Russian, Ukrainian & FSU Information & Manosphere Discussion Forums
General Discussion => General Chat => Topic started by: Manny on March 30, 2010, 05:33:06 PM
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My main computer has been playing up. I know a lot of you guys are savvy on such stuff so I thought I would ask.
I have plenty of gigs and rams and stuff and run XP.
Symptoms:
- Mouse/keyboard freezing up. Leave it a few minutes and they return to normal on their own
- Computer has restarted itself a few times and then given the error message that it has "recovered from a serious error"
- It isn't recognizing some USB devices plugged into it - sticks mostly.
- Sometimes starts up in a heartbeat - sometimes takes ages and/or freezes on start up. Sometimes wont shut down on its own.
- Random stuff - like today the bottom toolbar and all desktop icons vanished. They all came back with a reboot.
I've done the usual stuff, cleared cache, deleted old files, run maintenance, defragged, several virus sweeps, etc.
Its probably not the processor/powerpack overheating as it gets better with time if anything. Leave it on all night and its tickety boo next morning still. (I replaced the power pack and processor recently anyway actually).
Sometimes it can freeze up six times in an hour and then be OK the rest of the day. Its quite random.
All the new stuff I fitted a while back had SATA connections (whatever they are) but I didn't change the hard drive - is this the hard drive dying?
It froze up last night during a Skype call and cut me off (headset is USB). Had to reboot that time.
The only new hardware/software recently is a new D-Link router.
Suggestions and thoughts welcome. Apart from changing the hard drive (which is a ton of work reinstalling all your crap as you know) I am out of ideas.......
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Hey Manny it sounds as if the hard drive is getting to hot or it is on its way out that would cause the shutdowns and the errors you are talking about.
The other possibility is the motherboard is dying and has a fault on it.
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IMac Apple
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- Not recognizing some USB devices that are plugged in can have many causes from the ports being partially clogged with dirt or problems with the connection. The USB connection inside the computer could be loose and several others.
- Mouse and keyboard freezing up and then returning to normal first thing to do is to try the keyboard/mouse on another computer, if it happens there it's a keyboard/mouse problem if not it's probably driver problem or maybe a connection problem on the computer side.
- Computer has restarted itself a few times and then given the error message that it has "recovered from a serious error" is getting to be a serious problem and could be anything from a virus to a problem with the O/S. Unfortunately the best solution for this is probably to reinstall the O/S.
- Toolbar and desktop icons not appearing on startup is because a step was probably skipped in the startup routine with the O/S. Once again it's looking like replacing the O/S is the best bet.
- Varying speeds for startup is once again looking like problems with the O/S. Replacing the O/S is again probably the best bet.
If you can't do the work yourself your best bet is to get a tech guy at your local computer shop to do it unfortunately it can be expensive. In Vancouver they charge $35/hr CAN. If your computer is more than 3+ years old it is probably best to get a new computer.
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I have seen these faults many times before and most times it is the hard drive on the way out and sometimes it is the heatshield on the motherboard causing the computer to shutdown and causing the same sort of faults.
9 x out of 10 the error will be a thermal error you should check your event log on your computer not sure what computer you have but try this
Check your event Event Viewer:
Start > Run, type eventvwr
Check the Application and System errors. Note the date and time.
If you do not know how to read the error logs post them up here and i will interpret them for you.
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Event viewer - cool. Never knew that was there! ;D
I guess the bunches of red crosses all together are what I am looking for?
[attachimg=#]
When opened they all say the same: Event Type: Error, Event Source: Disk - Event Category: None - Event ID: 7
Description: The device, \Device\Harddisk5\D, has a bad block.
Data:
0000: 03 00 68 00 01 00 b6 00 ..h...¶.
0008: 00 00 00 00 07 00 04 c0 .......À
0010: 00 01 00 00 9c 00 00 c0 ......À
0018: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0020: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0028: 10 32 00 00 00 00 00 00 .2......
0030: ff ff ff ff 00 00 00 00 ÿÿÿÿ....
0038: 40 00 00 c4 02 00 00 00 @..Ä....
0040: 00 20 0a 12 40 02 20 00 . ..@. .
0048: 00 00 00 00 0a 00 00 00 ........
0050: 00 60 5c 89 48 67 65 8a .`\Hge
0058: 00 00 00 00 b8 2c 67 8a ....¸,g
0060: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0068: 28 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 (.......
0070: 01 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
0078: 70 00 03 00 00 00 00 0c p.......
0080: 00 00 00 00 11 11 00 00 ........
0088: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ........
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This may not help (best ask the guys above first) and I have no idea what the above means, but have you tried a System Restore back to a point when everything was running well? I tend to have to do that from time to time.
Start>all programmes>accessories> system tools>system restore and then choose a date when you know it was running fine
EDIT just checked my event viewer and there were only about 3 error messages going back over a 4 month period.
But reading the above it seems to be something bigger :)
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Manny,
It's time to get rid of the Commodore 64. :laugh:
You've got a bad hard drive. Back up the info that you want to keep on a thumb drive. Go get a new hard drive and the reinstall your OS, apps and data. It may be cheaper, and less painful, just to go out and get a new computer.
B.
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I agree totally with Boris about the hard drive. That screenshot leaves no mystery :8)
Also, bad blocks on a hard drive are like viruses. They multiply more quickly when they become more in numbers.
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Yep exactly what I had with my hard drive :scared0005:
and the log looks so similar :(
Get a mass storage device or a back up hard drive and get the stuff off the old one now
i lost lots of photos and documents when mine went down :(
Will never not back up again!!! :party0011:
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OK Manny it is as i suspected the hard drive, probably due to overheating as there is an error there that relates to thermal. Get all your files off your hard drive and backed up onto a stand alone hard drive if you can. As there are some thermal errors there this may be a good time to upgrade your whole computer system with a new one with better cooling fans or you could face the same problem as i did down the track having the same problem happening again (Bloody Computers).
I know it is a pain to have to do but its better than losing everything for good.
I dont know what it is with hard drives these days but i have replaced 3 in the last 18 months I run PC Alert 4 to keep check on the voltages and temps on my computer its a free software.
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Yep exactly what I had with my hard drive :scared0005:
and the log looks so similar :(
Get a mass storage device or a back up hard drive and get the stuff off the old one now
i lost lots of photos and documents when mine went down :(
Will never not back up again!!! :party0011:
Hi Sparky i do the same back up to an external hard drive but where does it end as i have had an external hard drive go as well i was lucky that all the files i needed were still on my computer as well give or take a couple.
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In complete agreeance. I say replace the internal HD and install only your OS/system peripheral drivers and then get an external HD for everything else. That is the way I am running my setup. Allows me to use my apps complete with any saved data with my laptop so I can be completely mobile and don't have to duplicate/migrate data between the 2.
If you upgrade your OS to Vista you can also create image copies of your system and save it to DVD (if you don't like the external HD idea) to back up your entire system at once so in case of any error which would require a reinstall you can just use the backup image to reinstall everything at once.
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While we are on the subject of computers any of you guys running windows 7 i am looking at going from vista to this as it looks like it is the answer to everything vista was supposed to be.
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Manny...even if you don't do anything right away...I'd take a backup of all your stuff if I were you.
Hi Schast. I just switched over all our computers this Christmas season to Windows 7. I came from XP though so I can't comment on the improvement from Vista. I will say that execpt for Mila's laptop losing the shared printer once I haven't had any issues at all.
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While we are on the subject of computers any of you guys running windows 7 i am looking at going from vista to this as it looks like it is the answer to everything vista was supposed to be.
I have some business acquaintances now using W7, and some of our software is being used on W7 right now. W7 also gives you the advantage of running some programmes in Windows XP mode, all seem to be reporting it is working OK.
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While we are on the subject of computers any of you guys running windows 7 i am looking at going from vista to this as it looks like it is the answer to everything vista was supposed to be.
Been using it since October last year!!!
Yes it is so much better than Vista and the space it frees up from you drive is most welcome to, i would say on older machines it is a must to upgrade to, just put it on a 7 year laptop and it works great.
Not had any problems with it, and at the moment i am on the Beta version of Office 2010 and that works great too and integrates with W7 nicely too
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Thanks to all for the input. Looks like its a hard drive then. I kinda expected that.
I keep nothing on the main unit since I lost it all once before so its only OS, programmes and settings. Still an afternoon tho.........
I managed to close the baby buggy today without notoicing wifeys brand new notebook was in the bottom - *crunch* *crack*. :hidechair:
That'll be a new notebook screen and case then together with a hard drive. :D
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I managed to close the baby buggy today without noticing wifeys brand new notebook was in the bottom - *crunch* *crack*. :hidechair:
Uuh!
Sounds like the trip to London has made a greater impact on your fragile northern nervous system than expected... :biggrin:
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Thanks to all for the input. Looks like its a hard drive then. I kinda expected that.
I keep nothing on the main unit since I lost it all once before so its only OS, programmes and settings. Still an afternoon tho.........
I managed to close the baby buggy today without notoicing wifeys brand new notebook was in the bottom - *crunch* *crack*. :hidechair:
That'll be a new notebook screen and case then together with a hard drive. :D
Oooer! I hope it was a cheapy!
I have now learned to treat computers as disposable and the data as the thing of value.
Now I have the cheapest laptop I could buy with an operating system (here, many are sold without O/S even from the big manufacturers)
My data is stored externally from external hard drives running on a mini desktop at home and I access all my stuff (and run the desktop) from Real VNC. Next I intend to start running backups to Amazon S3, this will, effectively, offer free backups because there is currently no charge for uploads, downloads should be very rare and monthly storage costs for my 200Gb of data will be $3 per month.
This might seem like overkill but my business was crippled when my laptop was stolen in Spain last year. At that time I lost most of my content library, almost 1,000,000 articles and my arsenal of applications. The cost of setting up the current system was about €1000 including the external drives that I already owned. Monthly cost is less than the cost of burning DVD's with the monthly data growth.
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Wifey now has a new notebook - identical to the one I wrecked. Just waiting for the Cyrillic keyboard stickers now.....
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Thanks guys i will be swapping over to W7 next week I wont upgrade to W7 i will be running it on a new comp that comes out already installed. The fun job will be transferring all the files across to the new comp.
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I changed the hard drive. Now it is freezing again, popping up error windows and the CD/DVD only works when it feels like it.
Could any of you guys tell me if this might indicate the motherboard is goosed please?
[attachimg=#]
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It looks like it could be but before you replace motherboards try a registry cleaner first also look on the motherboard for dust build up especially around the heatsheild and vacum it if it needs it.
Also if the ram in your comp is not enough and you are using up 100% of this at times it will cause the same sort of fault freezing. shuting down etc.
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It was. I bought a new one today then upgraded the processor at the same time.....then got carried away buying memory, a new cabinet, a 7 card reader, a silent power supply, a bunch of extra USB slots and a 22" HD monitor. :chuckle:
£300 later, only the hard drive and a few slot in devices and drives remain from the old one. At least it doesn't freeze up any more. :biggrin:
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It was. I bought a new one today then upgraded the processor at the same time.....then got carried away buying memory, a new cabinet, a 7 card reader, a silent power supply, a bunch of extra USB slots and a 22" HD monitor. :chuckle:
£300 later, only the hard drive and a few slot in devices and drives remain from the old one. At least it doesn't freeze up any more. :biggrin:
;D sounds like me when i go computer shopping
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As there are some thermal errors there this may be a good time to upgrade your whole computer system with a new one with better cooling fans or you could face the same problem as i did down the track having the same problem happening again (Bloody Computers).
You are a prophet Mark. I should have done what I did today the last time and not just the hard drive.
My wife is fond of saying, "Greedy pays twice" :laugh:
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An update to this I could use some advice on.
Funky new hardware installed and all has been OK for a couple of months. Here is the setup:
Pentium Dual Core
2.70 GHz.
3.21 GB of RAM
OS: XP Pro
Recently, the computer was slowing down again. A few days ago, I started getting the blue screen of death. It got to the stage that I had big problems getting Windoze to fire up at all. When it did, I could go and make a cup of tea while it got its act together. I ended up leaving it switched on 24/7 to avoid the loooong wait for it to fire up.
Yesterday, it took me half the morning to get it fired up at all. I was getting "insert system disc" and "no hard drive found" and no amount of "repair" or any other options would help. On some start ups, the hard drive would just continually bleep. I assumed the new hard drive had malfunctioned.
I went and kidnapped my techie inclined pal, who decided the operating system was corrupt and the hard drive was OK. He formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows. He went away and it was all working fine.........
An hour later, it was rebooting on its own (when unattended) and asking me to insert system disc again. :'(
So I did some sniffing to the best of my ability. And some Googling. Here's what I found.......
In the "windows" folder is a txt file called "setuperr" -- in it, it says:
Error:
Setup detected that the system file named [c:\windows\system32\uxtheme.dll] is not signed properly
by Microsoft. This file could not be restored to the correct Microsoft version.
Use the SFC utility to verify the integrity of the file.
***
My question is, is that my problem, and how do I fix that please?
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IMac Apple
My next question is: Is it true that Apple computers don't suffer from all this type of stuff?
Most of the very computer savvy blokes I encounter, and most techs, seem to use Apple machines. I am wondering if the rumours are true about Windows; should I just throw this one in the trash and go buy an Apple machine for issue free computing?
Many of you blokes are much more computer savvy than me, so I am all ears to any opinions.
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IMac Apple
My next question is: Is it true that Apple computers don't suffer from all this type of stuff?
Most of the very computer savvy blokes I encounter, and most techs, seem to use Apple machines. I am wondering if the rumours are true about Windows; should I just throw this one in the trash and go buy an Apple machine for issue free computing?
Many of you blokes are much more computer savvy than me, so I am all ears to any opinions.
Generally speaking an Apple MacBook (laptop) seems to be more stable than a Windows based laptop. I've never had an Apple desktop but the MacBook has never given me any problems. The problem with using a MacBook is that the world runs on Windows computers. At some time in the future you might have a file or program that needs to run on a Windows machine or you will need some type of 3rd party software to make it run on a MacBook. As the saying goes "Everyone uses Windows based machines because everyone uses Windows based machines".
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Stuff happens to computers and doing what you do eventually you will find that you need Windows.
In this case, did your guy use a proper, paid for and licensed version of Windows or did he use something from a car boot sale?
I bet that if the latter is true then using the former to do a clean install will solve the problem.
If the Windows was fully licensed for your machine then I got nuttin' coz it is an install issue.
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IMac Apple
My next question is: Is it true that Apple computers don't suffer from all this type of stuff?
Most of the very computer savvy blokes I encounter, and most techs, seem to use Apple machines. I am wondering if the rumours are true about Windows; should I just throw this one in the trash and go buy an Apple machine for issue free computing?
Many of you blokes are much more computer savvy than me, so I am all ears to any opinions.
I gave my father an apple (he is 83) because it would be unrealistic to ask him to become windows savvy (with all the issues). True Apple is the best and with the least issues, but he only uses email and browsing and some online games, no other stuff,
So,..it all depends on your needs Manny.
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Manny--
A fresh reinstall would seem to indicate that there is, indeed, some kind of hardware problem going on. There are various hard disk utilities that will read the SMART status of the disk, which may indicate it is beginning to fail. Also, various utilities will do extensive testing of the disk using various read/write combinations. That, too, would be very interesting to know.
It could be something else and may be very subtle. I have seen intermittent problems with RAM, with power supplies, and even with tiny shorts on motherboard circuitry that can cause this sort of thing--but the first thing to check is the disk itself in a somewhat more thorough manner than it appears to have been done.
As for reliable software, there should be no reason if the hardware you have proves to be good. For example, I run Linux about 99 percent of the time. It is far more reliable than Windows, and is usually faster on any given machine as well. Today, there are relatively few programs that run in Windows that you can't find replacements for in Linux--or run using the WINE program or even run a virtual machine setup to actually run Windows on top of Linux for any programs you really must have that are designed for Windows.
My stepson is having a problem on his desktop at present--he tried to reload XP on it, and it refused to recognize the built-in Realtech ethernet adapter. The ASUS driver disk *said* the proper driver was installed--but for some reason we haven't yet figured out it appears to have lied to us. Complicating the issue is the fact that his version of XP is a Russian language edition--so I am not particularly helpful in getting it figured out. In our case, we know the hardware is fine--I ran Linux from a live CD and had no trouble at all connecting to our router through the ethernet connection on his box.
In your case, if your friend did a completely fresh reinstall, after reformatting the partition--then I expect you'll likely find some kind of problem with the disk that may be a bit subtle or intermittent and thus be difficult to discover in a quick examination.
David
An update to this I could use some advice on.
Funky new hardware installed and all has been OK for a couple of months. Here is the setup:
Pentium Dual Core
2.70 GHz.
3.21 GB of RAM
OS: XP Pro
Recently, the computer was slowing down again. A few days ago, I started getting the blue screen of death. It got to the stage that I had big problems getting Windoze to fire up at all. When it did, I could go and make a cup of tea while it got its act together. I ended up leaving it switched on 24/7 to avoid the loooong wait for it to fire up.
Yesterday, it took me half the morning to get it fired up at all. I was getting "insert system disc" and "no hard drive found" and no amount of "repair" or any other options would help. On some start ups, the hard drive would just continually bleep. I assumed the new hard drive had malfunctioned.
I went and kidnapped my techie inclined pal, who decided the operating system was corrupt and the hard drive was OK. He formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows. He went away and it was all working fine.........
An hour later, it was rebooting on its own (when unattended) and asking me to insert system disc again. :'(
So I did some sniffing to the best of my ability. And some Googling. Here's what I found.......
In the "windows" folder is a txt file called "setuperr" -- in it, it says:
Error:
Setup detected that the system file named [c:\windows\system32\uxtheme.dll] is not signed properly
by Microsoft. This file could not be restored to the correct Microsoft version.
Use the SFC utility to verify the integrity of the file.
***
My question is, is that my problem, and how do I fix that please?
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Hey Manny sounds like the CPU will get back to you on that.
Apple Macs have just as many problems at times its a myth that they are better
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An update to this I could use some advice on.
Funky new hardware installed and all has been OK for a couple of months. Here is the setup:
Pentium Dual Core
2.70 GHz.
3.21 GB of RAM
OS: XP Pro
Recently, the computer was slowing down again. A few days ago, I started getting the blue screen of death. It got to the stage that I had big problems getting Windoze to fire up at all. When it did, I could go and make a cup of tea while it got its act together. I ended up leaving it switched on 24/7 to avoid the loooong wait for it to fire up.
Yesterday, it took me half the morning to get it fired up at all. I was getting "insert system disc" and "no hard drive found" and no amount of "repair" or any other options would help. On some start ups, the hard drive would just continually bleep. I assumed the new hard drive had malfunctioned.
I went and kidnapped my techie inclined pal, who decided the operating system was corrupt and the hard drive was OK. He formatted the hard drive and re-installed Windows. He went away and it was all working fine.........
An hour later, it was rebooting on its own (when unattended) and asking me to insert system disc again. :'(
So I did some sniffing to the best of my ability. And some Googling. Here's what I found.......
In the "windows" folder is a txt file called "setuperr" -- in it, it says:
Error:
Setup detected that the system file named [c:\windows\system32\uxtheme.dll] is not signed properly
by Microsoft. This file could not be restored to the correct Microsoft version.
Use the SFC utility to verify the integrity of the file.
***
My question is, is that my problem, and how do I fix that please?
Ok Manny this is what the problem could be there were some bad sectors on the hard drive which caused the blue screen of death so reformatting the hard drive was a good idea. if a non genuine copy of windows xpro was used then when the system did an update of windows it then detected a non genuine copy so it blocked the file or did not replace it. Easy fix reformat and reload a genuine copy of xpro then do a windows update and verification.
The other thing it could have been that there was or still is a virus that has replaced the file that you need uxtheme.dll this is a bloody tough one to try and fix and there are plenty of virus'es around that are set up to attack these crucial files as the people that create them hate microsoft or are from microsoft that is debateble. As you had it slow up before you lost the genuine uxtheme.dll file this is the most likely cause a virus.
So reformat, reload, and verify the copy with microsoft so the windows updates download all the crucial files you need.
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Blue Screens Of Death (BSOD) can have various causes:
1. Did you actually replace the hard drive that was giving you errors? I personally can recommend Western Digital or Seagate (I prefer Western Digital, but Seagate has proven me to be very reliable as well over the last 15 years). My main PC runs 24/7 so it puts quite some strain on the drives.
Over the years I had a few hard drives failing (it's a normal thing especially when running them 24/7 ;)). The service of both Seagate (sent broken one and received new one in 6 days) and Western Digital (they offer to send you a new drive when you leave your credit card details, you can then swap the faulty drive with the new one and send the faulty back within 30 days and you won't be charged). This option is especially nice when you know your drive is still working and want to copy stuff over without needing to borrow/buy another drive ;)
2. Another thing that COULD be the issue is your memory, which I believe to be the most common cause for BSOD's nowadays. There's a tool called MemTest86 (you can easily find it on Google), you can download an ISO, burn it with IMGBurn, Nero or whatever program. This tool will test your memory by writing and verifying random data to make sure your memory isn't faulty!
3. A third cause could be some problem with the chips on your mainboard. A number of years ago quite a few mainboard manufacturers bought some faulty components called "capacitors" which after a while would start leaking and loosing their function (http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195). If you post the make and model of your motherboard this can be easily checked on Google to see if other people reported the same problem.
4. A fourth cause can always be some hardware conflict of any kind.
My best guess would be the hard drive when it wasn't replaced, 2nd the memory, 3rd could be the capacitors.
P.s.
On Windows 7: The best thing from Microsoft since Windows 2000! Been running it at home, recently also on work laptop and I'm impressed by it. Incredibly stable, good support for new hardware out of the box. Feels quick and responsive. There are some tricks to get it fully licensed for free that Microsoft can never find out and doesn't involve any software hacks so also doesn't cause instability!
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Just saw you replaced your hard drive, so that shouldn't be it. Best guess would be faulty memory or mainboard...
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Yet another possibility might be a faulty power supply. When they start to go, the first indication is often computation errors and normal operations such as disk writes--usually on a seemingly random basis.
However, as I stated before, I agree with Herrie that it is likely to be a hard disk issue more than anything else.
About high-quality capacitors--that is one reason that I have used ASUS motherboards for years--they seem to be the most consistently high-quality board supplier out there. The quality of their components is as good as anyone in the market today--including Apple, by the way.
I have been so impressed with ASUS that when I had to replace my laptop in August I bought one of their machines. So far, I am thoroughly impressed with it
When it comes to hard disk replacement, I believe two other brands also merit consideration: Samsung and Hitachi. The Samsung Spinpoint drives represent excellent value for money, and tend to be very quiet in operation. My current primary drive is a Seagate Momentus series hybrid drive, which contains 4 GB of flash memory in a solid state drive setup integrated with a 500 GB rotating disk. The combination is quite fast, very quiet, and surprisingly low power is needed in normal operation. It is, however, a tad expensive at about $130 (U.S. list price)--and of course it's a notebook drive.
If the machine in question is a desktop, drives today are cheap enough that replacement isn't much of an issue for most folks.
For hard disk testing and diagnosis software (as well as various other programs to test a system), one very nice resource is the Ultimate Boot CD: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ Or, if you'd rather have it on a USB memory key, it is available through the unetbootin utility: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net
David
Blue Screens Of Death (BSOD) can have various causes:
1. Did you actually replace the hard drive that was giving you errors? I personally can recommend Western Digital or Seagate (I prefer Western Digital, but Seagate has proven me to be very reliable as well over the last 15 years). My main PC runs 24/7 so it puts quite some strain on the drives.
Over the years I had a few hard drives failing (it's a normal thing especially when running them 24/7 ;)). The service of both Seagate (sent broken one and received new one in 6 days) and Western Digital (they offer to send you a new drive when you leave your credit card details, you can then swap the faulty drive with the new one and send the faulty back within 30 days and you won't be charged). This option is especially nice when you know your drive is still working and want to copy stuff over without needing to borrow/buy another drive ;)
2. Another thing that COULD be the issue is your memory, which I believe to be the most common cause for BSOD's nowadays. There's a tool called MemTest86 (you can easily find it on Google), you can download an ISO, burn it with IMGBurn, Nero or whatever program. This tool will test your memory by writing and verifying random data to make sure your memory isn't faulty!
3. A third cause could be some problem with the chips on your mainboard. A number of years ago quite a few mainboard manufacturers bought some faulty components called "capacitors" which after a while would start leaking and loosing their function (http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195). If you post the make and model of your motherboard this can be easily checked on Google to see if other people reported the same problem.
4. A fourth cause can always be some hardware conflict of any kind.
My best guess would be the hard drive when it wasn't replaced, 2nd the memory, 3rd could be the capacitors.
P.s.
On Windows 7: The best thing from Microsoft since Windows 2000! Been running it at home, recently also on work laptop and I'm impressed by it. Incredibly stable, good support for new hardware out of the box. Feels quick and responsive. There are some tricks to get it fully licensed for free that Microsoft can never find out and doesn't involve any software hacks so also doesn't cause instability!
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Yet another possibility might be a faulty power supply. When they start to go, the first indication is often computation errors and normal operations such as disk writes--usually on a seemingly random basis.
However, as I stated before, I agree with Herrie that it is likely to be a hard disk issue more than anything else.
About high-quality capacitors--that is one reason that I have used ASUS motherboards for years--they seem to be the most consistently high-quality board supplier out there. The quality of their components is as good as anyone in the market today--including Apple, by the way.
I have been so impressed with ASUS that when I had to replace my laptop in August I bought one of their machines. So far, I am thoroughly impressed with it
When it comes to hard disk replacement, I believe two other brands also merit consideration: Samsung and Hitachi. The Samsung Spinpoint drives represent excellent value for money, and tend to be very quiet in operation. My current primary drive is a Seagate Momentus series hybrid drive, which contains 4 GB of flash memory in a solid state drive setup integrated with a 500 GB rotating disk. The combination is quite fast, very quiet, and surprisingly low power is needed in normal operation. It is, however, a tad expensive at about $130 (U.S. list price)--and of course it's a notebook drive.
If the machine in question is a desktop, drives today are cheap enough that replacement isn't much of an issue for most folks.
For hard disk testing and diagnosis software (as well as various other programs to test a system), one very nice resource is the Ultimate Boot CD: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ Or, if you'd rather have it on a USB memory key, it is available through the unetbootin utility: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net
David
I forgot about power supply, David is right there. It really pays off to buy a good one from the start (it's the first thing I look at when I assemble a PC and afterward I don't worry about it anymore ;)). The power supply usually outlives 2-3 mainboards when I decide to upgrade :)
I prefer Antec TruePower ones myself, they are quite pricey, but very reliable as well. At least 350W for nowadays computers is no luxury. Standard they fit the most PC's with cheap power supplies or ones with too little power (250W) which can cause all kinds of "funny" issues.
A cheaper but also very reliable alternative to Asus is Asrock, which was started as a budget spin-off from Asus. I've been using their boards for 5+ years and so far I can only be very satisfied.
On the disks I cannot agree with David, about a decade ago when the drives were still manufactured by IBM (now taken over by Hitachi) they had a series called Deskstar which were having a failure rate that was significantly higher compared to other brands. Since then no more IBM/Hitachi for me.
My general view on Samsung is the same: Cheap and not too reliable. I prefer to stay away from their products, be it fridges, phones, TV's or hard drives, but that's my personal view. I don't have extensive personal experience with their hard drives, so I cannot really make any proper judgment, except for my gut feeling of other people's experience with their products.
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Frankly Manny if this is the same computer that you were having trouble with earlier it is probably far better to scrap it and get a new one. Computer prices are cheap now and with Christmas coming up next month I'm sure there will be lots of deals on at the local computer shops.
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Frankly Manny if this is the same computer that you were having trouble with earlier it is probably far better to scrap it and get a new one. Computer prices are cheap now and with Christmas coming up next month I'm sure there will be lots of deals on at the local computer shops.
Same here, why bother trying to fix something that is already knackered, im my experience its usually better and more economical to bin it and save yourself all the heartache, expense and lost business time and just go buy a new one.
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Frankly Manny if this is the same computer that you were having trouble with earlier it is probably far better to scrap it and get a new one. Computer prices are cheap now and with Christmas coming up next month I'm sure there will be lots of deals on at the local computer shops.
Same here, why bother trying to fix something that is already knackered, im my experience its usually better and more economical to bin it and save yourself all the heartache, expense and lost business time and just go buy a new one.
In the past I have done the same as you, bought all sorts of fixes, downloaded everything that aparantly I needed, bought new parts, but in the end the only thing that cured is was a quick trip to the local tip :chuckle:
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I personally would stay away from anything pre-made by either a shop or brand like HP, Dell etc. The last 15 years I've always built my own PC to my own standards with only A-grade stuff and not the B-grade stuff they often use in Dell etc.
You'll have a lot more control this way and you know you have the good stuff. I'm happy to assist you in assembling one, just let me know your requirements and I can put a list of parts together for you :)
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Hi Manny
You need to find a geeky mate who has this CD:
http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd
The dodgy PC needs to have a DVD/ CD Rom drive - or SOMETHING that the PC can be 'told' to look for..
Without booting into windows it should be able to test for a fault..
SOUNDS like a hard disk drive controller or some other hard ware problem..
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With power supplies today, I suggest looking for one that is "80+ certified"--a measure of how efficient it is. One very good website that is excellent on the subject--and which also specializes in very quiet computers--is www.silentpcreview.com. They are quite good with power supply tests, and there are many good ones out there.
Today, in selecting a desktop power supply, I pay attention to the machine configuration and how it is to be used. I also look at where it will be physically located--too many people put them on the floor, where they become magnets for dust accumulation. A layer of dust acts as a thermal blanket for computer components, raising their operating temperature. It also can get into fan bearings and cause premature failure, leading to even more overheating. An input air filter is a questionable addition, in my experience, because they restrict air flow and are often not kept clean enough. As they fill with dust, they become increasingly clogged.
Thus, I try always to mount a machine at least a foot to a foot and a half above the floor. Even that little amount of elevation results in a surprising reduction in dust accumulation. I still have a routine in which I remove accumulated dust from the inside of the desktop systems on a regular basis--I usually check them quarterly or at the very least semi-annually for this purpose.
As for the hard disks--most of the Deskstar unreliability issues were many years ago, principally with a particularly bad 30 GB design. As Herrie proves, living down such a problem is very difficult. Today, though, I have seen few problems with Hitachi drives. The original drive in my new ASUS laptop was by Hitachi, which now also lives in an external drive case since I substituted the Seagate hybrid drive for it in the machine itself. That gives me both a convenient backup drive as well as a readily available replacement should the Seagate become flaky--something I learned the value of with the HP!
Samsung--in hard disks and flat panel displays at least--has been quite good. (I have also heard good reports about their cell phones, but I have no direct experience with them.) I have used these drives in machines I've built or upgraded and have many acquaintances who have as well. Their reliability has been at least as good as the other majors, from what I've seen. They have also been favorites for some years among the quiet computing crowd. I have never heard any reports that they are less reliable than the other major brands. (I've used a dozen or more thus far. The only one that has failed was the notebook drive I had for a year or so in my previous laptop. That laptop, an HP, "ate" hard drives at an alarming rate. In its four years of life, it was on its fourth hard drive when I replaced it this Summer. The original one was a Seagate; then a Western Digital; then a Samsung; and finally another W.D. -- which now resides in an external drive case and seems fine in that role. At the same time, I have used all of these brands in machines for myself and my various clients over the years without incident.)
The point is that any drive can fail, and it may not even be a problem of the drive but of the machine it's in. For instance, if ventilation is not adequate, the drive can run too hot which greatly shortens its life. That is a far more common problem than you might imagine, in fact.
When I build a desktop, I pay particular attention to ventilation and cooling issues. I am careful how I route the cables, using cable ties to keep them out of the airflow as much as possible. I use high capacity but quiet fans, and very good CPU coolers. I always make sure the hard disks are in a location that gets a good supply of fresh air.
Oh, yes--if the disk mainly fails when it has been running for a considerable time, the issue is probably heat related. The logic boards on the drives, like any electronic component, can become unreliable above some threshold temperature, which varies with the drive based on design, age, and condition.
I'd still look carefully at the hard disk. Even for a machine that is only a few months old, that would be the first suspect in my view--a complete ground-up reinstall of the OS from original media after reformatting the drive would seem to preclude a malware issue.
For a new drive with some sort of manufacturing defect, it would be common to begin to fail in the first several months of use. In fact, if you have a new machine, if it does not fail within ninety days the odds are that it will run for some years before failing. Failure within that ninety-day window should never be totally unexpected, though--given the complexity of the components.
Thus, as I said before, I'd begin with a decent hard disk test routine that can run for a few hours. That would stress the disk enough that if it has a problem it should show up.
David
I forgot about power supply, David is right there. It really pays off to buy a good one from the start (it's the first thing I look at when I assemble a PC and afterward I don't worry about it anymore ;)). The power supply usually outlives 2-3 mainboards when I decide to upgrade :)
I prefer Antec ones myself, they are quite pricey, but very reliable as well. At least 350W for nowadays computers is no luxury. Standard they fit the most PC's with cheap power supplies or ones with too little power (250W) which can cause all kinds of funny issues.
A cheaper but also very reliable alternative to Asus is Asrock, which was started as a budget spin-off from Asus. I've been using their boards for 5+ years and so far I can only be very satisfied.
On the disks I cannot agree with David, about a decade ago when the drives were still manufactured by IBM (now taken over by Hitachi) they had a series called Deskstar which were having a failure rate that was significantly higher compared to other brands. Since then no more IBM/Hitachi for me.
My general view on Samsung is the same: Cheap and not too reliable. I prefer to stay away from their products, be it fridges, phones, TV's or hard drives, but that's my personal view. I don't have extensive personal experience with their hard drives, so I cannot really make any proper judgment, except for my gut feeling of other people's experience with their products.
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Chris--
The problem with reflexively replacing the hard disk is that the problem may be elsewhere--even if that other problem may have resulted in damaging the disk drive.
When I get a new machine, I tend to test it rather extensively before using it in a production capacity. That way, if it is faulty to begin with I can return either the entire machine or any components that may be bad if it's a desktop. (Like Herrie, I don't buy complete desktops as a rule--but with laptops there really isn't much alternative).
At the same time, Manny said this is a fairly new machine. Thus, it may be a waste to discard it for yet another one--which also could have problems. Thorough system testing, then, should at least help discover which components may be faulty.
I also would agree with Herrie that if you are stuck in a Windows environment, Windows 7 is clearly superior to XP on many points.
David
Frankly Manny if this is the same computer that you were having trouble with earlier it is probably far better to scrap it and get a new one. Computer prices are cheap now and with Christmas coming up next month I'm sure there will be lots of deals on at the local computer shops.
Same here, why bother trying to fix something that is already knackered, im my experience its usually better and more economical to bin it and save yourself all the heartache, expense and lost business time and just go buy a new one.
In the past I have done the same as you, bought all sorts of fixes, downloaded everything that aparantly I needed, bought new parts, but in the end the only thing that cured is was a quick trip to the local tip :chuckle:
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Just took me about 30 mins to get on. :GRRRR:
Yes, the hard drive is new. I recall it was a Maxter.
The motherboard is new. I think AS Rock.
The processor is new. Dual core thing.
The power pack is new -- an expensive silent running one.
There isn't much that isn't new here. By new, I mean two months old.
The windows version he put on is claimed to be a corporate one that system builders use. He couldn't be bothered using my disc, as his you don't need to type stuff in or have it authorised.
Is that DLL thing in that setuperr file indicative of a windows update throwing a spanner in the works? Can that file be copied from my disc and replaced?
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Manny, thanks for the update, it looks as though I was right.
'Corporate editions' do not need activation in the same way as proper editions but as he is not a corporate user your dude got his copy from a torrent site or similar - much cheaper than paying money.
Your surmise about Windows update putting a spanner in the works is likely correct, you probably Googled and saw stuff about 'slipstreaming'?
So, thing one is to sort out your Windows install, get a proper, licensed copy and do a clean install and you will probably be OK. During the setup, as I recall, your HD will be checked for bad sectors and they will be fenced off.
After you have a decent install of Windows you can start to look for hardware issues, but I bet that you will not find any.
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'Corporate editions' do not need activation in the same way as proper editions but as he is not a corporate user your dude got his copy from a torrent site or similar - much cheaper than paying money.
I expect he did. He is not a guy who likes to pay. It was in progress by the time I noticed my disc sat on the desk still. I trusted the claim that he has installed it to hundreds of machines without incident. I expect he does so without updates. :D
I have a proper disc right here (Used it to boot up for this session in fact).
Funny, after about twenty attempts to fire the bugger into life, now I am actually on, its like lightening -- as it should be! I think I'll leave it switched on for today..........
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OK, good.
If he is going to use these installs he should tell folks they are gash and to not install updates. When you go to the torrent sites you can download Windows with service packs and updates already in but then you probably do not want to go to Microsoft to be updated. :(
Is your disk a full install disk or a recovery disk?
If it is a recovery disk it may no longer work as your guy has put on a different version that will not match up with your 'proper' disk. At worst you might have to buy a new Windows disk/licence.
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A corporate or enterprise edition of Windows should update fine--at least the ones I have run into did.
You can indeed try to install the version of that particular file from your version--it should work fine. Of course, it's probably in one of the compressed ".cab" files, but that isn't much of an issue.
Since you appear to have a licensed edition CD, to remove all doubt I'd simply do a re-install. Although a pain in the a**, it should not be all that difficult to do--just put the media in the machine and boot into it and follow the hints.
However, none of this explains the corruption of the file you received...nor the slowdown, in fact. Being able to get to the cause of those issues would be well worthwhile.
Should it turn out to be a faulty hard disk, with such a new one you should still be within warranty to get it replaced.
For the operating system on my primary computer, I always would opt for a properly licensed version. That way, there is never a question regarding updates and no worries with the validation process. (My machine came with Windows 7 Home Premium, which I retained in a dual-boot setup after installing Linux. I actually run the Windows instance a couple times a month just to keep it up to date through Microsoft Update. I wouldn't bother except for two things: I still get questions from friends and former clients about Windows issues occasionally, and my wife may have need of some apps that are Windows-centric (such as software for her ebook reader).
As soon as you can take the time, by all means do the hardware tests. Or, if you want to continue to live dangerously, do the reinstall of Windows first.
David
'Corporate editions' do not need activation in the same way as proper editions but as he is not a corporate user your dude got his copy from a torrent site or similar - much cheaper than paying money.
I expect he did. He is not a guy who likes to pay. It was in progress by the time I noticed my disc sat on the desk still. I trusted the claim that he has installed it to hundreds of machines without incident. I expect he does so without updates. :D
I have a proper disc right here (Used it to boot up for this session in fact).
Funny, after about twenty attempts to fire the bugger into life, now I am actually on, its like lightening -- as it should be! I think I'll leave it switched on for today..........
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OK i am not a techy head just someone who uses these damm things :-X
last Jan i was having all sorts of problems running my laptop it is 4 years old sony Vaio and was running XP i updated to Vista Professional and put a new hard drive in the machine, problem got better but still was shutting down without me touching it and the start up was crap too :( but it was still better than with XP that i loved
I was then with a group of Tech's from Microsoft UK and a good friend of my sister took my laptop had a look at it and said what you need is win 7 ??? so i said go for your life i am going to buy a new Laptop. told me to wait and see if he could fix it
Well here i am 8 months later the machine runs cooler and it starts up fine other than when i have so much in the start up it runs slow (told you i only use the damm thing) thanks to Moby he sorted that :party0031:
so in conclusion i am not sure if all this has had a miracle effect on my machine but it worked for me and saved me from throwing it away (for now) still liked how XP worked but are now quite used to Win 7 just took a little time to find out where the hell they had hid things :chuckle:
Ok that is from a person who is nowhere in the league of you guys :bow: :bow:
Good luck Manny i know how you feel, and the temptation to thow the damm thing on the skip is very high :ROFL:
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David, as you probably know 'corporate' editions used outside of corporations are very likely going to be cracked/hacked/pirated they use keys that can get closed down as Microsoft discovers them so updating can work and then stop. (in fact that happened to a friend recently with his Office install, Office '93, worked for years, updated on autopilot, a week or two ago it started moaning when started up...)
In this case the errors were occuring because the system was detecting invalid signatures, probably from an automated update. When I did a quick search it seemed that errors creep in when the install is a slipstreamed (customised) install and can be dealt with by overlaying a full licensed version.
Usually people who download corporate versions know better than to go round autoupdating will-he nil-he but of course the problems come when, as here, the installer did not bother to tell his client.
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Andrew,
The only corporate versions I am familiar with had valid licenses. There are far too many pirated copies out there on many torrent sites which have been modified to include various kinds of malware for me to bother with them. Thus, you probably know more about that kind of pirated version than do I. As I say, the corporate editions I am familiar with were all part of valid licenses and never had a problem updating.
There are some corporate licenses which allow copies to be installed on the users' machines at home, for example--and I have also used a few copies with "corporate" licenses that were sold to several PC users' groups for their paid members. Those, too, never had a problem in updating.
When you purchase a machine or the components to build one from an authorized dealer, you can usually get an OEM version of Windows at a reduced price. In the U.S., that is often available when you purchase a replacement hard disk, for example.
While I am certainly no fan of Microsoft, with the current status of prosecution of folks who are using pirated software I think it is simply foolish to take that particular risk. This is especially true for Microsoft software that is the target of so much of the malware out there. Without ready access to security updates, I believe you are simply asking for trouble in using pirated versions.
I have not purchased retail software in some years now. My current Windows 7 was included with the machine I wanted; my prior XP copy was on the prior laptop. In the case of the HP, I bought an inexpensive recovery disk from HP; with this ASUS, I made the recovery disks as a first order of business just in case I ever wanted to reinstall Win 7. (I was shocked when it took 5 DVDs for he "recovery disk"!)
If I have a Microsoft Office file to read or work with, I use OpenOffice.org. In Windows, I use free security software for the most part, although I won my copy of SuperAntiSpyware from a blog site. (I have found both in reading and testing that that program and the one called "Malwarebytes Anti Malware" seem to be the best available for that category; I use the free Comodo Firewall, which I find superior to the Windows built-in version. At present, I'm using the free Microsoft anti-virus product--which seems adequate.)
As I said, though, these days I turn on Win 7 about twice a month, and then usually only to check to see that all the software is up to date.
All of that said, I do *not* use automatic update from Microsoft. It is too inconvenient and frequently buggy.
For those in Windows, there are several services out there that will keep you up to date with security or even version updates of your software.
For a relatively small license fee, there are also programs that will scan your machine for outdated drivers and download and install any that may have updates available.
Again, though--I believe it is a mistake to use pirated software for anything you use on a regular basis for your business or other online activities. If cash is your main consideration, there are many alternatives that are free of charge, so there should be no reason to have to use the pirated stuff. That is most especially true with the operating system, since there are such frequent security updates if nothing else. If you choose to run Windows especially, the peace of mind that comes from being able to download and install critical patches and updates at will seems well worth the initial cost.
Of course, as I said my primary environment is Linux--so I no longer worry about those things. Updates are fast and fairly painless and, of course, free. Besides, I like the much higher performance I get with Linux compared to Windows.
David
David, as you probably know 'corporate' editions used outside of corporations are very likely going to be cracked/hacked/pirated they use keys that can get closed down as Microsoft discovers them so updating can work and then stop. (in fact that happened to a friend recently with his Office install, Office '93, worked for years, updated on autopilot, a week or two ago it started moaning when started up...)
In this case the errors were occuring because the system was detecting invalid signatures, probably from an automated update. When I did a quick search it seemed that errors creep in when the install is a slipstreamed (customised) install and can be dealt with by overlaying a full licensed version.
Usually people who download corporate versions know better than to go round autoupdating will-he nil-he but of course the problems come when, as here, the installer did not bother to tell his client.
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I just came back. It has been on all day without incident. Still working fine. I guess that rules out anything overheating etc.
I know when I boot up again it will be a palaver.
I guess my job tomorrow afternoon is format it again, install my proper legal version of XP, and see what occurs then.
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Manny--before you do that, I suggest you run one of the system inventory programs such as SIW and print out the hardware listings to be sure you know all the drivers necessary. You might also download the latest versions of same and put them on a flash drive beforehand, so the installation will go smoothly. There are free programs (such as one called "double driver" that will make copies of your drivers for ease of reinstallation that would also help.
If your legitimate copy of XP is a system manufacturer's edition with loads of "crapware" included, there is another free program with the entrancing name of "PCDeCrapifier" that will help you get rid of the unwanted stuff with just a few simple clicks.
At that point, I suggest doing a registry scan and compression, then a full defragmentation if you have eliminated much of the "free trial software" stuff that many versions of XP are burdened with.
Once you have a completely clean install with all the needed updates -- including any outstanding Microsoft updates -- if you have a decent backup program I would back up the full install. Again, there are free programs to accomplish that fairly easily. You might even create your own customized DVD of the base system in case you must do all this again in future.
As you're probably aware, set aside considerable time for the Microsoft download and update installation stuff alone.
When I have to run a Windows box on a regular basis, I generally do a registry purge and defragmentation routine on a weekly basis. That keeps the machine working at peak efficiency on that front, and keeps much fragmentation from creeping in and slowing the machine down.
I use Ccleaner quite often--and they have a new version 3.0 that is supposed to be good. It removes deleted and empty files, and has a fairly good registry scan routine as well. (www.piriform.com, IIRC).
As for security software--I suggest at the minimum a three-phase approach: a good firewall, an anti-virus program, and an anti-malware program that together can keep you from a high percentage of potential problems.
There are some good programs that also will help you tame the incredible number of things many systems wind up loading on startup.
One good site for freeware is www.shapfiles.com; there are many freeware programs categorized there, with mini-reviews and ratings that seem fairly reliable.
Doing this kind of setup is a pain, it's true, but doing it right to begin with can keep you from much grief later on. A system thus optimized will also be faster as well as more reliable than one that is not, as a common experience.
If you wish, send me an email or a pm and I'll look at some of the programs I've found useful on my Windows setup--I use it so rarely these days that some of the names escape me at the moment.
David
I just came back. It has been on all day without incident. Still working fine. I guess that rules out anything overheating etc.
I know when I boot up again it will be a palaver.
I guess my job tomorrow afternoon is format it again, install my proper legal version of XP, and see what occurs then.
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I use Ccleaner quite often--and they have a new version 3.0 that is supposed to be good. It removes deleted and empty files, and has a fairly good registry scan routine as well. (www.piriform.com, IIRC).
I have been using different versions of this on all my computers for about 4 years now and I hesitate to say this and tempt fate, but for the most part they have acted as required when asked ever since I started using it. :)
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I use Ccleaner quite often--and they have a new version 3.0 that is supposed to be good. It removes deleted and empty files, and has a fairly good registry scan routine as well. (www.piriform.com, IIRC).
I have been using different versions of this on all my computers for about 4 years now and I hesitate to say this and tempt fate, but for the most part they have acted as required when asked ever since I started using it. :)
Bloody hell you have to pay for it :snivel: where's the free one, we aint that rich you know :innocent:
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Sparky--
You seem to have been a bit hasty at your glance at the site. Yes, they have a $24.95 fee for "priority support"--but in the same box are direct download links from a freeware site called FileHippo as well as to a direct download from their own site. The payment of the fee is by no means required.
David
Bloody hell you have to pay for it :snivel: where's the free one, we aint that rich you know :innocent:
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Sparky--
You seem to have been a bit hasty at your glance at the site. Yes, they have a $24.95 fee for "priority support"--but in the same box are direct download links from a freeware site called FileHippo as well as to a direct download from their own site. The payment of the fee is by no means required.
David
Bloody hell you have to pay for it :snivel: where's the free one, we aint that rich you know :innocent:
Ok now got me glasses on :drunk:
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Yep its free, I have never paid for it, I download from filehippo usually, every computer I set up I use it on it and it always performs well. Just make sure you run it once or twice a week, its amazing how much crap you accumulate when connected to the net all the time.
BTW when it first came out it was called Crap Cleaner, a very apt name, over the last couple of years or so that has been dropped to CCleaner.
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I just came back. It has been on all day without incident. Still working fine. I guess that rules out anything overheating etc.
I know when I boot up again it will be a palaver.
I guess my job tomorrow afternoon is format it again, install my proper legal version of XP, and see what occurs then.
Your legal version should sort it out then do all the updates and service packs available from microsoft the blue screen of death is usually only caused by four things errors on the hard drive, virus, power supply on the way out and faulty hard disk
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Errors on the hard drive are usually caused by uninstalling or removing programs from your computer leaving gaps in the registry there are many registry cleaners around but beware i have not found a good one yet use at your own risk i have bought some of the best ones available and they have stuffed the hard drive so i wont use any of them any more.
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The problem with most illegal versions of XP is that it replaces some legit files with hacked versions in order for it to not nag you anymore about activation etc.
On Vista/Windows 7 there's a new approach that manufacturers use: They have a so called SLIC 2.0/2.1 table in the BIOS of the motherboard in order to activate Windows. Big manufacturers like Dell, HP, Lenovo etc all have their own tables in their BIOS-es. When you then take the certificate that matches the table in your BIOS and the generic product key you can activate Windows (each manufacturer has it's own certificate/keys as well).
For brands that don't have a SLIC table yet it's very easy to add this to the BIOS (I've done it on about a dozen different makes and models and takes only a few minutes). This way you can use the HP, Asus or whatever certificate and generic key to activate your Windows.
There is no way that Microsoft can find out, because no files of your Windows installation have been tampered with and therefore you're also sure nobody injected some backdoor or whatsoever in the cracked files. Windows Update will work without a flaw as well of course :) I've been using this method since early days of Vista and it works without issues :)
The only slight disadvantage is when you update your BIOS, you need to make sure you add the SLIC table as well before updating. But since most people don't update their BIOS in general it's not an issue.
It's currently the best, safest and most reliable way for activating a not so legit version :)
I would stay away from XP on a current machine, it's no good, especially the driver hassle for your SATA controller in the setup etc ;) Go Windows 7 :)
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
NEVER upgrade Windows, always do a clean install indeed!
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
Upgrading to a new operating system never really worked well. It's always worked better to wipe a hard drive clean and install a new O/S. In fact, if the computer is a few years old it is probably even better to install the new O/S on a new hard drive. Once some hard drives get a few years old there can be too many problems with the old hard drive and it's just better to use a new hard drive for the new O/S.
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
In this case, Manny says his computer is only a few months old. Thus, a Windows 7 install should be simple enough (assuming he isn't ready to leave the dark side and install Linux!). ;D
David
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
In this case, Manny says his computer is only a few months old. Thus, a Windows 7 install should be simple enough (assuming he isn't ready to leave the dark side and install Linux!). ;D
David
Manny could also get a second hard drive and install Linux on that. That way he could try Linux to see if he liked it and if not he would still have Windows on his primary drive.
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
In this case, Manny says his computer is only a few months old. Thus, a Windows 7 install should be simple enough (assuming he isn't ready to leave the dark side and install Linux!). ;D
David
Manny could also get a second hard drive and install Linux on that. That way he could try Linux to see if he liked it and if not he would still have Windows on his primary drive.
You don't need a 2nd drive for that, but you can just split your HD into multiple partitions :-X
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Manny could also get a second hard drive and install Linux on that. That way he could try Linux to see if he liked it and if not he would still have Windows on his primary drive.
Those wishing to try Linux can, instead, simply download and burn a "live CD" version (or put it on a flash drive, using various utilities out there such as unetbootin: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net
These run without touching the hard drive at all. If they then wish to install Linux, they simply click on an icon and then decide whether to install it in a separate partition as a dual boot arrangement (where they decide at boot up whether they wish to run Linux or Windows), or instead dedicate the entire disk to it.
There really isn't a particular reason to run Linux on a second hard disk; you would still need some sort of boot loader that would give the choice as to which one you wish to load, or perhaps to physically change drives from one to the other. The latter can be awkward, although I have seen removable drive arrangements that are fairly simple in use.
David
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Yep agree windows 7 but i would only install windows 7 on a brand new computer i have seen lots of guys try to go from XP or Vista to 7 and it has been a disaster.
In this case, Manny says his computer is only a few months old. Thus, a Windows 7 install should be simple enough (assuming he isn't ready to leave the dark side and install Linux!). ;D
David
Manny could also get a second hard drive and install Linux on that. That way he could try Linux to see if he liked it and if not he would still have Windows on his primary drive.
You don't need a 2nd drive for that, but you can just split your HD into multiple partitions :-X
True but I always like keeping O/Ss on separate hard drives and hard drives are cheap. Plus if it's on a portable or removable hard drive it can always be taken and moved to a different computer with ease.
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This is all well and good, but complete mumbo jumbo and black magic/witchcraft stuff, can we get back to basics, like for example, why do you have to click a Start button to switch off a PC ??? :chuckle:
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Manny could also get a second hard drive and install Linux on that. That way he could try Linux to see if he liked it and if not he would still have Windows on his primary drive.
Those wishing to try Linux can, instead, simply download and burn a "live CD" version (or put it on a flash drive, using various utilities out there such as unetbootin: http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net
These run without touching the hard drive at all. If they then wish to install Linux, they simply click on an icon and then decide whether to install it in a separate partition as a dual boot arrangement (where they decide at boot up whether they wish to run Linux or Windows), or instead dedicate the entire disk to it.
There really isn't a particular reason to run Linux on a second hard disk; you would still need some sort of boot loader that would give the choice as to which one you wish to load, or perhaps to physically change drives from one to the other. The latter can be awkward, although I have seen removable drive arrangements that are fairly simple in use.
David
No need for a boot loader, it's easier than that. Install a removable hard drive kit on your computer tower and make that hard drive your primary hard drive. Your secondary hard drive is in the computer. If the removable hard drive is not installed in the computer the computer defaults to the secondary hard drive. True it's more expensive but hard drives are cheap and this configuration is easy to do you don't need to be a PC tech. I done it several times on different computers.
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This is all well and good, but complete mumbo jumbo and black magic/witchcraft stuff, can we get back to basics, like for example, why do you have to click a Start button to switch off a PC ??? :chuckle:
Chris--that's one of life's imponderables--kind of like why on a Mac you always had to eject a floppy disk by moving it to the "trash" icon.
That was certainly one of the less intuitive designs in computer history. I recall the first time I used a Mac, I spent about fifteen minutes searching fruitlessly for the method--and finally had to call a friend and ask him. After all, I didn't want to *delete* the floppy's files, I simply wanted to eject the darned thing!
(On second thought, it was merely premature. Many years later, I did indeed trash my floppies...) :laugh:
David
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Do you guys ever watch 'The Big Bang Theory'?
There was an episode where the guys decided to 'help' the girl to build her TV stand.
Instead of building the thing, they threw out the instructions claiming that they represented the least satisfactory way to assemble the thing and went off to install peltier cooling, extra power supplies and all sorts of pointless gubbinses.
I read the thread after the point at which we find out what the problem is and the easily workable solution (almost certainly now implemented) and STILL youse guys are overanalysing to the max.
The problem is that, fun though this may be, too many of you are applying the same madness to your relationships (as we see from this forum) and likely to other aspects of your lives.
A few years ago you'd have been model train buffs or tabletop war gamers and women would have been a similar trial for you and for the same reasons both the social and behavioural.
I love you guys to bits but while you are talking about stuff most people are doing stuff. When we are on our deathbed we will not remember the great conversations we had about irrelevant minutiae but rather the things we did and the people with whom we did them.
Tell us Stuart, is your PC now working just fine after a quick reinstall of Windows?
How long ago did you finish the task?
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I love you guys to bits but while you are talking about stuff most people are doing stuff. When we are on our deathbed we will not remember the great conversations we had about irrelevant minutiae but rather the things we did and the people with whom we did them.
Tell us Stuart, is your PC now working just fine after a quick reinstall of Windows?
How long ago did you finish the task?
If I recall correctly, most of the comments in this thread were by gentlemen married to FSUW...while the gentleman claiming that others are off "doing stuff" apparently is making no progress to that particular goal despite claiming it is in fact something he desires.
I am not sure if this is an actual goal, but apparently the "stuff he's doing" lie in other directions.
Also, most of the comments by knowledgeable people have been by men who either are or have been employed in the IT field...so they are most definitely "doing stuff" in this line on a regular basis rather than merely talking about it.
David
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Manny,
I haven't seen today... Have you rebooted your machine since Thursday? If you have, how long did it take to reboot?
One item I was thinking is - if your machine is taking a REALLY long time to boot, there's something you can try. go to Start -> Run and type msconfig into the box and press enter. Thru this tool - you can turn "off" all the stuff that gets loaded into your machine at startup (thru the startup tab)
One thing I suggest to folks is to look at the startup tab and to *un check* ANYTHING they absolutely positively don't need - and reboot. This prevents Windows from loading stuff during startup. (NOTE: Once your machine restarts, msconfig will pop up a window telling you that changes happened to the startup and you need to confirm you know about these changes. If you press OK on this screen, msconfig will re-open the screen with all of the applications so you can verify your changes. Instead of simply clicking on OK, check the check box in the lower left corner of the screen and press OK then - this causes msconfig to close and not ask you again about changes.)
If you have a LOT of stuff listed in the startup tab, you can always turn EVERYTHING off and reboot - to test if the stuff loaded at startup is contributing to your slow start times.
Additionally, one thing you can do to test if your hardware IS the problem is - boot in Safe Mode. During startup - press F5 multiple times until your get a screen that asks you what mode you want to start your machine. Select Safe Mode and press enter. You will probably get a second or third screen asking for input - depending on your version of windows. Hit enter for each subsequent request.
If you have Hardware problems, like a bad hard drive, etc, the BLACK screen with white text will take a LONG time to update. If you have a virus or have been rooted, you should see the machine boot somewhat faster - if not a LOT faster.
IF you DO have a virus, you should see a LOT of internet activity once you power on your machine. If you have a cable modem or DSL modem, the activity light should go on constantly once your machine starts up. If this is the case, you could disconnect your computer from the net and try booting. I've seen viruses and trojans in the past that HOG the CPU whenever they can see the net. No internet, no delay - faster startup.
GS
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Tell us Stuart, is your PC now working just fine after a quick reinstall of Windows?
How long ago did you finish the task?
Hopefully doing it this evening Andrew. Update to follow........
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New (legit) Windows installed .....
All drivers, Skype, Dymo and big HP printer, Photoshop, (limited) AOL, Chrome, Acrobat, Windows updates, and a few other bits installed and all seems to be well after a bunch of reboots.
Tomorrow is the FTP uploader, Office and other stuff...........
I am hopeful!
I don't agree with some of Andrews earlier comments. There has been a lot of very good advice on this topic; and I appreciate all of it, and thank all who have participated. I will be visiting some of the links and implementing some of the stuff mentioned. This forum has some very clever computer blokes (including our super dooper resident techs).
As with anything else, I know the stuff I know about. With certain types of code, and with certain Google optimisation stuff, I rock! Other stuff I am a total dumbo with. We all excel in different areas. I think the combined computer knowledge amongst our members here is nothing short of superb! Thanks again to all!
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New (legit) Windows installed .....
All drivers, Skype, Dymo and big HP printer, Photoshop, (limited) AOL, Chrome, Acrobat, Windows updates, and a few other bits installed and all seems to be well after a bunch of reboots.
Tomorrow is the FTP uploader, Office and other stuff...........
There's another VOIP service you should know about, I think: http://www.spokn.com. Calling landline phones in the UK is cheaper than Skype Out, for one thing. You can also get a London local number for $12 per year, and they have a number there that folks can call and enter your Spoken number to call you at no additional charge to them and none to you when you're on your computer. Very convenient, I think. When you call someone in the UK and have the London number, that is what shows up on their caller ID as well.
If I recall correctly, London is the only place in Britain where they have the local number availability, unfortunately. Still, for doing business with folks in Britain who don't have Skype, you may find it convenient for those times you're in Estonia.
David
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OK i have read this thread and in the most i must say alot of it is interesting if a little out of my business / knowledge world :coffeeread:but i am learning from you guys all the time well done tiphat
I am at the moment setting up a new wholesaling / Merchant business.
So if you Technical guys could recommend anything in the following categories the information would be most gratefully received. :)
Stock control/ analytics program and must be able to be linked into Sage 50 accounting program?.
E-fax program ....so many out there just wondered if anyone was using this?.
Thanks
Mark
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OK i have read this thread and in the most i must say alot of it is interesting if a little out of my business / knowledge world :coffeeread:but i am learning from you guys all the time well done tiphat
I am at the moment setting up a new wholesaling / Merchant business.
So if you Technical guys could recommend anything in the following categories the information would be most gratefully received. :)
Stock control/ analytics program and must be able to be linked into Sage 50 accounting program?.
E-fax program ....so many out there just wondered if anyone was using this?.
Thanks
Mark
sparky a little different thought for your business, have you thought of setting up a Twitter account for your business. I know several self-employed people that have Twitter accounts and are in sales. They're always sending out a tweet about something that their company is offering. They say it is a great marketing tool for the self-employed.
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Stock control/ analytics program and must be able to be linked into Sage 50 accounting program?.
E-fax program ....so many out there just wondered if anyone was using this?.
Mark--looking at the Sage UK site, it appears that the Sage 50 Accounts Plus edition includes stock control and reporting as well. Nothing else would be as integrated as using Sage itself...it appears you simply need to move up to a more elaborate version.
As for fax software--there are obviously many out there. This is an old enough technology that most should work fairly well. The best known is Symantec's Winfax Pro, although there are many decent alternatives. If I remember correctly, some if not all of these work as an alternative printer--allowing you to fax from any application that can print. Thus, for example, since your accounting application probably can create printable invoices, you could fax those invoices quite easily to the customers involved.
If yours is a business highly reliant upon faxes as a primary business tool (and there are a few of those still around), you might also consider a piece of hardware known as a fax server. The best known is undergoing a name change, but was previously called a Castelle Fax Server: http://faxsolutions.opentext.com/2500-edition.aspx
If my memory from many years ago is still accurate, this allows you to receive faxes when the computers are off, and permits the flexibility of one or two dedicated fax lines if you need that. It is also an option to consider if your business takes off and you wind up with multiple people needing to send and receive faxes.
David
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OK i have read this thread and in the most i must say alot of it is interesting if a little out of my business / knowledge world :coffeeread:but i am learning from you guys all the time well done tiphat
I am at the moment setting up a new wholesaling / Merchant business.
So if you Technical guys could recommend anything in the following categories the information would be most gratefully received. :)
Stock control/ analytics program and must be able to be linked into Sage 50 accounting program?.
E-fax program ....so many out there just wondered if anyone was using this?.
Thanks
Mark
sparky a little different thought for your business, have you thought of setting up a Twitter account for your business. I know several self-employed people that have Twitter accounts and are in sales. They're always sending out a tweet about something that their company is offering. They say it is a great marketing tool for the self-employed.
Thanks for that Westy it is something i have absolutely no idea about, yes i here them talking about "tweeting" on the radio but that is as far as my knowledge goes on it ??? so i will look into and appreciate your input
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Stock control/ analytics program and must be able to be linked into Sage 50 accounting program?.
E-fax program ....so many out there just wondered if anyone was using this?.
Mark--looking at the Sage UK site, it appears that the Sage 50 Accounts Plus edition includes stock control and reporting as well. Nothing else would be as integrated as using Sage itself...it appears you simply need to move up to a more elaborate version.
As for fax software--there are obviously many out there. This is an old enough technology that most should work fairly well. The best known is Symantec's Winfax Pro, although there are many decent alternatives. If I remember correctly, some if not all of these work as an alternative printer--allowing you to fax from any application that can print. Thus, for example, since your accounting application probably can create printable invoices, you could fax those invoices quite easily to the customers involved.
If yours is a business highly reliant upon faxes as a primary business tool (and there are a few of those still around), you might also consider a piece of hardware known as a fax server. The best known is undergoing a name change, but was previously called a Castelle Fax Server: http://faxsolutions.opentext.com/2500-edition.aspx
If my memory from many years ago is still accurate, this allows you to receive faxes when the computers are off, and permits the flexibility of one or two dedicated fax lines if you need that. It is also an option to consider if your business takes off and you wind up with multiple people needing to send and receive faxes.
David
Thanks David,
Firstly i already have Sage line 50 as my accounts software and yes i have looked at the upgrades and the ridiculous costs that Sage want to get the complete package, so was looking for a bolt on to the back end.
The business although legal and is already LTD company status and VAT registered is still a "garage enterprise" and is not pulling in many £ just yet... so trying to find the most economical way forward ;D
The E-Fax thing is mainly to be used for Enquiry in and sending flyers out, yes as pointed out this still happens in the big wide world :o
In the construction industry that i work within, your lucky if you can find a small builder that has the slightest clue about E-Mail so they are always saying i have a fax machine / mobile i cant be bothered with that Computer thing (:) :chuckle:
So i need a thing that i can use when out and about mobile, and it also looked like it saved the usual machine sat there costing more power and ink and a extra line in! and for about £5 a month, thought i would ask here if anyone had any experience of using this system :)
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Mark I use Sage Line 50 Accounting too, well should I say my wife does for my business and we have stock control, but I think it is fairly limited in that respect without upgrading, I will have to ask her, but there is also Sage Pay for taking payments online which I am sure is seemless between Sage Accounting packages, I have not used it though, I have recently signed up for Perpetual Payments as a payment/merchant provider, (as I am moving away fro Paypal Payments Pro as much as I can) cannot fault them so far and they also provide a virtual terminal.
BTW I am currently developing a brand new site using Magento, its far easier than the Joomla ones I use/set up and has some brilliant features not available in other CRM systems. Just some free advice for you if you are interested.
EDIT my wife tells me that Sage stock control works OK and does what you want, but it is a lot of work and very inflexible, she tells me that with the Sales side of it works reasonably ok, but with purchases you have to manually input everything into the suppliers ledgers first and then go into stock and manually unput the purchase/stock bought aswell, duplication, in effect Sales and Purchases do not work together, they are totally independent of each other, not ideal and I have no idea why Sage set it up like this.
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Thanks David,
Firstly i already have Sage line 50 as my accounts software and yes i have looked at the upgrades and the ridiculous costs that Sage want to get the complete package, so was looking for a bolt on to the back end.
The business although legal and is already LTD company status and VAT registered is still a "garage enterprise" and is not pulling in many £ just yet... so trying to find the most economical way forward ;D
The E-Fax thing is mainly to be used for Enquiry in and sending flyers out, yes as pointed out this still happens in the big wide world :o
In the construction industry that i work within, your lucky if you can find a small builder that has the slightest clue about E-Mail so they are always saying i have a fax machine / mobile i cant be bothered with that Computer thing (:) :chuckle:
So i need a thing that i can use when out and about mobile, and it also looked like it saved the usual machine sat there costing more power and ink and a extra line in! and for about £5 a month, thought i would ask here if anyone had any experience of using this system :)
For mobile use, it depends upon whether you are using a laptop with some sort of wireless connectivity or a smart phone. There are various Internet-based fax services that can work quite well; you'd have to do a bit of research to find out which ones are most reliable and affordable in your location. Such an efax service would eliminate the platform concerns--as long as you have a browser, it can work.
If you don't find an affordable option for the stock control that integrates with Sage accounts, you might seriously consider moving off the Sage system entirely.
I am a Linux user by choice; I know there are free and low cost business accounting systems in Linux that could work quite well, and which include all the modules you are likely to want. These days, Linux is increasingly easy to learn to use and is very reliable. It also works well on older machines that may not be happy with the "latest and greatest" Windows versions. Some of the Linux accounting systems may be a bit complex to set up, but it is usually fairly easy to find a local Linux aficionado who can help with that.
Usually, if you have an existing business the major pain of an accounting system migration lies in migrating large amounts of account data; for a new business, that is not so much of an issue. In either case, though, I would be sure if you have an accountant for the business that you get the accountant's advice on a chart of accounts.
A number of available options are Web based. They can run on a server on a leased basis through an ISP, or you can set up the server yourself. if it is Internet-connected, you can access these apps from anywhere you have a connection--very nice for a mobile business.
Also, some have integrated CRM (customer relationship management) features which make it easy to stay on top of all inquiries, transactions, business history, and other contacts with any customer or prospective customer. When properly implemented, this can be a fabulous capability for a business and give it a competitive edge.
David
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Sparky, who are you using for a shopping cart and payment provider if selling online?
David, I have local numbers on Skype too. I have a couple of UK ones for different things and a US one too. I forget what they cost, $60 a year each rings a bell, but it is great for people to be able to call a local number and have it find you anywhere your Skype is signed in. I am a big fan of Skype (it was invented in Estonia you know). :nod:
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Manny i havent been online much in the last 4 weeks due to computer problems i blew a power supply replaced it and still could not get my computer to fire up. I noticed some raised capacitors on the mother board so knew that they had blown, replaced them but still could not get comp to fire up, put the hard drive in another comp and that was fine, scratched my head for a couple of weeks so bit the bullet and bought a new motherboard and CPU, still could not get the buggar to fire up, scratched my head for another few days as the only two original parts of the old comp were the hard drive and video card, knew the hard drive was ok so i ripped a video card out of another comp that i had and bang she fired up seems when i blew the power supply it took out the mother board and video card as well and this was stopping the comp to fire up who would have thought a video card would have stopped the comp from firing up.
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Mark I use Sage Line 50 Accounting too, well should I say my wife does for my business and we have stock control, but I think it is fairly limited in that respect without upgrading, I will have to ask her, but there is also Sage Pay for taking payments online which I am sure is seemless between Sage Accounting packages, I have not used it though, I have recently signed up for Perpetual Payments as a payment/merchant provider, (as I am moving away fro Paypal Payments Pro as much as I can) cannot fault them so far and they also provide a virtual terminal.
BTW I am currently developing a brand new site using Magento, its far easier than the Joomla ones I use/set up and has some brilliant features not available in other CRM systems. Just some free advice for you if you are interested.
EDIT my wife tells me that Sage stock control works OK and does what you want, but it is a lot of work and very inflexible, she tells me that with the Sales side of it works reasonably ok, but with purchases you have to manually input everything into the suppliers ledgers first and then go into stock and manually unput the purchase/stock bought aswell, duplication, in effect Sales and Purchases do not work together, they are totally independent of each other, not ideal and I have no idea why Sage set it up like this.
After looking at the pay pal system and its costs / the ammount of time it takes for paypal to give you the money into your bank (yes you can with the privilege of pay £5 make it quicker) i asked my bank at a meeting this week how i could get one of these mobile POS chip and pin devices, with their system Streamline (streamline next year will be its own stand alone service and will not be part of Natwest) it will be nearly 50% cheaper than paypals virtual service, put that with their 2 years free banking they are giving me then i think it will be the way I go.
The sage thing well i will eventually have a 10,000 + product range so i was rather hoping not to use Sage, i would like a stand alone system that allows me the freedom to adapt more quickly :coffeeread:
As your wife points out Sage's lack of development on their stock control side is a major factor why i do not wish to go that way :biggrin:
Manny as and when i get the web site up and running i am being pointed towards using CubeCart V3 as for my merchant account then it will be probably World pay as i get this included in my Natwest bundle when i take up the C&P contract :)
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I hope the help desk is still open.
I have a huge problem thats disappearing by the day. I need to copy on to paper for Alina's sponsorship all our skype call times. So far I have lost a couple of months since skype goes back 12 months only... :(
How does one copy this stuff? And again give me the step by step to guide me along.
tiphat
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Easy peasy!
Go to the chat thread you want to save, right click on the messages and a popup box appears, select 'select all' and all the messages will be highlighted and saved to your clipboard.
Open a text editor and paste from the clipboard (control v) and your messages will appear on your text document. Edit and save as normal.
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Don, to get beyond the year display limit, you can locate your "Application Data" folder (may be hidden, don't recall), then go into the Skype/<username> directory. There should be an IMHistory.html file based on the other username, in html format..that should have everything, I believe, not the call history, but at least some additional data for you. My version of Skype lets me go beyond a year, are you sure you can't select history beyond 1 year?
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Thanks guys but I'm very lost :drunk: I have no idea what or where I can find a text editor :(
I noticed I have not lost days yet. As I see it I had a couple of options.. print all of it out and go xmas shopping for some black felt markers to erase some ehem.. private typed comments, or call in a IT pro to get this handled... I'm leaning on the latter.
Thanks for trying. tiphat
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Thanks guys but I'm very lost :drunk: I have no idea what or where I can find a text editor :(
I noticed I have not lost days yet. As I see it I had a couple of options.. print all of it out and go xmas shopping for some black felt markers to erase some ehem.. private typed comments, or call in a IT pro to get this handled... I'm leaning on the latter.
Thanks for trying. tiphat
Don
Notepad or Textpad are simple text editors that you probably already have on your PC
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Thanks for that info Chris, I took a deep breath and tried to recall where it could be found, sure enough I found the 'Notepad' Took the better part of 90 minutes to get it all chopped up and printed out, but I did it! :party0011:
Thanks for the input guys tiphat
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Another question........ this time about photo programs. :'(
I just upgraded to yet another computer running 64 bit Windows 7. My beloved HP Image Zone, that I have used for years, wont run in Windows 7. Googling tells me it never will. :(
I have photoshop, but I have always found it to be over-complicated and a pain apart from a handful of things I have mastered. I liked the "crop to square" function, one-click black and white and "auto fix" elements of Image Zone which seem to take an age and a zillion clicks to do in Photoshop. But these are features I need for a project I am on at the moment. I looked at all the other HP programs and none come close to Image Zone.
I don't want to splash some $$ on software that I never tried in case its pants. Can any of you guys recommend something that might be idiot proof?
I was even considering running a second internal hard drive with XP on just so I can use my image zone, but am unsure how that might work on startup?
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Another question........ this time about photo programs. :'(
I just upgraded to yet another computer running 64 bit Windows 7. My beloved HP Image Zone, that I have used for years, wont run in Windows 7. Googling tells me it never will. :(
I have photoshop, but I have always found it to be over-complicated and a pain apart from a handful of things I have mastered. I liked the "crop to square" function, one-click black and white and "auto fix" elements of Image Zone which seem to take an age and a zillion clicks to do in Photoshop. But these are features I need for a project I am on at the moment. I looked at all the other HP programs and none come close to Image Zone.
I don't want to splash some $$ on software that I never tried in case its pants. Can any of you guys recommend something that might be idiot proof?
I was even considering running a second internal hard drive with XP on just so I can use my image zone, but am unsure how that might work on startup?
It might not do everything you want, but I have used this (http://www.picnik.com/)for ages, its online and costs nothing, does a lot of standard stuff
You just upload your photos and edit/crop/resize/touch up them etc as you want.
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Another question........ this time about photo programs. :'(
I just upgraded to yet another computer running 64 bit Windows 7. My beloved HP Image Zone, that I have used for years, wont run in Windows 7. Googling tells me it never will. :(
I have photoshop, but I have always found it to be over-complicated and a pain apart from a handful of things I have mastered. I liked the "crop to square" function, one-click black and white and "auto fix" elements of Image Zone which seem to take an age and a zillion clicks to do in Photoshop. But these are features I need for a project I am on at the moment. I looked at all the other HP programs and none come close to Image Zone.
I don't want to splash some $$ on software that I never tried in case its pants. Can any of you guys recommend something that might be idiot proof?
I was even considering running a second internal hard drive with XP on just so I can use my image zone, but am unsure how that might work on startup?
Have you tried XP compatibility mode?
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Have you tried XP compatibility mode?
Yes that should do it.
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I have to fork out to upgrade my version of 7 to even try that it seems.
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I have to fork out to upgrade my version of 7 to even try that it seems.
Sounds like you got Windows 7 Starter Edition? if you have try the HP Image Zone it may just run in it, I install software on to Windows 7 Starter Edition running on tablets pc's (UMPC) and although it is not always meant to work, it actually does and well, may be worth a try.
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I have Windows 7 Home Premium. I checked the compatibility thing the other night. I think you need Pro or something........
Image zone doesn't run in it because my version is 64 bit.
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I have Windows 7 Home Premium. I checked the compatibility thing the other night. I think you need Pro or something........
Image zone doesn't run in it because my version is 64 bit.
piratebay
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Another question........ this time about photo programs. :'(
I just upgraded to yet another computer running 64 bit Windows 7. My beloved HP Image Zone, that I have used for years, wont run in Windows 7. Googling tells me it never will. :(
I have photoshop, but I have always found it to be over-complicated and a pain apart from a handful of things I have mastered. I liked the "crop to square" function, one-click black and white and "auto fix" elements of Image Zone which seem to take an age and a zillion clicks to do in Photoshop. But these are features I need for a project I am on at the moment. I looked at all the other HP programs and none come close to Image Zone.
I don't want to splash some $$ on software that I never tried in case its pants. Can any of you guys recommend something that might be idiot proof?
I was even considering running a second internal hard drive with XP on just so I can use my image zone, but am unsure how that might work on startup?
It might not do everything you want, but I have used this (http://www.picnik.com/)for ages, its online and costs nothing, does a lot of standard stuff
You just upload your photos and edit/crop/resize/touch up them etc as you want.
Hey, that seems to do most of what I want! Thanks Chris. tiphat
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Another question........ this time about photo programs. :'(
I just upgraded to yet another computer running 64 bit Windows 7. My beloved HP Image Zone, that I have used for years, wont run in Windows 7. Googling tells me it never will. :(
I have photoshop, but I have always found it to be over-complicated and a pain apart from a handful of things I have mastered. I liked the "crop to square" function, one-click black and white and "auto fix" elements of Image Zone which seem to take an age and a zillion clicks to do in Photoshop. But these are features I need for a project I am on at the moment. I looked at all the other HP programs and none come close to Image Zone.
I don't want to splash some $$ on software that I never tried in case its pants. Can any of you guys recommend something that might be idiot proof?
I was even considering running a second internal hard drive with XP on just so I can use my image zone, but am unsure how that might work on startup?
It might not do everything you want, but I have used this (http://www.picnik.com/)for ages, its online and costs nothing, does a lot of standard stuff
You just upload your photos and edit/crop/resize/touch up them etc as you want.
Hey, that seems to do most of what I want! Thanks Chris. tiphat
Pajalsta / Bud Laska
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Manny--
Also, check out Aviary. They have a suite of online graphics tools. There is a Chrome extension, too, that makes accessing them a snap. These include screen capture, bitmap editor, vector editor, a separate image markup editor (for doing things like the call-outs you are interested in), and an effects editor---even an audio editor.
http://www.aviary.com
David
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An off-lease Dell Optiplex 755 with the above processor is available to me. Does anyone have an opinion if it is worth pursuing?
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An off-lease Dell Optiplex 755 with the above processor is available to me. Does anyone have an opinion if it is worth pursuing?
Tom, the optiplexes are available in multiple form factors and configurations, even by that model info, including dual or quad core CPUs.
Which form factor, and CPU?
It's at least a core 2 duo, which is a generation back now vs the i5/i7, but aren't bad performers overall.
The smallest version of the model seems limited to 4GB of RAM, the bigger ones likely 8GB due to chipset limitations.
It has remote management via hardware, which is neat, but probably you don't care about.
If you're thinking of paying more then $250 or so..pass:
http://www.usedcomputer.com/desktop-computers/dell-optiplex-755-sdt-core-2-duo-233ghz-160gb-4gb-dvdrw-vb.html
A better question would be - what would you use it for?
4-8GB of RAM in it and it's going to be fine for most uses.
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755 Small Form Factor, Intel Core 2 Quad 2.83g, 1g RAM, 80g HDD, DVD+/-RW
It's on the Dell auction and isn't getting any more action than the models with Core 2 Duo. (Perhaps other buyers aren't reading the fine print.) It's impossible to know where the bidding will go at the last moment but I was thinking about chasing it up to ~220 USD.
I don't have any memory or processor-intensive uses and don't use any 64-bit applications but it would be nice to have things running in the background without the open window running like a snail. It's unusual that a lease unit has this much processor and so little RAM but, with the glut of DDR2-800 RAM sticks on the market, that is easily remedied.
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The other day I was pootling about and ended up wasting somebody's time in an outlet for one of the local PC assemblers. I am kinda thinking about something a little more capable for running my home entertainement and hard drives than what I have doing the job which is a teeny little Compaq small form factor desktop.
I had the fond idea that I might be looking at a low end desktop but damme, it is more expensive to kit out a desktop machine than to buy a laptop. At that I was not even accounting for the energy cost differential.
A brand new basic desktop would come in at about €240 but be a little better specced in some areas than the example RG linked to, but of course it'd not have wifi, likewise only 2GB ram installed but no Windows (a common practice here, even on laptops from major vendors). A laptop would have comparable processor but have WiFi, monitor, bluetooth and cost under €300 including Windows, but with a slightly smaller HD - hardly an issue when one has multi terabytes of storage online - what's 160GB between friends in that context.
It is hard to see why most folks would want to buy a desktop machine these days.
I reckon the next toy will be a basic laptop for my use (I do not play games) and my current laptop will go under the TV.
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Have you looked at the latest generation of quad core tablets Andrew? For everything except game playing, these things are wonderful!
I have been building my own machines since the early days of the altair. I noticed about 5 years ago that assembling it myself was getting more expensive than buying a fully assembled unit. 3 years ago, I purchased a quadcore desktop from Dell capable of holding 6gb ram and 3 hard drives. My thought at the time was - I'd upgrade Vista to Windows 7 64 bit and install more memory as needed. As I too am a gamer, I made sure the unit had one of the PCI-Express x16 video slots so I could upgrade video cards. To me, the basic unit will not be upgraded unless the geeks figure out how to build quantum computers. Video cards - now THAT I'll upgrade (I've seen some Nvidia GeForce GTX 580 video cards from EVGA that I really love. The price tag however!?!?! Upwards of $580! maybe for xmas '12 - lol)
GS
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Tom - that's not bad. You can 4GB of RAM into it for peanuts, relatively speaking. I wouldn't run Vista or Win7 with 1GB of RAM, 4GB is ideal, 2GB is fine.
I do agree w/Andrew about laptops, and even tablets for casual use (assuming good eyes!); I built systems forever, staying on the cutting edge became a huge $ pit, and eventually laptops became "good enough" as storage and CPUs increased in size/performance. A quad core i7 even in a laptop is quite a nice beast, and I do some intensive work on one, with the bonus being portability, the downside being internal storage size/$ and relative lack of graphics performance which doesn't mean all that much unless you're really into movie editing, CAD, or gaming.
Nowadays, I'll pick up a refurb or slightly used laptop, max the RAM and swap the HD if need be, and call it good for 4 years or so. With a core2duo (not quad), I could still be doing the majority of my work, but did need more than the 6GB of RAM I maxxed the last machine out to; not at ALL a concern for normal usage.
However, for the $, that's not bad at all; it should keep you going for years.
Here are some similar options, just for a price sanity check:
http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1875099&Sku=J001-2100
http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=933335&CatId=6
http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=713127&CatId=6
http://www.circuitcity.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1926947&CatId=6
Be careful on which OS is loaded, and ensure it has valid keys/restore/OS media. For any of those machines, ideally you'll go with Windows 7 and 2+GB of RAM, save yourself the cost of buying it later/separately. HD space is up to you; I have a 750GB hard drive + offline storage, and it's not enough, but I have years of work, years of pictures, etc.
Better to buy almost everything but RAM already there in a used machine, so the closer to "ideal for you" RAM/HD size/OS used, you can allow for some price difference. Amusingly, buying new, you almost never want to buy the RAM/upgraded HD from the manufacturer ($$$), but find the right combo if it works for you for the $.
If the small HD in that machine works/is enough for you or you have an external drive, go for it. A ~500GB HD will run ~$100 right now, 4GB of RAM for ~$50 or so.
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Another question........ this time about photo programs. :'(
I just upgraded to yet another computer running 64 bit Windows 7. My beloved HP Image Zone, that I have used for years, wont run in Windows 7. Googling tells me it never will. :(
I have photoshop, but I have always found it to be over-complicated and a pain apart from a handful of things I have mastered. I liked the "crop to square" function, one-click black and white and "auto fix" elements of Image Zone which seem to take an age and a zillion clicks to do in Photoshop. But these are features I need for a project I am on at the moment. I looked at all the other HP programs and none come close to Image Zone.
I don't want to splash some $$ on software that I never tried in case its pants. Can any of you guys recommend something that might be idiot proof?
I was even considering running a second internal hard drive with XP on just so I can use my image zone, but am unsure how that might work on startup?
It might not do everything you want, but I have used this (http://www.picnik.com/)for ages, its online and costs nothing, does a lot of standard stuff
You just upload your photos and edit/crop/resize/touch up them etc as you want.
Hey, that seems to do most of what I want! Thanks Chris. tiphat
I use this through Google Chrome Apps:
http://www.sumopaint.com/app/
Works great and is OS independent.
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You can also try something like Paint.net for image editing. I prefer Lightroom for general image cleanup, but paint.net isn't bad and it's free.
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You can also try something like Paint.net for image editing. I prefer Lightroom for general image cleanup, but paint.net isn't bad and it's free.
I also use LR 4 and Photoshop CS5+
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I find photoshop too complicated for anything but mundane tasks - I always have.
I am managing with the version of Paint that is bundled with Windows right now. It does everything I need except convert to black and white, which other stuff does as noted above.
One thing I am having an issue with at the moment is reducing a large 300 dpi image (a book cover) to something small enough I can use in banner ads. The quality seems to degrade terribly.
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I missed out on the quad-core computer because I was helping my neighbor and my return home was delayed by his monolog about his belief in God. Someone bought it for 133USD. (I guess that God didn't want me to have it.)
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I find photoshop too complicated for anything but mundane tasks - I always have.
Me too.
I am managing with the version of Paint that is bundled with Windows right now. It does everything I need except convert to black and white, which other stuff does as noted above.
One thing I am having an issue with at the moment is reducing a large 300 dpi image (a book cover) to something small enough I can use in banner ads. The quality seems to degrade terribly.
Try this one (http://fotoflexer.com/), dead easy to use, similar to the other Picnik one (which is closing soon) I mentioned upthread but more features.
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I find photoshop too complicated for anything but mundane tasks - I always have.
I am managing with the version of Paint that is bundled with Windows right now. It does everything I need except convert to black and white, which other stuff does as noted above.
One thing I am having an issue with at the moment is reducing a large 300 dpi image (a book cover) to something small enough I can use in banner ads. The quality seems to degrade terribly.
"Upgrade" to Picassa, Lightroom trial or paint.net
And possibly use a cleaner source than jpeg, and just scale/transform from that higher quality source, instead of multiple steps all using JPEG, etc.
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I missed out on the quad-core computer because I was helping my neighbor and my return home was delayed by his monolog about his belief in God. Someone bought it for 133USD. (I guess that God didn't want me to have it.)
:chuckle:
That's too bad, a nice deal at that price.
I think the lowest of the list priced above was around $200, but may work as a backup, not too far off in $.
A dual core core2duo with decent RAM will still keep you going for some time unless doing a lot of more strenuous tasks, and even then, will still easily work with today's software, just a bit slower than the i5/i7s.
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I find photoshop too complicated for anything but mundane tasks - I always have.
I am managing with the version of Paint that is bundled with Windows right now. It does everything I need except convert to black and white, which other stuff does as noted above.
One thing I am having an issue with at the moment is reducing a large 300 dpi image (a book cover) to something small enough I can use in banner ads. The quality seems to degrade terribly.
"Upgrade" to Picassa, Lightroom trial or paint.net
And possibly use a cleaner source than jpeg, and just scale/transform from that higher quality source, instead of multiple steps all using JPEG, etc.
I have a TIFF from the photographer....... I dunno if that is "cleaner" than a jpeg [jpg] or not? Its all terribly difficult...... The title launched 4 months ago and the banner ads are still lacking.....
I convinced the MD of a national chain today that a book I haven't started yet [the next one] is "well in progress". :snivel: :-X
I'll catch up when wifey goes to Russia to see the folks soon...... ;D
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TIFF > JPEG, preferably 16 bit, but still better.
Short non tech answer: TIFF doesn't lose image data(quality) via lossy compression, JPEG does.
Keep the original TIFF as the master image to not touch, just make copies from it, scale it to other TIFFs for sizing, editing etc., then convert to final size/web images as JPG or PNG, etc.
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TIFF > JPEG, preferably 16 bit, but still better.
Short non tech answer: TIFF doesn't lose image data(quality) via lossy compression, JPEG does.
Keep the original TIFF as the master image to not touch, just make copies from it, scale it to other TIFFs for sizing, editing etc., then convert to final size/web images as JPG or PNG, etc.
That will explain the huge TIFF files the photographer sent me then. tiphat
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I did OK; now to shop for a few more ram sticks.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150789802501?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
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I did OK; now to shop for a few more ram sticks.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150789802501?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649
Kewl, if Dell exported them I'd happily buy one of those for under my TV and another to run background tasks for work.
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Unfortunately, the cost of shipping to Estonia would more than double the price. (I checked.)
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Not to mention the hassle of changing the power supply (unless they have a voltage switch).
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Yes, it has such a switch.
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Not to mention the hassle of changing the power supply (unless they have a voltage switch).
Almost all comp power supplies are switchable between 110v/~208-240v, just need to replace the cord.
Some of the extremely small/packaged systems may differ, but in those cases, you probably don't want to try to locate and purchase a PS, it would likely cost more than the machine (at an ebay price for the machine, at least)
NEVER assume they are set properly; literal fireworks or at least some "pretty sparks and smoke" may ensue.
Tom - looks ok, just small on the HD size and RAM, but fine for casual use without many apps or a lot of data. I'm assuming it also has a full/reasonable warrantee, as it's effectively direct from Dell refurb, too.
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Yes, you assume correctly. I don't use any processor or memory-intensive applications so it will be fine for its intended use: file backup.
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Unfortunately, the cost of shipping to Estonia would more than double the price. (I checked.)
Thanks for looking. As I recall, sale outside of the US and AFPO was not available at any price and sadly my AFPO contact is now gone from these shores. There was a time when having deliveries was a fun and regular occurrence. Odd thing though I just bought some electronics from the US Amazon site and for an identical product the cost with delivery and taxes was less than from Germany or the UK.
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There are quite a few wi-fi protocols. Do USB wi-fi adapters work with all of them?
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There are quite a few wi-fi protocols. Do USB wi-fi adapters work with all of them?
No.
Not surprisingly the less expensive wi-fi adapters are usually only good with the older G-band.
These days you want a wi-fi single in the N-band. Most adapters will work with several different bands, but if you find one that can only handle one band, make sure it is the N-band.
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Whatever you buy in a new box will work with any Windows system with WiFi. Any access point with 'N', the latest option, will always work with the older 'B' and recent/current 'G' dongles.
Given the price of a WiFi adapter I'd buy the smallest, so you don't end up knocking it off in your USB port and breaking the port, that is compatible with low price.
If you need an external adapter why not look at a 3G one and use the mobile network. I dunno how it is in the US but here it will give ubiquitous access, very high data rates (usually better than any WiFi shared access point) and unlimited data costs almost nothing (€13 unlimited data tethered to a laptop) Those things get given away for free these days. Until recently I used one of those rather than tie my laptop to my home wifi.
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While you guys are tooling around with your router, check this video regarding the efficiency of the net.
http://www.ted.com/talks/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html
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Are there any brand names that stand out amongst the rest? (There is a whole lot of no-name crap from Shanghei on ebay that sells for next to nothing.)
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I have found that Belkin products tend to be low priced yet reliable.
Disclosure Statement: I have no financial interest in the Belkin company. This is an unpaid product endorsement (although I will take the money if Belkin wants to offer any). :)
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Are there any brand names that stand out amongst the rest? (There is a whole lot of no-name crap from Shanghei on ebay that sells for next to nothing.)
Buy whatever's cheap, they will all work. For dollar bin stuff like this I'd get ti from a proper shop and save the postage.
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Whatever you buy in a new box will work with any Windows system with WiFi. Any access point with 'N', the latest option, will always work with the older 'B' and recent/current 'G' dongles.
Given the price of a WiFi adapter I'd buy the smallest, so you don't end up knocking it off in your USB port and breaking the port, that is compatible with low price.
If you need an external adapter why not look at a 3G one and use the mobile network. I dunno how it is in the US but here it will give ubiquitous access, very high data rates (usually better than any WiFi shared access point) and unlimited data costs almost nothing (€13 unlimited data tethered to a laptop) Those things get given away for free these days. Until recently I used one of those rather than tie my laptop to my home wifi.
Not that it makes a difference in this context I guess, but be aware that a lot of the cheaper N class access points/routers will default to the lowest common denominator of the devices connected. So one G class device connected to you access point can make all your nice 'n fast N class devices behave the same as G class. FWIW
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Not that it makes a difference in this context I guess, but be aware that a lot of the cheaper N class access points/routers will default to the lowest common denominator of the devices connected. So one G class device connected to you access point can make all your nice 'n fast N class devices behave the same as G class. FWIW
There is a solution..
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/features/wi-fi.html
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Not that it makes a difference in this context I guess, but be aware that a lot of the cheaper N class access points/routers will default to the lowest common denominator of the devices connected. So one G class device connected to you access point can make all your nice 'n fast N class devices behave the same as G class. FWIW
There is a solution..
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/features/wi-fi.html
Yes. ;) But most will just use their broadband providers router which more often than not, won't do simultaneous multiband stuff.
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I bought a $38.00 USD Netgear N300 Wireless Boradband WiFi "N" band USB adapter to connect to a netgear wireless router off a Comcast cable connection about 80 feet away - currently connected with sun shining at 40% signal strength at 108Mbps to the router - just ran Speakeasy Speed Test from NH to Chicago and it was 13.37 Mbps down and 3.71 Mbps Up. http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/
The higher the number 300N so called greater the data rate (Up to 300Mbps) and range which on the box says good for a 150N, "better" for a 300N, and best for a so called High Performance N600 so the further distance it will receive a signal. Ironically when the sun goes down my signal strength often hits 68% to 70% but have not figured out why...
I would be sure match the USB "nic" to the Router manufacturer.
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Netgear used to have issues, perhaps they fixed them. I have found the ZyXel brand designs to be well made, they were the designers of the metal-boxed Netgear home routers of yesteryear, very reliable. ZyXel still designs stuff and others license the designs from them.
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Just had to find this out as my Christmas present arrived and is now working ;D
(http://www.speedtest.net/result/2282781529.png)
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Amazing, who you with Sparky?
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Amazing, who you with Sparky?
I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here Chris and guess that Sparky is with Gigaclear Limited. :8)
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Amazing, who you with Sparky?
I'm gonna take a stab in the dark here Chris and guess that Sparky is with Gigaclear Limited. :8)
:laugh: I think I will add, another stab in the dark, and that you are probably correct :'(
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Its a bit better than my superfast connection. :duh:
(http://www.speedtest.net/result/2283184268.png)
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:( :( :(
(http://www.speedtest.net/result/2283309484.png)
Still its faster than one of my suppliers in Kettering, he is down to half my speeds.
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Ok so some further information
I live in a small little village about 6 mile outside Oxford, and my nearest BT exchange is some 4 miles away and it is until recently we were only able to get BT broadband (:)
The old connection we have dealt with in the past was some times as fast as 3mb down and .6mb up :D with no hope of infinity or virgin arriving here for the next 4 years :Zzzzsleep:
So as a group of people that work from home we looked at how we could find a alternative to our plight this was 2 years ago, well we eventually and only by accident came upon this company called Gigaclear ltd, they had just done their first installation as a company in Rutland and were very proud and pleased to give us a talk on how it works.
Some 2 years later and meeting their requirements of getting 120 people in our village to join they have no installed a complete fibre optic installation to every house in the village :)
So with speeds that you can see it is like Christmas here as far as fast internet is concerned :thumbsup:
Now to get speed as this it comes at a price to each house of £36 per month
But to put you in the picture of my expences before you can see how it has worked out
BT = £59 per month
Sky = £54 per month ( now that i paid it myself ;) )
Business phone line £ 20 per month
total of £133 per month out
that is without any calls extra to Russia etc
so now i have re organised and so far i am dropping BT and Sky i do not need them as now i have internet i can stream this fast i can get off the net what i want
So home telephone went and is now replaced with vonage up to 5 lines :) and i kept my old telephone numbers :)
and for movies we have netflix ( wifey and children thing)
sport i am still playing with as it is early days but need to sort soon
the now calculation is
Gigaclear £36
Vonage £ 10
Netflix £5
Total so far £ 51
so as you can see i am not even half way to what i used to pay
Now any one know anything about smart TV's?
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One of my computers has a failed hard drive. Does anyone have an opinion about the new solid-state hard drives in regard to reliability?
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One of my computers has a failed hard drive. Does anyone have an opinion about the new solid-state hard drives in regard to reliability?
There are three technologies -
SLC, very robust, very expensive, best to buy the ones from Intel. They have 5 to 10x the read/write cycles before wearing out, of the MLC drives.
MLC, cheaper, it is what you will see advertised. They are good, you can get them to last longer by "under-provisioning" them, meaning that you do not partition 10% or 15% of the drive, and as the drive wears out, the built-in drive controller reallocates space using the part of the disk you are not using.
TLC is some sort of modified MLC from Samsung. I have no idea why it matters ,but it is very much like MLC as I understand it.
People seem happy with the Samsung 830 and 840 series, but anything from Crucial will probably work well.
If transferring data, buy online a $15 adapter that lets you plug in the old or new drive via USB, they usually come with cloning software that will let you clone your old drive onto the new one.
EDIT to add: people are happy with them, they greatly speed up your system as hard drives are the slowest part of the system overall - the SSDs are much faster.
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One of my computers has a failed hard drive. Does anyone have an opinion about the new solid-state hard drives in regard to reliability?
There are three technologies -
SLC, very robust, very expensive, best to buy the ones from Intel. They have 5 to 10x the read/write cycles before wearing out, of the MLC drives.
MLC, cheaper, it is what you will see advertised. They are good, you can get them to last longer by "under-provisioning" them, meaning that you do not partition 10% or 15% of the drive, and as the drive wears out, the built-in drive controller reallocates space using the part of the disk you are not using.
TLC is some sort of modified MLC from Samsung. I have no idea why it matters ,but it is very much like MLC as I understand it.
People seem happy with the Samsung 830 and 840 series, but anything from Crucial will probably work well.
If transferring data, buy online a $15 adapter that lets you plug in the old or new drive via USB, they usually come with cloning software that will let you clone your old drive onto the new one.
EDIT to add: people are happy with them, they greatly speed up your system as hard drives are the slowest part of the system overall - the SSDs are much faster.
Most new operating systems offer mirroring of identical and or similar drives - Windows 7/8 or Server can even mirror partitions on dissimilar drives - good idea to get two identical drives and mirror them so that if one crashes the other keeps humming along until you replace the failed drive - just be sure that the drives are on the latest hardware supported list - SSD drives are very expensive and the MTBF on 1TB standard drives is very high - as much as 20 years plus - SSDs are so expensive you could purchase 2 standard drives and mirror them typically for less than the price of an SSD. Also a good APC Power Conditioning Surge Suppression UPC can add years to the life of your systems - I even plug my notebook into one as winter power surges in New England can wreak havoc.
Of course if money is no object then 2 mirrored identical SSD drives will truly speed up your system - just be sure they are supported for mirroring and on your operating systems hardware supported list or come with operating systems certified drivers/mirroring software.
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I can only confirm what's written above.
SSD's are good, but depending on the amount of data you have it might be better to have a small SSD for just the operating system & programs (64 or 128 GB) should do and some large hard disk for mass data storage like movies, music etc.
It's recommended to have 2 identical drives in mirror setup, so in case a single drive fails, you always have an automatic backup.
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As a third alternative...
If your running Windows, you can use 1 or 2 regular Hard Drives as your main "storage" and engage ReadyBoost with an SD card. ReadyBoost writes parts of the system to the SD card to gain speed (get a type 10 or faster drive of you will not really see much improvement.)
On linux / Mac, they have a similar "feature".
GS
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A single SSD won't solve Tom's problem as stated, although they can be a nice performance boost, and Slumba's 'drive' types are valid.
I'd wager there are still more griping about their formerly fast, now SSDs with lost data, than hard drive failures - it shouldn't be, but for consumer level devices, seems to still be the case.
Grab a pair of 1TB 7200RPM hard drives, and mirror them in software (or check your PC/motherboard, it may well have a RAID implementation onboard if it's SATA)- it's not quite as nice as a hardware based controller, but it will do what matters most, save your data in the event of a single drive failure. Other options would be to set up a local or online backup, defining which data you generally care about, which is generally not the operating system but your documents, files, emails, etc.
Most modern hard drives should easily give 5+ years of fault-free service w/out RAID. There are always exceptions, but that's what occasional or ongoing backups are for, the eventuality when one fails.
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I'm upgrading my 2011 27" i7 iMac at the moment, 32gb in there now, next is SSD plus a 3TB SATA, was hoping to emulate Apples new 'Fusion' drive but rumour has it it's a bit pants, so I'll go SSD for boot/caching and SATA for data.
To be honest tho any desktop, PC or Mac is likely to struggle with i/o bound activities, just not built for that kind if work. In my Dev Shed I have an IBM pSeries POWER5+ with two 146gb 15k SCSI disks and also a Sun T2000 with four 146gb SAS disks, neither ever get bogged down with i/o. Also have a Sun X4200 (x86) with four 146gb 15k SAS disks too and that does struggle sometimes, sure it's the PC-architecture. And the iLOM sucks....
Still, 'Swings A Rowndabowts' as they say in Cwmraeg, also have a couple of IBM POWER Intellistations, two SGI's (Octane 2 and Fuel) and more than one Sun SPARC workstations, inc a top of the range Ultra 45 with an XVR-2500, and all suck in the graphics department!
Geek alert!
Just remembered, also have a Sun E450, 4 cpus (weedy ones) 4gb ram, 20 scsi disks, 9gb each, three PSU's, free to good home!
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Unfortunately, my SFF computer doesn't have RAID (I checked.) or even space (I looked.) for a second internal hard drive. The simplest solution is probably to replace my existing, failed hard drive with a SSD (for speed) and use a combination of external HD and online backup for reliability.
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Which SFF do you have? Most I know can house multiple drives :-) Seeing SSD's are small you could also opt for 2,5" laptop drives instead of full size 3,5" desktop drives. They take a lot less place and speed wise they're quite OK too :-)
Windows nowadays can do software raid, even though not as fast as hardware raid it works fine:-)
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It's a Dell Optiplex and it is tightly packaged. Will Vista Business support two hard drives?
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It's a Dell Optiplex and it is tightly packaged. Will Vista Business support two hard drives?
As many as you want. From time to time I have been running 4 or 5 HDs on my laptop. They just show up in the 'My Computer' window.
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Ste - I don't want to think about at my personally owned "museum," but I do miss the build quality and when they were in their heyday. A SparcStation was almost a work of art (and weight). LOM is still better than rsc.. ;)
Unfortunately, my SFF computer doesn't have RAID (I checked.) or even space (I looked.) for a second internal hard drive. The simplest solution is probably to replace my existing, failed hard drive with a SSD (for speed) and use a combination of external HD and online backup for reliability.
Tom - which specific model, e.g. Optiflex 745, ???
If it's an SFF, it probably lacks the additional SATA port you'd need, even if you had the space internally.
Unless you have an open PCI/PCI Express slot inside, the easiest thing to do would be replace the hard drive (with a normal SATA HD or SSD), then set up a backup either over USB or to a network drive.
With an open slot, you could add an inexpensive SATA card to connect external drives to, which will be significantly faster. The external drive you'd be buying would be in an enclosure (as a kit, bought together to separately), and would support either USB or eSATA in all likelihood.
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Optiplex 755.
I just popped it open and I didn't see an extra SATA port but, with the dense packaging, not much of the motherboard is visible. (Maybe the port is hiding in there somewhere.)
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Optiplex 755.
I just popped it open and I didn't see an extra SATA port but, with the dense packaging, not much of the motherboard is visible. (Maybe the port is hiding in there somewhere.)
Looks like the board has an eSATA port, with a bracket and cable you can plug an external eSATA drive into it:
http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/opti_755_techspecs.pdf
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=pub&sku=310-9554
You may be able to find a generic bracket, but you'd need to confirm the "eSATA" (see pdf, pg 7) port is actually eSATA or SATA connector (confirm by looking at it and compare it to the other ports marked "6" on pg 7 of the PDF), then you could likely use this: http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=104&cp_id=10407&cs_id=1040707&p_id=7637&seq=1&format=2 for $3 or so, then get a hard drive w/eSATA enclosure, enable eSATA in BIOS, and you should be good to go for the external drive.
I saw some random message somewhere that you would need a Samsung or Western Digital Hard Drive to replace the internal bad drive, or it may give a warning on bootup (which can be ignored) - very weird, but it's Dell. :'(
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Optiplex.... We used to have those in the office about 5-6 years ago. They pretty much all died due to leaking capacitors. I hope they fixed those by now ;-) For the rest can only agree with RG :-)
My preference would be WD for a drive over Samsung. They're very reliable (been running many of the for 24/7 the last decade or so). In case you do ever need claim a drive under warranty they are very quick too and offer advanced replacement.
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Herrie,
The bad Nichicon capacitors were mostly in the Optiplex 270/280 series. I haven't seen a report of bad caps in the 520, 620 or 700 series. (Probably all of mine will fail.)
I'm partial to WD myself, if for no other reason than I know the part numbers that I need. (WDxxxxAAKX)
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Having written that, I've decided that a few simple principles prevail:
Since I can buy slightly newer (than I have) Optiplex 760s for ~$120 on the Dell ebay auction, it's ridiculous to change the hard drive in my 755 and still not have an external eSATA connector or RAID1 capability. If, at some point, I find a cheap WD hard drive, then I'll fix it for a spare.
In any case, I'm shopping around for a USB 2.0/eSATA external HD. Does anyone have any brand preference? In the meanwhile, I email my important files to myself and that is a huge pain in the ass.
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Having written that, I've decided that a few simple principles prevail:
Since I can buy slightly newer (than I have) Optiplex 760s for ~$120 on the Dell ebay auction, it's ridiculous to change the hard drive in my 755 and still not have an external eSATA connector or RAID1 capability. If, at some point, I find a cheap WD hard drive, then I'll fix it for a spare.
In any case, I'm shopping around for a USB 2.0/eSATA external HD. Does anyone have any brand preference? In the meanwhile, I email my important files to myself and that is a huge pain in the ass.
"Dropbox" cloud service files backup and sharing service basic free accounts have become very popular and a cheap reliable alternative to Carbonite - just be sure you RTFM and know how to administer the files/folders access and sharing for only those you intend access....
Better than taking personal business files archives on notebooks and tablets smartphones etc through TSA both US and Intl that can be seized and monitored at will under the Patriot and FISA acts.... can just install dropbox on any PC you or family use and then control access to files and folders as you wish...
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Having written that, I've decided that a few simple principles prevail:
Since I can buy slightly newer (than I have) Optiplex 760s for ~$120 on the Dell ebay auction, it's ridiculous to change the hard drive in my 755 and still not have an external eSATA connector or RAID1 capability. If, at some point, I find a cheap WD hard drive, then I'll fix it for a spare.
In any case, I'm shopping around for a USB 2.0/eSATA external HD. Does anyone have any brand preference? In the meanwhile, I email my important files to myself and that is a huge pain in the ass.
"Dropbox" cloud service files backup and sharing service basic free accounts have become very popular and a cheap reliable alternative to Carbonite - just be sure you RTFM and know how to administer the files/folders access and sharing for only those you intend access....
Better than taking personal business files archives on notebooks and tablets smartphones etc through TSA both US and Intl that can be seized and monitored at will under the Patriot and FISA acts.... can just install dropbox on any PC you or family use and then control access to files and folders as you wish...
I have been using Dropbox for about 18 months now, and cannot fault it TBH, it makes it very easy when you can access all your files from anywhere in the World from your pc, laptop, tablet, iPhone, iPads etc etc I have it running on them all so I am never without access to all my important files.
I also have many of my customers hooked up to it with shared folders (although the 2Gb allowance for the free version is a bit low - but I have over 120Gb for not a lot of money and they can upgrade if they wish too) and I also have shared folders/files and controllable access for my employees and freelancers too. There are lots of these types of Cloud storage systems out there now, but I like a lot of the Dropbox features, eg links to shared public, photo and general folders etc and the Events feature so I can see who has been doing what is a good tool also, plus there are many others that make it a great way of safely storing all your important files without worrying about having them on all your computers and without as Tom says having to email stuff to yourself, which is never a good idea, using an email system as a filing system is bad news really.
PS I have all my important files going straight into Dropbox so they automatically get backed up every time they are altered, no matter which access device I go through to access them. Means everything on each device is the latest version. Its a pretty good system for the money.
PPS also have all my family and kids with their own shared folders, even my 12 year old has it on her netbook, iPod and Blackberry, all her homework goes straight in there, so she can access it from anywhere and I can print off things for her from my PC.
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Having written that, I've decided that a few simple principles prevail:
Since I can buy slightly newer (than I have) Optiplex 760s for ~$120 on the Dell ebay auction, it's ridiculous to change the hard drive in my 755 and still not have an external eSATA connector or RAID1 capability. If, at some point, I find a cheap WD hard drive, then I'll fix it for a spare.
In any case, I'm shopping around for a USB 2.0/eSATA external HD. Does anyone have any brand preference? In the meanwhile, I email my important files to myself and that is a huge pain in the ass.
"Dropbox" cloud service files backup and sharing service basic free accounts have become very popular and a cheap reliable alternative to Carbonite - just be sure you RTFM and know how to administer the files/folders access and sharing for only those you intend access....
Better than taking personal business files archives on notebooks and tablets smartphones etc through TSA both US and Intl that can be seized and monitored at will under the Patriot and FISA acts.... can just install dropbox on any PC you or family use and then control access to files and folders as you wish...
I have been using Dropbox for about 18 months now, and cannot fault it TBH, it makes it very easy when you can access all your files from anywhere in the World from your pc, laptop, tablet, iPhone, iPads etc etc I have it running on them all so I am never without access to all my important files.
I also have many of my customers hooked up to it with shared folders (although the 2Gb allowance for the free version is a bit low - but I have over 120Gb for not a lot of money and they can upgrade if they wish too) and I also have shared folders/files and controllable access for my employees and freelancers too. There are lots of these types of Cloud storage systems out there now, but I like a lot of the Dropbox features, eg links to shared public, photo and general folders etc and the Events feature so I can see who has been doing what is a good tool also, plus there are many others that make it a great way of safely storing all your important files without worrying about having them on all your computers and without as Tom says having to email stuff to yourself, which is never a good idea, using an email system as a filing system is bad news really.
PS I have all my important files going straight into Dropbox so they automatically get backed up every time they are altered, no matter which access device I go through to access them. Means everything on each device is the latest version. Its a pretty good system for the money.
PPS also have all my family and kids with their own shared folders, even my 12 year old has it on her netbook, iPod and Blackberry, all her homework goes straight in there, so she can access it from anywhere and I can print off things for her from my PC.
+1 What Chris said :thumbsup:
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You can't beat this with a stick:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/310552669777?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649&autorefresh=true
The price was right!
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I was under the impression that Dells with 32-bit operating systems will only support 4gb of RAM. Then I saw this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-OptiPlex-780-Desktop-2-93-GHz-8-GB-RAM-150-GB-HDD-/360601290594?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item53f5830762
One would think that Dell knows what they are doing and wouldn't be leasing and selling computers with an extra 4gb of useless RAM. Does anyone have any experience with this?
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I was under the impression that Dells with 32-bit operating systems will only support 4gb of RAM. Then I saw this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-OptiPlex-780-Desktop-2-93-GHz-8-GB-RAM-150-GB-HDD-/360601290594?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item53f5830762
One would think that Dell knows what they are doing and wouldn't be leasing and selling computers with an extra 4gb of useless RAM. Does anyone have any experience with this?
Yes, go mac and don't look back, I've had lots of dells, renewed every year or 5/6 months as I did, then had a mac and kept the same one for 4 years, still as good as the first day I had it.
Real notice the difference.
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I was under the impression that Dells with 32-bit operating systems will only support 4gb of RAM.
Yes, not worth installing more than 4GB with a 32 bit system.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-hardware/maximum-ram-for-windows-7-32-bit/4286bbfa-6851-e011-8dfc-68b599b31bf5
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This one sort of depends.
Yes, a 32 bit system can only address up to 4 GB at a time. But, I did not see anything in the ad that claimed this was a 32 bit system. Windows 7 comes with a 64-bit version, for which 8 GB of memory is a small fraction of its capabilities. I write this now on a Dell with 32GB RAM and 64-bit Windows 7.
Also, it could be a Linux box (or set up as one), which would give it even greater memory accessability.
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This one sort of depends.
Yes, a 32 bit system can only address up to 4 GB at a time. But, I did not see anything in the ad that claimed this was a 32 bit system.
If you scroll down a bit, it states: 32 bit Windows 7 Pro.
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Now that they're a generation or two behind the times, ATI Radeon HD 2400XT video cards are selling for almost nothing on ebay (~$10). For someone who is looking for dual monitor productivity but doesn't play games or do image manipulation, is a card with DDR2 memory adequate?
Which gets around to another question: is there any advantage to DVI connections (as opposed to VGA) when using an antique video card, such as the one above?
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I would say yes, the old style connections have adequate capabilities if you are only interested in text editing and the occasional photo viewing. At this level of use, there is no functional disadvantage to VGA either.
However, the hardware you are asking about it old as are the monitors used for the connection. These things do wear out. Sometimes faster than you expect, and always at the least opportune moment. With this in mind, I would not recommend the older technology as a cost savings measure.
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My Optiplex 760 has an optional PCI adapter card with an external DVI-D connector. Just to see what would happen, I connected one monitor to that connector and the other to the VGA connector. Upon start-up, a window opened and asked me to identify one monitor as primary, the other as extended and to select resolutions. Lo and behold, I can now spread an image across both screens or have two independent full-screen windows opened simultaneously.
The image quality is substantially better on the DVI-connected monitor than on the VGA-connected monitor. (The monitors are a matched pair.) Even though the extended display functions adequately, I can see the advantage to having a proper dual-DVI output graphics card. (I'm currently running integrated graphics.)
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I need a little widget thing that I can just copy and paste into a static html page.
All it needs to do is play one MP3 when someone presses the button.
Probably a little Flash or Java thing.
Google had one that I was using but it was discontinued a few days ago, and the Yahoo one was also discontinued some time back.
I did some Googling and found lots of "top ten" lists and suchlike but they all involved downloading stuff, making accounts and all that.......
I only need the simplest of things, maybe a 100x50 little widget.
Does anyone know of one?
Something like this..........
[attachimg=1]
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I need a little widget thing that I can just copy and paste into a static html page.
All it needs to do is play one MP3 when someone presses the button.
Probably a little Flash or Java thing.
Google had one that I was using but it was discontinued a few days ago, and the Yahoo one was also discontinued some time back.
I did some Googling and found lots of "top ten" lists and suchlike but they all involved downloading stuff, making accounts and all that.......
I only need the simplest of things, maybe a 100x50 little widget.
Does anyone know of one?
Something like this..........
(Attachment Link)
Ok/ moment
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I need a little widget thing that I can just copy and paste into a static html page.
All it needs to do is play one MP3 when someone presses the button.
Probably a little Flash or Java thing.
Google had one that I was using but it was discontinued a few days ago, and the Yahoo one was also discontinued some time back.
I did some Googling and found lots of "top ten" lists and suchlike but they all involved downloading stuff, making accounts and all that.......
I only need the simplest of things, maybe a 100x50 little widget.
Does anyone know of one?
Something like this..........
(Attachment Link)
Ok/ moment
Did you find anything useful? Please share...
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'Ere yer goes: http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_sounds.asp several html options.
http://www.javascripter.net/faq/sound/play.htm JavaScript options
Biggest gotcha is that different browsers work in slightly different ways so you will need to make choices about browsers when coding your solution.
In these case though the coding is more a case of getting the file names right.
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I need a little widget thing that I can just copy and paste into a static html page.
All it needs to do is play one MP3 when someone presses the button.
Probably a little Flash or Java thing.
Google had one that I was using but it was discontinued a few days ago, and the Yahoo one was also discontinued some time back.
I did some Googling and found lots of "top ten" lists and suchlike but they all involved downloading stuff, making accounts and all that.......
I only need the simplest of things, maybe a 100x50 little widget.
Does anyone know of one?
Something like this..........
(Attachment Link)
Ok/ moment
Did you find anything useful? Please share...
I found long ago. but it is on Russian sites. I gave the link in the message to the PM
if this is not clear. I do not blame :biggrin:
You can use the generator player
http://passhosting.net/shoutcast
http://www.primcast.com/shoutcast-stream-in-jw-player-longtailvideo
http://www.shoutcastireland.com/generator.php
http://www.seekcodes.com/mp3-player-generator.php
http://www.quackit.com/myspace/codes/myspace_music_codes.cfm
http://xiii.us/eGen/mpSkin.php
more?
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This is not a computer problem, but did not know where else to ask, so......
I wife brought a pocket book with several books on it and yesterday the screen went half black
and not much works, so my questions is two fold.
First I can load it on my computer, but nothing there will read it, but was curious if it would transfer
to any reader or has to be brand specific? on the Back it has written Obreey, on the front top Pocketbook.
If that is not possible, Can anyone recommend a ebook of some type, and can I down load some Russian books
somewhere? She quite enjoys reading, different Russian classics and will miss this over the next bit.
Another option would be someplace I can down load books to a computer that are russian, she can read them
on my I-pad or Other no name tablet, Hope someone has some ideas.
Thanks:)
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Can't help you with the problems but my daughter has a Kindle and she loves it, you see them everywhere now, and she takes it with her whenever we go away. She just downloads books from Amazon, dead simple. Not sure how many Russian language books they have, but worth a look, I am sure she would love it.
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My "mother-in-law" has a Kindle on which she reads Russian books. I can say with some confidence that she's not buying them from Amazon either :)
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My hard drive is about to expire so I intend to replace it tomorrow.
The one I have is a SATA II, the replacement will be a SATA III. I read already the cables are he same, can anyone comment if they are directly interchangeable without issue? I am unaware of the differences between II and III if any.
Also, can any tech bods comment if these hard drives (https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/Hard+Drives/3.5+Inch+SATA+Drives/1.5TB+-+4TB/2TB+Seagate+Barracuda+ST2000DM001+3.5%22+SATA+III+Hard+Drive+-+HDD+?productId=48301) are OK?
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My hard drive is about to expire so I intend to replace it tomorrow.
The one I have is a SATA II, the replacement will be a SATA III. I read already the cables are he same, can anyone comment if they are directly interchangeable without issue? I am unaware of the differences between II and III if any.
Also, can any tech bods comment if these hard drives (https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/Hard+Drives/3.5+Inch+SATA+Drives/1.5TB+-+4TB/2TB+Seagate+Barracuda+ST2000DM001+3.5%22+SATA+III+Hard+Drive+-+HDD+?productId=48301) are OK?
It'll work but only at SATA-II speed....
Try Scan in Bolton, they always seem to be the cheapest.... http://www.scan.co.uk
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Aria is not very far from me, so I can call down for one tomorrow. Closer than Bolton (its a right mooch to go over there). Not too fussed about price as not a dear thing and I get VAT back anyway.
It'll work but only at SATA-II speed....
How come? Is that restricted from motherboard? (It has >this one< (http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-c02014355) if it matters).
Past performance was alright actually. So no hardship either way. Just curious.
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Aria is not very far from me, so I can call down for one tomorrow. Closer than Bolton (its a right mooch to go over there). Not too fussed about price as not a dear thing and I get VAT back anyway.
It'll work but only at SATA-II speed....
How come? Is that restricted from motherboard? (It has >this one< (http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docLocale=en_US&docId=emr_na-c02014355) if it matters).
Past performance was alright actually. So no hardship either way. Just curious.
It'll only work at SATA-2 speed if board has a SATA-2 interface, which I'd assume it must have if a SATA-2 disk was fitted. Might be wrong tho..
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The motherboard spec doesn't mention, but you are probably right, I just found this:
There are three SATA standards: 1, 2 and 3. These run at 1.5Gbps, 3Gbps and 6Gbps respectively. The latest SSDs support SATA 3, but older laptops may not, and this could limit the speed at which the SSD can operate. To find out which SATA version your laptop supports, check the manual or search online.
The important thing to bear in mind is that SATA is backwards compatible, so you can install a SATA 3 SSD in a laptop which has a SATA 1 connector - it simply won't work to its full speed. It's still likely you'll see an improvement in speed, though.
So it looks like it will work alright and I will be back to where I was before without the "Hard Drive is fried, press F2 to fire up" stuff I had the last few days.
Hoping the mega windows backup I am running now to an external saves me from the tedious days of re-installing everything........
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How about getting a USB 3 external drive. They seem to be relatively cheap and should be faster than sata2 at least in raw spec terms. I have one of these and it was a revelation compared to USB 2.
Then while you're at it replace your C drive with a flash drive and welcome to the era of instant computing. ;)
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How about getting a USB 3 external drive. They seem to be relatively cheap and should be faster than sata2 at least in raw spec terms. I have one of these and it was a revelation compared to USB 2.
Then while you're at it replace your C drive with a flash drive and welcome to the era of instant computing. ;)
Thunderbolt 2 is the bees knees tho - looking at a 12tb external to back up my Mac Pro, should leave it alone as I have a 48tb IBM DS3400 SAN in the shed, it's just when you've got so much data to move about - it's like 720 hours to rsync it from scratch......
I need an IBM XIV.....
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Also, can any tech bods comment if these hard drives (https://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Storage/Hard+Drives/3.5+Inch+SATA+Drives/1.5TB+-+4TB/2TB+Seagate+Barracuda+ST2000DM001+3.5%22+SATA+III+Hard+Drive+-+HDD+?productId=48301) are OK?
I am a bit late to the show but the Seagate Barracudas generally were one of our favorite brands. They were usually very reliable drives.
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I got it, bunged it in. I had a sys disc to start it up, and the back up from the external went painlessly. Everything back as it was inc saved passwords etc. Great! :thumbsup:
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I got it, bunged it in. I had a sys disc to start it up, and the back up from the external went painlessly. Everything back as it was inc saved passwords etc. Great! :thumbsup:
With Apple OS X it's just Opt-Cmd-R and it will reinstall booting over internet from Apple's servers, use your Time Machine backup and viola. Oracle SPARC servers can WAN boot too, it's the future, like garlic beard....
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I got it, bunged it in. I had a sys disc to start it up, and the back up from the external went painlessly. Everything back as it was inc saved passwords etc. Great! :thumbsup:
With Apple OS X it's just Opt-Cmd-R and it will reinstall booting over internet from Apple's servers, use your Time Machine backup and viola. Oracle SPARC servers can WAN boot too, it's the future, like garlic beard....
I'm not keen on the way Apple hook you in to hosting on their insecure cloud. It doesn't endear me to the iphone, even though I have one.
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I got it, bunged it in. I had a sys disc to start it up, and the back up from the external went painlessly. Everything back as it was inc saved passwords etc. Great! :thumbsup:
With Apple OS X it's just Opt-Cmd-R and it will reinstall booting over internet from Apple's servers, use your Time Machine backup and viola. Oracle SPARC servers can WAN boot too, it's the future, like garlic beard....
I'm not keen on the way Apple hook you in to hosting on their insecure cloud. It doesn't endear me to the iphone, even though I have one.
Mantra is simple, drummed into me at BNFL, if it's personal/secret/private, don't put it on a network full stop.
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Well, yes, but take a pic on your phone and its automatically uploaded to the cloud. I bet many don't know that. And people take all kinds of pics on phones as we know. Its data-napping really.
My wife's Apple phone keeps bugging her to pay to upgrade storage space. She almost did until I made the suggestion of deleting the crap and downloading the rest.
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Can one choose to not have pics uploaded from your Apple fone?
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Can one choose to not have pics uploaded from your Apple fone?
I think yes. I dont use the icloud facility on my apple devices as I do not want my personal stuff floating around in the ether.
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Well, yes, but take a pic on your phone and its automatically uploaded to the cloud. I bet many don't know that. And people take all kinds of pics on phones as we know. Its data-napping really.
My wife's Apple phone keeps bugging her to pay to upgrade storage space. She almost did until I made the suggestion of deleting the crap and downloading the rest.
I dont think its an automatic upload, Manny. There is an option to choose what you want to be saved to the cloud.
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Well, yes, but take a pic on your phone and its automatically uploaded to the cloud. I bet many don't know that. And people take all kinds of pics on phones as we know. Its data-napping really.
My wife's Apple phone keeps bugging her to pay to upgrade storage space. She almost did until I made the suggestion of deleting the crap and downloading the rest.
I dont think its an automatic upload, Manny. There is an option to choose what you want to be saved to the cloud.
Last year before I changed from the iPhone forever, there was an option to instruct, 'those who must be obeyed' what you wanted to sync.
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On Youtube, if a song only seems to be available on a playlist, how does one get a URL for the individual video in order that one might extract the MP3 from same?
Looking to get the track Volar from this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0RWwPBqeg0&list=PLuVS-MH3StkhHDodQ_KGgJ8pqDlKkWtk8&index=4).
Anyone know?
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On Youtube, if a song only seems to be available on a playlist, how does one get a URL for the individual video in order that one might extract the MP3 from same?
Looking to get the track Volar from this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0RWwPBqeg0&list=PLuVS-MH3StkhHDodQ_KGgJ8pqDlKkWtk8&index=4).
Anyone know?
http://convert2mp3.net/en/ (http://convert2mp3.net/en/)
or buy the track from #AvaYu... you wouldn't want to breach an artist's copyright ...and judging by her views - 8 - she needs the money
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEtFytFtA1VGEazw5LAD1A/videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEtFytFtA1VGEazw5LAD1A/videos)
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http://convert2mp3.net/en/ (http://convert2mp3.net/en/)
I know how to extract an MP3, but it must be from a single track URL, not a playlist, so read the Q again please.
she needs the money
I suspect not: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ava_Yu
Also, Cathay Pacific have her on their in-flight playlist (how I found her), which I expect costs them money somehow.
or buy the track
Its only on iTunes, which restricts usage. I am not making an account just for one song.
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Moby talking about honesty and pretending concern for intellectual rights. You've gotta larf!
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On Youtube, if a song only seems to be available on a playlist, how does one get a URL for the individual video in order that one might extract the MP3 from same?
Looking to get the track Volar from this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0RWwPBqeg0).
Anyone know?
I fixed the link, it should be only this 1 song now.
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On Youtube, if a song only seems to be available on a playlist, how does one get a URL for the individual video in order that one might extract the MP3 from same?
Looking to get the track Volar from this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0RWwPBqeg0).
Anyone know?
I fixed the link, it should be only this 1 song now.
Thanks Mark. tiphat
Odd none of the usual converters would extract the MP3 still, but downloading an MP4 via your link and then splitting the MP3 out of it worked. ;D
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Is this seller screwing with me?
Subject: Re: Details about item: tom sent a message about Dell Optiplex 990 SFF - i5, 3.1GHz,8GB, 500GB, Windows 7 Pro, Office 2010 #281858977707
Hi!
Is the MS Office Standard a trial version or can it be used indefinitely?
Are there any restrictions on reloading in the event of a HDD failure?
Thanks
~ Tom
Dear tom
Thank you for contacting us. The Office 2010 included is the full version. The PC comes with a recovery partition in case of failure and it will reinstall everything.
The reply completely failed to answer my questions as framed. This reminds me very much of chatting with scammers who give nothing but vague, oblique answers.
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Well, without any action from you, if the drive fails your recovery partition is likely to be buggered.
Here's how to make the same partition on a separate drive:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/create-usb-recovery-drive
That's for Win8 but I am sure there's deets for other versions.
I thought the Office thing was usually a trial though.
As I didn't see your questions I ain't sure about how evasive the reply was but it looks like reply 4a from the standard response emails rather than crafted to meet your individual needs.
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Is this seller screwing with me?
Subject: Re: Details about item: tom sent a message about Dell Optiplex 990 SFF - i5, 3.1GHz,8GB, 500GB, Windows 7 Pro, Office 2010 #281858977707
Hi!
Is the MS Office Standard a trial version or can it be used indefinitely?
Are there any restrictions on reloading in the event of a HDD failure?
Thanks
~ Tom
Dear tom
Thank you for contacting us. The Office 2010 included is the full version. The PC comes with a recovery partition in case of failure and it will reinstall everything.
The reply completely failed to answer my questions as framed. This reminds me very much of chatting with scammers who give nothing but vague, oblique answers.
Office 2010 is horribly outdated anyway. So I am assuming its a trial-version. Microsoft is pushing to get everyone to use office-365 (their cloud-based office). It sucks horribly though , I still use the pre-internet office and when it finally stops being supported I'll switch to libreoffice completely. Its not as pretty as MS-office, but it works for my everyday needs and its PDF-support for sending invoices is excellent.
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I think mine is 2003. On ones it doesn't work on, Open Office is alright.
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My students' schools both use MS Office 2010 so using the same edition would eliminate any compatibility issues. Personally, I have no problem with either Open Office or Libre Office.
My concern was that the seller handed me some BS instead of answering the questions that I asked.
I wanted to know if the Office in the computer that they were selling was a trial version that would expire in some multiple of thirty days, not whether or not it is a "full" version. There is no "full" version; there is Starter, Home and student, Home and business, Standard/retail, Professional, Professional Academic, Professional Plus and various trial versions.
Their answer about the image on the recovery partition was equally absurd because I asked them about reloading in the event of a hard drive failure. If the HDD fails, the recovery partition won't do anything for me. Reloading the programs on a new HDD would be a problem unless I had valid product keys.
It's possible that I was communicating with a clueless clerk but I'll be looking for another seller, nonetheless. It's not my job to answer questions about their product or to teach their employees to speak the language.
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This is fun, go here: http://tracingyou.bengrosser.com/
One of the screens will show your location according to Google maps based on your IP address. It also shows the location of others accessing the page.
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This is fun, go here: http://tracingyou.bengrosser.com/
One of the screens will show your location according to Google maps based on your IP address. It also shows the location of others accessing the page.
I'm 50 miles away from 'my location' and visitors are from Quezon City, China and Hong Kong, Remond, DC, Seoul, Korea, and Punjab,India ?
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This is fun, go here: http://tracingyou.bengrosser.com/
One of the screens will show your location according to Google maps based on your IP address. It also shows the location of others accessing the page.
They're nearby location for me was a neighbouring city about 20 miles away. There are a few Americans, a Frenchie and someone from Samara on screen at the same time.
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Many moons ago I bought - yes bought - a version of Linux - a distro called SUSIE - as it came with a manual ... I was never a fan of the command line and was looking to breathe life into old hardware..
I found it too difficult and gave up :))
10 years later - here I go again ..
I upgraded a few pcs and now had 3 laptops and a desktop pc that were too 'slow' on windows...
I like using google mail and that you can log in to your account on most devices and find 'your stuff' and history ... So, I read up and found that SUSIE was compatible with Chrome - Lubuntu - recommended for old hardware wasn't - so it was back to SUSIE
First impressions :
Once you realise that a SUSIE install disc isn't just one CD and learn how to make a boot-able flash disc - rufus - does it for me - I found installing to a wiped disc was easy ...then using Libre Office opened all office stuff
The pcs identified the wired network - but why is setting up wireless still SO hard in Linux ? - I have HPs and Compaq hardware with pretty std wireless inferfaces
Then you need repositories to install from .. SUSIE has Yast - a pretty installer - but one still needs to drop to a command line and a flashing cursor too many times ..
IF you have the patience and an old pc you thought was dead - installing Lubuntu - it will fit on a CD - was painless on a wired network.
The 'old' computers can browse and open an document doc just a fast as their replacements..if not faster ...
I know certain seasoned Unix script kiddies will be rolling around laughing at my 'fumblings' ..but the pcs work great on a standalone basis ..
Getting the pcs to share files and printers .... well that will be fun ..
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Many moons ago I bought - yes bought - a version of Linux - a distro called SUSIE - as it came with a manual ... I was never a fan of the command line and was looking to breathe life into old hardware..
I found it too difficult and gave up :))
10 years later - here I go again ..
I upgraded a few pcs and now had 3 laptops and a desktop pc that were too 'slow' on windows...
I like using google mail and that you can log in to your account on most devices and find 'your stuff' and history ... So, I read up and found that SUSIE was compatible with Chrome - Lubuntu - recommended for old hardware wasn't - so it was back to SUSIE
First impressions :
Once you realise that a SUSIE install disc isn't just one CD and learn how to make a boot-able flash disc - rufus - does it for me - I found installing to a wiped disc was easy ...then using Libre Office opened all office stuff
The pcs identified the wired network - but why is setting up wireless still SO hard in Linux ? - I have HPs and Compaq hardware with pretty std wireless inferfaces
Then you need repositories to install from .. SUSIE has Yast - a pretty installer - but one still needs to drop to a command line and a flashing cursor too many times ..
IF you have the patience and an old pc you thought was dead - installing Lubuntu - it will fit on a CD - was painless on a wired network.
The 'old' computers can browse and open an document doc just a fast as their replacements..if not faster ...
I know certain seasoned Unix script kiddies will be rolling around laughing at my 'fumblings' ..but the pcs work great on a standalone basis ..
Getting the pcs to share files and printers .... well that will be fun ..
Drop SUSE, go for centos 7.1 or Ubuntu (as you found out) both have excellent wireless and graphical support.
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Thx..Markje..I chose SUSIE as it had a stable Google Chrome version !))
I tried Google Chrome..[The L is crucia?..i.e.xo different? l] on the Lubuntu distro.. Chrome was unstable....
I like the Yast GUI...keeps me clear of command line 'fun'
.
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Have a look at this, it's a Linux made to look like OSX, it's very nice, not free, but it is free in the right places....
http://elementary.io (http://elementary.io)
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This is fun, go here: http://tracingyou.bengrosser.com/
One of the screens will show your location according to Google maps based on your IP address. It also shows the location of others accessing the page.
Weird. Among others I got Sunnyvale, CA (boy would I like to be there right now as I've had enough rain the past few months for a lifetime!) some town in NJ, a town in Kentucky (Ya'll come back, ya'hear?!!) and even Beijing, China. :laugh:
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Thx..Markje..I chose SUSIE as it had a stable Google Chrome version !))
I tried Google Chrome..[The L is crucia?..i.e.xo different? l] on the Lubuntu distro.. Chrome was unstable....
I like the Yast GUI...keeps me clear of command line 'fun'.
CentOS, Suse, RHEL, Fedora Core, they all use the same setup tool , rpm (redhat package manager) on which they built a shell.
Yast for Suse, Yum for the others.
Chrome is also available on CentOS :
sudo yum install https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm
If you like gui's so much, you will find Yum very pleasant to work with, whereas yast still has major flaws.
[attach=1]
Lubuntu means lightweight desktop, instead of a full-featured one. I didn't think you'd want to use it since your goal is to avoid the command line.
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Thanks, Markje..
I started off wanting to use Lubuntu..as it COULD fit on a CD.
I only wwnt to SUSIE as it was recommended as still being serious... used for biz, 'respectable' and stable..and guaranteed to work with Goggle Chrome.
If you know a release that comes with a lot of buz stuff..like office eqivs pre installed..that WILL work with Teamviwer 11 and Chrome..not Chromium...that would be..
Great...))
.
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Thanks, Markje..
I started off wanting to use Lubuntu..as it COULD fit on a CD.
I only wwnt to SUSIE as it was recommended as still being serious... used for biz, 'respectable' and stable..and guaranteed to work with Goggle Chrome.
If you know a release that comes with a lot of buz stuff..like office eqivs pre installed..that WILL work with Teamviwer 11 and Chrome..not Chromium...that would be..
Great...))
.
OSX......
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Thanks, Markje..
I started off wanting to use Lubuntu..as it COULD fit on a CD.
I only wwnt to SUSIE as it was recommended as still being serious... used for biz, 'respectable' and stable..and guaranteed to work with Goggle Chrome.
If you know a release that comes with a lot of buz stuff..like office eqivs pre installed..that WILL work with Teamviwer 11 and Chrome..not Chromium...that would be..
Great...))
.
Suse = (Software und System Entwicklung) (OpenSUSE being the free variant)
CentOS = (Community Enterprise operating system). Its the free variant of "Red Hat Enterprise Linux"
Be sure to check all the boxes you want when choosing software. The rest can be installed later.
One of the first things you should do is install the "epel" package (extra packages for Enterprise Linux).
It can preinstall Libre-office, gnucash and other biz-software, but only if you select it during software selections.
No worries though, everything you don't select can still be installed afterwards if it has an internet connection.
Mark.
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OSX......
Is it free? (Without advocating piracy)
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OSX......
Is it free? (Without advocating piracy)
Yes!
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update
While OpenSuse may be a package for corporates, I've now setup Lubuntu on several 8 plus year old pcs and found them as fast usng word processors or simple spreadsheets as a 1 year old windows 10pc
This all started off because I had inherited old kit and it was scheduled for the waste tip.
From a standalone perspective the installs are now a doddle - learnt how to 'allow' the OS to find WiFi :chuckle:
Sadly, google have just stopped support for the 32bit version of Chrome - so if you guys know how to do it...please let me know as Virtual Machines are a bit beyond me : :-[
Lubuntu has more simple versions of Office compatible software.. less powerful thanLibre Office - but good enough for most home / small office use
Now, to get them sharing printers as CUPS1.75 seems to allow other pcs to see my wireless hp all in one and 'recommended driver' are installed ... but 'test pages' disappear into the ether and I cannot edit the config file as I am asked for a root password and I'm sure all my group getting are correct ..the brilliant thing about Linux dstros is there are enthusiasts who want to help ...but one has to be careful that their 'fix' doesn't bugger something else up ... so one has to read many answers
If you had a pc / laptop you were going to throw away - you should look at making a bootable CD / flash stick and you might be surprised.
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A few days ago a hard drive died on my main work PC. As a result I had to retrieve from a backup all my 'stuff' and reinstall a load of applications onto a new drive.
I came upon a neat tool that enables one to install, in the background and with no fuss, a whole slew of applications - those freebies that we all use and sometimes forget we have on our machines.
The application is called Ninite: https://ninite.com it is free and works very well. I have probably saved a good hour or so of messing around.
Three thumbs up for Ninite!
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A few days ago a hard drive died on my main work PC. As a result I had to retrieve from a backup all my 'stuff' and reinstall a load of applications onto a new drive.
I came upon a neat tool that enables one to install, in the background and with no fuss a whole slew of applications - those freebies that we all use and sometimes forget we have on our machines.
The application is called Ninite: https://ninite.com it is free and works very well. I have probably saved a good hour or so of messing around.
Three thumbs up for Ninite!
Ninite looks very cool. Soon you'll have unix-like package management. :smokin:
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A few days ago a hard drive died on my main work PC. As a result I had to retrieve from a backup all my 'stuff' and reinstall a load of applications onto a new drive.
I came upon a neat tool that enables one to install, in the background and with no fuss a whole slew of applications - those freebies that we all use and sometimes forget we have on our machines.
The application is called Ninite: https://ninite.com it is free and works very well. I have probably saved a good hour or so of messing around.
Three thumbs up for Ninite!
Ninite looks very cool. Soon you'll have unix-like package management. :smokin:
Interesting, thanks tiphat I use Apple so I am less vulnerable, but.
UNIX has been around for a while, do some think it will win out in the end?
I look at this from a financial standpoint and I have doubts.
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UNIX has been around for a while, do some think it will win out in the end?
I look at this from a financial standpoint and I have doubts.
You have to look at the use-case:
Telephones: Unix has won, with over 90% of market share.
Desktops/laptops : Not by a long shot, Windows is still the dominator
Servers : Unix on the biggest platforms in the world, but its dominance is tested by windows-VM's.
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AvHdB, every disk will fail at some point. It is not a matter of which operating system you happen to prefer to use.
For you there is this service: http://www.getmacapps.com/ It is Ninite for MacOS.
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AvHdB, every disk will fail at some point. It is not a matter of which operating system you happen to prefer to use.
For you there is this service: http://www.getmacapps.com/ It is Ninite for MacOS.
You don't know that andrew, maybe his mac has a raid-array instead of a single disk.
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AvHdB, every disk will fail at some point. It is not a matter of which operating system you happen to prefer to use.
For you there is this service: http://www.getmacapps.com/ It is Ninite for MacOS.
You don't know that andrew, maybe his mac has a raid-array instead of a single disk.
But a RAID never stops a disk from failing, it might just make it easier to recover from. :)
If I was any kind of sensible I'd have my NAS set up as a RAID 1 for important stuff and not JBOD for all my movies and tv. But now I have the thing set up to mirror my documents and desktop to Dropbox. I guess that'll do for now.
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AvHdB, every disk will fail at some point. It is not a matter of which operating system you happen to prefer to use.
For you there is this service: http://www.getmacapps.com/ It is Ninite for MacOS.
You don't know that andrew, maybe his mac has a raid-array instead of a single disk.
But a RAID never stops a disk from failing, it might just make it easier to recover from. :)
If I was any kind of sensible I'd have my NAS set up as a RAID 1 for important stuff and not JBOD for all my movies and tv. But now I have the thing set up to mirror my documents and desktop to Dropbox. I guess that'll do for now.
Careful, Dropbox isn't a proper backup.
If you delete something by accident, it won't be recoverable on Dropbox.
I used to store with dropbox, but now a cheap competitor takes the cake. Eur10/month , for 2Terabyte storage in the cloud.
Mark.
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Yes, I understand that. But I already have 1TB with Dropbox where only a small part is used for other work stuff (I use it for daily backups of WordPress sites). The idea isn't that it should be a backup, as such, but that I can use the same desktop files on each machine - handy when I travel and stuff that is traveling through Desktop will end up in a backed up place anyway so I should not find myself accidentally deleting stuff any more than I already do now (which is very rarely) and I still have the Recycle Bin for those times. If an 'accident' happens again I will be safe, just get to work on another machine and then add the share back to a new hard drive.
Fortunately, most of the stuff that was a problem on the Desktop was already replicated on one of my laptops, I keep Zips of all my content acquisitions and all I really lost was the notes I was making for the automation of content posting and image tagging and my coder has everything except my most recent late night notes.
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Linux Mint on rigs I don't want to mess with much. Arch for learning things and forcing sporadic migraines...:-) I have Linux Mint 18 running on a 2011 Macbook Air. Runs like a champ. Also use OSX on latest Macbook Pro. Retina display with pixel doubling is great for the eyes :-) Yes, I'm posting this from a Windows laptop. Have to stay current because both of my wives and kids (two in University) all use windows. I am the resident tech support serf. Convinced one of my sons to use a Chromebook. Once he adjusted it has been painless for him. Yes, Moby...they all run Chrome :-)
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Hi Boris
My coz in Manchester persuaded me to dual boot a new WINDOWS HP laptop into Mint..
I was initially impressed ...best Linux used to Windows / Macs so far..
Then hit DNS issues that date back years - not fixed - websites would not load unless using ip addresses - fixed my entering 8.8.8.8 ( Google DNS) into connection settings for internet
SKYPE - AGE OLD issue with audio sounding crummy unless adding pulseaudio ...
I uninstalled it - as these little things proved that essential stuff is still not fixed -despite being known about for 3 plus years.
Lastly, I login from overseas - using teamviewer - and one cannot reboot a Linux PC - useless
Now left with a grub dual boot menu that /fixmbr does not remove :) Have to press F9 and choose windows..
I want to use Linux - but until these longterm issues get sorted .. my Teamviewer host is a Desktop PC running WIN 7
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Tried to watch Man Utd v Leicester
Running Win 10 and Chrome browser
1/ tells me 'can't work' - you aren't using English lang and/ or in correct time zone ? I am on UK English and correct time zone as default..Removed Russian (and French) - SOLVED ? They weren't the defaults ...?
2/ Retry - ''The browser you are using no longer supports watching TV on this website.
Don't worry you can keep using this service on your computer via other browsers like Internet Explorer. - I use Google Chrome...
''We're sorry for any inconvenience this change may cause.''
3/Try Microsoft Edge - the replacement for Explorer ''You’ve stumbled upon some vintage web tech
This website runs on older) technology and will only work in Internet Explorer. ''
After a week when I had my first SKY Q install - in a property that has been restored and all rooms have ethernet ports - the SKY guy insisted in using 5 GHz Wifi - '' works better and we aren't trained for cable'' - leaving booster boxes in stupid places, to eliminate - (they didn't) blind spots - so I removed them and set up wired in two minutes while he watched - and could put TV where I wanted it -and receiver behind darkened glass ..
I have to wonder if SKY realise it is 2016 and lots of people speak more than English and they like to watch tv where they want it - not where SKY's 'wifi' will (not ) ... reach.