Support NeoGAF

[LilJoka]

I'm sorry TechSupportGAF, I need help

Actually, my Uncle needs help but I'm the one who got lumped in tech support duty.

So he has this old Dell computer with Windows XP on it, and a "new" Dell computer with Windows XP on it. He wants to move data from computer 1 to computer 2 so he assumed he could just change hard drives and call it a day. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case, and he's trashed the old computer as well. What do I do GAF?

If it helps, I have the Windows XP installation disks that came with both computers. Should I try to do a Windows repair? He wants his data to be intact though, and didn't back anything up. I'm considering buying one of those data transfer cables, backing up his stuff on my machine, doing a fresh install, and then transfer all the data over.

So he took the HDD from the old pc, and inserted it into the new PC. Then the new PC didnt boot up? Doubt the data has gone anywhere just yet. Is it possible to put the old HDD into the old PC and see if it starts up? Or by trashed you mean hes thrown the old PC away?

 

[khaaan]

So he took the HDD from the old pc, and inserted it into the new PC. Then the new PC didnt boot up? Doubt the data has gone anywhere just yet. Is it possible to put the old HDD into the old PC and see if it starts up? Or by trashed you mean hes thrown the old PC away?

Yes, I believe the data is all there though. I didn't see it myself but he assures me he switched the hard drives back and was able to see the machine boot up with everything there. Unfortunately we don't have access to the original machine now, I can try to follow up and see if it's till lying around somewhere because I picked up the "new" machine + hard drives Friday evening.

 

[LilJoka]

Yes, I believe the data is all there though. I didn't see it myself but he assures me he switched the hard drives back and was able to see the machine boot up with everything there. Unfortunately we don't have access to the original machine now, I can try to follow up and see if it's till lying around somewhere because I picked up the "new" machine + hard drives Friday evening.

Ok, i dont think its needed to get the old machine back, when you put the old HDD in the new PC, itll just be treated as a data HDD. Just make sure that it is actually booting the new HDD on the new PC, and not trying to boot the old HDD on the new PC. Youll have to go into the BIOS and check the boot order.

 

[khaaan]

Ok, i dont think its needed to get the old machine back, when you put the old HDD in the new PC, itll just be treated as a data HDD. Just make sure that it is actually booting the new HDD on the new PC, and not trying to boot the old HDD on the new PC. Youll have to go into the BIOS and check the boot order.

Hmm, I tried something along those lines but wasn't successful. I put in the new HDD and in the BIOS the HDD I see the new one. I didn't move it to the top of the boot list because everything above is inactive. When I try to run the machine it give me a message saying it shut down incorrectly or whatever and asks me if I want to start in safe mode. No matter what option I pick, it goes to the Windows XP logo, I hear a "click" noise from the machine and then it jumps back to asking me if I want to start in safe mode.

The only time I ever made any progress was when I put in the Windows CD, told it to boot from disk drive and got to the install/repair screen.

Edit: Also, I really appreciate the help. Thank you for taking the time to help me out.

 

[Smokey]

This is truth, everyone goes through the case and fan "phase", before finding Lian Li, case labs etc.

Heh

I may finally make the switch over once I have hardware again to take full advantage of it (Lian Li PC-08). Really love the dual chamber design. In the past my Tri-SLI Titan Black setup or the SLI Titan X setup would've fit nicely in one of those higher end cases.

But now I am back to a single Titan X and the 540 is doing a pretty great job. Actually I'd say that the 540 has been a true pro throughout my builds. It's held up to 3 GPUs with no problems. Holds a push/pull setup with my H100i. Really good case.

 

[mkenyon]

I need this case omg

Bruh, I'm just sayin

I have the Corsair 540 and I love it so much. What were your problems with it?

What's wrong with the 540

But I agree, that's a nice case. It is just too expensive at $400. That's as much as a Ps4!

I have one too, full watercooled system with two 280mm rads even. It's just that the case is made from pretty shitty materials. It's a really really well designed case with poor materials. Lian Li fixes that with this case.

 

[king grimlock]

Anyone know why my computer "alt-tabs" the first game I launch after a power cycle? Even if I turn it on and go do something for an hour it would still do it. I quote alt-tab because it will go to the desktop with the game still running but I have to force close it because I can't reopen it, sometimes audio is still going and sometimes it pretends to alt-tab but the game comes back up.

 

[SpyGuy239]

Thinking of buying this: Samsung 27-Inch Curved LED-Lit Monitor S27D590C

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00N4OBHNI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

any thoughts?

 

[OraleeWey]

Bruh, I'm just sayin


I have one too, full watercooled system with two 280mm rads even. It's just that the case is made from pretty shitty materials. It's a really really well designed case with poor materials. Lian Li fixes that with this case.

I guess the 540 uses cheap material. It's not really an issue for me though. I love how you can fit basically anything. On the Lian Li 08, why are the fans on the side where the power supply goes? It seems like it doesn't even cool the important parts like the CPU and Video Card...

 

[EatChildren]

So after speaking positively of my new monitor + gpu combo, I've run into the most bizarre issue. Occasionally I'll get weird light flickering, almost like backlight instability, when certain sequences appear on the screen. It's really specific and weird.

Best example I can give is playing around with this image comparison slider from the GeForce Wild Hunt tweak guide: http://international.download.nvidi...ve-comparison-1-nvidia-hbao-plus-vs-ssao.html

At first I noticed it when I'd sweep the slider across the screen, swapping between each image. My display would ever so briefly light up, then "adjust" back to the original levels. Then I realised it was doing it even if I'd move the slider only an inch or so. Despite most of the image remaining the same, the screen will briefly "flash", light up slightly, then flick back to the original brightness. It's almost like it's adjusting to the image, and it only happens when view some images or certain sequences in some games.

At first I thought it was a sharpness issue as adjusting sharpness seemed to have an effect, but I've discovered the real factor; output dynamic range in the Nvidia control panel. If I set output dynamic range to limited instead of full the effect does not occur at all. I can swipe left and right and nothing, no flicker, no weird lighting. Turn it back to full and I can replicate the issue right away.

So what the bloody hell is causing this?
a) GPU?
b) Monitor?
c) HDMI cable?
d) Combination of any two or more of the above?

EDIT: Err, nevermind, I think? Issue seems to only occur in Chrome and when the image is a certain size (eg: changed via browser scaling). Still so fucking weird. And I swear I get weird sky brightness flicker in stuff like GTA5.

 

[Smokey]

Bruh, I'm just sayin

I have one too, full watercooled system with two 280mm rads even. It's just that the case is made from pretty shitty materials. It's a really really well designed case with poor materials. Lian Li fixes that with this case.

Huh. Missed that post. I'd agree with everything you said. For me I don't want to go away from the dual chamber design. I really like it. The Lian-Li is the next logical step up in this design.

 

[Maniac]

Don't worry about that, you are moving out of the budget zone into the "dependable and awesome" tier of power supplies. That realhardtechx site is also handy if you want to see more reviews from other sources, they list reviews for Seasonic and Super Flower as well. In non-NA countries I think XFX can be found for good prices, and they do offer higher end models with better efficiency and semi or full modularity, you may want to look at that. And depending on the model some power supplies from Antec, Be Quiet!, Cooler Master, Corsair, Fractal, Rosewill, and Silverstone are quite good as well. I have no idea what kind of availability or company support exists in your country from these brands, though.

So... Yeah, I'm just having too darn much trouble deciding on a PSU. There's so friggin many to choose from, soooooo is there any chance you'd be able to give me a hand? It would be preferable if the PSU was available on Proshop.dk as I know one of the employees and can get a discount (Already able to get about 70-80 kroner off of the Noctua NH-D15, which is about $10 saved)

Either way, if you can be arsed giving a hand yet again, I'd love it. If not that is, ofcourse, alright. I'm just... Terrible at deciding and it's a lot of work when you've no prior knowledge of PSUs.

Just to add, what I was thinking was something around the 800w mark, since I imagine that should be good enough and leave room for future SLI use or some such.

 

[mkenyon]

Huh. Missed that post. I'd agree with everything you said. For me I don't want to go away from the dual chamber design. I really like it. The Lian-Li is the next logical step up in this design.

Yup.

I only worry that I wouldn't do a very good job of keeping all that glass clean.

 

[MR ARCADE FOREVER]

I'm really pissed about the gigabyte 980 ti not qualifying for the metal gear v promotion. I bought it on Amazon and from the 980 ti series only the msi qualifies and somehow looking at the nvidias website it seems any 980ti would qualify but when you click on the links below (amazon for example) only the msi is listed for this promotion .. Kinda unfair

 

[danthefan]

HOLY FUCK

I am absolutely cursed. Back in March smoke started coming out of my PSU, capacitors went in it or something, but yeah it was totally dead.

I replaced it, and just turned on my PC today, and I hear this weird noise, kinda like one of the fans was brushing off something maybe. So I investigated and of course it's coming from the PSU. Then I noticed my mouse wasn't on, so the PSU has stopped supplying power to some of the USB ports on my machine. I called Amazon and they said I can return it for a refund by my god this is a pain in the ass.

 

[LilJoka]

HOLY FUCK

I am absolutely cursed. Back in March smoke started coming out of my PSU, capacitors went in it or something, but yeah it was totally dead.

I replaced it, and just turned on my PC today, and I hear this weird noise, kinda like one of the fans was brushing off something maybe. So I investigated and of course it's coming from the PSU. Then I noticed my mouse wasn't on, so the PSU has stopped supplying power to some of the USB ports on my machine. I called Amazon and they said I can return it for a refund by my god this is a pain in the ass.

Which PSU?

 

[SRG01]

HOLY FUCK

I am absolutely cursed. Back in March smoke started coming out of my PSU, capacitors went in it or something, but yeah it was totally dead.

I replaced it, and just turned on my PC today, and I hear this weird noise, kinda like one of the fans was brushing off something maybe. So I investigated and of course it's coming from the PSU. Then I noticed my mouse wasn't on, so the PSU has stopped supplying power to some of the USB ports on my machine. I called Amazon and they said I can return it for a refund by my god this is a pain in the ass.

If this happens to a third supply, there may be something wrong with your line voltage from the socket.

 

[danthefan]

Which PSU?

The first one was a Corsair HX series, this one is an EVGA Supernova B2.

If this happens to a third supply, there may be something wrong with your line voltage from the socket.

I hadn't considered that. I could try a different socket alright.



Edit - and as I type the couple of USB sockets start working again. I still think I should return the PSU though.

 

[LilJoka]

The first one was a Corsair HX series, this one is an EVGA Supernova B2.



I hadn't considered that. I could try a different socket alright.



Edit - and as I type the couple of USB sockets start working again. I still think I should return the PSU though.

Well those are some of the best, possibly need a surge protector?

 

[Denali]

Odd issue here: I built my new machine a few days ago, and everything is running great. However, I'm sitting here reading, with the PC in sleep mode, and every 15-20 minutes it sounds like it's booting itself up briefly then turning back off. Sounds like all the fans kick on, the Windforce LED lights up, etc. Screen never comes on.

What settings should I check/modify for this? Motherboard is ASRock Z97 Extreme3 if that's important.

EDIT: I'm also running a wireless card. Is it possible this is related to some "Wake on LAN" functionality?

Still haven't been able to track down what's causing this. ASRock boards have something called a dehumidifier mode, but the BIOS says that's disabled. I looked in the Windows Event Viewer, and I can see the different boot times about 15 minutes apart. There's about 10 different entries for each boot "event", but here's the one I think is important:

The system has returned from a low power state.

Sleep Time: ‎2015‎-‎08‎-‎01T12:50:49.050695700Z
Wake Time: ‎2015‎-‎08‎-‎01T13:05:54.969393900Z

Wake Source: Unknown

Followed by:

Process C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Smart Connect Technology Agent\iSCTAgent.exe (process ID:1660) reset policy scheme from {381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e} to {381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e}

This only seems to happen if I leave the computer in hibernate. If I do a full shut down, I don't encounter these random 8 second power-ons.

Could Smart Connect be the culprit?


Since someone mentioned the power supply in a previous post, I have the EVGA GS 650W; if that may have anything to do with it.

 

[danthefan]

Well those are some of the best, possibly need a surge protector?

Yeah think that's a good idea to try.

One other thing - with both of the PSUs, the incident happened after not using the PC for a long while. The first time I was away for two weeks, and this time we'd someone staying in our spare room where the PC lives so I moved it out and never set it up again, so it hadn't been used for three weeks. Not sure why this would cause an issue though.

 

[Übersandvich]

Make sure the 2 prongs that are going in towards the case at the end of the metal PCIE bracket of the GPU are sliding between the case and the motherboard.




Take some pics if you can.

Nevermind, I fixed it. The motherboard screw stands were not placed (at all), this will be a lesson learned. And next time I will include photos. Thanks for the trouble LilJok

 

[Felix Lighter]

After dealing with weird USB related issues for a long time, I finally decided to update my MB bios since the most recent update specifically states it improves USB compatibility. The Bios reinstalled successfully, I reapplied my bios settings and oc and Windows instantly blue screened at launch. Then the bios would freeze. I cleared the CMOS, booted with default settings and it booted fine. 45 minutes later I've found that the settings that apparently needed adjusting from my previous settings were Long Duration Power Limit, Short Duration Power Limit and the CPU Current Limit. God I hate updating the bios. Now I feel like I need to rerun stress tests to confirm stability again. This better fix the USB issues once and for all.

 

[LilJoka]

After dealing with weird USB related issues for a long time, I finally decided to update my MB bios since the most recent update specifically states it improves USB compatibility. The Bios reinstalled successfully, I reapplied my bios settings and oc and Windows instantly blue screened at launch. Then the bios would freeze. I cleared the CMOS, booted with default settings and it booted fine. 45 minutes later I've found that the settings that apparently needed adjusting from my previous settings were Long Duration Power Limit, Short Duration Power Limit and the CPU Current Limit. God I hate updating the bios. Now I feel like I need to rerun stress tests to confirm stability again. This better fix the USB issues once and for all.

I never adjust these
Long Duration Power Limit, Short Duration Power Limit

Manufacture normally has the best options builtin depending on clock speed. Most reliable way is to choose the OC profile built into the board, then tweak from there, i always choose the closest to my desired OC thats above it.

 

[Felix Lighter]

I never adjust these
Long Duration Power Limit, Short Duration Power Limit

Manufacture normally has the best options builtin depending on clock speed. Most reliable way is to choose the OC profile built into the board, then tweak from there, i always choose the closest to my desired OC thats above it.

The auto setting for these resulted in BSOD at full load. My previous overclock settings for these specific settings were based on a collection of OCs on the same MB and that worked perfectly for months without issue.

After updating the bios, I eventually based the new settings on the built in OC genie settings, which was not the auto but specified overrides. These appear to have worked. All other OC settings match my previous OC. I'm stress testing now. Voltage looks the same, temps are good, so I think all is good now.

 

[SRG01]

Well those are some of the best, possibly need a surge protector?

It's probably a voltage sag on the 120V, since USB isn't supplying anymore. Then again, it's really hard to say at this point because no real measurements have been made. For all we know, it could definitely be another case of blown capacitors...

 

[Nostremitus]

Just moved my old 212 Evo into my wife's PC. It was a lot easier to install than I remembered. I'm honestly not sure why I had so much trouble with it last time... Must've been due to learning while installing because overall they really aren't difficult.

 

[Forsete]

So I recently updated my i7 920 to a i7 4790K, now I am looking to upgrade the GPU as well. From a GTX 580, to the GTX 980.

Any reason not to? Thinking of getting the Asus variant Strix. My 580 has the DirectCU cooling as well and it worked fantastically on that card.

 

[LilJoka]

The auto setting for these resulted in BSOD at full load. My previous overclock settings for these specific settings were based on a collection of OCs on the same MB and that worked perfectly for months without issue.

After updating the bios, I eventually based the new settings on the built in OC genie settings, which was not the auto but specified overrides. These appear to have worked. All other OC settings match my previous OC. I'm stress testing now. Voltage looks the same, temps are good, so I think all is good now.

Its weird really, but if it works thats all good.
Yeah basing off their setups always seems work best nowadays.

Just moved my old 212 Evo into my wife's PC. It was a lot easier to install than I remembered. I'm honestly not sure why I had so much trouble with it last time... Must've been due to learning while installing because overall they really aren't difficult.

Too careful first time usually lol.

 

[HeeHo]

I have never built my own PC before and I hear it is super easy but out of convenience, I just want to buy an already built PC and then figure out things from there.

http://www.frys.com/product/8230206?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I know I am already overpaying but am I totally getting ripped off here? I am okay with it being a modest machine. Keep in mind my current PC is over 15 years old.

 

[Mystic654]

I have never built my own PC before and I hear it is super easy but out of convenience, I just want to buy an already built PC and then figure out things from there.

http://www.frys.com/product/8230206?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

I know I am already overpaying but am I totally getting ripped off here? I am okay with it being a modest machine. Keep in mind my current PC is over 15 years old.

I heard nothing but horror stories when it comes to ibuypower and CyberPOWERPC.

If you want a pre-built PC I would looking into OriginPC.

 

[HeeHo]

Thanks for the input. The lowest price I see for one of these Origin PCs is like 1k though. A little more than I am looking to spend.

 

[LilJoka]

Thanks for the input. The lowest price I see for one of these Origin PCs is like 1k though. A little more than I am looking to spend.

Build it yourself, there really is not much to it.

 

[HeeHo]

Yeah, really considering it now. I'm probably going to have to ask someone personally. I've never really messed around with the innards of PC's too much. I think I could get a lot more bang for my buck for around that same price.

 

[Kaffeemann]

Any reason not to? Thinking of getting the Asus variant Strix. My 580 has the DirectCU cooling as well and it worked fantastically on that card.

Don't get the Strix. The cooler works fine with the 970 but struggles with higher TDPs. Get the MSI 4G if you can.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Seems like I'm not able to OC my CPU anymore for some reason. Is anyone having a similar issue with a MSI haswell-E board?

I have a i7-5820k which has been at 4100mhz since last august, but suddenly today after a blue screen crash, If I get it back to that it makes it perform worse than the default clock. I already removed the battery from the board but the issue is still there after booting up again.

The OC genie feature from the MSI board (activates a preset OC setting) doesn't function at all. Wont boot up if activated.

 

[Mystic654]

Oh I see. You know what, I think I'm just gonna keep this WD Green one, as it is too much of a hassle for me returning it I think.
And in the near future I'll just add a WD Red 4TB hard drive if that's possible. And if it has those 4 platters.

The WD Green doesn't have a long longevity? Or is it at a higher risk at dying?

Greens are perfectly fine for long lasting. I have four of them. Someone I know has been running WD Green since 2010. The only thing you don't want to do is put greens in a NAS setup due to their headparking. Since greens are designed for standard setup they will do fine.

 

[RGM79]

Just moved my old 212 Evo into my wife's PC. It was a lot easier to install than I remembered. I'm honestly not sure why I had so much trouble with it last time... Must've been due to learning while installing because overall they really aren't difficult.

My feelings exactly, although at this point I've probably assembled and disassembled them dozens of times.

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Btw, any prior OC configs should not be there if I returned the board to factory settings correctly right?

 

[BFIB]

My 670 is starting to show it's age. Heres my setup:

I5 2500k
8 GB ram
Nvidia 670

I don't want to swing 500 plus on a 980, but would a 960 be sufficient for 1080p? Or worth it for the performance and go 970?

 

[CreepingFear]

Question guys: I've never had a desktop with built in integrated video. When I get Skylake, should I still disable the integrated GPU in BIOS? Also, I shouldn't bother downloading the integrated Intel GPU driver as well, right? How will disabling the integrated GPU effect things like Intel quick sync? I guess I've been curious about Quick Sync with programs such as OBS. I know Nvidia NVENC didn't impress me when I tried that out. I guess x264 is still the way to go if you want the quality, but it uses way more of your CPU.

 

[darthbob]

Had to RMA my old ass GTX 570 back to EVGA due to artifacting in GTA V and other games.

Hope they send me a GTX 770 or something

 

[Dmax3901]

Hello guys I recently bought an Asus Z97-K ATX and an i5 4690k currently at 3.5ghz.

I want to look into overclocking at some point, I had a quick google and couldn't find any guides that were specific enough for a big idiot like me.

Any tips or links to thorough guides?

My GPU is an r9 290, am I likely to see much improvement when OCing the cpu?

 

[Xplatformer]

My 670 is starting to show it's age. Heres my setup:

I5 2500k
8 GB ram
Nvidia 670

I don't want to swing 500 plus on a 980, but would a 960 be sufficient for 1080p? Or worth it for the performance and go 970?

1) Yes the 960 is fine for 1080p games not running Cryengine. If you're ok with playing Crysis on high (not ultra) at 50 fps, you can probably get by over the next two years with a 4GB 960.

2) With a 970 you can probably run Crysis at 60 fps, and you're generally going to get 15-25 more fps than with the 960.

3) what's in your price range? (this is probably the biggest deciding factor)

4) Know that Nvidia's next chipset (pascal) is coming out next year...so investing $350 in the 970 might not be the best decision. I just ordered one, but I'm absolutely not expecting to use if for more than 2 years.

 

[jwhit28]

I installed Windows 10 with the keep nothing option and just got finished installing all my drivers. I noticed my VSR option has disappeared from Catalyst Control Center 15.7.1 and there doesn't seem to be a way to get it back. What's worse is that others had the same problem but it seems 15.7.1 actually fixed it. Any suggestions?

 

[Nostremitus]

I installed Windows 10 with the keep nothing option and just got finished installing all my drivers. I noticed my VSR option has disappeared from Catalyst Control Center 15.7.1 and there doesn't seem to be a way to get it back. What's worse is that other had the same problem but it seems 15.7.1 actually fixed it. Any suggestions?

Yeah, I haven't had VSR for my 290X since 15.7... 15.7.1 not only didn't fix it, but now I have no audio through Displayport. but that may be because windows 10 forced me to download new drivers for my motherboard's HD Audio... and those ports now seem to be the only ports that work... I'm using my bone conduction headphones so it still sounds like I'm hearing speakers instead of regular headphones, but that doesn't help when I want to start a movie on Netflix while I clean.

 

[bluntspoon]

The difference between a 670 and 960 is perhaps 15%. I think you'd be disappointed. The 970 is a huge step up, talking more in the 45-50% increase range.

My 670 is starting to show it's age. Heres my setup:

I5 2500k
8 GB ram
Nvidia 670

I don't want to swing 500 plus on a 980, but would a 960 be sufficient for 1080p? Or worth it for the performance and go 970?

 

[jwhit28]

Yeah, I haven't had VSR for my 290X since 15.7... 15.7.1 not only didn't fix it, but now I have no audio through Displayport. but that may be because windows 10 forced me to download new drivers for my motherboard's HD Audio... and those ports now seem to be the only ports that work... I'm using my bone conduction headphones so it still sounds like I'm hearing speakers instead of regular headphones, but that doesn't help when I want to start a movie on Netflix while I clean.

To add to the problems, Ground Zeroes won't start at all.

 

[Nothing1016]

All right. I'm back. So I plan on running most games at 1080/60 and don't really care to go higher. Would it still be a smart move to get a 144hz monitor? And is the 970 gonna be good enough for at least 2 years?

Edit: and I don't mind 1080/30 as long as I can lock it.

(Building and planning my first gaming PC )

 

[Vulcano's assistant]

Fuck this day, seems like my Corsair H60 stopped pumping or has a blockage. The hose that pumps water out gets super hot while there is no hot air coming out from the radiator. Chances are it is the culprit that started it all. I'm going back to air. At the very least this way I will always be able to tell if all the pieces are working.