The SSMB PC Troubleshooting and Discussion Thread

[Shade Vortex]

Actually, not sure how I'd be able to output the capture to another computer. I'm not very familiar with the Collosus' capture program. At the very least, I'll mess around with it and see if I can do that. That may solve any framerate/quality problems with using Xsplit. But I sitll don't think there's a way of using the capture card directly on the streaming sites, which is too bad.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

How much would a tower with said specs cost roughly?

This is slightly higher than the specs mentioned, but it'll be in this ballpark at the most extreme. Compared to something with the same "midrange" performance from 2008, this is pretty cheap going.*

*Ugh, I kept trying to word this right and failed. Basically, if you bought a system in 2008 that did as well with 2008 games as this 2011 system does with 2011 games, you'd be paying a lot more in 2008. It goes without saying that this system is much nicer than a 2008 one in the same price bracket.

Note that the price given is with no OS, but you can purchase Win7 Pro with it.

You used to be able to customise Novatech rigs but this feature has been removed which is a shame. However, Novatech is a supplier to UK business so you can get all the custom parts you need there if you're confident enough to build the system manually, and buying from Novatech is generally cheaper than elsewhere as they're a wholesaler but you should shop around.

Estimating roughly assuming you're just buying the tower and the OS it will be at least £600 regardless of where you shop, providing you're not resorting to the "off the back of a lorry" method. ;D

[Scar]

This is slightly higher than the specs mentioned, but it'll be in this ballpark at the most extreme. Compared to something with the same "midrange" performance from 2008, this is pretty cheap going.*

*Ugh, I kept trying to word this right and failed. Basically, if you bought a system in 2008 that did as well with 2008 games as this 2011 system does with 2011 games, you'd be paying a lot more in 2008. It goes without saying that this system is much nicer than a 2008 one in the same price bracket.

Note that the price given is with no OS, but you can purchase Win7 Pro with it.

You used to be able to customise Novatech rigs but this feature has been removed which is a shame. However, Novatech is a supplier to UK business so you can get all the custom parts you need there if you're confident enough to build the system manually, and buying from Novatech is generally cheaper than elsewhere as they're a wholesaler but you should shop around.

Estimating roughly assuming you're just buying the tower and the OS it will be at least £600 regardless of where you shop, providing you're not resorting to the "off the back of a lorry" method. ;D

[Remy]

By the way, how would a PC using this spec (i5 2500K/GeForce GTX 560 Ti combo plus trinkets) stack up in...say....a year to 2 years?

It's hard to say, but probably really damn well. The only thing that really makes this combo sweat is like... battlefield 3 on MAAAX or the Witcher 2 with uber sampling.... it's very powerful.

[Scar]

It's hard to say, but probably really damn well. The only thing that really makes this combo sweat is like... battlefield 3 on MAAAX or the Witcher 2 with uber sampling.... it's very powerful.

Hmm...Not bad.

Though I know a fair bit about technology and computing, I have had no first hand experience with PC building. I know that an i5 2500K is powerful, but I don't know what that translates to in terms of gaming. Same for video cards. I know what they are and what they can do, but I don't actually know how that works out when you actually apply it.

Thanks for the help guys. Now, to actually stratch up the money to buy this sucker.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

My poor i7 920 is starting to feel a tad weedy.

Which is silly if you think about it because its performance is fantastic even if the Sandy Bridge CPUs are even more ridiculous.

[Blue Wisp]

GOD DAMMIT.

I NEED HELP ASAP.

School gave us these netbooks for use on School and personal use. But don't know what happened that now when I launch Windows 7 (there's an option to load Windows 7 or Linux), when the loading bar shows up it gives me a BSOD very fast, a split second and reboots.

I tried using Boot Fixer or w/e it's called, but nothing happens.

HALP.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

If they were given to you by the school than by far the easiest way to sort this out is to return it to the school for maintenance.

It sounds as though as the Windows 7 installation is corrupted badly enough to just not run at all, as you implied that the system is fine running on Linux. Assuming that's the case, you need the Win7 installation disc and you probably don't have it, so again, time to take it back to the school for maintenance.

[Blue Wisp]

Went to an earlier revision, works now.

Thanks anyway ;D

[Diz]

The number one thing is always to hand it in to your school and let them resolve the problem. There are however a few steps you can perform yourself if you feel like it. If this thing happens again,

Windows 7 installation media has a repair tool that might try to resolve those kind of issues, and you could try booting on that and using those tools from the initial menu. You may download an evaluation copy of Windows 7 and burn the image file onto a DVD, but since you are on a netbook, you might be better off making a bootable USB flash drive and copying the image file's content over to there. It is a little more advanced, but do not be scared! It should be easy if you are following the few official steps.

If that fails, there might be a driver issue that sometimes can be resolved by hitting F8 somewhere around the booting process (strict timing, unfortunately, but spam-tapping the button shouldn't hurt, lol!) and selecting "Last known good configuration". This is only a valid option if Windows 7 worked appropriately on your netbook at an earlier point and if you have not been able to enter your credentials and log on ever since.

If your netbook never worked with Windows 7, then it might indicate that er, oh, I don't know! From what I know, blue screens are more or less hardware/driver related, and hardware scares me ...! *Shiver* Thing is, if it never worked to begin with, hand it back in and let them fix it for you. If noone else encountered that error, and it never worked for you, I would say a re-install likely covers the problem (I assume everyone has the same model of netbook). I hope this, uh, somewhat helped! ^___^

[Patticus]

I installed the new motherboard and RAM, and think all the stuff's plugged in right inside. But now the machine refuses to turn on.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

Did you connect the power button? It has its own switch.

[Patticus]

<p>I thought I had. After several hours of fiddling about in there, I managed to switch it on successfully, and Windows survived without needing a clean install; the mobo disc stuff was installed and the video drivers were automatically reinstalled, and Chrome wanted a reinstall too...but problems have arisen relating to those damnable tiny mainboard connectors:<br />

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<strong>1. </strong><em>The power and reset buttons on the case&#39;s front have been reversed!</em><br />

I don&#39;t know which power connectors are for the button and which are for.... whatever else they&#39;re used for; the manual is unhelpful in this regard. One is a two-pin connector called &#39;POWER SW&#39; and the other are two single-pin connectors labelled &#39;Power+&#39; and &#39;Power-&#39; and I&#39;m unsure which does what or what positions they&#39;re supposed to occupy, as the manual&#39;s diagram shows the bit the connectors go into the other way up to the reality.<br />

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Diagram shows: Five pins on top, four below.<br />

Reality is: Four pins on top, five below.<br />

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<strong>2.</strong> <em>The HDD activity light and the power light are also reversed!</em><br />

Again the manual isn&#39;t helping me at all here. If the actual buttons are corrected, I assume the lights will be too...<br />

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<strong>3.</strong> <em>The frontal USB ports don&#39;t work any more!</em><br />

Evidently it matters a good deal where those two four-pin connectors go, but there are three possible locations to put them, and I just plonked them into the right two&#39;s four-pin bits (they have a row of four pins and a row of five, like the other). Not sure where they should go.<br />

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Edit:<br />

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If anyone would like to help me identify exactly where each connector goes, and where to put the USB port ones, I&#39;d be grateful indeed!</p>

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<div>The set-up (with wires):</div>

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<div>The set-up (without wires):</div>

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<div>The diagram:</div>

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<div>And the connectors:</div>

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[Tommy.]

Hey Everyone,

Today I Bought this PC : http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Omni+All-In-One+Computer+/+AMD+E-Series+Processor+/+20%26%2334%3B+Display+/+4GB+Memory/3642037.p?id=1218422891966&skuId=3642037&st=omni%20HP&cp=1&lp=2

I am Receiving it tomorrow and noticed something I Am unsure about on the Details section on the page.

It Says this "Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g/n) - Connect to the Internet without wires."

would I Use my normal "Modem and Router" Setup I Have now on this computer?

[eXtaticus]

Yes.

[Tommy.]

Yes.

Thanks, got a bit worried there. Would you happen to know what it means by " Built in Wireless LAN" ?

[eXtaticus]

If your router supports wireless access, you don't need to connect it to the computer with a wire.

[Patticus]

Thanks, got a bit worried there. Would you happen to know what it means by " Built in Wireless LAN" ?

Presumably it'll have a built-in wireless card; one slotted into the motherboard maybe.

I fixed my problems by the way. The buttons do what they're supposed to, the USB ports work, and not one BSoD. I think I'm good.

[Tommy.]

Alright , Thanks Guys.

[Diz]

Is it possible for lightning to kill a PC if no other electric equipment or lights are turned off or even blink? Lights may have blinked as I may not have noticed due to the shock. Just wondering out of curiosity whether the lightning decided to play the grim reaper or if my PC just randomly died of age.

The PC did not actually turn off at the time of the incident. After some sort of sudden boom, the monitor just could not detect the PC anymore, thus I turned off the computer. I can turn on the PC through the power button, but that's it. No BIOS QC OK beep. No harddrive activity. No monitor. Could the motherboard possibly have just up and died?

This is my newest stationary computer, a HP Pavilion 700, and it is approximately 8 years old.

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

Lightning can fry a PC, yes. As a matter of fact so can a regular power surge which is why you should always run a PC behind a heavy-duty surge protector. Naturally lightning strikes are far too strong to buffer through a protector though which is why it's always strongly recommended to turn off your mains-powered electronics during a thunderstorm.

[Jetronic]

Not sure if this is the right spot to talk about an accessory like this.

This is a part of a laptop cooler than I own

I've owned it for awhile and keep my laptop cooler than my laptop does on it's own, after a visit over to a family's, my little cousin accidentally kicked it while it was plugged in and this happened.

And here's the rest of it

Could anyone point me to a good place where I could fix this, or if possible point me to a place that will show me how to fix it myself. I'm going to look up a place after I get back from a friend's place. But if anyone can give me a shout here on what I can do that would be awesome.

Edit: The product is a much larger version of this

Edited December 18, 2011 by Jetronic

[Velotix von Skruviktorrius]

Though you may want to confirm this, generally it's actually more expensive to repair a mass-produced electronic part than to just buy a new one. If this is a $15 part this may be one of those times.

[Tornado]

What Velo said. Unless you are capable of doing it yourself, trying to get stuff like that repaired is a lost cause.

[SuperStingray]

Trying to build a PC- I haven't done so before, so I'm putting some research into it. I don't want to go overboard; I'm aiming in the 500 to 800 range, excluding peripherals, software, monitor, etc. while still making it viable for fundamental PC gaming, i.e. running Crysis on high settings at about 60 FPS, give or take. Any suggestions for parts, particularly in the area of graphics cards?

Edited December 20, 2011 by SuperStingray