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2601.

Solve : dark computer screen?

Answer»

I have a laptop...a hp pavilion ze4700....and wen i turned it on this morning, the screen was black....i can just about see the menu bar at the bottom of the screen but only if i look very closely!! ...literally cant use it as its so dark!! and the screen BRIGHTNESS BUTTONS wont do anything either!! dont know why its done this as it was fine wen i last used it! Can any1 help?? Thanks!Sounds to me LIKE your screen inverter has failed.
You'll have to get it repaired, I don't think it's a job you can do yourself.
Bad luck.
Is it STILL under warranty?the backlight might also be out. as what CALUM said, you will have to get it repaired by a professional.

2602.

Solve : started safe mode now no signal to monitors?

Answer»

Hello everyone, not sure if this is the CORRECT area to post this but I am at a loss... I have a Dell 64 bit desktop with windows 8.1, it has the original vga monitor port disabled, as I have a Radeon 7950 GRAPHICS card with 6 hdmi ports, each with a 32" 1080p screen as it's monitor (so I have six monitors running in total). I was getting a notification that "windows POWERSHELL has stopped working" so in researching, I found that I apparently had a virus called poweliks. In following a youtube video on how to remove it, I was instructed to go into safe mode with networking. I did this by opening the BOOT tab in msconfig, and clicking SAFEBOOT and NETWORK. When prompted to restart, I did so, and it restarted with no SIGNAL to my monitors at all. And that is where I am right now. Several attempts to restart, and still no signal to monitors. I believe it is trying to restart to the original VGA port, but again, that one is disabled. So I have no way of seeing a screen at all, to get back out of safe mode. I have tried to restart, and repeatedly tap F8 in hopes of opening a menu, and then arrow down 11 times to hopefully choose normal mode, but that is not working. I do not understand most tech terms, so I will have no idea what you mean if you use tech terms in your reply. I have used cpomputers extensively for 20 years, so I am familiar, but I just do not know the terminology. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Power down...hook up the VGA...what happens ? ?if I hook up a monitor to the vga port, it just says that the port is disabledalthough if it matters, I hooked it up with the power on, should I power down, then hook it up and power up, in that order?
ok I powered down, hokked up the vga monitor, then powered up. The monitor recognizes that it is hooked up, and tells me to shut down and connect to the add in graphics card, but I can't because this is a vga monitor, and does not have the correct plug (mini displayports)


Quote from: patio on October 22, 2016, 07:13:40 PM

Power down...hook up the VGA...what happens ? ?
You should never connect/disconnect components with the PC powered up.ok, so any sugestions on what to do next? thanks Quote from: patio on October 22, 2016, 07:22:27 PM
You should never connect/disconnect components with the PC powered up.
how can i enable the vga port? Am I able to open the tower and just plug it in? Sorry I dont mean to sound ignorant, I'm just searching for solutions...ok so I guess I need to get an hdmi to vga adapter, in order to connect this vga monitor, then I can at least see whats going on, so I can get it out of safe mode. ... Quote
have six monitors running in total)
You have six monitors and not one has a VGA option?
You need one VGA monitor to do testing.
2603.

Solve : DVD/CD burner not recognized by system?

Answer»

I have a HP Multimedia PC that is about 2 years old, the original DVD/CD burner DIED while under waranty and HP (after debugging the issues for days) sent me a new one (lightscribe). During the initial debug process HP had ne uninstall and reinstall drivers and software. When I put the new drive in my PC did not recognize it in the Device Manger as DVD/CD-ROM drive but it would see it as an "UNKNOWN" device. Ever since this time the DVD/CD burning feature has not worked properly.  I have no SUCCESS writing CD's no matter what brand of media I use. Also some of the burning software will not recognize the drive.

Does ANYONE know how I can get the drive to be recognized as a DVD/CD-ROM drive in the device manager??

Thanks
Royce :-?Call HP again to have them walk you through installing working device drivers (it sounds like the ones they had you install are either corrupted or the incorrect ones for your hardware and version of Windows).

Phone for HP support in the US: 800-474-6836.

2604.

Solve : Location of the "Clock Battery" on an Old Compaq?

Answer»

I have a Compaq Prolinea 4/25s the "clock battery" in which has long since gone dead.  I have been into the tower numerous times, but have yet to be able to locate the "clock battery" in order to replace it.  

Can anyone please advise me as to the location of it?

O.K. . . . . . It's a dinasaur, but it is still useful for my grandsons and others to type various of their school projects on. Ole Man.......  Have been looking for the location of the battery in that old guy....but so far have come up empty handed . I suspect its probably a battery which is soldered onto the motherboard. Your best bet might be to take the box into your local computer repair shop and have them take a look.......
I have found a number of locations which claim to have replacements.... but haven't found any that show a pic of it's location.  Am still looking .....


dl65  THANKS, dl65!

Based upon my several searches for it, I too had come to the conclusion that it must be an odd look'n character soldered in at some place that I don't suspect.

Should you happen to determine a general location to look in, I would greatly appreciate the info.

And, HAPPY HOLIDAYS to yeah!Yeah, judging by the age of the computer, the battery would more than likely be soldered on. Maybe you could send us some photos of close ups of parts of the motherboard?It's probably older than that pair of shoes you told the

Whipper Snapper about during your last visit.

This means I have posted 1000 loads of gibberish.

                             SNAP!Happy 1000th then!   I had an old 1989 Windows 3.1 computer once with 50 mb HDD space (well my dad did, i didn't use it until about 1996 when i was old enough to know what a computer was), and the battery ran out on that. We didn't bother finding another one, we just built the machine we got now.Well, street1, there aint many puter contraptions still around that are coal fired and steam operated!  And, I also have a KEROSENE operated one, but the price of fuel has got so high that I just shut it down!

Phoenix910, I will try to get out my newest Polaroid and make a pitchur or two of the Mother . . . . . . . board sometimes after it gets daylight here so I can see how to take it apart.Yeah, should be easy enough, couple of screws and it'll be done.I think you need a 4.5v alkaline computer battery with the
4 pin plug-in.

http://www.measham.force9.co.uk/compaq/mb/com700.htm


Below link is a picture.See if that is what is in your computer.
If so,Try radio shack ETC...

http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/index.htm?http://www.smallbattery.company.org.uk/sbc_840.htmPhoenix910 and street1,

THANKS to each of you for your posts and information.

street1, I can't orient my view of the "innards" of the subject puter contraption with the diagram you provided the URL for.  It's likely my inability, rather than anything else.

Phoenix910,  pursuant to your suggestion I have made photographs and am attaching them.

Again, many THANKS for your valuable input and I would appreciate any further information, suggestions and comments.The illusive "clock battery" has been found!

Attached is a picture of it.  It is located near the power SUPPLY on a second tier circuit board, i.e. there is another circuit board above / on top of it and consequently can not be seen without the removal of the top tier circuit board.

It is soldered in; is a Varta 3.6 volt 40 mA Ni/Cd; appears to be three wafer/button type batteries held together with a red hot sink material.  

Depending on the board, you may be able to remove the battery and connect an external battery to on-board pins.

 Some boards had these as an alternative backup battery connection.

I haven't found this in a motherboard manual online...so I don't know where
to lead you.

Maybe one of the other members will be better versed on this.

Check the below site.

http://www.dsmiller.com/html/Laptop-Notebook-Varta-533063030015-B-430-PC2.htm

Even though the below site is a 386mhz computer...the battery looks
right.

http://www.portablebatteries.com/b-430.html

Edit: I found today while at Wal-Mart that if you use a wireless
telephone battery.You could wire it in as a secondary power source
and just leave the old battery where it is if there are 2 wires at
the battery source ALREADY on your motherboard.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1841362

For the barrel shaped affair.. external batteries are available that plug into a connector on the motherboard. Also sometimes you'll have to set a jumper to tell it there's an external battery installed.

I am still looking for a motherboard diagram with your specs. to see if I
can help you with the jumper if yours has one.
street1,

In one word, "MAGNIFICENT!"

I am most appreciative of your very valuable information and I sincerely "THANK YOU!"

The existing battery appears to have three (3) pins; two (2) on the positive (+) end and one (1) on the negative (-) end.

I have now observed a notation appearing on one of several labels inside the cabinet (a photo of which is attached) that references an "External Battery Connector" (to use an Alabama Red Neck SAYING, "If it had been a snake it would have bit me!").  In fact, as you will observe, this label is a diagram that shows the location of the "External Battery Connector."  Do you think I could leave the dead battery in place and simply plug a new battery into this "External Battery Connector" without risk of any damage, etc.?

The reason I am asking about leaving the existing dead battery in place is that while I have a soldering iron and I occassionally do a bit of soldering, I am uncomfortable with the very "close quarters" of the solder points on the circuit board where the battery is located, i.e. I don't cherish the thought of heating up the solder to remove the old battery out of concern of the heat also causing a problem with adjacent solder.  

Again, THANKS! for your valuable / helpful posts, which I am very appreciative of.From all the reading I have done in the last few days.....

You are safe to leave that old barrel shaped battery
right where it is.

If you need any help again drop back by.This is the
best site I have ever came across.

Have a Merry Christmas Ole Man.

I am happy you caught me during a sane moment.

2605.

Solve : will this work for minecraft??

Answer»

I wanted to get a cheap laptop for my son for christmas.  Preferably under $500 , that will play Minecraft.  Right now he is using a dell 15r 5520 with 8gb ram, an integrated graphic card, and an I5 processor.  He plays Minecraft just fine on it, but gets lag when he tries to use some mods like crazy craft or FTB.  I wanted to get him something a little better or even the same as he has.

I bought this laptop,  but some said it wouldn't work and was worse than I have, others said it was fine.  What do you think?

 Inspiron 15 - 5559
Processor: Intel Core 6th Generation i7-6500U Processor (Dual Core, up to 3.10 GHz, 4M Cache, 15W)
Windows 10 Home 64bit English
1 TB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM)
8 GB Dual Channel DDR3L 1600MHz (4GBx2) Memory
15.6 inch LED Backlit On-cell Touch Display with Truelife and HD resolution (1366 x 768)
Tray load DVD Drive (Reads and Writes to DVD/CD)
AMD Radeon R5 M335 4GB DDR3

2606.

Solve : need a monitor for basic web, videos and movies?

Answer»

it's time for a new monitor to replace the crappy ONE I use as my secondary display and would love to get suggestions on one... looking for 27" or larger mostly for watching movies and videos but also for basic web browsing... been looking at dell monitors and I think they are a good choice (I got a 3007wfp hooked to my mac and love it!) and it's between two, the P2717H and U2717D.... don't know how 1440P will be at far distances vs 1080P like if I wanna watch a video or movie from bed 10-12 feet away every once in awhile.... also if you have a different suggestion let me know... I just have only used Dell so that was my default go to brand

so any thoughts and suggestions will be appreciated!Without a doubt I'd go for the U2717D.  For watching movies it won't make much of a difference but when actually working on the PC, 27" is starting to get too big for 1080p whereas 1440p will give you a lot more screen space to work with.

The only thing to check is what spec your PC is (especially graphics card) to ensure that it is capable of driving a monitor of that resolution.Also, some new TV sets have high  native resolution.
They offer a greater variety of size and price.
 All have some kind of digital input.
A few are 4K and auto-adjust to your PC output.
Here is a web site with some recommendations.
http://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/by-usage/pc-monitor/best

Myself, I have two 32 inch TV sets and am very happy. But when I watch movies on Hulu or Netflix I never go over 720p because of the limited bandwidth I get.ya our internet is crap here so 720p if i'm real lucky but normally 480p is highest quality I get without LOTS of buffering... but my real concern is if 1440P will be too high for when I need to view from 12 feet away... I just got a new basic computer with a intel celeron, integrated graphics and 4 gb of ram on win 7 that I would like to run off the monitor so not the most powerful system in the world but is dedicated to just watch movies and videos on the monitor (from my plex and netflix ect) and maybe view a web page if needed but mostly videos and moviesWhitie III,
For watching internet movies, the best thing is a Roku or EQUAL device. The PC might have background tasks ruing with could interfere.
Or, even a iPad or Android tablet with HDMI output can give good steady internet streaming. Andi it frees up your PC for other work. (By using your old monitor.)If this is to be used purely as an entertainment PC rather than for productive work then the resolution doesn't really matter as much.  You MAY want to look at a TV rather than a monitor as with that you'll get built in speakers and a remote control.etc.the reason I'm going with a monitor is that nobody sells a 27" tv and we have determined that a 22" TV is too small and while we could go with a 32" tv (the next size up) most of them that I've seen under $350 still use 720P resolution....... so 27" Computer Monitor is best specs for the money right now really if I buy in excellent used condition... that's how I got my 32" dell 1440P monitor!Check out:
http://www.sceptre.com/
This is a lesser know company that makes good stuff.
The 720p is common because of the HDTV standards. The native resolution of some 32 inch TV sets is BETTER, but not 4K. The 1080p is less common.
Also:
http://bgr.com/2015/09/18/720p-vs-1080p-vs-4k-resolution/
Quote

I know that many of you out there are shouting at your computer screens after reading that headline. “Of course it makes a difference!” And you’re right — there is a perceptible difference between the most common resolutions for TVs, smartphones and computer monitors. But your mileage will noticeably vary based on a few important factors

And here is another:
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2483094/720p-quality.html

Just trying to help
2607.

Solve : received a Motherboard?

Answer»

Hi, everyone!
I have just received a Christmas present from my friend.
But it is a Motherboard.

I don't know much about computer hardware, and I WANT advice if I should
build a new computer with this Motherboard.

Here are the details of the MB:

P4M800PRO-M V1.0A
FOrm Factor: Micro ATX
Chipset: P4M800PRO&8237R+
VGA/AUDIO: YES/YES
MODEN/LAN: NO/YES
DDR2/DDR: 2/2
PCI/AGP: 3/1
P4FSB: 1066

I wondered if it is an all-in-one MB, and it should not cost more than a hundred dollar (US).

Please help!

I don't know what an "all in one motherboard" is, but it will need a PROCESSOR, CPU fan, RAM, and installation to make it functional.

What is the actual QUESTION?A motherboard is just a PIECE of plastic that U put everything else on.

Why did someone buy u a motherboard? Its worthless by itself. Quote

I don't know what an "all in one motherboard" is, but it will need a processor, CPU fan, RAM, and installation to make it functional.

What is the actual question?

So, are there any ways to test if this motherboard works?
I dont want to spend some money on a CPU and other hardware.
Quote
Quote
I don't know what an "all in one motherboard" is, but it will need a processor, CPU fan, RAM, and installation to make it functional.

What is the actual question?

So, are there any ways to test if this motherboard works?
I dont want to spend some money on a CPU and other hardware.

A motherboard is just a piece of plastic that u put everything else on.  What are u planning on doing with just a motherboard?   Quote
So, are there any ways to test if this motherboard works?
I dont want to spend some money on a CPU and other hardware.

Let's start over.

Do you have a processor? If you don't and are not planning on buying one there really is no question. It doesn't matter if the motherboard works or not.
2608.

Solve : additional hard drive installation?

Answer»

if possible what steps are needed to INSTALL a HD I removed from an older unit into my new unit for EXTRA music and video STORAGE?Here is just one of many from the WWW

Good luck

2609.

Solve : Does a PSU Ground Itself to the Copmputer Case??

Answer»

Does a PSU ground itself to the copmputer case?  The REASON I ask, is I just bought a new MyHD 130 HD tuner card that includes a dvi daughter card.  The TWO cards take up 2 pci slots.  I only have 1 pci slot left, right next to the PSU.  I can either 1. not screw the psu to the computer case and slide the psu over a 1/4" giving me the needed space or 2. remove the psu from the computer and lay it on the side(the cable is just long enough).  Either option does not give me a solid ground to the case, if that matters.  I could ADD a COUPLE grouding straps to either option if it matters.  I've heard of external psu's, but I'm sure they're designed for that.  I emailed Seasonic, but no response.Yes & no, but play it SAFE and fit a grounding strap between the case & psu.

Good luckyes, the PSU grounds the computer frame. it does this via the screws used to secure the PSU in place.

drilling some new holes and re-screwing the PSU to the case will ensure proper grounding.

2610.

Solve : Moniter issues?

Answer»

I have this PC which was FINE until my YOUNGER briother changed something on it and now the moniter wont switch on.

When the PC is switched on the moniter flashes on and then instantly changes to standby. I checked all the cables etc. and everything seems fine. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to do? The moniter WORKS fine in another PC that i tested it on so i figure it must be something wrong with the PC.

Thanks in advance Can you try another monitor :-?  I might just be a connection or it might mean re-seating the video card..

Good luckOther monitors also DONT work.. i swapped it for one i know definately works (we use it on the other pc)

I believe this is a pretty old PC so it uses ONBOARD graphics so i have no idea how to fiddle with that :S

2611.

Solve : A list of computers that do not "hold state"..??

Answer»

Does ANYONE have a list of COMPUTERS with no writable firmware..?

If you get hacked, hackers can deeply infect the BIOS, GPU, WiFi and other components that "hold state".

Then, even if you wipe your hard drive after getting infected, you can still just get re-infected again, DUE to the DEEP firmware infections.

The Raspberry Pi is an example of a device that does not "hold state".

Every component on the Raspberry Pi has its firmware and drivers loaded in from an SD card.

Thus, if you wipe the SD card, you have truly wiped the device, and can be sure that it is totally clean.

Does anyone have a list of similar devices to the Pi, that do not "hold state" on ANY of the components...?

ThanksI see you GOT some good advice, in more ways than one, on Bleeping Computer today, where you have also posted this question.

2612.

Solve : Laptop does not power up?

Answer»

I have an Acer Aspire 5741. I left it on and plugged in overnight. This morning, it was off and would not power up.
When I press the power button, the blue light on the power button itself does not come on. The orange power light at the front corner blinks 5 times.
I removed batter. Pressed power button for 45 seconds.
Tried 2 other AC adapters. Same results
The laptop case isn't in the best shape and the AC connector is a little loose. It's been working this way for a while.
Any idea? Thanks in advanceDid you--
  Remove BATTERY?
  Unplug AC brick from both ends?
  WAIT 2 minutes before plugging AC brink back in?

In some cases the battery can stop a laptop from starting.

Quote

One of the lesser KNOWN resets is to unplug, remove the battery and HOLD the power button for 60 seconds. Release and apply power (forget the battery for a moment.)
...
This worked! Removed the battery, UNPLUGGED the laptop and waited about a minute. The laptop powered up normally without re-installing the battery. 
- from CNET post.Hi, yes I did try that. Same result.
2613.

Solve : problem getting stereo signal from tape deck?

Answer»

[size=14] :-?
I am attempting to take MUSIC from a stereo tape deck, put on the hard drive and then burn to cd.  I have a 1/4 inch mono plug with adapter to RCA cable jacks COMING from the headphone jack on the tape deck.  Going into the computer via Microphone jack I have a 1/8 inch mono plug with adapter to the RCA cable coming from tape deck.  I am using Audacity as the software to capture the signal.  As you can determine from what I have said, I am only getting one side of the stereo signal onto the hard drive.  My question is: If I had stereo PLUGS on both ends (one at the tape deck and one into the computer) that adapted to the RCA cable, would I be able to capture both channels?  If stereo plugs will not solve my problem, what recommendations would you offer to allow me to get GOOD CDs for my efforts?  I only have one other input in addition the microphone jack on the computer.  It is a 1/8 inch jack labeled line in.

Thanks in advance for all your help.[/size]You need to use line-in.  You can't get stereo sound with the microphone jack.  Get an external amplifier (try getting a small one from Radio Shack), and connect the tape player to that.  Then connect the amplifier (from tape out) to the line-in jack.  You also can do the same thing with a record player too.

2614.

Solve : Microphone recording buzz sound issue?

Answer»

Hi.

I searched the forums and couldn't find my question answered so I made this thread. I have a problem with my microphone's sound recording. At times, almost always, a loud buzz noise is heard in the background. It's so loud the actual recording can barley be heard. Still though - it's not there at all times.

I'm not sure wether this is hardware or software related but I did try with different microphones and I get the same result. My soundcard is integrated into my mainboard which is an MSI K87 Neo2 MOTHERBOARD. I believe I'm using Realtek AC97 Audio drivers but am not sure.

Here's an example of the buzz noise: http://admin.deletionquality.net/dump/buzzz.mp3

Any ideas on how to solve this would be APPRECIATED. Thank you.I've had this problem but not as bad as your mp3 you posted.

i would recomend downloadind new software I'm not sure where I would get this.Have you tried turning off your speakers when recording?I just tried it without any luck - Problem remains  :-/This might sound stupid but it worked for my mate a while back, try taking out your microphone and blow in to the socket. It jsut clears out all the dust, DOESNT work for everyone but does for some.
Also what softwre are you recording with?! Does it do with other applications that can record sound?!


ChrisSince I've tried with different microphones and the problem remains, the blow in socket thing won't work, heh.

I'm using GoldWave to record, but I do have the same problem with the windows sound recorder under the start menu.

Would REINSTALLING the sound drivers HELP me?

2615.

Solve : Problem when connect external hard drive to PC?

Answer»

I have external box include hard DRIVE ( NTFS) (convert IDE to USB) , and when I plus into that box to PC use SATA hard drive(in USB port) in green of Pc notify that have PROBLEM with hardware and I can not use that hard drive.  and when I connect the external box to PC have hard drive NTFS ,it working  
Please help the way to use the external box with PC use SATA hard drive
Thanks
baodndbaodnd......  I have read your POST half a dozen times and its not really clear what your doing ......   Quote

I have external box include hard drive ( NTFS) (convert IDE to USB)
 
Quote
when I plus into that box to PC use SATA hard drive(in USB port) in green of Pc notify that have problem with hardware and I can not use

EXACTLY what do you mean ....in green of pc ?

Quote
and when I connect the external box to PC have hard drive NTFS ,it working  
  are we talking about the same external hard drive ?


dl65
2616.

Solve : I wanna buy a gaming comp..help?

Answer»

what should i be looking for. i got about 4500.00 to spend.  Should i buy a dell? should it be duel core?  2 gigs?  whats the future of the gaming world" i wanna go in that directionAvoid systems like "Alienware" etc. because you'll have a lot of trouble upgrading them in the future.
My suggestion is a top of the line AMD processor aswell as a top of the line ATI graphics card, followed by your choice of harddrive and it's respective slaves.  Bottom line: the best computers are the ones you build yourself.I would reccomand that u build ur own PC. You can have it constructed by someone else.

4500$ could buy u the highest-end PC possible.. But u may want to wait until the 8900s or the X2900s come out. Not to mention affordable quad-core CPUs. Even at 4,500$ the QX6700 is not a good deal..

Obviously there is no reason to buy anything less than Dual-Core, but Quad-Core would be more "future-proof".

CPU - Intel E6600 2.4Ghz (300$)
Intel's Core 2 Duo series is the best by far that is currently available. If u want to wait until March, u can have the same CPU as the E6600 except instead of 2 cores, it will have 4. How much better is it? Not much.

GPU - 2x nVidia 8800 GTX (1200$)
nVidia's 8800 GTX is by far the most powerfull card on earth. If u want to wait until the X2800XTX is released or even until the 8900 GTX or the X2900XTX is realeased (the latter will not be before March aswell).

Mboard - nVidia nForce 680i SLi (250$)
nForce 680i SLi is if u want to buy the 8800 GTX or the 8900 GTX. For those it is the only motherboard to buy. If u want to wait for the X2800XTX, there is time to wait for a new motherboard to come out for the X2800XTX, just as the 680i came out for the 8800 GTX.

RAM - Kigston/Corsair 2GB DDR2-800 (200$)
2GB is the best ammount to get - not too much or too little. Too much because of the price issue. For future DX10 games, some ppl are starting to buy 3GB - 4GB, especially those who seek the highest-end.

HDD - 2x WD 250GB 16MB cache (150$)
250GB is the best value, so instead of buying 300GB+ in one, just buy 2 HDD each with 250GB. WD makes great HDDs for a great price, but other COMPANIES also have good prices such as Hitachi and Segate, but check WD's prices first. Remmember to buy the 16MB cache version as it is better than the 8MB version but not more expensive.

Optical - 2x LG DVD-RW (50$)
DVD-RW include CD-RW in them, and they are very very cheap. Unless u want Blue-Ray for 1000$+ this is the best deal. Get 2 for extra performance and the ability to copy disks beetween drives.

PSU - Thermaltake Toughpower 850w (250$)
You will only need a Toughpower 650w for the 8800 GTXs (750w to be comfertable), but its best to be even more confertable and of course to leave room for expansion.


What ive written down is the best hardware possible at the very best value possible.
Thats 2400$.Those are just the components inside the PC, u will REQUIRE other things such as a monitor, speakers, etc.

If u have any furthur questions, or want me to elaborate on any part, please say so.

Enjoy!If you spend $4500 you will get a good machine.PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM & TV-TUNERS Genuine Windows® XP Media CENTER 2005 Edition with re-installation CD edit
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA No Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Selected edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 160GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive (10,000RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit
MONITOR 20 inch UltraSharp™ 2007WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel edit
VIDEO CARD Dual 512MB ATI Radeon X1950 XTX CrossFire edit
PHYSICS ACCELERATOR AGEIA® PhysX® physics accelerator edit
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D) Sound Card edit  
SYSTEM DETAILS 2.5MM aluminum thickness Chassis with front & back customizable LEDs  
SYSTEM DETAILS 7-slot, BTX design motherboard  
SYSTEM DETAILS 750-watt Power Supply  
SYSTEM DETAILS Tower Six-heat pipe, Copper base Heat Sink with aluminum fans  
SYSTEM DETAILS Two 120mm x 38mm front fans  
My heart is set on Ati vid cards..so u cant change my mind on that  lol

~`~ thats the nuts and bolts of the system that i build~``~  Building my own is not an option..simply because i cant. Im a girl gamer   I havent yet bought it...not untill i hear the pros and cons on what u guys have to say about th e above system. I want a very system, with no lag in game and a system I can upgrade as the years go by and the games change. Your comments are most welcome.
BTW  with tax this is 4k$$  i didnt no where else to go but dell..it looks pretty nice. . where the case though? with a system like that you need an awesome looking case.

however, you might want 1 dvd burner and 1 cd burner seperate. in case one dies you can hold off for a bit until it gets replaced. also its good for burning purposes.Souinds like a Dell XPS Deluxe system.   Quote

PROCESSOR Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600 (4MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,1066 FSB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM & TV-TUNERS Genuine Windows® XP Media Center 2005 Edition with re-installation CD edit
UPGRADE TO WINDOWS VISTA No Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Selected edit
MEMORY 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 4 DIMMs edit
HARD DRIVE 160GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive (10,000RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit
MONITOR 20 inch UltraSharp™ 2007WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel edit
VIDEO CARD Dual 512MB ATI Radeon X1950 XTX CrossFire edit
PHYSICS ACCELERATOR AGEIA® PhysX® physics accelerator edit
SOUND CARD Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ XtremeMusic (D) Sound Card edit  
SYSTEM DETAILS 2.5MM aluminum thickness Chassis with front & back customizable LEDs  
SYSTEM DETAILS 7-slot, BTX design motherboard  
SYSTEM DETAILS 750-watt Power Supply  
SYSTEM DETAILS Tower Six-heat pipe, Copper base Heat Sink with aluminum fans  
SYSTEM DETAILS Two 120mm x 38mm front fans  
My heart is set on Ati vid cards..so u cant change my mind on that  lol

~`~ thats the nuts and bolts of the system that i build~``~  Building my own is not an option..simply because i cant. Im a girl gamer   I havent yet bought it...not untill i hear the pros and cons on what u guys have to say about th e above system. I want a very system, with no lag in game and a system I can upgrade as the years go by and the games change. Your comments are most welcome.
BTW  with tax this is 4k$$  i didnt no where else to go but dell..

That system isnt worth 2000$. And its not worth 1/5 of the system i put up for u.

Im not saying that ull have to actually put it together urself. There are many sites that will let u choose the parts u want and construct it themselves.

The system i have written down for u is perfect. The pre-built system that u have written down will lose u thousands.

EDIT: I know what its like to be a fan-boy for a certain company, but the 8800s give u price/peformance above anything that ATI can.. except for one card - the X1950XT.
The X1950XTX has the exact same performance as the X1950XT, with the latter COSTING 200$ less.
NEVER buy XTX is my moto.
But hey, if u only want to buy the cheapest hardware, why have a 4,500$ budget?
2617.

Solve : Need help with programming hot keys.?

Answer»

Can anybody tell me how to program “hot keys” on my key board?  For instance, my home page is Google.  Could I set up a hot key too open my home page, something like CTRL, Alt, G.?  Also I have pre-named keys, such as “shopping”, “search”, “e-mail”.  Is there a way to reprogram those keys to open up the pages I want?  For instance, could I program the “shopping” key to open up amazon.ca.

Any HELP or tips you can give me will be very useful.
Hi.  By "hot keys" are you refering to macros? If so, there's many ways to APPROACH the SITUATION.  Firstly, I suggest doing a google search on "macros" and "browser".  

By the way, maybe you should've posted this SOMEWHERE else, as this particular forum is for computer hardware.Sorry, I thought that the key board was considered computer hard ware.  

I thought they were called hot keys. I guess some people call them short cut keys. Quote

Can anybody tell me how to  [size=14]program [/size][/b]“hot keys” on my key board?
  What make and model keyboard do you have?  Do have the software for it installed?  Do you know all the options available to you in that software?

With my Logitech keyboard, Logitech's SetPoint software allows assigning various shortcuts or keystrokes to various keys.This is just a quick shortcut for your internet but run with me:

Create a shortcut of your browser on desktop, right click it > properties > shortcut.  The space where it says "shortcut" is where you can select a key that will launch your browser without clicking it.  This can be done with any program.  

Shortcuts within the browser however differ from developer to developer.  For example, in FIREFOX I can bookmark a site and have it conveniently launch by clicking it's icon below the address bar.  Not quite a keyboard shortcut, but it's just an example.
2618.

Solve : yone tell me the easie?

Answer»

Can ANYONE tell me the easiest WAY to transfer images from a Sony Handycam DCR-HC19E to a DVD.  I've tried to do it and got into a MESS . Would be happy to BUY any software that would help etc..thanks all!

2619.

Solve : Cloning Operating System?

Answer»

Dear Friends.

      I want to be prepared with a backup when my C: drive (Windows XP) goes out.

      To start, I have two installed INTERNAL physical hard-drives and three physical externals connected.  

      The general plan I have, and that I need help with, is to clone my C: drive with the Acronis program to another partitioned, formatted internal drive via a USB connection and make it an ACTIVE partition.  Then, when my working C: gives up the ghost, simply yank out the dead drive, install the cloned drive and have a working COMPUTER.

      I already have a new external drive partitioned and formatted through a USB connection using Norton's Partition Magic, but it showed up as drive H: during the process.  It will have to appear as drive C: and as an active partiton to actually be used.  How is that to be managed?  I haven't done the cloning yet.  The drive is empty.        

      That's the general theoretical idea.  What changes are needed to make the plan actually work?

      Regards,

                  JACK OwensThe image file that is created by Acronis should be stored on a separate drive - internal or external is irrelevant. When the C drive failes, you put in another hard drive and restore the image file onto it.

It isn't any more complicated than that. You do not need to make other drives active partitions, ETC.Dear GX1_Man,
      
It looks like we may be talking around each other.
      
I have a new, empty, partitioned and formated 80 GB internal hard-drive sitting on a shelf.  That is the other, separate hard drive that you mention.  

If it already has a cloned image of my C: drive --meaning my operating system-- why would the restoration that you mention be needed?
      
Regards,
                  Jack Owens


Because it is an image file - one file, not the entire contents that are usable immediately. It has to be restored, much like an ISO file, if you are familiar with those.

Will that one file that was created by Acronis fit on a DVD? If so, copy it to that media and then you can install it from there to the New drive when it is installed.

The best way to use Acronis is to create an initial "bare" configuration" - just the operating system, updates and appropriate drivers so you never have to go through a manual install of all of this again. THen you can make incremental updates as programs, etc. are added.

2620.

Solve : Mac question.?

Answer»

I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask a mac question around here. My ibook G4 (10.3.9 OSX, 512 RAM) has been acting up.  The hard drive starts to spin REALLY loud and SOON after the computer locks up and I have to reboot.  

My actions thus far:  I have since bought an EXTERNAL HD and did a full back up onto the new drive.  I assumed it was a mechanical problem.  I know it's not a heat issue, because the fan in a mac is located more toward the center and the sound is DEFINITELY not the fan.  It's coming from the front left.  I called an apple technician and they had no idea and requested I send it in.  (I have a protection plan)  

Is there any way to fix it myself?  I've googled the problem and found some similar cases, HOWEVER, the posts were unhelpful because they did relatively no troubleshooting.  They just bought I new one.  

I used Disk Utility and tried a disk repair.  It hasn't done it since.  (2 days ago)

Any thoughts???Maybe or maybe not did the disk repair did the trick...only time will tell.  I'd be prepared to replace the internal hard drive.  Making noise like that is not normal.  It's a good thing you did a backup.

Alan <><  If you have a warranty use that. You can void some warranties by exploring around inside. Quote

If you have a warranty use that. You can void some warranties by exploring around inside.

Thanks for the info.  I'm GOING to wait it out for a bit.  If it does it again, I'll send it in to get it replaced.
2621.

Solve : help choosing a video card fits?

Answer»

i want to play world of warcraft and counter strike, so i need a video card that has 3d shaders. ive found lots of them but i cant figure out if the conection part will fit in my computer. most new cards that ive looked at have the three sets of little gold connection things at the bottom, but my current video card has a different connections(i think).
please tell me what to do to find out what will fit.
btw: i have am nvidia tnt2 model 64(not sure if that helps).We would have to know what motherboard is in there. Run Everest Home and copy the report in here for further analysis.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html
heres the hardware part.


Summary

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
      
  Computer:  
   Operating System   Microsoft Windows XP Professional  
   OS Service Pack   Service Pack 2  
   DirectX   4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)  
   Computer Name   OURS (Damon's Computer)  
   User Name   Jedi Academy  
  
  Motherboard:  
   CPU Type   Intel Pentium 4, 1500 MHz (15 x 100)  
   Motherboard Name   Asus P4B-LA (3 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DIMM, Audio, LAN)  
   Motherboard Chipset   Intel Brookdale i845  
   System Memory   512 MB (PC133 SDRAM)  
   BIOS Type   Award Medallion (08/28/01)  
   Communication Port   Communications Port (COM1)  
   Communication Port   Communications Port (COM2)  
   Communication Port   ECP Printer Port (LPT1)  
  
  Display:  
   Video Adapter   NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64/Model 64 Pro (32 MB)  
   3D Accelerator   nVIDIA RIVA TNT2 M64  
   Monitor   Dell D1025TM [17" CRT] (55341C171K48)  
  
  Multimedia:  
   Audio Adapter   Intel 82801BA ICH2X - AC'97 Audio Controller [C-0]  
  
  Storage:  
   IDE Controller   Intel(R) 82801BA Ultra ATA Storage Controller - 244B  
   SCSI/RAID Controller   SCSI/RAID Host Controller  
   Floppy Drive   Floppy disk drive  
   Disk Drive   Maxtor 4D040H2 (40 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/100)  
   Disk Drive   Maxtor 90432D2 (4 GB, 5400 RPM, Ultra-ATA/33)  
   Optical Drive   ARTEC WRR-4848 (48x/12x/48x CD-RW)  
   Optical Drive   GU3327Y EAG545O SCSI CdRom Device  
   Optical Drive   TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1502 (16x/48x DVD-ROM)  
   SMART Hard Disks Status   OK  
  
  Partitions:  
   C: (NTFS)   39069 MB (3576 MB free)  
   D: (FAT32)   4110 MB (1172 MB free)  
   Total Size   43179 MB (4748 MB free)  
  
  Input:  
   Keyboard   Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard  
   Mouse   PS/2 Compatible Mouse  
  
  Network:  
   Network Adapter   Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection (192.168.0.101)  
   Modem   Lucent Win Modem  
  
  Peripherals:  
   Printer   Lexmark Z53 Series ColorFine  
   USB1 Controller   Intel 82801BA ICH2X - USB Controller 1 [C-0]  
   USB1 Controller   Intel 82801BA ICH2X - USB Controller 2 [C-0]  
   USB1 Controller   VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller  
   USB1 Controller   VIA VT83C572 PCI-USB Controller  
   USB2 Controller   VIA USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller  
   USB Device   Dazzle DVC100 Audio Device  
   USB Device   Dazzle DVC100 Video Device  
   USB Device   USB Composite Device  
  
  Problems & Suggestions:  
   Problem   Disk free space is only 9% on drive C:.  


Quote

Motherboard Name   Asus P4B-LA (3 PCI, [highlight]1 AGP[/highlight], 3 DIMM, Audio, LAN)
You need an AGP video card.does it matter if its the 4x or 8x or watever those things are?That board takes a 4x card, but 8x cards are backwards compatible, so that should not be a problem there, but I wouldn't spend a fortune on the latest and greatest card available.

Is this an HP machine? If so, you may need to update the power supply if using some cards. This may or may not be easy.

So tell us the details about the actual machine. The make and wattage of the power supply in there would be helpful as well.here is the entire report from everest

if u need nething else u gotta tell me how to find it.
im not to good at the harware part of computers.
So it is, in fact, an HP.

You will have to open the case to see the Power Supply and read the info off of it, but you may find that it will not be enough for a gaming computer with a powerhouse video card.Hmm.. a card that wont be bottlenecked by a Pentium 1.5Ghz with a 100Mhz FSB..

Whats ur budget? Max u can spend is 200$.all i need is a video card that meets these requirements

The minimum requirements for World Of Warcraft: A Pentium III 800 MHz or higher processor, 512 MB of RAM, A 3D video graphics card with at least 32 MB of RAM and four gigabytes of storage space

ive got the processor and the sstorage but not the video. what is there that i can get that dosent require me to upgrade nething else? (im not at home so i cant look at the ps)I'm not a gamer but the stated system requirements you mentioned for video, "A 3D video graphics card with at least 32 MB of RAM", is really quite minimal.  128MB has practically become the minimum amount of memory on cards now on the market.  Something such as EVGA GeForce 6200 LE / 128MB DDR / AGP 8x / DVI / VGA / TV Out / Video Card, which would cost about $50 with shipping, would seem to be more than adequate for that GAME and, yet, not very expensive.  For more from the seller of the above card, see Video / Graphics Cards  AGP Video Cards Quote
all i need is a video card that meets these requirements

The minimum requirements for World Of Warcraft: A Pentium III 800 MHz or higher processor, 512 MB of RAM, A 3D video graphics card with at least 32 MB of RAM and four gigabytes of storage space

ive got the processor and the sstorage but not the video. what is there that i can get that dosent require me to upgrade nething else? (im not at home so i cant look at the ps)

I wouldnt get anything less than the 7300 GT.
Quote
Quote
all i need is a video card that meets these requirements

The minimum requirements for World Of Warcraft: A Pentium III 800 MHz or higher processor, 512 MB of RAM, A 3D video graphics card with at least 32 MB of RAM and four gigabytes of storage space

ive got the processor and the sstorage but not the video. what is there that i can get that dosent require me to upgrade nething else? (im not at home so i cant look at the ps)

I wouldnt get anything less than the 7300 GT.

That means 64MB is the least. 128MB is recommended. Anything with 128MB will work. For excellent performance, go for at least a 7300GS. (GT is more expensive with little performance difference). You'll need more RAM too. Otherwise the game will be unbearably slow. I'd recommend at least 768MB. Quote
Problems & Suggestions:  
   Problem   Disk free space is only 9% on drive C:.

I'm surprised this machine is running at all... Quote
Quote
Problems & Suggestions:  
   Problem   Disk free space is only 9% on drive C:.

I'm surprised this machine is running at all...

3.5GB is enough for any PC.
2622.

Solve : AMD reoccuring problem.?

Answer» http://imgur.com/a/1H24h

This has happened twice, it appears after I shut down my computer and turn it on, the first time it happened, I UNINSTALLED drivers and reinstalled and it WORKED, randomly one of the shut down and turn on it happened again and it TOOK about 2-3 turn ONS to be normal again.

Anyone know what is going on?Wrong driver...try reverting to the original ones that came with the card/PC...
2623.

Solve : Icons???

Answer»

My icons are usually along the right side and recycling bin is in the TOP left corner in my MAIN screen, but they all just randomly chose to MOVE by themselves and are overlapping each other. Any ideas what this could be?Right CLICK your DESKTOP and go to view.....

2624.

Solve : PC turns on for 1 second then turns off with phase LEDS staying on.?

Answer»

I just swapped my PSU and GPU with RMA ones, swapped out all POWER cables with new ones and reconnected everything.

Tested PSU by itself. It works.

It was working prior to me taking out the parts for RMA, but one of those hardware were causing shut-downs.

Now when I push the button power after putting in the new parts and connecting everything, it'll start up then stays shut off with the 2 phase LEDs lit up. A GREEN and a yellow.

Any SUGGESTIONS to what the problem is?
What is the make and model?

2625.

Solve : Fan Rattling?

Answer»

Hi,

I have a Lenovo W550s laptop that has Windows 10/Linux Mint on it. About a MONTH ago, the fan started making a loud rattling noise. I decided to replace the fan but within a week of replacement, the noise returned even louder than before.

I'd like some advice on how to solve the problem. Any advice you could offer WOULD be greatly appreciated. If you need any more info, please tell me.

I've attached as sound bite of the fan for REFERENCE
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4rjnLAA0hh8UjN3c2pLbHlDVVU/view?usp=sharing
Might be yet another bad fan. Did you buy this through a company that has a return policy for flawed PARTS? Did you buy and authentic IBM oem part or a knock off lower quality replacement?I bought the part directly from the Lenovo website. They won't let me return it since my warranty has timed out How short of a warranty do they have on this part... just 30 days? 


It sounds like your going to have to replace it again if that is the part that is making the noise which is very unfortunate. Usually OEM parts are problem free.Surely the whole machine should still be under warranty, as far as I'm aware most ThinkPads have a warranty of at least 3 years.  Not sure if you've voided this by replacing the fan yourself but it may be worth putting the original fan back and see if they are happy to still cover it.  You can check your warranty status on Lenovo's website by entering the serial number of your machine.Unfortunately,  my laptop's warranty lasted only a year.  I checked the serial.  For possible reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lxvmay2tn0
No, it is not the same problem.
He is working with an Apple fan that will not turn. Watch what he does. It shows how to dissemble a fan.
It might be possible take the fan apart and resemble and CURE the problem
Maybe. Watch the video.

2626.

Solve : CDRW Full????

Answer»

If you click properties on the CDRW the pie chart shows that the drive is full. and won't let me use that drive for anything. Any suggestions?What CD is in the drive ? ? ?

If there is no CD in the drive this is NORMAL...should be all BLUE.All is blue but says disk drive full and if was mt then would/should be pink. Now what???You MAY NEED to enable/disable DMA in windows.

http://www.onthegosoft.com/dma_setting_nt.htm Quote

What CD is in the drive ? ? ?

If there is no CD in the drive this is normal...should be all blue.
2627.

Solve : Power issues?

Answer»

Hello, everyone.
My name is Milos. I am Serbian. I have a problem with my '''*censored*'' computer. A couple of days ago i was playing cs 1.6 actually my comp specs is very small it's a cheap computer basically. I got it for free fromy cousin,  'cause i broke my new llet' say ''super'' computer. I've paid that computer about 1100$. It doesn't matter now. But this is about 40, 50 $. II' a fool i KNOW i made a big mistake letting my friend to use components of that richy computer and now i don't have anything to upgrade this''cheap''. However i have money, so i xan tell i love buildin' a computer. But i don't know '''da li se isplati". My problem is with red lamp i'm a noob with comp components really. My red lamp oroblem was start about a weak ago, until then i've been using regularly for months. When red lamp turns on comp is very buģgy i ccan' do anything. Example i go to any folder i'm WAITING 10 minutes to open a "my computer". That day i was playing cs 1.6 and it was starting red lamp so i quit immideatelly cs. Then i wanted to shut down and power on again cause when i do that ffor some time my comp is OK after one hour it starts red lamping. So i hit the power button and it was turned of i was so pissed cause when i turned it on it was red lamping again i turned off again on oower button actually i turned 3 times on button. Then i hit the oower button on so pissed and my monitor was turned on but nothing to show it when computer starts. And now i power on compi hear it working and GREEN lamp liting but on mmonitor nothing, however i hear strange sound inside. PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR MY VERY VERY BAD ENGLISH, AND HELP ME I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. It leaves me on that i use a hammer and broke it to pieces..........help!Can you please more concise as to what the power issues are that you are having? It's very difficult to decipher the problem that you are having,owning to the in-coherent structure.

2628.

Solve : Advise on the better of 2 desktops please?

Answer»

Hello everyone, Im hoping some of you may have a few moments to share advise on which of the 2 desktops would be better for casual graphic / web design. I typically use photshop, DREAMWEAVER, illustrator and office suite. I need a new space saving desktop and have narrowed my options down to the following:

1- HP Desktop Computer 8200 Elite Intel Core i7 2nd GEN 3.4 GHz 4 GB 500 GB HDD Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit
(My concern is it only has 4 gb ram, doesnt say whether ddr3 or 4, and only 500gb hdd. )

2 - HP Compaq 6305 Pro Small Form Desktop, AMD Quad Core A8 5500 3.2Ghz, 16GB DDR3, 1TB Hard Drive, DVDRW, Windows 10
(Im not crazy about win 10 but it does have 16gb ram and a larger hdd. Oddly enough, this one is cheaper than above, but seems to offer more. or am I missing something?)

From what ive read the processors are somewhat similar in performance, so I was leaning towards the 2nd one with more ram and bigger hdd. Its listed $20 less than the 1st one with only 4gb ram. So am Im missing something or not understanding the specs?

Appreciate any help with this. Thank you kindly in advance. I'd TAKE Intel over AMD anyways...just opinion...

1 thing i will point out is if you select a small form factor PC they are usually limited for upgrades as opposed to full desktop.Thank you Patio. Does the Intel having only 4gb ram play any part in this? Would Intel still be the better option with 1/4 the ram than the AMD?Look up the specs and see how much RAM can be added later...I would go with the intel machine and upgrade the ram; ram is inexpensive.

2629.

Solve : Flash BIOS fail.?

Answer»

i hv a pc, motherboard MSI 865 PE NEO2 P. AMIBIOS, i download the lates BIOS version, try to update it, follow instruction ... after flash the BIOS, restsrt, then everything gone, nothing show on screen just black. system fan cpu fan work fine, just no beep, see nothing. HELP! am i just erase the BIOS, anything can i do to recover back?
any sugess will be greatly appreciate!If the wrong BIOS FILE or an incorrect flash you may have created a doorstop or paperweight.mean? did i kill my board?Not neccessarily, but you might have killed your BIOS EProm...

There are services that can fix this but none for free.

HereI would try unplugging the computer from any source of electricity.

Remove the CMOS battery for about 10 minutes then,re-insert the
CMOS battery.

Plug the computer back in.................Probably won't work but,
what's 15 minutes.ok, i have another mainboard, 865pe neo 2 pls. can i USE the bios chip of this board, i know this board bios not compatible with neo 2 p, but if the chip can use, may b i can put the chip on the board, flash again use neo 2 p bios.?  can i do that?No, that will not work. You can end up with 2 damaged motherboards that way.This should become a sticky on "Why not to flash a BIOS".... Quote

[highlight]ok, i have another mainboard, 865pe neo 2 pls[/highlight]. can i use the bios chip of this board, i know this board bios not compatible with neo 2 p, but if the chip can use, may b i can put the chip on the board, flash again use neo 2 p bios.?  can i do that?

Is this other motherboard you have good...Hummmm?street1,
the motherboard is good, but just got some problem with 1 of the RAM SLOT, i understood what u mean, i give up the dead bios chip motherboard and use the good 1,  this what i can do, anyway thank you!    and plus,,, sorry for late reply.I am happy you understood what I was saying.

Thank you for posting back.
2630.

Solve : brand new pc being a bi*ch. is it me??

Answer»

righteo folks. brand new Foxconn motherboard with 3700+ AMD processor. 1 SATA HDD (an old one, with windows xp and tonnes of data on it. still functional), 1 DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, 1 floppy disk drive. Thats it.
go to start up windows and i get the old STOP: 0x0000007B message as soon as the windows flag progress bar things starts. its pretty much an instant transistion.  
i looked up the error message and it says that its because it doesnt have the HDD/ SATA driver installed. so i create one of those snazzy little floppy disks that you can make with the CD that CAME with the m/board and it doesnt boot from it, so i presumed that i have to re-install windows and press F6 when its setting up to install the 3rd party RAID/SCSI driver. i place the floppy into the drive and vóila! it sees it and i have to select both items:
NVIDA RAID CLASS DRIVER (required)
NVIDA nForce STORAGE CONTROLLER (required)
then i press enter, and the loading sequence continues.
it then comes to the screen that asks if i want to install or repair windows. so i press enter to set it up, and this is where it gets confusing.
sometimes it just restarts the computer as if nothing happend, twice it got to the agreement screen and then restarts after that, and this time its on the 'please wait...' screen, and has been for a good few minutes.
its a real head blag, surely this cant be good for my karma...you think i might need a new HDD?  
theres a thing, im not sure i set up the HDD properly earlier, it wanted to know if i wanted to set it up in Mirroring, stripe etc and i wasnt sure on what to choose, and mirroring didnt work, so i TRIED stripe because that did, and now i dont know how to get back to that screen. you think that'll effect this...puzzle?
 
any help would be much appreciated as it cost me enough to get this far and i need to use my computer fairly urgently to get my work off.
does anyone else hate computers when they pull stunts like this?!
regards,
Luke

ps, i posted this in the 'Windows' section, but decided it would be more suiting here. so sorry for multi-posting.I was just about to say double post.
Not sure where it's more appropriate.And all of this is related to your other issues, no doubt. I am going to lock this thread and we can pursue this issue in the other IDENTICAL posting.

Really, only one is needed.

2631.

Solve : "Half-broken" GPU?

Answer»

The other day my computer stalled while I was logging out from Windows. So I pressed the mainswitch. But as I started it again my display wasn't working. So I thought that the display had broken down, but I tried connecting the display to a friends computer, and it worked fine.

I then realised that the computer detected my TV (through the TV-Out obivously) as my standard display and it wasn't able to detect my regular display at all. So I reinstalled the drivers and Catalyst. It did not work. Once again Catalyst wasn't even able to detect my display at all, it only found the TV.

I then tried reinstalling Windows and ALL drivers, but that didn't work either. So my question now is: Is it possible that both my DVI-I connectors (digital)  in some mystical way have broken down? The GPU is working just fine with the TV-Out (analogue).
My GPU is an ATI X800XT.I forgot to mention that I manually installed the display with its driver, but Windows was still unable to detect it at all.Does another display work with that PC, besides the TV?It seems that the GPU can't SEND digital signals anymore. When I USE an RGB signal and cable it works fine. The weird thing is that my GPU only has DVI-I connectors and it's the very same connectors I use for the analog signal too (which works), though with an adapter. Really weird. Is it possible that I've managed to "turn off" the GPU's ability to use digital signals and if so, how do I turn it back on?STRANGE . . . if there was an option it'd be in the Catalyst Control Centre.
But I don't think there is.
Look in device manager - is your monitor listed?
And is it listed in the Catalyst Control Centre?
The display, you say it doesn't work with your PC - does it display anything, or just a blank screen?
Have you tried safe mode?The thing is that it works perfectly well with the analogue signal (RGB), which I'm using now, with a borrowed cable I might add. When I hooked the display up with my friends computer it worked fine with my own DVI-I (digital signal) cable. But on my own comp it doesn't work.

When I connect via the DVI-I connector the display isn't detected by Catalyst at all. But as soon as I switch to my borrowed RGB cable it detects it right away. Which LEADS me to wonder if I've managed to "destroy" the capability to send digital signals which, to me, seems very unlikely as it should prompt as an hardware error in Catalyst or in some other Windows software.

But how have I managed to do that...? All I really did was to turn the computer off with the mainswitch (with extended desktop enabled) when it stalled as I logged out of Windows. And it was after that that the GPU, when I turned the comp on again, detected the TV as the only available display.

But with the reinstallment of Windows and all related drivers that should've been solved, don't ya think?djannih......  Have you tested the GRAPHICS card in another pc to make certain it works ?  It seems to me that that should be done so that you know........


dl65

2632.

Solve : SATA 1.5 in a SATA 3.0?

Answer»

Basically looking to buy a NEW MB, and was WONDERING if i bought a board with SATA 3.0 if my 1.5s would work in them.

MB IM looking at,

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131031

thxs in advance.SATA 3.0 is backwards COMPATIBLE with 1.5.
See here.
Hope this helps.thats exactly what i was looking for, thxsNo problem.

2633.

Solve : Looking to buy gaming desktop?

Answer»

Hello I hope this is the right place to post.

I am looking to buy a gaming desktop. I do not know alot about computer specs so I thought I would post here to help. I have been looking at the alienware alpha R2. I have heard that it is overpriced. I have a budget of about $1000 but I would pay a few extra hundred if it really improved performance. I do not need a massive rig just a decently fast desktop to play a few of my favourite games on steam, and use league of legends and discord at the same time.

Any help and advice would be appreciated. I am from Australia that seems to limit the options a bit I think.

Thanks.Do you want to BUILD a system completely, or buy a system and add a video card, or buy a gaming system from manufacturer as a gaming system?A brief note. Thee are a lot of things to consider when shopping for a game computer.  The price and quality vary a lot. And high price is not always what you need. What gaming experience have you already had?  Xbox?  PS2?

Do you have some idea about what games you might want to play? It matters. Some older games may not work well on new computers. Other games require very high performance and that means a high price computer.
Do you have in mind some games you have seen other play?
Please list games you like the best.
At the moment I just play league and a few games with similar requirements the same on steam. I play skyrim and would LOVE to play the new warhammer total war.

I think I would get a pre built I don't know anything about building a computer or putting in a graphics card.I am strongly thinking of buying this build.

http://www.msy.com.au/SYSTEMS/INTELAMD-Gaming2.pdf

Getting the i7 and windows 10 that comes to $1320. Is this getting my moneys worth, I think a SSD is important at the moment.For a custom build to order it looks about right with the premium paid to have it to order. Parts used look ok. I didnt see anything that stood out as low quality thrown into the build, but not sure about the quality of the power supply that comes with the case. The SSD that comes with this build is not that large of capacity. The OS is probably on this drive and 2TB drive uses mainly for storage. If the OS is on this SSD it means that you will probably want to have your games installed to a drive letter other than C:, whichever drive letter the 2TB Hard Drive is. For smaller games, installation to a SSD wont consume much. I have a 120GB SSD in my one system with Windows 7 64-bit and I have had to uninstall some games to make room for others. With a HDD and games installed to a custom location though you might not have to shuffle games installed/uninstalled when installing them to the 2TB HDD.http://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus-rog-desktop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-2tb-hard-drive-black-red/4494400.p?skuId=4494400 i really like this one it has good specs about 1200 but it is usuelly about 1500 but its on sale free 2 DAY shipping Quote from: Rikisipi on October 29, 2016, 04:18:33 AM

I am strongly thinking of buying this build.

http://www.msy.com.au/SYSTEMS/INTELAMD-Gaming2.pdf

Getting the i7 and windows 10 that comes to $1320. Is this getting my moneys worth, I think a SSD is important at the moment.
Seems like a good build with good specs. But I'd say a bit pricey for itself imo. You can easily build a rig that will play the listed games on high settings for $1k, but do not forget to factor in the cost of new peripherals. Definitely GO with an i7, SSD, and a comparable graphics card.
2634.

Solve : My WD Elements external drive is blinking fast and freezes?

Answer»

My Elements drive,  wdbaau0010hbk-01, is only detected by Device Manager and nothing else. The light on the ACTUAL drive is flashing consistently. When I open DISK Management, the app freezes and I can't use it. I've tried Data Lifeguard and it won't load with the drive plugged in, as well. When I 'disable' the the drive in Device Manager, or uninstall the 'USB Mass Storage Device', Device manager freezes with both of those. The drive is not making any unusual sounds, it sounds normal. I've also tried it in another PC and the same issue REMAINED. Please help me. Thank you. If the drive is covered by warranty and you dont mind losing data on it as well as whatever data is on it in others hands you can send it back for replacement.

In a last effort to get data and void warranty if there is one, you open the external drive and pull the drive from the case and connect it internally to a desktop computer as a secondary drive and see if you can get your data this way or repair the drive with direct drive access through SATA CONTROLLER vs the USB to SATA. Sometimes the USB to SATA controllers die and the drive is fine.

2635.

Solve : 3 beeps on startup error - does not look RAM related?

Answer»

I have the 3 beeps error on startup that I read is most prob RAM related. I have 3x4GB sticks.

I have removed and rehoused in various combinations so that I have 1 stick in the first slot.

I have also removed the battery from the MB (ASUS P6T SE) and reseated.

The PC now comes on - I had it running with no issue for several hours last night - but this morning it runs for <5 mins before shutting down and re-booting with 3 beeps. Taken out the battery gets it going again.

Any ideas? Do I have to go into the BIOS SCREEN? Or something?Go to the website of your bios manufacturer and check the beep codes.For the FACT that it shuts down like that here are possible shutdown causing conditions:

Overclock is on the edge of running correctly and failure ( unstable ) * Resetting the BIOS should undo all overclocks
Power Supply Issue  ---- Check voltages, in the BIOS it might tell you what your voltages are, you can also verify the 5V and 12V with a multimeter if you know how to do that safely. A weak power supply will cause the system to fail to boot when power is needed the most at boot.
Temperature Issue  ----- * Usually systems with this problem will run fine until hot, so SYMPTOMS are a running system that gets hot and shuts down. Then turn it back on and it has cooled so it runs again until overheat.
CPU fan issue ( stops spinning and tach failure )
RAM ( flakey memory )  ----- Test RAM with Memtest86
Video Card overheating causing a GPF BSOD and reboot or shutdown * Usually you dont get the POS beep with these unless the card is fried. If the card is fried usually it doesnt get out of the POST beep condition.
motherboard is dying ( capacitors or VRMs stressed etc ) * Look for capacitors that may be leaking, inspect the main board for an area that might have a strong electronic smell or discoloration from excessive heat..Not all failures are visually found, but sometimes they can be.


The BIOS Beep Code as Allan suggested looking into, should pinpoint what the motherboard is crying about for failure. There are long and short beeps. If its a quick Beep Beep Beep its one code if its a Long Beep and 2 short Beeps its another etc. So you need to know the duration of the 3 beeps whether long to short beeps as for that makes a difference in what is reported by the main board.
I would say there's a problem, either with RAM or the motherboard. The only 3 beep code in Asus' very short list is 1 long then 2 short, which means "no RAM detected".

http://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1029959

It's in Section 2.8 of the P6T SE manual (Page 2-36)

http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/LGA1366/P6T_SE/E4481_P6T_SE_manual.zip

https://www.manualowl.com/m/Asus/P6T-SE/Manual/263086?page=56


The beep codes are dependent on your motherboard. If are having issues with RAM, try reseating it.

2636.

Solve : Ablecom SP400-1R PINOUT ??

Answer»

Does anyone have the pin-out for these or a known good link to the information ?
I have 3 that were given to me and would like to convert for Ham Radio use but don't want to go poking around the EDGE card connector blind and possibly smoke something.

Thanks for Looking !
It should be listed at the SuperMicro site...Do you have a good link to the site , what I find with GOOGLE doesn't seem to WORK !
https://www.supermicro.com/support/resources/pws/pws.aspxThank You , that seems to work !Anytime...welcome aboard.Have spent the morning trying to contact "Supermicro" by phone (NO JOY).

I also have the board that these supply's plug into ( CSE-PT816-PDS20 ) and have spent the weekend trying to find information on it as well , with the supply connected to this board and power I get an AMBER led on the supply ( get the same without the board ) , I'm sure there is something on this board that could be jumper-ed to turn the supply's on but without the schematic I am again reluctant to just randomly jumper connections hoping for a good response.

ANT HELP ?Have you tried the board manuf. site yet ? ?I do not see a manufacturer name on the board ( at least not anything that jump's out).Google the UPC # to get more info...or the FCC #...Reading this post is confusing.
Are you looking for info on Ablecom SP400-1R  ?
It is hard to answer your request because your request was not clear.
You using the term 'Ablecom SP400-1R' only in the title and then did not say if it was a power supply,  a military rifle or a Rock Band.

A Google on the term Ablecom SP400-1R gives:
https://www.amazon.com/Supermicro-PWS-0064-Power-Supply-Discontinued/dp/B000F6QE8Q
OR
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ABLECOM-SP400-1R-REDUNDANT-MODULE-POWER-SUPPLY-/191528954953

The point I am saying here is that lack of detail in your first post just makes hard and give you a direct answer. If you have the thing in l your shop, you could just test the thing and find what the outputs are.
If it is a model for a  standard desktop, the pins would d be the same as any power supply for a desktop.
So, are you trying to interface a rack mount  power supply to a desktop PC? That is not a very good idea. Rack mount computers are different.
If you are an experienced technician, you would not have this problem. If you do not have the needed background, you are trying something that is out of of  your personal skill set.
Please, I do not want to discourage you. Rather  I ask you make it clear what your objective is.  Years ago I worked on CUSTOM built rack mounted devices and I did not need to find a pin out of the power supply. It was clearly marked on the unit what was what. So you request has be baffled.

As Patio said, what is the UPC NUMBER. That will give the exact specific ID of the unit.
EDIT: After more research,I found this:
(Blocked by admin. see attachment.)
  *Blocked Russian URL*/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml
This information applies both to desktops and rack mount servers.
Hop that helps.   

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]

2637.

Solve : Pulled Hard drives, want to store and sort photos?

Answer»

Unfortunately we've been storing family photos on DIFFERENT computers and I've been pulling the HD's as they die. My wife is having knee surgery soon and thought it would be a good time to get them consolidated and organized. The problem is she doesn't have a decent computer at the time. I have the special cable that allows the drives to be connected to a computer. The question I have is I don't really WANT to rush out and buy a new computer at this time. What would be my options? Could I transfer all the photos to an external hard drive. If she connected this to my daughters Mac laptop, could she use some sort of program to sort them there, without keeping them on the Mac?  Are there any programs out there that will store and allow sorting, like Amazon, or others? How would I get the photos to them, from the HD's through a working computer to the program? Let me know. Thanks. (I wasn't SURE what topic to put this under, I thought since it dealt with hard drives, I'd put it here. Moderator, feel free to move it, if not appropriate.)  Also wondering, what do families do with all their photos, they accumulate over the years, their computers must GO down? Need to save the pics somehow.Short answer. Good and reliable external hard drives and sold by all major vendors.
In North America:
Amazon
Best Buy
CostCo
Newegg
Staples
Walmart
.. and others. Try a local dealer first.

Also, if a PC is not working,there is a kit you can buy that lets a  desktop read from an extracted hard drive.  Even Walmart has some.
Search for "
External IDE SATA Converter Cable HDD Kit with AC Power Adapter
Picture:


Here is an article for you in case ONE of your devise is an iPhone.
https://tunesgo.wondershare.com/iphone-transfer/iphone-photos-to-external-hard-drive.html

You might ask a friend or family member to help.

2638.

Solve : Has the Laser Died in My CD Drive ??

Answer»

I have an aging TOSHIBA laptop computer with a combination DVD/CDRW.

I use it for PLAYING back DVD films all the time.

A couple of days ago I tried to play a photo CD in it. It span the disc but showed no data. I have since tried a software CD and a music CD and am getting the same result.

The DVDs are still O.K.

I believe it is the case that DVDs and CDs use different lasers, so is it LIKELY that I have a hardware fault where the (hardly used) CD laser has blown ?

Sounds like time for a NEW DRIVE, if you can find one that fits. Quote

I believe it is the case that DVDs and CDs use different lasers, so is it likely that I have a hardware fault where the (hardly used) CD laser has blown ?

Yes.you may try buying a cd drive cleaner. no guarantees though. . i personally perfer to take apart the drive and clean the laser with a shami cloth. it does a better job.
2639.

Solve : ide/ata/sata?

Answer»

I have a K7N2 Delta Series (MS-6570 v1..X) ATX motherboard, AMD ATHlon cpu.

Question is will a ide, ata, or sata hard drive work in this computer?

Thank you for any reply.
BillYou have both SATA and ATA ports on that board.
IDE is another name for ATA.Calum,

    Thank you for such a fast reply. Being a real novice at this, what do you mean by ports?  Can I take the existing HD out and just connect the flat 80 cable and I will be set to start with the original MS disc to start installing the OS?

Bill  No problem.
By ports, I mean a place to plug something into - a SATA port is where a SATA hard drive plugs into.
You could take the existing HDD out and plug the new one in, then re-install your OS and your software etc.
However, it is illegal if you don't get rid of Windows from your original HDD before you install it on the new one.
Same with your software - I'd recommend reformatting your old disk (after getting any data you want off it) and then using your new one.
What do you intend to do?Calum,  

    Thank you,  This is a rather long story.  I have a friend and  over a few bourbons decided for me to bulld this computer, he told me what to buy from Newegg and I put the parts together. Now the rub is that he set it up so fast I didn't get it. This was about 2 years ago and a few months back he went back to Canada to live.
Long about 12/01 all heck broke loose and the computer failed. I fooled with it and got nowhere, became very frustrated and things got worse. Decided to take it to a shop for repair. That was probably a big mistake and very expensive. He said the HD had crashed and installed a new one along with a slave to install MS UTILITIES backup into. I have been able to get most of my programs back in and running. One of which is Acronis 8.0. I recently purchased a new external hard drive and have a full disc backup into it.

Now the thinking is to get a new HD and see if any of these backup work and how to do same. All this is just to get some experince in the event of future trouble and to just fool with the computer. That $660.00 bill from the tech. may have taught me some kind of lesson. Maybe I will learn something anyway. I am retired and have plenty of time on my hands

Thanks for your help and listening
BillIf you started with a few more bourbons would the process start coming back to you ? ?
 

Seriously everything he did you can probably do yourself and it will be a great learning experience for you.

We can walk you through this step by step. Patience on your end is a good thing as new learning takes exactly that.

Do you have any good solid Acronis backups ? ?

If so this will be even easier than you think....

Let us know.By the way, Welcome Aboard Bill... you're in good hands.Patio,     Thank you.

Good solid backups?  I ran Acroins 8.0 Secure Zone to backup the full computer hard drive, then ran check Image to verify the Secure Zone after a few minutes a report " The image archive was successfully verified"

Is that what you refer to?

As to the MS Utilities backup, who knows?

Really is this any help (no bourbon yet).
BillA verified Acronis backup is good as gold... when you get your brand new HDD just use the Acronis boot disk an choose Create image to disk and you should be good to go...Many thanks to all that replyed.
All replys were very helpful with the information I was looking for.

Think I will order the -- View Pic        

    * HITACHI Deskstar 7K160 HDS721680PLA380 (0A32727) 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM    From Newegg

Unless there may be a better choice.

BillPersonally i would go with the Seagate drive...same capacity...real close on price...and a 5 year warranty as OPPOSED to 1 year...5 year warranty is hard to beat.  Thank you both,

A very good choice the Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST380811AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

In reading the reviews some one stated I will need a new cable and a adaptor to use with the Seagate.

Will I also need to order this material with the HDD?

BillOEM usually gets you a drive, and that's all. Often motherboards come with cables for IDE drives, SATA, maybe yes or no. What do you have? You will also need the motherboard CD to load the drivers when you install an OS. The donnector for the SATA will be on the motherboard if it is so equipped, and the power cable comes from the power supply, so a data cable is all you need.Many thanks to all that have replyed

Your knowledge, time, patience, and trouble have been greatly appreciated.

Have purchased ---
CABLES OKGEAR|OK105S RTL - Retail (Qty=1,
HD 80G|ST 7K 2M ATA100 ST3802110A % - OEM Seagate

I believe you have now GIVEN me enough to get started with the project.
That said we may as well end this thread. If I do run into problems will return under a new thread.

Thanks again,
Bill

2640.

Solve : Hard Drive Partitioning?

Answer»

I have 539 BAD sectors on my HARD drive (4 gig).  Does anyone know if I COULD partition this hard drive and somehow get those bad sectors into a partition that I don't need to use?You need to replace the hard drive pronto. It is failing and it can snowball QUICKLY. There is no substitute for intact hardware.     Thanks for the reply..........was fairly SURE this would be the case.  But, YEAH...a new laptop for Christmas!

2641.

Solve : Old Dell Dimension 8200 PC outputing distorted display?

Answer»

This is regarding an old Dell Dimension 8200 PC with 512MB RAM, Pentium 4 processor, 1.5Ghz speed, 40GB Hard Drive with Windows XP Pro SP3. It was running great up till a few months AGO when, one night, something inside went bang and there may have been some smoke. Ever since, the computer boots up to the desktop screen, portions of which are distorted and pixellated, and eventually stalls.

I connected it to a different monitor and power supply to see if it made a difference.
The results can be seen here:

https://youtu.be/krhfBzX-jQg

https://youtu.be/CI4m-rYatdM

Obviously this is not my main PC but it would be nice to have it running again.
So I would be grateful for any and all advise to fix it BACK to full health.
Thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI4m-rYatdM

[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]Does this Dell have a flat panel display?
The photos you sent would implicate bad display, not a bad computer. If some pixels are missing, it has to be the flat-panel display.
That model is so old it is not worth repair. But if the issue is the display, then all you needs a good display. Even a spare TV set can be used as a display device.
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-Your-TV-As-a-Computer-Monitor
Maybe taht will do the job.  Quote

It was running great up till a few months ago when, one night, something inside went bang and there may have been some smoke. Ever since, the computer boots up to the desktop screen, portions of which are distorted and pixellated, and eventually stalls.

Capacitor Explosion is what this sounds like. Open the computer and look for a capacitor that blew its top.

More info here as to likely cause of why for your computer: http://www.badcaps.net/index.php?pageid=causes

Picture linked below from this link:
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1102467-bad-capacitors-how-to-spot-them/

**If this is the MOTHERBOARD that the capacitor blew on then you might as well plan on buying a new computer unless your good with a soldering iron and can replace the capacitor(s) with CORRECT value and voltage rating which are troubled. The damage when the capacitor died may be permanent. There is probably some pretty nasty ripple on the circuit that the capacitor left from, however other capacitors still in the circuit that are dead or dying can cause electrical noise as they vent and act like current draw oscillators vs holding a charge for when the extra current is needed as well as to smooth out ripple.

 Back about 8 years ago I had a BUNCH of Dell and HP computers failing left and right due to the capacitor plague. Most of the capacitors that failed were located around the CPU by the VRMs however this also affected power supplies as well with these bad capacitors. Some video cards were affected by this, but its more common for motherboards surrounding the CPU and some power supplies.



[attachment deleted by admin to conserve space]It's bad cap week here at CH Forums...
2642.

Solve : Is my PSU the issue??

Answer»

So I approached my PC yesterday and noticed a burning PLASTIC smell coming from that area. Everything was running fine but I guessed something was wrong with the PSU of the computer was jus overheating. So I went inside and cleaned a lot of dust out and turned it on again. Runs fine and has never crashed but every once in awhile I got that burning smell. Skip to today and I'm eating dinner near the computer off to the side a bit and I'm smelling it constantly. Thing is that the computer is off and hasn't been on all day. I'm not sure what to do. There is a router on top of the desk but I don't know what else it could be. Any ideas? The PSU (or at least the handling circuitry on some component) is certainly the most likely thing.  I'd suggest carefully examininng all wires and connectors (in particular SATA connectors which can occasionally melt if they are badly made) and look for any sign of melting/burning.  Carefully smelling around the inside of the machine may give a clue as to what part is at fault as the smell will TEND to stay on the component that is burning so you may be able to pinpoint it.

At this point I'd be reluctant to continue running the machine until the issue is resolved - I certainly wouldn't be leaving it unattended and would keep it UNPLUGGED when not in use.A burning ORDER can be a plug or cord or jack.As mentoned above....

2643.

Solve : My machines slowed down?

Answer»

Well, am running a cyber cafe and have only 30 desktops, all same make, same speed, same memory(RAM), same processor & same HDD capacity. But these days some machines are slowing down in the way i don't understand, I performed normal diagnostics but there was no change.

Do I need software to boost up again my machines, clients are so complaining! Thx. Shadow WalkerYou need to be more specific. Define "slowing down". If it's an internet cafe are you saying some internet connections are slower than others? Something else? And NO - do not install any software to "boost" your machines.Not the internet but the computers themselves, they TAKE long to open up programs (I mean some of the computers not all)
Again, you need to provide a DETAILED explanation. EXACTLY what is going on, when did it start, what is effected, what programs, how long does it take to open them, do you have anti virus apps installed, do the programs run normally once they are open - EVERYTHING that may be relevant. If you want help, please do not make us pull teeth to help you. Also, if this is an internet cafe, what apps do your customers use other than browsers?knowing the specific programs is helpless (i thinK) but all apps take long to open, though I use 360 total security as anti-virus, does the anti virus have a hand in slowing the computer??Yes.

If it were me i would remove 1 PC at a time and run all diagnostics on each such as RAM test HDD health etc...Windows 8.0 or 8.1 on all machines?Am USING Windows 7What do these machines have in terms of a system to prevent customers from making changes?  IMO if a machine is in use in a public place LIKE this it should be configured to completely reset the user profile between users and should have some sort of imaging system in place where the system can be easily rolled back to a clean state.  If the machines are just being installed and treated like regular PCs without anything like this then they are probably getting clogged up with goodness-knows-what  customers are downloading/putting on the PCs.Cameron beat me to what I was gonna say... Additionally in addition to what Cameron stated, if these systems are clogged up with dust and overheating, they might thermal throttle and slow. When was the last time these systems were cleaned of dust bunnys. SpeedFan can be used to look at system temperatures. Is it possible that the hard drives are stuffed with whatever downloads people had to where there is so little FREE space that its impacting the performance if the systems are not imaged regularly.

If you dont have an imaging system in place, I would put one in place. Its not a good thing to offer systems that could be compromised by prior users. The antivirus on them if a good line of defense but its not perfect, there are still ways to infect the systems with a zero day attack.

Each time a user logs on the profile should be clean. Empty of anything someone prior had done. When they logoff no changes saved to profile. Imaging process should be frequent, daily is best to start it all clean for the next day. Weekly at minimum I would think.

I use to use Ghost Corporate Edition to push clean images to multiple systems after training seminars at a prior employer. There would be a training seminar and we would set up workstations, and after the training was complete I would tell the Ghost image server to push the images to each workstation. Back then each image was 12GB for Windows XP systems. I did this over a gigabit network with a gigabit adapter on the image server and each workstation was on 100mbps. It took a few hours to complete due to so many systems getting the images pushed to them at the same time so it was something I would start on a Friday and leave for the night, and check back on it Saturday and shut it all down after verifying the images installed correctly to each workstation.As far as imaging systems go, I can highly recommend Fog (https://fogproject.org/).  I help run a weekly programming club for kids where we have 20 laptops that can be used on the night for the kids that don't have their own laptop with them.  I set up a Fog server which we can use to reimage the machines.  It works over PXE/Network boot so once it's set up all you need to do to image a machine is tell it to boot from the network, press a button and enter a password, for one of our laptops (which has a dual boot with Windows 8.1 Pro and Ubuntu 16.04) it takes about 5-10mins to reimage the machine.  What you can even do is set all machines to boot from the network as their first boot device, with this you can then tell Fog to reimage a group of machines (or all of them) from its web interface then simply reboot the machines to have them start the imaging process.  The other awesome benefit of such system is if you need to make a change to all the machines (such as installing a new program) - All you need to do is restore one machine to a clean state from the image, make the changes on that machine, upload the image to the server and then reload the image onto all the other machines.

All you need to run it is a machine running Linux with enough hard drive space to store the images (which are compressed down anyway so don't take up much space).  In the scenario I described above the server is just an old Intel Atom D525 with a single 250gb hard drive running Linux.  Installing Fog is pretty easy and it's largely managed through a web interface.  The only tricky part is the DHCP server settings for the network - You either need to configure your current DHCP server to have the correct options to tell machines to network boot or turn off your current DHCP server and instead use the Fog machine to handle DHCP (the LATTER is the default setup but in my situation I did the former since the Fog server is only connected up and powered on when it's required)The OP has yet to describe with any clarity or definition exactly what the problem is. "Some apps are slow to open" is not enough to work with.We also have zero details on how this Cafe' is set up...Right. Just one sentence posts ignoring requests for detailed info.I'll bet business is booming...too busy to reply...

2644.

Solve : No sound is comming from my tv through dvi plug + hdmi cable?

Answer»

I have this PC (P5EVM-DO) with a AMD RADEON HD 6350 video card + a dvi to hdmi converter and a hdmi cable going in a big LG screen (42PQ30-UA) on windows 7 64-bit
In the Playback Devices menu with all hidden options checked I only see Speakers (which works) and Realtek Digital Output (which does not play sound)
But on most videos on youtube, people have a screen icon with hdmi sound options, and I don't.
I have tried uninstalling the realtek sound drivers, and amd video drivers, trying installing them each separately, but i get no hdmi options. Any help?Does the card support audio via DMI ? ?

All of them do not.good questionMany times it won't work with cheapo adapter ALSO...i have another computer at my other appartement and used the same adapter, no sound problem.
I also tried a male male cable on the stereo jack behind my pc that works with my speakers into the audio in hole behind the tv and not MUCH success eitherDVI doesn't officially carry sound, however some video cards support it to allow people to use adapters on machines where a regular HDMI port wouldn't fit.  I imagine the PC that the adapter works on SUPPORTS this but the one it doesn't work on doesn't support audio over the DVI port.

As far as the audio input port on the TV, you'll need to check what input this feeds audio to, on one of my TVs it only works when the TV is getting video over the VGA port.

2645.

Solve : quick notebook question?

Answer» UMM i GOT an old P3 notebook and i was wondering if i can upgrade it so it can have wireless CAPABILITIES or not. THANKSI'm sure you can but it would be nice to know something about it. If you have a working card slot and a wireless card you should be good to go.
2646.

Solve : failing new computer?

Answer»

i have just upgraded my computer to a Foxconn MOTHERBOARD (6150k8ma) which came with a AMD 3700+ PROCESSOR and heat sink etc. when it was DELIVERED i found i needed to buy DDR DIMM ram, so i bought a 512MB stick of that. when that arrived, i found that i needed a 24 pin PSU. so i just went out and bought that. its a 500w sum vision 'power x' psu.
now that everything is in PLACE, and seated correctly into the motherboard, i start up the computer and all the fans start whirring away and the CD drive/ HDD also whir away, yet the bios doesnt beep like it usually does, and the monitor doesnt start up from stand-by either.
*censored* os going on? this happend with my old computer quite a lot which was one of the main reasons i upgraded, but on my old setup it would somehow fix itself.
HELP! PLEASE, iTS KILLING ME!
regards,
LUKEHave you tried reseting the cmos? (Leave the battery in) If not look for the jumper on mother board called "cmos" move it over 1 unit and leave there for about 1min(shouldn't even take 30 sec.) just to be on the safe side then move it back over to its original place. If that doesn't work take the battery out for about 1min. and see what happens from there. Also what kind of video card do you have, are you using integrated or is it a seperate card?its an intergrated card Quote

Have you tried reseting the cmos? (Leave the battery in) If not look for the jumper on mother board called "cmos" move it over 1 unit and leave there for about 1min(shouldn't even take 30 sec.) just to be on the safe side then move it back over to its original place. If that doesn't work take the battery out for about 1min. and see what happens from there.
ive just tried both with no success. maybe i should try it with everything except cpu + memory out?It will not even boot if you take the cpu and the memory out. You HAVE to leave the cpu and memory in for it to boot(if it will boot).no, i meant to take everything out, EXCEPT the CPU and RAMAlso I forgot to mention, there is an auxillary power port on your motherboard right. You have to have a auxillary power cable plugged in. Many computers will not boot without this as the normal 20/24 pin is not enough.i love you. ive had a long day, i would have missed that forever. now, the next problem is to get the computer to see the SATA HDD i have. not sure how to set it up through the BIOS as i used to have it plugged into my computer through a PCI card.
any suggestions folks?
regards,
lukeThere's not really much I can tell you as I do not have the same motherboard or BIOS. You do need it configured in the BIOS though. Search around on Google. Sorry I can't help with this problem . Or if you have the old PCI card laying around somewhere try it with that. Quote
There's not really much I can tell you as I do not have the same motherboard or BIOS. You do need it configured in the BIOS though. Search around on Google. Sorry I can't help with this problem . Or if you have the old PCI card laying around somewhere try it with that.

How is this going to help him have the system recognise a SATA drive ? ?

The HDD drivers need to be installed for that drive.And they reside on the CD that came with the motherboard.
2647.

Solve : Is my motherboard about to die completely??

Answer»

I'm having to post this using the wife's PC, as mine's just hung  

Its an ASUS motherboard that a friend gave to me for free, because his SPDIF audio out stopped working. Its worked fine for me for over a year, until 2 weeks ago when the headphone audio out stopped working.

Then yesterday, I shutdown linux and tried restoring my Windoze XP partition, and it looked like I didn't have the drivers for the onboard 10/100 network port. However, when I booted back into linux I noticed that it was because the network port was dead. (It came back to life for an hour just now, but as my home directory is NFS mounted its hung the PC when it died 10mins ago)

I've already bought a new audio card for £4, and I could spend another £4 on a network card, but is this indicative of a more serious problem?  

Can someone with a bit more experience of ASUS motherboard hardware problems let me know what to expect next? or is that something only a clairvoyant would know? (If you need model numbers, I can get them after I've rebooted, but I wanna give it a chance to recover first)At the moment it seems like it could be a lot of things, none of them good though. ASUS are not renowned for there mother boards being error free though. I bought three in a ROW trying to get one that worked, and all of them had the same problem - it would not detect that it was supplying power to the CPU fan, and as such would not let you start the computer up for more than 5 seconds, even though the fan was getting all the power it needed.If you got it for free then you got your money's worth.  Got a point there.To me it doesn't sound like a hardware issue at all ...sounds like both your Linux and Windows installs are FUBARED...Linux is very stable compared to Windoze, so its unlikely to be fubar.
Windoze has just been installed from CD, its XP PRO SP2.

Anyway I've just installed a wifi USB adaptor, and it worked for 3hrs before hanging again. Then, after hitting the reset button my BIOS said that there was no IDE master  

I guess that the motherboard is the common FACTOR in all these faults: onboard SPDIF audio, onboard headphone audio, onboard 10/100 network, primary IDE bus

Can anyone recommend a reliable and COST effective motherboard for use with an AMD Athlon 64 CPU, a Radeon All-In-Wonder TV/graphics card, and ordinary 160Gb IDE HDDs?Google got me to the mothership in .37 seconds!

http://www2.amd.com/us-en/Processors/DevelopWithAMD/1,,30_2252_869_9460%5E9461,00.htmlMan their gettin fast lately...

 I'm SURE it's because I use Firefox.   Quote

I'm sure it's because I use Firefox.  


  Quote
http://www2.amd.com/us-en/Processors/DevelopWithAMD/1,,30_2252_869_9460%5E9461,00.html

Thanks for the URL to what the manufacturer recommends.

Actually I was looking for a personal recommendation from you guys. What would you buy yourself (assuming you're not loaded with cash of course)?
2648.

Solve : sound question?

Answer»

I need a sound card but I can't find one because my computer was a millienum when I got it but I upgraded to XP prof and I wanted to know what do I go by as getting one ThanksSound cards fit into PCI slots...chances are you have a few of these...the OS doesn't matter as they write drivers for each one.

Post some more info on that machine and someone will be along shortly...tryingtolearn, why do you think you a sound card just because you upgraded your OS from Win ME to Win XP?  That does not make sense?  Did your sound stop after the OS upgrade?Well, my sound stop and I just can't figure it out I have deleted it and let it reinstalled so I was going to get a sound card I can hear my computer beep if I make a mistake but its not coming from my speakers also I ran a directx test and my MIDI will play but not my sound playback I get a message about .wav file Quote

Sound cards fit into PCI slots...chances are you have a few of these...the OS doesn't matter as they write drivers for each one.

Post some more info on that machine and someone will be along shortly...


well here is some info on my system Thanks
PC Wizard 2006 Version 1.71
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Owner: Tina Curtis
User: Yea
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.01.2600 Service Pack 2
Report Date: Saturday 25 November 2006 at 07:37

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


<<< Multimedia >>>

  > Device Audio : ES1371, ES1373 AudioPCI

    >> General Information
      Manufacturer : Creative (Was: Ensoniq)

  > Audio Playback : Modem #2 Line Playback

    >> General Information
      Reproduction : Modem #2 Line Playback
      Version : 5.0
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Product ID : 81

    >> Device Capabilities
      Channels : Mono
      Balance Control : No
      PITCH Control : No
      PlayBack Rate Control : No
      Synchrone operations : No
      Volume Control : No

    >> Reproduction
      11.025 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, mono, 16-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, mono, 16-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, mono, 16-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : No

  > Audio Playback : Microsoft Sound Mapper

    >> General Information
      Reproduction : Microsoft Sound Mapper
      Version : 5.0
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Product ID : 2

    >> Device Capabilities
      Channels : Stereo
      Balance Control : No
      Pitch Control : No
      PlayBack Rate Control : No
      Synchrone operations : No
      Volume Control : No

    >> Reproduction
      11.025 kHz, mono, 8-bit : Yes
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : Yes
      11.025 kHz, mono, 16-bit : Yes
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : Yes
      22.05 kHz, mono, 8-bit : Yes
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : Yes
      22.05 kHz, mono, 16-bit : Yes
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : Yes
      44.1 kHz, mono, 8-bit : Yes
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : Yes
      44.1 kHz, mono, 16-bit : Yes
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : Yes

  > Audio Recording : Creative Sound Blaster PCI

    >> General Information
      Reproduction : Creative Sound Blaster PCI
      Version : 5.10
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Product ID : 101

    >> Device Capabilities
      Channels : Stereo
      Balance Control : Yes
      Pitch Control : No
      PlayBack Rate Control : No
      Synchrone operations : No
      Volume Control : No

    >> Record
      11.025 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, mono, 16-bit : Yes
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : Yes
      22.05 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, mono, 16-bit : Yes
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : Yes
      44.1 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, mono, 16-bit : Yes
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : Yes

  > Audio Recording : Modem #2 Line Record

    >> General Information
      Reproduction : Modem #2 Line Record
      Version : 5.0
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Product ID : 80

    >> Device Capabilities
      Channels : Mono
      Balance Control : No
      Pitch Control : No
      PlayBack Rate Control : No
      Synchrone operations : No
      Volume Control : No

    >> Record
      11.025 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, mono, 16-bit : No
      11.025 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, mono, 16-bit : No
      22.05 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, mono, 8-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 8-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, mono, 16-bit : No
      44.1 kHz, stereo, 16-bit : No

  > MIDI Output : Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth

    >> General Information
      MIDI Output : Microsoft GS Wavetable SW Synth
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Version : 5.10

    >> Specific Information
      Voices : 48
      Notes : 48
      Channels : 16
      Peripheral Type : Software Synthetizer

    >> Device Capabilities
      Balance Control : Yes
      Cache Control : No
      Buffer management : No
      Volume Control : Yes

  > MIDI Output : Microsoft MIDI Mapper

    >> General Information
      MIDI Output : Microsoft MIDI Mapper
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Version : 5.0

    >> Specific Information
      Voices : 0
      Notes : 0
      Channels : 16
      Peripheral Type : Microsoft MIDI Mapper

    >> Device Capabilities
      Balance Control : Yes
      Cache Control : No
      Buffer management : Yes
      Volume Control : Yes

  > Mixer Device : Creative Sound Blaster PCI

    >> General Information
      WAVE Output : Creative Sound Blaster PCI
      Version : 5.10
      Manufacturer : Microsoft Corporation
      Product ID : 104
Did you recieve any original CD's with that machine that might have the sound card drivers on them ? ?

They need to be re-installed when you change your OS. Quote
Did you recieve any original CD's with that machine that might have the sound card drivers on them ? ?

They need to be re-installed when you change your OS.


I been updated my OS but my sound started messing up about a month ago I do have the original cd for the drive but its not doing any good THATS why I installed a new card but it is still doing the same thing I have done an installation repair but it didn't help I was trying to avoid doing a whole new repair because I lost my disc for microsoft office which I'm gonna have to replace but I guess I will try that to see will any thing change
A new card should have come with drivers on a CD...these need to be installed.
Quote
A new card should have come with drivers on a CD...these need to be installed.

I don't think you understood me but I went ahead and reinstall windows and now I have sound I didn't need a new sound card so the new one will go back Quote
Quote
A new card should have come with drivers on a CD...these need to be installed.

I don't think you understood me but I went ahead and reinstall windows and now I have sound I didn't need a new sound card so the new one will go back

You're correct...i don't understand....It sounds LIKE this person has resolved their own difficulty, Dr. Patio.  Thank Heavens i didn't have to pull out the tooth...
2649.

Solve : should I upgrade??

Answer»

Here are my specs:

processor: 2.4 ghz celeron
RAM: 768 MB
graphics: Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 128MB
HDD:40 GB
sound:AC97'

what parts should I upgrade or is it better to just buy a new system? something in the range of 150 to 200 dollars. I was thingking maybe i should get this:   http://www.bestbuy.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0926INGFS10074269&catid=20397
with taxes it's 160$What do you want to do with the computer, games, internet surfing, mine sweeper?For moderate games its fine. For lots of game playing get a better graphics and more ram, and maybe a new cpu. should only cost about $200 and you'll have a much better machine than a $200 PC. Those $200 PCs are much slower than yours.The one thing u have to upgrade: GRAPHICS CARD.

The card u linked to is HORRIBLE and is PCI-E when u NEED AGP.

Here is what u should buy (remmember: the graphics card is the only thing that matters):

X800GTO - 130$
X1950PRO - 200$

Choose from either of those, they are both Excellent cards. The X800GTO will have u over 15 times the performance u have now and u will be VERY happy with it - the more money u spend the happier u will be, and the MAX u can spend is 200$.I didn't mean to buy a 200 dollar PC, I MEANT I should save money and get one later. Also, as far as I know I don't think I have an AGP slot in my computer, how do I find out for sure? I use this computer for internet and games.Download Everest Home Edition and run it to get a report on your system.  You can post part of the report here if need help finding the info you need.  When you generate the report, try searching it for AGP, using the search function if it's available.  I haven't actually tried that, but I believe it would work.I have Everest... I cant figure out how to see if I have an AGP slot in my computer. Also, my computer didn't come with the graphics card I have now and when I was getting a new one I first bought an AGP card and I couldn't find where to stick it into so I LOOKED in the manual and realized that I have PCI slots so I WENT to the store and exchanged it for a PCI card. The report Everest gave me is attached.You only have PCI slots and probably the 128 meg FX5200 PCI card is the best fit for it in terms of power supply, etc.

If you want a gaming system or even to just upgrade your capability, it would be probably better to go for a new system.

If extreme gaming is not a requirement, that machine should be just fine as is. Quote

You only have PCI slots and probably the 128 meg FX5200 PCI card is the best fit for it in terms of power supply, etc.

If you want a gaming system or even to just upgrade your capability, it would be probably better to go for a new system.

If extreme gaming is not a requirement, that machine should be just fine as is.

A PCI FX 5200?

Then ur only choice is to buy a brand new PC. Quote
Then ur only choice is to buy a brand new PC.
Again, it depends upon your computer use. Quote
I use this computer for internet and games.
What games?
Would pain killers help with the extraction of information?Dr. Patio, would you like to asist?From your display picture, I'm guessing you want to play games like Red Alert 2. Quote
From your display picture, I'm guessing you want to play games like Red Alert 2.

Yeh, it plays fine on my FX 5200. When i get my new card, im going to die because i wont be able to stand the awesomeness

BTW, u can still play FFVII on an FX 5200 very well. And if u havnt ALREADY, well u better hope we dont live near eachother..
2650.

Solve : Buying a new CPU?

Answer»

Hi. I am planning to buy a new [highlight]Pentium D[/highlight] processor. I was looking to buy an Intel chipsets motherboard, but intel chipset motherboards have different specifications like [highlight]DDR2 RAM, PCI-Express[/highlight] graphics card etc which do not match with my components.
        But VIA chipset motherboards do match with my other components like RAM and graphics card. So I wanted to know that how do the [highlight]VIA chipsets[/highlight] rate, are the as good as intel chipsets or is there any major difference in performace between the two. I currently cant upgrade my RAM, graphics card, CPU and motherboard at once. So I am looking to just buy a new CPU and mobo which supports my OLDER components. So are the VIA chipsets good enough. Are they good enough specially for games or do they have lower performance. ThanksIt looks like you will have to make your purchase based on what type of RAM and Vid card you have and work backwards from there...

You should have no problem with VIA chipsets vs. Intel...it's a moot point.VIA chipsets are used in a LOT of motherboards and if that will make your other components re-usable that sounds like a reasonable plan.So ur going to buy a new motherboard for this "new" CPU..  and then what?
There is little point in buying a new CPU as the performance gain (in what exactly idk) will be minimal, unles u have an 8800 GTX SLi and a Celeron D 2.8Ghz. There is great point in buying a new graphics card however.
So when u finally realize that it is ur graphics that needs to be replaced, ull have to buy a new motherboard.

Why are u buying a "new" CPU and why does it have to be a Pentium D?First of all, you don't need a dual 8800GTX. A 7 series will be FINE. Secondly, I agree, why does it have to be pentium D? Why not Athlon 64/64FX/64X2 or if you're an Intel fan, a PLAIN old Pentium 4? I think an athlon 64 or pentium 4 will be fine. Adding RAM will be a better aproach. If you can only get one, RAM will be the best to start with. Then change the mobo and get the rest. Quote

First of all, you don't need a dual 8800GTX. A 7 series will be fine. Secondly, I agree, why does it have to be pentium D? Why not Athlon 64/64FX/64X2 or if you're an Intel fan, a plain old Pentium 4? I think an athlon 64 or pentium 4 will be fine. Adding RAM will be a better aproach. If you can only get one, RAM will be the best to start with. Then change the mobo and get the rest.

The ONLY CPU that anyone should buy is a Core 2 Duo.I have a celeron D 3.0ghz and the performance is miserable. games barely reach 20 frames per second. I have a Geforce 6600 GT. I had some other mobo and cpu but i had to change it because the computer kept crashing time after time. Older CPU was Pentium 4 2.4 ghz. When I tried to see why my games run slower, i re-used my older mobo and cpu by inserting them in the same computer, i mean all the other components same then the games reach 60 frames per second! Thats too much performance loss with the celeron 3 ghz.
The problem is that i cannot use the older cpu because it is not LGA775, but my new mobo supports LGA775.
My Ram is 1 GB. I want to have pentium D because yeah i am an intel fan and as i live in saudi arabia AMD is scarce here and the CORE2DUO is much expensive than the Pentium D.A Pentium 4 2.4Ghz is much better than a Celeron 3.0Ghz.

You should buy a Core 2 Duo E6300 for 175$, but remmember that the MOST important part of ur PC is the graphics card. You should spend as much as u can on the graphics card, and only somewhat on the CPU, but since buying a Pentium D is a bad idea because Core 2 Duos are powerfull and cheap i would say get the E6300.
Buy a motherboard with Socket 775 and a PCIe x16 slot, an E6300, some RAM and save up as much money as possible for the graphics card.The 6600GT is not a bad graphics card, and without buying lots of new componants, I would have to say a better processor is in order.

Being the most important, doesn't mean it's the only importance Quote
The 6600GT is not a bad graphics card, and without buying lots of new componants, I would have to say a better processor is in order.

Being the most important, doesn't mean it's the only importance

Buying a new CPU isnt going to help unless its a MASSIVE bottleneck.

Remmember, a CPU is only a limiting factor, not a BENEFICIAL one.Then you could argue the exact same for a graphics card. Does a good component increase speed, or a bad component decrease speed? Glass half empty or half full? Whatever you choose, be consistant. Quote
Quote
The 6600GT is not a bad graphics card, and without buying lots of new componants, I would have to say a better processor is in order.

Being the most important, doesn't mean it's the only importance

Buying a new CPU isnt going to help unless its a MASSIVE bottleneck.

Remmember, a CPU is only a limiting factor, not a beneficial one.


Would a Pentium III be a massive bottleneck? 800MHz to be exact. Quote
A Pentium 4 2.4Ghz is much better than a Celeron 3.0Ghz.

You should buy a Core 2 Duo E6300 for 175$, but remmember that the [highlight]MOST important part of ur PC is the graphics card.[/highlight] You should spend as much as u can on the graphics card, and only somewhat on the CPU, but since buying a Pentium D is a bad idea because Core 2 Duos are powerfull and cheap i would say get the E6300.
Buy a motherboard with Socket 775 and a PCIe x16 slot, an E6300, some RAM and save up as much money as possible for the graphics card.

Perhaps VERY important, but not the MOST important. Try running a PC with dual 8800GTX graphics cards with only 64MB of RAM. Not gonna work too well. I agree though, a good graphics is important for gamers. But not for everyone. Quote
Then you could argue the exact same for a graphics card. Does a good component increase speed, or a bad component decrease speed? Glass half empty or half full? Whatever you choose, be consistant.

Excellent point...Well said. Quote
Then you could argue the exact same for a graphics card. Does a good component increase speed, or a bad component decrease speed? Glass half empty or half full? Whatever you choose, be consistant.

A graphics card IS a beneficial factor, unlike a CPU. I dont understand what u mean glass half empty/full.

You see the CPU's main job when it comes to rendering games (wich is all that is important) is to pass on the information to the GPU, thats it. If a CPU can pass over to the GPU 60 frames per second and the GPU can render 100 FPS in a certain game - thats called a bottleneck.
Since most CPUs can pass on 60 FPS (if they cant then were looking at a big bottleneck), its the graphics card that is important all of the time, because it is what does the actuall rendering, and if u buy a more expensive CPU its not going to help at all.