Computer Geeks Unite! And farging help me!

Started by Sgt PSN, November 03, 2006, 08:52:10 PM

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Munson

I don't think he has an XBox, but considering his jonesing for an MMO game in No Hippos and the fact that he could get a decent XBox for $250, he'd be better off buying the XBox then an iPod if he can use it for that.

But I think he's going to tell us both to farg off for suggesting these things.
Quote from: ice grillin you on April 01, 2008, 05:10:48 PM
perhaps you could explain sd's reasons for "disliking" it as well since you seem to be so in tune with other peoples minds

Diomedes

I got a replacement Blu Ray drive for my PS3...so I should be back in business on the video game front soon.  The XBox idea is interesting, thanks.  I think it would use a lot more electricity than an mp3 player with a massive amount of storage thoush, so I'll probably just get an ipod. 

Thanks guys.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

charlie

Quote from: Diomedes on December 24, 2011, 07:57:45 PM
Need a little help here: 

I've been living without music in my house since my last laptop shat the bed.  I ran it through some speakers that were just good enough to keep me from hauling out my stereo components and speakers from the basement.

Now I've done that and I'm very glad to have real sound again.  I can't believe I waited this long. 

I have my CD collection still, which is a nice one, but it doesn't nearly match what I've got on an external hard drive.  Somewhere in the range of 80 gigs of music. 

How can I push that through my stereo?  Can it be done without running a computer, or is there a device made specifically for this?  Are there MP3 players that will draw from an external drive for playback?

if you're not worried about portability. then go with either apple tv or the apple airport express and then run itunes and you can stream from your laptop. the apple airport express is the better option for sound unless your stereo has digital audio input.

Diomedes

I don't have any Apple products, so that won't help me, but thank you.
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists." - Yosemite Park Ranger

Sgt PSN

#649
The dvd/cd drives on my desktop went kaput.  The main drive (E:) still functions in the sense that the computer recognizes it and the tray will eject and retract but it doesn't read the disk.  Drivers and everything are up to date.  The secondary drive (F:) isn't even recognized by the computer.  No power goes to it (won't open or close when hitting the eject button) and it's no longer listed with the other drives under My Computer.

Also, the media card slots for SD cards and such don't seem to be working either.  Power is going to them and they light up if I insert a card, but they don't read the cards and basically it ends up freezing my system.     

Any thoughts or suggestions? 

PhillyPhanInDC

Sounds like it could the motherboard going. Are you comfortable opening the machine up to move some cables around?

You said when you insert flash cards, the system locks up - do you mean it blue screens, or just hangs? What happens if you take the cards out?

Also, do you have a thumb drive you can put into a USB port to verify that is working?
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.""  R.I.P George.

Sgt PSN

No, it just hangs up and I have to alt ctrl delete out of the windows explorer window.  All of the USB ports work fine...I've got wireless keyboard/mouse adapter plugged in, magic jack, printer and an external hard drive all plugged in with no problems.  But when I plug in an external SD card reader to a USB port I still get the same problem....freezes up my windows explorer and forces me to alt ctrl delete out of it. 


PhillyPhanInDC

I could be drivers......perhaps for the storage controller. It's odd that both drives are kaput, with one showing no signs of life. Based on that I think the motherboard might be flaking out.

Is it an HP?
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.""  R.I.P George.

Sgt PSN

Yeah, HP Pavillion a1330n.

I don't think it's the drivers.  I checked for updates and it's saying they are up to date and working properly.  Should I try  rolling back the driver to the previously installed driver?   

PhillyPhanInDC

If it's an HP, it's almost certainly the motherboard.
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.""  R.I.P George.

Sgt PSN

Better to replace or just scrap the whole thing and buy new?  Overall it's been a great computer and I've got XP which I'd prefer to keep.  Obviously buying new will force me into Windows 7 which I don't know much about. 

General_Failure

It basically is XP with a nice coat of paint.

The man. The myth. The legend.

Sgt PSN

Ok, so that doesn't sound horrible like Vista. 

Couple questions:

How hard is it to swap out a motherboard?  I'm assuming it takes a little more skill than just snapping in a new memory stick, right? 

Can I replace the motherboard and still keep the rest of my internal components the same or would I basically be building a new computer for scratch and buying a lot of new hardware to go with it? 


General_Failure

It isn't terribly difficult, but you can fry it real quick if you screw it up. You might as well buy new.

The man. The myth. The legend.

PhillyPhanInDC

Sarge,
There are a lot of things you can do to troubleshoot the problem, but they are probably going to be a little more involved then you might want to get into.

To start, I'd first remove the side panel, with the power disconnected, and swap the power and SATA connections on the back of the DVD/CD drives. See if the one that's dead powers up, opens/closes, etc, and the one that is currently functioning ceases. That would point to a bad power supply possibly, which have been spotty on HPs. If there is no change, it's not power related, and you just have a dead drive.

This would start a process of eliminating variables until you isolate the problem.

I wouldn't advise swapping the motherboard. A replacement will be damn close to a new PC anyway, and if you aren't a computer guy can be a bit of a crap shoot. Troubleshooting the thing and trying to diagnose and repair it might be more work than it is worth. Since you probably already have the monitor, keyboard, etc., getting into a decent Dell desktop would only cost a few bills.
"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that some time, somewhere, someone said to themselves, "You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I'm just not close enough to get the job done.""  R.I.P George.