Explore topic-wise InterviewSolutions in .

I am GOING to a big box store to buy some more ram for my computer. My question is, can I bring the old ram sticks in and just have someone match them up with higher value sticks? Is there some program I need to run to find out what I need. My laptop is homemade and about six years old. It also has 3 ram slots, I wonder if I need to run them in pairs, or each must be an equal value?
My other question is in regards to replacing my internal hard drive. This harddrive will replace one in a laptop that is around two years old. I was hoping to get a fast, well preforming hard drive as opposed to one that was just big. What numbers or letters do I need to look for in determining a good replacement?1- Yes, you can bring in the ram, and given you get a half-decent sales rep they should be able to find you extra ram (ASSUMING it's not too old to get in a big box store)

2- Your hard drive, being in a laptop, is a 2.5" hard drive. You need to make sure you're first looking at 2.5" hard drives. Then, the big thing to look for is 7200RPM if you're looking for speed (or if you're really needing speed and don't need a ton of space, get a Solid State Disk (SSD)).

You need to determine if the HDD is IDE or SATA as well...Quote from: patio on OCTOBER 01, 2009, 09:09:35 AM

You need to determine if the HDD is IDE or SATA as well...

Just worked on a 2 year old Toshiba...IDE drive.
Probably to save a few pennies in production.
And he didn't state it was a 7200 RPM drive although it was mentioned as a replacement,,,

Probably a Toshiba IDE they are phasing out.
The OP didn't, but the other poster did. Didn't want the OP to look for a replacement that probably does not exist.

Went to the big box, which is Frys in Phoenix if i can say that. So I brought the six year old laptop in, I pulled a stick and the rep ran some number said ddr pc2100 so-d pat, speed 266mhz 200 pin, patroit lifetime mem, psd1g26616s
I gb stick is $45.00usd. I looked down at my laptop that still needed a wireless card, and a battery. I thought, well, looks like this little laptop is fine the way it is. I am going to buy a wireless card that works out the box with ubuntu and that all she is getting. The rep at the store said that the ram was actually discontinued, so if I wanted it I better buy it now.
As for the hard drive, that was actually for my two year old Dell. Which presently has a 120 seagate momontus, which is 5400. It is a sata. I found another seagate 500gb 7200 for around $110usd. I decided to forgo buying a new hard drive. I will go back tomorrow and if they have a solid state I am going to buy that. Thanks for the help.

so i am trying to do a full pc restore that way i can start over. i can get to thr hidden watcha ma call it just fine but when i try to to the restore it says i dont have a valid back up location . i run windows vista on a toboshiba laptop. help! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOfM1dcfzkoi use a sattalite a205 toshiba laptop.
shouldve been more specific, sorryAlt+F10 gets you to the Hidden Recovery partition...
I believe you are accessing safemode option for repair.

NOTE: Using the hhidden Recovery partition will wipe all your apps and data and take the machine back to Day 1 status...alt+f10 brought me to something called partition 2 wich doesent do anything really.http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-58528-reset-toshiba-laptop-to-factory-settingsonce again i use a satalite-> A205<- laptopOnce again, read the ENTIRE link provided.i am not seeing anything about an a205http://static.tigerdirect.com/pdf/Toshiba_Satellite_A200_A205_Laptop_Series-UserManual.pdf
Go to Pages 60-61 - Hard Disk Drive Recovery using the recovery partition. Choose Recovery of Factory DEFAULT Software or
Page 63 - Recovering C: Partition of the Hard drive without changing the partition size. In case you have another partition such as D other than the recovery partition.Quote from: antonioyoung on July 26, 2011, 09:54:13 PM

i am not seeing anything about an a205

all that did was lead me to the screen that allows you to start on safe mode.

I have a desktop PC with 4 USB ports in back and two in front and would like to hook up my new laser printer via USB, but the directions say it must be a "powered USB port". How can I tell before hooking the printer to it? Thanks anyone for an answer.Typically, the front USB ports are not powered, however on some models they are. The back USB ports are ALWAYS powered, since they are a component of the motherboard.Thank you. How can I now close my post so nobody else needs to answer me?You can't and don't need to close the thread. If you want, you can always edit your post, and put a [SOLVED] at the beginning of the Topic title.Quote from: AgentX on October 03, 2009, 09:51:42 PM

Typically, the front USB ports are not powered, however on some models they are. The back USB ports are ALWAYS powered, since they are a component of the motherboard.

Actually... no they're not.

There are low powered one, and then full powered. On my old tower, the front USB ports were low powered, so I couldn't charge my iPod with them. I had to plug it in from the rear in order to get it to charge.

Important You experience longer charging times when you use low-power 100-milliampere (mA) USB ports. USB ports that are located on the front of a COMPUTER or in some USB hubs are frequently low-power 100-mA ports. Typically, you can find high-power 500 mA USB ports on the back of the computer. Additionally, when you suspend the computer or put the computer to sleep, high-power USB ports may change to a low power 100 mA mode.

the power button just blinks yellow.

I turned on my computer this morning and it came up empty. The fans STARTED, the power LED in the power button came on, the hard drive LED lit up for about a second, but the monitor never got a signal. I'm guessing failure at the CPU, but that's just random guessing, as I have no real training or knowledge, practically speaking. Next step?

Thank you for your time.Try another monitor.

Reseat your video card.

If that doesn't work try another video card, or test yours in another computer. Have you made any recent changes to the computer?
How old is your computer? Do you do maintenance every SIX months?
Has the computer had any rough treatment? falling off the desk?
Is it laptop?
Have you made any recent changes to the computer?

I live on a circus in Japan, so every 3 months we load up and move to the next town. During that time, the computer is put on the floor, covered to guard against anything falling on it, and then it sits in the container until I can get back inside and get air conditioning going. During the travel time most recently (for about a week, about two weeks ago) the temps outside probably were in the range of 95 to 100 degrees. I think that qualifies as rough treatment. When I got the system hooked up and back on the internet, the first thing I did was reinstall Lavasoft's Adaware. I had taken up an offer to upgrade for a year at no cost, but when that time period ended, the whole program was unusable, so I just uninstalled and reinstalled the lower level free program. Upon reinstalling, the computer had a very rough time during the initial full scan, crashing twice, and since I hadn't noticed anything other than that, I assumed that there was a problem with the reinstalled software. Uninstalled again and reinstalled, same problem. Uninstalled and reinstalled, did the smart scan with no problem, so figured it was the full scan that was causing a software problem. However, the computer crashed several more times without having had the Adaware scan running, so I realized that I had something else going on. Last night, I tried to use my CD burner and found that the reader didn't seem to be working right--after burning my files to the CD, the disc would show up as blank, but the information was there when I put the disc into a different computer.

How old is your computer?
Four years old.

Do you do maintenance every six months?
Yes.

Is it laptop?
No. It's a Prime Asus tower with a Pentium 4 HT processor.

Thank you.
[/quote]100degrees Fahrenheit = ~37 C. That does not qualify as rough treatment. Most (air-cooled) COMPUTERS run at idle temperatures of 43 C and above, so I don't think that's a problem.

I have experienced
Quote from: mizhepzibah on August 10, 2011, 09:30:41 PM

The fans started, the power LED in the power button came on, the hard drive LED lit up for about a second, but the monitor never got a signal.

hello,can you guys tel me how much AGp will my motherboard support?
my motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Celeron, 2033 MHz (20 x 102)
Motherboard Name Gigabyte GA-8VM533M-RZ (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 2 DDR DIMM, Audio, Video, LAN)
Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8751A Apollo P4M266A
System Memory 768 MB (PC3200 DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award Modular (04/16/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)
You'll need to use an AGP 4x (NOT an 8x) card for that machine. Given the stats of your system, I would not put more than a 128MB 4x AGP card in it as the amount of money SPENT on a video card with more memory would not be justified by the OVERALL performance of the computer. Also, that particular motherboard will not support 8x AGP CARDS. A good inexpensive CHOICE would be 64MB. What are you planning on doing with the machine, as that would indicate if you need a more demanding video card and/or system?Many AGP cards are compatible with both AGP 4X and AGP 8X motherboards. For example, see this. Also, the PRICE difference between cards with 128MB and cards with 256MB of memory is insignificant, so going with either would be fine.

I don't see that Geek has made any kind of case against this product.

I believe it's been Windows nature since NT/Win2K to report the drive as according to what the last optical disc was used in it...
Least that's how XP acts here...hmm, when I insert an audio CD in my laptop, it now states

DVD RW Drive (F:)
Audio CD


My guess, is it depends on the OS. XP was released I believe just before DVD went mainstream, so it kind of only half-understands it; Vista and 7 were released afterwards so have full understanding.Just as I thought. The DVD-ROM drive is installed, and detected as a Samsung DVD-ROM SD-612 under the bios, and is detected in Windows 95 as a CD-ROM under Windows EXPLORER. The device manager showed it as a DVD-ROM.

Speaking of the analog audio, I had to choose the F: drive while in the multimedia part of the control panel to get it to work. The Riven DVD ran just fine. The analog audio cable is going from the DVD-ROM drive to the AUX input of the sound card.

One other thing I have to mention is that one of my CD-ROM games for MS-DOS, Stonekeep, had some issues with the Goldstar CD-ROM drive at the top of the tower. Certain conversations that take place during the game would get interrupted by the Goldstar drive spinning up. It's not so with the Samsung drive. However, to get Stonekeep to run using the drive installed today, I had to reinstall the program from the disc as it was asking for the E: drive. (Changing the line in the config file in the game's directory didn't help for some reason.)It is annoying to see my DVD in the midst of drives and partitions.
Looks messy
Just assign your CD/DVD as drive "K" or beyond ...
and windows will assign consecutive letters for...
new partitions, drives and removable storage Quote from: Geek-9pm on January 05, 2010, 12:04:16 PM

It is annoying to see my DVD in the midst of drives and partitions.
Looks messy
Just assign your CD/DVD as drive "K" or beyond ...
and windows will assign consecutive letters for...
new partitions, drives and removable storage

hmm, when I insert an audio CD in my laptop, it now states
DVD RW Drive (F:)
Audio CD
My guess, is it depends on the OS. XP was released I believe just before DVD went mainstream, so it kind of only half-understands it; Vista and 7 were released afterwards so have full understanding.

With no disc inserted, My Computer says DVD-RAM Drive

With no disc inserted, My Computer says DVD-RAM Drive, WinXP-Pro SP3. Could have something to do with drive firmware?

Is it an LG? Are you talking about the volume name or the drive type?

HP. Neither. See pic below.

Isn't a RAM drive used for splitting firewood ? ?

I was wondering what kind of graphics card would run starcraft II at extreme graphic settings at a full 60 FPS constantly even in situations where it lowers your FPS
Ex: warping buildings with protoss, corner of the map has water, unit controlling a protoss mothership, twilight fortress and other laggy maps.

My graphics card is a asus geforce gtx 560 oc. It used to run on extreme settings at 140 FPS now it went down to 70 SOMETHING (before I put the framerate cap on the .txt) personally I blame the starcraft software for this, my cpu is core i7 2600 and 10 gb ram.

I tried LOOKING for starcraft GPU benchmarks on other sites but I never got a direct answer.Not quite SURE I see the problem. You're wanting 60FPS, but you say you're getting 70FPS with your current card.

Only a few cards rate higher than the 560 in the ATI line (those being GTX 295, GTX 480, GTX 570, GTX 580, GTX 590). As for Nvidia, HD 4870 X2, 6970, HD 5970, and HD 6990 are the only ones that rate higher. In any case, I doubt with any of those that you'd see that much of an improvement over what you've already got. I'd look more at what caused the card you have to drop from 140FPS to 70FPS.

If you want to get much more out of one of those or your current one, you could try SLI or CrossfireX with a second identical card. I run dual ATI 5770s and have had no framerate problems on any game, including Starcraft II. They're rated slightly lower than what you currently have, but I'm getting awesome performance from every game I play.

(Source for card ratings) Tom's Hardware publishes a monthly graphics card hierarchy list that's good for reference. Actually results with different games and system setups will vary.if you want something just sufficient, then a gtx 260 would probably be good enough. the difference btwn 60 and 70 fps is unnoticable anyway. are you the type of person that is interested in the fastest you can get or just what is sufficient to handle starcraft?Just looking for answers that I couldn't FIND on the net. sites like anandtech didnt benchmark GPUs for starcraft II unless it was a laptop graphic card (lol)
Maybe I just have to reinstall starcraft II, I'm not sure. Maybe then itll shoot back up to 140FPS. But till then I don't really mind, I can still play it no prob.

I have a 5770 aswell, does your run 1080p videos well on a TV?Yeah, runs really well actually.

You might check what background PROCESSES you have running, see if anything unnecessary is using an excessive amount of memory, if anything is downloading a lot in the background (concern about hard drive use, not bandwidth).

In the Nvidia control panel, make sure the 3D settings are all set to use application settings. I've seen times when Nvidia is trying to force something and the game is set for something else causes a performance drop, particularly in FPS.

I had recently installed Ubuntu on my computer, along with XP which I've had for years. Just today, I installed a DVD RW drive. I spent hours trying to figure out how to get Ubuntu to detect this new drive and, long story short, one of the guides I followed really screwed up my computer.

The guide gave me some commands to punch into the Ubuntu terminal and, upon rebooting, I get the error message "No boot device detected". I have been searching for solutions on Google, but it seems as though no one else has quite the same problem. I think what I did was partition the hard drive in such a way that all the space is allocated to my two drives (CD and DVD RW), and none to the actual HDD itself, if that makes sense. I came to this conclusion because when I enter the BIOS MENU and go to the IDE configuration, only those two things appear. I can't find any information or detection of my hard drive anywhere in the BIOS.

I've TRIED booting with recovery disks, but I'm constantly met with the same error message.

Bios Version A01
Intel Pentium 4
2.00 GHz Processor Speed
400 MHz System Bus Speed
Cache RAM 512 JB

Is there any solution?Yes.
Wipe your drive and start over...
NOTE: When setting up a dual-boot system with XP and Ubuntu XP should be installed 1st ...
Just my trials.Quote from: thepizzaguy779 on January 05, 2010, 05:34:11 PM

I can't find any information or detection of my hard drive anywhere in the BIOS.

About 7 years ago I LOST everything on my PC when the part on the motherboard that controls the mouse died. Now my second computer, about 5 years old, is displaying some of the same symptoms. I have tried both a mouse using the PS2 port and one using an USB port. Both mice (in fact I have tried four of them) have the same symptoms - working sometimes and if bounced around will usually start working until the mouse dies completely. I then have to turn the computer off with the off/on switch and the same thing happens again and again and...... This computer has Windows XP Pro and all the necessary antiviruses etc. At this moment I am doing a complete back-up because I don't trust it. Any ideas what might be wrong? Is there any hope? OldGrayMaryIt SOUNDS like the problem could be one of TWO things:

1) The is a hardware problem on the motherboard that is preventing the mouse to work properly, or

2) The most likely problem is that there is OS corruption since the mice will work intermittently and then stop until the computer is restarted. This problem is usually caused by a missing Windows file and/or the result of a virus or other malware. Because of the symptoms you are presenting, I would suggest the latter. It seems like the mouse will work until a certain PROCESS starts, resulting in cessation of mouse activity.

In order to resolve this situation, I would suggest backing up all of your data on the computer if possible and then reformatting the hard drive and installing the operating system. If that does not resolve the problem, then there is a hardware problem on the motherboard, which means it will have to be replaced.Does it do the same thing in Safe Mode?Quote from: OldGrayMary on October 03, 2009, 08:59:09 PM

I then have to turn the computer off with the off/on switch and the same thing happens again and again and......

I'm looking to purchase a new HP computer it has everything I need except I'm not sure about the video card. The program I'm going to be running on it REQUIRES a NVIDIA G-Force7600 video card or better (Dual output AGP or PCI Express video graphics card with 128 MB of dedicated video RAM). The video card that comes with it is a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce G210 [DVI, HDMI, VGA] or up to a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 [2 DVI, HDMI and VGA adapters] . would these video cards be enough or am I going to need to just upgrade the video card after I purchase the computer?The NVIDIA GeForce G210 and NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 are more advanced cards than the G-Force7600, so you should have no problem running that program. Try to get the gts 250...more RELIABLE...
But basically, its about 15TH in the top video card LIST of today.Quote from: kizza1645 on October 04, 2009, 04:59:19 AM

Try to get the gts 250

I have an onboard graphics unit, Ati RADEON Xpress 200 SERIES, I want to know what I have to buy to UPGRADE my graphics, does It have to be another onboard? or is there a way around that, I'm guessing it would be really expensive for an onboard...Onboard generrally can't be replaced easily...laptop or Desktop ?Desktop, and since I can't upgrade it, could I just get a normal card, and install it, and if I do do that, how would I go about using the new graphics card instead of the onboard??It's a simple matter of installing the card physically...5 minutes...installing the neccessary drivers...2 minutes...and hooking the monitor up to the card.

Post your machine specs and budget and we can advise further.Windows XP HP Pavilion
1470 MB of RAM
2.2GHz~ AMD Athlong 64 3400+
Currently has ATI radeon XPRESS 200 SERIES
and it uses PCI cards.

My budget is less than 75$, thanks in advance.Need model number to know what kind of expansion slots besides PCI.Hp Pavilion 061, I'm new at this, is that what you were asking for?
Quote from: Awalltraqx on January 06, 2010, 04:27:13 PM

Hp Pavilion 061, I'm new at this, is that what you were asking for?

Thank you!
I had no idea, I had a Pci-express slot, thanks
That make my buy range way wider...

I have RAM DDR3 Buffalo Firestix Inferno 1600 (2.1V) in a P6T v2 x58 with a i7 920, and due to the 1.65V max, I can only run the RAM at 1066. Is it safe to up the voltage? Does anyone have experience or KNOW of "safe" range for the voltage? It kills me that I have this ram and cant use it to its full potential.Also,

Any FEEDBACK on whether this would be worth it?
The specs on the memory are 7-7-7 2.0V. If in the manaul it says.."ACCORDING to CPU specs, DIMMs with voltage requirements over 1.65V may damage cpu permanently[/size]. We reccommend you install the DIMMs within the voltage req below 1.65v."

Im reading form the CPU/DRAM Bus overvoltage setting section

[/size]
If so... I wouldn't even try...[/size]
I have no experience with Buffalo RAM, and I hope others will shed light on this issue...[/size]The performance difference is not worth burning up the RAM....it would be neglible.Ok,
I also want to overcolock the i7 920. Am i right in assuming this would automatically increase the ram voltage? I've been reading up on overclocking this processor, and have HEARD of people getting up to 4.0G out of it. I picked up a Sabertooth x58 brand new for 69.99 through a retailer who had it stickered wrong, but its a 1366 x58. I want more processor speed but dont want to pay the 1000.00 for the extreme edition. How can I overclock this processor and stay within the safe ram voltage? Could I further decrease the ram voltage and overclock the processor this way? Or should I go buy lower voltage ram?

Also, The lower voltage ram, with looser timings, would overclocking produce any noticeable gaming performance inprovement. I currently have a ASUS P6T V2, 1066 7-7-7 6gig and 2xHD5850 Visiontek.

Any advise is welcome!

Thanksoverclocking the FSB will increase the RAM speed, not voltage along with it. The FSB controls HT-Link speed (and the Intel equivalent), and the CPU-NB speed.


I wouldn't even attempt to up the voltage.Does anyone know of any referances that indicate what RAM voltage increases correspondes to performance increases. For example, If I bought 1333 at 1.5 volts and increased that to 1.65, what would the end performance be? Also, Is it possible to mess with timings, say tightening from CL9 to CL7? If so what impact would this have on the RAM in terms of stability.The RAM's lifeline would be reduced dramatically...
Personally i see no reason to OC anything...want more horsepower ? ? Spend more cabbage...

Just an opinion.

Good day

I bought a new pc days ago, its an intel dual core 3.xGHz on G41D3C board. I decided to migrate my old ide drive as precious files were there. Running winXP setup, prompted me to partition the 500Gb sata HD which came with the PACKAGE. Partition was doing fine until 30 or so percent then it jumped to near finish. Next error message was 'Setup was unable to format the partition. Your hard disk may be damaged.' Upon RESTART, the sata drive is no longer detected on BIOS level. And im stuck using the old ide drive.

Is the sata drive dead? Is there any way i could get it working again? Thanks in advace. You will have to plug it into another computer to confirm if it works.


If you bend SATA cables at more than 90 degrees, data loss can occur, and has happened to me.


I have fried SATA-based drives(even DVD drives) before by overclocking the PC-apparently I had overclocked it to the point where the PC CONSUMED the entire 350 watts of my power supply, and once the drive spinned up to get ready for the OS boot, the PC stopped dead. The drive(s) were no longer useable. I'm thinking your PC's PSU was pushed to the max because you also had an IDE drive in there. What model PSU do you have? It would help if you listed all the components of your PC. (graphics card, DVD drives, etc.)Quote from: madcaddies on August 11, 2011, 07:05:48 AM

...I bought a new pc days ago, ...Is the sata drive dead? Is there any way i could get it working again?...

You will have to plug it into another computer to confirm if it works.


If you bend SATA cables at more than 90 degrees, data loss can occur, and has happened to me.

What model PSU do you have? It would help if you listed all the components of your PC. (graphics card, DVD drives, etc.)

Return it for warranty exchange.

... the sata drive is no longer detected on BIOS level....

Sometimes, I convert video on my PC because recording video on the CAMERA is in QuickTime Format and I NEED it in a MPEG or Windows Media format because the video editor will only do it in Windows Media or MPEG or AVI.
Can a Discrete Video CARD help with converting video?Quote from: neelchauhan on October 03, 2009, 04:38:39 PM

...Can a Discrete Video Card help with converting video?

Quote from: joethomas3000 on August 08, 2011, 11:49:58 AM

just TAKE everything apart and put it back TOGETHER

hi

I have a US ROBTICS 56K VOICE HOST INT modem with V.90 but i am trying to use a Answering service that says I will need a 56k voice modem with V.92 ... whats the difference with the V.90 and the V.92 and what
does it means..anyways with the modem i have now my answering service will not work....

Is there anyway to upgrade this modem with drivers i can get off the internet or will i have to replace it..thanksA reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/56_kbit/s_modem

I don't believe you can upgrade a modem via drivers; this is a hardware-embedded standard. Quote from: soybean on August 11, 2011, 01:03:53 PM

A reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/56_kbit/s_modem

I don't believe you can upgrade a modem via drivers; this is a hardware-embedded standard.

this is a hardware-embedded standard.

CAN I USE MY EXTERNAL DRIVE AS MY MAIN HARD DRIVEWindows will not boot from an external HDD...this is by design.

All linux distros will boot from an external HDD, I WANT to add. (along with WinPE and BARTPE, which are technically windows versions.)CAN I USE INSTEAD MY EXTERNAL DRIVE TO INSTALL WINDOWS XP, IS IT POSSIBLE...?MAYBE MY HARD DRIVE IS DAMAGEDPlease stop opening new topics about this issue. Please keep your posts in this THREAD. It is not necessary to have 4 identical topics on the same issue. It does not get your question answered FASTER.

Hi from freinds and FAMILY I know there is a computer convention somewere in Toronto. If anyone KNOWS anything about that that WOULD be helpful. I could use the address and the date of it.

Thanks http://www.eventseye.com/fairs/cst1_trade-shows_canada_computers.html

will a 750 watt power supply power :

3 molex/ sata data hard drives (5900 rpm)
2 molex/ ide hard drives (7200 rpm)
1 molex/ sata data dvd burner (24x speed)
1 floppy drive (1.44mb)
1 molex multimedia card reader
1 molex fan controller (NZXT SENTRY 2)
95 watt cpu
atx motherboard
16 gb ram ddr3 , 4gb per 1 slot
2 molex Logisys RED 5 LED case light
1 molex pci express x1 usb hub

the power supply does not have enought molex connectors sow i am going to use 2 sata power to molex and 2 molex splitters.
Will this work? The power supply has 4 molex and 2 sat power connectors. This is the power supply : http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001M5BYZM/sr=1-50/qid=1312752696/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1312752696&sr=1-50&seller=Hi
A-Power has long been a bottom tier brand, and lack of a UL certification file number on the label is itself a very bad sign. You should never go cheap on a power supply and I'm sorry but saying that this is 750 watts is deceptive, avoid this supply if you want any reliability.


Lisa
ok thanks i will get a DIFFERENT power supply. what about a http://www.amazon.com/Raidmax-Hybrid-ATX12V-EPS12V-RX-530SS/dp/B000TYN2PC/ref=sr_1_25?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312781332&sr=1-25Get an OCZ/Antec tier 2 power supply-I don't think cheap PSUs are worth the risk of current instability and frying your motherboard.i found a OCZ power supply: http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-ModXStream-Modular-Performance-compatible/dp/B001EYV690/ref=sr_1_10?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1312837255&sr=1-10 is this a good quality power supply ?if you want a high quality power supply, i would get an antec from newegg and yes, i think 750 would be enough power for your needs.OCZ's are fine units...never had an issue with 1....After years of replacing burned out PSU's, I've finally settled on just one brand. ANTEC Earthwatts nnn

I have one main system and one backup system and both are currently running Antec Earthwatts 750's

On most PSU's, (read the label carefully) the posted power rating is the Maximum One-Time SURGE wattage.
That's the power that the PSU can supply for the first second or two after it's turned on, to CHARGE the mobo cap's and start the fans and drive motors. Then de-rate that number by 20% to 30%, for the all day running wattage.

Shop carefully and don't get ripped off by a cheap PSU! Eh?
Many retail stores like "Staples" now sell only Antec power supplies.

Cheers mate!


A couple of things to add to this thread.

$31 for a 750 watt power supply is a real red flag. I'm surprised Amazon would even offer this product. It's a dog.

If you have to replace a PSU I would always go for the BIGGEST wattage I could afford. Then two years down the road when you decide to add more stuff, a bigger video card or whatever, you don't need to worry about the PSU being strong enough, and needing to replace the PSU again. It's cheaper in the long run.

Hello,
I have a Dell 926 printer. When I try to print something, it says "communication not available." Could my firewall be blocking it? I have McAfee SecurityCenter. I know many of you do not like McAfee, but please keep your comments regarding this to yourself. Please help. Thanks in advance!!!mcdidd, When you go to control panel under printers what does it show? Any faults in DEVICE manager? Presume this is a recent problem that you did not always have with this printer--what had you done immediately PRIOR to this issue occurring re changes to your computer (if any)? Could be as simple as having more than one printer in "printers" and the one you want to use is not the default. truenorthYou didn't say - are you connected wirelessly? Did this just start happening (were you ever able to print)? Instead of telling us what you want to hear, it would help if you provided more information. And by the way, you should replace McAfee at your first convenience. There's a reason it has a bad rep - whether you want to hear it or not.I have only one printer and it is connected directly to the computer via USB. The problem may be that the USB ports on the back of my computer have been acting up a lot. maybe this is the problem that we should be trying to solve. Allan, go ahead and tell me why McAfee has such a bad reputation and tell me what firewall/antivirus you suggest.Quote from: mcdidd on January 06, 2010, 06:10:32 PM

The problem may be that the USB ports on the back of my computer have been acting up a lot. maybe this is the problem that we should be trying to solve.

I have a 1 year old Gateway desktop running Windows 7 home premium with 4gb ram. Sometimes, when I am working and the system may be idle for 15 min or so, the monitor will go into sleep mode. It shows no signal, and no keyboard action will awaken it. I have the power settings to never turn off and the screen saver is off as well. I swapped out the monitor with another and it did the same thing, so I think I have eliminated hardware. I then went to the device mgr and attempted a driver update, which said I had the latest driver. The only way it will come back on is to cold boot the system. BTW, I have reseated the video cable as well. Also, when this happens, the keyboard is dead as well.
Thanks Some systems have power utilities in addition to those built into windows. For example I have Toshiba that I can go in and set the windows power properties and it doesnt affect the system if set to never sleep because the toshiba utility tells it to sleep etc. So I had to go into the toshiba power utility to make changes to that.

I am not familiar with gateways bundled software, since the last Gateway i owned I had given to me and it was a 386DX33 with Windows 3.11, and I always tell people to go with a better brand for a few bucks more. Their cheap hardware in my opionion is worse than eMachines and Dell and I am hoping your not dealing with a bad main board as their boards are not built to the best of QUALITY and generally have issues before and shortly after the warranties expire. The last gateway I had brought to me was a Pentium 4 model and its motherboard was some no name motherboard with capacitors that were all leaking out their tops. This system was just about 1 year old and it caused the system to act very strangely with laggy slowness then lockups etc.

Take a peek into your case and look at the internals and see if anything doesnt look quite right. 9 TIMES out of 10 there is nothing to be found, but sometimes you find SOMETHING like leaking or swelled capacitors which are cylendrical parts with an aluminum flat top that usually has an X on them so that they pop their tops when they fail instead of exploding if they can not vent gases upon failure.

If you have a multimater handy or if your system has a utility on the BIOS to check voltages, I would let the system run and watch for voltage drop or instability. If you have a spare power supply kicking around and if this case takes a universal supply instead of something specific in dimension to an odd case you can try swapping power suppies.

If the system completely shuts down, that is drives and fans stop operating you could also have a thermal issue where at say 15 minutes the system reaches a critical temperature and it shuts itself down quickly to protect itself. If this is the case usually you have a clogged heatsink or heat sink compound has dried up on CPU, or the system is detecting a fan not spinning or spinning to proper speed measured by usually a yellow wire tach paired with the red and black fan power to the cpu.

Thanks for the reply. I have looked at the m/b and all looks ok. No bulging capacitors or excessive dust on processor, etc. Keep in mind, that when this monitor goes to sleep, the system is still operating correctly with fans running and the power light is on steady. No matter what I do to try to wake up the monitor, is is not responsive. I have to hold down the power button on the tower for a few seconds to shut it down. I then wait a few minutes and bring the system back on.You stated: Quote

I swapped out the monitor with another and it did the same thing

I currently have 6 gigs Buffalo Firestix 1600 7-7-7-20 2.1v running at 1066 1.64v. Would I see a gaming improvement if I went with 12gig 1600 8-8-8-20?6GB of Ram is plenty for all games I can think of that would usually use 4GB or less of it with close to 2GB idle. I upgraded from 4GB to 8GB Ram and went from 667Mhz to 800Mhz and only difference I saw was when running passmark benchmark utility that showed better performance. As for the games I run, I had no noticeable differences in game. Same load times, fps (mainly governed by the video card anyways) etc. I had about 1 to 2GB idle before with 4GB and now have with 8GB 5 or 6GB idle.

I mainly switched to 800mhz from 667mhz because I expected a greater improvement and wanted to go with the MAX speed supported by my motherboard. Now looking back it was almost money wasted because I didnt have any change in performance.

I suppose I am all set now at least for the next version of Windows when Windows 7 is replaced with a greater memory consuming OS with 8GB 2 x 4GB matched sticks running top speed. Maybe then the difference between 4GB of 667 and 8GB of 800 will make a difference!

If you were going from say 2GB to 4GB, yes you definately would see a difference, as for when I was running 2GB initially with Windows 7 and gaming load times were longer and the system would lag during lots of action. But when I grabbed a 2GB 667 out of a dead computer to match it to 4GB the lag was gone and I now had free memory idle vs starving for memory.

What are you running for a CPU if you think your system is lagging and needs more power?i7 920 and 2xHD5850 There is no discernible improvement when upgrading RAM speeds, especially if accompanied with an increase in latency.
12GB is actually quite unnecessary unless you are looking to run, say, VMWare Workstation with a few simultaneous virtual servers.


I fell in love with the HD 5850 once I took the time to READ some reviews.
What do you mean by "gaming improvement?" Your system should handle 1080p gaming without any issues...I'd have to go out on a limb here and say whatever performance your seeing from games wuth 6G is not gonna be dramatically improved with 12G...

OTHERS may have differing opinions though...

The monitor to my oldest computer has GOT some ISSUES of being darker than it was years ago. This monitor's model number is D3857A. It is Hewlett Packard Pavilion 15" CRT monitor, ivory in color. Do you know if the Geek Squad at Best Buy might be able to look inside and see if there's a MASTER brightness control to turn up? I'd like to be able to see darker areas better when USING it. I have no problems turning the monitor on, as it has never failed me.

My only other option is to go on eBay and use my savings to purchase a brand new 15" CRT monitor from 2002 that I saw yesterday.

Before replying, check this out:
http://stason.org/TULARC/pc/video-faq/45-Brightness-Adjustment.htmlThat's normal aging for a CRT monitor. Why buy a CRT from eBay? The shipping will cost more than the monitor is WORTH. There's plenty of free ones around, no one wants CRT's anymore.

C'mon CompCommando! I am 100% positive I am connected to my router. My router USES my last name as the SSID. I specifed the passphrase in the router and when connecting to my wireless, so i am sure!
As an update, since i reinstalled WIN7 last night and downloaded AVG '11, all seems to be working fine. I have completely disabled wi-fi in the BIOS so this could have been the FIX also.

anyway, thanks for all the assistance in TS'ing my problem.
All the best. CHRIS.

Not sure where to put this. SORRY if in wrong section. Put in SOFTWARE (no replies), but since motherboard is hardware........ trying it here.

I have the above motherboard (Jetway 623DMP), purchased via EBAY, being shipped to me shortly.

I know I can download the drivers, utilities, ect from Jetway, and have done so.

However, the motherboard, when NEW, NORMALLY has a installation CD entitled "Magic Install CD" which looks like (In The Manual) that it would make the installation setup a snap. Bottom line.........

Does anyone have this Magic Install CD for the Jetway 623DMP motherboard who would upload its data to me, or possibly part with it?

Joe
Double Post.
Topic Closed.

Posting twice does not yield 2 times the responses...

Hey I’m new this site and this is my first post, and my problem is that my computer has recently started shutting down during the boot up, I didn’t change anything with the hardware for this to happen it just started happening, it also sometimes randomly shuts down while using the computer after i get it to turn on, it takes about 9 attempts of turning the computer back on to try and boot it up, there are no WARNING signs or shut down process, the computer simply turns off.

So i tried some things to figure out what could be the cause of the shut downs, i reinstalled windows 7 on the hard drive (fully FORMATTED) ( i have also installed another Windows 7 OS on another hard drive but still does it) , i cleaned everything in the computer, i checked and made sure it is not a heat issue and everything was running normally, all of my cables are plugged in properly, I changed my CMOS battery to a new one but still does it, I changed the PSU but still does it, I removed the graphics card and other internal cards and tested using the inbuilt graphics but still does it, I had applied more better thermal paste to the CPU just in case it was a heat issue, i have run memory tests on both of my RAM sticks (2gbs each), i have tried different plug sockets in the house and different extension cables but still occurs, I have run check disk checks on my hard drive and nothing seems wrong, the only error signs i can find are in the event viewer saying I have Kernel Power critical errors, but has no further information on the cause.

The shut down mostly occur during the shut down (shut down as in while i am shutting down or restarting windows, it will prematurely turn off while shutting down or restarting the computer) or boot up process of my windows 7, after about 9 trys with trying to boot it up, i can turn the computer off and boot it up just fine, but when i leave the computer off for about 6 hours it shuts down during the boot up process again.

I think this might be a problem with my motherboard but I’m not sure why, i bought this motherboard about a year ago and everything seemed fine.
i need to make sure that if the problem is my mobo so I know that is what I need to replace in order to fix my computer.

Any info on the causes of this problem will really help me.

Thanks, Chris

My Specs

AMD Athlon 64 X2 duel core processor 6000+ CPU

Nvidia geforce 9500 GT 1gb PCI-E Graphics card

HT2000 MCP61PM-AM Rev.1 Motherboard

4gbs of DDR2 Ram, 2 2 GB sticks

Colorsit 550w (230v) Power Supply

Seagate Barracuda 7200 - 10 150 GB SATA hard drive.

Plz help Welcome to the CH forums. How did you do this" i checked and made sure it is not a heat issue and everything was running normally" ? truenorthHi, check also if you have any blown, burst, bulged, or leaking capacitors on your motherboard.Quote from: truenorth on August 07, 2011, 06:45:41 PM

Welcome to the CH forums. How did you do this" i checked and made sure it is not a heat issue and everything was running normally" ? truenorth

Hi, check also if you have any blown, burst, bulged, or leaking capacitors on your motherboard.

...what i am trying to say is that a bulging capacitor does not necessarily cause adverse behavior that you would notice.

I respectfully disagree...when they bulge they are getting ready to fail...

This can be the issue, However I would also reccommend trying another power supply in the machine. You stated Kernel Power errors, so the PSU is a likely culprit. Try to borrow one from a friend of equal or greater wattage and see if the problem stil occurs.

I already tried using a different power supply with the same voltage, the shut downs still occur, and i looked and i think there are actually 3 or 4 buldging caps, im starting to think this is the problem.

I already tried using a different power supply with the same voltage, the shut downs still occur, and i looked and i think there are actually 3 or 4 buldging caps, im starting to think this is the problem.

I had to replace the MB on my desktop. It is an emachines T6420. It originally had an MSI 7102. I replaced it with an MSI 7184/RS482M2. I installed the hardware, per the guidelines on this site. The fans come on and the monitor wakes, but it just beeps. The beeps are long beeps spaced evenly and they don't stop. I'm stumped. I removed the CMOS battery, RESET the cmos jumper as per the manual, and unhooked all non-important cables. It still just beeps. Any ideas?

Thanks for your help.Find what BIOS you are using, and look up the Beep code here:
http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=86906.0Did you also upgrade the RAM and processor? MAKE sure they are both compatible with the new board. Check the QUALIFIED vendor list in your motherboard's manual.

Quote from: truenorth on August 06, 2011, 05:49:26 PM

Would a problem of this nature ARISE if the files (on the external) were created in a fat32 format and now are trying to be transfered to a NTFS file system? truenorth

the computer does not recognise the device when it is PLUGGED in to the computer

To the O/P = since the change to the Win 7 O/S are you able to use other connected USB devices in any/all of your USB ports? truenorth

Hi,

I have an acer ASPIRE x1200 http://support.acer.com/acerpanam/desktop/0000/Acer/AspireX1200/AspireX1200sp2.shtml

I would like to upgrade the video card for video games and movies. Something better than it currently have. Is it possible? If so, what would you recommend? anything without the requirement of replacing the POWER supply?

THANKS in advance.

No backup? No excuse!
In many parts of the United States you do not have to buy things online to get quality PRODUCTS at low prices. Well, not in the case of good quality hard disk drive backup.
Here is a page I got off of the Wal-Mart site. Notice you can buy a very big Western Digital backup SYSTEM for under $100. Or, if you prefer Seagate you can get the 500 GB for even lower price. By the WAY, in this DISCUSSION when we use the letters GB it represents the idea of gigabyte in base 10 notation.
Look at his link I just found.
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&search_query=hard+drive&Find.x=0&Find.y=0&Find=Find

This is not an endorsement of WalMart. But just yesterday I went to mom WalMart and saw that they did have the Western Digital tetra bite box for less than $100. But not just one or two, they had a stack of them.
So there's no excuse for not having no backup system unless you're absolutely positively broke. Just a brown bag your lunch for a month and you should have enough money to buy one of these.
Now the question.
No backup?
What is your excuse?
Why buy from Walmart when you can buy from here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414%20131021336&name=1TB%20and%20higher

NAS are better for me than External Hard Drives because I can connect and backup multiple PC's through my network.

I have a computer that has crossfired graphics cards, and RECENTLY the INSTALLATION alert windows 7 64 BIT ultimate. and after I did this it would not be art as it should. Here is info from AMD CATALYST ATI radeon hd4800 series.

but when I play it will only lines across the screen that moves constantly and is impossible to play. otherwise everything works fine when I use it to film and work.


think it's something with the software to do, but can not find uinstall file.

regards S

the motherboard i am getting supports 1333 mhz and 1600 mhz ddr3 ram . so which is better for gaming 1333 mhz or 1600 mhz ram ? the 1333 mhz is cheaper and the 1600 mhz is a little bit more. and is a few more dollars worth the 1600 mhz ram?What games... and what else will be run?

But in GENERAL there will be a speed increase.games like 18 wheels of steel, Gta4, Need For Speed World...

and internet flash gamesIf you can afford it add on the 1600 - will give a bit of a BOOST and help to make the system more future-proof.Quote from: Dustin13838 on AUGUST 10, 2011, 10:58:55 AM

games like 18 wheels of steel, Gta4, Need For Speed World...

and internet flash games

I want to know what motherboard could SUPPORT Core 2 Quad and I7 Processors, im buying a new mobo and i just want core 2 quad for now ill just upgrade into i7 when i get some cash.. i also want DDR3 ram and SLI Support and as much as possible i want it to be Asus.. Please help me out here Quad 2 Core and i7 use different SOCKETS

- Quad 2 core uses 775
- i7 uses 1366

I dont think you will find a motherboard that will allow you to use both, you're better off waiting a little and saving up for a socket 1366 mobo that will enable you to use i7 and of course, ddr3 memory
asus m4n78pro mobo accepts quad core and am2+ AM3 chipset
athlon,sempron,athlonx2,phenomx4/x3/phenomii Those are AMD chips...
I'm assuming since he mentioned the i7 he is looking for an intel compatible board.

In that case Geriden would be correct...they are 2 different socket layouts.

Hello all,

I am having a problem with my (E:) Drive. It seems to disappear after sometime. I have gone to the Device Manager>DVD/CD-ROM Drives and SHOWS both DRIVES "HL-DT-ST DVD- ROM GDR8161B" AND THE OTHER "LITE-ON DVDRW SHW- 160P6S"


These are both DVD/CD-ROM drives. of course. But since I'am somewhat new with understanding hardware i try to break it down as best as i can.

So heres the problem. After sometime.. lets say a couple hours pass or sooner, I hear the "critical sound" or error sound, but no message. So i went to the Computer Management>Event Viewer>System and saw it was a "PlugPlayManager" "error"


and this is the description -



The device 'HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR8161B' (IDE\CdRomHL-DT-ST_DVD-ROM_GDR8161B_______________0045____\5&346e82bb&0&0.1.0) disappeared from the system WITHOUT first being prepared for removal.




So from this point on... i dont know what to really do. I have checked to see if cables were correctly connected. I dont see a problem with that and i havent even messed around with the cables.


I have Windows Xp Home Edition Service Pack 3.


So if someone would help me and explain step by step process that would be great/helpful.


Thanks
Having two DVD/CD drives often causes problems. Why do you need two of them?The computer was custom built that way. I was supposed to have a diffrent HD not a DVD one. but they said 2 wouldnt hurt.

So im guessing no one knows how to fix this problem. Ive seen other blogs on this.. but with Windows Vista and Dell computers. Did you try to re-seat/replace data cable?my old computer has done this with both hard drives and CD-ROM drives. It turned out to be a problem with my power supply.Or maybe the driver needed to be updated??

seems like thats all it needed, Im no longer having the problem. What exactly did you do, if I may ASK?Well from lookin at the date of the driver being LAST updated was back in 2001. So i went to http://www.liteonit.com/ since the drive was "LITE-ON DVDRW SHW- 160P6S"

They had an update to a new verison that was updated 01-2-2009


And since i did that, it fixed the problem.


I also talk with a computer technician, I was told that it was possible the driver was being affected due because it was out of date... and it needed an update. Since my cables were not out of place or disconected, thats what it came to be.

Oh, you're talking about firmware. Optical drives don't need any extra drivers.
Thanks for posting back I'm suprised it wasn't the cables...since that's what the error message points to.I am having a problem with my (E:) Drive. It seems to disappear,and i cant find it on my laptop .i done tried system restore and nothing changed.is there any way i can get the e drive back without formatting the system?QUOTE from: tata34 on October 03, 2009, 06:07:36 PM

I am having a problem with my (E:) Drive. It seems to disappear,and i cant find it on my laptop .i done tried system restore and nothing changed.is there any way i can get the e drive back without formatting the system?

I have to replace a Canon CL-41 ink cartridge. Does anybody have a recommendation for online USA retailers known to have good prices?

This is the first time I'm replacing one of my printer's cartridges, so I don't know what typical, low, or high prices are, but I just about fainted at Canon's online price of $26.99. Thant is not as high as some. The re fill business is big and quality varies widely. My personal best results are going to a local retailer that offers both. If you don't like the refill, take it back. Quote from: Starwind51 on June 27, 2011, 05:43:57 PM

I have to replace a Canon CL-41 ink cartridge. Does anybody have a recommendation for online USA retailers known to have good prices?

This is the first time I'm replacing one of my printer's cartridges, so I don't know what typical, low, or high prices are, but I just about fainted at Canon's online price of $26.99.

Hiya. I' m having problems with starting up my COMPUTER. Everytime i switch it on the screen stays blank but thier is a power supply running to it as the orange 'stand by' light is on. So far i found that the beeps on start up help identify the problem but none of the ones described match my computers beeps. Here is my sequence:
2 Beeps
Short Pause
8 beeps
Long pause
2 beeps
Short pause
1 BEEP

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.i could be HDD problems with LOADING the OS, also check that your cpu and gpu is working fine. ill LOOK into this moreLook up your MBoard and the beep codes for it's BIOS...

Hi,
I'd LIKE use Skype in a special WAY:
I'm looking for sound card which will work in parallel to the sound chipset on motherboard and have 4P4C socket to connect a regular telephone handset.
The reasons are:
- I need to get INCOMING calls notifications on PC laudspeakers (to hear them from distance),
- I'd like use my favorite remote handset, which is equipped with 4P4C (incorrectly, called RJ22, RJ10, or RJ9) plug.
I'll be thankful for any suggestion,
Dref
From what you say it would seem that you only need an adapter to connect to the headset.
No sound card will have that connector, as there is the risk that somebody would plug it into telephone wall jack. That is a violation of the Telephone company rules. It is a safety issue. And you could damage their equipment. Anything that goes to the wall jack must be either a REGISTERED telephone device or a device that uses a registered coupler.Thanks Geek!
Sounds reasonable, although standard telephone connection is 6P6C.
Anyway adaptrer look to be BETTER solution.
Dref

How do I switch the screen off on a HP nx6110 laptop? I want to use a projector with the laptopI might be ABLE to help you if you are more SPECIFIC about what you are trying to do.Work inside a planetarium. We use the laptop with a projector. We also use other projections (starfield) but to use them it MUST be very dark. We are switching between projections so when the laptop is not in use I want to just turn the screen off to make it darkI would suggest adjusting your 'Power Settings' so that the computer doesn't hibernate or go into stand bye when you CLOSE the lid of the laptop. The display will shut down, but it will still allow you to use the projector.

okay...so i have a Dell Dimension 1100 and i was told that i cant buy another video card for it because It doesn't have another slot. So i have to buy a new motherboard with a slot but then .... when i was searching it said that i might need to upgrade my RAM when i get the new motherboard and maybe need a new power source.

so my question is how do i know what kind of motherboard to buy that will work without and probs and I also wanted to buy NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT or any 6600 series .. will i need a new power source or RAM ? What CPU are you going to use ? ?
The one from the Dell ? ?
If so the MBoard has to SUPPORT it.Dell Dimension 1100

With that motherboard, I would keep the onboard video.The major problem that i find with replacing a motherboard in a Dell computer is that dell sometimes uses a non-standard form factor. This means that a standard ATX motherboard might not line up with the screw hole pattern in your Dell computer case. You need to find out if your motherboard is an ATX form factor and if it is not then you are limited to only BUYING another motherboard from Dell.Quote from: Computer_Commando on January 07, 2010, 01:08:21 PM

Dell Dimension 1100

With that motherboard, I would keep the onboard video.

The major problem that i find with replacing a motherboard in a Dell computer is that dell sometimes uses a non-standard form factor. This means that a standard ATX motherboard might not line up with the screw hole pattern in your Dell computer case. You need to find out if your motherboard is an ATX form factor and if it is not then you are limited to only buying another motherboard from Dell.

How would i know if its a ATX form format ??

The Dell Dimension 1100 motherboard is Micro ATX form factor 9.60" x 8.20"

Well, typing "Dell Dimension 1100 motherboard atx" into Google and reading through the results would be a start.

Firstly, you will discover its Dell part number (WF887)

Second, you will see lots of result summaries with text such as this

beware! many Dell models use nonstandard power supply connector wiring schemes so if you just replace the motherboard with a standard non-Dell board, you may have to change the PSU as well, or you'll blow both the board and the PSU together. So you are probably restricted to a Dell motherboard anyway.

You should probably get a new standard (not Dell) micro ATX motherboard and standard (not Dell) power supply at the very least. Next you may well find that your RAM is not going to be compatible, with the mother board and/or with any extra RAM you plan to fit. Pretty soon you will find that all you have left is the Dell case and the hard drive(s) and the optical (CD/DVD) drive. Cases that are better than Dell, hard drives and RAM are quite cheap these days.

I am trying to tell you (I thought I had already) that you need to consider whether the upgrade is going to be a worthwhile way of spending the money. You might be better off selling the Dell for what you can get and adding that money to your upgrade budget. That is, if you want GeForce 6600 graphics, don't start with a Dell Dimension 1100.

Hey guys,

Ok I've been having some PC problems for the past 4/5 months now

1. My PC started making a loud, grinding noise.

2. CPU began overheating, causing random unexpected crashes, so I re-applied thermal paste and REPLACED the heatsink (no resolve).

3. I then found out that for some REASON, the MB's 'Fan speed control' feature suddenly wasn't functioning correctly (fan speeds were very low) so I tried updating BIOS (no resolve).

4. I disabled the MB's FSC, keeping my fans going at full speed. This has resolved my cooling problems (although not idealic, since I still don't know the cause for my MB's FSC disfunction) but I'd still get random crashes and MB beep warnings.

5. I then turned to the SYSTEM, updating everything. Cleaning, virus scans (etc) and tried restoring the system files using sfc /scannow, but unfortunately, due to me having updated to SP3, I was unable to replace the 'broken' files the scan found with my CD (the files are probably just those that I'm aware of being modified anyway).

6. Backdated my system to SP2, then spent days updating SP2 with all Microsoft critical security updates to the point of SP3 release (no resolution).

My PC functions fine in safe mode, I don't get the grinding sound, MB warnings or crashes, which is suggesting to me that it may not be a hardware problem? (someone suggested that it could be the PSU, but wouldn't a PSU problem prevent the PC functioning at all?).

During 'normal' mode, the grinding noise is very loud and I get MB beep warnings and crashes. Sometimes I'll get MB beep warnings and no imminent crashes, and other times I'll get no MB warnings and crashes. The MB beep warnings are random: sometimes 1 single beep, sometimes 2 with about 2-4 seconds time between and on occasion, I'll get 3 beeps with 2-4 seconds between.

The crashes aren't instant power off types though, they're like system shut-downs (if I have a document open I'll get a message like 'Save changes?' sort of thing, but it won't wait for me to decide, it'll shut down regardless) and If I restart the computer immediately after one of these crashes, Windows will start but then instantly shut down with a message such as 'DWWIN.EXE could not initialise because the system is shutting' (or something, DWIN is the most common one, but I've seen multiple .exe file names as well).

Specs:

MB : Intel D975XBX
CPU : Intel Core2 Duo 6700 2.66
PSU : Cooler Master 550w (RS-550-ACLY)
RAM :
SP2

(I'll update specs in just a sec)

So yeah, idk what else to say really

*EDIT* apart from: safe mode is really dull Can you isolate the grinding noise to any spot it isn't comping from the motherboard it's probably one of the cooling fans are the hardrive maybe the cd rom take of the cover and listen and find were it's coming fromok I'll do that now.Ok there was no grinding noise and it worked fine for about 10 mins. Then I got 1 single beep and shortly afterwards (about 5 minutes later) the grinding noise returned slightly and the comp shutdown about 10 seconds later.

I think the noise is coming from the PSU but I can't be 100% certain since I don't know what else could make that noise. I only had a few seconds (as I said) to identify it but it's definitely coming from the back where the PSU is.

At the back I have PSU, heatsink (which is new), chasis fan (which I doubt would cause an instant shutdown like that?) and a graphics and sound card. The fan on the graphics card is tiny and makes a 'skimming' noise.

In safe mode, does the system not require as much power?

Could it be my graphics card? (in safe mode it isn't used?).Borrow a known good PSU of the same or GREATER wattage and swap it in there...
You'll know soon ENOUGH if that's the issue or not.
When's the last time you did housekeeping inside that case ? ?Quote

a loud, grinding noise.

My computer is ON with weird figures appear around the back ground of the loading scene. Some of the color seems like missing. After the XP window loading screen. The page JUMP to error page which prompted
''Problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage on your computer.

The problem seems to be caused by the following file:nv4_disp

The device driver got stuck in an infinite loop. This usually indicates problem with the device itself or with the device driver programming the hardware incorrectly.

Pls chk with your hardware device vendor for any driver updates."

Anyone knows what hardware had the FAILURE on my computer? is that motherboard failure?That error message revers to your nvidia VIDEO CARD driver. Boot to safe mode, uninstall the driver, and install the LATEST driver. See if that helps. If not, there may very well be a problem with your video card.

I don't know if I've got three out of three bad CD's or what the PROBLEM is, but, I burned a bunch of my JPG image files onto these GigaWare brand CD-R's and now, I can't 'read' maybe 1/3 of the pictures.

I did this about a year, year and a half ago, trying to save my 'important' pictures I've made. At the time of burning, everything seemed to work okay. But now, I have 3 CD's and can't get a big portion of my images back.

The files that are readable, I copied back to my HD and I will try another brand of CD, but, I'm wondering what, if anything can be done with possibly corrupt files on these CD's? I would love to get my pictures back, but nothing I've tried seems to work.

I tried using Picassa to load all of them...it locks up. Tried Paint, and Image PreViewer, and MS Camera and Scanner wizard. Same thing, or else it says it can't read the file and I have to SKIP it to continue with the rest. I've used Windows XP on ONE computer, and the program reading the pics from the CD "quits responding" - and the same thing for a Windows Vista system. These CD's have been protected in sleeves, in the dark, in a cool house, I can't think of anything physical that could have scrambled or messed them up.

Any easy ideas to try and get files from a CD that is apparently messed up? You could try one or more "Bad CD recovery" applications such as CD Recovery Toolbox.

http://billmullins.wordpress.com/2010/05/19/bad-cd-or-dvd-recover-the-data-with-free-cd-recovery-toolbox/

I have tried three different data recovery/cd fix/cd repair type programs, and all they did was copy all the files from my CD to my HD. The 'bad ones', were still bad, and unusable, so that didn't help at all.
Oddly to me, is how the bad files looked. I could access them now, but, they are scrambled images. They make me think of a photo that's been pushed through a shredder and the strips are all out of place. Some of them are almost viewable - they look like one of the old scrambled/sliding square picture games I used to play as a child. Where you keep sliding squares around until they are in their correct place, then, it looks like what it is supposed to.

Very weird. I guess there is nothing I can do with these, is there? It really annoying to lose pictures that I was 'trying' to save, and prevent this exact thing!
The trouble is, CD and DVS don't last forever. When optical disks first arrived, there was a lot of hype about how the data was safe for decades, that kind of stuff. In the early '90s when the first CD-R disc was introduced manufacturers said the media had a data life in excess of 40 years. In the late 90s when the first DVDR discs appeared on the scene producers proclaimed a data life of at least 100 years. However, this has not always turned out to be true. Factors affecting data life include: the manufacturer's materials and quality of assembly, user handling and storage, exposure to excess heat, light or humidity. I have seen recommendations to store burned disks upright (not horizontally) and in jewel cases. Have you tried a different drive in another computer? You can buy "Archival quality" disks at a premium price, but the only way to see if they really do perform as claimed is to wait a number of years. Are the file formats of the pictures that you cannot view different than the ones on the disc that you can. Do you remember what program you used to create them? truenorthThanks for your responses and trying to help.........

I've tried reading the CD's on three different computers, including the one they were burned with originally.
They all do the same thing - either say the file is unreadable, or else freeze the computer.

About the age and wearing out over time...I can't imagine the three CD's would go bad this quickly - it has only been maybe 2 1/2 years at most?

Its suspicious to me, that it happened on three consecutive CD's I was burning while trying to ARCHIVE my images. They are all .JPG format picture files.



Quote

About the age and wearing out over time...I can't imagine the three CD's would go bad this quickly - it has only been maybe 2 1/2 years at most?

Its suspicious to me, that it happened on three consecutive CD's

Same: brand, cakebox, manuf. batch, storage location?

Hello All...

I Have ASUS P5N7A-VM MOTHERBOARD (Onboard HDMI, DVI, 7.1 Sound )


Core 2 Quad 8200 Processor


2 x 2 GB DDR2 OCZ PC2 6400 Ram


1 TB Seagate HDD. Cooler Master 500W PSU and Cooler Master Cabinet.


My System is Running Very Smooth & SPEED.


But the problem is whenever i Start the System ( Switch On )


It Displays the ASUS Logo for almost 12 Seconds. When i disable display Logo Option in BIOS


It displays : "detecting IDE Drives ... " for almost 6 or 7 Seconds.

it has option Express Gate.....

I tried almost every option which is known to me. So please help me.


Thank youDouble check to see if your IDE drives are jumpered correctly...
I believe that board only has one IDE controller correct ? ?

MB============================Slave============Master.

Also go into Device Manager and see if there are any Yellow !'s...
You can right clik the IDE controller as well and SELECT Properties...

Report back with your findings.Sorry.

Everything is correct. no yellow items or red items. and for detection only it is taking time.

All Are SATA Drives.

Only DVD Writer is IDE Device. ok

where is the problem. Thank youTemporarily disconnect the DVD burner to see if boot times speed up...
If not you may have something SET incorrectly in the BIOS.

Do a few consecutive cold boots for the test...

Hey guys I just installed windows 7 on one of my computers and I only have 480x640 resolution. I have a 82845g intel video card and I need drivers that are compatible for windows 7, can someone help me with this..........thanks.....two-dogs This should be in the drivers section but no one is really that picky 'round here

Went to the Intel driver section with that card and it doesnt look like a driver for windows 7 and that card exists.

Here is a similar question and discussion I found on the topic

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itprohardware/thread/c7d11126-28ea-4463-8725-30f639beb917/

They seem to think if you use the XP driver in compatability mode you can get the driver to install, some on there say you can some say you can't

Give it a shot if you don't wanna go but a new card, which I would suggest....Yep looks like I am going to upgrade my card now, just bought one off of NEWEGG ...........thanks......two-dogsFrom here:

Quote

Windows 7* drivers are not available for the following older Intel® graphics controllers:

Mobile Intel® 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express Chipset Family
Intel® 82915G/82910GL Express Chipset Family
Intel® 82865G Graphics Controller
Intel® 82852/82855 Graphics Controller
Intel® 82845G Graphics Controller
Intel® 82830M Graphics Controller
Intel® 82815 Graphics Controller
Intel® 82810 Graphics Controller

For more information, see the Older Intel® graphics controllers and Microsoft Windows 7* operating system FAQ.

I wasn't sure if this is the forum to post this, but here goes. Using my GATEWAY NOTEBOOK...when TYPING in forums, or, lets SAY, Facebook, if I GO to use the shift/exclamation mark ! it always starts up windows media center. I've disabled it, but it still starts it up. Any thoughts on how I can stop this?

HI! i have neo b3450n series and I'm having problem with my battery. I am planning to BUY a new one, but i got confuse. my battery i have is LI-ION BATTERY PACK MODEL : C4500BAT-6 (MiTAC) 11.1V 4400mAh 48.84Wh. and i have FOUND from the internet this battery - LI-ION BATTERY PACK MODEL : Clevo C4500 Battery. IS IT GOOD OR COMPATIBLE WITH MY NEO LAPTOP?? PLEASE HAVE A REPLY. REALLY NEED HELPS. THANK YOU First of all, Caps Lock is considered a form of shouting/being RUDE, and we would appreciate it if you used it in moderation.


As a rule of THUMB, I wouldn't buy laptop batteries from any website other than the manufacturers/trusted dealers.I'm moving this to the appropriate forum.

Please don't post the same question more than once. I deleted the duplicate.Quote from: clairebear on August 16, 2011, 09:01:53 AM

i have found from the internet this battery - LI-ION BATTERY PACK MODEL : Clevo C4500 Battery. IS IT GOOD OR COMPATIBLE WITH MY NEO LAPTOP??

My DELL vostro 200 is not booting up. When I press the power on button it tries to start, blinks the light on the power on button, runs the CPU fan for one second and stops. Then repeats the cycle after 2 second without touching the button. This cycle repeats forever. No display, no beep sound. What will be the problem ? Please help me to rectify this.

My motherboard is Foxconn G33Mo2
http://en.community.dell.com/media/p/19534235.aspx


http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/vos200/en/slim_tower/om_en/html/parts.htm#wp1482059

I have TRIED by removing the CPU power supply plug (Please refer manual - 31 in motherboard layout). Now the CPU fan is running continuously. Even now no beep sound, No display. It sounds like a bad power supply but this may not be the case. Can you give me some more details about your computer: Operating system, CPU, VIDEO card, etc?^^^Also, please list the make and model of the Motherboard if you know what it is^^^might be your video card It could be the video card but unlikely in my opinion. An infinite on/off loop is usually a sign that the power supply is on its way out or has died. It could also be overheating issues or a bad switch.Please list your computer specifications.

Also if you have another computer try swapping the power supply. See if it runs correctly with the power supply from the other computer. If it does then you need to BUY a new power supply.I have tried by disconnecting the CPU DC supply ( the 4 wired squire connector) and SWITCHING on the pc. Now the CPU fan is continuously running, But even now no beep sound ,no display.