Computer questions - Page 55

Nebulous · December 13th, 2007, 11:40 PM

Cheers Tim. I'll try get onto it tomorrow when I have the time available. Damn December...

pipsqeek · December 14th, 2007, 01:59 AM

The Ultimate Boot CD has drive tools for each manufacturer. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

Keep the HDD on rather than turn it off. Trust me. HDD's that stay on outlast ones that get turned off and on all the time. Back up your data to an external HDD or equal or greater size.

I use a Linux tool called dd from the command line. Simple and clones HDD's byte for byte.

Not sure what HDD cloning tools there are for Windows.

Good luck
pips

bsercombe · December 14th, 2007, 02:58 AM

dd is on knoppix so you could (download and burn) a knoppix disk, boot with it and clone your HDD, then plug in the cloned HDD and do a diskcheck under windoze.

pipsqeek · December 14th, 2007, 07:23 PM

dd is on every linux distro, it's a standard command line tool. Which is why I didn't specify a particular distribution.

Winmar · December 21st, 2007, 01:43 AM

If I was to buy a new computer, would I be better off going through someone like Dell, or a smaller local retailer?

bsercombe · December 21st, 2007, 02:13 AM

Depends- the key thing you get from the "big brands" is a lengthier warranty period. Make no mistake, you often pay for it too. So if you go for your local retailer you will likely get a cheaper machine upfront but only a 12 month warranty. If you go for the Dells/IBMs/HPs of this world you can get 3 or even 5 years warranty.

If you're computer savvy and able to diagnose / install / repair yourself then you might consider the cheaper option. If anything goes wrong you can fix it yourself. This does not tend to hold true for laptops- you generally want to get a good long warranty with those.

If you're buying a desktop (which I assume is the case from what you wrote) going with a name brand might make it harder to upgrade more than the simple components later on. I'm thinking motherboard/power supply specifically here as a lot of those machines have non-standard gear. So if the Mb fails out of warranty you can keep the RAM, CPU and drives but have to chuck the rest becasue it will be hard to get a replacement Mb or PSU that fits in the case (unless you can get one 2nd hand). Lately upgrading the PSU has been necessry to deal with ever-power-hungrier graphics cards.

The other thing I notice is that the Dells, HPs and IBMs of this world at the moment do not have offerings which include the latest CPUs. If you want a dual core the fastest you can get from them is often 2.4Ghz. If you go to a small shop or build yourself you can get 3.3 Ghz now. It'll cost 'ya though!

Lord Tim · December 21st, 2007, 02:46 AM

Also too, they give you "recovery" disks rather than proper installations of XP or Vista. They come pre-loaded with heaps of junk and they are absolutely NOT recommended for any audio or video work if you plan to do that kind of thing.

Cooee · December 21st, 2007, 03:09 AM

You guys jinxed my linux box. The HDD corrupted itself and now when I run fsck every 8th sector is showing as corrupt. GRRR.

It puts itself into read only mode and if I try and put it back into rw and do anything (i.e. create a directory) it complains and puts itself back into ro.

Gotta love those DeskStar HDD's eh?

bsercombe · December 21st, 2007, 04:49 AM

We did this how?

bsercombe · December 21st, 2007, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lord Tim

Also too, they give you "recovery" disks rather than proper installations of XP or Vista. They come pre-loaded with heaps of junk and they are absolutely NOT recommended for any audio or video work if you plan to do that kind of thing.

Don't they EVER!! I spend about 1/2 hour these days uninstalling all the crap and disabling services and software I don't want running. You still don't get ALL of it off. Lenovo in their infinite wisdom have installed a "Browser helper object" onto all their images which makes IE7 check a stack of folders- delaying every tab or browser open by OVER 10 seconds.

@$%@ #%@#$%# @%^@ #$%^ 800Mb of Office 2007 "Trial Edition" << WTF?
!#$!#$!@ @#$#@$$# @#$@!#$@ @$$# Symantec Security Suite "Trial Edition" << Massive resource hog
And WTF is it with installing all the Bluetooth system drivers and software when the F***ING LAPTOP DOES NOT HAVE F***ING BLUETOOTH!!!

Cooee · December 21st, 2007, 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsercombe

We did this how?

I was just poking a little fun, however I guess it didn't come across well.

Just that my HDD / filesystem died as such things were being discussed here.

Winmar · December 22nd, 2007, 12:57 AM

Thanks for your responses, fellas. It is a desktop I'm after; I won't be doing a heap of video work, but one of the reasons I want to upgrade is to edit all my holiday videos (currently on mini DV) and put them onto dvds. I've got an XP OEM disk that came with this computer, which I'm likely to put on the new one. I could do without them loading heaps of shit onto a new PC, for I'm going to try to minimise all the crap on it this time round. Hmmm I'm certainly leaning towards buying from a shop around the city somewhere.

Rick · December 22nd, 2007, 01:24 AM

I'd personally get it custom made.

in_absentia · January 3rd, 2008, 05:03 AM

Everytime i watch a video on the net, or use last.fm radio, my internt disconnects. Does anyone know why that might be and how i can fix it? Btw i use Windows XP Home ed. 32 bit, IE browser (the version before the latest one) and i have Telstra Broadband

Nam Taf · January 5th, 2008, 07:03 PM

What happens if you download a large file of files.bigpond.com ?

If it does disconnect, it sounsd like the download is saturating your line and stopping anything else (like, the stuff that says 'i'm still connected!') from getting through.

sadisticsatyr · January 6th, 2008, 11:19 PM

It may also be firmware on your modem. I had an issue once where downloads would get to 99% and never complete (regardless of source or size)....reverteed to old firmware and all was good

Winmar · January 11th, 2008, 09:54 PM

I installed Windows Media Player 11 recently, and when I play video files the audio plays but no video shows. What might I need to do to fix this?

Rick · January 11th, 2008, 10:00 PM

You probably need to re-install / install the codecs that a particular type of file requires... I.e. a DVD decoder, or DIVX etc.

Winmar · January 11th, 2008, 10:20 PM

Hmmmm I just installed Cyberlink PowerDVD (I recently formatted my hard drive and am just putting stuff back on now) and the video doesn't show up on that either! What's the best way to find out which codecs are needed, and what's the best place to find them?

Rick · January 11th, 2008, 10:45 PM

Is there a message on WMP actually saying "codec needed" or "required" or something a long those lines when you play a video file? Because if not, it may be a graphics problem rather than a codec one.

Winmar · January 11th, 2008, 11:10 PM

No there isn't actually. Would the graphics card driver need to be reinstalled? According to the invoice I got when I bought the computer it's an "ATI-SAPPHIRE R9250 128M 64bit TVO/DVI". I went to this site to look for drivers: http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/support/drivers.php. However, when I select the 9250 it tells me to "select the appropriate driver from the (baffling) list below". I've got no idea which one.

Just thinking, I first installed Media Player 11 before I formatted my hard drive, and video didn't play then either. It did through other programs though....

Rick · January 11th, 2008, 11:57 PM

Did you format the HDD with the operating system on it? And all your drivers? Or did you just format a non-OS drive? If you formatted the OS drive, you need to install things like GPU drivers, direct x and stuff like that. BTW, i believe that you want to install the Catalyst drivers from that list.

Winmar · January 12th, 2008, 04:10 AM

I formatted the OS drive. I wanted to get rid of everything and start afresh, the obvious downside being trying to reinstall everything! Thanks for the Catalyst tip - I installed that and PowerDVD's now working. Media Player isn't though, so it must need something else......it's a bit weird, as the previous version was fine.

How would I find out what GPU drivers I need?

Apologies for all the questions - it's the first time I've done it, so I'm learning as I go.

BurningCreation · January 12th, 2008, 05:24 AM

I recommend installing VLC. See if the video works with that. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Rick · January 12th, 2008, 05:48 AM

The Catalyst drivers cover GPU (by which i basically meany graphics card). VLC is a good idea, it's all i use now becuase it doesn't check that my dvd drive has been locked out of regions. As long as you have up to date catalyst drivers and Direct X, i don't see why WMP is being an arse.

December 13th, 2007, 11:40 PM	#1351 (permalink)
Nebulous Daniel Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Brookfield, VIC, Australia Posts: 7,140	Cheers Tim. I'll try get onto it tomorrow when I have the time available. Damn December... __________________

December 14th, 2007, 01:59 AM	#1352 (permalink)
pipsqeek Musical Delinquent Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 2,106	The Ultimate Boot CD has drive tools for each manufacturer. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ Keep the HDD on rather than turn it off. Trust me. HDD's that stay on outlast ones that get turned off and on all the time. Back up your data to an external HDD or equal or greater size. I use a Linux tool called dd from the command line. Simple and clones HDD's byte for byte. Not sure what HDD cloning tools there are for Windows. Good luck pips __________________ Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s - http://www.venganza.org/

December 14th, 2007, 02:58 AM	#1353 (permalink)
bsercombe Swollen Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 2,553	dd is on knoppix so you could (download and burn) a knoppix disk, boot with it and clone your HDD, then plug in the cloned HDD and do a diskcheck under windoze. __________________ I rag myself to my feet an take what's rightly mine...

December 14th, 2007, 07:23 PM	#1354 (permalink)
pipsqeek Musical Delinquent Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 2,106	dd is on every linux distro, it's a standard command line tool. Which is why I didn't specify a particular distribution. __________________ Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking numbers of Pirates since the 1800s - http://www.venganza.org/

December 21st, 2007, 01:43 AM	#1355 (permalink)
Winmar Pillock of society Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 10,731	If I was to buy a new computer, would I be better off going through someone like Dell, or a smaller local retailer? __________________

December 21st, 2007, 02:13 AM	#1356 (permalink)
bsercombe Swollen Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 2,553	Depends- the key thing you get from the "big brands" is a lengthier warranty period. Make no mistake, you often pay for it too. So if you go for your local retailer you will likely get a cheaper machine upfront but only a 12 month warranty. If you go for the Dells/IBMs/HPs of this world you can get 3 or even 5 years warranty. If you're computer savvy and able to diagnose / install / repair yourself then you might consider the cheaper option. If anything goes wrong you can fix it yourself. This does not tend to hold true for laptops- you generally want to get a good long warranty with those. If you're buying a desktop (which I assume is the case from what you wrote) going with a name brand might make it harder to upgrade more than the simple components later on. I'm thinking motherboard/power supply specifically here as a lot of those machines have non-standard gear. So if the Mb fails out of warranty you can keep the RAM, CPU and drives but have to chuck the rest becasue it will be hard to get a replacement Mb or PSU that fits in the case (unless you can get one 2nd hand). Lately upgrading the PSU has been necessry to deal with ever-power-hungrier graphics cards. The other thing I notice is that the Dells, HPs and IBMs of this world at the moment do not have offerings which include the latest CPUs. If you want a dual core the fastest you can get from them is often 2.4Ghz. If you go to a small shop or build yourself you can get 3.3 Ghz now. It'll cost 'ya though! __________________ I rag myself to my feet an take what's rightly mine...

December 21st, 2007, 02:46 AM	#1357 (permalink)
Lord Tim Pitch the banner black Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Wollongong, Australia Posts: 17,264	Also too, they give you "recovery" disks rather than proper installations of XP or Vista. They come pre-loaded with heaps of junk and they are absolutely NOT recommended for any audio or video work if you plan to do that kind of thing. __________________ LORD: website . UM forum . MySpace .Facebook . YouTube NEW ALBUM "DIGITAL LIES" OUT NOW! I don't ever want to be Someone else untrue to me Just a parody And be a 2D person in a 3D world

December 21st, 2007, 03:09 AM	#1358 (permalink)
Cooee Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 360	You guys jinxed my linux box. The HDD corrupted itself and now when I run fsck every 8th sector is showing as corrupt. GRRR. It puts itself into read only mode and if I try and put it back into rw and do anything (i.e. create a directory) it complains and puts itself back into ro. Gotta love those DeskStar HDD's eh? __________________ -

December 21st, 2007, 04:49 AM	#1359 (permalink)
bsercombe Swollen Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Perth, WA Posts: 2,553	We did this how? __________________ I rag myself to my feet an take what's rightly mine...

December 22nd, 2007, 12:57 AM	#1362 (permalink)
Winmar Pillock of society Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 10,731	Thanks for your responses, fellas. It is a desktop I'm after; I won't be doing a heap of video work, but one of the reasons I want to upgrade is to edit all my holiday videos (currently on mini DV) and put them onto dvds. I've got an XP OEM disk that came with this computer, which I'm likely to put on the new one. I could do without them loading heaps of shit onto a new PC, for I'm going to try to minimise all the crap on it this time round. Hmmm I'm certainly leaning towards buying from a shop around the city somewhere. __________________

December 22nd, 2007, 01:24 AM	#1363 (permalink)
Rick Senior User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wagga, Australia............ Posts: 6,044	I'd personally get it custom made. __________________ "I woke up one morning and remembered i'd done a particular task the night before. This was vivid, real, a compelling recollection. I proceeded to continue in this task, where i imagined i'd left off. To my surprise, i hadn't even attempted, let alone undertaken, this particular remembered task. It came crashing back to me, and it was apparent, suddenly, that i had invented the recollection. What was real? Memory is not the reliable source people think it."

January 3rd, 2008, 05:03 AM	#1364 (permalink)
in_absentia Aurora Borealis Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: At The Mountains Of Madness Posts: 4,085	Everytime i watch a video on the net, or use last.fm radio, my internt disconnects. Does anyone know why that might be and how i can fix it? Btw i use Windows XP Home ed. 32 bit, IE browser (the version before the latest one) and i have Telstra Broadband __________________ Come hither in thy hour of strength; Come, weak as is a breaking wave! Here stretch thy body at full length; Or build thy house upon this grave. -Wordsworth www.last.fm/user/in_absentia www.in-absentia.deviantart.com Last edited by in_absentia : January 3rd, 2008 at 06:27 AM.

January 5th, 2008, 07:03 PM	#1365 (permalink)
Nam Taf Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Brisvegas, Australia Posts: 212	What happens if you download a large file of files.bigpond.com ? If it does disconnect, it sounsd like the download is saturating your line and stopping anything else (like, the stuff that says 'i'm still connected!') from getting through.

January 6th, 2008, 11:19 PM	#1366 (permalink)
sadisticsatyr Young Apprentice Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Campbelltown Brah Posts: 1,617	It may also be firmware on your modem. I had an issue once where downloads would get to 99% and never complete (regardless of source or size)....reverteed to old firmware and all was good __________________ The sleeper has awakened!

January 11th, 2008, 09:54 PM	#1367 (permalink)
Winmar Pillock of society Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 10,731	I installed Windows Media Player 11 recently, and when I play video files the audio plays but no video shows. What might I need to do to fix this? __________________

January 11th, 2008, 10:00 PM	#1368 (permalink)
Rick Senior User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wagga, Australia............ Posts: 6,044	You probably need to re-install / install the codecs that a particular type of file requires... I.e. a DVD decoder, or DIVX etc. __________________ "I woke up one morning and remembered i'd done a particular task the night before. This was vivid, real, a compelling recollection. I proceeded to continue in this task, where i imagined i'd left off. To my surprise, i hadn't even attempted, let alone undertaken, this particular remembered task. It came crashing back to me, and it was apparent, suddenly, that i had invented the recollection. What was real? Memory is not the reliable source people think it."

January 11th, 2008, 10:20 PM	#1369 (permalink)
Winmar Pillock of society Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 10,731	Hmmmm I just installed Cyberlink PowerDVD (I recently formatted my hard drive and am just putting stuff back on now) and the video doesn't show up on that either! What's the best way to find out which codecs are needed, and what's the best place to find them? __________________

January 11th, 2008, 10:45 PM	#1370 (permalink)
Rick Senior User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wagga, Australia............ Posts: 6,044	Is there a message on WMP actually saying "codec needed" or "required" or something a long those lines when you play a video file? Because if not, it may be a graphics problem rather than a codec one. __________________ "I woke up one morning and remembered i'd done a particular task the night before. This was vivid, real, a compelling recollection. I proceeded to continue in this task, where i imagined i'd left off. To my surprise, i hadn't even attempted, let alone undertaken, this particular remembered task. It came crashing back to me, and it was apparent, suddenly, that i had invented the recollection. What was real? Memory is not the reliable source people think it."

January 11th, 2008, 11:10 PM	#1371 (permalink)
Winmar Pillock of society Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 10,731	No there isn't actually. Would the graphics card driver need to be reinstalled? According to the invoice I got when I bought the computer it's an "ATI-SAPPHIRE R9250 128M 64bit TVO/DVI". I went to this site to look for drivers: http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/support/drivers.php. However, when I select the 9250 it tells me to "select the appropriate driver from the (baffling) list below". I've got no idea which one. Just thinking, I first installed Media Player 11 before I formatted my hard drive, and video didn't play then either. It did through other programs though.... __________________

January 11th, 2008, 11:57 PM	#1372 (permalink)
Rick Senior User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wagga, Australia............ Posts: 6,044	Did you format the HDD with the operating system on it? And all your drivers? Or did you just format a non-OS drive? If you formatted the OS drive, you need to install things like GPU drivers, direct x and stuff like that. BTW, i believe that you want to install the Catalyst drivers from that list. __________________ "I woke up one morning and remembered i'd done a particular task the night before. This was vivid, real, a compelling recollection. I proceeded to continue in this task, where i imagined i'd left off. To my surprise, i hadn't even attempted, let alone undertaken, this particular remembered task. It came crashing back to me, and it was apparent, suddenly, that i had invented the recollection. What was real? Memory is not the reliable source people think it." Last edited by Rick : January 11th, 2008 at 11:59 PM.

January 12th, 2008, 04:10 AM	#1373 (permalink)
Winmar Pillock of society Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Melbourne Posts: 10,731	I formatted the OS drive. I wanted to get rid of everything and start afresh, the obvious downside being trying to reinstall everything! Thanks for the Catalyst tip - I installed that and PowerDVD's now working. Media Player isn't though, so it must need something else......it's a bit weird, as the previous version was fine. How would I find out what GPU drivers I need? Apologies for all the questions - it's the first time I've done it, so I'm learning as I go. __________________

January 12th, 2008, 05:24 AM	#1374 (permalink)
BurningCreation Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Ballarat, Australia. Posts: 522	I recommend installing VLC. See if the video works with that. http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ __________________

January 12th, 2008, 05:48 AM	#1375 (permalink)
Rick Senior User Join Date: May 2003 Location: Wagga, Australia............ Posts: 6,044	The Catalyst drivers cover GPU (by which i basically meany graphics card). VLC is a good idea, it's all i use now becuase it doesn't check that my dvd drive has been locked out of regions. As long as you have up to date catalyst drivers and Direct X, i don't see why WMP is being an arse. __________________ "I woke up one morning and remembered i'd done a particular task the night before. This was vivid, real, a compelling recollection. I proceeded to continue in this task, where i imagined i'd left off. To my surprise, i hadn't even attempted, let alone undertaken, this particular remembered task. It came crashing back to me, and it was apparent, suddenly, that i had invented the recollection. What was real? Memory is not the reliable source people think it."