Hardware - September 2006

2006-09-05 21:24:45 · 11 answers · asked by feds_anup 1 in Add-ons

I'm a designer and I used to use a Matrox G450 video card at my last place of work to give me Dual-head capability - ie. the desktop was spread across 2 x 20" monitors. I've now gone out alone and I would like to upgrade my home system as cheaply and as effectively as possible. I remember that although the Matrox card was spot-on, it could not cope with 3D images very well and was not supported by modern games. I would prefer to have some kind of 3D capability if possible. Also a requirement is that I would occasionally like to be able to have different resolutions on the different monitors - something the Matrox card did very well. I would like to know if it is possible to do this sort of thing without having to buy a new Matrox card - all of the Matrox cards I've looked at have been priced in excess of £150 and I really can't afford that at the moment. Can I do this with a "normal" video card? How?? Many thanks in advance!

2006-09-05 21:13:32 · 5 answers · asked by gromitski 5 in Other - Hardware

my dad keeps tropical fish and it would give him a different perspective of his aquarium, and wht a great birthday gift.

2006-09-05 20:48:57 · 12 answers · asked by jamesandrews1966 1 in Other - Hardware

i want to to know whether it has slots or something like it where i can add the card

2006-09-05 19:16:36 · 1 answers · asked by bsk3b 1 in Laptops & Notebooks

buffalo portable hdd 5400rpm

2006-09-05 19:01:40 · 1 answers · asked by ristian_a 1 in Other - Hardware

This PC I bought has a no-name mainboard. The hard drives (2) were configured as one primary and one secondary on the same IDE channel.
The secondary HDD was an old 20 GB model; I pulled it without altering anything with the other (primary), and swapped it for a larger 30 GB model. When I tried to boot, the PC went schizo and wouldn't recogize the unaltered primary as bootable!
I messed around with its jumpers and tried the BIOS settings to make the mainboard recognize the primary for what it was - the primary master, to no avail. I think the problem is pretty serious. What about pulling and replacing the CMOS battery to make the mainboard recognize the the primary HDD?

2006-09-05 19:00:15 · 11 answers · asked by Bruce Almighty 4 in Desktops

which has the best prices and also performes well. for example, compare acer to hp to alienware and etc.

2006-09-05 18:40:41 · 14 answers · asked by Derrick C 1 in Laptops & Notebooks

Just curious.

2006-09-05 18:26:48 · 2 answers · asked by stephenjlb 3 in Add-ons

it shows a question mark against the USB Device, what does this mean and how does it effect the performance of my PC?

2006-09-05 18:20:38 · 8 answers · asked by NADTHEBAD 2 in Other - Hardware

GRAPHIC CARD IS G FORCE 6600.

2006-09-05 17:31:36 · 8 answers · asked by Gary k 1 in Desktops

I have a Soyo PX400 Lite. The manual says I have the option to change the multiplier, but I don't (it's 12x). I can raise the CPU core speed by 1 MHz, but I can't even break 2 GHz before the computer refuses to boot. I've tried playing around with the memory. Any tips?

2006-09-05 17:13:31 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Desktops

i have used my desktop computer rarely. last time i used was about a month ago, i burned some cds and turned it off. now i hooked it back up again and when i boot up it goes to a black screen that says "Reboot and select proper boot device. Insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key."

anybody know the problem and how to fix it?

its an HP computer with windows XP

2006-09-05 17:09:40 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Desktops

I have two dvi outputs on the back of my computer..do i just put one into each slot? or do i need a y-cable?

2006-09-05 16:45:28 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Monitors

I was thinking of getting one of those 20" Intel Imacs and I was thinking, can I upgrade things other than the ram?

2006-09-05 16:41:50 · 6 answers · asked by Koy 2 in Add-ons

my hard disk shows that about 56% free space left, same as before the recovery, so I'm pretty sure my computer still has the old files.

2006-09-05 16:30:15 · 3 answers · asked by Amber L 1 in Other - Hardware

This may be a dumb question, I dunno but the hard drive I have in my pc now is only 3 gb which is nearly used up. I have a older computer which I don't use anymore and was just wondering if its possible to reformat the hard drive from that pc and use it as a second drive on my current pc? I know I will need to get a larger drive eventually but I was considering doing this as a temporary fix. Is it even possible to do this?

2006-09-05 16:25:40 · 16 answers · asked by webgirl126 1 in Desktops

what are the best specs to get on my laptop?? or specifications??

2006-09-05 16:23:04 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Laptops & Notebooks

2006-09-05 16:13:56 · 2 answers · asked by Jerry S 1 in Laptops & Notebooks

I must have pressed something wrong and now my keyboard is acting as if the ctrl key is perminantly being held down, i think it is stick keys or something similar, how do i stop it? I have tried pressing the left and right Ctrl keys but that has not worked.

2006-09-05 16:05:38 · 6 answers · asked by gee.tar1 1 in Desktops

i was thinking of getting a new graphics card for my computer and was wondering what to get. I don't want to spend much more than 100 bucks and want to know what some good options are.

2006-09-05 15:39:52 · 5 answers · asked by Ryan H 2 in Other - Hardware

I am buying a seagate 160gig SATA. (good price..!) At present I have a ATA 133 - 40G ; my motherboard is designed to take SATA. No problem there. But, my q. is can SATA as C:\ and PATA as D:\ coexist on the same motherboard? I also have another Pata drive which is D:\ (40Gig) and I will be getting rid of it. I am running XP prof.

Additionally, how will I take a mirror image of my present 40G into SATA? I would prefer it to be *exact* mirror. I do not want to lose any of my data on my old drive when I transfer. Can someone help me with an answer please?

I would like very much to just get going with the new drive as C:\ with a seamless transition.

I am trying not to spend on any additional software.

2006-09-05 15:32:37 · 3 answers · asked by Nightrider 7 in Desktops

i need reasons why should i buy a pc. why do i need one anyway?

2006-09-05 15:17:27 · 9 answers · asked by Maggie 1 in Desktops

Mine is driving me nucking futs today. GRRRRRRRR

2006-09-05 15:11:07 · 16 answers · asked by Evey 6 in Other - Hardware

After a recent move, I plugged in my speakers and got a humming noise. Come to find out i hooked up the power cord from an old DSL modem. I switched cord and now the speakers are crackly and i can not use them. If I get new speakers, will this solve the problem or did I do damage at the entire speaker system?

2006-09-05 15:02:05 · 5 answers · asked by vivib 6 in Other - Hardware

Whenever I walk away for the computer for more than 10 mins the screen concaves on each side , like an hour glass. This even happens with a screensaver. This goes away by turning off the monitor and turning it back on. As long as I am on the computer this does not happen. What could the problem be?

2006-09-05 14:59:07 · 3 answers · asked by vivib 6 in Monitors

i just installed my old hard drive, as a slave, which is divided into two partitions. i've formatted both partitions, and now i want to combine them into one partition. how would i go about doing this.

2006-09-05 14:54:48 · 8 answers · asked by Mike-Q 5 in Desktops

2006-09-05 14:49:06 · 4 answers · asked by Nathan T 1 in Laptops & Notebooks

i do not want to fry my PCB on my MB and im wondering if anyone can answer my question, on the face plate connector for the MB the metal case has these peg legs on it, on another case i have, its inside metal doesnt have any peg legs and i had to use these golden looking screws on that one for it to fit in correctly, HERES THE MAIN QUESTION: if i have all my peg legs which are welded onto my cases metal plate that are touching my MB and i screw in the screws, exactly to the case, without any of the golden screws attached, will it end up shorting out the PCB on the MB?

2006-09-05 14:44:53 · 2 answers · asked by ♥ Crystal C ♥ 4 in Other - Hardware

i havea dell c400 latitude and how can i change my processor and is ther and good place to buy hard drive or ram memory for my laptop?????

2006-09-05 14:41:38 · 5 answers · asked by Arnold 1 in Laptops & Notebooks

Error:
It says the shutdown was iniated by NT AUTHORITY/SYSTEMS...What does that mean?

Here are the steps I took:
I turned on the computer
Signed on with password
Desktop is BLANK
After about 1 min it automatically restarts with the above messasge. I cannot see any of my desktop items, not even the windows menu....Help please!

2006-09-05 14:36:47 · 7 answers · asked by Angel D. 1 in Desktops