Personal computing discussed

Search found 150 matches

by ChAoZ
Tue Nov 26, 2013 10:48 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: Random Shutdowns
Replies: 15
Views: 3109

Re: Random Shutdowns

I had a similar problem with a PC. Same symptoms and a very similar log error as the one you posted. The PC would shutdown during very light workloads, usually checking email or web browsing, sometimes it would blue screen but most of the time it would restart without warning. I tried all of the mos...
by ChAoZ
Wed Mar 06, 2013 4:54 am
Forum: Gaming
Topic: FEAR game series
Replies: 11
Views: 2711

Re: FEAR game series

The original FEAR is one of my all time favorite PC games. I am in the minority by saying I also enjoyed the expansion games for FEAR. To me they just added a few new elements to the original game. I guess I was not expecting much since they were just expansions, but I still enjoyed them. I have pro...
by ChAoZ
Thu Aug 16, 2012 7:59 pm
Forum: System Builders Anonymous
Topic: Finished with a build... having sound problems
Replies: 28
Views: 5202

Re: Finished with a build... having sound problems

It might be a long shot, but I have seen IRQ conflicts cause similar problems. It seemed more common in older OS's and I have never seen Win7 have a problem like that, but I do have an older PC with XP that I have to tell the OS what IRQ setting to use. It might be at least one more thing to rule out.
by ChAoZ
Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:56 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: External Hard Drive Crash!
Replies: 6
Views: 1239

Re: External Hard Drive Crash!

My current PC, which is very old, only has IDE connections inside, no SATA. Most likely the HDD inside your external enclosure will be SATA... They rarely make external's with IDE anymore... You can always purchase a SATA pci card to go into your computer or a variety of SATA->USB adapters! Regardi...
by ChAoZ
Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:38 pm
Forum: General Hardware
Topic: External Hard Drive Crash!
Replies: 6
Views: 1239

Re: External Hard Drive Crash!

As mentioned, if you are able to disasemble the external drive and hook it up as a secondary drive inside the PC, you might have better luck copying the files. If that doesn't work, the next thing I would try is making a copy of one of the various Linux LiveCD's(I have had good luck with Knoppix)and...
by ChAoZ
Fri Jul 22, 2011 1:21 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Creepiest movie ever
Replies: 65
Views: 8385

Re: Creepiest movie ever

What's your opinion? I just finished watching "Surveillance" (2007, Bill Pullman, Julia Ormand) and it was skull-throbbing-creepy. If it gets any creepier, I honestly don't know if I'd be interested. When I finished watching Surveillance it reminded me a little of a great movie I watched ...
by ChAoZ
Sun Mar 13, 2011 11:29 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Which graphics chip is better?
Replies: 8
Views: 1919

Re: Which graphics chip is better?

Ok, so I did a couple of quick tests on both graphics solutions. I installed the 8400GS card first and updated to the latest drivers for Win7. The first thing I realized was I could get a basic idea of the performance from the Windows 7 Experience rating. The Desktop graphics score was the lowest sc...
by ChAoZ
Sat Mar 12, 2011 1:17 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Which graphics chip is better?
Replies: 8
Views: 1919

Re: Which graphics chip is better?

I would suggest trying the graphics card if they see an issue with 3D gaming. You can't lose either way then, and you learn something in the process. I would be interested to know the result as well. Good call. I think I will try both and do a little of my own testing. Nothing Techreport accurate, ...
by ChAoZ
Sat Mar 12, 2011 1:08 pm
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Which graphics chip is better?
Replies: 8
Views: 1919

Re: Which graphics chip is better?

What sort of games? Nothing to intensive. I can't even say for sure that any games would ever be played on the PC, but I know in the past some of my parents grandchildren have brought game CD's with them when they are visiting and installed them. Games like Lego Star Wars and Harry Potter type game...
by ChAoZ
Sat Mar 12, 2011 2:16 am
Forum: Graphics
Topic: Which graphics chip is better?
Replies: 8
Views: 1919

Which graphics chip is better?

So I am building my parents a new(mostly new)PC today. I purchased a motherboard with a 785G chip, and from what I have read this is considered ATI/AMD 4200 class graphics. I had limited choices for motherboards due to various factors. Halfway through the build I realize that I have an Nvidia 8400GS...
by ChAoZ
Sun Mar 06, 2011 10:49 pm
Forum: Networking
Topic: Can't connect to my wireless router.
Replies: 14
Views: 3583

Re: Can't connect to my wireless router.

Your problem could be caused by a number of things, but this is something easy to try that might help. Go to the Windows wireless connection icon by your clock. Click on it to bring up the wireless connection status window. Click on the "properties" button on the "general" tab. P...
by ChAoZ
Sun Jan 30, 2011 4:44 pm
Forum: Storage
Topic: HDD problem, need to save some data
Replies: 17
Views: 2663

Re: HDD problem, need to save some data

I have had pretty good success with failing drives when I have put them in an external enclosure and accessed the drive from a working computer through USB. It can still be slow process depending on how bad the drive is, but for a small amount of data it can work well. I have found with most failing...
by ChAoZ
Wed Jan 26, 2011 2:04 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Enter our MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti giveaway here
Replies: 1004
Views: 70186

Re: Enter our MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti giveaway here

I'll enter. This card would be a great upgrade from my Radeon 5670.
by ChAoZ
Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:55 pm
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Car extended warranties...input asap?
Replies: 25
Views: 2991

Re: Car extended warranties...input asap?

I agree with what others have stated. The only thing I would add is to read the fine details about what components and what type of breakdowns and repairs are actually covered. For instance, a extended warranty that I had stated it would not cover repairs of gaskets, bearings or seals and would not ...
by ChAoZ
Tue Jun 08, 2010 11:22 pm
Forum: Gaming
Topic: TR Steam Community ID Exchange!
Replies: 97
Views: 91310

Re: TR Steam Community ID Exchange!

Just noticed this thread and I have finally started playing games on steam this past year. My Steam ID...

ares1101
by ChAoZ
Mon Mar 29, 2010 9:17 pm
Forum: Visual Haven
Topic: HDTV for PC Monitor
Replies: 8
Views: 2565

Re: HDTV for PC Monitor

Sounds like your resolution isn't set to 1920x1080. Check that, and you should be golden. I doubt that's the native resolution of the screen -- a 22" LCD TV from a few years ago is unlikely to be 1080. But a resolution mismatch is likely the problem, or part of it anyway. As the poster above n...
by ChAoZ
Mon Mar 29, 2010 8:43 pm
Forum: Visual Haven
Topic: HDTV for PC Monitor
Replies: 8
Views: 2565

Re: HDTV for PC Monitor

Well, I just tried it in 1920x1080 through HDMI. It actually offered that resolution for the first time under display properties. I had just updated the latest version of ATI Catalyst drivers last night and maybe it fixed the issue of not having many options for screen resolution. However, the deskt...
by ChAoZ
Mon Mar 29, 2010 7:42 pm
Forum: Visual Haven
Topic: HDTV for PC Monitor
Replies: 8
Views: 2565

HDTV for PC Monitor

So I need a little help getting caught up on the newest display technology and input/output interfaces. It's been nearly three years since I purchased a video card for my main PC and it's been nearly five years since I purchased a new monitor for the same PC. Suffice it to say I am a little behind t...
by ChAoZ
Mon Mar 29, 2010 6:49 pm
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Ah EA, you scamps you!
Replies: 32
Views: 4614

Re: Ah EA, you scamps you!

Email today from wife. Subject was, "I'm about to scream!" Hi, Thank you for getting back to us. I'm sorry for the confusion. Can you please let me know that do you own the disk version of the game and are you trying to activate it in the EA download manager? I look forward to your reply....
by ChAoZ
Tue Mar 16, 2010 10:33 am
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Computer Repair
Replies: 27
Views: 4065

Re: Computer Repair

I have been doing computer repair along with another part time job for a few years now and the computer repair has actually turned into my main source of my income. I don't consider myself an expert in computers, but I have found that I know more about them than 99 percent of the people that would c...
by ChAoZ
Sat Mar 06, 2010 12:09 am
Forum: Gaming
Topic: Retro PC Nostalgia
Replies: 21
Views: 2401

Re: Retro PC Nostalgia

The first "personal computer" game that I can recall playing was Wolfenstein on my friends Mac. It was actually his older brothers Mac and we would risk our life breaking into his room to play that game because we thought the game was cool. Shortly after that I got my C64. I don't think no...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 26, 2007 11:49 am
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: Oscar the cat
Replies: 38
Views: 7598

I have no proof but I think it could very easily have something to do with the animals sense of smell. Dogs are being trained to smell certain forms of cancer, some skin cancers and lung iirc. The dogs can do it due to their keen sense of smell and the chemical changes that cancer cells cause in the...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 19, 2007 1:12 am
Forum: The Back Porch
Topic: So I watched a car crash today (pics included)
Replies: 31
Views: 7870

You aint seen anything until you have seen a Mormon driver in Utah :lol: Yes, yes. You can spot them pretty easy. Most of them drive cars with t-tops or a sunroof to accommodate the horns on the top their heads. They can also be seen frequently throwing holy water at Idaho drivers who are used to d...
by ChAoZ
Fri Jul 06, 2007 12:05 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

Just as an FYI, jpg files are stored in reverse from the direction in which they are displayed. So the top half of the picture is actually the latter half of the bit-wise pattern that is stored in memory. So thus if the bottom half of the picture is missing, then the first half of the file (minus h...
by ChAoZ
Fri Jul 06, 2007 11:59 am
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

I would still start by looking at a file's structure with a hex editor myself - but I know what I'm looking for, a duplicate header or corrupt header (that's my suspicion) http://www.obrador.com/essentialjpeg/HeaderInfo.htm You can experiment and try making a new header with http://www.sentex.net/~...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 05, 2007 6:58 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

Hmmm, that shouldn't be right. If you could see the "recovered" photo in the recovery software's preview and it still did not open correctly when saved ...then something is wrong. Do these "trial" versions allow you to save a restored file fully and completely? Did you format th...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 05, 2007 5:49 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

If the files are all there but are just corrupted, you could try data recovery software, like the kind people use to get photos off of flash cards that get corrupted. There are many decent programs that do this. Googling returns many, including this one . I think this is the way you should go. I tr...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 05, 2007 5:38 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

What you're saying makes a lot of sense Snake. I think you're right about the FAT table. It makes sense with the USB drive files being messed up also. At this point I think I might ask him if the camera could still possibly have the pictures on them even if he thinks they are deleted or erased. I wo...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:11 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

Try taking one of the images to another computer and opening it up from there. It sounds like either (A) you have a cross-linked FAT table or (B) your CLSID's are invalid. I tried opening the photos on two other PC's and it does the same thing on both. It's like half of the data for the photo is mi...
by ChAoZ
Thu Jul 05, 2007 2:29 pm
Forum: General Software
Topic: Photo problems.
Replies: 21
Views: 3679

I have tried the Windows image viewer, HP photo viewer, GIMP and Paint. Some of the photos won't even display a partial image unless I try to print the photo. Then it will print the top half of the photo and will start displaying half the photo in any of the above mentioned photo viewers.
GZIP: On