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[Primethius]

Sounds like you picked the wrong refresh rate.

Is there any way to figure out the T.V's refresh rate aside from going through the manual (which I don't have at hand). Or am I just gonna have to brute force it next time I'm over?

Thanks for the help though, at least now I know what to look for.

 

[jas0]

Is there any way to figure out the T.V's refresh rate aside from going through the manual (which I don't have at hand). Or am I just gonna have to brute force it next time I'm over?

Thanks for the help though, at least now I know what to look for.

Probably 60Hz. (NTSC = 60Hz ?) Then you'll just have to see which resolution will work.

 

[OneMoreQuestion]

Lately my tiny logitech s-100 speakers have been making these tiny beeps, except they're not really beeps, more of a bassy "bup" sound in groups of 3 six times and stop. Is that supposed to mean something?

 

[clav]

Ok, so I have two issues that may be one in the same.

1.] I just hooked up a WRT54gs v.5 because this old Dlink router I had been using was slow and would drop wireless pretty frequently. The weird thing is.. if I plug my modem into the "internet" port on the router.. it won't give a connection either by wireless or through the lan.
But if I plug the modem into one of the lan slots it gives a connection just fine. I've reset it a few times and made sure I have the latest firmware.

2.] If I plug my xbox into one of other lan ports it won't connect. On the Test connection thing it says it is connected to the internet, but can't access LIVE. Now here's the puzzler, if I connect the Xbox directly into the modem it still won't connect to LIVE and gives the same error.

I made sure the Xbox was still configured to "automatic" and restored the wireless settings to factory defaults just incase, but still no dice. So just for kicks I plugged the old Dlink that drops wireless all the time back in and Voila! the Xbox has no problems connecting!

Who's your internet provider?

I know in California for Verizon DSL. they lock MAC addresses according to router so they avoid doing PPPOE. No other device can connect except the previous ethernet connected device. The MAC Address resets every two hours. If you just leave your modem + router disconnected for that period of time (or overnight), then it should work.

If your provider doesn't do that, then ignore what I said.

Power supply replacement:
Okay, so the fan in the power supply of my pc has been busted for a long time. I've just used a fan behind the computer to pump air in and keep it cool but I'd like to just replace my power supply. I've got a $100 best buy gift card so I'd like to order it online there.

What do I need to know about my power supply to find a replacement? I looked for the same model as I currently have but I don't think it is being made anymore.

Do you game on your computer? Does your graphics card use a dedicated power supply plug?

If it does, then you have to be careful what power supply you purchase. I don't know your specs, and since you have a $100 gift card, I would opt to buy a 80+ efficient power supply. I've heard a lot of good things from Corsair since their units provide high amps over 12V plugs (important for gamers) on a single rail. Tell me your computer specs, so I can narrow it down for you.

I was wondering if anyone could help a computer noob (me) and his dad. My dad's computer is borked big time. Just doing the simplest thing .. like seeing the start menu after clicking the start button .. takes forever but I'm not seeing anything weird via malwarebytes or adaware. Anyone have any ideas what I could to do help alleviate the situation?

Also, does anyone notice anything odd in these run time processes while the computer is idle or does it all look kosher:

http://i48.tinypic.com/20az021.jpg


Computer Info:

HP Pavilion
Windows XP Media Center Edition
Version 2002
Service Pack 2
AMD Athlon 64 Processor
3400+
984MHz, 448MB of Ram

For 448 MB of RAM, XP will definitely crawl. Look at how many resources are consumed! It's definitely using virtual disk at that point.

It needs a reinstall. If you want, give the computer a Ubuntu shot if you don't want to try XP. Windows 7 may crawl on that if you don't add a bit more RAM.

my wireless mouse MS LASER MOUSE 5000 sometimes will act strange. I will be going across my desktop and then the mouse might stop and when I move it it only goes maybe 10 pixels then stops again and will do that 2 times in a row and then just work fine. I have switched out the batteries and reinstalled the regualr drivers but it still seems to be acting wonky.

Sometimes interference from wireless routers and microwaves can cause your mouse to behave eratically. Also, check the surface you're riding your mouse on.

Get new hardware if you need to.

just in case nobody saw this post =)

At that CPU load, I wouldn't worry. It doesn't hurt to add more fans in a system though.

You should definitely worry if your CPU temps are going to 70-80.

Interesting question:

I have a wireless router connected to my DSL router. Also connected to the wireless router are my 360 and PS3. I had no problems until recently, when I discovered that turning on the console(s) kills my wireless signal. Obviously the two consoles are hard wired through the router, but my laptops (including my wifes work Dell which she uses often at home) have a spotty connection when I'm trying to game on a console.

Any ideas as to how to fix this?

Don't use an all-in-one router+modem. Those are so shoddy at holding connections together.

It also sounds like your DSL connection uses a lot of bandwidth when you game. Perhaps you need a router that does QoS (prioritizes data so that one connection doesn't take down the whole network).

 

[eznark]

Don't use an all-in-one router+modem. Those are so shoddy at holding connections together.

It also sounds like your DSL connection uses a lot of bandwidth when you game. Perhaps you need a router that does QoS (prioritizes data so that one connection doesn't take down the whole network).

I have a DSL modem/router which brings the feed into the house. From there it goes to various rooms. Every room that is plugged directly into the outlets via cat-5e works fine and never loses a signal.

My problem (all of a sudden, since it was working great for 7 months, only dropping signal for like 20 minutes once a day) is with the wireless router I also have connected to the network. Also plugged into the wireless router are the PS3 and 360 (and direcTV box). Starting this week some time, turning on either system cripples my wireless signal.

Is there anything I can do with the wireless router settings to make it work again? I don't want to buy any new equipment since this was working great up until a few days ago.

Do wireless routers get firmware updates or anything?

 

[Lonely1]

WTF? What is "\bigotimeslid"? it randomly appered in my .tex file, preventimg me from compiling until I deleted that bizare line...

 

[Minamu]

Any ideas on why my ps3 relatively regularly get kicked from my access point (according to a popup message on the screen)? My wireless router have been bridged with my modem for years with no issues before.

 

[beje]

I'm having a HUGE problem with a fresh Windows 7 Home Premium installation: my Sound Blaster Audigy SE refuses to output any sound.

- Already tested the speakers in other sources: they work OK
- Already tested several pairs of headphones in the line-out plug. None of them sound.
- Already tried completely uninstalling and reinstalling drivers. Both with and without Creative shitware. No results
- Already tried Daniel_K tweaked/fixed drivers in both ways. Same results.

Yet Windows reports the sound card is working OK, all controls are at 100% output, already checked it was configured as a 2.0/2.1 system, checked that the "green bar" in the control moves when sound is supposed to be happening, cuadruple-checked the speakers were correctly plugged, sound card was working flawlessly with previous Windows 7 RC installation and OpenSUSE...

HALP! T_______T

Edit: the integrated sound card works like a bliss

 

[Azih]

Ok, so about three months ago my computer started screwing up randomly on startup with a 'Boot device not found please pick correct boot device' kind of message. I checked my BIOS settings and they're the same as they always were. I started up with a rescue boot cd just to check things and my harddrive did not appear even there. Also a lot of the USB ports started failing including the one my mouse is on and my old ass PS/2 keyboard randomly dropped off as well. I unplugged a lot of USB devices and moved some things to the front USB ports which seem to be more stable.

It started doing it more and more often but at that point I was heading off to vacation so I just shut everything down. Two weeks later the computer started up fine again but a few weeks later the symptoms started coming back to the point that it sometimes restarts while windows is running and the startup fails again with the 'boot device not found' message.

I opened the case and unplugged the HD from the SATA ports on the MB to see what happened and I got the exact same error message. Then I moved it onto another port and it started up fine again for a few days.

So basically I'm moving my HD from Sata port to Sata port for a few more days of operation. I've got all my stuff backed up so there is that at least.

I'm almost certain that my Mobo is slowly dying but any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Ashhong]

At that CPU load, I wouldn't worry. It doesn't hurt to add more fans in a system though.

You should definitely worry if your CPU temps are going to 70-80.

I'm not worried about my CPU temp, since its actually pretty low.

What I'm worried about is the fact that the CORE temps don't change. SpeedFan shows different temps for Core1, Core0 and CPU. the Core temperatures do not change ever from 43/44.

I also tried a program called CoreTemp64 and its the exact same readings. I feel like the sensor is broken?

 

[mj1108]

Ok, so about three months ago my computer started screwing up randomly on startup with a 'Boot device not found please pick correct boot device' kind of message. I checked my BIOS settings and they're the same as they always were. I started up with a rescue boot cd just to check things and my harddrive did not appear even there. Also a lot of the USB ports started failing including the one my mouse is on and my old ass PS/2 keyboard randomly dropped off as well. I unplugged a lot of USB devices and moved some things to the front USB ports which seem to be more stable.

It started doing it more and more often but at that point I was heading off to vacation so I just shut everything down. Two weeks later the computer started up fine again but a few weeks later the symptoms started coming back to the point that it sometimes restarts while windows is running and the startup fails again with the 'boot device not found' message.

I opened the case and unplugged the HD from the SATA ports on the MB to see what happened and I got the exact same error message. Then I moved it onto another port and it started up fine again for a few days.

So basically I'm moving my HD from Sata port to Sata port for a few more days of operation. I've got all my stuff backed up so there is that at least.

I'm almost certain that my Mobo is slowly dying but any help would be much appreciated.

Make sure your motherboard is grounded by making sure it's screwed down to the case securely.

 

[beje]

I'm not worried about my CPU temp, since its actually pretty low.

What I'm worried about is the fact that the CORE temps don't change. SpeedFan shows different temps for Core1, Core0 and CPU. the Core temperatures do not change ever from 43/44.

I also tried a program called CoreTemp64 and its the exact same readings. I feel like the sensor is broken?

Try to do a stress test with Prime95, if temperature values keep still during the test then yes, there's something wrong with the sensors.

 

[Ashhong]

Try to do a stress test with Prime95, if temperature values keep still during the test then yes, there's something wrong with the sensors.

thats exactly what caused me to realize the problem in the first place. my CPU temp reading went from 30 to 44, but my CORE temps stayed at 43/44 the whole time. i always thought it was weird that my CORE temps were higher than CPU temp. so...how do i fix that?

 

[DesertEater]

I'm having a problem with my laptop's cam.
every time I turn it on I get the blue screen of death : (
my laptop is dell studio xps 16 and I'm using windows 7.

 

[ephemeral garbage]

Lately my tiny logitech s-100 speakers have been making these tiny beeps, except they're not really beeps, more of a bassy "bup" sound in groups of 3 six times and stop. Is that supposed to mean something?

Do you have a GSM mobile phone lying around anywhere near your computer?

 

[Ashhong]

if its the same sound as what you are thinking of, a GSM phone doesnt even need to be "near" it. sometimes i hear it from my speaker when theres not even a phone in my room. its ridiculous

 

[mj1108]

I'm having a problem with my laptop's cam.
every time I turn it on I get the blue screen of death : (
my laptop is dell studio xps 16 and I'm using windows 7.

Sounds like it's a driver issue.

Go into the device manager and uninstall the camera. Redownload the drivers from Dell's support site and reinstall it.

 

[Flambe]

Trying to copy/move files from someone's Vista computer to a USB stick but it's saying 'Files are not in that location' when I do it. If I'm in the source folder, they show up and will open. Just messed up when I'm trying to copy them

 

[OneMoreQuestion]

Do you have a GSM mobile phone lying around anywhere near your computer?

So is it some kind of interference thingy? Would the sound leave if my phone is switched off?

 

[ephemeral garbage]

So is it some kind of interference thingy? Would the sound leave if my phone is switched off?

If it's what I'm thinking of, yeah. When the phone tells the tower that it's there, it transmits in short bursts. If you notice a similar sound from your speakers (but more intense) right before you get an incoming call, it's definitely your phone. I've kinda learned to live with it, but if you really want some uninterrupted sound, you should be able to get it by turning the phone off when you're playing.

 

[Taxman]

Perhaps somebody in this thread will be able to help me with this... I have a laptop I bought about a year ago. It was awesome until I dropped it and broke some stuff. I had to get a new hard drive. However I'm sure something else broke too because ever since then my graphics driver will fail constantly, like every 5-10 minutes. I crashes even more often if I am watching flash video or something like that. HOWEVER! I discovered that if I have a movie loaded into Windows Media Player, my system will be stable. It doesn't have to be playing or on the screen. I just load up a movie when my computer starts up, pause it, minimize, and use it like a normal computer. This doesn't work with other movie players like Winamp.
So basically, what I want to know is: what is the other broken component of my computer? Is it the GPU? Maybe the GPU's memory? My general ram? I have no idea. Any help on this would be super awesome.

Edit: I forgot I should mention: I have 2 installed OSs on this machine. Win7 64-bit for home, XP 32-bit for work. The XP side has none of these problems.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

So is it some kind of interference thingy? Would the sound leave if my phone is switched off?

Was it a beep beep be beep beep beep be beep be be beep kind of thing? It's cell phone interference for sure then, happened all the time at my jazz band through our amp. Pretty much everyone just learned to turn off their phone during rehearsal.:lol Not much that can be done other than turn off your phone, but if someone nearby gets a signal you're screwed.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Perhaps somebody in this thread will be able to help me with this... I have a laptop I bought about a year ago. It was awesome until I dropped it and broke some stuff. I had to get a new hard drive. However I'm sure something else broke too because ever since then my graphics driver will fail constantly, like every 5-10 minutes. I crashes even more often if I am watching flash video or something like that. HOWEVER! I discovered that if I have a movie loaded into Windows Media Player, my system will be stable. It doesn't have to be playing or on the screen. I just load up a movie when my computer starts up, pause it, minimize, and use it like a normal computer. This doesn't work with other movie players like Winamp.
So basically, what I want to know is: what is the other broken component of my computer? Is it the GPU? Maybe the GPU's memory? My general ram? I have no idea. Any help on this would be super awesome.

Edit: I forgot I should mention: I have 2 installed OSs on this machine. Win7 64-bit for home, XP 32-bit for work. The XP side has none of these problems.

Could be windows media player is more CPU intensive for decoding the video than gpu intensive like other applications. So you have COMPLETELY scrubbed your video driver using ATI/NVIDIA's driver removal tool, restarted, and install the latest driver right?

 

[eznark]

I want to update my D-Link DIR-655 drivers, how do I figure out what ip address will access the router?

 

[Pringo]

I want to update my D-Link DIR-655 drivers, how do I figure out what ip address will access the router?

Try 192.168.0.1.

 

[eznark]

Try 192.168.0.1.

Yeah, that's the one I know to try and sadly it didn't work.

I'm still trying to figure out why turning on my consoles kills my wireless signal, and I saw there is a new firmware for the DIR-655 so I am trying to install it.

 

[Wads]

Try 192.168.0.1.

More likely 192.168.1.1

 

[eznark]

shitty, the router says 192.168.0.1 on the label underneath but that is not working

 

[DietRob]

What is the deal with all of these new malaware Anti V programs. In the past 2 weeks I've had two of them. Win 7 guardian, and AntiVirus Live 2010..

Now, while they are a pain in the ass they are not too difficult to get removed. I am currently running MSE for win 7 should I think about biting the bullet and just purchasing Norton 2010 or something?

It doesn't seem MSE is doing me any good at catching these programs. I don't download crap from the internet, I don't pirate ANYTHING.. How in the fuck do I keep getting these stupid ass malaware programs.

 

[Pringo]

What is the deal with all of these new malaware Anti V programs. In the past 2 weeks I've had two of them. Win 7 guardian, and AntiVirus Live 2010..

Now, while they are a pain in the ass they are not too difficult to get removed. I am currently running MSE for win 7 should I think about biting the bullet and just purchasing Norton 2010 or something?

It doesn't seem MSE is doing me any good at catching these programs. I don't download crap from the internet, I don't pirate ANYTHING.. How in the fuck do I keep getting these stupid ass malaware programs.

I'd try Avira or Avast! first as alternatives to MSE rather than purchasing Norton. A few other things that could help:
-make sure you have a firewall enabled
-re-enable UAC if you previously disabled it for any reason
-make sure Windows is getting updated regularly
-if you're using IE maybe try switching to another browser such as Firefox or Chrome
-if you're using a browser that suports add-ons try ad blocking and/or script blocking add-ons

Edit: Also, try to avoid any sketchy internet sites or any other places that are known to host malware.

 

[Pringo]

shitty, the router says 192.168.0.1 on the label underneath but that is not working

What happens when you put the IP address into your browser? Do you get a username/password prompt at all or just nothing?

 

[eznark]

What happens when you put the IP address into your browser? Do you get a username/password prompt at all or just nothing?

nothing at all, and I know why.

I changed the ip when I tweaked the wireless router to act as an access point. However, when I try to access the config utility through that IP, it still does not work.

 

[DietRob]

I'd try Avira or Avast! first as alternatives to MSE rather than purchasing Norton. A few other things that could help:
-make sure you have a firewall enabled
The default one with MSE was enabled.

-re-enable UAC if you previously disabled it for any reason
UAC is severely annoying.

-make sure Windows is getting updated regularly
Always on.


-if you're using a browser that suports add-ons try ad blocking and/or script blocking add-ons

Edit: Also, try to avoid any sketchy internet sites or any other places that are known to host malware.

-if you're using IE maybe try switching to another browser such as Firefox or Chrome

I use Firefox, honestly I think Firefox with userstyles and greasemonkey might be part of the reason I'm getting these. After I get done removing this current malware I'm going to switch up to Crome.

I'll give Avast a look. Thanks.

 

[Pringo]

-re-enable UAC if you previously disabled it for any reason
UAC is severely annoying.

More annoying than having to deal with removing viruses on a regular basis? If this is what is allowing the viruses access to your computer you may want to decide which is the lesser of two evils.

 

[Shalashaska]

Sometimes I've got my computer in sleep mode and since it's winter and I've got carpet around me, I'll occasionally touch my computer and it'll get a shock and turn itself on because of it. Is it damaging the computer or is it something not to be worried about?

 

[DesertEater]

Sounds like it's a driver issue.

Go into the device manager and uninstall the camera. Redownload the drivers from Dell's support site and reinstall it.

I tried it but i didn't work.

 

[Ducks]

I have a netbook and I think it has a virus or something. One day I turned it on and it will not open a browser, despite being connected to the internet. I stupidly have no virus protection, and as it is a netbook there is no disk drive. I tried that thing where you set a restore point but to no avail. Oh and just in case it's needed it is an Acer Aspire One running Windows XP.

Any suggestions?

 

[Nameless]

Ok my laptop just stopped picking up any and all wireless networks. It was working fine, my connection dropped and when I went to reconnect it says windows cannot find any networks. My iPhone detects several wireless signals(including mine) in my complex so it's not matter of range or a problem with the router.

I've noticed lately my signal would drop out and a quick fix would be to disable/enable wireless connection, after which it would reconnect automatically. This has, in all honestly, become more frequent. Hardware issue? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Jordan]

I want to update my D-Link DIR-655 drivers, how do I figure out what ip address will access the router?

Start > Run > cmd > ipconfig >

Default Gateway > 10.1.0.1 (mine) This should be your router.

 

[Jordan]

Ok my laptop just stopped picking up any and all wireless networks. It was working fine, my connection dropped and when I went to reconnect it says windows cannot find any networks. My iPhone detects several wireless signals(including mine) in my complex so it's not matter of range or a problem with the router.

I've noticed lately my signal would drop out and a quick fix would be to disable/enable wireless connection, after which it would reconnect automatically. This has, in all honestly, become more frequent. Hardware issue? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Have you tried updating the drivers? If not re-installing.

If this fails, if you know where your wireless card is reseat it.

 

[Erasus]

I have a netbook and I think it has a virus or something. One day I turned it on and it will not open a browser, despite being connected to the internet. I stupidly have no virus protection, and as it is a netbook there is no disk drive. I tried that thing where you set a restore point but to no avail. Oh and just in case it's needed it is an Acer Aspire One running Windows XP.

Any suggestions?

You do know that there are free antivirus out there thta you can download right? Or just copy the contents of the AV CD to a USB stick....

Download Malwarebytes/Microfoft Security Essentials and do a scan

 

[eznark]

Start > Run > cmd > ipconfig >

Default Gateway > 10.1.0.1 (mine) This should be your router.

Yeah that gets me to the DSL router, however I have a two router set up.

I ended up having to do a hard reset to access the config utility on the wireless router, install the firmware update, redo all the changes necessary to make it act like an access point again (change IP, disable DHCP/upnp) and re-set up the wireless signal but in the end it worked like a champ.

Kind of a hassle that I need to do that for a firmware update, but for some reason when I enter in the new IP address that I gave the router it times out. Can't figure out why. Oh well.

 

[Goron2000]

Ok GAF i need your help, i messed up. My laptop is currently out of action and i need it back as soon as possible. It's a Dell studio laptop that came with vista, i have been having trouble as of late due mainly to what i assume is vista (stuttering graphics, bad performance and multiple sound issues) I realise that it could be a hardware issue (dying hdd or gpu) but i cant afford to replace anything at the moment. So i dug out and old xp disc and installed it and that went fine. Untill i booted it up. The windows logo came up briefly and then it flashed the blue screen of death momentarily and rebooted. I've tried several guides on how to resolve the issue but to no avail. I have tried re-installing vista but it gets and error whilst unpacking, some missing .dll. So computer GAF do you have a diagnosis or better yet a solution? Thank you p.s. I'm typing this on my iphone so sorry for mistakes.

 

[vid]

Alright, I've got a really bizarre one for you guys... and it's GAF specific, even.

I use Chrome as my browser by default, and it's been wonderful since day 1, except for a bizarre new problem that has started cropping up. For whatever reason, I can no longer highlight spoiler text on GAF in Chrome. It works in any other browser, and it works on any other computer... but on my particular machine, while in Chrome, highlighting spoiler text has no visible effect.

But here's the kicker... if the text is highlighted, and then I alt-tab over to another window, bam, it appears just fine... until I switch back to the browser, at which point it resumes it's inky black obfuscation.

Any ideas?

Edit: Huh. After all this messing around, I figure it out almost immediately after posting. Turns out that the Windows XP "selected item" color settings were trying to overlap with Chrome's colors, instead of the two of them acting the same. All fixed now, though.

 

[Rahnter]

Not quite a technical question, but in Firefox how can I open a new tab(through a link) next to the original site and not at the end of the list?

 

[Ashhong]

Not quite a technical question, but in Firefox how can I open a new tab(through a link) next to the original site and not at the end of the list?

get the newest version of Firefox, maybe the beta one. i think mine just started doing that after i upgraded

 

[C.Dark.DN]

every so often my firefox stays at 100% CPU usage.

i've scanned with microsoft and malwarebytes. nothing found.

i run no script.

i guess it's possible something nasty is on it. is there something that hijacks a browser or whatever?

 

[sonicmj1]

Didn't know this topic existed. Time to make use of it, since my support requests to Valve and Blizzard have gone unanswered after a few days.

I have a laptop, and it's worked fine for a long time. However, ever since coming to Japan, I've been having problems with internet connectivity stuff.

I can use Firefox fine. uTorrent works. I can log into Steam, and download Windows and Norton updates. For some reason, though, I can't look at the Steam store inside the client, I can't connect to the iTunes store, I can't download Adobe's Flash update, and I can't send my system information to Blizzard to get into the Starcraft 2 beta, nor can I download programs from Blizzard using their client. The programs act as though I'm not connected to the internet at all, when I have no issues getting online through other means.

It's not a firewall issue, and it's not a router issue, since I've tried using my computer without either, and it hasn't helped. It might be an ISP issue, but that would be really strange. Does anyone here have any idea what the problem might be?

EDIT: Blizzard emailed me back suggesting that it was potentially a proxy server issue. I then remembered that I had configured my LAN through a proxy server since my school network here (which I now don't really use) runs through a proxy server. Turning that back to normal solved the problem.

 

[Meier]

Can anyone explain to me why when I connect my pc to my tv via hdmi cable it doesn't cause the audio to come out of the tv as well? Is there a setting I need to change?

 

[Suitcase Test]

Can anyone explain to me why when I connect my pc to my tv via hdmi cable it doesn't cause the audio to come out of the tv as well? Is there a setting I need to change?

I had this problem as well (are you using Vista too?). I finally solved it by changing the settings in Sound, and then restarting the app that's playing video/sound. Without restarting, it would continue to play through the same output.

Weird, but it finally worked, so I was happy.