alt.comp.hardware - Week 14, 2005

Lost GigaBytes

n o s p a m p l e a s e - 2 Apr 2005 4:56 PM - 8 messages

I installed a 120 GB additional disk. Upon formatting I shows only 114 GB. Why? Where are the other GBs? --- NSP ...

Pen Scanners Any Good?

Bob - 2 Apr 2005 4:18 PM - 3 messages

I would like to use a pen scanner to take selected text out of books as I read them, as notes, and then transfer them to a Word file on the PC for later reference. Has anyone used a pen scanner to do this and did it work well? Did you ...

Socket A cooler on Socket 939?

GaryM - 2 Apr 2005 3:54 PM - 4 messages

I am going to upgrade my Athlon XP 1800+ to a Athlon 64 3200+ and want to know if the cooler I have - a Coolermaster Aero 7+ - will fit on the new socket or will I need a new CPU cooler? ...

motherboard problems

horseface - 2 Apr 2005 3:43 PM - 5 messages

Hi everybody. I'll first get the specs out of the way: IWill K266 MoBo ATX 235W power supply 512MB SDRAM AMD Athlon XP 1400 + cooler Radeon 9600pro 128 80GB HDD Recently I have had problems with my computer (random freezes). I have ...

AMD64 and Windows CPU Usage (and temp)

jab3 - 2 Apr 2005 3:37 PM - 9 messages

Hello everyone... I recently replaced an old P4/MB combo with an Athlon 64 3200+ and Abit AV8 mainboard. I tried out the game I play (World of Warcraft if that's matters) and I noticed that the CPU usage is at 100%. (The gfx card is just ...

SATA and PATA - co-exist?

Bobby - 2 Apr 2005 10:44 AM - 5 messages

I have set-up a new SATA drive as my boot drive (some of you will know that it's been a long story ;-) I want to use my old PATA (Maxtor ATA 133) drive as a slave. But I can't find a jumper setting on the old drive to do this. Two settings ...

SATA saga - resolved

Bobby - 2 Apr 2005 10:40 AM - 15 messages

I bought a new motherboard and memory yesterday to resolve my on-going SATA problem with my Asus motherboard. Before I changed mobos, I installed the new RAM (DDR 400) in my old (Asus) motherboard - and guess what? The fecking thing worked. ...

USB distance limits?

Norm - 2 Apr 2005 7:29 AM - 7 messages

Has anybody any experience with longer USB cables? I know there is some theoretical limit like 6 or 10 feet, but I also know with RS232 there used to be a limit of 50 feet. I know I was able to quite ...

how to install XP on password locked Sony Vaio with 2000 installed?

nikko - 2 Apr 2005 7:21 AM - 8 messages

Trying to help out a friend. He has a laptop with Windows 2000 installed and it's password protected. He doesn't know the password and someone told him (and i don't know enough to dispute this) that 2000 doesn't have a DOS mode. ...

CPU Usage 100%

GoodyTech - 2 Apr 2005 5:14 AM - 6 messages

When I press ctrl alt delete it says that my cpu is running at 100%. What could be causing this? ...

No initialze option in Disk management!

Nicholas - 1 Apr 2005 11:32 PM - 3 messages

I bought a laptop Hard drive and enclosure for a backup. Instructions say it needs to be "initialize" through disk management. The disk shows up and I can right click on it, but initialize is not one of the ...

Modem development question...

rdlebreton - 1 Apr 2005 9:04 PM - 8 messages

Okay, This may seem like a lame question but... Is ANYONE doing any research to increase the performance of a "dial-up" modem beyond the so-called 56kbps limit? TIA ...

anyone built a Soltek Qbic 3000w/m? problems!

Sooty - 1 Apr 2005 8:18 PM - 5 messages

Hi I bought the above barebones.. it is my first Intel based PC for years and unusually for me can't even get a screen up!. It fires up the CPU fan ok but no HD spin up (unless I take the 80 way ribbon off..and I'm sure it the ...

Are they making Hard Disks out of lighter material?

John@Smith.com - 1 Apr 2005 2:51 PM - 5 messages

I didnt notice any big differences with the Seagate 160 and my other recent 200 gig Maxtors and WDs but I just installed an 80gig WD and it feels like its made of styrofoam. its really light like its made ...

Largest Hard Disk size with Promise Ultra66?

Patrick E. King - 31 Mar 2005 11:47 PM - 4 messages

Anyone know if the Promise card will recognize disks above 128GB in size. Mine has BIOS Ver 1.12 Build 0518 (late'99 vintage) Latest available seems to be Ver 1.14 Build 0728 but I cannot find info on ...

Thermaltake fanless cooler

F - 31 Mar 2005 11:07 PM - 2 messages

Does anybody know if the Thermaltake Fanless 103 CL-P0019 CPU cooler is compatible with ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard? Thanks! ...

cdrw drive problem

Jim Marlin - 31 Mar 2005 9:23 PM - 4 messages

I have an Acer CDRW drive 10*8*32. This drive keeps opening and closing on its own. Sometimes it does it repeatedly and sometimes it will go for hours without doing anything. It doesnt make a difference if there ...

memtest86... bit of help

Christo - 31 Mar 2005 7:12 PM - 5 messages

just ran it as i have had problems for a long time sys spec is AMD Athlon XP 2600 80gb IDE hdd DVDrw/DVD/CDRW Gainward GeForce5200 256MB MSI KT6V Motherboard Crucial DDR333 PC2700 512MB (purchased brand new) i have been getting CRC errors while installing big games and extracting ...

Need info about Pocket PCs and similar handheld devices

ChairShot - 31 Mar 2005 4:01 PM - 3 messages

Hi, I've scrapped my PC, monitor, and printer. I'm looking for some type of alternative computing machine. A small laptop is certainly an option, but I'm hoping to get away Microsoft once and for all. Does anyone in here have experience with handheld devices. I have ...

Pci express question

Jack - 31 Mar 2005 3:45 PM - 3 messages

Hi I just want to know if there is a way to change the speed of Pci express, i mean from x1 to x16. i would also like to know if there is a way to see what speed your pci express is running. ...

boot up

critcher - 31 Mar 2005 1:58 PM - 5 messages

when machine boots up the post tells me that i have an 18 gig and 75 gig hard drives, when in fact I have a 40 gig and 120 gig drives, in the bios setup screens, both the disks are identified correctly as western digital ...

Finding cause of random crash.

Bill - 31 Mar 2005 12:34 PM - 6 messages

Hi, I may be on the wrong path here but in order to troubleshoot a random reboot (and sometimes the program just drops out without reboot) when the kids are playing games like Harry Potter and Age of Empires I have used a number of ...

Acceptable Temp

? - 31 Mar 2005 11:57 AM - 3 messages

Hello, Could someone plz tell me what an acceptable temperature is for CPU's. I have an Asus K8V Deluxe, with a Athlon 64 3400+ cpu, currently running at 43 degrees. One of my fans has gone and I'm not sure whether to continue using ...

Abit + p4 for gaming??

don ward - 31 Mar 2005 4:51 AM - 8 messages

My grandson wants a gaming computer and I am contemplating an Abit mb with pentium 2.4 processor 800MHZ fsb with 3200 ram.. Are the Abit mbs good product ? what model ?? many thanks dnw ...

Motherboard dead? Or Something Else?

Morail - 31 Mar 2005 2:38 AM - 5 messages

I'm trying to install a new hard drive for a friend and I'm running into a problem. It won't format (NTFS) completely. Using the Win 2000 setup disc it recognizes the drive and runs through the format process ...

A harddisk development issue

Pea C - 30 Mar 2005 8:37 PM - 6 messages

Hi there. I have a pretty odd question about harddisks development and production. First of all I apologize if this problem doesn't belong to this ng. Then, pls, point me to the right ng. Well. My friend argues that the development of a new HD is not ...

Strange RAM problem

Zotin Khuma - 30 Mar 2005 4:06 PM - 2 messages

This is about a strange problem I'm facing after I did some upgrades and swapping between some of the computers in my house. I upgraded my children's computer with an Athlon 64 CPU + mobo + RAM, keeping the same gfx card, HDD, etc. ...

CDROM Query

John.N. - 30 Mar 2005 1:55 PM - 8 messages

Hi, NG, When I use Easy CD Creator and its CD-RW facility to make a RW CD( i.e.formatted)and then write data to that CD. I am unable to read or write to that CD again when I place it into another CDROM Drive.I get message ...

Q: What HD=200 Gb?

Robert Lochkamp - 30 Mar 2005 8:37 AM - 4 messages

I'm looking for Harddrive ca. 200Gb, for my worstation with SATA, for 24 hr/day use any suggestions? rl ...

CD/DVD Rom Question

Diane - 30 Mar 2005 7:18 AM - 25 messages

I'm not very computer literate, so please bear with me. Recently my CD/DVD Rom broke. I have an HP Pavilion. It's no longer under warranty, so that's not an option. What I need to know is this. Do they make replacements for this piece ...

motherboard problem

JJK - 30 Mar 2005 6:06 AM - 3 messages

does anyone have any idea as to what might be wrong with my friends computer when you boot it starts the initial screen which tells you about the speed and memory and bios. But then it just says "suggested DRAM clock is "100" ...

HP 3100 and reduced fax baud rates

Wilbur Post - 30 Mar 2005 5:59 AM - 6 messages

My HP 3100 Jetsuite software doesn't allow for reducing the fax baud rate (as my VOIP company suggests). Are these machines hardwired to fax at 14,400 or 9,600, or can I use software such as Mightyfax or something else ...

Computer Set Up Questions--3 Final Questions

Skip - 29 Mar 2005 11:47 PM - 4 messages

Thanks again to each of the people who took the time to respond to each of my earlier posts. You really have been of great help in steering me in the right direction--and saving me some expensive mistakes. I really appreciate ...

SATA saga

Bobby - 29 Mar 2005 11:21 PM - 21 messages

I now know why Windows would not recognise my SATA drive during installation. My combination of motherboard (Asus K8V SE) and Windows (XP Pro SP2) *does* need a third party driver to see my SATA drive during Windows setup. My ...

laptop topline amicus 3600

Irlan agous - 29 Mar 2005 6:09 PM - 7 messages

Hello this is an p3 933mhz , 256 mb memory, laptop running on win2000, the problem is at any time, it gets stuck, i get this blue screen with the long numbers of code and this driver file pcmcia.sys OR ntoskrnl.exe, ...

Re: Re: BIOS update problem

prankster - 29 Mar 2005 5:10 PM - 4 messages

OS needs te be reinstalled after a BIOS update ? that's bull bobby have you tried to set de bios defaults in your BIOS ? --------------= Posted using GrabIt =---------------- ------= Binary Usenet downloading made easy =--------- -= Get GrabIt for free from [link] =- ...

Epson R300 or R320?

geezer - 29 Mar 2005 3:16 PM - 6 messages

Epson has two ink-jet printers that will print labels directly onto disk surface. The R320 has a small color display, while the R300 has B&W. Sounds like a great idea, since paper labels quickly cause DVD disks ...

BIOS update problem

Bobby - 28 Mar 2005 9:56 PM - 14 messages

As some of you will know, I've been having problems with the new SATA hard disk. So I tried to upgrade the BIOS of my Asus K8 SE Deluxe motherboard. I used the flash update tool and everything appeared to work perfectly - but now my ...

The Greatest News Ever!

Ron_Grossi_039 - 28 Mar 2005 9:35 PM - 2 messages

[link] << The Greatest News Ever! ...

Problems with a motherboard

John Doe - 28 Mar 2005 9:35 PM - 2 messages

Hi all. I am having troubles with a motherboard. (I think) I am administering a MK QDI PlatiniX Novo-6AL 4xDDR400/LK/SATA/LAN with two harddrives (ata) . Both with a fully functional copy of winXP. The thing is that when i start the computer it says something like "Please ...

start pagina

martin Tipker - 28 Mar 2005 7:56 PM - 3 messages

ik heb sinds kort het probleem dat ik vreemde startpagina's krijg tijdens het opstarten van explorer. onder internet opties dit verwijderen helpt tijdelijk, zodra ik opnieuw opstart heb ik weer het zelfde probleem. hitman-pro/ antivirus vinden niks. hoe krijg ik dit eruit? ...

CF Card reader recognition

Time Teamer - 28 Mar 2005 7:07 PM - 4 messages

Zio has decided not to be included in drives OS WinXP SP2 (XP does not require a driver) and it has been working for many months. My ZIO has stopped showing up in Explorer or My Computer yet when I plug and ...

Fantastic Deal on server hardware!!!

Anthony Critelli - 28 Mar 2005 4:43 PM - 2 messages

I just got a fantastic deal on a brand new dual Xeon file server for the corporation I work for. Best of all, it cost about $4000 less than a comparable server from either Dell or HP. It's in a sturdy rack mounted ...

Raid floppy

Veritech - 28 Mar 2005 1:03 PM - 5 messages

I was just thinking that, technically if you had two optical drives couldn't you just insert the cd with the sata raid drives in one while the xp setup cd is in the other? or does xp setup only look for "A:/" drive? ...

Installing XP from within XP?

Bobby - 28 Mar 2005 9:36 AM - 8 messages

I have been trying to install Windows XP Pro (SP2) on a new (SATA) hard drive and I've had problems with the setup program recognising my drive (does XP have a problem with SATA drives?). I (now) appreciate that XP sees a SATA drive as a SCSI/RAID device (don't ...

wireless keyboard issues

Skeleton Man - 28 Mar 2005 6:09 AM - 2 messages

Hi all, I have a Microsoft Standard Wirless Optical Desktop (ie. wireless kb/mouse combo), which frequently stops responding properly (ie. a lot of keys won't work) and/or starts repeating characters (e.g. eeeeeee). If I press the button ...

Total Failure - Motherboard?

jab3 - 28 Mar 2005 1:28 AM - 17 messages

So I'm playing a little game this afternoon (World of Warcraft if you must know) and all of a sudden withut warning or anything my computer shuts off. No power. I push the power button; Nothing. Nada. I begin to become a ...

Computer Setup Question-2

Skip - 28 Mar 2005 12:37 AM - 9 messages

I really appreciate the help of people who responded to the first post, and found their suggestions to be very helpful. Given their input, I have done some more homework and put together another list of products for a gaming computer I would like to put together. I'd be ...

Installing floppy drive in Packard Bell

Egbert - 27 Mar 2005 9:16 PM - 3 messages

Tried to install a standard 1.4 Mb floppy drive in my Dad's Packard Bell computer. No problems with hardware or connections. No problem setting it up in the BIOS. But it won't show up in Windows Explorer. Have I missed ...

Socket 939 Athlon 64 3500+, Newcastle, Winchester, Clawhammer. What is the difference between them?

Timbertea - 27 Mar 2005 6:12 PM - 6 messages

Okay, I'm getting around to building a new system as my current one (though it served me well for 5 years) has become hopelessly dated. I'm considering building an Athlon 64 based system, with the 939 socket as it looks to be the one with a future, going ahead and going PCI-E, ...

Are My Machines Running Right?

geezer - 27 Mar 2005 6:10 PM - 2 messages

I have two machines, one Intel, the other AMD. I ran Everest Home Edition against both, to see if they are running as they should. I am afraid they might not be. The resulting numbers confuse me. ...

The Greatest News Ever!

Ron_Grossi_038 - 27 Mar 2005 6:09 PM - 3 messages

[link] << The Greatest News Ever! ...

Does LinkSys BEFSX41Router/Switch Work As a DNS Server?

jaykchan - 27 Mar 2005 6:05 PM - 23 messages

I would like to know whether a LinkSys BEFSX41 functions as a DNS server. It is a broadband router with a 4-ports 10/100 switch. I am sure that it can work as a DHCP server. But I am not sure if it also ...

b-grade monitor?

Christo - 27 Mar 2005 3:18 PM - 6 messages

[link] the above url links to a monitor B-Grade or box damanged, what is meant by box damaged, as in there is a crack, or it doesnt work? any info on this would be greatly appreciated ...

Lacie 250GB USB2 clicking noise

DAH - 27 Mar 2005 2:35 PM - 4 messages

I've just bought one of these. For the first 2 days it was completely quiet, and then sporadically it makes loud clicking noises - hard enough to make the case vibrate. I don't know if this is a bad drive ...

External Firewire/USB HD drive enclosure problem

BillL - 27 Mar 2005 2:00 PM - 13 messages

Hello all, I've recently had a serious HD crash using an external caddy via Firewire - basically the disc cannot be read though the drive and partitions can be seen by XP and I'm able to format the drive (if I wanted to). The drive is a ...