Posts by techsheaven - Page 3

You are at the minimum amount of RAM required by Windows 7. I would recommend starting by adding RAM. Onboard video "steals" a bit from the system RAM, this is often called the Aperture size, and is managed in the BIOS. When your system first starts, there is a bunch of stuff that you usually ignore. It will say something like, "To enter setup hit delete," or "... F1." You will have to try to read the info before it disappears, or get the manual.

Once in the BIOS setup, the mouse will not be active. Read the navigation instructions. Usually, the arrow key are used.

Plug and Play should try to install the correct drivers when you restart. The Exclamation mark indicates that there is a problem. Often, it is a rogue driver installed with a Trojan virus that has taken the resources needed by that driver.

After you re-boot, your monitor may come back on, but I imagine it will not. Either way, you should go back to the device manager, show hidden devices, and let us know which devices (if any) are have conflicts.

Next, do the following, in an attempt to stop malware from changing your system:

-Hold the windows key and press R
-Type the following and press ENTER: msconfig
-On the Services tab, check the box to hide Microsoft Services, then click Disable All
-On the Startup tab, click Disable All.
-Click OK
-Do not reboot when prompted to do so.

Return to the Device Manager and right-click each conflicting driver and uninstall.

Reboot, post the results.

Our goal at the moment is to put the system in a stable state and hopefully take tools away from malware. Our long-term goal is to run an anti-malware program and let it do the work. Malwarebytes' Anti-malware is what we will use first.

This is a long process, I know; I'm with you through it.

Good Luck

The following is from the Setup Guide from Dell Support:

Dell Factory Image Restore
1. Turn on the computer. When the Dell logo
appears, press <F8> several times to access
the Vista Advanced Boot Options Window.
2. Select Repair Your Computer.
3. The System Recovery Options window
appears.
4. Select a keyboard layout and click Next.
5. To access the recovery options, log on as a
local user. To access the command prompt,
type administrator in the User name
field, then click OK.
6. Click Dell Factory Image Restore. The Dell
Factory Image Restore welcome screen
appears.
NOTE: Depending upon your configuration,
you may need to select Dell Factory Tools,
then Dell Factory Image Restore.
7. Click Next. The Confirm Data Deletion
screen appears.
NOTICE: If you do not want to proceed with
Factory Image Restore, click Cancel.
8. Click the checkbox to confirm that you want
to continue reformatting the hard drive and
restoring the system software to the factory
condition, then click Next.
The restore process begins and may take
five or more minutes to complete. A message
appears when the operating system and
factory-installed applications have been
restored to factory condition.
9. Click Finish to reboot the system

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1737/en/index.htm

What operating system are you using?
Is this a wireless or wired connection?

Help me understand. What do you mean by "both ends?"

On a computer with the problem, click the Start Orb. In the Search box, type the following: cmd

Right-click cmd.exe and select "Run as Administrator."

In the command window, type the following and press ENTER: ipconfig

Please list the IPv4 address.

This is appropriately named, "Google Redirect." There are lots of variations of it. If you can't remove the hard drive and scan it in another machine, there is a secret I will share with you. Let's say you want to download hijackthis or Malwarebyte's Anti-malware (which you do). Search for what you want, Right-click the link, and select "Copy Shortcut." Now Right-click in the Address bar, select paste, and press ENTER. Do this rather than clicking links, and you will be able to get around enough to get some Anti-malware tools.

Good Luck

I usually look for the oldest unanswered threads and try to help with those. I saw this thread yesterday, and didn't answer because of the wide range of issues that could cause it. It may take some time, but I'll try to help.

If I understand correctly, you have two machines that are both connected wirelessly and they have trouble getting connected and also drop their connections. This type of problem is usually cause by interference. If I were able to, I would connect a computer to the LAN via a patch cable to verify that the problem is only with wireless clients. If that is something you can do, you should.

Often, wireless phones work on the 2.4GHz range. It can even be phones or devices in your neighborhood. A dead give-away to a interference issue is that the signal indicator will fluctuate from three or four bars to zero, or it will fluctuate when you are within a few feet of the access point.

There are a few things you can try:
-Change your access point channel from the usual default of 6, to channel 1 or 11
-Add more access points with the same SSID, Authentication type, and encryption key.
-Turn off any wireless phones and unplug the base temporarily for troubleshooting.

That should get you started. Let us know what you find out, and we will take it from there. If anything I have written doesn't make sense, please …

The following is a quote from Microsoft knowledgebase:

"If the device has a FailReasonString value in its hardware key, that string is displayed as the error message. The driver or enumerator puts this registry string value there. If there is no FailReasonString in the hardware key, you receive the following error message:
This device cannot start. (Code 10)

Recommended resolutions

Here are some things that you can try to resolve this problem.

Update the driver

In the device Properties dialog box, click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver to start the Hardware Update Wizard. Follow the instructions to update the driver.

You may be prompted to provide the path of the driver. Windows may have the driver built-in, or may still have the driver files installed from the last time that you set up the device. If you are asked for the driver and you do not have it, you can try to download the latest driver from the hardware vendor’s Web site.

View the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base

For more information about Code 10-related errors , click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
943104 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943104/ ) Description of Code 10-related errors that Device Manager generates on Windows XP-based computers "

(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310123)

What is the message associated with the Code 10?

Glad you were able to find a solution. Don't forget to mark this thread as solved.

Here is the first link I came across for a new screen. If it were me, I would look for a used one though. It is common for people to spill coffee on a laptop and wipe out the motherboard.

http://www.laptopscreen.com/English/model/Acer/ASPIRE~7720~SERIES/

Don't forget to mark this thread as solved when you get it fixed.

Good Luck

How much RAM is allocated to video in the BIOS? This is often listed as aperture size.

Also, I would disable any programs that run in the background.

As far as online video is concerned, you need to lower the video quality or increase your throughput to stop frames from being dropped.

Good Luck

Your sound card has to pass the sound output to the HDMI, so I would guess that that HDMI would be under output devices for your sound card. The best approach would be to update the sound and video drivers from the manufactures website. If you don't find a solution there, you could just pick up an audio cable.

The inverter powers the backlights, so this is a LCD issue, or cabling. I would re-seat the cables and check for wear and/or breakage especially near the hinges.

Good Luck

Well, I would say that you should set both the desktop and games to the highest resolution they will both support, and fix the shutdown issue. If our monitor has an automatic setting, you could try that. but a lot of monitors will only re-adjust only when they start up.

If you give some more details, I would love to continue the discussion!

Good Luck

Dual monitors can be tricky. Both adapters need to be compatible with a dual configuration, AND with each other. You could try updating your BIOS, but I would doubt you will find success in that. The best thing to do is to disable the on-board video in the BIOS and install a dual-head graphics adapter, or another Diamond Stealth S60 RADEON 7000 - 64 MB-PCI adapter (assuming you have another open slot).

Usually a fan will run on high when the heat-sink is dirty, or cheap thermal compound is hardened. They can become damaged if they are spun too fast but blasting them with compressed air.

I would remove the heat sink, replace the fan, clean off old compound, apply a thin coat of silver-based compound and put the heat-sink/fan assembly back on (sometimes there is a case fan and shroud).

Good Luck

I am not sure exactly what the instructor wants you to achieve, but that is where I would start. I would also do ipconfig/flushdns.

This sounds like something a college professor would ask. It is an awkward question because in a real-world situation, there is a problem to be solved, not just a task to complete.

Let us know what you find out.

Good Luck

I will say that Microsoft offers free help with updates - Cool! The only downside is that it may take some time. I would begin that process if I were you.

Having said that, I would download and save the service pack to your desktop, close all windows and run it. Let us know how it works out for you.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a8f5654f-088e-40b2-bbdb-a83353618b38&displaylang=en

Good Luck

You may need to change settings in the TV software. Do you hear system soulds through the TV when the HDMI is attached?

What is generating the error? If this is a windows error, it is probably a fouled-up driver. I would try uninstalling the software and re-installing it.

Good Luck

HijackThis is not listing errors, but what is running on your system. This following is malware: pj9q4.exe you can delete this registry entry... I'm suppose to say, "don't forget to back up your registry before making changes."

There are not fool-proof anti-virus programs. If you want to be more aware of what is running on your system, try Comodo, but be warned that it will drive you crazy at first because it asks for you to decide what to allow or block. This means that if you decide to block something you do not recognize, you may disable a good program! I have evaluated CA, and it seems to do a pretty good job, but there is no replacement for safe surfing practices.

I would also run Emisoft anti-malware it seems to find a lot of malware that MBAM does not (and MABM finds some that Emisoft does not). I don't recall if CA allows you to do a boot-time scan, but you may want to try that too.

http://download.cnet.com/Emsisoft-Anti-Malware/3000-2239_4-10292236.html

Good Luck

Post back here if you need more help.

Well, I couldn't get a picture of what you are trying to do there, so let's gather more information. Correct me if I have misunderstood.

You have an ADSL modem (Netopia - Earthlink ISP?)
-is is operating in Bridged Mode, or Router Mode?
-can you access configuration settings on this?
-what does the physical lay-out look like on the computer that is working?
-Did you need to make changes to the connections to make this work?
-What happened to make your configuration change?

Has there been any changes to your router?
-Can you access the configuration settings?
-What mode is this in?

If you find that you can't complete any of these tasks, it may help to do the following and try again:

Hold the windows key and press R

Type the following and press ENTER: msconfig

On the Services tab,
-check the box to hide Microsoft Services and then
-click the button to Disable All

On the startup tab,
-click the button to Disable All

Click OK and you will be prompted to restart the computer.

After you have re booted and removed malware, you will want to open the Microsoft configuration utility and check the box for normal startup on the General tab.

** Note that some programs will not work while items are disabled via msconfig including most anti-virus programs! That's the point ... malware are programs too! If you know which services and startup items belong to your Anti-virus Program, you could check them, so they are not disabled with everything else.
Good Luck

Boot your machine in safe mode by tapping the F8 Key while it boots. Use the arrow keys to highlight safe mode.

Hold the windows key and press R

Type the following: mmc devmgmt.msc

From the View menu, select Show Hidden Devices

Are there any yellow exclamation marks?

Here's your To Do List:

Reset IE

Uninstall all downloaded programs that you can ... like tools that are suppose to clean, repair, optimize, or tune-up your PC.

Run download and run the following programs: Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Emisoft Anti-Malware.

Install, update, and run an anti-virus program (I like Avast! Free).

Turn on windows firewall

Try to use the registry editor. If it fails again, Create a new administrator account and try to run it as that user.

Post any problems you run into. This may be a long process, so don't be shy to ask for more details.

Good Luck

Does it begin with a $ symbol?

Was the old battery corroded? Make sure the battery holder is clean and test the battery. Make sure it is the same voltage as the original. Check that the battery is oriented correctly.

If you still have problems, some boards can be fitted with an auxiliary battery.

Good Luck

I assume you have removed all other external devices. Pull the Hard Drive and try to boot. Let us know what the results are. If you can see the Power On Self Test (POST), You may have problems with the hard drive. Don't jump to any conclusions yet though.

If you need help removing the hard drive, post the Laptop model name & number.

If it does not POST with the hard drive out, we will focus on some other things, but we'll take it one step at a time.

Good Luck

Sounds like a video card. Sometimes off-board video cards can gather dust along the contacts and cause problems, or it may just need to be re-seated (taken out and put back in) to make the connections work better. Commonly, a cooling fan quits and causes the GPU to over-heat.

I would disconnect the power, open the lid and see if dust may be an issue. Was there any noise from the fan(s) before this issue? To clean out dust, a compressor works best, but make sure you hold any fans still while blasting them with air... Turning them too fast may cause problems. If you don't have access to an air compressor, canned air is ok, but us short bursts and keep the can upright to avoid frost and/or liquid from discharging. A vacuum is my least favorite way to clean a PC since it does not do a very good job and can build up static electricity (which can kill your PC).

After you are free from dust, leave the cover off and power up the system. I shouldn't have to say this, but don't put anything inside the machine when the cord is attached (even if it is "off"). As it powers up, make sure all the fans are turning.

Post the results back here.

Good Luck

Most routers list clients. They may be divided into how the clients (computers) connect. Those that use the windows default of DHCP might be listed in one section of the routers configuration page, while other clients (static) may be listed elsewhere. Sometimes wireless and wired clients are separated, and sometimes you can find all clients listed together.

If you are concerned about unauthorized access to your network, you may consider setting up encryption.

Good Luck

There is a switch that senses when you close the lid. If it was stuck in the process of working on it, the screen may not come on, but you say it responds to the input of closing the lid, so I would guess your just pulled a cable off that you didn't get back on right. Try just under the hinge cover, on the right-hand side. Make sure it is firmly seated. Also inspect the cable for correct routing and possible damage.

Yes, any settings for a router will be done in that routers configuration page. If you want to connect your Netgear to a wired connection, everything would be the same except you would use AP mode, and you would not have to do a site survey (and may not be able to) because the Ethernet cable will connect to the 2wire router (or switch connected to the router). This is actually a better choice because it is more dependable. There can be more than one DHCP server on a network, but that can get complicated. Just disable DHCP on the Netgear and point it to the IP address of the 2wire. You can also assign the DNS to the 2wire.

Perfect! Thanks!

You would set up your first router and make sure you can connect to it. Be sure to set an SSID you can differentiate from others nearby, and an encryption key.

Set your Netgear to repeater mode with the same SSID and Encryption key (and type). DHCP should be disabled when you do this, if not disable it. You will supply the IP address of the first router as the DHCP server. Reboot the router and log back into it. Do a Site survey to connect to the first router. Don't forget to apply changes on each page before you navigate away from it!!!

All routers are slightly different as to how you log in to them. Feel free to start the process. If you get stuck, do your best to describe what you are seeing. It would help to have model numbers so I can look up the manuals.

I'll be here,

Good Luck

I'm glad you were able to fix the problem. Would you tell us how you fixed it? Was it the advice I gave, or something else? When you are done, don't forget to mark the thread as solved!

Remember, I was just using a Token Ring Network as an example. There are other network types (like a Bus Network) that MUST be terminated. An unterminated signal reflects on the network until it degrades (at which point we call it "noise").

If you get a ticket to a sold-out play, and your ticket says Row C, Seat 5, you go sit there. You pass a lot of seats on the way, but you get to your seat. Well, let's say that you arrive at your seat only to discover that it has been un-bolted from the floor. You wonder around causing a disruption, because there is no place for you. At the play, An usher may help resolve the issue, but in the world of networking there are no second chances! If packets arrive at a network and don't have a place to be, there is no usher -- only a terminator (its death for the packet)! Why? Can you imagine if no one sat in there seat at a play? There would be no play! The same holds true for networks. . . If all packets reflected on the network, no communication could take place!

So to answer your question, it is terminated. On Ethernet networks, we do not terminate with a separate terminator, but termination is built into the network equipment. Don't be confused by Tokens, they are just a way for networks to take turns. We don't have those in Ethernet -- If packets …

Check this out:
http://www.barnettcomputerservices.com/tutorials/network-topology-tutorial.htm

Glad you found the proble. Don't forget to mark the problem as solved.

Are you talking about a tolken ring topology?

When I see stuff like this I think, "Humm... a domain PC away from the domain... Hummm." But then again I have needed to unlock computers for legitimate reasons.

If the Administrator Account was not password protected, then you can logon to it in safe mode (as you have done) and create a new computer administrator account. In the Run dialog box (on the start menu) type the following and hit ENTER:

control userpasswords2

click to highlight the new account name, select the check-box that says, "Users must enter a username and password to use this computer," click OK, and restart.

Now you will be logged into your nice new Admin account. Some notes: Encrypted files will be tough to get, and domain locations will be inaccessible. If the application you need was installed for a Roaming User Profile or just one user, you will have more hurtles to overcome.

Good Luck

I would uninstall the samsung drivers and install the one that came with the disk(old one!) Then I would disable any software that updates the drivers automatically.

another thing I can think of is connecting it through a powered USB hub (it may be drawing more amps over time).

A third idea is to look in the device manager, view hidden devices, and see if there is a conflicting (malware?) driver.

Keep us posted as this may take some thinking...

Good Luck

Sounds like something a professor/teacher would ask... Tell him/her it doesn't matter as long as they do not gather in your network! (just joking)

IPv4 calls it TTL, or Time To Live... but that is a bit a misnomer since it is not actually counting time, but hops. IPv6 sets this straight by calling it -- what else, "Hop Limit."

Of course a packet can't change itself, so routers do the job. They decrement the TTL/Hop Limit bits until the limit is reached and the packet is terminated. If the packet reaches the final router and the IP/MAC address is not available, it is terminated by the router.

There's only 8 bits available for TTL, so the max hops possible is 255. This keeps rogue packets from flooding networks.

http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc5082.txt

Good Luck

Are you using the on-board Video, PCI Express, or PCI? If you are using the on-board video, remove any PCI or PCI express cards, the hard drive and DVD/CD data cables, and any other add-ons. This should get you down to Motherboard, Processor(with heat-sink compound, heat-sink, and fan) RAM, Power Supply, and case buttons connected.

Turn on the system and verify that it does a Power-On Self Test. At that point, it will halt without an OS. If you get a POST screen, put one component in at a time until it will no longer POST -- That's your offending component! If it will not do the first POST, read on...

If you have only one RAM module, re-seat it (take it out and put it back in); try to get a POST If and skip the rest of this paragraph. Next, you need to remove one RAM module and try to POST. If this fails remove the first and replace it with the second; try to POST ... you get it,, right? Now try each module in the other RAM bank.

Still no POST? Re-Seat the CPU, making sure it is oriented correctly. Put the heat-sink back on, make sure the fan is connected, then... You guessed it try to POST.

Don't connect anything to the system until it does a POST. When it does, Just add one component at a time until you find the component that keeps it from POSTing. Often, just re-seating …

I was waiting for you to reply as to how you would like to proceed, but I wanted to point out that there are some basic problems with you configuration. Think of your network like a phone company. From time to time you get a phone book with all the numbers in your area. Routers work the same way - what is listed, is only the numbers for that area! What defines that area in networking is a combination of the Internet Protocol address and Subnet Mask. In your case, it would look like this:

Network 1:
192.168.a .b
255.255.255.0

Network 2:
192.167.c .d
255.255.255.0

The left part of the address indicates the network, and the right part indicates the device on that network. The subnet mask defines where the left and right is divided.

On network 1, we look at the first octet of the IP and see 192. Our question should be, Is this Network information, or or device information, and how do we tell? This is where the subnet mask comes in. Since the first octet in the subnet mask is 255, the first octet in the IP (192) is information about the network. Using the same idea, the next two octets (168 and "a") are network information. So the Network ID for network 1 would be 192.168.a.0! Zeros in the mask indicate the device. So only the last octet in each of your networks indicates a …

If you will, reset IE8 and update your system so we can find a resolution for those who need it. You need IE too -- for Microsoft Update. If not, that's cool too because others who have the same issue can post their results.

Thanks for posting the work-around. Mozilla makes a great browser.

I should say that this is like the old saying, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Damage to the cable may be the result of a failing LCD, or the LCD may be failing due to a damaged cable. So fixing the connector/cable may not fix the underlying problem ... Then, again you may get lucky.

Well, you could test the connection with a multimeter. Setting it to test continuity will send a small electric current through the red probe and measure how much resistance there is between the red and the black probes. 0, or near 0 is good; close to 1 or OL (Open Line) would indicate a break. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0Y1XGcjlL0

Reconnect the cable, and disconnect the other end. Find the trace/wire in the cable that corresponds to the pin you suspect to be faulty and the matching solder point at the connector. If you have continuity, the pin is OK; if not you may need to rig a fix, or replace the connector.

Let's see if I have this right:

Your Brother printer(192.167.x.x/24) is connected to a LAN port on the Netgear router (what's the address and net mask?) .

The Negear WAN port is connected to a gateway router LAN Port (192.168.x.x/24)

Is each set to routing mode? What else is enabled? DHCP? NAT? HW Firewall?

If you are sharing the Brother printer and have no reason to segment the network, I would look at setting it to some sort of repeater and/or bridge mode. Each brand will have different features, pros, and cons with each mode (Check the documentation).

If you can set it up that way, you can place the Netgear far enough down the line to avoid packets dropping(and extend the cat5 limit). The downside is that you will have to make sure you do not get it too far from the wireless printer.

It may still be advantageous to add a switch. There's two things to consider: Cable, and switching. It would be better to run one good run to a repeater, one more run to a switch, and short runs to other nodes. Routers may or may not switch full bandwidth to each LAN port.

Post back here and we will work it out together.

Good Luck

Have you tried a restore point? You can use System Restore in safe mode, but you will not be able to undo it.

-click the Start orb> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> System Restore.*
-respond to any User Account Control prompts.

You can run System Restore again if that doesn't work (and another one is stored).

Post back here if you need more help.

Good Luck

Don't worry about your English -- it's fine. I can't tell from the image if it is damaged or not. It could be that it is just not used. Do you get a BIOS screen? Did the issue arise after disassembly, or before?