Hardware - August 2006

i got a used printer that has a cartridge in it. so i tried to print something and it doesn't go. So, i don't really know if th problem lays in the cartridge (that might be old)... or just the printer is a piece of junk...
p.S. the friend that sold it to me is in Australia.. lol

2006-08-16 03:43:46 · 5 answers · asked by ---- 2 in Printers

2006-08-16 03:38:56 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Hardware

i don't have sound in my computer the volume control icon is deleted and i tried to use system restore it didn't work plz help.
plz reply quickly.

2006-08-16 03:31:37 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Hardware

I'm looking to purchase a DVD burner. One model is a ATA/ATAPI model, while the other is a IDE/ATAPI model. What is the difference between the two? I'm just concerned if they will fit into my computer case.

2006-08-16 03:16:35 · 5 answers · asked by iamstidi 1 in Add-ons

I have a new dell computer, 3GHz dual core intel processor, 1GB RAM, Windows XP Professional Operating System, 160GB hard disk, etc. It has been left untouched for half a year just because I do not know how to partition my hard disk. The new computer comes with only 1 partition for the whole 160GB hard disk. I do not know how to manually partition my hard disk so I plan to use PartitionMagic to partition my hard disk. I need to know what is the best way to partition my 160GB of hard disk like for example, the number and type of partitions to create, what's the partition created for and how to do it using PartitionMagic?

Currently my new computer is running Windows XP Professional operating system. I want to use my computer mainly to surf the Internet, play and store thousands of MP3s songs, watch and store videos, photos and programs. In near future, I would also like to install Linux operating system in it. Sometimes I will also be using my computer for editing videos and photos. I will also use it to play games but not very often. In view of what I mentioned above, how do I partition my 160GB hard disk? How many partitions do I need, for example, is it better to have a separate partition, each for video files, music files, and photo files? Is it better to have a separate partition for programs/applications or should programs and applications be stored in same partition as my Windows XP Professional operating system? How should I partition my hard disk so that programs and music files and video files, etc, can open up and run efficiently and reasonably fast? What is a swap file partition and do I need one for it? What type of partition for each of the above-mentioned storage purpose, such as FAT32, NTFS, etc? What do I need to do if in future I want to add additional partitions to my hard disk - should I reserve some free space in my hard disk for future partition needs and how do I go about doing this..... as in extended logical partition or what...hope you know what I mean?

Another question that is hanging in my mind for a long time and is important to me is what is the best partition strategy for say, when my Windows XP Professional operating system crashes and I need to reinstall or install a new one, how should I partition my hard disk in such a way that I can simply put in my operating system disk into my DVD ROM and do the job while my video, mp3, photo files and other data files will not be lost? In other words, just simply reinstall my operating system and all my other files are not lost or affected. Hope you do know what I mean. This is important to me because I surf the net often and there will often be times my computer would be infected with trojans and viruses and spywares and times my registry or system files could be corrupted and thus I would need to reinstall my operating system. So I hope there could be a simple way to do this (reinstall my operating system) and not lose my other files and data in my hard disk. How should I partition my hard disk for my operating system, programs/applications, video, mp3, photo, data files for this purpose? BTW, just curious, when surfing the net and you caught a virus or a trojan or a spyware, will that particular virus, trojan or spyware be spread to the other partitions in the hard disk?? When I defragment my hard disk, do I really need to defragment my whole entire 160GB of hard disk or could I just defragment the necessary partitions? is there a faster and yet effective way to defragment my 160GB hard disk as such would take a very very long time. Will having
the right partition strategy help in this matter? And if it does help, what partition strategy should I use? Also, do I really have to do a virus scan on my entire 160GB hard disk (that would take ages to complete). Do people have to scan their entire hard disk for viruses or is there a better and faster way to do our virus scan?

Lastly, I would be using PartitionMagic to do the partitioning. Is there any drawbacks using PartitionMagic? I am new to PartitionMagic, could someone guide me to how to use it? BTW, any idea where can I find online resources to understand about how to partition my hard disk in such a way that my computer can function at its optimal efficiency and performance? I have searched Google and am overwhelmed by the millions of topics it has found. I have read some but some of it is not relevant to my questions or my particular usage and storage purposes.

As you can see, I know nothing about partitioning strategies. There are so many ways but what is best for my computer in terms of my usage and storage purposes? I HOPE YOU CAN GIVE ME YOUR EXPERT GUIDANCE AND ADVICE AND NOT JUST YOUR TRIAL-AND-ERROR EXPERIENCES OR ANY WILD GUESSES AS I HAVE WASTED ENOUGH TIME SEARCHING AND TRYING OUT. It has been half a year and nothing is done and I am tired. PLEASE HELP ME OUT. PLEASE! THANK YOU.

2006-08-16 02:58:43 · 15 answers · asked by lavinci7 2 in Desktops

I want to purchase a new laptop or notebook. I have a Dell right now and I like it. But it is getting old, And my sister would like to have it for school. What brand(s) would you recommend and why?
Thank You

2006-08-16 02:27:24 · 10 answers · asked by Kali_girl825 6 in Laptops & Notebooks

I just can't remember how to do it

2006-08-16 02:24:51 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Printers

2006-08-16 02:20:52 · 11 answers · asked by Curious_mind 1 in Other - Hardware

I have been looking for an upgrade for my desktop about a month now and need to buy a robost machine for playing 3D games like NFS latest and others. Also I do a lot of print designing that eats a lot of RAM. Please let me know your views and the essential configuration if possible.

2006-08-16 02:20:41 · 7 answers · asked by Caprisco 3 in Desktops

computer freezes up. It works fine until I take the flash drive out. What's going on? How do I fix it?

2006-08-16 02:20:08 · 9 answers · asked by Cely 2 in Desktops

The HP micro PC.

2006-08-16 01:55:30 · 7 answers · asked by jaevon 1 in Laptops & Notebooks

2006-08-16 01:45:46 · 9 answers · asked by windowsmiddleeast 1 in Desktops

When we play a dvd disk containin more than 2 movies, de selection scene appears asking us to select the movie we want to see...how do we make the selection screen wen we copy number of movies into a dvd disk..?

2006-08-16 01:20:37 · 5 answers · asked by tRiCk$tEr 1 in Other - Hardware

2006-08-16 01:15:36 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Add-ons

I would like to convert some of my long playing record collection into compact discs. I would like to use my pioneer turn table to connect to my computers line-in port. Do I need a preamp for the turntable or will the computers line-in port pick up the signal? I plan on using Nero Ultra's "Wave editor 2" software to clean up the tracks. Thanks

2006-08-16 01:08:42 · 1 answers · asked by cyberdude82 2 in Desktops

thank you

2006-08-16 01:08:28 · 1 answers · asked by ysaremian 1 in Other - Hardware

My dogs ran into the cord of my laptop and pulled it off the table. Now it has a big crack on the LCD screen. I can still see what I'm doing on the screen, it's just that the crack is very noticeable and there is discoloration in the top right corner of the screen. I don't have the money to buy a new one right now, and I'm gonna need this for school next week. So I was wondering will the screen or anything else get worse if I continue to use it being cracked? I really don't mind using it still, but just wanna make sure it's safe to continue using. Thanks. Oh yeah, I got my eye on a few replacements on ebay, I just don't wanna buy a new one right now.

2006-08-16 00:39:51 · 10 answers · asked by blah blah 2 in Laptops & Notebooks

screen size, weight, graphics card, processor speed, hard drive, etc and any specific suggestions

2006-08-16 00:38:30 · 4 answers · asked by The Social Scientist 2 in Laptops & Notebooks

Got no external CDz (notebook bought as package). Do I need a driver from somehere? If so where?!

Thanks for your help

2006-08-15 23:52:42 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Laptops & Notebooks

2006-08-15 23:31:30 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Hardware

2006-08-15 23:17:08 · 3 answers · asked by S 1 in Printers

I have used a Lexmark in the past and not liked it and only six months ago I got a Epson D88 which is quite possibly the worst piece of consumer electronics I have ever purchased! I would probably require something which prints text fast and can occasionally do a decent photo, a scanner would be nice but is not necessary, it should be relatively cheap to run (my last two piddled away ink and cost a fortune!) and compatible with Mac OS X as I am getting a macbook later in the year. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

2006-08-15 23:08:57 · 20 answers · asked by BlackCountryBob 2 in Printers

2006-08-15 22:59:45 · 11 answers · asked by Anonymous in Laptops & Notebooks

i wn to play ea sports cricket 2005 in 40x cd rom but it shows the requirement of 32x cd rom.

2006-08-15 22:54:29 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Hardware

About a week ago i turned on my computer and it started making this really loud noise like a motor was inside it and it seems to be getting louder everyday, and after that whenever i go to turn it off it says a fatal error has occured in the blue screen so i press any key and it turns off. and yesterday i went to turn it off, and it did the same thing, but after loads of dots came up on the screen and i couldnt do anything, what is wrong with my computer?

2006-08-15 22:51:50 · 35 answers · asked by Alicat 2 in Desktops

i bought the above graphics card and i cannot get it too install...windows xp does not even recognise new hardware...help? happy to chat through messenger if u can help but all suggestions gratefully recieved

2006-08-15 22:18:00 · 1 answers · asked by musicien_grande 2 in Other - Hardware

Does anyone know where I can find on the Web info about what scanners on the market are rebranded?. Or if you know about a brand or a model that is rebranded, any info on the topic is appreciated.

2006-08-15 22:17:39 · 2 answers · asked by Radu C 2 in Scanners

Just got given one and everything works fine except for the sound which has no driver installed. Any ideas what drivers I need? The laptop is as bought with no modifications.

2006-08-15 22:12:24 · 3 answers · asked by dididave 2 in Laptops & Notebooks

I have dell computer and recently I format and install xp then when I try to play a movie there is no cd rom drive icon in my computer.I wait your response soon.

2006-08-15 22:02:42 · 4 answers · asked by biruk_ts 1 in Desktops

i put in my computer while i was download windows xp after that when i open my computer and press "Removable disk" message come out says" please insert a disk into the drive"
what that mean plz help.........thanks

2006-08-15 21:55:38 · 3 answers · asked by Rose2006 2 in Other - Hardware