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[homeworkfilms]

A bit of an aside. Is anyone aware of computer repair aids or technologies that were introduced and completely failed back in the day? I am trying to recall a diagnostic device I used back in the mid 90's that I remember did way less than advertised. Perhaps related to bios issues.

 

[Maximilian E.]

OK, don´t know if this has been asked but here goes.

Anyone knows a good solution for how to connect 3 monitors to a single laptop?

At work, we use a desktop that is hooked up two 3 screens and we would like to continue the 3 screen setup but with laptops.

What are the possibilites/solutions?
We have tested with 2 lscreens and that works (HP Elitebook 8460p).

Most likely we need an external GPU for the third screen?

Or is there other laptops that can manage this?

Thanks in advance.

EDIT:
I might have found a solution, Matrox TripleHead2Go.. anyone who have had any experience with this?

 

[Noray]

I need halp GAF!


tl;dr I think my ethernet cable is fucked up but I'm not sure.

I have a modem/router downstairs where my internet lives. There's a long-ass ethernet cable that's sequestered all over the house that snakes upstairs to a LAN switch, which then connects to my PC and xbox 360. This recently stopped working. I did some troubleshooting: the long ethernet cable works fine when plugged directly into my PC, no problems at all. So I figure, the switch is busted. Not so, I bought a new one for cheap that shows the exact same symptoms: Sometimes it works, then flakes out again. When I restart my PC it tends to work again for a little bit. Which is weird, right? I mean it doesn't interact with my PC on a software level at all.

Could it be the cable? I don't see why it would work on a direct connection but not when going through a switch. I have no idea what to do. Replacing the long cable would be a long and arduous process, so I want to be sure.

Entirely possible that I just have shitty luck and I bought a bum switch to replace my bum switch. Just did some more troubleshooting and my old switch just cycles all the lights whenever I connect it, and the new one simply doesn't acknowledge an input signal. When I connect it to the modem, the light on the back of the modem doesn't light up to indicate a connection either, so it could well be busted. I've tested this using several different ethernet cables that I know work. I just don't want to waste more money on another switch without being sure that that's the problem.

 

[DJ_Lae]

I've been having a weird sleep-related issue with the new PC I built back in January. It's always had some problem, though originally it was waking up when it shouldn't and I disabled devices to the point where only poking the power button should wake it up.

Anyway, I currently have two weird issues:

-When coming out of sleep mode, it'll hang for 10-20 seconds. Sometimes the monitors will flip on prior to this, sometimes not. If they do, I cannot do anything but move the cursor around until it's over, and then everything runs fine until it goes back into sleep mode and the same thing happens again.

-The other issue involves power saving settings on the monitors and maybe is related somehow. Regardless of what I set them to, once they get the signal from my PC to go into standby mode I cannot get them to display anything else. They'll wake up if I jiggle the mouse and come out of standby, but remain blank. The only way out of this is to hit the power button (I have it set to sleep my PC), wait, then power it back on, wait for the 20 second pause until it's usable again and then it works fine.

It's just odd.

 

[dark10x]

So I'm using HideMyAss here in France to access US media but I'm having serious speed problems with certain types of connections.

Basically, if I use HMA T2TP dialer for Windows I connect at a very high speed with plenty of bandwidth for anything I want to do. I'm using a 100 meg pipe as it is and I achieve the expected speeds using this option.

Every OTHER method, however, results in VERY slow performance even when connecting to nearby European servers. In the download test I'm seeing only 120kb/s downloads from the US and ~300kb/s from Euro servers. This includes using the HMA client for Windows, connecting via iPhone or iPad, or configuring a DD-WRT router to connect. All methods work but the performance is too slow.

HMA haven't been able to help me either. :\ I don't know what's up.

 

[show me your skeleton]

since yesterday neither mine, nor my girlfriend's laptops or phones are having much luck with our wifi connection. we can connect to the router absolutely fine & it isn't dropping a signal at all but the actual speed is dreadful, taking a few minutes to load neogaf for example. viewing files on my NAS drive is just as slow now too, so it isn't the service provider.
i have tried resetting the router physically as well as performing a full factory-reset but nothing has improved the situation.
connecting my mac to the router via an ethernet port returns it to full speed.

any idea what can be done? is my router's wifi aerial dying?

 

[fawaz]

steam trouble:

It's been a while since I gamed on my pc so I launched steam and it made my pc unbearably slow, even browsing was a pain and programs would freeze and take minuets to launch.


Usually steam ran super fast. I don't know what changed.

Cpu usage would be at 0 to 4%, memory at 47%, when I launch it.

Cpu: i5 duel core.
Gpu: ati 5850.

It runs flawlessly otherwise.

 

[ambientmystic]

since yesterday neither mine, nor my girlfriend's laptops or phones are having much luck with our wifi connection. we can connect to the router absolutely fine & it isn't dropping a signal at all but the actual speed is dreadful, taking a few minutes to load neogaf for example. viewing files on my NAS drive is just as slow now too, so it isn't the service provider.
i have tried resetting the router physically as well as performing a full factory-reset but nothing has improved the situation.
connecting my mac to the router via an ethernet port returns it to full speed.

any idea what can be done? is my router's wifi aerial dying?

In the advanced settings of your wireless router, try changing the channel used to 1,6, or 11. Do tell if that helps. Channel congestion could be a factor.

Also ensure that you're not having any "parasites" (from the neighbours or any other opportunistic users) on your network, which could be case. When you did a full factory reset, your Wireless access passwork would've been wiped, allowing any tom, dick or harry to enter and congest your network.

In conjunction with the above, ensure that your wireless security is set to WPA2-PSK at the minimum and set a tough passkey.

 

[ambientmystic]

steam trouble:

It's been a while since I gamed on my pc so I launched steam and it made my pc unbearably slow, even browsing was a pain and programs would freeze and take minuets to launch.


Usually steam ran super fast. I don't know what changed.

Cpu usage would be at 0 to 4%, memory at 47%, when I launch it.

Cpu: i5 duel core.
Gpu: ati 5850.

It runs flawlessly otherwise.

Sounds like Steam is doing it's auto updating thingamagick, and since you haven't launched steam in a long while it's clogging your harddrive with activity. Your CPU and Memory usage parameters are within normal range. You didn't point out the HDD activity that occurs, but via process of elimination we can deduce the above.

To know that for sure, before launching Steam again, run Resource Monitor (Start ---> Type in Resource Monitor at the search bar and select it, assuming you're running Windows 7). Click on the Disk Tab, and keep an eye on the disk activity area.

Now launch Steam, and look at the disk activity area again. Especially the highest active time. Also, check out the network tab of the resource monitor to see what steam is downloading into your computer with the update. It could be the cause of your slower browsing.

What do you see?

 

[fawaz]

Sounds like Steam is doing it's auto updating thingamagick, and since you haven't launched steam in a long while it's clogging your harddrive with activity. Your CPU and Memory usage parameters are within normal range. You didn't point out the HDD activity that occurs, but via process of elimination we can deduce the above.

To know that for sure, before launching Steam again, run Resource Monitor (Start ---> Type in Resource Monitor at the search bar and select it, assuming you're running Windows 7). Click on the Disk Tab, and keep an eye on the disk activity area.

Now launch Steam, and look at the disk activity area again. Especially the highest active time. Also, check out the network tab of the resource monitor to see what steam is downloading into your computer with the update. It could be the cause of your slower browsing.

What do you see?

You are correct highest active time jumps from 3% to 100% until I force shut steam.

So do i basically have to wait for it to update?

 

[ambientmystic]

You are correct highest active time jumps from 3% to 100% until I force shut steam.

So do i basically have to wait for it to update?

Unfortunately, yes. You could, in the future, prevent this behaviour by disabling Automatic updates for your games, if you want.

 

[fawaz]

Thank you for the Quick help. We need more people like you.

 

[show me your skeleton]

In the advanced settings of your wireless router, try changing the channel used to 1,6, or 11. Do tell if that helps. Channel congestion could be a factor.

Also ensure that you're not having any "parasites" (from the neighbours or any other opportunistic users) on your network, which could be case. When you did a full factory reset, your Wireless access passwork would've been wiped, allowing any tom, dick or harry to enter and congest your network.

In conjunction with the above, ensure that your wireless security is set to WPA2-PSK at the minimum and set a tough passkey.

thanks for the quick reply, i'll try changing the wifi channel.
i don't think it is congestion as this reduction in speed occurred before i did the factory reset but of course i will double check everything.

 

[wanders]

So a few of my games are having problems on my PC.

Everytime I run them I go straight to the desktop and the "Change Screen Resolution" display pops up as if I just connected a monitor or something.

Happened in Dark Souls, Crysis 2, and DmC4. But Binary Domain worked and whats strange DmC4 worked in non-Direct x 10 mode.

My GPU/CPU temps seem fine. Is my PSU dying?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[fawaz]

Unfortunately, yes. You could, in the future, prevent this behaviour by disabling Automatic updates for your games, if you want.

follow up.

I left steam on for 6+ hours and the problem persists.


Any ideas?

 

[ambientmystic]

follow up.

I left steam on for 6+ hours and the problem persists.


Any ideas?

By problem, you mean the 100% Highest active disk time right?

Okay, not to worry. I need further details before we can proceed:-

1. Do you have a lot of games on Steam? More games not updated = Longer HDD processing time, Steam scans every single game you have for differentials before commencing the updates. If not, could you give a short list that you currently have installed?

(You can find out by going to your Steam folder and looking under the steamapps\common folder by default)

2. How fast is your internet? Again, slow internet = could take ages to scan for and update those games, in addition to point 1. Updates have been known to be in the range of many gigabytes, depending on the game(s) in question.

3. I assume you've got Steam (and subsequently all your Steam games) installed on a single conventional large 7200 RPM Hard Drive, which also shares the same space for all your other applications/Windows which lead to the generalized system slowdown in the 1st place?

4. This may sound irrelevant, but how long has it been since you last defragmented your computer?

Thanks for your patience.

 

[fawaz]

By problem, you mean the 100% Highest active disk time right?

Okay, not to worry. I need further details before we can proceed:-

1. Do you have a lot of games on Steam? More games not updated = Longer HDD processing time, Steam scans every single game you have for differentials before commencing the updates. If not, could you give a short list that you currently have installed?

(You can find out by going to your Steam folder and looking under the steamapps\common folder by default)

2. How fast is your internet? Again, slow internet = could take ages to scan for and update those games, in addition to point 1. Updates have been known to be in the range of many gigabytes, depending on the game(s) in question.

3. I assume you've got Steam (and subsequently all your Steam games) installed on a single conventional large 7200 RPM Hard Drive, which also shares the same space for all your other applications/Windows which lead to the generalized system slowdown in the 1st place?

4. This may sound irrelevant, but how long has it been since you last defragmented your computer?

Thanks for your patience.

Yes, same problem as before.

1- civ v, ARMA 2 + OA, L4D2, Portal 2.
+ 10 more games that are in my account that I haven't downloaded/ installed.

2- Usually I get between 10-15 Mb/s on speedtest.net. I also downloaded a 20 Gb file last week in less than 3 hours.

3- That is correct.

4- I actually never have.

 

[ambientmystic]

Yes, same problem as before.

1- civ v, ARMA 2 + OA, L4D2, Portal 2.
+ 10 more games that are in my account that I haven't downloaded/ installed.

2- Usually I get between 10-15 Mb/s on speedtest.net. I also downloaded a 20 Gb file last week in less than 3 hours.

3- That is correct.

4- I actually never have.

Thanks for replying.

Everything seems to check out fine, those games don't occupy too much space, and are few in number. Your internet speeds are definitely not a bottleneck. All the above, in combination with your stated specs (Core i5, Radeon 5850 and what I assume a good amount of RAM), would leave out one culprit, your hard drive.

There is no logical reason why Steam would take so long and still grind your HDD 6+ hours after commencement. Only other thing I can think off (in terms of hardware), would be extreme fragmentation of the drive. Consider defragmenting the drive if you have the time to spare, it would also help with the general performance of your OS and other apps.

Also, consider running a chkdsk (start--> cmd ---> right click, run in administrator mode --> type in chkdsk /f ) on the drive too. Best done when you have a lot of time to spare as it'd take hours on a large TB drive. Just to be sure that the drive is healthy.

I forgot to ask one more important question, what sort of antivirus/malware solution are you currently using? (McAfee, Norton, MSE, Avast, etc)

Have you tried temporarily disabling your AV solution before starting up Steam and letting it do its thing?

 

[fawaz]

Thanks for replying.

Everything seems to check out fine, those games don't occupy too much space, and are few in number. Your internet speeds are definitely not a bottleneck. All the above, in combination with your stated specs (Core i5, Radeon 5850 and what I assume a good amount of RAM), would leave out one culprit, your hard drive.

There is no logical reason why Steam would take so long and still grind your HDD 6+ hours after commencement. Only other thing I can think off (in terms of hardware), would be extreme fragmentation of the drive. Consider defragmenting the drive if you have the time to spare, it would also help with the general performance of your OS and other apps.

Also, consider running a chkdsk (start--> cmd ---> right click, run in administrator mode --> type in chkdsk /f ) on the drive too. Best done when you have a lot of time to spare as it'd take hours on a large TB drive. Just to be sure that the drive is healthy.

I forgot to ask one more important question, what sort of antivirus/malware solution are you currently using? (McAfee, Norton, MSE, Avast, etc)

Have you tried temporarily disabling your AV solution before starting up Steam and letting it do its thing?

Turned off my antivirus, and let steam run for hours. Nothing.

It also looks like my computer is set to defragment once a week, and I also did it once. Also nothing.

I have 4g ddr3 ram, and a 500gb 7200 rpm hard disc. Also 1Gb gddr5 video memory.

 

[izakq]

I'm having this crazy problem that is driving me insane. At times it seems that the CPU is getting hosed up and then the sounds of mulitple commercials (2-4) are coming through my PC speakers, and will repeat again and again. If I were to shut down the PC and bring it back up again and get to the login screen, the commercials will start playing through the speakers before I even log in.

What have I done so far:

Restore points - Multiple times this was done and nothing.
Set PC back to factory default - It was working for a while, but then the commercials came back.
Ran Norton - nothing found
Ran Spybot - nothing found
Ran Malware - nothing found

What I have noticed:

So bringing up the Task manager, I don't see anything out of the ordinary with processes from all users, but I do see svchost.exe (netsvc) is taking up a big chunk of the CPU. I bring up the Resource Monitor screen, and see that the Network window has high activity. So in the CPU subsection I click on the box next to svchost.exe (netsvc) to view only those images being run in the Network subsection. And holy shit, there are dozens upon dozens of images running from I don't know where. I see multiple IPs, some from spotxchange.com, awsamazon.com, just a bunch of crap. I traced a couple of IPs to which one came from an electric company in California (to which I live in New Mexico). But can't do it for all as the list expands or decrease as different IPs come and go.

If I were to suspend activity as a whole for svchost.exe (netsvc), then the commercials will stop, but then I can't browse. So there's something there, but I can't find anything related that will relieve this. Any suggestions?

 

[ambientmystic]

Problem description.

It looks like your OS's netwoking subsystem has been hijacked (DNS hijacking, plus hosts file hijacking?), and possibly your network devices (router/switch etc) connecting your PC to the internet too. Sounds bizzare but it's definitely possible by some of the more insidious and tenacious types. I wouldn't trust any link in the network chain right now. Assume that it's all been compromised.

You can verify this by booting into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly as your PC boots up and select Safe Mode, do not choose Safe Mode with Networking)

You mention that resetting your PC back to factory defaults (which implies a format/reimaging) only solved the issue for awhile, which means that the problem is further up the chain, and it re-infected your system once again.

Are you the only user of the affected PC, or is it a multi-user PC?

I recommend you immediately take the system off the network A.S.A.P (unplugging the ethernet cable, removing any wireless adapters used to connect the PC to the network).

Do a complete system format, reinstall Windows manually, and keep the system off the network for a grace period of time. Do not reinstall Norton. Use MSE, and keep Malwarebytes Anti Malware and Spybot.

Replace the network gateway (router) and any other network device supplying the internet and ensure the hardware firewalls are set to on. Ensure Wifi networks are secured with WPA2-PSK at a minimum. Buy another one if you have to.

(This is assuming you're in command of the networking setup in your place of residence).

 

[hodgy100]

Wandering if anyone here has any ideas about an issue I'm having with my pc at the moment. Yesterday my PC completely locked up while i was using my pc (only browsing neogaf at the time) apart from the mouse which could still be moved freely, I could open task manager or do anything with the system, so i left it for a while hoping it may resolve itself, I came back after half an hour and the issue was still present so I forced a restart of my pc (held the power button for 5 seconds)

Windows then entered a boot loop, with any attempts of auto repairing also failing. So it seems forcing a restart has corrupted something important, I then went about re-installing windows. windows re-installed fine and i booted up and began re-installing programs i use and getting my files out of windows.old.

After some more time i started getting the system hangs that i described earlier again, It seems related to my drive (Sandisk SSD) as i installed windows on my secondary drive and everything runs fine so far. SMART says my SSD is fine. The only idea i have is to completely format my SSD and start from scratch. Just wandering if anyone here has alternate ideas?

 

[izakq]

It looks like your OS's netwoking subsystem has been hijacked (DNS hijacking, plus hosts file hijacking?), and possibly your network devices (router/switch etc) connecting your PC to the internet too. Sounds bizzare but it's definitely possible by some of the more insidious and tenacious types. I wouldn't trust any link in the network chain right now. Assume that it's all been compromised.

You can verify this by booting into Safe Mode (hit F8 repeatedly as your PC boots up and select Safe Mode, do not choose Safe Mode with Networking)

You mention that resetting your PC back to factory defaults (which implies a format/reimaging) only solved the issue for awhile, which means that the problem is further up the chain, and it re-infected your system once again.

Are you the only user of the affected PC, or is it a multi-user PC?

I recommend you immediately take the system off the network A.S.A.P (unplugging the ethernet cable, removing any wireless adapters used to connect the PC to the network).

Do a complete system format, reinstall Windows manually, and keep the system off the network for a grace period of time. Do not reinstall Norton. Use MSE, and keep Malwarebytes Anti Malware and Spybot.

Replace the network gateway (router) and any other network device supplying the internet and ensure the hardware firewalls are set to on. Ensure Wifi networks are secured with WPA2-PSK at a minimum. Buy another one if you have to.

(This is assuming you're in command of the networking setup in your place of residence).

So it sounds like you're saying that the router itself could be the culprit here? Setting the router back to factory settings wouldn't help? Well, I do need to get a new router anyway, so I guess this is a good time as any to get one. Thanks for the tips ambientmystic, I'll give them a try.

 

[misterF]

Hi guys, need your help with a problem I've encountered a few times. I've been playing Deus Ex HR and sometimes the screen would get corrupted (usually the a random color and horizontal lines) and there would be a loud "beeep" noise coming from the PC. It's weird because I can play other more demanding games such as Far Cry 3, modded Skyrim and Battlefield 3 without experiencing something like this.

Here are my specs :

-i5-2500k CPU
-8GB RAM (Kingston)
-Radeon HD7850

I'm thinking it must be a video card issue but wouldn't this happen with the other games?
Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[Robso]

Just a minor question. Is it as simple as plugging in my PC to my monitor via VGA and another cable from my PC to my HDTV via DVI so I can display one source via one and another on the other?

This is possible, right?

Thanks.

 

[ambientmystic]

Just a minor question. Is it as simple as plugging in my PC to my monitor via VGA and another cable from my PC to my HDTV via DVI so I can display one source via one and another on the other?

This is possible, right?

Thanks.

Yep. You should be able to either clone or extend your current desktop to two displays, more if your card supports Eyefinity(AMD/ATI) or up to 3 with NVIDIA's cards.

 

[arit]

Why didn't I backup? Why? At night, the pc suddenly started to freeze and crash hard.
Now the 2GB Seagate Barracuda Green only tries to spin up slowly for 3 seconds on startup and then remains silent. At least uni projects are synched.

I could try freezing, at least that helped 5 years ago when my laptop drive died *sigh*

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Pc gaf:

I'm trying to replay Bioshock on win 7, but are experiencing sound trouble. The stero mix enable trick that shows up in every google search doesn't work. Stero mixer does not show up.

I use standard mb sound drivers.

Any tip?

 

[show me your skeleton]

okay, got another one:
bought a PS3 a few days ago and had it connected to my NAS drive, via my old router, and it worked brilliantly streaming anything i wanted.
i just changed my router and whilst it can connect to the internet and do all that, it no longer sees the NAS drive. searching for a media server via the PS3 doesn't work. is there something i'm missing, perhaps a setting on the new router?

everything is hard-wired by the way.

thanks!

 

[ambientmystic]

Pc gaf:

I'm trying to replay Bioshock on win 7, but are experiencing sound trouble. The stero mix enable trick that shows up in every google search doesn't work. Stero mixer does not show up.

I use standard mb sound drivers.

Any tip?

Did changing the compatibility or plugging in a mic do anything for you?

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Did changing the compatibility or plugging in a mic do anything for you?

Had to change it to Vista comp to even get the game started. Now I have sound in intro, then silence .. will try the mic thing.

 

[ambientmystic]

Had to change it to Vista comp to even get the game started. Now I have sound in intro, then silence .. will try the mic thing.

I had the exact same issue ingame (with the sound cutting out after the intro) until I enabled my built-in microphone on my laptop (manually disabled ages ago).

 

[Ken]

Turned on my laptop today and it had a bunch of green squares and stripes through everything and didn't get to the log in screen before shutting down and restarting. This probably isn't something I can fix without opening up the laptop right?

 

[ambientmystic]

Turned on my laptop today and it had a bunch of green squares and stripes through everything and didn't get to the log in screen before shutting down and restarting. This probably isn't something I can fix without opening up the laptop right?

Your laptop's GPU is definitely on it's way out. Overheating is the most likely culprit. Send it back for a GPU/MB replacement if it's still under warranty, detach the internal HDD first if you have privacy concerns.

 

[Ken]

Your laptop's GPU is definitely on it's way out. Overheating is the most likely culprit. Send it back for a GPU/MB replacement if it's still under warranty, detach the internal HDD first if you have privacy concerns.

Thanks. I shot the reseller an email to see what my options were. I'm not sure how to remove the internal HDD. It's a Sager NP8150 if that helps any.

 

[ambientmystic]

Thanks. I shot the reseller an email to see what my options were. I'm not sure how to remove the internal HDD. It's a Sager NP8150 if that helps any.

Ah, a gaming laptop. That should definitely make it easier, considering they often use a single bottom backplate/cover that can be removed to reveal the entire laptop's innards when flipped over on it's back.

(I had a Rock branded Clevo/Sager gaming machine I purchased in the U.K. many years ago)

Do you have a set of small Phillip head screwdrivers? That's probably all you'd need for this operation. Having your laptop's service manual at the ready should also be very helpful.

If you you don't, get a PC savvy mate to help you out, it's not a very delicate operation as compared to say, replacing the thermal paste/pads on your CPU for example.

 

[LogicStep]

Guys, I recently bought the Astro A40s. They work wonderful on my consoles. I plugged them up to my pc through the optical out from my computers motherboard. It sounds fine, I get the surround sound when I tried it on a game. But now the sound just cuts off a little bit after I turn them on. I turn them off and back on and they work, I get sound. But seconds later it cuts off. What's going on?

My motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128366

I have come to the conclusion that the mixamp is not getting enough power from the computer. I plugged it in to a usb wall plug thing and I didn't have any issues with the sound cutting off, but I couldn't use the mic to chat. I had to plug it in through usb to be able to talk. Unless I can make it use the voice through optical, I don't know how though. And I selected the optical for recording and nothing.

Can anyone help me?

Edit: I just found the solution. Just change the power cable. A usb to mini usb cable, like the ps3 one, will do.

http://forums.astrogaming.com/showthread.php?36602-Astro-a40-2013-sound-cutting-out-issue

 

[Ken]

Anyone have an idea as to why my MBP can't paste (but can copy) to my WD external hard drives but can to one of my USB sticks?

 

[Origami Superman]

Hey tech gaf.

I'm currently running 32-bit windows 8 and am wanting to run instead 64-bit Win 8. So have done some research, and it looks like there's no simple upgrade option, I'll have to back everything up and do a clean reinstall. But my question is, if I make a system image from my 32-bit version, can that be restored by my 64-bit installation. Or will it just be a case of having to reinstall everything manually?


Thanks in advance

 

[Garou]

Anyone have an idea as to why my MBP can't paste (but can copy) to my WD external hard drives but can to one of my USB sticks?

The harddisk is most likely NTFS-formatted which MacOS can't write. If you're using an external drive with Macs and Windows-machines, I suggest formatting it as exFat.

 

[ambientmystic]

Hey tech gaf.

I'm currently running 32-bit windows 8 and am wanting to run instead 64-bit Win 8. So have done some research, and it looks like there's no simple upgrade option, I'll have to back everything up and do a clean reinstall. But my question is, if I make a system image from my 32-bit version, can that be restored by my 64-bit installation. Or will it just be a case of having to reinstall everything manually?

You'll have to reinstall everything manually. On ther other hand a system image from a 64 bit version can be restored by a 64 bit installation. No crossing the streams here.

 

[Combichristoffersen]

What's the best software for converting and burning videos (.flv and .mp4) to DVD? Preferrably free software.

 

[Ken]

The harddisk is most likely NTFS-formatted which MacOS can't write. If you're using an external drive with Macs and Windows-machines, I suggest formatting it as exFat.

Are media players able to read exFAT?

 

[BrokenEchelon]

My oldest external hard drive has just failed, or rather, I'm seeing this:

I'm having a terrible time finding a hard drive recovery tool that actually lists it (It's FAT32), and when I tried running HDD Regenerator it told me that the drive has a corrupted Master Boot Record. All of the MBR fixes I've found pertain to fixing the primary drive and not an external one, and I'm not even sure that this is my primary problem.

I've got it plugged into my laptop now, and am running "gparted" I've tried "attempt data rescue", it claims to find data, but when I try to view it I get another error.

Any advice?

 

[mxgt]

My oldest external hard drive has just failed, or rather, I'm seeing this:

I'm having a terrible time finding a hard drive recovery tool that actually lists it (It's FAT32), and when I tried running HDD Regenerator it told me that the drive has a corrupted Master Boot Record. All of the MBR fixes I've found pertain to fixing the primary drive and not an external one, and I'm not even sure that this is my primary problem.

I've got it plugged into my laptop now, and am running "gparted" I've tried "attempt data rescue", it claims to find data, but when I try to view it I get another error.

Any advice?

I've had a lot of success using this Partition Find and Mount software to recover data from failed drives that are the state you're seeing.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

I've had a lot of success using this Partition Find and Mount software to recover data from failed drives that are the state you're seeing.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a shot now.

UPDATE: "Find and Mount" seems to have done the trick. I'm looking through now to check and am going to back the files up elsewhere posthaste. Thanks again for the help!

 

[weekend_warrior]

Windows 7 question-

I just reformatted my laptop, installed waterfox, and pinned it to the taskbar. However, when I launch waterfox a new icon launches besides the pinned one, which it used to not do, this bothers me. What's going on?

 

[ambientmystic]

Windows 7 question-

I just reformatted my laptop, installed waterfox, and pinned it to the taskbar. However, when I launch waterfox a new icon launches besides the pinned one, which it used to not do, this bothers me. What's going on?

What happens when you pin the new icon? Does it make yet another one?

 

[Takao]

So my Windows 7 laptop froze forcing me to do a hard reset by pressing the power button. When I booted it up I was greeted with Startup Repair telling me my registry is corrupt. My computer has a recovery partition but when I use the manager it hangs at 99%.

 

[ambientmystic]

So my Windows 7 laptop froze forcing me to do a hard reset by pressing the power button. When I booted it up I was greeted with Startup Repair telling me my registry is corrupt. My computer has a recovery partition but when I use the manager it hangs at 99%.

Got another PC and an external HDD enclosure to spare? Back that data up ASAP before you decide what to do with your laptop next. It could be the prelude to something worse. (HDD failure etc.)