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Hello everyone,

I have an Asus UX410UQK, I run Windows 10. I use a program to enhance the bass and overall audio called DFX, it makes a huge difference. However, there seems to be a built in power management mechanism on this laptop model that powers down the sound card when no sound is playing. The AMPLIFICATION from the DFX program creates an annoying "pop" sound whenever I play a file or WATCH Youtube as the sound card awakens. Without DFX, this popping does not occur, but I am certain the power management system works silently. I have a work around for this, I use "Listen to Device" under microphone options, it works, it stops the popping, but it squanders the battery more quickly. My sound driver right now is Conexant SmartAudio HD. I read that there is a registry edit for the RealTek driver to stop its power management system, is there something similar for Conexant? Is there a way to stop this torture? I tried reinstalling Windows 10, reinstalling drivers and so on, I need a NIFTY solution.

Anyone chime in would be much appreciated!

No need for a reg fix...travel to Device manager...find the device...select Properties/Advanced and uncheck "allow Windows to shut this down"...it's a stupid brilliantly idiotic setting in Windows default since Vista i believe...Thanks for the response, I did not find such an option, I don't get an advanced tab. I searched under "sound, video and game controllers" --->"conexant smartaudio HD".Windows only manages devices that are hot-pluggable- USB Ports and network cards. Or if nothing else, it only exposes that power management option set for those devices.

It appears that this is a "feature" implemented directly by the Driver software. It uses two binary values in the registry- "DrvAzComIdlePowerState" and DrvAzComPerformanceIdleTime. Advice I found elsewhere suggests changing these two settings to 00 00 00 00 and 2c 01 00 00 to 2c 0f 00 00 (I cannot give a registry path because I don't have any systems using conexant sound drivers and there are no registry keys by those names on the systems I tried.). This changes it so it only powers off after 2 hours. They should be somewhere in Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet.

Now, one issue is that this may result in the battery drain just as you've observed with your workaround. Presumably this is why it has the power down feature to begin with.

I've found various reports from others using Conexant sound devices and particularly on laptop systems having this this issue irrespective of DFX. It may simply be that in your case, you've only been able to hear it with DFX ACTIVE due to how it affects the sound output. Sort of like how turning a pair of speakers on is quite noticable with a powerful subwoofer than it is on a tiny pair of phone speakers.Thank you for the response, yeah I think you summed up the situation nicely. If this power management could be set to two hours (and not 20 seconds like it is now) it would be brilliant! Do you know how i can get the registry path? In regedit (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE--> SYSTEM--> CurrentControlSet--> Control--> Conexant) there is a Conexant folder, there are some options there but I dont know which one to modify? There is an entry called 'MaxOutputLevel', there is 'Threshold', 'AttackTime'. I don't if those are relevant. There are also options under 'Hardware Profiles'--> Enum-->HD Audio. There is also Power Management and all the folders there have long serial numbers. I'm sure this is getting closer but what next? :/If you select the "CurrentControlSet" registry key, you can use Edit->Find to search for "DrvAzComIdlePowerState" which should find the applicable key where you can change the value(s).Okay I tried it it came up with nothing, I also searched powerstate and also no dice...

I'll start by saying, I'm really glad I happened upon this forum.  I'm a pretty experienced PC guy and have countless hours of provided support for my work and at home.  My son is having an issue with his computer and I'm completely at wits end with it.  I was thinking about how to solve it while I was doing fill-in IT help at work, when I found this site looking at a guide for changing homepages of all THINGS.  This community is awesome!

So on to the issue.

My son has a boom mic on his Skullcandy SLYR headphones.  It has worked fine, until yesterday.  Now his computer will not receive sound from the mic.  It shows up as a listed recording device, but will not give the visual display of hearing sound nor will it return sound when the "Listen to this device" option is selected under properties.

Things we have tried.

• Unplugging and reseating the connection from the headphones to the amp (both ends) [No Change]
• Unplugging and reseating the amplifier (USB) on the computer [No Change]
• Rebooting the computer [No Change]
• Unplugging, rebooting, then reseating the headphones [No Change]
• Plugging the headphones into a different computer [Mic Worked!]

didn't realize their plug was TRRS.

The link below contains basic troubleshooting and setup information regarding your gaming system.

https://www.skullcandy.com/support/product-setup-instructions/

Hopefully if you ever need the steps this will help. Please note that Skullcandy has discontinued all support of the Gaming headphones as we have discontinued them a few years ago.

Thank you for choosing Skullcandy

Hi.  I purchased an MSI Z 97 PC MATE socket LGA 1150 motherboard sold as-is/damaged/not working.  The seller said it would post to bios without CPU.  On inspection the only problem was thermal paste on some of the socket pins.  So-o-o, I set up on my desk on a paper pad with a high intensity light, alcohol, fine paint brush and a dental pick sharpened to a fine point.
What I forgot was a ground strap.  As i was brushing the dirty pins, a spark jumped from the socket to the lamp hot enough to burn out the bulb.
Question: was that static electricity or condenser discharge?
               did I DAMAGE the board?             
               can I safely set the mobo up with a CPU, monitor, mouse and keyboard to see if it will post? Quote from: pogo on July 12, 2018, 08:33:34 AM

note:  I meant capacitor not condenser!

Just an internet misunderstanding . A minor disagreement regarding what steps the OP should take. You were trying to help and that's what we're all about here. Welcome to the forum

Hello all,

I've gone through a number of tutorials on the net but still I am unable to solve my problem.
I just want to read eight BIT data from the standard parallel port (where the printer is plugged in)
ทางเข้าufabet
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciate.There are a number of build your own electronics CIRCUITS to interface with Parallel Port and Programming that controls Parallel ports... What do you want to use this port for? Have you google searched to SEE if someone else has already shared a method to what your trying to do?
You can buy READY made "breakout" or relay boards. Just Google for "parallel port interface board". The relay board below COSTS $26.

The computer would turn on but no signal going to the monitor. Sometimes, the computer would turn on and there was no signal going to the monitor, keyboard and mouse. I RUN a FULL SCAN with Kapersky antivirus an there was no virus in any of the 3 hard drives. Finally, the other day everything was fine until I tried to connect a pair of headphones to the back of my desktop. When I was connecting the headphone I kind of push the desktop with my elbow and I lost the signal to the monitor. I adjusted the cable monitor but still no signal. I have not been able to use my desktop for 2 weeks. What could be the problem? What should I do?

 

 

This are my components:

 

1) GPU : PowerColor PCS+ AMD Radeon HD 7870 Myst. Edition 2 GB GDDR5 DVI/HDMI/2Mini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card AX7870 2GBD5-2DHPPV3E

2) PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 G3, 80 Plus Gold 750W (New, I changed the old one because I thought it was the problem)

3) Processor: Intel Core-i5 3350P Quad-Core Processor 3.1 Ghz 6 MB Cache LGA 1155 - BX80637i53350P

4) RAM: 16 GB

5) Motherboard: Gigabyte LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX DDR3 1600 Motherboards GA-B75M-D3H

 

I had it check by 2 people, one is a friend that used to build computers a long time ago and the other one is my gamer friend that build computers as a hobby:

 

Friend .- Said the PSU was faulty. Then he also said there was a problem either with the processor or the connection of the motherboard to the processor.

 

Gamer Friend.- I gave him my computer. Told me connected his PSU and the machine WORKED. Dediced to buy the new PSU you guys see up there. He reinstalled Windows 10 Pro. When I took the computer to my house, it immediatly started presenting the same problem (it did not work even once). He came back to my house and proceded to disconnect and reconnect the GPU. Then he disconnected GPU, Sound Card, RAM. Nothing, the computer would turn on and off, sometimes it would stay on just a little bit longer. Long enough to see the BIOS screen. Then it would turn off. The he tried to reset the bios with a paper clip. For a while it worked, the machine stayed on. We left the machine on for 10 minutes and turned it off. Again the problem of turning on and off. He does not know where the problem lies because apparently my motherboard does not have the small speaker that emits sound to tell you what the problem is (the guy I mentioned previously said the same thing). In the end he told me "Man, I do not know what happened. In my house it worked with a new PSU, everything was fine. I reinstalled everything. The only thing that I can tell you is that I was lucky and you need to change motherboard, CPU and new RAM." He recommended me buying this

 

·         Intel 8th Gen Core i5-8400 Processor $178

 

·         

·         GIGABYTE B360M DS3H (LGA1151/Intel/Micro ATX/USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB3.0) Type A/DDR4/Motherboard) $68

 

 

16 GB RAM - The cheapest I can find DDR4.

 

Kind of bum out the computer only felt short of 5 years. It only lasted 49 months. When I built it, I was planning for it to last 10 years, and keep update with only a new GPU. Getting married right now, paying for a house, honey moon etc. Did no want to spend MONEY on my hobby....  I am not a big PC gamers. Only play on PC for certain firs person shooters (was planning on buying Wolfenstein 2, Prey, Rage 2 and Doom Eternal) and any RTS released by Paradox. However, I did love working on my 27" ASUS led monitor instead of my 14" Lenovo laptop. I do not know what to do now. Maybe just buy an ultra dock to connect the laptop to the monitor? I mean, even if I fix my desktop right now, I will not be buying a new GPU right away, I would be using the old one. The GPU right now are really expensive.You post is very complete. Good. The is hardly anything else you could try.

Here is my question for you: How much time are you wiling to invest in this? There is an old saying "Time is Money."

You might be able to sell off the components of your system to somebody who likes to build computers. Meanwhile, you could just go get a new computer with a warranty.

What did you pay for the computer 5 years ago? Maybe $998? If so it cost you $220 a year to have a computer. Now if you can buy a new replacement computer for $599 and it has a three year warranty, your again have a computer that would cost your $200 a year. But it might last longer and perform better. 

My point is this. You have done most of the things anybody could do and have not found the problem. It may be multiple issues  Thanks for your reply man. This was my first gaming PC. When I built it I was SOLD on the idea that it was better than a laptop because It would last  as long as I want, a laptop would die after just 3-4 years  (I am writing this on a 6-8 year old laptop I use for work, ironically). Obviously, the laptop is docked an it is only used for documents. My home PC I used it every day browsing, watching videos, streaming movies, tv series, gaming, etc. EVERY SINGLE DAY,. I would go to sleep an just leave it on until 2 AM because I would stream series before going to sleep to my room. I was sold on the idea that if I wanted to update my PC after a while to play the latest games, I would just need to buy a new GPU (I was waiting for 1070´s price come down). I guess psychologically, In my mind I still think it is just unconceivable that I need to invest so much in a new machine, when I was expecting it to last at least 10 years before building a new one. I know  that it will not play the latest games, but at least I would have proper computer to work. Was I wrong to expect so much from my computer?
Including the 27" ASUS led monitor, case, gaming mouse and keyboard I SPENT around $1546
Right now I spent $80 for a new 750W PSU + $10 for a GPU holder
I guess I would have to buy new motherboard, ram, processor and keep the old GPU until 1070 comes down in price.

Before spending money on new parts or new system make sure your power bar & plug that you are plugged into are 100%. Maybe try a different power bar & move the computer to a different part of your home where you would be plugged into a different circuit before swapping a bunch of parts. Everything plugged to the same sockets is working (amplifier, modem, router, monitor). I would try in a different part of my house though.I'm a retired electrician & I've seen power bars with 1 & 2 faulty plugs, bad wall receptacles & dirty power ( voltage fluctuations) do crazy things to electronic equipment. Just hoping I can save you some money. Good luck.

I plant to BUY the i5-8400 and I was wondering if that cooler is enough to use it with SIX cores and turbo boost on,with two case fans the case is  Deepcool Tesseract BF and the motherboard is the B360M D3H if THATS necessary to know.That heatsink is a cheap block of aluminum. I'd go with a heatsink with heat pipes that is rated for the CPU or liquid cooling.

Additionally the info online suggests that the PWM speed CONTROL of this heatsink fan might not exist and it might just be a 12 volt fan motor with no speed control from a newegg review on it.Is the Cooler Deepcool Ice Blade 200M good enough?Sounds like yer stuck on Deepcool...plenty of better coolers out there...just sayin.Yea I know but the problem is IM limited because of the country I live in (Macedonian)so Im only mentioning  the cheapest coolers I could find in my towns stores.If there is nothing better ... then i guess its a gamble and see if it will take the heat of that i5. If you dont overclock and use Arctic Silver thermal compound then you might be ok if the room the computer is in is cool all the time.Arctic Silver thermal compound is overpriced and overrated.Been using Arctic Silver for years with no issues... what do you suggest for a quality thermal compound then geek?Geek uses toothpaste...long story. Quote from: patio on July 21, 2018, 02:20:57 PM

Geek uses toothpaste...long story.

Ok I have an Hp Envy 1TB with AMD-A10 -6700 3.70 ghz ... It is consistently freezing and crashing on me. I have to run for work Photoshop - Lightroom - while I have Social Media accounts going and I stream NETFLIX. I have 2 monitors and I have extra external memory with a 1tb passport. I us Wi-Fi - Headphone - Mouse - Keyboard and I use a Wacom Tablet. Not sure what other info to supply to help get advice please let me know if there is anything or what advice you may have! Thanks!Looked up your computer and it appears to be like this one... https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883250977

In Windows there are event logs. I would check event logs to see if there are any errors listed that will give indication as to the issue you have. Windows can detect issues and record them there and then when the issue is unknown to the user, sometimes the issue is as clear as DAY and the error log in event logs of Windows points out the problem such as I had a HARD drive that was failing and Windows recorded that the Hard Drive had been having a Delayed Write Failure. This caused my system to act slow at times with hard drive light lit and freeze up and crash on me.

However a hard drive failure is not the only cause of issues like these. It could also be DUE to a RAM issue, Power Supply Issue, Heat Issue such as the APU running too HOT, as well as a Motherboard Failure if the issue is caused by hardware. Additionally if your system was ever infected with malware you could have a memory leak going on where the scars left behind in the data on the system cause problems even after the malware has been removed and by which saving your data to an external drive or cloud storage and then installing the OS and software clean from system recovery media set can also be a solution.

Lastly many people overlook the power to the computer as a possible cause. If you have a lamp plugged into the same outlet that the computer uses and you see the light twinkle in brightness as a test when using the computer and the computer freezes or acts up then, then you know that you have a dirty power condition that is the cause of the computer freezing up. A problem like this can be best resolved by adding a battery backup between the outlet of the home or office and the computer so that when there is a dip in power even if just the FASTEST dip in power of a sudden flicker of the lamps bulb, the battery backup aka UPS can keep the computer on a constant clean powered state and the internal battery can fill in for the voltage dips. (Note: Laptops are usually immune to dips in power because of how they charge their battery, and if there is a dip in power it just means that during that time the laptop runs off of its battery vs the power supply that is plugged in, where the battery is healthy and has enough of a charge to cover the outage period of a quick flicker or a longer power outage or brown out etc. ) Since you have a desktop computer its susceptible to a quick dip in power ruining your day, especially if the system is being heavily run and its power demand is higher and the capacitors in the power supply during that dip in power drain out faster and are not able to maintain constant DC voltages to critical components.

i am wondering is it possible to put a gpu in a dell dimension 2400 there is no slot for a gpu but there is a place to put the slot if i solder a slot on there would it work? before you even get to that step, ask yourself is your soldering technique good enough to handle more than 100 solder spots, 1mm apart without cooking nearby components?
I know mine isn't
well maybe if its possible im going to try
Just remember that the factory NEVER solders these components by hand. Be prepared to toss your Mobo if it screws up.I admire your initiave....

I question your logic.              lolHow will the motherboard chipset deal with a new slot, which it was not designed for? You can fit a PCI display card anyhow.
If you look at the motherboard you will likely see other components missing in this region of the board!!! Which means you may be able to add a AGP connector, but the supporting circuits are open and missing paths to make it work properly.

I use to work in PCB Manufacturing and when we built a product that was for a specific build or CUSTOMER request that was different in that it was not the full system but instead a stripped down version of the full blown system it was never just lets not put a connector in, generally engineers removed all unnecessary components related to it as well as some systems even had different firmware so that the system would skip over a portion of the board/system that doesnt exist on that specific build.

Motherboards such as the one you have went through a wave soldering machine, where boards are held in place by titanium fingers that hold the edge of the board, and these fingers are connected to 2 chains that bring the boards through the wave solder machine at a speed of travel that is in control of the wave solder operator. These boards go through a fluxer that uses pressurized air to bubble the flux into a brush that blushes the bottom of the board with flux. Before the board with flux is brought to the solder pot it travels over heating elements to bring the board temperature up before it gets to the solder pot and this protects the PCB's from temperature shock but also the flux wicks up the legs of the tinned parts during this process. The boards then travel to the solder pot and a sump pumps up molten LEAD to a Z-baffle where the wave solder operator controls a knob that controls the flow of solder ( height of the solder exiting the Z-baffle ) which pours back into the HOT solder pot as liquid lead to MAINTAIN the liquid lead flow. The operator needs to be very careful not to have the height of the molten lead too high or it will pour over the top of the board and cost the company money in damaged PCB's but also not too low that parts of the board are not soldered. When the PCB's exited the solder pot they then where inspected and then washed in a large dishwasher for motherboards. Fortunately I got hired there shortly after they got rid of the freon bathing of boards to remove excess flux. The boards then go into a dryer that drys them so they dont corrode. Then they go to post-wave to add parts or Quality Control who look over boards for parts backwards, not seated properly, or wrong etc. Then the board goes for a burn in test if the company performs burn in testing such as we had a room that was 150F that the boards would run powered for 12 hours to stress the components then test the boards on a ATE or bench test them one by one to make sure all is well. Problem boards were sent to Service department for Electronics Technicians like myself could fix them and send them back out as good or toss them if they are beyond economical repair.

The wave solder machine makes for fast and proper soldering of PCB's as well as there are rarely issues with heatsinking causing inadequate soldering. Heatsinking is the problem where there is a large metal mass that is taking solder and the heat is drawn away on contact with the molten lead that the lead is no longer up to proper temperature to flow correctly into the solder joint. This usually causes legs of components to be soldered on the underside, but looking at the top of the board the leg(s) of the component do not have flow of solder up through the Barrel ( the hole that the component legs go through which is usually copper and by which it joins multiple layers of circuitry on boards to the component leg that is inserted and soldered into that location ) and this can cause problems in addition to the fact that it looks like a poor quality board to discover poor solder joints.

That all being said, the connector you want to install was never masked over and so the barrels likely are all plugged with lead. You would need to carefully remove the lead from the barrels without overheating the board and damaging it. This requires a solder sucker and skill in using one to not damage the board. Some people have used flux and solder wick as well if they dont have a solder sucker, but a solder sucker is the best method of lead removal from a barrel without damaging the PCB masking and barrels.

If components were intended to be added later a mask is placed over the connector location for example where latex is added over the board area on the underside and sometimes topside too if gold finger contacts are involved, however most manufacturers done away with latex poured over the area because it takes time to set, and have moved on to film tape like 3M 5413 Polyimide that we use to use lots of. When board is done with wave solder the tape peels off easily and you can add whatever component later, or now have gold fingers on the edge of a board that are nice gold color and not tinned with solder.

Knowing what I know, I wouldnt personally go the route of adding that connector. I'd just get a replacement motherboard that has the AGP connector. Here is one for sale cheap for $21.99 with free shipping at Newegg! https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA9AX65B1964&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleMKP-PC-_-pla-_-Desktop+PC-_-9SIA9AX65B1964&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIi82zm86f3AIVU-DICh1_YAOjEAQYAiABEgL54PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I worked at Allen-Bradley / Rockwell Automation from 1995 to 2001 and did just about every job in Production Department where needed including Wave Solder Operator when the main guy that ran it was out sick etc. Had 2 fires in the wave solder machine in the 6 years there because the flux was a mixture of Isopropyl Alcohol and Flux as a specific gravity had to be measured to have a flux that would be applied that wasnt too heavy or thin of flux, and the heating elements were hot red glowing elements like an electric oven and there was nothing protecting the red hot elements from a droplet of isopropyl/flux mixture dripping on it and flashing over which then catches the bottom of the boards on fire and the flame rushes back to the flux bubbler with brush. All that plus high volume airflow to VENT out the toxic fumes made the inside of the wave solder act like a flame thrower was  behind the glass windowed metal doors. The fire risk was removed when we moved on to newer flux that didnt use isopropyl alcohol however it was far more difficult to solder with because it loved to spider web solder the bottoms on the boards where a board came out with lead bridged between legs all over as well as solder balls that would spit out the tops of the barrels and made a mess for testing and reliability of boards until we got the settings just right to reduce solder balls and have a properly soldered product. For a short while we would take a board and tap it edgewise on a ESD mat on a table and it looked like 100 ball point pen balls fell from the board in how tiny the balls of lead were that were a risk for shorting component legs to other legs etc. When i left in 2001 we even moved away from lead solder to a lead-free solder and that in itself also had issues where lead solder works soooo much nicer, but they wanted to make boards that were lead-free.

I have used my Roku for sometime and find I am ignorant about the cool things you can do with Roku. I thought it was only for watching stuff on the Internet.
Just now I found this article on CNET.

13 Roku tricks you should try right now
Look at this:
Quote

Use your phone for voice search
roku-app-voice-search.jpg
Roku voice search is just an app-tap away.

You know what's even faster than a keyboard? The spoken word. If you're lucky enough to have a current-generation Roku, you may have discovered the joys of voice search, which you can operate via the Roku remote.

...we went to streaming over internet to save $60 a month by ditching cable.

Specs: (Printer) HP ENVY 4500; configuration: local network, WiFi connection.

(Computer) Windows 7.

Description: The printer works fine on restarting. It won't print after long periods of inactivity.

Additional info: I disabled the printer's "sleep" function just in case without success.

My best hypothesis: The printer is in "ad hoc" mode: i.e. it's not permanently connected to computer. I don't know how to test for this. All the interface SOFTWARE has been installed and I think the printer is connected to computer using TCP.

Any suggestions??
If you want to test connectivity and connected via wireless, you could see if it is staying connected a couple of different ways.  One way would be connecting to your router's interface and looking at the list of connected devices.  Another way would be finding the IP of the DEVICE (off a fresh restart) and then pinging it from your PC.  I just tested both on my wireless printer successfully.

In an effort to troubleshoot the actual problem, you could move the printer closer to the router for a LITTLE while and see if it is related.  SOMETIMES if a device loses a signal it doesn't always recover well.  If this is happening frequently in a specific spot, that might be what you're seeing.

Best of luck!

Wondering what all you sages with dual boot systems would recommend. I'm wanting to install Win XP along with my existing Win 10 Home. Should I install another small SSD or install another partition on my main drive? (Hope I'm on the right board for this question.)Quick answer:
Make sure you have a backup of your main system. And make sure you have the original install CD  or DVD for the Windows  OS and any other stuff.

Linux takes a small amount of disk space as compared to Windows. You can use a partition manager to free up a little bit of space. About 16GB of free space anywhere on the drive is fine.
https://www.easeus.com   Look for free partition manager.

Linux will automatically find the free space and install there if you tell it to install alongside of Windows.

My personal preference now is to use two esperate drives. I use a old laptop drive on a USB adapter to run Ubuntu 18.04 version I found. But I had  to select the device in the BIOS priority menu.

Before doing an install, try the 'live' version  from the DVD until you get the  general idea of how Linux works.
Above all, have fun! 

Another variation of Ubuntu:
LuUbuntu 18
https://lubuntu.me/bionic-released/
Quote

What is Lubuntu?

Lubuntu is an official Ubuntu flavor which uses the Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment (LXDE). The project’s goal is to provide a lightweight yet functional Linux distribution based on a rock solid Ubuntu base. Lubuntu specifically targets older machines with lower resources, but also runs great on newer hardware. Along with a simple but usable graphical user interface, Lubuntu comes with a wide variety of applications CHOSEN for their small footprint so you can browse, email, chat, play, and be productive.

Does the I7 8700 always use it’s TURBO boost or is it just for higher end applications.Turbo is always running unless CPU is running too hot or disabled in BIOS if an option to disable.
Another way on most systems is to CREATE a custom power plan in CONTROL Panel, Power Options, and set the MAX CPU to 99%.

Hi,

does anyone know how can I repair dead laptop battery without opening and damaging. More precisely can anyone explain me which tool and software is used to flash her (EEPROM) memory ?You are asking two questions. 

It should not be necessary to flash the EPROM on a laptop not yet three years old.
How do you know the laptop battery is dead?

Does the laptop work when plugged into the electrical wall plug?
Who told you to repair the battery yourself? Do you want  to die?
This is a scam:
DO NOT WATCH THIS:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-NwfsWiwn0

DIY repair of batteries is only  for very advanced techies. . And eve then it is a real HAZARD to life and property.

EDIT: Laptop batteries area special thing. THET differ from car batteries and flashlight batteries is a big way. They are much more dangerous.

There  is little value in resorting flashlight batteries. However, one can do a real business with automotive batteries.

There is a need for entrepreneurs to get into local automotive battery restoration. It is not easy, but it is a good business.
See this link:
http://batteryaz.com/battery-reconditioning-business/
Quote

To be honest, this business of restoring old or dead batteries is not as easy as many think, but actually everything good comes with a little hard work. However, with the right resources and a few tools anyone can do it, and excel at it.

...repair dead laptop battery without opening

My pc is not displaying on the monitor or lighting up my usb keyboard.
I have tried each ram stick in each slot
I have tried removing and resetting the cmos battery
I have tried unplugging part by part and no display
I have also just GOT this new MOTHERBOARD so I doubt that is the problem
My power supply is working as normal (tested)
I have plugged the hdmi and vga cables into gpu and motherboard no luck
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Please suggest something!!!!How is your vid card CONNECTED ? ?

HDMI needs drivers 1st to work...use VGA or display PORT til thats done...
However no keyboard lights makes me suspect the MBoardCurious how the Power Supply was tested?That famous paper clip test...remember  ? ?  And that test method is just about worthless without a dummy load to load down the voltage rails and measure voltages at full load to see that the power supply is able to maintain HEALTHY voltages at load.

Hi
I WANT to run USB on at least two computers at the same time , do you have a solution to that?

Thanks? A Shared USB Device ?

https://www.iogear.com/usb-switch.htm

If its to share a USB attached hard drive, I would suggest avoiding that and instead create a share from one COMPUTER with it attached  for the other to access the drive through a network share vs 2 or more computers switching between access to a USB Drive of any kind. I have HEARD of DRIVES getting fouled up from USB switches mainly when data is being written to them from multiple sources. I have seen them work fine for sharing a PRINTER.

I myself dont use USB switches but instead if multiple systems need access to a printer or drive, I create a share and then have all systems connected to everything I want through a share which is free vs buying box to do it. Only catch to the switch box vs the share is that the share requires the system that is sharing device(s) to be on to host the sharing.

Can I PLACE themAs long as your system has room for 3 hd's, sure Quote from: Allan on July 20, 2018, 05:10:42 AM

As long as your system has room for 3 hd's, sure

So I recently bought a Dell G7 series laptop which has a preinstalled 256gb M2.0 SSD and also has an empty bay for a 2.5mm HDD drive. I took an old regular SATA drive out of my old laptop to use with my new one. When I boot up the laptop, it just boots into the old VERSION of windows from my old laptop (KEEPS booting the HDD instead of the M2 SSD). Ideally I'd like it to boot up the M2 so I can go in and format the HDD and use it as extra storage. The HDD keeps booting up instead of the M2 no matter which order I changed the boot sequence in BIOS. Also, the HDD and SDD are both set as C:\ drive I think which also may be a problem.

TLDR: Laptop is booting salvaged HDD instead of preinstalled M2.0 SSD no matter the boot sequence in bios

When you set boot order in the BIOS are you pressing F10 to "save changes and exit" ? ?

Also there is no reason Win would recognise them both as C:///that happens when it boots to a HDD.

Why not just wipe Win from the 2nd HDD...you don't need it. Quote from: patio on July 26, 2018, 11:46:50 AM

Why not just wipe Win from the 2nd HDD...you don't need it.

It wail not.

If it don't see it, it won't boo tit.

I have a Western Digital hard drive taken from my old pc which would not switch on (long story my son decided to dismantle it then could not get it back on  ).
I am sure the hard drive is ok.

Is there a SATA hard drive caddy that will READ this hard drive? There SEEM to be issues about reading Western Digital.
I have docking station already (Winstars) but it will not read it.

On the drive it SAYS:
WD1200
WD Caviar SE
Serial ATA Hard Drive
Drive parameters: LBA 234441648  120GB
WD P/N: WD1200JS - 00MHB0

many thanksAny caddy should read a WD HDD...
Are you sayin he dismantled the HDD ? ?...if so all BETS are off.that is an old hard drive - how are you so sure it is OK?

Hi there I was hoping someone might be able to help me.
I have an AMD A8-6600K APU  with Radion Graphics and 8 gb RAM.. running Windows 10 64 bit personal edition.

It started by telling me the BIOS had changed.. when i booted up, and gave me the option to start up using the best options, which I did. Things had run OK for a month or so, but just the past few days it came on again, only this time the PC started freezing entirely, becomming completely un-responsive. I have had several Blue screens, but  ihave run the blue screen health checker thing in Windows itself and it comes back saying no errors.

I have now done a full recovery of windows and took it all back to basics but it still froze.  Anyone have any suggestions , perhaps a diagnostic tool I could try to see if some hardware is failing? .. I know that sometimes on the blue screens it said it was collecting information on the errors.. but as a novice i have no idea where that information is stored or even how to begin looking at it if i even found it.

Any help would be appreciated. thanks in advance.How old is this PC ? ?
I'd replace the CMOS battery for starters...part # CR 2032...available anywhere...3 Bucks.
Remove all power when replacing...Is this a laptop or a desktop? You did not provide a model name of this PC, you should in the future, just keep that in mind! Just to clarify, does it say the bios has changed every time you start up or did it do it that one time? Does it freeze while in windows all the time or does it freeze while booting up too? If your PC is a desktop it will probably be easier to diagnose if you have failing hardware just by looking in the PC and the parts inside, and interchanging parts. We need more details to proceed. Thanks! Changing the battery like patio suggested is your best bet for starters. Just look up a tutorial online for how to do it.

Hope this helps,
Anthonyhi and thanks, it is a desktop PC about 3 YR old. I changed the battery 2 days ago and haven't seen the Bios message since. however the freezing still continues.  I tried finding the motherboard model but all i found is it is by Gigabyte and the model number says "to be filled in by O.E.M" whatever that means. 
The freezing is intermittent, sometimes it freezes in a programme or game (no lights on keys nor mouse when that happens) other times it won't even load windows.  We have just moved house, but I opened it when i changed battery and couldn't see anything "loose" as such.. I have no spare parts to swap stuff out with either as suggested so I guess I will have to save for repair in a store.  Thank you for the suggestions I had this symptom on my PC actually, and I put a new power supply in it and it seemed to solve the problem. Like you, I also experienced some BSODs and then just freezing completely. I moved my computer around a lot too. Not to mention that I took every part I could out of the computer I had and put it back in. So I could have fixed something that I didn't know about. Since you are a novice, I don't recommend you do that. 

One thing to always check is if there are any bloated or busted capacitors on your motherboard.  That helps too.

Have a great day,
Anthony

 
 Just had the Blue Screen with error KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED  - was wondering if this helps shed any LIGHT on what might be causing my freezing?... A quick search suggests this may be a driver issue.  Depending on settings, Windows will automatically update the drivers for the different hardware in your computer.  If someone releases an unstable driver it can be automatically loaded on your computer. 

If you can get a picture of the next one or send us your dump files, we could try to narrow it down.

From there, we can try to find either a newer version of the drivers or find an old version to revert to that is stable.

 thank you for the reply, I have tried manually checking and updating the drivers. The last blue screen i got was IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL.. I ran the windows blue screen troubleshooter but it said no issues (yet its bluescreened 3 times in the past hour)  I think I just need to wait for pay day and take it in some place.  When the error messages are random INSTEAD of consistent it usually points to a flakey PSU...

Don't buy a cheap one.

My lenovo g580 is stuck in boot MENU. I ve tried changing boot priority order before and it worked but now it is not workingTry to be a bit more descriptive, did you make any changes to your computer's bios recently other that the boot priority? Has anything damaged your PC recently? How old is this computer? Has there been any other issues as well?

The best I can TELL you is to look up a VIDEO on how to remove your CMOS battery, (looks like small silver button) which will reset your BIOS to default settings which may help. Make sure to remove your laptop's main battery before you do so, then hit the power button a few times to discharge the laptop of any residual charges. After the CMOS battery is out, wait 2 minutes and reinsert the battery, and close up your laptop. PLUG yourself into a wall outlet just for good measure and try booting up. If this problem persists then it may be something to do with your hard drive. Please comment back here once you have tried the battery removal solution. If it is your hard drive you may need to re-install WINDOWS.

Hello Guys,

Please help me how to properly remove this CMOS battery as sample attached picture.

I removed others with easy clip while this one seems quite hard to remove.

Thank You.Its a standard coin cell. These are held in by the white PLASTIC holder. You have to carefully apply pressure to coin cell opposite of the side you will apply outer pressure to the white plastic to allow for the coin cell to tip up in the corner that the white plastic is pushed carefully out away from coin cell.

If you apply too much pressure you can break the plastic holder and be in trouble though so only apply the bare MINIMUM pressure to get the coin cell top pop up out of the holder.

Putting replacement battery back in you need to put the new coin cell (probably a 2032) battery in the same POLARITY orientation. I use a toothpick to press the tension clip.Good Eye Patio...    in picture I didn't see that.

There are some battery holders out there that the plastic acts like jaws that hold the coin cell center to itself. Looked back after you MENTIONED toothpick to the tension clip and now I see it on the right. Thanks for the replies guys.

Tho I tried to be extra careful not to break the plastic jaws, I did break the other small 2 claws and left the center claw and the other 3 claws from other side intact.

Hi. My neighbor asked me to have a look at a problem he's having and I'm stumped. He wants to print pictures on 8.5 x 11 photo paper at full size but they're coming out on the full sheet of paper as 5 x 7 or even as small as POSTCARD size. his printer has 5 x 7 photo paper in one tray and 8.5 x 11 in the other. To avoid wasting money we put some regular paper in the 8.5 x 11 tray during the troubleshooting process. Any of the adjustments we make in the regular windows photo viewer print settings are making no difference. He said he hasnt tried to print full size for over a year but when he did it he had the option to select 8.5 x 11 in the dropdown. That option isn't there now but as I understand it, 8.5 x 11 would be L which is there.

I feel like something is overriding the settings to try to print at the best quality but I can't FIGURE out where. I've looked in the windows options and the options for the printer. The printer is an HP Photosmart Plus B210. Any help would be most APPRECIATED. Are all programs printing at 5x7, or only Windows Photo Viewer?Did you already search the HP site for info on HP Photosmart Plus B210?
That printer is now very old and you may need to update the FIRMWARE for a current version of Windows.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-e-all-in-one-printer-series-b210/4021933/manuals

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-e-all-in-one-printer-series-b210/4021933/model/4021934/troubleshooting

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/HP-Photosmart-Plus-All-in-One-Printer-series---B2/4021933/model/4021934

You may need to read all of the above. 

EDIT:  Just now I see HP released new firmware yesterday. My suggestion is to try the other things first. The firmware upgrade might not be needed and just might FAIL. The other updates are reversible. Try the firmware last of all, but  now I don't think it is firmware. Quote from: nil on August 01, 2018, 02:09:49 PM

Are all programs printing at 5x7, or only Windows Photo Viewer?

Did you already search the HP site for info on HP Photosmart Plus B210?
That printer is now very old and you may need to update the firmware for a current version of Windows.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-e-all-in-one-printer-series-b210/4021933/manuals

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-photosmart-plus-e-all-in-one-printer-series-b210/4021933/model/4021934/troubleshooting

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/HP-Photosmart-Plus-All-in-One-Printer-series---B2/4021933/model/4021934

You may need to read all of the above. 

EDIT:  Just now I see HP released new firmware yesterday. My suggestion is to try the other things first. The firmware upgrade might not be needed and just might fail. The other updates are reversible. Try the firmware last of all, but  now I don't think it is firmware.

How to make a test page on HP Deskjet 3-in-1 printer when the  wording PRINT TEST PAGE won't show up on the screen?

Thanks in advance for helping me.

GuzeppiDo you do this?
Quote

Printing A Windows Test Page Using Windows 10

    In the Search box on the task bar, type Devices and Printers.
    Touch or click Devices and Printers (Control panel).
    Touch and hold or right-click your printer.
    Touch or click Printer PROPERTIES. ...
    Under the General tab, Touch or click Print Test Page

My problem is that the wording PRINT A TEST PAGE does not appear on the PROPERTIES page after I hit SEE WHAT's PRINTING.

I've TRIED to narrow down any potential issues, and it seems like this issue rests with the graphics card.

While my brother is playing games, his screen goes black, and the audio gets stuck in about a 2-second audio loop. Only thing you can do is hold the power BUTTON. I've had it on onboard graphics without issue.

I've tried rolling drivers back, updating them, everything. So far, nothing has worked.

PasteBin of event viewer (Issue occurred at 13:50)

http://mibpaste.com/ml3Tgc

Any thoughts?  I worry the card might be going.I'd test the RAM to make sure all is on with running MEMTEST86 for about 4 or 5 full tests this takes a few hours usually

Also if you have any overclocking going on set everything back to normal speed Quote from: DaveLembke on July 29, 2018, 10:21:14 PM

I'd test the RAM to make sure all is on with running memtest86 for about 4 or 5 full tests this takes a few hours usually

Also if you have any overclocking going on set everything back to normal speed

Any cheap cpu of a i5 or i7 LGA 1155 because my motherboard is H67MA-E35, I know it's old but don't judge me lol as I don't have a lot of money so please HELP This page linked here has the supported CPUs listed on it. http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-MSI/H67MA-E35_(B3).html

ebay might be a source for a good used CPU. Pick a CPU from the list and then search ebay and then WRITE down what they are asking and then CHECK others on support list to find one that is the best deal for your money -or- if you can afford the most powerful CPU that is supported then just go with the fastest most powerful ( i7-3770K )

Here is a link to one that I trust that COSTS a little more than a cheaper one that I trust less. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-3-5GHz-Quad-Core-CM8063701211700-Processor/153118517958?epid=115980780&hash=item23a6932ac6%3Ag%3APXEAAOSwUv5bXeSe&_sop=15&_sacat=0&_nkw=i7+3770k+cpu&_from=R40&rt=nc

There is a cheaper one with only 2 feedbacks in the sellers history. This seller has 26 feedbacks at 100% satisfaction which costs more. Quote from: DaveLembke on August 01, 2018, 08:01:12 AM

This page linked here has the supported CPUs listed on it. http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-MSI/H67MA-E35_(B3).html

ebay might be a source for a good used CPU. Pick a CPU from the list and then search ebay and then write down what they are asking and then check others on support list to find one that is the best deal for your money -or- if you can afford the most powerful CPU that is supported then just go with the fastest most powerful ( i7-3770K )

Here is a link to one that I trust that costs a little more than a cheaper one that I trust less. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-i7-3770K-3-5GHz-Quad-Core-CM8063701211700-Processor/153118517958?epid=115980780&hash=item23a6932ac6%3Ag%3APXEAAOSwUv5bXeSe&_sop=15&_sacat=0&_nkw=i7+3770k+cpu&_from=R40&rt=nc

There is a cheaper one with only 2 feedbacks in the sellers history. This seller has 26 feedbacks at 100% satisfaction which costs more.

Hi!

I have old laptop and really need 2nd HDD for.
It has still old IDE 2,.5" interface and we all know that laptop is designed for one HDD only.
It has also PCMCIA slot and I have adapter for CF cards.
One CF card I USED in laptop IDE interface by CF2IDE adapter and have there installed system.

Is possible by any way to boot from PCMCIA slot?
No matter how hard is to get it work, really - is it possible?

THANK you for help.
MiroYes.Ok, thank you!

Can you explain me how to do it?
I use all your help and if will be something unclear use web search or ask.

Can you?

MiroMIRKOSOFT, do you already have the hardware needed?
PCMCIA flash can be rather costly
Why not use a USB device instead?
Hay not replace the HDD with a larger size?  The price of laptop HDD has come down a lot. IMO, a new HDD is the best thing for an old laptop.
Amway, hate are MANY articles about how to do it.
Here is as simple method:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/BootFromPCMCIA
This is for Linux Ubuntu.
Quote

Introduction
This Howto instructs you how to boot your root filesystem on a PCMCIA Flash Card (or a Compact Flash Card in a PCMCIA Adapter) after you've installed/copied Ubuntu onto the Flash Card.

I plan to pair one of them (because these are my only options because I cant shop ONLINE due to my countrys limitations) with the i5-8400 so except the price difference which one do you guys think is BETTER for: overall performance,better protection for different parts on the motherboard (voltage protection and stuff like that),LONGEVITY and which one has the most (and most RELEVANT)ports,FEATURES and stuff like that so if you can please mention as much as you can and thank you in advance.

(Sorry if my English is not good)
So, I've just bought a new laptop - Dell XPS 13/Windows 10/256GB SSD. I downloaded some games, and they do take a lot of disk space (C:), especially Fortnite (about 21GB). SINCE then, I haven't downloaded anything else, just play games and surf the web. I remember that a few days ago, the disk's free space is more than 20GB, and today, it decreased to 18,2GB. Again, I haven't downloaded anything else, it just decreased. I don't know if it is the cache, or history, or anything has taken more disk space. Today I opened the disk's properties, and while it said I used 69,2GB, all the files in the disk takes only 53,6GB. Where has the other 15,6GB gone? Is there anything I can do to restore all the lost disk space?Could be "pagefile.sys" if Win10 still calls their "virtual memory" (swap space) by that filename.  If tasks exceed physical RAM, the OS starts swapping tasks, data, and etc. out to disk and back.

If it bothers you a great deal, you can set the "virtual memory" to a FIXED size rather than allow Windows to use as much as is needed, but you run the risk of it crashing BSOD if memory requirements get too high, and it sounds like your games would easily create that problem.
Also hiberfil.sys if hibernation is enabled.personally, I'd go into Control Panel, System,Advanced system settings, Advanced tab, Settings, Advanced tab, Change, untick Automatically manage, and SELECT Custom size and set min to 512 and max to 8192, and click Set and OK.
and while in Control Panel, System properties window, click System Protection tab, Configure and set Max Usage to 1% for Restore Points, and delete the ones already stockpiled.
you could then start an elevated command prompt and type powercfg -h off to turn off hibernation if you don't use it.

that should reclaim a few gigs.
get WizTree from https://antibody-software.com/web/software/software/wiztree-finds-the-files-and-folders-using-the-most-disk-space-on-your-hard-drive/ and it'll find where all your space has gone.

and do a cleanup using the INBUILT cleaner by starting an elevated command prompt and typing the command cleanmgr c: /sageset:1tick all the boxes and click OK.then type cleanmgr /sagerun:1
if you are still short on space, it's time to be ruthless and remove stuff off the SSD and onto an external drive or into the cloud.
It could also be windows updates and feature updates causing the issue, I've see this on machines with SSD's and tablets.  Run Disk Cleanup and then click on the button that SAYS cleanup system files, there you can removed files that windows updates left behind and old windows files from an upgrade.Happened to me with a 250 ssd to 20gb, try to see if there's an "Windows.old" in you drive C: if there's you can search how to remove, it will give you a 10-20gb space if I remember it correctly Also windows update was sometimes the culprit in my experience. Hope it helps, good luck

Checking the health of my laptop, I recently discovered that my Reallocation Event Count has a value of 22 hex ( 34 ) and the drive passed crystaldisk as healthy. I thought these events were a bad sign where sectors are reallocated when the event happens. Yet the reallocated sector count remains at 0. Looking on Google I couldn't find how this count would be greater than 0 with bad sector count at 0.

Was wondering what would cause 22 in hex  ( 34 events ) to happen, yet the drive is still determined to be healthy?

System is running healthy by the way!

 I just periodically check over hard drive health on systems I use that are important such as this one for college to be sure that all is healthy as for I have used systems before and when checking on a drives health find that the drive now has warnings on a different computer that a drive didnt pass S.M.A.R.T.Do you have a data backup plan? If so, make sure your your backups are up to date. if you do not have a plan, why not? Monitor the value, if it increases, or odd things start to happen, REPLACE the drive.I’ve found SMART data can be taken with a grain of salt.
Mind you I backup religiously as well anyway.


The trouble with SMART is there is no adhered to standard and each drive manufacturer handles the values, and triggers, differently.  Also, it only shows you what has happened - not when or how often which would be better indicators of a drive heading south."Reallocation Event count" counts when the drive started a "reallocation procedure". Since the reallocated sector count is zero, none were actually reallocated, so it would seem that 22 times the drive thought it had to reallocate a sector, but then either never finished it, or found the sector was fine and cancelled the remap.

It *could* mean there are problem sectors that are just on the brink of failing. Or it could possibly occur if the drive loses power suddenly while in-use.Thanks for everyones INPUT on this. Not sure how the drive would ever have a power loss as for the laptop was always gracefully shut down. However there were a few times that I had to hold the power button to shut the laptop down when the original OS Windows 8 got messed up before downgrading to 7 64-bit Home Premium.

I create backups all the time of my most important data. On my ASUS Laptop I made use of the otherwise overlooked/unused SD Card Slot to have 64GB of backup storage space so it acts like a 2nd Drive. The SD Card stays in the slot all the time and when I am working on something critical of loss, I save a copy on the C: Drive as well as my 64GB SD Card at E: . I also save to USB thumb drives in addition to that so that if my system ever got hit with a virus and it takes out both the Hard drive and SD Card's data, I still have it on the USB stick. ADDITIONALLY I have a 15GB Google Drive that I use as well for storage of data. I took a massive data loss about 22 years ago when a virus hit my system, and I didnt know that I had a virus until it spread to floppies and multiple systems, and have made backups of important data ever since to the point that sometimes I have data backed up in more than 3 locations. I use to burn CD-R and DVD-R's of important data prior to Google Drive being available for 15GB of free storage. But I still wont save any banking or tax data online and burn all that to Disc's that have control on who has access to that data as well as the discs are immune to alteration with all data read-only after burn.

I generally will fire up crystaldiskinfo and take a screenshot and save that on systems to look back at, but on this system those prior snapshots of the drives smart data were wiped out when i did a clean build of Windows 7 three months ago. I saved a screenshot of it and will continue to monitor it. I might have overlooked this field in past drive health checks as for I mainly look that its green and good and look at the stats of run hours and boots and reallocated sector count. The run hours of a hard drive is a good odometer of how many hours the computer has operated since new, as long as the drive hasnt been replaced.For what it is worth...
For many years Hard Drive manufactures do not  make public there firmware code source. The firmware has propitiatory methods for read error management.

What the drive reports to the outside world may not represent the real state of the media. The is no law, regulation or ANYTHING to MOTIVATE them let others know what is going on. It can report 0 sectors relocated when there may have been fifty.

(This is not documented, b recuse it is not documented. )

If you have  reason to  suspect your drive is failing, stop using it.

Quote from: Geek-9pm on July 21, 2018, 09:25:41 PM

The is no law, regulation or anything to motivate them let others know what is going on.

It can report 0 sectors relocated when there may have been fifty.

This is not documented, because it is not documented.

It's "not documented" because you just made it up.

Hey everyone, so I have a decent entry level gaming computer that is being held back by the older processor that is in it. The motherboard is an ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe, so it has support up to AM3 processors. It uses DDR2 RAM and I only have 4GB of it, so I will probably be upgrading it to 8GB. So,I know it is older hardware, but my graphics card is new, my SSD and hard drives are new, my monitor is new my case is new, and my PSU is new as well. So my question is, is it worth it to get a decent AM3 processor and upgrade the RAM to 8GB, or should I just save up to buy a new motherboard that supports socket AM4 and DDR4 memory that I have been looking at?Simple ANSWER is 'NO' because tech is moving so fast that a used PC with a better mother board will cost less than a new thing that might give your old machine a good boost.

Do you want your desktop to do better with games?
That does make sense Geek, will be investing in a decent PC for Christmas!The answer also DEPENDS upon which resource(s) you're limited by: time, money, knowledge of building a PC, and so on.  What is your main goal?  Adequate response to games, compute problems, disk access, what?Let's do a bit of back of the napkin math here.

" is it worth it to get a decent AM3 processor and upgrade the RAM to 8GB, or should I just save up to buy a new motherboard that supports socket AM4 and DDR4 memory that I have been looking at?"

For memory, I don't know what you've got in there- (eg. 4x1GB or 2x2GB sticks). However, 4x2GB Sticks of DDR2 look to go for around 30 dollars or so.

For CPU, The Athlon II X4 640 looks to be the fastest CPU you can plop in there. I've found some forum posts where users with the motherboard were able to use The Phenom II X4 940, which is a little better, but it's not on the official support list.

The Athlon II X4 640 gives a PassMark Score of 3317. Phenom II X4 940 gives 3597, so not a big difference. (Don't know how it would compare to what you've got now).

The Chip looks to go for around $60 or so. That's $90 to upgrade both the RAM and the CPU, which isn't that bad. Of course prices may vary in different regions. I was going off eBay pricing for the CPU and Amazon for the DDR2 memory. Either way, the upgrade is going to be cheaper than buying a new PC. The question is whether you would prefer to PUT that amount towards a new PC in the future instead.



I have some issues on this PC where it will crash (usually when stressed) and there is a BSOD but its all distorted and torn apart and there is a little bit of the previous screen left on the BSOD screen (the game I was just playing, video EDITING etc). I have come to believe this was a processor issue because in Linux mint, if the processor microde driver is not installed it wont crash either. I think I will play it safe and buy the new hardware, but I might just get the upgrade anyways.

Hello,

I have a HP Deskjet printer for home use. It is the kind that uses the very SMALL printer cartridges. I seldom print anything but since this is tax time I decided to print copies of my tax forms. As usual, the cartridge was dried up. Obviously it makes no sense to buy new cartridges each time I need to print something, yet I still feel I should have a printer. Any way to keep the cartridges from drying out? Are there some types of printers that have cartridges that don't dry out so EASILY?

Any help will be apprecited.

I didn't find the right solution from the Internet.

References:
https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=160898
IT asset management software video

Thank you.
They dry out cause it's seldom used...i take all ny print jobs to BIG boc PC shops now via a USB stik...If you own a car you change the oil EVERY 6 Mos. or every 5000 miles. It's called preventive maintenance. Print a test page every week or 2. Same idea.I use Brother printers and around every 12hrs they do some sort of maintenance 'thing', they click and CLUNK for about 20secs then go back to sleep.
the one in my son's room has been idle for 18mths (he's overseas now) but I had to use it about 2 weeks ago and it printed just fine.

so +1 with you have to spin them up every now and then to keep it all fresh.
I read somewhere once that the rate at which an ink cartridge dries out is about the same as if you actually were printing a page a day, or week, or some such figure.
It's actually faster i read...cause the ink is static and not moving....

Problem I'm currently having: the email computer in my harem) has died.  TRIED a different power supply, no change.  mobo is MSI 990fxa-gd80 v2..2, WITH fx9370 cpu and 16GgB memory.  WORKED fine for 2 years.  Disconnected all hard drives, no change.  Root LED/switch on mobo comes on, but is ineffective.  Liquid cooled with H110i Corsair.  Stumped now.  Will not boot from hard drive, ssd, CDROM, or anything.  Press the mobo boot button, no response.
Last RESORT is clear CMOS and see if that helps however it sounds like the motherboard is dead when you replaced the power supply with a known GOOD supply of proper wattage.

That CPU is a hot power hungry CPU 220watts TDP. So are you sure the second power supply you used to test is rated HIGH enough wattage to power this system?

This started about 2 days ago, my PC was newly build at the start of the month, and running fine, til recently it started having random freezes, these freezes come with what seems LIKE no reason, I can be on games, 3D-modelling, just watching YouTube, and when that happen I cant do anything but to force restart. During the freeze, my screen freeze but i can still hear the sound for about 30sec, and sometimes I can hear the the window sound of a DEVICE being DISCONNECTED. Also not sure if it is related but when the freeze happen the light on the tower for hard drive stop flashing. These freeze can be happen in 20 mins, or to like 6 hours, i left my PC on over night but it didn't crash.

Specs:

PSU: Corsair CX550M

GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB

CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 1600

RAM - G.Skill 8gb DDR4-3200 RAM *2 (In A2 and B2 slot)

Temps look fine.

Speccy : http://speccy.piriform.com/results/DF7T7d5VvmCmMoeL6ZAIUp0

I really not sure what to do, I don't even know if it is hardware or the driversFirst thing I would test is RAM with memtest86 and run about 4 full tests. Next thing would be Hard Drive or SSD health as for Virtual Memory is stored and fetched and if data is read back into RAM wrong it can cause ISSUES. A problem with RAM wouldn't be logged by Windows, but usually a drive issue is caught by Windows.

This all assuming that you haven't messed with any voltages and aren't overclocking as for even if you overclock and have healthy temps a system can still be unstable if overclocked and cool running.When I suspect memory, I let it run for at least 24 hours, with a minimum of 4 loops or 24 hours, whichever is greater.
My first thought is a hard drive failing.  2ND thought is reinstall Windows (yes, again!)  3rd suspect is CPU overheat, due to overclocking or fan failing.  4th suspect is power supply failing.  There are many others.

I give up. So a few days ago my framerate in games would randomly dip to 5-10 fps for a few seconds, and go back up to normal. This happened with every game. I changed my POWER settings to be MAX performance and use 100% at minimum, and it fixed it for a day, but then it started happening again. I scanned my computer with 3 different virus scanners doing a custom full system scan, updated my graphics and audio drivers, and as a last resort I have reset my HP computer back to factory default with the "full clear" option. IT IS STILL doing this. I even reapplied thermal paste and blew the dust out. Even when not in a game, the temp and usage of the CPU skyrockets every 8 or so seconds to 80 degrees Celsius and max output power when in idle. Then it goes back down again.


Am I screwed? Would force shutting off the PC mess something up to cause this problem? I have applied thermal paste and literally wiped the computer back to default and this problem won't go away. Thank you for your response
I would run MemTest on the RAM...let it run an hour.
Any errors =BAD RAM stik.Memtest complete, no errorsNext step i would take is replace the CPU fan...Can you say what you're gonna say INSTEAD of putting "..."? I think replacing the cpu fan is a bit overkill especially since that can't be the problem. It's working just fine and I have a small fan blowing cold air into the laptop and its doing nothing to fix itWhat model laptop are you using? Search google with simply the model name or number (whichever it is) and see if other people have had similar problems with the computer.

Some theories of what it could be:

• Broken CPU fan.  Don't underestimate the importance of this fan.  Even if its spinning, it may not be spinning fast enough due to wear.
• Cracked shroud.  Depending on the model computer you are using, a shroud is supposed to deliver heat from a heatsink to outside the CASE.
• Overclocked settings/over voltage.  Just because you reset the OS to factory settings doesn't mean the BIOS settings did. Go into your BIOS and find the button that resets itself to factory settings (unless that's what you meant on your first post).
• The motherboard/CPU is dying.  CPUs when its at the end of its life it can draw more voltage and therefore make more heat.  CPUs (or the motherboard, really) will turn themselves off if it detects that the die is reaching TJmax.

I just reset my BIOS and nothing has changed. I really don't think the CPU fan or any of the other parts being broken is the problem because my laptop is cool to the touch, there is no hot spot at all. Not even a warmth. I guess the motherboard or cpu being old and taking too much voltage could be the problem. Is there any way to check that? I really feel like there is some hidden problem that is really massive but just can't be seen. I mean it doesn't make sense why my CPU would be running at almost 80 degrees celcius when its just on idle at the desktop, and the BIOS and system has been completely reset to factory settings.

My SHUT Down Button in WDs 10 has disappeared.

When I click on START I get the full menu of all programs on my computer, but notthte SHUT DOWN BUTTON, which usually pops up at the base of the said menu.

Thanks for helping me, an 80-yr-old with a computrer headache

Guzeppiso when you click the Start icon (bottom left of screen), and the pop-up menu options appear, do you not see a Power icon directly above the Start button?
hover your mouse over it and it should SAY Power.
clicking that will give you Sleep, Shutdown and Restart choices.

what version of Win10 do you have, latest is 1803, Build 17134.191
to find out, click the Start button and literally start typing winver and click the top match.
If this issue somehow is not fixed, you can always shut down your computer by hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL(Delete) on your keyboard and a screen should come up That says: LOCK, SWITCH User, Sign Out, Change a Password, Task Manager , and cancel. Don't click any of those, go to the bottom RIGHT corner and there should be a power button there next to a 3/4th circle, like this picture. Just click that and you should be able to shut down.

I'm confused and NEED help!  I have the RadeonT RX 460 in my Lenovo computer.
I had to purchase a new monitor HP 1CA86AA.  But the sharpness is terrible compared to my old LG that had a refresh rate of 75.  The HP has one of 60.
Both were connected to the computer with HDMI.
But according to my looking at the computer I can only get a 60 refresh rate on it.  I've also read that an HDMI cable only has the potential of a 60 refresh rate.
First.......is that true?
Why did the old LG refresh rate of 75 look so MUCH better in sharpness and color than the HP I have now?

PLEASE HELP and educate me?  Thanks.Have you gone into the menu for the display and CALIBRATED it. Additionally is the display the same size as the one you had prior or did you go with a larger display. Sometimes the crispness is gained in going with the native resolution that your display should be at vs the display resolution of a prior monitor.

Regarding HDMI cables, I have heard that poor quality cables can have effects like this and a newer HDMI cable of better quality might resolve the issue. Only problem I have ever had with a HDMI cable though was one that oddly was directional specific to where it was labelled at one end for TV and other end for Device and if its connected backwards it wouldn't work at all. I got this cable in a box of other cables when someone sold me a computer 2 years ago and gave it to my DAUGHTER for her to use with her PS3 since I use VGA and DVI cables for my computers.

I went from an older display though to a newer wide screen and it seemed blurry and by increasing my resolution to that of what the display manufacturer recommended EVERYTHING got crisp for picture.

Hi everyone!

Let me first say, I am NOT computer savvy.

I had 2 CCTV security systems that I wasn't using. Dad said to throw them out but I decided to take them apart to look inside. Obviously, each had a Hard Drive.

The first one is:  Seagate Constellation ES with 2TB (Model#ST32000644NS)  Amazon MSRP:$58.99

The second one is: WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB (Model:WD10EZEX) Amazon MSRP:$43.99

I don't know if either is good/working. I also don't know what to do with them now that they are loose sitting on my desk. Are they junk???

Is there an EASY way to test them without having to buy additional items? yes...both HDD manuf. have a Free diagnostic app to test the health of the DRIVES...
Just DLoad the app and follow the info to make the USB stik bootanle...
Run the Long test and you'll know whether they are worth it...or not.what was taken apart?
the actual, physical hard drive units and you can now see the spinning, metal platters?
or just the CCTV recording unit that housed those drives?

if the first, forget it , you have 'contaminated' the drives and they will be useless.
if the second, with the usage and age of those units, and the cost compared to new ones, it's unlikely anyone will want them for anything more than mere dollars each.

you could always put them into a NAS unit or into separate external drive enclosures and use them for backups, media library, your own CCTV recording system, home FILE server - to name a few.I believe just the CCTV housed drivers. They have a siver 'case/frame' whith sickers that tell what they are and the back shows the green computer board looking part. I see no parts that could possibly spin.

I don't know where to stick what park to be able to test it somehow. I saved a plug with a red, yellow, ornage and black wire(s) and another flat noodle shaped wire/plug for each. I don't need the 'ribbon, right?"I think the easiest way of testing them given your skill level would be via an HDD Enclosure, which would in fact be a separate purchase.

Otherwise, testing it would be effectively installing it into a desktop computer and testing it from there. 

Here is the CH article on installing an HDD. Remember that the drives you have are SATA- so ignore parts of the article which reference "IDE" (including the only picture (!))

Fundamentally, you would put it in the PC case, and then you want a wire going from that PC's power supply to the HDD and a SATA cable going from the HDD to the motherboard.

If installed properly in this way, They would appear as an additional hard disk which you can test/inspect using the HDD tools that Patio MENTIONED.

With an enclosure you do almost the same thing, but it will be with a separate device which you attach to the computer as a USB Drive. You'd be able to run most inspection utilities that way or at least you'll know if the drives seem fine or not.

As Mark. said, it is unlikely that you'd be able to resell them, however, you may want to use them for your own purposes. 2TB is a good amount of storage, and if you have a desktop system and it has space for it, it could make for a nice space upgrade.

Actually if she mentions "ribbon" they may be IDE HDD's....either way your advice applies... Quote from: patio on AUGUST 11, 2018, 11:47:58 PM

Actually if she mentions "ribbon" they may be IDE HDD's....either way your advice applies...

My best guess is that it's more economical. But it may be that it's easier to install. Or perhaps there is an advantage to better bandwidth, but I'm not too sure about that.
Instead of doing a lot of research through Google and we waiting through a lot of stuff you might find on the IEEE website, I love might be easier just to ASK here because surely some of you must know the answer.
So I'm going to put this as a vote to see what kind of answers others might have and to make it more interesting.

You can vote as often as you like, but please just pick one item whenever you vote. And be sure to leave a comment to make this thread more interesting and educational.
Just to make sure everybody knows or talking about, for twisted-pair refers to the common cable that everybody uses now days to die computers together over Ethernet. This cable is often referred to as CAT-5 orCAT-6 cable. The most common collects cables that were used at one time was the RG 58 cable that required a 52 ohm Terminator.
  I think you are comparing apples to oranges.

twisted pair, or Ethernet, cable is for networks, either LAN or WAN.
coaxial cable is for TV, or cable broadband, audio/visual, etc.

for Ethernet, the 'twists' in the pairs is actually important.
inside the Ethernet cable are 8 wires, in 4 pairs(green, brown, blue, orange), and each pair is twisted at different rates.
of the 8 strands, only 3 are needed to make a connection between devices, thus allowing for expansion in the standard and piggy-backing two connections in the one line.
also Ethernet cable is predominantly used by other trades like phone guys for PABX and inter-building communications(phones, cameras) due to it being very cheap.
you can't connect, for example, two PC's together with just a coax cable.
Mark, please do some research. Before 1995 most of us were using coax for Ethernet. It was called '10-base' something and it was the TCP/IP thing used for a local network at the time. But the four pair twisted pair started to move in.
So which is better? Why? Who decided? How? When?
Using frequency multiplexing you can have four bands on a coax. Or more if you want.
Current practice on CAT5 is to only used two pair, not all four.  Instead of scolding Mark to do his research do some of your own...coax hasnt been the cable of choice since the days you mentioned...Sooty Mark. I was too harsh.
Patio is right,. Coax is compered better. But why are so many now using twisted pair?  They claim a Ethernet four pair can do up to 10 gigabits. This new technology is just changing too fast for me. 
I found this is a Google.But I wonder if he really knows.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_the_basic_idea_behind_the_twisted_pair_Why_are_the_two_wires_twisted_How_does_this_arrangement_compensate_undesirable_disturbances
Anybody out there know the real  answer?geek,

it's all good.
yes you are right, back in those days it was indeed 10base2, I still have the BNC terminators and T connectors in my network kit as we used to have game-fests where we would take our PC's to each other's places, lay the coax to all the rooms and PC's and frag each other. (good times)

I have not seen it used for literally decades and had assumed it no longer exists.
I doubt you can buy the network cards for that obsolete standard still?  (maybe in used, striped-out component, e-waste, surplus equipment stores)
Geek, are you actually looking for somebody who "knows the real answer" or do you simply refuse to accept the one you found?I have yet to find a clear, concise answer that my mind can handle. 
If RG6 coax is so much better, Why use CAT6 cable?
I can search for the above, but the answers lack authoritative proof.
Example:
Quote

For strictly TV viewing needs, the RG6 cable is esential for your HDTV. While the Cat6 can be useful, it is only required for the secondary data uses of the HDTV.

for me, the answer lies in the availability of those 10base2 cards - in other words, where are they all?

coax provides from 370 to 1,000 times more capacity than single twisted-pair.

... The biggest advantage to twisted pair cabling is in installation, as it is often thinner than coax.

If RG6 coax is so much better, Why use CAT6 cable?
I can search for the above, but the answers lack authoritative proof.

Grated, there is a lot of coax already in use by the TV cable companies. Is it any factor  the resewn they stick with coax?
Also, is not Digital better than  Analog?
And is it not true that the USA has moved from Analog to Digital TV?

Thanks for any replies on my topic first off.

I Just BUILT my computer.
i78700k cpu OC'd to 4.8GHZ.
ASRock Extreme 4 motherboard.
2 8GB sticks of G.Skill TridenZ Memory 3600 MHZ.

When i ENTER the bios and enable XMP profile 1, it shows up STOCK speed of 3600MHZ.

But when i enter windows 10 pro, cpuid, speccy, and corsair link  shows it at 1800mhz.

Any suggestions to get this issue resolved ? 

Thanks!

Some snapshots below:





There is a multiplier of X2...no worries...So DRAM Frequency x 2.
It's been awhile since i built a pc, i think I forgot all about that.

Thanks so much for getting me straightened out.  Welcome Aboard...Oh thanks I didn't KNOW it was x2 when it comes to frequency.

Hi, hope this is the right place. 
I decided to replace the HDD in my desktop PC (320GB), to give me more space without needing to attach USB drives and because I felt that the 9 year old drive was probably becoming a bit of a failure risk.  I bought a 1TB drive (HDD rather than SSD).
I tried to clone my C: using Macrium Reflect but it failed due to their being problems with C:.  I moved as many documents to USB sticks etc as I could, to reduce the amount of stuff on there, then I ran CHKDSK, which fixed the problems.  I tried again to clone the disk and was successful.  I changed the boot order to set my new (now E:) drive above C: and restarted.  However, by comparing the size of C: and E: in File Explorer, I could SEE that it hadn't booted from the new drive, as C: was still my 320GB drive.  I disconnected the 320GB drive and rebooted, to get the message that "a required device isn't connected or can't be accessed.  Error code 0xc000000e" on clicking retry, I got the same error, with the extra info "a required file is missing or contains errors File:\WINDOWS\system 32\winload.exe".  Taking this to mean that something had gone wrong with the Macrium clone, I tried the cloning process again, but it was unable to lock the new drive as it's in use and couldn't proceed to clone.  I tried simply deleting files (which, in hindsight was never going to work) and formatting the drive from a right-click in File Explorer (wouldn't let me).
It seems somehow that even though the PC is booting from the 320GB drive it's using some Windows files from 1TB drive.  Is there a way I can proceed with a re-cloning?  Maybe a better way to wipe the 1TB drive?  If I get that far, does the order of my partitions matter?  In my first try, it would only let me 'expand to fill' the last partition, so I dragged them in the order 1, 2, 4, 3 to permit this.
Could this be why it wouldn't boot from the new disk?  Any help much appreciated.  This is a snapshot of the current partitioning of the TWO disks as seen in Macrium Reflect.you have come to the right place.
There are experts here that can help you with you tasks.

First, there are some important details. You say you old machine is about 9 years old. We need to know the exact make and model. In particular, we need to know more about the BIOS About 9 or ten years ago some very important changes where make int he BIOS of desktop computers.

As a general rule, do not try to make Macrium Reflect do something it ought not do.  Let it do what it knows is best. during t the clone process it will wipe the Target drive .

Please provide the details, then we can proceed.Thanks.  It's a Dell Inspiron 545 on 'legacy' BIOS.
Swapping the partition order likely is why it will not boot.

The procedure for cloning a drive with Macrium, which I've used a number of times with boot drives:

1. Use "Clone This Disk" in Macrium Reflect
2. Use "Select a Disk to Clone to" and choose the target drive

It will populate the set of partitions. You can click a partition and choose "Clone partition properties", I believe, to expand specific partitions. I don't know off-hand the specific procedure and can't go through it now (since I'm not cloning a drive!) but I've cloned to larger boot drives multiple times and seem to have managed to expand the appropriate partition and not the one at the end, which is still 450MB.

3. shut down and completely swap the disks

Eg, I never leave the "source" drive installed in the system and replace it altogether with the cloned copy, so I don't know if that might affect boot attempts.

How are your two drives currently appearing within Disk Management (Start->Run Diskmgmt.msc)?

For starters I would disconnect the 1TB Drive altogether and ensure you can still boot that way. If you can, shut down, connect the 1TB Drive again, and then enter disk management and try to delete all partitions from the 1TB Drive.

Then you can try the clone process again. There is some way to expand specific partitions since I've apparently done it a few times but I can't remember it beyond it having something to do with adjusting the partition properties. in the "clone this disk" dialog.Hi, Yes, that's pretty much what I did in Macrium Reflect the first time.  To get them in the right order and expand the third partition (what I now want to do) you add them one at a time and adjust the size of the third one manually before adding the fourth, leaving just the right amount of space to fit in the fourth.  Having figured that out, I now just want to be able to do it!
Quote from: BC_Programmer on August 05, 2018, 05:59:19 PM

How are your two drives currently appearing within Disk Management (Start->Run Diskmgmt.msc)?

Macrium Reflect v6 User Guide  v21 
Copyright © 2017. Paramount Software UK Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Page  9
...
Disk cloning
With Macrium Reflect, you can clone your system disks to enable you to swap failed disks out of your system and get things back up and running again in minutes.
Cloning is often confused with imaging. The process is identical but instead of storing data to a file, it replicates volume contents and disk structures to an alternative device. When the cloning process is complete, the target disk is identical to the original and contains a duplicate of all volumes, files, operating systems and applications.

Hello everyone i have been expiriencing a serious PROBLEM the past week.
When i try to play a "Demanding" game the pc restarts after 2-3 mins and the error Kernel-Power 41 appears.
I tried to look into it for a bit nothing found so i formated my pc from WINDOWS 8.1 to windows 10. The problem keeps happening so i tried to test my ram, not a thing today i installed Furmark to test my gpu and the moment the program started i got a reboot. Any Help please!
A Kernel Power 41 error means "unexpected shutdown". From your description, I think it is not from a power outage or holding the power button down. You could have a hardware problem. I suggest these steps:

Overclocking: Disable overclocking to see whether the issue occurs when the system is run at the correct speed.

Check the memory: Verify the memory by using a memory checker. Verify that each memory chip is the same speed and that it is configured correctly in the system.

Power SUPPLY: Make sure that the power supply has enough wattage to appropriately handle the installed devices. If you added memory, installed a newer PROCESSOR, installed additional drives, or added external devices, such devices can require more energy than the current power supply can provide consistently.

Overheating: Check whether the system is overheating by examining the internal temperature of the hardware, especially the GPU.

Defaults: Reset the system back to the system defaults to see whether the issues occur when the system is running in its default configuration.
Thank you for your reply
I am really new to the pc world so i didint overclock anything, i checked my ram with the windows memory diagnostics and no problem there, the psu i am using is CoolerMaster Model:RS-650-AMAA-B1, i checked for temperatures of my cpu and gpu while playing and gpu is around 70 to 74 celsius thats why i dont know what is wrong...Happened to me before I went CRAZY about it for about 3 days, I reformat my PC 2 times and every time I start the PC and do something that not heavy on the CPU such as browsing or leaving it alone it's produce kernel error, So what I did was go straight on the RAM pluging out / in and making sure it was inserted wholah it works, I'm thinking that the ram slot is losely and ram need to be push enough so it gets to the bottom of the slot, now my pc works for 2 years straight.

I changed my CPU from an Intel i3 4160 (2 cores 3.6 GHZ, LGA 1150) to an i5 4570S (4 cores 2.9 GHZ, LGA 1150) hoping to improve the gaming graphics.  Now the onboard INTEL 4400 graphics is missing, vanished, gone.  The graphics driver is now a Microsoft generic,   The board is an ECS H81H3 M4 Haswell  mini ATA with 16 GBytes ddr3 memory.  The BIOS reports that the CPU is missing the hyperthreading function.  That is unrelated to the problem, right?  Can anyone help me get my onboard graphics back?You'll want to reinstall the Intel Graphics Driver, here.BIOS reporting wrong information might be because it might be a CPU that works, but a newer BIOS flash would correct for this as for the current BIOS version might not have INCLUDED that specific CPU. Check to see if your BIOS version ( Date ) matches this CPU list. BIOS should be equal to that date or newer. Newer BIOS flash may also have a bug fix for hyperthreading issue. http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_Support.aspx?DetailID=1501&CategoryID=1&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=12&LanID=0

However "ECS" is one of the worst board manufacturers out there. Acer and some other system manufacturers have used their boards because they are low cost maximum margin, but I have seen a high failure rate of that brand board. Given quality issues with ECS brand the hyperthreading missing might be wrong information. When Windows is running look to see if it shows the hyperthreading by the fact that Windows will show the hyperthreaded cores as cores in Task Manager, so a 4 Physical Core CPU with Hyperthreading would show as 8 cores to Windows. If it just shows as 4 cores then Hyperthreading may actually be disabled.The  i5 4570S deson't have hyperthreading. Quote

The  i5 4570S deson't have hyperthreading.

What does "Worst Board there is" mean?

I have a raspberry pi board which I will like to use as a general board(like motherboard). My aim is to be changing the software periodically(just like reinstalling a new windows is). Can someone guide me on how I can do this? Or do I need to write something like a bootloader to the board and also program an OS for the purpose? I have some experience in programming hardware(AVR) and also CWhy not https://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads/raspbian/ or https://archlinuxarm.org/platforms/armv6/raspberry-pi? I haven't played with a Pi since the first gen, but those are certainly robust and well-supported operating systems.

You might also want to check out https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/, it's a very active community.Also, You Tube has lots of things about Raspberry PI with links to related sites.
https://www.youtube.com/raspberrypi
FRIEND of mine has a Raspberry PI with the MicroSD reader which is used for the OS and Software that is run on the PI. The PC is used to build the MicroSD Card for the PI and then the MicroSD Card is placed into the PI and PI booted and it runs what is on the MicroSD Card.

I haven't gotten into the Raspberry PI's because I feel its too limited for my needs. If I needed to automate machinery it could be used with its I/O to control a system based on a feedback loop and logic. For it doing more than I/O its not all that powerful for graphics rendering etc. Some have used them to make media players and kiosks with them and I SAW an arcade project but the video playback can be choppy at times because of its low power consumption ARM processor can only do so much.

If you want to learn how to accept an input and perform an OUTPUT to turn something on and off its perfect for that. But my friend has had issues with stuff beyond simple I/O and I feel its because its not that powerful CPU processing and GPU wise.

Maybe a newer MODEL than his is better as these are evolving and getting more powerful, but just stating from what I know about his device.

Here we are in the digital age
 - and now it is harder than ever to control volume levels.
Why?
Years and yeas ago people listened to AM radio and all radio had AVC, automatic volume control. It worked.

Now our TV sets blare at use with the commercial comes on.
I watch Netflix on my PC and I can not get enough volume even with earphones on!

Yeah, I am old and my hearing is GOING down. But I am sure the volume level is going up and down and out of control.

A Google search shows that many others complain about this and NOBODY has a real answer. Is there some kind of conspiracy to confuse our senses? 

This does not work:
https://windowsreport.com/pc-sound-volume-too-low/

Amy body?   I feel your pain. My wife, a BLUNT Northerner from Lancashire, calls me "deaf-lugs" when I want to increase the volume. Good TV's have level adjusted volume...i'm glad i payed for it...however to your point it should;nt be allowed...and the FCC is to blame. At least here in the States.As Patio said most TVs (He said good but I can't bring myself to call my Vizio "good"- Acceptable, maybe...) have something like Volume Normalization. I don't know about commercials (As I don't use netflix or Cable or anything that would have them on the TV) but with some TV Series Blu Rays I found there was some questionable leveling (quiet DIALOG, loud intros/music segue's, etc), stumbled upon the setting and that sorted it out for me.

PC's themselves will usually have some form of volume normalization or AVLS type feature in the audio properties.

I have an HP Compaq Pro 6300 that I am looking for more RAM for and not SURE what to get or even what will work in the computer. I have been looking at  Crucial 4GB, 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800, ( https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005LDLUW8?tag=price17016-20&ascsubtag=wtbs_5cc66ef308e5bc58e77281a8&th=1) or DRR3 1600 MHz RAM 4GB Desktop Memory, Motoeagle DDR3 PC3-12800 UDIMM 1.5V 2RX8 Dual Rank Module Chips (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MDJ54DB/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07MDJ54DB&pd_rd_w=KfNBv&pf_rd_p=8a8f3917-7900-4ce8-ad90-adf0d53c0985&pd_rd_wg=beq9f&pf_rd_r=GNQVDBZMPPW3ZJVNEWJK&pd_rd_r=8a17dc86-6a2e-11e9-8627-41445435c50e). Not looking to spend an arm and leg for it Hello bellow,

Get ETHER 1 module of this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MDJ54DB/ref=sspa_dk_detail_1?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07MDJ54DB&pd_rd_w=KfNBv&pf_rd_p=8a8f3917-7900-4ce8-ad90-adf0d53c0985&pd_rd_wg=beq9f&pf_rd_r=GNQVDBZMPPW3ZJVNEWJK&pd_rd_r=8a17dc86-6a2e-11e9-8627-41445435c50e
to add to the one in the computer. Or buy 3 to add to the one in the computer if you want 16gb.
The single goes into the same color socket as the one installed. Normally the  black sockets on your model  I do not unstand what you mean by the colors and I am only looking at 4GB ONES. And I only have to SLOTS to add ram tooSorry thought you had the desktop version . So just one of those memory modules is needed. to go with the one you have.I do have a desktopJust a thought: try the crucial memory scanner. See what recommendations it gives you: https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner?cm_re=us-top-nav-_-us-flyout-memory-_-us-memory-ad-scanner

good luck!

That is how I found the first one I liked at it still does not help me at all? ? ?I am computer stupid and do not UNDERSTAND most things related to computers
It should say the first one I linked. Sorry I think I was in a hurry and did not proofread
Quote from: bellow on May 03, 2019, 12:37:11 PM

That is how I found the first one I liked at it still does not help me at all

I have a 2TB WD portable drive I use as my day-in, day-out archive of photos, music, etc.

I bought a 4TB WD portable drive to back THAT one up to.

(When I say "portable", I mean they're the deck-of-cards style, no external power needed, both use the ten-pin MICRO B style connection).

I only have one USB port on my machine, so I use an Anker hub to connect multiple devices.

Lately, the larger drive won't stay mounted during synchronizing activities. It will go for a while, and then I'll hear it dismount and remount. (It's happened twice while I've been typing this).

This happens when my PC is plugged into multiple places, so I don't know that it's a power issue (unless my power brick isn't drawing enough).

Any suggestions?

ThanksMy guess is that you need a powered hub in order to supply enough power for both drives.Was wondering that. It worked well enough at one point that I conducted an initial backup. How much do PCs vary in the amount of power they supply via the USB port? (Two questions - How much do they vary from PC to PC, and how much can one PC vary from session to session/moment to moment)?You've opened a can of worms asking about USB Power! Very complicated stuff, but given your symptoms it definitely seems to be an issue with power.

For USB Type-A Ports, According to the specs, A single USB 2.0 Port can supply up to 500mA. a single USB  3.1 Port can supply up to 900mA. More power can be supplied if the host device and the device being plugged into support appropriate Power Delivery specifications and "agree" on a current limit.

With respect to an unpowered hub, this would mean that all devices plugged into a hub must "share" the power being provided by the single USB Port on the PC/device the hub is CONNECTED to. From what you've stated it sounds like that could be part of the issue. Even if the Hub is able to draw extra power from your SYSTEM via Power delivery specs, (hard to know for sure without a little USB Power dongle) it may be that two drives are simply beyond what that full current from one port can supply.
Do you think hubs go "bad" over time?

As I said originally, I HAD done a sync through this hub - and now it won't stay mounted.

Now I'm having trouble mounting USB sticks.

Think the contacts get corroded, or what?Yes they do go bad...especially the cheap ones.
Personally i'd never buy an external that doesn't have an A/C power adapter but thats just me.PS...if it wont even take a stik right now dont risk data loss usin the HDD's on it.Yeah, I need something I can keep on the road with me. In my experience, Anker's stuff is usually pretty good. Do you disagree?

BTW I bought a powered hub (Anker, natch) and it did the backup just fine, between the two drives.

ThanksI have an Anker hub that is the same as the one pictured but has more sockets(7) and has an AC Adapter. I've not actually used the AC Adapter and not yet had any issues with External drives (powered from their own AC Adapters) or USB Flash Drives, and I've in some cases had something plugged into every port.Yeah, that sounds like the one I just bought.

I wonder, too, if "house" power varies - even though the brick should regulate that, I've noticed sometimes when I'm plugged in at hotels, things don't charge as quickly or mount as easily as when I'm back in my apartment.

Hello! I have a newly built desktop (PC's specs are listed below) for around 1 month but it has been frozen randomly, nothing is working when the problem occurs, not the keyboard, mouse and just a FREEZING screen (no bluescreen or error window). I have to do a hard shut down everytime.


My pc will work NORMALLY (more than a day):

• when I plug my monitor HDMI cable from my graphic card (RTX2080) port to my motherboard HDMI port (and my device manager will show a new display adaptor: Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630)

• when I leave my PC idling and not using any other program intentionally (i.e. just idling on desktop and leaving some basic softwares, programs on e.g., anti-virus software, network, windows basic programs etc.), my PC WON’T freeze even my monitor is connecting to the RTX2080 graphics card

• when I using FurMark for stress testing my RTX2080 for around 15 mins (temperature at around 83°C and 9x% workload)

• when my PC is requiring high power consumption (e.g., in FurMark stress test) (Joulemeter Taskbar shows my PC power consumption is under 200W) (using RTX 2080)
  

• when I use some programs intentionally (except those basic programs like anti-virus, network), it seems to work fine but my pc will get freeze in a random time, maybe after using the programs an hour or hours later (this happens only when I am using the RTX2080 graphic card)

• I tried to use only one program in each time (except those basic programs) and my pc still freezing even when different program is running

• my pc seems to freeze randomly in the above situations, however, it’s mostly to freeze around 11:00 to 16:00, however, exceptions do happen
  

• I am using ProcessMonitor to try to collect if there is/are any related process(es) happens right before the freeze, so far I observed two same processes right before the freeze (Process Name: SearchIndexer.exe, PID: 7196, Operation: FileSystemControl), I will try to see if the same occurs on my 2nd freeze later