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I bought a new 22" Viewsonic monitor and NOTICED that there are horizontal shaded bands traveling from the bottom to the top of the screen. They were very faint at first, but now are quite noticeable. I intalled the drivers from the CD that came with the monitor, and the correct monitor shows up in my hardware profile. I am running WinXP.

Has anyone else had this problem?
that could be caused by any number of problems. Check your cables and make sure they are plugged in all the way. Check your refresh rate and set it to 60Hz. Try changing the resolution to something else. If you aren't sure how to do these things, post back.Thanks, I already CHANGED the resolution to a number of different settings. The lower the resolution, the slower the bands would travel up the screen. I will try the other things you mentioned and see if it clears up.Are you USING the video cable that came with the monitor?Yes, I'm using that cable. Do you think there MIGHT be a problem with that? I have a different cable that I could try out.

I'm at work right now, I'll have to try these things when I get home tonight.
OK, what happened when I got home was that when I disconnected the USB printer cable from the computer in order to move the computer to check the monitor connection in back, the bands went away. Sure enough, as soon as I reconnect the printer (I plug it into the USB port in the front) the bands re-appear. What's that all about?that almost makes me think there is a problem with your power supply. Can we have some more information about your computer?
Model, Make, operating system, what's plugged into it, how old it isOK I'll get that info this EVENING. Thanks for staying with me on this.no problem.

I've installed this card into my Win98 PC and everything works fine except the Playcenter app.  When a CD is put in the drive it is recognized and Playcenter attempts to play but and error comes up:  "Can not find PLAYSVR.dll or is wrong version."  The file is indeed in the folder so it must be a wrong version.  I can't find any more info on this issue and I don't KNOW where to go.  Can some one suggest what next?  Also, on the Creative website I downloaded the User Manual and it shows 4 mini ports and 1 game port.  The card I have has 5 mini ports and 1 game port.  BTW, this came from my dead Dell PC.  Apparently the CT4780 was made for Dell by Creative.  ThanksJ Guy...

If this card came off your old Dell...do you still have the Service Tag number?  If so, visit Dell's site...you should be able to find the correct driver for that card...based on your WINDOWS operating system...as well as the correct version of Play Center.

If you don't have the Service Tag...TRY locating the driver/software based on the MODEL of your old Dell computer.Thanks, I didn't think of that.You're welcome...no problem...

Keep us POSTED...

I'm having a strange compatibility issue with an old HP workstation.

The motherboard model is xw6000, dual Xeon 3.06 processors, 2G RAM, and it runs fine except that I would really like to put my Nvidia GeForce FX 5500 in there, but for whatever reason when I PLUG that particular card in, it wont boot... I see the video card's INFO, like its going to boot normally, but then it just flashes to a blank screen.

Its an AGP 8x SLOT, the card fits and everything, and in fact a 128M GF4 Ti4400 works just fine in there. I feel like I'm missing SOMETHING really obvious here, but I can't seem to find out what that is. As far as I know, the FX 5500 is the newer card, but it just doesn't want to work.

The SOLUTION eludes me.

Can anyone help me out?Did you disable your old card before installing the new one?Could be a bad V cardCompatible graphics cards for your system:

NVIDIA Quadro NVS 280 (64MB, Dual Display, AGP or PCI)
NVIDIA Quadro NVS 400 (64 MB, Quad Display, PCI)
NVIDIA Quadro4 380 XGL (64 MB, Dual Display, AGP)
ATI FireGL T2-128 (128MB, Dual Display, AGP)
NVIDIA Quadro FX1100 (128MB, Dual Display, AGP)
NVIDIA Quadro FX3000 (256MB, Dual Display, AGP)

hi please tell me what the monitor should show, with a completely erased HDD, THanx again robBlack.....

nothing but a note saying something like please insert system disk....

thanx does that mean o\s diskyes. such as a windows xp CD or a dos floppy diskIf your computer has a blank HARD drive with will SEE a black screen and something like what I said earlier "please insert system disk...."

When you put in a OS CD like XP and reboot the machine should see the CD and start the setup.

[FONT="Courier New"]
Non System Disk or Disk Error
Replace and Strike any key when ready.[/font]

is the most common. But not the only one seen.

Alrighty, My other topic GOT extended too much to the point where this should really have been its own topic, as it is now.

So, I got a GeForce 6800 GS video card. Only my computer is a Shuttle XPC SS51G v2.0 like on http://eu.shuttle.com/archive/en/ss51g_faq.htm. Its only got a 200W power supply, and i heard that the card requires a 350W power supply. Even more specifically i heard it needs 18A on the 12V Line.

First off, i'd just like to confirm that information, and perhaps a brief explanation, or REDIRECTION as to why my video card requires me to upgrade my power supply. I mean, before i knew this i ran my shuttle with the video card in it and it started up and everything, it seemed fine.
(for those who follow my posts i disconnected the cd drive to plug it in. which is the only reason i found out i needed a greater power supply when i was finding out if i could just get a splitter)

SECOND, my problem is that from looking, shuttle power supplys don't get that high. Does this mean that i can't run my video card on my shuttle?

Thank youThey do make PSU's that high...they're just expensive.
This is one of the drawbacks to a micro ATX SYSTEM...Apparently...

Well, knowing this possibility for a little while now, i've been trying to convince a friend to switch computers with me. They use it for e-mail and word so they don't need any of the extras. Essentially i'd get their standard tower case and power supply and i'd keep my RAM modules and hard drive ect.

Assuming they say yes to this, i obviously have a couple questions. One, can you just switch hard drives between computers, because i seem to have a bad history with having to reformat a hard drive when i take it out.
Two, their power supply is still only 300W with 15A on the 12V line. Will I still need to upgrade the power supply?Any Windows OS since Win2K is not condusive to having the HDD swapped into a different machine...this is by design.
A 300W PSU is a little on the weak side but it all depends on what you plan on running in there.
When you get closer to that time post back as there are easy solutions to both issues you raised...Alright, obviously took me a little while to get closer to that time. Now i'm there, though.
I'm looking to swap my shuttle with their standard tower, and i need to swap the hdd's so we keep our own.

I'm not a hardcore PC gamer, i very occasionally play a game with low requirements. I just got the video card for free, and wanted to set up DUAL monitors with it. So that's what i'm planning on running really, is dual monitors.

So what do you think?

Recently, my monitor has started to "frizz" out as in it will flash, turn black and stay like that until I reboot.

The games are still running, and the music is still playing and such, but the screen is black.  If i wait a long TIME, my screen will come back, but it will be screwed up and I am unable to manipulate anything.

Running a Nvidia 8800 GTS with a Samsung Syncmaster 2220wm

32 Bit Vista with ADM dual core processor with 4 gigs of memory and ETC...



I was running dual monitors for a while, but I thought this might be the problem so i stopped that...the issue still happens though, so I've at least narrowed it from that.  I've installed the newest monitor drivers and the newest video card drivers, and I'm still having the problem.  I can't really recreate it other than by USING the computer for a while.  Seems to only happen when I am playing games though.


try the moniter on a different computer if it works then it is your video card or VIS versaOk, I'll try that

does it matter what slot a single pc2700 should be in? I have 4 SLOTS on an older intel d915gav board and intel SITE doesnt address this specifically.  And, if bios was set for dual MODULES will it still boot?  Lastly, do I need any MEMORY for the PC to power up? Not boot, but start power up.Did you check the manual?

http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/c6413602_en.pdf

Page 17

Hello guys!
Just wanna ask you out for suggestions.
Recently,  4 computers in our office broke down. As they troubleshoot it, they found out that its the videocard that have died on US. It was 4 years old. Now, I just wanna ask if you guys could recommend to me an alternate for that card. or Ill just replace it with the same specs.
Our company is a GIS company with CAD and photo editing programs.

Videocard: WinFast 256Mb PX6600TD

Computer:
MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum Mobo
AMD Athlon64 3000 processor
1Gb memory
80Gb HDD
Windows XP Pro SP2 OS

Hope you could help me with this one.

THANKS in advance! What's your budget?
Do you just want a replacement for that card, i.e. one about the same performance, or do you want an upgrade? Quote

Our company is a GIS company

I RECENTLY had two sata western digital raptor 150 gb hard drives set up in a raid stripe configuration.  They were running windows XP and everything WORKED fine. I then purchased a WD sata Velociraptor 300 gb,  installed it  and disconnected the other two hard drives.  I installed vista 64 on this new hard drive and had no real problems with it.  I then decided to give one of the 150 gb drives to a friend and use the other one to run xp on my computer. The problem occured when I reconnected the 150gb drive again. The POWER was off and I think I had the computer unplugged.
when I started loading xp it said there was no hard drive to load into. I then restarted the computer and went to the bios.  It showed both of my sata dvd burners but no hard drives and I even tried auto detect to no avail.  These hard drives have almost no hours on them and one of them is $300.  Also RAID is turned off in my BIOS.  My motherboard is a bfg 680i, 750 watt thermaltake power supply,  Two BFG 8800GTX OC2 video cards in SLI,  4gb of 1066 Mushkin Ram,  two Samsung SH-S183L DVD burners,  and an Intel QX6700 CPU if that helps.

            Can someone please HELP me
            Thank you
             Dennis

My SYSTEM is compaq presario,1500IL, model. Now i have a PROBLEM with my monitor, when ever it STARTS brightness of monitor is increases and continously flickered with over brightness. And few white HORIZONTAL lines with slight UPWARD on the right side of the monitor are also present on monitor. Please give me solution.Can you try the monitor on another computer or try another monitor on your computer?

rocgrey,I am sorry to be moving in the FOLLOWING manner as it assumes that your computer (and maybe other peripherals as well ) are toast. Therefore what you may WISH to investigate is whether your household insurance will cover the replacement of the affected equipment. If so don't forget any of it including the surge suppressor. In the same vein often these surge suppressors come with often seemingly astronomical guaranty in the event of a failure to "protect" the computers connected to them. Figures like $15,000-$25,000 come to mind. I would make some phone calls to find out what coverage you have and go from there.Goodluck,truenorth
P.S. Don't delay as timing of claim might affect the outcome.Have you tried booting to a bootable CD yet to see what happens ? ?
Win2K is a bootable CD provided it's from Microsoft.

I had an identical call this weekend for a customer...nothing on screen period.
I was able to get it back up and running with a boot CD i made with the RECOVERY Console on it.
Ran chkdsk /r and although it took about 3 hours his system was restored without any other maintenence,

In his case it was a LIGHTNING strike but similar nonetheless.Thanks north, I'm already headed in the direction of my insurance.  You know you get to the point where it's so frustrating it's easier to go a different route such as just get a NEW one. (won't hurt my feelings)

Patio,  my brother came over and tried what you said last night, nothing.

It's TOAST, I'm through with it, but it was definitely worth all the effort and ideas you guys have given me and I really appreciate it.

Thanks

Hope this isn t to tricky but here goes.    Do you have simple and easy i am no pro (DONE 98 but forget how to) instructions how how to re format and then re install w 98 / 2000 / Xp and vista ?    What do need to do before, during and after and what are the proper orders for the VARIOUS O S  systems etc and can this be done with using boot floppies etc i hate those floppies and the instructions are  stinko that pop up on the monitor and very easy to get lost then panic and i don t need to hear its to hard please ok thanks ! ?

Any good re format/ reinstall links -  byeee  thanks . .Never heard of a Google search?

There must be something among this lot that you can understand:

Vista..

XP..

2K..

98..

If you are using one hard drive then you should partition/format before installing systems.   Prior to STARTING the installs ensure that appropriate drivers are available in each OS for the hardware in use.

A general rule for multi-booting is to always install by age of OS i.e. WIN 98, Win 2k, Win XP and finally Vista although there are workarounds.  Win 98 must be on the first partition (generally C: drive).

All of the OS's mentioned can be installed without use of floppies - boot from the genuine OS cd's.

Good luck

I need to know if this GPU is anygood , http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/[email protected][email protected]&BV_EngineID=ccdeadeeghmiffgcflgceggdhhmdgmh.0&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null&sku=536230&category_oid=

If anyone knows what SORT of FPS i would get on call of duty 2 with this Gpu please post here . Also what sort of power supply will i need i currently have a 500w .

Thanks for looking.

The call of duty 2 settings will be as followed:

Dx9
960x600


Yes, that card's pretty good, it's on a par with the 8800GT.
It's just extremely expensive at PC World and not worth near that kind of money.lol

Calum can you get me a dabs link up please. I did have a quick browse through , and also is the psu ok.

Tony .

Here you go.
A 500W PSU should be OK for that card too.

Good to see you back.thanks mate.

To be honest its not that much more in pc world 10 or 20 pound more maybe . Its the waiting that bothers me , i can tell this card is on its last legs because the fps is constantly dropping from 125 to 30 D: i tried all SORTS to get it to improve my gameplay , somedays it ISNT to bad it actually stays on 125 constant , but atm when i fire my gun it drops to 40 then goes back up again , any head on confrontation with a enemy i lag .

I will TAKE a trip to pc world on saturday and take a look . .

thanks again .You're welcome.
Certainly sounds like your 7800 is on the way out, but it's had a good run.
By the way, it's around £40 more at PC World, even factoring in delivery from Dabs.

Hello everyone!

I am a pretty heavy gamer, and had put together a PC that I thought would do me well in the games I play (primarily World of Warcraft, Counter-Strike Source and Team Fortress Classic 2).

I have assembled all the hardware components, and installed the necessary OS, drivers and softwares. My PC is able to run most any game at high resolution/textures/lighting.  However, whether I use amazing graphics or crappy settings, I can only maintain gameplay for only so long before my PC completely freezes, and I need to force reboot my computer.

I initially thought that this was one or more of the hardware components overheating, so I purchased serveral fans and a new Video Card just in case.

After I installed these new components, I still suffer the same problem.

I was wondering if any of you in the world wide web could help.  I am just kind of wondering what to do, what parts I should upgrade, or what ELSE I would need to solve this freezing problem.

The following is my current PC:

MoBo: MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M SHARED L2 CACHE LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
RAM Memory: mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) with EPP Profile Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Video Card: MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Power Supply (PSU): Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W SLI Ready-ATX12V V2.01 Power Supply 115/230 V CSA,UL,TUV,FCC
OS: 64 - bit Home PREMIUM Windows Vista
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Fans (cooling): Scythe SY1225SL12M 120mm "Slipstream" Case Fan quantity: 3, Scythe SY124010L Fans

Thanks for the attention! Quote from: revengeofmike on June 18, 2008, 05:35:48 PM

The following is my current PC:

MoBo: MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM Memory: mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) with EPP Profile Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
OS: 64 - bit Home Premium Windows Vista

Hey everyone, its been a long, long time since I've posted here. My problem is my Acer computer Which I've had since last July or August is not turning on anymore.

It powers up the fans spin. only the hard drive light turns on (The led in the power button doesnt even stay solid like it usually does) and of course nothing appears on the screen. There is a burned/smoke smell coming from the Power Supply I think but am not 100% sure, it is a cheap japanese one.

If anyone has any idea or suggestion please POST I need all the help I can get   .


-Michael Z Well I'm going to be a pain in the *censored* and..


BUMP.It certainly does sound like it could be a power supply issue.

Have you tried troubleshooting it?

Power Supply Troubleshooting Quote from: SAVIOUR on June 19, 2008, 03:56:58 PM

It certainly does sound like it could be a power supply issue.

Have you tried troubleshooting it?

Power Supply Troubleshooting

My laptop's MONITOR has been cracked for the past YEAR, this wasnt a problem, since I could use another monitor, but last month it went out completely and the monitor settings reset leaving me without a WIRELESS connection :/ (this was before i found out about the fn+f3-f5 deal)
So I took the network card out and tried installing it on my other laptop, didnt work, the thing wouldnt even start, so I put it back into the original laptop.
Installed it, has the right DRIVERS and everything, but its TELLING me that (error 10?) it wont run because its not signed by microsoft, and therefore I cant use it. Ive searched what feels like everywhere on the internet for a solution, anything I can do or any help would be appreciated, anything to get me off of dialup.
I can provide more information if needed.
Thanks in advance.

Installed  new WINDOWS XP pro and put in ct 4830 sound blaster sound card in it.
Where can i DOWNLOAD the driver for this card to get sound WORKING on xp.You can find the driver for your card here:  http://support.creative.com/Products/Products.aspx?catid=1&catName=Sound+Blaster

You'll have to select your card and operating system.

Hello,

I was trying to fix a problem that my laptop had about the "display driver atikmdag stopped responding and has recovered" error.  I went to a website that told me their take on a solution, tried it, and got myself into trouble.  First off, I have a DELL Inspiron 1501 notebook with Windows Vista Home Premium.  My processor is AMD Turion 64 x2 Mobile Technology TL-58 1.90 GHz.  I have 2 GB of Ram and a 32-Bit Operating System.  I also have an ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 graphics card that came with the computer.  Anyway, I was told to download the ATI Tool v2.7 to fix the problem described in the first SENTENCE.  They told me to mess around with the core speed and make it lower because that is what worked for them.  So I was messing around with the tool and then I pressed settings and then the whole SCREEN went white with a darker shade of white stripes all across the screen.  It was almost like a BSOD but not actually blue.  So I forced a SHUTDOWN and then restarted.  When I got to the welcome screen, my resolution had been changed and the screen started to get slightly choppy.  When I logged on, the screen, after about a minute, became extremely choppy and I was unable to do anything because I couldn't see anything it was so choppy.  I tried system restores and windows repairs, and nothing seems to fix it.  I don't know what happened, but I'm guessing it was something to do with me messing with the graphics card tool.  I will say though, that I can use safe mode just fine with no choppy screen.  Thanks in advance for your possible help.If Safe Mode is fine, you may just need reinstall your video driver.

OK guys, mea culpa.

 Most of the folks I deal with are comfortable around high voltage components/power supplies. I should not have advised opening the unit to someone who may not have the same comfort or experience level.

My apologies.I have a older monitor and it works. Try changing your monitor, even if it is CRT.I'm sorry, my current monitor is not an LCD; it's the older style (very large and heavy).  Since the problem seems to be BETTER, I will keep USING my current monitor for now.  I was only contemplating a new one because of the size screen; I do a lot of work on the computer.

I guess I am a little concerned that I started having problems and was worried about losing my monitor and not having a clue what to do.  Thank you all for your help.  I will research the suggested site for cards and monitors.  I don't know what the memory is on my current video card; does the number 128 mean anything?I am also running Windows XP. Quote from: pjhocking on June 19, 2009, 12:10:21 PM

I was only contemplating a new one because of the size screen; I do a lot of work on the computer.

I don't know what the memory is on my current video card; does the number 128 mean anything?

My screen is completely blacked out in places and the rest is covered in MULTICOLORED lines. What happened? Is overheating the CULPRIT? and does standard warranty apply to BROKEN screens do to overheating? My screen is SIMILIAR to http://images.google.ie/images?&um=1&hl=en&q=broken+lcd&&sa=N&start=0&ndspHas this MACHINE been dropped recently ? ?

So my computer has been having a problem with it's graphic card. Vista says it has a known issue with the nvidea 7600gs graphics card and there is no fix from nvidea or windows. During games the computer will lock up. I have to power the pc off at the power button to get it to start back up. Well a COUPLE days ago it wouldn't start back up. I had to turn it on and off several times to get it going again. Just last night it happened again and this time it's not turning back on at all. I tried it several times last night and again this morning and it's doing the same thing. When I turn it on the fans start working, the lights on the front and in the dvd drives cycle for a few seconds then stop. It doesn't go to the bios screen or anything. I've put the vista disc in both drives and it tries to read it for a couple more seconds but then stops. I'm HOPING my motherboard hasn't gone out.  I have 5 computers in my house and I'm hoping I can fix this because right now I'm using my WIFE's computer and it's SLOWWWWWWWWW!.  Plus I've not backed up anything on my hard drive.  I'm also the only one in the house running vista so I don't know if I could even hook up my hard drive and take all the stuff off of it onto another computer.  Thanks for the help.   Have you checked your power supply, although if it runs for a specific period of time and stops it could also be a thermal shutdown. Verify ALL fans are spinning, the fan on the CPU, Video Card, case fans, and PSU fan.I may have not worded this correctly.  When the lights on the front go out (disk drives, hdd, etc) the power light stays on and I can hear fans running.  I haven't opened up the pc yet (am sure it needs a cleaning), but I don't THINK it's the psu.  Alright, it's the graphics card.  I opened up the side of the pc and noticed the fan on the card wasn't moving at all.  I had let it run for a couple minutes so I decided to see if I could type in my password and I could hear my startup tone.  SOOO it's just the video not working.  I've got another card here at the house and I'm going to plug it in to see if it works and solves the problem at least until I can get a better card.  Yup...usually a fan   

You should be back up and running with a healthy card and drivers

I am in panic mode.

In the Components list, click to clear the check box next to the component(s) that you want to remove.

I misread this and think I just erased my media player.


What I don't understand is before my reboot I had 27.9 gigs left. After reboot I still have 27.9 gigs left. So where did it go?

EDIT: Okay I found it using search. But what was the point of using removing windows componets if it didn't remove anything.


My Comp holds 144 gigs 27.9 left. its xp home edition service pack 3. There are certain Windows components which you can disable, but not permanently remove as they're built into Windows more or less. This includes Internet Explorer and Media Player. All removing them from the components list does is remove the shortcuts and file associations for those programs, but it doesn't actually remove the programs. They're still there and they can still actually be run by locating the executable on the hard drive or by typing the executable name (ex. iexplore.exe and wmplayer.exe) into the "Run..." dialog box.

There are ways to permanently remove them, but I don't recommend it as some programs automatically open those Windows programs instead of what you might have as your default player or browser.Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh wonderful. So okay then. Now I understand this.

Can I get some suggestions to help make some space on my hard drive.

I have defragged with Defraggler I use CCleaner often. I scan for spywares and malwares often too.


I think their is a bunch of stuff on backup files,that I do not want. I try to delete some of those and it will not let me.

I have two folders in there,one is Windows it says cannot delete Flash9.ocx:acess is denied. Make sure disk is not full or write protected or not in use.

The other folder is programs and it say the same thing but diff program...something about AcroIe or something.

any suggestions.Do you know how to boot into safe mode? Try the delete process again in safe mode and see if it works now.Yeah that didn't work. Same MESSAGE.

I have been using search to find some things on c:mybackup and just removing them one at a time but that is taking forever...


Flash9osx? Can I turn that off? Would that help? Maybe that would help what do you all think about that one?Tina,

Go into Start>Settings>Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs.

From here go down the list and remove any programs you no longer use.....just be sure you know what the program you are deleting is........

If you have deleted your media player, you can download it from Microsoft.

More good information can be found at evilfantasys' website

http://evilfantasy.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/slow-computer-it-may-not-be-malware/I found my Media player.  I am trying to make more room on my hard drive. I have tried several of the things on Evil's page but not all. Thank you for this page. I haven't seen it before.

I have already removed programs I don't need any more.

I want to remove old back up files from flippin 2007 and it won't let me. I state the error message I get in the 2nd post.

I generally can figure out what to do ith my comp,but I was down to 8 gigs,I deleted about 20 gigs of stuff,and GOT stuck on removing the backup files that I do not need.
These Flash9.ocx:access is denied errors can sometimes be fixed by removing the flash player and then reinstalling the flash player.

The details are found here...

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14157Uninstalling Flash didn't work either.

I have been removing subfolder after subfolder...it seems some of them just won't remove.


Augistics,gave me 1.8% more space or w\\e.

Btw,my computer works fine I am just trying to clean up a bit.

I know you guys are busy. So quick question. I discovered Revo-uninstaller. Neat little program. Can it help remove these old files? From what I can tell it can not,but I though I'd ask.
Any suggestions on that? the files seem to be in C:\My Backup--07-05-18Its made to do that I would go here kim kamando an go to TECH tools then down at the bottom there is one if that one isnt working.tina1rules, I assume you have deleted all your not required "temporary files"? You could also contemplate  either an external HDD or flash DRIVES (the latter are up to 64 GB at least now) and represent a cheap and versatile method of increasing storage capacity. For future information if you decide to install a program or whatever if you don't use the item often (like Everest for instance) put it on a flash drive instead of on your internal HDD. The same applies to video/audio/data files that you want to retain but don't need clogging your computer's HDD.truenorth Quote from: squ
all_01 link=topic=85497.msg573662#msg573662 date=1245433368

Its made to do that I would go here kim kamando an go to tech tools then down at the bottom there is one if that one isnt working.

tina1rules, I assume you have deleted all your not required "temporary files"? You could also contemplate  either an external HDD or flash drives (the latter are up to 64 GB at least now) and represent a cheap and versatile method of increasing storage capacity. For future information if you decide to install a program or whatever if you don't use the item often (like Everest for instance) put it on a flash drive instead of on your internal HDD. The same applies to video/audio/data files that you want to retain but don't need clogging your computer's HDD.truenorth

Under CPU Physical Info:
Package Type: 478 Pin uPGA


That's the info you need ...... you're looking for a Socket 478 heatsink retention  module

http://www.amazon.com/Pentium-Socket-Heatsink-Retention-Module/dp/B000YA7QTO


I would shop around........Gotta agree with Patio , Tara......it can be delicate and apply too much pressure and you can crack a trace on the motherboard and you'll be shopping for one of those as well......find a small shop and let them do it.So you think if I do it myself I'll break the motherboard?

Would I have to remove the motherboard to INSTALL it?

Yes, most likely, because you'll have to "pinch" the "feet" of the frame that is in place in order to get it out so you can put in the new one.Tara ...I'm removing a module from an old motherboard as I type and I really recommend you take it in to a shop....and you do have to remove the motherboard.Thanks GUYS. I just bought the bracket off of ebay for around $7. When it comes I'll bring it with my PC to Best Buy.Great.....Smart girl..... better than  Wow...i was only off by a Buck !You can put that buck toward Broni's gift certificates.    Quote from: patio on June 19, 2009, 06:25:24 AM

Wow...i was only off by a Buck !

I'd think the CPU mount may have been broken Best Buy.... go back & ask them to Fix.....

but I think she'd be better off having a small shop or repair person do the work for her.

Hello, i have built and fixed many computers, i never have ran into this problem before however. i recently purchased a new motherboard and processor for my computer. i placed everything in and everything starts properly however i get no picture. i tried using 2 different types of video outputs DVI and VGA. i did this with 2 different monitors. the video card works properly as well. i tried removing components of of the computer one at a time but still no video. the motherboard has no built in video so i need the card to make it work. the power supply has more then enough to power everything it is 800W's. any suggestions on what could cause this? or how to fix it?
-Revised
My new motherboard is a GA-Ep43-US3l
my video card is a Nvidia 9800 GTX+ by pny
my new processor is a Intel Core2Quad Q8200
I Have a 800W BFG Power supplyAre the Bios settings set up for a card....yes my motherboard and processor both DIED a month ago, everything was running fine. i am trying to install the BIOS for the new things but no picture so i can'tTry another slot with that card if you can..... reseat cards and memory.

Any conflicts in Device manager ?Probably stating the obvious, but be sure all the pins in the VGA connectors are in good condition. One possible cause is if either the H sync or V sync pins does not make contact, many monitors keep the video DRIVES disabled.

 This is a feature especially of multi-sync monitors so there is no wild FLASHING while the sync frequencies lock.yes they are all fineand i only have 1 PCI express slot that my video card will GO into, and how do i access the device managerGo to control panel , then open Computer MANAGEMENT then Administrative tools then Device manager

That is all in Windows 2000 pro but I am sure there are similar menus in XP and Vistai can't because i get no picture

I have an MTI P45 NEO 3 motherboard with 4 DIMM slots. I currently have 4GB of RAM in 2GB increments in slots 1 and 3. I'm using PATRIOT Viper Series DDR2 PC2-8500 1066MHz. When I built this computer the original 4 worked fine but when I bought 4 more GB of the exact same RAM and inserted them the computer wouldn't boot. I'm running Vista x64. Any help would be great!Any error beeps? Have your components checked to see if all are seated well..
Components were seated and no error beeps. Computer just wouldn't boot. I had read SOMETHING else about dual channel memory requiring different capacity in bank 1 over bank 0. If that's the case I don't know how I'm going to get this to 8GB total.Try to insert your RAM sticks ONE at a time and on different slots.. So that we will know it is not the RAM or the slot that causes your computer not to boot.It works better if you use slots 1 and 2 INSTEAD of 1 and 3. I upgraded my parent's computer and the Slots 1 and 3 failed. I fixed it with slots 1 and 2. This may be on all Intel Chipsets Quote from: neelchauhan on June 18, 2009, 03:54:12 PM

It works better if you use slots 1 and 2 instead of 1 and 3. I upgraded my parent's computer and the Slots 1 and 3 failed. I fixed it with slots 1 and 2. This may be on all Intel Chipsets

I have 2 Computers and the one that i want to use isnt working.
I turn it on and all the lights on the tower come on but the monitor doesnt click on and neither does my Mouse or Key board.
Every thing is hooked up correctly.
I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this.


The computer is an INTEL Celeron D running on Vista.Is this a computer that ran fine one day and the next day not or did you MAKE any changes to the system, and if so what changes before this power up that isnt working?

One of my spare systems is a Celeron D too, since I couldnt turn down that SOCKET 775 CPU for FREE to slap into a bare motherboard I had kicking around. Not a bad system.
Quote from: DaveLembke on June 18, 2009, 02:45:37 PM

Is this a computer that ran fine one day and the next day not or did you make any changes to the system, and if so what changes before this power up that isnt working?

If powering up but no activity it could be  ( motherboard, power supply, CPU, ram )

More commonly the power supply is the cause due to a low voltage condition...do you have a spare PSU to swap with this system?

**Where there any lightning storms between now and last time it was powered?

Hey everyone, I have an Epson Stylus Photo RX350 PRINTER and am trying to install the printer software onto my LAPTOP from the CD. When I connect the printer during the installation as instructed, it says the product is not recognised. Printer is powered on and correctly connected to the computer, as the computer recognises that there is hardware connected. Help??!

THanks!!What operating system is on the laptop?Is the PORT [usb] working? Post your OS like Aegis postedYeah the port works and I've tried several of them- and I'm RUNNING XP, sorry. It's got me baffled, as it used to work fine before - I'm just re-installing it as I had a new hard drive put in. Any suggestions? Much appreciatedRemove the printer software with Add/Remove PROGRAMS in control panel, start over....see what happens.

Hey all.. Is it a good idea to remove my Li-Ion battery from my HP Laptop and work my laptop on main powers..And then use plug the battery in at least once a day for 1-2 hours (when i move the laptop)..Because recently my old laptops battery went bad because of overheating problems so I had to BUY a new ONE...? Is that a good idea or will the battery lose memory?Never heard of anyone doing that before as for the laptops as far as I knew ran off of the secondary circuit or at least used to. Primary circuit being the charging for the battery, then the secondary being the laptop drawing off of the battery that is powered through the primary.

If your laptop does run without the battery attached it is VERY dangerous to your data on your hard drive. The slightest power disruption can crash your laptop without the battery acting as a reserve.

I personally would just make a habit out of plugging in the laptop when using it and  outlet available, and unplugging it when not in use so the battery does not build memory and go bad on you.

Also overheating of a battery is a good indication on that old laptop that the cells in that battery had had it and a new battery probably would have operated cooler. When batteries start to go back they resist taking a charge and generally produce heat by this resistance to take the full charge.Some tips here...

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/03/10-tips-to-make-your-laptop-battery.htmlI didn't read the tips posted by Karnac, but i do this all the  time without issue. I had and issue with an old battery and this is the WAY i have been using my laptop EVER SINCE. That way the life of the new battery will be much longer.

Hallo! I'm posting for a very frustrated friend without internet; she called because at the airport, her computer (A dell latitude d810 ) made a weird noise physically (like a whirry clicky unhappy noise) and while LOADING made two 'beepbeep noises'.... and then failed to properly boot.

She runs Windows XP (though I don't know what service pack) normally, and hadn't made any HARDWARE  or O/S changes, but the error shows as follows:

Quote

internal harddisk drive not found internal hdd hard error!
strike f1 key to continue, f2 to run the setup utility

no bootable device strike f1 to restart f2 to go to setup

Hello: I  use XP with Service PACK 3. My computer doesn't have bluetooth and my son wants to install it (I don't, but that's another story...) Anyway, he tried to install a blue tooth program to connect his mobile to my comp; the program was on a CD. I doubt the CD was original.  At any rate: This is the problem. The program never went through, so I can't find it anywhere to get rid of it.
 On the other hand, everytime I turn on the computer I get the "Install New Hardware Wizard" which wants to help me FINISH installing the bluetooth program (the CD isn't in there anymore).  And when I click cancel it just keeps popping back until I cancel it about four or five times. In the meantime, this slows the start up of the rest of the programs and keeps me from getting to my work.
  How can I get rid of this annoying thing--the popup, not my son, of course...

DrDdid you look in add and remove , task manager , my computer Harry: I did look there.  Here's why that didn't work. 1) This is a hardware not a software installation, Add and Remove refers to software;The hardware is an external bluetooth gadget.  2) The installation was of this gadget, via CD, stalled.  So, the Hardware Wizard wants to see it through to completion.  It can't "get it" that the CD is out of the computer and that the installation has been aborted. So, every time I start the computer it insists, over and over, that I need to complete the installation.

 Does that help you help?

Thanks
DrDis there a name such as bluesoleil , i'll be back


do you have ( advanced system care ) on your pcHarry I don't know what Advanced System Care is. Where would I find that?

DrDhttp://www.iobit.com/advancedwindowscareper.html

download and run , in maintain windows tick all 4 , in diagnose system tick all BUT disk defrag, in tune up use short cut fixer , disk CHECK and disc cleaner

do you have ccleaner installedDid you try "System Restore"


Programs /Accessories/ System Tools/ System Restore

pick a restore date before trouble startedccharold , if its not here below it will not be in system restore


did you look in add and remove , task manager , my computerHi guys: Gotta say I'm confused.    Can you please run that by me just one more time. Exactly what should I do next? Take it slow and make it clear. If I COULD understand this stuff I wouldn't be here, right?    I do have CC cleaner. Should I use that or something else?
Thanks

DrDgo to my reply no5 and read it

i only asked do you have ccleaner on your pcHarrY: I downloaded and ran the Repair thing. I do have CC Cleaner. Should I run that too?

Thanks

DrDOne question for you: when installing bluetooth, he more than likely had to actually put the bluetooth device into a USB port. Did he leave it in a port? Or possibly an internal device? either way, if it is still plugged in, every time you turn your computer on, it will say it has detected new hardware and try to install, until you remove the device.No, it's not in the computer anymore.  It's sitting on  my desk and not plugged in. Sometimes I wonder if I could just get him to put the gadget back in, rev up the CD and then try to cancel the installation with the CD in the computer if we would get closer to solving this.

what do you think?

DrDJust see if you can do a system restore to before he started trying to install this thing.yes run it and what ever it brings up take it all out , sorry for delay i'm in the GB

Hi everyone,

I recently bought the Striker Extreme: http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=G7JoxzAEXsQwDt7G

But my problem is that the heatsink(s) I have now will not fit on the motherboard because the heat bars around are in the way, I have a Intel E5200 Processor and the heatsink and fan that came with that fitted except I had trouble putting it in the slots (3 corners slotted in but 1 wouldn't).

If you have an striker extreme then please tell which heatsink and fan you use for it.

I am only looking for a cheap heatsink and fan (nothing expensive). As LONG as it fits...

Hope you can help,
Thanks.Go to http://www.thermaltake.comWelcome to the forums.

Looks like quite a few coolers will be a tight fit with those heatpipes, been doing some research and it seems the space in between is approx. 130mm x 107mm, so that's the RESTRICTION on size for the cooler.
The stock coolers with the pushpins can be tricky to fit actually, the design they've used is very awkward IMHO and I have struggled before now.  What I'm trying to say is, if the supplied cooler fits, you may as well try again to fit that, because all the cheaper coolers out there use the same mounting method so they'll be just as difficult/awkward to install. I did RUN across ONE quite some time ago Calium that there was a plate that fit under the board and the heatsink fan assembly had 4 long screws that screwed to the plate. Just guessing i think it was made by Coolmaster.There are quite a few heatsinks that don't use the pushpin method, but they do tend to be more expensive and GEARED towards high-end cooling requirements.Thanks for the info people.  The ASUS Silent Square I use would fit that. However, the Silent Square Pro is quite tall. You'll want to make sure you have clearance between it and the side of your case.

ASUS has a good selection of CPU coolers.
http://www.asus.com/ProductGroup2.aspx?PG_ID=EdcJnPIATNnBFRV0

i've been asking about adding a PCI card to my tower in this forum so that i can install some IDE drives in it. but my power supply is 300 watts. check out my specs i have listed and if anyone can help me, let me know if i should add a LARGER power supply if i add 2 IDE hard drives and one IDE CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo DRIVE. your thoughts and OPINIONS would be most appreciated. thanks guys.you would have to do a little math...

Your NEW power supply will have to meet the power needs of
your current, essential components PLUS the power needs of the stuff you are adding...

Here's a little pointer to get you started

http://pcworld.about.com/magazine/2304p144id119585.htm

thanks for the link. very USEFUL info  And if you hate math you can use this handy dandy calculator.

http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html

Hi all i am new and require some assistance in fixing my problem i have with a cbm231 printer, i INTEND to use this printer on a xp laptop for PRINTING race NIGHT tickets.
The problem is it will not print or it only prints ? over and over until i switch the printer off, i contacted citizen and they said to ENSURE the baud rates are the same (dont have a clue where to LOOK for them on the comp) i downloaded the user manuals and it says the baud is 600.
I am using a usb to parallel adapter as the parallel cable will not work either.
Can any one please assist me in getting this printer to work because i am ready to throw it in the bin.

Thanks

I've aquired the above printer from a car boot sale - Person didn't want to take home what she didn't sell so gave her bit to me. Amongst was this printer. 

It seems to be working ok EXCEPT that the LCD display doesn't work. OBVIOUSLY I can't change cartridges or do any checks cos I can't read what's happening. Do you know if I can get this as a spare part or shall I just chuck it?

Regards

MSmiss spooky, Welcome to the CH forums. Well you now face one of those life's momentous decisions we all from time to time face.Because it was free the price can't be beat. But it doesn't work. So what to do? Could cost MONEY and STILL may not work properly.It was in the "boot" for a reason (which it appears you have now DETERMINED). It may be possible to gain some use from it even without the LCD display. Is this one of those multi function units or is it just a printer? I do have a Brother it is an MFC multi function unit. If it is just a printer and you have the printer software you can go ahead and install the software and if it takes it and you can then turn the unit on you should get access to the printer via the task bar and go to print jobs from there. You should also be able to monitor ink levels and other fault information from the print window as well. I believe that you can use the unit without the LCD window if you are prepared to take a bit of time to learn what it does when you do certain things.Yes you could probably replace the LCD display but i suspect the cost of the LCD would be more than the cost of the printer. If you want to gain repair experience then you could go that route. However that may not be all that is wrong with it. I would try and use it just as it is if you can. goodluck,truenorth
P.S. if you don't have it you can obtain a free manual from the Brother web site on-line.I agree with truenorth's advise.  The software/driver for that printer should be downloadable from http://solutions.brother.com/dcp120c_eu_as/en_us/index.html but the link from that page to Downloads and Documentation did not work for me when I tried it.  I suggest trying that link later; hopefully, they'll get the faulty links working.

Specifications on the printer are at http://solutions.brother.com/dcp120c_eu_as/en_us/spec_eu_as.html

My computer was demolished by viruses, so I had Windows XP reinstalled. Everything is great, but now I have no sound, and the computer doesn't even recognize the sound card. I don't know what card I have and I'd rather not crack the case OPEN to search. Is there some other way to identify what sound card I have and RESOLVE this issue?

Can you post your computers specs for us....

Go to device manager and see if you have any sign of problems with your sound ....... is it a card or embedded.tomcraig5,While i do encourage you to get to a stage of comfort re the accessing and working on the interior of your computer. It will greatly add to your enjoyment of your computer and also greatly reduce your COST and as well allow you to do some occasional necessary maintenance. In the meantime download the program "Everest" free home addition and RUN it on your computer. It will detail all of the components of your computer. Print or keep a copy and you will then always be able to refer to the specifics of the hardware of your computer and tell us what you have. It is probably the case in this instance that you need to reinstall the drivers for the sound card you have for the new o/s to work with it. truenorth
http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.htmlUnless if its a custom build you should have the driver too it, even if not its not hard to get.

i have a PROBLEM with my CRT monitor display. It suddenly stretches and brightens up more and becomes normal in a second or two. the first time, i thought that it was because of the UPS battery which had expired. after getting it changed the problem did not show up until recently when i cleaned and reassembled my CPU.
i have checked all the pins and plugs present in the CPU. The SMPS also seems to be fine.
i guess its the voltage fluctuation on the brightness control and the HORIZONTAL and vertical DEFLECTION plates on my CRT causing this.is there the problem in the power cables?   dhiren,Welcome to the CH forums. More than likely the problem is with the CRT itself. How old is it? Quickest way to verify the monitor is to try another ONE and see if things return to normal.Might be an opportunity to upgrade to a nice flat screen monitor.truenorthI agree with Truenorth here. It sounds LIKE the CRT might be on its way out.

Other than taking apart the computer to stare at technology above and beyond my comprehension, are there HOTKEYS that do the same as right click?

the application key pretty much acts light the right mouse button. Usually found to the right of the spacebar between Alt and Control.Thanks, but my LAPTOP is devoid of such key.  Is this a big deal to fix? I'm thinking about getting a USB mouse...no light at the end of the TUNNEL... Are you sure? Only one of my three laptops lacks that key, and it was created in 1994.



In this image, it's the key to the right of the right windows key.

With laptops, however, it could be almost anywhere. My OLDER toshiba satellite, for example has it as the uppermost-rightmost key (right next to the windows key. Not the best layout...)


lacking the application key- there really is no substitute for the right mouse button.




Yea, its a Dell Studio, almost 2 years old..to the right of my spacebar is alt then ctrl then arrow keys..
Got the USB mouse, but is this worth correcting on a semi-new laptop?

help .. how to luck my drive c:/ to avoid installing any SOFTWARE not need to my computer.Uh, do you mean LOCK your HARD drive?    

If you are worried about other people besides yourself installing programs when you are not around, you could just enable a password for your system and enable the GUEST account so when guests are logged in they can install nothing,and noone but yourself may install anything

Click START, up at the top of the START menu, click on the symbol/picture thingy, when it opens up, click HOME, then click on your account and make yourself a log-in password (programs cannot be installed unless someone is logged into your account OR enters the ADMINISTRATOR password, LIKE you are doing here), when you are done with that, click on the guest account and click "turn on guest account"...Once it is turned on, restart the computer and you will now see two possible accounts that can be used,  Your account (Administrator) and guest (which does not require a password, and lacks permission to install programs)

Can anyone PLEASE HELP... my printer has suddenly just stopped working. It's a cannon MP360, and now it is just saying
Check printer press "ok",      then it SAYS     ##345
Like that is some kind of an error notification.
The wheels that PUSH the paper through turn, but the ink doesn't move from side to side.   There's no trouble shooting advice in the manual, any ideas WOULD be most welcome.

Thanks.Have a look here...

http://www.techimo.com/forum/technical-support/157015-canon-mp390-just-crashed.html#post2219482

hello .....i hope u can help with my problem.
                 my pc hanged up when i play video on youtube and other sites.
                 first it play the video and in a few minute it will HANG..
                 the last day i play the video on youtube and other site it does 
                 not hang...only now it hang.....
         
                 OS...................WINDOS XP
                 PENTIUM III
                 NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX400

                 THANKS GUYS. I'LL APPRECIATE ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GIVE. Is your system hardware up to spec? 

http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=16574

edit: it may help to disable all your "start up" programs to help ease the load on your processor.

open a RUN command and type MSCONFIG, click OK   When it opens up, click on the "start up" TAB and then click on "disable all", click OK, and restart the computer and TRY watching a video

Yesterday I dusted out my computer. I only used an old t-shirt and q-tips, no chemicals at all. I took off the fans (the one near the power source, and two others, but not the processor fan), cleaned them, and replaced them. The power source fan and one other fan blow out, one fan blows in.

All day I've been smelling something like burnt hair. When I try smelling around my computer, I can't smell it, but sitting at the desk I can. I'm not sure if I'm going crazy, or if it's something wrong with my computer.

Could my computer be making this smell, or am I crazy and it's just something else in the house?

I run SpeedFan, and it TELLS me nothing's wrong.The smell could be anything ELECTRONIC with RESISTORS or other CARBON and waffer BASED semi-conductor to smell like hair. If you smelt something fishy smelling thats usually electrolyte from capacitors, they often let you know to their failure though with a hissing or a loud pop or bang when they blow their tops. Have you smelt around other devices, ac adapters, battery backups, monitor etc?Also- just to double-check, make sure your hair isn't on fire.   See I was gonna say 'make sure there is no one behind you with a lighter' but thought it's non-constructive. 3hrs I've been thinking about that post.  Should go with instinct next time  If it smells like toast, get to emergency, you're having a stroke.See I'm worried now. Are you feeling a slight dis-function to a side of your body?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpR5_LQCyzk

Stay with us please!!do strokes normally last 8 hours?

EDIT:

wait a sec, he never replied.Were all going straight to *censored* if he is!! Quote

All day I've been smelling something like burnt hair. When I try smelling around my computer, I can't smell it, but sitting at the desk I can. I'm not sure if I'm going crazy, or if it's something wrong with my computer.

I think I have a power supply problem, but if so where are the beeps coming from? I read both the above articles, but there may be an additional complication.

Event #1:  BSOD
ATI3diag.dll - Address BFA74F65 base at BFA2000, Date Stamp 00000000
0x00008E (0xC0000005, 0xBFA74F65, 0xB8D2E4, 0x00000000)
Then it did a MEMORY dump. Then nothing. I shut it down and let it sit for a couple of days.

Event #2: BSOD
0x0000008E (0xC000000t5, 0x3BOF4FA4, 0XBA1A247C, 0X00000000)
Disable driver or check with manufacturer for driver updates, TRY changing video adapters, check for BIOS updates, disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.
Then it did a memory dump. Then nothing. I shut it down and let it sit for awhile.

There were several days between the first two events where I did use my DESKTOP a couple of times, not having time to research the problem then forgetting about the first BSOD (life happens). Event #2 occurred about 10 hours ago.

Event #3:
I turned on the computer but it didn't do anything. (REFERENCED CH000607): if you press the power button and nothing happens (no lights, no sound, no fans, etc.) then this issue is not a NO POST but is an power related issue see document CH000312, which I did.

Now here is where I got confused. If there were no lights or fans or start-up sounds because the power supply is bad (I did check power connection), how am I hearing (very faintly) these weird beeps? What is powering them? I don't think they are the "normal" kind of error beeps, either, which I thought were just a single tone in a repeating pattern. They actually are two different tones--like the British ambulances you hear in the movies--TA-da, TA-da, TA-da. What does *that* mean?

Do I actually have two totally different problems here? Video adapter (I'm guessing that's what the BSODs were from) and power supply failing at the same time?

Confirmation or other possibilities, please? I'm no guru (hah) and have no access to spare parts to be swapping in and out. I'll have to take it somewhere for repair if it's just the power supply, although I can install a new video card myself if necessary. I'd just like to have a good idea what I'm dealing with before dragging this heavy thing somewhere. This thing is not new (Aug 2004) but having bought a ThinkPad not too terribly long ago, hubby (totally electronically-challenged and happily so) is going to fuss if I mention the words "new computer."  (His favorite place to shop is the thrift store, but I'm pretty sure he isn't going to find anything for me there. lol)

Thanks for your patience if you've managed to read this far without tearing your hair out. I've been working on this since Event #3 and it's now 5:21 AM. I'm brain-dead and going to bed.

Shirley
Windows XP, SP3
Custom built (not by me!)
AMD XP 2600+
BioStar M7VIW motherbd
VIA Technologies system model VT8366-8235
Phoenix BIOS, SMBIOS Version 2.2
738 MB RAM
8x ATI Radeon 9200 AGP video card
7200 RPM hard drive
Legacy sound,
450 watt power
Sometimes only a part of the power supply will go bad [power to the video card, for instance] but the motherboard will still get it's power and hence the sounds.

It seems the only sure way to diagnose the issue it swapping out the power supply to begin with.

Wish I could be of more encouragement but sometimes it's just swapping parts that you can get to resolve an issue.

Alan <><  Power down, reseat your video card to start, make sure houskeeping is good....no dust.....reseat memory....confirm the heatsink is flush to the motherboard.... make sure the CPU fan is working.......After all this and no joy , swap your power supply for a known good supply....... Power supply swap is an easy fix, just watch a youtube video on the subject and see if you can handle it.......Remember to practice ESD(static) procedures...touch the case before you touch a component inside. Thanks for the suggestions ale 52 and Karnac. I may get some help on the power supply thing. Depends on whether it would be cheaper to buy another PS or pay for professional help to do the dirty work for me. 

I'm leaving on a trip today, but when I return next week I'll do the housekeeping things you suggested. As for the CPU fan--how do I know if it is working? When I tried to start up, there seemed to be nothing working. No sound at all except for the funny beeps, and they were really faint--had to put my ear to the case to be sure I was actually hearing something from the computer.

This is not my week. My color copier died, too. Sigh.

Shirley

I only have basic knowledge but still went AHEAD and built a computer.

It SURPRISINGLY turned out well except, there's only one IDE on this motherboard I got( Gigabyte EP45-UD3LR ) so I can only connect the hard drive to it.

I tried looking around and found that I could connect one "master" and one "slave" to one IDE(correct me if I'm wrong) so I tried connecting the blue end to motherboard, black end to HD, and grey end to the CD ROM(grey is supposedly the slave) and went to BIOS to try and configure them as such. However, it turns out that when I did that, the computer fails to detect the very presence of HD and sets CD ROM as the master and no other hardwares present.

To simplify, I'm wondering how one is supposed to connect a HD and CD drive to a motherboard with only one IDE, namely the one named above(Gigabyte EP45-UD3LR).


TY in advance.How old is the mobo? I didnt know they still used IDE for HDD. Are you sure there are no SATA connections for the hard drive?you'll need to change the jumper settings on the CD-ROM and Hard drive to reflect which one is slave.

it actually doesn't matter which one is where on teh cable- what matters is the jumper assignments.The mobo is relatively new release as far as I'm informed ( <1 yr? )

The HDD, on the other hand, is 5 yrs old. the HDD is the only part I wanted to keep because I wanted to preserve the things I "built" on it over the course of five years. There doesn't seem to be any SATA connections for the HDD or CDD ( I don't even know what SATA connection is, but after typing it in in yahoo, my PSU appears to have some connectors but don't think HDD or CDD has any SATA )

So is there no way at all to connect HDD and CDD to one IDE After frantically trying to come up with a solution, all I could find on the mobo manual is that the IDE on the mobo supports up to two IDE devices. I was excited when I read this and did the black on HDD grey on CDD but as explained in OP, it only recognizes the CDD when I did that and when booted, it asks for system disk Quote from: BC_Programmer on June 17, 2009, 10:16:20 PM

you'll need to change the jumper settings on the CD-ROM and Hard drive to reflect which one is slave.

it actually doesn't matter which one is where on teh cable- what matters is the jumper assignments.

I have this POS dell dimension 3100 desktop that has worked for a while now. About two years ago I bought a new video card for it, nividia 1800 or something like that (don't remember exactly). Anyways ever since I installed that my computer has been set up as having dual monitors, even though I don't.  Its running windows XP home edition SP2.

I asked the store I bought the card from about it and they just had me set boundaries and sort of disable the ghost screen. It has given me problems in the past but I've managed to work fix or workaround them. Until now.

On startup the loading windows XP screen shows up, then disappears. Then the screen is black and I have no cursor or anything, but the monitor is turned on and working fine apparently. I can also use the keyboard to log on, I can tell because of the noises the computer makes.

This makes me think that something might have happened to the video card. Or I accidently changed some setting sometime ago and it just decided to work now. The one thing thing that does work is safe MODE. That tells me that hardware failure is probably not likely. I was following instructions from a colleague of mine, and I am supposed to be able to change monitor settings once at the properties menu. Except the only options I can change are the resolution and colour settings.


I was planning on buying a new computer anyways but can't for a couple weeks. I'm hoping I can fix this by myself without having to take it into a shop and pay a stupid amount of money for something that could have a simple fix.

Thanks in advance Quote

ever since I installed that my computer has been set up as having dual monitors

under properties then settings for desktop, two monitors show up in the little box. One big, one small.

It's normal.

Always thought that meant dual

I have a 350 watt psu in the batman which dont seem to be enough to run everything since its KIND of like a multimedia machine but its not.  Here's the thing some of the time I turn it on the other drives wont start or the main bootable drive I run it from wont, I figured that at LEAST a 500 watt or something.Configure a power supply...

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jspI figured that but the last time I ran it for another machine it said that I should have less power then what I suppoablely needed.let me refrase that what is a good one to USE brand wise?Here are the reviews...

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Review_Cat&recatnum=13Have any better one's?  I used the one on newegg and said that I least need a 500 watt but seems that I need more an it wasnt all that versital.http://www.excelsys.com/online_configurator/index.html

http://www.corsair.com/psufinder/default.aspxI'll have to do it later experinceing issues
Well how much MONEY do you have to spend on it?around 50 or so that I can spend an feel okay I dont have my INCOME yet so I dont want to have a sweep charge or anything.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

I have a removable Hard DRIVE that was set up on my old computer, A COMPACTS Presario (OS/XP). I'm now tyring to use it in a HD Pavilion (Also XP). I 'm using it for music recording. It's in a Lian Li R10f Mobile Rack pull out rack. It worked fine in the Presario. But, I pull the whole thing out to install it. But, now it says unallocated when I try to install it in EITHER computer. You could try doing a repair while its connected, not too sure why this is happing.  It may or may not work but something too try if nothing else.Right click My Computer and select Manage...then Disk Management.
Right click the drive in question and select Properties...
Report back with your findings.Well, properties says "This divice is working properly". But, disk manager says "Not Initialized / Unallocated". But, If I initialize it will it erase the disk?Yes.
It was probably disconnected prematurely and i'm afraid the data would be gone in this case anyways...
You could try some data recovery apps on it.
Best of Luck.or currpted an may not be able to recover it.  You could try doubt it would work.I afraid your probably right. THANK you both.

Thank you for looking at my post.

I had a rattle through some old boxes of computer bits and found a couple of sticks of ram.
I put one into my TPG computer, and boot up presented with

DDR333 --> Operating in single-channel mode.

It has increased the ram to 752 mb from 495 mb, however it also says that  Dual-channel operation requires identical paired DIMMs installed across both memory channels. It only has the two slots.

The computer works and obviously needs compatible ram chips matching, as in pairs of 256, 500 or 1 gig each so on, but I only have the two slots available.

Is there any other way of adding another stick to match the one I put in but also have the third 256 stick in as well? Say and adapter or something?

ImnoGuru, I suggest that what you need to establish 1st is what is your objective. Is it to simply find a USE for some RAM sticks that you have lying around or is it to optimise the computer to the maximum RAM it is capable of. If it turns out to be the latter then you should do a TEST (free) from Crucial and determine what the limits and type of RAM suited to your computer. Then you can upgrade to the max RAM capable and i recommend that you install the same brand and type to minimize any compatibility problems that may OCCUR. If on the other hand it is your preference to use what you have then it may well result in conflicts and/or diminished computer performance. It will be denegrated to the slowest performance RAM stick you install. truenorthNo there are no such things as Ram adapters.

If you want to have Matching Pairs of Ram in your Computer you need to use 2 Identical Sticks of Ram your best off Buying them as a pair

Also there are Paired Slots on the mother Board where you have to put the 2 sticks or the pairing wont actually workThanks truenorth and panboy for your comments.

Truenorth, I agree, I do need to determine that aspect. The right answer there was, yes I just had some in a box, however I did want to upgrade to 1 gig on this computer. The one stick I did add only added 256 mb to make it 750 odd. Previously it had 495 mb.

The real question I suppose was, what does the Dual-channel refer to, and how might it effect the computer?
Both your answers have explained my conundrum.
Quote from: truenorth on June 08, 2009, 11:46:55 AM

diminished computer performance. It will be denigrated to the slowest performance RAM stick you install. truenorth

The real question I suppose was, what does the Dual-channel refer to, and how might it effect the computer?
Both your answers have explained my conundrum.
So, no adapters, get a pair of 500 or 1 gig and go for it. Yeah 

When I look at something from UTube or so, it constantly stalls, loads a bit of info and plays then stalls again.

That's all fine and good...
However how many USERS do you see stroll thru here who even know what MBoard is in their system ? ?

I'm not engaging in a battle of wits with you today. Quote from: 2x3i5x on June 01, 2009, 04:33:13 PM

for a third opinion, TRY the computer memory scanner at  www.4AllMemory.com and see what it says and compare to other two.

I would think if three opinions are saying same THING that you'd be safe to go with what they tell you unless the three are using the same scanner to do their job.

I can only afford 1 GB right now since I have to get a video card too.

I'm hoping 1.5GB will be good enough for the Sims 3.

that looks ok to me. wondering, where did you install the ATI card drivers from? (cd coming with the card or thru the downloaded installer off of the internet?)

does computer display look ok? and if you already have the sims 3, go ahead and test it out to see how it goes, though I'm expecting it'll be fine 

I installed them from the net.

My display looks fine.

I'm not installing the Sims until I add more RAM. It should arrive from newegg this week.

by the way, you may want to go to www.canyourunit.com/. It's a website that can analyze your pc against the minimum specs of any game that you are interested in that they have in their drop down box list. That way, you can see how well your pc can handle the game 

Yep I know all about that site. That's how I found out I needed a new video card. 

Recently a thunderstorm came tromping through our neighborhood, and a bolt of lightning struck the yard. This has happened frequently since we live on top of a hill so we kinda stick out like a sore thumb. Anyway, we didn't notice any immediate effects, the lights stayed on, nothing EXPLODED. I had unplugged the power cord from my PSU, and all the TVs in the house just for safe keeping before the strike. Sure enough it came and was in the end glad we had done so.

However, we then noticed the alarm system, our garage door, and a few GFIs were messed up. our previous strikes had been more fatal taking all our phones and A/C Unit. I also noticed that when I booted the computer up again, internet was lacking. I called up the internet company and they reported there was an outage in the area. I accepted this and went to bed to sleep on it. Next day, still out. Called them up again and this time no major outages were reported so it must have been something on my side.

Rental modem was reporting: Receive, Sync, and Ready. USB, Enet, and Send were out. Tried unplugging and restarting and same lights on, same off. Since it went to a Linksys wireless router, I tried a direct connection from Router to Computer. Same result. The technician had said something about a NIC card/chip that maybe malfunctioning on the mobo, I doubted this and tried it with the laptop and got the same result. So I got the problem down to the modem.

Today ran out and got another rental modem from the company and still have the same problem. But I can get internet on the laptop. Therefore there was something wrong with the Modem, and now I suppose the LAN Port on the Mobo.

Inspecting the inside of the computer nothing looked damaged. It runs fine, boots fine, hardware shows no flaws. Nothing smelled burnt, or looked burnt. With the computer on however the Connection/Speed LED AND the Activity LED were solid around the LAN Port. The Mobo manual states nothing about a Solid state of the LED, just blinking meaning it is receiving a signal or Off, receiving none. The state of the lights do not change if a cord is plugged in or not. Still just solid. The Motherboard is a Gigabyte EP35 DS3L, the computer was built by myself. I went into the BIOS and tried to do the LAN auto detect command and it refused to do anything.

So, I am down to help from this nice community or buying a new motherboard. I wanted to make sure there is nothing more I can test out before I order a new one. But this seems FAIRLY serious.

Stats:
Windows 32 Media Center Edition/Windows 64 Professional Edition (via dual boot)
Q6600 2.4 GHz Core 2 Quad
Radeon 3870
Gigabyte EP35 DS3L Mainboard
X-Fi Elite Pro Sound Card

If there is anything to clear up I would be glad to answer,

Thanks in advanced!
Click Start then Run and type in devmgmt.msc and press enter. This will take you to device manager. Are there any errors there? Is the NIC listed there?

You may have to buy a new ethernet card, Well, I didn't see anything brought up about the NIC, but I also never thought about a Network Card. I think I may just order one of those to get this fixed quickly. I did send a ticket into Gigabyte to see if they have any clue. I'm just wondering if this is something really easy to fix. Would re-installing the motherboard do anything? The new card is probably the best way to go.
Before you buy one, see if you can borrow one from a friend, to rule it out as the culprit.
What did device manager tell you?For 10 or 15 Bucks you may as well just buy one...Device Manager acted like there was no network adapter at all.

I did pick up a card today and am able to use it with my 32 bit XP, but it lacks 64 bit drivers, which I need. Are there Adapters out there with the capability to run both 32 and 64? Or can the Motherboard only do such things. Picked up a Linksys EG1032, as the Model number denotes it is for 32 bit, which I soon figured out. They have a EG1064 version which is for 64bit but says it will not run on any other version of Windows. Not limited to Linksys, just wanting a Adapter for both versions. Thanks for the help so far guys.It should still run under XP 64bit....
I have Vista x64 and no 64 bit drivers for either card i have used. Quote from: patio on June 12, 2009, 04:57:39 AM

It should still run under XP 64bit....
I have Vista x64 and no 64 bit drivers for either card i have used.

Thanks for the help guys, will get back to you on how everything goes.

The informed consumer buys a solution well proven for over 100 years.  That is required by the US Air Force.

Fix the reason for that damage.  It was all avoidable.  From your damage list, it appears the incoming path was via a computer - outgoing via the modem to earth ground.  Surge damage means a surge was permitted inside the building to hunt for earth, destructively, via appliances.

That has been routine so that munitions dumps suffer direct lightning strikes without explosions.

Spend less money for the well proven and superior solution.  Then upgrade what provides protection:  earth ground.  A protector is only as effective as its earth ground.

It was all avoidable.

it's a 10$ NIC...