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The Tech Help Thread

Discussion in 'Technical Board' started by rei, Oct 19, 2009.

  1. rei

    rei
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    Should probably be moved to permanent threads


    Post any rather complex technical problems (the kind google wont get you out of easily) and we'll do our best to help



    Some random pointers:

    IE is likely not the best browser to be using.
    Google Chrome ( http://www.google.com/chrome ) and Mozilla Firefox ( http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/firefox.html ) are excellent alternatives.

    For Antirvirus the best bet if you're paying is either Nod32 ( http://www.eset.com/ ) or Kaspersky Labs ( http://www.kaspersky.com/ ), both feature almost identical detection rates though I personally prefer Nod32's interface and resource usage

    If you're looking for a free antivirus, while AVG tends to get reccomended a lot, it is not as feature complete as Avast ( http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html ) or Avira Antivir ( http://www.free-av.com/ ). Avast is far better on system resource usage, and both offer otherwise similar detection and removal rates

    http://www.ccleaner.com/ ccleaner is a good advanced registry removal tool, and HiJackThis (http://free.antivirus.com/hijackthis/) is an excellent way to help diagnose spyware issues.
     
  2. DrinksOnTheHouse

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    I just built a new computer and acquired a release copy of Win 7 home premium that I put on it. I have less then 2 weeks to activate it. Any advice?
     
  3. $100T2

    $100T2
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    I want to set up a 1TB or larger separate hard drive, and make it accessible to my wireless laptop and my hardwired desktop. I also want to be able to print on one printer from both computers. I've been told to get a small home server.

    Is that right?
     
  4. Vanilla

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    Small home server would work, but the Airport Extreme or Time Capsule is also phenomenal for this purpose. Can serve harddrives and printers, its nice and small and its a fantastic router too. Would replace your existing one and add features without adding any real footprint. Probably cheaper than a server too.
     
  5. $100T2

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    Currently, I have a cable modem that goes into my wireless router, and a cable from the wireless router that runs upstairs to my desktop. I am in the process of finishing my basement and building a play room for my kids. They will probably get the current desktop when I buy a new one in a year or two, and I will have a home office for patient notes, so I could end up with 4 computers in the house. I don't want to go too crazy, but I also want to leave room to upgrade.
     
  6. Vanilla

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    Well room to upgrade isn't going to exist with the Airport Extreme. But frankly I don't see what you'd be upgrading to. It works for what you need. It's got 3 ethernet jacks in the back, will be able to just replace your current wireless router. They have software that works for PCs to administer it. My only complaint is that the serving of the drives seems a bit finicky on windows.
     
  7. TheSteve

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    Let's not post serial numbers.
     
  8. Binary

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    Is there a reason you don't want to use your existing hardwired desktop?

    Sometimes I think people get so caught up in the idea of a server, they don't understand that a server is a purpose, not a device. You can share your USB drive and printer out from your hardwired desktop and have it accessible without the complexity/expense/size of adding devices to your network.
     
  9. $100T2

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    My existing hardwired desktop is old and crashed last year. I have a shitload of pictures and music killing my HD space on my laptop, and I'd like to make my files accessible from any computer in the house. I figured a big separate HD would a) free up my laptop HD and b) make it easier to access stuff from both computers.
     
  10. Nettdata

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    Don't get sucked into those standalone networked drives at Costco... they work worth shit. VERY slow, and crap interface. Not sure if they still exist. Just don't. I made the mistake of buying one and ended up ripping it apart to reuse the raw drive.

    If you just need a file server, get something old, slow, and small. File servers don't need speed, or fast/hot graphics cards, etc.

    I have an old P1 PC sitting in a closet, no fan, no noise, that acts as a SAMBA server. I've installed Linux on it, and run it remotely. I haven't touched it in over 2 years... not since I last moved.

    As long as you keep it dust free (not having a fan helps with that), it doesn't get too hot. (Dust is a major problem with retaining heat).
     
  11. goodfornothing

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    I am looking to get a wireless network card to plug into my computer's motherboard. It is an older computer and where I have moved to has only wireless. Is there anything I need to specifically look out for when shopping for one? And any recommendations?
     
  12. ILikePie

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    Make sure your card supports the interface of the motherboard either PCIE or PCI. Do you know if the place you moved to has draft N networking or only G?
     
  13. bonzo

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    Does it have a USB port? Any office supply/computer store will have an adapter that will work for you. Just install the software, plug the dongle into the USB port, enter in your wireless network info and you're online.
     
  14. 6PPC

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    I have about half a dozen machines running Windows XP that need to have the OS upgraded soon, because as I understand it, MicroSoft is EOL'ing XP soon.

    I can't decide if I should go to Vista or jump straight to Windows 7. I don't have that much experience with either. I did use Vista early on, and it was pretty bad, but it seems to be stable now. Based on what I read, Windows 7 will be more stable than Vista was when it first came out, because MicroSoft seems to have learned their lesson and did a reasonably good job testing it.

    This is really an opinion poll: if you were in my position, which version would you choose? Vista or W7?

    BTW, these are all systems used for business. I don't have time to fiddle with them too much.
     
  15. Nettdata

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    Personally, I'd go straight to 7.

    I'm a Mac user, and I'm almost embarrassed to say I'm not minding working with 7. Vista can lick my ass.
     
  16. rei

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    7 is vista but faster with better ram usage and a slightly different UI. I see no reason to bother with Vista now.
     
  17. MrPrime

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    Damn, I am going to miss yelling at people to search the fucking thread.

    But as a note for the Vista/Win 7

    The general consensus is Win 7 is better, faster, sexier than Vista. Since it really is a glorified Vista patch, you probably are better off going for Win 7.
     
  18. Binary

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    W7 is really a polished, quality OS. I would say, actually, that referring to it as a glorified Vista patch is not doing it nearly enough justice.

    Vista was a lot better than people gave it credit for, and a lot more stable than the "I heard from my brother who heard from an IT guy that his cousin works with" rumors would have you believe. It was a memory hog, for sure.

    But W7 is all the good things about Vista, with the rough edges polished and the resource consumption tuned way down. W7 is the first OS that I've actually felt was a big leap forward in terms of quality since Windows 2000. Win2k actually ran substantially better on older hardware than Win98 did, and was stable with some great new features. W7 is the same way: better features, better resource consumption, better in every way. XP was extremely good, mind you. Just wasn't revolutionary.

    Don't bother with Vista if the option is there to skip it.
     
  19. hawt

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    I bought and built a brand new computer from Newegg.com.

    I turned it off one night and tried to turn it back on to no avail.

    I have sent out and replaced through warranty my motherboard, cpu, and power supply. (One at a time of course to try and diagnose the problem.)

    I hooked up the power supply to the motherboard and cpu. But I'm still not getting anything at all. The fan on the back of my power supply won't even kick on when I turn the switch. I have no idea what else could be wrong. Do I need to have the hard drive plugged in as well? I was told those were the three basic components I should hook up and verify work before I put everything back together again.

    This was all about a week ago and I sent out my power supply to be replaced again. It's so weird. I didn't have a problem with my computer for like 3 months and I turned it off one night and it never came back on. If you need specifics on what parts I have I can give them but I don't think they are entirely relevant to my issue, I could be wrong though.

    If I get my power supply back and my computer still won't turn on does anyone have any ideas as to what could be wrong?
     
  20. Nettdata

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    Check power from wall.
    Check power terminal in case/power supply/cable. Try replacing the power cable from wall.
    Check power switch itself.
    Ensure switch is connected to the proper leads/jumpers on the motherboard. That can be tricky sometimes, depending on the motherboard.


    You don't need anything plugged into the motherboard in order for it to power up... no drives, etc. If the drives aren't powering on, and the power supply's fans aren't turning on, then power's not even getting past the power supply, and the power supply isn't being activated.

    That's about all I've got.