIOS) and at the Vista login screen.

I've tried restarting it, switching USB ports, and nothing has worked. I know it's not the keyboard or mouse because they both work on other computers. My monitor and speakers still work fine(both on separate video and sound cards). My iPod also is still detecting power coming from the port that it's plugged into.

I have another wireless mouse that I use occasionally and both it and my WIRED mouse are getting power, just no input. The only thing that isn't getting power is my keyboard.

I have a feeling it's a hardware issue, but I really dunno where to start. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.Check your device manager for conflicts...

Start > Control Panel > Device Manger

Under...

Keyboard
Mouse and other pointing devices
Universal Serial Bus controllers

This will inform you if the device is working, conflicting with something else or disabled, etc.
If it has a cross or question mark against anything, thats a bad sign and should be checked.
You can also re-install or update the drivers from there and scan for hardware changes by right-clicking the device in the list.

Of course you can navigate with just the mouse or just the keyboard but not having either might be a problem..
If you have PS2 connections, use them while checking, if just for temporary. Quote from: Azzaboi on March 02, 2010, 08:46:37 PM

Check your device manager for conflicts...

Any Staples store in the area?  They have this PS/2 keyboard: Microsoft Wired Keyboard 500.  Note the layout for Home, End, Pg Up, Pg Down, Insert, and Delete keys.  If you're not used to that, you might find it a little frustrating right at first.

Hello Good People!

I just got my laptop LATITUDE D820 cleaned inside but the fan keeps heating up with a lot of noise.
I asked this question on DELL FORUMS but so far no reply. I searched in DELL SUPPORT archives for my model but didn't find any relative info...

Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks.I was not familiar with your laptop so i went to research it a bit. It certainly sounds like you made a very excellent choice (over it's competitors in the class). I was particularly interested in the review comments re your heating issue. This is what the review said about that:
Heat & Noise


For the most part I was very pleased by the amount of heat and noise emitted by the D820. When idling or performing everyday tasks the fan speed is very slow resulting in relatively silent computing. When performing more demanding tasks (such as during the Battery Eater Pro burn-in and battery life test or rendering 3D graphics) the fan speeds up but it is not at all offensive. The only caveat is the Philips DVD-RW drive. Compared to the rest of the notebook, it sounds like a turbofan engine spooling up when it reads a CD or DVD. Moreover, the drive is not well damped causing the whole notebook body to shudder as the drive spins.

Dell has designed the D820 for excellent heat dissipation. There are two EXHAUST vents: one on the side and one on the rear. The left wrist rest heats up a tiny bit after a long period of operation and the right wrist rest stays completely COOL throughout. Touching the underside of the laptop after the ~2 hour Battery Eater Pro stress test I found that the laptop was warm but certainly not hot enough to preclude lap-top usage for an extended period of time. The power brick stays cool even after days of keeping the notebook plugged into the wall. In short, Dell has done a superb job of managing the heat emitted by the D820's high performance components.
   So as you see what you are experiencing is far from NORMAL and what you should be experiencing. You mentioned that you just had it "cleaned". Was that the reason that you had it cleaned due to the heat issue/ Or has this only occurred since you had it cleaned? Given your investment i would want to be dealing either with Dell or a very qualified computer REPAIR shop. Have you done a heat test on the computer to find out what actual heat measurements you are getting? I don't think i would want to be going into the innards of that computer unless i was very familiar with doing that kind of thing. You have a fair chunk of change into it and i would not want to risk further damaging it. If your heat readings turn out to be excessively high i would stop using it until you resolve that issue. Have you tried the standalone heat reduction fan laptop cooler units?truenorthBut if you can't be bothered reading all that.. (I like truenorth) then just do what I do.. I tried.. http://download.cnet.com/SpeedFan/3000-2094_4-10067444.html

Then have a look.. if things look OK which they generally do.. can you tell me what you are doing when the problem happens. I can help solve this issue.. as I have fixed it in my own laptop usually.

Get back to me  Cleaning it probably just dislodged some dust bunnies and relocated them to a new position in the machine...this is common with  laptops.
Consider taking it to a shop to have done properly...they are not meant to be user servicable....

I want to buy a new PC computer primarily used for spreadsheets, internet surfing and e-mail.  My current computer is about 5 years old and only has 512MB ram.  I have some large excel spreadsheets (100MB, 65000 rows) that take over a minute to open or save which is way to slow for me.  I was thinking of buying the GATEWAY DX4831-01E (6GB memory, Intel i3-530 processor, 1TB HD) for $550 at Best Buy.  Will this computer be able to open/save my spreadsheets in a few seconds?  Is there a better computer in this price range for my needs?

I often have 10+ websites open at the same time and I run two displays with my computer.  I had to purchase a GeForce FX5200 128MB DDR TV/DVI video card when I bought my last computer so I could run two displays.  Do any computers in the $500 to $800 range come out of the box with the ability to run 2 displays at the same time?  If so, please list the computer model and price?

I was also wondering if I buy a computer that does not come with the ability to run 2 displays simultaneously, will I be able to install the FX5200 video card in my new computer or should I just purchase a new video card?  Does anyone have a recommendation for a video card.  I don't need the video card for GAMING, I just need it to be able to run 2 displays simultaneously.  One of my displays is an older model that has a 15 pin VGA input and a 24 pin DVI input.  My other display has a 15 pin VGA input and a HDMI input.  So I need a video card that can connect to these 2 displays.  Does anyone have a suggestion on a video card.

The tech support at Best Buy isn't very good so any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.
I don't see that computer listed separately on Best Buy's website.  I see it bundled two ways, either with a monitor or a monitor and printer.  Apparently, you know have verified it can be purchased separately at the price you mentioned.  Right?

Your FX 5200 video card is either a PCI card or an AGP card.  The new computer will not have an AGP slot.  If the card is a PCI version, you could use it but, if it were buying a new computer, I would not want to use an old PCI video card.  You easily find a PCI Express video card for under $50 that will far superior to that FX 5200.  Most cards on the market have both DVI and VGA ports and will support your two monitors.  A suggested card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134083

And, yes, you will need an add-on video card to support two monitors. 

Quote

Will this computer be able to open/save my spreadsheets in a few seconds?

By the way, I'm thinking a database might be better than Excel for your application.  If your spreadsheet is being used to maintain a large amount of data that could be converted to database, a database such as Microsoft Access will be less memory-intensive than a spreadsheet.

Quote from: Geek-9pm on March 09, 2010, 04:42:50 PM

Would you care for a pond right now?

If at FIRST you cannot Fricassée, then fry, fry, a hen. 

...With that news I tried two thing; in the BIOS, Integrated PERIPHERALS, I changed the Onboard SATA/IDE Controller Mode from AHCI to IDE;...

I had a dell LAPTOP, I want to transfer my info and pics from my laptop hdd to my desktop. What kind of cable, or adapter do I need to do this, and can it be done? Thanks

2.5" laptop to IDE connecter...
About 8 BUCKS at any PC store...Or you can upload the pics to a file storage site and DLoad them to the desktop...
Or you can set up a network connection as well...Can you tell us the model NUMBER of the laptop?

It depends on the laptop. It might be a SATA hard drive in the laptop. If that's the case, you won't need any ADAPTERS. It should plug straight into any ordinary SATA data/power cables in a desktop.It's not a sata drive, and the computer is in pieces, so I would most likely need the cable
Thanks

I posted this in another forum but no other replies have been given after my last post. So I am forwarding over here to see if anyone could help me. My laptop is just actn nutty...

March 7, 2010 --- So I have this HP DV6629wm laptop that Ive had for a couple years now. The laptop had Windows Vista Home Prem until I upgraded to Window 7 Home Premium in January. Well, recently the audio on my laptop decided to fade out. After awhile it would work again. If I restarted the the laptop it would also work. So I assumed it was something temporary. Well now the audio is not working at all. Now my laptop speaker on the bottom taskbar displays the red cross. Ive checked my Device Manager to see if there was an issue there but the Sound speaker icon was not even there. I did go to HP.com and tried to reinstall the driver update. Which was the sp44700.exe file. Ive tried using the HP Advisor option and tried doing that automatic fix. There I get a yellow triangle with exclamation mark by the information stating that a change was made to the audio driver. Well it doesnt give me much to go by. Ive tried looking online to see if there are other options to fix this issue but I cannot come up with one. I pretty much open for options. I really dont want to take it to a repair guy if its something simple.

March 7, 2010 4:32pm - Ok so up till now this is what is going on. About 2 hours ago I turned on my laptop and the audio came back up. I decided to play a movie file I got on my laptop and let it run for a while. Well I get back on my laptop and decide to look for some information online and the audio again is gone. I had to move my laptop to another room so I did turn it off and back on again. Well the same issue is showing again with the red cross on my audio. It does state "No Audio Output Device Installed". Also the troubleshooting came up and gave me the info "Hardware changes might not have been detected" with the "Detected" in italics afterwards with a yellow triangle exclamation mark inside icon. I had already tried installying that sp40170 before and tried again. I get the error message "Driver Installation Failed: Could not find the device for this driver". So that is what is going on up till now.

March 8, 2010 --- So last nite I turn on my laptop and the sound is back on? Weird huh? So it was operating fine till LIKE 20 minutes into using my laptop the sound has gone mute again. I just dont know what to do with this laptop. LOL Well any suggestion could help. Your attempts to upgrade the drivers for your sound card are logical and useally appropriate given the change of operating system.However as you note (for whatever reason) they have not been successfull so far.Have you tried to contact either the manufacturer of your sound card (to see if indeed they do PROVIDE drivers that will allow it to work with win 7)? Have you tried contacting HP to see if they can be of any assistance (particularly if the sound card was a part of the original computer configuration)? I do believe you are on the right track but you have not so far been successfull.truenorthThe soundcard is the original. I havent tampered with it at all. The only changes made to the laptop is the mem upgrade to 4gigs and win 7 home premium.

But I will try contacting the HP co. see what they tell me. I am just trying to take any step I can do at home before approaching the big guys. My strong guess up till now is that the soundcard is just faulty all of a sudden and needs replacing. Because one day it all disappears and then the next its back on for a few minutes and then it mutes again. I just want the this to get better lol.

And thanks for the replyYour welcome. I was not suggesting yet that you involve HP for any repairs--just to see what they have to say re the o/s upgrade and their soundcard. However generally speaking if you do need to replace the soundcard it then may become necessary to involve a repair shop (unless you feel competent to enter the innards of the laptop). Generally laptops are not as easy to change anything inside (unlike a desktop). So if it gets to that tread cautiously. I do really suspect it has more to do with the compatibility with the o/s upgrade --unless this problem existed before the upgrade as well.truenorth
P.S. I just went over and took a quick peak at your laptop on the HP site. If you have not done so i would check that out as there is a reference to win 7 there. Also what caught my eye was a battery recall that you may not be aware of.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3593174&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=fr&lang=fr&cc=usSo I contacted the HP co. to discuss the issue. Well the lady told me SINCE my laptop was obviously out of warranty I would have 2 options for tech phone support $99.00 for one yr or $49.99 for next 2wks. BUT she told me that online chat from HP is free. So obviously I approached that option quickly...lol

So I spoke to this guy and explained my situation. He got my Serial# and Prod# and my BIOS vers. Which all was ok and all up to date. I was asked about my drivers being uninstalled and then installed again was done. Which I had done quite a few times already. His final verdict was to basically do a backup of my files and restore my laptop to factory settings. His theory is that in the process of my upgrade to 7 there is a possibility that the file is either corrupted or missing. So I am up to that point right now. I am gonna put my system recovery disc from Vista and start all over. Then upgrade to 7 without installing any prev programs I had. Hopefully this will work.

I did look into HP.com's website and the battery recall was already notified to me by my Windows Action Center. I didn't have a faulty battery.

Laptop SCREEN ASUS X83V -

The screen failed from the computer being dropped. When the computer was plugged into an external monitor all worked fine, except the laptop screen.

Bought a new screen [N80VB-1B LCD TFT 14.1' WXGA GLARE (LED)], installed it but it did not work. I took it apart again and a small piece of metal fell out of the computer from somewhere (see attached pic of the little piece of metal.)

My guesses for why the replacement did not work is the sole ribbon connection CAME undone during reassembly or 2. the mystery piece of metal that fell out plays some crucial role like grounding.

My questions are how can I secure the ribbon connection better than just reusing the old tape? And what is the piece of metal that fell out and how do I fix it. Finally - can I test the monitor before reassembling or does it need to be grounded to the chassis?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

jt

[Saving space, attachment deleted by admin]This will certainly be under the broad heading of a suggestion. As we know laptop screens are designed to turn off when the cover is closed. The piece you show sure looks like it could be related to a circuit creator activated when the cover is open/closed.This (if it does perform that function) could explain why the screen does not come on at all. If you have the ability to either send the picture you gave US to Asus tech they should RECOGNIZE it. Or perhaps even bringing it (the small piece)in to a repair shop and ask them what they believe it is.truenorthThanks for your thoughts. I think I resolved the little metal piece question so now I was wondering if it would cause any harm in plugging in the replacement screen, reinstall the battery and boot it without completely reassembling?

Thanks

JTI cannot give you the answer you would like to hear. Without doing some testing component by component to see if there are any other issues it will be somewhat of a gamble to just reinstall the new screen and let her rip. Heaven only knows at this point what other damages may have occurred from the fall. You did not mention in your original post if "anything" was working after the fall or when you 1st tried your new screen. So if that is true then you have no baseline to assume from. If things were working and just not the screen then i would feel more confident about starting it up. If you don't want to take it where someone is told what happened and then with care checks certain things then it will be a chance that no other parts may be floating around INSIDE. I tend to live a bit on the edge so i would probably do it and be prepared to lose the computer. Fingers crossed--goodluck,truenorthWhen it originally fell and sustain damage everything still worked ok except about one third of the screen was messed-up. During the course of about a week it got worse then total screen failure. However, when using an external monitor everything worked fine.Well that is very encouraging. Go for it then.let us know how it plays out. truenorth

I'm looking at upgrade graphics cards and the ATi Radeon 5850 1024MB looks about right but I thought I'd better check out some Nvidia cards. The Nvidia GTX285 1024MB was the best I could currently find. Now as far as I can tell the ATi is a lot better and the Nvidia is £25 more so am I missing something?

ATi Radeon 5850
Video Memory Installed    1024MB GDDR5
Core Clock Speed           725MHz
Memory Clock Speed       4000MHz
Processor Cores             1440
Shader Model                 4.0
Memory Interface           256 bit
ATI Crossfire Support    Yes, 2-Way & 3-Way

Nvidia Geforce GTX285
Video Memory Installed    1024MB GDDR3
Core Clock Speed            648MHz
Shader Clock Speed         1476MHz
Memory Clock Speed        2484MHz
Processor Cores              240
Shader Model                 4.0
Nvidia SLI Support    Yes, 2-Way & 3-Way All I know is I have a Phenom Quadcore and I have dual 4870's and they are Fantastic to say the least.I use a 5750 and it runs great on my quad Phenom II 965.It's official Nvidia suck!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7551&tag=nl.e539 Quote from: Accessless on March 09, 2010, 05:30:57 AM

It's official Nvidia suck!

http://blogs.zdnet.com/hardware/?p=7551&tag=nl.e539

I think nVidia tends to design cards around what will be useful in games whereas ATI designs around completely supporting the latest version of DX.

Why not wait a little while,with the 5970 you get twice the GPU (Cypress) that`s in the 5850.
I don`t know if you really need it NOW but if you can wait wait a little bit.There is a big "war" going on between them.ATI is back and I don`t think N-Vidia will stay "sleepy".They will be back with a vengence and then the prices will drop.
I`m no computer-whizz but I have been following the "war" a bit,n-Vidia is a little late with their response but it WILL COME.
You are the only person who can decide for you.I hope I`ve put my 2 cents in and helped a little.
                I wish you all the best,greetings from Holland;Eric.

you just wait, I'm sure Trident or Cirrus Logic will bring out a card that will blow everything else out of the water!

I'm sure you're being sarcastic but who?

Trident, Cirrus Logic, IBM, Matrox, Video 7, ATI, and several other companies used to all be in the Video card industry and quite competitive with one another. Note that Nvidia didn't come around until around the late 90's, if memory serves:

Trident 8900cl:

http://visualflex.net/gigagon/trident/trident-tvga8900cl-2.jpg

more recent: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e9/Trident_BladeXP.jpg

Trident started off as a sort of "high-end" solution (although, at the time, VGA was considered state of the art); they slowly became one of the lower rungs of the ladder to choose from.

Now they are eliminated- all of them. Only Nvidia and ATI still compete in the GPU market. Matrox sells business solutions as well as triple-headed and quadruple headed video cards, and their 2-d display quality far exceeds Nvidia or ATI, but they don't even do 3-d at all, which sort of puts them in a niche.

Wait a couple of months for Nvidia to release their Fermi card. Its' being showcased this month so should be out say next month if all goes well

Today my computer got destroyed by a virus beyond the abilities of AVG free to counter. the virus came from a flash drive that a friend borrowed. I connected another computer hard drive that was running vista to my pc, and put my crucial FILES on the other hard drive. after the transfer completed, I reinstalled windows XP on my hard drive without disconnecting the other hard drive. the installation seemed to work, but after I disconnected the other hard drive from my computer, I got this message when the computer restarted:
"Boot failure
press any key to continue"
pressing a button just made the message appear again a little lower on the screen. I put the other hard drive back in my computer, and when it started the computer booted xp with no problem. in the boot order menu, if I selected the hard drive that xp is installed on, I got the boot failure message. the vista hard drive still had all of its files on it. when I try to boot the vista drive by itself I get a message something like this:
"windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration Problem. Could not read for the selected boot disk. check boot path and disk hardware." then some stuff about windows hardware documentation and hardware reference manuals.
as far as I could tell the boot path was correct. I don't know much about BIOS and that kind of THING, but general problems I've usually been able to fix. any help would be appreciated. at this point the main goal is to get the vista computer working again. my (probably incorrect) theory is that the boot information of the two drives somehow got tangled together and are now inoperable separate from each other. that's a guess though. Help!I don't see how Windows setup would install the system files onto two separate hard drives.  It seems like you accidentally installed XP onto a partition that resides on the Vista drive...  You probably weren't paying close attention when you selected which partition/drive to install XP onto..  Which could mean that you wiped out your files that you tried to save.  Have you checked the Vista drive to see if your "saved" files are still intact?  Does Vista even exist on that drive anymore? Can the drive be booted into Vista?  How many partitions exist on the "Vista" drive?

Do the installation again with the Vista drive disconnected.Never ever do an install with two drives in the system unless you have a COMPELLING reason and you have 100% backups.Use the Vista CD and run a Repair on the Vista installation.

with XP use the recovery console and fixboot/fixmbr.



Quote from: Geek-9pm on March 10, 2010, 01:33:24 AM

Never ever do an install with two drives in the system unless you have a compelling reason and you have 100% backups.

Do the installation again with the Vista drive disconnected.

Huh? Every computer I own has multiple hd's. Are you suggesting I should have removed one before installing the OS?

Hi,
I just got a new Dell Studio 1557 with i7 quad processor and ati radeon HD 4570 graphics

Periodically, sometimes more often, sometimes none, the computer beeps once and short. Its not from the speaker, its from inside the laptop. I have no idea why.

something SOUNDS like its starting to turn or something (sounds like a gulp)  then beep and sometimes there is a brief freeze/slow-down.

its always the same sound so i doubt its physical, so i think its a error code of some type but i can be wrong.


Please help! its driving me crazy, its not that its annoying, just i fear it might crash some time. Return it to Dell?here this might help and i'll link to the support.dell.com page 4 u

» Beep Codes

Starting with Studio™1555/15 the LED codes for troubleshooting have been replaced by SYSTEM beep codes. For various system FAILURES the system is designed to emit specific beep codes which is designated by a number. The beep code signifies the number of beeps that would be emitted. For EXAMPLE beep code 4 represents a series of 4 beeps where:

    * The delay between each beep will be 300 Ms.
    * The delay between each set of beeps is 3 seconds.
    * The duration of each single beep is 300 Ms.

After each beep and each set of beeps, the BIOS will detect if the user presses the power button. If a power button press is detected then the BIOS will exit looping and will execute normal shutdown process.

The table given below explains the various Beep Codes.
Beep Codes
Beep Code    Description    Failure Coverage
1    BIOS ROM checksum in progress or failure. BIOS Chip    Motherboard failure, covers BIOS corruption or ROM error
2    No RAM Detected    No Memory Detected
3    Chipset Error (North and South Bridge Chipset DMA/IMR/ Timer Error for Intel platform); Chipset Error    Motherboard Failure
Time-Of-Day Clock test failure.
Gate A20 failure
Super I/O chip failure
Keyboard controller test failure.
4    RAM Read/Write failure    Memory failure
5    RTC Power Fail.    COMS battery failure
6    Video BIOS Test Failure    Video card failure
7    CPU Cache test failure (For Intel CPU only)    CPU failure
8    LCD    LCD failure

Here...

Link Edit

Hello everyone, I recently began to experience problems with my Dell LCD Flat-Screen Monitor that I have owned for about 5 years. With my computer running normally, the monitor display goes black and the screen flickers momentarily every few seconds. The power button on the monitor also lights up green every second or so. If I press the power button on the monitor to try and turn it back on, nothing happens. It continues to flash green. If I restart my computer, the monitor will turn on and stay on and Windows loads successfully. But about 10-15 minutes after the monitor has been left on, the same problem occurs or a VARIATION of the above SITUATION occurs where the monitor display turns black for a moment and I see something on screen that says "Dell Image Display" and then the normal desktop BACKGROUND returns a second later.

I have tried a new power plug from the monitor to the outlet as well as a new cord of the one with the blue ends and the pins in them. I have tried old cords together, new cords together, and old and new together to see if I would experience any different results but nothing. Eventually I experience the same problem as described above. I tried plugging in a different monitor to my computer tower and I experienced no problems. Currently, I have plugged my monitor into a different computer tower and I have yet to experience the problem that way either. I am really not sure what the problem is and I would hate to go purchase a new monitor if that is truly not the issue.

The only other thing I would like to add is how I have run my computer and my monitor over the past five years. I hardly ever turn off my computer, even at night. At night, my standard procedure is to leave my computer running and turn off the power button on the monitor. The next morning, I turn on the power button on the monitor and begin using my computer. I haven't used screen savers and I have not put the monitor in sleep mode at all. I know this is foolish and I am not sure if this has caused the power on the monitor to be shot at this POINT but I figured I would share this last detail as an additional piece of information.

Any help at all that anyone would have in diagnosing this problem would be great. Thanks so much everyone!

-Ryan

It does sound like that monitor has had it. The only other way you could test the monitor is by plugging it into another computer known to work and see if it repeats the normal problems.My parents' PC has a old Dell LCD from 2002 and it was not problematic. You may have left the monitor on for a long time. I suggest you get a new monitor.

Ok, I just cannot figure this one out - Why every time I connect the ethernet CABLE to my network card my computer becomes slow. Also, the computer seems  to take forever to shut down due to a message telling me it is saving the setting. This message seems to take forever before the computer finally shuts off, but on other occasions it just hangs the computer and i have to force it to shutdown using the button. When I disconnect this cable from the network card, the computer is quick to shut down and seems to be alot more responsive. So, I guess the question is this - Why would plugging and ethernet cable into an network adapter card cause all this trouble?

Ram: 2 gig corsair
motherboard: msi diamond
Soundcard: creative soundblaster
Windows: XP
CPU: Amd athlon 2.8 GHZ
Sky broadband: adsl 2 meg

Btw, I tried reinstalling the network card drivers and GOING through the repair in windows for the network card.Could it possible be in the middle of a Windows Update or an anti-virus update, when you "pull the plug"?Sky offers McAfee as an AV program so I'll bet it's either doing an update or a SCAN when you log off.As far I can see it isn't doing any virus or windows update when I shut it down. Mcafee anti virus isn't installed on my computer and I have turned off windows update. Do you have any other ideas why it keeps telling me that it is saving the setting, and why it runs so slow with this cable connected. Thanks!!This is strange. On a 15Megabit broadband connection on a 266MHz computer, internet ran slow.
2 Megabit is a little slow. You should clean install the OS and reinstall everything you used.
You may have a virus on your PC. It is not hardware related.
If you don't have a virus, try getting a new NIC. QUOTE from: neelchauhan on March 10, 2010, 02:38:47 PM

This is strange. On a 15Megabit broadband connection on a 266MHz computer, internet ran slow.
2 Megabit is a little slow. You should clean install the OS and reinstall everything you used.
You may have a virus on your PC. It is not hardware related.
If you don't have a virus, try getting a new NIC.

i had a bad virus and the sound has not worked SINCE

also cannot find my EXTERNAL storeage device in ( my computer )Re-installed the sound drivers?

All else fails clean install of WINDOWS. Quote from: Rebo00 aka Spank on March 10, 2010, 01:15:51 PM

Re-installed the sound drivers?

All else fails clean install of Windows.

I was online a few MINUTES ago and my PC (specs to the left under my user ID) just shut off.  I waited a BIT and turned it back on, only for it to shut off again at the Windows screen.  I waited again and restarted and for the moment it appears to be stable.  I'm hoping it's something simple like the PS needing to be replaced, but are there other things I could check, test, etc, that may have caused it?  Is there any way to check to confirm the PS is bad (or going bad)?  Also, no viruses to my knowledge.  I run AVG Free 9.0 and do PERIODIC scans with Spybot and Malwarebytes.Some common reasons.

• Power Supply overheats.
• Shut off after update
• Instant power failure..
• Recursive process.

What are some reasons a computer would shut off by itself?

Do NOT use a vacuum ! !

Why? What happens?

i did not have a wrist strap, but I always ground myself on the case prior touching any components when the case is open [touch METAL inside the case, such as around the PSU or on the bottom of the case]. It is still possible I shorted the motherboard with static electricity, I suppose.

If thats the case, should I be worried about other components? I can test my Video card on my old motherboard that still works, but I'm worried about the CPU and RAM, I don't WANT to put faulty parts into a new motherboard and risk anything. quote author=selfpittypiggy link=topic=100417.msg686312#msg686312 date=1267780838]
The big issue here folks is not whether the system is POSTing, it doesn't get any power whatsoever. Doesn't matter if I have ABSOLUTELY nothing in the system other than the power supply and a motherboard, when I hit that switch ...
Bypassing the front Power Button by jumping the pins on the motherboard eliminates it as the problem, I still get no power. .
I've used 3 different AC cables, in several outlets, no go.
Any more advice is appreciated.
[/quote]
When you hit the PSU with AC power it should give a brief jolt to the PSU  Yhis confirms the power is getting into the PSU and it is ready to start. You may try an old but working mobo to CONFIRM the PSU is mostly alright.
Failure to turn on the mobo with the start pins shorted can mean the CPU is dead or something is very wrong with the mobo.
Most mobos nowadays have a built-in noisemaker. If it gives a beep to two or three or whatever, it means at least part of the mobo is working.
That last thing you want to do is buy a new mobo.

Also, we need to ask about how much experience you have with the care abd feeding if motherboards.  Not to exp\bareas yuou. But sometimes we get even techs that do not understand how the mobo is to be fastened to the metal chassis.Often there are only two or three places where it is metal on metal. The lands are isolated from the common  rail. Quote from: Geek-9pm on March 06, 2010, 03:44:49 PM

Also, we need to ask about how much experience you have with the care abd feeding if motherboards.  Not to exp\bareas yuou. But sometimes we get even techs that do not understand how the mobo is to be fastened to the metal chassis.Often there are only two or three places where it is metal on metal. The lands are isolated from the common  rail.

I've just been doing some WINDOW shopping and I found myself looking at faster hard DRIVES to put up the speed of my ever lagging 1Tb fat, slow HDD.

I've come across this: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/Components/HardDrives-Internal/SATAUpTo200GB/WesternDigital/WD1500HLFS.html

Reading all the SPECS thinking yeah this is **** hot, but then I got to the 'ERROR Rate'... 1 in 1015 bits.

Thought to myself "that sounds bad". So I compared it to another normal speed HDD, it functioned at 1 in 1^14 errors. (1 in100,000,000,000,000 bits) (EU 1 in 10 Billion) (US 1 in 10 Trillion)

So does that mean that VelociRaptor a rubbish HDD?Probably not, by why don't you get a Solid State Drive INSTEAD?

Presumbely you do alot of read/write activity as i have a 1.5TB HDD and the only time i notice it is slow is when tranferring stuff, otherwise its not noticeable.Because they have a limited life span and I was just browsing. I don't really intend to waste money on buying a slightly faster hard disk to put up a meaningless Windows rating number.

Just wondering if that's some sort of typo.That has to be a typo. The error rate has to be one in billions or trillions.
The  1 in 1015 should be 1 in 10^15 bits.

I have a PC chips m81od mother board with an amd athlon processor. I want to replace that with an intel motherboad and processor. I would prefer the connections to be IDE, it needs to support xp, and have more than 8gb RAM. Can someone point me in the direction of where to BUY something like this? What's the best place to buy parts? ThanksThe first issue I see is that XP doesn't support more than 4GB (officially). There are ways to do it, but from what I've read, having any more than 4GB for XP is pointless even if you do get XP to work properly with that much memory.

Second, if you want any real advice, we'd need to know how much you INTEND to spend on this machine, what your intent is for it (games, internet, multimedia editing, etc.), and what hardware you currently have that you can move over (hard drives, sound card, VIDEO card, etc.). Only then could you really get an useful suggestions.All my drives are ide, so I already planning on upgrading to all sata. I was looking at a intel dp55wg, and a intel i5 750. I was going to only put in 4gb of memory so that's not a problem. The previous board and processor was a pc chips m810p I think with a amd athlon 1.77ghz processor. The mother board fried, so I decided to start all new. I want to surf the web, do some gaming, and MOSTLY storage like pictures, and music. I was looking at a Western Digital hdd 1tb. This is what I've started with, my budget isn't that bad, I probably have $600 in the above described, and haven't even picked out a video card, power supply, or cd rom drive.I think you are good. Also get a video card (PCI Express).

I've had a decent record troubleshooting computers. This one is new to me. I don't know what direction to go to investigate.

Model: Toshiba Qosmio G25-av513
acpi BIOS ver 1.30

This is the messsage on boot:
RTC  Battery is low or CMOS checksum is inconsistent

I went into Cmos & set the date & time.
Chose 'restore defaults' before save & exit.

reboot gave me this message:
pxe-e61: media test failure, check cable
pxe-mof: exiting intel boot agent
Insert systems disk

Dropped in a legit copy of the Windows XP Media Center disk that the OWNER purchased.

Attempting to install a new copy gave me the message:
no HARDRIVES present. Installation must quit.
But Cmos shows the hd present.

I got a brand new compatible HD to replace the old one.
Noticed that there was no carrier bay for the old one.
Put the new one in anyway to troubleshoot (fit snugly)

Windows didn't DETECT the new one.

I tried locating the cmos battery to see if removing it momentarily would affect anything. Reason being that on any reboot the time & date reset.
 
I can't even find a website that shows it's location.

Here's the boot sequence I attempted:
hdd-fdd-cd-lan

Help?

I don't know what to try next.
Did you verify that the HDD is really bad? Sounds more like a BIOS issue. A bad HDD should not affect the CMOS date and time.
You really need to find a manual that shows where that little battery is located.

I was not able to find a repair manual on a Google search. Many sites came up that had everything but what you want.

But I did find this:
http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/download_manuals.jsp


Please pardon the delay in response. Personal issues took precedence. But ala...no dice. Thanks for you help anyway. I'm chalking this one up as a LOSS.

I've tried googling but couldn't come up with any of top hdds for laptop ARTICLE or something SIMILAR. My hdd broke so I'm planning to get a new one. Recommendations? INCLUDE prices if possible. ThanksIs there a minimum AMOUNT of space that is wanted/needed?

This is a great HDD for a laptop...

HTTP://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197This one seems to be exactly what I want. Thank you very much