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MisterNoisy
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Reply #245 on: November 19, 2008, 12:28:25 PM

Looks like the TV only recognizes mpeg/mp3 and jpeg.  You might be able to convert your .pps into a mpeg video and see if the TV will loop it though.

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Hawkbit
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Like a Klansman in the ghetto.


Reply #246 on: November 19, 2008, 12:31:11 PM

Awesome, that's a step in the right direction.  Thanks a ton.
Lantyssa
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Reply #247 on: November 19, 2008, 12:37:36 PM

Or maybe a slideshow of JPGs if that fails.

Hahahaha!  I'm really good at this!
Kail
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Reply #248 on: November 19, 2008, 02:55:24 PM

My PC is having seisures, wondering if anyone can shed any light on it.

PC's about two years old.  It's always been a bit flaky (some inconsistent error messages regarding the system fan), but I haven't had any real problems with it until last summer, when it died and I had to reformat the hard drive.  Since then, it's gone from "kind of quirky" to "needs to be rebooted every two hours or so".  Disk scan has picked up some bad sectors and things, but it doesn't seem to have helped much.  Virus scan just shows the usual ad cookies and things.  Just installed some new RAM, too.

Problems I'm having are kind of diverse.  A lot of programs crash frequently.  Warhammer has random crashes to desktop, and odd "file missing" error messages.  Flock keeps "encountering an error and needs to close", as does Fallout 3.  World of Warcraft keeps giving weird "file corrupt" messages, even after I run the repair.  Sometimes the system just reboots itself when I'm in the middle of a game.  I'm getting some weird issue where things like my internet and e-mail icons disappear from my Start menu.  The computer occasionally boots up into strange diagnostic modes (e.g. checkdisk, or it'll start telling me that windows has recovered from a critical error).  I'm hoping I won't have to chuck this thing, but it's really going downhill fast.

Anyone have any advice?
Engels
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Reply #249 on: November 19, 2008, 03:42:31 PM

Sounds like a slowly but increasingly failing hard drive. You're probably getting growing bad blocks on the drive. It often manifests itself by complaints about missing files or full system/program crashes when the needed file is corrupted.


First thing to do is to check your Event Viewer: Right-click on My Computer, select Manage, then Event Viewer, then System. Check for either Warning or Erorrs with the source as disk or something similar. Even if there's nothing noted there, proceed with a disk check:

Double click on My Computer, then right-click on your hard drive and select Properties. On that window, select 'Tools'>'Error Checking'> Check Now. Select both boxes; it'll say it can't do it now, but only next time you reboot. Let it reboot.

A full scan for bad sectors and recovery will take a LONG time, so leave it for overnight.

In the morning, log on, right-click on My Computer, select Manage. There, select Event Viewer and then select Application.  Sort through the events via the time stamp on the to find the report that indicates the results of your scan disk. I forget exactly what the source is called (You'll know what I mean by source when looking at the event viewer). If there are bad blocks, it should be pretty obvious.

If you find that you continue to have errors, it means that your hard drive is progressively degrading, and its time for a new hard drive.


I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
Trippy
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Reply #250 on: November 19, 2008, 04:21:42 PM

Goofy question, and I don't have a lot of time to research it.  Our fiscal year is ending in about 24 hours.  :(

We have a art room in our library and we're thinking about putting a LCD TV in there to show a power point presentation that simply rotates through its panels all day.  We found a 19" Samsung LN19A650 19" High Def LCD TV w/ USB 2.0 port.

Is it possible to use this like a digital photo frame, where we don't need a PC but can put the power point on a flash drive, install that into the USB and let that run all day?  I'm thinking it won't work... as the LCD has no way to recognize what a power point is.  But I really have no idea, and don't have enough time to research it. 
No you can't expect to put an app like PowerPoint on a card and expect it to run on a non-computer. You could get a TV that can read image files like JPEGs and convert your slides into said files.
Kail
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Reply #251 on: November 20, 2008, 05:01:53 AM

Sounds like a slowly but increasingly failing hard drive. You're probably getting growing bad blocks on the drive. It often manifests itself by complaints about missing files or full system/program crashes when the needed file is corrupted.

Yeah, that turned up a bunch of stuff, thanks.  Probably have to get it replaced soon, but at least it works better for now, I was going nuts there for a while.  Thanks a million :)
Engels
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inflicts shingles.


Reply #252 on: November 20, 2008, 07:19:54 AM

Glad to help. Make sure you back up the data you don't want to lose.

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
Thrawn
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Reply #253 on: November 22, 2008, 07:55:16 PM

Wife's computer died the other night.  Her screen just blinked out and gave the no signal error.  Upon restarting it everything spins up and seems to be working correctly.  I suspected the video card so I swapped it with mine (and my computers hard drive then died in an unrelated problem  swamp poop).  Still no video, tried a different monitor, still no video.  It was then that I noticed when you turn it on you get NO post beeps at all.  So I'm suspecting cpu or MB. 

How do I determine which though?

I disconnected everything except for cpu/mb/ram and still no beep at all when I power up.

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the Universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Lantyssa
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Reply #254 on: November 22, 2008, 08:10:11 PM

It does get power, but no video?  So lights on the board (if any) and fans all turn on?

Hahahaha!  I'm really good at this!
Salamok
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Reply #255 on: November 22, 2008, 08:16:08 PM

If it doesn't post at all then I would rule out a CPU issue.  I'd say PSU or MB.
Thrawn
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Reply #256 on: November 22, 2008, 08:20:56 PM

It does get power, but no video?  So lights on the board (if any) and fans all turn on?

Everything turns on, fans, lights, drives.  But no video at all, tried multiple video cards and monitors.  Don't have any alternate cpus of the right socket type around to try though.

If it doesn't post at all then I would rule out a CPU issue.  I'd say PSU or MB.

PSU is fine as far as I can tell, so MB it probably is then!

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the Universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
Salamok
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Reply #257 on: November 22, 2008, 08:46:06 PM

Maybe someone can enlighten us with the facts but you would think a MB+PSU would post a code saying WTF without even having ram, cpu, video card or hard drive installed.
Thrawn
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Reply #258 on: November 22, 2008, 09:40:05 PM

So on a related note then, will installing a new motherboard require a fresh install of windows?  If it's the same model of MB?

"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the Universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
BitWarrior
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Reply #259 on: November 22, 2008, 10:16:35 PM

So on a related note then, will installing a new motherboard require a fresh install of windows?  If it's the same model of MB?

If it's the same model, nope.

Ending a sentence with a preposition is something up with which I will not put.
Murgos
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Reply #260 on: November 24, 2008, 04:50:05 AM

Maybe someone can enlighten us with the facts but you would think a MB+PSU would post a code saying WTF without even having ram, cpu, video card or hard drive installed.

Because mostly they do?

Award BIOS Beep Codes:

BeepsError MessageDescription
1long, 2 shortVideo adapter errorEither video adapter is bad or is not seated properly.  Also, check to ensure the monitor cable is connected properly
Repeating (endless loop) Memory errorCheck for improperly seated or missing memory
1long, 3short No video card or bad video RAMReseat or replace the video card
High frequency beeeps while runningOverheated CPU Check the CPU fan for proper operation. Check the case for proper air flow.
Repeating High/LowCPUEither the CPU is not seated properly or the CPU is damaged. May also be due to excess heat. Check the CPU fan or BIOS settings for proper fan speed.
   

There are many more ERROR codes that aren't ties to a beep.  If you have a good motherboard you can still access those codes, for example my motherboard has an 7 segment LED display for showing POST codes in hex.

Edit: Reference - http://www.bioscentral.com/
« Last Edit: November 24, 2008, 04:55:15 AM by Murgos »

"You have all recieved youre last warning. I am in the process of currently tracking all of youre ips and pinging your home adressess. you should not have commencemed a war with me" - Aaron Rayburn
Venkman
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Reply #261 on: November 26, 2008, 01:22:35 PM

Really very dumb question. Or, more like, seeking knowledge on the why of things.

For years I've managed to get my various computers to talk to each other on the Network. Trouble is I'm not exactly sure how it works. And every time I look up "how does a network work", I get all sorts of crazy cisco/IP/router wierdness. What I really need is layman's explanation.

I've got three laptops and two desktops. I configured Windows Firewall on each to accept connections from computers on the network with IP addresses in the range of .0 - .10. The router automatically assigns these as the computers turn on. Magically then the Network windows on each computer can access the shared folders on the other ones. And I can do fun VNC stuff with the server that I still need a monitor for (really pisses me off when it crashes and I have no idea if the BIOS/did-not-shutdown-right screen is up) because my kids need Christmas more than I need a cheap monitor right now.

Am I doing this right? I always see this thing called "Workgroup" that I always put the same value in on the computers. I would think that doing that would negate the need to configure Firewall to leave the port ranges open, but that's mostly because I have no idea what the purpose of Workgroup is.

Also, because I mentioned it, is there a place I can go to get fab deals on monitors. The cheapest I can get on Dell discount is $100 and none of the local Circuit Citys are closing (and the ones that are don't have anything below $150 from what folks have found out for me).
hal
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Reply #262 on: November 28, 2008, 05:00:30 PM

I do not get networking. There is something I am not doing

I started with nothing, and I still have most of it

I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are still on backorder.
Viin
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Reply #263 on: November 28, 2008, 09:01:01 PM

Really very dumb question. Or, more like, seeking knowledge on the why of things.

For years I've managed to get my various computers to talk to each other on the Network. Trouble is I'm not exactly sure how it works. And every time I look up "how does a network work", I get all sorts of crazy cisco/IP/router wierdness. What I really need is layman's explanation.

Seems like you have most of it down. Basically, with Windows, it is doing the heavy lifting for you. As you noted, when you put all local computers on the same Workgroup, they can tend to talk to each other and share their folders. It's not exactly secure, but it's very easy. Your firewall probably doesn't need ports open to allow this, but it depends on what apps you use (your screen sharing app may need access that being in a Workgroup doesn't grant).

There are lots of permutations of this that get more complex, but basically each computer identifies itself to the network whenever it's turned on. It says 'Hi! I'm Computer In the Kitchen, part of the Darniaq's Workgroup workgroup.' And all the other computers stay 'Hi Computer In the Kitchen! I'm in Darniaq's Workgroup too!'. And then they merrily pass packets back and forth, allowing certain types of file sharing to become available automagically.

This is enabled by the fact that they are all on the same router. If you put another router on your network (say you could connect two routers to your cable modem), the computers connected to Router 1 wouldn't be able to talk to the computers connected to Router 2. That is how we segregate computers, so their talk and traffic doesn't affect computers that don't care about whatever Router 2 computers are talking about.

Well hopefully that's a little helpful - throw out more questions if you want details on something in particular.. there are very large books out there that can tell you everything about networking, I don't want to rewrite those here. ;)
« Last Edit: November 28, 2008, 09:02:33 PM by Viin »

- Viin
Venkman
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Reply #264 on: November 29, 2008, 05:02:22 AM

Viin that was awesome, thanks. So the best way to ensure computers can talk to each other is first by having them on the same router and second having them in the same workgroup?
Trippy
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Reply #265 on: November 29, 2008, 05:27:57 AM

This is enabled by the fact that they are all on the same router. If you put another router on your network (say you could connect two routers to your cable modem), the computers connected to Router 1 wouldn't be able to talk to the computers connected to Router 2.
No. If this was always true there would be no Internet. The entire purpose of routers is to connect separate networks together.

It is true that Windows Workgroup networking was not designed to span multiple subnets so if you wanted to do that you would have to jump through lots of hoops to get that to work properly.



Venkman
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Reply #266 on: November 29, 2008, 06:07:30 AM

How do I get a second router to talk to the first one? I'm not sure if buying a better router or a second one to extend my wi-fi range is the way to go.
Trippy
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Reply #267 on: November 29, 2008, 07:19:27 AM

How do I get a second router to talk to the first one? I'm not sure if buying a better router or a second one to extend my wi-fi range is the way to go.
You setup a route between the two of them.

Let's say Router 1 is the one that has the WAN connection (DSL/Cable/Whatever). Normally in a single router setup with a single "Internet-facing" IP from your ISP all your PCs will have their gateway setting set to Router 1's internal network IP address (a 192.168.X.X address). Router 1 has its own gateway address which is your ISP router address on the other end of your WAN connection. So when a PC sends off a packet with an IP that's not on your local network it first goes to Router 1 (since it's the gateway for that PC) and then Router 1 sends that packet off to your ISP's router since that's Router 1's default gateway.

If you want to add another router you'll need to create a new subnet and make Router 2's gateway the internal address of Router 1.

Let's say on your original network your internal IPs where in the range 192.168.0.X. E.g. Router 1's internal address was 192.168.0.1 and your PCs were 192.168.0.100 - 192.168.0.104 (for 5 computers). If you don't want to fiddle with Router 1 then for Router 2 you would set its "WAN" gateway to 192.168.0.1 (the internal address of Router 1), set its internal address to a new subnet such as 192.168.1.1 (i.e. the new 192.168.1.X subnet) and then configure its DHCP to pass out addresses to your PCs in the range of 192.168.1.100 - 192.168.1.104 (or you can set them manually if you aren't using DHCP).

So now your outbound IP packets on your network will take an extra "hop" going through both routers before they get to the "outside" and you did that by setting up Router 2 to pass its packets to Router 1.

However...

If you are just trying to extend the range of your wireless network, you can just get a wireless "access point" or run a wireless router in "access point" infrastructure mode (assuming it supports it) and you don't have to worry about segmenting your network since the access point acts as a "bridge" and not a "router" so everything stays on the same internal subnet.
Venkman
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Reply #268 on: November 29, 2008, 07:34:51 AM

Ah ok cool Trippy, thanks. I actually understood all of that.
Viin
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Reply #269 on: November 29, 2008, 10:33:09 AM

This is enabled by the fact that they are all on the same router. If you put another router on your network (say you could connect two routers to your cable modem), the computers connected to Router 1 wouldn't be able to talk to the computers connected to Router 2.
No. If this was always true there would be no Internet. The entire purpose of routers is to connect separate networks together.

It is true that Windows Workgroup networking was not designed to span multiple subnets so if you wanted to do that you would have to jump through lots of hoops to get that to work properly.

You are right, I wasn't clear. My point was that, by default, two computers on different routers can't talk to each other. Once you establish a route between them, then of course you can, but that can require extra work/configuration.

- Viin
apocrypha
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Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #270 on: December 01, 2008, 02:01:59 AM

While we're on the subject of networking, does anyone know if a 20m CAT5 cable is too long? Will I have problems at that kind of length?

I ask because the 10m cables I have at the moment are a real stretch from the router to where I want to put my (soon to be delivered) PS3 and I've had all sorts of trouble with wireless in this house.

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Trippy
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Reply #271 on: December 01, 2008, 03:03:06 AM

While we're on the subject of networking, does anyone know if a 20m CAT5 cable is too long? Will I have problems at that kind of length?
No. The spec allows for cables up to 100m.
Yegolev
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Reply #272 on: December 01, 2008, 07:42:11 AM

I have a 35m CAT5 ethernet cable in my closet for emergencies.  Works great.

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
apocrypha
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Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #273 on: December 01, 2008, 08:34:15 AM

Awesome thanks folks, 2 cables ordered, girlfriend looking forward to a living room that looks slightly less like a LAN party  awesome, for real

While I'm here, can anyone recommend a NAS enclosure? I've currently got a 2-SATA drive D-Link DNS-323 which, to use the technical term, sucks monkey cocks in Hell. I'm after something cheap that can take 2 SATA drives (pref. in a RAID array) and that I can safely and easily use to stream media to my shiny new PS3.

Forget that, worked it out, crappy D-Link NAS working fine with PS3. I am happy bunny.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2008, 10:52:46 AM by apocrypha »

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
Venkman
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Reply #274 on: December 01, 2008, 11:34:03 AM

Here's something odd: I go to add another device to my MAC filter list and I get a dead-page error from the router. The heck? So I try going to a few other places on the admin page (Linksys, WRT54G v8) and while I can go to most areas, any changes I try and make can't be saved because the pages being accessed no longer exist. I just tried upgrading the Firmware and even that conked out because the page it tried to hit is no longer there. Going to try a factory reset, but I wanted to put this out there in case these are my last words ever.

Edit: factory reset did reset all settings. But nothings being saved. Is this router hosed?
« Last Edit: December 01, 2008, 11:36:33 AM by Darniaq »
Engels
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inflicts shingles.


Reply #275 on: December 01, 2008, 12:13:35 PM

sounds like agressive browser caching. try a different browser?

I should get back to nature, too.  You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer.  Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached.  Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe

I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa

Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
Venkman
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Reply #276 on: December 01, 2008, 12:43:01 PM

Jeezus, you're right! (the shock is not about you being right but yours being the answer). Chrome was "Aggressively caching". IE7 worked fine. Wish I had the patience to wait for your reply tongue Ah well, wanted to take advantage of the gigabyte cards in my two desktops anyway...
Yegolev
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2/10 WOULD NOT INGEST


WWW
Reply #277 on: December 01, 2008, 01:43:20 PM

Futzing with my WRT54GL is the only time I recommend IE.  Haven't tried Chrome but Firefox doesn't really work.  I actually set my home page in IE as 192.168.1.1. awesome, for real

Why am I homeless?  Why do all you motherfuckers need homes is the real question.
They called it The Prayer, its answer was law
Mommy come back 'cause the water's all gone
Venkman
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Reply #278 on: December 02, 2008, 08:09:25 AM

Yea. Until yesterday I only ever needed IE for webmail for work's Outlook (since it works with MS Office, I can format emails whereas under Firefox, Chrome and others, I can only do ascii). Now I have two tabs that open automatically: webmail and the router page.
apocrypha
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Planes? Shit, I'm terrified to get in my car now!


Reply #279 on: December 02, 2008, 11:19:48 AM

While I'm here, can anyone recommend a NAS enclosure? I've currently got a 2-SATA drive D-Link DNS-323 which, to use the technical term, sucks monkey cocks in Hell. I'm after something cheap that can take 2 SATA drives (pref. in a RAID array) and that I can safely and easily use to stream media to my shiny new PS3.

Forget that, worked it out, crappy D-Link NAS working fine with PS3. I am happy bunny.

OK, I take it back, this NAS is rubbish and is causing me much hassle.

Can anyone recommend a decent NAS enclosure that won't cost me a fortune?

"Bourgeois society stands at the crossroads, either transition to socialism or regression into barbarism" - Rosa Luxemburg, 1915.
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