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I'm helping a friend with his computer and he had an nVidia card but is upgrading to an ATI...when he put the card in the monitor WOULD not display anything upon boot.  I'm assuming this is because he still has nVidia drivers installed and needs ATI drivers.  How would we go about REPLACING the drivers?Put your old card back in, and when the computer starts, go to the device manager, and find the video card... Now, uninstall the drivers.... After, install the NEW drivers BEFORE INSERTING the new card (there shoudl be a CD that came with the new card)... Once the drivers are installed, turn off the computer, and insert the new card... if you did everything right, then everything should work FINE!  

[glb]Flame[/glb]

Hi there, and sry for my spelling (Faroese)

I have installed windows xpPro on my 300GB Maxtor Hard disk (SATA) and every THING worked out very well, untill one day when i was PLAYING Warcraft III on the internet, the computer froze -  just like that.
When i restart  the computer the hard disk wont boot Windows. The Bios is configured as normal settings and the SATA port is enabled and RAID dissabled. I have tried to reinstall windows, but after windows have loaded the files (in the installer) and is getting ready to install windows, the "blue screen of death" comes  :-/
Partition Magic can't find the hard drive, it says SOMETHING with disk error. Dos95 can't find the hard drive eather. The only place the hard disk is showing up is in the Bios, and to do matters worse, he only shows 0GB !

I've tried to install windows on another hard disk (Not SATA) and see if it could find the SATA hard disk, but when windows is loading up, the "blue screen of death" appears : *** STOP: 0x0000007f (0x00000000.0x0000 bla bla bla
I'm sure that it is not my Windows who is acting strange.

HELP ME PLAESE

This is a long description but I was trying to give the best one for my problem.
I just got a base model Dell desktop with a Celeron 2400 processor / 512MB / CD rom drive.  I BOUGHT a Memorex 16X DVD Double-Layer Recorder and a CREATIVE Soundblaster Live 24 BIT sound card from Best Buy.  I first installed the DVD drive and the Memorex software. It played DVD's and BURNED CD's fine.  The sound was coming out fine through built in soundcard.  I disabled the built in card from Window's Device Manager.  Then I installed the Soundblaster card and software.  It works great when I play Audio CD's from the other CD-ROM drive and the sound quailtiy is much higher in my opinion.  When I insert a DVD and try and watch a movie, the movie STARS with a lot of sound poping out of the speakers and then the movie program (NERO Showtime) locks up.  

Any advice?

I am having an issue w/my DRAM? I think.....The comp is fairly new and a custom build. We had a new ethernet (old one went bad) card and more RAM installed about 2 months ago. SINCE that time the comp no longer shuts down fully. It will allow you to try and shut it down but 2 secs or less after it is done shutting down it will automatically reboot. I have to disconnect power to prevent this. Also when booting after having been shut down (power disconnected) it will come up w/the error message "DRAM is wound too tightly". HUH?
Recently it also starting going to a blue screen that says something along the lines of .....Windows was prevented from starting due to a hardware issue and to prevent damage to windows. Please start the comp in safe mode to correct this problem.
I have spent several days here and many many days trying every combination of help the internet has to offer and have yet (other than a definition of DRAM) to find anything that resembles an answer to this problem.
Please Please if you have any kind of solution I am WILLING to try anything right about now! I have reloaded windows completley, ran several virus programs and also spyware programs. Nothings shows on either. I have the firewall that comes in windows XP and am on cable modem using a router. System info is as follows:

Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 ghz
Memory: 4 slots..2 used for 512 MB each
MoBO: Micro-Star 2.00
OS: Windows XP Home
Let me know if you need more info please!!

Kate*sigh* feeling kinda dumb shoulda done this before ..Sorry! Here is the system info as I should have listed it:
OS Name      Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Version      5.1.2600 SERVICE Pack 2 Build 2600
OS MANUFACTURER      Microsoft Corporation
System Name      KATE
System Manufacturer      MICRO-STAR INC.
System Model      MS-6728
System Type      X86-based PC
Processor      x86 Family 15 Model 3 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2400 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date      American Megatrends Inc. V3.9, 9/16/2004
SMBIOS Version      2.3
Windows Directory      C:\WINDOWS
System Directory      C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device      \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Hardware Abstraction Layer      Version = "5.1.2600.2180 (xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
Total Physical Memory      1,024.00 MB
Available Physical Memory      767.00 MB
Total Virtual Memory      2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory      1.96 GB
Page File Space      2.40 GB
Page File      C:\pagefile.sys
Something is not releasing itself from memory on SHUTDOWN...can't say what it might be but for now let's change a default XP setting that re-boots the machine for now...
Go to Control Panel/System/Advanced and clik on Startup and Recovery and un-chek automatically restart on errors.
Shut down and re-boot and return to the same place as above to make sure the change was made.
Now when you have errors XP will either show a blue screen and or write the errors to the System Event log which will better assist us in helping diagnose your problem...

patio.  Thanks for answering Patio! I did as you suggested have had 1 blue screen since then. Said it was shutting down windows to prevent damage to the program. Then at the bottom it said it was dumping my memory? Dumping to where and how long should I let that run before I reboot?
I found the Event Log (I think)..What am I looking for in it?
Again Thank You for your assistance!Next time you get a blue screen hit the pause key and write down everything it says and post the full error message here...

patio.

Hello , I am going crazy with this PC.  Here is what it does.  At Power On, it does nothing.  It takes 15 minutes for the MB to go beep and display the video card.   At random times, usually when you just click a web page or are loading a CD.  it will reboot.  I have taken memory out, changed video cards,  powered the HD's and CD drive with a 2nd Power supply.  Tried increasing volt to the CPU, and  slowed the MB bus speed. Upgraded to XP and reformatted the HD.  Its a SOYO MB with a 1333 Tbird chip with 800 mb of ram.  Any thoughts,  please let me have it.  SCI noticed that the memory count that occurs at reboot will count the Ram,  then it will start over and will do this again untill I hit Esc.   then it will continue thru the boot up.   What do you think of that?  SCCould be a RAM PROBLEM, wrong type or defective.I'd recommend you return your system to it's original configuration.  If that doesn't fix it, check your RAM, one stick/card at a time.  You have a strange mix of RAM for 800 mb (256x3?).

If that still doesn't fix it, I'd suspect a bad MB or PS.

Quote

At Power On, it does nothing.

HI ComExpt
Problem 1
I wana connect S-Video from my PC to my TV but it wont come out as colour how could i solve this?

I have the right S-Video lead and my Pc surpport S-video connection, i have ATI Radeon graphics card 512Mb ram, 160Gb, MS-XP Home edition, AMD athlog(tm)XP

Problem 2
My computer use to be 2.8 Ghz when i check the properties but now is 1.24 GHz do you know what WRONG with it?

I hope you comExpt will be able to fix this problem

ThankyouProblem 2 - Are the FSB settings correct on the motherboard or in the BIOS? (You didn't state the make or model, so it could be in either PLACE.)Problem 1 - have you tuned the TV in correctly?
If the signal is ok then you may need to look at the settings on your TV.

This link may help you with problem one.
http://www.svideo.com/compaq1700.htmlOk THANK for your advice i will try my hardest

have just set up aol 8.0 but aol cannot initialise my modem.Do you get an error message? What does it say? What operating system are you using? Also, does it try to dial out?

[glb]Flame[/glb]hi,i do not get an error message,the message i get is,cant detect a modem, im using windows 98 and 2000.have tried both with no luck,i'm a novice with PC,s dont YET understand the lingo,i do know that there is a modem in the pc                       thanks.
                             lestype msifo32 in the run BOX..........and to set up net.......did you plug a cat cable into the back of the tower/desktop>>...whack in the back)>a telephone cable via the mains plug?is this a wind -up........hi,i can assure you this is not a wind up,i am 68 years of age and trying to learn about pcs,never heard of the run box or a cat cable,cheers
                    les.ok les sorry but you must know  there are dipsticks out and wish to challenge this forum or compentant users just>....testing the water.......

so you have aol........you have loaded the disk and made the choices given to you on it? .......silly question..what operating system and make of pc are you using... sorry for the crap RESPONSE to your woe.im using windows 98 and 2000,the pc is a packard bell 64mb ram.
         cheers leson boot up  les......what ever system you are using......win98/2k go to the my computer icon right click on it///now click the the device manager........you know where that is len.....scroll down the list and you will come the modem+ sign..click the modem...lucent/rockwell/conaxant/.......now remove it from the list........and reboot..........it should re-install the mod as a new irq......failing this you mayneed to UPDATE the modem.........dvrs..........hth  m_2 ok or a desparate measure is to remove the 56k modem for the tower pc/ and re-boot.......then re-install 56k card -modem....take CARE WHEN DOING THIS....*** Esd*** not pacemakerfriendy.......thanks will give it try when i have the time on monday.
                         cheers.
                              les.hi,im back,done what you advised,got as far as device manager
,there is no modem listed,could you please explain how to update the modem drivers,there is a modem as i had a look inside the pc.
          cheers
            leshave managed to find the modem name,it is mr2800datafax,
but it is not on the modem properties list.help!!!!!!!

Could someone possibly please interpret these voltages for me? For example, "you've got plenty of power," "you're right in the middle," "wow, are you sure your computer's STILL running," etc.

I've got  a 450W power supply. It's running the mobo, two fans, two IDE HDDs, and a DVD-ROM. Anyway, here are the voltages:



Thanks in advance to whoever can help with this catastrophe-waiting-to-happen.Was this a budget PSU ? ?
The CPU VOLTAGE and aux are OK but the rest are weak by anywhere from 10 to 30%...
I'd start shopping  and don't scrimp if you can afford it.

p.s. I would run another power testing program just to get a second opinion.
What program gave you these results ?

patio.  You might say it was budget. It came with a $30 case, y'know?

I used SiSoftware SANDRA to get these results. Can you recommend another program?

I'm definitely looking into a new, high-quality PSU. However, I completely exhausted Christmas by purchasing an nVidia GeForce 7800GTX...so we'll see how long it takes for me to acquire sufficient funds.

Right now I've got a second computer's PSU powering all of my case fans...but that's a different story.armadnigeneral.......... your CPU and Aux voltages are resonable ...however the next 4 are dangerously low and the last 2 are ok ......
I would be looking for a new power supply soon ..before you do some potential damage to your pc .....

I would d/L everest and pc wizard2005 and confirm the reading you posted ...and if the low READINGS are confirmed , go shopping for a new PSU ..or you may end up shopping for a new pc .

dl65  Just downloaded Everest and checked out the voltages. It's confirmed, they really are that low!

So the question I have to ask now is, why? Is it just a really poor PSU, or am I trying to run too many devices on 450W?It's just poor, 450W should handle your load.Thank you very much to everyone who helped, I'm right now looking at several power supplies whose prices exceed double the amount of the case with which my current PSU came.

Seems I would have been looking for a new PSU anyway, since my new 7800GTX card requires a 12V rating of 22A, and my current one, horrible as it is, is only rated for 18A.

Once again, thank you to all who helped.I'd recommend Antec, Thermaltake or Zalman....

patio.  armadnigeneral.......A little tip when purchasing a new power supply ....... You may notice more than one chioice in any given wattage range .......So the tip is CHOOSE the one that is the heaviest ......... You will probably FIND that is more $ than the lighter one ........
But remember , you only get what you pay for .

dl65

i have a laptop with Red Hat installed on it. the floppy bay is broken. im LOOKING for a way to fdisk, format, or debug this system without floppy support. i tried booting from a bootable windows xp cdrom at start up. but it just loads redhat normally EVERYTIME. and i did CHANGE the bios boot order. i just need a way to get linux off, and xp on, without floppy support. someone suggested running windows from inside linux. but im having trouble MOUNTING my cdrom as well...

the real question is.. how do i get bios to find my USB external floppy drive so i can access a 98 boot disk??First even if you could run Windows from within Linux you would still not be able to fdisk / format because you can't perform those operations from the same drive they are running on.
Second in order for the BIOS to be able to boot from the external HDD it needs to be supported by that MBoard so check your docs or visit the manuf. site.
Third when you switched the laptop to boot to CDRom first did you hit F10 to save that setting before you exited the BIOS ? ?
It should work. There is a scroll MESAGE on the bottom of the screen that says press any key to boot from CD on your next boot.
Also your XP CD has to be a genuine...a copied one normally won't work.

Let us know...

patio.

Hi
I have a friend who is buying this computer, (link below) what we wondered was, is this pci express or agp graphics. Im really not sure what 256 ATI x600 DVI graphics is, is it onboard graphics or is it a graphics CARD. Thanks in advance for any help offered. oh and one more thing is the graphics a top of the range one or middle of the range.

http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/[email protected][email protected]&BV_EngineID=ccdfaddggmfhhhicflgceggdhhmdgmk.0&page=Product&sku=458205&tabIndex=1Crafty.......heres some info on the card ......
Features of the X600

World’s first PCI Express™Graphics Chip
Native x16 lane PCI Express
DOUBLE the bandwidth of AGP 8X
Increased memory bandwidth to 12 Gigabytes/sec.
Four extreme parallel 3D rendering pixel pipelines
Two programmable vertex shader pipelines
128-bit memory interface supporting 128MB or 256MB DDR1 memory configurations
Full DirectX® 9 support

It's at the low end of the middle of the range.

dl65  

OK, kinda of a long story.  When I got my new board a year AGO (it's a biostar) I never could get the onboard sound to work.  It was supposed to have SURROUND sound and all that, I only use 2 channel speakers.  So I wired the headphone jack that came on my tower to the board and I got the left channel.  

About 3 months ago I started upgrading and bought new speakers (still 2 channel.)  I also bought a no name sound card for 8 bucks.  Long story short, while gaming it would quit working after a while and I would have to REBOOT to get any sound.  So, I met a guy in a computer store that gave me an ooooolllllldddd soundblaster 16.  That one worked great but every once in a while, my computer would LOCK up and it would blast this high pitch frequency.  

So, I looked on ebay and FOUND a good Soundblaster live! 5.1 card.  I got it and installed it, along with all the drivers, now I am back to square one, only 1 channel.  The old sound blaster worked fine.  I have messed around with changing the analog/digital options, along with a mess of other options but all i can get is the left channel.  Please help.Have you tried updating the DRIVERS

Hi, I just want to SAY thanks in advance to anyone who attempts to help me with this problem.

I was recently reformatting extra HD's through my computer, but when I set my original HD back in I had a problem. While I was reformatting I used the BIOS to change a few things, like boot order and what not. The one thing I changed that I believe has rellevance to this problem is the FSB. Now I had thought my MB could run a 400FSB so I changed it from 50-200. Now my computer will power up, but I do not get any video output. I checked the graphics card, and it seemed to be working, the motherboard is working, all my fans are working, my hard drive is working, the only things that aren't working are my mouse(no optical light) and my keyboard as well as the no screen.

If any one could help I would greatly apprciate it. Im sorry if i did not add enough information, if you feel that I have not then please notify me and I will try my best to awnser. Thanks again to any one that helps.The CMOS may have been slightly corrupted. However, first check the jumper settings on your hard drive, to make sure they're configured for your arrangement. If that doesn't turn progress, locate the BIOS Reset jumper, SWITCH, or button on your motherboard (if you don't know where this is, check your board's MANUAL or website).

This will completely clear all CMOS settings and reset them to their factory defaults. Unless there's a deeper problem, this should allow you to boot up, enter BIOS SETUP, and RECONFIGURE to your liking.

this may be simple to you guys; but i am a complete novice to pc building. so it is'nt to me
my problem is i  have recently bought a new pc, and the graphics card ( nvide geforce mx440) was taken from my old pc and installed in it.

my problem is i am trying to rebuild the old pc to give to a friend, so i need to reinstall a graphics card,,,,, how do i find out if a graphics card works on the mobo installed, or will any graphics card work on any mobo
silverfocks.....  It's really quite simple ........what type of a graghics card do you have .......
is it a PCI or AGP ...or if its an real old card it could be a ISA .
What kind of available slots are on the mobo in the pc you are rebuilding . if the slot matches the pins on the card plug it in ...and it will work ....you may have to install drivers for it though .

DL65  the board is abit kt-7e

it has  1agp + 6 pci slots

i don't have a graphics card yet, i am trying to find out which graphics cards are usable on this board, so as i can have a look on ebayi don't have a graphics card yet, i am trying to find out which card will suit the mobo i have, so as i can have a look on ebay

the mobo is a,,, abit kt-7e.... it has 6 pci + 1 agp socket

thanks for your helpThink that board has a 2X / 4X AGP slot. For best performance, a 2X or 4X AGP card would be best.  Could also use a PCI card. Don't know if you're looking for the cheapest card you can find, or something that could handle a LITTLE gaming...  

newegg.com has some good deals going on lesser known brand names of AGP cards. With the customer reviews, you can USUALLY get a pretty good IDEA of if the card's gonna' give you PROBLEMS or not. Can pick up a fairly high-performance card pretty cheap.yes it's just something fairly cheap, i'm giving the pc to a friend when it is all put together, 4x it is then

thanks for your help

I purchased a USB2 card from a reputable high st source. As per intructions I opened the case installed the card into a pci slot closed the case and switched on. The pc won't boot up from there. It starts to run windows xp then stops and trys again. Foolishly perhaps I purchased another card from another source andthis card has the same effect. If I switch off and remove the USB2 card the PC boots up as normal. The drivers for both cards are meant to be installed after fitting the card but I can't get that far. Any ideas please.
Thanks
MarkSome general comments for your general problem.
It's not likely that both USB-2 PCI cards are bad, so suspect your system or your installation.

- try another PCI slot.  If it WORKS, then your original slot/circuit is bad.

- go into your Bios and make sure PnP is active and you aren't RESTRICTING any auto reconfiguration of your Mobo.

- check your card and make sure it's seated properly.  Don't connect any USB DEVICES to your new card until you have your drivers loaded.

Give us some more detail if you want a more detailed answer.  The above is more or less guesswork.

Dellre motherboard and computer what kind is it and how old?
the pci SLOTS can have differant use and power supply settings in the bios check with the board web site.Thanks guys. I don't know what I was doing wrong last time but I have just succesfully installed the card I purchased second. Which leads me to believe that the first one was at fault. Can't understand why it didn't work first time because I've not changed anything. I had tried both cards in all available pci slots and it wouldn't boot. The only thing I did do was increase HARDWARE accelleration in display but this wouldn't make a difference would it. That setting is only for vga devices isn't it.
Anyway thanks again for your help
Mark

I am looking at getting a computer for college. What kind of hardware should I get. Proccesor, RAM, Hard drive, etc.
I am going to major in Webpage development and just WANTED some ADVICE. I have what I sorta want in my mind but wanted some advice.Budget and needs decide the machine. You can get by with a PIII Thinkpad easily. Do you need more?Use the college pcs....save the DOSH....

or ask the college do they hire/pcs...... Quote

I am looking at getting a computer for college. What kind of hardware should I get. Processor, RAM, Hard drive, etc.
I am going to major in Webpage development and just wanted some advice. I have what I want in my mind but wanted some advice.

Hi,

Could someone tell me, is it the jumper positions that decide which drive will be master / slave, or is it the position you PLUG them into the cable?

My PC works ok with the current master/slave setup, but if I change the JUMPERS so the drives change roles, I just get to the WINDOWS XP loading page, and it NEVER gets any further. Why is this please?

Kop442000Both.
40-pin connector/40-conductor ribbon cable - Master/Slave is the proper jumper configuration.

40-pin connector/80-conductor ribbon cable - Cable Select is the preferred jumper configuration.  
Blue connector - System Board
Black connector - Master
Gray connector - Slave

http://www.mikeshardware.com/howtos/howto_connect_ide_hd.html
you can try to set both HARD drive jumpers to cable select, then on the IDE cables, the very end should be connected to the master hard drive and the connector in the middle of the cable should be connected to the slave drivelook just connect both of your hard drives on the primary IDE Controller, and jumper your second hard drive on slave.....THATS all it should take

I HAVE CHANGED THE CD-ROM AND THE BELT AND GET THE SAME MESSAGE. MY COMPUTER SHOWS IT IS INSTALLED AND WORKING??? CANT FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG.  THE LIGHT COMES ON AND I CAN EJECT THROUGHT THE COMPUTER AND EVERYTHING, I JUST CANT GET ANYTHING TO RUN?? PLEASE HELP.Have you checked the master/slave jumper config on the back of the drive. There will be a small diagram above the jumpers, it will LIKELY show you which pins to put it on. If it is the only drive on the second ide controller then it will be set as master. Also if this doesn't work, go into your setup and examine the ide config. check for the cd-rom to be the secondary master. I have had this problem before and it is wierd that you can still send the eject command through the operating system. The light comes on because there is still power GOING to it and the drive is on. Hope I helped a little and please post back with anything you try, for my future reference. THANKS Neil

Hi my problem is I cannot use my floppy drive. It will work in safe mode, but that is all. If I boot my computer with a floppy in it will give me the system ERROR,  but that is all I get from it. I have tried numerous brands of floopies. Wilson.......Well you should get an error if you have a disk in A drive at boot .....

dl65  Are you TRYING to boot from a startup disk in the floppy or just a random floppy? Because if it's not a start disk with boot information on it, it will confuse the computer into not finding an operating system THUS causing your error message. If it is a start disk your trying to boot from and your still GETTING that message then the disk may be corrupted. Post back please. NEIL

Question 1
Is it possible for a compute bios to become corrupted but still provide support for most functions?  (example Such as everything except a floppy disk or a keyboard.)

I would guess the bios EITHER WORKS or not but I have fixed keyboard problems by loading in a new bios so I am not entirely sure.

Question 2
How do you save the original bios from a motherboard that does not have any updated bios available?  When I have updated bios CHIPS, the program has provided me a way to save the existing to a file but I'm a bit fearful of just trying any program to suck out the exisiting bios.

The computer in question is a Presario 1800XL190 laptop.  No bios updates availble for this model.  The computer had a serious heat issue that I think I finally got fixed but its acting a bit strange now.  It does boot.  H/P (compaq) does not have or will not supply me the original bios for reload PURPOSES.








Quote

Question 1
Is it possible for a compute bios to become corrupted but still provide support for most functions?  (example Such as everything except a floppy disk or a keyboard.)

I would guess the bios either works or not but I have fixed keyboard problems by loading in a new bios so I am not entirely sure.

Question 2
How do you save the original bios from a motherboard that does not have any updated bios available?  When I have updated bios chips, the program has provided me a way to save the existing to a file but I'm a bit fearful of just trying any program to suck out the exisiting bios.

The computer in question is a Presario 1800XL190 laptop.  No bios updates availble for this model.  The computer had a serious heat issue that I think I finally got fixed but its acting a bit strange now.  It does boot.  H/P (compaq) does not have or will not supply me the original bios for reload purposes.

I need a new motherboard for my HP Pavilion 552w but can't find one mainly because I don't know what to look for. It has Intel P4 2.0 GHz (Willamette, Northwood), 478 socket, 400 mhz fsb and ddr 266. I think it's a microATX form but not sure. Please help with a part NUMBER or a shove in the right direction. HP says its an Asus P4S333-M OEM. Thanx in advance for any help.If it is a standard ASUS model, it should work BUT a lot of major manufacturer's have proprietray parts, power comnnectors, specific power supplies etc. Check all the specs on the HP and ASUS web site. www.google.com is your friend.  HP won't SELL you the part or POINT you towards a HP parts distributor who would?  If not, you could buy any microATX board that will work with your processor / memory and has built in GRAPHICS and sound (or buy separates). At the very worst, you'd have to buy another power supply if the plug isn't right. If I remember correctly , HP uses a standard plug. Although, sometimes the power supply is physically smaller than normal (wouldn't matter).

Obviously, wouldn't be able to use your factory restore disk with a different motherboard. Would need a Windows full install disk and drivers for any remaining HP hardware (modem?) from the HP site. Finding an Asus P4S333-M somewhere would give you a better chance of a trouble-free installation using the factory restore disk, but no guarantee.

how do i test a mobo that i acquired. they didn't think it was good, but i want to know for sure.  it is a landparty 865pe. i hooked up the 200 watt ps, VIDEO card, hd, ram. it won't even power up. no beeps not lights. grateful for any help since i am a novice at this.Does it have a cpu in it?yes and i just figured out something.  it is a p4 and my ps doesn't have a 12v plug. it is small anyway so i just ordered a ps on line and i should have it in a couple of days.  then we will see if i can get it up and running. i am anxious to see if the mobo is ok.
so thanks.  
i will get back to this post when i get the ps installed.got the new power supply, found bad on button, fixed it and it powed up, put win 2000 disk in, partitioned, started formatting drive c. last i looked it was 35% when i came back 20 min. or so later, it had shut down on its own. turned it on and the keyboard lights for only a few sec and nothing on the monitor. ps running, cpu fan running, lights on the mobo on. can anyone help?It may have been tossed for a reason. Don't spend too much finding this out.  thanks, i won't.  i already have more into it than i wanted to.  i may be looking for another mobo soon.do you have any suggestions before i can this mobo?200 watts doesn't sound like enough especially if anything else is connected to it.just got a 600 watt ps and put it in today.As suggested, don't WASTE too much on the unknown.  For little more than the price of that new PS you could have gotten a new board.

Beyond what you have already tried, you will need some test equipment, mobo schematics and a decent education in electronic repair.  Whether it's worth the effort is your call.

Dellok thank you.  i can't do that kind of testing so i will CHECK on new mobo.      ;Di don't know why, but i turned it on and loaded win2000. i have it set up for testing so i put a floor fan on it to keep it cool.  it never shut down on me in over an hour and a half.  all loaded fine and it is running!No need to use all nine holes........
as for  stable use^ was for the cpu fan to run square and to eliminate vibration.......

But make sure the plastic washers are placed before assembling it in the case.........the mobo.......

Good luck.......nice spirit.......crash or burn........


The SPACERS are there to stop the mobo earthing on the case........go it now.........remember old stuff does not like new stuff.?It is not retaining new info in the BIOS...replace that battery, Part# CR2032...

patio.

Hi
I just wondered is there a lead that will allow me to connect two COMPUTERS to just one monitor, instead of me having to disconnect it from the back of the graphics card all the time.

I have a computer i use for games and one for my work, but would like them to both use the same monitor if possible.

If there is anything would this EFFECT any of the computers performance wise.I'm sure you can buy a 'box' with a switch on it for that.
Anyone?It's CALLED a KVM switch and you can run only one OS at a time...

patio.  There you go, this place is a wealth of information, thanks Patio.
Next weeks winning LOTTO numbers... anyone?Crafty........This is what I believe your looking for .

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=577875

dl65  http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/multimonitor.mspxThanks all.4 - 9 - 11 - 12 - 18 - 30....

patio.

Hi all, I am new to this site and I am HOPING someone can shed light on my situation. I have a DELL computer and I just purchased a SONY DVD rom and I already have a NEC DL DVD burner. I used to have a NEC DVD Rom but it died and I replaced it with a Sony. My problem is when I try to burn a DVD it says the drives are not compatible. I used to be able to burn before with my NEC DVD Rom installed. Why won't my computer let the two drives work together? I can watch DVD's on either Drive and I can burn FILES and stuff but I cannot burn from one Drive to the Other? Any help or ideas would be appreiciated.  Rammer   Have you checked to see if they are jumpered correctly ? ?
The burner should be set as master and hooked to the end of the ribbon cable on IDE 2
And the ROM should be set as slave and hooked to the middle ribbon connector on IDE 2 ...

patio.

I'm thinking of buying some new RAM for my computer.

Currently I have one STICK of this:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80065-K

Now my question is, would there be any problems if I bought this: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098, or should I buy another stick of what I already have?Also, I was wondering what sort of speed increase I would GET from using the DDR400 RAM instead of the DDR333 RAM?

If the speed is negligable I'll just go with the cheaper one.I saw that both companies are same and siz of RAM is also same then why you are PLANNING to buy new one?Well I wouldn't take out the old stick (bringing my memory up to 1024), and one is DDR333 (current one) and the other is DDR400 (new one).Chrono2x....... Buy another stick of what you already have ......then you will have 1024mb ......

The other ram you mentioned WILL not be compatible with what you already have .
When you add ram , it MUST have exactly the same specs ........

Check you motherboard manual and you will see exactly what it will support .

dl65   Quote

Also, I was wondering what sort of speed increase I would get from using the DDR400 RAM instead of the DDR333 RAM?

If the speed is negligable I'll just go with the cheaper one.

I have Window's XP Home.  I have been using this for about a YEAR, all of a sudden my computer does not see the D drive.  I have tried reloading the driver, no help.  I tried replacing the ribbon cable from the CD-ROM to the mother board, no help. I replaced the CD-ROM with another I know works, no help.  When I look at the hardware manager I see the CD-ROM with a yellow explaination point.  I tried deleting the Driver and rebooting allowing the plug and play to reinstall driver, no help.  Any information I can get would be GREATLY appreciated.  Thanks
Woody1 Usually, when the device manager has that exclamation point it is usually a driver problem. Have you tried going into the bios and seeing if it even recognizes a drive in there. You may have burnt the IDE controller on the motherboard. I am having the same problem with my dvd drive. Check out the posts under "unrecognized drive in bios". I got some good responses that may help you out too.When I deleted the driver in the device manager, and I rebooted the computer, the plug and play did see the drive and loaded the correct driver.  There is still no D drive listed in "My Computer."  If the bios didn't see the drive would plug and play still try to install the driver?
CraigThe bios recognizes it if it is displayed on one of your startup screens. Have you tried the add or remove hardware, it wouldn't LET me do this with my dvd player and the device manager didn't even show there was any drive there whatsoever. We both seem to be having a very similar problem. And I'm out of ideas on this one. sorry, post back if you find anyhting else out. NeilThank you Neil, I appreciate the information and I will indeed post back if and when I find a SOLUTION?

Craigyou can try doing system restore in safe mode, maybe that COULD help

I am having trouble writing to my A: (floppy) drive.  I can read files from a floopy disk but whenever i try to save files to the floppy drive i am told that the drive is write protected.
The disks are formatted, The tab on the disk is set correctly to allow writing to the floppy disk and the disk is not full.
I am able to write to the disks on another PC, I have checked the drivers for the floppy and am told by the pc that they are up-to-date.  I have also tried using a different floppy drive but still get the same message.
I am using Windows 2000 professional on a Micron millenium PC with a PIII 500Mhz chip and 512Mb.

Can anyone help with this problem?How may mb are you trying to write to the floppy disk?


Have you move the plastic slider on the f/d to write to it....if you flip the f/d over before placing in the drive.....you will see an unlock padlock symbol.....and a locked symbol.....The disk tab is in the right place to allow me to write to the floppy disc.  I am trying to save very small DATA files, just to test the floppy drive, so there is not a problem with me trying to save a file that is too large for the floppy disc.  They are new discs so there is not a vrus issue (Norton Anti virus run on PC successfully).  The disc can also be written to on a different PC. This problem occurs with all floppy discs in my PC!

Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing this?Buy a new floppy drive unit..........does it read ok.......

Bit of an old WAY to store data.......dont you think?

What data is written to f/disks......I have tried two different floppy drives, with the same result.
Floppies are a bit archaic, but I'm trying to transfer files from an old LAPTOP that only has a floppy drive (it doesn't have the capacity to support a USB card).Data link..........nul modem cable......

Does the job
!

Or an ide adapter.......laptop drive...........>to pc....(c local>.drive...
Sometimes this works, sometimes not.
Go into the BIOS and enable floppy drive detect. It is normally disabled by default. While in BIOS make sure the floppy is set to correct parameters (1.44).The floppy drive can read discs and open files from discs but cannot write to then. Is it likely to be an issue with the BIOS not detecting the drive?It is more likely to be an issue within windows. Log in to the admin account and check to see if write permission has been denied to any accounts.2K is correct... if the drive can read files fine it is not a HARDWARE issue.

patio.  Have you tried it with a different data cable?Thank you all for your suggestions.
Patio, sorry to be a complete dunce but how would i check for write protection on the accounts?
I know that i do not have any problems with saving data to the hard drive or writing to the CD writer.

Once again, many thanks to everyone for their help.

Which vodeo card do you think is better

Ati 9700 PRO 128 mb    or


sapphire Ati 9600 XT 256mb


3dmark03 score with the sapphire is 3740

If i see the highest score on the result site most of them have a pure ATI videocard and they can score like 4000 to 5000 esily with a nice cpu. by the way here is my spec:

3 Ghz pentium 4 800 mhz
p4p800 E deluxe
1 Go Ram dual chan
120 gig HDD
sound blaster audigy 2 7.1
etc.

Hi Folks:

My NEC MultiSync FE1250 keeps flickering periodically or goes completely black followed by a white line in the middle of the monitor then the display reappears.  Any suggestions as to what this can be and how I can FIX it?

Thanks Quote

...My NEC MultiSync FE1250 keeps flickering periodically or goes completely black followed by a white line in the middle of the monitor then the display reappears.  Any suggestions as to what this can be and how I can fix it?...

When I first got this PC, the keyboard was messed up. I believe it's quite frequent to have the '' key sending up the ' " ' key etc...basically, some keys are just rearranged. I overcame this once but that was a while ago, does anyone know how I can get over it again?

I'm awaiting something embarassingly simple. :-/Just download the drivers for it... What brand of keyboard is that? ALSO, which operating system are you USING?

[glb]Flame[/glb]Windows XP.

It's a 'Dell Enhanced Quietkey PS2'. I've not been able to get any drivers for it off either the system disc or the Dell website.Mad:

Could be a prank where someone has remapped your keyboard.  

Or maybe the keyboard controller is bad.

I'd just buy another keyboard if i were you.  Some computer stores will sells used ones for about 5-10 bucks.

Regards,
Dochi! you may try to go to safe mode first and try to check if same problem persist, if not then it could be problem with windows, if yes it is a keyboard problem. you can also try to borrow another keyboard and see if it will still display a wrong character.  Hmmm, I know it's not a prank. No one who knows how to do a thing LIKE that has access to my computer and I have barely left it since I formatted the hard disk. I had this problem before and I fixed it without any hardware changes so surely there's a way to fix it, hasn't anyone experienced the same thing with a Dell or any other system?

PCDoc: Is there any way I can remap it myself, back to the way it should be?Mad Harri:

Sorry, i'm not a programmer.  

I know Windows offers a way to remap keyboards for different languages (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, German).  This is a longshot, but try checking that your keyboard input language is set to English:

1. Click Start
2. Select Settings & then choose Control Panel
3. In the Control Panel, double-click the Keyboard applet
4. In Keyboard Properties, choose the Input Locales tab
5. Under "Installed input locales" MAKE sure "EN-English (United States)" is listed.  If it is not, click Add & select it.  
6. After you have added English to the list, click on the other language (which may be french or German or Japanese), then click the button that says Remove
7. Click Apply & OK; if you are prompted to restart, click YES.

Hope that does it,
Doc

  It worked. I've got XP so I had to go into the separate Languages applet in the Control Panel because the Keyboard applet doesn't have a languages tab but, yep, it worked. I'm from the UK so I changed it from 'US English' to 'UK English'. It also got my clock back into 24 hour format instead of the AM and PM it used to be set to.

Thanks a lot, I'll be giving all my friends the link to this place if they experience any problems. Harri, you made my day!!!

Well thanks for stopping by and spreading the word! Glad to help!    Nice job EVERYONE!

[glb]Flame[/glb]

ok my computer works fine I have just had a serious problem with it overheating.   It usually only overheats and cuts off when I'm playing a game called Guild Wars.  I have tried many different things to keep the computer from crashing including opening the case and setting a fan next to it.  It still crashes but much less often.   Its happened so many times though that its starting to bug the *censored* out of me and I think it could be damaging my computer because a lot of very ODD things have been happening and it slowly increases frequency of shut offs over time.  My question is can i get a NEW case (thermaltake or something) and simply move my internals from one to the next.  If anyone has SUGGESTIONS or advice it would help alot. thanksAbsolutely... a good case and a better than average PSU just might solve your issues.
It will be a good learning experience as well.
Two things to remember...
1) Remember to be properly grounded at all times when working inside a case...
2) Take Your Time.

patio.  I would be more concerned about the heatsink, the goop & the fan speeds than the case.If anyone knows a website or something i could go to for a "self-help guide" or anything that may give me some tips on switching computer casings then please let me know.  i think it would be best if i had a little idea of what i'm doing.   If it only required UNSCREWING and screwing back in the other case then it wouldn't be a problem but somthing tells me there's more to it.
Also thnx for the help guys.

I built a system from scratch. This is what I have:

Intel D915PGN motherboard
Intel 3.0 P4 Processor
WD SATA 80gb HDD
512mb x2 DDR
nVIDIA GeForce 6600 256mb vid card
420w PS

My problem
When I cut the power on, all the fans turn but I hear 3 long beeps right after each other and no video is displayed.

What I have done to try and fix it
I disconnected everything I didnt need (floppy and cd), same problem.
I TESTED each memory stick indvidually in all four DIMM slots, same problem.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled my vid card numerous times, same problem.

Could it be?
I bought the memory from a trustworthy friend. It came from a Hewlett Packard. I've heard someone say that some memory has to be unbuffered and reg with the new mobo? What does this mean, and how do i do it.

My motherboard takes DDR 400mHz and DDR 333mHz. I don't know how MANY mHz are on the sticks I have. This is what the sticker SAYS. In this exact order:
512MB, DDR, 266, CL2.5, ECC, REG

Is this compatible or do I need to get my money back?

I have 4 SATA headers on my mobo. I have been plugging the HD into number 1. Could this be a problem?

I know my video card is seated correctly because i have taken it out and put it back in almost 20 times now. Could my video card be bad? I just bought it 3 days ago.

Ok, I'm done. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

EDIT: Through further research into the memory that is compatible with my mobo, I dont think the memory he sold me will work. All over the web it says my mobo will only accept 333mHz and 400mHz. I don't know exactly what the rating of the ones he sold me are but I think it is 266 mHz.

Also, all of the compatible memory sticks on the web say Non-ECC. The ones he sold me says ECC. Is ECC Error Checking? The memory he sold me says PC 2100. I think I need something like PC 2700 (i have no idea what that means.) Does it sound like I have a memory problem?The memory you have used is 266mhz (PC2100). PC2700 is you 333mhz and PC3300 is the 400mhz Quote

The memory you have used is 266mhz (PC2100). PC2700 is you 333mhz and PC3300 is the 400mhz

I cant hear anything but this wierd noise that goes on and on. Pleas help me.  Talk to your phsycyatrist...

patio.  Online VIRUS SCAN and SPYWARE Scans
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Highly recommended SECOND Online Malware Scan
http://www.ewido.net/en/

Hi guys.
I was in BIOS LOADING optimal settings, I restarted the pc but my monitor would not start up normally. When I PRESS a button on the monitor the menu comes up with the following:
BURN IN
H:  00KHz  V:  00Hz
[normal brighteness, color, etc, here]

Is there any way i can fix this? Do you guys have any advice .


I would first try resetting the bios back to FAILSAFE settings.
Did something start all this off or was it just natural fiddling?

Please help.
I've read the post CH000392 ATAPI imcompatible press FI
I CHECKED my cables. My CMOS setup seems to be correct. My two CD-Rom drives (one is a "generic" CD-ROM--no name, the other is an Optorite CD/DVD drive) do not show up on the Advanced BIOS Features menu Boot Sequency selection. There is no option to put it in. Only allows me to put in the floppy, or one of the hard drives.

Since my Win XP is on CD-ROM, I am unable to reinstall. I have gone online with my motherboard manufacturer (MSI) to reinstall drivers and went through the BIOS recovery feature.

I'm totally lost about what to do next. The hard drives have been working for months. This happened sometime after I got a Blue Screen of Death, as I've seen it called, when something caused possible damage to the Kernel. I did not get to write everything down from the screen before it went to black. For a while I was ABLE to manage things with the drives, while I saved some files in preparation for a reinstall. Right now I don't know if I can reinstall since the IDEs are unrecognized.

They show up in the Device Manager, but they do not show up in Windows Explorer. I can hear the motor of the generic drive run if I put a disk in, but nothing shows up on the screen. I can't open the tray of the Optorite to put in a CD. I tried updating the Optorite since I had a small update application from Optorite that worked on a past system reinstall. This time it showed an error, with no further information.

Please help. How should I proceed on this? Thank you.
_______________________________________ _______

SYSTEM INFORMATION below:

Operating System
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600)

Processor:
1.85 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache

System Model:
MSI MS-6712 1.0

Main Circuit Board:
Board: MSI MS-6712 1.0
Bus Clock: 166 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. Version 07.00T 04/02/01

Memory Modules:
1024 Megabytes Installed Memory
Slot '0' has 512 MB
Slot '1' has 512 MB
Slot '2' is Empty

Drives:
a: 3.5" format removeable media [floppy drive--this drive may not be very dependable, but have not replaced it.]
c: (NTFS on drive 0) 300.06 GB [Seagate--the master drive where Windows XP "lives"]
d: (NTFS on drive 1) 250.06 GB [Hitachi]
(Both hard drives are fairly new--last couple of months. No partitions at this time. Was planning on creating some with Partition Magic.)

Controllers:
Standary floppy disk controller
Primary IDE Channel [Controller]
Secondary IDE Channel [Controller]
VIA Bus Master IDE Controller

Bus Adapters
NEC PCI to USB Enhanced Host Controller (B1)
NEC PCI to USB Open Host Controller (2x)
VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller (3x)
VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller

Other Devices:
VIA OHCI COMPLIANT IEEE 1394 Host Controller
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
PS/2 Compatible Mouse
USB Root Hub (7x)F34Cat...... It almost sounds as if you don't have the cd drivers installed .....

do you have a win 98 boot disk ?
What boot SEQUENCE is your pc set to now ?

let us know

dl65  Thanks for the reply! Don't know how I could have missed it!
I have a floppy labelled "MS Windows 98 Start-Disk" which was created during an installation on 5/4/2001. I also have a second floppy labelled "Basic Rescue Boot Floppy Disk October 11, 2001".

Of course, I've got my CD of Win 98. My Win XP is an OEM which I bought with a peripheral.

The current boot sequency is:
1) floppy drive
2) primary master hard drive (the Seagate)
3)
Other:  Yes

I got the computer back from a shop with a new CPU installed, and this was the boot sequence. I did not add the primary slave (the Hitachi) in the boot sequence, although I could do so. It is available to add. The CD-ROMs are not available to add, although they were before Blue Screen of Death (didn't check when they dropped out because I only checked the BIOS after CD-ROM problem showed up.  The shop had put the generic CD-ROM in the sequence. If I remember correctly, they had put it in the number 3 slot.

I forgot to add that the sequence does not include the primary slave, the Hitachi, because it wasn't added in the sequence at the shop. This is the first time I've had a shop put anything in my computer, since the original assembly was done by a friend. I've put in my own graphics cards and hard drives in the past, but I didn't feel confident about getting all the compatibilities correct for a new motherboard, which is what I thought I needed at the time. (Huge problems, huge history, now resolved   , then two weeks later, this  ).

What sequence do you recommend?

Thank you so much!If it worked for awhile then quit, I'd still suspect your cables, your drives, PS, your controller or your motherboard in that order.  My suspicions point towards the Optorite drive or circuit going belly up.

You said you checked the cables?  Did you check the power connector(s) to the drives?  For example, if your master (CDROM or DVD drive) power is bad or intermittent, it can create havoc with your other drive and the IDE controller!

- remove your slave drive (disconnect it)
- try another power connector to your master
Does it work and is it recognized? Yes?  Then add the second drive as a slave and see if it works too.

- if your first master isn't recognized, then switch drives.
Does it work now?  Then your first master drive/circuit or power is probably bad.

DellPersonal bad experience with Optorite drives. They are just not very good or durable. I would be suspicious of that rascal.I can go out and buy new power connectors. When I completely disconnect cables and power to anything but the primary master, the Seagate, I still get the non-ATAPI compatible screen. I have downloaded and reinstalled the MSI controllers.

Hopefully short history:
I installed the Windows XP a few months ago. After some time, I thought I might have malware because of some balloon notes that would disappear (about LAN usage) and programs would execute that I had zipped. I couldn't trace what was going on if anything, and in a fit of what could have been paranoia , I made some adjustments that crashed my computer. So I reinstalled it. Then started freaking out about some zipped files executing. (All this turned out to be about the autoplay feature, which allows zipped files to execute--if the program is designed to execute?) So I reinstalled again, trying to really understand and tweak the system. I put in new hard drives because a friend helped me crash one . The reason I had taken it into the shop in the first place is because I WANTED to have my motherboard tested and replaced because I couldn't access the CD-ROMs. I had considered getting a new IDE, but was persuaded to try the motherboard route first. This seemed reasonable, since the shop found no problem with the drives and motherboard. They replaced the processor, since I thought it might as well get an upgrade while there. It really worked perfectly until the Blue Screen of Death. They worked after the first blue screen, but I cannot remember whether they worked the second time I got a blue screen. I'm sorry the sequence is not really clear enough. I've really been exhausted by the problems and getting very little sleep for several weeks over these things.  OMG! It works! This is the suggestion I followed:
I took the two IDEs out of the Windows Device Manager. (I didn't realize this was desirable.)  I unplugged everything again from the two devices (cables, power). For good measure I changed the CMOS readings to "Auto" rather than "CD-ROM" for each device and made sure everything was cleared (Clearing NVRAM set to "Yes" for the PNP/PCI Configuration in BIOS).

Then I plugged in and started each device separately. Windows XP detected the new hardware, and each time the computer booted, no ATAPI incompatible warning!

Windows Explorer now recognizes the devices and I have played CDs on each to make sure they're working!

Thank you so much. I'm very happy to be a member of this wonderful, new (to me) forum. I really appreciate the fast, friendly, extremely well-informed responses. I'm looking forward to participating.

Thanks, guys!F34Cat... Glad to hear your back up and running .......
Feel free to pop in anytime .

Cheers

dl65  Thanks so much!

Hi, I'm new here.

Plz dont flame me, I've did a couple searches on this ISSUE and didnt find anything.

Maybe some1 can HELP me, I was working on an open cpu and my second hardrive that was sitting on a section of the cpu vibrated to a 4" drop. It caused it to malfuntion and now my cpu will not READ the drive. What might possibly be the problem? And how can I go about fixing it. Note my hardrive STILL spins.I don't think this is SOMETHING that you can fix yourself, maybe take it to the puter fixit shop & tell them the story?Ok, I guess thats what I'll so. Thanx 4 thw help.

i didn't used my motherboard for a long time and i decided to use it again with the new memory (sdram - 128MB) and (Nvdia vcard - 64MB).. it started to boot and the monitor tells about updating CMOS and tells me to select between F1 (to update the CMOS) and F2 but my keyboard doesn't work.. The lights on keyboard are just KEEP on blinking and i'm SURE that my keyboard is fine..  Even i tried other keyboard, it still the same.. So, how can I update my CMOS if my keyboard doesn't work.. What should i do?

THANKS..You need to check that MBoards site and SEE what type of RAM is recommended...

patio.  Are you using a PS2 keyboard?
It sounds like your cmos battery has gone flat & reverted to the default.

I have a dell dimension 4500 with 128mB of RAM.  I was wanting to add an additional - 512MB PC2100 DDR 266MHz in the spare slot.  STILL not much but i am sure it will help my chugger..

I have read and tried to familiarise myself with RAM speed, MHz etc.  I WENT to a local computer store to by the RAM described above but they did not have any and the guy said just buy PC2700/333MHZ as it will work fine and just match the lower speed of the original stick.  I was skeptical and thought i would check...... thxGo to www.crucial.com and INPUT the model number. You will see exactly what you need. All RAM is not equeal, and speed is not the only variable. Some Dell's are very particular.I have some. Send me an email and I'll give you all the SPECS. [email protected]

When I bought my Dell a few years ago, I stupidly didn't get a DVD player.   Now I would REALLY like one.  So I'm ASKING advice in how to add on an external one.  

What makes it more difficult is that I need a player that will play European DVDs.  I play ALMOST exclusively foreign language DVDs which USE a European format DVD player.  Will these require a different format DVD player in the computer??  

Someone advised me that I need just to get a DVD BURNER, not a player.  But I don't know enough about this whole thing.

Can anyone advise me?Hmmmm

Try calling a computer STORE & telling them what you want.  A good salesman knows what his product can & cannot do.

Makes sure to ask them about their return policy before you fork out the doe.

Regards,
DocThere are hacks out on the net that allow you to remove region coding.My DVD player has a piece of software added to make it code-free.  But does a computer also need to have something added?
When I have asked computer store individuals, I just get blank stares, and the remark that they didn't know you couldn't play foreign dvds in American players.

When this FIRST started we got orange/red strips on the montier when wer shut down. We saw that the motherboard has a yellow on it. The computer will not shut down. It RESTARTS. We have wiped the hard drive clean. Now we are lost.
Could you give us an idea as to what this could be. Could it be the battery INSIDE the computer?

 Could you spef. which light is yellow?There is a light on the mother BOARD and it is yellow. We have another computer and the light is green on the mother board. We have switched out the moniters to verify it was the moniter going BACK and it was find. We have checked the video card and it is okay also. Now we are wondering if is the battery or the motherboard going bad.
You should really find the manual for your motherboard and see if that light means anything.We have a dell and did not get a manual. The book that came with it doesn't say anything about it.

I recently received a motherboard(AMD Processor) from one of my friends with an 80 gig hard drive as the main drive. I decided to switch to my old hard drive which is 20 gigs(from an intel celeron motherboard), so i can have all my DESKTOP settings and so forth. I made sure the settings in the Bios were right but the pc wont start up afterwards. It immediatly shuts off right after the RAM check(SCREEN turns off). I made sure it saw the 20 gig as the main drive(yes i remmembered to make the other 80 gig a slave drive) but yet it still will not boot up. Is the problem that i over looked something in the bios? Or is it the TYPE of motherboard I used? Please email or im me(Dntmesswtheryman) or just post the answers under this topic. I'll take all the help i can get get.
thanksWhen you're moving Windows to a new MB, it's an iffy situation.  You can stack the desk in your favor by doing a couple of things.

Uninstall drivers for any hardware you won't have on the new system.

Uninstall any motherboard drivers, LIKE the VIA 4-in-1 drivers or the Intel IAA drivers.

In Device Manager, uninstall EVERYTHING under IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.

Shutdown and do NOT reboot this disk on the old system again.

Is defragging an external with diskeeper an ok thing to do?No different from defrag....INTERNAL drives..just make SURE  to disable services you dont NEED?? msconfig in the run box/or ctrl+alt+del>>task manager...... i would run the chdsk/f command in the cmd prompt..first if have a PROBLEM with storage drives..to check for bad sectors/blocks..

I have recently upgraded to Windows XP pro. From what I have read the system can only activate and use a total of 4 drives. I have a hard drive, cd-rw, cd/dvd drive, hp photosmart printer media disc reader - all of which work great. However I also have a floppy drive and a zip drive which do not work. They both show in device manager that they are enabled and working, both have the most current drivers available.

Since I do not use the printer reader all the time is there a way to toggle between the floppy/printer/zip drives in order to use them when needed?

Thanks for your help. --- SusanI think that there is... Go to My Computer, find the drive(s) that you don't need, and right-click on one... Next, click on PROPERTIES... Next, click on the hardware tab. After, look at the bottom where it says enable, and click on the arrow and disable it. I hope this helps you...

[glb]Flame[/glb]I suspect that what you read was referring to the fact that you can only have four partitions on a drive. The reason being is that there are only four slots in the master boot record.

Actually you can have 26 drives installled on a system; one for each letter of the alphabet. Now before you say whoopee, drives A and B are reserved for the floppies. Even if your machine has only one or no floppy, you can't use those letters for something else. C is the hard drive. If you want to, you can partition the hard drive.

There are two types of partitions, primary and extended. Each primary partition can contain one operating system.
If you have multiple primary partions, only one can be active at any point in time and it will be assigned as the C drive.

An extended partition acts as a container and can hold multiple logical drives with each logical drive being assigned a drive letter.

As CD, DVD, USB devices GET added on to the system, they too are assigned a drive letter.

If your system is part of a network, then any shared drives that are mapped will also get a drive letter.

As you can see, there is no need to limit the number of enabled devices. More interesting though, why don't the floppy and zip drive work?

Regards
I may not have stated my problem clearly ----- neither the floppy drive or the zip drive have been assigned letter designations. They do not show up in My Computer whether they have discs in or not. I am probably just not SEEING it - but I can't find where to assign a drive letter (I know how to do it in the older Windows just not in XP). I came across the 4 drive limit when I went through the hardware troubleshooting sequence. FYI - both drives worked prior to upgrading and adding the printer and scanner and the case wasn't opened during the upgrade. This is my home computer, I'm not on a network.

I did try to use the enable/disable function, aside from it being a pain in the *censored* - it did not work to bring the floppy/zip online.

I don't use these drives often - but would like to access them upon occasion.

I appreciate any help you can give me.

Susanseburris......I think what you are refering to is the referance to your system only being able to accept 4 IDE devices ......... For example , 2 hard drives and a cd-rom as well as say a dvd drive .......There is two IDE contollers ( I think ......primary and secondary ) and each will accept 2 devices. The 3.5" floppy has its own 34 pin interface and is not part of the 4. Your media card reader......and your Zip drive......are these USB powered devices......?Do you have other USB devices installed ?

Let us know

dl65

I bought a dvd burner and put it in my computer. I changed the jumpers to the same as the cdrw I took out.  
Now I have a dvdrom and dvdrw in computer.  When I put a dvd in dvdrw it doesnt it does nothing, but when I put a cd in it, the cd is recognized and works normally. I also can burn cds in it but not dvds. What am I missing i am sure it is a setting or something similiar.  My dvd rom still works properly.  
I have Win XP So it had the drivers.
Any help is appreciated..
 BLANK CD's arent usally reconise by the computer regulary did you install a dvd-r program?I downloaded a trial version of 1clickdvd and it would also recognize the cds but not the dvd. The software did recognize the drive as dvdrw.  The drive will not play dvds just cd's. I did order a MERO program and expect it in a few days..    Have you tried putting a pre recorded dvd in the drive to see if it detects that?

Try removing the drive and IDE controllers in Device Manager and then rebooting (needs 2 reboots).As above ADVICE and make sure you have the correct driver(s).  Get them from the DISK(s) that came with your drive or download from the manufacturer's website.

Windows may not have loaded the correct ones when first detected.

Dell

Specs: Win XP Pro  w/ Service PACK 2

512MB RAM
Pentium 4 2.6Ghz
Radeon 9800 Pro
Sony CDRW CRX320E
Samsung SP8004H HD




Well my computer is acting less than favorable and I want to know if anyone else has had the same problem.

On a reboot, I keep getting

DMA Controller Error
System Halted

or

DMA-1 Error
System Halted

Now this is not a problem, after about 10-15 times turning it off and turning it back on again, it will boot up normal. However, I will be in the MIDDLE of play a game, like Civ IV or Ages III and my system will just up and reboot on me! Then it will reboot and I get the DMA Controller Error sytem message.

After about 2 months of having it, the intergrated NIC card is shot (I use a wireless USB adapter now and it works ok)

This LINK may help you

pcguide.com

Elaine

I have a NEW 80GB primary hard drive which I just installed, along with the 40GB secondary drive I've always had. The secondary drive, of course, is jumpered as the slave.

When I first installed the new drive, I jumpered it as the master and installed XP with no apparent problems. But when I booted, I got an error message: BOOT DEVICE ERROR - INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE. After much gnashing of teeth, I finally discovered that the drive would only boot if it was jumpered to Cable Select.

Is this unusual?What drive manuf. ? ?
WD's in my experience need master with slave present or they get wonky...

patio.  

The other thing i've seen is don't introduce any new drives after an OS install until you have done at least a 1/2 dozen or so cold boots. Quote

What drive manuf. ? ?
WD's in my experience need master with slave present or they get wonky...

patio.  

The other thing i've seen is don't introduce any new drives after an OS install until you have done at least a 1/2 dozen or so cold boots.

My computer:
 
Primary -  Western Digital 80GB  
Slave -  Western Digital 40GB  
 
Works perfectly with 80-conductor cable and drives set to CS.

Does not on dufs pc...........nothing new just like the owner........wally cartoons.........another wind-up by hoplessduf

:)Hi Total NEWBY here!!
My sister has all of her PHOTOS stored on her laptop (new baby, family the WHOLE 9 yards!)  She wants to burn them to disk but does not have a CD burner on that computer.  Can we hook the lap top up to my home computer and transfer the photos from the laptop to my burner then to disk?  Would I have to set up a network, or could I just use a USB cable and have my computer search for new hardware? We both run Windows XP so it seems a simple solution.  I know wishful thinking but I am ever the optimist!  Any advise?Suset Embury......Well there are a NUMBER of ways to do this .....but if you wish to do it without spending any money ........You could take the folder that has the pics in them ....zip it and E mail it to your pc ....or use msm  messenger and do a file transfer that way .......

Both methods will work and will cost nothing .....

Hope this helps

dl65  

We thought of that, she is on dial-up as she lives in a remote area, and I am on high SPEED.  Will it take hours and hours to send?  Thats why we havent gone that route.  Thanks for your repy! If you have Ethernet cards in both machines, use an Ethernet crossover cable.  If not, you can buy a special USB network cable that will do the trick.  Do NOT connect USB ports directly together without the proper direct connect cable.

My system KEEPS restarting after POST, is it a power supply PROBLEM? the following message is displayed before the operating system can be loaded and stops.
TRAP 0000000D general protection fault tr=0028 cro=00000011 cr2=0000000 and some more of the same with an errorcode=1520
What is my problem?Well friend, I think it is some sot of virus that will prevent the OS from booting. Which windows you are using? Try go to BIOS setup and change the BIOS sequence to CD ROM, HDD, Floppy. Now do boot your PC from windows 98 BOOTABLE DISK or CD. If it WORKS then the problem is with windows. Try reinstalling windows.
Take care of you and others and be happy.
Bye....
DrWahab

All I did was blow out 3 years worth of dust with an air compresser (and plugged in another memory stick which has been removed) and now I can't even get it to power up.  I'm a hardware guy, but without any schematics etc, I'm lost.  I've checked all the connections and jumper's and nothing.  Even substituted another power supply with no success.  I need a starting point.  Thanks, CT in VirginiaMore info please on the type of COMPUTER, motherboard ,proccessor ,age any peripherals drives etc..
check that all the connectors, ide cables etc. are firmly pushed into drives and motherboard. check that any fans fitted are working and the powersupply unit is switched on    ( its a SIMPLE thing but I have found it to be switched of and forgotten to be switched back on on many occasions)
the main danger with an air duster is what you point it at and how you point it, you can easily blow of jumper connecters and then disable the pc.
Try removing all LEADS from the back of the pc,
Hold the power button in for around 20 seconds,
reconnect the cables and try booting up again.

If that fails, remove the CMOS battery for about 20 seconds, refit and try again.In ADDITION to above, as a starting point:

- remove the newly added memory until you have your system working again (as it was before your cleanup).

Dell