Windows BBS - Hardware http://www.WindowsBBS.com/ Post any questions related to hardware here. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:15:43 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.windowsbbs.com/images_pb/misc/rss.jpg Windows BBS - Hardware http://www.WindowsBBS.com/ <![CDATA[[HDTV recommendations]]]> http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88800-hdtv-recommendations.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:55:56 GMT Hey guys, i'm looking for a new HDTV that is able to play good quality video from my laptop as well as for my cable box.

I'm looking for the 46" range, but i don't know which brand is good.
Currently, i've been doing some research on sony bravia kdl46v5100 ]]> Hardware jAsOs http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88800-hdtv-recommendations.html Screen goes black http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88793-screen-goes-black.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:04:21 GMT Hi!

Please help, my computer doesn't boot, the screen just go black!
* The system starts, all fans PSU, CPU, graphics card fan, starts,
* The HD sounds like it's running
* I hear no beep from the mother board when it starts.
* It's possible to shut down the system by holding the power button.

It worked fine until one day when trying to start it the above was the case.

My friend has an exakt copy of the system, all tests have been done between our machines.

This is (a sample) of what I've tried:
1. Exchange graphics card to a working one.
2. Test RAM in another machine
3. Test CPU in another machine
4. Bought a new motherboard and replaced the old one.
5. Changed battery
6. Tried the system without HD, Keyboard and mouse connected (in all variations)
7. Checked all chords (also pulled them out and puttning them back when changing mother board obviously)

The strangest thing though: After replacing the motherboard, the computer started ! (with a minor delay) Then it worked for a few minutes, started up windows and everything. While we were toasting with a fine whisky it died again and all was back to "normal", i.e. the problem persits! I have no idea what to make of this!

Please help, I'm pulling my hair out!

Many thanks in advance,
Johan

***Specs***
Antec Chassi 450W Sonata II - Piano Black
Gigabyte - Socket 775 - ATX IP965 (GA-965P-S3) - DDR2 / SATA2 / Gblan
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "Allendale" 2x1.8GHz / 800MHz / 2MB (Boxed)
Kingston DDR2 2048MB 667MHz CL5 (Kit of 2)
Samsung 250GB SATA II Spin P120 NCQ (8MB Cache / Sata)
Samsung Intern SATA DVD±RW 18x - Svart (Dual Layer / SATA) (Bulk)
Asus ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB DDR3 (EAX1950PRO/HTDP/256M) - PCI-E / Dvi ]]> Hardware JohanPettersson http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88793-screen-goes-black.html What Hardware for Converting Analog Video Tape to Digital? http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88791-what-hardware-converting-analog-video-tape-digital.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:11:24 GMT I purchesed a conversion box a few years ago for about $200 and never used it even once before I was fool enough to loan it to someone who moved hundreds of miles away who also says now he doesn't have it. It was an ADS Tech box; I don't remember the model.

Now I'm up against the task of buying another and I want some advice on what to choose, how/why to choose and what features/specifications to look for.

I'll be converting some old VHS and Hi8 to a digital format and I understand there are devices that have different rates (megs per minute, I guess), FPS and color depth.

I've seen some cheapies on e-bay for under 20 dollars; but, it seems too cheap to do the job. Surely there are plenty of gotcha's in one that cheap.

I saw this one at ADSTech.com ($50).
http://www.adstech.com/products/USBA...d=USBAV-192-EF

Would it be as good for my limited needs as this one ($90):
http://www.adstechnologies.com/index...&products_id=2

Then there are these, one with and one without software ($180 and $200):
http://www.adstech.com/products/API-...id=API-558-EFS
https://www.adstechnologies.com/inde...&products_id=3

Advice and technical understanding will be appreciated. ]]> Hardware Alex Ethridge http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88791-what-hardware-converting-analog-video-tape-digital.html <![CDATA[[Resolved] Another power supply question]]> http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88786-another-power-supply-question.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:37:33 GMT I used to know the answer to this one but since I've had my handy Power Supply tester I've never needed to try it.
My question is in two parts:
a) Which pins should be shorted on a 20xpin ATX power supply to make it run? Online info says pins 14 and 15 (I guess that's 14 plus any ground?), but they're not working for me. Whereas it runs with my 20xpin-7xLED tester connected.
b) Is there any downside to leaving a power supply running for a few days with these shorted pins?

I ask because I've had a weird issue with an intermittently squealing AGP GFX card, so to test a theory, I've got the computer running with a separate power supply driving the card, while the main ps drives everything else. It works fine, so long as my tester is bridging the 20x pin plug, but I'd like to free the tester for other use.

BTW, as far as the card-squeal issue goes, it seems that the extra power may have done the trick, as it's been running squeal-free for 36 hrs. So maybe my 400W main power supply might be a little under-equipped to run this GeForce 7800GS, though its specs aren't all that demanding. ]]> Hardware masonite http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88786-another-power-supply-question.html <![CDATA[[Resolved] Power Supply question]]> http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88764-power-supply-question.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:07:29 GMT I'm no expert on power and power supplies but I know enough to tell if a power supply is dead because I've got a handy little tester that connects to the main plug of a power supply. (Dunno if it's relevant but our mains supply in NZ is 240v)

This gizmo has seven lights labeled "+3.3v, +5v, -5v, +5vsb, -12v, +12v and P.G". Most of the time, a healthy power supply will light up the whole seven, but occasionally I'll run across a working power supply that fails to light up the -5v light.

I asked a supplier about this once, and he replied something to the effect that the -5v line didn't need to be in the loop for a power supply to work, and that modern standards allowed makers to leave it out. Well, I've got another one on my bench now. It's a brand new iCute 450W and the tester is showing only 6 lights, ie, no -5v light. Anyone able to comment on this?

, ]]> Hardware masonite http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88764-power-supply-question.html Keysonic Bluetooth Keyboard Connection Problem http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88742-keysonic-bluetooth-keyboard-connection-problem.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:25:33 GMT I purchased a Keysonic ACK-595 BT keyboard recently that works fine with my laptop but not with my desktop, even though:
  • both machines are running Win XP Pro version 2002 SP3; and
  • the "Standard 101/102 Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard" Microsoft drivers on the machines are identical versions.
With the desktop, I can establish the bluetooth pairing with the ACK-595 BT and when the passkey is typed in on the ACK-595 the Bluetooth Device Wizard confirmations successful connection and the device is shown in the Bluetooth Devices dialogue box as:
Type of Device: Miscellaneous Peripheral Device
Address: 00:18:00:00:56:1c .
Connection: Passkey Enabled
However, after establishing the pairing, no keystrokes are recorded when I try to type text into my applications (Notepad, Word etc.). (There was one exception to this when typing was recorded, but after a few minutes without typing when I resumed typing nothing was recorded).
I’ve noticed that, in the dialogue accessed by right clicking the Bluetooth icon in the Task Bar and selecting the “Show Bluetooth Devices” menu item, although the other Bluetooth devices connected to my desktop are still listed even after they are switched off the ACK-595 BT disappears from the list after being left for a few minutes.
In the “Log On” tab of "Bluetooth Support Service Properties (Local Computer)" dialogue box, for "Log on as:""Local System Account" and “Allow service to interact with desktop” are selected.
The keyboard is compatible with all systems that support the Bluetooth HID profile correctly. Other Bluetooth devices work fine with my desktop, so I assume that the HID profile is good. All Bluetooth Device Options are enabled.
The Keysonic web site does state that “PC / end devices have to support standard keyboard drivers with corresponding country code faultlessly”. However, the facts that the ACK-595BT works with a laptop using the same driver and that I have used several PS/2 keyboards with the desktop without any problem would seem to rule out that possibility.
Anyone have any suggestions on how to fix this problem please? ]]> Hardware Barryam http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88742-keysonic-bluetooth-keyboard-connection-problem.html Windows Explorer Crashing/Windows Defender Errors http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88726-windows-explorer-crashing-windows-defender-errors.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:32:12 GMT I have an HP laptop (I've posted all of my specs), that's having quite a few issues. These problems have been going on for a few days now. First off, when I turn my computer on, I get the MSASCui.exe error indicating that something screwy is happening with Windows Defender.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/228...rormessage.jpg
(Not my image, but this is the exact error message I got)

Now everything is acting extremely slugish and task manager has stopped working. So, I shut everything down and start up again. Error message pops up again and everything is still slow. It takes at least 20 minutes for it to fully load the desktop. And now Windows Explorer crashes every time I attempt to open an explorer window (such as computer or control panel).

I don't think it's a virus, as I have AVG and Spybot and scan daily. I haven`t downloaded a thing in a week. I am running the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool's scan, as Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware scan and SUPERAntiSpyware's scan. I've done an AVG scan, and Spybot scan, fixed registry errors with CCleaner and disabled windows defender...

Nothing I've tried works. Any ideas are appreciated. ]]> Hardware UnwantedErrors http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88726-windows-explorer-crashing-windows-defender-errors.html <![CDATA[[Resolved] Boot.ini - Normal Halt - Acronis Restore Image concerns]]> http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88720-boot-ini-normal-halt-acronis-restore-image-concerns.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:36:31 GMT Friend brought his HP/Compaq desktop XP/sp3 over. Will be installing Acronis and teaching him how to create image backups. I was cleaning up drive and rebooting, I notice a halt screen during boot. During a normal cold or restart boot, screen briefly displays a Compaq slash view with Cmd key... Friend brought his HP/Compaq desktop XP/sp3 over. Will be installing Acronis and teaching him how to create image backups.
I was cleaning up drive and rebooting, I notice a halt screen during boot. During a normal cold or restart boot, screen briefly displays a Compaq slash view with Cmd key options, then it goes into a 30 second count down "Halt" view. It allows user to choose "Normal windows" start up OR load "Windows Recovery Console". It defaults to "Normal" load and you can hit enter. Also you can let go through 30 sec timer and it will "auto-load' default Normal windows". It always successfully loads XP, been doing it for 3 years.
My concerns is with restoring a Acronis Image backup. I have no idea how Acronis will manage this ... successful or fail due (possible may think it is a dual-boot or some unknown) to this unusual "Normal" start up. I would like to remove this from Boot.ini script. Never been in Boot.ini environment. Not sure of myself and what to do. I taken screen pics via "System Configuration Utility". Please look at the last 2x Lines (2nd Pic gives you last words of string). When I high light phrases and click "Check all boot Paths", windows says it's invalid and offers to clean it up (I cancel). Would like to get this Boot.ini to a standard script, which I know Acronis Restore will have no problem working with ... just not sure how to go about it.

Thanks
Dennis L
Attached Images
File Type: jpg BootIniBoth.jpg (85.9 KB)
]]> Hardware Dennis L http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88720-boot-ini-normal-halt-acronis-restore-image-concerns.html <![CDATA[[Resolved] [HP 8150 Photosmart ejects multiple pages with 'usbc rut' printed]]]> http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88714-hp-8150-photosmart-ejects-multiple-pages-usbc-rut-printed.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:01:37 GMT 8150 keeps kicking out sheets of blank paper with usbc rut on them. How to stop? 8150 keeps kicking out sheets of blank paper with usbc rut on them. How to stop? ]]> Hardware sw1941 http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88714-hp-8150-photosmart-ejects-multiple-pages-usbc-rut-printed.html usb drive error - asking to reformat http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88697-usb-drive-error-asking-reformat.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:00:23 GMT Hi,

One day when I was transferring files from computer to my USB drive (Lacie 200GB), the computer encountered some errors and I rebooted. Then, when I clicked on the USB drive a pop-up appeared asking me to reformat.

I don't want to reformat because I need the data on the drive.

Can someone help me to solve this difficulty?
Thanks!!! ]]> Hardware shopjennie http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88697-usb-drive-error-asking-reformat.html <![CDATA[[Resolved] Computer Wireless Keyboard]]> http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88671-computer-wireless-keyboard.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:53:47 GMT I am thinking about getting a wireless keyboard. With all the manufactures out there. I have a few questions: 1 - What Brand did you purchase: 2 - Where did you purchase that brand of keyboard ? 3 - Are there any pros and cons ? Thanks, I am thinking about getting a wireless keyboard.
With all the manufactures out there. I have a few questions:
1 - What Brand did you purchase:

2 - Where did you purchase that brand of keyboard ?

3 - Are there any pros and cons ?


Thanks,

Steve ]]> Hardware sp3851 http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88671-computer-wireless-keyboard.html Lexmark X5650 features have crashed - alternative? http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88670-lexmark-x5650-features-have-crashed-alternative.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 23:32:16 GMT I have a Lexmark X5650 all-in-one printer, purchased about a year ago. When new, I could run the scan, copy and fax features from the computer using a Lexmark utility called "Printivity Studio".

During a recent major collapse of Office 2003, caused by faulty Microsoft updates, I started getting a diagnostic saying "Printer transfer card monitor has encountered a problem and must shut down".

I did a major clean-up of the registry using Registry Mechanic, and eventually managed to get a clean download of an updated program for the printer from Lemark's download server. After I installed it, the ability to run the scan, copy and fax features from the computer was not there any more. I can still run them from the printer front panel.

Lexmark customer support said "We don't include the scan, copy and fax software in the download."

I tried a new installation from the disc provided with the printer. It got about 80% of the way through and crashed. Another download did the same.

I'm really ticked off at Lexmark. I've lost 60% or more of the features that persuaded me to buy their printer and they don't seem to give a rats! Plus, I get diagnostic messages at frequent intervals about the card monitor. Unfortunately, it's out of warranty.

I would definitely not recommend getting one of their machines, based on their customer "support".

Any recommendations on a sub-$125 all-in-one (Brother, Canon, Dell, Epson, HP)?

BTW, system is an e-Machines box, running Win XP Home with SP3 and Office 2003. ]]> Hardware fdamp http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88670-lexmark-x5650-features-have-crashed-alternative.html Setting Favorite keys on MS keyboard http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88665-setting-favorite-keys-ms-keyboard.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:53:09 GMT I have just installed a new MS wireless keyboard 3000 v 2.0 and am unsuccessful in setting up Favorite keys. I want to have quick access to 4 or 5 desktop folders and the instructions are a little confusing: It says open the folder, press and hold down the key in question. Information about the... I have just installed a new MS wireless keyboard 3000 v 2.0 and am unsuccessful in setting up Favorite keys. I want to have quick access to 4 or 5 desktop folders and the instructions are a little confusing: It says open the folder, press and hold down the key in question. Information about the folder should appear, then click OK. But when I press the key to set it nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

BTW - in connection with this new keyboard, the keys seem closer together than I am used to. Is this just me? ]]> Hardware Queuedecoton http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88665-setting-favorite-keys-ms-keyboard.html change the hard drive from th dell 4100 http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88656-change-hard-drive-th-dell-4100-a.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:15:11 GMT No matter what I do I can not get more than 9% free space on the 20GB drive. I want to change it to my 40gb drive from my other computer.. But I need a system restore disc, But I do not have one. So Tried to do this and of course it did not work,. I tried making a back up but it would not do this... No matter what I do I can not get more than 9% free space on the 20GB drive. I want to change it to my 40gb drive from my other computer.. But I need a system restore disc, But I do not have one. So Tried to do this and of course it did not work,. I tried making a back up but it would not do this to cd, so i bought some floppies, it made the ms dos floppy and started copy all the files after 9 floppies it was still complete, I am obviously an idiot. I tried calling dell and talked to 10 different people that knew even less that I did, I talked to a supervisor and they said they could have me one in 6 - 8 weeks , unless I wanted express service at a very nice charge. and still would take 7 - 10 days for that. Is there anyone who can advise me where to get this disk or let me use thiers I will return it, or explain how to get this done..PLEASE! ]]> Hardware phil bearden http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88656-change-hard-drive-th-dell-4100-a.html DVD-RW Drive not working http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88645-dvd-rw-drive-not-working.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 03:25:24 GMT My DVD-RW drive has just, as the title states, stopped working. When I put a disc in nothing happens and when I check My Computer the symbol for the drive doesn't show that a disc is in it. When I right-click properties, the installation for Wordperfect 12 loads and asks for the setup exe.

Any suggestions would be greatly welcomed at the moment. ]]> Hardware Rytaran http://www.WindowsBBS.com/hardware/88645-dvd-rw-drive-not-working.html