24217 + Interview Questions in Hardware in Hardware Page 362 InterviewSolution

18051.	Solve : Secure Erase - BIOS Freeze Lock?
Answer» HI, i was hoping to make use of SECURE erase feature built into ATA drives but freeze lock is being enforced by my BIOS. is there any way round it? BIOS: AMIBios Rev. 0404 Mobo: A8R MVP-32 Deluxe. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/A8R32-MVP Thanks FIXED Here is the solution in case it helps anyone else. Source: http://cmrr.ucsd.edu/people/Hughes/HDDEraseReadMe.txt Q: How can I bypass security freeze lock? A: Three different ways can bypass a BIOS security freeze lock: 1. Most preferred method: If another computer is available, boot the drive from another computer. Since the freeze lock is entirely BIOS dependent, another computer's BIOS may not freeze lock the drive. 2. Second method: Switch the drive to another drive channel or another position on the channel, e.g. Switch drive from secondary master S0 to secondary SLAVE S1 or vice versa. Some BIOSs do not SEND the Freeze Lock command to all channel master/slave positions. 3. Least preferred method: There exists some danger to your drive in using this method, use at your own risk** Shut down the computer system. Unplug the four-wire power cable of the hard drive while leaving the signal cable plugged in. To eliminate the danger of ESD, always ground yourself when removing the power cord. Power on the system and boot into DOS with a DOS boot disk. Once DOS has booted up and you are at a command line interface plug the power cord of the hard drive BACK in. Run HDDerase.exe. The logic in this method is to prevent the drives detection in BIOS, which is when the freeze lock command is issued. Thanks

Discussion

18052.	Solve : New processor causes flakiness and BSOD?
Answer» I just recently swapped my AMD Athlon 4200+ 2.2Ghz dual core for an AMD Phenom II 940 deneb 3.0Ghz quad core. After the INSTALL mobo found it fine. I had checked before I bought for compatability. I have a M3A78-CM mobo with 3Gig 667Mhz. As Windows Vista Ultimate sp2 started it was fine. After booting fully, certain services would suddenly stop. Sidebar closed several times. If I tried ANYTHING heavy duty like media center, BSOD. I ended up putting the original back in. No problems. Problem is I went through this about a year ago when I tried putting in an AMD phenom X4 9600 2.3 Ghz. I had the identical problems before, yet I pursued it then. I had reimaged windows, updated mobo firmware, PULLED my hair out. It got so bad Windows woudnt even get to logon page before BSOD. I had researched and found out about the TLB bug in the Phenom X4 9600. I figured it was a loss, so time went by, and here I am again with a processor (as far as I know) does not have the TLB problem. If there is anybody with any suggestions please help. I am about to give up and try and TAKE it somewhere (if theyll work on it). Any help would be greatly appreciated, any other info needed please let me know

Discussion

18053.	Solve : battery in mobo??
Answer» so i recently formatted my pc because it was acting wonky for a while, only to have it still not work properly. I talked to a guy at work and he says i might have a virus that my antivirus can't find and what i should consider doing is format the harddrive again but this time when i do so take out the battery thats in the mobo to completely wipe any memory on it. he says the battery look like a watch battery. I havent been ABLE to find it when i looked for it quickly. so my question is, is does this battery exist, does it help wipe memory during a format, and should it be used?No. the reason your likely still having issues, is that your hardware doesn't have the proper drivers installed. If you post some specs and the hardware in your PC, I'm sure we can help you find and install them.Quote from: djemima so my question is, is does this battery exist, does it help wipe memory during a format, and should it be used? 1. Does the battery exist? Yes. It is the power source for updating the Date and Time and other settings. 2. Does it help wipe memory during a format and should it be used? No. The battery should be replaced when its voltage drops below a useful level, this is usually displayed by the date and/or time not updating correctly. Please post the symptoms which you describe as "acting wonky" and "still not work properly".well one of the "wonky" problems is that my date and time dont update correctly, and every time i turn on my computer it tells me my chasis has been opened and i need to to go through like f10 settings to ignore it every time - so by ure answer dusty, this sounds like my battery is below useful voltage (the computer is over 4 years old now) another main problem i'm having with my computer is that some webpages wont load up, for example www.livenation.com will load up the top BANNER but thats it. gmail wont load up unless i use html format to view my email. there are other websites (ticketmaster.com). I wasn't having this problem at first when i d/l and installed internet explorer 8.0, but all of a sudden during an online session i couldn't get any webpages to load. after restarting my pc i had use of some sites but not many. i d.lded and installed firefox and this seemed to solve the problem for a while, but then all of a sudden started not loading sites as well. I have used superantispyware which found 5 viruses, and after deleting the files infected, i now get a problem with loading a window systems FILE everytime i start my pc. gonna use malwarebytes next when i get the chance but by the looks of it, it might be my best OPTION to just format again i think. i'm running windows xp pro, AMD 64 2400, asus a8n-sli mobo, nvidia 8800gts video...Sounds like that Cmos battery is overdue for replacement. Here's a pic of what the battery looks like on a mobo (that round silver thing), please take all precautions against static discharge when replacing it: No problem here opening the LiveNation site using F'Fox 3.0.11. If you have an XP install disk suggest you run SFC /SCANNOW at the command prompt. Good lucki do have an installation disk but dont know how to do that could u either give me instructions or point me to somewhere that has them? Thanks for your help thus far!First thing to do is replace the Cmos battery, it's surprising what problems a good battery will correct. Click on Start>Run and type SFC /SCANNOW in the dialog box then hit OK. (Note the space between sfc and /scannow. Your system files will be checked for inconsistencies and, if any are found, you will be asked to insert your install disk from which good copies will be extracted. This takes some time so be patient. As posted by BC_P you may not have the correct drivers installed for your hardware, did you reinstall drivers after the format?

18053.

Solve : battery in mobo??

Answer»

so i recently formatted my pc because it was acting wonky for a while, only to have it still not work properly.
I talked to a guy at work and he says i might have a virus that my antivirus can't find and what i should consider doing is format the harddrive again but this time when i do so take out the battery thats in the mobo to completely wipe any memory on it. he says the battery look like a watch battery. I havent been ABLE to find it when i looked for it quickly. so my question is, is does this battery exist, does it help wipe memory during a format, and should it be used?No.

the reason your likely still having issues, is that your hardware doesn't have the proper drivers installed.

If you post some specs and the hardware in your PC, I'm sure we can help you find and install them.Quote from: djemima

so my question is, is does this battery exist, does it help wipe memory during a format, and should it be used?

1. Does the battery exist? Yes. It is the power source for updating the Date and Time and other settings.

2. Does it help wipe memory during a format and should it be used? No. The battery should be replaced when its voltage drops below a useful level, this is usually displayed by the date and/or time not updating correctly.

Please post the symptoms which you describe as "acting wonky" and "still not work properly".well one of the "wonky" problems is that my date and time dont update correctly, and every time i turn on my computer it tells me my chasis has been opened and i need to to go through like f10 settings to ignore it every time - so by ure answer dusty, this sounds like my battery is below useful voltage (the computer is over 4 years old now)

another main problem i'm having with my computer is that some webpages wont load up, for example www.livenation.com will load up the top BANNER but thats it. gmail wont load up unless i use html format to view my email. there are other websites (ticketmaster.com). I wasn't having this problem at first when i d/l and installed internet explorer 8.0, but all of a sudden during an online session i couldn't get any webpages to load. after restarting my pc i had use of some sites but not many. i d.lded and installed firefox and this seemed to solve the problem for a while, but then all of a sudden started not loading sites as well.

I have used superantispyware which found 5 viruses, and after deleting the files infected, i now get a problem with loading a window systems FILE everytime i start my pc. gonna use malwarebytes next when i get the chance but by the looks of it, it might be my best OPTION to just format again i think.

i'm running windows xp pro, AMD 64 2400, asus a8n-sli mobo, nvidia 8800gts video...Sounds like that Cmos battery is overdue for replacement. Here's a pic of what the battery looks like on a mobo (that round silver thing), please take all precautions against static discharge when replacing it:

No problem here opening the LiveNation site using F'Fox 3.0.11.

If you have an XP install disk suggest you run SFC /SCANNOW at the command prompt.

Good lucki do have an installation disk but dont know how to do that could u either give me instructions or point me to somewhere that has them?
Thanks for your help thus far!First thing to do is replace the Cmos battery, it's surprising what problems a good battery will correct.

Click on Start>Run and type SFC /SCANNOW in the dialog box then hit OK. (Note the space between sfc and /scannow. Your system files will be checked for inconsistencies and, if any are found, you will be asked to insert your install disk from which good copies will be extracted. This takes some time so be patient.

As posted by BC_P you may not have the correct drivers installed for your hardware, did you reinstall drivers after the format?

Discussion

18054.	Solve : New mobo not working??
Answer» nope ..nothinSo what components are still not working ? ? Sound ? Network ?NOTHING!!!! the sound is still not working , I have tried everything you said and its still not working the ethernet port still isnt working though my other computer is also not connecting to the internet via the router so it may be a problem with the router the graphics are fine cpu is faster than what it was with the old board ran is also working fine usb devices work fine the system FAN is still FAR too noisy for prolonged use! I have one more thing to try but i dont know how to describe it... ill try it and get back to yas! I'd suggest spending 30 Bucks on a sound card then...sounds like the chip has taken a chip so to speak...lol! well thanks for all your help! I sent it down to my local pc repairer and all of the problems are now fixed! Here's what was WRONG: 1) System Fan: well as it turns out the system fan wasn't making proper contact with the CPU so the fan was going like crazy to stop it from overheating but failing! The cpu's temp was hitting 90 degrees centigrade (194 degrees farenheight) !!! 2) Audio : The old version of windows XP , the one for my old packard bell board , had the wrong drivers installed , the pc was still looking for the old hardware! I could have tried to install xp myself but i was WORRIED that i might further kill my pc so i left it to the pros so to speak! 3) ethernet / internet problems : well there has been no problems discovered with my onboard chipset so i put this problem down to my router , i will have to look at this later! now i need some help to take advantage of the surround sound capababilities... but ill leave that till next TIME!

Discussion

18055.	Solve : intel P4 CPU with intel 865GBF board based PC freezes/restartes?
Answer» Try a DIFFERENT power cord.already tried that MAN! see my FIRST post..

Discussion

18056.	Solve : Why is my PF usage so high? HELP!!?
Answer» For the last few days my computer has started running slowly, and I've been getting messages that my system is running low on virtual memory. I have 3gb of ram and am running XP Pro with an ATHLON 4600 dual core processor. I ran the task manager and it stated that my PF usage was almost 5gb. I have checked all the programs running in the background and have turned off any that were unnecessary. Rebooting my PC usually fixes it, and lowers the PF usage to around 300-500mb, but after the PC has been running a while it GOES back up again. What could be causing this? I ran a scan using Malwarebytes and came up with nothing, and AVG isn't reporting anything either. I saw something on another site that suggested removing my RAM and re-installing it, but I don't see what good that would do. Any suggestions!??! To adjust your page file settings... 1) Press your Windows KEY and "Pause Break" on your keyboard at the same time. 2) Go to the "Advanced" tab. 3) Under the "Performance" section, click "Settings". 4) Go to the "Advanced" tab. 5) Under the "Virtual memory" section, click "Change". You will then be able to change the size of the page file. I recommend the "System managed size" option. After you have adjusted the settings, click "Set".I did that, but it still keeps creeping up. When I just restarted my PC it was around 450mb, and about an hour later it was up to 1gb.My page file is 1.5 GB right now so 1 GB does not seem to bad. Have you checked which process is using the virtual memory in Task Manager? To check, go to the "View" menu in Task Manager, click "Select Columns...", and check the box next to "Virtual Memory Size".I did that and the highest users are 'services.exe' and 'svchost.exe', and 'PnkBstrA.exe', but the highest of those by far is the 'services.exe' one, which as I write this is at 576,660k. I've LOOKED up various stuff online regarding memory leaks, etc, but most every suggestion I find is outdated. One suggested downloading a hotfix from Microsoft, but when I did that it said my version of Windows was more current than the hotfix I was trying to run.Your "services.exe" seems high. Mine is 25,428 K. If you download Process Explorer, you can see which services are being run in the services.exe and svchost.exe entries by pointing at them.OK, did that, and I have 9 separate 'Generic Host Process for Win32 Services'. There are quite a lot of other things too, of course, but I'm thinking all of these duplicates could be the problem. Any suggestions?I have seven 'Generic Host Process for Win32 Services' entries. If you point at each svchost.exe in the "Process" column, it will show you the names of the processes in a tooltip.I think I may have found the problem, but I don't know how to fix it. Punkbuster was using a ton of resources and my PF usage was up around 4gb, so I ended the punkbuster process (there were 2, PnkbsterA and PnkBsterB) and almost immediately my PF usage went back down to about 500-600mb. The problem now is that punkbuster needs to be active to play some online games, so how can I get it to stop hogging resources?

Discussion

18057.	Solve : freezing up problem, need a lot of help?
Answer» i'll TRY but its not that dirty.Well, there is a REASON, your CPU is SWEATING at 61C IDLE.

Discussion

18058.	Solve : Power Supply 20+4Pin Power Connector?
Answer» Hi guys In terms of a PC power supply, is a 20+4Pin Power Connector the same as 24 Pin Power Connector? My Gigabyte MBoard needs a 24 pin connector and a 4 pin ATX connector. I also need a minimum of 3 Molex connectors so do you think this power supply will suit me? http://www.ebuyer.com/product/120674A 20 + 4 pin connector means it has a 20 pin main connector, and the ADDITIONAL 4 pins are optional. This means it would work on 20 or 24 pin boards. That power supply is no good though, I've never heard of the brand so it's most probably the CHEAPEST components they could get, meaning it won't be reliable.Ok thanks for that. I HAVE heard of the brand before as one of my friends has dealt with them before and has had no trouble with anything he bought from them.OK, well, it's up to you if you want to trust it. I consider the PSU to be one of the most important components and I never cheap out on it. Sure, I may have built many machines with PSUs twice the price or more of the cheapest available, but I don't want to take the chance of the PSU BLOWING up and taking £300 + of components with it, for the sake of £40. The cheap one may have worked just fine, but I'm not one to take that chance.The computer I'm going to put it in is over 5 years old now so I'm not EXPECTING that much life out of it, so I think it's best to put a cheaper one in because I don't want to spend a fortune on a computer that's not going to last more than a couple of years, and it's not the end of the world if it does fail because I have my laptop, and what I'll do when I get this computer working is back everything up to DVDs and then transfer it to my laptop if it's important. It's going to be an "occasional" PC more than one I need to use everyday.As I said, it's up to you. I would personally still buy a known reliable power supply even if I was only using the machine for 6 months - when I stopped using it and got rid, I could reuse the power supply for another machine without wondering if it's going to power a better machine or not.A 20+4 pin power connector supports 20 pins and 24 pins.I would go with a name brand as well, but it is your call. The PSU is one thing I look the other way on, I look for a more expensive one, and I look at the warranty. Just my 2 cents.

Discussion

18059.	Solve : Rule of Thumb for Power Supply Capacity??
Answer» Coolmax isn't a good brand, avoid them. Scythe's 120mm fans are excellent, this isn't a machine that's going to throw off a lot of heat so I'd recommend the 1200RPM fans, quiet and still push a lot of air so you'll have lots of case cooling.Woops! I need to make a correction. The grand total should begin with a 4 not a 2. Personally, I'd recommend changing a few of those PARTS recommended by computeruler. CPU - cheaper, around the same performance. Graphics card - more expensive but MUCH faster. If you don't plan on upgrading this system to use extremely HIGH end graphics CARDS and CPUs, you'd be better going for a PSU around 4-500W and saving the $30 or so IMHO.

Discussion

18060.	Solve : Laptop Fan?
Answer» My laptop Vista home pro, 2G ram, Advent, laptop, INTEL 2duo T5250, graphics.. desktop performance for WINDOWS aero, gaming graphics... 3d business and gaming performance. Blah blah blah fan is making a strange noise. I have an 8" fan BLOWING into the side of my laptop on the left next to where the GPU is I think. I now have a strange fan noise like a BUZZ coming from the centre of my unit. I don't want to open it just in case I mess something up. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!The noise pblm. has to be corrected before a serious pblm. happens.If you cant do it yourself take it to a shop that works on laptops.If this started after you added this fan, sounds like the laptop fan is spinning too fast and/or can't cope with the extra pressure/airflow.Quote from: Calum on July 07, 2009, 03:07:48 AM If this started after you added this fan, sounds like the laptop fan is spinning too fast and/or can't cope with the extra pressure/airflow. I gave the laptop a Fonzy STYLE smack on the top. Bingo fan is working normal again. I moved the large fan as well just in case. Cheers guy's. Well, it's a good thing you took xavier's advice. Good to hear, hopfully you wont say Bingo its doing it again.

18060.

Solve : Laptop Fan?

Answer»

My laptop Vista home pro, 2G ram, Advent, laptop, INTEL 2duo T5250, graphics.. desktop performance for WINDOWS aero, gaming graphics... 3d business and gaming performance.

Blah blah blah

fan is making a strange noise. I have an 8" fan BLOWING into the side of my laptop on the left next to where the GPU is I think. I now have a strange fan noise like a BUZZ coming from the centre of my unit. I don't want to open it just in case I mess something up. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!The noise pblm. has to be corrected before a serious pblm. happens.If you cant do it yourself take it to a shop that works on laptops.If this started after you added this fan, sounds like the laptop fan is spinning too fast and/or can't cope with the extra pressure/airflow.Quote from: Calum on July 07, 2009, 03:07:48 AM

If this started after you added this fan, sounds like the laptop fan is spinning too fast and/or can't cope with the extra pressure/airflow.

I gave the laptop a Fonzy STYLE smack on the top. Bingo fan is working normal again. I moved the large fan as well just in case.
Cheers guy's. Well, it's a good thing you took xavier's advice. Good to hear, hopfully you wont say Bingo its doing it again.

Discussion

18061.	Solve : norton save & restore?
Answer» I am a new member. I have not long bought a Vista Packhard Bell Imedia PC. Om my old XP I used NORTON GO back and will not be able to put on Vista. What I would like to know and do is having bought Norton save & restore ,can I do the back up on a external USB hard DRIVE. Also my knowlodge is very limited and any advice would be most welcome. WGAn external HDD needs a bunch of WHACKING with a pipe WRENCH and some finnessing of the setup files to boot any OS after Win2K... This is by design. What exactly is it you want to accomplish here ? ?Well what I have is a Norton Save and Restore CD as I have said.It is supposed to do restore points at different points as set. I have tried to get to check for a CERTAIN restore point and it has done restore but will not enable to do the restore WG

Discussion

18062.	Solve : White background creates faint horizontal lines?
Answer» Hi I am having a problem with what I can only describe as wavy moving lines that run horizontal. This is only noticable on a white back ground and when I view my Lcd from a side or above. I also think this is the reason why my eyes are hurting when I view the monitor straight on. I have tested this Lcd on another computer and these lines do not appear. I am using a XFX Geforce 260 GTX and I am wondering if you think this is what could be CAUSING it. A list below shows what I have already done to try and fix the problem myself. Thanks!! 1) Reinstalled a differnet Graphics card driver. 2) Reseated the graphics card. 3) Lowered the screen resolution and changed the refresh rate.Nobody got any idea on this issue then? I will put it another way then, is it normal behaviour for a monitor to act this way? The monitor is an iiyama 26 " Lcd TFT.Frankie, Other ideas= http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-597830.html truenorthThankyou, I have set the Lcd back to it's native resolution of 1920 x1200 and it appears to be a bit better. However, I am still UNCERTAIN if it is a fault with the Lcd or not. I have worked out that it is not the graphics card now - I hooked up my laptop up to the Lcd using the vga and saw that it was still displaying these wavy lines. you need to mess AROUND with the monitor's settings(via it's controls)- clock settings being the main one. Quote from: BC_Programmer on July 06, 2009, 10:12:11 PM you need to mess around with the monitor's settings(via it's controls)- clock settings being the main one. I took a LOOK in the Lcd setting, but I cannot find anything to do with clock setting. What would these setting be under? I have looked and better looked but I just cannot find anything that mentions clock. What does the OSD settings do?

18062.

Solve : White background creates faint horizontal lines?

Answer»

Hi
I am having a problem with what I can only describe as wavy moving lines that run horizontal. This is only noticable on a white back ground and when I view my Lcd from a side or above. I also think this is the reason why my eyes are hurting when I view the monitor straight on. I have tested this Lcd on another computer and these lines do not appear. I am using a XFX Geforce 260 GTX and I am wondering if you think this is what could be CAUSING it. A list below shows what I have already done to try and fix the problem myself. Thanks!!

1) Reinstalled a differnet Graphics card driver.
2) Reseated the graphics card.
3) Lowered the screen resolution and changed the refresh rate.Nobody got any idea on this issue then? I will put it another way then, is it normal behaviour for a monitor to act this way? The monitor is an iiyama 26 " Lcd TFT.Frankie, Other ideas= http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-597830.html truenorthThankyou, I have set the Lcd back to it's native resolution of 1920 x1200 and it appears to be a bit better. However, I am still UNCERTAIN if it is a fault with the Lcd or not. I have worked out that it is not the graphics card now - I hooked up my laptop up to the Lcd using the vga and saw that it was still displaying these wavy lines. you need to mess AROUND with the monitor's settings(via it's controls)- clock settings being the main one.

Quote from: BC_Programmer on July 06, 2009, 10:12:11 PM

you need to mess around with the monitor's settings(via it's controls)- clock settings being the main one.

I took a LOOK in the Lcd setting, but I cannot find anything to do with clock setting. What would these setting be under? I have looked and better looked but I just cannot find anything that mentions clock. What does the OSD settings do?

Discussion

18063.	Solve : Running Rosewill RC209 without RAID?
Answer» I installed the Rosewill RC209 RAID Card in my computer. I want to be able to run the card without raid since im only trying to get 1 single hard drive to run. The hard drive is a 1TB WD SATA. When I referred to the Rosewill manual that came shipped with the card I found out that I need to install drivers from the floppy disk. The PROBLEM is when the floppy is in the floppy drive it doesnt READ it. I made sure the floppy was first BOOT priority in my BIOS. STILL have no success. Would there be any other way to install drivers for the card without needing a floppy. HELP!!!!

Discussion

18064.	Solve : Having trouble with a monitor. any advice??
Answer» i have a westinghouse L1916HW monitor less than a YEAR old. it has touch buttons on the side and to turn it off i usualy run my hand along the side and it turns off. couple days ago i did that and it shut off and came back on but the screen had a really small grid looking thing all over the screen (it is the monitor cause i tried it with another monitor worked fine) and with out looking hard you can see the screen flash as if it is refreshing slower. i reset the monitor and it still does it. the monitor hasn't been droped, punched, or kicked lol. the monitor was given to me for x- mas and the one who gave it to me i no longer talk to so i cant take it back for a exchange. thx for reading and any HELP would be greatly appreciated Quote less than a year old Take advantage of the warranty.i cant because someone bought it for me and its under his name. and its from best buy so yea there cust serv sucks censoredWe FIX things AROUND here, but we can't pull miracles. You don't fix monitors (too expensive), so you have two choices: ask the person, who bought it for you to send it for warranty repair, or buy a new monitor.thats what i was afraid of...I wish, I had better NEWS for you

18064.

Solve : Having trouble with a monitor. any advice??

Answer»

i have a westinghouse L1916HW monitor less than a YEAR old. it has touch buttons on the side and to turn it off i usualy run my hand along the side and it turns off. couple days ago i did that and it shut off and came back on but the screen had a really small grid looking thing all over the screen (it is the monitor cause i tried it with another monitor worked fine) and with out looking hard you can see the screen flash as if it is refreshing slower. i reset the monitor and it still does it. the monitor hasn't been droped, punched, or kicked lol. the monitor was given to me for x- mas and the one who gave it to me i no longer talk to so i cant take it back for a exchange. thx for reading and any HELP would be greatly appreciated Quote

less than a year old

Take advantage of the warranty.i cant because someone bought it for me and its under his name. and its from best buy so yea there cust serv sucks *censored*We FIX things AROUND here, but we can't pull miracles.
You don't fix monitors (too expensive), so you have two choices: ask the person, who bought it for you to send it for warranty repair, or buy a new monitor.thats what i was afraid of...I wish, I had better NEWS for you

Discussion

18065.	Solve : Hand Me Down Computer?
Answer» Do you have another computer you could try the card on?None that have PCI-e, I would have done that had I had that option. All great ideas thoughCpu-z will give cpu and board info and gpu-z will either give video card info or restart your pc if it is on a very old pc.GPU-z only detects the onboard video. Borrow another card for overnight and swap it in there...i predict dead card.I as well predict a dead card, Im gonna go out and buy a Vcard and ram after the 4TH, maybe find a good deal somewhereBest to borrow one in the meantime to be sure...borrow from who? Try Mrs. Robinson down the street...she doesn't use her PC much.Yeah, I dont really think that people around me are keen on letting me fiddle with their computers, I cant say I live in an ideal world Any small PC repair shops in the area ? ? Some will swap a card in to test for a small fee...You know, I just moved to PA and I'm in this small remote area, not a lot around me, after the 4th I went to look for one of these shops, but I found nothing. I think Ill go on a round 2 tomorrow. Ill head into Pittsburgh, theres bound to be a computer repair shop there. Best of Luck...and keep us posted.Well, good news. I went out and bought a brand new PCI-e card. I popped that sucker into the slot and bam! I had perfectly clear video. The new video card is a GeForce 8400 512mb, which I thought was decent, I mean I'm only GOING to be playing Blizzard games. Thanks for all the help guys, the computer is finally working, and I added 2 more gigs of RAM (just for that FINAL touch). Its not a beast by any stretch, but its a censored good PC and I have all you guys to thank. :] You're more than WELCOME... Glad to hear you are fixed up.

Discussion

18066.	Solve : LCD Samsung Syncmaster trouble?
Answer» Hello everyone! I just signed up here, anyway, i really could use some help on this one. I'm pretty familiar with COMPUTERS, but cant seem to solve this probem. You see, my LCD is going crazy and glitchy SOMETIMES... i have provided a link to the screenshot to see what i mean... i pointed the glitches out. I'm using Windows VISTA 32 bit, SP1, 4 GB RAM, Radeon HD4670 512DDR3, Athlon X2 7850+ Black Edition... i just got this PC a week ago, on my old PC i never had this kind of glitches... i tried updating my drivers for the VGA, but it didnt help. So any suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated Thx in advance! BTW it doesnt only happen in WMP/in that area of the screen...it can randomly pop up and dissapear. http://img189.imageshack.us/i/lcder.jpg/

Discussion

18067.	Solve : Canon Printer Interrogation. lbp3000?
Answer» Does anyone KNOW if i can ineterrogate my LBP3000 laser for internal information, eg total pages printed etc. My OLD KYOCERA fs1000 was a cinch :-? Regards Rex

Discussion

18068.	Solve : Heatsink required??
Answer» Hey, Ive been in the process of grabbing a new processor (p4 2.8{motherboard cant support anything above that, including HT}). I've reciently comeacross one online, but before I buy it I wanted to be sure weather or not a new Heatsink/fan Is required to keep it at correct core temperatures. Right now, unsure and not in the mood to check to 100% varify, I have the stock one from back when this rig was bought, 3 days after Pentium 4 was introduced in 2001-02. The heatsink/fan are cooling a p4 1.6 ghz, to give you an idea of how much of an upgrade this is. Thanks for your feedback Also, if it does require an upgrade, what do you suggest I grab?Quote Right now, unsure and not in the mood to check to 100% varify, Interesting thought. A new processor probably DESERVES a new heatsink/fan anyway to protect your investment. They do have a limited lifespan.Quote Quote Right now, unsure and not in the mood to check to 100% varify, Interesting thought. A new processor probably deserves a new heatsink/fan anyway to protect your investment. They do have a limited lifespan. ^,^ Thanks for quick reply Ya that was pretty much what I was thinking, there pretty cheap and simple to install, but, just to clarify, are you saying its not the best idea to wait and install the heatsink later, or that there is really no harm since its not too much of an upgrade?If I had a new processor I would give it the courtesy of a new heatsink ASAP. The old one will probably get you by until then, unless it has known issues OR it is an AMD processor. WHen they overheat, they ruin!Quote If I had a new processor I would give it the courtesy of a new heatsink ASAP. The old one will probably get you by until then, unless it has known issues OR it is an AMD processor. WHen they overheat, they ruin! Ya I was pretty sure that it was moreless required, pretty cheap to buy so hopefully when I get payed next week I can get it all at once, (living from paycheck to paycheck really sucks ) Thanks for all your help, appreciate it. Oh by the way, just something I thought of earlier, messing around with my video card (Ge6800) - None of these settings are for good, I just wanted to see the diffrence in perfomance.. I Uped the Core Clock Freq. from 300 MHz to 400 MHz (After alot of trial and error, thats the best setting without stoperror) and MEMORY Clock Freq. from 500 MHz to 510 MHz (Again, trial and error, and best settings). After doing this, my GPU Core Temp. has not raised from 73-75C (flux from diffrent programs running ect). My question is this, even with no change in temp, having it staying at what it was when it wasa set on "no overclocking". Is it still possible to A) fry the card ? B) Is there any risk, or any significant risk of damage if I where to leave the settings like this? C) Last but not least, whats the 'safe' GPU Core temp. and whats concidered high? Thanks again for all your advice.I NEVER recommend overclocking anything. Pushing any component beyond what it was designed to do is asking for problems. Some people enjoy this activity, and have the cash to replace RUINED components, but this doesn't seem to be your case. Quote I NEVER recommend overclocking anything. Pushing any component beyond what it was designed to do is askinng for problems. Some people enjoy this activity, and have the cash to replace ruined components, but this doesnn't seem to be your case. ^.^ Got that right, and I see where your coming from, its probally not the best idea so I'll revert it back to origional state. While I was at work, a thought / question came to me: You mentioned that its best to get a new heatsink for the processor (if it happens to work out that I have to wait a week and get the heatsink) Will the old one do? (does the heatsink have any corrilation to the socket of the processor IE 478) if it does, what is the best to buy IF the processor dosent come with it included (intell boxed, just dosent have it included - the one I'm looking at)) Thanks againhttp://All Intel retail processors have a stock heatsink/fan included which will work just fine. OEM CPU's do not. The heatsink is particular to the processor, as in a 478 heatsink and fan will fit ALL 478 processors, socket A's fit aLL socket A's, etc. The only issue may be the clearance in some cases with EXOTIC fans that have a high air flow or a strange design. Retail CPU's also have a 3 year warranty that you do not get with OEM models.

18068.

Solve : Heatsink required??

Answer»

Hey, Ive been in the process of grabbing a new processor (p4 2.8{motherboard cant support anything above that, including HT}). I've reciently comeacross one online, but before I buy it I wanted to be sure weather or not a new Heatsink/fan Is required to keep it at correct core temperatures. Right now, unsure and not in the mood to check to 100% varify, I have the stock one from back when this rig was bought, 3 days after Pentium 4 was introduced in 2001-02. The heatsink/fan are cooling a p4 1.6 ghz, to give you an idea of how much of an upgrade this is.

Thanks for your feedback

Also, if it does require an upgrade, what do you suggest I grab?Quote

Right now, unsure and not in the mood to check to 100% varify,

Interesting thought.

A new processor probably DESERVES a new heatsink/fan anyway to protect your investment. They do have a limited lifespan.Quote

Quote
Right now, unsure and not in the mood to check to 100% varify,

Interesting thought.

A new processor probably deserves a new heatsink/fan anyway to protect your investment. They do have a limited lifespan.

^,^ Thanks for quick reply

Ya that was pretty much what I was thinking, there pretty cheap and simple to install, but, just to clarify, are you saying its not the best idea to wait and install the heatsink later, or that there is really no harm since its not too much of an upgrade?If I had a new processor I would give it the courtesy of a new heatsink ASAP. The old one will probably get you by until then, unless it has known issues OR it is an AMD processor. WHen they overheat, they ruin!Quote

If I had a new processor I would give it the courtesy of a new heatsink ASAP. The old one will probably get you by until then, unless it has known issues OR it is an AMD processor. WHen they overheat, they ruin!

Ya I was pretty sure that it was moreless required, pretty cheap to buy so hopefully when I get payed next week I can get it all at once, (living from paycheck to paycheck really sucks )

Thanks for all your help, appreciate it.

Oh by the way, just something I thought of earlier, messing around with my video card (Ge6800) - None of these settings are for good, I just wanted to see the diffrence in perfomance..

I Uped the Core Clock Freq. from 300 MHz to 400 MHz (After alot of trial and error, thats the best setting without stoperror)
and
MEMORY Clock Freq. from 500 MHz to 510 MHz (Again, trial and error, and best settings).

After doing this, my GPU Core Temp. has not raised from 73-75C (flux from diffrent programs running ect). My question is this, even with no change in temp, having it staying at what it was when it wasa set on "no overclocking". Is it still possible to A) fry the card ? B) Is there any risk, or any significant risk of damage if I where to leave the settings like this? C) Last but not least, whats the 'safe' GPU Core temp. and whats concidered high?

Thanks again for all your advice.I NEVER recommend overclocking anything. Pushing any component beyond what it was designed to do is asking for problems. Some people enjoy this activity, and have the cash to replace RUINED components, but this doesn't seem to be your case. Quote

I NEVER recommend overclocking anything. Pushing any component beyond what it was designed to do is askinng for problems. Some people enjoy this activity, and have the cash to replace ruined components, but this doesnn't seem to be your case.

^.^ Got that right, and I see where your coming from, its probally not the best idea so I'll revert it back to origional state.

While I was at work, a thought / question came to me:

You mentioned that its best to get a new heatsink for the processor (if it happens to work out that I have to wait a week and get the heatsink) Will the old one do? (does the heatsink have any corrilation to the socket of the processor IE 478) if it does, what is the best to buy IF the processor dosent come with it included (intell boxed, just dosent have it included - the one I'm looking at))

Thanks againhttp://All Intel retail processors have a stock heatsink/fan included which will work just fine. OEM CPU's do not. The heatsink is particular to the processor, as in a 478 heatsink and fan will fit ALL 478 processors, socket A's fit aLL socket A's, etc. The only issue may be the clearance in some cases with EXOTIC fans that have a high air flow or a strange design.

Retail CPU's also have a 3 year warranty that you do not get with OEM models.

Discussion

18069.	Solve : Video Card Question, Please help!?
Answer» I just recently bought Black & White 2, but I need a video card that supports PIXEL shader v 1.1 I am also not sure If I have PCI or AGP slots. My computer is: hp pavilion a345w intel 4 2590 mhz 1024 mb windows xp home I know that the ATI radeon 8500 as well as others support pixel shader v 1.1, but I want to make sure it will work in my computer. Thanks for the helpif this: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?dlc=en&lc=en&product=383638&lang=en&cc=us&docname=bph07845 is indeed the Motherboard that is in your system (and I think it is) then you only have PCI slots. I think most consumer non-special order computers that come premade only have PCI because they have onboard video.most PCI video cards are not 3D accelerated, unlike AGP video cards, theres still a big difference between the two most especially when it comes to gaming, if it is a built in video, you might experience a problem playing the game,Quote I think most consumer non-special order computers that come premade only have PCI because they have onboard video. I believe it's not accurate to say "most" consumer computers have no AGP or PCI Express slots. Many computers with onboard video do have an AGP slot. I have a friend who had a Compaq desktop computer - one at the low of the price spectrum - that came from the factory configured to use onboard video. However, it had an AGP slot and I helped him install an AGP video card. I also had an ECS K7SEM motherboard a few years ago that had onboard video but also had an AGP slot. I initially used it with onboard video but LATER installed an AGP card. But, in this case, trisma's motherboard only has PCI slots, as shown by the link you posted. Quote most PCI video cards are not 3D accelerated I believe the fact of the matter is that PRACTICALLY all video cards on the market in the last few years, whether AGP, PCI, or PCI Express, have 3D acceleration. Thanks for the help, So there is a nvidia geforce fx 5500 128 mb PCI card at wal mart for 69.99. Should I buy it, or is it pointless to try to play the game on my computer. Or will the game not work at all? I'm not a gamer, so I can't say whether or how well the game would work with that card. I discovered a FORUM devoted to Black & White 2. If I were you, I would post my question over there. By the way, if you've ever thought about running two monitors with your computer, you might be interested in this: PNY Verto GeForce FX 5500 / 128MB DDR / PCI / Dual VGA / TV Out / Video Card. Also, here's a GeForce FX 5500 for $49.99 from TigerDirect. No sales tax but shipping fee would be added. Would still be $10, maybe $15 or so less than from Walmar. Note that this card only has a DVI connector. So, if you need a VGA connector, you would need a DVI to VGA adapter with this card. Edit: Correction. The GeForce FX 5500 for $49.99 from TigerDirect comes with a DVI to VGA adapter.

18069.

Solve : Video Card Question, Please help!?

Answer»

I just recently bought Black & White 2, but I need a video card that supports PIXEL shader v 1.1 I am also not sure If I have PCI or AGP slots.

My computer is:
hp pavilion a345w
intel 4 2590 mhz
1024 mb
windows xp home

I know that the ATI radeon 8500 as well as others support pixel shader v 1.1, but I want to make sure it will work in my computer.

Thanks for the helpif this: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?dlc=en&lc=en&product=383638&lang=en&cc=us&docname=bph07845 is indeed the Motherboard that is in your system (and I think it is) then you only have PCI slots. I think most consumer non-special order computers that come premade only have PCI because they have onboard video.most PCI video cards are not 3D accelerated, unlike AGP video cards, theres still a big difference between the two most especially when it comes to gaming, if it is a built in video, you might experience a problem playing the game,Quote

I think most consumer non-special order computers that come premade only have PCI because they have onboard video.

I believe it's not accurate to say "most" consumer computers have no AGP or PCI Express slots. Many computers with onboard video do have an AGP slot. I have a friend who had a Compaq desktop computer - one at the low of the price spectrum - that came from the factory configured to use onboard video. However, it had an AGP slot and I helped him install an AGP video card. I also had an ECS K7SEM motherboard a few years ago that had onboard video but also had an AGP slot. I initially used it with onboard video but LATER installed an AGP card.

But, in this case, trisma's motherboard only has PCI slots, as shown by the link you posted.
Quote

most PCI video cards are not 3D accelerated

I believe the fact of the matter is that PRACTICALLY all video cards on the market in the last few years, whether AGP, PCI, or PCI Express, have 3D acceleration.
Thanks for the help, So there is a nvidia geforce fx 5500 128 mb PCI card at wal mart for 69.99. Should I buy it, or is it pointless to try to play the game on my computer. Or will the game not work at all?

I'm not a gamer, so I can't say whether or how well the game would work with that card. I discovered a FORUM devoted to Black & White 2. If I were you, I would post my question over there.

By the way, if you've ever thought about running two monitors with your computer, you might be interested in this: PNY Verto GeForce FX 5500 / 128MB DDR / PCI / Dual VGA / TV Out / Video Card.

Also, here's a GeForce FX 5500 for $49.99 from TigerDirect. No sales tax but shipping fee would be added. Would still be $10, maybe $15 or so less than from Walmar. Note that this card only has a DVI connector. So, if you need a VGA connector, you would need a DVI to VGA adapter with this card.

Edit: Correction. The GeForce FX 5500 for $49.99 from TigerDirect comes with a DVI to VGA adapter.

Discussion

18070.	Solve : Networking Help :Fixed:?
Answer» Should be FAIRLY simple, I've connected laptops and devices to my router wirelessly before, but I can't seem to do it with this new laptop I purchased for my mother. Now, I've TRIED everything from a full renewel of addresses on the router, to device accessing. My router is unencrypted RIGHT now, and will work fine. Laptop will work fine if plugged directly into a CAT5 line for internet. Laptop finds the router on the wireless network list but when I connect, it tries, but never completes. Laptop: Compaq V2610 Router: NETGEAR (Don't know model NUMBER off hand) Windows XP Home SP2 on both systems. Any suggestions as to why it won't connect?, I don't get a fail notice or anything, it just tries for 30 seconds then stops and won't connect. ::Edit:: A repair yields that it can't complete because it can't connect to the wireless network. ::Fixed:: Router needed a firmware upgrade and everything is fine now.glad we could be of assistance.

Discussion

18071.	Solve : laptop keyboard sticking?
Answer» Hi! I have a 2 year old HP laptop presario. The KEYBOARD is starting to go bad. For example, the "R" has to be struck a certain way before it will show on the screen. Can the keyboard be replaced or repaired?Absolutely. You may be able to pick up a replacement keyboard on EBAY - that's probably the cheapest way of changing it. Having said that, it may be possible to repair it. Taking a laptop keyboard APART is a RATHER delicate operation, and unless you are fairly competent in that area, it's not wise to attempt it. It's probably best to find someone locally who can do it - you don't want postage costs on top of repair costs. Does this help?Thank you so much!! Is it best to buy the keyboard myself on ebay and take it to a repair person, or should I let the repair person buy the keyboard. Definitely cheaper to buy the keyboard on eBay yourself. The repair person would just buy one off the manufacturer = much more expensive as a rule. I don't suppose you live anywhere near CHESTER in the UK, do you? Unfortunately I don't. I live in Georgia, U.S.A. How long are your arms Rob?

Discussion

18072.	Solve : Mix matching RAM??
Answer» Hello Im tring to put together a computer for my kid with all my older computer parts. Now I have a 450w p.s. and a socket A/Anthlon 1000+ mobo and CPU. My problem is it keeps freezing up at random points . At first I THOUGHT it was the ram I had a 256 ddr266 and a 256 ddr333, so I tried just one DIDNT help. then I found a second 256 ddr266, with both matching chips in it seemed to run longer but in the end it still crashed :-?. Does this even matter, or should I be looking somewhere ELSE like a software issue? The specs on the board say it can handle both but I have never ran two different speeds before. I have a agp card comming maybe that will help? Giga-byte mobo Socket A AMD Anthlon 1000+ 2x 256 ddr266 kingston memory maxtor 120g hdd thermaltake 450w p.s. liteon cdrw Did you reinstall Windows from scratch? You can test the RAM (1 stick at a time, then both together) with a free download at www.memtest86.com to find out if that is the issue, as well as check on the www.crucial.com site to see what RAM and characteristics you should be using with that motherboard.yes this is a fresh install and is all updated. I have gone through the "compatible" ram list, but is it alright to mix different speeds of RAM?Mixing and matching ability depends on the motherboard. Some will HAPPILY accept anything you throw at them whilst others will bork if the manufacture batch is different. In general, the older the board, the less likely you are to have a problem. Gigabyte support is pretty good and, as GX1_Man has said, use Crucial or Kingston as a guide.

Discussion

18073.	Solve : i cant print the entire page?
Answer» EVERY time I try to print a page from the NET, i get it but the right side of the page is cut off....any ideas... I am USING a hp officejet 4100It's a deficiency of the current Internet Explorer print engine. Try cutting and pasting what you WANT to print into your word processor instead.Does this apply to anything you try to print ...or just one specific page ? dl65 it only happens on the web, internet pages....is there anyway to fix this, is there a setting i can change, please help......Please read my reply to your first post.Setting the page to landscape instead of portrait BRINGS some success, but Rob has already offered the best solution.

Discussion

18074.	Solve : Lost My Hard Drive!!!!!?
Answer» I just formatted my work computer so I could install a newer OS (XP). It had 2000 on it. I thought everything was going well, until I got the message that there was no hard drive!!! My brother told me there is software that will locate or recognize the hard drive and make it work again....I'm lost with this. This computer is a Dell--Service Tag 14JT711....I have all the other numbers too. If anyone can help me, please, I'd appreciate it. I have been on here before about the same computer....I fixed the other problem, needed a battery.... [smiley=dankk2.gif] [smiley=embarassed.gif]That is a GX150. First I would go to the F2 screen and then press the caps lock, num locck (so all 3 lights are "on" on the keyboard. The hold down the Alt key and then hold the e key down until it beeps. It should beep a few times. This will clear the NVRAM. THen reboot the machine and press F2 and in the setup see if the hard drive is recognized correctly. If so, you can download and run diagnostics from the appropriate manufacturer's web site (this came with a 40 gig Maxtor drive). Post back with what you find. I am unaware of your brother's "mystery software".HI. I haven't been back for so long because my home computer was having issues....I dumped it and everything is fine with that....As for the Dell I had Hard Drive PROBLEMS with, I feel even more lost now. I did all of the keyboard combinations that were suggested (alt + e, etc.). When I booted up again after that, the screen said "Primary Drive 1 Not Found--Press F1 to continue or F2 for SetUp. I pressed F1 and Windows 2000 loaded just fine....(I thought I dumped it). All my stuff was still there so I did disk cleanup and then started to defrag, it was about half finished when the computer just shut off. I couldn't turn it back on, so I opened it and popped out the battery for a few seconds, put it back and the computer started up with all the same wording as above--Primary Drive 1 Not Found......then it wouldn't find any drives...I would give up for the day. The next day the same thing would happen but Windows loaded after hitting F1 like it asked.....10 minutes LATER it will shut off or just froze. I even got online for about 10 minutes yesterday with my home page loaded on IE!! I have been doing this every day since my last message on here. I only had to do the battery thing once. Today a blue screen comes up before Windows finished loading---It says something about restarting the computer, if that happens again, check for viruses or run CHKDSK /F ---I can't do either of those things. Sometimes when I start it and hit F2 or F12, it says Keyboard error. I downloaded to a floppy TestDisk 6.3 from Softpedia.com. That is supposed to detect your hard drive and fix errors....Didn't do anything, didn't even load or whatever. It started to spin and then stopped. I probably didn't put it onto the floppy right. Also, when I was doing the defragging, I scheduled a Check Disk at next start up---that came on 2 days later!!! During that, the screen went blue and said "Hard Error".....What my brother had suggested was that I go to the Maxtor site or Western Digital to get WDClear. I couldn't find what he was talking about....Holy--Frustrating!! This just sux. We have two lousy computer repair PLACES here and I wouldn't let those people repair a skateboard.....We have had dealings with them in the past and we pretty much told them that--They treated us like we didn't have any idea at all about computers and wanted to charge enough to buy a new computer!! This is driving me nuts, that I can't fix it. Until someone tells me to let it go, it's junk, I'll keep trying..... Have a read here: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx150/en/ug/problems.htm#msgs or the full page: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx150/en/ug/index.htm You might try replacing the CMOS battery as a cheap "may fix" solution as well. I just wanted to thank you for your time, I appreciate it alot. If I figure it out, I will let you know what the problem was!!! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]THANKS and good luck! Try checking the IDE cables where they connect to the motherboard. It is real easy to overlook that.

Discussion

18075.	Solve : Caller ID?
Answer» I just got a new dimension 5150 from Dell and it comes with a conexant D850 56k DVFc MODEM Windows XP home edition version 2002 SP 2 I need to KNOW how can I activate the caller Id function on this modem, on HyperTerminal It doesn’t GIVE the phone number. All I get is a RING I’ve tried the AT+VCIS=1 & AT+VCID=2 and it answers OK, but when I call the PC all I get is a RING and no Caller ID info I do have caller id from my telephone provider, and I have tested other PC’s and modems it does work ATI6 command gives me this : SoftK56 CModem Version 12 Rksample Version 342 OK Any help will be HIGHLY appreciated Regards Norvak You might be stuffed there, I'm afraid. Could be a very cut down winmodem that doesn't understand caller ID. You could try >Conexant's support website< but modem strings are not something that many users ask about, so the info you want might not be there. You may get a response to an email? Bear in mind that external (e.g. USB) modems tend to be better-featured and better documented. They're also pretty cheap. Onboard modems? Well... you get what you pay for...I've FOUND the following : On OEM0.INF [CID] HKR,EnableCallerID,1,,"at+vcid=1" HKR,,CallerIDPrivate,,P HKR,,CallerIDOutSide,,O HKR,Responses,"DATE = ",1,93,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 HKR,Responses,"TIME = ",1,94,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 HKR,Responses,"NMBR = ",1,95,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 HKR,Responses,"NMBR = ",1,95,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 HKR,Responses,"NAME = ",1,96,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 HKR,Responses,"MESG = ",1,97,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00 DriverOEMVersion="7.06.00.50"Does this "DriverOEM" version correspond to the version reported by device manager? If so, your detective work does provide a hint to the modem's capabilities. I confess I still don't know how to access them.Have you contacted Dell since it is a new purchase?

Discussion

18076.	Solve : motorola razor v3i micro sd adapter?
Answer» motorola razor v3i micro sd adapter, Can somone tell me what this does, it has come with my mobile phone. I am trying to WORK out how to upload music to this mobile and wondered what this is.Sounds LIKE it's an adapter for accepting the smaller-format SD memory cards. I could be WRONG. Can you post a PHOTO?

Discussion

18077.	Solve : Thinkpad 600E?
Answer» I have a Thinkpad 600E with 6gb disk and 128mb memory. I understand that now Lenovo have taken over from IBM it is possible to upgraded the 600e beyond the previous 288mb max. Could anyone confirm what the limit is, what is required and also what the LARGEST hdd is that it will take? Thanks.Just curious where you heard this. Have you checked the Lenovo web site? I am not sure how this would or could be done.There's nothing obvious on Lenovo's site, and the most recent BIOS update for the 600E dates back to 2001. It seems unlikely that anything has changed. That figure of 288MB is weird. Did the 600E come with 32MB ONBOARD + 256MB expansion capability? You might want to check with some laptop memory sellers. If they don't do an upgrade module larger than 256MB, then you can be reasonably sure your info is incorrect. You can download your original manual PLUS drivers and specs from Lenovo's support section.Thanks for your response. Yes, the 600e came with 32mb on board. I'm sure I came across it on the Lenovo site about six months ago, that they had a bios upgrade which allowed up to 2 x 256 expansion, but as you say, it doesn't SEEM to be there now.If that's the case, it was probably an upgrade that also turned out to melt your motherboard...

Discussion

18078.	Solve : Hard Drive Issue?
Answer» Im kinda new at the WHOLE.. Computer Parts in different computers thing. But recently.. i've been itching to put a computer together of my 2 old ones. So i decided to, but unforutonatly i gave away one of the comps hard drives and am stuck with a 8 gig compaq HDD running windows 95. I'm trying to put it into a Emachines Motherboard, EVERYTHING starts up ok. put a new power supply, and some ram in. It gets to the log in menu, i can log in. But then a Fatal Error and says " Hard Drive designed for compaq computer use only drive will now be disabled" :-? :-? :-? or somthing very simular to that.. only have one monitor with me so i can't be on two at once. By any CHANCE is there anyway to disable that warning or change the settings of the hard drive on the Compaq Motherboard i have? or is my dream hopeless :-?So the hard drive has Windows loaded from a different hardware setup than you are using? THat seldom works out well, but if you format the drive and reload WIndows it should work fine. I can't think of a reason why ANY hard drive shouldn't work if it has a fresh load of the OPERATING system.Well i ended up putting it BACK into the old motherboard, just added some stuff onto that. So it ended up working in some way..

Discussion

18079.	Solve : Bad Motherboard or Something Simple??
Answer» I recently decided to add another hard drive to the computer and add another CD Drive. When I did the installation. The Primary DRIVES were not being detected. Then I removed everything and left it back to how everthing was and it still not being able to detect it. All the jumpers have been set correctly on the motherboard and on the devices themselves. I replaced the cable, reseted the COMOS and tested the Hard drive and CD Drive. They work but the motherboard is not decteting them. The secondary ones seem to work. My Problem: Detecting IDE Primary Master None Detecting IDE Primary Slave None Detecting IDE Secondary Master Western Digital Detecting IDE Secondary Slave CREATIVECD4020EI've had a similar problem in the past and my problem was that I didn't have the master-jumped drive on the master plug on the cable and vice versa. Double-check those cables and jumpers and good luck.I have checked the cable and even replaced the cable. The settings on the drive seem to be set poperly because they are shown if I have it on secondary but when I HOOK it up on the primary side it is undetectectable. There doesnt seem to be dust on it. and the pins doesnt look damage or bent. It just suddenly lost connection. I even checked to see if it was loose and it is tightly in.You are changing the jumper so it's set for master when you put it on the other part of the cable, right? Some motherboards are really finicky about that. The other thing to check is to see if the CMOS/BIOS is set to recognize/auto detect drives. Sorry if you've already done that, but I'm PRETTY much out of ideas here.I think they are set correctly they appeared for about a min before the computer just crashed. after the restart it shows none again :-/ I guess something must be loose but everything is tightley in.Windows98.....How about by telling us the following ...... Primary Master What type of device .....?? Primary Slave What type of device .....?? Secondary Master Western Digital ( HD ?? ) Secondary Slave CREATIVECD4020E ( CD drive ) Your using the flat ribbon type IDE cable ?? Please list the jumper position used for the primary master device...... master , slave or C/S and which plug on the IDE ribbon , the end or the middle ? Please list the jumper position used for the primary slave device........ master , slave or C/S and which plug on the IDE ribbon , the end or the middle ? Please list the jumper position used for the secondary master device...... master , slave or C/S and which plug on the IDE ribbon , the end or the middle ? Please list the jumper position used for the secondary slave device........ master , slave or C/S and which plug on the IDE ribbon , the end or the middle ? What is the make and model nuber of the motherboard? What is the output wattage of the PSU ? dl65 I set the computer to the Following Primary Master Maxtor HD Primary Slave CDROM Secondary Master Western Digital ( HD ) Secondary Slave CREATIVECD4020E ( CD drive ) Yes I am using and IDE cable. I usually plug in the farthest one on the motherboard. The Middle are the Hard drives and the short end is connected to the CD Drive. The Maxtor Hard Drive has the jumper setting set on MA The CD ROM has it set to Slave The Western Digital Hard Drive has been set to Master (middle that says MA) there are 5 pins dunno why The Creative CD has been set to slave There all place verticle I know these jumper settings work becuase If I plug the same excat devices on to the slave side the computer picks it up. If I plug it back to the Primary side it is undetectable. Motherboard is P2XBL Ver 2 Power Supply is 250WTest the HDD and CD-ROM drive on another computer and you'll figure out whether the device or the mobo is at fault.I had the exact same thing happen when I got a second hard drive yesterday. I had both drives set to cable select, so I assumed the problem was somewhere else. I switched one to master and the other to slave, according to where they were on the IDE ribbon, and my system recognized both and booted normally. I suggest you check your master/slave settings on the hard drives. Good luck.I check the settings, and brought a new cable. The devices work seeing as they are being detected on the Secondary Side. The Primary Side is still not picking up anything. If it does pick up after a while when im installing Windows it will crash. When I restart the computer the drives are gone again. Only my Primary Side is dissapearing. The secondary Side seems fine. The Pins on the motherboard are fine. The cable is brand new. I HOPE its not the motherboard everything was fine untill I added devices to secondary side. Even with the secondary devices gone it still wont detect the Primary devices.Windows98...... Ok , here's what I am seeing [highlight]Primary Master Maxtor HD [/highlight] Primary Slave CDROM [highlight]Secondary Master Western Digital ( HD ) [/highlight] Secondary Slave CREATIVECD4020E ( CD drive ) Try putting the Maxtor HD ( jumper setting to Master ) and Western Digital HD ( jumper to Slave ) ........ then put them both on the same IDE cable ...... and use the primary slot on the mobo. CD ROM ( jumper to master ) and CREATIVECD4020E ( jumper to slave ) ........ then put them both on the same IDE cable ...... and use the secondary slot on the mobo. I think if you do it that WAY things should be ok dl65 It is the motherboard The jumper settings seemed to work fine. I was so excited when it displayed thre devices. but when I gave it a little bumped by putting back the cover I got all these Hard Drive Errors. Then I hit Ctrl+Alt+ Delete to restart and they are all listed as none again. I even pushed the Cable and its tight in. sigh oh well things break eventually But thanks to everyone that help.

Discussion

18080.	Solve : cpu normal temperature?
Answer» WHATS the normal CPU temperature, mine right now is: 136F if i wanted to overclock it, what would be a bad temperature?MAN 136F You ARE ON THE VERGE OF FRYING UR MOTHERBOARD. SO DONT OVERCLOCK.. IT.. KQuote MAN 136F You ARE ON THE VERGE OF FRYING UR MOTHERBOARD. SO DONT OVERCLOCK.. IT.. K He said 136F, not 136C. I don't think on the verge of frying his motherboard. THE HEATSINK GUIDE: Maximum CPU temperature and maximum CPU power usage Depends if this is and AMD or Pentium. Also depends on other things, like is this your temp when just on the desktop, or when you have been playing games. An AMD can get quite hot, that temp you have if it is an AMD is reasonable, if you dont know much about overclocking i wouldnt do it, what works on one computer doesnt always work out on another.[highlight]AMD Athlon XP 2000+ 1.7GHz[/highlight] I can read.

Discussion

18081.	Solve : unable to detect hard drive?
Answer» :-? im having a problem with my MAXTOR 5200 RPM HDD drive, my PC is not able to detect the device, my master HDD is SEAGATE 7200 RPM, MAXTOR is set to slave, i tried swithing the HDD cables and also switching both HDD to slave and master but still it wont let detect the MAXTOR HDD, can anyone help me with this one?? :-?,,Was it working before? What happened? Any playing in the case before this started? They can just die, but usually there is some preface to that. Is it detected in the BIOS? Or are you saying it cannot be seen in Windows? Any error MESSAGES? More info needed.yes it was working before, ive been using it for almost 3 years (MAXTOR), it is not detected on BIOS and also in windows, no error message found, in the first place i was able to but then suddenly it went off, i tried everything, settting the jumpers, changing cables, switching HDD ports, still no go,, any idea???Too many variable at once. Leave in only the suspect drive, jumper as Master, and make sure your cable is good. Then try just the other drive with the same cable and jumpered as master. The only possibilities are bad IDE port (doubtful), bad cable (possible) or dead drive (most likely). Nothing had changed AT ALL before the drive stopped responding seems very important. Please confirm this, rather than you had just hooked it up in this configuration and it didn't work, etc. All hard drives die eventually. all the cables are good, cables a properly connected, jumpers a set accordingly, i did try everything, how i wish was able to save this one, i agree with you, hard disk MIGHT be busted, oh well what a waste, appreciate your help, tnx a lot bro,, Quote all the cables are good, cables a properly connected, jumpers a set accordingly, i did try everything, how i wish was able to save this one, i agree with you, hard disk might be busted, oh well what a waste, appreciate your help, tnx a lot bro,, Are you using a 80 strand or 40 strand cable, with hard drives you should be using a 80 strand with one set to Master and the other to Slave? [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]yes i am using 80 strand, wasnt able to salvage that HD,Did you try to attach your HDD (Maxtor) to another PC to SEE if BIOS detects it ? If you have tried and the result is the same maybe the logic of your HHD somehow has gone bad ? If that is the problem and you want to save the info. stored on your HDD you need to replace the logic that has gone with a new one from exactly the same type of HDD like yours !yes i did try using the MAXTOR from the other desktop computer but still it wont work, how can i replace the logic from my HD, and what do you mean LOGIC??? :-?Well it will be very difficult for me to explain you because in my language that thing is called "LOGIC" but i will try anyway! When you take the HHD in your hands and turn it back there is plate with resistors , capacitors and other elements ! It usually has green color ! So that is the so called "logic" and it could be damaged ! I hope you understood me because this is the best way i can explain it ! SORRY :-/ I have not practise my English for years and now it is very difficult for me to explain things this !alright i got it,, now how do i fix it then?? is it still replaceable?? it might be impossible for me to look for a replacement for this one,,First of all I am not perfectly sure that is the problem ! It might be something else but judging of what you told me it MUST be the " LOGIC" !!! You must know that all LOGICS are replaceable but it is not an easy work and i have only watched how others do it and if you want to you must be extremely careful !!!!!!!!! You must find a Hard Drive EXACTLY like yours ( a Drive that you DO NOT need and which LOGIC is operational) and remove its LOGIC by unscrewing the screws attaching it to the body of the hard drive ! Be careful ! Different types of hard drives have different attachment between LOGIC and the body of the hard drive ! What I mean is that there is a thin cable (usually) which transfers the signals from your HDD's LOGIC to the HDD's body and you MUST NOT damage it or everything is going bye bye !!! You do the same with the old one ! Then you attach the the new "LOGIC" of the other drive to your own which you want to fix ! And it must be working now !!! PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE !!!!!!!!!!! First go to the nearest TECH SUPPORT SERVICE with your PC and ask them to find out if that is your problem !!!!!!!!!!! JUST TO BE SURE . If you do not have the time or $ to do this and there isn't any LIFESAVING information on your HDD just buy a new one and throw out the old one ! It will be cheaper for you I think !!!!!!!! PLEASE POST BACK WHAT HAPPEND !IT IS IMPORTANT I KNOW !!!! And I hope I was USEFUL for you !alright,, i havent done this before,, as you said i need to bring the HDD to a nearest tech support to check it out and make sure,, ill inform you within the following day,,Unless the data on that drive is absolutely invaluable, forget it. A lifelong cocaine habit would be cheaper to finance!

18081.

Solve : unable to detect hard drive?

Answer»

:-? im having a problem with my MAXTOR 5200 RPM HDD drive, my PC is not able to detect the device, my master HDD is SEAGATE 7200 RPM, MAXTOR is set to slave, i tried swithing the HDD cables and also switching both HDD to slave and master but still it wont let detect the MAXTOR HDD, can anyone help me with this one?? :-?,,Was it working before? What happened? Any playing in the case before this started? They can just die, but usually there is some preface to that.

Is it detected in the BIOS? Or are you saying it cannot be seen in Windows? Any error MESSAGES?

More info needed.yes it was working before, ive been using it for almost 3 years (MAXTOR), it is not detected on BIOS and also in windows, no error message found, in the first place i was able to but then suddenly it went off, i tried everything, settting the jumpers, changing cables, switching HDD ports, still no go,, any idea???Too many variable at once. Leave in only the suspect drive, jumper as Master, and make sure your cable is good.

Then try just the other drive with the same cable and jumpered as master.

The only possibilities are bad IDE port (doubtful), bad cable (possible) or dead drive (most likely).

Nothing had changed AT ALL before the drive stopped responding seems very important. Please confirm this, rather than you had just hooked it up in this configuration and it didn't work, etc.

All hard drives die eventually.

all the cables are good, cables a properly connected, jumpers a set accordingly, i did try everything, how i wish was able to save this one, i agree with you, hard disk MIGHT be busted, oh well what a waste, appreciate your help, tnx a lot bro,, Quote

all the cables are good, cables a properly connected, jumpers a set accordingly, i did try everything, how i wish was able to save this one, i agree with you, hard disk might be busted, oh well what a waste, appreciate your help, tnx a lot bro,,

Are you using a 80 strand or 40 strand cable, with hard drives you should be using a 80 strand with one set to Master and the other to Slave? [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]yes i am using 80 strand, wasnt able to salvage that HD,Did you try to attach your HDD (Maxtor) to another PC to SEE if BIOS detects it ? If you have tried and the result is the same
maybe the logic of your HHD somehow has gone bad ? If that is the problem and you want to save the info. stored on your HDD
you need to replace the logic that has gone with a new one from exactly the same type of HDD like yours !yes i did try using the MAXTOR from the other desktop computer but still it wont work, how can i replace the logic from my HD, and what do you mean LOGIC??? :-?Well it will be very difficult for me to explain you because in my language that thing is called "LOGIC"
but i will try anyway! When you take the HHD in your hands and turn it back there is plate with resistors , capacitors and other elements ! It usually has green color ! So that is the so called "logic" and it could be damaged ! I hope you understood me because this is the best way i can explain it ! SORRY :-/ I have not practise my English for years and now it is very difficult for me to explain things this !alright i got it,, now how do i fix it then?? is it still replaceable?? it might be impossible for me to look for a replacement for this one,,First of all I am not perfectly sure that is the problem ! It might be something else but judging of what you told me it MUST be the
" LOGIC" !!!
You must know that all LOGICS are replaceable but it is not an easy work and i have only watched how others do it and if you want to you must be extremely careful !!!!!!!!!
You must find a Hard Drive EXACTLY like yours ( a Drive that you DO NOT need and which LOGIC is operational) and remove
its LOGIC by unscrewing the screws attaching it to the body of the hard drive ! Be careful ! Different types of hard drives have
different attachment between LOGIC and the body of the hard drive ! What I mean is that there is a thin cable (usually) which transfers the signals from your HDD's LOGIC to the HDD's body and you MUST NOT damage it or everything is going bye bye !!!
You do the same with the old one ! Then you attach the the new "LOGIC" of the other drive to your own which you want to fix !
And it must be working now !!!

PLEASE TAKE MY ADVICE !!!!!!!!!!! First go to the nearest TECH SUPPORT SERVICE with your PC and ask them to find out if that is
your problem !!!!!!!!!!! JUST TO BE SURE . If you do not have the time or $ to do this and there isn't any LIFESAVING
information on your HDD just buy a new one and throw out the old one ! It will be cheaper for you I think !!!!!!!!

PLEASE POST BACK WHAT HAPPEND !IT IS IMPORTANT I KNOW !!!!
And I hope I was USEFUL for you !alright,, i havent done this before,, as you said i need to bring the HDD to a nearest tech support to check it out and make sure,, ill inform you within the following day,,Unless the data on that drive is absolutely invaluable, forget it. A lifelong cocaine habit would be cheaper to finance!

Discussion

18082.	Solve : Mobo or RAID 0 unstability??
Answer» Hey everyone, From what I've read, as far as RAID 0 unstability goes...if she goes down, she really goes down. WHich isn't what I've been experiencing... For no reason, lately my computer has done these crashes to a black screen. All of the components, fans, and drives are still active, but my screen blinks and goes to black sometimes. This is happening more and more when I boot up my computer. The BIOS posts, and then as I'm about to load windows it goes to blackscreen and doesn't recover. When I DO get into Windows, it holds its own 90% of the time. At first it MIGHT be the RAID 0 w/ two SATA150 W.D. drives because I isntalled it about 4 months ago and read that some said they were unstable...But the posts here look like if its unstable, it all goes to censored and you need to reformat and such and thats not my case. So my second conclusion is its the mobo. It's an Asus P4S800D-X. ( I originally bought it to rebuild my Dell so I didn't want to spend a lot of cash, it was about $60. Later, I read that the SiS(964?) northbridge chip wasn't a reputable ONE and was unstable (as I discovered that my board couldn't handle much OC'ing) SO...my question is if this behavior sound like a mobo problem, and is my cheap board/chip the cause of it? PS - The RAID controller I'm using is the ONBOARD SiS chip on the mobo (another reason to have worry) SPECS: P4 2.66Ghz socket 478 w/out HT 2 gigs of DDR400 (Crucial) Audigy 2 ZS Nvidia GeForce 6200 Rosewill PSU Asus P4S800D-X mobo 2 x SATA150 Western Digtal (74g each) in RAID 0 As I think you already know, this one is just too difficult to call as both possibilities are so intertwined.What are the specs on that PSU? Suspect?Rosewill RV350 ATX 350W Power Supply 90-135 vrms or 180-265 vrms switch-selectable CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL - Retail That's the psu..I doubt its the psu because all of the components are running and such and its not like there's a flicker of power when it happens. The screen just flashes black as if it was being turned on and then thats it. Other suspicions that lead to the mobo and not the hard drives is another odd factor...While I was playing WoW I plugged my mic in and out of the ports in the soundcard to find the right one, and THAT made my comp crash...Just by pulling out the mic jack and putting it in. ALSO, whenever I tried to BURN a certain DVD, the computer would do the black screen thing. Symptoms that are spread this far apart from sound jacks, bootup, dvd burning, etc...Just sounds like its a problem in the heart of it all, the mobo.

Discussion

18083.	Solve : Newbie question - Laptop fail to start up?
Answer» Hi I have just tried to start my LAPTOP up, it seems to start to power up then I hear 4 beeps and shorly after it POWERS down!!! I have a Acer Travelmate 242LC Celeron 2.4GHz 256 DDR Ram 30GB HD XP Home Norton 2005 any clues to what could be wrong with it and how I can fix it would be welcomed Matt :-?Without knowing which Bios you have installed it is difficult to offer a opinion. For example , if you have a AMI bios installed and you are hearing 4 beeps ...... that could be INDICATING motherboard issues. How old is the laptop ? DL65 hi Thanks for the reply, but just worked out what was up! The battery was flat LOL, I have never let it get that low before Here is an article that will help you to get the best out of your battery. (All right, all right, yes I am proud of it!)

Discussion

18084.	Solve : Losing internet connection!?
Answer» I have a Compaq presario 5000 series with WINDOWS XP home and service pack 2 I BOUGHT in 2002. Whenever I try to go on the internet it will work for a while( about a min.) then the fan in the back will get really loud and it will freeze for a second and when it gets back to normal the connection is gone! Its really frustrating. Thankfully i have another computer but it has windows 98 on it so i CANT play any games i like or antything like that. So if any of you have any suggestions i would really appreciate it. IV already tried defragmenting it and disk cleanup but it hasnt helped. Multiple posts only serve to confuse both you and anyone who tries to help you. Please keep one problem to one thread.

Discussion

18085.	Solve : possible video card or ram issue?
Answer» Well, when i bought my computer, it had insufficient cooling. The temperatures in there were easily over 130. It handled ok though. But the heat took its toll. My POWERSUPPLY died of all things. And im pretty sure it did damage to a few other things. My computer now does a constant cpu spike .. if anything is on the screen. Such as a webpage .. or a screen saver. Even as im typing this it sometimes locks up for a sec .. and the usage jumps to 78. It does this on the constant. I believe its either a video card or a ram issue. If i just have the usage meter up and nothing on the screen, it doesnt spike. But in this picture below, i had a webpage up. not doing anything .. just pulled up. Please help me this is really pissing me off. the little spike at the end was from closing the page. but the bigger ones are at a constant when anything is on the screen. PLEASE HELP MEE! thanx in advance EDIT: I don't have any virus's or trojans or any of that spyware garbage. I've been working with computers long enough to KNO how to avoid that. PLUS i have a good anti-virus program. So i'm pretty sure its hardware related. The heat also killed my onboard ethernet for my motherboard. Another fried peice of hardware in my computer.Quote I don't have any virus's or trojans or any of that spyware garbage. I've been working with computers long enough to kno how to avoid that. Plus i have a good anti-virus program. Famous last words! Quote The heat also killed my onboard ethernet for my motherboard. Another fried peice of hardware in my computer. If it's heat that's caused this and it's taken out a motherboard component, expect to have to replace the motherboard.yea but the thing is after i put in a nic card .. and didnt use the onboard. the computer ran fine. Now why would the computer cpu usage spike only when something thats being displayed is up. if its just the desktop its fine. no spiking. which leads me to the video card. its a geforce 5600 but i wouldnt be surprised if a year of 130 degrees killed it. But then i dont really kno symptoms of ram. I thought it either works or doesnt. That's why im on this forumI have the exact same problem. It has a really crapy fan system i think cuz it gets really LOUD. And it spikes alot like what yours does.Open up the side case and leave it like that. (If your room aint dusty, otherwise this would make it worse) No its in a closed desk thats only open at the back. But would that really be causing it to spike?@kevy508: The idea is to get some cold air into the case, PARTICULARLY around any areas that you may suspect, as a method of testing whether or not it's a heat issue. @mchesna If an onboard component was damaged, particularly a NIC component (As it's usually contained within a controller chipset that's responsible for many other functions), then the likelihood is that other symptoms will arise as a result of that damage. I hope for your sake that I'm wrong, but be prepared for the worst.

18085.

Solve : possible video card or ram issue?

Answer»

Well, when i bought my computer, it had insufficient cooling. The temperatures in there were easily over 130. It handled ok though. But the heat took its toll. My POWERSUPPLY died of all things. And im pretty sure it did damage to a few other things. My computer now does a constant cpu spike .. if anything is on the screen. Such as a webpage .. or a screen saver. Even as im typing this it sometimes locks up for a sec .. and the usage jumps to 78. It does this on the constant. I believe its either a video card or a ram issue. If i just have the usage meter up and nothing on the screen, it doesnt spike. But in this picture below, i had a webpage up. not doing anything .. just pulled up. Please help me this is really pissing me off.

the little spike at the end was from closing the page. but the bigger ones are at a constant when anything is on the screen. PLEASE HELP MEE! thanx in advance

EDIT: I don't have any virus's or trojans or any of that spyware garbage. I've been working with computers long enough to KNO how to avoid that. PLUS i have a good anti-virus program. So i'm pretty sure its hardware related. The heat also killed my onboard ethernet for my motherboard. Another fried peice of hardware in my computer.Quote

I don't have any virus's or trojans or any of that spyware garbage. I've been working with computers long enough to kno how to avoid that. Plus i have a good anti-virus program.

Famous last words!

Quote

The heat also killed my onboard ethernet for my motherboard. Another fried peice of hardware in my computer.

If it's heat that's caused this and it's taken out a motherboard component, expect to have to replace the motherboard.yea but the thing is after i put in a nic card .. and didnt use the onboard. the computer ran fine. Now why would the computer cpu usage spike only when something thats being displayed is up. if its just the desktop its fine. no spiking. which leads me to the video card. its a geforce 5600 but i wouldnt be surprised if a year of 130 degrees killed it. But then i dont really kno symptoms of ram. I thought it either works or doesnt. That's why im on this forumI have the exact same problem. It has a really crapy fan system i think cuz it gets really LOUD. And it spikes alot like what yours does.Open up the side case and leave it like that. (If your room aint dusty, otherwise this would make it worse)
No its in a closed desk thats only open at the back. But would that really be causing it to spike?@kevy508:
The idea is to get some cold air into the case, PARTICULARLY around any areas that you may suspect, as a method of testing whether or not it's a heat issue.

@mchesna
If an onboard component was damaged, particularly a NIC component (As it's usually contained within a controller chipset that's responsible for many other functions), then the likelihood is that other symptoms will arise as a result of that damage.
I hope for your sake that I'm wrong, but be prepared for the worst.

Discussion

18086.	Solve : Will it work??
Answer» Hi all, I have a desktop with a DSL MODEM attached via USB port. I also have a laptop in a different room. If I simply connect the 2 computers with a cross-over ethernet cable will I have internet access on the laptop? ThanksOnly if you can SET up Internet Connection SHARING.I have windows xp on both computers. Is internet sharing a function of xp or is it set up some other way?There's a useful article showing how you can do it >here<.Just for future reference, you might prefer an Enthernet connection... USB can sometimes be a bit strange... FlameThanks for the suggestions. I'll connect and see what HAPPENS.

Discussion

18087.	Solve : Re: Beeping wont stop what do i do???
Answer» MULTIPLE posts won't help you fix it. In fact, the OPPOSITE is TRUE.

Discussion

18088.	Solve : removable drive problem?
Answer» Hi all, I have a removable drive that worked just fine until two weeks ago. My sick 5-year old son clicked on an option before I could see it. Whenever I plugged it in, windows xp would ask me what I wanted to do. Now there is NOTHING at all. I cannot even view the drive in windows explorer. Now my COMPUTER refuses to recognize the drive at all. I've TRIED system restore and it did not work. Any suggestions besides reformatting? I don't want to lose the data on the drive UNLESS I really have no other choice. Thankshi, have u tried any recovery or undelete soft? P.S. Are u sure that u're son is sick? Well I can tell you one THING, nothing your son clicked on could have possibly casued this problem. You need to check to see if the drive is in the Disk Management Console. Right Click My Computer Select Manage Click on Disk Management You may need to add a drive letter or other settings. If you need more help I need to know about this drive. Is it USB, Firewire or IDE.

Discussion

18089.	Solve : Can someone pleaseee figure this out for me!!?
Answer» ive asked so many PEOPLE and ive yet to get a straight answer its insane! Is a Intel Pentium Duo 2.6ghz for a DESKTOP computer a duel-core processor? and if so is it a good processor? please can someone answer this for meMy SUGGESTION is to goto www.apple.com and click on the new Intel Macs. Then find the section about the Intel Duo, it explains quite a bit about it. For the quick answer, I don't believe the Duo is dual-core processor at all. It has 'smart cache' that makes it use its MEMORY more efficiently than other processors. You should really read the review, it has PLENTY of information that I've read and forgotten. I wouldn't get one of my desktop PC though. It's new technology, and I'd rather give it more time to get the bugs worked out of it all.

Discussion

18090.	Solve : BIG boot problem?
Answer» Hi I did a stupid thing. I have a P4 @ 2.8GHz (Northwood) which is 133MHz * 21. I changed the 133 to 200 through BIOS and now my computer doesn't boot in ORDER for me to set the old value again. Do you have any idea of how i could deal with ths problem?Reset the BIOS to default settngs. I believe you can do this one of two WAYS, depending on your motherboard. One way is to remove the small battery on your motherboard that allows your BIOS settings and system time to be retained while the computer is off. The other way is to use a jumper on the motherboard to reset the BIOS settings to defaults. If you know what computer or motherboard manufacturer's website to go to for info on your computer, especially the motherboard, visit the site and SEARCH for info on the recommended procedure for your computer. Also, if you have a manual for your motherboard, look in it for instructions on how to do this.Quote Reset the BIOS to default settngs. I believe you can do this one of two ways, depending on your motherboard. One way is to remove the small battery on your motherboard that allows your BIOS settings and system time to be retained while the computer is off. The other way is to use a jumper on the motherboard to reset the BIOS At first many thanks for your instant reaction! If i remove the small battery what do i do next? I just put it back in and my computer has the default settings again? Thanks for every answer!YES remove it for about 15 seconds and place it back in, then the bios will be at default settings.thanks for your help! I 'll try it and tell you how it worked!Quote Yes remove it for about 15 seconds and place it back in, then the bios will be at default settings. And, here's a reference that that CONFIRMS the two methods: How do you reset the BIOS?

18090.

Solve : BIG boot problem?

Answer»

Hi

I did a stupid thing. I have a P4 @ 2.8GHz (Northwood) which is 133MHz * 21. I changed the 133 to 200 through BIOS and now my computer doesn't boot in ORDER for me to set the old value again. Do you have any idea of how i could deal with ths problem?Reset the BIOS to default settngs. I believe you can do this one of two WAYS, depending on your motherboard. One way is to remove the small battery on your motherboard that allows your BIOS settings and system time to be retained while the computer is off. The other way is to use a jumper on the motherboard to reset the BIOS settings to defaults.

If you know what computer or motherboard manufacturer's website to go to for info on your computer, especially the motherboard, visit the site and SEARCH for info on the recommended procedure for your computer. Also, if you have a manual for your motherboard, look in it for instructions on how to do this.Quote

Reset the BIOS to default settngs. I believe you can do this one of two ways, depending on your motherboard. One way is to remove the small battery on your motherboard that allows your BIOS settings and system time to be retained while the computer is off. The other way is to use a jumper on the motherboard to reset the BIOS

At first many thanks for your instant reaction!
If i remove the small battery what do i do next? I just put it back in and my computer has the default settings again?
Thanks for every answer!YES remove it for about 15 seconds and place it back in, then the bios will be at default settings.thanks for your help!
I 'll try it and tell you how it worked!Quote

Yes remove it for about 15 seconds and place it back in, then the bios will be at default settings.

And, here's a reference that that CONFIRMS the two methods: How do you reset the BIOS?

Discussion

18091.	Solve : Video/Drivers?
Answer» Howdy again, I've been having problems with my current video card, a Cirrus Logic 5465. I was telling our local puter REPAIR man & he gave me another card to TRY out. Its an ARK1000PV which I've been all over the net looking for drivers. I can find plenty for Win. 95, & 98, but nothing yet for 2000Pro. I just left driverguide.com sorta irritated at their messed up site. Anyone know if there is somewhere I can find drivers? The mfg. is out of business so I have to use a 3rd party. I have NOT installed this card yet, figured I'd need the drivers so trying to find them first. CTX CPU-AMD K-6 2....300Mhz Motherboard- Biostar M5ALA Chipset-Ali M1541 Aladdin5 Bios- Award Modular 10/22/98 Thanks Ahead of time, Later!! Sorry Guys...I just realized I put this in the wrong forum!!From what I can see, I don't think you'll get a Win2K DRIVER for this card. You can pick up much newer PCI graphics cards for the cost of a breakfast so this is really not worth the hassle.OK Thanks, I've still been doing some searchin'....with no luck. So I started looking around at prices online for stores nearby....again with no luck. Not tryin to be cynical, but don't know where you eat breakfast! The cheapest I've found so far (in a Wal-Mart?) is 62.00. Thats with 32Mgb Memory, which I don't need that much even (no videos or high GRAPHIC games & such). But I'll keep checkin,...have to cause I don't know how much LONGER this one's gonna display. But hey, at least the repair guy tried without tryin to sell me sometin' first!!Try eBay.

Discussion

18092.	Solve : what about video card overclocking.?
Answer» how do you overclock your video card? is it possible to fry your motherboard in the process as well?joe_tucker..... You will find INFO on it here ....... http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Video-Cards/Video-Card-Overclocking/ Be aware that overclocking will PRODUCE heat ........... So proceed with extreme caution .......... or you will fry things. dl65 Overclocking=Risky. What are you trying to accomplish?hi, it is very hard to fry your motherboard, but you can damage your video card. If you use special overclocking progs(i don't remember the names) it should be alright.trying to play bf2 on medium quality without it being choppy and without having to buy a new card.Quote joe_tucker..... You will find info on it here ....... http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Video-Cards/Video-Card-Overclocking/ Be aware that overclocking will produce heat ........... So proceed with extreme caution .......... or you will fry things. dl65 lol. i FOUND that SITE riiight before you SENT it to me, thanks tho.

18092.

Solve : what about video card overclocking.?

Answer»

how do you overclock your video card?
is it possible to fry your motherboard in the process as well?joe_tucker..... You will find INFO on it here .......
http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Video-Cards/Video-Card-Overclocking/

Be aware that overclocking will PRODUCE heat ........... So proceed with extreme caution .......... or you will fry things.

dl65 Overclocking=Risky. What are you trying to accomplish?hi, it is very hard to fry your motherboard, but you can damage your video card. If you use special overclocking progs(i don't remember the names) it should be alright.trying to play bf2 on medium quality without it being choppy and without having to buy a new card.Quote

joe_tucker..... You will find info on it here .......
http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Video-Cards/Video-Card-Overclocking/

Be aware that overclocking will produce heat ........... So proceed with extreme caution .......... or you will fry things.

dl65

lol. i FOUND that SITE riiight before you SENT it to me, thanks tho.

Discussion

18093.	Solve : Slowed Down Modem??
Answer» SINCE this place is so helpful, figured I'd throw another one out that I haven't figured out yet. I have an AOpen V.92 FAX Modem, on a Win.2K OS. I bought it new last July & it's worked fine TILL recently. Leastwise I figure it's the modem. Before on this OLD machine it would take 20-30 seconds to complete dialup & be online. I could live with that considering the age & lack of power of my PC. But now it takes anywhere from 60secs. to 90. Can't figure out what happened. No known bugs of any type, no hardware conflicts,(IRQ's & such). Drivers are up to date, phone line in the house is good. I havent messed with any AT commands or ANYTHING,& everything seems to be fine on it's self diognostic. Could it possibly be an issue with my ISP? I know the local phone co. handles V92, but the ISP acted like they were clueless when I talked to them. Again Thanks for any ideas!! Oh...160Mgb Ram, 300Mgz CPU, & the modem is a SVV model.

Discussion

18094.	Solve : convert to dynamic disk-Bad? good??
Answer» Advice needed, I have an old maxtor drive (media drive not a boot drive) from a computer that was running W2k and I WANT to be able to access the family photos on it. the only way a computer tech was able to see the info on the drive was to convert his drive to "Dynamic" He then was able to "import a foreign disk" to see the files. I went home, installed the drive in an ENCLOSURE and got the warning : convert to dynamic: [HIGHLIGHT]you will not be able to start other installed operating systems from any volume on the disk[/highlight] Is this a bad thing? what are the upside/downsides? will I be unable to upgrade my OS in the future? Will I be compromising programs currently on that disk? Any help is welcome Thanks in advance! TomSounds like the process tinkers with the MBR (master boot record). That will only (I guess) affect the old drive. You'll still be able to retrieve all your data. I'm basing this opinion on the error message you're getting - I have never PERSONALLY done this HOWEVER.

Discussion

18095.	Solve : how to copy music from cassette tape to computer??
Answer» :-? HElp? I want to copy my old casstte tapes on to my computer then on to CD. I GOT a AV plug but its not working?Specifics please. Which OS, which audio recording program INSTALLED, will you be EDITING the cassette recording into separate TRACKS, in what format do you want to burn the tracks to cd, what program will you use to do the burning, does your cassette PLAYER have a line-out socket or an earphone socket, do you know how to connect a line-in. Lots of questions - awaiting answers

Discussion

18096.	Solve : HP ScanJet 4200c Problem?
Answer» Problem: Hi, I am using a Hewlett Packard 4200C scanner. The problem I am having is that when you HIT a button to start a scan the scanner makes niose over and over again. Also the light goes from green to orange. Now when you try to hit the button,nothing happens,no sound or movement. Property Manager says device working properly. Scanner ican has some kind of clamp at bottom. Does anyone know a solution. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! John God :-?What kind of NOISE? A humm? Can you see if the scanner light/lens is stuck? FlameKinda humm or grinding sound. Now it doesn't make any noise. The inside, where you open the lid doesn't seem to be moving at all. JohnDid iy used to work? If so, what has changed? How old a scanner is it. Any other hardware problems?About 5 years old. Worked very well when I use it. Used it, roughly only about 20 times. Other wise nothing has changed. What gets me is,[Property Manager says Device is working properly.] JohnHow can you check to see if the USB CABLE is good and if the USB PORT is working ? John God

Discussion

18097.	Solve : Dell 720 printer not printing envelopes...?
Answer» Dell 720 PRINTER, windows xp When selecting envelopes from word, envelopes print in broken red INK (unreadable). Labels printed from word are fine. Documents printed are fine. All color selections (in word and envelopes) are on black. When I attempt to print in color, nothing prints. I uninstalled the printer, downloaded drivers, and reinstalled...problem still exists. Any ideas?? THANKS, BarefootCatThat is very weird. You may have more than one problem here - one at the computer end and one at the printer end. Is there the slightest CHANCE that you can try this printer on a different PC/laptop? I'd like to know if it does this freaky envelope thing for all computers. How long has it being doing this? Did it start suddenly?Its my dad's pc/printer, but yes, I can either bring a laptop there and hook up the printer, or bring the printer home and hook it up here. It had printed envelopes fine before this. It will PROBABLY be a few days before I can get the printer and reply. Thanks! Great. We'll be here.

Discussion

18098.	Solve : REBOOTING NIGHTMARE ON MY STREET?
Answer» I have a HP a320n Pavillion, that has been rebooting itself for the last 2 months. I have been taking it into a service shop, and they have tried everything , as follows, one at a time, to TRY to nail down the problem: 1. swapped power SUPPY, still reboots itself 2. installed a new HD, with all previous DATA "ghosted" onto the new one, still reboots itself 3. swapped out the motherboard, still reboots itself 4. swapped out the ram, still reboots itself will reboot at home, and at the service shop, on or off the internet. SOMETIMES it can take a week before the rebooting starts. If I can get the computer to stabilize long enough, will try a HD scan for sasser worm. Failing that, I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?? Is there a curse on this thing?There is only one commonality left, and that's the data on the hard drive. Carry out the procedures listed [highlight]in this post[/highlight] and post a Hijackthis logfile here when done. If POSSIBLE, zip the logfile and attach it rather than post it.

Discussion

18099.	Solve : laptop power issues?
Answer» I have a laptop (compaq presario 2199us) that will sometimes turn off automaticly and then when i TRY to restart it it will turn off, but eventually restart. the first time it TURNED off automaticly it was a month ago but i just turned it BACK on and it worked fine until YESTERDAY when it turned off and made me restart it a few times be3fore it turned on, also it did it this morning again. what is wrong with my laptop?Do you have it SET to turn off after a certain amount of time? (Right-click on desktop -> Properties -> Screen Saver -> Power) Flame

Discussion

18100.	Solve : Screen rolling from top to bottom.?
Answer» I have a 12mth old Dell Dimension 5000 PC. Any web-pages on the screen have started to roll up and down - sometimes slowly other times quickly - MAKING it virtually impossible to use. Dell have REPLACED the video card, and tested the monitor (over the 'phone) and SAY that the HARDWARE is OK. However, the problem remains. My ISP (NTL) says that the browser might be corrupted. Any suggestions?Which browser are you using? Have you TRIED another browser to check this? FlameHello, The browser is Internet Explorer.Try Firefox. You can download it from http://www.firefox.com ... Flame

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