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Posts by electricharbor30

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Which configuration should I go with? in Desktops · Sep 14, 2015

crimsonstag84 said:What's the point... it’s an upgrade that’s actually significantly weaker than the Pentium G3250 in every way.

I mean, look, it’s cheaper, you get more cores, it’s built on a newer process, and honestly, it uses way less power. There's no dust buildup, it's silent, and it doesn't run hot at all... I guess the CPU just has a 6W TDP. You can always slap a GPU on the board later if you ever feel like playing something a bit more demanding, which is why the power supply comes with that extra PCIe connector and 20A per rail... though, really, there isn't much reason to go with anything stronger than this. If I were doing this, the only thing I'd probably add is another stick of RAM, just so you aren't constantly hitting the swap file on the drive and can actually take advantage of dual channel...

Which configuration should I go with? in Desktops · Sep 14, 2015

View on imgur

Your setup is coming in from over in Chicago, so we’re gonna have to hang tight for a bit... maybe about a week before it actually shows up...

Battery indicator isn't showing when it's low in IT Support · Jul 15, 2015

Olivia Hayes54 said:I’ve seriously tried every single battery setting combo under the sun, and nothing works.
That little pop-up notification doesn't show up when I'm running low (you know, the one telling you to hurry up and plug it in?), it just dies on me instead—well, or maybe it doesn't even die because I'm basically obsessively checking the percentage every five minutes, so I just plug it in the second I see it's getting low.

Does anyone have any clue what else I could try?

thanks 🙂

You should check the notification icons in the Control Panel.

Gray screen issue in IT Support · Jul 13, 2015

Jonathan Mendoza17 said:Alright, look, here’s the deal

http://www.howtogeek.com/107511/how-...-the-easy-way/

So, I guess if he follows these steps, he might actually be able to get into safe mode.

The thing is, that option is for getting into safe mode *after* you've already logged in... but the guy can't even log in because he's just stuck staring at a gray screen on the login screen...

Gray screen issue in IT Support · Jul 13, 2015

Jonathan Mendoza17 said:Well, you didn't exactly mention how to actually get into safe mode on Windows 8, did you?
Yeah, they changed it so you have to use Shift + F8

From what I gather, the only way you're gonna see that repair option is if the system crashes a couple more times, which is basically what I told him... I honestly don't know anything about using F8 or Shift + F8 myself.

Gray screen issue in IT Support · Jul 13, 2015

Jonathan Mendoza17 said:I mean, can you even get into Safe Mode? Like, when you're booting up, just mash F8 and try to pick Safe Mode. If that actually works, go straight into the Control Panel and wipe out everything related to your graphics card—all those Nvidia or AMD programs and whatever. Then, give it a shot trying to boot back into Windows normally. If it actually loads, just grab the drivers again and reinstall them. But if that doesn't work, I guess you'll have to run a Windows repair. You'd need an installation DVD for the exact same version of Windows you used to set it up in the first place.

Since when does Windows 8 even let you hit F8 for Safe Mode?

PC keeps restarting/rebooting in IT Support · Jul 13, 2015

Jamie Barrett2 said:So, I went ahead and installed Windows 8.1 on my rig, and ever since then, I’ve been dealing with this incredibly annoying issue where the whole computer just randomly freezes up on me. Then, out of nowhere, you get that dreaded blue screen saying "your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart," and before I can even process what happened, the system just reboots itself after a few seconds. Usually, the error message points toward some kind of "critical structure corruption," though honestly, I can't tell you if that was the only one because it’s happened a few different ways, but I definitely remember this specific one since it keeps happening over and over again. I did a bit of digging on Google to see if anyone else was struggling with this, and most of the suggested fixes involved tweaking various PC settings, which I went through and did, but nothing really made a meaningful difference. It’s just as frustrating as it sounds.

Does anyone here have any clue how to actually fix this? Thanks.

You got some kind of USB hub plugged in or something? Like some cheap off-brand stuff from Amazon?

Gray screen issue in IT Support · Jul 13, 2015

briskskipper71 said:Hey, so I was just sitting at my desktop tonight working away when out of nowhere this message pops up saying I need to restart... So I reboot, right? Everything seems fine until it gets to the user login screen, but then once I get past that, the whole screen just goes gray. The only things that actually work are Ctrl+Alt+Del and moving the mouse cursor around. It’s running Windows 8 on some random Gateway machine, which is about all I know about it. What should I do? Thanks in advance

Maybe try just forcing a restart a few times in a row... like, once you see the Windows logo, just hit the reset button on the case. Do that maybe two or three times until it finally offers you Startup Repair... then run that and see if it actually fixes anything. If that doesn't do the trick, I guess you're looking at a fresh installation of Windows...

PC won't boot up in IT Support · Jul 13, 2015

Austin Mendoza35 said:So, I’ve got this really solid PC, right? But lately, it’s just been getting slower and slower, and then suddenly, until just recently, it flat-out refused to boot up. Like, when I hit the power button, I hear that standard little beep sound from the tower, but then nothing—just a total black screen on my monitor.
I was wondering if anyone knows what might be wrong or if there's any way I could actually fix it myself?

http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

Let me know which one of those fits your situation, and maybe we can figure out what to do next...

Windows crashed?!?!!?? in IT Support · Apr 15, 2015

Honestly, just call up a buddy who actually knows their way around tech and ask them to swing by... and don't forget to offer them some coffee and maybe a few cookies while they're at it...

Windows crashed?!?!!?? in IT Support · Apr 15, 2015

Do you happen to have any of those cheap Chinese USB hubs lying around that might actually work? Maybe try plugging just your keyboard and mouse into it and see if things start behaving... I wouldn't mess around with the BIOS settings just yet... if it still refuses to boot into Windows after that, you could maybe try jumping into the BIOS, loading the default settings, saving, and then exiting...

Windows crashed?!?!!?? in IT Support · Apr 15, 2015

Man, your POST isn't even getting through. I mean, I guess your Windows setup and everything else is probably running perfectly fine, but you've got a problem here. If you're using a USB keyboard, maybe try unplugging it and plugging it back in? Or if that doesn't work, just try a different USB port, I guess. Anyway, you really need to post a better photo, because it looks like you might be hitting a keyboard error during the POST stage itself...

Can I still grow taller? in Miscellaneous · Feb 10, 2015

I mean, you could always just go the route of getting growth hormone injections, which is pretty much standard practice among the pro athletes out there... you'll feel incredible and definitely see some gains, but man, each shot is gonna run you about 20 bucks $0.00... you usually just jab it into the abdominal area. Since your body naturally pumps out most of its own growth hormone around 2:00 AM, it’s probably best to be fast asleep by then; so, if you aren't planning on spending the cash for the shots, I guess you should at least try to be passed out by that time.

My pine tree is peeling—what should I do? in Miscellaneous · Jan 5, 2015

no trash, no grass...

Used PC builds: What are they worth? in Desktops · Jan 3, 2015

Joseph Lee9 said:I honestly don't even know what to do here, but I mean, is this RAM actually worth anything at all??
If anyone happens to know any charities or non-profits that could actually use this stuff, maybe I could just donate it?

Used PC builds: What are they worth? in Desktops · Jan 3, 2015

Joseph Lee9 said:Hey everyone!
Could you guys give me an idea what this is worth? I'm looking for an estimate..

AMD Athlon 64 3200, 2000 Mhz, Venice Socket 939
ASRock 939A8X-M -3x pci, 1x AGP (1.5V 4x/8x), 4x DDR PC2100 - PC3200 (max. 4GB RAM) integrated LAN, Audio
2GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM (2x256 MB MS, 1x 1GB Kingmax, 1x 512MB Kingmax)
Hightech Radeon 9600 XT 256MB graphics card
Seagate ST3160812AS buffer 8MB, 150 GB hard drive
LG CDRW 40 X12X40
Ralink Turbo WLAN

It's about 8.5 to 9 years old

Man, I barely managed to offload a similar rig for $67...if I had been even a little bit smarter, I probably could've just given it away to a little cousin or something...

Used PC builds: What are they worth? in Desktops · Jan 1, 2015

Kate Cox2 said:Hey everyone, I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on this computer setup🤔
http://www.ebay.com/itm/pc-computers/listing-13757321
Is it actually worth the asking price?

Thanks in advance!🙏

WEI = 3? Man, definitely not... I mean, I guess if you really care about getting that legit software the guy is throwing in, then maybe, since Microsoft Office and macOS alone are worth at least $167...but that's assuming it's actually genuine software and not some cracked version, you know? If you strip away all that software, the Computer itself is probably worth $167 if I'm being generous, maybe even less than that...

Used PC builds: What are they worth? in Desktops · Nov 17, 2014

pretty decent little laptop... I don't really keep tabs on what everything costs these days so I might be totally off base here: $500

Used PC builds: What are they worth? in Desktops · Nov 16, 2014

crimsonstag84 said:Here’s how I’d finally build it...

CPU: $50(whatever’s cheapest at Best Buy $77)
RAM: $60(cheapest stuff they have at Walmart $93)
Motherboard: $67(the cheapest $300-$117 option at Micro Center)
HDD: $17
Optical Drive: $17
PSU and Case (probably junk): $33

That whole setup would be about 2/3 what you'd pay for something brand new.

I mean, that sounds a little more reasonable now, though we're talking about two separate drives and a decent case, like an Xilence Silenus... the power supply is basically trash, just some Smartbox 500W, but honestly, I'm pretty happy with it so far...

Edit:

Alright, I just posted the listing, and I bumped the price up a bit just in case someone wants to try and haggle.

Used PC builds: What are they worth? in Desktops · Nov 16, 2014

So, I picked up this rig just last summer, and it's still fully covered under warranty... but seriously, what was that whole thing about the store having a 25% discount? I have no clue where you guys are even pulling these numbers from, honestly.