Posts by goldeagle2005

I would recommend a clean install. From what I've seen, Vista can get cranky during an upgrade. Problems can range from slow performance to a corrupt OS.

Good question. Something to circunvent ads?

Or, you could go for a local assembled system, as jwenting said. That's cheap and if you get a good integrator, he may be able to get some good components too.

That's exactly what I meant. Since you say you added more memory to it, I'd say either that or one of the older ones have become dislodged. Try resetting all the memory cards and see if this fixes the issue

3 4 generally denotes a failure of the memory subsystem. Try opening the cover and reseat the memory modules, cleaning them if there's any dirt. If this doesn't help, get back and we'll get this sorted out.

Cheers

Mr. Thomas, for you the only place I can think of is Google groups. The minimum of ads, the maximum of knowledgeable people, the maximum chance of learning something new, the opportunity to be among the majority of answerers etc.
I guess you already have drawn a conclusion by now based on the things which you have read here....

Actually, I think he means that a lot of old, helpful people are lesser and lesser to be seen (and I hope I'm included in that category).:cheesy:. I agree with Thomas' sentiment that a forum should be a place where you can learn and not just get answers to problems. But I also believe that DaniWeb's still a good place to learn. I've learned and am astill learning new stuff each time I visit here. Whenever I need help, DaniWeb is the first site I visit (after Google that is, but I don't think Google counts here).

Goldeagle2005...your response wasn't posted at the time I was looking up his PSU, but it's good to see that great minds think alike. ;)

You stole my line. :mrgreen:

I'd say that both are good, but I'd recommend ASUS. Although, MSI is good. I've got 2 MSIs and all function like a charm.

Leave it on for days? The blamed thing doesn't stay on for 5 minutes!!! I'd suggest that you call up the Customer Care department (not tech support) at 1-800-624-9897 and yell, scream, rant, hunt for blood..whatever. Just demand that they replace the blamed thing or you're going to court. Dell has a special team that deals with cases as yours, but they kick in only when you mention the word "Sue", "Legal", "Media" and the like. Once they take it up, your issue should be taken care of. Also, demand an extension of your system warranty. It's the least you deserve after this nightmare.

-- Marking thread as solved --

It could be the board. One (slightly expensive) way to figure out would be to get a known, working vid card, use it on another system, and if it doesn't blow up there, use it on your system. If it does blow up in your board, get a new board.

One way to figure if it's a software problem or not is to enter the system setup and see if the keyboard works there. If yes, it's a software problem. If not, it means a hardware issue.

See if you can borrow another keyboard to confirm your diagnosis. Also, try different types of keyboards, ie. PS/2 and USB.

You could also strip the system down to the bare minimum -- mobo+CPU+PSU. Try powering the system on, and see if the system beeps. If it does, add memory one at a time (starting from the one you know worked fine) and go from there.

Hey Dannyboy

To answer your question, the 4 pin plug that comes with the PSU (the one with two yellow and two black wires) will plug into the 4 pin socket near the CPU. This one powers the CPU itself.

The other 4 pin connector you talk about is next to the 20 pin power connector. Some motherboards (like the one you plan to get) require this additional power connector due to the sheer amount of power they consume. So, make sure you get a PSU that has a 24 pin power connector. This connector may be one single 24 pin connector, or may consist of 2 connectors -- one 20 pin connector and another 4 pin connecor (which will not fit into the socket near the CPU)

Hope this helps.

Try running a scan for spyware on the system. Use Spybot S&D to run a scan on the system.

Did you also check to see the applications that are running? Use msconfig and disable all apps except your antivirus software from startup. See if this helps.

Exactly. it's trying to install some feature/file. You need to pop the CD in when you get this message.

iamthwee. Microsoft Office XP Professional with Frontpage does not mean he's trying to install Frontpage. That office suite is known by that name.

The correct key is
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Never smoked. I did try it once, but the sensation felt like a trailer had crashed in my chest. It was awful. Decided I'd rather kill myself working than smoking.

Not to sound rude, but I don't prefer much of either Hindi or Pakistani music. A few of them are good, but I mainly prefer Rock. Stuff like Def Leppard, Scorpions, Dream Theater, Lifehouse et al....

Marking thread as solved.

To me DaniWeb started out as 'just another web site', but slowly and surely, it's developed into one of those places you can't do without. I've seen it grow from childhood and reach maturity. To me, DaniWeb is the source of information, a place where you know people are friendly and will help you out and definitely a place I love being at. It's the only place where regular members are free to strike up a communication with the Mods and Admins. It's one of the few places where the Community Spirit truly shows.

...now let me wipe away my tears. <snif>

Wombats are cool. Especially more so since Dave here made me curious about them. Now I use the term wombat to describe any cute gal in my vicinity. they're so cute and cuddly....

Wombats, people. Not the gals. Let's focus here...

Try System Restore to restore the computer to a point where it was working. To get to System Restore, click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.

Since this problem started when you installed the vid card, the first step would be to remove that card and see if things work fine. If they do, check the card on a different computer. If the card works fine on the computer, I'd recommending getting a higher capacity Power Supply Unit. It could be that the card is drawing too much power and the PSU is not able to deliver. See if this helps and get back to us.

Marking this thread as solved.

Well, you can download the nvidia drivers from www.nvidia.com. Make sure you follow the step by step instructions on the website to download and install the drivers.

As for your second question, uninstalling the driver will not erase programs on the computer

If the system is slow even during POST, download an app called as memtest86 and run a scan of the memory. The very fact that the problem occured after a power outage and that the post is slow indicates some fault at the hardware level. Also, try resetting the BIOS to the default values. Get back to us with the results.

700 Megs idle is still quite high, for people with 1 gig of RAM. Still, I suppose you could disable Aero and get some resources back. What I really didn't like about Vista are the new folders. Somehow, the colors and the customisable options did not appeal to me. I wish MS would add the facility to switch to the Task oriented view found in XP.

Yeah it's time for a change...watch out guys we're coming aboard. Afterall, what guy wouldn't like a smart woman to play video games with hee hee......Justine

I'll be more than happy to challenge you to a game of Half Lafe 2 or Need for Speed: Most Wanted

Your chances? Dude, I was sucking up to him first. You get your own blood.

Sounds very gory, I know...

I like that last idea, Dani. Time to update my profile here on DaniWeb.

....did I just say that out loud?

I guess the only way to get him to give us Vista would be to praise him like hell. HEY...BLUD'S THE GREATEST, KINDEST, MOST GENEROUS SOUL IN THE WHOLE WORLD......

whoops...did I say that out loud?

Wouldn't work. Those darn flies are more advanced tachnologically than us humans...

yup. that'll work too. and if you know how to edit the file, you can change a whole lot options to change the way the folder looks like. I had edited the file so that it displayed a lot of links (to my computer, documents, music dir etc) on the left. For folders where i had pictures, i told it to not display the contents of the folder, but to run a slide show of all the pictures instead.

check to see if you have folder.htt in the windows folder.

Root: under-active (-6%)
Sacral: open (13%)
Navel: open (19%)
Heart: open (31%)
Throat: open (25%)
Third Eye: open (25%)
Crown: under-active (-31%)

Yeah. The Wolf needs meat....

actually, it does make sense...to me. but to the guard?

interesting. really interesting...

Large bonus? I didn't know about that! Blud...you owe us a party for this...

Yes, your PSU is a 500W one. The rest of the numbers tell you how much current is available on the different rails. it's38Amps on +5V, 17Amps on +12V...etc etc etc.

So, I'd say you're good to go for a new video card. Which one did you intend to get, by the way?

And didn't you say you were gifting me a copy of Vista? Time to own up to your promise ;)

assadtarik, what you are asking here is for someone else to do your work for you. This is completely against the forum rules. We are here to help you out, not to do your assignment. Darren here has already given you a whole lot of info, and if you expect someone else to do your complete assignment, sorry, you've come to the wrong place. You have google out there. Just run a search for what you are looking for. Don't expect people here to spoon feed you the exact info. If there are 21 million results for your query, it's your job to sift through them and get the relevant info. No one here will do your work for you. If you need help, tell us what you have done so far and we'll go from there. But you have to show some initiative.

Is this as onboard sound card or an add on sound card?

....ummm were you able to locate the remnants of the fan? (the plasstic blades and stuff)

Markng thread as solved

...or if that doesn't work, check to make sure the sound hardware has all drivers installed properly, and that the correct device is selected in Sounds and Audio Devices>Audio and Voice tab. Also, check that the Windows Audio service is up and running. To check the service status, click start>run and type services.msc. In the services window that opens up, locate the service Windows Audio and make sure the startup type is set as automatic and that the service status is started. If this doesn't work, get back to us and we'll go from there.

Marking thread as solved.

Yup, and if there's something specific you need help with, get back and we'll be glad to help you out.