The Technology Help Corner.

[Vicarious Reality]

But, lets talk about the background picture, it is why i came here, why can i not put it in center at normal size? It makes no sense
Now the computer is making weird whirring noise every 30 seconds, maybe fan dirt

 

[AWAR]

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Woah woah.. One thing at a time
1. Yes the ps/2 port at the back of your PC is for both a keyboard or a mouse. Manufacturers save money because almost all mice sold nowadays are USB, so you only need to plug your keyboard there.

2. Are you sure it's the mouse that's freezing and not the PC itself? Can you do anything while the mouse is frozen like use the keyboard? If you are 100% sure it's the mouse, well, try a new one. Regardless, you should download and run Malwarebytes. Internet usage has no negative effect on peripherals by the way.

3. That's wayyyyy too much virtual memory you set. As a rule of thumb you should have double the size of your ram, however virtual memory isn't really used by programs anyway since RAM size nowadays is adequate in most computers. It should be set at 5-8gigs max. Did you have the shutdown problem before you set the virtual memory at 50gigs? It might be caused by this.

5. As for the background image, do you mean the desktop's background? It's pretty easy to set up in: Control Panel\Appearance and Personalization\Personalization\Desktop Background there's a section called Picture Position, assuming you're using Windows 7 of course.

 

[AxelxGabriel]

My Computer refuses to play DVD's properly no matter what I do. Every single tie, I only get audio, no video.

I tried getting video codecs, audio no video.

I tried updating/using both players that came with the PC, audio, no video.

I even tried different DVD players that you can download for free like GOM Player, BlazeDVD and VLC Player. Every. Single Time: Audio, no video.

I am literally stumped at this stage.

 

[AWAR]

-snip

Can you play other videos files? What codecs did you install?
I suggest you uninstall everything and do a clean installation of K-lite Codec pack and use Media Player Classic, which is provided in the pack, for watching DVDs.

 

[AxelxGabriel]

-snip

Can you play other videos files? What codecs did you install?
I suggest you uninstall everything and do a clean installation of K-lite Codec pack and use Media Player Classic, which is provided in the pack, for watching DVDs.

Other video files give me the same problem.

And the codec pack didn't work

 

[AWAR]

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You have to be more clear than that. What do you mean it didn't work? Did you get an error message? If yes what it said.

 

[AxelxGabriel]

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You have to be more clear than that. What do you mean it didn't work? Did you get an error message? If yes what it said.

What I mean is the codec pack and Media player were installed just fine, it still didn't work anyway.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Sounds like it might be time to pull everything apart, clean all the connectors and do a clean OS reinstall on top of that.

 

[AWAR]

Sounds like it might be time to pull everything apart, clean all the connectors and do a clean OS reinstall on top of that.

What? A full OS reinstall I understand, but how's pulling everything apart and cleaning the connectors going to help?

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Sounds like it might be time to pull everything apart, clean all the connectors and do a clean OS reinstall on top of that.

What? A full OS reinstall I understand, but how's pulling everything apart and cleaning the connectors going to help?

It almost certainly won't help as this sounds like a deep-code software issue. My bad.

Still, reseating all the cards and connectors isn't a bad habit to get into when you're about to do a clean install. Not necessary but it's as good a time as any (and better than most) to make sure everything's seated properly, take a bit of time to redo your cable management, chase out any small lizards from the case, clean the dust filters (and patch the hole the lizards are getting in through) and so on.

The cleaning part is unnecessary. Bad habit from dealing with people who let all the shit build up inside their cases to the point where a chisel would be a better option than compressed air for removing it.

 

[AWAR]

-snip

Well, it certainly is a bad habit if you don't know what you're doing, see metalrock's posts on the previous page. Other than cleaning I wouldn't recommend messing with the hardware in any way if you're not absolutely sure you won't mess something up.

 

[Rosiv]

I got a general question on pc gaming, would there be any way to make a laptop "better" for gaming?
My current laptop specs are copy pasta'ed from Speccy)

Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit SP1
CPU
AMD Turion X2 Ultra ZM-82 54 °C
Griffin 65nm Technology
RAM
4.00GB DDR2 @ 399MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard
Compal 30FC (Socket M2/S1G1) 48 °C
Graphics
Generic PnP Monitor (1440x900@59Hz)
ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics (HP)
Hard Drives
149GB Western Digital WDC WD1600BEKT-00PVMT0 ATA Device (SATA) 33 °C
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GT20L ATA Device
Audio
High Definition Audio Device


I know the only thing you can really upgrade in a laptop is the ram, and that 4gb is a reasonable amount already. And that using a GPU docking deck would cost alot of money, and i wouldn't really like to spend all that much.

I feel like i already know the answer, which is no, but still playing GW2 at 17 fps on low is a bit depressing. id really like to hit a stable 30fps without stuttering, and since bringing a desktop over to my dorm isnt really a option since i travel by bus, and they arent really "gentle" with luggage, im low on possibilities.

 

[AWAR]

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Since the graphics card uses shared memory, you might get a very minor performance boost (we are talking >5 fps here) from higher clocked ram, however there is no telling if your Laptop can support such kind of ram. And I don't really think it's worth the money anyway. What about a mini-itx build? I think you are allowed to carry handbags in buses.

 

[Rosiv]

-snip

Since the graphics card uses shared memory, you might get a very minor performance boost (we are talking >5 fps here) from higher clocked ram, however there is no telling if your Laptop can support such kind of ram. And I don't really think it's worth the money anyway. What about a mini-itx build? I think you are allowed to carry handbags in buses.

Thanks, i didnt know mini itx builds could do so well. Although its out of my price range. I was thinking of going a micro atx standard, i have a gtx 8800 at home that may or may not work, and i believe it can do some games on mid, ill just need all the other parts, the case, cpu, mobo, ram, hdd.

 

[Rosiv]

-snip

Since the graphics card uses shared memory, you might get a very minor performance boost (we are talking >5 fps here) from higher clocked ram, however there is no telling if your Laptop can support such kind of ram. And I don't really think it's worth the money anyway. What about a mini-itx build? I think you are allowed to carry handbags in buses.

Off topic, but do you think a external SSD would work for my laptop, in by reducing load times for games? And if so, could you suggest a small sized ssd and the device i would need to connect it with. My laptop has a eSata port.

 

[AWAR]

-snip

eSata is essentially a beefed up USB port, meaning that transfer speeds aren't going to be great. The logical thing to do is to replace the internal Hard drive with an SSD, and use the mechanical drive as an external one. Depends on the laptop though, older models don't support SSDs. You also need to make sure you can actually swap the drive.

 

[Rosiv]

-snip

eSata is essentially a beefed up USB port, meaning that transfer speeds aren't going to be great. The logical thing to do is to replace the internal Hard drive with an SSD, and use the mechanical drive as an external one. Depends on the laptop though, older models don't support SSDs. You also need to make sure you can actually swap the drive.

Hmm,i guess ill make my own build then.

I was planing to ask for a crappy refurbished small form factor pc for my X-mas present, since they are about the cost of a new case, and it comes with so much.

That being said, id appricate your help in selecting parts.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?Recs=10&Nav=|c:2628|lp:50:hp:99.99|&Sort=4

Could you pick the "best" pc suited for gaming there, thats has a small size?

And then suggest a GPU/PSU that i could use.

I was thinking of this low profile card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102958&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Video Card

As for the PSU, im not sure how much wattage i need, or what reliable itx brands there are.

Newegg had a small list, but the reviews on alot of them didnt seem convincing.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[AWAR]

-snip

The first link doesn't work.
You should note that unless you spend a hefty sum on a custom mini itx system, you're gonna end up with something as powerful as a low-mid end gaming laptop and only half as reliable. If you don't have much of a problem with lowering the details a little, something like this should fit your gaming needs.

 

[Rosiv]

-snip

The first link doesn't work.
You should note that unless you spend a hefty sum on a custom mini itx system, you're gonna end up with something as powerful as a low-mid end gaming laptop and only half as reliable. If you don't have much of a problem with lowering the details a little, something like this should fit your gaming needs.

Eh i already have a laptop, and i dont like the temps i get when running anything. Thats why i want a desktop.

I was thinking id go for a very small mirco atx compatable case.



I was looking some up on newegg, and i saw a smallish one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154094

APEX TX-381-C Black Steel Micro ATX Tower Computer Case



I thought of this Mobo:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131795

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard



With this CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113291

AMD FX-4130 Zambezi 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4130FRGUBOX



And this GPU


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102988


SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card


With HDD

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3232686&CatId=139

WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive

And windows 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986




I know im asking alot, but could you look it over to see if it gels?

 

[AWAR]

-snip

Ok this is a micro atx system, not a mini itx one.
The one you came up with is meh. I suggest the following (too lazy to post links sorry)
CPU: AMD A10-6800k
GPU: integrated in the CPU, 8670D
Ram: 8 gigs, make sure it's 1866mhz.
MoBo: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 FM2 AMD A75 (Hudson D3), or this which for some reason is ridiculously cheap but not much worse.
PSU: Most 450-500 watt psus will do. Just make sure it's rated at least 80+ bronze. Corsair is a reliable brand.

This should perform better, consume less and it should be cheaper than your selection.