Computer Help Thread

by **Lord_Mizaru** » July 13th, 2005, 4:54 pm

I'm bored. I'm a computer geek. I like helping people out. Anybody having troubles can post in here and all those of us that know anything about computers can try to help out. Let it be known though, I'm a 100% PC guy, so don't expect any help from me on Mac questions :P

by **makidas** » July 13th, 2005, 7:57 pm

Hmmmm, maybe you can help me. One of my pcs, when it gets turned on beeps every 6 or so seconds. It's not picking up either of it's hard drives (checked in cmos), It's picking up both cd rom drives fine. The jumpers on the hard drives are set to master and slave correctly, tried just running the master alone (nothing). Replaced power cable, replaced serial cable. What's my next step?

by **makidas** » July 13th, 2005, 7:59 pm

One other note, I've been having this problem at random for the last couple months (gremlin, works sometimes, other times no). Recently however, it's not working at all.

by **sandy82** » July 13th, 2005, 8:23 pm

A super idea!

Lord_Mizaru wrote:I'm bored. I'm a computer geek. I like helping people out. Anybody having troubles can post in here and all those of us that know anything about computers can try to help out. Let it be known though, I'm a 100% PC guy, so don't expect any help from me on Mac questions :P

by **gork151** » July 13th, 2005, 8:29 pm

why do all the goodcomputer geeks have to be pc

by **Mallic** » July 13th, 2005, 8:40 pm

Because the rest of computer systems are pretty crap. Don't get me started with those 'gaming' consloses

by **Lord_Mizaru** » July 13th, 2005, 8:45 pm

makidas wrote:Hmmmm, maybe you can help me. One of my pcs, when it gets turned on beeps every 6 or so seconds. It's not picking up either of it's hard drives (checked in cmos), It's picking up both cd rom drives fine. The jumpers on the hard drives are set to master and slave correctly, tried just running the master alone (nothing). Replaced power cable, replaced serial cable. What's my next step?

That could be a number of things. Those beeps you're having are error messages. Your computer is trying to tell you something, what though is specific to each different bios, there's no universal code for it. To find out what it is, figure out what bios you're running, then look it up here http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm How reliable that site is though, I don't know, it's just the first thing that came up on a google search. My first guess however, if it's an older computer, that your battery may be low. A battery in a computer you say? Yes, it's true. It's got a little one on the motherboard, try changing that out. It's just a standard little battery you can get at any pharmacy etc. That may well be your problem.

As for your second question... I'm not quite sure what you're asking.

by **Lord_Mizaru** » July 13th, 2005, 8:51 pm

To the people about me being PC. I'm a PC geek cause I grew up around them. I've always had access to them and they're all I ever use. That being said, I hate Macs. That's just me personally though. I know plenty of people who use them who love them. They're also probably the best choice for a computer if you want to get into video/audio editing. Now that they're switching over to Intel chips they'll be a lot more powerful too. But the thing I hate most about them is the OS. I can't use it. I know people say it's simple to use but if that's true then it's so over simplified that I can't even understand it.

And don't hate consoles. They're great machines. The Xbox is an amazing piece of hardware... and Xbox360/PS3 is going to be the most powerful computer the majority of people will own.

by **makidas** » July 13th, 2005, 9:34 pm

Nope, not the battery, that was replaced rather recently actually, will check on the bios though. Thx a bunch.

by **makidas** » July 13th, 2005, 9:41 pm

Oh yea, and the Ps3 and XBox 360 are going to be completely retarded (in a good way). XBox 360 using 3 3.2ghz powerpc chips, phew, that's crazy! When I read that shit I got a cold chill, literally! Sony's new console has a pretty impressive processor as well. It uses a new type called a cell processor. From what I've read, it's basically the equivelant of having 8 1.2ghz powerpc chips running seperately with no need to reference each other and one processor acting as the leader controlling the rest, weird. I don't get it and maybe what I just typed was wrong, but what I do know is I saw a trailer for what the PS3 was capable of and I didn't realize it was a computer-generated bath tub with some rubber ducks in it until they told me (sick).

by **VeryGnawty** » July 14th, 2005, 4:42 am

I wouldn't get your hopes up for the new gaming consoles until you've read this:

http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/games/manifesto.html

by **chymos** » July 14th, 2005, 5:05 am

It's possible that either the memory or the cpu is going bad, or that the motherboard is failing

by **makidas** » July 14th, 2005, 1:56 pm

Not to get too off topic here, but video game sales out-number book sales almost 2 : 1.

by **makidas** » July 16th, 2005, 1:11 pm

Heh, hey guys, all I had to do was unplug the electrical connectors from the hard drives and plug them back in. Started up without a hitch. Just thought you might like to know in case anyone else ever asks about a problem with their computers not picking up their hard drive(s). That was so retarded I think I'm going to hit myself. FWAP! I feel much better! :wink:

by **Lord_Mizaru** » July 16th, 2005, 9:16 pm

Wow... you must have really been shaking that thing to get those loose. Glad it was such a simple problem to fix though :)

by **Mallic** » July 16th, 2005, 10:24 pm

Same thing with my intrnet connection, pull it out then plug it in

by **sandy82** » July 25th, 2005, 11:18 am

Lord_Mizaru,

You understand these things. Let's say I lived in California. For some reason or another, I didn't want people to know that. I know that computer hookups generate IP "addresses" and that these can be pinpointed to the area where the hookup exists. I also know that there is at least one species of false protocols that is transparent to simple computer software. Hence, of little value.

Now let's say that (1) I wanted people to believe that I was really in Sydney or Canberra but that (2) I didn't want to connect through Sydney or Canberra because of various exorbitant charges.

Is there a reasonably foolproof way to leave the impression that I'm in Sydney or Canberra when I'm really in California? I don't mean the finest and most advanced technology. I'm thinking of reasonably new technology that would bamboozle most people who have relatively little time, means, or expertise at their disposal.

Let me add that I am not in the market for any such technology. I am more interested in "encouraging" the less-than-honest to be a little more straightforward in their dealings with others.

Of course, pretending to be in another country requires more than a mere address. One has to know some of the local slang, variations in approved spelling, and even a fair number of details about the "adopted" city.

If you think that this sort of information should not have wide distribution, by all means say so. If you would like to share some of the general facts, send me a PM if you like.

Many thanks. This thread is a tremendous service to people. Thanks, in addition, for your generosity and thoughtfulness in offering to help people out.

by **Lord_Mizaru** » July 25th, 2005, 2:12 pm

Of course there are ways to do that, and these days most people know them. But for those that don't, perhaps I'll keep them in the dark a little longer... check your in box for a PM.

by **sandy82** » July 25th, 2005, 9:59 pm

Lord_Mizaru wrote:Of course there are ways to do that, and these days most people know them. But for those that don't, perhaps I'll keep them in the dark a little longer... check your in box for a PM.

Many thanks for the info. Very interesting. It shows that the technology may change; but personalities are still predictable and human frailties, durable.

BTW, don't miss seeing the Orthodox church when you're in Sitka.

by **makidas** » August 6th, 2005, 12:01 am

Well, I got myself out of Dell hell and bought a brand new hp zv5000. All I can say is,
Is this love....
That I'm feelin...
Can this be love...
That I been, searchin for!
I know I'm a dork, but who cares, this thing owns! Plays Undying, Dungeon Keeper 2, Alice, Acid 5 and Guitar Studio no lags whatsoever, what else ya need!

by **makidas** » August 6th, 2005, 12:02 am

Oh yea, and I don't think I will ever own another desktop comp.

by **sandy82** » August 6th, 2005, 9:55 am

Makidas, what kinds of problems did you have with Dell? I've heard very mixed reviews on their products. As to the HP, check to see whether it has HP's (in)famous "back web" feature. If so, you may want to disable/block it.

Lord_Mizaru, I realize we're posting in your generous thread aimed at answering computer questions. Broadly speaking, this is a computer question. Do you have any suggestions on off-the-shelf PCs/laptops?

by **morrcomm** » August 6th, 2005, 12:38 pm

makidas wrote:Well, I got myself out of Dell hell and bought a brand new hp zv5000.

Dell hell? Oh, I've been there, too!

My Dell laptop worked fine for about eight months. Then it was like trying to keep an old used car running. Something always seemed to be failing (modem, floppy drive, CD/DVD drive, monitor) and needing a repair or a replacement. I know people who swear by Dell, but I just didn't find it to be dependable as a serious work machine.

My first Gateway really spoiled me. That thing was a true workhorse. Ran all day, every day, and half the night for more than four years straight before it ever gave me a single problem. Took every equipment, processor, or other upgrade I made without a single hiccup, too. I'm back running one of theirs now, and it's everything I remember.

PS -- And Dungeon Keeper 2 is a great game, most definitely!!! :wink:

by **sandy82** » August 6th, 2005, 3:40 pm

by **demigraff** » August 6th, 2005, 5:44 pm

I've been watching this topic for a while now, and I've finally got a question to ask you :)

I've got a RAID-5 set of 4x 200GB drives running, and I need more space. I know some controllers can add drives to a set dynamically (either by taking it offline while the parity blocks are re-calculated, or in the background on very expensive cards). However, I'm not sure whether the software raid system provided by windows can add extra drives to an existing set. I just can't find any documentation on the subject, and I don't want to be buying extra 200GB drives if it won't take them. [whoops, watch the speeling!]

Adding a new set would set me back £418.44 for a terabyte of storage

Extending the existing set would get me the same capacity for £308.14 - I'd much prefer to do this because its cheaper, but I don't want to place an order if I'm not sure whether or not it will work.

Can you help please?

by **makidas** » August 7th, 2005, 1:08 am

You could always ditch the 200gb drives and get a terabyte drive and partition it off into 5 200gb drives.

by **demigraff** » August 9th, 2005, 4:13 am

makidas wrote:You could always ditch the 200gb drives and get a terabyte drive and partition it off into 5 200gb drives.

Can you give me a link to a terabyte drive which is reasonably priced? The cheapest I can find is £509.99. Even before you add a controller, tax, p&p, that's more than the option I said was too expensive. And then you have the added disadvantage of losing all your data when the drive eventually fails.

At the prices I've seen so far, large drives simply aren't economical.

by **Lord_Mizaru** » August 9th, 2005, 3:03 pm

Sorry folks, I've been gone for a little while. Let's see if I can help out....

Dells. Well, what can I say? You get what you pay for. As far as I'm concerned, a Dell is an ok computer. You get some decent hardware, though far from the best, and for what it is it's a reasonable price. For your every day user, who wants to surf the web and play a game or two, a Dell is just fine. If you want a high quality product, you get Alienware. If you want the best possible machine on this Earth that will never fail you and will quite possibly cost less than Alienware's not quite so good alternative, you build it yourself.

The short answer is I know quite a few people with Dell computer's, and the only problems they've had with them are problems that they created themselves. The computers for the most part work fine. And on a heads up for you guys out there in search of a monitor with some money to burn, last I saw Dell has a special deal on their 24" widescreen LCD's where you can get it at a ridiculously good price. My uncle just got one and loves it to bits. Best of all, it may say Dell on it, but it's just a Samsung OEM and we all know how good Samsung monitors are. So if you want a 1920x1200 (a.k.a. 1080p) monitor, you know where to look.

Now then, the raid question. I'll be honest. Raid is not my speciality. That being said, I don't think you'll get away without having another hardware controler. But they're not that expensive... I saw a PCI one the other day for about $40 CDN...

by **Lord_Mizaru** » August 9th, 2005, 3:13 pm

All that being said.... how the hell are you running a raid5 config with 4 drives?!?!?!?!

And why are you running a raid5 config on what sounds like just a home pc. that's a lotta backup for anything that's not a server. You'd be better off having a couple slave drives for storage, and backing up your really important data to dvd's every few months. Take a small drive, or a big if you really want, and install Windows on that. Then after you've got that running and you've tweaked it to run better (which hopefully you know how to do), then make a backup of that drive with an image. Then have your slave drives for storage. Now if Windows gets screwed you just format Windows and have all your data left over, and so long as you back up your data to something if one of those drives ever fails (which it really shouldn't for quite a while under normal circumstances) then you'd have your backup for that too. And if you use a dual layer disk you wouldn't need that many dvd's to back it up anyway....

by **sandy82** » August 9th, 2005, 3:45 pm

Lord_Mizaru wrote: Dells. ... The short answer is I know quite a few people with Dell computer's, and the only problems they've had with them are problems that they created themselves. The computers for the most part work fine.

Lord_Mizaru, many thanks for the sound, broad-based advice. I'm leery about anecdotal reminiscences, however glib. The anecdote, by definition, is a small sample. The reminiscence is subject to personal prisms and further error.

At the moment, I have an HP and I share our colleague Makidas' enthusiasm for the product line.

The LCD monitors sound super. I'll go take a look.

It's good that you and your expertise have returned!
.

by **makidas** » September 9th, 2005, 10:50 pm

So I was at Staples shopping for some new speakers. Bought myself a pair of Creative Labs Inspire T3000s. I never thought I'd say this, but these speakers have too much freakin bass! They will rattle your teeth! Not complaining though, cause they rule! I litterally have the bass on maybe 1, and it's still shaking my floor. Best part is they were on sale for $39! Sick!

by **Mallic** » October 13th, 2005, 4:58 am

A small question. My sound cuts out in the middle of games. I'm pretty sure its not a hardware problem 'cause a trip to the desktop returns the sound, plus it happens on both my speckers and headphones. If its not a hardware problem, I'm sure its a driver problem. Anyone agree?

by **goldragon_70** » October 13th, 2005, 8:49 am

Mallic wrote:A small question. My sound cuts out in the middle of games. I'm pretty sure its not a hardware problem 'cause a trip to the desktop returns the sound, plus it happens on both my speckers and headphones. If its not a hardware problem, I'm sure its a driver problem. Anyone agree?

All games or just certain ones?

by **Mallic** » October 13th, 2005, 11:49 pm

All full-screen programs

by **goldragon_70** » October 14th, 2005, 9:31 am

It sounds like the drivers. It could be the settings for it, or you may have drivers that the games are unable to Access properly. There is a possibility it could be OS, or system resources maybe low when playing games.

Edit: To be sure though try another sound card if you have one.

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