Re: [H] Alienware’s stunning OLED for $700

[Bino Gopal]

What do you guys think of the Samsung Odyssey Ark?  Anyone got one?  Used one 
on B&H for nowhere near the full $2700 price seems reasonable...

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/used/1708954/


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Greg 
Sevart
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 12:41 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Alienware’s stunning OLED for $700

The panel in their 34" OLED is WQHD, which means native resolution of 3440x1440.

The 32", in contrast, is 3840x2160. I suspect both panels support 4k inputs, 
but only the 32" can display every pixel in the signal. Most TV panels of 
decent size these days are 4k or even 8k, but monitor-class panels are a 
different story.

For me, the more important metric is PPI - the higher the PPI, the sharper the 
text, and I'm ready for an upgrade.

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 1:45 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Alienware’s stunning OLED for $700

Huh? above 32 inch doesn't support 4K? How do they do it on a big TV or your 
saying they can't?


From: Hardware  on behalf of Greg 
Sevart 
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 10:11 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] Alienware’s stunning OLED for $700

So close! I'm interested in the 32" version for the 4k resolution though.

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Wednesday, August 14, 2024 11:17 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Alienware’s stunning OLED for $700

Greg >>>today, you can grab the Alienware AW3423DWF — a 34-inch ultrawide OLED 
gaming monitor that’s already popular for its frequent sales — at a new, 
all-time low price: Dell is selling it right now for 
$700,
 an astonishing $400 off its original retail price.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2425877/this-alienware-oled-gaming-monitor-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-700.html?ut


https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/cty/apd/210-bfrp?cjdata=MXxOfDB8WXww&cjevent=6c107a3c5a5811ef804d3b180a1eba23&dgc=CJ&publisherid=4832273&publisher=&aff=IDG+Communications&affid=4832273&aff_webid=8200811&aff_user_id=2-1-2425877-1-0-0&gacd=9684992-28463632-5750457-345576786-177846717&dgc=af&VEN1=12839518-8200811-2-1-2425877-1-0-0-IDG%20Communications&dclid=CN3s_8bw9IcDFZu_fwQdHTAbug

Re: [H] new email ?

[Bino Gopal]

I pay for Outlook-well Office-now after having had it free through work for 
like 20+ years...it's only thing that works for me!  About 300+ rules to sort 
all my incoming mail currently saved in here... ;p

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of FORC5
Sent: Monday, May 13, 2024 1:27 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] new email ?


thanks, will give it a good look

fp

On 5/13/2024 11:18 AM, _ Winterlight wrote:
> I use Em client  https://www.emclient.com/ .  You do have to buy it but you 
> had to buy Eudora. I can still use Eudora and like it's portability but it is 
> a text only program now lacking in many formats and features and I eventually 
> made the switch to Em. You can use Em for free for two addresses. You can use 
> it for all email both web and private including gmail outlook and anything 
> else and it will operate your email addresses in one view or independently. I 
> am getting ready to buy a second license.
> 
>
> 
> From: Hardware  on behalf of
> FORC5 
> Sent: Monday, May 13, 2024 10:34 AM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> 
> Subject: [H] new email ?
>
> seems I may need a new client, do not use web based even though I know
> they interface thru that.
>
> once upon a time Eudora, sad, Thunderbird long time, it's OK does the
> job but Cox is switching to Yahoo...having problems with
> authentication. calls for AOuth2, one puter seems to be OK with it the
> other is not listed under SMTP, is listed under IMAP.
> seems to work even though sometimes Yahoo complains.
>
> any good email client suggestions ? found one called proton but not
> free... never liked Office, way more then I need.
>
> hope all is well with the group. I listen rarely speak, sort of
> retired from active puter repair.
>
> thanks
>
> FP
>

Re: [H] [Letantig_internal] And the Beat Goes On

[Bino Gopal]

Well, s...how did it go?!  Waiting with bated breath for the next chapter 
in the Antigonish MAGA saga...! ;P


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Thane K. 
Sherrington
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2024 4:10 AM
To: letantig_inter...@letantigonishdecide.ca; hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] [Letantig_internal] And the Beat Goes On

Let's be clear what the amendments do:
1)They stop the current council members from sitting on the Transition 
Committee.  Since the vast majority of the population don't trust the Laurie, 
Owen and their cronies, this is table stakes.   This gains Tim nothing in terms 
of votes or trust, and he's spending EVEN MORE money on the process.
2)Even though we told them we don't trust our current Councillors to make this 
decision for us, they responded by saying, ok, we'll have some non-elected 
officials make the decision.  In what what world is this better?  They appear 
to be sticking with the idea that voters are too stupid, too poorly educated, 
and too emotional to vote on this, and that we should be quiet and let our 
betters decided for us.

I was in a meeting yesterday with John Hannaford, the clerk of the Privy 
Council and he repeated over and over that integrity, ethics and respect for 
democracy were the hallmarks of good government. We've seen very little of 
those from the Laurie, Owen and their cronies, and Houston isn't looking much 
better right now.

Where is the UARB going to get financial information for their study? I'm 
betting they'll be given a sunshine and rainbow stories from Laurie, Owen and 
the CAOs and will decide "the finances look good".  This study is meaningless 
eyewash as far as I can tell.

Thane K. Sherrington

Computer Connection, Ltd. ...taking the mystery out of computers since 1982.
Winner of the 2012 Ian Spencer - Excellence in Business Award *Thanks for 
making us the Reader's Choice Best Computer Store in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019!*
95 College St., Antigonish,
NS B2G 1X6
902-863-3361 (phone)
902-863-2580 (fax)
th...@computerconnectionltd.com
On 25-Mar-2024 5:23 p.m., Bruce MacLean wrote:
>
> Lohr, this afternoon, ".ordered a new analysis on whether 
> consolidating Antigonish town and county is the right move, after 
> months of public opposition." Note that his main rationale for 
> reconsidering the consolidation was the "major" concern "that many 
> residents didn't feel they had enough information about the financial 
> impact of consolidation on their tax rate ." *No mention of the
> plebiscite.*
>
> **
>
> He has defined the problem so that it can be resolved in their chosen 
> domain. "If the UARB does not find consolidation to be in the best 
> interest of residents, it will not go forward" Lohr orates.
>
> For more recent detail on the MAGA (Make Antigonish Great Again) 
> movement (local) see below:
>
> N.S. hits pause on Antigonish consolidation | CBC News 
>  cbc.ca%2Fnews%2Fcanada%2Fnova-scotia%2Fn-s-hits-pause-on-antigonish-co
> nsolidation-1.7154855&data=05%7C02%7C%7C76c78f8564894069d70508dc4d8552
> 2b%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C638470482210104395%7CU
> nknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1ha
> WwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7mLX8ITVmE%2F7kiRaLrpdnEJjHnlTLPTC4FmFWeWoRpI%3D&reserved=0>
>
> Bruce
>
>

Re: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

[Bino Gopal]

Heh yeah-I mean I was thinking the same thing...but pretty sure it's out of 
warranty at this pint...guess I should look into that...

Though I have seen people complaining about having issues with failing 
keyboards on these LG Grams and not being able to get them easily fixed-which 
is weird as that's not something I've had much failure with on any of my other 
laptops-lots of other things have failed like the screen hinge on my MSI 
(multiple times) and the power and USB ports, but not keys randomly working/not 
working like that...

And of course since I sent this it's both worked and stopped working, back and 
forth completely randomly...and currently it's back to working since I can type 
9(9(9(9( like this just fine... 😝

And the 7 key on the number pad started working again for the first time in a 
while!  777!  Cool!

Wish it was just consistent tho... :/

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 1:04 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

I think it would be a lot easier just to replace the keyboard on the laptop 
...if you can get oneor use a Bluetooth keyboard or even a USB keyboard. 
Logitech sells wireless keyboards with track pads. I use one with my TV 


From: Hardware  on behalf of Bino 
Gopal 
Sent: Monday, March 4, 2024 4:39 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

Ok this is SUPER WEIRD-the 9 key (and thus the left parentheses) started 
working randomly today during the day for about 10 mins-I used both for like 10 
mins today (tested it multiple times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating) and 
it was working fine!

Then a few mins after I tried it again and it wasn’t working again!  So this 
indicates that it’s likely some sort of weird software problem right?  …or I 
suppose it could be a weird random sticky hardware key problem…

Any idea here??

BINO


> On Feb 26, 2024, at 14:53, Bino Gopal  wrote:
>
> Bueller...?  The list didn't die since New Year's Day (the last thread that 
> I saw), did it...?! 😝
>
>
> -----Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
> Gopal
> Sent: Friday, February 23, 2024 10:36 AM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...
>
> So this seems like a perfect HWG list question...
>
> I have a weird problem that just started happening a few weeks ago on the 
> keyboard of my LG Gram laptop from 2021...
>
> The 9 key across the top stopped working completely (I have to use the one on 
> the numeric keypad to type 9).
>
> I also can't use the left parentheses, and AFAIK there's no way to get that 
> symbol without using the ASCII key codes for it, ALT-0028-X, but that 
> apparently doesn't work everywhere like in Google Chat as I tried it to no 
> avail (unless some knows some trick to make it work) and I had to paste this 
> one in from the Character Map, which looks like it was the wrong font/size 
> now... :P
>
> Weirdly enough the 7 key on the numeric keypad also stopped working too.  
> Those are the only two keys that aren't working AFAIK...
>
> So I was wondering...I usually have taken my much older IBM Thinkpads apart 
> in the past, and esp my last laptop, an MSI gaming laptop which had a lot of 
> issues with the cover hinge breaking-but I stopped needing to do that back in 
> 2020 or so and I'm not sure this LG Gram is as forgiving at being opened...
>
> Is my only hope to take this sucker apart and see if there's something stuck 
> in those keys and it's some sort of physical issue causing the keys not to 
> work, or is this possibly some sort of software short circuit as the keys 
> feel fine and it's weird that those two just randomly stopped working no...?
>
> Any help/advice appreciated!  TIA!
>
>   
>  BINO
>
> P.S.  In the past I've had issues with some of the keys, maybe even the 9 key 
> itself not working or sticking and repeating, but banging on it a few times 
> usually got it working...
>

Re: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

[Bino Gopal]

Ok this is SUPER WEIRD-the 9 key (and thus the left parentheses) started 
working randomly today during the day for about 10 mins-I used both for like 10 
mins today (tested it multiple times to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating) and 
it was working fine!

Then a few mins after I tried it again and it wasn’t working again!  So this 
indicates that it’s likely some sort of weird software problem right?  …or I 
suppose it could be a weird random sticky hardware key problem…

Any idea here??

BINO


> On Feb 26, 2024, at 14:53, Bino Gopal  wrote:
> 
> Bueller...?  The list didn't die since New Year's Day (the last thread that 
> I saw), did it...?! 😝
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
> Gopal
> Sent: Friday, February 23, 2024 10:36 AM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...
> 
> So this seems like a perfect HWG list question...
> 
> I have a weird problem that just started happening a few weeks ago on the 
> keyboard of my LG Gram laptop from 2021...
> 
> The 9 key across the top stopped working completely (I have to use the one on 
> the numeric keypad to type 9).
> 
> I also can't use the left parentheses, and AFAIK there's no way to get that 
> symbol without using the ASCII key codes for it, ALT-0028-X, but that 
> apparently doesn't work everywhere like in Google Chat as I tried it to no 
> avail (unless some knows some trick to make it work) and I had to paste this 
> one in from the Character Map, which looks like it was the wrong font/size 
> now... :P
> 
> Weirdly enough the 7 key on the numeric keypad also stopped working too.  
> Those are the only two keys that aren't working AFAIK...
> 
> So I was wondering...I usually have taken my much older IBM Thinkpads apart 
> in the past, and esp my last laptop, an MSI gaming laptop which had a lot of 
> issues with the cover hinge breaking-but I stopped needing to do that back in 
> 2020 or so and I'm not sure this LG Gram is as forgiving at being opened...
> 
> Is my only hope to take this sucker apart and see if there's something stuck 
> in those keys and it's some sort of physical issue causing the keys not to 
> work, or is this possibly some sort of software short circuit as the keys 
> feel fine and it's weird that those two just randomly stopped working no...?
> 
> Any help/advice appreciated!  TIA!
> 
>   
>  BINO
> 
> P.S.  In the past I've had issues with some of the keys, maybe even the 9 key 
> itself not working or sticking and repeating, but banging on it a few times 
> usually got it working...
> 

Re: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

[Bino Gopal]

Bueller...?  The list didn't die since New Year's Day (the last thread that I 
saw), did it...?! 😝


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2024 10:36 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

So this seems like a perfect HWG list question...

I have a weird problem that just started happening a few weeks ago on the 
keyboard of my LG Gram laptop from 2021...

The 9 key across the top stopped working completely (I have to use the one on 
the numeric keypad to type 9).

I also can't use the left parentheses, and AFAIK there's no way to get that 
symbol without using the ASCII key codes for it, ALT-0028-X, but that 
apparently doesn't work everywhere like in Google Chat as I tried it to no 
avail (unless some knows some trick to make it work) and I had to paste this 
one in from the Character Map, which looks like it was the wrong font/size 
now... :P

Weirdly enough the 7 key on the numeric keypad also stopped working too.  Those 
are the only two keys that aren't working AFAIK...

So I was wondering...I usually have taken my much older IBM Thinkpads apart in 
the past, and esp my last laptop, an MSI gaming laptop which had a lot of 
issues with the cover hinge breaking-but I stopped needing to do that back in 
2020 or so and I'm not sure this LG Gram is as forgiving at being opened...

Is my only hope to take this sucker apart and see if there's something stuck in 
those keys and it's some sort of physical issue causing the keys not to work, 
or is this possibly some sort of software short circuit as the keys feel fine 
and it's weird that those two just randomly stopped working no...?

Any help/advice appreciated!  TIA!


BINO

P.S.  In the past I've had issues with some of the keys, maybe even the 9 key 
itself not working or sticking and repeating, but banging on it a few times 
usually got it working...

[H] Weird keyboard problem on LG Gram laptop...

[Bino Gopal]

So this seems like a perfect HWG list question...

I have a weird problem that just started happening a few weeks ago on the 
keyboard of my LG Gram laptop from 2021...

The 9 key across the top stopped working completely (I have to use the one on 
the numeric keypad to type 9).

I also can't use the left parentheses, and AFAIK there's no way to get that 
symbol without using the ASCII key codes for it, ALT-0028-X, but that 
apparently doesn't work everywhere like in Google Chat as I tried it to no 
avail (unless some knows some trick to make it work) and I had to paste this 
one in from the Character Map, which looks like it was the wrong font/size 
now... :P

Weirdly enough the 7 key on the numeric keypad also stopped working too.  Those 
are the only two keys that aren't working AFAIK...

So I was wondering...I usually have taken my much older IBM Thinkpads apart in 
the past, and esp my last laptop, an MSI gaming laptop which had a lot of 
issues with the cover hinge breaking-but I stopped needing to do that back in 
2020 or so and I'm not sure this LG Gram is as forgiving at being opened...

Is my only hope to take this sucker apart and see if there's something stuck in 
those keys and it's some sort of physical issue causing the keys not to work, 
or is this possibly some sort of software short circuit as the keys feel fine 
and it's weird that those two just randomly stopped working no...?

Any help/advice appreciated!  TIA!


BINO

P.S.  In the past I've had issues with some of the keys, maybe even the 9 key 
itself not working or sticking and repeating, but banging on it a few times 
usually got it working...

Re: [H] TLS Settings

[Bino Gopal]

This might help...

https://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2020/12/making-eudora-7-work-with-gmail-servers.html


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Greg 
Sevart
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 11:03 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] TLS Settings

No, I'm an Outlook guy.

The Hermes project files overwrite some Eudora files and allegedly add TLS 1.2 
compatibility. I didn't dig deeper but found it when I was trying to research 
Eudora TLS support. Incidentally, the source code for Eudora was in fact 
released and open-sourced under the BSD Open Source license.

Greg

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2022 12:50 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] TLS Settings

Well, I have managed to keep Eudora OG working for 27 years but I knew this day 
would come.  So Greg do you use Hermes? I always wondered why Eudora didn't 
just release the source code and let the open source community work on it.
w


From: Hardware  on behalf of Greg 
Sevart 
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2022 5:34 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] TLS Settings

Best guess is they're removing support for anything older than TLS 1.2. Two 
conceivable options:

To the degree that you have control over the protocols supported by your hosted 
mail solution, they may be force-disabling any protocol older than TLS 1.2.

More likely, they've monitored the negotiations between your client and their 
systems and noticed you are negotiating something less than TLS 1.2.

I don't think Eudora uses schannel, so the protocols you have enabled in 
Control Panel are not applicable. Further, I don't believe Eudora supports TLS 
1.2 - so you may be forced to find some sort of workaround 
(https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsourceforge.net%2Fprojects%2Fhermesmail%2Ffiles%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7C665ab12e20604712335608daa0b32e68%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637998988681478590%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=1W3w48cA151Y%2Fi0N33BijqlvRUdT5u2byo3A%2BknGqx4%3D&reserved=0)
 or finally give up on Eudora as your email client.

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2022 6:23 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] TLS Settings

I got this from Network solutions which is my hosting - email provider.
__
Action Required
​Due to increased attacks and security vulnerabilities in previous years, we 
have upgraded our platform which no longer support TLS settings you are using. 
Please know that your account's security remains our primary concern.
To ensure your continued data safety, this version provides a more secure 
connection that will improve the security of your mailboxes in order to shield 
your email address from unwanted messages.

After this update, your email platform will be migrated to a new and improved 
platform which is easier and better.
__

TLS settings are in Control Panel / Internet settings 1.1 1.2 or 1.3 ...all are 
checked. I thought they were for the browser.
I still use Eudora.. is that what they are refereeing to  does an email client 
have a set TLS.
thanks
w

Re: [H] Video pixel pushing issues with multiple monitors-and Zoom etc

[Bino Gopal]

Well so I solved the TV black bar issue:

I downloaded  and run the Intel Graphics Command Center (I guess the equivalent 
of the Nvidia Control Center for GTX cards) and I was able to select the TV and 
there was a Scale option for it that had "Maintain Aspect Ratio" selected and 
when I switched it to "Maintain Display Scaling" it seemed to reset the image, 
and then the 1920x1080 image filled the screen and the black bars disappeared!

I switched it back to Maintain Aspect Ratio to test it, and it still stayed 
full screen, so I guess whatever thing had happened to mess it up is gone now?  
So weird...

Still doesn’t help with the Zoom/Discord lag, but I'm going to try your 
suggestion next Jamie-thanks!

So no one has used one of those external Thunderbolt (since I have USB4.0 Gen 
3x2, I figure that's the same as Thunderbolt 3 right?) external enclosures with 
a discrete graphics card and can report back on how well it works...?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Jamie 
Furtner
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2022 2:57 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Video pixel pushing issues with multiple monitors-and Zoom etc

Have you tried forcing Zoom and Discord to not use graphics acceleration for 
video? I've seen that make a difference with Teams and older Intel Graphics in 
my Surface Book 2 (higher CPU utilization, but more stable overall was the 
result). If the problem is just that you have the screens connected then this 
isn't it, but I've found the acceleration to not be ideal on the SB2 depending 
on the client app.

You should be able to use the Intel Graphics Engine tools to add custom 
resolutions to help with the Samsung TV. I do that on my Surface Book with its 
3240x2160 screen to cut the resolution down so I can use those resolutions with 
games. The result is that the Geforce 1060 can much more easily keep up when 
compared to native resolution as it's pumping
1/4 the pixels.


On 2022-05-19 12:11 p.m., Bino Gopal wrote:
> Hey all, looking for some help and guidance here (long post warning, 
> so TL; DR included at the top)
>
> TL;DR: Am I just being unreasonable in hoping I can run multiple 
> monitors with just my integrated Intel Iris XE graphics card on my new 
> laptop and just use it for Zoom/Discord video mtgs w/o issues?  Not 
> talking about gaming even-just basic daily productivity stuff!  (Also, 
> pls read the PS at the end for the bonus resolution weirdness question 
> on my TV!)
>
>
> More details:
> I got a new 17" LG Gram laptop with Intel Iris XE graphics a few months ago.  
> It's super light and portable (like 3 lbs) and I love that, but I'm starting 
> to regret not have discrete graphics b/c I guess I didn't realize that there 
> is a limit to how many pixels it can push just in terms of how many monitors 
> I can connect at a decent resolution...and also just doing basic video on 
> Zoom and Discord/other video collab SW seems to cause perf issues...
>
> Currently I have 2 27" monitors both connected through a Dell D600 dock 
> connected via a USB-C port-the monitors are diff max res:
> 2560x1440 for the Lenovo P27h connected via HDMI to the dock (on left)
> 3840x2160 for the Dell P2721Q connected via DisplayPort to the dock on 
> right)
>
> My laptop can do 2560x1600 at max res and I also have a 85" Samsung TV 
> mounted above and behind which can go up to 4096x2160 (not just 
> 3840x2160 which is a separate subdiscussion I'll bring up below...)
>
> When I first got it, I was (I think naively) running everything at max res 
> and doing some scaling in Windows 10 and things seemed to be fine for a hot 
> minute-but then the system would eventually slow down and even get really 
> choppy-esp when I would join a Zoom meeting-that's when I noticed it most-tho 
> also when doing Discord video meets too, etc-i.e. anything with video causes 
> the machine to slow to a crawl and become basically unusable...even watching 
> YT videos sometimes caused issues.
>
> So I started doing stuff to step it back to see if it would help-the main 
> first thing I did was reduce the resolutions a bit at a time and try and 
> eliminate the scaling as I saw delays as I moved windows across monitor-but 
> it didn't get better til I set all the other monitors to 1920x1080 (which 
> seems like a waste) and set my laptop to 1920x1200 so there's no res changes 
> across the system and I'm pushing fewer pixels overall...
>
> But even so, while it improved the slowness on Zooms and Discord video 
> sessions, I still got SOME slowness/choppiness.  It was better, but there was 
> still enough present that it was annoying-so what I'd do is I'd turn of

[H] Video pixel pushing issues with multiple monitors-and Zoom etc

[Bino Gopal]

Hey all, looking for some help and guidance here (long post warning, so TL; DR 
included at the top)

TL;DR: Am I just being unreasonable in hoping I can run multiple monitors with 
just my integrated Intel Iris XE graphics card on my new laptop and just use it 
for Zoom/Discord video mtgs w/o issues?  Not talking about gaming even-just 
basic daily productivity stuff!  (Also, pls read the PS at the end for the 
bonus resolution weirdness question on my TV!)


More details:
I got a new 17" LG Gram laptop with Intel Iris XE graphics a few months ago.  
It's super light and portable (like 3 lbs) and I love that, but I'm starting to 
regret not have discrete graphics b/c I guess I didn't realize that there is a 
limit to how many pixels it can push just in terms of how many monitors I can 
connect at a decent resolution...and also just doing basic video on Zoom and 
Discord/other video collab SW seems to cause perf issues...

Currently I have 2 27" monitors both connected through a Dell D600 dock 
connected via a USB-C port-the monitors are diff max res:
2560x1440 for the Lenovo P27h connected via HDMI to the dock (on left)
3840x2160 for the Dell P2721Q connected via DisplayPort to the dock on right)

My laptop can do 2560x1600 at max res and I also have a 85" Samsung TV mounted 
above and behind which can go up to 4096x2160 (not just 3840x2160 which is a 
separate subdiscussion I'll bring up below...)

When I first got it, I was (I think naively) running everything at max res and 
doing some scaling in Windows 10 and things seemed to be fine for a hot 
minute-but then the system would eventually slow down and even get really 
choppy-esp when I would join a Zoom meeting-that's when I noticed it most-tho 
also when doing Discord video meets too, etc-i.e. anything with video causes 
the machine to slow to a crawl and become basically unusable...even watching YT 
videos sometimes caused issues.

So I started doing stuff to step it back to see if it would help-the main first 
thing I did was reduce the resolutions a bit at a time and try and eliminate 
the scaling as I saw delays as I moved windows across monitor-but it didn't get 
better til I set all the other monitors to 1920x1080 (which seems like a waste) 
and set my laptop to 1920x1200 so there's no res changes across the system and 
I'm pushing fewer pixels overall...

But even so, while it improved the slowness on Zooms and Discord video 
sessions, I still got SOME slowness/choppiness.  It was better, but there was 
still enough present that it was annoying-so what I'd do is I'd turn off the 2 
monitors connected to the dock and then I noticed that things immediately 
improved as they disconnected from the system-so it really seemed like it had 
to do with how many pixels the card was trying to push and the integrated Intel 
Iris XE graphics not being able to keep up-but you'd think a Zoom or Discord 
video meeting wouldn't be *that* taxing, no?  I'm not even talking about 
running a game at 60 fps here...!

Anyway just wanted to sanity check if that's the issue or if I might be missing 
something else that I should check.  Any suggestions on a config that would let 
me have more monitors at higher res or am I SOL?

Also, would it be worth it to get one of those external USB-C enclosures and 
put a discrete card in it and connect it to my machine (better than connecting 
it to the dock, right?) such that it would utilize it and I could use all the 
monitors (which is most of the time nowdays since I'm still at home and not 
traveling for work mtgs).  It would be worth the $$ for me if it didn't get 
bottlenecked and have issues, so I'd look into it if you guys thought it would 
help-has anyone done this/know anything about it?

That's basically it; thanks for any info/help guys!


BINO

P.S.  Here's the bonus weird thing.  Ever since I connected all these monitors 
to this system and had everything like this, the TV has had black bars on the 
side at 1920x1080-and also at 3840x2160.  (When I was on my older MSI laptop 
and before I got the dock, when I used the same HDMI cable and connected to the 
tv at either HD or 4K it never had any bars on the sides, and it only showed 
the standard res).

But note that this is a normal Samsung 4K TV that says in its documentation 
that its normal max resolution is 3840x2160.  But my PC show the max res as 
actually 4096x2160, and when I looked it up, I found some links that said that 
this was the actual "FULL 4K" res, and that 3840x2160 wasn't actually full 
4K-which I always thought it was!

In any case when I set the TV to 4096x2160 the black bars on the side of the TV 
disappear.  I can't actually select 2048x1080 as a res tho from Windows, so I'm 
stuck with it at 1920x1080 with black bars on the sides, which is kinda 
annoying since I don't want to run it at 4K and push too many pixels and do 
scalin

Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

[Bino Gopal]

Yeah, that's my concern...but I did do a cdkeys license for Mad Max (the game) 
and it worked fine, so I'm wondering...

That's why I asked if anyone had any personal experience with either of the 
sites below...

And it turns out that I had a Office Home 2019 license I bought back in Oct 
2018 that I hadn't installed anywhere, so I ended up putting that on after 
spending 2 hrs on the phone with Office advanced tech support doing a remote 
session using Quick Assist (Paul, in Nigeria-who for the most part knew what he 
was doing, which was very refreshing) and after completely uninstalling O365 
and signing out of my account and signing back in, got the Home 2019 license to 
take and the formatting/font/look is much better so I'm just going to use that 
for now...

Still keeping O365 if I want to use the web versions on other machines as I do 
get 1TB of OneDrive storage and that's what I pay for Google One (and I'm 
paying for 2TB if icloud now that I think about it...only one I'm not paying 
for is Dropbox lol!) and easy support, so it's worth it for me just for that!

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Steve 
Tomporowski
Sent: Friday, January 21, 2022 3:03 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

Bino,

Just be careful what you get from the cheap vendors.  My experience has been 
that they will freely sell you an install off a volume license. This caused 
problems with me everytime I moved to a new system.  The volume license had no 
more installs and I had to call M$.  The other time I had a Win10 Pro key and 
when I went to install it, I found out it required a yearly renewal from a 
domain.  In that case, the people who sold it to me didn't know that either.

Steve

On 1/21/2022 4:18 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> (whoops; ignore the one from my gmail...didn't know you could send to 
> the list from a non-subscribed address...!)
>
> FWIW, I found out that traditional Office licenses (for example) only allow 
> you to install it on one computer-says so right on the licensing page...and I 
> guess that would be true for most software, now that I think about it...just 
> seems painful if you have multiple machines tho...like once I get my desktop 
> then that's 3 licenses I'd need...or I guess I would have to reinstall it 
> from one machine to another huh...?
>
>
> Anyway, to make it simple, I signed up for the Office 365 family plan 
> ($100/yr) and was just going to install that on both the laptops and go from 
> there...but ran into 2 issues:
>
> 1) First, on the old machine that had Office Pro Plus 2019 installed, it 
> doesn't launch the Office 365 version of the apps, it launches the 2019 
> versions.  Do I need to uninstall Office 2019 first, anyone know?
>
> 2) BUT, the thing that's got me re-thinking O365...the O365 version of 
> Outlook on the new laptop is...not nearly as nice-looking as the one in 
> 2019...it seems almost like a webpage turned into an Win 10 "app" and I kinda 
> hate those compared to the old-school desktop versions of the software...it's 
> enough to really put me off and I spend a lot of time in Outlook and it's 
> like the main app I use most of the time...
>
>
> Anyone have experience with this and/or the same feelings?  Wondering now if 
> it's better to just get an Office Pro Plus 2021 license and install that on 
> the other machine...
>
> I found one at this site that lists it for $60 (vs the $440 from MS!)
>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpcsal
> esonline.com%2Fen%2Foffice-accounting%2Foffice-professional-plus-2021&
> amp;data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd117298ccbe1429c313a08d9dd3229f2%7C84df9e7fe9f64
> 0afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637784029782109742%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb
> 3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%
> 7C3000&sdata=nexQe10J5wexwTlPK9qDdwi347sq9UWwS0Tormu78ks%3D&re
> served=0
>
> This site has it for $130..
>
> https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmrkey
> shop.com%2Fen%2Fmicrosoft-office-2021%2F84-office-2021-professional-pl
> us-product-key&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd117298ccbe1429c313a08d9dd3229f2%
> 7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637784029782109742%7CUnkn
> own%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwi
> LCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=b4AG4MCwwrKsX%2FR4lwqBeTUwB3qm0q2keri7
> r220ATI%3D&reserved=0
>
> Anyone have experience with either site if I got that route and scrap the 
> Office 365 thing b/c the graphics on the apps suck...?  Thanks!
>
>   BINO

Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

[Bino Gopal]

(whoops; ignore the one from my gmail...didn't know you could send to the list 
from a non-subscribed address...!)

FWIW, I found out that traditional Office licenses (for example) only allow you 
to install it on one computer-says so right on the licensing page...and I guess 
that would be true for most software, now that I think about it...just seems 
painful if you have multiple machines tho...like once I get my desktop then 
that's 3 licenses I'd need...or I guess I would have to reinstall it from one 
machine to another huh...?


Anyway, to make it simple, I signed up for the Office 365 family plan ($100/yr) 
and was just going to install that on both the laptops and go from there...but 
ran into 2 issues:

1) First, on the old machine that had Office Pro Plus 2019 installed, it 
doesn't launch the Office 365 version of the apps, it launches the 2019 
versions.  Do I need to uninstall Office 2019 first, anyone know?

2) BUT, the thing that's got me re-thinking O365...the O365 version of Outlook 
on the new laptop is...not nearly as nice-looking as the one in 2019...it seems 
almost like a webpage turned into an Win 10 "app" and I kinda hate those 
compared to the old-school desktop versions of the software...it's enough to 
really put me off and I spend a lot of time in Outlook and it's like the main 
app I use most of the time...


Anyone have experience with this and/or the same feelings?  Wondering now if 
it's better to just get an Office Pro Plus 2021 license and install that on the 
other machine...

I found one at this site that lists it for $60 (vs the $440 from MS!)

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpcsalesonline.com%2Fen%2Foffice-accounting%2Foffice-professional-plus-2021&data=04%7C01%7C%7C41e82d9f841f4680058008d9dd218628%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637783958326356341%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=MLhCahtAhuAEX60g5MXj%2Bwqg%2F0p77KO7IdZh2xL%2BvT0%3D&reserved=0

This site has it for $130..

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmrkeyshop.com%2Fen%2Fmicrosoft-office-2021%2F84-office-2021-professional-plus-product-key&data=04%7C01%7C%7C41e82d9f841f4680058008d9dd218628%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637783958326356341%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=QTTKCXOS5U6J9vYO9ave1ty8l6K8Pjugvbn%2BNk68Gk0%3D&reserved=0

Anyone have experience with either site if I got that route and scrap the 
Office 365 thing b/c the graphics on the apps suck...?  Thanks!

BINO

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
Christopher Fisk
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 4:28 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

Windows 10 is insanely good about swapping hardware now.  Just today I imaged a 
drive from an old Second Generation core i3 to an 11th gen i5 without issue, it 
downloaded drivers for the motherboard and was ready to go.

As was said, some programs you may need to go through the process of reapplying 
licenses, but it depends on the app.

On Wed, Nov 17, 2021 at 7:06 PM Steve Tomporowski 
wrote:

> To be honest, I haven't turned on the old machine since it transferred.
> I believe most of the programs won't allow use on two computers.
>
> On 11/17/2021 7:04 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> > So are you still using all the programs/apps on both machines at the
> same time, and I'm curious-is that technically allowed...?  Or are you 
> "supposed" to get a new license for each install on a new machine?  Or 
> does it depend on the software...?  That's the things I'm mainly wondering...
> >
> >   BINO
> >
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: Hardware  On Behalf 
> > Of
> Steve Tomporowski
> > Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 3:57 PM
> > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > Subject: Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...
> >
> > Just a week or so ago, I transfered (image via Macrium) my C drive 
> > from
> an i7-8700 to a 5800X.  Win 10 had no problems with activation, acted 
> as if nothing changed.  Office 2016, however, screamed that the 
> hardware had changed and it needed to be activated/new key.  Some of 
> my other programs whined about activating on a new computer, 
> specifically Presonus Studio One and Waves plugins.  Both were easy fixes 
> online.
> >
> > On 11/17/2021 6:40 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> >> Hey guys, picked up a new LG Gram laptop at Costco for 
> >> $850...couldn'

[H] New gaming PC specs/recommendation for Bino?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!

I wanted to get a new desktop gaming PC-I decided to split the laptop and 
gaming, so I got an LG Gram 17" laptop for work/mobility (still need the screen 
size and resolution for emails and browsing-but I love how light it is!) so now 
I want to build a decent gaming system that will last me a while...

I wanted to spend like $2500 but the specs I'm coming up with for what seem 
like I decent system are coming out to more like $4k and I'm wondering if I 
really need to spend that much...

I used xoticpc.com 4 years ago to buy my MSI GS73VR gaming laptop (that is 
still going strong and it's what I'm writing this email on-well, after lots of 
repairs at the local MSI repair shop, heh) and I spent about $3k on it in March 
2017, and that was the last computer I'd bought until I got the Gram for $900 
last month at Costco, so it's served me well.

So here's the configs I came up with with the guy at xoticpc

12th gen: 
https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torrent-z690-ddr5?conf=525726
11th gen: 
https://xoticpc.com/collections/gx18-torrent/products/xotic-gx18-torrent-z490-z590?conf=525722

They're basically the same system, using this Fractal Torrent glass case as the 
base: 
https://www.newegg.com/black-fractal-design-torrent-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811352148

which they call the GX18 Torrent model on the xoticpc site.  I upgraded both 
systems with a GTX 3080, i7, MSI Carbon MBs, ASUS Thor 850W PS, 32GB Corsair 
RAM in 2x16, a 1TB Samsung 980 Pro Gen 4 (no other SSDs/HDs), kept the 
integrated sound, USB wireless dongle (no cost), upgraded the thermal paste, 
kept the AIO cooling loop, and upgraded to Win 10 Pro 64-bit.

The difference b/w the two configs is the newer gen chipset/MB, CPU and faster 
RAM: Z690 vs Z590, 12th vs 11th gen Intel CPU, 5.2k vs 3.6k MHz RAM-and $200 
more for the 12th gen stuff...


So the main questions are:
1)  Did I basically spec things out right for gaming and is this what a new 
gaming system should cost about now given parts shortages and GPU prices (damn, 
they're expensive!)?  Are there any major things any of you would 
change/recommend?
2)  If I stay with this config, is the extra $200 worth it to go from 11th 
gen to 12th gen and the new MB and smaller CPU die size worth it for 
future-proofing and upgrading?
3)  Anything that I missed here?  Any recs on better parts?  Better place 
to buy from?  I was going to get another MSI system but the tech (Eric F, same 
guy I spoke to over 4 years ago, which is cool) said that MSI generally uses 
the minimum spec parts and isn't as customizable and that building with xoticpc 
you can select better stuff (like the ASUS Thor PS, etc) so I went with the 
xoticpc custom build as I saw that to be the case...


Any thoughts/help/feedback much appreciated!  Cheers all!

BINO

Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

[Bino Gopal]

So are you still using all the programs/apps on both machines at the same time, 
and I'm curious-is that technically allowed...?  Or are you "supposed" to get a 
new license for each install on a new machine?  Or does it depend on the 
software...?  That's the things I'm mainly wondering...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Steve 
Tomporowski
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2021 3:57 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

Just a week or so ago, I transfered (image via Macrium) my C drive from an 
i7-8700 to a 5800X.  Win 10 had no problems with activation, acted as if 
nothing changed.  Office 2016, however, screamed that the hardware had changed 
and it needed to be activated/new key.  Some of my other programs whined about 
activating on a new computer, specifically Presonus Studio One and Waves 
plugins.  Both were easy fixes online.

On 11/17/2021 6:40 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> Hey guys, picked up a new LG Gram laptop at Costco for $850...couldn't pass 
> it up at that price given the specs and screen size of 17" (floor model, 
> hence discounted a bunch from the $1250 normal price).
>
> In any case what I'm wondering is about licensing and transferring over 
> programs and stuff.  I've got a bunch of software installed on my old MSI 
> gaming laptop and do most licenses for most of these things let you have two 
> or more copies installed on multiple machines at home or would I need 
> licenses for each instance?
>
> And specifically, I'm trying to remember, what's the deal with both Windows 
> 10/11 and MS Office now?  What I mean is the LG came with Win10, not 11, and 
> I think it's free to upgrade to 11, but would you guys recommend doing that 
> now before I get it all set up and install stuff, or to wait some time as I 
> heard that 11 was missing some stuff?
>
> And as far as Office goes, I'm pretty sure I just bought a license for Office 
> Pro Plus 2019 so I could have Outlook (all I mainly use it for actually).  Is 
> that something where I'd be able to get another copy installed on the new 
> laptop and running simultaneously or would I need to get another license?
>
> And I guess, is there theoretically an easy way to replicate my 
> desktop/files/programs from one machine to another?  I mean nowadays, at 
> least with iPhones you can just restore from an iCloud backup and I have to 
> admit it's pretty nice for things to be that easy...  Is there anything like 
> that in the Windows world?
>
> Thanks for any advice/tips guys!  Cheers!
>
>  BINO
>
>

[H] Licensing and new computer upgrade/transfer questions...

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, picked up a new LG Gram laptop at Costco for $850...couldn't pass it 
up at that price given the specs and screen size of 17" (floor model, hence 
discounted a bunch from the $1250 normal price).

In any case what I'm wondering is about licensing and transferring over 
programs and stuff.  I've got a bunch of software installed on my old MSI 
gaming laptop and do most licenses for most of these things let you have two or 
more copies installed on multiple machines at home or would I need licenses for 
each instance?

And specifically, I'm trying to remember, what's the deal with both Windows 
10/11 and MS Office now?  What I mean is the LG came with Win10, not 11, and I 
think it's free to upgrade to 11, but would you guys recommend doing that now 
before I get it all set up and install stuff, or to wait some time as I heard 
that 11 was missing some stuff?

And as far as Office goes, I'm pretty sure I just bought a license for Office 
Pro Plus 2019 so I could have Outlook (all I mainly use it for actually).  Is 
that something where I'd be able to get another copy installed on the new 
laptop and running simultaneously or would I need to get another license?

And I guess, is there theoretically an easy way to replicate my 
desktop/files/programs from one machine to another?  I mean nowadays, at least 
with iPhones you can just restore from an iCloud backup and I have to admit 
it's pretty nice for things to be that easy...  Is there anything like that in 
the Windows world?

Thanks for any advice/tips guys!  Cheers!

BINO

Re: [H] Google Duo and Apple phone

[Bino Gopal]

Discord hosts audio and video and does groups great...

Just sayin' 

Few of us on here chatting intermittently (also makes sharing pics/links much 
easier btw)

https://discord.gg/9ScQsu29VM


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bobby 
Heid
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2021 1:42 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Google Duo and Apple phone

Also, if you both use Signal, you can video chat.

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Greg 
Sevart
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2021 6:03 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Google Duo and Apple phone

Not "out of the box" - but Google Duo is available on the iOS store. So, it 
will need to be installed and configured first.

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Sunday, January 24, 2021 4:07 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Google Duo and Apple phone

I have an android phone and use Duo to video call. I know if I call another 
android phone no problem. But if I call an Apple phone will it work out of the 
box? thanks 

Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

[Bino Gopal]

Oh forgot that it only lasts a day; created a new link that never expires!

https://discord.gg/9ScQsu29VM


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Beave
Sent: Monday, January 4, 2021 5:48 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

I get an expired Link invite as well.

Tim Lider

Red Belt at Cardenas School of Arnis
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCardenasArnis%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C157a71972fa94bcc3d6108d8b11c00b1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637454081117271419%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=3XTaVCYXfh8tpuHo2xqV2VEjDt0Y4tag4wYeqROGlkQ%3D&reserved=0>
Anime Enthusiast




On Mon, Jan 4, 2021 at 2:40 PM Steve Tomporowski  wrote:

> Tried to join today, apparently the invite expired.
>
> Steve
>
> On 12/31/2020 4:59 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> > An overwhelmingly positive response!  I mean, I can create a channel 
> > in
> my own Discord server for the HWG for now and then go from there...
> >
> > Which is what I guess I just did! 😝
> >
> > https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdis
> > cord.gg%2FQEv4eczH&data=04%7C01%7C%7C157a71972fa94bcc3d6108d8b11
> > c00b1%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C63745408111727141
> > 9%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTi
> > I6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=uQAcUyr8uZHIqOtUpIErQd4sPD
> > T2rUfxuHfrzwwTg1U%3D&reserved=0
> >
> > There's a voice channel too...let me know if you can't get to/see 
> > that
> one...
> >
> >   BINO
> >
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: Hardware  On Behalf 
> > Of
> Al A
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 6:03 PM
> > To: Hardware Group 
> > Subject: Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?
> >
> > Count me in, if someone set's it up.
> >
> > Al
> >
> > On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 12:18 AM Bino Gopal 
> wrote:
> >
> >> Hey so how many folks here use/have Discord and would be interested 
> >> in setting up a HWG Discord server?  Or is there already one out 
> >> there and I just don't know about it?
> >>
> >> Or I could just create a chat and voice channel on my personal 
> >> Discord server...?  Let me know!
> >>
> >>  BINO
> >>
> >>
> >>
>

Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

[Bino Gopal]

Happy New Year everyone!

So we've a few folks who've joined so far...anyone else?  Think email lists 
will be pretty dead and chat apps (voice or just txt or both) will be where 
everyone is going shortly...so let's get with the times!

There's a desktop PC app and it syncs with the mobile app (which is real nice) 
and you can get notifications, and like I said there is a voice channel I set 
up too, so might be nice to hear folks voices for once.

Let's get more folks on! :)

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Thursday, December 31, 2020 1:59 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

An overwhelmingly positive response!  I mean, I can create a channel in my own 
Discord server for the HWG for now and then go from there...

Which is what I guess I just did! 😝

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdiscord.gg%2FQEv4eczH&data=04%7C01%7C%7Ca9aef218238d45b95ad708d8add75b85%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637450487754461153%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=hadFZ1f8tph7smMLf0NYI6FfRaNYB%2BZYWWi2Glsp5yA%3D&reserved=0

There's a voice channel too...let me know if you can't get to/see that one...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Al A
Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 6:03 PM
To: Hardware Group 
Subject: Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

Count me in, if someone set's it up.

Al

On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 12:18 AM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Hey so how many folks here use/have Discord and would be interested in 
> setting up a HWG Discord server?  Or is there already one out there 
> and I just don't know about it?
>
> Or I could just create a chat and voice channel on my personal Discord 
> server...?  Let me know!
>
> BINO
>
>
>

Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

[Bino Gopal]

An overwhelmingly positive response!  I mean, I can create a channel in my own 
Discord server for the HWG for now and then go from there...

Which is what I guess I just did! 😝

https://discord.gg/QEv4eczH

There's a voice channel too...let me know if you can't get to/see that one...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Al A
Sent: Wednesday, December 30, 2020 6:03 PM
To: Hardware Group 
Subject: Re: [H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

Count me in, if someone set's it up.

Al

On Thu, Dec 31, 2020 at 12:18 AM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Hey so how many folks here use/have Discord and would be interested in 
> setting up a HWG Discord server?  Or is there already one out there 
> and I just don't know about it?
>
> Or I could just create a chat and voice channel on my personal Discord 
> server...?  Let me know!
>
> BINO
>
>
>

[H] Create/Is there a Discord for HWG?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey so how many folks here use/have Discord and would be interested in setting 
up a HWG Discord server?  Or is there already one out there and I just don't 
know about it?

Or I could just create a chat and voice channel on my personal Discord 
server...?  Let me know!

BINO

Re: [H] Weird PC issue

[Bino Gopal]

So when you replaced the M.2 did you clone the install, or start fresh?

Wonder if it's not the physical M.2 SSD, but maybe the install of the OS/files 
on it...

Did you try wiping the old M.2 SSD before replacing it?

Curious if it turns out to be a SW or HW issue-I think you isolated it down to 
the M.2 clearly, but not sure it's been identified as either SW or HW on the 
M.2 as a result, right?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bobby 
Heid
Sent: Thursday, December 10, 2020 12:58 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Weird PC issue

Latest update.

I replaced the M.2 SSD on 11/20 and it appears to have solved the issue with my 
PC locking up.  I have not had it lock up since I replaced the drive.  I know, 
it  could still not be resolved.

But, I want to thank each and everyone of you that tried to help me with my 
issue.  I really appreciate you taking the time to assist me!  And, I ended up 
with an extra HDD.  Who can't use the extra space.  😊

Thanks,
Bobby

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 7:25 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Weird PC issue

It could be the M.2 SSD. I've only had 1 of those fail before but I'm sure it 
can happen just as easily as failure in SATA SSD (1 have 5 dead ones)

lopaka

On Tue, Nov 17, 2020 at 3:27 PM Bobby Heid  wrote:

> And now, I have been using VideoRedo for about 30 minutes now and the 
> common dialog window opens very fast.
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
> Bobby Heid
> Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 5:37 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Weird PC issue
>
> Thanks Lubomir.  Were you able to fix the issue?
>
> So, I replaced my non-boot SSD with a HDD.  At first, all went well.  
> From within VideoRedo, the common dialog windows opened very fast.  
> And, it did not lock up for over 12 hours.  But when I got up this 
> morning, it was locked up.
>
> The only drive I have not disabled/replaced is the M2 boot SSD.  Do 
> you think this may be causing the issue?
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
> Lubomír Cabla
> Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2020 3:31 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Weird PC issue
>
> I have the same issue with VLC player.
>
> First time the delay is about 15 seconds, next run is without delay.
>
> After checking in the task manager (Details) I found out the cause:
>
> MsMpEngCP.exe and MsMpEng.exe
>
> They perform full control of the running program but only the first time.
>
> Maybe it will help you.
>
> Lubomir Cabla
>
> On Tue, Nov 3, 2020 at 3:22 PM Bobby Heid  wrote:
>
> > Yes, it was good info.
> >
> > Latest update.  I swapped the 5TB HDD out for a new 6TB HDD.  No changes.
> > I guess now I have lots more storage.  😊
> >
> > Could this issue be with one of the SSDs?  The Samsung Magician 
> > software says those are ok.
> >
> > Here is an odd thing that I noticed.  Sometimes, when using my video 
> > editing software (VideoReDo TVSuite V6), I noticed when I do 
> > something that causes the app to open up the standard open file 
> > dialog, there can be a delay of between 5 and 20 seconds before the 
> > dialog window opens.  Other times, it opens almost instantly.  This 
> > kind of led me to believe that it may have been the HDD causing my 
> > issues.  I would open a file from the HDD and set its output to the 
> > non-NVME SSD.
> >
> > Any other suggestions?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Bobby
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: Hardware  On Behalf 
> > Of lopaka polena
> > Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 5:05 PM
> > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > Subject: Re: [H] Weird PC issue
> >
> > Those were good recommendations from Joshua, never seen that info before.
> > The drive I pulled passed every test, but had long pauses during 
> > some of them. I basically swapped everything that could be swapped 
> > during testing except my m2 SSD's, and when I swapped the 4TB 
> > seagate drive all the problems went away. Hopefully you luck out and 
> > find the culprit
> too.
> >
> > lopaka
> >
> > On Tue, Oct 27, 2020 at 1:39 PM Bobby Heid  wrote:
> >
> > > Thanks Joshua.
> > >
> > > I ran all of those except for the performance monitoring one and 
> > > all said OK.  An interesting note - some of those tests do not 
> > > show the NVME SSD (Samsung 960 Pro SSD).
> > >
> > > I did buy a new 6TB HD to swap out for the 5TB one to see if that 
> > > may
> > help.
> > >
> > > -Original Message-
> > > From: Hardware  On 
> > > Behalf Of Joshua MacCraw
> > > Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2020 12:27 PM
> > > To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> > > Subject: Re: [H] Weird PC issue
> > >
> > > SMART testing comes to mind as well as checking the log for disk 
> > > related events. Found this tip, didn't know win10 did this 
> > > di

Re: [H] 10/100 or 1000

[Bino Gopal]

Would only affect you for large file downloads that could go over 100 Mbps...

Also if you had a hub you'd have a problem, but a switch is fine.  Any recent 
router should have a gig port tho so you wouldn't be limited...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of _ 
Winterlight
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 2:29 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] 10/100 or 1000

That is what I thought and normally that wouldn't be a problem but Sparklite 
formally Cable One gives me 200+ down and 20 up. Not that I am aware of any web 
page that would serve out that kind of speed.

From: Hardware  on behalf of Julian 
Zottl 
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 1:27 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] 10/100 or 1000

On the LAN you’ll be a 1Gbps between all machines. Any connections to the 
internet will be at 100Mbps.

Sent from my iThingy, but not in that iShortBus kind of way.

> On Nov 18, 2020, at 3:58 PM, _ Winterlight  wrote:
>
> If I use a router that has 4 10/100 ports and is only connected to a cable 
> modem plus  a 10/100/1000 switch that feeds everything else on the LAN...will 
> the LAN members be able to transfer files between themselves at gigabit 
> speeds or will everything be choked by the router?
> 

Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

[Bino Gopal]

Would the Circle device work if the device is a shared PC that's being used 
during the day for classes on Zoom but then by the parents later in the day...?


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Brian 
Weeden
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 1:52 PM
To: christopher.f...@thefisks.org
Cc: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

We use a Disney Circle device to do both content filtering/blocking and time 
limits on internet access for our kids. You can do different profiles for each 
person and assign all their devices to their profile. Nice iOS/Android app for 
managing things and also has an app to control access on phones over LTE.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:10 PM Christopher Fisk < 
christopher.f...@thefisks.org> wrote:

> " I have the same issue with my daughter and she stays up half the 
> night on YouTube."
>
> Well, that's your problem.  Your problem isn't youtube, it's your 
> daughter staying up late! ( xyproblem.info )
>
> Use a router with access controls and disable access for her MAC 
> addresses after bed time.
>
> That way your internet works fine, you don't have to do things that 
> she can work her way around.  Your router just doesn't let her 
> machines connect to the internet during that time.
>
> DD-WRT has support for this built in:
> https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwiki
> .dd-wrt.com%2Fwiki%2Findex.php%2FParental_control&data=04%7C01%7C%
> 7C18657d66864b4b7f71ae08d88c0c33cd%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%
> 7C1%7C0%7C637413331321310893%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwM
> DAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=t4J
> vJtV%2F8NDcPX9JKGLB0FZeuFIQzVw%2F%2Fm4ycQ%2FsZLo%3D&reserved=0
>
>
> Is that more of what you're looking for?
>
> On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 12:46 PM Z00100  wrote:
>
> >
> >
> >
> >  So my question to you is why not?
> >
> >
> >
> > I have the same issue with my daughter and she stays up half the 
> > night on YouTube. We can’t take the phone per se because she uses it 
> > as an alarm clock etc and the only safe place to ensure she doesn’t 
> > take it at night
> is
> > in our bedroom.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > >
> > > On Nov 18, 2020 at 9:44 AM,   > christopher.f...@thefisks.org)>  wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >  Can I ask WHY you're looking to do this? Is the kid just not 
> > > following
> > the rules? Taking away the device they're using to circumvent the 
> > rules seems like the right thing to do to me. This isn't a simple problem.
> > Removing just access to youtube for someone with computer skills and 
> > determination to get it will be almost impossible without really
> tightening
> > down things. 1. Remove admin rights from the teenager's PC for their 
> > user account 2. Remove the ability to boot from anything except the 
> > installed HDD (to prevent creation of admin account through tools or 
> > running linux from livecd) 1. Set a BIOS password after configuring 
> > the boot sequence
> 2.
> > Teen might be able to reset password, so seal the computer case so
> jumpers
> > can't be touched 3. Setup Chrome and all other browsers in locked 
> > down
> mode
> > using either kiosk mode for the browser, or GPO 1. the GPO should 
> > set a
> web
> > proxy server to a machine running squid or other proxy software  so 
> > you
> can
> > block youtube there, as well as track what they're doing to 
> > circumvent
> the
> > block 4. Setup the PC so they can't run anything that isn't on the 
> > whitelist of applications (so they don't download a standalone 
> > version of firefox/chrome and get around your lockdowns) 1. (This is 
> > insanely time consuming and will run into issues when you're trying 
> > to update the
> > computer) In a business environment you can do the majority of this 
> > and centrally maintain things and it's a full time job. Doing it at home?
> That
> > seems insane. Non-admin rights, locked down profile, not being able 
> > to install software and not being able to change the browser 
> > settings will
> get
> > the majority. On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:18 AM Bino Gopal  < 
> > binogo...@hotmail.com (mailto:binogo...@hotmail.com)>  wrote:  >  So 
> > what’s the simplest/most elegant way to block YouTube on a PC when  
> > > you’ve got a resourceful teenager who can Google and attempt to
> circumvent
> > >  any methods you use?  >   >  Is it on the PC or on the network first
> > off?  >   >  On the PC would UAC and an admin account and editing the
> hosts
> > file be  >  enough? Or fwd proxy software for all browsers preventing new
> > browser  >  install?  >   >  Or just do it with filtering on the router
> > outbound?  >   >  How complicated do you need to get exactly?  >   >
> > Thanks in advance!  >   >  BINO  >   >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
-- 


-
Brian

Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

[Bino Gopal]

Requires a RPi and installing software and hardware onto the network right?

Looking for something simple for a NON-techie person as much as possible...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Z00100
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 5:06 AM
To: Hardware 
Subject: Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

Pihole can be used. You can block the whole domain range.   
  
>   
> On Nov 18, 2020 at 1:18 AM,  mailto:binogo...@hotmail.com)>  
> wrote:
>   
>   
>   
>  So what’s the simplest/most elegant way to block YouTube on a PC when you’ve 
> got a resourceful teenager who can Google and attempt to circumvent any 
> methods you use? Is it on the PC or on the network first off? On the PC would 
> UAC and an admin account and editing the hosts file be enough? Or fwd proxy 
> software for all browsers preventing new browser install? Or just do it with 
> filtering on the router outbound? How complicated do you need to get exactly? 
> Thanks in advance! BINO  
>
>   
  
  
 

Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

[Bino Gopal]

Hehe, not MY kid; my friend's kid.  He's watching YT while doing school Zooms 
(apparently) so she was just asking and I had some ideas, but I was basically 
looking for the simplest way to do it since she's not very techy...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
Christopher Fisk
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2020 6:44 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Blocking YouTube?

 Can I ask WHY you're looking to do this?  Is the kid just not following the 
rules?  Taking away the device they're using to circumvent the rules seems like 
the right thing to do to me.

 This isn't a simple problem.  Removing just access to youtube for someone with 
computer skills and determination to get it will be almost impossible without 
really tightening down things.


   1. Remove admin rights from the teenager's PC for their user account
   2. Remove the ability to boot from anything except the installed HDD (to
   prevent creation of admin account through tools or running linux from
   livecd)
   1. Set a BIOS password after configuring the boot sequence
  2. Teen might be able to reset password, so seal the computer case so
  jumpers can't be touched
  3. Setup Chrome and all other browsers in locked down mode using
   either kiosk mode for the browser, or GPO
  1. the GPO should set a web proxy server to a machine running squid
  or other proxy software so you can block youtube there, as well as track
  what they're doing to circumvent the block
   4. Setup the PC so they can't run anything that isn't on the whitelist
   of applications (so they don't download a standalone version of
   firefox/chrome and get around your lockdowns)
  1. (This is insanely time consuming and will run into issues when
  you're trying to update the computer)

In a business environment you can do the majority of this and centrally 
maintain things and it's a full time job.  Doing it at home?  That seems insane.


Non-admin rights, locked down profile, not being able to install software and 
not being able to change the browser settings will get the majority.

On Wed, Nov 18, 2020 at 1:18 AM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> So what’s the simplest/most elegant way to block YouTube on a PC when 
> you’ve got a resourceful teenager who can Google and attempt to 
> circumvent any methods you use?
>
> Is it on the PC or on the network first off?
>
> On the PC would UAC and an admin account and editing the hosts file be 
> enough?  Or fwd proxy software for all browsers preventing new browser 
> install?
>
> Or just do it with filtering on the router outbound?
>
> How complicated do you need to get exactly?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> BINO
>
>

[H] Blocking YouTube?

[Bino Gopal]

So what’s the simplest/most elegant way to block YouTube on a PC when you’ve 
got a resourceful teenager who can Google and attempt to circumvent any methods 
you use?

Is it on the PC or on the network first off?

On the PC would UAC and an admin account and editing the hosts file be enough?  
Or fwd proxy software for all browsers preventing new browser install?

Or just do it with filtering on the router outbound?

How complicated do you need to get exactly?

Thanks in advance!

BINO

Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

[Bino Gopal]

So actually I called Drobo tech support and got a great tech who was on the 
phone with me for 1.5 hrs and we talked through a bunch of stuff and I realized 
that the new PS had a connector that you could plug into the end (that didn't 
fit into the Drobo) that had positive and negative screw terminals...so he 
suggested cutting off the old tip, stripping the wires and then putting them 
into those terminals.

So I stripped the outside and saw a bunch of thin metal wires wrapped around an 
inner white sheath-stripped that off and found another bunch of wires inside 
that.  Broke up the multimeter and checked the voltages and found the positive 
one (the inner bundle of wires inside the white) and plugged that into the 
positive and then the other bundle into the negative and took out the drives 
and then plugged the PS in and it started up!

Proving it was the PS and that the enclosure was still good.  Seemed like it 
was perfect but then I moved the cable and it powered off so something is not 
quite solid with the connections though I screwed them in pretty tight...anyway 
now I know I can just replace the PS, but it looks like they're $50ish...which 
brings me to another point...


Since this is an old Drobo FS (out-of-warranty) from years ago and transfers 
over the network will be slow, I wonder if I shouldn't maybe get one of those 
external Thunderbolt drives (or make my own) so that transfers will be 
faster-since the laptop does have an actual Thunderbolt port and would transfer 
at the faster rate

Ran CrystalDiskmark and saw that the main drive 1 x 512GB Samsung 960 Pro M.2 
NVMe PCIe SSD (spec Read 3500MB/s - Write 2100MB/s), got Read 2100MB/s and 
Write 1200MB/s... and my secondary drive, a 1 x 1TB Samsung 850 Evo SSD (Read 
540MB/s - Write 520MB/s (SSD2 - SATA III)) got Read 530MB/s and Write 500MB/s 
(interesting that the 960 Pro speeds weren't close to the original rated ones 
while the 850 Evo is still pretty close to them!)

So yeah, trying to figure out if it makes sense to get something like this 
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBWZJFG/?coliid=I2HMA92G152D7N or if I wouldn't 
get the transfer rate needed to take advantage of it and I should just stick 
with something slower like the T5 or...?

Thoughts?  Thanks for the help so far Lopaka!  Can’t believe it's been, what, 
20 years since I saw you that one time at E3 right? :P

BINO



-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2020 12:59 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

Do you have the dead PS still? If the wires match you could solder the old tip 
and heat shrink wrap the patched area.

lopaka


On Fri, Jan 31, 2020 at 12:51 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Hey folks, trying to figure this out now-any ideas how you find out 
> the connector size for the end that plugs into the unit and is there a 
> standard or something...?
>
> At this point I'd just pony up the $$ and buy an OEM from Drobo but 
> they're all sold out!  So I need to find a third-party one but I don't 
> want to get burned again (even to the tune of $11).  Thanks for any help 
> folks!
>
>     BINO
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
> Bino Gopal
> Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2019 1:20 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?
>
> So the guy on eBay cancelled the order since I told him I'd just 
> return it-so that was nice.  The other guy rejected the offer for the 
> PS at $9 so I just bought it at full price, BUT
>
> Turns out the connector on the PS is too small.  So even though the 
> power rating is right (12V 8A, 96w) , the connector is too small for 
> the back of the Drobo, which now makes me wonder...how do I specify 
> the connector size for the PS, and can you even do that, and how would 
> it even be listed/described since I don't see that in any of the 
> descriptions of the ones I'm looking at-just the power specs like V, A and 
> W...
>
> Anyone got any ideas?
>
> BINO
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
> Bino Gopal
> Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 5:25 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?
>
> Yeah I went there and they're all like $40-50.  As my friend pointed 
> out, he told me to test the PS with my voltmeter and putting the red 
> inside and the black on the outside and when I did I was getting zero 
> voltage from the end that plugs into the Drobo!
>
> I then took the cord from the outlet and checked the two prongs on AC 
> that was going into the brick and was ge

Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey folks, trying to figure this out now-any ideas how you find out the 
connector size for the end that plugs into the unit and is there a standard or 
something...?

At this point I'd just pony up the $$ and buy an OEM from Drobo but they're all 
sold out!  So I need to find a third-party one but I don't want to get burned 
again (even to the tune of $11).  Thanks for any help folks!

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2019 1:20 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

So the guy on eBay cancelled the order since I told him I'd just return it-so 
that was nice.  The other guy rejected the offer for the PS at $9 so I just 
bought it at full price, BUT

Turns out the connector on the PS is too small.  So even though the power 
rating is right (12V 8A, 96w) , the connector is too small for the back of the 
Drobo, which now makes me wonder...how do I specify the connector size for the 
PS, and can you even do that, and how would it even be listed/described since I 
don't see that in any of the descriptions of the ones I'm looking at-just the 
power specs like V, A and W...

Anyone got any ideas?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 5:25 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

Yeah I went there and they're all like $40-50.  As my friend pointed out, he 
told me to test the PS with my voltmeter and putting the red inside and the 
black on the outside and when I did I was getting zero voltage from the end 
that plugs into the Drobo!

I then took the cord from the outlet and checked the two prongs on AC that was 
going into the brick and was getting 120V!  So power was flowing to the brick, 
but not out of the brick-so it was the PS that was dead (at least).

Just to be sure I also checked the 19.5V PS for my laptop (a bad-ass MSI gaming 
laptop that draws 9.23A which is why it probably never works on the damn plane 
b/c it draws too much juice!) and it registered 19.5V as it should...so pretty 
clear it's the Drobo PS (at least-guess the enclosure could still be fried but 
won't know for sure until I replace the PS to check!)

The sad thing is I'd bought a Drobo FS enclosure from a dude on ebay for $100 
(which is pretty cheap since most were going for $200-300 as I'd made an offer 
for $100 and he instantly accepted it-along with $17 shipping) but I'm pretty 
sure I don't need it now so I cancelled the order and am trying to make sure 
that he doesn't ship it out-and while he was super fast to respond to the offer 
he hasn't responded to the request yet...which makes me wonder if he's going to 
try to send it out and stick me with it...not the worst since it was only $100 
but still...

And the PS that say they're for the Drobo are ~$40.  My friend pointed out that 
I just need to get one that outputs the same amps at the right voltage (8.33A 
at 12V), so I found this and offered $9 and let's see if it works!  It should 
right?

https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FQuality-12V-DC-8A-8-amp-96W-POWER-Supply-ADAPTER-Transformer-for-LED-Strip-CCTV%2F162294980793&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cd54055aeccdd4a6bcd9b08d725abce60%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637019292137830863&sdata=hVYOn9hyzJvTQN4L8NSKdh%2B72jBQbKuvurU7AKIjYmM%3D&reserved=0

If he doesn't accept the offer I'll just buy it at the $11 full price lol! :P

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 4:38 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

I have a drobo 5N as the backup for my synology 1518+. Drobo is faster on large 
transfers but synology support is much better and longer. I'd guess the power 
supply is probably what went out but it would be a bummer to buy one and have 
the main unit as the culprit. Any used power supplies on ebay?

lopaka

On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 4:10 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Well so since it seems the list isn't dead, figured I could ask here...
>
> I have an older Drobo FS that I got from a friend (old network 
> attached storage model).  I had it off for a while while I was redoing 
> my cabinet and went to power it on and nothing.  Zero, zip, zilch no 
> matter what outlet I try to use.
>
> So I'm wondering if it's the enclosure or the power supply and 
> replacement PS are $50-70 online and that seems a waste if it's the 
> enclosure, so any thoughts?  Anyone have a spare Drobo PS lying around 
> they wouldn't mind sending me?
>
> And 

Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in Outlook!

[Bino Gopal]

Welp, looks like my Gmail account is now not able to send email either (got the 
exact same error as Hotmail trying to send a message just now)...



...which makes the GSuite sync config/profile pretty much useless for me, so I 
guess I'm going back to my other profile and using that and I'll just have to 
deal with no calendar in Outlook (use it over the web) and no calendar 
sync...oh well, sucks, and not ideal but I guess it is what it is...

(hoping someone out here replies back with some magical solution for me, though 
I'm not holding my breath! 😝)




BINO



From: Hardware  on behalf of Bino 
Gopal 
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2020 12:24 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar 
in Outlook!

Right-so that's what I did the first time with my normal default profile that 
had my Hotmail account in there.

Problem is when you do it that way, the Google account that gets added in 
Outlook doesn't display a calendar-and that was my main reason for doing the 
GSuite sync...it definitely puts the calendar in there and also syncs it in 
real time.  But then with the GSuite method I apparently can't send 
email-though everything else works and my Hotmail still DOES sync so I can see 
it and I can even MOVE messages to folders and stuff-just not send anything

I suppose I could keep it this way and just send in the web interface (as I'm 
doing now) as this does allow me to sync the calendar and I'm not actually 
*sending* email that often...hmmm...

But yeah, so I'm not missing anything right?  Seems like I've got to deal with 
compromises no matter which way I do it huh...?

*sigh*

Thanks for the response!

BINO




From: Hardware  on behalf of 
Christopher Fisk 
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2020 7:13 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar 
in Outlook!

Since you're using outlook 2019 can't you just add your google account
using the built in settings from microsoft instead of the sync program?

Add new account -> Type in email address -> click advanced options -> click
let me set up my account manually -> click Connect -> Select Google

This will allow you to login to your gsuite email using the built in
support for google accounts in Outlook 2019.


Thanks!

Chris

On Sun, Jan 19, 2020 at 8:53 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> So I did set up GSuite Sync as per the link below.  I guess it just works
> b/c we're paying for GSuite...
>
> The problem is that it created a new profile for Outlook.  And when it
> created that new profile for Outlook it only had the work Gmail account in
> there and not my Hotmail account.  And it was prompting me for which
> profile to use-I could use the GSuite one or my old one, which still had my
> Hotmail and Gmail (through regular IMAP I guess?)
>
> Anyway I went and added my Hotmail to the Outlook profile with GSuite and
> that seemed to work fine-it sync'ed everything down.  But then I tried to
> send an email with my Hotmail account in Outlook and I keep getting this
> error:
>
> "outlook 2019 the operation failed. the messaging interfaces
> have returned an unknown error"
>
>
>
> And googling it I see this come up:
>
>
> https://eur04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsupport.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fhelp%2F3028159%2Fthe-operation-failed-error-when-you-send-email-messages-in-outlook&data=02%7C01%7C%7Ce7139333e7894426db5408d79de6caf5%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637151487958284994&sdata=y5DrOSpbAGThNRq%2FySMxgKOqKMppnToOhrcofb0Hzww%3D&reserved=0
>
>
>
> Which says:
>
>
>
> Symptoms
>
> When you send email messages in Microsoft Outlook, you receive
> the following error message:
>
>
>
> The operation failed.  The messaging interfaces have returned
> an unknown error.  If the problem persists, restart Outlook.
>
>
>
> Cause
>
> This issue occurs when a Google Apps Sync for Microsoft
> Outlook account and a Microsoft Exchange Server account are configured in
> the same Outlook profile.
>
>
>
> Resolution
>
> Do not configure an Exchange Server account and a Google Apps
> Sync for Microsoft Outlook account in the same Outlook profile. Instead,
> create separate Outlook profiles, and then configure the Google Apps Sync
> for Microsoft Outlook account in one profile  and the Exchange
> Server account in another profile. The following Microsoft Knowledge Base
> article describes

Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in Outlook!

[Bino Gopal]

Right-so that's what I did the first time with my normal default profile that 
had my Hotmail account in there.

Problem is when you do it that way, the Google account that gets added in 
Outlook doesn't display a calendar-and that was my main reason for doing the 
GSuite sync...it definitely puts the calendar in there and also syncs it in 
real time.  But then with the GSuite method I apparently can't send 
email-though everything else works and my Hotmail still DOES sync so I can see 
it and I can even MOVE messages to folders and stuff-just not send anything

I suppose I could keep it this way and just send in the web interface (as I'm 
doing now) as this does allow me to sync the calendar and I'm not actually 
*sending* email that often...hmmm...

But yeah, so I'm not missing anything right?  Seems like I've got to deal with 
compromises no matter which way I do it huh...?

*sigh*

Thanks for the response!

BINO




From: Hardware  on behalf of 
Christopher Fisk 
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2020 7:13 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar 
in Outlook!

Since you're using outlook 2019 can't you just add your google account
using the built in settings from microsoft instead of the sync program?

Add new account -> Type in email address -> click advanced options -> click
let me set up my account manually -> click Connect -> Select Google

This will allow you to login to your gsuite email using the built in
support for google accounts in Outlook 2019.


Thanks!

Chris

On Sun, Jan 19, 2020 at 8:53 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> So I did set up GSuite Sync as per the link below.  I guess it just works
> b/c we're paying for GSuite...
>
> The problem is that it created a new profile for Outlook.  And when it
> created that new profile for Outlook it only had the work Gmail account in
> there and not my Hotmail account.  And it was prompting me for which
> profile to use-I could use the GSuite one or my old one, which still had my
> Hotmail and Gmail (through regular IMAP I guess?)
>
> Anyway I went and added my Hotmail to the Outlook profile with GSuite and
> that seemed to work fine-it sync'ed everything down.  But then I tried to
> send an email with my Hotmail account in Outlook and I keep getting this
> error:
>
> "outlook 2019 the operation failed. the messaging interfaces
> have returned an unknown error"
>
>
>
> And googling it I see this come up:
>
>
> https://nam05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsupport.microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fhelp%2F3028159%2Fthe-operation-failed-error-when-you-send-email-messages-in-outlook&data=02%7C01%7C%7C42cbf1732e204a09363a08d79dbb5da6%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637151300364441361&sdata=BMBkMozXZVwa2b8l8qwmGAwj3r5ZtTA2R3CzYRHfGEQ%3D&reserved=0
>
>
>
> Which says:
>
>
>
> Symptoms
>
> When you send email messages in Microsoft Outlook, you receive
> the following error message:
>
>
>
> The operation failed.  The messaging interfaces have returned
> an unknown error.  If the problem persists, restart Outlook.
>
>
>
> Cause
>
> This issue occurs when a Google Apps Sync for Microsoft
> Outlook account and a Microsoft Exchange Server account are configured in
> the same Outlook profile.
>
>
>
> Resolution
>
> Do not configure an Exchange Server account and a Google Apps
> Sync for Microsoft Outlook account in the same Outlook profile. Instead,
> create separate Outlook profiles, and then configure the Google Apps Sync
> for Microsoft Outlook account in one profile  and the Exchange
> Server account in another profile. The following Microsoft Knowledge Base
> article describes how to create profile and set up an e-mail account in
> Outlook.
>
>
>
> So maybe I'm just dumb and missing something, but it seems like if I have
> two profiles in Outlook I can only choose one when Outlook starts so I
> can't work with both at the same time, which kinda defeats the purpose of
> what I'm trying to do, no?
>
> So am I missing something or is that just it and I'm SOL?  And I guess I
> should go back to the way I had it with my old profile and Gmail at least
> sync'ing the emails and me being able to send emails for Hotmail in Outlook
> (I had to log into the web interface to send this one!) and I'll just have
> to manage my work Google calendar by itself directly on the web, separate
> from Hotmail calendar in Outlook?
>
> Thoughts?
>
>
>
>
>   BINO
>
>
> 

Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in Outlook!

[Bino Gopal]

So I did set up GSuite Sync as per the link below.  I guess it just works b/c 
we're paying for GSuite...

The problem is that it created a new profile for Outlook.  And when it created 
that new profile for Outlook it only had the work Gmail account in there and 
not my Hotmail account.  And it was prompting me for which profile to use-I 
could use the GSuite one or my old one, which still had my Hotmail and Gmail 
(through regular IMAP I guess?)

Anyway I went and added my Hotmail to the Outlook profile with GSuite and that 
seemed to work fine-it sync'ed everything down.  But then I tried to send an 
email with my Hotmail account in Outlook and I keep getting this error:

"outlook 2019 the operation failed. the messaging interfaces have 
returned an unknown error"



And googling it I see this come up:


https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3028159/the-operation-failed-error-when-you-send-email-messages-in-outlook



Which says:



Symptoms

When you send email messages in Microsoft Outlook, you receive the 
following error message:



The operation failed.  The messaging interfaces have returned an 
unknown error.  If the problem persists, restart Outlook.



Cause

This issue occurs when a Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook 
account and a Microsoft Exchange Server account are configured in the same 
Outlook profile.



Resolution

Do not configure an Exchange Server account and a Google Apps Sync 
for Microsoft Outlook account in the same Outlook profile. Instead, create 
separate Outlook profiles, and then configure the Google Apps Sync for 
Microsoft Outlook account in one profile  and the Exchange Server 
account in another profile. The following Microsoft Knowledge Base article 
describes how to create profile and set up an e-mail account in Outlook.



So maybe I'm just dumb and missing something, but it seems like if I have two 
profiles in Outlook I can only choose one when Outlook starts so I can't work 
with both at the same time, which kinda defeats the purpose of what I'm trying 
to do, no?

So am I missing something or is that just it and I'm SOL?  And I guess I should 
go back to the way I had it with my old profile and Gmail at least sync'ing the 
emails and me being able to send emails for Hotmail in Outlook (I had to log 
into the web interface to send this one!) and I'll just have to manage my work 
Google calendar by itself directly on the web, separate from Hotmail calendar 
in Outlook?

Thoughts?




BINO


____
From: Hardware  on behalf of Bino 
Gopal 
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2019 1:21 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com 
Subject: Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar 
in Outlook!

Lol I should more correctly say that they don't support it-it's not that it's 
forbidden or anything-just that I got a "Don't come asking us for help with it 
b/c we don't support it so we won't help you"-there's not actually a policy 
against using it!

Does that help?

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
Christopher Fisk
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2019 12:59 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar 
in Outlook!

First:   
https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftools.google.com%2Fdlpage%2Fgssmo%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7C3fd4bc12b9304dfc1eb708d784c97b39%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637123873198158949&sdata=0j0VQ5CUa5j0P0CETt6aC59bkk9bqZA4ZQe8gPlBMlQ%3D&reserved=0

Second:  "Oh and I can't ask Corp IT b/c they don't want anyone using Outlook 
just all the GSuite stuff over the web and so I'm not getting any help there 
sadly..."  I honestly can't in good conscious recommend that you break company 
policy by using outlook.

On Fri, Dec 13, 2019 at 12:43 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Hey guys,
>
> So my new work uses GSuite instead of Exchange for work
> emails...shocking to me but I guess the move to the Cloud is really real...!
>
> The problem is that I've lived and breathed Outlook for the last 20
> years for email and I pretty much have all the workflows I need in it
> down (rules of all kinds, etc, etc).  I also have a
> Hotmail/Outlook.com account for my personal email and that also works
> great in Outlook and so I'm used to doing all my
> email/contacts/calendar etc in one place.  This setup also synced great to my 
> iPhone and I was happy with it.
>
> The problem I'm having now is that I'm not sure how best to set things
> up in Outlook with the new Gmail account for work...any general
> sugg

Re: [H] Weird sticky/not working keys on MSI laptop

[Bino Gopal]

Yeah just as an update to this I did a lot more googling and it seemed like 
some people were hoping it was some software issue (as I was too really)-but I 
realized that if I plugged in an external KB that would show if it was software 
or not-and lo and behold an external KB didn't have any problems!

So looks like it was def some sort of HW issue-the one I saw mentioned most was 
that the KB ribbon cable gets worn/bent b/c of how tight it's in there and the 
way it's bent and thus it eventually starts having issues and just needs to be 
replaced...and I've had it almost 3 years now so I guess it's about time...

So I was going to just replace the cable but then they're like we have to open 
the whole thing up so in case there's any issue with the KB do you really want 
to chance it so I decided to just have them replace the KB too...

BUT in my model it turns out that you can't just replace the KB itself-it 
doesn't exist on its own as it's attached to the top cover/part of it so the 
whole thing has to replaced!  So I went in to the local repair center and they 
replaced the whole top cover and KB as one piece for $90 and the keys work 
fine...

BUT now the key travel and some of the key don't feel quite right-and a couple 
of the keys keep popping off and I have to keep popping them back on, and some 
others are sticking so it seems like this replacement KB is not as good, 
so...yeah... 😝

Thanks for your input/help tho Lopaka!  Much appreciated!

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Wednesday, January 8, 2020 11:19 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Weird sticky/not working keys on MSI laptop

Some laptops are really easy to replace the keyboard. Look it up on youtube and 
check it out. I put a new one in a Dell laptop a while back and it only took 
about 10-15 mins. Some are not easy though....

lopaka

On Wed, Jan 8, 2020 at 10:34 AM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> So I thought it might be this and turned it all off (anything with any 
> toggle under Settings, Interaction, Keyboard).
>
> Still no dice.  None of the keys listed below (backspace, semicolon 
> comma and right arrow and number pad slash) don't all work-well I 
> apparently got it to type one comma as you can see after the backspace 
> earlier in this sentence but not after that...
>
> Any further ideas...?!  This is driving me crazy!  It's still a fine 
> laptop except for this one minor but super annoying issue...!  Thanks man.
>
> BINO
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
> lopaka polena
> Sent: Thursday, January 2, 2020 1:12 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Weird sticky/not working keys on MSI laptop
>
> Did you disable sticky keys and filter keys settings ? I had a box 
> that did this all the time and that is what was causing it.
>
> lopaka
>
> On Thu, Jan 2, 2020 at 12:49 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:
>
> > Hey guys, this has been going on for a while now and I'm at a loss...
> >
> > Certain keys on my keyboard have stopped working properly...but it's 
> > not as if the physical key itself is not working b/c I can get the 
> > character to type fine if I use the SHIFT key on it for most of them 
> > (that have that option).
> >
> > For example, my backspace key def stopped working right so I have to 
> > use delete.  If I slam it hard a bunch of times sometimes it 
> > registers but most of the time it doesn't.
> >
> > But the semicolon key stopped working, but as soon as I hit SHIFT I 
> > can get a colon to type pretty easily.  But never a semicolon (on 
> > occasion it's hard to get the colon to type too, but it eventually 
> > works-but the semicolon never does...)
> >
> > The comma never works, but the lesser than sign works fine with SHIFT.
> >
> > Oh and the right arrow key stopped working which is super 
> > annoying...the slash on the number pad doesn't work...ok this is 
> > weird-it does work if I hold down SHIFT...so strange...!!  Ok I just 
> > figured out that I can get backspace to work if I hold down the 
> > SHIFT key!  The right arrow key also starts working that way, but it 
> > does select text when used with SHIFT, which is what it's supposed 
> > to do in that case-but I mean it moves the cursor right while doing 
> > so, which I can't get it to do otherwise!  Oh though holding down 
> > CTRL and right arrow does advance it by each word (which is also how 
> > that's supposed to work...)
> >
> > So the key is physically working but not being registered by the 
> > system...it's an MSI GS73VR 7RF Stealth Pro from 2017 fully loaded 
> > running the latest Win10 updates...
> >
> >
> > So this seems like some sort of driver/OS/software issue right?  Any 
> > ideas?  Googling didn't uncover anything...any help desperately 
> > appreciated guys!
> >
> >
> >   BINO
> >
> >
>

Re: [H] Weird sticky/not working keys on MSI laptop

[Bino Gopal]

So I thought it might be this and turned it all off (anything with any toggle 
under Settings, Interaction, Keyboard).  

Still no dice.  None of the keys listed below (backspace, semicolon comma and 
right arrow and number pad slash) don't all work-well I apparently got it to 
type one comma as you can see after the backspace earlier in this sentence but 
not after that... 

Any further ideas...?!  This is driving me crazy!  It's still a fine laptop 
except for this one minor but super annoying issue...!  Thanks man.

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Thursday, January 2, 2020 1:12 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Weird sticky/not working keys on MSI laptop

Did you disable sticky keys and filter keys settings ? I had a box that did 
this all the time and that is what was causing it.

lopaka

On Thu, Jan 2, 2020 at 12:49 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Hey guys, this has been going on for a while now and I'm at a loss...
>
> Certain keys on my keyboard have stopped working properly...but it's 
> not as if the physical key itself is not working b/c I can get the 
> character to type fine if I use the SHIFT key on it for most of them 
> (that have that option).
>
> For example, my backspace key def stopped working right so I have to 
> use delete.  If I slam it hard a bunch of times sometimes it registers 
> but most of the time it doesn't.
>
> But the semicolon key stopped working, but as soon as I hit SHIFT I 
> can get a colon to type pretty easily.  But never a semicolon (on 
> occasion it's hard to get the colon to type too, but it eventually 
> works-but the semicolon never does...)
>
> The comma never works, but the lesser than sign works fine with SHIFT.
>
> Oh and the right arrow key stopped working which is super 
> annoying...the slash on the number pad doesn't work...ok this is 
> weird-it does work if I hold down SHIFT...so strange...!!  Ok I just 
> figured out that I can get backspace to work if I hold down the SHIFT 
> key!  The right arrow key also starts working that way, but it does 
> select text when used with SHIFT, which is what it's supposed to do in 
> that case-but I mean it moves the cursor right while doing so, which I 
> can't get it to do otherwise!  Oh though holding down CTRL and right 
> arrow does advance it by each word (which is also how that's supposed 
> to work...)
>
> So the key is physically working but not being registered by the 
> system...it's an MSI GS73VR 7RF Stealth Pro from 2017 fully loaded 
> running the latest Win10 updates...
>
>
> So this seems like some sort of driver/OS/software issue right?  Any 
> ideas?  Googling didn't uncover anything...any help desperately 
> appreciated guys!
>
>
>   BINO
>
>

[H] Weird sticky/not working keys on MSI laptop

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, this has been going on for a while now and I'm at a loss...

Certain keys on my keyboard have stopped working properly...but it's not as if 
the physical key itself is not working b/c I can get the character to type fine 
if I use the SHIFT key on it for most of them (that have that option).

For example, my backspace key def stopped working right so I have to use 
delete.  If I slam it hard a bunch of times sometimes it registers but most of 
the time it doesn't.

But the semicolon key stopped working, but as soon as I hit SHIFT I can get a 
colon to type pretty easily.  But never a semicolon (on occasion it's hard to 
get the colon to type too, but it eventually works-but the semicolon never 
does...)

The comma never works, but the lesser than sign works fine with SHIFT.

Oh and the right arrow key stopped working which is super annoying...the slash 
on the number pad doesn't work...ok this is weird-it does work if I hold down 
SHIFT...so strange...!!  Ok I just figured out that I can get backspace to work 
if I hold down the SHIFT key!  The right arrow key also starts working that 
way, but it does select text when used with SHIFT, which is what it's supposed 
to do in that case-but I mean it moves the cursor right while doing so, which I 
can't get it to do otherwise!  Oh though holding down CTRL and right arrow does 
advance it by each word (which is also how that's supposed to work...)

So the key is physically working but not being registered by the system...it's 
an MSI GS73VR 7RF Stealth Pro from 2017 fully loaded running the latest Win10 
updates...


So this seems like some sort of driver/OS/software issue right?  Any ideas?  
Googling didn't uncover anything...any help desperately appreciated guys!


BINO

Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in Outlook!

[Bino Gopal]

Lol I should more correctly say that they don't support it-it's not that it's 
forbidden or anything-just that I got a "Don't come asking us for help with it 
b/c we don't support it so we won't help you"-there's not actually a policy 
against using it!

Does that help?

-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
Christopher Fisk
Sent: Thursday, December 19, 2019 12:59 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar 
in Outlook!

First:   
https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftools.google.com%2Fdlpage%2Fgssmo%2F&data=02%7C01%7C%7Cf5878d71931f4db11bf808d784c64005%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637123859319752530&sdata=thyndf%2BlPnqPtj69M7m%2BSwEkxV34QrHMnxzfwcHK63Q%3D&reserved=0

Second:  "Oh and I can't ask Corp IT b/c they don't want anyone using Outlook 
just all the GSuite stuff over the web and so I'm not getting any help there 
sadly..."  I honestly can't in good conscious recommend that you break company 
policy by using outlook.

On Fri, Dec 13, 2019 at 12:43 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Hey guys,
>
> So my new work uses GSuite instead of Exchange for work 
> emails...shocking to me but I guess the move to the Cloud is really real...!
>
> The problem is that I've lived and breathed Outlook for the last 20 
> years for email and I pretty much have all the workflows I need in it 
> down (rules of all kinds, etc, etc).  I also have a 
> Hotmail/Outlook.com account for my personal email and that also works 
> great in Outlook and so I'm used to doing all my 
> email/contacts/calendar etc in one place.  This setup also synced great to my 
> iPhone and I was happy with it.
>
> The problem I'm having now is that I'm not sure how best to set things 
> up in Outlook with the new Gmail account for work...any general 
> suggestions would be welcome (like which account I should set up as 
> the default one on my phone or in Outlook-my work account or Hotmail?), etc.
>
> More specifically, one BIG problem I'm having is that when I added my 
> work Gmail account to Outlook 2019 it sync'ed my email and that mostly 
> works fine-BUT I do NOT have a calendar of any kind showing up at all 
> on the Gmail account in Outlook 2019...which is really weird to me (no 
> Contacts either btw).  But when I get invites sent to my work email I 
> can accept them and then they are added to the Calendar showing up in 
> my Hotmail account (which is where I put my personal appts) and made 
> my default once I left the old job (yeah no longer with 
> Citrix/NetScaler after 19 years!)
>
> But when I log into the Gmail calendar on the web those items are 
> definitely not sync'd with the items on my Hotmail calendar (like when 
> I accept the invite through Outlook 2019 it's just adding it to that 
> Calendar showing in Outlook and doing nothing with the Gmail 
> calendar)-so I'd have to manage two calendars which I'd like to avoid...
>
> I've also noticed that certain items are not showing up in the Outlook 
> calendar that are on my Gmail calendar and I'm not sure why as I've 
> accepted all the invites I could find so that's worrying me too...
>
> Anyway obviously I've mostly got questions right now about the Gmail 
> calendar and basically why I don't have it showing up in Outlook and 
> how I can get the Gmail calendar sync to what's showing on my Hotmail 
> calendar so I don't have to manage two separate calendars...
>
> Thoughts?  Any help would be REALLY appreciated.  Oh and I can't ask 
> Corp IT b/c they don't want anyone using Outlook just all the GSuite 
> stuff over the web and so I'm not getting any help there sadly...
>
>
>   BINO
>
>

Re: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in Outlook!

[Bino Gopal]

Bueller...?

Did I kill the list again? ;P


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Friday, December 13, 2019 9:43 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in 
Outlook!

Hey guys,

So my new work uses GSuite instead of Exchange for work emails...shocking to me 
but I guess the move to the Cloud is really real...!

The problem is that I've lived and breathed Outlook for the last 20 years for 
email and I pretty much have all the workflows I need in it down (rules of all 
kinds, etc, etc).  I also have a Hotmail/Outlook.com account for my personal 
email and that also works great in Outlook and so I'm used to doing all my 
email/contacts/calendar etc in one place.  This setup also synced great to my 
iPhone and I was happy with it.

The problem I'm having now is that I'm not sure how best to set things up in 
Outlook with the new Gmail account for work...any general suggestions would be 
welcome (like which account I should set up as the default one on my phone or 
in Outlook-my work account or Hotmail?), etc.

More specifically, one BIG problem I'm having is that when I added my work 
Gmail account to Outlook 2019 it sync'ed my email and that mostly works 
fine-BUT I do NOT have a calendar of any kind showing up at all on the Gmail 
account in Outlook 2019...which is really weird to me (no Contacts either btw). 
 But when I get invites sent to my work email I can accept them and then they 
are added to the Calendar showing up in my Hotmail account (which is where I 
put my personal appts) and made my default once I left the old job (yeah no 
longer with Citrix/NetScaler after 19 years!)

But when I log into the Gmail calendar on the web those items are definitely 
not sync'd with the items on my Hotmail calendar (like when I accept the invite 
through Outlook 2019 it's just adding it to that Calendar showing in Outlook 
and doing nothing with the Gmail calendar)-so I'd have to manage two calendars 
which I'd like to avoid...

I've also noticed that certain items are not showing up in the Outlook calendar 
that are on my Gmail calendar and I'm not sure why as I've accepted all the 
invites I could find so that's worrying me too...

Anyway obviously I've mostly got questions right now about the Gmail calendar 
and basically why I don't have it showing up in Outlook and how I can get the 
Gmail calendar sync to what's showing on my Hotmail calendar so I don't have to 
manage two separate calendars...

Thoughts?  Any help would be REALLY appreciated.  Oh and I can't ask Corp IT 
b/c they don't want anyone using Outlook just all the GSuite stuff over the web 
and so I'm not getting any help there sadly...


BINO

[H] Outlook 2019 and Gmail questions-specifically Gmail Calendar in Outlook!

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys,

So my new work uses GSuite instead of Exchange for work emails...shocking to me 
but I guess the move to the Cloud is really real...!

The problem is that I've lived and breathed Outlook for the last 20 years for 
email and I pretty much have all the workflows I need in it down (rules of all 
kinds, etc, etc).  I also have a Hotmail/Outlook.com account for my personal 
email and that also works great in Outlook and so I'm used to doing all my 
email/contacts/calendar etc in one place.  This setup also synced great to my 
iPhone and I was happy with it.

The problem I'm having now is that I'm not sure how best to set things up in 
Outlook with the new Gmail account for work...any general suggestions would be 
welcome (like which account I should set up as the default one on my phone or 
in Outlook-my work account or Hotmail?), etc.

More specifically, one BIG problem I'm having is that when I added my work 
Gmail account to Outlook 2019 it sync'ed my email and that mostly works 
fine-BUT I do NOT have a calendar of any kind showing up at all on the Gmail 
account in Outlook 2019...which is really weird to me (no Contacts either btw). 
 But when I get invites sent to my work email I can accept them and then they 
are added to the Calendar showing up in my Hotmail account (which is where I 
put my personal appts) and made my default once I left the old job (yeah no 
longer with Citrix/NetScaler after 19 years!)

But when I log into the Gmail calendar on the web those items are definitely 
not sync'd with the items on my Hotmail calendar (like when I accept the invite 
through Outlook 2019 it's just adding it to that Calendar showing in Outlook 
and doing nothing with the Gmail calendar)-so I'd have to manage two calendars 
which I'd like to avoid...

I've also noticed that certain items are not showing up in the Outlook calendar 
that are on my Gmail calendar and I'm not sure why as I've accepted all the 
invites I could find so that's worrying me too...

Anyway obviously I've mostly got questions right now about the Gmail calendar 
and basically why I don't have it showing up in Outlook and how I can get the 
Gmail calendar sync to what's showing on my Hotmail calendar so I don't have to 
manage two separate calendars...

Thoughts?  Any help would be REALLY appreciated.  Oh and I can't ask Corp IT 
b/c they don't want anyone using Outlook just all the GSuite stuff over the web 
and so I'm not getting any help there sadly...


BINO

Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

[Bino Gopal]

So the guy on eBay cancelled the order since I told him I'd just return it-so 
that was nice.  The other guy rejected the offer for the PS at $9 so I just 
bought it at full price, BUT

Turns out the connector on the PS is too small.  So even though the power 
rating is right (12V 8A, 96w) , the connector is too small for the back of the 
Drobo, which now makes me wonder...how do I specify the connector size for the 
PS, and can you even do that, and how would it even be listed/described since I 
don't see that in any of the descriptions of the ones I'm looking at-just the 
power specs like V, A and W...

Anyone got any ideas?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 5:25 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

Yeah I went there and they're all like $40-50.  As my friend pointed out, he 
told me to test the PS with my voltmeter and putting the red inside and the 
black on the outside and when I did I was getting zero voltage from the end 
that plugs into the Drobo!

I then took the cord from the outlet and checked the two prongs on AC that was 
going into the brick and was getting 120V!  So power was flowing to the brick, 
but not out of the brick-so it was the PS that was dead (at least).

Just to be sure I also checked the 19.5V PS for my laptop (a bad-ass MSI gaming 
laptop that draws 9.23A which is why it probably never works on the damn plane 
b/c it draws too much juice!) and it registered 19.5V as it should...so pretty 
clear it's the Drobo PS (at least-guess the enclosure could still be fried but 
won't know for sure until I replace the PS to check!)

The sad thing is I'd bought a Drobo FS enclosure from a dude on ebay for $100 
(which is pretty cheap since most were going for $200-300 as I'd made an offer 
for $100 and he instantly accepted it-along with $17 shipping) but I'm pretty 
sure I don't need it now so I cancelled the order and am trying to make sure 
that he doesn't ship it out-and while he was super fast to respond to the offer 
he hasn't responded to the request yet...which makes me wonder if he's going to 
try to send it out and stick me with it...not the worst since it was only $100 
but still...

And the PS that say they're for the Drobo are ~$40.  My friend pointed out that 
I just need to get one that outputs the same amps at the right voltage (8.33A 
at 12V), so I found this and offered $9 and let's see if it works!  It should 
right?

https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FQuality-12V-DC-8A-8-amp-96W-POWER-Supply-ADAPTER-Transformer-for-LED-Strip-CCTV%2F162294980793&data=02%7C01%7C%7C932740a7c6af429a12fc08d71d29389d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C637009935184704934&sdata=U%2BA2SR7XEAtvsNjBOlye3EV4yrSxnnPAO2YeiWWDpf8%3D&reserved=0

If he doesn't accept the offer I'll just buy it at the $11 full price lol! :P

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 4:38 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

I have a drobo 5N as the backup for my synology 1518+. Drobo is faster on large 
transfers but synology support is much better and longer. I'd guess the power 
supply is probably what went out but it would be a bummer to buy one and have 
the main unit as the culprit. Any used power supplies on ebay?

lopaka

On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 4:10 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Well so since it seems the list isn't dead, figured I could ask here...
>
> I have an older Drobo FS that I got from a friend (old network 
> attached storage model).  I had it off for a while while I was redoing 
> my cabinet and went to power it on and nothing.  Zero, zip, zilch no 
> matter what outlet I try to use.
>
> So I'm wondering if it's the enclosure or the power supply and 
> replacement PS are $50-70 online and that seems a waste if it's the 
> enclosure, so any thoughts?  Anyone have a spare Drobo PS lying around 
> they wouldn't mind sending me?
>
> And if I was to replace it, what would be the best recommended 
> replacement?  I assume since it's a Drobo proprietary FS I wouldn't be 
> able to transfer the drives to a regular RAID backup so I'd lose 
> whatever was on them huh?  H, that's not so good...
>
> Thoughts?
>
>
>   BINO
>
>

Re: [H] Removing primary Exchange account from Outlook 2019?

[Bino Gopal]

Lol I didn't kill the list with my post, did I?! 😝


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of Bino 
Gopal
Sent: Monday, August 19, 2019 12:30 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Removing primary Exchange account from Outlook 2019?

Hey guys, running Outlook 2019 out of MS Office Pro Plus 2019 with everything 
in it, Version 1907 (Build 11901.20176 Click-to-Run)

So I've been using the same Exchange server basically for the last 19 years 
(work).  Just left the job last week and had my access cut off.  Np, I just 
switched my Hotmail/Outlook as my default account and copied over my Contacts 
and Calendar and everything is sync'ing fine to my iPhone X!

BT, when I go into Outlook to remove the old work Exchange account, I get 
the error of "The primary account cannot be removed unless it is the only 
account in the profile. You must remove all other Exchange accounts before 
removing the primary account."

So I did some googling and it's some weird issue with Outlook and I see stuff 
about creating a new profile or even editing the registry, but since it's been 
19 years since I had to do that I was wondering from people who might have more 
experience with this (or recent experience) what would my best course of action 
here?  I still have old calendar invites and stuff popping up in my Outlook 
since the old work Exchange calendar is in there so I'd like to get rid of 
those but it's not letting me.

That info and any other recs of things I should think of since I haven't had to 
ever really do this would be appreciated!  Thanks guys!


BINO

[H] Removing primary Exchange account from Outlook 2019?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, running Outlook 2019 out of MS Office Pro Plus 2019 with everything 
in it, Version 1907 (Build 11901.20176 Click-to-Run)

So I've been using the same Exchange server basically for the last 19 years 
(work).  Just left the job last week and had my access cut off.  Np, I just 
switched my Hotmail/Outlook as my default account and copied over my Contacts 
and Calendar and everything is sync'ing fine to my iPhone X!

BT, when I go into Outlook to remove the old work Exchange account, I get 
the error of "The primary account cannot be removed unless it is the only 
account in the profile. You must remove all other Exchange accounts before 
removing the primary account."

So I did some googling and it's some weird issue with Outlook and I see stuff 
about creating a new profile or even editing the registry, but since it's been 
19 years since I had to do that I was wondering from people who might have more 
experience with this (or recent experience) what would my best course of action 
here?  I still have old calendar invites and stuff popping up in my Outlook 
since the old work Exchange calendar is in there so I'd like to get rid of 
those but it's not letting me.

That info and any other recs of things I should think of since I haven't had to 
ever really do this would be appreciated!  Thanks guys!


BINO

Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

[Bino Gopal]

Yeah I went there and they're all like $40-50.  As my friend pointed out, he 
told me to test the PS with my voltmeter and putting the red inside and the 
black on the outside and when I did I was getting zero voltage from the end 
that plugs into the Drobo!

I then took the cord from the outlet and checked the two prongs on AC that was 
going into the brick and was getting 120V!  So power was flowing to the brick, 
but not out of the brick-so it was the PS that was dead (at least).

Just to be sure I also checked the 19.5V PS for my laptop (a bad-ass MSI gaming 
laptop that draws 9.23A which is why it probably never works on the damn plane 
b/c it draws too much juice!) and it registered 19.5V as it should...so pretty 
clear it's the Drobo PS (at least-guess the enclosure could still be fried but 
won't know for sure until I replace the PS to check!)

The sad thing is I'd bought a Drobo FS enclosure from a dude on ebay for $100 
(which is pretty cheap since most were going for $200-300 as I'd made an offer 
for $100 and he instantly accepted it-along with $17 shipping) but I'm pretty 
sure I don't need it now so I cancelled the order and am trying to make sure 
that he doesn't ship it out-and while he was super fast to respond to the offer 
he hasn't responded to the request yet...which makes me wonder if he's going to 
try to send it out and stick me with it...not the worst since it was only $100 
but still...

And the PS that say they're for the Drobo are ~$40.  My friend pointed out that 
I just need to get one that outputs the same amps at the right voltage (8.33A 
at 12V), so I found this and offered $9 and let's see if it works!  It should 
right?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Quality-12V-DC-8A-8-amp-96W-POWER-Supply-ADAPTER-Transformer-for-LED-Strip-CCTV/162294980793

If he doesn't accept the offer I'll just buy it at the $11 full price lol! :P

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of lopaka 
polena
Sent: Friday, August 9, 2019 4:38 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Dead Drobo FS?

I have a drobo 5N as the backup for my synology 1518+. Drobo is faster on large 
transfers but synology support is much better and longer. I'd guess the power 
supply is probably what went out but it would be a bummer to buy one and have 
the main unit as the culprit. Any used power supplies on ebay?

lopaka

On Fri, Aug 9, 2019 at 4:10 PM Bino Gopal  wrote:

> Well so since it seems the list isn't dead, figured I could ask here...
>
> I have an older Drobo FS that I got from a friend (old network 
> attached storage model).  I had it off for a while while I was redoing 
> my cabinet and went to power it on and nothing.  Zero, zip, zilch no 
> matter what outlet I try to use.
>
> So I'm wondering if it's the enclosure or the power supply and 
> replacement PS are $50-70 online and that seems a waste if it's the 
> enclosure, so any thoughts?  Anyone have a spare Drobo PS lying around 
> they wouldn't mind sending me?
>
> And if I was to replace it, what would be the best recommended 
> replacement?  I assume since it's a Drobo proprietary FS I wouldn't be 
> able to transfer the drives to a regular RAID backup so I'd lose 
> whatever was on them huh?  H, that's not so good...
>
> Thoughts?
>
>
>   BINO
>
>

[H] Dead Drobo FS?

[Bino Gopal]

Well so since it seems the list isn't dead, figured I could ask here...

I have an older Drobo FS that I got from a friend (old network attached storage 
model).  I had it off for a while while I was redoing my cabinet and went to 
power it on and nothing.  Zero, zip, zilch no matter what outlet I try to use.

So I'm wondering if it's the enclosure or the power supply and replacement PS 
are $50-70 online and that seems a waste if it's the enclosure, so any 
thoughts?  Anyone have a spare Drobo PS lying around they wouldn't mind sending 
me?

And if I was to replace it, what would be the best recommended replacement?  I 
assume since it's a Drobo proprietary FS I wouldn't be able to transfer the 
drives to a regular RAID backup so I'd lose whatever was on them huh?  H, 
that's not so good...

Thoughts?


BINO

Re: [H] Thunderbird ?

[Bino Gopal]

Prob b/c COX is intercepting the SSL with a proxy server and they're using HSTS 
(which prevents MITM man-in-the-middle) attacks and thus you can't get to the 
site...

Seen it a few places with corp WiFi setups with Fwd Proxy setups...


-Original Message-
From: Hardware  On Behalf Of 
Winterlight
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 10:38 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Thunderbird ?


Try this...select a personality properties...incoming maillast SSL 
infothen find the very latest log input from COX and approve it. save and 
back out.

Or try under secure socket . use the spin box to select Never for both 
incoming and outgoing


At 08:12 AM 11/27/2018, you wrote:

>something to do with SSL, not secure enough for COX.
>
>even when you tell it OK will not go anymore.
>
>fp
>
>On 11/26/2018 6:56 PM, Winterlight wrote:
>>At 06:03 PM 11/26/2018, you wrote:
>>>Have always used Eudora but that is not possible anymore,
>>
>>why not?
>>

Re: [H] Duncan?

[Bino Gopal]

Yep-got fixed; thanks to Josh (really, THANKS JOSH!) for finding the really 
weird issue (not sure what caused it in the first place but powercfg made the 
problem go away which is all I really cared about in right now...)

And glad to hear from you Duncan! :)

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Joshua MacCraw
Sent: Friday, February 2, 2018 8:49 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Duncan?

Found 'em!


On Fri, Feb 2, 2018 at 4:04 PM, DSinc  wrote:

> Forc5,
>
> I don't have anything from you last week. Can't find zip. Last I see 
> is the biz about Bino Gopal's laptop running at 100% CPU. Not certain, 
> but suspect it is fixed. Little gets past our cadre.
>
> Our Domain has been re-registered; supported again for 2 years (thru 
> 2019). All good,I hope.
>
> Duncan
>
>
>
> On 2/2/2018 1:57 PM, FORC5 wrote:
>
>> Wrote to him last week with no response.
>> Worried
>> fp
>>
>> FUFMAN's LAB of DOOM
>>
>> From: Scott Sipe
>> Sent: Friday, February 2, 2018 11:51 AM
>> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
>> Subject: [H] Duncan?
>>
>> Just wondering if anybody had heard anything from Duncan recently?
>>
>> Scott
>>
>>
>>
>

Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

[Bino Gopal]

This sounds very promising and exactly like my problem-great find Josh...now to 
just figure out how to get the cmd to run... 😝



Ok just did it and wow, yup!  The 100% CPU immediately went down and the fans 
have spun down and HALLELUJAH!!!



Sweet, SWEET silence!  It is *exactly* like how he describes in his blog...



https://www.andrewmunsell.com/blog/oculus-rift-bug-power-plan-configuration/



...down to the graphs in TM and it being pegged flat at 100%, and then dropping 
down as soon as the powercfg cmds were run!  Pretty amazing to find a fix for a 
problem that fits and works so well!  And from back in 2016 too, no less!

The weird thing though is that I can't think of what it was that installed that 
would modify my power settings to do this (unlike in his case)...guess I just 
have to see if it happens again but at least I know how to deal with it now!

Thanks again so much Josh!  Sweet, sweet, blessed silence!! 😊




BINO




-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Joshua MacCraw
Sent: Sunday, January 28, 2018 4:31 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?



Hmm this thread makes me think it's relevant...



https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsuperuser.com%2Fquestions%2F1060567%2Fcpu-constantly-at-100-in-task-manager-but-not-in-process-explorer&data=02%7C01%7C%7C5c580d74468b4da62c4308d566af929a%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435%7C1%7C0%7C636527826617249976&sdata=cEssJP1BcXYixAW3vaixeanyZp2yQ1C0tNf%2Bnv%2BBdsk%3D&reserved=0





On Jan 28, 2018 2:18 PM, "Bino Gopal" 
mailto:binogo...@hotmail.com>> wrote:



> Shows how tired I am from the flu-realized that after I sent.

>

> But again-it's weird-no process shows as taking up any CPU, but Task

> Manager and Resource Monitor both show the graphs as 100% CPU, all the

> time, flat-no spikes or drops.

>

> But there's no process showing as using that CPU and the lists show

> the CPU as idle...

>

> But the computer *thinks* something is taking the CPU b/c not only

> does it show that in TM and RM, but the fans spin up to max, as if

> something was using the CPU...

>

> And I went and tried shutting down everything from TM, RM and PE and

> the CPU stayed flat at 100% and never went down...

>

> Super strange, no??  I can send screenshots if there's an easy place

> to put them for people to view...

>

>

> -Original Message-

> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On

> Behalf Of Joshua MacCraw

> Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2018 1:55 PM

> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com<mailto:hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com>

> Subject: Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

>

> Idle is inverse of all other usage, aka not busy 95% is basically not busy.

>

> Use the graph over time to monitor cpu and disk to find the spikes

> when you're not looking.

>

> On Jan 27, 2018 1:42 PM, "Bino Gopal" 
> mailto:binogo...@hotmail.com>> wrote:

>

> > Weird...

> >

> > Process Explorer (thanks for the rec and link btw guys) says that

> > "System Idle Process" is grabbing 93-95% CPU...

> > Task Manager details tab also shows the same thing-"System Idle Process"

> > PID 0 is grabbing most of the CPU...

> > But the Resource Monitor Overview and CPU tabs don't show the same

> > thing...but I can see all 8 cores nicely pegged at 100% on the right

> > there lol!

> >

> > The main reason I care (well other than something unknown grabbing

> > all my CPU which is concerning) is that the fan kicks in at this CPU

> > load and it makes the normally deathly silent laptop a little loud...

> >

> > And no AV or Malwarebytes Lopaka...and those should let the CPU go

> > once they're done running anyway, right?

> >

> > Definitely strange...I've been pretty sick the last two weeks so

> > mustering the motivation to do a deep dive into what's going on is

> > beyond me right now...was hoping for an easy fix...*sigh*

> >

> > Any other ideas?

> >

> >

> > -Original Message-

> > From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On

> > Behalf Of Joshua MacCraw

> > Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2018 11:24 AM

> > To: 
> > hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com<mailto:hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com>

> > Subject: Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

> >

> > +1 on SysInternals tools FTW

> >

> > On Jan 26, 2018 11:11 AM, "Ch

Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

[Bino Gopal]

Shows how tired I am from the flu-realized that after I sent.

But again-it's weird-no process shows as taking up any CPU, but Task Manager 
and Resource Monitor both show the graphs as 100% CPU, all the time, flat-no 
spikes or drops.

But there's no process showing as using that CPU and the lists show the CPU as 
idle...

But the computer *thinks* something is taking the CPU b/c not only does it show 
that in TM and RM, but the fans spin up to max, as if something was using the 
CPU...

And I went and tried shutting down everything from TM, RM and PE and the CPU 
stayed flat at 100% and never went down...

Super strange, no??  I can send screenshots if there's an easy place to put 
them for people to view...


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Joshua MacCraw
Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2018 1:55 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

Idle is inverse of all other usage, aka not busy 95% is basically not busy.

Use the graph over time to monitor cpu and disk to find the spikes when you're 
not looking.

On Jan 27, 2018 1:42 PM, "Bino Gopal"  wrote:

> Weird...
>
> Process Explorer (thanks for the rec and link btw guys) says that 
> "System Idle Process" is grabbing 93-95% CPU...
> Task Manager details tab also shows the same thing-"System Idle Process"
> PID 0 is grabbing most of the CPU...
> But the Resource Monitor Overview and CPU tabs don't show the same 
> thing...but I can see all 8 cores nicely pegged at 100% on the right 
> there lol!
>
> The main reason I care (well other than something unknown grabbing all 
> my CPU which is concerning) is that the fan kicks in at this CPU load 
> and it makes the normally deathly silent laptop a little loud...
>
> And no AV or Malwarebytes Lopaka...and those should let the CPU go 
> once they're done running anyway, right?
>
> Definitely strange...I've been pretty sick the last two weeks so 
> mustering the motivation to do a deep dive into what's going on is 
> beyond me right now...was hoping for an easy fix...*sigh*
>
> Any other ideas?
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
> Behalf Of Joshua MacCraw
> Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2018 11:24 AM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?
>
> +1 on SysInternals tools FTW
>
> On Jan 26, 2018 11:11 AM, "Christopher Fisk" < 
> christopher.f...@thefisks.org>
> wrote:
>
> > Check out process explorer
> > https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdo
> > cs 
> > .microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fsysinternals%2Fdownloads%2Fprocess-explorer
> > &d
> > ata=02%7C01%7C%7Ca55a9a4b7dd8491362aa08d565bb95b8%7C84df9e7fe9f640af
> > b4 
> > 35%7C1%7C0%7C636526778697098352&sdata=l7Uru0UHA%2BDNxAb5
> > Cc
> > 0vyukiWq3RYjpbbT4lY6eCJF0%3D&reserved=0
> > to
> > try to track down the culprit.
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 1:54 PM, lopaka polena 
> wrote:
> >
> > > You running any AV or malwarebytes on it? I've seen those grab CPU 
> > > resources but only for a couple minutes after boot then usually 
> > > tapers
> > off.
> > >
> > > lopaka
> > >
> > > On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 10:42 AM, Bino Gopal 
> > > 
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hey guys, my fancy new MSI laptop (I fixed the random 
> > > > freeze/lockup
> > issue
> > > > btw, once I replaced the cracked USB/audio board back in Nov!!) 
> > > > is
> > doing
> > > > this weird thing where it goes to 100% CPU shortly after boot 
> > > > and stays pegged at 100%.
> > > >
> > > > It does this even when totally disconnected from any network and 
> > > > I did check Task Manager and Resource Monitor (for more detail) 
> > > > but I
> > couldn't
> > > > really find any running process that was grabbing the CPU and I 
> > > > did try shutting down anything that looked suspicious...
> > > >
> > > > Anyone seen this before (Win10 Pro v1709 OS 16299.192 64-bit) 
> > > > and any ideas...?
> > > >
> > >
> >
>

Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

[Bino Gopal]

Weird...

Process Explorer (thanks for the rec and link btw guys) says that "System Idle 
Process" is grabbing 93-95% CPU...
Task Manager details tab also shows the same thing-"System Idle Process" PID 0 
is grabbing most of the CPU...
But the Resource Monitor Overview and CPU tabs don't show the same thing...but 
I can see all 8 cores nicely pegged at 100% on the right there lol!

The main reason I care (well other than something unknown grabbing all my CPU 
which is concerning) is that the fan kicks in at this CPU load and it makes the 
normally deathly silent laptop a little loud...

And no AV or Malwarebytes Lopaka...and those should let the CPU go once they're 
done running anyway, right?

Definitely strange...I've been pretty sick the last two weeks so mustering the 
motivation to do a deep dive into what's going on is beyond me right now...was 
hoping for an easy fix...*sigh*

Any other ideas?


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Joshua MacCraw
Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2018 11:24 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] PC running at 100% CPU?

+1 on SysInternals tools FTW

On Jan 26, 2018 11:11 AM, "Christopher Fisk" 
wrote:

> Check out process explorer
> https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdocs
> .microsoft.com%2Fen-us%2Fsysinternals%2Fdownloads%2Fprocess-explorer&d
> ata=02%7C01%7C%7Ca55a9a4b7dd8491362aa08d565bb95b8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb4
> 35%7C1%7C0%7C636526778697098352&sdata=l7Uru0UHA%2BDNxAb5Cc
> 0vyukiWq3RYjpbbT4lY6eCJF0%3D&reserved=0
> to
> try to track down the culprit.
>
> On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 1:54 PM, lopaka polena  wrote:
>
> > You running any AV or malwarebytes on it? I've seen those grab CPU 
> > resources but only for a couple minutes after boot then usually 
> > tapers
> off.
> >
> > lopaka
> >
> > On Fri, Jan 26, 2018 at 10:42 AM, Bino Gopal 
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Hey guys, my fancy new MSI laptop (I fixed the random 
> > > freeze/lockup
> issue
> > > btw, once I replaced the cracked USB/audio board back in Nov!!) is
> doing
> > > this weird thing where it goes to 100% CPU shortly after boot and 
> > > stays pegged at 100%.
> > >
> > > It does this even when totally disconnected from any network and I 
> > > did check Task Manager and Resource Monitor (for more detail) but 
> > > I
> couldn't
> > > really find any running process that was grabbing the CPU and I 
> > > did try shutting down anything that looked suspicious...
> > >
> > > Anyone seen this before (Win10 Pro v1709 OS 16299.192 64-bit) and 
> > > any ideas...?
> > >
> >
>

[H] PC running at 100% CPU?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, my fancy new MSI laptop (I fixed the random freeze/lockup issue btw, 
once I replaced the cracked USB/audio board back in Nov!!) is doing this weird 
thing where it goes to 100% CPU shortly after boot and stays pegged at 100%.

It does this even when totally disconnected from any network and I did check 
Task Manager and Resource Monitor (for more detail) but I couldn't really find 
any running process that was grabbing the CPU and I did try shutting down 
anything that looked suspicious...

Anyone seen this before (Win10 Pro v1709 OS 16299.192 64-bit) and any ideas...?

Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

[Bino Gopal]

 check layer 1, i.e. the hardware first when random stuff like that just 
starts happening...

BINO

P.S.  Just installed the Creators Update today and so far so good (it kept 
prompting me for the past two weeks and I kept putting it off but I finally 
gave in).


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
lopaka polena
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 1:25 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

I've had a couple older laptops with heat issues (the P4 HP comes to mind) and 
the monitoring software (I use speedfan and cpu-z too) didn't always show much 
issue. Normally I have 2 ways I'd check if it was heat related. I have a couple 
mini fans made for laptops that have adjustable clamps to hold them over the 
small fan exhaust ports and a thin retractable usb plug to power them. On my 
old P4, if I ran that extra blower fan all the issues I normally had went away. 
The other would be to use one of those thin metal laptop stands that have a 
couple movable fans so you can adjust them for where the intake grates are on 
the laptop.

lopaka

On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 12:52 PM, Bino Gopal  wrote:

> So I see I don't have the Creator's Update as I'm still on the 
> Anniversary Update at:
>
> Version 1607 build 14393.1358
>
> Hmm, maybe I should try and get another OEM power brick and start 
> using it and see if the problems go away...
>
>
> Heat-wise what would you use to monitor lopaka?  I've got SpeedFan 
> 4.52 installed and it's not seeming as informative as I remember-just 
> with my laptop sitting on my desk, with my house at an ambient 72F, it's 
> showing:
>
> GPU: 0C
> Temp: 1C
> HD0: 35C
> HD1: 47C (going up)
> Temp1: 57C (not sure what that is)
> Temp2: 28C
> Temp3: 30C
> Core 0: 38C
> Core 1: 39C
>
> Thoughts?
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
> Behalf Of lopaka polena
> Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 12:40 PM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues
>
> My gut thought would always be power (whether the brick or something
> internal) or heat with a laptop, then windows update issue because 
> there have been a few I've seen recently associated with the win 10  
> creators update
>
> lopaka
>
> On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Steve Tomporowski 
> 
> wrote:
>
> > What I was thinking was that the power adapter is going bad, and 
> > just like a flaky power supply in a desktop, causes  weird things to happen.
> >
> >
> > On 7/6/2017 3:06 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> >
> >> I was wondering if it was Win10...and note I had it from 3/15/17 to
> >> 5/11/17 with no issues...and it didn't lockup again until 6/4/17 
> >> and it's been occurring with more frequency...
> >>
> >> But I haven't been prompted for the Creators Update which I heard 
> >> was very bad...unless of course it fixed my problem for me...this 
> >> is so random and unpredictable, it's very frustrating!
> >>
> >> And note in my case it's definitely a hard, complete lockup and 
> >> holding the power button until it reboots is the only way to recover...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> -Original Message-
> >> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
> >> Behalf Of Winterlight
> >> Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 11:56 AM
> >> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> >> Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup 
> >> issues
> >>
> >>
> >> I have had similar experiences with my Lenovo quadcore laptop.
> >> Sometimes it goes to sleep even though I have set it up not to go 
> >> to sleep when plugged in. I have to hold the power button to wake 
> >> bring it back to usability . I think you have a Win 10 issue I 
> >> have a lot of issues with Win 10 that I am waiting for fixes to show 
> >> up.
> or not.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> At 12:49 PM 7/6/2017, you wrote:
> >>
> >>> Doubt it's heat-while it has a 1060 in it I wasn't using it for 
> >>> gaming
> >>> *any* of those times, and there were plenty of times I was running 
> >>> Mad Max at 1080p, and a couple times at 4k even and I could hear 
> >>> the fans spin up and it def get hot, but it never had problems 
> >&g

Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

[Bino Gopal]

So I see I don't have the Creator's Update as I'm still on the Anniversary 
Update at: 

Version 1607 build 14393.1358

Hmm, maybe I should try and get another OEM power brick and start using it and 
see if the problems go away...


Heat-wise what would you use to monitor lopaka?  I've got SpeedFan 4.52 
installed and it's not seeming as informative as I remember-just with my laptop 
sitting on my desk, with my house at an ambient 72F, it's showing:

GPU: 0C
Temp: 1C
HD0: 35C
HD1: 47C (going up)
Temp1: 57C (not sure what that is)
Temp2: 28C
Temp3: 30C
Core 0: 38C
Core 1: 39C

Thoughts?


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
lopaka polena
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 12:40 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

My gut thought would always be power (whether the brick or something
internal) or heat with a laptop, then windows update issue because there have 
been a few I've seen recently associated with the win 10  creators update

lopaka

On Thu, Jul 6, 2017 at 12:12 PM, Steve Tomporowski 
wrote:

> What I was thinking was that the power adapter is going bad, and just 
> like a flaky power supply in a desktop, causes  weird things to happen.
>
>
> On 7/6/2017 3:06 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
>
>> I was wondering if it was Win10...and note I had it from 3/15/17 to
>> 5/11/17 with no issues...and it didn't lockup again until 6/4/17 and 
>> it's been occurring with more frequency...
>>
>> But I haven't been prompted for the Creators Update which I heard was 
>> very bad...unless of course it fixed my problem for me...this is so 
>> random and unpredictable, it's very frustrating!
>>
>> And note in my case it's definitely a hard, complete lockup and 
>> holding the power button until it reboots is the only way to recover...
>>
>>
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
>> Behalf Of Winterlight
>> Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 11:56 AM
>> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
>> Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues
>>
>>
>> I have had similar experiences with my Lenovo quadcore laptop.
>> Sometimes it goes to sleep even though I have set it up not to go to 
>> sleep when plugged in. I have to hold the power button to wake bring 
>> it back to usability . I think you have a Win 10 issue I have a 
>> lot of issues with Win 10 that I am waiting for fixes to show up. or not.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> At 12:49 PM 7/6/2017, you wrote:
>>
>>> Doubt it's heat-while it has a 1060 in it I wasn't using it for 
>>> gaming
>>> *any* of those times, and there were plenty of times I was running 
>>> Mad Max at 1080p, and a couple times at 4k even and I could hear the 
>>> fans spin up and it def get hot, but it never had problems then...in 
>>> fact, when I had the two issues in quick succession on
>>> 6/22 it was in my lap on a tray and I had a fan blowing on it and I 
>>> thought it was b/c I got it too cold or something like that actually...!
>>>
>>> Power...it's been plugged into the same third party power block that 
>>> Xoticpc sold me with the laptop (thing is massive) and it was on my 
>>> desk the other times...I just leave it plugged in and on so it stays 
>>> fully charged...are you thinking surges?  It's plugged into a strip...
>>>
>>> Any other ideas anyone? :P
>>>  BINO
>>>
>>>
>>> -Original Message-
>>> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
>>> Behalf Of Joe User
>>> Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 4:45 AM
>>> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
>>> Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup 
>>> issues
>>>
>>> Heat or Power?
>>>
>>>
>>> On 7/5/2017 7:39 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hey guys, really hoping someone has the trick to solve this here...
>>>>
>>>> Got a new latest and greatest MSI gaming laptop (GS73VR 7RF) with
>>>>
>>> Win10 Pro a couple months ago from XoticPC who did a couple 
>>> customizations for me-received 3/15/17.  I thought last month that 
>>> it started locking up on me-no response except if I hold the power 
>>> button down and shut it off and then power it up.
>>>
>>>> 

Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

[Bino Gopal]

I was wondering if it was Win10...and note I had it from 3/15/17 to 5/11/17 
with no issues...and it didn't lockup again until 6/4/17 and it's been 
occurring with more frequency...

But I haven't been prompted for the Creators Update which I heard was very 
bad...unless of course it fixed my problem for me...this is so random and 
unpredictable, it's very frustrating!

And note in my case it's definitely a hard, complete lockup and holding the 
power button until it reboots is the only way to recover...



-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Winterlight
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 11:56 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues


I have had similar experiences with my Lenovo quadcore laptop. 
Sometimes it goes to sleep even though I have set it up not to go to sleep when 
plugged in. I have to hold the power button to wake bring it back to usability 
. I think you have a Win 10 issue I have a lot of issues with Win 10 that I 
am waiting for fixes to show up. or not.




At 12:49 PM 7/6/2017, you wrote:
>Doubt it's heat-while it has a 1060 in it I wasn't using it for gaming 
>*any* of those times, and there were plenty of times I was running Mad 
>Max at 1080p, and a couple times at 4k even and I could hear the fans 
>spin up and it def get hot, but it never had problems then...in fact, 
>when I had the two issues in quick succession on
>6/22 it was in my lap on a tray and I had a fan blowing on it and I 
>thought it was b/c I got it too cold or something like that actually...!
>
>Power...it's been plugged into the same third party power block that 
>Xoticpc sold me with the laptop (thing is massive) and it was on my 
>desk the other times...I just leave it plugged in and on so it stays 
>fully charged...are you thinking surges?  It's plugged into a strip...
>
>Any other ideas anyone? :P
> BINO
>
>
>-Original Message-
>From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
>Behalf Of Joe User
>Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 4:45 AM
>To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
>Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues
>
>Heat or Power?
>
>
>On 7/5/2017 7:39 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> > Hey guys, really hoping someone has the trick to solve this here...
> >
> > Got a new latest and greatest MSI gaming laptop (GS73VR 7RF) with
> Win10 Pro a couple months ago from XoticPC who did a couple 
> customizations for me-received 3/15/17.  I thought last month that it 
> started locking up on me-no response except if I hold the power button 
> down and shut it off and then power it up.
> >
> > It started happening more frequently a couple weeks ago when it
> did this 4x in the same week!  I contacted XoticPC, who said to just 
> restore the OS-but I haven't really installed that much and would 
> rather figure out the problem (if I can) before I reinstall and run 
> into it again.
>
> > Interestingly after the second lockup on 6/22 which happened only
> 3 mins after the first one that day, the second one on 6/26 happened 
> only 6 seconds after boot if I'm reading these timestamps 
> right...though I didn't notice until the next day, which is when I rebooted.
> >
> > Anyway, any ideas?  Anyone seen this before?  Any help or
> suggestions much appreciated!
> >
> > 
> BINO
> >

Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

[Bino Gopal]

Hmmm, I guess it has been on the power brick b/c it's been on the desk or in my 
lap in the living room...and h, to be clear I wasn't using that power brick 
for a while, but instead using the one that came with the laptop from MSI which 
is much smaller and portable-so I usually take that one with me...I don't 
remember the exact date I started using the 3rd party one (pwr-plus.com)...I 
never thought of the charger causing issues...and it's so intermittent...guess 
I could switch back to using the OEM one and see if the lockups stop...

Nothing I can check in Windows to see if there's more info about this?  Weird 
power spikes/surges?  Any third party tools I can run?  Physical 
instrumentation I can use to check?  Not much of an EE myself unfortunately...


Btw, I do see some weird processor speed limitation messages in the Event 
Viewer...don't think they're related but anyone know what this is about?!

Shows up as Level: Warning, Source: Kernel-Processor-Power (MS-Win-K-P-P), 
Event ID: 37, Task category: (7)
-The speed of processor 0 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The 
processor has been in this reduced performance state for 1 seconds since the 
last report.

I have 8 of those messages, one for each core, 0-7 after every restart...maybe 
that's causing the random lockups and I need to fix that maybe...?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Steve Tomporowski
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 11:55 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

Was it on the power brick every time it locked up?  Does it lock up when you 
are only on battery?

On 7/6/2017 2:49 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> Doubt it's heat-while it has a 1060 in it I wasn't using it for gaming *any* 
> of those times, and there were plenty of times I was running Mad Max at 
> 1080p, and a couple times at 4k even and I could hear the fans spin up and it 
> def get hot, but it never had problems then...in fact, when I had the two 
> issues in quick succession on 6/22 it was in my lap on a tray and I had a fan 
> blowing on it and I thought it was b/c I got it too cold or something like 
> that actually...!
>
> Power...it's been plugged into the same third party power block that Xoticpc 
> sold me with the laptop (thing is massive) and it was on my desk the other 
> times...I just leave it plugged in and on so it stays fully charged...are you 
> thinking surges?  It's plugged into a strip...
>
> Any other ideas anyone? :P
>   BINO
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On 
> Behalf Of Joe User
> Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 4:45 AM
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues
>
> Heat or Power?
>
>
> On 7/5/2017 7:39 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
>> Hey guys, really hoping someone has the trick to solve this here...
>>
>> Got a new latest and greatest MSI gaming laptop (GS73VR 7RF) with Win10 Pro 
>> a couple months ago from XoticPC who did a couple customizations for 
>> me-received 3/15/17.  I thought last month that it started locking up on 
>> me-no response except if I hold the power button down and shut it off and 
>> then power it up.
>>
>> It started happening more frequently a couple weeks ago when it did this 4x 
>> in the same week!  I contacted XoticPC, who said to just restore the OS-but 
>> I haven't really installed that much and would rather figure out the problem 
>> (if I can) before I reinstall and run into it again.
>> Interestingly after the second lockup on 6/22 which happened only 3 mins 
>> after the first one that day, the second one on 6/26 happened only 6 seconds 
>> after boot if I'm reading these timestamps right...though I didn't notice 
>> until the next day, which is when I rebooted.
>>
>> Anyway, any ideas?  Anyone seen this before?  Any help or suggestions much 
>> appreciated!
>>
>>  
>>  
>> BINO
>>

Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

[Bino Gopal]

Doubt it's heat-while it has a 1060 in it I wasn't using it for gaming *any* of 
those times, and there were plenty of times I was running Mad Max at 1080p, and 
a couple times at 4k even and I could hear the fans spin up and it def get hot, 
but it never had problems then...in fact, when I had the two issues in quick 
succession on 6/22 it was in my lap on a tray and I had a fan blowing on it and 
I thought it was b/c I got it too cold or something like that actually...!

Power...it's been plugged into the same third party power block that Xoticpc 
sold me with the laptop (thing is massive) and it was on my desk the other 
times...I just leave it plugged in and on so it stays fully charged...are you 
thinking surges?  It's plugged into a strip...

Any other ideas anyone? :P
BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Joe User
Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 4:45 AM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

Heat or Power?


On 7/5/2017 7:39 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> Hey guys, really hoping someone has the trick to solve this here...
> 
> Got a new latest and greatest MSI gaming laptop (GS73VR 7RF) with Win10 Pro a 
> couple months ago from XoticPC who did a couple customizations for 
> me-received 3/15/17.  I thought last month that it started locking up on 
> me-no response except if I hold the power button down and shut it off and 
> then power it up.
> 
> It started happening more frequently a couple weeks ago when it did this 4x 
> in the same week!  I contacted XoticPC, who said to just restore the OS-but I 
> haven't really installed that much and would rather figure out the problem 
> (if I can) before I reinstall and run into it again.

> Interestingly after the second lockup on 6/22 which happened only 3 mins 
> after the first one that day, the second one on 6/26 happened only 6 seconds 
> after boot if I'm reading these timestamps right...though I didn't notice 
> until the next day, which is when I rebooted.
> 
> Anyway, any ideas?  Anyone seen this before?  Any help or suggestions much 
> appreciated!
> 
>   
>BINO
> 

[H] Help! Bino MSI Win10 Pro laptop random lockup issues

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, really hoping someone has the trick to solve this here…

Got a new latest and greatest MSI gaming laptop (GS73VR 7RF) with Win10 Pro a 
couple months ago from XoticPC who did a couple customizations for me-received 
3/15/17.  I thought last month that it started locking up on me-no response 
except if I hold the power button down and shut it off and then power it up.

It started happening more frequently a couple weeks ago when it did this 4x in 
the same week!  I contacted XoticPC, who said to just restore the OS-but I 
haven’t really installed that much and would rather figure out the problem (if 
I can) before I reinstall and run into it again.

I did some searching and found this article: 
https://www.drivereasy.com/knowledge/solved-windows-10-freezes-locks-up-randomly-easily/

and while I was going to try the other steps, I read the comments and first 
comment about SSDs sounded interesting, and had a lot of support from people 
who it had helped, so I decided to try it:


“If you use an SSD and you run into this problem just change this:

1. Open your advanced power plan settings.

2. Expand open Hard disk and Turn off hard disk after, SET TO NEVER, and 
click/tap on OK.

NOTE: Windows 10 should never turn off an ssd by default, but somehow it was 
doing that to me. After changing to Never, it never happened to me. Maybe a bug 
in latest update!!”

And I thought it had solved my problem b/c it had been over a week and no 
lockup!  I was so relieved…

…until 3:43pm today when after I walked away from my laptop and came back to it 
an hour later at 4:30pm it was locked up again…and displaying 3:43pm on the 
screen as that was the last time the clock changed…

So I power-cycled it and now I’m back and writing this email…

Checked the System Event logs and I do see:


  1.  Entry at 12pm today 7/5/17 giving system uptime as 771870 seconds
  2.  Windows update installed a Defender update around 1pm
  3.  And interestingly, the last 4 entries today  before the lockup 
timestamped 3:06:08 to 3:06:24 are time-related:

-The time provider 'VMICTimeProvider' has indicated that the current hardware 
and operating environment is not supported and has stopped. This behavior is 
expected for VMICTimeProvider on non-HyperV-guest environments. This may be the 
expected behavior for the current provider in the current operating environment 
as well.

-The time provider NtpClient is currently receiving valid time data from 
time.windows.com,0x9 (ntp.m|0x9|0.0.0.0:123->52.173.193.166:123).

-The time service is now synchronizing the system time with the time source 
time.windows.com,0x9 (ntp.m|0x9|0.0.0.0:123->52.173.193.166:123).
-The system time has changed to ‎2017‎-‎07‎-‎05T22:06:24.08000Z from 
‎2017‎-‎07‎-‎05T22:06:24.081427600Z.
Change Reason: An application or system component changed the time.

  1.  No other entries until 4:29:06pm when I power-cycled it and it shows the 
reboot, and there’s an entry at 4:29:14 of type Error:

-The previous system shutdown at 3:43:13pm on 7/5/17 was unexpected

so that’s the last time windows sees any activity, so I’m assuming that’s why 
it thinks it was shutdown then…

  1.  And at 4:29:07 it has type Critical:

-The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could 
be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

Reason I thought it was the SSD thing is that it seemed to be only an issue 
when I was leaving the laptop idle-it never happened to me while I was using 
it-liked it never locked up in mid-keystroke or while I was doing something-it 
was always after I had it sit for some amount of time and then went back to it 
and it had been hung for a while…but changing that power setting clearly didn’t 
work…

And checking the Summary page events I can see all of these lockups with the 
increasing frequency; here are the timestamps followed by the timestamp of the 
lockup from the corresponding Event viewer message)

(all type Critical, and the message is “The system has rebooted without cleanly 
shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped 
responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.“)

7/5/17 4:29:07pm(lockup at 7/5/17 3:43:13pm)
6/26/17 12:58:31pm (lockup at 6/26/17 1:18:48am)
6/26/17 1:18:42am  (lockup at 6/23/17 1:18:48pm)
6/22/17 6:22:37pm  (lockup at 6/22/17 6:14:39pm)
6/22/17 6:11:07pm  (lockup at 6/22/17 5:31:46pm)
6/15/17 2:57:39pm  (lockup at 6/15/17 2:52:17pm)
6/4/17 1:18:19pm(lockup at 6/4/17 12:46:19pm)
5/11/17 3:25:50pm  (lockup at 5/11/17 10:33:50am)

So clearly it never happened before 5/11/17 and I guess I’ll go and review the 
event logs before that to see if something in particular was installed, but 
this is pretty weird, no right?  No error messages, the system just lock up and 
is dead instantly…?

Interestingly after the second lockup on 6/22 which happened only 3 mins after 
the first one that day, the second one on 6/26 happened only 6 secon

Re: [H] Cloning HDs for new laptops and stuff...?

[Bino Gopal]

Hmm how about if I wanted to clone to those new super-fast NVMe drives like on 
the new Razer Pro that I was eyeing...?  Are there docks or cases or something 
for NVMe that will let me put them into one and then put them into this device?

And it's cool you can just do that with the drives like that-that's sweet!

I did get this for hosting external drives, hoping it would speed things 
up...thoughts?  Worth it?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DJ3YEH0/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

BINO


-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Greg Sevart
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 2:44 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Cloning HDs for new laptops and stuff...?

1) Clone the drive before replacing?  Will that always just work?  If so what's 
the best software for that-and I don't mind paying if it's quality stuff that 
will last...
--A dedicated device is probably the best bet. They have USB 3 toasters with 
two slots that can do cloning now. Not used one, but I imagine it'd be a lot 
easier than using SW. e.g., https://amzn.com/B00N1KXE9K


2)|Or can I just get a new drive and somehow easily extract the Win10 license 
and then reinstall Windows.  If so what's the best/fastest way to do that?
--No need to extract, at least as long as you go through OOBE with Internet 
access (not 100% sure even this is required, actually...). The hardware ID is 
registered with Microsoft, and you can reinstall any number of times onto the 
same system. So long as it has internet access, it'll verify your hardware ID 
and activate automatically. I don't think a drive replacement negates that.

-Original Message-
From: Hardware [mailto:hardware-boun...@lists.hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of 
Bino Gopal
Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2017 4:15 PM
To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] Cloning HDs for new laptops and stuff...?

Hey guys, so been randomly getting a lot of new laptops with say Win10 on them 
but with either too small SSDs or HDs.

What's the best way to replace those with bigger/better SSDs or NVMe drives and 
get them up and running?

1) Clone the drive before replacing?  Will that always just work?  If so what's 
the best software for that-and I don't mind paying if it's quality stuff that 
will last...
--A device is probably the best bet. They have USB 3 toasters with two slots 
that can do cloning now. Not used one, but I imagine it'd be a lot easier than 
using SW.

2)|Or can I just get a new drive and somehow easily extract the Win10 license 
and then reinstall Windows.  If so what's the best/fastest way to do that?
--No need to extract, at least as long as you go through OOBE with Internet 
access (not 100% sure even this is required, actually...). The hardware ID is 
registered with Microsoft, and you can reinstall any number of times onto the 
same system. So long as it has internet access, it'll verify your hardware ID 
and activate automatically. I don't think a drive replacement negates that.

Thanks for any help and tip guys and glad to see you're still here! :)

 
BINO

[H] Cloning HDs for new laptops and stuff...?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, so been randomly getting a lot of new laptops with say Win10 on them 
but with either too small SSDs or HDs.

What's the best way to replace those with bigger/better SSDs or NVMe drives and 
get them up and running?

1) Clone the drive before replacing?  Will that always just work?  If so what's 
the best software for that-and I don't mind paying if it's quality stuff that 
will last...

2)|Or can I just get a new drive and somehow easily extract the Win10 license 
and then reinstall Windows.  If so what's the best/fastest way to do that?

Thanks for any help and tip guys and glad to see you're still here! :)


BINO

Re: [H] Long time and new desktop gaming PC?

[Bino Gopal]

Bueller...?  Did my message not go through...?

> From: binogo...@hotmail.com
> To: hardw...@lists.hardwaregroup.com
> Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2014 15:55:06 -0700
> Subject: [H] Long time and new desktop gaming PC?
> 
> Hey all, LONG time no talk/see!  Glad to see the collective is still here 
> and going strong!  Who's running/hosting the list if I may ask?
> 
> Anyway, that aside, question for you all as I haven't been keeping up with 
> stuff the last few years...
> 
> My main desktop gaming PC died *years* ago and rather than replacing it I've 
> been using my laptop as kind of a stopgap (yeah I know, but when I got in 
> 2011 it was a Core i7-740QM with a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 and then I 
> upgraded it with 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD so it's been pretty bad-ass; just has 
> heat issues when I really hit graphics intensive games...)
> 
> Anyway if I wanted to get a really bad-ass gaming PC but not necessarily go 
> through the trouble of building one myself, anyone got any recs on builders 
> that give you the whole shebang that offer the best customizability.  Like 
> Falcon Northwest or Puget Systems, etc, etc?
> 
> Budget-wise I don't know; what *should* I spend on one of these??
> 
> And is there any new tech I should def get, like all 3D monitors or 
> multi-screen gaming or Oculus Rift something like that??  I've been mostly 
> playing Xbox360 and then iOS games lately lol! :P
> 
> BINO
  

[H] Long time and new desktop gaming PC?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey all, LONG time no talk/see!  Glad to see the collective is still here 
and going strong!  Who's running/hosting the list if I may ask?

Anyway, that aside, question for you all as I haven't been keeping up with 
stuff the last few years...

My main desktop gaming PC died *years* ago and rather than replacing it I've 
been using my laptop as kind of a stopgap (yeah I know, but when I got in 2011 
it was a Core i7-740QM with a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 and then I upgraded 
it with 16GB RAM and a 1TB SSD so it's been pretty bad-ass; just has heat 
issues when I really hit graphics intensive games...)

Anyway if I wanted to get a really bad-ass gaming PC but not necessarily go 
through the trouble of building one myself, anyone got any recs on builders 
that give you the whole shebang that offer the best customizability.  Like 
Falcon Northwest or Puget Systems, etc, etc?

Budget-wise I don't know; what *should* I spend on one of these??

And is there any new tech I should def get, like all 3D monitors or 
multi-screen gaming or Oculus Rift something like that??  I've been mostly 
playing Xbox360 and then iOS games lately lol! :P

BINO

  

[H] Boxee box by D-Link thoughts?

[Bino Gopal]

So what do people think?  Worth it or better stuff out there?  What about the 
D-Link aspect?  I hate the shape; doesn't fit in my AV cabinet at all b/c of 
it! :P
 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038JE07O

BINO
  

Re: [H] Best simple media player for HT...WD TV Live Plus?

[Bino Gopal]

Have folks found any reviews for which is better then, the Popcorn A200 or the 
WD TV Live Plus?  Or is there something even better coming out shortly?  I just 
want something easy that works w/o any (or minimal) hassle/fuss! :p

BINO


 
> From: fhta...@gmail.com
> Date: Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:28:25 -0700
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Best simple media player for HT...WD TV Live Plus?
> 
> Popcorn hour devices are nice too. I have the A100 and am getting ready to
> pick up another one the A200. what makes them nice is that when you add an
> internal hdd or external usb hdd. you can just use them as nas devices on
> your network instead of having to drag that usb drive back to your computer
> just to copy more video files to them.
> 
> I love the power in these things and they play just about any file I through
> at them.
> 
> ymmv,
> -Francisco
> http://sqlthis.blogspot.com | Tsql and More...
> http://bit.ly/sqlthis
> 
> 
> On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 10:56 AM, Steve Tomporowski wrote:
> 
> > Bino,
> >
> > The best I can say is to read the 'one star' reviews of this device on
> > Amazon. There are 25 reviews, 6 of them are 1 star. The reason you read
> > them is to see if the complaint is petty 'user interface is lame' or if it
> > might be serious 'when it resumes it plays back at rapid speed'. This way
> > you can tell what you're about to get and if you can live with it. I don't
> > think I've ever learned anything from a 5 star review, unless all of them
> > are, then you have a winner!
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> > On 7/8/2010 1:11 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> >
> >> Hey guys, so I guess I'm getting persnickety in my "old-age" (I use that
> >> term loosely, k? :P).
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> But dealing with computers and tech stuff all the time has meant that I
> >> have little patience for futzing around with stuff and wanting to tweak
> >> things and mess with all the details and whatnot-I mean I still do it when
> >> needed, but I don't go out and look for it, and avoid it if I can...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> So I'm not so into building the PC-I'll just buy it all ready to go and
> >> hope it has as few problems as possible (there are still always some that
> >> need work).
> >>
> >>
> >> Similarly, while I could build a HTPC for my HT to play any video files
> >> (for missed TV shows and all that), I'd like to avoid that as much as
> >> possible, as long as I can get something that'll do the job with minimal
> >> fuss. Sadly, I've lacked the ability to do this (play PC video files
> >> easily), and have to manually connect my laptop via VGA to my Samsung 60"
> >> DLP whenever I want to play files of stuff I've missed, so it's a bit of a
> >> PITA...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> But then I came across this:
> >> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MVZ60I/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> The WD TV Live Plus! The reviews are really great for something this
> >> simple, and it sounds like it'll play just about any format of video file
> >> from my PC w/o me having to futz with dl'ing codecs and all that (and even
> >> plays .iso files directly with DVD menus too!).
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> So is this the device I want-the one "true" device?! :P I figure a few
> >> other people here must've looked into things like this, especially to keep
> >> it simple for wives/GFs. ;) I keep hearing the "POPCORN" mentioned in the
> >> reviews, but apparently it's vaporware. And at $120 shipped from Amazon in
> >> 2 days (I have Prime), I'm ready to pull the trigger, but figured I'd check
> >> with the collective for thoughts first...
> >>
> >>
> >> So any opinions, thoughts, shares regarding this device and the
> >> state-of-the-art in this area (or recommendations for better devices) are
> >> much appreciated. Thanks all!
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> BINO
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
  

[H] Best simple media player for HT...WD TV Live Plus?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, so I guess I'm getting persnickety in my "old-age" (I use that term 
loosely, k? :P).

 

But dealing with computers and tech stuff all the time has meant that I have 
little patience for futzing around with stuff and wanting to tweak things and 
mess with all the details and whatnot-I mean I still do it when needed, but I 
don't go out and look for it, and avoid it if I can...

 

So I'm not so into building the PC-I'll just buy it all ready to go and hope it 
has as few problems as possible (there are still always some that need work).


Similarly, while I could build a HTPC for my HT to play any video files (for 
missed TV shows and all that), I'd like to avoid that as much as possible, as 
long as I can get something that'll do the job with minimal fuss.  Sadly, I've 
lacked the ability to do this (play PC video files easily), and have to 
manually connect my laptop via VGA to my Samsung 60" DLP whenever I want to 
play files of stuff I've missed, so it's a bit of a PITA...

 

But then I came across this: 
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MVZ60I/ref=cm_cr_asin_lnk

 

The WD TV Live Plus!  The reviews are really great for something this simple, 
and it sounds like it'll play just about any format of video file from my PC 
w/o me having to futz with dl'ing codecs and all that (and even plays .iso 
files directly with DVD menus too!).

 

So is this the device I want-the one "true" device?! :P  I figure a few other 
people here must've looked into things like this, especially to keep it simple 
for wives/GFs. ;)  I keep hearing the "POPCORN" mentioned in the reviews, but 
apparently it's vaporware.  And at $120 shipped from Amazon in 2 days (I have 
Prime), I'm ready to pull the trigger, but figured I'd check with the 
collective for thoughts first...


So any opinions, thoughts, shares regarding this device and the 
state-of-the-art in this area (or recommendations for better devices) are much 
appreciated.  Thanks all!

 

BINO

 
  

[H] PDC timeout on login fix?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey I would hope that someone here has run into this and knows the fix for it 
(think I did it for WinXP but can't figure out how for the life of me! :P)...

 

So I've got a laptop from work; installed Win7EE 64-bit on it, replaced the HD 
with a 80GB Intel G2 SSD, and am running Office 2010 64-bit too, so it's 
blazingly fast!  just a few secs to startup and login, and literally 2-3 to 
shutdown from the moment I hit Shutdown...

 

Except for one thing: I went and added myself to the work domain (VPN'ed in and 
had someone from IT with the administrator account log in and add me to the 
domain).  Now the problem is that when I log into my user account (domain\user 
with password) it sits there thinking for a while, presumably b/c it can't 
contact the PDC (Primary Domain Controller) for my domain and has to wait for 
the timeout to expire...

 

I remember having this problem on my old computer with WinXP and I thought I 
found a registry hack that would reduce or eliminate the timeout but I can't 
find it for the life of me (and I've been googling for weeks).  I did go 
through and eliminate some startup scripts and other things that were trying to 
reach WINS servers (which wouldn't work since I'm never locally on the network) 
but that didn't really help...

 

Thoughts/ideas/solutions?  I'd really like to get my startup/login time back 
down again!  Someone suggested removing myself from the domain, but I don't 
think I want to do that (or does being on the domain not matter that much 
anymore?).  Thanks for any help!

 

BINO

 
  

Re: [H] Greg what do you think of this SSD?

[Bino Gopal]

Bought one a few months back and replaced the HD on my laptop (T61) and 
installed Win7 Ent; it's freaking amazing how fast things are now (like 
startup, or shutdown, or loading stuff once you log in).  Wouldn't go back for 
anything now!!  My roommate dropped ~$450 for the 160GB (for his Dell XPS 
laptop using XP) a few months before that, and is having the same 
experience...though if he doesn't have Win7 and TRIM is he going to start 
having issues...?  Hmm, hadn't thought of that when I talked him into getting 
it! :P

 

So I paid $220 back then; $200 is a great price now.  And I don't expect the 
SSD to last that long-but the amount of time I've saving over just the next 2 
years will more than justify the cost (and responsiveness too), such that I can 
easily upgrade to a much bigger drive then (~2 yrs from now) and be totally 
happy with what I got!  It really is the most significant PC upgrade I've seen 
in a long time.  Of course I'm using Win7 Ent 64-bit with Office 64-bit and 
things like Outlook (the main program I use everyday) might run faster due to 
the 64-bit stuff, but the SSD makes a big difference with that and lots of 
other stuff...

 

But that's JM2C on the subject... :P

BINO


 
> From: brian.wee...@gmail.com
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 08:05:16 -0400
> CC: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Greg what do you think of this SSD?
> 
> Known problem, usually solved by a firmware update or using an OS that 
> actually supports TRIM.
> 
> The core problem is that SSDs are completely different technogy from 
> spinning disks and you can't treat them the same. You shouldnt defrag 
> SSDs or do anything that does more writes than necessary. And never 
> use a tool like Spinrite on them.
> 
> ---
> Brian
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On 2010-05-23, at 7:49 AM, Steve Tomporowski  wrote:
> 
> > Some of these reviews are hilarious. One guy had all sorts of 
> > problems: Boot Failure, very slow booting, but still gave it 3 
> > eggs. One guy called it the best upgrade he ever did, but only 
> > rated it four eggs. The ones that disturb me are those where, all 
> > of a sudden, they are back to slow booting. Is this a known problem 
> > with a known solution?
> >
> > Steve
> >
> > On 5/23/2010 6:32 AM, Al Anger wrote:
> >> On Fri, 21 May 2010 21:42:43 -0700
> >> Winterlight wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>> Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC 
> >>> Internal
> >>> Solid State Drive (SSD)
> >>>
> >> Have you read the reviews on newegg?
> >> http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016
> >> Sure is tempting...
> >>
> >
  

Re: [H] Win7 Ent 32-bit vs 64-bit?

[Bino Gopal]

Well thought I'd share my results as a data point:


Got a Lenovo (aka IBM) T61 laptop from circa late 2007.  It's the Santa Rosa 
mobile platform, specifically an Intel Core 2 Duo Merom 2nd gen processor 
(T7500 @ 2.2Ghz).  I don't know what the exact chipset is (anyone know an easy 
way to find that with an app...?) but in any case the chipset it what usually 
came with that chip.


So I installed Win7 Ent 64-bit (and remember I only have 4GB TOTAL memory 
installed) and on the System screen, the machine went from saying 3.2GB usable 
out of the 4GB installed (which was with Win7 32-bit), to just saying a plain 
4GB RAM installed with nothing missing...

 

So it looks like even though I only have 4GB physical memory, the MMIO devices 
don't need to reserve any of my 4GB of memory b/c they can map above it (I 
assume up to 8GB in my case).  So based on the KB article, I assume if I 
upgraded to 8GB of RAM, it would show 7.2GB of RAM b/c then the devices would 
still need to map and since 8GB is their max, it would take away from my 
physical memory...I'll see if I can get 8GB of RAM for it and test this out! ;)

 

BINO


 
> Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 15:51:37 -0700
> From: maccr...@gmail.com
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Win7 Ent 32-bit vs 64-bit?
> 
> Differing amounts of "memory hole" from differing configurations would be my 
> guess 
> before blaming a bug.
> 
> Agreed, with driver support (on new devices at least) finally happening there 
> is no 
> reason to use x32.
> 
> On 5/1/2010 3:16 PM, Bryan Seitz wrote:
> > Seems to be a bug or a chipset thing if it's different on different 
> > systems, all with 4G of ram.
> > Either way there's no reason to not use a 64 bit os in 2010.
> >
> > On Sat, May 01, 2010 at 10:43:14AM -0700, maccrawj wrote:
> >> Sorry, your point/counterpoint is? Think I'm missing something here.
> >>
> >>
> >> On 5/1/2010 7:28 AM, Bryan Seitz wrote:
> >>> Well no, I've seen systems with 4G of memory show:
> >>>
> >>> 2.5G
> >>> 2.8G
> >>> 3.5G
> >>>
> >>> with /PAE
> >>>
> >>> :)
> 
  

Re: [H] Win7 Ent 32-bit vs 64-bit?

[Bino Gopal]

But from the MS article:

 

Note When the physical RAM that is installed on a computer equals the address 
space that is supported by the chipset, the total system memory that is 
available to the operating system is always less than the physical RAM that is 
installed. For example, consider a computer that has an Intel 975X chipset that 
supports 8 GB of address space. If you install 8 GB of RAM, the system memory 
that is available to the operating system will be reduced by the PCI 
configuration requirements. In this scenario, PCI configuration requirements 
reduce the memory that is available to the operating system by an amount that 
is between approximately 200 MB and approximately 1 GB. The reduction depends 
on the configuration.

 

So doesn't that imply that based on the fact that I only have 4GB, I'll still 
be short some memory, unlike what some others said?  Or to put it another way, 
like Gary said, what will the devices map into since they can't map to thin air 
(and apparently they still need to map).


And to put a further point on it, since the video card is a MMIO (memory-mapped 
I/O) device, I assume it'll take memory away from the max 4GB too.  So the 
moral of the story is that sure I can upgrade to 64-bit Win7, but if I don't 
put more than 4GB of memory in the system, I should end up with exactly the 
same amount of memory as with 32-bit Win7 right?!

 

Now, apps running faster is a whole 'nother reason and definitely worth doing 
it for that! ;)


BINO


 
> From: bh...@sc.rr.com
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Date: Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:32:12 -0400
> Subject: Re: [H] Win7 Ent 32-bit vs 64-bit?
> 
> It maps into the address space of whatever the 64-bit address space is (8
> terabytes or something like that). When you have a 32-bit OS, the address
> space is only 4GB, the system maps in the hardware memory (BIOS, graphics
> card RAM, etc.) space from the top of the address space down. That is why
> you get between about 3-3.5GB of actual RAM when you have 4GB RAM on a
> 32-bit system. I know I'm not explaining this well, so take a look here:
> 
> http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2007/03/dude-wheres-my-4-gigabytes-of-ram.h
> tml
> and
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929605
> 
> Bobby
> 
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
> [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Gary VanderMolen
> Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2010 9:09 PM
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Win7 Ent 32-bit vs 64-bit?
> 
> So what will they map into instead? As far as I know, the video has to map
> into RAM,
> regardless if the OS is 32-bit or 64-bit.
> 
> Gary VanderMolen, Microsoft MVP (Mail)
> 
> 
> -Original Message- 
> From: Bobby Heid
> 
> 
> IIRC, the BIOS and video RAM will not have to map into the 4GB address space
> (in 64-bit). He will have the whole address space for RAM. 
> 
> 
> 
  

[H] Win7 Ent 32-bit vs 64-bit?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, we have a site volume license for Windows-I might not be being 
precise about this as I'm not sure, but I work at Citrix Systems, Inc. and 
we're a pretty close Microsoft partner and so get licenses for a lot of MS 
software so I think that's what it is (in case it matters).  For example, I 
have to authenticate to the KMS server using slmgr.vbs from my laptop, and have 
been having issues reaching it and just got it figured out recently!

 

Anyway, I want to install Win7 Enterprise (that's what we get; basically 
Ultimate minus the games right?) on my somewhat new laptop and was wondering 
whether I wanted the 32bit or 64-bit version...  I know you get the full 
support of the 4GB of RAM on the 64-bit version (well, that you can actually 
address/use over 3GB) and btw I only have 4GB on this laptop...

 

But are there any other reasons to go 64-bit?  Or are there reasons not to go 
64-bit still, like app/program compatability/issues?  I'm not going to be 
playing many games on it (though I might install one or two simpler ones for 
travel), but that's not a main concern for me...

 

Thanks for any input!

 

BINO

 
  

Re: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN

[Bino Gopal]

Err, honestly you are explaining it rather poorly! (Now, not to pick a fight, 
but just to clarify any confusion for folks who aren't clear trying to follow 
the discussion):

 

Earlier you said: "Hell, there is nothing keeping them from being routed across 
the internet as a whole. Road Runner has a 10.x network for all of their 
devices. Cable boxes, cable modems, etc."

 

But what you said above is just plain wrong, and that's what people are taking 
issue with and spawned all the responses.  Road Runner/TW/Cox/AT&T/Verizon 
whomever routing RFC1918 addresses across their network, even if it spans THE 
WORLD, is not the same as "routed across the internet as a whole."

 

That implies those addresses/routes being accepted by other providers as valid 
routes and propagated across BORDER routers into other networks and public IP 
addresses spaces, and that just doesn't happen (or if it does, it's a mistake, 
and it's fixed).

 

So if what you're trying to say is what you wrote below, that's fine (but it 
doesn't mean much), but this all started when you made the comment above, and 
that's what people are having issue with b/c it's just plain wrong.  Agree or 
disagree? ;)

 

BINO
 

> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 16:54:34 -0400
> From: chr...@mhonline.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN




 

> The short of it is: As long as the 1918 space isn't routed outside of 
> Road Runner's network they can use as much of the space as they want and 
> run it into your house, etc without any issues.
> 
> Christopher Fisk

  

Re: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN

[Bino Gopal]

Err lol, I guess you forgot the actual MAIN use case of a VPN which is as a 
virtual PRIVATE network to connect your private home network to another one, 
like work-which is exactly what all the VPNs we use at work for do! :P

In which case it is most explicitly to route RFC1918 addresses over the VPN!  
Though on the VPN profile, since we're all mostly network folks ourselves, we 
let the users select which routes to route over the VPN (configurable on the 
client side), and we also can enable or disable local LAN access with a switch 
for printing and file sharing while connected (security vs ease-of-use), and we 
also control whether you have split DNS (let DNS requests go to both the local 
and VPN vservers).
 
In any case, I'm sure you've realized this all by now, and this is more 
informational for anyone else wondering...HTH!
 
BINO

 
> From: brian.wee...@gmail.com
> Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 11:55:41 -0400
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN
> 
> That doesn't make any sense - 10. addresses cannot be routed via VPN, same
> as 192. Both of those address ranges are explicitly defined as private and
> cannot be routed on the Internet. The minute any packet with a 10. or 192.
> or any other private range hits an internet router it gets dropped.
> 
> I think on my end the issue was with the public vs private network
> designations in Windows 7. I had the VPN connection defined as public which
> means it is untrusted and Windows won't allow network discovery or file
> sharing. I think somehow Windows got confused with the machine being on a
> private (trusted) LAN and public (untrusted) WAN at the same time. Not sure
> tho.
> 
> ---
> Brian Weeden
> Technical Advisor
> Secure World Foundation 
> +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada
> +1 (202) 683-8534 US
> 
> 
> On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 11:12 AM, Hunter, Gary
> wrote:
> 
> > I had the same issue it was down to all 10. Addresses being routed down the
> > VPN. I changed my home network to 192.168.. and now everything works fine,
> >
> >
> >
> > Gary Hunter
> > Consulting Engineer
> > Travelport GDS
> > T: (+1) 303 - 397 - 5035
> > M:(+1) 720 - 231 - 0965
> > E: gary.hun...@travelport.com
> > SITA: HDQOK1G
> > Travelport Product Development Center
> > 6901 S Havana St
> > Centennial, CO 80112
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:
> > hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian Weeden
> > Sent: Sunday, April 25, 2010 10:45 AM
> > To: hwg
> > Subject: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN
> >
> > This is very weird. I have a VPN setup and it's been acting weird - when I
> > connect to it using one of the machines on my LAN, that machines
> > effectively
> > drops off the network. It can browse the internet just fine, but none of
> > the other machines on the LAN can connect to it. Interestingly, although
> > it
> > says its LAN IP is still 10.0.1.2, I can't ping it with that IP. I have
> > been using this VPN on this particular machine for months with no problems
> > until recently.
> >
> > However, using the same VPN setup on another machine on the same LAN, it
> > will connect to the VPN and still be visible on the LAN and can still
> > connect to other clients on the LAN. I've double checked the VPN settings
> > are they are exactly the same on both machines.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> > ---
> > Brian Weeden
> > Technical Advisor
> > Secure World Foundation 
> > +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada
> > +1 (202) 683-8534 US
> > If you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail message, please notify
> > the sender
> > and delete all copies immediately. The sender believes this message and any
> > attachments
> > were sent free of any virus, worm, Trojan horse, and other forms of
> > malicious code.
> > This message and its attachments could have been infected during
> > transmission. The
> > recipient opens any attachments at the recipient's own risk, and in so
> > doing, the
> > recipient accepts full responsibility for such actions and agrees to take
> > protective
> > and remedial action relating to any malicious code. Travelport is not
> > liable for any
> > loss or damage arising from this message or its attachments.
> >
> >
> >

  

Re: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN

[Bino Gopal]

Sounds like split tunneling being disabled on the one computer...could that 
somehow be set on the VPN server if it's not showing on the client?

 

BINO

 
> From: brian.wee...@gmail.com
> Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:45:01 -0400
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] VPN connection seals computer off from LAN
> 
> This is very weird. I have a VPN setup and it's been acting weird - when I
> connect to it using one of the machines on my LAN, that machines effectively
> drops off the network. It can browse the internet just fine, but none of
> the other machines on the LAN can connect to it. Interestingly, although it
> says its LAN IP is still 10.0.1.2, I can't ping it with that IP. I have
> been using this VPN on this particular machine for months with no problems
> until recently.
> 
> However, using the same VPN setup on another machine on the same LAN, it
> will connect to the VPN and still be visible on the LAN and can still
> connect to other clients on the LAN. I've double checked the VPN settings
> are they are exactly the same on both machines.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> ---
> Brian Weeden
> Technical Advisor
> Secure World Foundation 
> +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada
> +1 (202) 683-8534 US
  

Re: [H] Network issue

[Bino Gopal]

My problem with that is AFAIK, he has other devices on the LAN that are working 
fine (getting NAT'ed to the outside, though I may be wrong about that), whereas 
it's just the TV devices that don't work-the difference with them is that 
they're "new" which makes me think it's something else, but it's too hard to 
tell-there just isn't enough information to really figure out what's going on 
w/o looking at a Visio and the router configs and doing an actual 
troubleshooting session...though I keep coming back to routing issues (which 
could be NAT issues too).

 

At this point (w/o doing the actual troubleshooting session) I'd say that you 
just collapse your networks into one flat 192.168.1.x (you don't need multiple 
networks anyway-not like you're firewalling and enforcing security policies b/w 
them anyway, are you?) and then you'll be fine as the LAN and WAN will be the 
same network and you'll get access to everything you need that way.  It's how I 
have mine set up at home! :p

 

BINO

 
> Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 11:44:55 -0700
> From: maccr...@gmail.com
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Network issue
> 
> I'd say that's likely part of it!
> 
> On 4/24/2010 3:36 AM, Gaffer wrote:
> > On Friday 23 April 2010 23:33:50 Winterlight wrote:
> >> OK, now I have replaced that router = Linksys WG54 with another
> >> Linksys WG54 that I updated the firmware on and checked it out as
> >> working well. Then I set it up for my Network = DHCP at defaults
> >> 192.168.1.1, disabled wireless completely, gave it a password and
> >> plugged it into my network. Everything works great ... except for the
> >> TV devices. Same issue.
> >>
> >> 
> >
> > Could it be that you are double NATing !
> >
  

Re: [H] My 2010 Gamer PC Build

[Bino Gopal]

Dude, if you're building a new PC now and *don't* get an SSD...you're doing 
yourself a serious disservice.  Yeah, it's not cheap, but read the multitude of 
articles that say it's the singlest biggest paradigm shift in computing in 
years in terms of speed increase and it should be a no-brainer!  You can really 
cut back on all the other parts to pay for the SSD and you'd still have a 
faster system than someone who didn't have one!


But yeah, I'd say you need at least a 160GB one; I have two WD 74GB 10k Raptors 
in RAID0 on my main system and multiple TB drives for data, so a 160 Intel G2 
should hold you in good stead...HTH!

 

BINO

 
> Date: Thu, 22 Apr 2010 10:36:24 -0700
> From: stei...@pacbell.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] My 2010 Gamer PC Build
> 
> I did it for mine, 160 gig Intel G2 SSD for the boot drive and I use a pair 
> of 500 gig WD's for my data drives..
> 
> It's nice to watch Windows boot in 15-20 seconds. :)
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> JRS 
> stei...@pacbell.net
> 
> 
> Facts do not cease to exist just
> because they are ignored.
> 
> 
> 
> - Original Message 
> > From: GPL 
> > To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> > Sent: Thu, April 22, 2010 9:54:40 AM
> > Subject: Re: [H] My 2010 Gamer PC Build
> > 
> > OK, moving right along I'm at the Hard Drive stage. A couple of people
> have 
> > told me to go the SSD route for the OS/APPS drive and grab a 1TB
> drive for 
> > the data. It seems pretty expensive for say an 80GB drive
> and it's just not 
> > that much space. Right now I have a C and D drive,
> two separate hard drivers. 
> > My C drive shows 127GB with 15GB free. SO,
> that tells me 80GB is hard to 
> > swallow for that price. I can always put
> only the intensive apps on their 
> > like the OS, and Microsoft's FSX. I'm
> sure the 1TB drive will be fast enough 
> > for me to load games and such
> off of.
> 
> How do you feel about the SSD 
> > drive route in a new PC BUILD?
  

Re: [H] Network issue

[Bino Gopal]

Well the thing that's weird to me about this is that there are devices on the 
LAN router currently that can access the internet just fine...so what's 
different about the TV devices when you plug them directly into the LAN router? 
 Just the IPs they're getting, which is why I suggested statically assigning 
the IP of a working LAN device to one of the TV devices and see if that 
works...you should have a computer with an IP you can spare-see what IP it has 
(as long as it can access the internet fine), take it off the network, and 
assign that IP to a TV device and see what happens (you may have to reboot to 
clear the arp cache for the DHCP lease on the router btw).

 

I assume that when you plug them into the WAN router, the TV devices get a 
192.169.3.x IP?  And that has no problem getting out? Again, pointing to the 
IPs being an issue...

 

Could you somehow not be NAT'ing all of the 192.168.1.x address space?  That 
could cause the problem; original LAN devices are getting IPs that are being 
NAT'ed but the TV devices aren't b/c they're too high or something...oh, and 
you just have one public IP right? It's not like you have multiple statically 
assigned public IPs that are running out or something?

 

Have you reviewed the config on the LAN router to see if it's a config issue 
blocking access?  Maybe reset it to factory defaults and see if that helps?

 

BINO


 
> Date: Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:51:38 -0700
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> From: winterli...@winterlight.org
> Subject: Re: [H] Network issue
> 
> At 12:06 PM 4/21/2010, you wrote:
> >>I actually tried taking the switch out of the loop and plugging the 
> >>TV directly into the LAN router but it no change. But when I move 
> >>the CAT cable to the WAN router I am good.
> >
> >Can you do a retask of devices? Save current configurations of the 
> >routers and then reverse them, putting the LAN router in place where 
> >the WAN router is and then the WAN where the LAN is. Seems to me it 
> >is something in the LAN router causing the issue.
> 
> 
> >Do you have a spare router you can just replace the LAN router with?
> 
> 
> 
> I think you're right Chris, after I wrote the last reply I came to 
> the same conclusion. I can swap out that router with another exact 
> duplicate Linksys WRT54G I happen to have and I will give that a try 
> as soon as I can afford to bring my network down for a while.
> 
> thanks
> w
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> >Firmware on LAN router?
> >
> >Possible Packet Filtering on LAN router?
> >
> >Anything show up in the log for the LAN router?
> >
> >
> >Christopher Fisk
> >--
> >Thank you, Bill Cosby, you saved the Simpsons!
> > -- Homer Simpson, Saturdays of Thunder
> 
  

Re: [H] Network issue

[Bino Gopal]

Sounds like a routing problem.  Aha, I was going to write a bunch of stuff, but 
just realized I was making assumptions of things you didn't state.  So let's 
clear those up first:
 
1) First, can devices on the original LAN router access the internet?  Or can 
only devices on the WAN access the internet?  I assume the LAN can but let's 
make sure of that before we proceed doing a bunch of stuff.
 
2) Since the new N router was set up as a switch, then it's basically part of 
the LAN network.  So assuming LAN devices on the original router can access the 
internet, I don't see why devices on the new N router wouldn't be able to 
access the internet since they're part of the same broadcast domain, and 
getting the same IPs as the original LAN devices!
  a) So a simple troubleshooting idea: take a device from the original LAN 
router and plug it into a switch port on the N router and see if it can still 
access the internet.  You can also take a device from the N router and plug it 
into the original LAN router and see if it starts working.
 
3) If it's not any of the physical things, then start moving up the layers, and 
look at IPs now.  Could it be that the new devices are getting IPs that are 
somehow not being NAT'ed correctly?  To see if it's an IP issue, you might be 
able to statically assign an IP to one of the new devices from a device that 
can access the internet from the LAN and see if that makes it start working...
 
There's more but that's a good start for now; I mean, at the start it seemed 
like it was just a routing problem where packets don't know how to get back to 
the LAN from the WAN, but you haven't given enough information about the setup 
to be sure of that...hehe, you don't have a Visio of the network do you?! :P
 
  BINO

 
> Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:05:58 -0700
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> From: winterli...@winterlight.org
> Subject: [H] Network issue
> 
> I have a new TV and BRD player with Panasonic on line Vericast 
> capability. Unfortunately, there is a issue with my network setup. I 
> have figured out a work around but I don't particularly like it. My 
> Network is setup to isolate the WAP from my LAN, I give access to 
> employees as well as friends, and family but I do not want them to 
> even see my LAN. So I use three older Linksys stacked routers. Cox 
> cable is plugged into a Motorola Surfboard 2 which is plugged into 
> the WAN 192.168.3.x which is a wired router. The LAN 192.168.1.x is a 
> wireless router with wireless disabled. The WAP 192.168.2.x is a 
> wireless router. The routers are setup with three different IP 
> numbers. The LAN and the WAP are plugged into the WAN.
> 
> There are lots of stuff running off the LAN, a couple of network 
> printers, a couple of 10/100/1000 switches, a 10/100 switch. This 
> setup has run for years, and while I had to screw with it to get it 
> going, once I had it setup, it has been running flawlessly for years 
> now. I never have to reboot or shut it down. It never gives me a 
> single problem. It works like things should work.
> 
> I am in the process of setting up two additional routers as simple 
> access points. One to extend the range of the existing WAP, which is 
> not a problem  and a new N router which will be for my personal 
> use connected to my LAN and operating as a switch for my TV, BRD and 
> a WD Live media player. This is the one Greg helped me setup as a 
> simple switch and access point.. no DHCP, no firewall and it works.
> 
> But my TV, BRD and WD Live can't function correctly when plugged into 
> it. When plugged into the switch all three see, and correctly ID the 
> LAN the COX numbers, and can even pass their internal network 
> test... but when I want to get out to the internet, or access my LAN, 
> it can not find it's way out, and I typically get a DNS server not 
> found error.
> 
> To troubleshoot, I worked my way back, one wire, one connection, one 
> switch, one router at a time until it worked. This happened 
> instantly when I plugged the TV, BRD and WD live directly into the 
> WAN. The TV and the BRD don't need to access my LAN so I could solve 
> that problem just by running CAT 5e cable directly from the WAN to 
> those devices. However, the WD live needs to work with my LAN in 
> order to access media. It also needs to access the internet for 
> updates, and services such as Netflicks.
> 
> Apparently, something is blocking DNS Server access from the TV, BRD 
> and the WD Live and keeping them from accessing the internet when 
> plugged into the LAN, and in the case of the WD Live my shares. Any 
> ideas on solving this?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> w
> 
  

Re: [H] iPhone 4.0 OS

[Bino Gopal]

Anthony, there's a Marvel app for the iPad-have you seen that?  It actually 
will zoom into parts of the pages and take you through each page moving from 
one section to another-it's VERY slick!  Let you zoom in/out, swipe to page, 
all sorts of cool stuff.  I can see loading an iPad with lots of comic 
books/graphic novels with an interface like that!

 

BINO


 
> Date: Fri, 9 Apr 2010 07:30:12 -0400
> From: amar...@charter.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] iPhone 4.0 OS
> 
> Ok...what does this mean for us "iWanna" people who sit on the fence?
> 
> 1) I'm hoping for an iPhone from VZW this summer. It better have OS 4 
> or no way. I need to have ALL the perks after being made to wait.
> 
> 2) The multi-tasking OS and a smaller iPad? Hmm...that's starting to 
> get really tempting. I played with the iPad the other day...and it is 
> impressive on the surface at least. The bigger screen makes for an 
> excellent coffee table PC...which I honestly how I would use the full 
> sized version. I also want to read comic books on it. Say what you will, 
> but you can ever take the kid out of me (hey, I still ride bikes!).
> 
> 3) I might end up getting a full-sized iPad soon, without paying for it.
> 
  

Re: [H] cable upgrades

[Bino Gopal]

Yeah, I had cable problems recently and TW had to come out and replace my 
modem, but I was talking to a knowledgeable L3 TW tech (she was very good) and 
she indicated that yeah, on the speed tests I'd see up to 30 Mbps down at 
first, but that was just the boost crap they did for the first part of the dl, 
and that it would typically drop to half that over the rest of the dl...

 

So I saw 30 Mbps at first, but get 15 Mbps sustained now for my dls from big 
sites...fwiw.

 

BINO


 
> From: ames...@websense.com
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Date: Wed, 7 Apr 2010 13:52:50 -0700
> Subject: Re: [H] cable upgrades
> 
> Ahh so that’s how it works. I always thought it worked by caching certain 
> content on their cache boxes and serving the cached content at faster speeds 
> than if you were to download it over the normal non cached version. I should 
> have known better.
> 
> Thanks,
> --
> Ali Mesdaq (CISSP, GIAC-GREM)
> Sr. Security Researcher
> Websense Security Labs
> http://www.WebsenseSecurityLabs.com
> --
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com 
> [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Greg Sevart
> Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 1:40 PM
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] cable upgrades
> 
> Keep in mind that Cox has PowerBoost. It's a temporary increase in speed for
> the first few seconds/MB of a stream. It's mostly BS to make speed tests
> look good without providing any real material increase.
> 
> Comcast developed the technology, and everybody else licenses it--including
> Cox and Time Warner Cable.
> 
> > -Original Message-
> > From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
> > boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Winterlight
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2010 3:12 PM
> > To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> > Subject: [H] cable upgrades
> > 
> > 
> > I have a COX cable Premium account and I pay though the nose for it.
> > Their basic entry level account is 19 bucks a month and I pay 56 for
> > 10 down and 2 up. But this week they upgraded my area to doc3.
> > Surprisingly they will be able to update the firmware in my Motorola
> > Surfboard doc2 modem without me doing anything. Before they did that
> > they called me to come out and check my lines to make sure everything
> > was in order and because their tests indicated my modem was out of
> > range... which turned out to be caused by a filter on my line. They
> > tell me after the upgrade they will be able to deliver up to 45
> > down.The timing was fortuitous because I have a new Plasma TV on the
> > way .
> > 
> > They cable guy was great, he checked all my fittings, checked the
> > drop line and replaced all the connectors gave me new splitters and
> > even made a special cable for me for my plasma which isn't hear yet.
> > But the real thrill was doing speed tests. Before he came this
> > morning I did a speed test, the one Cox tech uses, and I got 10.9
> > down and 4 up which is better then what I am paying for. But after he
> > did the work and left, I ran it again. www.winterlight.org/speed.jpg
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Protected by Websense Hosted Email Security -- www.websense.com 
  

Re: [H] iPad

[Bino Gopal]

The WiFi is the only model available now-3G comes out later this month.  Apple 
might've sold 700,000 of them this weekend:

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=am73cOKlv68s

 

BINO

 

--

My Thought for the Day - Expecting life to treat you well because you are a 
good person is like expecting an angry bull not to charge because you are a 
vegetarian.


 
> Date: Sun, 4 Apr 2010 08:32:28 -0400
> From: amar...@charter.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] iPad
> 
> How does it feel in your hand? Also, which version did you get?
> 
> On 4/3/2010 9:28 PM, Hunter, Gary wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > So who else got their iPad today?
> >
> > What are the must have apps and the ones to avoid?
> >
> > I am impressed so far. The battery life is very good. I am still not
> > below 70% left with 4 hours solid use.
> >
> > Yes it might just be a big iPod touch but I travel a lot and using this
> > as an entertainment system on the plane will be nice. At the moment I
> > have been using my Motorola Milestone and the bigger screen will be
> > great.
> >
  

Re: [H] Bridge update

[Bino Gopal]

It connects two networks at layer 2 so they're part of the same broadcast 
domain; mean you don't need routing (which is layer 3) for devices to see each 
other...

 

BINO


 
> Date: Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:58:26 -0400
> From: amar...@charter.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Bridge update
> 
> May I ask what a bridge does?
> 
> On 3/31/2010 8:23 PM, FORC5 wrote:
> > Got in the WNHDE111 ap/bridge. Nice unit, only complaint is only two ports 
> > but not problem, can use my old router downstream. Already tested.
> >
> > Setup was so easy it is almost scary. Press the WPS button on the bridge 
> > and on the DNDR3700 router and in a couple of minutes had soup. Me a happy 
> > camper.
> > almost feels *wired*
> >
> > FWIW works A/N only
> >
> > fp
> >
> >
> >
> > 
> >
> >
> >
> > No virus found in this incoming message.
> > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> > Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2782 - Release Date: 03/31/10 
> > 14:32:00
> >
> > 
  

Re: [H] SCSI (was RE: Old Floppy Drives)

[Bino Gopal]

Lol, way too much $$$?!  Duncan, did you miss my other post where I mentioned 
that the last computer I bought was from *December 2004*?!  And all I've done 
to upgrade it was replace the Radeon X800XT in it with a Radeon 4830 that I got 
for $80 on sale last year?!

 

Now I'm not saying you're wrong about that (i.e., don't ask me how much I spend 
on scotch!) but lol, not sure where you got the idea I have way too much $$ 
just from asking about SCSI below! :P  And if there's anyone not keeping up 
with the times on this list besides you, it's most likely me! ;)

 

BINO

P.S. So no comment on my using "bee's knees" in my post?!  I thought you 
would've appreciated that! ;)

 

 
> Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:04:03 -0400
> From: dx7...@bellsouth.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] SCSI (was RE: Old Floppy Drives)
> 
> NO. Bino,
> SCSI is NOT dead; but YOU have to have many $$$ to play now.
> Best I can figure, SCSI is now U320, or, now maybe ISCSI.
> Both of them are beyond my budget.
> Perhaps Greg, or, someone else might drop in and 'splain it to us!
> I still milk my old scsi until it dies. I have converted 3 to C2D/SATA.
> I have 2 more to go. My server stays as it is (U160-RAID) until it 
> croaks. Then, I may again spend more $$$.
> Bino, you must have way too many $$$?
> You seem to believe all of US totally KEEP UP with the TIMES!
> Personally, I do NOT think so. JMHO!
> Best,
> Duncan
> 
> 
> On 03/30/2010 16:16, Bino Gopal wrote:
> >
> > Heh, so that makes me wonder, is SCSI pretty much dead, even in servers?
> >
> >
> >
> > Haven't heard much about it lately, and there was that period like ~10 yrs 
> > ago when it was the bee's knees (yes, I just said bee's knees! :P) for the 
> > fastest HDs available...I'm curious what the consensus is on what happened 
> > to SCSI?
> >
> >
> >
> > BINO
> >
> >
> >> Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:33:51 -0400
> >> From: dx7...@bellsouth.net
> >> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> >> Subject: Re: [H] Old Floppy Drives
> >>
> >> FORC5,
> >> Understand. I've still got one small box of old floppies. As soon as I
> >> can upgrade all my old SCSI stuff to SATA, I sorta need to keep these
> >> things.
> >> Close I am. Seems that my OLD (scsi) machines new seem to be getting
> >> ready to croak. Not bad. I knew this day would come. Just getting
> >> prepared! And, I have been lazy and cash-poor to upgrade faster (sooner).
> >> I will mention how much I love my 3 new C2D machines. I have now
> >> experienced the future and it is fast and bright.
> >> Duncan
> >>
> >>
> >> On 03/30/2010 14:47, FORC5 wrote:
> >>> moved into a new house and just threw away several hundred floppies,
> >>> some maybe even collectable ( old games like doom and Wolfenstein 3d) :'(
> >>> fp
> >>>
> >>> At 09:31 AM 3/30/2010, DSinc Poked the stick with:
> >>>> Anthony,
> >>>> Yes, I saw this model and another model from Nippon Labs. Problem is
> >>>> that both of these still require the eide FD cable. Not completely usb.
> >>>>
> >>>> I am considering the Iomega Silver model, N82E16821108201, $34.99.
> >>>> I'd like NOT to try Sabrent or Rosewill again!
> >>>> Duncan
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> On 03/30/2010 09:38, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> >>>>> And then there is this on newegg:
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>> BYTECC BT-146 All-in-one Internal USB2.0 connector Card Reader w/
> >>>>> Floppy Drive - Retail
> >>>>>
> >>>>> Item #: N82E16820192022
> >>>>>
> >>>>> On 3/29/2010 8:10 PM, DSinc wrote:
> >>>>>> Anthony,
> >>>>>> Yes, I do. I'd like to believe that there is really nothing I might
> >>>>>> ever need again, but, just do not know yet. I am still working to be
> >>>>>> "Floppy-Free."
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> USB floppy drive? Do tell :)
> >>>>>> Think that is what I now seek!!!
> >>>>>> LOL!
> >>>>>> Duncan
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>> On 03/29/2010 19:31, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> >>>>>>> You actually still have files saved on Floppie

Re: [H] Old Floppy Drives

[Bino Gopal]

Heh, I almost feel the same way-I just don't have time to futz with everything 
and build my own system and spend all the time tweaking/fixing it-my last PC I 
just bought from Dell and it's pretty much been working fine and lasted me 
until now (got it in late Dec 2004) and I think I finally need to upgrade it 
soon (the SC2 beta keeps crashing on me-though it might be the vid card since I 
turned ALL the settings down to absolute lowest and it actually seems to run 
w/o crashing at that point...).

Anyhoo, the point is that I just want the computer to work and not have issues 
so I can waste more time surfing the internet and watching the backlog of 100+ 
hrs of TV on my TivoHD rather than spending all the time tweaking it and trying 
to fix issues/upgrade it all the time!! ;)
 
Heh, does that disqualify me from staying a true HWG member?! :P
 

BINO

 
> From: gib...@clearwire.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:16:45 -0700
> Subject: Re: [H] Old Floppy Drives
> 
> Rarely have anything to say here anymore. I let the local shop build my new
> box last week and it's just a run of the mill thing. Only specials I asked
> for was SSD (is damn fast) for the system drive and an "ICY-dock" to
> recover my old data.
> 
> PC's are mostly just a tool for me. I mostly use my laptop and RDP to my
> "server" for file and print.
> 
> > -Original Message-
> > From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
> > boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Anthony Q. Martin
> > Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 12:23 PM
> > To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> > Subject: Re: [H] Old Floppy Drives
> > 
> > I have never seen one. Why not stay delurked. :)
> > 
> > On 3/30/2010 3:12 PM, gibney wrote:
> > > Sorry to delurk, but are there really USB to 5 1/4 floppy drives
> > > available?
> > >
> > >
> > >> -Original Message-
> > >> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
> > >> boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Anthony Q. Martin
> > >> Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 10:29 AM
> > >> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> > >> Subject: Re: [H] Old Floppy Drives
> > >>
> > >> The iomega looks like a good deal. Of course, if you're going USB
> > >> floppy, it would be nice to have one unit that does 5 1/4 and 3 1/2
> > >> inch
> > >> discs
> > >>
> > >> On 3/30/2010 12:31 PM, DSinc wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> Anthony,
> > >>> Yes, I saw this model and another model from Nippon Labs. Problem
> > is
> > >>> that both of these still require the eide FD cable. Not completely
> > >>>
> > >> usb.
> > >>
> > >>> I am considering the Iomega Silver model, N82E16821108201, $34.99.
> > >>> I'd like NOT to try Sabrent or Rosewill again!
> > >>> Duncan
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> On 03/30/2010 09:38, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> > >>>
> >  And then there is this on newegg:
> > 
> > 
> >  BYTECC BT-146 All-in-one Internal USB2.0 connector Card Reader w/
> >  Floppy Drive - Retail
> > 
> >  Item #: N82E16820192022
> > 
> >  On 3/29/2010 8:10 PM, DSinc wrote:
> > 
> > > Anthony,
> > > Yes, I do. I'd like to believe that there is really nothing I
> > might
> > > ever need again, but, just do not know yet. I am still working to
> > >
> > >> be
> > >>
> > > "Floppy-Free."
> > >
> > > USB floppy drive? Do tell :)
> > > Think that is what I now seek!!!
> > > LOL!
> > > Duncan
> > >
> > >
> > > On 03/29/2010 19:31, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> > >
> > >> You actually still have files saved on Floppies? None of my
> > >>
> > >> machines
> > >>
> > >> have floppies.
> > >>
> > >> Why not a USB floppy drive?
> > >>
> > >> On 3/29/2010 7:18 PM, DSinc wrote:
> > >>
> > >>> I assume that old 3.5in 1.44MB floppy drives use the old eide
> > >>> interface.
> > >>> And, I am now noticing new m/b's that do not have a floppy
> > >>>
> > >> connector.
> > >>
> > >>> OK. I understand.
> > >>>
> > >>> Is there any kind of external conversion box (eide-usb) I can
> > use
> > >>>
> > >> to
> > >>
> > >>> keep a NEW "working" Sony/TEAC 3.5in floppy drive around for
> > some
> > >>> time.
> > >>>
> > >>> Yes, I do so know that I should have converted all my old
> > >>>
> > >> floppies to
> > >>
> > >>> usb sticks years ago. Fine. I'm late with this, also! Sue me!
> > >>> It seems that I am finding out what the life of Sony/TEAC
> > floppy
> > >>> drives useful life may be. All mine are 12-15 (or more!) yrs
> > old!
> > >>> Wondering?
> > >>> Duncan
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>>
> > >>> No virus found in this incoming message.
> > >>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> > >>> Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2778 - Release Date:
> > >>> 03/29/10 14:32:00
> > >>>
> > 

[H] SCSI (was RE: Old Floppy Drives)

[Bino Gopal]

Heh, so that makes me wonder, is SCSI pretty much dead, even in servers?

 

Haven't heard much about it lately, and there was that period like ~10 yrs ago 
when it was the bee's knees (yes, I just said bee's knees! :P) for the fastest 
HDs available...I'm curious what the consensus is on what happened to SCSI?

 

BINO

 
> Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:33:51 -0400
> From: dx7...@bellsouth.net
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Old Floppy Drives
> 
> FORC5,
> Understand. I've still got one small box of old floppies. As soon as I 
> can upgrade all my old SCSI stuff to SATA, I sorta need to keep these 
> things.
> Close I am. Seems that my OLD (scsi) machines new seem to be getting 
> ready to croak. Not bad. I knew this day would come. Just getting 
> prepared! And, I have been lazy and cash-poor to upgrade faster (sooner).
> I will mention how much I love my 3 new C2D machines. I have now 
> experienced the future and it is fast and bright.
> Duncan
> 
> 
> On 03/30/2010 14:47, FORC5 wrote:
> > moved into a new house and just threw away several hundred floppies,
> > some maybe even collectable ( old games like doom and Wolfenstein 3d) :'(
> > fp
> >
> > At 09:31 AM 3/30/2010, DSinc Poked the stick with:
> >> Anthony,
> >> Yes, I saw this model and another model from Nippon Labs. Problem is
> >> that both of these still require the eide FD cable. Not completely usb.
> >>
> >> I am considering the Iomega Silver model, N82E16821108201, $34.99.
> >> I'd like NOT to try Sabrent or Rosewill again!
> >> Duncan
> >>
> >>
> >> On 03/30/2010 09:38, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> >>> And then there is this on newegg:
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> BYTECC BT-146 All-in-one Internal USB2.0 connector Card Reader w/
> >>> Floppy Drive - Retail
> >>>
> >>> Item #: N82E16820192022
> >>>
> >>> On 3/29/2010 8:10 PM, DSinc wrote:
>  Anthony,
>  Yes, I do. I'd like to believe that there is really nothing I might
>  ever need again, but, just do not know yet. I am still working to be
>  "Floppy-Free."
> 
>  USB floppy drive? Do tell :)
>  Think that is what I now seek!!!
>  LOL!
>  Duncan
> 
> 
>  On 03/29/2010 19:31, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> > You actually still have files saved on Floppies? None of my machines
> > have floppies.
> >
> > Why not a USB floppy drive?
> >
> > On 3/29/2010 7:18 PM, DSinc wrote:
> >> I assume that old 3.5in 1.44MB floppy drives use the old eide
> >> interface.
> >> And, I am now noticing new m/b's that do not have a floppy connector.
> >> OK. I understand.
> >>
> >> Is there any kind of external conversion box (eide-usb) I can use to
> >> keep a NEW "working" Sony/TEAC 3.5in floppy drive around for some
> >> time.
> >>
> >> Yes, I do so know that I should have converted all my old floppies to
> >> usb sticks years ago. Fine. I'm late with this, also! Sue me!
> >> It seems that I am finding out what the life of Sony/TEAC floppy
> >> drives useful life may be. All mine are 12-15 (or more!) yrs old!
> >> Wondering?
> >> Duncan
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> No virus found in this incoming message.
> >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> >> Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2778 - Release Date:
> >> 03/29/10 14:32:00
> 
> 
>  No virus found in this incoming message.
>  Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>  Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2778 - Release Date:
>  03/29/10 14:32:00
> >>
> >>
> >> No virus found in this incoming message.
> >> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
> >> Version: 9.0.791 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2779 - Release Date:
> >> 03/29/10 23:32:00
> >
  

Re: [H] Suggested HTPC Setup

[Bino Gopal]

Hey Ali, so I've got two TW cable DVRs (the HD ones) and a HD Tivo up here in 
LA.  The HD Tivo uses cablecard and it's just like you said-it's way cheaper 
for the cable card per month than the DVRs, and it works fine (I should get rid 
of the DVRs...).  I can't guide you on using the CC in a PC, but the cablecard 
tech itself seems pretty solid and works great in my Tivo.

 

Oh, you just have to be aware of whether you're getting a singlestream or 
multistream CC-single means you can only tune to one channel, and multi means 
you can tune to 2 at once (I use a multistream in my TivoHD).  Obviously 
multistream is better as you only need to pay for one CC/month to tune 2 
channels...make sure you get the right one from TW as they sometimes send the 
wrong one even if you ask for mstream, etc.  HTH!

 

BINO

 
> From: ames...@websense.com
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Date: Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:39:47 -0700
> Subject: Re: [H] Suggested HTPC Setup
> 
> Do you have to buy a cablecard yourself? Here in San Diego TimeWarner 
> apparently will lease it for $2.50 a month which I find kind of hard to 
> believe its so cheap. Anyone have experience with these cablecards? I hope it 
> doesn’t require some DRM software to take over my machine. I will be setting 
> everything up on a Linux system so I wonder if that will be a problem. Also 
> what interface do these cards plug into? Do I need some type of adapter or is 
> there PCI-x slots or similar?
> 
> Thanks,
> --
> Ali Mesdaq (CISSP, GIAC-GREM)
> Sr. Security Researcher
> Websense Security Labs
> http://www.WebsenseSecurityLabs.com
> --
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com 
> [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Alex
> Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 11:11 AM
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Suggested HTPC Setup
> 
> One minor point I'd like to make:
> 
> Confirm that you can receive a strong TV signal for the reception mode you 
> are going to use. (i.e. OTA/Sat/Cable). I bought a an ATI TV card, hooked it 
> up to an antenna only to find my OTA reception is barely acceptable where I 
> live (for the dozen or so channels that are available)... and so my HTPC 
> lacks PVR/Live capability, unless I choose to spring for cablecard.
> 
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com 
> [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Mesdaq, Ali
> Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2010 10:51 AM
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: [H] Suggested HTPC Setup
> 
> Hey Everyone,
> 
> I am looking into putting together a HTPC system together and I am at the 
> stage of planning it out. I have been looking stuff up online and reading 
> docs and I think I have an idea of how the software should be setup. My basic 
> requirements are:
> - Nice interface
> - Easy access to online content
> - Ability to remotely stream my content (slingbox'ish)
> - DVR replacement
> 
> Nice to have features:
> - Notification of new online content
> - Remote streaming optimized for mobile (nokia n900) and laptops
> - Ability to record and locally store online content
> 
> So for the software I was thinking of using:
> - xbmc as the frontend for everything
> - mythtv as the backend pvr
> 
> However I am not sure I have found a good solution for doing the remote 
> viewing of the content especially have not found anything that can optimize 
> the remote streaming. 
> 
> For the hardware I was basically thinking of putting together a smaller 
> quieter system but not sure if everything will fit in those smaller cases. 
> Also it would be nice to have a remote so probably something that can 
> accommodate that will be nice. Also I am not sure about best video card for 
> the job as well as what tv tuner card I should get. I was thinking of setting 
> the system up with either usb flash drive or ssd (if its cost effective) for 
> booting and having another larger slower drive to store the content on. 
> 
> So I would love to hear from people here who have suggestions on 
> software/hardware/configurations to help accomplish this.
> 
> ALI MESDAQ
> Sr. Security Researcher
> 
> WEBSENSE, INC.
> ph: +1.858.320.9466
> fax: +1.858.784.4466
> www.websense.com
> 
> Websense TRITON™
> For Essential Information Protection™
> Web Security | Data Security | Email Security
> 
> 
> 
> Protected by Websense Hosted Email Security -- www.websense.com 
> 
  

Re: [H] Hey Bino your Logitech X-540 5.1 Speakers $74

[Bino Gopal]

Arghh, way to tease me Winterlight! ;P  Well, they are $89 on Amazon tho, so
not much more there if I wanted them...

And thanks for the thought, but I guess I'd probably go for the Z-5500s if
those ever went on sale, since they're the closest match to the Klipsch
ProMedia Ultra 5.1s I had that died.

In the meantime I'm using these, and they're not bad (got them for $100
shipped): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MUXJCO/ and they seem to be
pretty good; powerful, tho not 5.1 of course! :P

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Stan Zaske
Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 3:52 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Hey Bino your Logitech X-540 5.1 Speakers $74

Broken link Winterlight..


On 3/26/2010 4:44 AM, Winterlight wrote:
> Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speakers - Retail
> $73.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate Special savings, ends 3/29
>
> http://tinyurl.com/create.php
>
>

[H] Troubleshooting thoughts?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey guys, so if you're playing games on your PC and it starts stuttering
pretty bad (for up to 30 seconds at a time-enough to drop you from games in
the Starcraft2 beta) and repeatedly-what would you think to look at first?
Fwiw, I turned off my music in SC2 and that seemed to make it better, but
then it just crashed out on me a couple times.

Now that might just be the beta, but I was having the stuttering issues in
Torchlight too (which is a bad idea when you're underpowered and playing
dangerously deep) but it never crashed.hmm, maybe I should try turning the
music off in that and seeing if that helps.

 

If turning the music off does solve my problems, does that mean I have a
sound card driver issue?!  It's on old PC (P4 3.4Ghz 2GB RAM) but it has a
newish (ATI Radeon 4830) video card.

 

 
BINO

 

Re: [H] Acer P244W 24" Monitor - Looking for WinXP .inf Driver

[Bino Gopal]

Lol, sounds like a line foreshadowing the Matrix!  Or Skynet... :P


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Sam Franc
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 11:48 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Acer P244W 24" Monitor - Looking for WinXP .inf Driver

I am glad to hear this.
I thought as much.
Programs control more than we know these days.
Sam

On 3/23/2010 9:13 AM, David L. Gabler wrote:
> At 12:56 AM 3/23/2010, you wrote:
>> Chris,
>>
>> Your last comment piqued my interest.
>> I booted up, went into bios and lo and behold the bios image filled 
>> the screen.
>> No gap!
>> I guess the monitor is working fine hardware-wise.
>> I now have to figure out what windows doesn't like.
>> I wish I had that .inf file.
>> I hate windows!!!
>>
>>  Mike
>>
>>
>>
>
> You have tried the drivers here: 
>
http://global-download.acer.com/GDFiles/Driver/Monitor/Monitor_Acer_2.0_Vist
ax86_A.zip?acerid=633814265726640309&Step1=Monitor&Step2=P 
> Series&Step3=P244W&OS=V10&LC=en&BC=Acer&SC=PA_7
>
>
> David L. Gabler
> 1719 Lindy Lane
> Conroe, Texas 77301-4019
> Home: 936-756-4614  Mobil: 936-537-5574
> ICQ # 123822  E-Mail   upsd...@suddenlink.net
>
>

Re: [H] Advice on an important piece of hardware

[Bino Gopal]

Right; thing with chairs is that they're very subjective-if you can find it,
try and find a showroom and try them out before you buy.  See if it works
for you, as what's great for one person may not work for you at all.  And
the problem is short-term tryouts are different from long-term use, so see
if you can get it from a place with a good return/exchange program too...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Alex
Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 12:35 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Advice on an important piece of hardware

An Aeron, had it since 2001, amazing warranty, the bottom seat threads were
wearing out, they came and replaced it.

Worth the price and my butt and posture has been excellent ever since.

-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian Weeden
Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:47 AM
To: hwg
Subject: [H] Advice on an important piece of hardware

I'm in the market for a new chair for my office/computer.  For many  
years now I have just used cheap (about $150 or so) chairs as I  
couldn't rationalize spending more.

But seeing that I spend 8-10 hours a day (or more) in that chair, I  
probably should make a substantial investment.  My wife says I should  
get an Aeron, but omg those things are expensive.

So what do you all use to cradle your buns all day?  Recommendations?

---
Brian

Sent from my iPhone

Re: [H] Advice on an important piece of hardware

[Bino Gopal]

Well I've been looking at chairs like that for *years* and still yet to pull
the trigger on it due to the cost (me just being inherently cheap and
chringing that spending that much on a chair), but if you're looking at an
Aeron you should also look at Steelcase Leap or Humanscale Freedom chairs
too.  I think the Leap is the best of those, but there might be newer ones
since then that might be as good or better, though you're still looking at
$700-$1000 for one of those with all the options (like getting the neckrest
for the Leap since I need the neck support).

Just google for comparisons of those chairs and you'll find out the latest-I
haven't looked in years so there might be newer info available that way...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Greg Sevart
Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 10:18 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Advice on an important piece of hardware

The Aeron chairs are indeed expensive, but you should only have to buy one.
They are comfortable and don't break down over time.

You could also look at the Knoll Chadwick chairs. They are also a mesh
design, are comfortable, and have good longevity. They're not cheap, but
usually not as high as the Aeron. This is the chair my work uses.

If your wife has already approved the Aeron, you'd be a fool not to just do
that. :)

Greg

> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com [mailto:hardware-
> boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian Weeden
> Sent: Saturday, March 20, 2010 11:47 AM
> To: hwg
> Subject: [H] Advice on an important piece of hardware
> 
> I'm in the market for a new chair for my office/computer.  For many
> years now I have just used cheap (about $150 or so) chairs as I
> couldn't rationalize spending more.
> 
> But seeing that I spend 8-10 hours a day (or more) in that chair, I
> probably should make a substantial investment.  My wife says I should
> get an Aeron, but omg those things are expensive.
> 
> So what do you all use to cradle your buns all day?  Recommendations?
> 
> ---
> Brian
> 
> Sent from my iPhone

Re: [H] Testing Graphic Card Stability

[Bino Gopal]

IF anyone does get this working, I'd definitely be keen on hearing some
results; as mentioned I've got 3 4:3 20" Dell monitors (2001FPS and one
2007FP) that run at 1600x1200 that I've accumulated over the years and would
love to do some gaming like this on all three (still gotta start and finish
Oblivion!)...

Been meaning to get that Matrix TripleHead2GO thingy but there were just too
many issues with it and Eyefinity sounds like a winner!  You want to try it
for me Anthony?! ;)

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Stan Zaske
Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 1:34 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Testing Graphic Card Stability

Hey, hey, hey.. Tone it down a little Anthony, you're starting to sound 
like an AMD fanboy.. :-) Here's a link you might like if you ever decide 
to REALLY step up. And no, this is WAY beyond me or my budget.. :'(

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/03/14/first_time_gaming_experience_ati_e
yefinity


On 3/16/2010 2:47 PM, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
> Well, furmark is liking this vidcard as it runs for hours and hours 
> with nary a problemfeature set maxed out to yield 22 fps with max 
> temp of 82degC.
>
> On 3/16/2010 11:38 AM, Stan Zaske wrote:
>> Furmark is the one all the hardware enthusiast use and it has a 
>> benchmark/Stability test modes that will tell you if your card is 
>> stable or not. I suspect your HIS is bad and needs an RMA.
>>
>>
>> On 3/15/2010 9:35 AM, Anthony Q. Martin wrote:
>>> Ok
>>>
>>> I had a HIS ATI Radeon HD 5770 in this system.  Tried all drivers 
>>> available, using driver cleaner to remove previous drivers, etc, yet 
>>> the same result persisted: Crashing..  Yesterday, my PC reboot 
>>> several times during the day.  On some days, it doesn't do that.
>>>
>>> I just loaded in A Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 in thsi system. While 
>>> these cards are basically the same, performance wise, they boards 
>>> are different as this one has to DVI ports on it while the other 
>>> other only had one.  Thus, the layouts of the boards are very 
>>> different (I didn't want to risk getting the exact same board for 
>>> fear of some fundamental problem in the board design from HIS or ATI).
>>>
>>> So far, and not much time has gone by since I just installed this 
>>> board a couple of hours ago, things seem to be working. WEI works as 
>>> done some program I got called Performance Test.
>>>
>>> My question is what software can I use the drive this video card in 
>>> a loop to see if it really works or not?  Or, am I going to have to 
>>> see here and wait for a crash?
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> Version: 9.0.790 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2750 - Release Date: 
>> 03/16/10 03:33:00
>>
>

[H] Garmin GPS Waypoint backup with MapSource?

[Bino Gopal]

Anyone on the list done any backups of their Garmin GPS Waypoints with
MapSource?  Pretty specific I know, but if you have, I have some questions
about how it works; if you haven't, then you won't be able to help
unfortunately.

 

Though if you've used software other than MapSource to backup your GPS
Waypoints (or edit them or whatever) that would be interesting to know.

 

 
BINO

Re: [H] Umm, testing?

[Bino Gopal]

Jamie, thanks a lot-that was exactly what I was looking for!  Go Collective!
;)

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Jamie Furtner
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 3:30 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Umm, testing?

You can do it still - Right click on the desktop - Personalize - Window 
Colour - Advanced appearance settings. Same dialog in Vista / XP / 2000, 
just hidden away a bit.

Jamie

On 2010-03-11 4:14 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> Speaking of Win7 (glad the list isn't dead btw!), anyone know how you can
> make the icon size and spacing smaller on your desktop like you could in
> WinXP?
>
> I just installed Win7 Ent on an IBM T61 and I already right-clicked on the
> desktop, selected View, Small Icons and they're still way too big, and the
> spacing b/w them is huge...I also made the taskbar icons smaller too, but
> that's not what I ultimately want.
>
> So in WinXP you could right-click on the Desktop, select the Appearance
tab,
> Advanced, and then select Icon and Icon Spacing (Horizontal or Vertical)
> from the drop-down menu, and make the icons smaller and drastically reduce
> the space b/w them, which was very nice.  On my 1400x1050 15" laptop
screen,
> I currently have 17 icons vertical and 24 across (and most of the spaces
> taken up with icons-usually favorites but sometimes docs, etc).
>
> Is there anything like that for Win7 as googling it just got the WinXP
> instructions, which AFAIK don't apply to Win7...
>
>   BINO
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
> [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Steve Tomporowski
> Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 2:19 PM
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Umm, testing?
>
> Not a lot of activity recently (on the list).  I suppose I can do one
> inquiry here.  I am running Win7 x64 and one of the pending (I've kept
> it pending) updates is KB971033, which is a patch that, for my
> protection, will search my computer to find out if there are any
> cracks/patches/loaders for Win7 that indicate that I have a pirate copy
> of windows.  Know Microsoft's track record on this, I hesitate to
> install it, just waiting for all the false positives top pop out.
> What's the word on how this patch is doing?
>
> Steve
>
>
> On 3/11/2010 4:25 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
>
>> Just checking if the list is still alive since there hasn't been *any*
(or
>> at least I haven't gotten any) email since SteveT's email on Tues at
>>  
> 4:39pm
>
>> on the wireless printer stuff.and this time I wasn't unsubscribed from
the
>> list; checked that first!!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> BINO
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>  
>
>


-- 
Jamie Furtner ja...@furtner.ca
"I aim to misbehave"
- Malcom Reynolds (Serenity movie)
"It's not safe...
"For them."
- River Tam (Serenity movie)

Re: [H] Umm, testing?

[Bino Gopal]

Speaking of Win7 (glad the list isn't dead btw!), anyone know how you can
make the icon size and spacing smaller on your desktop like you could in
WinXP?

I just installed Win7 Ent on an IBM T61 and I already right-clicked on the
desktop, selected View, Small Icons and they're still way too big, and the
spacing b/w them is huge...I also made the taskbar icons smaller too, but
that's not what I ultimately want.

So in WinXP you could right-click on the Desktop, select the Appearance tab,
Advanced, and then select Icon and Icon Spacing (Horizontal or Vertical)
from the drop-down menu, and make the icons smaller and drastically reduce
the space b/w them, which was very nice.  On my 1400x1050 15" laptop screen,
I currently have 17 icons vertical and 24 across (and most of the spaces
taken up with icons-usually favorites but sometimes docs, etc).

Is there anything like that for Win7 as googling it just got the WinXP
instructions, which AFAIK don't apply to Win7...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Steve Tomporowski
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2010 2:19 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Umm, testing?

Not a lot of activity recently (on the list).  I suppose I can do one 
inquiry here.  I am running Win7 x64 and one of the pending (I've kept 
it pending) updates is KB971033, which is a patch that, for my 
protection, will search my computer to find out if there are any 
cracks/patches/loaders for Win7 that indicate that I have a pirate copy 
of windows.  Know Microsoft's track record on this, I hesitate to 
install it, just waiting for all the false positives top pop out.  
What's the word on how this patch is doing?

Steve


On 3/11/2010 4:25 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> Just checking if the list is still alive since there hasn't been *any* (or
> at least I haven't gotten any) email since SteveT's email on Tues at
4:39pm
> on the wireless printer stuff.and this time I wasn't unsubscribed from the
> list; checked that first!!
>
>
>
>
> BINO
>
>
>
>
>

[H] Umm, testing?

[Bino Gopal]

Just checking if the list is still alive since there hasn't been *any* (or
at least I haven't gotten any) email since SteveT's email on Tues at 4:39pm
on the wireless printer stuff.and this time I wasn't unsubscribed from the
list; checked that first!!

 

 
BINO

 

[H] Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 RAM sale for $85 on Amazon?

[Bino Gopal]

Don't know if anybody needs RAM or if this is that great a price, but
figured passing it on couldn't hurt.it's the daily gold box sale so good
until midnight or so.

 

http://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-PC3-10666-1333MHz-240-pin-Channel/dp/B0014BOQ5
4/ref=xs_gb_A36AQAC1AE8M79?_encoding=UTF8

&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=441937901&pf_rd_s=right-1&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_i=20&pf
_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=11X87WXAYWPATNJBJN1E

 

 

Re: [H] Strong recommend

[Bino Gopal]

Second/third on Steam.  Get the games during their sales (I also picked up
like 10 games during the holiday sale for 50-80% off most).  Look for top
games under $5 or $10 and you can get some great deals.

All my friends who like RPGs say Dragon Age: Origins is great, and as good
as DA:O is, they say Mass Effect 1/2 are possibly even better (Bioware is
hitting it out of the park with their stuff lately)!  I've gotten addicted
to Torchwood (on Steam) but it's a *total* Diablo clone, down to the music
being *exactly* the same, so it's starting to wear off already-but that
means it's easy to pick up and put down that way.  Oh, and you can mod it
very easily, which is actually very nice and lets you adjust annoying things
about the game easily.

And yeah, the cool thing about Steam is a lot of the Indie,
easy-to-play/cool games.  Check out Plants vs Zombies as Brian mentioned; it
was pretty awesome and *lots* of fun, and I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.
Also, World of Goo is a great physics-based puzzle game with would be great
for kids too.  Braid is also physics-based (and the artwork is beautiful),
but Braid made my head hurt too much for a game and I gave up at level 4 or
so once things started getting really wonky! :P

Trine was a beautiful side-scrolling platformer, and the multiplayer aspects
were very cool-oh, and I got totally addicted to Puzzle Quest over the
summer and am trying to avoid getting the space-based sequel to it! :P

HTH!

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Brian Weeden
Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 9:55 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Strong recommend

I second Arkham Asylum - great game.  Also if you like Bioware RPGs, check
out Dragon Age: Origins.  And Torchwood is great if you like Diablo-style
games.

Steam is a delivery service for games.  Basically, instead of going to a
store and buying the disc in a box you can purchase the game through Steam
and download a digital copy.  Over the last couple of years I've been
getting all my games through it for a couple of reasons.  The big one is
that I am in Canada, and I got frustrated going to the store only to find
the release date for a game up here is different than in the US or they are
out of stock.  I've also have never had a Steam game give me a problem with
crashing or drivers - they do an auto update patching system that is pretty
nice.  Other benefits are the ability to sync save games and settings across
multiple machines through your Steam account.

And yes, there are a lot of games on Steam which also have demos, but not
all.

Steam is not a monthly subscription and it offers both purchase once games
(like the ones mentioned above) and some MMORGS where you pay per month.  It
has a pretty huge selection of game types, including a lot of casual ones.
And they occasionally have huge sales.  Over Christmas I was able to get
Warhammer DOW II for $20, Mirror's Edge for $5, STALKER for $2, Left for
Dead for $7.50, and Prey for $2.

That's a lot of fun for little cost right there :)

---
Brian Weeden
Technical Advisor
Secure World Foundation 
+1 (514) 466-2756 Canada
+1 (202) 683-8534 US


On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 12:16 PM, Anthony Q. Martin
wrote:

> Thanks for the rec.
>
> For Steam games, do you get and pay for it online?  Are there some demos
> around? I've sort of fallen out of gaming mode over the last few years.
>
> One game i used to really enjoy was Tanarus - a tank game. Team based. Too
> much fun.  That was way, way back in the day...that would be too cool now
> with all this bandwidth, CPU/GPU power we have today.
>
>
> On 2/18/2010 12:08 PM, Brian Weeden wrote:
>
>> I'm playing Mass Effect 2 right now and it is amazing.  It's more of an
>> action-drama movie than anything else.  There is some FPS content but
it's
>> not much.  Highly recommended.
>>
>> I would also suggest you check out Plants vs Zombies on Steam.  Great
>> Popcap
>> tower defense game, lots of replay value.
>>
>> ---
>> Brian Weeden
>> Technical Advisor
>> Secure World Foundation
>>
>> +1 (514) 466-2756 Canada
>> +1 (202) 683-8534 US
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 11:39 AM, Anthony Q. Martin> >wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> I know my Sony BD player is dog slow...gawd...it got so bad that I
>>> ordered
>>> an OPPO 83...and I just got it a few minutes ago...didn't really want to
>>> drop dough on that...but now I can play my SACD and DVD-Audio discs as
>>> well.
>>> The Sony will move upstairs.
>>>
>>> Speaking of games...anyone know of a good non-FPS that runs on 64-bit
>>> Windows 7?  FPS games make me ill.  I just want something to kill time
>>> that
>>> doens't take an huge investment of time to learn. Some simulations seem
>>> so
>>> serious in terms of learning cu

Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?

[Bino Gopal]

Hey Stan,

Not sure I understand what you mean by "I don't think 1600x1200 will cut it
but it's possible"...?  Are you trying to say that's too many pixels or the
reverse...? *confused*

In my case, the monitors are 20" Dell flat-panel LCDs, two 2001FPs and one
2007FP and I read you can use a Displayport-DVI converter and it should
work...unless you have heard differently?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Stan Zaske
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 1:56 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?

One of the monitors must have a Display Port connection and I'm not sure 
the adapter situation is straight just yet. Also, I don't think 
1600x1200 will cut it but it's possible. What are they? Cathode ray?


On 2/10/2010 6:11 PM, Bino Gopal wrote:
> Don't know if you're into it, but I've been eyeing the Matrix
TripleHead2GO
> for months (years?) now and I just read that the new 5xxx series from ATI
> does Eyefinity, which is basically the equivalent of that Matrox device,
but
> BUILT-IN to the videocard, and that most games are supporting it
(basically
> the game sees it as just one really big monitor resolution).
>
> So I got a 4830 ~1.5 years ago for $90 for my old PC, but if I upgrade
> again, I'm going with an ATI 5xxx series for the multi-monitor support;
I've
> got 3 20" panels that run at 1600x1200 and I'm itching to do an RTS on all
> three; check out the guru3d review:
>
> http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati-eyfinity-editorial-review/
>
> The videos (especially of RTS like CoH and Anno 1404, etc) are freakin'
> amazing!  The ability to do that in digital output at my native monitor
res
> with no issues of support for my card (all issues with the TH2GO) makes me
> glad I waited this long and didn't get the TH2GO (and some of ATI cards
cost
> less than the TH2GO itself!).  In fact, the newly announced 5570 (which is
> their lowest/budget gaming card) is only $70 and can do this too; so if
you
> step up to a 58xx series (since it's in your budget), you should be
golden!
> HTH!
>
>   BINO
>
>
> -Original Message-
> From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
> [mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Veech
> Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 10:04 AM
> To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
> Subject: Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?
>
> ok I forgot to mention that my budget is around $300, and I see the ATI
5850
>
> is available for that from NewEgg, any opinions?
>
> - Original Message -
> From: "James Boswell"
> To:
> Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 02:16
> Subject: Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?
>
>
>
>> the 8800GT has 112 shaders
>> the 8800GTS320/640 has 96 shaders
>> the 8800GTS512 has 128 shaders
>>
>>
>> the GTS250 has 128 shaders, and has had a die shrink so it's cooler  and
>> the clocks are a chunk higher, it's the one to get if you want an  nvidia
>> card of that level IMO
>>
>> OR look at a radeon 4890, which will be around the same performance
level
>>  
>
>> (I think) as your pair of 8800GTS's were and use a hell of a lot  less
>> power... or even a 5770, which is a little slower (10% or so)  than the
>> 4890 but runs cooler and has DX11 support for whenever you  eventually
get
>>  
>
>> off of XP
>>
>> On 8 Feb 2010, at 08:06:310, Veech wrote:
>>
>>  
>>> I'm thinking two of these 8800 GTs in SLI would work just fine..
>>> opinions? Seems like they might spec higher than the two GTS cards  even
>>> though they have 512MB RAM as opposed to 640MB on the GTS cards.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143118&nm_mc=OTC-Fr
> oogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Video+Cards-_-BFG+Technologies-_-14143118
>
>>> - Original Message - From: "Veech"
>>> To:
>>> Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 23:28
>>> Subject: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> I had two Geforce 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E cards in SLI in my system  which
>>>> was built about 3 years ago.  About 4 months ago one went  bonkers,
>>>> probably overheated, so I removed it and am now running  with just the
>>>> other one.  I play a lot of Te

Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?

[Bino Gopal]

Don't know if you're into it, but I've been eyeing the Matrix TripleHead2GO
for months (years?) now and I just read that the new 5xxx series from ATI
does Eyefinity, which is basically the equivalent of that Matrox device, but
BUILT-IN to the videocard, and that most games are supporting it (basically
the game sees it as just one really big monitor resolution).

So I got a 4830 ~1.5 years ago for $90 for my old PC, but if I upgrade
again, I'm going with an ATI 5xxx series for the multi-monitor support; I've
got 3 20" panels that run at 1600x1200 and I'm itching to do an RTS on all
three; check out the guru3d review:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/ati-eyfinity-editorial-review/

The videos (especially of RTS like CoH and Anno 1404, etc) are freakin'
amazing!  The ability to do that in digital output at my native monitor res
with no issues of support for my card (all issues with the TH2GO) makes me
glad I waited this long and didn't get the TH2GO (and some of ATI cards cost
less than the TH2GO itself!).  In fact, the newly announced 5570 (which is
their lowest/budget gaming card) is only $70 and can do this too; so if you
step up to a 58xx series (since it's in your budget), you should be golden!
HTH!

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Veech
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 10:04 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?

ok I forgot to mention that my budget is around $300, and I see the ATI 5850

is available for that from NewEgg, any opinions?

- Original Message - 
From: "James Boswell" 
To: 
Sent: Monday, February 08, 2010 02:16
Subject: Re: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?


> the 8800GT has 112 shaders
> the 8800GTS320/640 has 96 shaders
> the 8800GTS512 has 128 shaders
>
>
> the GTS250 has 128 shaders, and has had a die shrink so it's cooler  and 
> the clocks are a chunk higher, it's the one to get if you want an  nvidia 
> card of that level IMO
>
> OR look at a radeon 4890, which will be around the same performance  level

> (I think) as your pair of 8800GTS's were and use a hell of a lot  less 
> power... or even a 5770, which is a little slower (10% or so)  than the 
> 4890 but runs cooler and has DX11 support for whenever you  eventually get

> off of XP
>
> On 8 Feb 2010, at 08:06:310, Veech wrote:
>
>> I'm thinking two of these 8800 GTs in SLI would work just fine.. 
>> opinions? Seems like they might spec higher than the two GTS cards  even 
>> though they have 512MB RAM as opposed to 640MB on the GTS cards.
>>
>>
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143118&nm_mc=OTC-Fr
oogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Video+Cards-_-BFG+Technologies-_-14143118
>>
>> - Original Message - From: "Veech" 
>> To: 
>> Sent: Sunday, February 07, 2010 23:28
>> Subject: [H] Replacing 2 Geforce 8800 GTS in SLI, what to get?
>>
>>
>>> I had two Geforce 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E cards in SLI in my system  which 
>>> was built about 3 years ago.  About 4 months ago one went  bonkers, 
>>> probably overheated, so I removed it and am now running  with just the 
>>> other one.  I play a lot of Team Fortress 2 online  and after a recent 
>>> Steam update I was getting some strange  artifacting in the game and now

>>> am having trouble staying  connected, and often the game and the 
>>> computer freeze and I have to  reboot.  Oddly enough, the card seems to 
>>> work fine under all other  conditions and apps such as internet, DVD 
>>> movie playing etc, but  when playing TF2 online it goes nuts.
>>>
>>> So I'm thinking it may be about to go and I should consider  replacing 
>>> it. I haven't shopped for video cards in 3 years.  I have  an EVGA 
>>> nForce 6801 SLI board and Core2 x6800 2.93G CPU, running XP  Media 
>>> Edition.
>>>
>>> What would you folks recommend for replacement video cards?  I  would 
>>> probably stick with an SLI configuration unless a single ATI  card 
>>> comparably priced would blow it away.
>>>
>>> thanks!!
>>>
>>
> 

hardware@hardwaregroup.com

[Bino Gopal]

That's interesting-same *EXACT* thing happened to my GF's dad with I think
pretty much the same Samsung LCD (I can check on the exact model if you
like).

Based on reports about that and other Samsung gear having high failures rate
early on in their life, I'm not too hot on their build quality anymore (and
I have a Samsung TV and Blu-ray currently; got rid of their phones as they
were pretty crappy top-that should've clued me in!).

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Scott Sipe
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 6:23 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] something is going on at PCP&C


On Jan 28, 2010, at 10:28 AM, Christopher Fisk wrote:

> On Thu, 28 Jan 2010, maccrawj wrote:
> 
>> all the popped caps were a known crap hu-flung-dung brand.
> 
> At my company we've been doing manual repairs quite successfully on
electronics with bad caps recently (on motherboards at least).  It has saved
us a lot of money in warranty repairs on some systems we sold with 3 year
warranties without realizing that the manufacture warranty was only 1 year.
About 10 of those systems have had bad caps at about 18 months of life, and
I am sure that the rest just havn't shown their age yet.
> 
> With a little practice on some old motherboards you can likely get to the
point with soldering where it is worthwhile to fix these types of issues.
> 
> 
> Christopher Fisk

For what it's worth, my 1.5 year old TV -- a Samsung 40-inch LCD (LNT4069)
-- recently stopped turning on. It would make clicking noises like it was
"trying" to turn on but never would.

After googling, I found it was a very common problem that was traced back to
you -- you got it -- bad caps! So after trips to *3* different radioshacks
(each radioshack only had 1 capacitor of the size/voltage I needed) and a
grand total of about $4.50, I was able to replace 3 bulging capacitors on
the tv board. All is perfect now.

I had never replaced caps before but would definitely give it a shot on
mobos/etc the next time it pops up. The board and capacitors inside the TV
were quite large so it wasn't a hard soldering job, and I did it with
nothing but a straight soldering iron. I would think for mobo work some of
the accessories others in this thread have mentioned would be nice.

Scott

Re: [H] SSL certificates

[Bino Gopal]

Hrmm...interesting. She can access Gmail over SSL on another computer right?
And also, to verify it's the computer and not her, can anyone access Gmail
on that computer or is it broken for everyone there?

Well, she *might* have clicked on a fake gmail ssl site and "installed" that
cert and that's somehow making the real Gmail not work over SSL (isn't using
SSL for Gmail just an option btw?).

If that's the case then you can look for it and remove it; try going to
(well if it's IE) Internet Options, Content, Certificates and looking at
Trusted Publishers and select the fake/broken cert and remove it...

Fyi the way SSL works, the site cert is presented as part of the SSL
handshake when you go to the site, not usually locally stored on the
computer (unless you install it when prompted, or manually install it for
some reason), so this is the only way I can think of that the cert is not
working; unless there's a certificate link issues (messed up intermediate
cert), which I guess we could look into if this doesn't pan out...

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Thane Sherrington
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 1:08 PM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] SSL certificates

At 04:32 PM 1/29/2010, Bino Gopal wrote:
>Not sure what you mean...there isn't really a Gmail SSL cert on your
>computer persay (unless you accepted one when you shouldn't or something).
>You can usually manage the local cert store if needed, but can you describe
>in more detail what's going on?

I've got an odd situation where one computer on a network refuses to 
send email through Gmail (either through Thunderbird or OE.)  The 
user says that she got a message about a certificate and click on 
something and it stopped working.  I was wondering if there is a way 
for a certificate to get corrupted or deleted so that she can't 
access Gmail (since Gmail uses SSL.)  I could be completely wrong, of
course.

T 

Re: [H] SSL certificates

[Bino Gopal]

Not sure what you mean...there isn't really a Gmail SSL cert on your
computer persay (unless you accepted one when you shouldn't or something).
You can usually manage the local cert store if needed, but can you describe
in more detail what's going on?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Thane Sherrington
Sent: Friday, January 29, 2010 8:21 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: [H] SSL certificates

If the Gmail SSL certificate gets screwed up on one's computer, is it 
possible to delete it and download it again?

T

Re: [H] The iPad vs the competition?

[Bino Gopal]

I just saw this on another list; seems pretty cool!

http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/

Thoughts?

BINO


-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Thane Sherrington
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 5:02 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] The iPad vs the competition?

At 02:24 AM 1/28/2010, tmse...@rlrnews.com wrote:
>They do.  Its called the archos 7 (and I think 9). Google chrome, 
>the whole works.  Oh, about $150 less, and yes, it can run Kindle 
>software, so ebooks still work fine.

Damn.  Now those look really cool.

T 

hardware@hardwaregroup.com

[Bino Gopal]

Link please?

And how hard would you say it is to do this (change caps and solder on new
ones)?  I've only soldered once or twice and the trick seems to be how to
get it to not pool up and melt all over the place...is that by not getting
the gun too hot or something else?

BINO
 

-Original Message-
From: hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com
[mailto:hardware-boun...@hardwaregroup.com] On Behalf Of Rick Glazier
Sent: Thursday, January 28, 2010 10:29 AM
To: hardware@hardwaregroup.com
Subject: Re: [H] something is going on at PCP&C

"Even I"  have changed caps on MBs.
(I can do NASA certified soldering though... I was Gov't trained GEEIA)

It is worth it IF you can get good parts.
I researched the stresses the caps are under.
Only certain types are good for MBs.
SO, It can be a "good" cap, just the wrong one or type.
I forget the exact spec you need to look for... (High stress.)
Here is a site for a list "he" thinks are known looser MBs.

He sells cap kits, or pick-em yourself.
IIRC, he has instructions/warnings.
NO connection, and never bought any there.

Rick Glazier

From: "Christopher Fisk" 
> At my company we've been doing manual repairs quite successfully on 
> electronics with bad caps recently (on motherboards at least).  It has 
> saved us a lot of money in warranty repairs on some systems we sold with 3

> year warranties without realizing that the manufacture warranty was only 1

> year.  About 10 of those systems have had bad caps at about 18 months of 
> life, and I am sure that the rest just havn't shown their age yet.
> 
> With a little practice on some old motherboards you can likely get to the 
> point with soldering where it is worthwhile to fix these types of issues.