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[Femmeworth]

I got a new external hard drive in the mail today, my previous external suffered an unfortunate accident. With my previous external, I had it connected via an eSATA cable. My laptop has both an eSATA and an IEEE 1394 port. The new external only has a USB 2.0 Mini-B 5-pin port. Can I take advantage of either my eSATA or IEEE port? If so, how can I take advantage of them? I have a USB cable that came with the new external and an eSATA cable.

Thanks.

 

[Jzero]

I got a new external hard drive in the mail today, my previous external suffered an unfortunate accident. With my previous external, I had it connected via an eSATA cable. My laptop has both an eSATA and an IEEE 1394 port. The new external only has a USB 2.0 Mini-B 5-pin port. Can I take advantage of either my eSATA or IEEE port? If so, how can I take advantage of them? I have a USB cable that came with the new external and an eSATA cable.

Thanks.

by taking advantage do you mean to use one of those two ports instead of a USB female port? If so, you can check to see if your eSATA port is a usb/esata female combo since they seem to be popular among laptops and you can just plug it in there. Or you can buy a mini USB to eSATA cable if you prefer. There doesn't seem to be much for fire-wire though.

 

[Femmeworth]

by taking advantage do you mean to use one of those two ports instead of a USB female port? If so, you can check to see if your eSATA port is a usb/esata female combo since they seem to be popular among laptops and you can just plug it in there. Or you can buy a mini USB to eSATA cable if you prefer. There doesn't seem to be much for fire-wire though.

Yes. My laptop has dedicated USB ports, as well as the eSATA port being a combo. That cable you posted looks like it's what I need. Thanks.

Edit: Actually, I think I'm going to get this and this from Monoprice.

 

[LakeEarth]

Just an update, a simple format/reinstall of Windows 7 seemed to have fixed my troubles. I dunno why I was so convinced it was a hardware issue.

Well, this is wrong. It began BSOD'ing again. What on earth doesn't get fixed with a format and Windows reinstall, but isn't a hardware issue?

 

[Izick]

Well, this is wrong. It began BSOD'ing again. What on earth doesn't get fixed with a format and Windows reinstall, but isn't a hardware issue?

Does sound like a hardware problem.

Is there text coming up with the BSOD, or what? Does anything sound weird, hardware wise?

 

[LakeEarth]

I don't have the exact BSOD message because it flashes for a second and the whole computer resets. Over and over again. I'll see if I can catch it with my camera when I'm home later today.

There are no weird sounds or anything.

After doing the system restore, it was fine for 2 days, probably a grand total of 5 hours on.

 

[Vagabundo]

Okay I have a weird one.

I got this Advent netbook dropped on me with a error at startup saying:

Windows Boot Configuration Data file is missing required information

File: \boot\bcd
Status 0xc000000d
Info: The windows boot confirguration data file is missing required information.

Okay so I've seen that for vista/win7. So I boot into lubuntu and check the file system The disk is call XP and the file structure is XP too (documents and settings, program files), but it also has a Boot drectory that Ive not seen in XP before.

So I check online and found that BCD is only for vista/win 7 and all the instructions are for those OSs. The only think I can think off is that WinXP starter edition has the BCD.

Anyway I tried a repair with a winxp disk and a vista disk with no luck. Tried some thing like bootcfg /rebuild (from the vista recovery console), but that did nothing.

I'm kind of stumped. Damn netbooks.

Any help appreciated.

 

[Diprosalic]

i have a problem with my PC and win 7. i can't put it to sleep it wakes up immediately. i googled it and it is a known issue, you just have to turn off wake up on lan. but that's something i need. so what do i do?

 

[WedgeX]

Hello tech-gaf! My poor pc's problem...

so. My computer. Wouldn't boot past windows splash screen. Reser the bios. Got a new CMOS battery. Ran the memory tests. Went to repair windows. Turns out. My c drive is blank. Gone. Nothing to repair! My d drive with a few games is intact. What the what.

Hazaro's solution...

Don't use your HDD (take it out). Hook it up externally or as a secondary drive and you should be able to recover just about everything. It's not overwritten, just marked as free space right now.

But I'm not exactly sure how to do that...

Thanks for the link pd! Haz you are the best. So does this mean I should be investing in a new hdd to transfer everything to, or should just hooking the current one up as a secondary/external solve things? Not quite sure on the logistics of it.

 

[LakeEarth]

Here's the post-BSOD error message:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 4105

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 24
BCP1: 00000000001904FB
BCP2: FFFFF88004F45688
BCP3: FFFFF88004F44EE0
BCP4: FFFFF8800110611E
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\022912-44897-01.dmp
C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-58531-0.sysdata.xml

I'll still try to capture the 1 second long BSOD on my camera.

EDIT - every time I'm ready for it, it never comes. The computer has been running for an hour. Yet sometimes it resets after 5 seconds of loading Windows.

 

[Izick]

Here's the post-BSOD error message:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: BlueScreen
OS Version: 6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
Locale ID: 4105

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: 24
BCP1: 00000000001904FB
BCP2: FFFFF88004F45688
BCP3: FFFFF88004F44EE0
BCP4: FFFFF8800110611E
OS Version: 6_1_7600
Service Pack: 0_0
Product: 768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\022912-44897-01.dmp
C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-58531-0.sysdata.xml

I'll still try to capture the 1 second long BSOD on my camera.

EDIT - every time I'm ready for it, it never comes. The computer has been running for an hour. Yet sometimes it resets after 5 seconds of loading Windows.

Does this help at all?

 

[LakeEarth]

I ran Windows Memory Diagnostic overnight, and the computer was finished and restarted by the time I got up. You'd think it would wait for some user input before restarting so I could actually SEE if it found anything.

I'll do it again later when I'm home from work.

Event Viewer has stuff like this:

Fault bucket 815347978, type 5
Event Name: WindowsUpdateFailure
Response: Not available
Cab Id: 0

Problem signature:
P1: 7.3.7600.16385
P2: 80070643
P3: 9BD35FB2-8618-4F00-B75D-DFD8D7E93278
P4: Install
P5: 101
P6: Unmanaged

The winlogon notification subscriber <TrustedInstaller> failed a critical notification event.

Faulting application name: LSSrvc.exe, version: 1.18.11.1, time stamp: 0x4b59f6e1
Faulting module name: unknown, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x74056a34
Faulting process id: 0x670
Faulting application start time: 0x01ccf79fa40ea9a2
Faulting application path: c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\LightScribe\LSSrvc.exe
Faulting module path: unknown
Report Id: 15d6d3f6-6393-11e1-8e44-1cc1de5094dd

 

[Hawkian]

Lightscribe is a DVD burning app?

 

[LakeEarth]

Lightscribe is a DVD burning app?

Those were just 3 examples of a 15 errors that it listed last night.

Keep in mind that I've formatted and re-installed Windows. Maybe I'll try asking Microsoft help.

 

[Emwitus]

Hey tech gaf, me again.

Video on my laptop(especially from netflix), Seems to statter when i'm running on battery. When i plug it into an outlet it runs normally. I don't know what's wrong, does the same thing even if battery is on full power. Its a fairly new laptop (sep 11) So i think it should handle HD fine. PLEASE HELP GAF.

 

[Femmeworth]

Hey tech gaf, me again.

Video on my laptop(especially from netflix), Seems to statter when i'm running on battery. When i plug it into an outlet it runs normally. I don't know what's wrong, does the same thing even if battery is on full power. Its a fairly new laptop (sep 11) So i think it should handle HD fine. PLEASE HELP GAF.

The obvious question is, does your power plan change when you unplug?

 

[CyReN]

I've been starting to get some spam in my gmail email recently (maybe 5 a day), I used to get about maybe 1 once a month. I don't think I've used my email recently to sign up at any unfamiliar sites. Any recommendations? I've tried to filter it and block them but I may be doing it wrong.

 

[Emwitus]

The obvious question is, does your power plan change when you unplug?

I don't think so. Its set on balanced right now, i just unpluggged my power and it's still set on balanced Unless there's something i'm missing?

 

[Femmeworth]

I don't think so. Its set on balanced right now, i just unpluggged my power and it's still set on balanced Unless there's something i'm missing?

Look into the specifics of your profile/plan, specifically the settings for your graphics card.

 

[Emwitus]

Look into the specifics of your profile/plan, specifically the settings for your graphics card.

Do you know if there's anything specific i should look for?

 

[LuCkymoON]

Does anyone in here have any experience with HDDErase?

I'm following this guide: http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?74093-How-to-use-HDDErase but when I get to this screen:



I don't get have the P0 P1 etc. list or anything else beneath it for me. It's just all blank.

Does anyone know why that is?

Does your motherboard support PATA connections?

 

[Femmeworth]

Do you know if there's anything specific i should look for?

What OS do you have? Like I said, your graphics power management and your processor power management too.

 

[Jzero]

I feel like such a horrible technician

So here's the problem:

For some strange reason i cannot boot from USB nor DVD.

Both of the devices work inside windows and I've used the DVD and Flash drive on other computers so i know it's this computer having the problem.

The thing is I've booted from them before but it doesn't seem to work anymore.

and yes they are first in the boot priority.

I usually know what to do but I've never seen this particular problem before.

EDIT: Searching around a little more it seems that most of the people reporting this problem seem to be dual booting with wubi so i'm going to uninstall it and see what happens.

EDIT 2: Nope that did nothing.

 

[Emwitus]

What OS do you have? Like I said, your graphics power management and your processor power management too.

Windows 7 64 bit. Sorry for late reply..working late

 

[Cpt.Underpants]

Tried updating my graphics card just now via STEAM, it gave me a BSOD. When I restarted my PC, I ended up with what looked like a PC without a graphics card

I installed it again with the cd installer I had when I bought my graphics card and now it doesn't have a catalyst control center, and if I tried updating again this time on the amd site, I yet again have the BSOD and back to the same problem

As of the moment im stuck with an outdated card without any CCC and can't update it fearing i'll pretty much end up with the same results as above

Any helpful suggestions or step by step guide's to help me with my predicament will be greatly appreciated.


Many thanks in advance

 

[Velti]

What's TS-GAF's thought on this desktop? More specifically, is PowerSpec a decent brand, or will this computer fall apart after a few weeks?

FYI: I'm not interested in building a computer myself, so please don't tell me I could build this machine myself for cheap. I'd rather put my time and energy elsewhere.

Thanks in advance- I've been running all over the web trying to find opinions on these things with no luck.

 

[Dog Problems]

What's TS-GAF's thought on this desktop? More specifically, is PowerSpec a decent brand, or will this computer fall apart after a few weeks?

FYI: I'm not interested in building a computer myself, so please don't tell me I could build this machine myself for cheap. I'd rather put my time and energy elsewhere.

Thanks in advance- I've been running all over the web trying to find opinions on these things with no luck.

It has a slow hard drive but other than that it seems fine. No idea about PowerSpec though. I've never heard of them.

 

[Jzero]

It has a slow hard drive but other than that it seems fine. No idea about PowerSpec though. I've never heard of them.

Same here dude, i've never heard of them.

 

[Canuck76]

Got an external harddrive what free software do i use to backup everything? I already moved my itunes and steam libraries over manually. Anything that easily just brings everything over?

 

[Shadybiz]

Hey all, I posted this question in the "my PS3 died" thread, but I wanted to post it here, as this thread is a bit more populated/active, so sorry in advance it you've read it twice:

"I am having a weird issue where when I put in a movie disc (be it DVD or Blu-Ray), I will sometimes get a loud "whirring" sound, and it won't recognize the disc. BUT, I will then take the disc out, and put it back in, and it'll work fine, with no "whirring."

The weird part is that games seem to work perfectly fine.

I have read a couple of suggestions. Some say that the movie discs I'm using are unbalanced. This seems reasonable, but I'm not sure why it would work after reinserting them. I know I should also vacuum out the unit, which I will try.

Has anyone else had this issue, or know of any other factors that might be causing it? It is just really weird that it doesn't happen with games, just movies.

Edit: Oh, and it's an 80 GB (500GB) fat model, about 3 years old, if that matters."

Thanks for any input!

 

[WanderingWind]

Oh, man got a doozy. As in, I can't even find a similar problem on Google kind of doozy.

Okay, so I put together a computer a year ago with a Radeon HD 6950. Was going smooth, until one of the fans on the card started acting up. It got really stupid loud, despite it being clean as a whistle.

So, today I replaced it with a Sapphire 7770. When the PC starts up now, the card is SUPER loud for about a minute, then quiets down completely.

Any idea WTF is going on?

 

[Ashhong]

Oh, man got a doozy. As in, I can't even find a similar problem on Google kind of doozy.

Okay, so I put together a computer a year ago with a Radeon HD 6950. Was going smooth, until one of the fans on the card started acting up. It got really stupid loud, despite it being clean as a whistle.

So, today I replaced it with a Sapphire 7770. When the PC starts up now, the card is SUPER loud for about a minute, then quiets down completely.

Any idea WTF is going on?

Sounds like the fan is running at default speed before the ATI CCC brings it down. Normal, no? Mine has always done that.

 

[WanderingWind]

Sounds like the fan is running at default speed before the ATI CCC brings it down. Normal, no? Mine has always done that.

Well, that's comforting. Thanks.

 

[parrotbeak]

My home computer won't start Windows. I have a Dell Inspiron 545 running Win7 64 bit. I'm posting from work so the only info I have is what I wrote down.

I get the "Windows is Starting" screen, then it goes to black. I have the mouse cursor and the CPU processing light stays on, but nothing happens.

I ran the quick diagnostic test this morning and got these error codes:

ERROR CODE: OFOO:133C
DISK - NO SUITABLE DISK MEDIA IS PRESENT

ERROR CODE: 4400:011A
MSG: SCSI_0-000_DISK_GENERIC-_SD/MMC
Target not ready

I googled the error codes and see people saying it could be a faulty video card or RAM, but no details on how to fix. I don't have a separate video card; there is one integrated to the motherboard. I haven't made any changes/upgrades to hardware.

Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[OdysseusVA]

I've been having an issue lately with my desktop automatically adjusting it's brightness based on whats onscreen. Dark pages brightens the background while bright pages darkens it.

I've updated drivers, but the problems still persists. The one thing that removed the issue was switching from HDMI to VGA. I'm connected to 32" HDTV with all post processing options disabled. No other inputs suffer from this.

Help

 

[The_Inquisitor]

Oh, man got a doozy. As in, I can't even find a similar problem on Google kind of doozy.

Okay, so I put together a computer a year ago with a Radeon HD 6950. Was going smooth, until one of the fans on the card started acting up. It got really stupid loud, despite it being clean as a whistle.

So, today I replaced it with a Sapphire 7770. When the PC starts up now, the card is SUPER loud for about a minute, then quiets down completely.

Any idea WTF is going on?

My dad's dell does this. Fans ramp up full speed for 3-5 seconds on boot, then it quiets down. It's normal.

 

[The_Inquisitor]

I've been having an issue lately with my desktop automatically adjusting it's brightness based on whats onscreen. Dark pages brightens the background while bright pages darkens it.

I've updated drivers, but the problems still persists. The one thing that removed the issue was switching from HDMI to VGA. I'm connected to 32" HDTV with all post processing options disabled. No other inputs suffer from this.

Help

Uh are you sure it's not the ambient light sensor on the television?

 

[OdysseusVA]

Uh are you sure it's not the ambient light sensor on the television?

Positive.

As stated no other inputs suffer from this. When I switched from HDMI to VGA it no longer was an issue.

 

[WanderingWind]

My dad's dell does this. Fans ramp up full speed for 3-5 seconds on boot, then it quiets down. It's normal.

Thanks man. Much appreciated!

 

[WedgeX]

Got a new hdd, and an external enclosure to house my old one that was not booting past the splash screen. Both 250gb sata drives from wd.

Problem. When installing windows to the new hdd, I get a stop x0000007f (0,0,0,0) error. I suspect that it has something to do with the new hdd requiring a different power connector than the previous drive. Old drive I was using the molex power connection (had the option to use the 8 pin sata) and the new one uses only the 8 pin. I swear I read about needing to change settings once a change like this happens, but haven't found what that might be.

Ideas, tech-gaf?

 

[accx]

Got a new hdd, and an external enclosure to house my old one that was not booting past the splash screen. Both 250gb sata drives from wd.

Problem. When installing windows to the new hdd, I get a stop x0000007f (0,0,0,0) error. I suspect that it has something to do with the new hdd requiring a different power connector than the previous drive. Old drive I was using the molex power connection (had the option to use the 8 pin sata) and the new one uses only the 8 pin. I swear I read about needing to change settings once a change like this happens, but haven't found what that might be.

Ideas, tech-gaf?

How far into the installation do you get the error? Are you certain that the disk are completely fine?
One thing that comes to mind is that it needs the raid controller drivers prior to installing.
You could try going into bios and change the sata raid settings to pata. I can't remember what it's called and it may differ depending on your motherboard.
I haven't configured my desktop in months so my memory is failing me. But it should say something like native IDE or something like that.

It should be under integrated peripherals/on-chip IDE functions.

If you could give me the name of your motherboard i could prolly figure it out. Thats if this is the issue.

Oh, man got a doozy. As in, I can't even find a similar problem on Google kind of doozy.

Okay, so I put together a computer a year ago with a Radeon HD 6950. Was going smooth, until one of the fans on the card started acting up. It got really stupid loud, despite it being clean as a whistle.

So, today I replaced it with a Sapphire 7770. When the PC starts up now, the card is SUPER loud for about a minute, then quiets down completely.

Any idea WTF is going on?

As others have said, it's completely fine. When running in "dos mode" the fan runs at a safe zone, despite being overheated. All the time. If you reboot into a dos environment/install windows/linux you'll notice the same behavior.
Once the drivers kicks in (when windows/linux is loaded) it changes the gpu/memory clock to an idle state, which affects the fan speed (less clock, less heat = less fan speed).

 

[WedgeX]

How far into the installation do you get the error? Are you certain that the disk are completely fine?
One thing that comes to mind is that it needs the raid controller drivers prior to installing.
You could try going into bios and change the sata raid settings to pata. I can't remember what it's called and it may differ depending on your motherboard.
I haven't configured my desktop in months so my memory is failing me. But it should say something like native IDE or something like that.

It should be under integrated peripherals/on-chip IDE functions.

If you could give me the name of your motherboard i could prolly figure it out. Thats if this is the issue.

The error comes after windows has loaded the initial files, but before installation. I let my computer run about 18 memory tests over 12 or so ours and it came away error free.

The motherboard is a dfi lanparty nf4 ultra d.

 

[accx]

The error comes after windows has loaded the initial files, but before installation. I let my computer run about 18 memory tests over 12 or so ours and it came away error free.

The motherboard is a dfi lanparty nf4 ultra d.

Ok. Did you check the 'integrated peripherals' and was there a setting to check native ide mode?
a quick search suggested that you need the sata drivers on a floppy disk (assuming your computer has one). So when the install begins, and have the sata drivers ready you should hit F6. I would love to give you a link to the drivers you need but since it's such an old motherboard my google-fu escapes me.
I've had sata drives on 939 mobo's before without a hitch. But then again, ive always had the option to check pata/native mode.

 

[AwesomeSauce]

My home computer won't start Windows. I have a Dell Inspiron 545 running Win7 64 bit. I'm posting from work so the only info I have is what I wrote down.

I get the "Windows is Starting" screen, then it goes to black. I have the mouse cursor and the CPU processing light stays on, but nothing happens.

I ran the quick diagnostic test this morning and got these error codes:

ERROR CODE: OFOO:133C
DISK - NO SUITABLE DISK MEDIA IS PRESENT

ERROR CODE: 4400:011A
MSG: SCSI_0-000_DISK_GENERIC-_SD/MMC
Target not ready

I googled the error codes and see people saying it could be a faulty video card or RAM, but no details on how to fix. I don't have a separate video card; there is one integrated to the motherboard. I haven't made any changes/upgrades to hardware.

Any ideas? Thanks!

To me that sounds like an error with the hard drive. Have you tried reformatting it? Or running windows recovery?

 

[WedgeX]

Ok. Did you check the 'integrated peripherals' and was there a setting to check native ide mode?
a quick search suggested that you need the sata drivers on a floppy disk (assuming your computer has one). So when the install begins, and have the sata drivers ready you should hit F6. I would love to give you a link to the drivers you need but since it's such an old motherboard my google-fu escapes me.
I've had sata drives on 939 mobo's before without a hitch. But then again, ive always had the option to check pata/native mode.

Under IDE function setup, everything is enabled or auto. However, under raid config, raid is disabled.

Annnnnnd I've got a floppy drive somewhere in storage. Ack.

 

[accx]

Under IDE function setup, everything is enabled or auto. However, under raid config, raid is disabled.

Annnnnnd I've got a floppy drive somewhere in storage. Ack.

I still think it might be an issue with the install disk..
I suggest you download a copy of a linux distro (ubuntu is usually the easiest), and see if that loads up fine.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

What are the different settings under raid config?
Also, as a rule of thumb.. For errors that's hard to figure out, always have as little components connected as possible.

 

[parrotbeak]

To me that sounds like an error with the hard drive. Have you tried reformatting it? Or running windows recovery?

Ok, dumb question but what do I do if F8 doesn't work and it didn't come with a recovery disc?

F2 and F12 work.

 

[parrotbeak]

Ok, dumb question but what do I do if F8 doesn't work and it didn't come with a recovery disc?

F2 and F12 work.

I forgot I have an Acronis True Image backup from maybe a year ago. I stopped backing up regularly since I keep my active files on google docs now. I'll try to reinstall from that.

 

[WedgeX]

I still think it might be an issue with the install disk..
I suggest you download a copy of a linux distro (ubuntu is usually the easiest), and see if that loads up fine.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download

What are the different settings under raid config?
Also, as a rule of thumb.. For errors that's hard to figure out, always have as little components connected as possible.

Options under raid are: enable raid to auto, and then enable master/slave and sata drives.

Tested out the power connectors and no issues. My bios recognizes my old sata hdd (with one partition still reading as blank), but doesn't recognize the new sata hdd. I'll ask my brother to bring out the floppy drive for the computer, my mobo packaging, the drivers on a floppy if he's got a floppy drive, and download a copy of unbuntu. Really wish I just ha the money for a new mobo, processor, ram, and video card.

 

[accx]

Options under raid are: enable raid to auto, and then enable master/slave and sata drives.

Tested out the power connectors and no issues. My bios recognizes my old sata hdd (with one partition still reading as blank), but doesn't recognize the new sata hdd. I'll ask my brother to bring out the floppy drive for the computer, my mobo packaging, the drivers on a floppy if he's got a floppy drive, and download a copy of unbuntu. Really wish I just ha the money for a new mobo, processor, ram, and video card.

If you cant see your new drive in bios then the connectors or the hdd is most likely faulty.
Try the drive in another computer, if you have the option.
http://techgage.com/reviews/dfi/infinity_975x/dfi_infinity_975x_22_thumb.jpg

It should pop up there.
Be certain that you have only your videocard, the new drive (connect it to where the old drive was) and your keyboard connected (and of course cpu fan). This way you can rule out any kind of interference. I've seen a lot of weird stuff in my days (particularly with old legacy hardware). I've actually had like 3 939 mobos die on me only to rise from the dead a couple of weeks later for a day or two.