Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in .

I've got an issue with my LAPTOP but I'm not sure whether to try and fix it or just buy a new one.

It has been running hot for years, and occasionally cutting out. I replaced the fan a while back and cleaned the vents, but it didn't prevent the power cuts. The repair shop ran some power tests and said they could find nothing wrong, and as I couldn't reproduce the CUT-out on demand there was nothing they could do. It continued to run hot and cut out intermittently.

The cut-outs are getting more and more frequent - but they're not just after long periods of operation, they can be completely random and happen only one or two minutes after startup.

I assumed the cut-outs were caused by overheating, but as the issue appears to be escalating (and can occur when cold) I'm not sure if this is a different problem or simply the result of more serious damage caused by long-term overheating.

This is beyond my ability to diagnose and repair but I don't know if it is worth seeking further professional help or just writing it off and getting a new computer.

Any advice you could offer would be much appreciated please.Times, when laptops with similar specs were twice as expensive, as desktops are long gone.
Since your laptop is "years" old, I'd definitely go for a new one.
You can get decent one for under $500.I have to agree with Broni.
If you replace the laptop then you will get something that is less likely to have a hardware issue for a while, and it will be under warranty. Plus you get the added benefit of a hardware upgrade.Long term overheating can cause degradation in semiconductors (like a CPU). The kind of instability you describe is typical of the sort I would expect from this process. In a desktop environment, increasing the voltage to the CPU might mitigate the instability and improving the cooling efficiency would go a long way toward curing the rate of degradation, but laptop environments typically do not easily offer those kinds of adjustments.

Take a look at a new laptop as suggested and see if the price difference is worth investing any more time and money into your current equipment. GOOD Luck!Quote from: mj1976 on June 24, 2009, 07:15:49 AM

It has been running hot for years, and occasionally cutting out. ...
I assumed the cut-outs were caused by overheating, but as the issue appears to be escalating (and can occur when cold)

Ok I called in from a newspaper add and agreed to buy a used computer from this guy that was 3GHz blah blah ect.. basic cd dvd whatever. When I get there he shows me a nice system and opens the specs "AMD Athlon 3000+ 2.16 GHZ". He says its an AMD and the "Clock Down" its more CLOSER to a 3.3GHZ and a little better than we had agreed. I only understand the difference on how the processors work. Reguardless I am pleased with the purchase. After buying, I googled it to find most people actualy do compare it to a 3GHz P4 and its about 50/50 who think which is better. Also saw alot of AMD 2000+ Compared to P4 2GHz

The WAY I understand it, more information is alowed to move at the slower speed basicaly. But do they in fact compare in this manner and what did he mean by AMD "Clock Down" ?


I just want to hear EVERYONES views yea or nay, good or bad. Basically, the 3000+ is a performance rating, it does roughly equal a PENTIUM 4 at 3GHz.
Of the two I'd pick the Athlon even though it's older, Pentium 4S put out too much heat for my liking. With it being an Athlon XP as opposed to Athlon 64 (which is what I thought when I read this the first time) the Athlon may be slower than a P4 at 3GHz, but it's by no means a bad processor.
Not sure what he meant by "Clock down" here though.Cool beans. Maybe what he meant by "Clock Down" is AMD show lower GHz than Pentium.

Yea I read that pentium do kick down if they get hot to keep from over-heating. Thats why they seem to get sluggish under lots heat.

What does AMD64 mean and does that have to do with Windows 64?

Better that the P4s clock down to prevent crashing than just keep running until they die.
Older AMD chips did that (just kept going). it's a design fault that they got so hot in the first place really though, so no advantages there.
AMD64 is AMD's 64 bit technology. If you want to run a 64 bit operating system you need a 64 bit capable processor. Athlon 64 onwards, and later P4ws on to the Core 2 chips are all 64 bit capable. 64 bit chips can run 32 bit OSes/software too though.
Hope this helps.Yeap, thanks. I feel I learned something today

My computer recently got zapped by a power OUTAGE. I got the Blue Screen of Death, so I wound up FORMATTING the HD and reinstalling Windows XP. Now, it either boots only to the Windows Logo screen, or to the screen that says it shut down improperly and to choose the mode of boot (Safe, etc.,). I reformatted and reinstalled three times, and got the same result each time. I don't know if this is a problem with the hard drive, or is it with the BIOS? It is a Dell 2400. Plain vanilla.Your power supply may have taken one for the team....It will STILL operate but the voltages may be out of whack.

See if you can detect any burnt electrical odor from the fan opening of the PS......Ideally, swap in a known good PS and see how it boots.If it was a power surge, it may be your motherboard.

Does it beep?My experience is that failed mother boards only give the system beep error about 1/3 of the time.Sounds like a bios or power supply problem.
Replacing them would be your options and one thing to add
if you do choose to go that route or even if you get a new pc
is to get a good surge PROTECTOR

OK a little clarity is in order here.

OBVIOUSLY I am not talking about a carelessly SOLDERED connector ON the motherboard. I am referring to a connector on the end of the twisted cable going from the mobo to the headphone jack. One of the pins may have been slightly bent or when the cable connector was placed on the header on the mobo, one of the pins may have been missed and the connector is sitting on 2 of the 3 pins.

The clicking sound is usually not an issue as some manufacturers use inexpensive ICs to TOGGLE audio on or off some eve use DIP relays. (miniature CONTACT enclosed relays)

There evidently is a slight DC component in the audio signal. Audio is an AC signal but less expensive amplifier designs can permit a small DC voltage in the audio. This is the reason for electrolytic capacitors in the output stage of an amplifier of this type. The capacitor passes the AC audio signal but blocks the DC signal.

They MAY be a problem on the mobo but I believe it is a new unit (if memory of the original post serves) so I would look at the obvious first.Quote from: Gizmologist on June 27, 2009, 12:24:05 PM

Just because a connector may have been carelessly installed on a MoBo does not mean the board is defective.

I am referring to the final computer assembly when the power switch, HDD LED, and headphone/microphone jacks mounted to the chassis are connected to the mobo.

I added a PCI sound card and everything seems to work fine now.

Thanks a lot for the help guys

My Sony monitor's display screen power button no longer works whether I try to turn my monitor on or off! When I turn on my computer, the monitor will turn on automatically by itself. When I turn off my computer, the monitor will also automatically turn off after everything has been shut down completely. I have made no downloads recently and there are no installed software on my computer that is causing this effect. I'm running on Windows XP, if that matters..

Hope someone can help, thanks!Odds are the display is always on and when no signal goes into a power save sleep mode, then when signal comes back it comes to life.Can I ask why is this a problem? Your computer turns on.. the monitor switches on. You turn the computer off the monitor swithches off. I Don't get the issue Doesn't sound to be a problem. But I do see where it can be quite strange or even possibly annoying
first things first.. don't panic. secondly check your monitor SETTINGS, its quite possible its set
to do those actions.
if not, call your pc MAKER and they'll be able to give you precise information BASED on the model of your pc.

I bought a computer that had an Iwill K266 motherboard in it. The switch, LED's and RESET button were not connected. Does anyone know how to connect them to see if the motherboard works, or is there a place I can look online that will tell me of show me where to connect them? I paid $50 for the computer at a garage sale and would like to know if it was well spent.hello there, do you have manual for the m/b?

give model number of m/b I have nothing like a manual, the only NUMBERS i can find are KK266 ver. 1.2.

I know it is not much to go on at all. Thanks for replying.


I did find this image of it thoughbumpIt's an iWill MBoard...
Personally i would cut my losses at this point and shop for a MBoard that will take that chip.
Not saying they are crap MBoards...however...I am looking around for a mobo that will accept a Socket 462 CPU. I had just hoped that I would be able to reuse this one. I had a bad HD in it, and I want to repaint the case. http://www.felix.org/node/36114

On the page at this site, click the KK266 pdf link. The PDF should load and open for you.

Section 1.4.9 -- pages 11, 12, and 13 -- show the front panel connector and pins. It's not as GREAT as having pictures, but I've seen worse.This is what I needed, THANK you very much Aegis.

I have a test PC with a Pentium 4 CPU 1.3GHz, Intel D850GB, Nvidia GeForce 2 card, Western Digital 30.7GB hard drive, Goldstar CD-ROM, 512MB RAM(4*128MB), 3Com 3C905TX network card, Dynex FDD and Windows XP Professional SP2. No picture is displaying on the screen even though the fan is working.

The motherboard has a LAN and Audio controller, LAN is disabled in the BIOS. My father said it is the Hard drive but I don't believe so. The BIOS boot-up screen has a System builder OEM logo on it and the Video card is from Dell. I got the CPU, motherboard, and NIC from eBay. FDD and RAM from Amazon.com. The NIC is from a garage sale. The rest I had from disassembled PCs.

Some picture displayed earlier. How can I fix it?You should get a POST screen even without a hard drive connected. If you are getting no picture at all, it can be caused by a bad motherboard, a bad CPU, a bad video card, bad RAM or a bad connection.

If things worked recently and now they no longer do, I would check connections, RAM, motherboard and CPU in that order. The best way to test hardware is with spare hardware, if you don't have that available, ask some friends. Specifically COULD be a video card issue, but LIKE aardobard said try checking the connections to the ram, motherboard and cpu.

Also the parts you bought.. do they work in another pc, because i did notice you mentioned getting a couple of them from ebay.

when i render pinnacle hollywood fx TRANSITION in adobe premiere 6.5 it is sound like-
(cet cet).this prblm starts,when its render in "open gl hardware engine".
but when it render in "portable software engine", there have no prblm.bt this kinds of render is VRY slow.
i USE nvidia geforce 5200fx GRAPHICS card.
plz hlp me as SOON as possible.

Hello, I'm considering buying (or bulding) a PC with a big budget (3000 USD). I want the best hardware possible for that price today. Suggestions?

However I know that Windows 7 and DirectX11 aren't too far away in time... Should I wait?

Apologize if this is in the wrong section.What will you be using the PC for?hmm, well, consider, that what the best hardware is today, and costs say, 2900$, will no longer be the "best" next month, and might EVEN cost half as much.

If your animate about getting the best of the best and don't MIND the large premium for it- OK, but I just thought I'd POINT out that often one rung lower then the best of the best offers a good 90% of the performance for probably 50% of the cost.

as For waiting; consider that there is always something on the horizon. Besides; you can always upgrade to windows 7 and get a DX11 compatible CARD afterwards.

Quote

I, on the other HAND, can't but ponder how I can possibly be living in Canada and yet get bills for my "free" health CARE.

I was born in Edmonton, AB, in fact.

For 3 days now I have had this problem. I turn on the computer and the monitor has green lights then goes directly into "power save MODE" and the mouse does not light up. 1st day what i did was check that all the wires were securely attached. After moving the wires around the monitor WENT on and so did the mouse.
2nd day the monitor wouldnt turn on with the mouse agaain..a friend told me to clean out my TOWER..so I blew the dust out of the tower and turned my computer on and the monitor went on with the mouse.
3rd day was the same senario. I opened the tower moved STUFF around and turned on the computer and the monitor and mouse went on. I have also noticed that after the 3rd day there is a wirling noise coming from a fan that usually turns on just as the computer is being turned on then turns itself off..but this fan seems to be staying on (hense the wirling noise sound)

What r some of the things I can do at home before i take it in for repairand spend a fortune?
Ps. I swaped my monitor out for another monitor just to see if the monitor was bad. Its not the monitor.

Ps.Same in Safe Mode?
If not, most likely video driver.
If yes, most likely video card itself.well if i cant get my monitor on how can I get into safe mode to find that out Well, how would I know? Just asking...sounds like a video card/driver issue.

Your option at the moment is to take it to a pc repair shop
that OFFERS a free evaluation, based on there findings
you can then make a more informed choice on what to do next.
ie, if its worth repairing or getting a new pc.Quote

Your option at the moment is to take it to a pc repair shop
that offers a free evaluation

Actually testing a PSU with a multimeter is an exercise in futility because of the simple fact it does not re-produce the conditions of a PSU under load.....But, I believe, that is what westom is suggesting; to get it under load.

I'm curious how this technique can find problems with other components aside the PSU.

Quote from: patio on July 06, 2009, 05:59:28 PM

Actually testing a PSU with a multimeter is an exercise in futility because of the simple fact it does not re-produce the conditions of a PSU under load.....

Patio misunderstood your post. You certainly recommend testing it under load; Patio must have believed you meant to have this test performed when the PSU is unconnected from the PC load.

i had to turn it of then back on from the wall to get it working.
i

where is this power supply controller?
also for $45 i am going to buy a thermalt power supply 430w

hi,

I am stuck any help will be appreciated, i am facing boot problem with my pc which is a dual core 3.0 ghz 945gccr, 1 gb RAM, 40 gb hard drive, system was workig ok till day before yesterday, i had 2 os on the drive c: Win 2000 (9gb), d: Win xp(22 gb ) , e: blank(4.5 gb). i was running out of space in win xp so tried to exten the d drive at the cost of e drive using paragom partition manager while doing that it got stuck and after reboot it said something like "Interrupted Operation....................." tried to repair 2000 and xp but in vain using win 2000 and win xp cds, now have installed xp on the second hard drive from where i am using net and 40 gb hardrive is connected to th system as slave(i can see all the folders in the c: drive as well d: drive and all the data intact ) c: drive 9 gb approx , d: drive 23.8(extended by 1.5 gb)approx e drive 3 gb approx. i have tried repairing through recovery console using FIXMBR under C:/winnt as well in D:/windows/ now screenig says Missing Operating System, dont know what to do next please help.
Thanks
Andy
It sounds like you had an unfortunate re-partitioning incident. The good news is that your data is SEEMINGLY still intact. The bad news is that it looks like you are going to have to completely re-install your OS's.

You've MADE a valiant effort so far in trying to repair your operating systems and it may still be possible, but I'm guessing you are going to need some fairly specialized help. Now might be an excellent time for a harddrive upgrade.To start out you might want to upgrade your hard drive.
secondly if you have your repair disks try using those.

but your best bet is to upgrade your hard drive and reinstall your OS, turn your existing drive into an external one to get your data from there to your new one.. It's not necessary to get a new hard drive to retrieve the lost data.

You can hook up the current hard drive as a slave in ANOTHER computer and get the data that way.

However, a new hard drive with a LARGER storage capacity may be beneficial. Anytime re-sizing a partition/drive is interrupted only disaster awaits...

You can try the slave drive method to retrieve what you can but don't be shocked if all your data is gone.

I need help with 'resetting the photoconductor unit' that is the error message I am getting near the button pad keys.

source: http://www.accucopysales.com/[emailprotected]

Help Please. I am GOING to SUGGEST that you contact AccuCopy for this one.

We provide computer support and they can PROBABLY assist you faster with this.
Please don't take this the wrong WAY, I just want you to get the BEST possible solution in the most feasible manner.

I'm trying to recover data from a functioning Maxtor 33073U4. It is formatted Fat32 and running Windows 98. I removed the J50 jumper (and another horizontal jumper that I'm not quite sure why it was there) and HOOKED it up as the slave. My master is a Hitachi HDt722525DLAT80 running Windows XP Media Center Edition, SP3 with NTFS file system.

The DRIVE is visible in the boot menu, however when i try to boot from it I receive an error message "himem.sys is working improperly (error 502)" and I can get no further. While in Windows XP, i cannot see the drive in My Computer, as there is no drive letter assigned to it. I can see it in Disk Management, and when i right click on the drive, my only option is to "Delete partition".

I really want to recover my personal data from this hard drive before i discard it, is there anyway i can get to it without reformatting this Maxtor drive?

Also, I only have a CD drive, no floppy drive and practically no experience with MSDOS or boot disc. (I don't have a windows disc, it was preloaded but i have a gateway recovery disc somewhere).

Please help thankyou.Update: I'm thinking about buying a Hard Drive Enclosure or a IDE to USB adaptor, does anyone have any advice about this?

Will it work and does anyone have an experience using either?I never trust USB when it comes to Data recovery...
This is however a personal opinion and you may hear others...
Your best BET is to hook up the drive as a slave and do this...
I would re-set the jumpers as they were initially and follow This guide...

Since Win2K you can't expect a HDD from one machine to boot successfully in another...
This is by design.
Best of Luck...and let us know.Well I wish someone had told me that using a hard drive enclosure would not do a dang thing, because it did exactly the same thing. The hard drive showed up in CMOS and Disk Management in the exact same way, still with no drive letter assigned.
I tried hooking it up to a vista machine as well, and that didnt help. I tried some recovery software but they didnt work because I had no drive letter so I had no path. So i formatted the disk and now its got a drive letter but I didn't write anything to it and I'm going to try and recover it , and if i cant im going to smash it with a sledgehammer and buy a bigger more QUIET hard drive for this enclosure.Quote

Well I wish someone had told me that using a hard drive enclosure would not do a dang thing, because it did exactly the same thing.

I never trust USB when it comes to Data recovery...

Lexmark printer, IE. I did search this site, and got zero results for "unsupported cartridge." When I first installed the current cartridges (they are refills), they worked fine. But now they won't work because they are "unsupported cartridges." Is there a fix for this? Thank you. Lexmark printers can be very unreliable. This does happen when you use refills you may need to buy an original cartridge in store. Also you could try cleaning the copper contacts on the cartridge with an alcohol based cleanser and drying it off, re-seat and see how you get on.

Let us know how you get onYou could also try shaking them, that sometimes helps things but the recommendation of me is to buy new ones.yeah we have a lexmark at home and they suck to be honest i would definately suggest cannon...

anyways i would also suggest buying a new crtridge even though they are a bit pricey CSNAIL, is the cartridge a Lexmark cartridge? Did you refill it or buy a no-name cartridge?







Quote

You could also try shaking them

I was informed of this by a computer shop

i would definately suggest cannon...

As in, shoot the Lexmark out of?

Boutght an Nvidia Geforce 9400 GT PCI-E a couple of months ago. Installed the card and latest driver. As soon as I restart my computer the screen starts flickering.

1) the screen flicker - screen begins flickering when left idle or while and after playing a high performance game (UT3 for example). Nvidia say its inno 3D that I should contact. Inno 3D say I need to update system BIOS. Tried to update it and an error occured. Computer defiately has the correct motherboard for the update.

later on after that my computer has started making strange noises

2) Accleration of system fan - Sysem fan has been speeding up which has never happened before. not looked into the issue as yet.

I have contacted the Packard Bell Forums (manufacturers of pc) about both these issues today.Did Inno3D even INQUIRE what MBoard you had ? ?
If not i would be skeptical of flashing your BIOS.one other thing, if you have other graphics card you can test, then see what happens. maybe 9400GT graphics card not functioning properly and should be returned back to inno3d for a warranty check if warranty did exist and still is available for said card.Well I have contacted them and the card has been sent and returned by the warranty manufacturer.

Inno 3D has not asked anything about the motherboard but I have told them ad given them a DxDiag.

I recieved a reply from them a day ago saying:

Quote

1) If you have used a 4-pin to 6-pin and 8-pin power converter, make sure both 4-pin connectors is connected to the card firmly.

2) Restore motherboard BIOS default and update the latest BIOS if available

3) CHANGE the following BIOS settings if available

Assign IRQ to VGA: Enable

PnP O/S Installed: Enable

VGA Pallet Snooping: Disable

PCI Bursting: Disable

PCI Latency Timer: 128

Peer Concurrency: Disable

Video BIOS Shadowing: Disable

Video RAM Cacheable: Disable

USWC: Disable/UC

Pipeline Cache Write: Disable

PCI 2.1 Compliance: Enable (Only needed when using PCI graphic cards)

Passive Release: Enable

Delayed Transaction: Enable

4) Reinstall the Windows OS and update the latest VGA driver form the URL below: http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

Before installing new drivers make sure you uninstall all NVIDIA display drivers from the Windows Control Panel. Browse to the Start Menu > Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and search for "NVIDIA Windows Display Drivers" or "NVIDIA Display Drivers" and select remove.

Finally, if it does not resolve the problem, test the card with another system if available.

A BIOS flash has rendered many systems un-bootable.

I just re-installed everything on my hard drive and in ONE particular directory I have about 40 or 50 .exe files and the icons show up extremely SLOWLY, but before the re-install they would show up very FAST. It SEEMS to be only with my encrypted files.Do you have indexing service on?And/or is thumbnail view enabled ? ?

The problem is about a week after the build the computer wouldn't start, i checked all the cables and there doesn't seem to be any problems that i can see. Once in a while the mobo lights lite up and i can turn on the computer but the power would turn off out of nowhere. It would be great if i could fix the problem without having to replace the parts because i don't know if the warranties are still on the parts because most of them where bought about 2 to 3 months ago.

My computers specs are: Asus P6t Deluxe Mobo, I7 920 cpu, 12gb ddr3 -1600 ram, Coolmax 1200 watt power supply, GeForce GTX+ 9800 vid card, 2- 22x DVD±RW drives, a vantec multi memory card reader, Seagate BARRACUDA 1.5TB hdd, Cooler Master V8 CPU Cooler in a Antec 1200 case. Any help i can get would be GREATLY appreciated.

I could possibly take some pics of the PC if that would help.Did you APPLY thermal paste when building ?
Were all MBoard standoffs in place ?
Have you tried swapping in another PSU ?Thermal paste was applied with good coverage but not too much, all the standoffs where in place, but i haven't tried swapping in another PSU. I was hoping it was a easy fix and something i just overlooked somehow, as of right now the lights on the mobo are on and i know i PROBABLY can turn it on but it prob will go right back off after a while or after i put the side panel of the computer back on it will stop working again. The PSU was bought about 2 1/2 months ago so i don't know if the store will let me exchange it. Doesn't matter if they will exchange it or not until we know it's the culprit....
Borrow one,

hi, all. I have a problem with an external hdd, when i connect it to my pc to a usb PORT, the pc doesnt see it, i have tried searching for new hardware, which also fails as the computer does not see it. i connect my ipod to the same usb port and ANOTHER hdd and they work fine, and i have CONNECTED the hdd that i am having PROBLEMS with to another pc, and it also works fine on that pc. How does it show up in Disk Management ? ?
Right clik My Computer....select manage then disk management....

Also i WOULD try a new USB cable just in case...

You're going to need the "harness" or "FRAME" assembly which holds the FAN and heatsink on the CPU.Take it to a SHOP...or have SOMEONE who does this for a living assist you.

Quote

And it's Ubuntu.

wait wait- NOT user friendly? I didn't find it that BAD.

Aardobard in relation to your reply , I have looked into it and the lowest price i see for XP is around £30 for the upgrade or reinstall version

I was stunned that vista cost around £200 , thats a freakin ripp off,

As for windows 7 i cant even do that cos i dont have a CD... How do i get around that?

Most likely you will need to do a Repair Install of XP....
This is because XP will still be looking for the old hardware...
You can borrow anyone's XP CD to do this ...unfortunately it can't be done from the Recovery Partition.

NOTE: The XP CD has to match both the version you have and the Service Paks installed....

Good catch Patio.

it wasn't a catch... he already posted it... as he said, it was "grossly overlooked"... kind of a gross understatement actually.

Yep, I'm not sure how I missed that, it was previous to my post...

Does anyone know a good place to pick up "Hooked on Phonics"?

I have the Kindergarten version. I should be done with it in another few months.

For 6 years now I've plugged along with a Dell Dimension 4550, 1.0 gig of ram (after I added 0.5) and a lovely ol' GeForce 5500 VGA graphics card. Finally trading up to a new computer

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227146

and I'm curious as to how much RAM is too much, if there is such a THING. I'm a gamer
first and foremost, but use SolidWorks 3d CAD as well. This new machine comes with 6GB DDR3 1333 (2GB x 3) and has 3 memory slots available, leaving another 6GB available for installation, if I'm not mistaken. It runs Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. I've read that 64-bit Vista uses a percentage of a computer's RAM, so more RAM, faster OS and more RAM left over for the rest of the computer.

I know very little about these things outside of a *SYSTEM Requirement* telling me what I need to have. Would adding 6GB of RAM, going from 6GB to 12GB, be helpful, or would it just be a drop in the bucket?heh, I have a Dimension 4400 with similar specs as yours, same video card and RAM (I also upped from 512MB...)

Although I've only used it for about a year, before that, much older 350Mhz machine.

I'm just waiting for my new build to arrive from tigerdirect; It's going to have 8GB.

going from 6GB to 12GB would be an excellent idea, if you can afford it. I couldn't say the performance boost but I'm pretty sure it would be noticable, especially with games, multitasking, and your CAD program.My condolences on you using the Dell still Heh, truthfully mine was a great computer, never had any major problems with it, and I was surprised just how many programs it would keep afloat when it had no business running them.

I'll try out the computer for a little while and then DECIDE on whether I add more RAM or not, leaning towards yes. I'd normally be frugal about such things (case in point, 6 year old computer I'm sitting at) but after blowing the money on a new rig, what's a bit more RAM?

On a RELATED topic, is it important to get RAM that is the same speed? I SEE my computer comes with 1333 Mhz, would it be bad to install, say, 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1066?if you install a lower speed memory, it will run at the lower speed.

Heh, this dell still beats the snot out of the 350Mhz K6-2 I was using before it, and it still runs well. Just doesn't run some of the new games all these darn kids are playing these days- I'm upgrading so I can see what all the hubbub is about

I recently had my display go insane on me while playing an MMORPG (the name of which I will keep to myself for fear of ridicule). The colours inverted and there was a huge amount of cross hatching on the display in general. Soon after this the system shut down and attempted to restart. I was able to get it to restart in safe mode but starting windows normally created a "infinite loop" with the graphics driver. While I was able to get it going in safe mode please note that display was still not itself and was showing cross hatching and incorrect colours.

I TOOK my system round to see my dad who knows a bit more about these things than myself and he assured me after changing the BIOS settings to enable onboard graphics that it was my graphics card (was running an Nvidia 8600 GTS 256MB) and if I get a new one and install it there would be no further problems. I then ordered the new card and installed it (an Nvidia 9600GT 512Mb DDR3) and up until this morning everything ran BEAUTIFULLY. When I went to start the system this morning the cross hatching and colour problems were back and I was unable to get the computer to start in anything but safe mode. My limited experience with hardware inside the case would suggest that since both graphics cards have had issues and 1 was brand spanking new that it is more likely to be the PCI slot that I installed it into.

I would love some more experienced feedback on this. Further information that may be of some relevance is that my dad also recently replaced the mother board due to a boot issue that I was experiencing. Help me please!

Replace the monitor cable...
It's unlikely that 2 cards in a row would be bad but however i've seen it happen a few times.Quote from: patio on July 23, 2009, 04:46:40 PM

Replace the monitor cable...
It's unlikely that 2 cards in a row would be bad but however i've seen it happen a few times.

Hi there,
I can't figure this out!

Toshiba Satellite A80 (psa80a-05z009)
1.6GHz
504 MB of RAM

XP Home edition
SP3

I was backing up one HD (MEDION MD90046, 250GB, USB) to another via USB, when the computer decided to go into standby (I thought I turned that off!). It got stuck on the 'going into standby' screen and I turned it off and on at the power.

When I tried to backup the same drives again the computer started acting up, hang on a screen for ages, nothing copies, slow, ...

"Delayed Write Failed, $Mft" and other filenames with $

Formatted the destination. Same

Changed the drive letters. Same

Tried to backup to another HD. Same

Tried to backup on another computer. No problem, everything copies.

But on my computer, the same behaviour.

The STRANGE thing is that the drive functions perfectly when it is alone (will copy from and to internal HD), but sometimes as soon as another drive is connected to the USB the computer gets slow again. Sometimes it hangs completely. Sometimes it starts acting funny first when I try to copy something.

Well, thanks, if you have any ideas!USB Bandwidth saturation can be a cause as well as the fact that the computer has to precache all data copied from point A to point B so you probably also see the local HD of the laptop on constant through this process or lots of activity. If you know the laptop doesnt cut it then copy the one ext HD to the other ext HD with the desktop system.

*also.... if these are 2.5" mini external hard drives powered off of the USB port instead of the larger devices with the ac adapters you could be pulling down your USB BUS voltage which can lead to these issues. This problem can be fixed by use of a Powered USB HUB which powers the devices off of an ac adapter vs off of the laptops power which is VERY LIMITED in wattage.Thanks for your response, Dave.

Quote from: DaveLembke on June 09, 2009, 10:09:07 AM

USB Bandwidth saturation can be a cause...

...then copy the one ext HD to the other ext HD with the desktop system.

*also.... if these are 2.5" mini external hard drives powered off of the USB port...

The minimal amount of RAM could possibly be a factor as it is getting thrashed with data in this operation...
The other factor could be the HDD's actual health.
DLoad and run the diagnostics from the drive manuf. site.

I am running Vista, my PRINTER was working. Had some problems with COMCAST internet. Tried to REINSTALL the printer but now the MESSAGE is that the printer is NOT compatable with vista. Don't understand because i was printing before the trouble.

Any help will be GREATLY appreciated...

Thanks...What sort of problems were you having with Comcast?
What is the source of the drivers you're installing for the printer?

Hi,
I'm using a Mac powerbook G4 on OSX and an Epson stylus photo R2400.
Recently it has started to turn off suddenly in mid print or stop printing and display communication error window. Both of these problems are maddening. I WONDER if the fact that I have recently added an external monitor and am running two external hard DRIVES as well as a mobile phone connect device ,could be overloading my system and causing consistent connection problems? Or a bad USB .
Any ideas as to how to tackle this ?
ThanksI WOULD say no, the extra gear shouldn't cause the printer to fail, but an easy way to make sure would be to disconnect the other USB devices and see if this changes anything.i have the same printer, try a master reset.

set it to print something and as soon as it STARTS pull the power cable out, it will reset the printer but i would nt use this METHOD all the time, best of luck ashQuote

set it to print something and as soon as it starts pull the power cable out, it will reset the printer but i would nt use this method all the time, best of luck ash

I RECENTLY bought a motherboard with socket 775 (P5KPL-AM SE). And after assembly the problem occurred, there is an error message "USB Device Over Current Detected!! System will shut down after 15 seconds". I can't enter set up too because its lock and does shut down. I've checked all the JUMPER settings to default and now I have no idea what's the problem.. Is my purchased motherboard defective? Please help!!!
Thanks in advance and I hope that the problem will be solve.

By the way here's my system configuration:

Motherboard: P5KPL-AM SE
CPU: Intel Pentium 2.0 Ghz Dual Core
RAM: 2 GB DDR2 800 (kingston)
VGA: Built in
Audio: Built in
HDD: Samsung 160 GB
PSU: 550 wattsHave you contacted the MANUFACTURER or the reseller?

I would actually advise that as your next step. If they say that it's not defective we would be happy to help you, but the beauty of buying new items is the warranty. You paid for it, so might as well get your moneys worth First of all thanks for your reply, I didn't contact the reseller yet coz unluckily the Official Receipt is missing . I've been searching for 2 weeks for my motherboard's receipt but i haven't found it yet. All of the components have their receipt except the mainboard. If the seller is reputable he should have a record of your purchase...Thanks for your response, I will try your option, i have a receipt of the power supply which i bought in the same store but DIFFERENT time.

So I need a new motherboard, but I figured while Im at it I might as well get a new cpu cooler for overclocking and hard drive just cause MINE is too small and slow.
motherboard
I just need something basic that can slightly overclock, mabye to about 3ghz.Just one question first. Is there a big difference in performance if I have a pcie2 card in pcie1?

cpu cooler
I really have no idea at all. Something to overclock my q6600 and keep it at a good temp. Idle the TEMPS are 36,33,36,33.
Running prime 95 for maybe not even 10min, 2 cores had fire things. The temps were 51, 48 ,51, 48. No way I am going to overclock with this cpu cooler.
So ANYONE have any good suggestions?

hdd
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145233
The reviews sound good and people say its faster then a raid 0 array and as fast if not faster then a wd raptor.

Oh and I have around $150 plus another $200 my parents owe me but I dont want to spend it allASUS P5K....

I don't have RAID setup on any of my machines...to me it's not WORTHWHILE for the small increase in speed.ok thanks

Under Infrared Devices I have a yellow exclamation mark by "Serial CABLE using IrDA Protocol."
This is a HP laptop computer with Windows XP Media Center Edition. I'm hooked up to my wireless home network which just includes my desktop computer and this laptop.
I am trying to partition and format a new Seagate SATA hard drive using a USB hard drive adapter and cannot get the hard drive recoginzed but I THINK that is another forum QUESTION.
When I try to troubleshoot and install a better driver in order to remove the exclamation mark a message indicates there is NOTHING wrong with this device (what particular device they are mentioning I do not know). The message indicates there is not a better driver. Yet the exclamation mark remains. I do have an external floppy drive I use plugged in through a USB connector sometime but not now. What other infrared device the message is referring I have no idea.
Frank C. Re-install your MBoard drivers from the Driver CD that shipped with the machine...
Re-boot.
As to the HDD we need some more info.

And stop relying on Windows for Driver updates...it's futile at best...It worked perfectly. Thanks. Re: the other problem I think it was because I did not partition the new hard drive that this laptop would not see it. However the drive did show up in Norton's Partition Manager so I partitioned it and I think it is ok now. It is a Seagate hard drive and although I installed the Seagate software it would not find the drive, or else I was just too tired and did not know how to use the Seagate software when it was installed on the C: drive and I was trying to use it, from the C: drive to partition and format this new hard drive that was attached to the laptop via a USB drive adapter. Thanks again. Frank C. You're more than Welcome...stop by anytime.

I'm getting a slow flashing light on my tower. I looked inside and the FANS are all running but I don't hear the hard drive spinning. Prior to this the computer shut itself down and was never able to restart. I can't get far enough to get in safe MODE. Gateway FX almost a YEAR old with DUAL CORE quad processor. Give the exact model number. This light is probably a code for what is wrong.FX4710 is the model. Quote

Gateway FX almost a year old

Pc is about 6 years old. PSU (Corsair TX650w) is 1 year old.

I get random pc lockups. Screen freezes, with the hdd light on STEADY. The only way out is a reboot.

Then, more recently the computer fails to start. The post messages get up to detecting the ide drives then it stops with the hdd light on steady. I can hear the hdd TRY to run. But my boot priority is floppy, dvd, drive C: and it does not try to detect or run those.

I ran WDdlg deep scan and saw no obvious problems.

Speed fan shows a very high temp in what I think is a mother board chip?




The 127 is an obvious problem if it is accurate and the 42 is high also.

I seem to have good ventilation and I would think at that temp I'd see some visual signs of distress,(like smoke!).127C is most likely fake (missing, or non-existing sensor).

Download, and install Everest Ultimate Edition 4.6: http://www.lavalys.com:8081/everestultimate460.exe
Enter following registration code (Help>Enter product key) to make it fully functional:
RHGJE-54X47-HML9C-V498I-UUMVI
(it's all legal, the above version has been recently offered as a free download)

EXPAND Computer folder.
Click on Sensor.
Post all info from there.Here you go.

All normal.

Run hard drive diagnostics: http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Make sure, you select tool, which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), and make the CD bootable.

NOTE. If your hard drive is made by Toshiba, unfortunately, you're out of luck, because Toshiba doesn't provide any diagnostic tool.I will do as you suggest but in the meantime I discovered this report through the smart tab of speed fan. It seems to indicate that there are over 180 failed sectors and it says the drive should be replaced.



WD Data life GUARD info:

Hmmm....

If you have more than one RAM module installed, try starting computer with one RAM stick at a time.
If you have only one RAM stick installed...
...run memtest: http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic62524.html
It's a random problem. YESTERDAY it occurred at first start up. Today pc boots fine. Some days the hd activity light will come on steady with the sound of the drive making 1 or 2 clicks and the pc will hard freeze. For the last 2 days it has not done that.

So I got a free hp pavilion a445c, and it DIDNT turn on. So I tried an old psu I had a laying around, and it turned on then off one time, then wouldnt turn on again. I also tried an antec psu, and it did the same thing. Any ideas?
Specs:
amd athlon 3000+
512mb ram
160gb hdd
If the power supply is good? I would say the board is N/GI was thinking the same thing. O well, I did need a hdd for that other computer I got...Try reseating all of the components and cables, re-apply THERMAL paste.

If none of that works then I'm inclined to agree with xavier.

ZOMMMGGG!!!!!
I went to go and take the front off to get the dvd drives and it works now!!!!!!!!! I think the button was a little sticky and it didnt wanna turn on because of it. Now IM genna move it to a new case that I got for $1Good going.....Here's the manual...

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/bph08796.pdfThe hard drive in it is dead, so as soon as I get a new one, my old one is going into this computerQuote from: computeruler on July 25, 2009, 02:57:57 PM

The hard drive in it is dead,

Hey everyone,

We have 2 PC's in our receving dept. at the company I work for. For sake of explaining this clearly I'll call the PC's A and B. We use software called BRData to keep TRACK of our products and prices and stuff and when the PC's try to print from BRData they will reboot as soon as they press the print button. When PC A presses print, it reboots the PC but will still print the correct document once the PC reboots, however, when PC B presses print both PC's will reboot at the same time but the job will still print once the PC's reboot. This will happen between 4-5 times a day. They still get the printouts but it's annoying to have the PC completely reboot. I hope that made sense. Can anyone offer any help? Both PC's are running XP Pro with SP3 and the printer they are printing to is a Lexmark T642 Laser Printer. They have the latest printer drivers installed. Any ideas on what might be causing them to restart? I guess it might be software related since it is only when they use that program, but it doesn't happen consistently. Maybe 4-5 times a day. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks!Specs on the computers please, specifically how much memory in each PC.There's also a couple of interesting posts in the following thread that may ring a BELL.....

http://www.pchelpforum.com/printing/57505-printing-causes-restart-reboot-2.htmlThanks for the replies. I believe both PC's are the same setup. One is locked and I don't know the user's password and I don't WANT to force him off if he has something open, but one is P4 1.8 GHz and 1GB RAM. I believe the other is the same. I also forgot to mention that the printer is a network printer not USB. Thanks for the link. That actually did give me some insight. The printer is PLUGGED into the same UPS as both PC's. If it only happens 4-5 times a day then it more than like is bringing the printer out of hibernation. So I will try to put the printer on another POWER strip and see if that works and will post the result. Thanks for the help.

please help.
im running xp pro 2002 version sp3 on my CUSTOM built pc
it has a A8V deluxe motherboard and AMD athlon 64bit processor 3800+
2 x 1 gb pc3200 (400) ram and trying to add another 2 x 1gb of ram of excactly the same make.
when i installed them and booted pc i got the error messege
USB DEVICE OVER CURRENT STATUS DETECTED
SYSTEM WILL SHUT DOWN AFTER 15 SECONDS
please note i had no USB devices plugged in, i then took out the 2x 1gb memory sticks i had just put in and booted without error, how can i resolve the problem of installing the extra ram without errors, thanks ash

Quote

USB DEVICE OVER CURRENT STATUS DETECTED
SYSTEM WILL SHUT DOWN AFTER 15 SECONDS

Ya i RESEARCHED to see how much it would cost. I DONT know why they bother selling laptop barebone kitsQuote from: computeruler on JULY 25, 2009, 09:37:29 AM

Ya i researched to see how much it would cost. I dont know why they bother selling laptop barebone kits

Or 7 pages...whichever comes first.Ya I know its the motherboard!!!! Im getting a better computer when those 32nm cpus come out. But I want my computer to work so I can sell it to get money for a new one!QUOTE from: computeruler on July 05, 2009, 07:11:37 PM

Ya I know its the motherboard!!!! Im getting a better computer when those 32nm cpus come out. But I want my computer to work so I can sell it to get money for a new one!

for all comoputeruler has done for this site, I think broni's gift certificates have been paid off.

Does best buy sell motherboards?

Ok,
i had a computer:
255 MB Ram
1.3GHz

it's a old computer but i still need it for work.
Recently i installed a new hard drive because the other one was stolen.. now the new hard drive asks me to insert a boot disk.
So i insert the Windows XP Pro cd that is installed on that hard drive.. then i click where it says:
"Click any button to boot from the CD" and it says "Configuring system blablabla" then it just shut down.


then i clicked F8 from the begining and "disabled AUTOMATIC SHUTDOWN on system failure".. now instead of shutting down it gives this error:
"Hard drive is corrupt, has virus or is not properly connected" (SOMETHING like this)

i tried 2 different hard drives and nothing... any help with this?

thanks in advance!Since Win98 you cannot simply move Windows HDD's from one machine to another and expect them to boot properly ....
What is it you WANT to accomplish with this machine ? ?

256 Mg of RAM ain't much for an XP machine...Quote from: patio on July 17, 2009, 07:38:07 AM

Since Win98 you cannot simply move Windows HDD's from one machine to another and expect them to boot properly ....
What is it you want to accomplish with this machine ? ?

256 Mg of RAM ain't much for an XP machine...

here is my pc: http://www.hp.com/large/campaigns/personal_again/datasheets/HPPavilionPhoenixSEa6655fPCDatasheet.pdf
i just bought a new PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817226001
and i have a sort of low end graphics card 512mb installed.
and i installed it and everything correctly. when i turn my pc on, everything turns on, all the fans are SPINNING and everything but my monitor says that there is no input signal. then i go back to install my old PSU and it WORKS fine again. Can somebody tell me WHATS WRONG? is it the PSU or is it INCOMPATIBLE or what?

Hi,
I recently replaced the 733mHz Celeron in my server with an 800mHz Pentuim III. My problem is that the PENTIUM III is not running at full speed (about 548mHz).

I have checked the obvious things such as:

- Temperature
- Drivers

but the system still won't run at full speed. I looked in the BIOS but I can't find any setting to fix this.

System info:

- Award BIOS v6.00PGN
- Motherboard - Bona BN694 Pro (Rebranded Jetway)
- Pentium III 800mHz (Coppermine)
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard

Thanks in advance,
Cameron GrayWhere are you getting the speed setting reports from ? ?
BIOS, Windows System Information, CPUZI was able to fix the problem.

I found a manual for the motherboard on the internet and realised that I NEEDED to switch over one jumper. The computer is now running at full speed. Woo Hoo!

Cameron GrayHi camerongray, I Have just aquired a pc with a bn694 pro motherboard. I have no luck with drivers for it (windows corupt). Is it possible you could send me them please?Glad its working cameron!
Chippy:start your own topicQuote from: camerongray on July 02, 2009, 09:38:04 AM

I was able to fix the problem.

I found a manual for the motherboard on the internet and realised that I needed to switch over one jumper. The computer is now running at full speed. Woo Hoo!

Cameron Gray

Wow, I tried googling and nothing! We should make a thread for old motherboard manuals

I wouldn't recommend a BIOS flash to anyone unless the manuf. recommends it to fix an issue...

Hello,
Recently i started overclocking my Q6600 Cpu, rated at 2.4ghz.
I have managed to GET it up to 2.5ghz, which i know is little but im waiting on a new cpu cooler.
Now, I open up cpu-z to read the speed, and it keeps changing largely.

Like from 2.5ghz down to 1.8 where it will stay at for a while and jump back up again??
MOTHERBOARD intelligent tweaker is off, ill just add.

Here are some screanshots.






Have you checked the GigaByte site for OC'ing info ?Notice the multiplier change?
This is a feature known as Speedstep, which clocks the CPU down when idle to SAVE power and produce less heat.
It can be disabled - look in the BIOS for EIST - but there's no reason to do so.
Hope this helps.I was going to say the same thing as calum, but of course he beat me. Mine does the same thing. When not using much cpu power, it goes down too.Quote from: Calum on July 24, 2009, 12:21:46 PM

Notice the multiplier change?
This is a feature known as Speedstep, which clocks the CPU down when idle to save power and produce less heat.
It can be disabled - look in the BIOS for EIST - but there's no reason to do so.
Hope this helps.

This is my first posting to this forum.

I built my own compter abut 6 years ago with a Gigabyte GA-7VRXP mother board and an AMD Athlon 1800 1.53 GHZ. I have 2 60 GB hard drives running in RAID mode 1. Now the computer won't sometimes start until I tap the motherboard or pull and reinstall the power plug from the power supply and even this does not make it start sometimes. I think I need a new motherboard.

I am looking for advice for a new motherboard and CPU combo. I don't play games on my computer. I use it as a recording studio and to go on the net. I have not keep up to date on the new CPU's and mother boards available so I am seeking advice on what I should get. I will need the following:
New computer case for ATX not higher that 16 inches.
Reliable Motherboard for ATX power supply with RAID mode 1 (I do not INTEND to overclock the system) Asus P5Q?
QUAD core CPU (I think)
4 GB ram DDR2
7200 RPM HD eventually
USB2 on board
Firewire on board
Fast chipset

Reliability is the most important aspect of my requirements.Sounds like you've had a great rig so far, but after 6 years it can be handy to have an excuse to upgrade!

I can help you better with the following info:
1. What's your budget?
2. You need an ATX case <16" tall, are you also constrained with case width?
3. Is a mATX (smaller w/ fewer expansion slots) motherboard a possibility (makes the case requirements easier to meet)?
4. Are you concerned with case aesthetics? (flashy vs. classic vs. either)
5. Is there a reason why you are attached to your current PSU?

My budget would be up to $800
My present case is 17" high and I can live with the same size to get the full size motherboard in there.
Not concerned with aesthetics although it would be nice to have at least one USB and SD receptacles on the front.
I don't need to keep my current ATX PSU.

DonOk, I have two options for you. The first one will be just above your listed budget, the second, well under. Both builds have many of the same parts, chosen for both quality and value and ease of use/assembly. If you really need the computing power of the first option, but the budget constraints are inflexible, it will be possible to choose less expensive items to brin it under budget, but the individual part quality will likely suffer. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Case (15" high) $88.88
LIAN LI PC-A05NB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112218
Very high quality, very thoughtfully constructed with the end user in mind, highly rated.

Case Accessory USB and audio ports $14.99
SILVERSTONE SST-FP32-B Aluminum USB/1394/Audio Panel ( Black ) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813999356
Above case has USB and audio ports on top, you had a preference for front.

Video Card $79.99
XFX PVT96OZDFU GeForce 9600 GSO 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150340
Solid card, very budget oriented, can handle dual or large resolution monitors

PSU $109.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001
Modular - helpful with the smaller case, highly reliable product, plenty of power.

Option One: $860 before MIR and shipping (price includes parts common to both builds)
This option has the new Nahalem chip with 4 cores PLUS 4 hyperthreaded (virtual) cores. For heavy/time consuming CPU oriented work this is the preferred processor.

CPU $279.99
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

Motherboard $199.99
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128375

RAM $84.99
mushkin SP 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226063

Option 2: $620 before shipping and MIR (price includes parts common to both builds)
Not as much processing power, but still very fast and a better value.

CPU $189.99
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 Yorkfield 2.66GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115057

Motherboard $89.99
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372

RAM $49.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166I'm looking at your suggestions Aardobard.. Would not go for the Intel i7 yet. The first gigabyte board you recommended seems to have bad reviews.

By the way, I have a Nvidia GE Force 2 MX400 in my old system. It's driving a Samsung P2250 LCD monitor at 1920 X 1080 67.5 hz 60hz pp right now. I should be able to use it in a new sysytem.

Anybody else on this forum have any more combo suggestions?
DonI have the tremendous socket 775 brother of that Gigabyte board and missed the bad reviews associated with the X58. My apologies. The Foxconn Bloodrage board at $230 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186169) would have been my first choice for that chip but I was already woefully over budget trying to wedge the i7 in.

It's great that you have a video card you can salvage. If you have any other questions or concerns let me know.I'm not sure if he can actually salvage that video card.

Is that video card AGP or PCI?

If AGP, then forget it. All new motherboards have one or more PCI-Express X16 slots for video cards now, and an AGP card won't fit in a PCIe slot of any size.

If the board has enough PCI slots left, then you could use the video card, but I think even onboard video would be better than a GeForce 2 MX400...I believe it's a PCI (not express) card, so he should be just fine with it.It's in the AGP slot.Quote

and an AGP card won't fit in a PCIe slot of any size.

what would i need to do to add a hi SPEED usb HOST controller? attaching SYSTEM specs can POST more info if NEEDED. thanks solved>get a new pci card that can provide it. There is no way to add/or somehow fix my current USB chipset, to v2.0.

[attachment deleted by admin]

Hi,

I'm unsure wether or not this is an issue since I haven't had any real troubles from it.

I was removing one of my graphics cards. It wouldn't really let go too easily so I gently nudged the card until it got out of the PCI ex slot. Then a capacitor fell down on to the card I was removing. I picked it up but I'm not sure if it's a transistor or a capacitor and I don't know what it's for. It's a small cylindral shaped thing with two small legs of metalwire of some sort. I couldn't find anything similar on the graphics cards so I assume it's from the mainboard.

Should I be worried about this? This was weeks ago and the computer runs just fine. I haven't experienced any troubles except this morning when I booted the PC and my bios showed a warning and said the bios CHECKSUM was wrong. It then resetted bios and the PC booted up normally.

I have a GA-EX58-UD4P mainboard.

Thanks in advice.You're most likely just fine.

It is probably a capacitor, and electronics usually have built-in tolerances, so components can usually run within a specified range of settings. It iis likely that missing the one capacitor (which is meant to hold a charge for a specific period of time) is not affecting the overall board. The board would've failed by now if the component was that important.

(There is, of course, normal wear.)

Keep an eye on things. It's good to be concerned, but don't be worried at this point.One small cap alone like that MAY not be a problem, but as all the components are inserted at the same time and the board is wave soldered such that all the connections are automatically soldered into place by machine, it is POSSIBLE that other components may also be less than secure.

I would suggest that it may be wise to remove the motherboard and carefully look over the area of the part where the cap fell off to see if there are any other loose parts or if there are solder joints that look poor . If you see an open gap around a component lead, or a solder joint that LOOKS rough and is not a smooth puddle of solder around the leads, that is a poor joint.

These can easily be repaired by using a small low wattage soldering iron with a fine tip and rosin core solder. If you have never soldered on small printed circuit boards, it may be best to let a pro repair shop do this.

As for the cap, is it physically damaged? Is the plastic sleeve split or look as though it melted? If so, they may actually be a problem on the board. If not, the cap can be replaced by matching the lead with the solid graphic line down the side to the negative terminal hole on the board. The positive lead will have no marking on the cap but the board will usually have a tiny"+" sign on it. Do NOT reverse the cap. It is better not to have the cap than to reverse it.And are there any numbers or letters on this component?All caps serve a purpose...
It may run with no apparent ill effects but you also may risk damaging EXPENSIVE components...
Check the MBoard manuf. site...if it's a decent board you should be able to obtain schematics...Thanks for the help so far.

I have never done soldering on important components such as this, just practiced when I was still in school. I'm afraid to try it as I feel there's a risk to do more damage than there already is.

What concerns me the most is if other parts of the computer, apart from my mainboard will be damaged. I did save for a long time to afford it. If the mainboard's lifecycle just gets shortened it's a problem I can live with.

Quote from: Carbon Dudeoxide on July 15, 2009, 08:30:50 AM

And are there any numbers or letters on this component?

All caps serve a purpose...
It may run with no apparent ill effects but you also may risk damaging expensive components...
Check the MBoard manuf. site...if it's a decent board you should be able to obtain schematics...

I will also talk to my reseller and ask if this could be a possible warranty issue. If not I'll look into repairing.

My reseller denyed me warranty. I will try Gigabyte directly for sure. Thanks for the advice!

Hi I recently Brought a pc off a friend which worked fine I forrmatted the Hard drive and installed WIN XP because my mate brought pc from shop i knew i could download drivers from company website but i have now come acros a BIG problem!!!!as my pc has no wireless card i cannot connect to internet..(but i have pc down stairs which can!) so i downloaded drivers to CD and loaded it on my upstaris pc..
MY PROBLEM IS MY SCREEN RESOLUTION IS SET @ 640 BY 480 LOW (8BIT)AFTER I INSTALLED GRAHIC CARD DRIVERS...so when i try to change this to highter res my screen so funny!!!all blured pic like and u can barely see nefing!! so then no matted wot i changed it back to screen stays Blurerd like even when i cancel the change! only way to fix probelm is to unistall graphic card drivers then computer restarts (screen goes back to normal after uninstall drivers!)and finds new hardware so i install drivers again and screen goes back to normal!640 BY 480 LOW (8BIT) but surely i can have more??? why cant i have more colours than 8bit or better res??? i know my screen is caperbel of more as i had then same screen down staris working @ highte res:...

Graphic card is : NVIDIA GEFORCE 6200SE TURBO CACHE(TM)
Display SAY: PLUG AND PLAY MONITOR NVIDIA6200SE TURBO CACHE...(SET AS 620X480 LOW(8BIT)
System is FUJITSU Siemens YSSP782008
RAM: 2GB
MONITOR: Fujitsu Siemens (Caperbel of @ lest 1152by864 32bit when i ran it down stairs on another system)
SITE I GOT DRIVERS FROM :http://uk.ts.fujitsu.com/support/downloads.html
PLEASE HELP!!! ne1!!!Did you install the drivers off of the CD that came with the card or did you download them off of nvidia.com?

Also, did you try a different monitor?AS STATED BE BEFORE I DNT AV THA CD DOWN LOAD DRIVERS OFF http://uk.ts.fujitsu.com/support/downloads.html
PLEASE READ ALL BE4 COMMENTING! SORRY IF I SOUND AGRESSIVE JUST I DNT WANNA KEEP REPEATING THA SAME FING SOME1 PLEASE HELP !On one hand, yes, I should have read your whole post. My apologies for that.

On the other hand:

1) Your post isn't exactly the most readable post. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation in most of the right places do help. It doesn't have to be everywhere, but for the love of God don't burn my eyes with an incoherent mess!

Just because other people use "L33T txt spk" doesn't make it any more understandable when cluttered together in a big ol' mess. GARBAGE in, garbage out, ya know... (you gave me a garbage effort, I gave you a garbage effort).

If you want people to understand you, make yourself understandable. Otherwise, you will have to repeat yourself to get anywhere. Not might, not maybe, will.

2) Being aggressive doesn't help, despite your apology for doing so. Nobody has to help you at all. They choose to, and we can all choose to turn the other cheek and not lose any sleep at night.

3) You still didn't answer my question about whether or not you tried a different monitor, unless it's somewhere in that mess of an original post, and I didn't see it (does CTRL+F search for "monitor" to see, so I don't make the same mistake again--nope, you didn't answer the question).

With all that being said, try downloading the drivers from http://www.nvidia.com. They tend to stay up to date far more than the manufacturers do.first of all... it looks like you downloaded onboard graphics drivers if you got them from the PC manufacturer's site... killer is right, download the drivers from the Nvidia site...

secondly... did you try changing the display settings in Properties? right click on your desktop and select "Properties", the click on the "Settings" tab and look at your resolution settings... try changing the slider to at least 1024x768... make sure to accept the new setting and go from there... that should help a lot... but get those new Nvidia drivers...

good luck!the fact that this thread has only been replied to by <1000 post members says a lot.

Nothing against them, of course. you start out eager to help everybody.... then you realize, after a while, (as killerb said) that unless they make the effort to receive there's no reason to give. I saw this post before any REPLIES, but didn't bother to read through the original post for the same reasons killerb255 described.

Your description of the problem is relatively vague at best. "the screen goes funny"? All Blurry like? Be specific. What resolutions are you changing too, first off. If it isn't the native resolution of the monitor (LCD) it's going to appear blurry.


I'd go for the reference NVidia drivers, rather the the manufacturer's drivers.

Also have you tried a system restore?

your right SORRY my grammer & spelling is piss poor too say tha least. i will try downloading new drivers off nvidia 2morrow i proberly put all you lot off reaplyin or helping me out but to any1 who still willing to help me( even after my crap atempt of spelling)
i let u know how it goes 2morrow

I have an WINDOWS XP HP Pavilion 732c and for recent reasons I've had to replace the hard drive

The new hard drive I bought isa SATA 640 Gb, but uncompatible with my current motherboard. SO... after some technician recommended to BUY a IDE to SATA Converter I tried putting everything together. And yes, I'm sure I plugged everything correctly

The problem is that my computer still does not even recognize or detect my new hard drive, what should I do?
I'm willing to TAKE ANY SUGGESTIONS because I'm scrapping the thing in a week if nothing works.seems like a decent copmuter to scrap just because of a HD. Did you buy the SATA HD new? Can you exchange it for a IDE HD?

Was this the problem that led to you replacing the HD?

Obviously the connection is failing somewhere. Maybe the adapter.
Yeah, I bought the SATA HD new, just in case

I am not sure where the problem really lies..., I'll be quite disappointed if I'm forced to scrap the computer just because I can't get a new HD working in itwithout a computer the HD won't be very useful.I'd say get a IDE HD and if you realy need 640gb of storage get an external USB HD.

Plus I bet you could pick up a used 100gb for $20 at a computer shop.Is it possible to have an external hard drive act as the internal hard drive?Quote from: Vivace on July 11, 2009, 05:16:21 PM

Is it possible to have an external hard drive act as the internal hard drive?

Hello,
I just registered today and searched around a bit, but I didn't see my question.

My computer Gateway PC (Celeron 2.0 Ghz), Windows XP, SP2... came with 256MB RAM. I installed 1024mb RAM stick, in slot A and moved the 256MB stick to slot B. I had 1280 MB of RAM in "My Computer" SYSTEM Info.

Everything was fine for several years then, last week I noticed the pictures from my camera were downloading slower then usual, and when I checked my RAM is was only 640MB. HALF of what it had for the several years that I had 1280MB.

Any Ideas ??!!

Thanks, captbruce

Failing motherboard MAYBE. Must be PRETTY old if it came with a 2 GHZ Celery and 256 MB, like 2002 or 2001. 7 years is forever in a PC's life. What does it show in the power-on memory test?


http://www.memtest.org/
Download that and use something like http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn the iso to a cd, and then restart with the cd in the drive, and if it doesnt boot into the cd, then set it to do that in the bios. Run it for around 2hr and tell us if it found any errors Remove and re-seat both RAM chips...
Do some housekeeping while your in there...

As always when working inside the case remove all power sources and take static precautions.....Quote from: captbruce on July 24, 2009, 01:27:48 PM

I installed 1024mb RAM stick, in slot A and moved the 256MB stick to slot B. I had 1280 MB of RAM in "My Computer" system Info.


Any Ideas ??!!

Thanks, captbruce

I would think the module mismatch would have possibly caused a problem in the first place.

Everything was fine for several years

hey guys,

i've a 80Gb on disk 1, 40Gb disk on disk 2 and 300G on an external disk 3

I would like to make PARTITION on disk 1 and 2.. basically LEAVE disk 3 alone for now.

i google online and found an article http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/tulloch_partition.mspx

My work are mainly programming with php, c++/c and java. I use programs like MS office, notepad++ and jcreator, vmware, alittle on adobe photoshop.

currently i have no partition on any disk =).. didnt have time to do it the last time

and so right now i wanna do it.
i was THINKING:
- have OS on 'c' drive with 30GB on disk 1
- have all program files on 'd' drive with 45GB on disk 1
- have paging file with 5GB on 'e' drive on disk 1

- have my WORKING files on disk 2 which is 40GB completely
- have all my archives, videos, audio, applications on the external drive completely.


but i know this may not be the best way. any SUGGESTION on how to improve this?



Why not just put the 40GB as your boot drive with the page file being a fixed size. Then run your programs and documents off of the 80GB?

That sounds like a lot less work, and easier way to do it.Excellent video..,

http://www.professormesser.com/2009/01/07/working-with-disk-partitions-and-file-systems/excellent video..

according to the video, he only allocated 4Gb to c drive for the OS. is it enough?Not for XP or Vista...Quote from: nuttynibbles on July 24, 2009, 09:54:26 PM

i was thinking:
- have OS on 'c' drive with 30GB on disk 1
- have all program files on 'd' drive with 45GB on disk 1
- have paging file with 5GB on 'e' drive on disk 1

I would like a little help with this....
I want to bump my stock 2.4ghz q6600 up to about 3.0ghz.
I'm all SAFE for cooling and ventilation, just so you know.

I just need to know, can I just change the fsb, and the multiplyer, or do i have to change my ram voltages as well?

My current ram is 1066mhz at 3.25gb.

Thanks
You shouldn't need to change the CPU's multiplier, just the FSB.
The RAM divider/multiplier may need to be changed, keep it at the settings you're using now as you know those are stable, right?
You may FIND you need to up other voltages, but for a MODEST overclock like that you MIGHT manage it with stock voltages.
Hope this helps, and good luck.Who's MBoard ? ?Quote from: PATIO on July 11, 2009, 07:53:43 AM

Who's MBoard ? ?

You shouldn't need to change the CPU's multiplier, just the FSB.
The RAM divider/multiplier may need to be changed, keep it at the settings you're using now as you know those are stable, right?
You may find you need to up other voltages, but for a modest overclock like that you might manage it with stock voltages.
Hope this helps, and good luck.

Hi,

I've got two sticks of Patriot 5300 2GB installed which replaced the two 1GB Kingston OEMs. Belarc reads the following;

Slot 'DIMM 1' has 2048 MB
Slot 'DIMM 2' has 2048 MB

2750 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory

2.7 usable??? Why upgrade for so small a performance boost? It "sees" the 4 GB, but uses only .7 of the EXTRA 2 GB. Is there something I can do to increase this number? Here's the specs:

Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion dv6000 Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 2
1.80 GIGAHERTZ AMD Turion 64 X2


Thanks for UR suggestions.You will need to run a 64bit OS to use any more than 2.7/2.8G of RAM...
This is a limitation of the OS itself...Quote from: patio on July 25, 2009, 08:08:04 AM

You will need to run a 64bit OS to use any more than 2.7/2.8G of RAM...
This is a limitation of the OS itself...