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I'm TRYING to figure out how to lift out the KEYBOARD to change the memory, and the manual INSTRUCTIONS are of little help. I can't ascertain how the latching mechanism works, and I don't want to damage my computer trying. Could someone give me a BETTER description than the manual? This is a Trek 2 AGP.

I know i may seem noobish but all i want is a decent gaming computer (CoD4 all high details at least 60 FPS lol) and this is my first rig to build (haven't bought anything yet except the Graphics card this is the blue print though) here are my specs :B

ASUS M4A785-M Motherboard Price: $180 (combo with processor)

Compatibility PC
Chipset AMD 785G
Compatible Processors AMD Athlon, AMD Sempron, AMD Phenom, AMD Phenom II
Front Side Bus Speed 2600 MHz
Technical Features
Integrated Input/Output Ports RJ45 Lan Port x 1 • PS/2 Mouse x 1 • PS/2 Keyboard x 1 • USB 2.0 x 12 • HDMI x 1
Expansion Slots PCI Express x16 x 1 • PCI Express x1 x 1 • PCI x 2
RAID Support JBOD Support • SATA RAID 0 • SATA RAID 1 • SATA RAID 10
Storage Controller Type(s) DMA/ATA-133 (Ultra) x 1, Serial ATA II x 6
South Bridge Chip Unknown
Processor
Socket Type Socket AM2
Max supported CPUs qty 1
Memory
Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM
Number of Memory Slots 4 x 240 Pin DIMMs
Supported RAM speeds 800 Mhz • 667 MHz • 1066 MHz • 1200 MHz
Max Supported RAM 16 GB
Audio / Video
Audio Output SPDIF Out • 7.1 Channels
Integrated Audio VIA Vinyl VT1708S
Video Out Ports DVI x 1 • HDMI x 1
Video Interface PCI Express
On Board Graphic Processor ATI RADEON HD 4200
Communication
Networking Type Gigabit Ethernet
Other Features
Other Features Dual Channel Memory Architecture • 64bit Ready
Fans 1 x Fan
Chassis Type Desktop
Package Qty 1
Dimensions
Depth 9.6 in.
Width 9.6 in.
Miscellaneous
Bios Features Plug And Play BIOS • DMI2.0 • WfM2.0 • ACPI 2.0a • SMBIOS 2.5
Power Configurations ACPI/APM Power Management
Bios Type 8 Mbit Flash EEPROM with AMI BIOS

MD Athlon II X4 620 Quad Core Processor Price: $180 (combo with motherboard)

Key Features
Front Side Bus Speed 600 MHz
Processor Type Athlon
Socket Type Socket A
Processor
Manufacturer AMD
Processor Type Athlon
Clock Speed 2.8 GHz
Memory
L2 Cache Size 2 MB

RAM Price:$188 (i will buy 2 at first then upgrade as i get the money )

4 x 2GB Kingston dimms

Specifications
Memory Category: Desktop
Memory Type: DDR2
Memory Speed: PC5400
Memory Speed MHz: 667MHz
Memory Size: 2048MB
Total Memory Size: 2GB
Memory Modules: 1
Memory Channels: Dual
Memory Socket: DIMM
Memory CAS Latency: 5
Pins: 240

BFG 450-Watt ATX Black Power Supply Price:$30.00

Specifications
Form Factor: ATX
Wattage: 450-Watt
Fan: 140 mm
+3.3V: 22 A
+5V: 15 A
+12V 1: 18 A
+12V 2: 18 A
-12V: 0.3 A
+5VSB: 2.5 A
20+4-Pin Connector: 1
Motherboard Connector: 20+4 Pin
6-Pin PCI-Express Connector: 1
4-Pin Floppy Connector: 1
SATA Power Connector: 2

Western Digital WD7500AADS Caviar Green Hard Drive Price: $70
Specifications
Drive Type: Internal
Capacity: 750GB
Interface: SATA 3.0Gb/s
Interface Type: SATA
Spindle Speed (RPM): Intellipower
Buffer Memory: 32MB
Data Transfer Rate on Serial ATA: Up to 3000 Mb/sec
Form Factor: 3.5"
Temperature, Operating (°C): 5 to 55
Temperature, Nonoperating (°C): -40 to 70
Shock, Operating: 2 msec (Gs): 65
Shock, Nonoperating: 2 msec (Gs): 300
Acoustics Idle (bels—sound power): 24 dBA
Acoustics Seek (bels—sound power): 25 dBA
Acoustics Performance Seek (bels—sound power): 29 dBA
Dimensions: 1.02" x 4.00" x 5.79"

Diablotek EXDVAKP External Slim DVD Drive Price: $55

Specifications
DVD-R Write Speed: 8X
DVD-RW Rewrite Speed: 8X
DVD Read Speed: 8X
CD Write Speed: 24x
CD Rewrite Speed: 24x
CD Read Speed: 24x
Color: Pink
Length: 5.4"
Width: 5.3"
Height: .63"
Weight: .85 lbs
Load Type: Tray
Interface Type: USB
Enclosure Type: External
Compatible Writable Media: CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RW
Supported Formats: CD-R, CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW

Diamond Radeon HD 4670 Video Card Price: $140 with shipping (will replace the motherboards current one since i already bought this one -_- may sell the replaced one for extra cash.)

Specifications
Lifestyle: Performance
Chipset: ATI Radeon
GPU Series: ATI Radeon HD 4000
GPU/VPU: RADEON HD 4670
Additional Features:
HDCP Enabled
Game Physics Capable
ATI Avivo HD Technology
Video Memory: 1GB
Memory Type: GDDR3
Memory Interface: 128-bit
Stream Processors: 320
Core Clock: 750 MHz
Memory Clock: 900 MHz
Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0
Interface Speed: x16
Connector(s): Dual DVI (Dual Link)
HDTV/S-Video
HDMI (w/ Adapter)
Multiple Monitors Support: Yes
Multi-GPU Support: CrossFire-X
Overclocked: No
APIs: OpenGL 2.0
DirectX 10.1
Shader Model 4.1
1080p Support: Yes
Video Output: DVI
S-Video
Low Profile: No
Cooling Type: Fan, Heatsink

Casing: PS2 case cuz i feel like it and if not enough space for all that i will put 2 on top of one another hot glued together. Price: forgot lol its been 3 years

OS:... not sure? idk which to choose between Vista or XP (i dont do mac even though i do like them and 7 is too new)
I know Vista is a resource hog but i kinda love the way it looks? and I am REALLY familiar with XP but i feel its getting old. Not sure what to decide but odds are the price will be 100-150 for OS CD. I know it will be 64-bit obviously from the amount of ram i want to use . I would also like input on OS cuz ... I just DONT know which to pick XD. Leaning towards XP though because of the vista resources issues.

D-Link - DGE-530T Network Card Price $40

Interface: PCI
Port Type: RJ-45
Number of Ports: 1
Protocol: IEEE 802.1p
IEEE 802.3
IEEE 802.3u
IEEE 802.3ab
IEEE 802.1q
IEEE 802.3x
Data Transfer Rate: 1000Mbps
10Mbps
100Mbps

Corsair CWCH50 Hydro H50 CPU Liquid Cooler Price: $75

Specifications
Fan Type: CPU Water Cooler
Fan Speed: 1700 RPM
Heatsink Material: Copper
Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 25 mm

I'd pretty much prefer ALL parts to be internal -_- I don't like fiddling with things on the outside.. it's too tedious.

Total Price: $650-700

If i am missing any crucial or necessary parts plz tell me -_- think i covered all the normal stuff besides obvious things like monitor, mouse/keyboard, etc. Oh, and any compatibility problems too :S sorry im new so i like being cautious about this. I has the knowledge to put one together though .

If you made it through all that you are a trooper , and thanks so much for helping me! I am only 15 so making enough money to afford all this took half a year so i dont' want to RMA something and have all my money go down the drain X.xIt has been a few years since I played FPS games on my PC. (I made the move to consoles.) But I remember what it's like to save up for a new rig. You don't want to be disappointed. With that in mind, since you mentioned CoD4 specifically, you need to read this article:
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6183967/index.html

Personally, I'm a fan of Intel CPUs. Whatever brand you go with, if you want to play newer games with all the details up, think about a faster processor. Just a thought. I would also consider a faster HDD. The Green models aren't really known for speed. While the one you chose spins at 7200RPM, I think you will notice better performance if you go with Caviar Black. You can always go tops with a 10K or 15K drive, but cost is definitely high. Main benefit of a faster HDD is faster load times when the game starts and GOING between levels. It won't impact your frames PER second.

Final recommendation is on the OS. I don't think you'll find 64-bit XP, and if you do, I wouldn't recommend it. 64-bit consumer desktops really became mainstream after XP was LAUNCHED, so Microsoft had to "retrofit" 32-bit XP to offer 64-bit support. That's my opinion. I'd just go with Win7. It really is just Vista with good improvements. Yes, it's true that waiting for the first Service Pack is a good idea, but in this case, I say just go for it.

Whatever you buy, I recommend checking out www.newegg.com for pricing if you haven't already. Also, this should be a fun experience. I like that you're putting it all in a PS2 case. Have fun and good luck!

P.S. I'm typing this on a very tiny keyboard, so I apologize for errors.

My daughter needs a NEW LAPTOP monitor (not the SCREEN, the actual monitor) and I was wondering if there were a few reasonably priced sites anyone could recommend? THANK you!

KessDo you mean an external monitor? newegg, buy.com, amazon - just pick a model you want and then do a Google SEARCH for the best price.

Yesterday my computer just turned itself off, without warning as if someone had unplugged the power from the computer, and then when I tried to turn it back on from the power on botton on the tower it wouldn't turn on. I looked inside the tower and I could see the motherboard light was not lit, I then turned the tower off from the on/off switch at the back and turned it back on, after several times of doing this the motherboard light lit up and I then was able to turn the computer on again.

It worked fine but later it did this again.

So today I have been searching for answers, I looked on the help section here, I don't THINK any parts are overheaing, I downloaded speedfan to check the temp of my machine and everything seemed normal. I then thought to try a stress test, I used OCCT and after 30secs into the test the computer just turned off again.

I checked everything in device manager and that LOOKS fine.

After doing some searching, I read somewhere than someone else had this problem and they fixed it by turning the PSU the right way up, my PSU is installed the wrong way up (I think) so I tried to flip it round but then the screws and the holes wouldn't match so I had to LEAVE it upside down. This is a custom built machine that I built myself and its been working fine for nearly a year.

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.I would swap in another power supply of = or > wattage......The stress test could indicate under load the PSU is failing...did you have any other recent power issues leading up to the failures?...You can check the power cord from the PC to the wall as well to be certain it's well seated.Thanks for your response, the power cord seems fine, and i havent had any recent issues leading up. I haven't got anothe rpsu to test it with but maybe i can locate one later.

Whilst running the stress test on the cpu, i also had the speedfan programme open which was monitoring temperatures, this time when the stress test was runnig it aborted saying cpu got too hot, it then showed me a bunch of graphs showing the time and the cpu temperatures rising as time goes along. The temperatures were reaching nearly a 100, so what can I do, i have got the fan onto of the cpu which is running okay I think.I'll assume it's clean inside.....have you moved the PC recently before the problem started?...Make sure all the fans are running, make sure the clips holding the fan on the cpu is secure and the heatsink is flush to the processor/MB. When you run speedfan , check the voltages for anything that seems out of the ordinary.....good point Karnac I recently installed some RAM so I will have a look inside the case, clean it up and make sure everything is tight, what do you mean check the voltages, what should they be?

Thank you Karnac for your help so far.Just be sure the + voltage numbers are close to the voltages listed.....if you have dislodged the heatsink or a clip wasn't secure , you'll need to reapply thermal paste....reseat all cards, ram, check all connections are snug.,,,,,,Practice ESD (static) safety as wellThe voltage numbers were close to the numbers listed, I think I did dislodge the heatsink so i have secured that for now and then when I can get some thermal paste I will apply that and see what happnes then.
Thanks once again for your help

Edit: Any explanations as to why when the computer turns off it takes so much effort to get it back on, the motherboard light goes out and then I have to keep turning the tower switch on and off to try to get the motrherboard to light up again. Sometime when I turn the tower on the motheroard lights up BRIEFLY before turning off and then I have to keep FLICKING the switch until finally the light stays lit.
Is this some sort of safety feature?
Thermal Paste GuideQuite possibly.......PC power supplies provide a power good signal to the MB which prevents operation when abnormal supply voltages are present.........still might be the supply causing problems.

I have an ASUS N10J netbook with the Intel Atom N270 processor.
Up untill now, I haven't had any problems with it.
I have had SetFSBTray overclocking the CPU every time I startup to 2GHz which is stable.
I then developed the problem that when the overclocking utility did it's job, the computer would freeze.
I then took a look at CPU-Z and it told me that it was running at 718Mhz (120X6) which is fine as this is Speedstep halving the multiplier. The problem is that it won't go back up to a X12 multiplier which would give the 1.4GHz which is still not the 1.6GHz STOCK speed.
The multiplier will not go higher than 8, giving a 960MHz clock.
When I overclock the CPU to give me a better speed with the 8 multiplier, it freezes.
It has twice reverted back to the x12 multiplier and I have then been able to overclock to 2GHz without problem but when I reboot, it goes back to x8

Please help me with this as it is running very slowly and is extremely frustrating!Hi Boo

Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 (CODE named Mobile Diamondville) .

http://download.intel.com/design/processor/datashts/320032.pdf

Check this .pdf may Help you.

Hope that Helps.Thanks for the reply but with all due respect, that doesn't help me at all.
I know that the N270 uses the 12x and 6x multipliers to save power but mine is using 8x and 6x, resulting in much lower clock speeds.

I have now update all my drivers and flashed the BIOS but to no avail.

Someone please help me!!
I'm running at 960MHz for GOODNESS sake!Don't use SetFSBTray with the ACER netbook.I'm using an ASUS netbook and I have disabled SetFSBTray since it started playing up.

Better COMPUTER designs.
Here is the rule. I gibe an concept of how I think computer design ought to go.
Then you follow it with ANOTHER. And you reason, if needed.

I think all computer hardware in the future should be edible.
This would take care of the disposal problem.




Hurry, before the moderator MOVES this

hello
My HDD make too slow. I only install windows and then drivers and do nothing.
then I defragment primary PARTITION (c:/ ) and now I see too slow defragmenting.
I test other terms,for example: I can not play musics when surf in windows explorer

what happen? please help......
thanksMore info will be needed here...Intel 2.4GHz
GA-8ID533 (Intel 845)
512 MB SD-Ram
gForce 5500FX 256MB
Windows XP Pro

After I install new windows I see the HDD make too slow. I can not LOADING to HDD with 2 or more process.
for example: playing MUSIC and synchronously running adobe pdf make noise in playing and adobe pdf GO up after 2mins. the HDD can not run 2 or more process.After installing the OS did you install the chipset driver first, followed by the other drivers?

I have a onetouch4 750GB. Files have disappeared on the drive. But about 200GB of space is not available to use. So something invisible is lurking on the drive?
1. Can I recover the hidden data?
2.Can I wipe the drive clean and start over?
3. What's the chance of things disappearing again?

Thanks for any info and help1. Operating System. What operating system and service pack level is used to access the drive; e.g. Windows XP Professional SP3 ?

2. Disk Management. If possible, view the disk's structure within Disk Management to see how it's reported.
o Number and Type of Partitions (e.g. primary, EXTENDED)
o File System(s) (e.g. Raw, FAT32, NTFS)
o Unallocated space on drive (how much, if any)

To access within Windows XP, select "Start" -> right-click "My Computer" -> select "Manage" -> within "Storage" category on left PANE of "Computer Management" window, select "Disk Management".Files don't "disappear". What's the whole story? What led up to this?Dell XP Home SP 3
Partitian Basic NTFS Healthy 698.63 458.51 67% no 0%
This is the report from computer management


dahlarbear Thank you for being so pleasant and helpfulI'm not sure why you're catching an attitude - my post was not intended to be sarcastic or attacking. It was - and is - a legitimate question. If you want help you need to tell us the backstory.Allan
"disappear"

intransitive verb

1 : to pass from view
2 : to cease to be : pass out of existence

OK this post has an attitude, but that is what happened.
If you go on the Seagate/Maxtor site there are numerous complaints about my exact problem and there isn't any rest of the story.
I turned on my computer, opened my external drive and folders and files were missing 200+GBs.
I transferred everything left off the drive, all that remains is the Backup folder 45GB and New Folder2 that won't grant me access. That leaves about 200GB unaccounted for or in my vernacular disappeared.
Sorry if I perceived a condescension in your post,if none was intended.
Thanks for your help
DanQuote from: slick607 on October 22, 2009, 04:15:22 PM

Dell XP Home SP 3
Partitian Basic NTFS Healthy 698.63 458.51 67% no 0%
This is the report from computer management

Dell XP Home SP 3
Partitian Basic NTFS Healthy 698.63 458.51 67% no 0%
This is the report from computer management

Folder 2 Properties=0bites, read only Can't delete it access denied

453GB is the freespace after I moved all the files off the drive

Maxtor One Touch4 what ever came with the drive
check disk says everything is fine
The back up file says, access denied, make sure the disk is not full or write protected.

Can I wipe the drive clean and start over? What kind of program do I need to clean the drive? do I need to reformat the drive ? How

10. What do I do if my OneTouch 4 software is lost or corrupted?

The OneTouch 4 installation software and utilities are pre-loaded on your drive. These files will be permanently lost if you delete them or reformat the drive. Seagate recommends that you copy all installation files to your local system before using the drive.

If the OneTouch 4 installation and utilities files are lost or corrupted, you can download new copies from the Seagate Website at www.seagate.com. On the website, click the Download Center link for all available downloads for your OneTouch 4.

I wiped the drive clean.
I probably need to format it to use it again.
Can you tell me how?

Quote from: Meloy on October 26, 2009, 12:13:24 PM

...Is replacing the PSU a simple case of taking the old one out and PUTTING the new one in and plugging it into the various components?...

Well I been trying to figure out what is wrong with my computer for a while now. The problem is, while gaming of any sort... my computer will shut down after 30 minutes to maybe 2 hours and beep until I have to unplug it and plug it back in for it to boot back up properly, otherwise it will not start back up, and only occurs while gaming. The only time this occurs is when I am playing a game. Otherwise it will run perfectly fine for hours on end. What is currently so confusing to me about this is that it will do this even running a simple game on say Facebook or Myspace, but.. I can watch DVDs on it WITHOUT any problem, or stream video from Hulu for hours. But something simple as GEO Challenge on Facebook will cause it to crash after 30 mins to 2 hours, does same thing with all games, including World of Warcraft. I have ran up to date scans with anti malware programs and they have all came back completely clean. I also hadn't done any hardware/software/driver updates of any kind. Besides for maybe a Java/Window update around the time it STARTED. That would be it though, and don't see how that could cause a problem like this. Thanks in advance for any help/advice on this situation and for your time.

Random thought, WONDERING if the problem could actually be the mouse/keyboard ports. Maybe a short or something that could be causing the problem. Since obviously I would be using the mouse and keyboard more often while gaming as compared to watching something. Any feedback would be appreciated.Could be system or video card overheating.

My Windows XP Home COMPUTER ask me to to press F1 to continue the log in. Any iidesa what is causing this.Ojasgo to BIOS by pressing APPROPRIATE key,which you have your BIOS SETTING ,then GO to CMOS setup,select option enter [NO ERROR],press F10 key to save and exit setup.after that the F1 to continue will disappear.some hour later turn on your computer,if is not and again APPEAR press F1 to continue, then replace the BIOS battery from your computer motherboard. after that the F1 horror totally disappear from your computer as well as from your mind.do it immediately.

from, D.RoyChowdhury

Windows XP, Dell Optiplex GX260 desktop with 1-stick 1GB PC3200 400MHz CL3 in it.
Manual says it takes PC2100 266 MHZ up to 2GB max. I want to upgrade by adding a 2nd 1GB stick. Is it OK to add 1GB PC2100 with the PC3200 ALREADY installed, or should I add another PC3200, or should I change out to 2-sticks of PC2100 = 2GB? I think if 400MHz and 266MHz are installed together, PC will run at 266MHz speed regardless. I'm just not tech savvy enough to know what PC3200 vs PC2100 is all about with regard to my Dell. ThanksThat shroud work.
Check you manual. I believe it says you can use higher speed MEMORY and the system drops to the lower speed for both chips.Quote from: hi99 on October 30, 2009, 08:17:37 PM

Manual says it takes PC2100 ...

First of all here are the specs for my compy.

ASUS P5N-E SLI mobo
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850
G.Skill DDR2-800 1GB x4
NVIDIA GeFroce 8800GTS

I have RECENTLY installed Windows 7 home premium 64bit. I originally had XP 32bit and 2 gigs of ram. when i realized i could upgrade to 64bit i decided to get 2 more gigs of ram.

now with windows 7 and only 2 gigs of ram installed everything works fine. when i installed the other 2 gigs the computer booted fine and everything seemed to work ok until i tried to play a game, i would get about a half hour or so into the game until the game crashed, sometimes just the game chrashes and other times the whole computer does.

my fist thought was that one or both of the new sticks were bad. so i RAN memtest with all 4 sticks installed, the two new sticks, the two OLD sticks. and i even tested 2 sticks in both sets or ram slots. every time they passed. i also found that windows 7 has its own diagnostic tool so i tried that and again the compy passed with all 4 sticks installed.

then i thought maybe it was a power issue but i would think the computer wouldn't boot or at least the game would crash right away if there wasn't enough power. i dont remember the brand but i have a 500 watt supply.

I don't see how it could be a virus since the compy works fine when i switch back to 2 gigs and i also ran virus and spyware scans just in case and nothing really came up.

I really have no idea what the problem could be and i would really APPRECIATE any HELP. thanks.Maybe you already have the answer!
Are you in denial?
You have to accept it.
The game runs with 2Gigs only.well i don't think ive ever heard of a game crashing because i was trying to use too much ram. but if that is possible i still think it is unlikely. the last 3 games ive played were it crashed while having 4 gigs on my comper were TF2, Borderlands, and Killing Floor. i would think all of those games would allow more ram if this is the case.Are you using the 64 bit Windows 7
Are these all 64 bit games?
Do you have all 64 bit drivers for everything?

Hello,

I have a Seagate 500GB SATA drive that is no longer detected by my PC (Windows Vista Home Premium, SP2). I currently have it connected via USB in an external enclosure. It shows up in Windows explorer and Disk Manager as an NTFS partition. I see folders but can get to none of the files. If I attempt to USE CHKDSK I get the following response:

The type of the file system is RAW.
CHKDSK is not available for RAW drives.

I ran DISKPART and when I list disks it shows up as 466GB and Online. List Partition and List Volume also show up as follows:

DISKPART> list partition

Partition ### Type Size Offset
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Partition 0 Extended 466 GB 504 KB
Partition 1 Logical 466 GB 536 KB

DISKPART> list volume

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Volume 0 E DVD-ROM 0 B No Media
Volume 1 C NTFS Partition 100 GB Healthy System
Volume 2 D HP_RECOVERY NTFS Partition 12 GB Healthy
* Volume 3 F Robs Storag NTFS Partition 466 GB Healthy

If I reconnect the drive internally it is not detected by the system at all. I have tried a couple of free partition recovery programs but they don't see these partitions at all. It is no longer under warranty so I was hoping to I could fix it on my own.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance....WKCook
If there's nothing IMPORTANT on it (Volume #3, I assume), use Disk Manager to delete the partition, create a new one again and then format it. Then connect it internally and do the same, if NECESSARY. You can also connect it internally and use the Seagate Seatools to initialize it.There are third party software programs you can try. I don't have enough experience to WALK you through this, but there are some good "free" programs you can use from within Windows. Two I've played with and believe to be quality products are:

a. TestDisk. There's Windows version download link here.
b. Recuva. Pick up either the "portable" or "slim" version from special builds page to avoid any "optional" toolbar installation.

There's a companion program to TestDisk that was just recommended by someone else to recover data. I haven't personally played with it, but I'm sure it's also worth a look:
c. PhotoRec. There's Windows version download link here.

Take your time and work your way through the documentation/tutorials they provide.Thanks for the response. I will give these a try. I tried one other program without any luck...But may one of these will work. I will let you know.

Thanks Again . . . . WKCookSorry...I forgot to mention that, Yes, there is data I need to recover if possible. It is my son's hard drive and of course he doesn't believe in back-ups. I hope to recover it (mostly school work) but if I can't then it will be a good "lesson learned".

WKCookQuote from: wkcook on October 30, 2009, 06:12:23 PM

Sorry...I forgot to mention that, Yes, there is data I need to recover if possible. It is my son's hard drive and of course he doesn't believe in back-ups. I hope to recover it (mostly school work) but if I can't then it will be a good "lesson learned".

WKCook

I'm trying to fix my moms computer and I think it's the hard drive but i don't know how to find out for sure. My own computer is older so the parts aren't compatible to swap out to test.

Basically the computer started to freeze on the Intel splash screen. I REMOVED all the components except for the PS and powered up the MoBo I got a series of beeps (I'm told that is good). Then i added in the ram and monitor and the computer booted up (past the splash screen) until it SAID "no bootable device" or something LIKE that.

Then when I add in the HDD it freezes again. The odd thing is, if I change the HDD from the SATA0 to SATA 2 input it gets further along in the boot-up process - it gets to the screen where it asks if you want to boot up in safe mode or start windows normally etc. Unfortunately if I choose one of those options the computer just reboots over and over and doesn't get anywhere (keeps going back to that safe mode screen).

The Hard drive does spin up and I can here the head moving around in there.

Any thoughts on what might be going on?
How can I test the HDD and find out if that's the prob? I can't afford to go BUY another drive if that's not the problem.

Thanks in advance.
Hard drive diagnostics


Scroll up to the top of the web page. Select the Make of your HDD and go from there.



edit: If the diagnostics shows no problems, try doing a "repair install"I tried using Seagates diagnostic tool to create a bootable CD and used it to check the disk for errors. It found a bunch of errors and supposedly REPAIRED them. I then tried to do an all erase (write 0's to the entire hard drive) but it couldn't do it and it says to check the data and power cable.

Also, why would the bootable CD (winxp and seagate tools) only work if I move the connector from SATA 0 to SATA 1,2, or 3???

This makes me wonder if it's something with the MOBO *?* Quote from: LTH80 on October 30, 2009, 04:13:25 PM

1. It found a bunch of errors and supposedly repaired them.
2. I then tried to do an all erase (write 0's to the entire hard drive) but it couldn't do it and it says to check the data and power cable.
3. why would the bootable CD (winxp and seagate tools) only work if I move the connector from SATA 0 to SATA 1,2, or 3???
4. This makes me wonder if it's something with the MOBO *?*

A friend of mine has set wireless printing, and it's not working. What he has done is 1. set up his wireless modem/ROUTER which is working ok 2. he has connected a belkin wireless server to the wireless modem/router and has conncected the printer to the belkin wireless server. The printer is connected to the belkin by standard USB cable. The belkin tells him th IP address of it is 10.1.1.4
What I want to know how can the computer connect to the belkin server and the modem and why has the belkin being connected to the wireless modem/router. The computer shows the printer is there with a red cross but will not print. Any ideas would be helpful OjasHi Ojas25

It Would help some more info about Printer Model.
Have you tried to cone ct First By Cable and then change to Wirelles conection
Hope that Helps.As mentioned by azulyx, first try connecting the printer using the cable. If that works move on to the next step. Why are you using Belkin Server? Was it supplied with the wireless printer?QUOTE from: ultimatum on October 30, 2009, 09:21:37 AM

As mentioned by azulyx, first try connecting the printer using the cable. If that works move on to the next step. Why are you using Belkin Server? Was it supplied with the wireless printer?

I hope you can help before my battery dies.

I am using a Lenovo 3000 C200 laptop (Celeron M, Vista Basic). A while ago I noticed my screen intermittantly dimming (and switching to battery power). When I wiggled the mains cable, it reconnected the power and switched back to mains power.

I ended up thinking the power cable was worn out and replaced it. This worked for about a month. A few minutes ago, it happened again with the new cable, except no amount of wiggling will get the mains supply working again. (The cable jackplug itself was very hot when I felt it after the screen dimmed.)

Does this sound like a problem with the mains socket on the back of the computer (that I plug the power cable into)? Or could it be that the battery itself needs replacing and so refuses to charge? Or maybe I need to get a new internal PSU for the laptop. (Can these PSUs be bought separately?)

The laptop is about three years old, and I have never replaced the original battery to date.

Thanks for any help you can offer.Well, luckily I didn't THROW out the old power cable. If I use that and wiggle it, I get power back. But the mains cable needs to be HELD in just the right position and held very firmly, PUSHING towards the socket.

Maybe there is some kind of design fault with the cables themselves, or they are just shoddily made. I'm not really sure what to do now, as the PSU is obviously fine, but I don't really want to spend $30 per month on new power leads. (As I TYPE I can no longer find the right angle to push the cable to get it working! Ridiculous.)Quote from: ArtSiren on October 30, 2009, 12:50:39 PM

...Does this sound like a problem with the mains socket on the back of the computer (that I plug the power cable into)?...

I've just BOUGHT a TOSHIBA laptop with a built in modem but don't seem to be able to connect by a USB cable to my existing Talktalk modem.

It say I've installed the drivers but the modem doesn't light up and shows no connection - not surprisingly.

The laptop is a Toshiba satellite L450-136 and has a LAN socket but nothing else other than USB ports.

Does this mean I can only connect by wi-fi or if not how do I use the on-board modem using a hard wired connection please?

Many thanks for any help anyone can offer.I don't understand....are you trying to connect your built in modem to a USB cable? And then to another modem?

Can you walk though your connections again? And is this laptop new? What is the model and what VERSION windows are you running?



Quote from: notahopeinhell on October 29, 2009, 10:08:44 AM

1. I've just bought a Toshiba laptop with a built in modem
2. The laptop is a Toshiba satellite L450-136 and has a LAN socket but nothing else other than USB ports.
3. Does this mean I can only connect by wi-fi
4. how do I use the on-board modem using a hard wired connection please?

In the UK that model comes with THREE network interfaces.
Phone jack
Ethernet Jack
Wi Fi (Wireless 802.11)

1. The talktalk modem ... has a socket for the 'phone line from the filter and then a USB cable (which is fixed and cannot be removed from the modem).
2. I connect the USB cable to my PC and away it goes (after loading the talktalk disk of course) and it's worked for a years no problem.
3. So I can only physically connect the modem into the Toshiba with the USB cable apparently.
On the filter it reads ADSL modem printed on the filter itself where the cable from the filter exits to the modem. Do I need a different modem?
4. I don't want to run both computers simultaneously I just thought I could plug the modem in to whichever was being used at the time. Maybe that isn't possible?

1. It's a pretty old modem if it has no ethernet.
2. TalkTalk software may not be compatible with new computer.
3. Time for a new modem.
4. If it's not working, it's most likely the USB modem drivers are outdated.

After i work recover to my computer using norton ghost 14 and reboot,
ICON INTERNET SEEMS. I am connected to the Internet

Although I was not connected And the network CABLE is unplugged.
(Taking into account the that the existing connection is weak and unable to open any page).
SEPARATED router----- same problem.
Computer grounded

Cut off electricity. And fed the computer again. Reboot. Problem gone

What is the problem.
Thanks

I have a Dell PRECISION M65 laptop that has been acting up a lot lately. I had Windows 7 RC on it and was GETTING blue screen after blue screen, so I wiped the hard drive and installed XP Pro, but it, too, got blue screens. It seemed to happen at random times. I tried to think of what each blue screen instance had in common, but they all seemed to be unique. This led me to think that perhaps the RAM has gone bad.

I ran Memtest-86 (which I'm new to and very unfamiliar with) and these are the results of the first time I ran it:




As you can see the test only lasted 24 seconds. I'm not really sure what to make of the results, though. I tried pressing escape to exit, but nothing happened, so I held down the power button to turn off the laptop. I then started running Memtest-86 again. So far it's been going for 20 minutes. It says pass 49%, test 33%, test #7. What does this all mean?

Thank you!Memtest runs in cycles and there are 8 or 10 different tests....
It does not stop until you end it but you ended it prematurely...
BEST thing to do is LET it just run for approx. 2 hours and then check to see if there are ANY errors at all.
Errors mean bad RAM.

PS. It will appear like it is hung in certain tests...just let it do it's thing.

I am running a DELL LAPTOP, Windows XP. Suddenly my mouse started scrolling through any menu I try to navigate. This problem occurs both with the touch pad and the connected mouse. Any ideas?You may have a stuck key on the keyboard...
Anyhting spilled on it lately ? ?
Was the laptop dropped ? ?No drops that I KNOW about. However, I will check the keyboard. THANKS

I use win xp PRO and 2 GB of RAM
and Win Mediai Player Clasic Houme
And 64 MB of video RAM

All of my DVDs and I buy them they all play and skip sound and a little of the video skips.

If I play CDs they play greate.

And any files from the hard drive play ok.

If it was not Alinged right it would not play audio CDs ok and it does.

This is my DVD ROM specs

D.V.D R.O.M / C.D. R.O.M
Model 1HAP222-06
Interface I.D.E
DVD access Time 160 ms
D.V.D + R Write Speed 22 X
D.V.D + RW Rewrite Speed 8. X
D.V.D - R Write Speed 22 X
D.V.D - RW Rewrite Speed 6. X
D.V.D Read Speed 16 X
C.D. Write Speed 48 X
C.D. Rewrite Speed 32 X
C.D. Read Speed 48 X

Quote from: nymph4 on October 27, 2009, 01:44:25 PM

D.V.D R.O.M / C.D. R.O.M
Model 1HAP222-06
Interface I.D.E
DVD access Time 160 ms
D.V.D + R Write Speed 22 X
D.V.D + RW Rewrite Speed 8. X
D.V.D - R Write Speed 22 X
D.V.D - RW Rewrite Speed 6. X
D.V.D Read Speed 16 X
C.D. Write Speed 48 X
C.D. Rewrite Speed 32 X
C.D. Read Speed 48 X

PC:
MSI P6N
2.4Quad OC'd to 3.0
2x500GB HD
2x1TB HD
4GB
Vista x64

I have the 500GB hard drives set up as SATA RAID 0 on SATA channels 1 and 2. I just bought 2 1TB hard drives. I want to run these as SATA RAID 0 on channels 3 and 4. I striped my 1TB drives but windows won't SEE it. I basically want a 1TB RAID for my C: drive and a 2TB RAID for my D: drive, but Vista isn't seeing my D: drive (EVEN in the drive manager).

Can anyone tell me if this is even POSSIBLE? If it is, any advice is welcome.
Did you format the new drives ? ?

The FOLLOWING is a LIST of my customer computer description:-

System Manufacturer: 810eTFST
System Model: 810eTFST
Motherboard Manufacturer: 810eTFST
Motherboard Model: 810eTFSTMaximum Memory Capacity: 1024 MB
CURRENTLY Installed Memory: 256 MB
Available Memory SLOTS: 1
Total Memory Slots: 2
Dual Channel Support: N.A.
CPU Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
CPU Family: Intel(R) Celeron(TM) CPU 1000MHz Model 11, Stepping 1
CPU Speed: 1002 MHz

i want to install sdram 512,PC133 MHz. is that compatible? or sdram,PC100 MHz became accurate for this. plz tell me try a progtam like


http://www.lavalys.com/

to get infomation about your hardware and memory speed you can install

If you travel to Crucial.com and run the online scanner it will tell you exactly what RAM you can USE...
You don't have to buy it there but their RAM carries a Lifetime Warranty...

Good Morning.
I have an old drive enclosure that gives me no information except "please see the OWNERS manual" which of COURSE I do not have. I did find an old comp usa external drive enclosure disk for windows 98SE that may GO with it. I attached the drive and it light up but can't see it on my system. I'm thinking I need some drivers or something.
Can I install the old disk on my system (XP #3)? The drive is a seagate Barracuda ATA 30 GB that I thought would be perfect for moving stuff or even just using it for extra space.
Any Ideas?

Thanks, Dianne
There's a good CHANCE the external won't need drivers to run on XP...
All you can do is try it.

To help ID the device after you plug it in on the XP machine if it does not work DLoad; install and run Everest Home...FREE.

When the laptop start appear the message that for consistency chkdsk will be run on the FAT32 D drive. Chkdsk start but than it block on 0%.
In order to use the laptop I have to re-start and skip the checking.
Chkdsk works fine on the FAT32 C drive.
I have deleted all files on the D drive but problem still there. Tried to format the D drive but it doesn't allow me.
Also is normal that an HD with 26GB has only 21GB free space available (what's in the 5GB space).

Thanks a lot.XP? If so, boot to the Recovery Console and TRY running chkdsk d: /r. If that fails you can try the manufacturer's utility (from their web site), but there's almost certainly a problem with the HDYou probably deleted the hidden recovery files on D: for the laptop...
To be able to use all the space you would have to wipe both partitions and re-create a single one and then re-install XP and all your programs; DRIVERS etc...I ALWAYS forget about recovery partitions Not to WORRY..... Quote from: patio on October 28, 2009, 07:09:32 AM

You probably deleted the hidden recovery files on D: for the laptop...
To be able to use all the space you would have to wipe both partitions and re-create a single one and then re-install XP and all your programs; drivers etc...

XP? If so, boot to the Recovery Console and try running chkdsk d: /r. If that fails you can try the manufacturer's utility (from their web site), but there's almost certainly a problem with the HD

Try just hitting Enter at the password prompt...

To get to the recovery console, boot to the XP CD and choose the first repair option (press "R"). Once in the recovery console, run chkdsk d: /r

lol....

Why does this humor you ? ?

Because is the first thing I guess everbody will try to do if doesn't have a passowrd. Thanks anyway..

How does one determine by examining the motherboard the type and capacity of ram one can INSTALL? This is a custom made 586 running Win98. CURRENTLY has (3) 128 MB ram modules and I would like to MAXIMIZE it.Travel to crucial.com and run the online SCANNER...

I just purchased a computer case from a Dell Dimension 4400 from a surplus sale at school. I was not getting any video out at all, so I swapped out the video card for ONE that I knew was working, and still no luck. (unfortunately there is no onboard video or audio)

I WOULD just GIVE up and say that the motherboard was dead from the start, but when I power up, the hard disk clicks away as if it was loading the windows install I have on there. When I put a Linux Live CD in the DVD drive, it spins up as if it were loading from the CD. When I put in a non-bootable CD, I don't get that same behavior.

I don't know what else to try. I have tested all of the parts that I added, including the RAM, and they work fine. Is it POSSIBLE that there could be a problem at the BIOS level that is preventing the video from working PROPERLY? If so, what is the best way to diagnose/fix the problem? Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.Check the Diagnostic Lights located on the back.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4400/codes.htm#1101572
Have you tried a different monitor?I finally got it working last night, but I solved one problem only to find another.

I had been using two sticks of memory, both of which I knew were good. I had tested them together and individually. Last night, I unintentionally solved the problem by plugging a memory stick into slot 1 and nothing into slot 0, and it worked right away. After playing around with it a whole bunch, I found that anytime I plug anything into slot 0, I get no display, and my diagnostic lights show the code for "other." But either of my memory sticks will work just fine as long as they are plugged into slot 1, and nothing is in slot 0. I know that I am not using too much memory because each stick is only 256MB and the computer supports 1GB.

I would really like to be able to use both memory slots so that I can use both memory sticks. Any ideas why plugging memory that was otherwise working into slot 0 would cause me to get no video out?Go into BIOS and see if there is an option to enable or disable dual channel mode.Quote from: JJ 3000 on October 29, 2009, 05:22:35 PM

Go into BIOS and see if there is an option to enable or disable dual channel mode.

Go into BIOS and see if there is an option to enable or disable dual channel mode.

hi IVE got a DVD burner on my computer its the same from when i bought my computer but a while ago the burner stoped working and now windows media player is saying there is no burner at all but is says connect a burner. also when i insert a blank disk it comes up with a dialog box saying "D:/ is in accessible Incorrect FUNCTION" but it will still READ music cds i just cant burn any.

any support would be helpfull
thanksIf it's over 3 or 4 years old it may have failed...
Best way to test this is swap it into another working Desktop machine...Did you try different reading/burning program?This computer was PUT in a wardrobe because it did not work and it was in there for the best part of a year or two and i found it opend it up and found out the problem(loose power cable) and so ive now got it and i have had it for about 2-3 years and i havent used the burner (exsept for reading a disk but not for burning one)

DLoad; install and try CDBurnerXPro...FREE

Hello All

I was just wondering if you can tell me how to fix or get rid of the VERTICAL color lines on my laptop screen. The laptop is about 3 years old but still has a LOT of life left in it.

Would anyone be able to tell what the lines are caused by and how to fix or does this need to be fixed by the manuf. Toshiba is the brand.

Thanks in advance

KevinLines are usually caused when the ribbon cable to the LCD is damaged, display is cracked, or chip is partially blown for the pixel array. Its best to have a computer shop or the OEM repair this. * It can be costly however, so if this laptop is used more like a workstation ( aka desktop computer ) I generally tell PEOPLE to plug in an external display into its auxilary VGA output. Most use the opportunity to save $$$ and upgrade from their 14" display to a nice 19" or larger for less than $200I had that problem exsept my little bro poured lemon juice over the laptop it did that for about a day then it stoped WORKING compleatly and the external vga PORT was broken that got sent away to be repaird.

Hi I recently had a pc in for repair. The cpu heatsink and fan cradle cracked so it was left not fastened down on top of the cpu. My guess is, the cpu has overheated and blown. Ok The cpu i need is an Amd Athlon 64 for a AM2 socket. The cpu part number i believe is ADA3500IAA4CN. Now I have found ONE on Ebay but the part number is a little different, it is ADA3500IAA4CW. Could you please tell me if this cpu will work, it is just the end letter that is different. Thanks You.

Best Regards
ChrisSome chips have a Revision in their item# to make pulling a bad batch out of inventory EASIER being able to check for a REVISON letter. The chip should be the exact same chip you had, possibly a newer Rev W vs N. If its an AM2 3500 you should be good to go.

Hopefully only your CPU was bad and it didnt hurt the MOTHERBOARD on meltdown. I generally buy new MOTHERBOARDS after CPU meltdowns unless I have a spare CPU that wont come at a monetary loss to me if the stressed motherboard then fries what was a good CPU or the system still doesnt work after swapping CPUs.Thanks for the infomative advice. Yeah I agree i don't really want to fork out £££s for a cpu if the mobo socket is damaged. I usually have an odd cpu kicking about but unfortunately not this time. I think i will write this one off. Thanks again.

Regards
Chris

I have an officejet 6310 all in one.When I try and scan multiple pages using
the document FEEDER,it will do 3 or 4 and then just sit and not do all the rest
of the pages that are loaded.Welcome to the CH forums.

Does the DOCUMENTATION not have a Troubleshooting section?

You MAY get a better response from one of the dedicated on-line advice sites here...

Good luck.Hi REnMur605

The Most of scanner from All Brands COME with Own Software capable to Do a MultiScan and save into to a .PDF File.
There are some Third Party Software capable of Doing It too.

Hope that will Help.

Hi,

I have a case (I WORK in IT support) where a user is getting sound STILL coming out of the machine speakers EVEN when she plugs in her headphones. I checked the Sound and Audio settings in control panel, she seems to have only one device for all sound, audio etc (Audiotek), which APPEARS to be working ok. It just doesn't cut out when she puts in the headphones. I checked she wasn't putting them into the wrong port, but there's only one headphone socket. I also changed the Desktop Headphones section from No Speakers to Desktop Stereo speakers, but nothing changed. Any ideas why this might be happening?

It's a typical office set up, Windows XP Pro installed on a desktop.There is a mechanical switch on the headphone jack that is designed to turn off the speakers when headphones are plugged in. It SOUNDS like that switch has gone bad and needs to be replaced.Quote from: rthompson80819 on October 23, 2009, 05:38:04 PM

There is a mechanical switch on the headphone jack that is designed to turn off the speakers when headphones are plugged in. It sounds like that switch has gone bad and needs to be replaced.

right now i have a HP Pavilion m7360n with a 600watt POWER supply. I have a pci-e gefore 8600gt and a pci 5600 fx. when i had wnidows xp i could run all 3 of my monitors fine (2 on the 8600gt and 1 on the 5600gt) in full resolution 1920 x 1200. and with vista and now windows 7 i have the same problem i did when i tried vista when it came out. it doesnt let me use both my video cards. when i install the video card the other one wouldnt WORK and then i would try to fix it and install the driver for it and then the other driver wouldnt work and so on. so now im only running 2 of my 3 monitors with my 8600gt.

so im looking for a new card and came acrosss this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102860&Tpk=SAPPHIRE%20100283SR

the saphire Radeon HD 5770 has eyefinity which i read can support 3 monitors on a single video card.
PERFECT! just what i need.

only before i buy it i want to know if
1. my computer will be able to handle it.
and
2. if its going to fit inside.

unless anybody else knows of an optional WAY to get my 3 monitors working again. this video card to me SEEMS like the best bet and plus i can play widescreen games with direct x 11.anybody?

Well, I've finally gotten the GO ahead and the funds to let my imagination run wild.

I just have a few questions before purchasing...

1) How are the products I have listed below? Compatibility etc...
2) Do cables and connections come with the parts or do I need to buy them seperate?
3) Do I need an anti-static strap?

Processor:
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - Link
£142.20

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P AMD 790X - Link
£97.28

RAM:
OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C8 (1600MHz) Tri-Channel - Link
£106.98

Graphics Card:
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 5750 1024MB - Link
£110.99

HDD:
1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 - Link
£58.18

Disc Drive:
Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE - Link
£14.95

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred - Link
£79.91

PSU:
OCZ ModXStream PRO 700w Silent - Link
£76.99

Monitor:
23" Acer V233Hb LCD TFT Monitor (5ms, 40000:1, 1080p HD) - Link
£114.97

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit, Single, - OEM - Link
£143.83

I still have to pick a speaker system, but that's not going to break the bank.

Thanks for any help. 1) Compatible...yes.
2) With that board and PSU all required cables should be provided...
3) Absolutely use an anti-static strap...Quick and simple reply....thanks!

I'm going to start pricing locally tomorrow, but if I can't get anything I'll go ahead and ORDER those parts. Two or three aren't in stock now unfortunately, but I'll hardly be waiting that long.

Thanks again.Well the parts are ordered. I had to swap everything that I had planned to buy on Overclock.co.uk to Scan.co.uk because it turned out they don't ship to Ireland. So some of the parts are DIFFERENT but similar to the ones above.

Just one thing about the anti-static strap...

Do I need to buy a mat with it or will clipping it onto something like a radiator do?I don't use the mats...clipping it to metal should be fine.Thanks.

Hi,

I have a problem with my PC. RUNNING on Windows XP Pro What happens is that when i re-started it, all i can see from the monitor is the very first screen (the screen that tells you what motherboard is running, the ram, etc and at the bottom, there is instruction to press "DEL" to enter the setup. The screen that comes up as soon as the machine is switched on. I hope i explained it well so far. It then sits there and will not move at all.

I hope this is not the symptom of the need to replace the motherboard. It was working really well before i turned it off. The reason i turned it off was to find out where the noise is coming from. It was the fan for the case. But that is all.

How do i test this or at least narrow down the issue?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Sorry, I do not have the detail of the motherboard at the moment.

Thank you in advance


Did you clean your machine out when you had it opened? It shows almost like its over heating and locking up. Does the fan over your CPU work?

Thanks Spoiler for your reply.

I did not clean it when i open it up. All i did was that i put in just a tiny drop on to the fan of the case because it was making some noise. I thought by dropping a drip of oil (it is oil from sewing machine). But i did make sure no spill on the motherboard by placing a piece of tissue on the bottom of the fan. Then, i cleaned up the fan by the same tissue, and put the case back on again. Then, i plugged in all the WIRED to the back of the case and started it.

If this is due to over-heating, what should i do? should i wait until it's cooled down or?

The fan over the CPU is working.

I am getting a bit worried now. This just happens to be the machine that i use for our file storage.

Thank you in advanceCase fan, power supply fan, or CPU fan?Thanks for your reply, Computer_Commando.

It is the case fan.Hi,

Can anyone help please?

Thank youRemove the case fan paying attention to where it's connected to...
Take it with you to a PC STORE and get a replacement.Hi Patio,

Thanks for your reply.

When i posted this issue on day 1, it was almost in the evening (which is about time to go home from work). So I left it there thinking i would look at it again the next day. Then, i posted this to the forum.

On day2, i came back early in the morning, i tried my luck to see if it worked. To my surprise, it worked fine. It loaded up Windows XP with no problem. So i thought this is good. But this time, i went to get the new case fan and replace the old case fan. I left it there running for almost hours and then for some reason, i shut it down. I re-started it in the afternoon the same day, the same problem came back again. It stuck on the first screen. I did not know what to do. It was almost 4 o clock in the afternoon. I thought i looked it again the next day just to see it might work again.

Guess what, today is day 3. When i turned it on, it worked fine again. This time, i re-started it to see if it stop working again. But it worked although it said something like "System boot failed" - Enter setup..." something may overclock. That is what i can remember. I then went into setup by pressing "Del" at the bootup, exited without change. This time, i LET it run for 20 minutes. Then, shut it down and restarted it. The same problem occurred again. It stays on the first screen and does not move at all.

Wonder what kind of symptom that is.

I bet you - if i leave it off for the whole night and come back tomorrow, it will work again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thank you in advance

Intermittent problems are the toughest to diagnose properly...

I would borrow a KNOWN good PSU of the same or greater wattage and swap it in there to see if that's the culprit.

Hi all!.

Here is the rundown. I was WORKING on my computer and this error "windows - No disk" kept popping up so I changed the letters on the drives like various sites TOLD me to but the error kept coming back. So after I changed the letters my computer began acting funny, but it was working. A day later the computer screen went froze and black with all these squares or pixilations on it so I unplugged the power cord because it wouldn't shut off.

When I started it up again the computer asked if I wanted to start normally or in safe mode etc... After I click a mode the black windows scroll load screen comes up but then then a blue screen flashes then the computer restarts. It's the same screen that say that windows shut down because of an error. That there might be a corruption or lack of space. It won't get to the logon screen. At the bottom of the screen SAYS something about pci.sys?

I want to format it but I NEED the data on the drive first. I am only able to get on the computer because I switched in a hard drive with less capacity on it. Everytime I try to hook up the old hard drive and this current hard drive at the same time the computer gives a loud continuous beep and the computer freezes.

Please help me!!!!!! I have financial data on the old drive. I want to get off.Quote from: jada1985 on October 28, 2009, 12:34:38 PM

...Please help me!!!!!! I have financial data on the old drive. I want to get off.

Where's your backup for this important data?

How to Slave a Hard Drive: http://www.dtidata.com/resourcecenter/2007/04/23/how-to-slave-hard-drive/

Wow. Thanks I'm going to try this! How do you guys find these sites? Thanks again

My daughter accidentally put the memory card from my camera into the CF/microdrive slot in my computer. It fell in b/c the slot is much bigger than the one for the memory card. I TRIED tilting to see if it would fall back out but no luck. Is there a way to get it out without harming the computer and how hard will it be to do this? also, if not taken out can it hurt if it stays in there? I have been TRYING to get a ANSWER to this problem since 10pm last night and I can't seem to get any solutions. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!!I'm looking at my old card READER. It probably went up and over the CF slot and dropped down behind the slot and is TRAPPED inside the case. If you want to retrieve the memory card, you'll have to pull the drive out and open it up. The reader/drive is mostly empty space. If you don't care about retrieving the card, tip the computer backwards, so the card falls into the space and does not contact the circuit board inside.I can empathize, pcampo. Once, when I was putting my xD card into my computer's memory card reader, I put it in the wrong slot (wasn't paying attention) and it fell right through to the other side. I heard it rattling around. Fortunately, I built the PC myself, so I knew what it would take to get to the card. Also, I had enough motivation to do it because the card had several pics of the family. Unfortunately, as may be the case with you, my media card reader is a sealed box. I had to take the computer case off, take out some drives, and undo several cables just to get to the card reader. Then I had to take the reader out of the computer and bend a metal cover, which was riveted in, so that I could shake the card loose. In all, it was maybe 30 minutes of work, including putting everything back together and hooking the PC up again. It was a bit of a pain, but nothing broke and I'm glad I got it out of there. If it had been an empty card, or pics I didn't care about, I might not have even bothered.

Good luck!

Bad HDD will not normally produce shutdowns...

All MBoard standoffs in place ? ?

Thermal paste applied correctly ? ?
Thermal Paste Guide.

New or used PSU ? ?

My videos show as 16:9(widescreen) on any program I have but when I do BURN it & play on my personal dvd player it is full screen. It has to be the Emprex dvd dual double LAYER burner I have. Does anyone know any way to configure the burner to burn widescreen instead of full? Please help, THANK YOU !!! That depends on your burning program and original video format.I have cyberlink power producer but it ask me what aspect ratio I want for my disc. I ALWAYS select 16:9. I then import video FILES but it always burn full, on all my programs. I had to let some one in remotley before but I don't remember what they did. My original is 16:9 too. It has to be the burner DRIVER or something .

Greetings all!

I hope someone can help me with this because I'm at my WIT's END over it!

For the past SEVERAL days, my keyboard will randomly stop working. There's no specific symptom or indicator of when it will stop, it just stops. One of the really odd things about this is the Num Lock indicator light stays on even when none of the keys will work. Rebooting the system will always bring the keyboard back, but there's no way to know for how long.

My system stats are below and I've tried a few different keyboards with the same result. All the keyboards were PS2 connected.

Any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated! Please help!Does the same thing happen is safe mode? If so, try a usb connection - could be a problem with the port. If not, there may be a sw conflict. Let US know what happens in safe mode.Thanks for the tip Allan!

The thing is, it can go for hours without any problems. For example, I've been running for almost three hours now and it's been fine. Is it advisable to run in Safe Mode for that length of time?There's no reason not to.

Hi,

i got 2 hard disk, a master n slave. Master is with WinXp Pro SP3 and the slave is with Ubuntu 8.04.

So what happen was if i have both HD plug in, the computer would load the black screen showing the list of hardware of my computer, and it will stop there. it wouldn't load to WINDOWS or watsoeva.

However, if i unplug either hard disk, it could load to its respective OS (XP or ubuntu.)
Why is this so??

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

More info on how these drives were set up...
They should be able to work together side by side if it was DONE properly...
IDE drives i'm assuming ?opps sorry.

ok here goes..

AMD athlon 3400++
WinXp Pro SP3
Master HD: 80GD, IDE
Slave HD: 40GD, IDE

this was how i set it up. previously, i had them both working fine together. WinXP was installed on the master HD and the slave HD contain misc stuff like doc.

I helped my friend recover some files from a sata 2.5 HDD (with a IDE and sata converter), therefore i had to unplug the slave HD as i didnt have enough IDE slots.

After that, when i plug in back the slave HD, it couldnt be read but it still boots up to windows. After a while, it couldnt boot to windows so i unplug the slave HD and it managed to log into windows.

so yesterday i decided to do something to my slave HD. I unplug the master HD and plug in only the slave HD. I boot up with a cd rom which has gparted for me to set PARTITIONS on the slave HD. after that i boot with ubuntu cd and installed with ubuntu 8.04. it works fine and i could even serve the internet, install g++ n JDK, etc etc.

And so i thought EVERYTHING was fine now. i plug in the master HD and the problem arise. it seems that both HD cant work together. strange..

i hope im not confusing you

Let me know if you need more info. I be around

Do you have two IDE controllers on your motherboard?Because you installed Ubuntu with the XP drive out of the equation XP has no idea that Linux is there...likewise vice-versa....
So when you are booting with both drives hooked up the boot processes are banging heads and confusing things...

Clik Here for a good guide to setting this up...Yup i got 2 IDE controller.

anw i try formatting the ubuntu HD and try booting up to see if it works first.

i come back again =DJumper each drive as master and connect them to the different IDE controllers. Make sure you have each drive on the end (master connector) of each IDE ribbon. This should work. You will have to enter BIOS to select which drive to boot.hey EVERYONE, tks for the help.

i decided to unplug the slave Hd with ubuntu. everything works fine for a couple of days till this morning it happens again.

when i start up windows, it is able to load desktop. after a while, the computer freeze. i had to force shutdown by pressing the power button. when i power on the computer, there was no signal on the monitor.

sometimes when i power on the computer, there was a short beep sound, probably like beeb..beebbeebbeebbeeb. there was even a time when it beep continuously. i check all the hardware and it's properly fixed.

i will be able to start up the computer again after a while (10-20 mins) where it will load to desktop n freeze again.

one thing to note is that my computer clock has not been able to sync. everytime i power off the computer and the main switch, the clock stops. i understand the bios battery could cause the computer for not booting up but i had the clock not working for a while and i could boot the computer before.

please help. tks in adv

Replace the CMOS battery...part# Cr2032.
Borrow a known good PSU of the same or greater wattage and swap it in there.

My sons dell laptop HARDDRIVE failed, they sent out a tech who replaced the hard drive with a new one. they have left me the old one for 7 days to allow me to try to get the data off it. I have bought a cradle and can see the drive, but have no tools to try and analyse the disk or try and recover data. any thoughts please?If you look at the drive in Windows Explorer are the files there ? ?
If so just copy/move them to another drive...You may have to take ownership of the FOLDERS & files first, however.I can see the drive, but all the folders are empty.So you can actually gain access to the folders and see that there is nothing in them? Does the available free space on the drive seem to indicate the drive is empty?How To Take Ownership of Files and Folders...sorry i am a bit confused now.. when i plug the USB cradle in with the hard drive in it... two new drives appear, like this:

RECOVERY (G:) and

Local Disk (I:)

The (G:) drive shows 9 folders all of which are empty, and when i do properties on the drive it shows it as 10GB, when the drive is actually 250GB.

When i do properties on Local Disk (I:) it comes up as 0 GB.Looks like all the data is gone except the Recovery partition...this will do you no good as those files are only for restoring the machine back to Day One status...

Do me a favor though to be sure...
Right clik My Computer and select Manage...
Then select Disk Management...

Find Local Disk I: in the right hand WINDOW and right clik it...
Select Properties...

Report back with everything it says under Properties.I tried that, and local drive (I:) does not show up at all under disk management. I am sure Jack Bower and his team on 24 could see everything on the disk, i wonder how they would do it.

Quote from: GaryDHodges on October 28, 2009, 04:17:54 AM

I tried that, and local drive (I:) does not show up at all under disk management. I am sure Jack Bower and his team on 24 could see everything on the disk, i wonder how they would do it.

Hi All,

I was given a HP ZE2000, it won't boot properly, the Caps and Num lock both flashes and then it beeps twice, the screen shows a short message "Press F1 to RESUME, Press F2 for Setup" then it locks up, it doesn't do anything when I press any of the keys.

I have tried to replace the memory one at a time and even used a similar memory from another notebook to no avail, not ABLE to test a different HARD drive as I don't have one handy at the moment. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The specs are:

HP ZE2000
AMD Sempron 1.6 Ghz
Win XP Home
512 Ram - 2 sticks
40 GB hd



A 2 beep code on an HP machine is a power supply failure.

Try this. Remove the battery, and then plug into the wall and see if it starts. If it works fine, you need a new battery.

If not, the power adapter or something internal on the board power system is gone. That can run you $130 to $300, in repairs if your warranty has expired.Thanks Griff!

I removed the battery and used the AC adapter, the computer then gives the "Press F1 to Resume, Press F2 for Setup" and gets locked there. I ALSO get the same message when I use just the battery.

Does this SOUND like I need a new mother board for this notebook? Quote from: Jollibee on October 27, 2009, 04:10:22 PM

...Does this sound like I need a new mother board for this notebook?

Ive been having this issue for about 2 months now. If I leave my computer on for more than about 5 hours, the operating system seems to stop functioning properly. I start getting lots of graphics artifacts in Windows like missing text colors, bars, in the GUI. I try to click on buttons, links or OPEN a browser and its either frozen or extremely slow. About all I can do is a CTRL-ALT-DELETE and attempt to RESTART, but even that doesn't work sometimes and I must do a hard reboot. It reboots and everything is perfectly fine again. I can put the computer into STANDBY mode when I'm not at the computer and this will extend the time before I need a reboot. The computer does not automatically go into sleep mode OR hibernate. It only goes to screen SAVER after 15 minutes.

I re-formatted my OS drive and reinstalled all my programs and it still does it. I tried turning off programs running in background and it still does it. I'm coming to the conclusion its possibly a memory issue, video memory issue, or something I am installing that is causing this. It doesn't seem to matter what programs i have been or are currently running.

I have RUN Memtest and found no errors. I'm not sure what else to do at this point. Could it be video memory problem? How can I check this?

Computer is homebuilt 9/2007:

Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Mobo
E6750 Core2Duo 2.3GHz
corsair 2GB RAM
360GB HD ( 40% used)
Nvidia 8800GT 320MB

Windows XP SP3
AVG AntivirusWelcome to CH,

How is your housekeeping on the inside of the case.....been cleaned in the past TWO years?

Download Speedfan and check your temps.

http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.phpI cleaned out the computer probably 4 months ago, dust wasn't beyond normal accumulation.

I DL'd Speedfan and here is what showing ( note: computer has been on all day and, surprisingly, seems to be functioning still)

CPU usage 0.6%
GPU 56C
Temp1 45C
Temp 2 34C
Temp 3 -2C
HD0 35C
Core0 32C
Core1 32C
Core 56C
Ambient 0C


The GPU and Core are at 56C, is that high? I have not OC'd this board.

Voltages read:

Vcore1 1.15V
Vcore2 1.90V
3.3V 3.26V
5V 4.89V
12V 0.64V
-12V -16.97
-5V 4.91V
5V 5.16
Vbat 3.28V

the + 12 and -12 don't seem right?After further investigation, I found that the GPU and Core temperatures are both pulled form the Graphics Card. This seems unusually high to me, i probably should open the box and check the fan, unless you think these are normal temps.

IDT 92HD206 audio built into an ECS GF8200A mobo. The Mic doesn't work from the PORT in the back; does work, however, when PLUGGED into a FRONT port. Any THOUGHTS?

Hi,
I have a serious PROBLEMS.

My cd-room doesn't want to read some cd.
For example, reading music cd, but when I put for example Linix Ubuntu cd, it's show like this cd is EMPTY.

Realy I want to rewrite my Windows XP, but when I put cd - it's show like empty cd, but when I put in laptop - it's ok.

I do DRIVER test:
http://driveragent.com/driveragent_results_b.php?hwid=135d0c29bd667306cab87294fe8615b3&PHPSESSID=oflijvqu1rtijkgrg8ln1vnj24


Maybe some one have any idea?Do the have the latest updates for Windows installed? I have an old XP install disk (pre SP1) and it can't handle some blank CDS and all DVDs until it gets all the updates.

Try using a program like MagicISO or UltraISO to burn the disk instead.Put in a bootable cd (your OS for example) and reboot (make sure the cd is the first item in the BOOT order in your bios). Does the system recognize the disc at boot? If so, the problem is within the OS.Quote

I do driver test:
http://driveragent.com/driveragent_results_b.php?hwid=135d0c29bd667306cab87294fe8615b3&PHPSESSID=oflijvqu1rtijkgrg8ln1vnj24

Just bought an older dell optilplex, it has USB 1.0 I WOULD like to change it
to 2.0.
Also to add WiFi Lan for my netgear router???We need some more info about your desktop. Model #, OS, etc.Sorry, Dell Optiplex SX 280, XP Home,You can buy a USB 2.0 card like one of these:

HTTP://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=usb+card&x=0&y=0

Ditto for the network card.Is this your computer? Small Form Factor (SFF)
If yes, standard size PCI cards are too tall. You will have to search for SFF PCI cards.


http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/spec_optix_gx280_en.pdfThats the one. Small Form Factor. SFF PCI CARDThat's what I thought. You're going to have a difficult time finding PCI cards to fit.Quote from: Computer_Commando on October 22, 2009, 09:24:57 AM

Is this your computer? Small Form Factor (SFF)
If yes, standard size PCI cards are too tall. You will have to search for SFF PCI cards.


http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/spec_optix_gx280_en.pdf