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I just bought an Ativa 512 MB USB drive (on SALE for $15 at Office Depot). Apparently this is an Office Depot brand. I was looking for a good DEAL on a drive that I could use to make a keychain "toolbox" and this seemed to fit the bill - small, attached cap, etc. It had U3 software installed. On the back of the package, it simply said that the U3 software needed Win 2000, XP but that on other OS's it would behave like a normal USB drive. This seemed ambiguous as to its Win98 compatibility. I would prefer that it be compat with 98, ME, 2000, and XP for maximum versatility.

I asked a worker at Office Depot if he knew anything about them, and he said yes - he had one in fact. When i asked about Win98 drivers, he told me that there are Win98 USB mass storage device drivers at Microsoft.com. I always thought that they were device manufacturer specific. He assured me that it would work, and even said that he has done so.

Long story short, I can't find Win98 drivers ANYWHERE. I even removed the U3 software THINKING that would help - NOPE.

Arrgh.....I ususually never listen to salespeople, but this guy said he has done it.

Can anyone help me? Should I take it back or just give up on Win98 compatibility at this point?

PKI think I found them:

http://www.supportusb.com/

Seem to work anyway...thank goodness.

PK

When you CREATE the virtual floppy drive on the computer without a HARDWARE one, what drive letter is assigned? TRY right clicking the drive in My Computer and looking in properties. What is the name of the SOFTWARE you are using, so perhaps we COULD find some more specific information?

I have just re-installed windows xp on a compaq presario laptop. FOr some reason, it will not play any sounds at all. When I check in the device MANAGER, it shows nothing.

I'm guessing I have to install the drivers for the sound card but not sure. Please help! The sounds worked fine before!That is to be expected with a fresh install as the CORRECT drivers must be installed for the device to be usable.

Why don't you post the exact make and model. There is no doubt more missing than the sound drivers. its a compaq presario v2000Try here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&tool=softwareCategory&product=500508&os=228Which files should I download? Do you think they will need everything it offers? Which ones exactly will I need to get the sound card (and everything ) working?The top audio driver for sure. You will need the GRAPHICS driver as well. If you are not sure what components are in there (like which modem, etc.) download and run Everest Home and make a report. Look through there and/or post it here.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.htmli ran the report, but it all looks like gibberish to me. what am i lookin for? i tried to paste it here, but its too long. also tried to attach it, but its the wrong format.

also, i tried downloading the audio drivers and they are failing for some reason. is there something i need to download first?
Run the summary and attach it as a zip file if you wish. We don't need the gibberish report, and you can just copy and paste it, but it may take more than one post to get it all.I figured out the report finally and got all the drivers installed to the best of my knowledge.The only problem is that when I restart the computer it pops up a window that says the following driver could not be installed, but then it does not LIST any drivers. Also, when I go to the device manager, there's a section of "other devices" that has a yellow ! in front of it, and all ones the listed underneath have yellow ?! by them . They are

Mass storage controller
pci device
sm bus controller
universal serial bus usb controller
video controller VGA compatible


also, it doesnt play dvd's anymore, and it used to

i thought it'd be that i have the wrong drivers, but they were the only ones listed under my model?

any ideas?

thanks for your help!Miss Cleo is off this weekend. We STILL don't even know what equipment you are working with. Look around for the shiny CD with the MBoard drivers on it that should have came with the laptop...

This should cure at least 1/2 of the problems.

patio. 8-)

I am in need of a wireless router. just now i have wires trailing all over the house and its just not practical and i dont have a router either so i can only connect one PC at a time. iv read netgear and dlink are pretty good im just worried i wont be ABLE to SET it up/it wont work.

just now i have 3 pc's and a laptop (already had working wireless internet) but i need the router so i can have it all working.

you view is very much appreciated and could you please specify which model you would recommend as well.

Thanks!ADVICE: Though it is a good idea to ask others on what device is good for wireless routing; comparing the specs and features yourself is still the best idea since you'll be the one who'll make the decision... Furthermore, it will be your network needs that will be satisfied...

Make a checklist on your network requirements and check if the devices conform with those on the list...Linksys, D-Link and Netgear in that order. No need to worry about the others.I bought and recommend this one:

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?childpagename=US%2FLayout&packedargs=c%3DL_Product_C2%26cid%3D1115416825655&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper

It's compact so its small and works on broadband so its fast. Comes with everything you need and is cheap (around $60). I bought it at Best Buy. I voted D-Link. It was free from a "phone company" when I bought their fiber optic service with free installation. At first it was a bit confusing but thinking logically with windows xp setup I was able to get me hooked up within 2hours and then proceeded to establish a 125' wireless connection with another house on our PROPERTY "from one of my windows to the another window". They said it couldn't be done( because they wanted to charge for 2 internet CONNECTIONS but I proved them wrong), it was and works. Yes'I voted linksys too.

We have never had a problem.Quote

Linksys, D-Link and Netgear in that order. No need to worry about the others.

I have an HP pavilion 6638. processor is 191MB. can I upgrad to about 2.0 ghz? what do I NEED for this? help an amatur out.HP processors are not UPGRADEABLE. You've GOT what you got.

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/questionanswer.do?threadId=31941&admit=-682735245+1157259462583+28353475

If you have to ask why you SURELY don't need it anyway. There is no such thing as a "191 MB processor" anyway.

Hello I've been having some problems where my computer will stop to a blue screen and I need to restart. The reported error codes are: 0x0000008e (0xC0000005, 0x805446F3, 0xA791CBCC, 0x00000000).

I first noted this problem after I moved my computer to a friend's house for a while (and therefore using a new monitor) then when I got my computer back, I kept getting these within a short time of starting Windows. I reinstalled and updated my video drivers and they stopped. For a while. Then a few more times I keep getting them. I'll get several all in one day, then my computer will go for weeks without a single one, which is why it is so odd. Well I just got one earlier (not had a second yet).

I built the computer myself and didn't notice a problem before I went to my friend's house but I'm not sure if the problem was ALREADY there, I just hadn't noticed it yet. I've had 3 or 4 of these "attacks". They usually go away on their own.

I am using Windows XP Pro, Asus A8N-E motherboard. Any suggestions?Quote

0xC0000005: STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION
A memory access violation occurred.

Download - Pre-Compiled Memtest86 v3.2 installable from Windows and DOS to your desktop double click and create a bootable floppy, reboot to that floppy & [highlight]let it run for a couple of hours.[/highlight]

Well thanks in advance for any help you may give. Here's my pc's specs:

-Asus A8N SLI Deluxe MotherBoard nVidia nForce4 Socket 939

-Corsair Twinx Dual Channel 1024 PC3200 DDR 400MH

-AMD Athlon 64 4400+ Socket 939 (Toledo)

-HIS Radeon X1300 512MB Hypermemory PCIe w/DVI

-Xion 600W Ver 2.0 PSU w/ 140mm Fan/SATA/SLI Ready

The motherboard has no onboard graphics so I bought a cheap(60$) Video card. I hooked everything up but I get no signal on my monitor. I've tried it with several WORKING vga monitors with no luck. I can't install the drivers because I can't see anything. Is the video card faulty? Is there a way around this? Any help is apreaciated!

EDIT: I have my "old" harddrive from my hp pavilion installed in it which has winxp home on it.
ASUS CrashFree BIOS2
The CrashFree BIOS2 feature now includes the BIOS auto-recovery function in a support CD. Users can reboot their system through the support CD when a bootable disk is not available, and GO through the simple BIOS auto-recovery process. ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy this protection feature without the need to pay for an optional ROM

If you can't do the above=start over.You could have you motherboard grounding out...etc.Ok i'll try it but like I said I get no signal. My monitor says check the cable and/or pc. Did it a million times. I should be getting something on the screen....even a black screen would be NICE at this POINT but nope noda zip.Quote

EDIT: I have my "old" harddrive from my hp pavilion installed in it which has winxp home on it.

Quote

EDIT: [highlight]I have my "old" harddrive from my hp pavilion installed in it which has winxp home on it.[/highlight]

[highlight]You need to reinstall Windows [/highlight](from a legal CD) on the machine you are expecting it to work on. The hard drive has information on hardware which is not present and no idea what is in there now.

what are the factors of installing an usable hard drive from my other system. and putting it in my new rebuild. it has windows 7 and of course all of my other good stuff i need. I am not an expert on this and I don't want to MESS this up. what should I do? and will the bios from the old unit affect the new mother board? 1) Bios has nothing to do with anything. It is not stored on your hd.
2) You will not be able to boot to the old hd in the new system. If you just want to use it as a drive, that's fine. But your old Windows 7 INSTALLATION will not be usable.You have NOT told US WHETHER this is a SATA or IDE HDD. So if it is an IDE setting the "PINS" to slave will be required. If it is SATA you will need to ensure that you have an available SATA port on the MOBO and you will probably need to enable that particular SATA port in the BIOS. truenorth

Quote

Raptor- How can I install new drivers without a connection. I don't have any floppy disks for the job

Raptor- How can I install new drivers without a connection. I don't have any floppy disks for the job

I have had this problem on every COMPUTER I have ever owned and I think it's about time that I ask if I can do anything to solve problem. I own a saitek x52 flight stick because I like my flight sims and I also own a logitech Momo wheel because I like my racing sims. The problem I am getting is that once I have plugged in my wheel to play a RACE sim after I UNPLUG it I lose all configuration options for my flight sims. I can't tell you what a pain it is having to reconfigure all the axis and button presses all over again for my flight sim, or the other way round for my racing sims. Can someome please help me out with this because it's driving me nuts. Thanks!!What OS ? ?

If it's XP i would SET up one HARDWARE profile with the Saitek configured and one with the racing wheel....
These choices will be available at boot time.Quote from: patio on September 29, 2010, 05:51:09 AM

What OS ? ?

If it's XP i would set up one Hardware profile with the Saitek configured and one with the racing wheel....
These choices will be available at boot time.

Hello
A friends got a problem with her computer every time she tries to boot up ALTHOUGH it's obvious the computers running within seconds she gets a message no signal going to sleep.
Ive TRIED setting my monitor up on the same computer but get the same message.
The computer is a HP Pavilion a6000 AMD processor running WIN VISTA this is the only information I have on the computer.
Any help would be really appreciated as a lot of her daughters school work is on the computer.
Thanks in advance jhaddIf it does the same with your monitor connected then it's not a monitor setting...
Go to CONTROL Panel and check ALL power saving settings...Thanks for the reply im unable to go to control panel as i'm getting no display on the monitor i just get the message no signal going to sleep.
Thanks again jhaddQuote from: patio on September 06, 2013, 09:09:48 AM

Go to Control Panel and check ALL power saving settings...

This what I always do when there is no display.

I can tell the computer running so probably running in safe mode

i'm presuming the computer is running the power lights on as well as what I thought was the hard disk running but I get no beeps when I boot the computer up.

I can't get it to boot in safe mode, I can tell the computer running so probably running in safe mode but nothing on the monitor apart from the message no signal then going to sleep.

My Acer Aspire 5755G has an overheating problem so I followed the INSTRUCTIONS in a video to reach my fan and got my HDD, optical disk drive and removed all the required screws at the bottom. But when it came to unscrewing the touchpad, the ENTIRE PART didn't come on camera properly. So I tried removing it myself and managed to get a few protrusions out of their slots (shown in pic). This took some Herculean EFFORT so I am PRETTY sure I did it the wrong way. How can I get the whole thing out? My lap is out of warranty so I need to do it myself.

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]

OK, so this has never happened to me before, but I genuinely don't know what kind of memory this slot is supposed to take. The manual and places selling compatible RAM state it should take a DDR SODIMM, which I have - the STICK I intended to fit is placed next to the slot in the second photo, for reference. The slot is far too big, and wrongly keyed, for SODIMM, and too small for a DIMM, whether DDR, DDR2 or DDR3. Any ideas?


Is this a printer, the slot looks very similar to the RAM slot in my old LaserJet.

It's my understanding that it's special RAM designed for use in printers.It is indeed a printer...confusingly it's listed as a standard SODIMM everywhere that sells memory for it, hence my confusion.
Plus, someone told me it would take a standard laptop module...guess they were wrong!

Thanks for clearing that up hah, even though it's a shame because I don't have any All SODIMM slots look like this.


From pic, I can't tell where locating tabs on slot are located.



What is make & model of printer?

Could it be a 72-pin SIMM? Bottom pic, top is 30-pin
Per this sourse, it is a standard SDRAM slot, NOT a DDR SDRAM slot as with most other boards.

"Note that the SDRAM module has two notches on the bottom edge, while the DDR1 SDRAM module has only ONE."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIMMI found the same thing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIMM
Two types of DIMMs: a 168-pin SDRAM module (top) and a 184-pin DDR SDRAM module (bottom). Note that the SDRAM module has two notches on the bottom edge, while the DDR1 SDRAM module has only one. Also note that both modules have 8 RAM chips, but the lower one has an unoccupied space for a 9th.



Therefore, DIMM, not SODIMM.This is what led to my confusion over it, as the only places I could find selling supposedly compatible memory stated it was a DDR SODIMM, but it looks nothing like it. I'd never seen an upright SODIMM slot, either, so I figured they had to be wrong.
If you click the images, you'll be able to view them full size, and see the locating tabs.
Looks like old-school SDRAM, then, as it does have the two locating tabs. Been a long while since I've used any of that, they're between a DDR DIMM and a SODIMM in size right? If so then that matches up perfectly.

I'll go kick the guy who told me it would take a DDR SODIMM, no idea what he was thinking of and his certainty just threw me right off the TRACK here. I'll have a dig through my "ancient parts" bits box and see if I have anything suitable.
Thanks for the help.My policy has always been that if the device in question is not a PC, don't take any of the markings on it's logic board or what it says on the manual directly. DDR/DDR2/DDR3 memory refers to the chip design, so even if the manual says it took, say, DDR2, if it's a manual for a Printer I would never believe until I was actually able to insert one that it actually took a standard PC DDR2 DIMM. Usually they use some funky proprietary connection.That's probably about right BC, never done much work on printers before apart from the usual maintenance and fixes so this would've been my first time upgrading memory. TURNS out it takes 100 pin DDR, according to a bit more research today, so that's one upgrade I won't be doing as the printer was free and 256MB of memory for it is nearly £60 - despite a review claiming "Dell charges a modest £18 for 256MB" I can't find a mention of it on their site at all. Ah well.They probably used to offer the upgrade for that price. But the last few times I've had to buy old RAM I was shocked that it cost much more than modern RAM per MB. Anyway, good to know what it is. It's definitely more difficult to figure those things out with anything other than a PC cause they always do something ODD. Even with a lot of Dell boxes, they use tons of custom design stuff so that you have to buy Dell parts.That slot looks just like the old PC133 ram. I've got boxes full of it.
But if I remember correctly, there were about four different types of it and they did not cross.

Look around any local PC shops. You will probably find some there. Finding the exact right ram would be hit or miss.

Good Luck,
My HP LaserJet 2100 came with 4MB RAM, upgraded it with a single 16MB DIMM. There are 3 slots, max memory is 52MB. RAM was expensive back then (1999), so only bought 1 module.
The HP LaserJet 2100 products support the following DIMM types:

EDO: (Extended Data Output) technology that retains data in memory while the processor continues with other operations. This memory is single-tasking.
Specifications: EDO: 100 pin, 32 bit, 60ns, 3.3 volts, 1K refresh rate

EDO was always more expensive, but this one's not too bad at $20.

A lot of memory suppliers call them SODIMMS, when they are not. They call this a SODIMM?
16MB HP LaserJet 1100/2100 Printer EDO SODIMM (p/n C4137A)


[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]Turns out the problem I was having with it printing slowly wasn't caused by the low RAM, anyway, it was a driver issue. At first, the first page would print really quickly, then there was a long delay between subsequent pages, talking 2-3 minutes to start printing the next page. This was just text, no images. Later prints would also be slow unless I rebooted the printer. Installed it on my gf's laptop to test it, and that worked fine, so I grabbed the driver from Windows Update instead of the latest driver from the manufacturer and it now prints nice and quickly over the network. I might upgrade it anyway as I found some that should be suitable for £12, but it doesn't seem like it's necessary now.

I am presently using my third Systemax PC. I chose (was lured to) Systemax by the fact that they were a "made and operating in the USA company". I have had excellent performance from the units, and only changed each after a few years as I wanted newer, faster, and more powerful. My two previous Systemax towers are STILL chugging away with friends with only modest needs for surfing and email.

Now Systemax seems to have vanished as a consumer supplier. Does anyone know why? They axed their consumer PC business, including their CompUSA and Circuit City brands, in late 2012, FOLLOWING poor financial performance in the 3rd quarter of that year. Their sales for the quarter ended 28 September 2012, dropped 5.99 per cent compared with the same period in 2011. The business-to-business part of the company CONTINUED to be a growth engine, particularly in Europe. B2B revenue was up four per cent year-on-year to $526.8m, but sales from Systemax's consumer unit in North America fell 19 per cent.


A quick search shows that company is still in business. The stuff is solid by Tiger Direct and others. And they have their own website.
http://www.systemax.com/

My limited personal experience with them is not positive.

May I SUGGEST you buy a system made by a company that has a larger part of the Desktop market. Here are seven.
Apple
Acer
Dell
Falcon
Gateway
HP
Samsung
Alphabetical order. And there are some I forgot. Falcon is a gaming computer company.Quote from: Geek-9pm on September 30, 2013, 11:27:46 AM

A quick search shows that company is still in business. The stuff is solid by Tiger Direct and others. And they have their own website.
http://www.systemax.com/

"Falcon" ? ?
Really ?

I have an issue with my Inspiron 530. This MORNING I turned on my computer and it wouldn't boot up. Instead I get a series of 4 beeps. The BLUE light is solid. After reading several postings, the majority said it was a memory problem. So I opened up the box, took both memory strips out, and reinserted them. I CLOSED the box and turned on my computer. I got excited because the beeps were gone, BUT now I have another problem. When I turn the computer on it would turn off. After a second time, it would stay on but the screen remains black. The fan is also blowing hard. So I CONCLUDED that the video card MAY need replaced. Can anyone offer any suggestions on how to correct this problem? I would really appreciate it. Take care.

Craig Your computer doesn't have a separate video card. It's onboard, meaning integral to the motherboard.
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/Product/inspiron-530

Hello.

I've just bought a parts for my new computer. The list of all parts:
- Intel Core i5 4670 (3.40Ghz, 6MB) BOX (CPU)
- Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 2GB Windforce 2X OC (GPU)
- Western Digital Caviar Blue 1000GB 64MB (hard drive)
- XFX Core Edition PRO 550W (power supply)
- Gigabyte GA-H87M-HD3 (MOTHERBOARD)
- Corsair ValueSelect 4GB 1600Mhz cl11 - 1.50V (RAM)


I have installed a Windows 7 and drivers.
Now I am having problem with my graphic card. If I am using the computer just for browsing on the internet it freezes for a few seconds and after that a message "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" .. this happens every 15 - 30 minutes.
If I run a game (in my case Stronghold 2), the game (GPU) freezes at the "start game" screen.

I have tried these things to solve my problem:
- installed a GPU driver from CD
- installed a GPU driver from ATI website
- installed a GPU driver from Gigabyte website

Nothing worked ... still the same.


Any ideas how can I solve my problem? I WOULD probably RMA the graphics card in this situation. Different driver versions are about all you can try, REALLY - you COULD try a different PCI-E slot, but you don't have any. You could try reseating the graphics card and its power cables, but I suspect you're looking at a faulty graphics card.

So recently I've been playing with the Lenovo T431s, but this is not about the laptop it's about the 24 GB SSD drive they install for caching, I think it's a cool feature to have.

So the default configuration is a 16 GB caching drive and a 8 GB hibernation partition which I didn't figure was needed. So since I'm looking at distributing this model to our users I had to learn the configuration of the software. For starters it uses the ExpressCache application which really doesn't have many configurations options the only one I found hand was the -preload option.

So the basics configuration is as follows:

This is a high level overview that will be detailed later

Uninstall Expresscache - Reboot Required
Run DiskPart to configure the SSD card
Reinstall Expresscache - Reboot required
Load desired files and folders


Since this is a mass deployment I set up the machine with all the applications and configuration settings and uninstalled Expresscache before capturing the image so I don't have to worry about the first step of uninstalling the application.

Image is put on the machine with a batch file and 2 Diskpart scripts

Diskpart Script 1

=================
List Disk
=================

This is designed to identify the correct disk to work with

Diskpart Script 2

=================

Select Disk %dsknum%
Clean
Convert MBR
Create Partition Primary
Set ID=73 Override
Exit

=================

Once the correct disk is identified all partitions are removed, it's converted to a Master Boot Record and the ID is set to 73

Batch Script

=================

@echo off
cls
setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
setlocal EnableExtensions


:Start
If exist c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\SSDCFG.flg goto Cleanup
If exist c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\partI.flg goto Exprinst

:ConfigDSK
for /f "tokens=1,2,4,5" %%a in ('diskpart /s c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\diskcfg.edr ^| find /i "online"') do if %%c==22 (set dsknum=%%b & goto config)
goto End

:Config
diskpart /s c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\SSDcfg.edr
type nul > c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\partI.flg
start /w C:\DRIVERS\expresscache_setup_64
goto end

:Exprinst
cd c:\windows\system32
for /r %%l in (*.dll) do eccmd -preload "%%l"
cd "c:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office"
for /r %%m in (.) do eccmd -preload "%%m"

:cleanup
del c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\partI.flg
reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\SSD Config" /f
type nul > c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\SSDCFG.flg

:end

=================

A register entry is added to the Run key for the default user, so any user creating a profile gets the value and it run on boot.

The Start section determines the state.

If there are no .flg files nothing has been run
If the partI.flg is present then only the first part of the script has run
if the SSDcfg.flg is present then the process has completed


The ConfigDSK section gets the disk information from Diskpart

for /f "tokens=1,2,4,5" %%a in ('diskpart /s c:\windows\system32\phtcfg\diskcfg.edr ^| find /i "online"') do if %%c==22 (set dsknum=%%b & goto config)

It opens Diskpart and runs the follow command "List Disk" and grabs the following variables (The word Disk, The Disk Number, The Disk Size and the Disk size units) for each disk ie Disk 1 495 GB. Since we know it's a 24 GB SSD we check the Disk Size column for a matching number. It then sets the disk number and goes to the configuration portion for the SSD card


The Config Section
Uses the second Diskpart to configure the SSD Card
Creates a flag for for the completion of the first part and installs Expresscache - This as stated above forces a reboot

After the reboot since it is still in the run key of the registry it starts again but it finds the flag file indicating that the first part was complete and goes to the second phase

The Exprinst Section
Loads all the DLL in the Windows\System32 Directory and the entire Microsoft Office Directory on the Cache drive and does a Clean up

The Cleanup Section
Removes the Flag file for Phase 1, Removes the registry entry and creates a flag so to show that it has completed so when a new profile is created after checking the completed state in the Start section it goes to the Clean Up section to prevent it from running

Really fast boot times Windows and Office is pretty quick, but it does depend on the data you are opening. Overall a really fun time

Thanks for the information, sure it will be useful to those interested in SSD caching and particularly the laptops you've been using it on.
Personally I've never seen the point in SSD caching generally, I would always rather just go with an SSD rather than a small SSD to cache some reads and writes. It's not really a halfway house between SSD and HDD performance as is usually advertised, IME it's usually much less than that. Of course, if your read/write operations are quite limited and you can always hit the cache, then you'll get much more than that, almost to the level of a proper SSD perhaps. But, if they're so limited...why not just use an SSD on its own, as the HDD would be redundant in that case?
Slightly off topic I know, I've just never really seen the point. It seems like an unnecessary complication.Quote from: Calum on September 27, 2013, 02:36:41 AM

Thanks for the information, sure it will be useful to those interested in SSD caching and particularly the laptops you've been using it on.
Personally I've never seen the point in SSD caching generally, I would always rather just go with an SSD rather than a small SSD to cache some reads and writes. It's not really a halfway house between SSD and HDD performance as is usually advertised, IME it's usually much less than that. Of course, if your read/write operations are quite limited and you can always hit the cache, then you'll get much more than that, almost to the level of a proper SSD perhaps. But, if they're so limited...why not just use an SSD on its own, as the HDD would be redundant in that case?
Slightly off topic I know, I've just never really seen the point. It seems like an unnecessary complication.

I also believe in this, however in your case it would be better to install your OS and primary work/client applications to the SSD. After installing to the SSD configure folder redirection for the my documents, pictures, etc and default paths to the HDD in the laptop. This allows users to install any additional programs they need while keeping all of the OS and essential work applications on the SSD for speed.

This also allows for much more re-image flexibility. once your image is set up with the folder redirection and default installation paths you can re-image the machine and add any certificates (If they have any), ect again and all their data will be untouched and instantly available. After swapping to this you are cutting down on your overhead and giving you more time to drink coffee.

Cracks me up that this even gets any legwork...
I thought the whole attraction for SSD HDD's was for the additional speed...yet people need to still tweak them for extra performance...

can the wireless part of a computer go bad? I have my router hooked to my desktop and the wireless isn't working so I can access the internet in the rest of the house. I switched routers and same problem. Internet company says router is bad. I have internet on desktop and anything that I can hook up to it Ethernet CABLE. Help please.Yes they like all PC components do go bad...but it doesn't MAKE sense the same happened with another router...
More details...I don't have any more details. I had a netgear router on it this morning and no wireless. I didn't get any messages or anything, just no net. My desktop which is wired direct has internet. I called net company and was told wireless went out of router, I switched routers and same problem. Net company says all is connected and running well on their end. So now I am lost.When you switched routers did you remember to go to the wireless connection wizard in Control Panel and set up a new connection to test ? ?
If not that explains why it didn't work...at any rate i suspect the Netgear is dead except for direct connectionsThe wireless light on router doesn't come on. On which router ? ?
You NEED to start being more specific with your replies...especially if we are gonna troubleshoot a networking issue...On either router when each is hooked up. Right now I have a 2wire router hooked up and no light, or wireless.Re-install the router software and re-set everything from square 1You have to configure your router, read the manual of router and look for wireless configuration page.You may safely ignore the above post

Hi,

Not sure if this is the right section.
I had a OLD Hi-Fi radio woofer, please look at the attachment.
I would like to use the speaker with my desktop, as you know behind the desktop only had 1 jack which is not COMPATIBLE with my woofer cables.
I need to know what universal jack i can use to solve my problem, where to buy it online, or RECOMMEND me something.
I did try to find it in eBay but i don't know which one should i get.

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]I would buy or use a stereo or amp with audio input, and drive the woofer(s) speakers etc through that. You will need a stereo phono male jack to another male stereo phono jack or a stereo phono male jack to RCA male USUALLY red and white for left and right sound.

Your computer can not drive these directly without killing the soundcard which may be integrated to the computer. If you do get any sound and drive it with sound CARD directly the sound will probably be a anything from nothing heard to a whisper of sound.

Definately drive them with an amp or stereo that has aux audio input.


http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=96T7442&CMP=KNC-GPLA&mckv=|pcrid|27090073821|plid|

or this one

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?seq=1&format=2&p_id=4792&CAWELAID=1329450515&catargetid=320013720000011015&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CKuFjrDu5LkCFSU6QgodPjQAlA

Depending on the amp or stereo used to drive the speaker/woofer(s) you may need to add RCA plugs to the end of the stripped wire if they are not quick release like these appear to have come from and make sure you have correct polarity to avoid damage.

*** Once when my sound system died, I simply plugged my computers audio output to the aux audio input of a large 1980s boom box and used that for sound and it worked quite well. Could even record stuff to tape..lolExcellent advice...
I concur.Quote from: DaveLembke on September 24, 2013, 02:20:11 PM

I would buy or use a stereo or amp with audio input, and drive the woofer(s) speakers etc through that. You will need a stereo phono male jack to another male stereo phono jack or a stereo phono male jack to RCA male usually red and white for left and right sound.

Your computer can not drive these directly without killing the soundcard which may be integrated to the computer. If you do get any sound and drive it with sound card directly the sound will probably be a anything from nothing heard to a whisper of sound.

Definately drive them with an amp or stereo that has aux audio input.


http://www.newark.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=96T7442&CMP=KNC-GPLA&mckv=|pcrid|27090073821|plid|

or this one

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?seq=1&format=2&p_id=4792&CAWELAID=1329450515&catargetid=320013720000011015&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CKuFjrDu5LkCFSU6QgodPjQAlA

Depending on the amp or stereo used to drive the speaker/woofer(s) you may need to add RCA plugs to the end of the stripped wire if they are not quick release like these appear to have come from and make sure you have correct polarity to avoid damage.

*** Once when my sound system died, I simply plugged my computers audio output to the aux audio input of a large 1980s boom box and used that for sound and it worked quite well. Could even record stuff to tape..lol

my nefew's laptop screen started flickering and would only work if you held it in a certian position, we replaced the screen and invertor now it is very dim. I have tried holding FN and PRESSING the brightness key which is the > but it will not get any brighter any ideas on what is wrong with it?If you replaced the screen and inverter only this month, you should again contact the repair shop / service center who replaced it for you. May be the inverter needs to be checked again.

Also, in some laptops, there is a setting in BIOS by which the screen becomes a bit dim when on battery. i.e - NOT CHARGING. When you plug in the charger, the screen brightens.
If your BIOS allows, check the BIOS if you can set the screen brightness to full or APPROPRIATE to what you want.There are aslo usually SETTINGS for brightness in Windows under "Power Management" I believe. There are also ones in the GPU software suite usually (if you have any GPU software installed). Lastly, it could be a driver issue. If there is actually a driver issue, then it's totally possible that it could cause a communication ERROR between the laptop and its screen. The only other thing I can think of is keyboard drivers. They shouldn't have messed with the kb driver, but if they did that could cause the kb FNs not to work. That happened to me after installing Win 8 pro. No kb shortcuts for a day or so until it found the right driver for me!

But it sounds to me like they most likely messed something up. Take 10-15 minutes to check around with the settings and see if you can't find anything wrong. If you don't - then take it back yelling (and don't let them charge you extra for a second look ).Quote

But it sounds to me like they most likely messed something up. Take 10-15 minutes to check around with the settings and see if you can't find anything wrong. If you don't - then take it back yelling (and don't let them charge you extra for a second look ).

Lastly, it could be a driver issue. If there is actually a driver issue, then it's totally possible that it could cause a communication error between the laptop and its screen. The only other thing I can think of is keyboard drivers. They shouldn't have messed with the kb driver, but if they did that could cause the kb FNs not to work.

Couldn't agree more...

But if one goes to a repair shop for changing the screen and inverter, why would they mess up the software part? They will obviously check if everything is working fine and then hand over the laptop to the customer.

my usb drive shows data but I can’t access all of it, however the search RESULT for some file make them availableMore INFO...your usb drive was suspicoiusly infected of virus. more details to find out.Quote from: samlacz on September 26, 2013, 01:47:25 AM

your usb drive was suspicoiusly infected of virus. more details to find out.

With the scant amount of info supplied how did you determine it's a virus ? ?

From what I can see, none of samlacz's posts are relevant.

Memory •Supports up to 2 GB dual channel DDR2 400/533/667 MHz memory

Processor •Supports 533/800 MHz FSB

As of today, Friday, August 2nd, 2013, we are turning off ordering on Geeks.com. We will cease to sell and ship products immediately. Geeks.com has always stood behind our products and don’t intend to stop now. We plan on fulfilling all of our responsibilities and liabilities, including, orders, any credits due will be issued, and we will have a small staff on hand to answer questions, to process returns, and to faithfully honor warranties. Please be patient as we will have no phone support. Please click here for any customer service related issues. If you have a problem with a product or a technical question we can help with, please send it here. The corporation itself is not closing. Our retail store in Oceanside California is open for business and will remain open!

For general reference. The Intel Xeon is a family pf CPUs that are not really the same as to others.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeon
The article above is flawed. But the point is this this: Do not think that the Intel Xeon is a current mainstream CPU. It is not. It is for use in servers. It is a legacy item. The higher price does not translate into higher performance in a single user system.

I am not sure if this problem is a hardware one or a software problem or what part of the computer is wrong. Anyways to start off, my xp takes forever to boot. It gets stuck with a black screen for about 4 -5 minutes then the windows xp load screen comes on. Periodically my motherboard wont detect any of my ide primary or secondary drives. So i dont know if its a hard drive problem, an overheating problem, or a motherboard issue.

my mother board is an nforce4 i forget the numbers, hd western digital 320 and 160 processor amd 3200+ 1gb of ram.A BIT more INFO Would be nice , post all the Specs of your mother board and HDDs

Also , did this just HAPPEN? was it working fine before?

Dose XP boot Every time? or will it sometimes not show up at all and SAY no Boot Disk.

Also if its Booting Very slow , what do you do to stop Virus's Adware and Spyware. the slow boot could just be too much crap. or it could be a Bad HDDlets us know the protection your computer has? AV antispywareHere is an interesting read for you:

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;314503

Hi,

Don't usually post on these sort of sites so the fact i've been compelled to register shows how much this ones GETTING on top of me!

OK, so i recently built my first computer and everything has seemed for some time now.

Then around mid-June I was playing Doom 3 and i noticed this wierd intermitant static noise comming from the speakers. At first when it would only play intermitantly and wouldnt OCCUR when some programs (eg divx, winamp, certian games) were playing sound.

Over the last month though the noise has increased and increased to the point where i am now driven to distracion. I can no LONGER play games/movies/music because the white noise/static coming over the speakers is now un-ceasing.

It is driving me up the wall and i dont know what to do.

I've tried using different CABLES (which i know work) and different speakers (which i also know work) neither has helped and the sound has persisted -thus i deduce that it is something within the computer itself.

Some one told me it might be because there are loose wres touching the psu, so i opended the computer tied everything up nice and neat ETC -it didn't make a blind bit of difference.

The soundcard is built into mother board (motherboard is Gigabyte GA-K8NF9).

Any ideas?

Want any more info about comp?


-Jnmim
I've tried re-installing the drivers.Are there other electrical sources nearby?THAT HAPPENED TO ME ONCE AND WHEN I BOUGHT A NEW SOUND CARD IT WENT AWAY. I HAD SCREATCHING AND STATIC NOISES IN GAMES BUT MY MP3s PLAYED FINEAnd then it affected your Caps Lock key I see. Yup, try adding a soundcard. That way you can determine whether the onboard sound has failed.Quote

And then it affected your Caps Lock key I see.

I think I'll stop there. That's too many big words for a Wednesday morning.

Ok, so I have a hand-me-down computer that isn't all that bad. It has window xp home and a radeon 9200 video card (horrible!). What my problem with it is that i tried to upgrade the card but whenever i get to a certain part of the installation it crashes. I found out that the upgrades i was trying to use didn't support my card... Now i can't find anything that will upgrade my card. I really need help because i've never owned a computer before and don't really know what it takes to keep it up to date except buy a new vid card and that's just too expencive for me right now. Where can i go to upgrade my vid card?1) Download the latest drivers from the nVidia SITE. (www.nvida.com)

2) Remove all existing drivers and reboot the machine.

3) Install the new drivers.

What happens now?I'm sure that would work if the vid card was nvidia and not radeon.Quote

I'm sure that would work if the vid card was nvidia and not radeon.

Hello again everyone, i had 2 computers with windows xp and DECIDED to sell one and keep the HARD drive as a slave to my remaining computer. problem has it, i had a password to log ONTO windows. so now, when i try to go into my documents and settings on the slave it says access is denied. is there ANY way i can get the information off that hard drive? any help greatly APPRECIATED!

and by the way, i saw that tech website that copied CH, thats some *censored*!Put it in as master and boot, Remove the password protection, Then put it as slave again and you should be able to access everything.it doesn't work. i set the jumpers on the hard drive to Master, and cable select but the computer keeps restarting over and over again.What Version of XP are you USING , if its XP Pro you should be able to login as administrator and Take Ownership of Files and Change the Permissions

on pro just right click on a file and goto properties, then open the security tab add a user , and give him full control

and I'm not sure how to do that on XP homeHere is what you need to know:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421Perfect, thank you much!Glad you are all fixed up.

lol... sometimes other ppl answer confuse you so you just need to find the answer for yourself..so if i keep the stolen one, how do i protect myself? rest the bios? rest the mac address? any ideas?i dont know umm try taking the internal battery out for a min or two that should reset the bios.. but what for what one of the experts has to say on my advise.. before you do anything i suggest.. cuz im not an expertQuote

Quote

Depends if its 64 bit or not, Athlon xp's have been out for years.

What Athlon XP ran at 2.2 GHZ that would be in a business CLASS machine? Dell doesn't use AMD anyway.

so if i keep the stolen one, how do i protect myself? rest the bios? rest the mac address? any ideas?

sooo REFORMAT

my dad recieved a HP pavilon 512x from my neighbor, she couldnt get it working... we cant either, it just keeps trying to install XP over and over and over... it gives the following MESSAGE when booting from CD:

BOOT FROM CD:
No Emulation

and it acts like it is going to install xp, which, for the most part it does, but when you reboot, it does the same thing...

we have tryed differant IDE cables, for the hard drive, cd drive, differant cd and hard drive also, the only thing i can think of is that the mobo is bad, or the chip...

it has 256mb of ram (stock) a 1.3ghz celeron chip with 256k cache (stock) board is the stock HP board...The "No emulation" is an error code in trying to reload the operating system from a damaged set of files on the hidden partition. The best thing to do would be to get a legal copy of some kind of Windows and load it on fresh. You will not get that version to run without restore disks from HP. If your neighbor is the original owner, she may be aboe to order these for a small fee ($10-20)Quote

The "No emulation" is an error code in trying to reload the operating system from a damaged set of files on the hidden partition. The best thing to do would be to get a legal copy of some kind of Windows and load it on fresh. You will not get that version to run without restore disks from HP. If your neighbor is the original owner, she may be aboe to order these for a small fee ($10-20)

Hi, i'm having slight issues with my new DVD-RW DRIVE, and using it with my other DRIVES. my motherboard, an Intel D915GAV supports 1 IDE channel, which was previously running a CD-RW drive and a regular DVD drive in a MASTER/slave set-up. i recently purchased a sony DVD-RW drive and when i installed it replacing the regular DVD drive, my motherboard would only recognize the DVD-RW drive (whether it was Master or Slave) but it would NOT recognize it as a DVD-RW in my BIOS, it would call it something unusual and sometimes just incoherent symbols!!! so i then tried using it with the regular DVD drive, still the same issues whether the DVD-RW was master or slave. It seems the only way that my BIOS will correctly recognize the drive is by not sharing the channel. so i only have one optical drive on my one channel. This is something i would rather not live with. so, my questions to you are:

- is this a common problem with DVD-RW drives and/or how do you solve it?
- if it comes down to it, is this a good PCI IDE card/ will it work for adding one or two more optical drives to my settup? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16816132005

- Windows XP SP2
- Intel D915GAV motherboard
- Intel D915G chipset
- Sony DVD-RW drive
- CD-RW drive
- DVD drive
- Seagate Barracuda 80 Gb HDD (SATA so prob. not relevant)

Thanks a lot!!Well, that card only has 1 review, so that doesn't GIVE you much to go on. I'm not personally familiar with the Rosewill brand but Newegg seems to sell a good bit of Rosewill harware.

Have recently purchased a second hand Sony Vaio notebook BX196sp, and am now having trouble with starting it up. It does turn on displaying the initial Vaio logo and sound, then a white text line at the top left corner as if it is going to do something, then nothing the SCREEN just GOES blank. The fan comes on immediately after and the green power light remains on. I am guessing that the last time i used it may have caused the problem as it was on for several hours, but still the laptop is only 3 months old from new?? Arrrggghhhh help!
ThanksOk well , you say its second hand but only 3 months old? do you know why some one SOLD such a new laptop?

If your could post the Model NUMBER of the Laptop , and its spec's , the more information we have the easier it will be to fix.

And what were you doing the last time it worked. it shouldn't Crap out just by running for a few hours.
Did you install any New Programs?
Do you have an Anti Virus? or Anti Spy/Mal/Adware Program?

And Also What dose it say on the Screen it Stops on, is it the windows logo? or a Gray Bar along the Bottom, or neither?

And you Bought a Sony Vaio waht did you expect to happen Thanks for your reply

Purchased from a good friend, who has upgraded his laptop for his company, may be slightly older than 3 months, but is less than 6 months old.

VGN BX196SP
Model PCG-9W2M
100GB, 512MB

Last time used was to play a game.

Stops after the initial Vaio screen appears, doesnt go into Windows and no grey line, just a blank black screen, having to shutdown using on/off button, have tried this several times without any luck, am wondering if it has overheated as the fan comes on more or less straight away.

Cheers for your helpI am hoping for your sake that its just your bootloader gone bad,

I would try an XP repair , by booting off the XP disk, and choosing to repair the system.

you could also try using the XP recovery console , and run fixboot and fixmbr

GX1_man Likes to Recommend Linux Live Disks, like Slax i think

He might post and give you some other recommendations on fixing Boot ProblemsThanks for your advice, i have resorted to contacting Sony on their premium rate number, they think it may be the graphics card? and arranged to collect it next week as it is still under warranty.
Guess i shouldnt have bought Sony, it is only a couple of months old and hardly used, poor quality, and am also guessing that all my data and downloads will also be deleted once i get it back, not a happy bunny.
Anyway thanks Panboy, much appreciated
NO's!! Sony is the Evil it will Come back with More Evil than Ever Before!!

How many Company's Re-brand Stuff Put it in Flimsy Shiny Boxes and Then Smear them with Evil Sauce, and then when it Breaks you have to Ring a Premium Rate Service(Thats Evil) so you can have them Fix there Over Priced box of Evil. and it will come back with Fresh Evil Sauce.

Did i mention Sony are Evil

Most of the Time the First thing they do is Reformat the whole thing But
If there Nice they might not Delete your Data, Was Any on it IMPORTANT? (Their Evil BTW)Just spent ages replying to this for it to tell me i need to log in and wiped off my message arrrggghhh start again-

Anyway you have made me giggle in my time of frustration and anger, Sony grrrr!
Guess your not impressed by them, they have yet to prove themselves to me!

I copy most important data to usb storage, your probably right they will more than likely reformat the whole thing, losing everything, just hope they will reinstall Nero and other programs that had been installed prior to it conking out on me.

Its slightly disheartening that some over worked technician will have access to my personal files, (photos,videos etc), thats ofcourse if they can actually get the *censored* thing to start without having to re format it?

Lessons Learnt:
1. Make sure i always delete all files prior to shutting down laptop on each session, just on the off chance i may not be able to start the *censored* thing again
2. Never buy Sony again cos apparantly they are 'Evil'
3. Check my phone bill!!

Anyway i was being slightly greedy as i already have a Toshiba laptop, although wasnt highly impressed with it, i must say it never let me down as with the Sony, even if it is a much slower machine. I guess the finger tip recognition and the in built webcam did it for me, women eah? Not looking at the quality etc, just purchased because of the added extras (the fingertip security did it for me hmmm), now if it had had a pink casing maybe i would disagree with your Evil comment.

Ah well, lets just see hopefully it isnt anything too destructive, cheersGlad i could make you laugh

Toshiba Make Pretty good stable laptops , my parents both have Satellite Pros and Ive never had a problem on them wile i have been removing all the spy ware they let get on them .

Al tho in general i hate Laptops , why pay 2k for a top end laptop when you can speed the same on a massive Desk top and it will be some much better!

and don't you talk to me about mobility my desktops plenty mobile, when i put it in the car i can hook it up to the Battery and use it any ware i wont , and i can still be indoors!!

Sony arent all bad , they made good stuff in the 80's, i still have a TV from then

hey,
I bought a laptop but I don't know how to connect it to a wireless network. Also, how to I input an existing ISP on my laptop???

Thanks.
______________________________

Computer Specs

Pavilion dv8210us Notebook

Processor Brand: AMD
Processor Class: Turion 64 Mobile Technology
Processor Number: ML-32
Processor Speed: 1.8 GHz
Bus Speed: 1.6 GHz
Mobile Technology: Turion
L2 Cache Size: 512 KB
Memory Speed: PC-2700 (333MHz)
Memory Technology: DDR-SDRAM
Installed Memory: 512 MB
Maximum Memory: 2 GB
Memory Slots Total: 2
Memory Slots AVAILABLE: 0
Hard Drive Capacity: 80 GB
Drive Controllers: IDE (Ultra ATA/DMA)
Rotational Speed: 5400 RPM
Optical Drives: Dual LAYER DVD+/-RW Drive:
Speed specifications are not available from the manufacturer.

Additional Drives: DL DVD+/-RW
Sound Support: Digital Audio (16-bit)
Video Chipset Brand: ATI
Video Chipset: RADEON XPRESS 200M IGP
Installed Video Memory: 128 MB
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Display Size: 17.0 in
Display Type: Active Matrix LCD (TFT)
Port Connectors: 4 x Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0
1 x Audio - Headphone-out with S/PDIF Digital Audio
1 x Audio - Microphone-in
1 x Video - VGA (15-pin)
1 x Video - TV-Out (S-Video)
1 x RJ-11 (modem)
1 x RJ-45 Ethernet (LAN)
1 x Notebook EXPANSION Port 2
1 x IEEE-1394 FireWire (4-pin)
1 x Consumer IR (Remote Receiver)

Card Slots: 1 x Memory Stick
1 x Memory Stick Pro
1 x SmartMedia Card
1 x Secure Digital(SD)/MMC
1 x xD-Picture Card
1 x ExpressCard/34
1 x ExpressCard/54
1 x Type II / Type I CardBus
Network Support: Ethernet (10/100 Mbps)
Wireless Protocol: 802.11b
802.11g
Modem Speed: 56 Kbps
Input Devices: Keyboard
Remote Control
Touchpad
Number of Batteries: 1
Installed Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
Included Software: Security and Support:
Symantec™ Norton Internet Security 2006 (including complimentary 60 days Live Update)
HP Total Care Help & Support Center
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Wireless Home Network
PC Recovery (Softthinks Restore Solution)
PRODUCTIVITY and Finance:
Microsoft® Works
Microsoft® Money
Microsoft® MSN® Encarta® Plus
Multimedia:
Sonic Digital Media Plus
HP Quick Play
Muvee™ AutoProducer DVD Edition with Burning
Microsoft® Windows® Movie Maker
Microsoft® Windows® Media PLAYER
HP PhotoSmart Premier

In the Box: HP Pavilion dv8210us Notebook
HP Mobile Remote Control
Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (1 pair)
65W AC Adapter
8-cell Lithium-Ion battery
Talk to whomever sold you the machine

or

Talk to your internet provider

or

Start using that Google button

Here's a start:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/default.mspx

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=set+up+network+xp

It is not appropriate to expect others to just walk you through it when the information is right there for you to learn. Thanks.

When i turn on my pc it begins to boot then begins a scan/load of something - it has done it since i bought it and it can be cancelled by pressin esc then the pc boots upwith windows logo ETC but i just wondered if i could change something to stop this scan - when i PRESS escape it says EAO network boot cancelled - im running windows xp my pc is 2 years old any help will be great thanks alot
regards
MatRun Everest Home and post back with your system summary.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

Why is this an issue after 2 years?I looks to me like you have a bootable network Card,

If thats the Case all you need to do is change the boot order in your Bios to Boot From HDD First, and Network last

Many Bios's are Different so i we would need more information on your computers hardware in order to helpive done and attached the report if that helps - when it starts up it says press shift & tab to change something (cant remember wot it said) - in this OPTION i can change a setting to 'local only' which stops the scan but doesnt stay saved when i startup again - ive probably made it sound more confusing then it actually is - sorry - any help will be much appriciated
regards
matQuote

when it starts up it says press shift & tab to change something (cant remember wot it said) - in this option i can change a setting to 'local only'

Hello all,

I have a 2-year-old Dell Inspiron 8600 laptop with about 60 gig of RAM. Recently I have been having trouble when I TRY to play CDs or DVDs. When I press 'play' in either iTunes or PowerDVD, the drive starts making an unusual 'working' noise, my computer begins to act very slowly, and the song or movie plays choppy (it usually plays uninterrupted for no more than 2-3 seconds before stopping and 'chugging' for a while). In addition, when I play a CD through iTunes, the songs have an unusual static hiss in the background which is not present when I play the CD in an external CD player. When I try to rip the CD to my computer through iTunes, it RUNS EXTREMELY slowly, importing at a rate between 0.1 and 0.5 times the duration of the song (compared to the normal rate of 10-15 times). When the songs finally do import, they retain the same static hiss which was present when I played the CD through iTunes.

I know that the problem is with my drive and not with iTunes, because iTunes plays the songs I have already imported like normal, and PowerDVD is also affected by this problem.

It may be of use to NOTE that I have recently been attempting to view a DVD with a region code of 2 from England, so I downloaded a program called 'DVDGenie' which can switch between region codes an unlimited number of times. I'm not sure if this had any effect on the drive. I have since uninstalled this program, but the problem persists.

If anyone has experienced this problem, or has any possible ideas for solutions, I would be greatly appreciative.

Thanks a bunch,

Ben8600:

Try USING a can of condensed air to blow out any debris from inside the DVD drive. If that doesn't work, try different CDs to see if they work, and try to use different programs to play the CDs (for example, try to play a different music CD with Windows Media Player).

If that doesn't work, try REPLACING the DVD drive with one you know works.

Doc

Dead_reckon,

LOL, I don't THINK you can have Tucker banned just because you don't like what he posts and he hasn't violated the forum rules. ACTUALLY his view here is spot on as Fujitsu has made QUALITY drives for years. He was just challenging where you got your data for that blanket statement. That seems fair enough. Where did you get your CONCLUSIONS from?

Quote

No need to change it for my account. You are the one that has to live with it. Some colors are just harder for the eyes to discern and not very pleasant to look at. That's one combination.

Ever wonder why word processors use black on a white background. Easier to read. "Cool" colors don't enter into that. Just the FACTS.

i have just built a new computer and installed a new HARD drive partitioned into two, c: CONTAINING the operating system and d: for general short term storage. i have also installed an old hard drive which is partitioned into three and formatted CLEAN and into ntfs. I would LIKE to change this drive into one partition for any long term storage. using partition magic should i delete two of the empty partitions and then resize the remaing one to take up the whole drive. is this the right course of action please. thx in anticipation. walter.You have little or no files on that second hard drive, right? If you have a few files on it, copy them over to the primary drive. Then, just use Windows admin tools to get that second drive back to one partition. Go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, and then click on Disk Management. You'll see the existing partitions there, and can perform drive MAINTENANCE functions from that screen.Yes, you do NOT need Partition Magic or some third party software for simple tasks like this.

[smiley=huh.gif]After the computer has been running fine for a while, without warning the monitor image turns into a series of vertical, broken white lines with some color mixed in. I've tried 3 different monitors and 2 different cables. I've also updated the drivers and even tried a 3rd party driver. Nothing's helped. My video card is an ATI All-in wonder 9600. The whole system is about 3 1/2 years old. I've only been having trouble for a few weeks. If you restart the computer, It's OK again for a while. Any ideas? Thanks.You should provide a lot more information about your system before anyone can help. what operating system are you using? what Motherboard do you have? how much Memmory? also, what drivers are you using now? do you have catalyst?

post something to work with, and someone will be glad to help! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]Do you have virus and Spyware protection? Which operating system are you using? Have you made any changes to your system recently?

Flame[smiley=cry.gif] [smiley=cry.gif]I'm using Windows XP. I have McAfee and Sptbot running and updated. I ran a full scan on both. I also tried "System Restore" going back before the problem started. I have an AOpen AX4C Max motherboard. It has 512 meg of DDR400 memory. The drivers are what have always been there. I don't think any changes were made to anything. This is my teenage sons' computer so I can't be 100% sure what has happened.I would remove and reinstall the card, making sure it is snug in the socket. Then reinstall the drivers with the latest VERSION from the ATI site. You should also try another monitor on this machine and try this monitor on another machine to isolate where the problem is. Let us know.I've tried REINSTALLING the video card and reloading all the ATI Catalyst software. I thought it was fixed because it ran OK for 2 days and then it screwed up again! Any more ideas? I hate to just start throwing money at it.A few things jump out at me...
1) You tried 3 other monitors and 2 cables : I would say it's the vid card.

2) It runs fine for awhile on startup : I suspect a heat issue.

Check and see to make sure the vid card fan is working.
While you are in there do some housekeeping and get rid of the dust bunnies.

How old is this card ? ?

patio 8-)Welcome back Patio!! Being that its an ATI card its probably going bad. I can say this from experience. Ive owned three and they all crapped out. My 9800 PROS' fan popped off frying the card and my x850 which was only 5 months old is ALREADY in ATI's shop getting repaired. I really dont think i will ever buy another ATI. When my 9800 pro was overheating i would get pixels all over the screen that were different colors. Funny thing is that they never even made it out of the warranty period before thay went bad. Maybe they knew something I didnt then. Keep in mind that it is probably not an ATI card, just an ATI chipset design made by Bob's Computer's or some Taiwanese company you have never heard of. Save with nVidia. They don't make the actual cards either.


Be that as it may, other people mistreat their cards by overclocking, bad PSU's etc. Everyone has a favorite, usually due to a bad experience with the other.
[smiley=wink.gif]It apparently was the video card. I replaced it and after a week or so it's been fine. Thanks.Glad you are all fixed up and thanks for posting back. Thanx for the Welcome GX1 Man...good to see you again.

patio. 8-)

Hello, I need configuring my monitor.
I bought one AG Neovo AGM A-17 monitor and it doesn't
work properly, because i can't see some background colours in some
programs or some websites. For example when i RIGHT click the mouse
button on my desktop i can't see where it says cut or copy, those
KINDS of words in gray i can't see them too. I know that it as something to
do with the configuration but i can't work it out.
I need your help as soon as POSSIBLE If you are running at the appropriate resolution (most require 1024 x 768 or better) and have the correct video drivers for your graphics card, and have installed whatever .inf files that monitor needs from the CD that came with it, and read the manual and adjusted what you can and there is no resolution to the issue I would return it as defective.

Today I bought a brand new PCI Express GeForce 7600 GT for my Dell Dimension 4700 (Windows XP Home, 1.5GB RAM, 3.0Gh Pentium 4) and I am at my WITS end! After I installed it and turned on my computer, nothing showed up on the monitor. I can hear the GPU's fan whirring but no picture. I checked for some of the obvious problems: I double checked my monitor connections and uninstalled my previous drivers but neither seemed to work. I EVEN tried another CARD and that didn't work either. However when I put in my previous card (a PCI GeForce 5500 FX) everything runs fine. Should I just assume that my PCI Express slot is bad and (gasp!) have my motherboard replaced, or are there other things I should look for? Please help!Well that PSU is only 305w. so it may not have enough horsepower to even run that card. What other components are in there?

Here is a basic wattage estimate calculator:

http://journeysystems.com/power_supply_calculator.php

The card could be bad, but if the machine has been working fine until now I would not jump to a motherboard conclusion. Can you test that card in another machine?i would assume that u have a defective card.Actually I replaced the standard 305W PSU with a 400W one. According to the literature in the box, the card requires a PSU with 350W. The card may very well be defective, but since right now I do not have another machine with a PCI Express bus, I cannot test it. Although, as I mentioned in the first post, I tried another PCI Express card (also brand new) in the same slot and got the same results. Besides the possibility that both cards are defective, is there anything else I can TRY?Tell us about the 400 w PSU. Dells are proprietary historically even in regards to PSU's. WHat is the make, model and age of the new one. Besides the pin outs, the 12v rail is the important factor with high end graphics cards. The possibility of two video cards being defective seems a little remote as a possibility but stranger things have happened.I bought the PSU at almost the same time as my graphics card. Since I am not experienced in the least at installing them, I just had the guys at the computer store do it. They did mention the possibility of it being proprietary but they were able to install it.

Now I may not be an expert in power supplies (or hardware in general), but I really don't have too much in my computer. Excluding the new graphics card, all i have is:

(1) DVD ROM drive
(1) HDD
(1) 3.0 Gh Pentium 4 Proc

Sound, Networking and everything else is on the board. The only card I have in there is the graphics card. Like I said, I could hear everything working (hard drive whirring, fans spinning, etc.) but the monitor remains blank. Hopefully, I will get the chance to test the card elsewhere. That hopefully will shed some light on the situation. Until then, I can use all the help I can get.That would be the logical next step. If the card is good we can look at other issues. If it is not, you can continue loving your computer.

Do we EVEN GET a HINT about the machine or what you have done? THis is just not enough of a story to START on. See below.

Thanks alot for your time and help. You HELPED me out alot. CYA later Quote

I even tried my old motherboard and still nothing.

I just upgraded my video card to a new Nvidia 6200 AGP card and when I rebooted, Windows XP made me reactivate my copy (first time I've had to do that). Everything was fine until I noticed that my DVD and CD drives are now gone -- they do not SHOW up in Windows Explorer, nor in Device Manager ANYWHERE (there wasn't even any yellow warning icon next to it -- it's just totally gone from DM). However, I can still open and close the actual drives, so power is coming to them, but for whatever reason, they no longer exist according to Windows or that Windows can't detect them.

I've tried the technique described in http://www.theeldergeek.com/restore_missing_cd_or_dvd_drive.htm but that didn't work. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.Just to make sure, but you did check to see if any cables were knocked loose going to them? Make sure all connections are in securely.And some details about the actual machine would be HELPFUL as well.I have checked and as far as I can tell, all the cables are in place. I've even tried unplugging and plugging back in the cables in the hope that Windows will recognize it as new hardware, but that hasn't worked either.

The machine is about 4 years old, made by Atlas Micro (now defunct), with an MSI 745 motherboard, AMD K6 +2000 processor and 1GB of PC2700 RAM.Are the drives seen correctly in the BIOS? If they are not seen there, then Windows cannot solve the problem.Quote

Are the drives seen correctly in the BIOS? If they are not seen there, then Windows cannot solve the problem.

Actually I MORE than alluded to it.

Somehow by BROTHER inlaw lost the driver for his cd. It is the basic one comes with start up. Is there a way to get it BACK? This is an old HP with a 233 in it. Any help would be nice.

Thanks
PETEI don't understand the QUESTION. Do you need a start up disk? What operating system? What are you trying to do? CD Drivers are built in to WINDOWS installs. Are these the mothterboard drivers that are on a CD?

More info needed.

Successfully burned SP2 to CD.

Installed on Kitchen Pc

New file in Contol Panel: Wireless Wizard

Didn't change or help wireless connection

Have you tried getting the latest drivers for that network card from the manufacturer's website? Remove the old drivers first.I find the a good way of dealing with Wireless Problems is to start from the bottom and then build up.

I mean , Disable all Security on Every THING , and GET it working on standard wifi first . so turn off WEP/WPA and just have every thing run in the most SIMPLE way you can.

Then once you can connect every ONE , set up what ever security you want.

When you build a fort you cant start with TURRETS and then Worry about foundations. Always start with a Good solid simple Lump of Concrete or Granite. then add your Keep

i was using my mouse like normal when all of a sudden it locked/froze on screen. i REBOOTED and now my mouse doesn't work at all. i was using a cordless mouse through a usb PORT, i CHANGED the batteries and it still doesn't work. i've even tried plugging a regular mouse into the ps/2 port and still i GET nothing. PLEASE HELP!!If you boot into SafeMode do yous still have no mouse?

Alan <>Also with cordless meece when you CHANGE batteries you need to "connect" the device to the reciever afterwards.
This is done with a small button on the meece or reciever or it can be done thru Control Panel/Mouse/Properties.

patio8-)

hi guys firstly i'd like to say im new to this forum. and i've got a huge problem, recently i tried to over clock my computer and i did it crazily, i didn't know what got to me but i changed the bios settings from 133-170, im using a 2.4 gigz intel PROCESSOR with a original 865gbl intel mother board.

details of the crashes are (key board and mouse wouldn't light up+ nothing displayed on the monintor) btw i messed up 2 computers (; any suggestions on how to clock back my computer back to its orignial speed?

ALSO may i ask what symptoms are there when your computer's hard drive is corrupted?
i HAPPEND to have another computer which doesn't start up normally, it shows the WindowXP screen loading then wallah it restarts ): when it restarts it brings my to a black page where i can on the computer VIA safe mode/safe mode + networking etc.. and there are options to use last previously good configirations and start up WINDOWS normally. no matter which way i try to start my computer up it just restarts and brings be back to the same page. whats wrong? any ideas? maybe its bios settings? i guess i've really screwed up big time but i really don't wanna spend those money by sending those coms to a technician ): i wanna save up for my gf5500 256+tv+dvi sobsobs..Did you try to overclock via BIOS settings? Just turn it back, or remove the battery for 10 minuts and it will revert to defaults. If you moved jumpers, then check your manual and put them back. There is no telling what has been ruined with this experiement. You either really need to have nothing to lose, a lot of extra money, or a LOT of knowledge to attempt this. I would personally recommend it to no one.

You can do a search on the forum for black screen, or do a Google search. More specifics would be helpful. THis should get you started:

http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;314503
Over-clocking is the best experiment to try...if you're in the market for a new machine.

patio. 8-)Yeah... Sounds like the computer won't function at all at the settings you applied. Chances are nothing's damaged... YET...

GX1_Man is correct that clearing the BIOS will probably do the trick. You'll have to go through all the settings afterward. Everything will be set to it's default value.

Remove the battery. There may be jumpers close to the battery. Either two unbridged pins, or three pins with two being bridged. In the case of two pins, just short them to each other with something metal. If there are three pins, move the bridge so that the other pin is bridged with the center one... and back again. Replace the battery.

For the computer that won't start correctly... I'd recommend #1-TuffTEST, the $10.00 version. You download the software and it creates a bootable floppy disk. Use the disk to boot a problem computer and much of the hardware will be tested. (hard drive, memory, CPU, some mainboard functions, etc...). If the computer passes all the tests, something probably just happened with software and reloading Windows should fix everything. If something doesn't pass the test... you'll know what needs replacing.

Do yourself a favor and don't mess with the overclocking. Even mild overclocking usually requires a premium CPU fan to keep the temps safe. Definitely don't overclock if you have no way to keep an eye on your CPU temp. It's pretty easy to damage your memory. Particularly if it's not "premium".

Hello All, I am having big problems with my sound (no sound device is present) and cannot burn with Nero on my CD player, I seem to not have the right drivers or simular, would appreciate any help with my problems .... Cheers

Some Computer Info?

< Processor >
Model: AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2000+
Speed: 1.66GHz
Model Number: 2000 (estimated)
Performance Rating: PR2413 (estimated)
Cores per Processor: 1 Unit(s)
Threads per CORE: 1 Unit(s)
Internal Data Cache: 64kB Synchronous, Write-Back, 2-way set, 64
byte line size
L2 On-board Cache: 256kB ECC Synchronous, Write-Back, 16-way set,
64 byte line size

< Mainboard >
Bus(es): ISA AGP PCI USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support: No
MP APIC: No
System BIOS: Phoenix Technologies, LTD 6.00 PG
Mainboard: NVIDIA-nForce
Total Memory: 480MB DDR-SDRAM

< Chipset 1 >
Model: Nvidia Corp nForce2 AGP Controller
Front Side Bus Speed: 2x 133MHz (266MHz data rate)
Total Memory: 512MB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed: 2x 166MHz (332MHz data rate)

< Physical Storage Devices >
Removable Drive: Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk: WDC WD800JB-00ETA0 (75GB)
CD-ROM/DVD: LITE-ON COMBO LTC-48161H (CD 126X Rd, 48X Wr)
(DVD 16X Rd)

< MultiMedia Device(s) >
Device: MPU-401 Compatible MIDI Device
Device: Standard Game Port


< Operating System(s) >
Windows System: Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional
5.01.2600

That's a lot of info BUT the important thing is what happened prior to this as I assume it used to work correctly? Did it ever work? If not, what has changed? Are you the administrator this computer? The only user? Have you monkey aout inside the case or played within the BIOS? Have you checked the manufacturer's site for the latest drivers, and etc.Thanks for your response. I reformatted the hard drive and installed win 98se after having big problems trying to reinstall win xp etc, but have not had sound since. I have recently reinstalled xp again but still have no sound! it did work prior to this, I have not messed around inside the computer .. I am totally stumped as to what is going on with it, have tried down loading the Albatron km18g drivers but can't seem to get them to operate ...Cheers TedIf you go to performance and maintenance / system / hardware / device manager... Do you see any devices listed with an exclamation point ! or question mark?

If so, right-click on the device and select 'uninstall". Restart the computer and browse for where you have the driver when prompted. If the driver you downloaded is in zipped form, extract it before doing any of this.

As far as the CD burning GOES... Newer versions of Nero sometimes don't work with older burners. Older versions sometimes don't work with newer burners... Most CD burners require no driver. Some do come with a driver hidden in the burning software disk that comes with it. Unfortunately, the only time I've seen this is with a combo CD-R / DVD player drive very much like the one you have. If you lose that disk, or change to a version of Windows that doesn't support it, you can have problems.

Good luck!!!

Hi,

Have a DVD-R drive installed with no analog or digital audio cable. The sound from CDs or DVDs somehow comes through anyway through the ribbon cable, running XP.

Have an Audigy 2 sound card hooked to my home theater receiver using a mono 1/8" PLUG to RCA plug cable between the digital out on the sound card and digital in on the receiver.

Getting excellent stereo sound from the receiver this WAY. From what I've read, I should be able to get Dolby Digital on DVDs passed through the sound card to be decoded by the receiver using this hookup and PowerDVD to play DVDs. No Dolby Digital is being detected by the receiver.

Think it WOULD do the trick if I added a digital audio cable between the DVD-R drive and the sound card? I think there is a hookup for a digital cable on the back of the DVD-R drive. No hookup for a standard analog audio cable though. Anything else I might be doing wrong?

Thanks MUCH for any help!!!
Royyour sound card can decode the Dolby Digital sound by itself , the sound it send out is already decoded, and all you have to do is hook it up to a digital ampThanks for the reply panboy!!!

I'll try to LOOK into this some more...

Hello and thank for your time
I´m trying to install a pcmcia conceptronic csp480c2 in a NOTEBOOK Hyundai HN-5000
The notebook as amd k6-266 with 32MB ram
The OS system is Windows Millenium and it shows in device manager
"Bridge Trident OMEGA 82C094 PCI to PCMCIA".
The board bios is a "SystemsoftCorporation ver. 1.01.26 05-25"
In divices at the bios show a floppy drive, hard disc,
serial port 1, irDA (HPSIR), parallel port,audio port,
midi port and WAVE table. Does not show pcmcia settings.
Thanks
rf
8-)A K6-266 with 32 MEG. is not enough to run Windows ME, and well below the system requirements. I would suggest CHECKING system requirements for the card to see if it does not meet that either.