# PC fettling and repairs thread



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

I'll start this with my current project. It's a Dell Studio XPS 1640 16" laptop. Got cheap due to cosmetic nastiness and someone's previous downgrades.
First job, already done, was to up the CPU from a Core 2 Duo T6600 to a T9550.
Next will be a new display. this one works well, but is 1366x768, the one inbound is full HD 1920x1080.
The extraction work for that will entail removing the keyboard, and that needs doing too, along with the optical drive which is actually broken rather than needing upgrade.
Finally, fit new battery, and Robert is your dad's brother.
All parts incoming, a job for when the rain returns.


----------



## biggs682 (19 Jul 2021)

That all sounds good but no idea what half of it means


----------



## MontyVeda (19 Jul 2021)

It's the 3.5mm audio sockets on mine (in fact, every PC I've had)... they're OK to begin with, but after a couple of years... one slight knock of the plug and hey presto, one channel cuts out and needs a wiggle to get it back. What do they make them out of? tin foil?

I'm thinking of putting a decent sound card in just to (hopefully) give me some sockets that i can rely on.


----------



## ColinJ (19 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> I'll start this with my current project. It's a Dell Studio XPS 16" laptop. Got cheap due to cosmetic nastiness and someone's previous downgrades.
> First job, already done, was to up the CPU from a Core 2 Duo T6600 to a T9550.
> Next will be a new display. this one works well, but is 1366x768, the one inbound is FullHD.
> The extraction work for that will entail removing the keyboard, and that needs doing too, along with the optical drive which is actually broken rather than needing upgrade.
> ...


How much will you have spent by the time you have finished?

Tech moves on so quickly that it is rarely worth putting too much effort into upgrades. More RAM or replacing an HDD with an SSD, yes, but a new screen...? 

There is a local IT recycling centre which sorts out old kit and sells it cheap or gives it away to schools in Africa. I took an old PC in which I had bought for £2,000 10 years earlier and the technician said that nobody wanted anything that old so they would strip it down and send the parts to electronics recyclers!


----------



## FishFright (19 Jul 2021)

biggs682 said:


> That all sounds good but no idea what half of it means



Just imagine it's Harry Potter with tech nerds


----------



## HMS_Dave (19 Jul 2021)

I say go for it. When most of the components end up in land fill, whatever the "recyclers" tell you, it is worth it. It will be able to browse the web, perform office tasks and media consumption in HD, tasks which are what most people do with their machines, so why not. 

Keep us updated.


----------



## DaveReading (19 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> I'll start this with my current project. It's a Dell Studio XPS 16" laptop. Got cheap due to cosmetic nastiness and someone's previous downgrades.
> First job, already done, was to up the CPU from a Core 2 Duo T6600 to a T9550.
> Next will be a new display. this one works well, but is 1366x768, the one inbound is FullHD.
> The extraction work for that will entail removing the keyboard, and that needs doing too, along with the optical drive which is actually broken rather than needing upgrade.
> ...



How do you upgrade the display on a laptop ?


----------



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

[/QUOTE]


DaveReading said:


> How do you upgrade the display on a laptop ?


Very carefully! I've sourced a complete lid from Ebay, and I have the service manual for the model, so it should be a straightforward, if tedious, job.
Such tasks are what the term "slowly and carefully" was coined for. Think of a Haynes manual. You want to replace a particular item, and you find yourself flipping from section to section removing other bits first. And then reversing the whole procedure. Just like that!
A much harder job is to replace the actual LCD screen itself. That requires the job I'm going to do, plus a another whole swathe of work to dismantle the lid itself. Not usually much fun...


----------



## fossyant (19 Jul 2021)

I've replaced a screen on our HP laptop when it got broken. Fiddly but doable.


----------



## Ming the Merciless (19 Jul 2021)

biggs682 said:


> That all sounds good but no idea what half of it means



Seems like a Muggle has wandered into the thread


----------



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> I say go for it. When most of the components end up in land fill, whatever the "recyclers" tell you, it is worth it. It will be able to browse the web, perform office tasks and media consumption in HD, tasks which are what most people do with their machines, so why not.
> 
> Keep us updated.



In its day, a super whizz-bang machine at that spec level, duking it out with the Macbooks, and sometimes winning. I'll also take it up to 8GB RAM, so it really will be a useful machine. It's already running off a 240GB SSD, so it's no slouch, and it has a Radeon 3670 discrete GPU with its own, albeit small, memory. The replacement optical drive is BluRay capable, although Blu-Ray in PCs running Windows, or Linux for that matter, are rarely able to play Blu-Ray discs due to encryption and licencing. I'm certain it can be done, but too much of a faf, TBH...
When I get to having too many machines around the place, I tend to donate them to whatever is the current need. Gave some very usable machines to the local scholl during lockdowns, nothing whizzy, but able to do what they needed.

Another reason to make this one look good? It has a part-leather lid. Wahey!


----------



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

Anyhow, as @HMS_Dave said, far too much perfectly usable tech stuff ends up in landfill. Enough environmental damage was done getting it built the first time round, so let's keep these things going when possible.


----------



## ColinJ (19 Jul 2021)

I repaired the backlight on my old Dell, but I wouldn't have spent much on a replacement screen because it was not up to much other than text editing and simple web browsing.

The backlight job was fiddly but I succeeded. 

















I ended up installing Linux on that laptop but I haven't used it for a while. I must have another play with it some time...


----------



## Ming the Merciless (19 Jul 2021)

ColinJ said:


> I repaired the backlight on my old Dell, but I wouldn't have spent much on a replacement screen because it was not up to much other than text editing and simple web browsing.
> 
> The backlight job was fiddly but I succeeded.
> 
> ...



That shot shows Windows 7🧐


----------



## HMS_Dave (19 Jul 2021)

I have a Clevo P370sm with a knackered artifacting GTX 880m GPU card in it which i need to refurb at some point. Not all that long ago the replacement cards were still close to £400 a pop and this machine is capable of installing 2 of these in SLI! Now they're sitting at around £170 ish. With the custom system bios from Prema i can get it to accept a GTX 980m which is a step up but are also over £200... I have tried to "cook" the GPU itself with my SMD rework station but no dice. I do wonder if it is one of the memory modules that is gimped but i don't know... I don't have the necessary skills or equipment to fix things to that extent, sadly...


----------



## ColinJ (19 Jul 2021)

Ming the Merciless said:


> That shot shows Windows 7🧐





ColinJ said:


> I *ended up* installing Linux on that laptop but I haven't used it for a while. I must have another play with it some time...


Later on... I didn't do it while I was fixing the burned out connection to the backlight!


----------



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

Ming the Merciless said:


> That shot shows Windows 7🧐



He did say "ended up"...
Edit: beaten to it...


----------



## Ming the Merciless (19 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> He did say "ended up"...



So why no ended up photo?


----------



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

Ming the Merciless said:


> So why no ended up photo?


Because he didn't do it _at the time!_ And as also said, must dig it out again, etc, etc...


----------



## ColinJ (19 Jul 2021)

Ming the Merciless said:


> So why no ended up photo?


Because it was years ago and I was trying to show that it was worth trying to repair an old laptop, _NOT_ "_Ooh, I must take pictures of its screen again now that it has Linux on it_"! 

PS As correctly summarised by @DCBassman


----------



## JoeyB (19 Jul 2021)

I haven't done many repairs lately, most recently I replaced the battery in my own Macbook Pro and I did a battery and display on a customers Macbook Air.

I have a new Dell PC to setup for another customer this week, but not exactly fettling. More just plug and play...


----------



## DaveReading (19 Jul 2021)

Not strictly a PC (well not a PC at all), but I recently replaced for the second time the battery in my trusty old Lenovo Yoga tablet. 

It struck me as a somewhat hairy (and undocumented) procedure first time around but this time it seemed pretty straightforward. Thank goodnes for YouTube: Замена аккумулятора на планшете Lenovo B8000. Replacing the battery on the tablet. - YouTube 

Having done the battery change, it still refused to boot or charge and I couldn't even do a factory reset from the recovery menu - ended up having to reflash it. Seems to be running fine now, touch wood.


----------



## neil_merseyside (19 Jul 2021)

MontyVeda said:


> It's the 3.5mm audio sockets on mine (in fact, every PC I've had)... they're OK to begin with, but after a couple of years... one slight knock of the plug and hey presto, one channel cuts out and needs a wiggle to get it back. What do they make them out of? tin foil?


I always used an extender lead so the PC end was only used infrequently with the repeated unplugging on the replaceable lead, worked fine until the headset plug failed .


----------



## MontyVeda (19 Jul 2021)

neil_merseyside said:


> I always used an extender lead so the PC end was only used infrequently with *the repeated unplugging *on the replaceable lead, worked fine until the headset plug failed .


that's the thing... my leads are permanently hooked up but the sockets on the PC are so shoddy they still lose contact after a while. Never had the same issue with my laptop.


----------



## DCBassman (19 Jul 2021)

MontyVeda said:


> that's the thing... my leads are permanently hooked up but the sockets on the PC are so shoddy they still lose contact after a while. Never had the same issue with my laptop.


Not a problem I've ever had, but then I don't plug in anything bar speakers abd that's it. Nary a problem...


----------



## DCBassman (21 Jul 2021)

All the actual parts have just arrived, new battery also arriving today! Can't wait for bad weather, then I have an excuse to disappera down a techie rabbit hole for a day!


----------



## DCBassman (25 Jul 2021)

XPS finished.





The display is stunning. Full Hd with RGB LED backlight, so pretty much as close to colour perfection as you could then get, and pretty damned good by today's standards too. Working keyboard and a Blu-Ray drive, it's a nice machine!
Now back to Windows and see what that looks like.
EDIT: and a nice big 9-cell battery that gives a pleasant tilt to the machine.


----------



## keithmac (25 Jul 2021)

Worth bearing in mind most PC's over 5 years old won't run Windows 11.

I'm just hanging all ours out for now, Windows 10 has a 5 year price on it's head, might as well just buy a W11 PC built for W11 when the time comes.


----------



## HMS_Dave (25 Jul 2021)

keithmac said:


> Worth bearing in mind most PC's over 5 years old won't run Windows 11.
> 
> I'm just hanging all ours out for now, Windows 10 has a 5 year price on it's head, might as well just buy a W11 PC built for W11 when the time comes.


Or run an easy to use Linux Distro like Ubuntu, Mint or POPOS


----------



## MontyVeda (25 Jul 2021)

W11 - Minimum system requirements

*Processor*1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores on a compatible 64-bit processor or System on a Chip (SoC)*Memory*4 GB RAM*Storage*64 GB or larger storage device*System firmware*UEFI, Secure Boot capable*TPM*Trusted Platform Module (TPM) version 2.0
Minimum system requirements

*Graphics card*DirectX 12 compatible graphics / WDDM 2.x*Display*> 9" with HD Resolution (720p)*Internet connection*Microsoft account and internet connectivity required for setup for Windows 11 Home


----------



## ColinJ (25 Jul 2021)

Which reminds me... I spotted TPM errors in the system logs on this laptop... I must investigate!


----------



## HMS_Dave (25 Jul 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Which reminds me... I spotted TPM errors in the system logs on this laptop... I must investigate!


See if there is a bios update for your laptop.


----------



## DCBassman (27 Jul 2021)

Put the XPS over to Windows. Now get an error related to the GPU because I...fitted a battery?
Unfortunately, due to compatibility issues, there's no way to address this in Win 10. Yiu should be able to go into the AMD Catalyst Control Centre and switch off an auto setting to do with screen brightness, but Win 10 won't allow that part of the software to run. Back to Mint, permanently.


----------



## HMS_Dave (27 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Put the XPS over to Windows. Now get an error related to the GPU because I...fitted a battery?
> Unfortunately, due to compatibility issues, there's no way to address this in Win 10. Yiu should be able to go into the AMD Catalyst Control Centre and switch off an auto setting to do with screen brightness, but Win 10 won't allow that part of the software to run. Back to Mint, permanently.


Im drawing a blank at that one... Perhaps there is some issue with the power draw when on the batteries, but really I've never come across that before... If the problem doesn't exist on Mint, then it's probably a weird software quirk in Windows. Oh well, it is a nice machine regardless.


----------



## DCBassman (27 Jul 2021)

It's a quirk with Win 10 and the technically incompatible drivers that go with the Radeon 3670. 
Remove the battery and power direct, no issue.


----------



## HMS_Dave (27 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> It's a quirk with Win 10 and the technically incompatible drivers that go with the Radeon 3670.
> Remove the battery and power direct, no issue.


I guess you were _supposed _to have upgraded to a brand new machine by now.


----------



## Edwardoka (28 Jul 2021)

I've got an ancient Samsung RF511 that was a capable, versatile machine, until it had a fall and landed power-cable side down, which destroyed the socket.

The shop that repaired it did a terrible job, within a month or so it stopped accepting power again. I opened it up and the soldering on the replacement socket looked like it had been done by a drunken lemur. I should really get round to fixing it myself, but my attempts at soldering on other projects thus far make drunken lemurs look capable.

In other news, my crappy laptop that runs ubuntu+KDE has never performed satisfactorily. Prone to severe overheating, and I think it has memory issues because just browsing the web can cause it to freeze (assuming it doesn't overheat first). Anyway, a couple of days ago I accidentally tipped a whole cup of tea into it. It was still on, so I yanked the power and battery, dried it off as best I could, turned it back on, it seemed to work for a while then cut out. I guess some tea ingressed and shorted something out.

So that's another thing added to the list of things I need to sort out but probably won't ever get round to *glares at disassembled Amiga 500+ that's sat over there < for over a year*
Anyone have tips on how to motivate yourself to actually do this stuff?


----------



## DCBassman (28 Jul 2021)

Edwardoka said:


> I've got an ancient Samsung RF511 that was a capable, versatile machine, until it had a fall and landed power-cable side down, which destroyed the socket.
> 
> The shop that repaired it did a terrible job, within a month or so it stopped accepting power again. I opened it up and the soldering on the replacement socket looked like it had been done by a drunken lemur. I should really get round to fixing it myself, but my attempts at soldering on other projects thus far make drunken lemurs look capable.
> 
> ...


Ensure plenty of time, every tool you might conceivably need, a full HD desktop system for Youtube, and quite possibly alcohol. Both IPA for cleaning purposes, and something else to soothe the frustration...this particularly applies to laptops!


----------



## newfhouse (28 Jul 2021)

Edwardoka said:


> Anyone have tips on how to motivate yourself to actually do this stuff?


I’ve been mapping out a long and detailed response to this, which I will post in the fullness of time once I’ve considered all the options.


----------



## DCBassman (28 Jul 2021)

newfhouse said:


> I’ve been mapping out a long and detailed response to this, which I will post in the fullness of time once I’ve considered all the options.


It can be hard, sometimes!


----------



## DaveReading (28 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Ensure plenty of time, every tool you might conceivably need, a full HD desktop system for Youtube, and quite possibly alcohol. Both IPA for cleaning purposes, and something else to soothe the frustration...this particularly applies to laptops!



I find having two types of IPA to hand definitely helps.


----------



## fossyant (28 Jul 2021)

May need to get into the CPU cooler for daughter's gaming PC - last couple of days it's been 'taking off' on start up, and I suspect it's shifted dust around as she just cleaned the front and top air intakes. Out with a fine paintbrush then !


----------



## HMS_Dave (28 Jul 2021)

fossyant said:


> May need to get into the CPU cooler for daughter's gaming PC - last couple of days it's been 'taking off' on start up, and I suspect it's shifted dust around as she just cleaned the front and top air intakes. Out with a fine paintbrush then !


I looked at my sons the other day, his was shutting off during that hot weather we had. I looked at his mesh dust covers and they're caked in dust! He knows it's his responsibility to clean, but I have to settle for the usual "I forgot" response 😡


----------



## DCBassman (28 Jul 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> I looked at my sons the other day, his was shutting off during that hot weather we had. I looked at his mesh dust covers and they're caked in dust! He knows it's his responsibility to clean, but I have to settle for the usual "I forgot" response 😡


My big desktop case is a Corsair Obsidian 750D. My younger son gave it to me, fitted with a Corsair (he likes Corsair!)H100 cpu water cooler.
When time came to give the case a good going over before build, the space between the radiator and the top of the case was solid fluff. Took an hour to clean it properly!


----------



## fossyant (28 Jul 2021)

Son's got water cooling and a big radiator, but daughter's was a slightly budget build out of my pocket rather than his ! It's got an ARGB cooler on the CPU, and 4 ARGB case fans so plenty of air flow (and looks very pretty). Even in the hot weather it's been running fine, so I suspect it's just dust build up. Once re-booted it calms down.


----------



## JoeyB (28 Jul 2021)

Maybe try some dust filters in front of the inbound fans


----------



## HMS_Dave (28 Jul 2021)

fossyant said:


> Son's got water cooling and a big radiator, but daughter's was a slightly budget build out of my pocket rather than his ! It's got an ARGB cooler on the CPU, and 4 ARGB case fans so plenty of air flow (and looks very pretty). Even in the hot weather it's been running fine, so I suspect it's just dust build up. Once re-booted it calms down.


Worth cleaning and testing that.

My first and only foray into water cooling didn't go well for me. I had a Corsair AIO system on an AMD FX-8350 processor. I had it overclocked to something like 4.9ghz if i remember. But the cooler lasted 3 months due to pump failure. I got a replacement and that lasted 5 months, same problem. It did a good job of keeping the CPU temperatures under control, but the reliability was woeful for me. So i ditched water cooling and got a giant Noctua air cooler instead. My kids used that for years with no problems...


----------



## DCBassman (28 Jul 2021)

I don't overclock anything on my desktop. The GPU was formerly a superclocked version, but it's now tweaked downward slightly to keep it stable.
Six fans plus the two on the radiator: radiator plus one fan, top exhaust, all others intake. Front two filtered, need more filters!


----------



## ColinJ (28 Jul 2021)

I have done some fan/ventilation slot fettling recently...

This was on my fancy old microwave (+fan +grill) oven which can do really good baked potatoes in around 20 minutes. At least it _could_, but then it started overheating and switching off after about 15 minutes. I took the cover off and discovered that the fans and ventilation slots were clogged up with detritus. I cleaned it all out and the oven is working properly again.

Exactly the same thing can happen with computers. Keep them dust-free!


----------



## HMS_Dave (28 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> I don't overclock anything on my desktop. The GPU was formerly a superclocked version, but it's now tweaked downward slightly to keep it stable.
> Six fans plus the two on the radiator: radiator plus one fan, top exhaust, all others intake. Front two filtered, need more filters!


Since i got my HP Z620, i have lowered the Voltage on my RX 590 GPU. I lose no performance or stability but things remain much cooler. In truth i had some trouble with that FX PC i mentioned, took about a year to get it stable with all the issues i had and yet wasn't really worth the outlay and time. I suppose you could say i scratched that overclocking itch and now i really don't bother but i have seen value in lowering voltages where there is no stability issues.


----------



## DCBassman (29 Jul 2021)

Dell XPS 1640 M, continued: annoyed for some reasons with Linux Mint, did a clean install of Windows 10 21H1, and bingo! the annoying pop-up has so far not re-appeared. Next, get RAM from 4 to 8 GB...
Anyone got any 4GB ddr3 1333 or better SoDimms they don't want?


----------



## ColinJ (29 Jul 2021)

I put Linux on my old Dell a year or so back and played around with it for a while. I then put the machine to one side and forgot about it. I plugged it back in yesterday to have another tinker with it and it isn't behaving itself now. I'm not sure _WHAT _it is doing, it just seems to go round in a circle and end up back at the boot options again. That is something to sort out when I have the time and energy for it...


----------



## PeteXXX (29 Jul 2021)

I have a Toshiba satellite laptop running W10. 
I also have a W7 Dell PC tower and keyboard (but no monitor) that isn't working very well. 

Question: can I connect the PC to the laptop via the RGB sockets and use the laptop screen and PC control to sort it out? 
There's nothing I need on the PC so was thinking of booting it up with Ubuntu that I have on DVD 

Or should I plug it into a 'proper' monitor?


----------



## ColinJ (29 Jul 2021)

PeteXXX said:


> I have a Toshiba satellite laptop running W10.
> I also have a W7 Dell PC tower and keyboard (but no monitor) that isn't working very well.
> 
> Question: can I connect the PC to the laptop via the RGB sockets and use the laptop screen and PC control to sort it out?
> ...


They don't work that way round! 

(It would be for the laptop to use an external monitor, not an external machine to use the laptop screen.)


----------



## PeteXXX (29 Jul 2021)

ColinJ said:


> They don't work that way round!
> 
> (It would be for the laptop to use an external monitor, not an external machine to use the laptop screen.)


That's how I understood it to be but wasn't sure it it was a two way thing or not. 

Thanks 👍


----------



## ColinJ (29 Jul 2021)

The PC definitely _wouldn't_ work very well without a monitor! 

(Actually, it might do, but you wouldn't be able to tell... )


----------



## DCBassman (30 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Next, get RAM from 4 to 8 GB...
> Anyone got any 4GB ddr3 1333 or better SoDimms they don't want?


RAM on the way!


----------



## DCBassman (31 Jul 2021)

Dammit...the annoying pop-up re-appeared. So I've spent today messing with various vintages of graphics drivers, and after much too-ing and fro-ing, it now all works as it should. Despite this machine having no officail Win 10 drivers at all, I've managed to get everything up and running. The only thing, apart from the incomimg RAM upgrade, that I don't have is the TV antenna adaptor - this laptop also has built-in DVB!


----------



## fossyant (31 Jul 2021)

Daughter's gaming rig still noisy. Glass side cover off and its the bearing on the CPU cooler. Really dusty inside so out with a brush. Pulled the cooler off and disassembled the fan. Dribbled a bit of Finish Line wet lube on fan bearing, and put back together. Quiet now.😊


----------



## HMS_Dave (31 Jul 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Dammit...the annoying pop-up re-appeared. So I've spent today messing with various vintages of graphics drivers, and after much too-ing and fro-ing, it now all works as it should. Despite this machine having no officail Win 10 drivers at all, I've managed to get everything up and running. The only thing, apart from the incomimg RAM upgrade, that I don't have is the TV antenna adaptor - this laptop also has built-in DVB!


How frustrating. I had a similar issue looking for drivers for my sound card, which is from 2007. I managed to find an old windows driver which worked in the end. 

Just time consuming...


----------



## DCBassman (31 Jul 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> Just time consuming...


Yup, troubleshooting compatibility from the do-it-deliberately side can be a bit teeth-grinding...


----------



## DCBassman (4 Aug 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Yup, troubleshooting compatibility from the do-it-deliberately side can be a bit teeth-grinding...


And still didn't fix it. More drastic measures needed, so some research showed what bits of software needed disabling. That definitely worked.
Also, now fully loaded with 8GB RAM. It runs well, and looks great!


----------



## Andy_R (24 Aug 2021)

Just replaced the HDD with a Samsung 970 Evo Plus SSD. System now boots Win10 into a usable state in just over 10 seconds.


----------



## MrGrumpy (2 Sep 2021)

Eldest just put together a PC for youngest son. The SSD had windows 7 on it . Just upgraded to 10 and it’s not activating , boooo . Might have to buy another copy . Not sure on the history of the original install  .


----------



## JoeyB (2 Sep 2021)

MrGrumpy said:


> Eldest just put together a PC for youngest son. The SSD had windows 7 on it . Just upgraded to 10 and it’s not activating , boooo . Might have to buy another copy . Not sure on the history of the original install  .


I usually grab an OEM licence key from eBay for £3/4 ish.


----------



## MrGrumpy (2 Sep 2021)

JoeyB said:


> I usually grab an OEM licence key from eBay for £3/4 ish.


Think that’s what I did the last time but….. think EBay have tightened up on some stuff /cough


----------



## DCBassman (7 Sep 2021)

Updates:
Dell XPS laptop now fully geared up for TV. 
Also used it for iPlayer here at the house-sit, watching Vigil via a big HDMI cable and the TV set. 
Asus TP200SA: a convertible mini-pc/tablet donated by older son, along with a Huawei P20 Pro smartphone. The Asus is running W10Pro ok-ish, but is hampered by 32GB storage and 2GB RAM, neither of which are upgradeable. So will need a new OS for that at some point. Took me a while yesterday to learn how to unlock the BIOS to enable boot from USB stick... 
Great cameras on the P20, lenses by Leica.


----------



## DCBassman (8 Sep 2021)

Asus TP200SA now running Linux Mint 20.2 Xfce, entirely ok, but no tyre-burner.


----------



## ColinJ (8 Sep 2021)

Hmm... I might try putting Linux on a diddy laptop donated to me by a mate. One of those old Asus EEEPCs.

It is running Win 7 and is SLOW. I'd be interested to see if it is usable for anything with Linux on it.

Mind you, I already have Linux on my old Dell and I don't use _that_... 

Any ideas for dedicated use of underpowered devices? It seems a shame to recycle working tech but what is it good for!


----------



## Bonefish Blues (8 Sep 2021)

I'm going to have a bash at replacing a failed hard drive in an iMac with an SSD. How hard can it be because YouTube 😄


----------



## MrGrumpy (8 Sep 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Hmm... I might try putting Linux on a diddy laptop donated to me by a mate. One of those old Asus EEEPCs.
> 
> It is running Win 7 and is SLOW. I'd be interested to see if it is usable for anything with Linux on it.
> 
> ...


Choose something lightweight OS wise. Been a long time since I delved into the dark side.


----------



## DCBassman (9 Sep 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Asus TP200SA now running Linux Mint 20.2 Xfce, entirely ok, but no tyre-burner.


Re-installing this from scratch in order to put /home on a second drive, in this case a fast 128GB SD card. main drive was a little cramped at only 32GB, so we'll see how this works. Will have to put the Timeshift system restore cache on there too.
All good nerdy fun!


----------



## yello (9 Sep 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Any ideas for dedicated use of underpowered devices? It seems a shame to recycle working tech but what is it good for!



Plenty of lightweight distros available, depends on the spec of your machine. Even a pure debian install might work for you. Ime, it's often the desktop enviroment that slows older machines down because of the memory. Obviously, older machines tend to have less memory than newer ones. So choose the aforementioned Xfce, or lxde or MATE or....

Just web search 'lightweight Linux distros' and take your pick. Some distro names to look at; Lubuntu, Xubuntu are often mentioned but there are also lesser 'name' choices like Zorin, CrunchBang++, LinuxLite, Bodhi, LXLE.... the list is quite long. Please don't choose 'Puppy Linux' though. Good as it may be, I find it darned twee!


----------



## ColinJ (9 Sep 2021)

I am sure that I _will _be able to find a distro to do the job; the real problem is deciding what that job _IS_! 

I've also got 2 old Dell laptops and an old desktop PC lying around doing nothing. They are so old that the local computer recycling charity doesn't want them. (They don't meet the minimum spec for refurbed computers for African village schools.)

If just playing around with Linux then I can use the better of the 2 Dells for that.


----------



## MrGrumpy (9 Sep 2021)

I used to setup old desktops as routers or servers . There is that ? Big enough HD store content or stream stuff on the network. To be honest I was just playing around and teaching myself stuff .


----------



## yello (9 Sep 2021)

Ah well then, pick one, the smallest install, figure out what you're going to do with it once you've installed it!


----------



## mustang1 (9 Sep 2021)

ColinJ said:


> I repaired the backlight on my old Dell, STUFF DELETED
> 
> I *ended up installing Linux* on that laptop but I *haven't used it for a while*. I must have another play with it some time...



Synonymous. 
Now that I've rattled the Linux fan boys cages, I'll make a hasty retreat.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (15 Sep 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> I'm going to have a bash at replacing a failed hard drive in an iMac with an SSD. How hard can it be because YouTube 😄


So the deed is done, all back together, powered up. You sense a but...

I can't get Command R to work on the machine to recover/install a copy of the Mac OS. All I get is a flashing folder with a ? on it. Any ideas, anyone?


----------



## DCBassman (15 Sep 2021)

No idea about Macs. Is the old drive clonable if in an external caddy or completely dead? Not that this helps if you don't have another computer to hand...


----------



## Bonefish Blues (15 Sep 2021)

DCBassman said:


> No idea about Macs. Is the old drive clonable if in an external caddy or completely dead? Not that this helps if you don't have another computer to hand...


No, old drive is irrecoverable according to the guys who ran the analytics on it. Frustrating - may need a system disk to load perhaps.


----------



## mustang1 (15 Sep 2021)

I never see an Apple Mac Fettling and Repairs thread. Oh yeah, that's coz they never break down. 

Alrighty I'm outta here!


----------



## HMS_Dave (15 Sep 2021)

mustang1 said:


> I never see an Apple Mac Fettling and Repairs thread. Oh yeah, that's coz they never break down.
> 
> Alrighty I'm outta here!


Naa that's because Apple Service Centres have stiffed any customer who's computer dare have an issue and subsequently they have sadly passed away due to heart failure from shock or are completely bankrupt and have no Internet and still no computer.


----------



## 400ixl (15 Sep 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> So the deed is done, all back together, powered up. You sense a but...
> 
> I can't get Command R to work on the machine to recover/install a copy of the Mac OS. All I get is a flashing folder with a ? on it. Any ideas, anyone?



Could you create and use a bootable USB stick to install it from https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201372


----------



## Grant Fondo (15 Sep 2021)

I was looking at water cooling my graphics card, ... er, i'll get my coat


----------



## Bonefish Blues (15 Sep 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> Naa that's because Apple Service Centres have stiffed any customer who's computer dare have an issue and subsequently they have sadly passed away due to heart failure from shock or are completely bankrupt and have no Internet and still no computer.


I'm in for £30 diagnostics (An Indy) £50 SSD (Amazon) and £7 decent torx 10 driver (Amazon) so I'm sanguine if she doesn't live again, but it would be nice to get the old girl back up and running


----------



## DCBassman (15 Sep 2021)

mustang1 said:


> I never see an Apple Mac Fettling and Repairs thread. Oh yeah, that's coz they never break down.
> 
> Alrighty I'm outta here!


Yeah, right!


----------



## Bonefish Blues (16 Sep 2021)

400ixl said:


> Could you create and use a bootable USB stick to install it from https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT201372


Or I could buy one of these, do you think? My machine has a DVD drive.

https://www.softwarerepairworld.com...mgIeldOoD1wqGYhlRt6PEnAlcMbczpEQaAhGhEALw_wcB


----------



## 400ixl (16 Sep 2021)

Essentially doing the same thing really. DVD is a use once spend, but ready to go.

Buying a USB stick if you don't have one can then be repurposed for other things, but means you still have to do the prep work.


----------



## bruce1530 (16 Sep 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> I can't get Command R to work on the machine to recover/install a copy of the Mac OS. All I get is a flashing folder with a ? on it. Any ideas, anyone?


Is it a proper Mac keyboard?
If it's a windows keyboard, hold down the "windows" key and press R
Power on the machine, immediately hit Command-R or Windows-R, Cant remember whether you hold or press repeatedly.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (16 Sep 2021)

bruce1530 said:


> Is it a proper Mac keyboard?
> If it's a windows keyboard, hold down the "windows" key and press R
> Power on the machine, immediately hit Command-R or Windows-R, Cant remember whether you hold or press repeatedly.


Everyone on another Forum's agreeing that it won't work on my vintage Mac


----------



## DRM (16 Sep 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> So the deed is done, all back together, powered up. You sense a but...
> 
> I can't get Command R to work on the machine to recover/install a copy of the Mac OS. All I get is a flashing folder with a ? on it. Any ideas, anyone?


It’ll be the ribbon cable from the mother board to the hdd that’s failed, my MacBook Pro did exactly the same, it’s a dead easy, inexpensive fix  they break where it goes under the hdd, it’s telling you it can’t see the hdd.
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Cable+Replacement/10379


----------



## HMS_Dave (29 Sep 2021)

Im back on my Linux machine after my trusted HP Z620 started having freezing and crashing issues. After doing the usual diagnostics, i ran a memory test which showed significant failures, in multiple sectors far beyond anything i had seen before. After swapping the memory modules out for known working modules, the issues continued. I suspected Motherboard failure and proceeded to get hold of a spare one and fitted it. Same problems. After much farting about i got hold of another E5-2690 CPU of the same stepping as my current pair of CPU's in this machine and after replacing the first CPU, my issues went away. For the first time in 25 years of PC'ing i have had a CPU failure. I was beginning to think it was just folklore. After a painful time of being back on windows on my wifes Laptop, im happy on linux once more and the old HP lives again.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (29 Sep 2021)

DRM said:


> It’ll be the ribbon cable from the mother board to the hdd that’s failed, my MacBook Pro did exactly the same, it’s a dead easy, inexpensive fix  they break where it goes under the hdd, it’s telling you it can’t see the hdd.
> https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Cable+Replacement/10379


By way of an update, as I'd explained, it was the HDD that had failed. I successfully installed an SSD and was all gung-ho trying to install an OS X using a DVD, to no avail, so it's back with the man to extract the DVD - Mac wouldn't give it back, and install High Sierra, so let's hope all's good or I'll be cutting my losses and going with a Mac Mini.


----------



## DCBassman (29 Sep 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> Im back on my Linux machine after my trusted HP Z620 started having freezing and crashing issues. After doing the usual diagnostics, i ran a memory test which showed significant failures, in multiple sectors far beyond anything i had seen before. After swapping the memory modules out for known working modules, the issues continued. I suspected Motherboard failure and proceeded to get hold of a spare one and fitted it. Same problems. After much farting about i got hold of another E5-2690 CPU of the same stepping as my current pair of CPU's in this machine and after replacing the first CPU, my issues went away. For the first time in 25 years of PC'ing i have had a CPU failure. I was beginning to think it was just folklore. After a painful time of being back on windows on my wifes Laptop, im happy on linux once more and the old HP lives again.


Not surprised, a laptop running anything at all isn't going to stack up to an 8-core, 16-thread machine!


----------



## DCBassman (29 Sep 2021)

My newish little hand-me-down Asus netbook thingy is back on Win 10. Why? Surpreisingly, it works beter and quicker than Linux. That's actually really unusual. But it is working better in Windows, so in Windows it stays...


----------



## HMS_Dave (29 Sep 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Not surprised, a laptop running anything at all isn't going to stack up to an 8-core, 16-thread machine!


It has a pair of those in it for a total 16 cores 32 threads! Useful for Virtual Machines and for keeping your room warm in the Winter!


----------



## HMS_Dave (29 Sep 2021)

DCBassman said:


> My newish little hand-me-down Asus netbook thingy is back on Win 10. Why? Surpreisingly, it works beter and quicker than Linux. That's actually really unusual. But it is working better in Windows, so in Windows it stays...


Being a laptop maybe windows just has better optimised drivers for that machine. Either way, you have to stick with whatever experience is best for you.


----------



## StuAff (29 Sep 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> It has a pair of those in it for a total 16 cores 32 threads! Useful for Virtual Machines and for keeping your room warm in the Winter!


Nice! One hell of a beast. Also Hackintoshable, and cheap these days (I'm resisting, not least because my next Macs- plural- will be ARMed). Xeon machines make lovely radiators, don't they? Mine are Mac Pro 1,1- dual Woodcrest Xeon 5150 2.66GHz, and 5,1 Westmere X5690 3.46GHz. The latter is 12 years old now, but with an RX 580 it's still up to most tasks.


----------



## HMS_Dave (29 Sep 2021)

StuAff said:


> Nice! One hell of a beast. Also Hackintoshable, and cheap these days (I'm resisting, not least because my next Macs- plural- will be ARMed). Xeon machines make lovely radiators, don't they? Mine are Mac Pro 1,1- dual Woodcrest Xeon 5150 2.66GHz, and 5,1 Westmere X5690 3.46GHz. The latter is 12 years old now, but with an RX 580 it's still up to most tasks.


Absolutely. A robust heater indeed. I did have a pair of Westmeres a number of years ago. X5670's. Them, with a r9 390 GPU made for a toasty experience indeed!

I couldn't pass up the upgrade to a HP Z620. USB 3.0, Sata III, Quad Channel Memory and PCI Express 3.0. No need for messing around with compatibility issues of expansion cards. The 12c/24t Westmeres were still powerful enough mind.


----------



## MontyVeda (30 Sep 2021)

I've managed to delete all of my saved passwords from Chrome, which is a bit of a nightmare


----------



## Bonefish Blues (30 Sep 2021)

Woo and indeed hoo.

The man has installed an OS X (after he'd first got the wrong end of the stick and told me I had a HDD failure...), updated the firmware, installed my programs and I collect tomorrow. I know it's a billionty-six years old, but for a second Mac, used for very light duties only, it's absolutely fine.

Am please that armed with only YouTube, a Torx 10 and some sticky fixers (really - who needs a cradle anyway ) I done pulled Brer Mac apart and put it together again in the right order.


----------



## MontyVeda (30 Sep 2021)

...after spending much of the last couple of hours googling "recover lost passwords from chrome" and "find stored passwords in chrome" etc, and trying various methods that did not work... I suddenly remembered that I used to use firefox!


----------



## ColinJ (30 Sep 2021)

MontyVeda said:


> ...after spending much of the last couple of hours googling "recover lost passwords from chrome" and "find stored passwords in chrome" etc, and trying various methods that did not work... I suddenly remembered that I used to use firefox!


Now Google "_How to backup stored passwords from Firefox_"!


----------



## MontyVeda (30 Sep 2021)

It's not funny @ColinJ !!! I've had a frustrating day... got home from work to a PC monitor that wouldn't come on, rummaged around for a spare VGA cable, still no screen. Dug out the laptop and started looking at PC world and Argos for a new one... all the cheap ones are out of stock and didnt' really want to spend £150+.  Then i found a little place on the quay the sells refurbished laptops, rang them to see if they had any monitors... yes. Half an hour later, new monitor for £20 

then i deleted all my passwords! ...and bookmarks.

I do have a back-up of sorts... a screenshot of the password page, but could i find it? Could i buggery! ...not until after I remembered firefox had them stored too


----------



## Milzy (30 Sep 2021)

I need a bang per buck 1TB SSD with transfer software. 
Shoot…


----------



## MontyVeda (30 Sep 2021)

Milzy said:


> I need a bang per buck 1TB SSD with transfer software.
> Shoot…


why do you need an SSD that big?


----------



## Milzy (30 Sep 2021)

MontyVeda said:


> why do you need an SSD that big?


I like PC gaming.


----------



## StuAff (30 Sep 2021)

Milzy said:


> I need a bang per buck 1TB SSD with transfer software.
> Shoot…


What type (SATA 2.5? M.2 NVMe)?


----------



## Milzy (1 Oct 2021)

StuAff said:


> What type (SATA 2.5? M.2 NVMe)?


Well as much as I like M.2 NVMe & have a modern mobo, you only see the speed benefits when transferring media. Gaming wise nothing in it so I may as well save a few £’s & go SSD.


----------



## StuAff (1 Oct 2021)

Milzy said:


> Well as much as I like M.2 NVMe & have a modern mobo, you only see the speed benefits when transferring media. Gaming wise nothing in it so I may as well save a few £’s & go SSD.


You mean SATA 2.5 I think....Crucial MX500 probably the best bang for the buck.


----------



## fossyant (1 Oct 2021)

Daughter has an M2 in her rig, mainly as it was on offer at the same price. Looks cool on the motherboard.


----------



## HMS_Dave (1 Oct 2021)

Ive been using Kingston SSD's since 2015. The biggest 2.5 Sata SSD i have is a Kingston A400 960gb which is absolutely reliable and is subject to heavy use on my end. No issues whatsoever, had it now 2 years.


----------



## DCBassman (12 Oct 2021)

I'm minded to avail myself of an old but powerful Mac Pro 2.1 going locally. Never had any Apple gear before (OK, an iPhone 3GS!).
Good place to start?


----------



## StuAff (12 Oct 2021)

DCBassman said:


> I'm minded to avail myself of an old but powerful Mac Pro 2.1 going locally. Never had any Apple gear before (OK, an iPhone 3GS!).
> Good place to start?


Better bet would be a 4,1 or 5,1. Earlier models can't run anywhere near a modern OS & applications, either at all or without many complicated hoops. Also considerably poorer performance & upgrade options.


----------



## DCBassman (12 Oct 2021)

StuAff said:


> Better bet would be a 4,1 or 5,1. Earlier models can't run anywhere near a modern OS & applications, either at all or without many complicated hoops. Also considerably poorer performance & upgrade options.


Better bet yes, also hugely more expensive.
This is just for messing about, really.


----------



## StuAff (12 Oct 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Better bet yes, also hugely more expensive.
> This is just for messing about, really.


4,1s are as low as £130 on eBay now (admittedly for a low spec, but apart from GPUs parts are cheap, really cheap- £40 for a fast 6-core Xeon!). I paid £550 or so for my 5,1 but that was heavily upgraded (and I got some money back by selling parts I didn't need). A 2,1 might still be a good deal, if it's cheap enough.

http://blog.greggant.com/posts/2018/05/07/definitive-mac-pro-upgrade-guide.html is everything you need to know about what you can and can't do with the various generations.


----------



## DCBassman (14 Oct 2021)

It's a reasonable spec, 2xquad 3ghz 771 Xeons 16gb ram, 7700 base gpu. It's already been finagled to run El Capitan and Win 10 64-bit, so some of the work is done. 
85 beer chits, and in very good condition.


----------



## DCBassman (14 Oct 2021)

The other point is that it's merely an exercise in learning something about OS. A 1GB iMac might be OK for that, but I like a bit of poke in my computers... Irrational maybe! But I want it to be able to respond if I ask something substantial of it. So that particular Pro seemed a good idea. Unfortunately, he's not answering messages.


----------



## DCBassman (30 Oct 2021)

Typing this from Os X Lion 10.7.5. This version of Safari doesn't render Cyclechat well. Once I've upgraded the GPU, I'll switch to El Capitan and work from there.
This machine runs its RAM very hot, so will be investigating apps to more directly control the fans. Other bonuses with this box is that it already had wifi and bluetooth, so those were things I didn't have to add.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (30 Oct 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Typing this from Os X Lion 10.7.5. This version of Safari doesn't render Cyclechat well. Once I've upgraded the GPU, I'll switch to El Capitan and work from there.
> This machine runs its RAM very hot, so will be investigating apps to more directly control the fans. Other bonuses with this box is that it already had wifi and bluetooth, so those were things I didn't have to add.


Mine's positively chilly since I went SSD. Shame, I used to like MacToast.


----------



## DCBassman (30 Oct 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> Mine's positively chilly since I went SSD. Shame, I used to like MacToast.



The RAM trays on this get hot enough so that the amount of installed RAM changes on the fly!


----------



## yello (30 Oct 2021)

Any network gurus here?

I run my own DNS (pihole for ad blocking) and am getting occasional 'site not found/reachable errors' on web browsing that an F5 refresh sometimes resolves. Pihole is working correctly and the correct IP is both resolved and returned, so I think I have a network issue.

I use a 4G modem and I'm behind CGNAT (with no ipv6) Is it possible do you think that the CGNAT is the cause of the problem? That is, a hop or two extra causing a browser to timeout or somesuch?


----------



## Grant Fondo (30 Oct 2021)

Milzy said:


> Well as much as I like M.2 NVMe & have a modern mobo, you only see the speed benefits when transferring media. Gaming wise nothing in it so I may as well save a few £’s & go SSD.


It is only a few quid now as well . I would go m.2 just to save the faff of wiring older ssd's up. This is good for 65 quid.

View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/WD-Blue-SN550-High-Performance-Pcie/dp/B07YFFX5MD/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?adgrpid=103850886912&dchild=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw2vOLBhBPEiwAjEeK9q08wJQFVEK525nAZ7Odt6D_I1ZCu2nWG_LByG7UMw7Rg5LgybmcgBoC2dEQAvD_BwE&hvadid=445271866487&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9046494&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=8077075291966052569&hvtargid=kwd-299634046759&hydadcr=10932_1788307&keywords=1tb+ssd&qid=1635610368&qsid=260-4980032-6420642&sr=8-5&sres=B089QXQ1TV%2CB07YD579WM%2CB07YFFX5MD%2CB073SBQMCX%2CB078211KBB%2CB07D998212%2CB08PC5DKZQ%2CB077SF8KMG%2CB07KSHCG3R%2CB089DNM8LR%2CB07MBQPQ62%2CB071KGRXRG%2CB087QRVVVH%2CB07BN217QG&srpt=COMPUTER_DRIVE_OR_STORAGE


----------



## DCBassman (30 Oct 2021)

yello said:


> Any network gurus here?
> 
> I run my own DNS (pihole for ad blocking) and am getting occasional 'site not found/reachable errors' on web browsing that an F5 refresh sometimes resolves. Pihole is working correctly and the correct IP is both resolved and returned, so I think I have a network issue.
> 
> I use a 4G modem and I'm behind CGNAT (with no ipv6) Is it possible do you think that the CGNAT is the cause of the problem? That is, a hop or two extra causing a browser to timeout or somesuch?


Not the faintest, I'm afraid...


----------



## yello (31 Oct 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Not the faintest, I'm afraid...


Me neither! My uneducated thinking suggests to me that it's theoretically possible (due to the extra internal hops/routing at the ISP) but whether it's ever seen in practice, I don't know.

CGNAT is a wee bit of a bodge. I mean, I know why it's done and it is, for the most part, a workable solution to the problem of running out of IP addresses but it does bring with it other considerations. Much like a doctor will prescribe 2 medicines, the 2nd one only to deal with the side-effects of the 1st - and I'm perhaps looking for that 2nd pill!


----------



## DCBassman (4 Nov 2021)

More Mac Pro news:
Memory now 32GB. 8x4GB sticks cost a whopping £29.99 delivered! Was rude not to. This has also cooled everything considerably, so think a couple of the 2GB sticks were having problems.
Upgraded the GPU to a Mac-specific Radeon HD5770, which makes it possible to upgrade the OS to El Capitan. Next week, maybe! Then I'll Boot Camp it to run Windows 11, just because...


----------



## DCBassman (6 Nov 2021)

As if to complete an ecosystem of obsolete fruit, I've just been given an iPhone 4s and a 3rd gen ipad wifi/3g...


----------



## DCBassman (7 Nov 2021)

Well, one thing I've discovered is the complete disdain Apple has for its customers. In the times of "we should be recycling as much as we can", older Apple kit actually becomes unusable beyond a certain point. Electronic landfill. Not helped by the number of old phones, all brands, which will stop working next year when 2G and 3G nets are switched off or the frequencies transferred to 4G/5G.

"It just works".

It absolutely does not, unless you wallet is comprehensively and continuously open...
It's been an eye-opening couple of weeks...


----------



## fossyant (7 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Well, one thing I've discovered is the complete disdain Apple has for its customers. In the times of "we should be recycling as much as we can", older Apple kit actually becomes unusable beyond a certain point. Electronic landfill. Not helped by the number of old phones, all brands, which will stop working next year when 2G and 3G nets are switched off or the frequencies transferred to 4G/5G.
> 
> "It just works".
> 
> ...



4g is still flaky in places...lots of places


----------



## DCBassman (7 Nov 2021)

Indeed, and there will be some big dead spots once the rest is gone...


----------



## StuAff (7 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Well, one thing I've discovered is the complete disdain Apple has for its customers. In the times of "we should be recycling as much as we can", *older Apple kit actually becomes unusable beyond a certain point. *Electronic landfill. Not helped by the number of old phones, all brands, which will stop working next year when 2G and 3G nets are switched off or the frequencies transferred to 4G/5G.
> 
> "It just works".
> 
> ...


A touch unfair. Like all old kit, it does the stuff it did well just as well today.


----------



## MrGrumpy (7 Nov 2021)

Well windows 11 is going to cost folk. It would appear if I want Windows 11 on juniors PC I’ll need to buy a new motherboard and CPU . It’s quite old but plenty serviceable. It’s on i5 6600, so ok but lacks the tech specs for Windows 11. Eldest son PC which is not that old , just built upgraded this year also fails the Windows 11 specs test ! His is an AMD Ryzen thing as well.
What have MS done !!!??


----------



## HMS_Dave (7 Nov 2021)

MrGrumpy said:


> Well windows 11 is going to cost folk. It would appear if I want Windows 11 on juniors PC I’ll need to buy a new motherboard and CPU . It’s quite old but plenty serviceable. It’s on i5 6600, so ok but lacks the tech specs for Windows 11. Eldest son PC which is not that old , just built upgraded this year also fails the Windows 11 specs test ! His is an AMD Ryzen thing as well.
> What have MS done !!!??


It can be installed on "unsupported" hardware but Microsoft say this:

"The following disclaimer applies if you install Windows 11 on a device that doesn't meet the minimum system requirements:
*This PC doesn't meet the minimum system requirements for running Windows 11 - these requirements help ensure a more reliable and higher quality experience. Installing Windows 11 on this PC is not recommended and may result in compatibility issues. If you proceed with installing Windows 11, your PC will no longer be supported and won't be entitled to receive updates. Damages to your PC due to lack of compatibility aren't covered under the manufacturer warranty."*

Most people are going to "upgrade" perfectly serviceable machines to "supported" hardware which will create mountains of E-waste. Ethically, i cannot possibly support Microsoft with Windows 11. This is the price we all pay for what is Windows 10 with a new graphical layer and security tweak, which will not effect 99.9% of users as the data loss from such security leaks come from other means, such as e-mail "coupon" or "customer service" scams. I got shot down pretty heavily in a recent thread for mentioning linux and i agreed that i went overboard with it, however, i do feel strongly about the terrible environmental impact Microsoft's completely over reaching and over the top policy on requirements for W11 installation will have and cannot be understated... This represents a new shift into an new era of throwaway PC's governed by software politics supported by greedy hardware manufacturers rather than hardware obsolescence, efficiency or meaningful performance gains.


----------



## ColinJ (7 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> Like all old kit, it does the stuff it did well just as well today.


That is _often_ true but not _always_ true! 

For example: The YouTube app on my 9 year old Galaxy Tab...


----------



## DCBassman (8 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> A touch unfair. Like all old kit, it does the stuff it did well just as well today.


Caveats: my new-to-me ipad 3, given to me reset, is completely unable to download any apps. At all. My equivalent Android tablet (Galaxy Note 10.1, 2012) can be updated with a little effort to run Android 9 and beyond, thereby extending its life. 


MrGrumpy said:


> Well windows 11 is going to cost folk. It would appear if I want Windows 11 on juniors PC I’ll need to buy a new motherboard and CPU . It’s quite old but plenty serviceable. It’s on i5 6600, so ok but lacks the tech specs for Windows 11. Eldest son PC which is not that old , just built upgraded this year also fails the Windows 11 specs test ! His is an AMD Ryzen thing as well.
> What have MS done !!!??


Quite agree. 11 is going to cause mountains of e-waste, as will the 2G/3G switch off, although that could be mitigated somewhat by getting the devices to those areas of the world where the technology will be in use a few more years.
All the PCs in this house would run W11 easily. None of them qualify.


----------



## DCBassman (8 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> That is _often_ true but not _always_ true!
> 
> For example: The YouTube app on my 9 year old Galaxy Tab...
> 
> ...


But you can upgrade the OS so it will be compatible. Not trivial, but not rocket science either.


----------



## ColinJ (8 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> But you can upgrade the OS so it will be compatible. Not trivial, but not rocket science either.


It has been upgraded as far as Samsung supported it (not very far at all!). Any further OS upgrading *would* involve 'rocket science', as in using unofficial techniques to force a DIY OS created by enthusiastic hackers onto the device. There is a list of which features would no longer work and others that would become unreliable. 

I still thought of having a go, but apparently even then the device would not work with the software that I am writing because the graphics hardware is too old to run it. 

I bought a new tablet instead, but kept the old one to run simple puzzle games that I enjoy like Sudoku and Spider Solitaire.


----------



## MrGrumpy (8 Nov 2021)

I’ve never bought another android device after the Samsung S3 , it was horrible. Software lockups etc. they stopped updating it after 2yrs. So was left with a buggy phone . Switched to IPhone after that.


----------



## fossyant (9 Nov 2021)

The man from Del Monte (aka notebookrepair.co.uk) has phoned to say laptop is repaired. I was going to try and replace the keyboard myself, but this is an insurance job - i.e. it was nearly written off (drink spilled)


----------



## HMS_Dave (9 Nov 2021)

MrGrumpy said:


> I’ve never bought another android device after the Samsung S3 , it was horrible. Software lockups etc. they stopped updating it after 2yrs. So was left with a buggy phone . Switched to IPhone after that.


Yes, This was firmly in the era of Samsung farting about with their touchwiz layer on android. I had a Note 3 and was fine but did, albeit rarely, lock up. In the end i routed it and it was great for years. I understand though, that routing a phone is beyond the scope of most users. Now i use a Galaxy Note 20 which is my first new phone since that Note 3 in 2013/4 and the software is immeasurably better and very stable. Samsung have committed to a 3 year Android software update cycle, which in my eyes is still a joke but clearly better than 2 years. There is absolutely no reason why a phone device cannot have a 5 years life cycle at least. But hey ho, that is my opinion...


----------



## MrGrumpy (9 Nov 2021)

Yep I rooted my S3 as well, not beyond me back then . However that’s what I needed to do to get a workable phone with updates . Absolutely ridiculous situation to be in, so really put me off. Only good thing though was battery’s , you could replace them easily ! Nowadays everything is sealed up . Life certainly was simpler !


----------



## MrGrumpy (9 Nov 2021)

fossyant said:


> The man from Del Monte (aka notebookrepair.co.uk) has phoned to say laptop is repaired. I was going to try and replace the keyboard myself, but this is an insurance job - i.e. it was nearly written off (drink spilled)


Reminds me our MacBook Pro has smashed screen , too good to scrap so may have to bite the bullet and get it fixed . Will cost me probably £300 I think .


----------



## fossyant (9 Nov 2021)

MrGrumpy said:


> Reminds me our MacBook Pro has smashed screen , too good to scrap so may have to bite the bullet and get it fixed . Will cost me probably £300 I think .



I've done a screen repair on this Laptop previously, wasn't too hard.

The chap is also fixing the issue with the hinges on these HP Envy laptops - the springs are too strong, and over time, break the bolts - they can adjust the strength of them. He's had a little trouble with the repair as I had to bond the hinges inside the case - so wasn't a quick job.

Hopefully off to pick it up soon. It's about 7 years old but series 4700 i7, 16GB Ram, 1TB SSD and 1TB hard drive - really quick. I'll treat it to a new battery - Duracell have them on offer at half price £39.99


----------



## fossyant (9 Nov 2021)

It's back and repaired ! Yay.


----------



## SydZ (9 Nov 2021)

Well I had a first for me today.

Ran Windows Update on an HP laptop and it did a BIOS update.


----------



## DCBassman (10 Nov 2021)

SydZ said:


> Well I had a first for me today.
> 
> Ran Windows Update on an HP laptop and it did a BIOS update.



If it's a recent laptop, maybe MS has had it check and update in order to upgrade to W11?


----------



## SydZ (10 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> If it's a recent laptop, maybe MS has had it check and update in order to upgrade to W11?


It’s an August 2020 laptop and took Windows 11 ok. I guess HP must have allowed Microsoft to push the update through their systems.


----------



## JoeyB (10 Nov 2021)

SydZ said:


> It’s an August 2020 laptop and took Windows 11 ok. I guess HP must have allowed Microsoft to push the update through their systems.



This has been a thing for a long time now, usually the device drivers / BIOS updates are listed as optional updates which is a good thing because I've known a few to blue screen Windows machines. I tend to avoid manufacturer driver updates via MS Update and usually get them from the manufacturers website directly once I've validated device model and OS version etc.


----------



## SydZ (10 Nov 2021)

I’ve seen driver updates before but this is the first I have seen a BIOS update via that route.


----------



## JoeyB (10 Nov 2021)

SydZ said:


> I’ve seen driver updates before but this is the first I have seen a BIOS update via that route.


Ah I see. Been a thing for a while too. I guess down to manufacturer to approve the MS route first, still doesnt fill me with confidence.


----------



## DCBassman (20 Nov 2021)

My big Windows 10 box died yesterday. Looks like motherboard... 
Rats.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2021)

And my iMac's former occasional blackscreen issue which had gone away after my changing the HDD to SSD and giving it a good clean is back, too.


----------



## DCBassman (20 Nov 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> And my iMac's former occasional blackscreen issue which had gone away after my changing the HDD to SSD and giving it a good clean is back, too.


Sunspots, it must be sunspots... 
Took the precaution of ordering a new SSD for it anyhow, as this one, an OCZ Vertex 4, is getting a bit long in the tooth.


----------



## DaveReading (20 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> My big Windows 10 box died yesterday. Looks like motherboard...
> Rats.



That's rare, but (as being discussed in another thread) they can get in through the smallest gaps.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Sunspots, it must be sunspots...
> Took the precaution of ordering a new SSD for it anyhow, as this one, an OCZ Vertex 4, is getting a bit long in the tooth.


The old girl's a bit long in the tooth, and they (Intel chips) do run very hot in this application, so I suspect it's heat-related. 

If it keeps on doing it I'll load some fan control software and crank the fans up to max and see if it makes a difference (albeit it still has a fan control sensor, fitted by the firm who replaced the HDD the first time, so it should be responding to increasing heat itself)


----------



## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2021)

Whilst I'm rambling, this is used as a second computer for light duties only. Would a little Chromebook (something like this https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/Product.aspx?id=5SX33EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB) work for browsing, video, and WP-type stuff? 

I'm always a bit concerned when I see the specs because it's closer to a phone than a computer, but then I read that because Chrome it'll be fine - what say you?


----------



## DCBassman (20 Nov 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> The old girl's a bit long in the tooth, and they (Intel chips) do run very hot in this application, so I suspect it's heat-related.
> 
> If it keeps on doing it I'll load some fan control software and crank the fans up to max and see if it makes a difference (albeit it still has a fan control sensor, fitted by the firm who replaced the HDD the first time, so it should be responding to increasing heat itself)


I use Macs Fan Control on the Mac Pro, works well.



Bonefish Blues said:


> Whilst I'm rambling, this is used as a second computer for light duties only. Would a little Chromebook (something like this https://www.hp.com/gb-en/shop/Product.aspx?id=5SX33EA&opt=ABU&sel=NTB) work for browsing, video, and WP-type stuff?
> 
> I'm always a bit concerned when I see the specs because it's closer to a phone than a computer, but then I read that because Chrome it'll be fine - what say you?


Fine if you're happy to have all your stuff in the cloud, otherwise a bit under-specced!


----------



## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2021)

DCBassman said:


> I use Macs Fan Control on the Mac Pro, works well.
> 
> Fine if you're happy to have all your stuff in the cloud, otherwise a bit under-specced!


Thanks 

I thought that was the point v-a-v Chromebooks, I guess I'm just wondering how practical that is, or whether and external SSD would be needed? In any event we'd be hooking it up to a larger screen in the home, so it's not going to be taxed overmuch, but may also be useful when daughter starts secondary school in 9 months or so.


----------



## ColinJ (20 Nov 2021)

A friend is very happy with her Chromebook and @Blue Hills is with his, for those kind of uses. 

My nephew wasn't pleased with his but he probably wanted to play demanding games on it, which was never going to work!


----------



## Blue Hills (20 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> A friend is very happy with her Chromebook and @Blue Hills is with his, for those kind of uses.
> 
> My nephew wasn't pleased with his but he probably wanted to play demanding games on it, which was never going to work!


tis true - don't know if you know but I recently bought another chromebook.
£170.
It will get security updates until June 2028 and I am hopeful that it will do the full run.
It does everything I need - yep - no games.
You can do a fair amount of stuff offline.
They do have a fair amount of onboard storage and you can always shove a pendrive in.
In truth I like the fact that so much is on the cloud with the clever syncing and back-up - I was never very good at doing that and have lost lots of stuff in the past with other platforms.


----------



## HMS_Dave (20 Nov 2021)

Blue Hills said:


> tis true - don't know if you know but I recently bought another chromebook.
> £170.
> It will get security updates until June 2028 and I am hopeful that it will do the full run.
> It does everything I need - yep - no games.
> ...


I admit, even as a Linux user, i use Chrome. I did use Firefox but i had issues with it. But i do use Google Drive, syncing and a few tools. I can understand the appeal of a Chromebook, as it does suit most tasks, most people do with their PC's...


----------



## Blue Hills (20 Nov 2021)

HMS_Dave said:


> I admit, even as a Linux user, i use Chrome. I did use Firefox but i had issues with it. But i do use Google Drive, syncing and a few tools. I can understand the appeal of a Chromebook, as it does suit most tasks, most people do with their PC's...


Aren't chromebooks based on Linux?
I thnk you can run native linux if you are techie enough.

I switched to chromebooks after a windows laptop's life was cut short for no good reason - it was to do with an operating system update.
I once for the hell of it in a spoons wiped a chromebook and then resynced all the stuff to it/reinstalled all the updates.
I'd like to see someone do that with anything running on windows.


----------



## HMS_Dave (20 Nov 2021)

Blue Hills said:


> Aren't chromebooks based on Linux?
> I thnk you can run native linux if you are techie enough.



Yes it is, Based on the "gentoo" Linux distro, heavily google layered of course and consigned to its Ecosystem, but you can install another Linux distro on it, if you so wished.



Blue Hills said:


> I switched to chromebooks after a windows laptop's life was cut short for no good reason - it was to do with an operating system update.
> I once for the hell of it in a spoons wiped a chromebook and then resynced all the stuff to it/reinstalled all the updates.
> I'd like to see someone do that with anything running on windows.



That is certainly an area where the Chromebook Excels. It's ideal for Students also for that reason.


----------



## midlife (20 Nov 2021)

Agreed to upgrade pc and get more RAM and a better graphics card for son's Xmas prezzie. 

The RAM price made my nose bleed but only a prelude to trying to get a higher end graphics card. No stock in most places, some said had stock on website but after contact said no physical stock. 

Mad pricing but managed to get one but way over RRP!

Anybody else had problems trying to get stuff?


----------



## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2021)

Thanks for the warm Chromebooks words all, that's encouraging


----------



## fossyant (20 Nov 2021)

Graphics cards are silly money at present


----------



## Blue Hills (20 Nov 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> Thanks for the warm Chromebooks words all, that's encouraging


any questions on them, just fire away.


----------



## StuAff (20 Nov 2021)

midlife said:


> Agreed to upgrade pc and get more RAM and a better graphics card for son's Xmas prezzie.
> 
> The RAM price made my nose bleed but only a prelude to trying to get a higher end graphics card. No stock in most places, some said had stock on website but after contact said no physical stock.
> 
> ...


GPUs have been at £££££ pricing for ages- before the pandemic it was crypto. I paid £283 for my RX 580 back in October 2017. I could sell it for that price or anything up to £350 ish (not that I will). AMD and Nvidia aren't helping much with the way they keep gouging buyers at the moment.


----------



## StuAff (20 Nov 2021)

As I'm here, two (peripheral) upgrades. After the second of my Creative Inspire 5700 speaker sets (now offered here) broke down a few months back, I have been back using my old Logitech LS21 2.1 system, and missing the joy that is a decent 5.1 rig, it was hard going back to stereo and analogue connection. Not anymore. Didn't want to risk second-hand again, for some reason (!) so got a Logitech Z906 package- Overclockers had one in stock, as as good a price as it gets at the moment, so I bought it. Excellent sound, looks and feels well-built. Also bought a mains-powered air duster (this one, but I got mine from OC as well, at slightly higher price as this offer wasn't available, gits). Having killed a Mac Pro with misuse of canned air (liquid/vapour burnt something out) I thought it was money well spent. Used it for the first time this morning, it blows  18 months' worth of dust bunnies slaughtered. A massive improvement on cans in terms of power, and no risk of liquid damage.


----------



## Profpointy (20 Nov 2021)

Handy hint: if you install a card into one of the expansion slots, make sure the power really is off!


----------



## midlife (20 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> GPUs have been at £££££ pricing for ages- before the pandemic it was crypto. I paid £283 for my RX 580 back in October 2017. I could sell it for that price or anything up to £350 ish (not that I will). AMD and Nvidia aren't helping much with the way they keep gouging buyers at the moment.



Zotac card cost me £2.4k!


----------



## StuAff (20 Nov 2021)

SydZ said:


> Having spend almost 30 repairing medical equipment, where (in the early days) we used compressed air to blow out dust it is something I have not done at work or home for nearly two decades.
> 
> That was after the infection control team stepped in and pointed out the hazards of inhaling dust. I now vacuum machines instead.


Good point, but the problem with vacuuming in the case is the risk of static discharge that can destroy components. Vaccuming up dust when the case is closed (eg from front/rear fans) is fine, of course. Best thing is to clean in a well-ventilated area, and use a vacuum (well away from anything sensitive) to deal with the resulting clouds.


----------



## StuAff (20 Nov 2021)

midlife said:


> Zotac card cost me £2.4k!


Ouch. What spec?


----------



## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> Good point, but the problem with vacuuming in the case is the risk of static discharge that can destroy components. Vaccuming up dust when the case is closed (eg from front/rear fans) is fine, of course. Best thing is to clean in a well-ventilated area, and use a vacuum (well away from anything sensitive) to deal with the resulting clouds.


I took the iMac outside and used a cold hairdryer on max to blow the human skin, sorry dust out.


----------



## SydZ (20 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> Good point, but the problem with vacuuming in the case is the risk of static discharge that can destroy components. Vaccuming up dust when the case is closed (eg from front/rear fans) is fine, of course. Best thing is to clean in a well-ventilated area, and use a vacuum (well away from anything sensitive) to deal with the resulting clouds.


I’ve vacuumed out and inside of electronic equipment for many years without issue. It’s all down to having the right equipment. Vacuums are available with anti-static nozzles.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (21 Nov 2021)

Hmmm, so I have hooked up a second screen to the errant iMac on the assumption that it would display, even if the main screen was off (as I've done before), but it's really odd. It displays, but it's not in focus, nor are all the icons visible. Any thoughts anyone? I'm a gnat's nadger away from upgiving and cutting my losses, unless someone has an aha moment?


----------



## ColinJ (21 Nov 2021)

Bonefish Blues said:


> Hmmm, so I have hooked up a second screen to the errant iMac on the assumption that it would display, even if the main screen was off (as I've done before), but it's really odd. It displays, but it's not in focus, nor are all the icons visible. Any thoughts anyone? I'm a gnat's nadger away from upgiving and cutting my losses, unless someone has an aha moment?


Is *THIS* any help?


----------



## Bonefish Blues (21 Nov 2021)

I'll give it a go. Actually I'll get my daughter to do it!


----------



## midlife (21 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> Ouch. What spec?



this one apparently…

Zotac GEFORCE RTX3080 Ti AMP Holo, ZT-A30810F-10P


----------



## StuAff (21 Nov 2021)

midlife said:


> this one apparently…
> 
> Zotac GEFORCE RTX3080 Ti AMP Holo, ZT-A30810F-10P


Seems a bit over the odds even with current lunacy- this one is £1600. Marginally- very marginally- slower perhaps, but rather less poor (better would be the wrong phrase) value.


----------



## DCBassman (27 Nov 2021)

What with the motherboard failure on the big box, I've decided to retire it completely. I'll recycle the RAM and CPU into the now-redundant small-form-factor box previously used as a movie cache. Younger son will have the Titan X back. All the rest will be sold off. Anyone need a _really big_ PC case?


----------



## Bonefish Blues (27 Nov 2021)

The iMac with the jerry-rigged second screen seems now to be working reliably for my daughter (albeit the original Mac screen's more off than on, so peace returns.


----------



## yello (27 Nov 2021)

Blue Hills said:


> In truth I like the fact that so much is on the cloud with the clever syncing and back-up - I was never very good at doing that and have lost lots of stuff in the past with other platforms.



This is a big consideration - and plus for a Chromebook. 

The amount of stuff we store these days on our hard disks (as the world becomes increasingly, supposedly, paperless) I've now got all manner of utility bills, tax returns, etc all stored on my laptop. As I'm a bit techie, I do have 3 layers of back up (all automated) but I'd guess most people wouldn't even know where to begin with something like that. Auto-syncing cloud backups DO have their place, even if I remain a little cautious about it and prefer to do it all myself.


----------



## midlife (27 Nov 2021)

StuAff said:


> Seems a bit over the odds even with current lunacy- this one is £1600. Marginally- very marginally- slower perhaps, but rather less poor (better would be the wrong phrase) value.



Out of stock unfortunately  as is the case for a lot of graphics cards. 

Didn't realise the one we ordered was coming from Germany and now been stung for import duty!!


----------



## StuAff (27 Nov 2021)

midlife said:


> Out of stock unfortunately  as is the case for a lot of graphics cards.
> 
> Didn't realise the one we ordered was coming from Germany and now been stung for import duty!!


Extra ouch! Having checked AWD right now, they do have stock on a few other 3080 Ti models…too late for you unfortunately.


----------



## Blue Hills (27 Nov 2021)

yello said:


> This is a big consideration - and plus for a Chromebook.
> 
> The amount of stuff we store these days on our hard disks (as the world becomes increasingly, supposedly, paperless) I've now got all manner of utility bills, tax returns, etc all stored on my laptop. As I'm a bit techie, I do have 3 layers of back up (all automated) but I'd guess most people wouldn't even know where to begin with something like that. Auto-syncing cloud backups DO have their place, even if I remain a little cautious about it and prefer to do it all myself.


I was quite good but still came to grief - apart from the complications of various sorts of backups to get your head round (am still amazed how simple chromebooks make all this and my two current chromebooks sync with two android tabs plus a smartphone on a separate account passes all its pics to that lot) I also had back-up media failure. Remember Zip drives (I think that's what they were called) and the dreaded "click of death" or whatever it was called.?


----------



## ColinJ (27 Nov 2021)

Blue Hills said:


> I was quite good but still came to grief - apart from the complications of various sorts of backups to get your head round (am still amazed how simple chromebooks make all this and my two current chromebooks sync with two android tabs plus a smartphone on a separate account passes all its pics to that lot) I also had back-up media failure. Remember Zip drives (I think that's what they were called) and the dreaded "click of death" or whatever it was called.?


I started taking backups more seriously after several serious failures at work. The killer for me was when one of my colleagues suddenly screamed and started punching his desk... He had lost more than a year's worth of work in a hard drive failure! I couldn't believe that somebody would not keep at least one other copy of his/her work. But no - he had no backups, nor even any printouts. IIRC the company sent the hard drive to a specialist company which removed the platters and built a new drive with them so eventually the work was retrieved, but it caused weeks of delays and cost thousands of pounds.

We all had our own backup folders on the office server and that was backed up daily. I wrote a simple batch file which I ran every day so (unless the backups (and the backups of the backups!) failed) I could never lose more than a day's work.

Which reminds me... I need to backup my laptop!


----------



## Blue Hills (27 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Which reminds me... I need to backup my laptop!


Get a chromebook.
Whenever I have to dig the old unecessarily big windows laptop out (only for garmin updates) it feels like a return to the dark ages.


----------



## ColinJ (27 Nov 2021)

Blue Hills said:


> Get a chromebook.
> Whenever I have to dig the old unecessarily big windows laptop out (only for garmin updates) it feels like a return to the dark ages.


I am creating, not consuming! 

For consuming, yes - Chromebooks are great.


----------



## ColinJ (27 Nov 2021)

Oh... I stand corrected! 



But... the Chromebook he is using is one of the more upmarket ones which actually costs about the same as my Windows laptop.


----------



## Blue Hills (27 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> I am creating, not consuming!


Ooh get you


----------



## ColinJ (27 Nov 2021)

Blue Hills said:


> Ooh get you


It doesn't take a lot of computing power to browse websites, write emails, etc. but development systems can be more demanding.

It turns out though that I had overestimated how undemanding this development system is, and underestimated how good some Chromebooks are!

I was thinking back to 1990 (-ish?) when I had to spend £2,000 to get a PC powerful enough to run the software that I was using at the time. That would be equivalent to spending about £6,000 now.


----------



## Blue Hills (28 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> It doesn't take a lot of computing power to browse websites, write emails, etc. but development systems can be more demanding.
> 
> It turns out though that I had overestimated how undemanding this development system is, and underestimated how good some Chromebooks are!
> 
> I was thinking back to 1990 (-ish?) when I had to spend £2,000 to get a PC powerful enough to run the software that I was using at the time. That would be equivalent to spending about £6,000 now.


yep - computers/comms has come on massively. I was a very early adopter.


----------



## yello (28 Nov 2021)

ColinJ said:


> I couldn't believe that somebody would not keep at least one other copy of his/her work. But no - he had no backups



It is surprisingly (or perhaps not that surprising) common. I'm sure hard disc recovery must be amongst the most common task that IT people have to perform these days.

And these days, the amount of 'stuff' people have on there phones is (to my mind anyway) astounding. Cloud backup (despite my own concerns, as I said before) is a godsend. Indeed, part of my backup tiers is an automated rclone sync to google drives.


----------



## dave r (28 Nov 2021)

yello said:


> It is surprisingly (or perhaps not that surprising) common. I'm sure hard disc recovery must be amongst the most common task that IT people have to perform these days.
> 
> And these days, the amount of 'stuff' people have on there phones is (to my mind anyway) astounding. Cloud backup (despite my own concerns, as I said before) is a godsend. Indeed, part of my backup tiers is an automated rclone sync to google drives.



Our computers, tablets and phones are like our homes and collect clutter just like our homes do.


----------



## yello (28 Nov 2021)

Yes, true enough! And, like that home clutter, most of the tat that we hoard on our phones and tablets would not be missed!


----------



## DCBassman (1 Dec 2021)

So, big box dismantled. I7-2600K has gone into the SFF box, along with a 1.5TB hdd and the OCZ Vertex 4 SSD. I now have a big pile of 120mm fans and a cpu water cooler to move on, quite apart from the enormous case!
Laptop is doing most duties just fine at the moment, while we refurnish the lounge, just hope there's somewhere left for the Mac Pro, or that will have to go too!


----------



## alicat (4 Dec 2021)

Replaced the keyboard on my laptop today. #feeling smug. 

I spilt coffee on it when I was housesitting in Sweden. I took the laptop to a computer repair shop there and they told me to scrap it and buy a new one. I limped by until I got home. £16 for a new keyboard and £21 on tools has seen me right.


----------



## Seevio (4 Dec 2021)

alicat said:


> Replaced the keyboard on my laptop today. #feeling smug.
> 
> I spilt coffee on it when I was housesitting in Sweden. I took the laptop to a computer repair shop there and they told me to scrap it and buy a new one. I limped by until I got home. £16 for a new keyboard and £21 on tools has seen me right.


Always satisfying to repair something yourself but £21 for a Phillips #1 screwdriver seems a little excessive.


----------



## alicat (5 Dec 2021)

Seevio said:


> Always satisfying to repair something yourself but £21 for a Phillips #1 screwdriver seems a little excessive.



The £21 was for two bottles of rubbing alcohol, a set of mini screwdrivers and a grounded wrist strap.

Yes, with hindsight I only needed two of the screwdrivers and I could have brought the bottle of rubbing alcohol back from Sweden. 

I'm not going to beat myself up. If I were to go down that route, I wouldn't have put the coffee in a beaker and taken it on to the balcony when I was making sure that the cat didn't launch itself off the second floor balcony!


----------



## DCBassman (11 Dec 2021)

The Apple ecosystem continues to expand, with the acquisition of a keyboard dock for the iPad 3. Next up: run through the jiggery-pokery that will enable the Mac Pro to install MacOS X El Capitan.


----------



## ColinJ (16 Dec 2021)

My Win 10 laptop's Intel graphics driver got updated*** a couple of days ago. Since then I have noticed a few graphics problems - corrupted images etc. Has anybody else noticed something similar?


*** Intel® Iris® Graphics 540 driver to version 30.0.101.1191


----------



## ColinJ (16 Dec 2021)

ColinJ said:


> My Win 10 laptop's Intel graphics driver got updated*** a couple of days ago. Since then I have noticed a few graphics problems - corrupted images etc. Has anybody else noticed something similar?
> 
> 
> *** Intel® Iris® Graphics 540 driver to version 30.0.101.1191


Like this...







Sometimes ending up like this when I move the mouse pointer over the image...


----------



## ClichéGuevara (16 Dec 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Like this...
> 
> View attachment 622480
> 
> ...



Obviously a virus.


----------



## ColinJ (16 Dec 2021)

ClichéGuevara said:


> Obviously a virus.


I think the cpu has caught O-micro-n!


----------



## Bike Tyson (16 Dec 2021)

ColinJ said:


> I think the cpu has caught O-micro-n!



*You can restore the previous driver by using the rollback option.*

Simultaneously press the Windows + X keys on your keyboard. Select Device Manager.
Expand Display Adapters.
Double-click your Intel® display device.
Select the Driver tab.
Click Roll Back Driver to restore.


----------



## ColinJ (17 Dec 2021)

Bike Tyson said:


> *You can restore the previous driver by using the rollback option.*
> 
> Simultaneously press the Windows + X keys on your keyboard. Select Device Manager.
> Expand Display Adapters.
> ...


I was thinking of doing that but assumed that if the new driver really _IS _buggy then Intel would fix it pretty damn quick... 

Weeks/Months, you say? Hmm... 

The roll back option is greyed out. I did find where to get older drivers from Intel but I think I'll leave it for now and see if they fix it before I get totally fed up with it.


----------



## Proto (22 Dec 2021)

Daughter's mate (a penniless NHS Midwife) has a 2011 MacBook Pro which she has asked me to look at and hopefully revive. Battery is knackered and someone has already had a look and thrown the battery away away. I can easily source a new one from eBay, Amazon and suchlike but I'm very wary, as I know quality can vary enormously, and I understand MacBooks can be a bit picky (read they have a way of checking temp and will slow machine down to compensate, causing. Is this true?).

So, where do I go for a new one? Apple will swap it for £200. Amazon prices vary from £25 - £55.00

Ifixit do a kit for £85.00, and I'd feel more comfortable that warranty/guarantee might stand up.

https://store.ifixit.co.uk/products/macbook-pro-13-unibody-mid-2009-mid-2012-replacement-battery

If battery swap is successful I'll fit a SSD and up the RAM. Still a workable machine, I think.

Or chuck it away and buy something else?

Thoughts? Anyone got any experience?


----------



## DRM (22 Dec 2021)

Proto said:


> Daughter's mate (a penniless NHS Midwife) has a 2011 MacBook Pro which she has asked me to look at and hopefully revive. Battery is knackered and someone has already had a look and thrown the battery away away. I can easily source a new one from eBay, Amazon and suchlike but I'm very wary, as I know quality can vary enormously, and I understand MacBooks can be a bit picky (read they have a way of checking temp and will slow machine down to compensate, causing. Is this true?).
> 
> So, where do I go for a new one? Apple will swap it for £200. Amazon prices vary from £25 - £55.00
> 
> ...


ifixit yes, Amazon no, or if you can get one a 2 power battery is good quality, I ordered a battery from Replace Base for mine.
https://www.replacebase.co.uk/macbook-parts/macbook-pro-parts


----------



## Proto (22 Dec 2021)

DRM said:


> ifixit yes, Amazon no, or if you can get one a 2 power battery is good quality, I ordered a battery from Replace Base for mine.
> https://www.replacebase.co.uk/macbook-parts/macbook-pro-parts



Many thanks, I’ll order from Replace Base in the morning. Next, the standard (5400mAh) or high capacity (6400mAh) battery? Decisions, decisions!


----------



## DRM (22 Dec 2021)

Proto said:


> Many thanks, I’ll order from Replace Base in the morning. Next, the standard (5400mAh) or high capacity (6400mAh) battery? Decisions, decisions!


If it was me I’d go with the higher capacity, my MacBook Pro is the 15” version, mid 2010, it’s got an SSD, and 8 GB RAM, fair flies, if you’re going to fit an SSD just be aware that the old hard drive cables can be a bit fragile, if you get a white screen with a file symbol, with a ? In the middle it means the hdd ribbon cable is kaput, but replace base sell replacements for a few pounds and it’s dead easy to download the iOS from apple
https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-recovery-mode-3674052/


----------



## Proto (22 Dec 2021)

DRM said:


> If it was me I’d go with the higher capacity, my MacBook Pro is the 15” version, mid 2010, it’s got an SSD, and 8 GB RAM, fair flies, if you’re going to fit an SSD just be aware that the old hard drive cables can be a bit fragile, if you get a white screen with a file symbol, with a ? In the middle it means the hdd ribbon cable is kaput, but replace base sell replacements for a few pounds and it’s dead easy to download the iOS from apple
> https://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac-recovery-mode-3674052/


Thanks again. I’ll let you know how I get on.


----------



## DCBassman (23 Dec 2021)

DCBassman said:


> Laptop is doing most duties just fine at the moment, while we refurnish the lounge, just hope there's somewhere left for the Mac Pro, or that will have to go too!


Back to using the SFF desktop, and the Mac Pro fits nicely into the refurbished room. Next job: build one good Apple Magic keyboard out of three for use with the Windows machine.


----------



## Proto (23 Dec 2021)

Daughter picked up a battery from Replace Base in Bristol this morning. High capacity version out of stock so had to settle for the 5400mAh battery.
Tomorrow, Amazon should be delivering a Crucial MX500 1TB SSD drive (the 500GB was out of stock), plus 8GB RAM upgrade. Wish me luck!


----------



## Andy_R (23 Dec 2021)

ColinJ said:


> Hmm... I might try putting Linux on a diddy laptop donated to me by a mate. One of those old Asus EEEPCs.
> 
> It is running Win 7 and is SLOW. I'd be interested to see if it is usable for anything with Linux on it.
> 
> ...


Linux Mint...just put it on son's old Asus Win 7 laptop. Whilst it's not the fastest in the world it's now ok for surfing, boots up reasonably quickly, and works well with Libre Office.


----------



## icowden (24 Dec 2021)

MrGrumpy said:


> Well windows 11 is going to cost folk. It would appear if I want Windows 11 on juniors PC I’ll need to buy a new motherboard and CPU . It’s quite old but plenty serviceable. It’s on i5 6600, so ok but lacks the tech specs for Windows 11. Eldest son PC which is not that old , just built upgraded this year also fails the Windows 11 specs test ! His is an AMD Ryzen thing as well.
> What have MS done !!!??



Check in the BIOS. Quite often the healthcheck fails because things are not switched on - for example secure boot. My setup fails as I have it on legacy mode to boot from my SSD rather than full secure UEFI (for example).


----------



## DCBassman (26 Dec 2021)

Christmas fettling: some time back, I'd given my younger son a Dell Studio 1535 laptop for backup/shopping/Dungeon & Dragons, but eventually the screen bcklight failed. Supplied him with another dead 1535 to swap lids, but he never got around to doing it. So it all came back to me a couple of days before Christmas. Lids swapped, function restored. Then, as Christmas present, I find he's given me an iFixit Pro toolkit. Amazing! Can attempt fixes on almost any gadget with this, pics later.


----------



## ColinJ (31 Dec 2021)

My mouse has been driving me mad recently because its scroller wheel was very erratic. It would scroll the page in the desired direction but then the page would suddenly scroll or jump to a random new position. 

I looked up all sorts of suggestions, reinstalling drivers, whatever... No joy. 

Then I saw someone suggesting that the problem is often caused by dust getting into the optical sensor of the scroller wheel. I just held the mouse up to my mouth and blew very hard down the side of the wheel a couple of times. That seemed to make a big improvement so I did it another few times. I have been using the mouse for a couple of minutes since then and so far, so good. Recently it wouldn't work reliably for more than a couple of seconds.

If you have that problem with your mouse, give it a go and report your findings below.

NB *Make sure that your mouth is very dry when you do this - you don't want to accidentally spit into the mouse!*  Ideally, use a blast from compressed air can.


----------



## cyberknight (31 Dec 2021)

just dug an old pc out of the loft must be getting on for 15+ years old so it will be fun seeing if i can get it working


----------



## HMS_Dave (31 Dec 2021)

cyberknight said:


> just dug an old pc out of the loft must be getting on for 15+ years old so it will be fun seeing if i can get it working


There is definitely a market for retro PC's, especially if it has a dedicated graphics card in it. Won't be worth a great deal of money, but it would be worth getting it working and selling it if nothing else.


----------



## mpemburn (31 Dec 2021)

I’m a fan of a different manner of fettling: virtual machines. Since I have the week off (and that doesn’t stop me from bein’ a geek), I downloaded the latest version of Ubuntu (21.x) onto my MacBook, and booted a VirtualBox instance from it. My goal is to have an alternative software development environment, and I was (finally!) successful at installing Laravel Valet+ to run nginx under SSL (https)! 

Tomorrow (through the clouds of hangover), I plan to install Visual Studio Code, GitHub desktop, MySQL Workbench, and clone in my main software project. Oh what fun!


----------



## DaveReading (31 Dec 2021)

cyberknight said:


> just dug an old pc out of the loft must be getting on for 15+ years old so it will be fun seeing if i can get it working


I have a PC in the garage that has been running more or less continuously since 1999.


----------



## cyberknight (1 Jan 2022)

DaveReading said:


> I have a PC in the garage that has been running more or less continuously since 1999.


mayb e its not that bad , i know its an early dual core i upgraded to a max of 2 gig ram , it had a weird raid 0 ( i think) even though it had 1 HDD which i think was failing but dont quote me .i used to be a computer geek but kids and cycling got in the way


----------



## cyberknight (1 Jan 2022)

update 
i got it to boot after removing of the ram modules as it kaput and stopping boot , thats about s good as it got as i got a number of BSOD doing memory dumps.
tried to run ubuntu disk but every disk was rejected by the laptop including win install disks , being spat out and asking for a valid disk.boot order was disk 1st and it would still ignore the disk drive although it shows the drive as avaible.

TBH not sure its worth pursuing as i could probably pick up a second hand laptop with more power for what it would cost just to get it on its knees


----------



## DCBassman (1 Jan 2022)

Are you trying to run x64 installs on a 32-bit machine? If it's Core Duo, 32bit, Core 2 Duo, 64bit. Not sure about AMD stuff...


----------



## cyberknight (1 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Are you trying to run x64 installs on a 32-bit machine? If it's Core Duo, 32bit, Core 2 Duo, 64bit. Not sure about AMD stuff...


the odd time it was stable it booted to win 7 , the cd drive is just not registering any disk to do any diagnostics


----------



## Proto (2 Jan 2022)

The 2011 MacBook Pro upgrade update has proven to be a bit of a disaster. Battery supplied by Replace Base (who had been very helpful) turned out to be the wrong one, so replacement postponed until I can get the correct one.

Took a while but got the iOS updated to High Sierra. Think that’s the most recent it will run.

RAM increase to 8gb (the max I believe) was very straightforward.

Sadly, I can’t say the same about the hard drive to ssd swap. Crucial MX500 1Tb. I’ve fitted one to a Windows PC before so was expecting it to be relatively easy. Not so. Instructions seemed simple enough but whatever I did I couldn’t get the drive formatted. tried it on an iMac, same problem. Just to prove that it wasn’t a faulty I drive, I mounted it to a Win 10 PC, and after much buggering about managed to get it formatted and set up as a second drive. Problem seemed to be something to do with a partition that had been created.
So, back to the Macbook, which would recognise it but wouldn’t format. I gave up.

Will have to take it to someone who knows what they are doing and put my hand in my pocket. ☹️


----------



## DCBassman (2 Jan 2022)

cyberknight said:


> the odd time it was stable it booted to win 7 , the cd drive is just not registering any disk to do any diagnostics


Machine spec would be useful.


----------



## DCBassman (2 Jan 2022)

Proto said:


> The 2011 MacBook Pro upgrade update has proven to be a bit of a disaster. Battery supplied by Replace Base (who had been very helpful) turned out to be the wrong one, so replacement postponed until I can get the correct one.
> 
> Took a while but got the iOS updated to High Sierra. Think that’s the most recent it will run.
> 
> ...


Put the drive in the Windows pc and fire up Disk Manager utility. Delete all partitions. Move it over and try from scratch. Doubt the drive is faulty, it's just no longer "clean".


----------



## cyberknight (2 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Machine spec would be useful.


i will look later , mini ck 2 is having an early cake day party today so extra sprogs about


----------



## Proto (2 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Put the drive in the Windows pc and fire up Disk Manager utility. Delete all partitions. Move it over and try from scratch. Doubt the drive is faulty, it's just no longer "clean".


Machine and drive now in Bristol so I can’t check but pretty sure all partitions deleted when in the Windows machine (couldn’t allocate a drive letter until I deleted a spurious partition). 
If booted with the drive connected by Sata - usb cable, the MacBook would see the drive (sometimes), report it needs ‘initialising’. Next step is ‘erasing’ but it falls over and reports something like ‘unable to write to the last block of the device, and fails. Did this on both the MacBook and my iMac. Gave up.


----------



## cyberknight (3 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Machine spec would be useful.


athlon 64x2 3800
can take 2 gig of ram but only got 1x 1 gb stick that works ddr400 stick

win 7 but unregistered keys i have dont work
have a tp link wifi adaptor but its not recognizing the usb stick with the drivers


----------



## DCBassman (3 Jan 2022)

cyberknight said:


> athlon 64x2 3800
> can take 2 gig of ram but only got 1x 1 gb stick that works ddr400 stick
> 
> win 7 but unregistered keys i have dont work
> have a tp link wifi adaptor but its not recognizing the usb stick with the drivers


Well, the chipset for that cpu can usually take 4GB RAM, but it may have been hobbled by the manufacturer. Also surprised it's not DDR2 memory. I had a Toshiba laptop with an older cpu than that (Athlon 64 x2 TK-57) which was on a ddr2 chipset. As for the other symptoms, sound like it might be dying anyhow.


----------



## DCBassman (3 Jan 2022)

The only other thing I can think of is that it simply doesn't have enough ram to cope with anything...


----------



## cyberknight (3 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Well, the chipset for that cpu can usually take 4GB RAM, but it may have been hobbled by the manufacturer. Also surprised it's not DDR2 memory. I had a Toshiba laptop with an older cpu than that (Athlon 64 x2 TK-57) which was on a ddr2 chipset. As for the other symptoms, sound like it might be dying anyhow.


well i got it to boot to win 7 for a bit but now its been sat on the loading screen for over an hour , linux will not even load from the disc now as that freezes at the load screen


----------



## DCBassman (3 Jan 2022)

cyberknight said:


> well i got it to boot to win 7 for a bit but now its been sat on the loading screen for over an hour , linux will not even load from the disc now as that freezes at the load screen


Bad ram stick, then.


----------



## cyberknight (3 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Bad ram stick, then.


my thoughts too, looks like both are toast

not sure its worth bothering to spend money trying to mend it ?


----------



## Milzy (3 Jan 2022)

I was given a Samsung 980 PCIe stick for Xmas & it’s the best hard drive I’ve ever had. Tiny, easy to install & fast.


----------



## DCBassman (3 Jan 2022)

cyberknight said:


> my thoughts too, looks like both are toast
> 
> not sure its worth bothering to spend money trying to mend it ?


I'd suspect not, unless you know someone with the ram sticks...


----------



## DCBassman (3 Jan 2022)

cyberknight said:


> my thoughts too, looks like both are toast
> 
> not sure its worth bothering to spend money trying to mend it ?


Can you give exact make and model? Will see if I have anything in the parts bin.


----------



## cyberknight (4 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Can you give exact make and model? Will see if I have anything in the parts bin.



one stick says 
1 gb ddr4003200 pc3200u-320331 1 gb 2rx8.400 elixier brand

2nd stick
ddr400 1gb 64x8 elp


----------



## cyberknight (4 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Can you give exact make and model? Will see if I have anything in the parts bin.


Update mobo rs/rx482sb400

Bios phoenix 6.00 26/09/2005

System manufacturers 
Rs480
Model
Awrdacpi


----------



## DCBassman (13 Jan 2022)

cyberknight said:


> Update mobo rs/rx482sb400
> 
> Bios  phoenix 6.00 26/09/2005
> 
> ...


Nothing, I'm afraid.


----------



## DCBassman (13 Jan 2022)

As I've had little luck persuading the Mac Pro 2,1 to run anything like a modern MacOS, the next idea is to turn it into a Windows 10 machine. Still fairly tricky due to the 32-bit EFI in these, but Youtube says it can be done, so who am I to argue? Certainly well above minimum spec with twin 3GHz Xeons and 32GB RAM!


----------



## cyberknight (13 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Nothing, I'm afraid.


thanks anyway


----------



## DCBassman (15 Jan 2022)

Spending quality time with the Mac Pro 2,1, turning it into a *gasp* pure Windows 10 box.
Surprisingly, much simpler than persuading it to run MacOS X El Capitan. Once it's actually finished getting itself together, we'll see how it performs. 
At present, it's running from a fairly ancient 200GB 7200rpm SATA hdd, so as it stands, it won't be too snappy. But if all's well, then I'll clone it to an SSD, which will help a lot.
Fingers crossed!


----------



## DCBassman (15 Jan 2022)

One of the oddities with the above hybrid is that, for a good while, W10 would not, when modified for this task, fit on a standard DVD. It has shrunk slightly since, so was able to use a 21H1 ISO for it, which will save days of updating.


----------



## DCBassman (16 Jan 2022)

Adventures with Apple now at an end. The machine works really well on its own OS. But getting it to run something more modern is too much like hard work. Never mind, there is still some market for these, particularly in the state it is now in, so I'll move it on at no loss.


----------



## StuAff (16 Jan 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Adventures with Apple now at an end. The machine works really well on its own OS. But getting it to run something more modern is too much like hard work. Never mind, there is still some market for these, particularly in the state it is now in, so I'll move it on at no loss.


4,1s & 5,1s are much easier in those respects. Only problem, modern macOS requires a recent enough AMD GPU…even the earliest ones are £100 at the mo!


----------



## DCBassman (17 Jan 2022)

StuAff said:


> 4,1s & 5,1s are much easier in those respects. Only problem, modern macOS requires a recent enough AMD GPU…even the earliest ones are £100 at the mo!


Has a 5770 in, so better than when I got it. I might have another go at El Capitan.


----------



## GuyBoden (3 Feb 2022)

For your old 32bit PC, Debian (Linux) seems a good choice because it is being supported until 2024.
https://www.debian.org/distrib/


----------



## Jody (4 Feb 2022)

Are you still in need of any ram @cyberknight ? I might have some that will suit at home.


----------



## cyberknight (4 Feb 2022)

Jody said:


> Are you still in need of any ram @cyberknight ? I might have some that will suit at home.


yes i kind of put it on the back burner after my operation


----------



## Jody (4 Feb 2022)

I've got 4x 1gb sticks


----------



## cyberknight (4 Feb 2022)

my mobo only has 2 ram slots , how much would you want?


----------



## Jody (4 Feb 2022)

cyberknight said:


> my mobo only has 2 ram slots , how much would you want?



You can have them for postage. Probably only worth a 10-15 quid currently for all 4 and i'd rather someone make use of them.


----------



## DCBassman (6 Feb 2022)

Well, it's that time again.
My younger son has upgraded his power station-sized PC, and the redundant innards are headed my way.
These include an Asus P9x79 motherboard, copious amounts of DDR3 RAM (it has eight, count 'em, eight slots) and a choice of two different Sandy Bridge Extreme LGA2011 processors a 3820 and a 3960x.
As before, I will run all this most conservatively in order that it survives as long as possible. The 3960x may actually be toast, but we'll see. It was showing signs of stress and this prompted the upgrade to a 10-core, 20-thread i9 system.


----------



## Grant Fondo (7 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Well, it's that time again.
> My younger son has upgraded his power station-sized PC, and the redundant innards are headed my way.
> These include an Asus P9x79 motherboard, copious amounts of DDR3 RAM (it has eight, count 'em, eight slots) and a choice of two different Sandy Bridge Extreme LGA2011 processors a 3820 and a 3960x.
> As before, I will run all this most conservatively in order that it survives as long as possible. The 3960x may actually be toast, but we'll see. It was showing signs of stress and this prompted the upgrade to a 10-core, 20-thread i9 system.


That 3960x was a beast back in the day ... a thousand quids worth of processor, hope its not bricked.


----------



## DCBassman (8 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> That 3960x was a beast back in the day ... a thousand quids worth of processor, hope its not bricked.


Surprisingly, neither processor is more than slightly more powerful, in basic terms, than the 2600K I currently use. But the x79 chipset opens up communication bottlenecks and lets them fly. Quad channel memory control among pther things.


----------



## Grant Fondo (8 Feb 2022)

Problem is these older cpu's bottleneck any half decent modern gpu, I even had that issue with a i7 6700K.


----------



## ColinJ (9 Feb 2022)

ColinJ said:


> I was thinking of doing that but assumed that if the new driver really _IS _buggy then Intel would fix it pretty damn quick...
> 
> Weeks/Months, you say? Hmm...
> 
> The roll back option is greyed out. I did find where to get older drivers from Intel but I think I'll leave it for now and see if they fix it before I get totally fed up with it.


I am just downloading the latest graphics driver update. It seems quite big. Let's see if that fixes the problem...


----------



## ColinJ (9 Feb 2022)

ColinJ said:


> I am just downloading the latest graphics driver update. It seems quite big. Let's see if that fixes the problem...


I just tried something that always caused the corrupted graphics and that is working properly now. Hopefully, that's the corruption issue dealt with.


----------



## DCBassman (10 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Problem is these older cpu's bottleneck any half decent modern gpu, I even had that issue with a i7 6700K.


Yup, memory bandwidth part of that. For those lucky enough to run those x79 chipsets, it was less of a problem, and it kept my son on top of modern games until the cpu started to misbehave. He used an RTX 20something with it.


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Yup, memory bandwidth part of that. For those lucky enough to run those x79 chipsets, it was less of a problem, and it kept my son on top of modern games until the cpu started to misbehave. He used an RTX 20something with it.


You certainly get a few more years out of X79 and the extra cores help as well.


----------



## DCBassman (10 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> You certainly get a few more years out of X79 and the extra cores help as well.



As said, I'm going to be using all this power as an office PC, so hopefully it will enjoy the rest! I'm not getting the Titan X back, so it will be running the GT1030 from my SFF box. More than sufficient for what I want, and not a remote chance of bottlenecking anything. Will have to do some bracket-fettling on the card, though, as it has a low-profile one on at the moment.


----------



## fossyant (10 Feb 2022)

We've got a couple of HP Elite Mini PC's at home for 'media' and Zwift - usually pick a couple up as they are getting 'replaced' in corporate swap outs. You can't really upgrade them other than a little bit of RAM but they will run Disney, Netflix etc and Zwift at the same time ! We've one under the TV for Disney and Redbull as out Samsung TV no longer supports the apps, and one in the garage running Zwift. Just picked up a newer one, that's really tiny - just need to get that all formatted.


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> As said, I'm going to be using all this power as an office PC, so hopefully it will enjoy the rest! I'm not getting the Titan X back, so it will be running the GT1030 from my SFF box. More than sufficient for what I want, and not a remote chance of bottlenecking anything. Will have to do some bracket-fettling on the card, though, as it has a low-profile one on at the moment.


Titan X, very nice. I dread to think what the latest Titan would cost given the daft prices being demanded? I can see me hanging on to the 3080 for a very long time.


----------



## DCBassman (10 Feb 2022)

Annoyingly, I cannot find either a long bracket for the GT1030, nor a short one at other than silly price for the Radeon HD2400 Pro which is going into the SFF box. Actually cheaper to buy a whole low-profile Radeon 2400 Pro! Nuts. Talking direct to MSI for the full-height bracket for the 1030, no sign of anything on ebay...


----------



## DCBassman (10 Feb 2022)

Not bothering with the Radeon HD2400 Pro. The raw processor graphics are more powerful!


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Annoyingly, I cannot find either a long bracket for the GT1030, nor a short one at other than silly price for the Radeon HD2400 Pro which is going into the SFF box. Actually cheaper to buy a whole low-profile Radeon 2400 Pro! Nuts. Talking direct to MSI for the full-height bracket for the 1030, no sign of anything on ebay...


is it specific to the 1030 or would these generic ones fit?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20375941...029&customid=876dacb63cf8db7ab483fd3461f07b06


----------



## DCBassman (10 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> is it specific to the 1030 or would these generic ones fit?
> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/20375941...029&customid=876dacb63cf8db7ab483fd3461f07b06


Problem is opposite - need the big one! The card came with one, but this had been lost at some point. And it looks to be pretty specific to that brand also, it has odd fixing points. I'll bodge it if needed.


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Problem is opposite - need the big one! The card came with one, but this had been lost at some point. And it looks to be pretty specific to that brand also, it has odd fixing points. I'll bodge it if needed.


Yeah guess it is quite a light card so pcie slot should give it decent support?


----------



## DCBassman (10 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Yeah guess it is quite a light card so pcie slot should give it decent support?


Yup, and I'll give a cable tie or two to make it a little more rigid.


----------



## DCBassman (11 Feb 2022)

On the processor side again, if the 3960x is toast, and I don't want to be bothered with a mere 4-core 3820, the 3930K is cheaply available, and performs almost identically to the 3960X, apart from overclocking potential, which I won't use anyhow.


----------



## Grant Fondo (11 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> On the processor side again, if the 3960x is toast, and I don't want to be bothered with a mere 4-core 3820, the 3930K is cheaply available, and performs almost identically to the 3960X, apart from overclocking potential, which I won't use anyhow.


Hate to say it but cheap for a reason 
The lowly Intel 12400F at £170 has double the single core grunt of the 10 year old 3930K ... crikey it's as fast as my 18 month old i9 

Like you said though, depends what you are using it for, and changing an entire platform is an expensive pain in the a*s


----------



## DCBassman (12 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Hate to say it but cheap for a reason
> The lowly Intel 12400F at £170 has double the single core grunt of the 10 year old 3930K ... crikey it's as fast as my 18 month old i9
> 
> Like you said though, depends what you are using it for, and changing an entire platform is an expensive pain in the a*s


Certainly true if raw power is the requirement, but as my aim is a ridiculously over-powered standard desktop, it will be, shall we say, more than adequate? The mobo will actually run Xeons up to 12-core/24 threads!


----------



## DCBassman (13 Feb 2022)

The new-to-me Asus P9X79 motherboard, complete with 32GB of 1866MHz DDR3 Corsair RAM. Will start the build later.


----------



## DCBassman (14 Feb 2022)

Build complete. The 3960X was toast. All else is good, so I have my big box running once more.


----------



## cyberknight (14 Feb 2022)

Ram arrived today , not sure how much time i will get free today even though im off as mini ck1 at hospital but will try asap


----------



## Grant Fondo (14 Feb 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The new-to-me Asus P9X79 motherboard, complete with 32GB of 1866MHz DDR3 Corsair RAM. Will start the build later.
> View attachment 630800


Wow, never seen that many RAM sticks on mobo, looks great though.
I am getting the urge to upgrade an old Sandybridge i3 system I have knocking about. Assume it could run Win 10?


----------



## DCBassman (14 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Wow, never seen that many RAM sticks on mobo, looks great though.
> I am getting the urge to upgrade an old Sandybridge i3 system I have knocking about. Assume it could run Win 10?


Quad-channel memory control! That was quite the gift, all that Dominator Platinum RAM, it still sells for a good few quids.
Core 2 Duos easily run Win 10, so yes. Drop in an i7-2600K for more brute force! What plans for it if you get it going?


----------



## DCBassman (16 Feb 2022)

When I built this, it was understood that the 3960X might be duff, and possibly also 2 RAM sticks. Sure enough, at one point, 2 sticks dropped out, leaving 24GB recognised. Just to be absolutely certain, I tried some other RAM - all OK. I then refitted the Dominator RAM a stick at a time, rebooting in between each stick. All were recognised, and they still are. This leads me to believe that some of the problems with this board was contaminated slots. This board has had this RAM fitted for nearly a decade, so it is possible. Following this train of though, I've given the i7-3960X a thorough bath in isopropanol and will give it one last go when I have some time. Got to be worth a shot, this was once, as mentioned by @Grant Fondo , a grand's worth of silicon...


----------



## cyberknight (16 Feb 2022)

Tried the ram @Jody sent thanks but it was the wrong pin layout , so it looks like it on the way to the tip


----------



## Grant Fondo (16 Feb 2022)

cyberknight said:


> Tried the ram @Jody sent thanks but it was the wrong pin layout , so it looks like it on the way to the tip


What motherboard is it? I have got some sticks of ddr3 & 4 knocking about somewhere.


----------



## cyberknight (16 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> What motherboard is it? I have got some sticks of ddr3 & 4 knocking about somewhere.


mobo rs/rx482sb400
ram
ddr4003200

looking into it the system is getting on for 20 years old ! running the one "good " ram stick is still gets bsod and doesnt recognize usb slots half the time


----------



## Grant Fondo (16 Feb 2022)

cyberknight said:


> mobo rs/rx482sb400
> ram
> ddr4003200
> 
> looking into it the system is getting on for 20 years old ! running the one "good " ram stick is still gets bsod and doesnt recognize usb slots half the time


Ah, no oldest RAM i have is around 10 years old.
I am picking up an pc from my mums next week c. 2006 so will see what is in the box.


----------



## cyberknight (16 Feb 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Ah, no oldest RAM i have is around 10 years old.
> I am picking up an pc from my mums next week c. 2006 so will see what is in the box.


no worries if i remember rightly it could only take 2 gig ram max so not like i could do much with it apart from passing the time


----------



## DCBassman (2 Mar 2022)

10 days or so ago, right before we were due to leave for a house-sit, an earthenware vase split, dumping flowers and a good deal of water onto my Mac Pro tower. Much frantic action pulling out bits and deploying large quantities of kitchen towel. Put it up against the radiator, along with the A1314 Bluetooth keyboard, to dry out. Left for house sit.
Came back today. The P9X79 big box is still performing well, so dirty slots look like the answer.
Tore the Mac down some more, looking for signs of water damage. None found. Rebuilt. Plugged in. Button. Chime!
All is well.
Phew!


----------



## StuAff (2 Mar 2022)

DCBassman said:


> 10 days or so ago, right before we were due to leave for a house-sit, an earthenware vase split, dumping flowers and a good deal of water onto my Mac Pro tower. Much frantic action pulling out bits and deploying large quantities of kitchen towel. Put it up against the radiator, along with the A1314 Bluetooth keyboard, to dry out. Left for house sit.
> Came back today. The P9X79 big box is still performing well, so dirty slots look like the answer.
> Tore the Mac down some more, looking for signs of water damage. None found. Rebuilt. Plugged in. Button. Chime!
> All is well.
> Phew!


Well, they are built like tanks. Water tanks, in this case!


----------



## Grant Fondo (4 Mar 2022)

DCBassman said:


> 10 days or so ago, right before we were due to leave for a house-sit, an earthenware vase split, dumping flowers and a good deal of water onto my Mac Pro tower. Much frantic action pulling out bits and deploying large quantities of kitchen towel. Put it up against the radiator, along with the A1314 Bluetooth keyboard, to dry out. Left for house sit.
> Came back today. The P9X79 big box is still performing well, so dirty slots look like the answer.
> Tore the Mac down some more, looking for signs of water damage. None found. Rebuilt. Plugged in. Button. Chime!
> All is well.
> Phew!


Close one! Same happened to me with a full mug of tea once, open top case with two fans, mobo nuked.


----------



## DaveReading (4 Mar 2022)

Slightly OT, but I bought a second-hand Renault once that had been retrofitted with electronic ignition.

The box of tricks had been mounted under the screenwash reservoir, which one day decided to spring a leak ...


----------



## DCBassman (4 Mar 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The P9X79 big box is still performing well, so dirty slots look like the answer.


This, unfortunately is back to only seeing 24GB of RAM, and it's looking like a slot/mobo fault. I'd had another go with the 3960X, and it's definitely toast. But it has degraded the board trying it. Hopefully, it will recover again.


Grant Fondo said:


> Close one! Same happened to me with a full mug of tea once, open top case with two fans, mobo nuked.


The P9X79 box (open top, three fans) missed that fate by inches in this incident!


----------



## DCBassman (10 Mar 2022)

After some research, slackened the cooler head and switched off XMP. 32GB registered! I'll let it run for a few weeks and see if I can tgen go back to XMP without losing that bank again.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (13 Mar 2022)

More Mac mutterings from me.

You'll likely not recall, but I fettled my old iMac by dropping a WD SSD in and getting the operating system reinstalled. All good, even if I had to use a second screen to avoid the periodic black-screening of the native screen. All was good until last week, when neither screen would fire up. Oh well, time was time, so I bought a Mac Mini, plus a hub with a SSD enclosure so I could pull the SSD out of the iMac and access it from the Mini.

Thing is, I've set it up, connected the hub, including the SSD, but I can't see the SSD on Spotlight or via Disk Utility. I'm now wondering whether it's the SSD that's failed, rather than something terminal affecting the iMac. Any other checks I can do before I get upset with Amazon and send them the drive back for replacement as it's cost me the thick end of 700 squid?


----------



## midlife (13 Mar 2022)

Blimey! We built a new PC for the lads Xmas present and iirc the ssd was about 70 quid. Mind you the graphics card made my nose bleed !!!


----------



## DCBassman (14 Mar 2022)

Bonefish Blues said:


> More Mac mutterings from me.
> 
> You'll likely not recall, but I fettled my old iMac by dropping a WD SSD in and getting the operating system reinstalled. All good, even if I had to use a second screen to avoid the periodic black-screening of the native screen. All was good until last week, when neither screen would fire up. Oh well, time was time, so I bought a Mac Mini, plus a hub with a SSD enclosure so I could pull the SSD out of the iMac and access it from the Mini.
> 
> Thing is, I've set it up, connected the hub, including the SSD, but I can't see the SSD on Spotlight or via Disk Utility. I'm now wondering whether it's the SSD that's failed, rather than something terminal affecting the iMac. Any other checks I can do before I get upset with Amazon and send them the drive back for replacement as it's cost me the thick end of 700 squid?


If the enclosure is generic, connect to a Windows machine if you have one. Download WD's free disk checking tools and go over it. You call it a hub, can you clarify?


----------



## DCBassman (14 Mar 2022)

*Sandy Bridge-E box:* memory all present at 1685MHz, so it appears to be slowly bedding back in. Meanwhile, the i7-3820 is running cool and steady at a shade over 4.5GHz.
*Dell XPS 1640M*: no display when fired up, just a couple of multi-coloured flashes. Rats. Hooked up a screen to the display port output, no issues. Check battery level - 1%. Powers itself down. Plugged in. Wouldn't play ball properly until over 10%, but at least it's the cheap generic battery, not the oh-so-whizzy FHD display and its RGB-LED backlight. Phew...


----------



## Bonefish Blues (14 Mar 2022)

DCBassman said:


> If the enclosure is generic, connect to a Windows machine if you have one. Download WD's free disk checking tools and go over it. You call it a hub, can you clarify?


Will do. It's a wee square silver box that the mac mini sits on with hdd enclosure (because cheaper than buying from apple) and lots of ports (because they're stingy with them too)


View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hagibis-Enclosure-MC25-Pro-DP/dp/B096LMGTNG/ref=asc_df_B096LMGTNG/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=535972420977&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17133678949020928377&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1006622&hvtargid=pla-1394530835511&psc=1


----------



## Grant Fondo (14 Mar 2022)

midlife said:


> Blimey! We built a new PC for the lads Xmas present and iirc the ssd was about 70 quid. Mind you the graphics card made my nose bleed !!!


Yes, gpu prices better than they were but still too high  ... at least there are some in stock now.


----------



## Bonefish Blues (15 Mar 2022)

Update time - yes I can see the SSD now, and it has some data on it, but of course (doh!) my chums at the Mac Repairers have formatted it as a Mac HDD, so I guess I'll have to reformat it as a regular external HDD for Mac. 

But it does have c17gb of data on it which I'd like to capture - any ideas on how to do this latter step brave comrades?


----------



## DCBassman (15 Mar 2022)

Bonefish Blues said:


> Update time - yes I can see the SSD now, and it has some data on it, but of course (doh!) my chums at the Mac Repairers have formatted it as a Mac HDD, so I guess I'll have to reformat it as a regular external HDD for Mac.
> 
> But it does have c17gb of data on it which I'd like to capture - any ideas on how to do this latter step brave comrades?


Can you pull it from the ssd to one of the hub ports with an appropriate flash drive? Then you can transfer it to wherever you need it.
Edit: Apple don't make these things easy, do they?


----------



## Bonefish Blues (15 Mar 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Can you pull it from the ssd to one of the hub ports with an appropriate flash drive? Then you can transfer it to wherever you need it.
> Edit: Apple don't make these things easy, do they?


On reflection, since what I've done is load my profile on the Mini as well as the full-fat Macs, most of that 17 gigabimbles will simply be a duplicate operating system (minus about 4 generations!), with a few random files of 'stuff'. My wife has iCloud, so they should be on there anyway, and I'm rapidly coming round to the view that I CBA with all that mullarky, and it's best simply reformatted and start again.

What am I missing?!


----------



## DCBassman (15 Mar 2022)

Assuming what you've said is accurate - check that cloud! - then I see no reason not to just reformat and carry on.


----------



## DCBassman (6 Apr 2022)

Another build-a-laptop project. This time, a Toshiba A100 out of two broken ones. 
Messed about with various lightweight Linux installs, didn't like any of them. Decided to see if I could get Windows 7 Ultimate on, and updated. The answer: yes, if you have another machine to get Service Pack 1 dowloaded. Once that was done, it was a mere matter of downloading every single update for Win 7, ever, and installing them. Windows Update does this, of course, but not until SP1 is in place. Discovered that MS Security Essentials also still works, and gets current updates for another year or so. Now to see if Microsoft will give me another free Win 10 licence if I upgrade it. Then pull the T2400 Pentium DC and replace with a Core 2 Duo T7200.


----------



## MontyVeda (7 Apr 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The new-to-me Asus P9X79 motherboard, complete with 32GB of 1866MHz DDR3 Corsair RAM. Will start the build later.
> View attachment 630800


Nice!

I wonder if you can advise me?

currently i have AMD Athlon(tm) 5350 APU with Radeon(tm) R3 2.05 GHz with 8gb RAM... (most of that means nothing to me).

What I'm looking for is something of similar spec that has a standard PCI slot and a PCI-express slot (the long one), which the MB above seems to have. What sort of price would i be looking at?

Current MB has no PCI which means i can't put my soundcard in it and benefit from sturdy phone connections instead of shody 3.5mm jacks, hence wanting to change.

edit...
something like this could work... if it exists for old PCI to the newer compact PCI-e?






TIA


----------



## DCBassman (7 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Nice!
> 
> I wonder if you can advise me?
> 
> ...


If you actually need a PCI slot, as opposed to the various types of PCI-e slot, you're probably out of luck. There are not many about! What is the sound card you want to use?


----------



## MontyVeda (7 Apr 2022)

DCBassman said:


> If you actually need a PCI slot, as opposed to the various types of PCI-e slot, you're probably out of luck. There are not many about! What is the sound card you want to use?


Audiophile 24/96





Is the pale blue slot, 2nd from bottom in your MB not an old PCI?





I figured i probably was out of luck until i saw that MB.


----------



## DCBassman (8 Apr 2022)

I checked, and indeed it is a standard PCI slot!
Not a motherboard you can use with your components though. A cheap build would be to find an Asus P8H61 board, a Core i5-3470 cpu and two 4GB sticks of ddr3 1333 SDRam. Cheap, simple, from one to three PCI slots according to exact model. Mini-ITX version has none, but all else would work. My secondary PC has one, it just works. Your current components won't fit anything with such a slot so far as I cn see.


----------



## DCBassman (8 Apr 2022)

Charity shop visiting day. This doesn't happen as much as it did, as walking is a problem. In the Sue Ryder shop was a small pile of keyboards. One cheap and nasty, one nice Dell, and a Microsoft Laser 6000 v2 wireless. Grabbed that, and gave it the once-over. Corroded batteries still in it. Rats. Shop guy gave it to me for free as revealing the problem made it unsaleable. Got it home, managed to prise out the manky cells and clean it up. It works fine. I shall drop in the £4 it was labelled at the earliest opportunity!


----------



## FishFright (9 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Audiophile 24/96
> View attachment 639002
> 
> 
> ...



I have one of those ADAC's. It was pretty nice but I think the driver stopped at win 7.


----------



## MontyVeda (9 Apr 2022)

FishFright said:


> I have one of those ADAC's. It was pretty nice but I think the driver stopped at win 7.


checked online before purchase and read that the W7 driver for it does work with win10


----------



## slowmotion (10 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Nice!
> 
> I wonder if you can advise me?
> 
> ...


I bought an HP Pavilion desktop for £25 on Gumtree a few weeks ago. It's got XP for running legacy software, one PCI-e, and three PCI slots. You can buy cards to fit the slots for absolute buttons on FleaBay. Fight back against "upgrade" tyranny!


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Apr 2022)

slowmotion said:


> I bought an HP Pavilion desktop for £25 on Gumtree a few weeks ago. It's got XP for running legacy software, one PCI-e, and three PCI slots. You can buy cards to fit the slots for absolute buttons on FleaBay. Fight back against "upgrade" tyranny!


It is tyranny when Intel make you swap motherboards every two gens!


----------



## DCBassman (10 Apr 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> It is tyranny when Intel make you swap motherboards every two gens!


Just post the old stuff over here, I'll recycle it for you...


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Apr 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Just post the old stuff over here, I'll recycle it for you...


Unless its really old you get good s/h prices. Got £250 for Skylake mobo/cpu, which takes the sting out of the upgrade, thankfully


----------



## MontyVeda (21 Apr 2022)

quick question to which i suspect I know the answer...

current Pc has a *4core 2ghz* CPU

Will I notice any difference switching to another PC with *2core 3ghz* CPU

i'm not a gamer


----------



## Grant Fondo (21 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> quick question to which i suspect I know the answer...
> 
> current Pc has a *4core 2ghz* CPU
> 
> ...



2 core most likely slower these days, might be worth checking both here for better answer:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/


----------



## MontyVeda (21 Apr 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> *2 core most likely slower* these days, might be worth checking both here for better answer:
> https://www.cpubenchmark.net/



of course, but 3ghz as opposed to 2ghz


----------



## DCBassman (21 Apr 2022)

While the higher clock speed is always a nice-to-have, it won't make up for the two extra cores. If your usage is strictly office and browsing, it likely won't be a big difference, but there WILL be a difference.


----------



## DCBassman (21 Apr 2022)

It would be informative if we knew the exact models we're talking about, can you find out from the systems properties pages?


----------



## MontyVeda (21 Apr 2022)

DCBassman said:


> It would be informative if we knew the exact models we're talking about, can you find out from the systems properties pages?



Hi,

I'm just looking on Ebay at the motherboard you recommended; P8H61... some come bundled with a CPU and some RAM, some just the bare board and using a combination of ask google (not always reliable) and ask a cyclist (more reliable) to find out if the various CPUs are any good or not. There's a wide variety so I'll not list anything just yet.

You've answered my question perfectly (more cores are better than fewer faster cores) and since i currently have a quad core I can start discounting the boards bundled with a dual core CPU. Of course if the price is right, I could try swapping the CPU for the one you recommended; i5 3470 (but that would be new territory for me).

I've also got 2x4gb of DDR ram in my current machine. I presume i can just stick that into the new MB?

Thanks


----------



## DCBassman (21 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> I've also got 2x4gb of DDR ram in my current machine. I presume i can just stick that into the new MB?


If it's DDR3 RAM, then yes. Otherwise not. CPU: depending on usage, also check out an i7-2600. Fits the same board, has 4 hyper-threaded cores, so that the operating system sees 8 cores and apportions jobs accordingly. It's not at all necessary, but despite being only a 2nd-gen processor, it's a lot of power to have, and will not cost a massive amount to procure. A bit-of future-proofing, if you will.
I have a 3470 and the ram should you need it.


----------



## MontyVeda (21 Apr 2022)

Thanks DCB.

Current motherboard has DDR3 ram so I'll put that in.

From what i can gather, the i7-2600 won't (officially) run windows 11 and neither will the i5-3470... and with the i7 being priced around the £50 mark on fleabay and the i5 being £15-£20... I may as well go for the cheaper option.

I was hoping to raid my stock of old stuff but it appears things have moved on in recent years. I couldn't spot an IDE connection on the P8H61 board, which means my existing DVD drives won't be any use... and I was hoping to reuse the PSU too but I don't think there'll be any SATA plugs. At least i won't have to buy a box to put it all in.

edit. PSU in the old-old PC box does have SATA... I just can't remember why that PC got replaced. It might have been the PSU


----------



## DCBassman (21 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Thanks DCB.
> 
> Current motherboard has DDR3 ram so I'll put that in.
> 
> ...


Cool, any questions, fire away. IDE stuff definitely out, and in any case as you're building from scratch essentially, see if you can work a 120GB SSD into the budget, if you don't already have one. Use that purely for the OS, and put everything else on whatever other drives you install.


----------



## MontyVeda (21 Apr 2022)

Thank you DCB. 
I'll be using my existing SSD which as you advise is purely for the OS. I'm presuming I'll have to reinstall the OS and all software on it again?


----------



## ColinJ (21 Apr 2022)

What are you all using these super-PCs for? 

My 5 year old laptop is powerful enough to do everything that I currently want to do. The music software that I have (FL Studio) can do way more complex stuff than I'd ever want it to.


----------



## Grant Fondo (21 Apr 2022)

Had a c.2004 ex-gaming pc returned to me today. I think its got a 6800GT card and some kind of AMD X2 chip in it ... will check tomorrow. Wonder if it will run Win 11?


----------



## MontyVeda (21 Apr 2022)

ColinJ said:


> What are you all using these super-PCs for?
> 
> My 5 year old laptop is powerful enough to do everything that I currently want to do. The music software that I have (FL Studio) can do way more complex stuff than I'd ever want it to.



i think 5 years is brand spanking new compared to the old sh!t we're faffing about with. This thread is scrapheap challenge AFACT.


----------



## Grant Fondo (22 Apr 2022)

What are you all using these super-PCs for? 

Nothing beats bringing old kit back to life and keeping the cash out of Currys pocket!
Unfortunately, trying to play modern games at 4K needs proper graphics grunt, even quality 3 year old kit just won't cut it, alas.[/QUOTE]


----------



## ColinJ (22 Apr 2022)

Ah, the games that I play require virtually zero grunt! 

Sudoku, Spider Solitaire, 2048 and so on are not exactly demanding! 

I suppose there must be a modern game that I would like but so far I haven't seen/played one.


----------



## Grant Fondo (22 Apr 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Had a c.2004 ex-gaming pc returned to me today. I think its got a 6800GT card and some kind of AMD X2 chip in it ... will check tomorrow. Wonder if it will run Win 11?



Later than I thought! Mighty 8800GT and AMD X2 6000+ putting it 2007/8 I think but does have a 2004 dated HDD. Windows Vista era? Time to fettle and spark up.


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

ColinJ said:


> What are you all using these super-PCs for?
> 
> My 5 year old laptop is powerful enough to do everything that I currently want to do. The music software that I have (FL Studio) can do way more complex stuff than I'd ever want it to.



Even the most powerful machine I have here (and it is pretty meaty, even by today's standards) is around a decade old. Donated by my younger son, who is a gamer, and only replaced by new stuff early in this new year. That's how powerful it is, although I don't have the monster graphics card that went with it.
Core i7-3820, 32GB RAM - this one - Win 10, monster Corsair monolith case, CPU is water cooled.
Core i7-2600K, 8GB RAM, Win 11 (the P8H61m-LX small form factor box).
Core 2 Duo T9550, 8GB RAM, Win 10, laptop
Core 2 Duo T7200, 3GB RAM, Win 8.1, laptop
Celeron N3050, 2GB RAM, Win 10, netbook, really.
The Celeron is under 5 years old, and is by far the weediest of the lot, but very small, convenient, and with a touch screen. Everything else is, by PC standards, antique...


Grant Fondo said:


> Later than I thought! Mighty 8800GT and AMD X2 6000+ putting it 2007/8 I think but does have a 2004 dated HDD. Windows Vista era? Time to fettle and spark up.


That would make a pretty unstoppable general-purpose PC with an SSD upfront.


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

In fact, the snappiest of those on my list, in general terms, is the SFF box, using the iGPU.
The massive box uses a relatively lowly GT 1030. And that is around 135% pokier than the 8800GT!


----------



## ColinJ (22 Apr 2022)

Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention - they all _sounded _super-powerful! 

My laptop has a 2.2 GHz i7-6560U CPU. Only 8 GB RAM and that is not upgradeable. The SSD is 256 GB and is currently only about 50% full but at some point I may put a faster 1-2 TB SSD in.

It's a pity that I can't put more memory in, but so far it has not been a big issue.


----------



## GuyBoden (22 Apr 2022)

Linux will run on any 64bit computer, Windows wastes all that power with it's inefficient software.


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> Linux will run on any 64bit computer, Windows wastes all that power with it's inefficient software.


I want to agree with this, but having used that SFF box with many different Linux flavours over the past year, the snappiest response is Windows 11, by some distance. And I really did NOT expect that...


----------



## fossyant (22 Apr 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> What are you all using these super-PCs for?
> 
> Nothing beats bringing old kit back to life and keeping the cash out of Currys pocket!
> Unfortunately, trying to play modern games at 4K needs proper graphics grunt, even quality 3 year old kit just won't cut it, alas.


[/QUOTE]


99% of the time it's social media battering, then they may game..... my kids are prime examples....


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> Linux will run on any 64bit computer


And so will Windows. There's no point whatsoever bothering to choose between 32 or 64 bit for anything that has less that 3GB of RAM. Use whichever, it won't make a difference. 4GB and over, then 64-bit every time.


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> trying to play modern games at 4K


In my mind, games have not got significantly better since Unreal Tournament GOTY 1999. Graphics-wise, massively, but otherwise? Same old, same old...
And my Core 2 Duo T7200 laptop can handle that, easily.


----------



## fossyant (22 Apr 2022)

I'm sat here on an older i7 4700 series laptop with 16gb ram, 1TB SSD and a 1TB HDD and Nvidia graphics 

It was a gaming laptop I got for my son when he was diagnosed as a T1 diabetic at 14 (7 years ago), massive shock, so I went and got it for him. I've now inherited it. Fab laptop, and has a fab 17.3" screen for my poor eyesight..


----------



## MontyVeda (22 Apr 2022)

I've just stumbled across what might be the h****t debate of the computing world.... does it matter which thermal paste/gunk is used between the CPU and cooler? some say it does, it really really does. some say it don't. There's only one way to settle it... ask a cyclist!


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> I've just stumbled across what might be the h****t debate of the computing world.... does it matter which thermal past/gunk is used between the CUP and cooler? so say it does, it really really does. some say it don't. There's only one way to settle it... ask a cyclist!


Unless you are a fanatic gamer or do something else that canes the CPU, no, it doesn't matter. Get a tube of Arctic Silver 5, cheap and more than good enough.


----------



## MontyVeda (22 Apr 2022)

DCBassman said:


> ... Get a tube of Arctic Silver 5, cheap and more than good enough.



cheap?! it's over a fiver on fleabay. I was looking at the arctic white stuff at 99p


----------



## DCBassman (22 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> cheap?! it's over a fiver on fleabay. I was looking at the arctic white stuff at 99p


Yup, that'll do!


----------



## fossyant (22 Apr 2022)

PS my lad's just got a job with a Utility Company doing PC/Server/Printer/cables etc support job - loves it. He's travelling about in a nice VW Caddy company vehicle fixing issues on their sites. Better than the last jobs that were call centre based (soul destroying). He's loving it.. Fingers double crossed he passes


----------



## Grant Fondo (22 Apr 2022)

ColinJ said:


> Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention - they all _sounded _super-powerful!
> 
> My laptop has a 2.2 GHz i7-6560U CPU. Only 8 GB RAM and that is not upgradeable. The SSD is 256 GB and is currently only about 50% full but at some point I may put a faster 1-2 TB SSD in.
> 
> It's a pity that I can't put more memory in, but so far it has not been a big issue.



You are fine with that RAM:

RAM: 4 gigabytes (GB) or greater. Storage: 64 GB* or greater available storage is required to install Windows 11.16


----------



## ColinJ (22 Apr 2022)

At some point** those of us on Windows 10 will pretty much be forced to change to 11. What would we gain by doing so earlier? 

My laptop is supposed to support the required TPM 2.0 but there is a problem with it which would have to be sorted out first.

** _*Oct 14, 2025*_?


----------



## Grant Fondo (22 Apr 2022)

ColinJ said:


> At some point** those of us on Windows 10 will pretty much be forced to change to 11. What would we gain by doing so earlier?
> 
> My laptop is supposed to support the required TPM 2.0 but there is a problem with it which would have to be sorted out first.
> 
> ** _*Oct 14, 2025*_?



You just have to change the security settings in the bios then it all works fine.


----------



## ColinJ (22 Apr 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> You just have to change the security settings in the bios then it all works fine.



Oops - I just checked. I seem to have sorted it out a while back! (It was still reporting errors a few months ago but several reboots later, it is reported as working.)


----------



## DaveReading (22 Apr 2022)

ColinJ said:


> At some point** those of us on Windows 10 will pretty much be forced to change to 11.


How is that going to work ?


----------



## ColinJ (22 Apr 2022)

DaveReading said:


> How is that going to work ?



Ok, those of us who still want to get security updates for our operating system!

(I accept that Microsoft agents are not going to break into our houses to confiscate our Windows 10 machines. )


----------



## DCBassman (23 Apr 2022)

The machine I mentioned above as running W11 is unsupported in terms of Secure Boot, TPM, or CPU. It's getting updates as it should. Personally, I think Microsoft will increasingly turn a blind eye to this, rather than risk alienating millions of users who can't buy compliant machines. The USB-formatting tool Rufus now has the ability to create an install medium which bypasses the checks.


----------



## GuyBoden (23 Apr 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I want to agree with this, but having used that SFF box with many different Linux flavours over the past year, the snappiest response is Windows 11, by some distance. And I really did NOT expect that...



Windows 11 64GB
Linux Mint 15GB
Ubuntu Lite 8GB

MS Windows is bloatware.

If you are mainly browsing, you don't need Windows. With Linux you can still use your old laptop with it's small hard drive and small amount of RAM. Most users don't need "the snappiest response" to browse the internet, which is mainly due to broadband speed.

As a Software Engineer, I laughed at MS Windows in 1990's, but now, I find Windows' strangle hold on users really annoying.


----------



## MontyVeda (23 Apr 2022)

is it really a 'strangle hold' or just a case of most people aren't aware that there are other OS options outside of Windows and Mac?


----------



## GuyBoden (23 Apr 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> is it really a 'strangle hold' or just a case of most people aren't aware that there are other OS options outside of Windows and Mac?



No, it's a "Death Grip" by MS on their valuable market. 

Look what your mobile phone can do, which is Unix based, with very little memory and processor power in comparison to Windoze.


----------



## StuAff (23 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> No, it's a "Death Grip" by MS on their valuable market.
> 
> Look what your mobile phone can do, which is Unix based, with very little memory and processor power in comparison to Windoze.



Android is based on a modified version of the Linux (Unix-like, not Unix....) kernel. All Apple OSs are Unix or Unix-like (some certified Unix, some not).


----------



## ColinJ (23 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> Look what your mobile phone can do, which is Unix based, with very little memory and processor power in comparison to Windoze.



My phone has the same amount of RAM as my laptop (8 GB), a pretty hefty processor - Octa-core (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver), and 128 GB of non-volatile memory (ok, that is half what my laptop has, but Windows and everything else only uses half anyway.)


----------



## GuyBoden (23 Apr 2022)

ColinJ said:


> My phone has the same amount of RAM as my laptop (8 GB), a pretty hefty processor - Octa-core (1x2.4 GHz Kryo 475 Prime & 1x2.2 GHz Kryo 475 Gold & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 475 Silver), and 128 GB of non-volatile memory (ok, that is half what my laptop has, but Windows and everything else only uses half anyway.)



Seems like a very nice phone, much better than my Huawei phone, that my sister gave me for nothing.


----------



## GuyBoden (23 Apr 2022)

StuAff said:


> Android is based on a modified version of the Linux (Unix-like, not Unix....) kernel. All Apple OSs are Unix or Unix-like (some certified Unix, some not).



Yes, I know.

Apple and MS were very good marketeers, the best in their chosen field.


----------



## MontyVeda (23 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> No, it's a "Death Grip" by MS on their valuable market.
> 
> Look what your mobile phone can do, which is Unix based, with very little memory and processor power in comparison to Windoze.



you haven't seen my mobile phone!


----------



## GuyBoden (23 Apr 2022)

You might have gathered that I dislike Microsoft and Apple for their backwards computer technology, their focusing on putting marketing first.

The BBC micro, which used ARM processors, was the best home computer there ever was in my opinion.

The BBC micro was much faster than any Apple at the time.


----------



## ColinJ (23 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> Seems like a very nice phone, much better than my Huawei phone, that my sister gave me for nothing.


'Nothing' _IS _a very good price!

I got my phone (Google Pixel 5) for £190 on ebay. The man selling it wanted £250 but I suggested that a faulty phone was not worth that much. (The microphone didn't work so he couldn't make calls.) 

I had a hunch and took a punt. I was right - a minute or two of work with a pin and I had cleared the fluff that was blocking the recessed grille covering the microphone! 



GuyBoden said:


> The BBC micro, which used ARM processors, was the best home computer there ever was in my opinion.
> 
> The BBC micro was much faster than any Apple at the time.


I bought a BBC micro to take to university in the 1980s. I used it for 3 years and then sold it to the company that I was working for after graduating. They had test software running on those machines and needed another one. I got a big chunk of my money back!


----------



## StuAff (23 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> You might have gathered that I dislike Microsoft and Apple for their backwards computer technology, their focusing on putting marketing first.
> 
> The BBC micro, which used ARM processors, was the best home computer there ever was in my opinion.
> 
> The BBC micro was much faster than any Apple at the time.



BBC Micro was 6502. Archimedes was the first ARM system.


----------



## GuyBoden (23 Apr 2022)

StuAff said:


> BBC Micro was 6502. Archimedes was the first ARM system.


Yes, all developed by Acorn Computers. 

ARM was first used with a BBC computer, before Archimedes.


----------



## Ming the Merciless (23 Apr 2022)

StuAff said:


> BBC Micro was 6502. Archimedes was the first ARM system.



I had the 6502 assembler manual for BBC micro. Programming using the many interrupts available. Happy days for a teenager. As you say it was not a ARM (Acorn at time) designed CPU based computer.


----------



## DCBassman (23 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> Windows 11 64GB
> Linux Mint 15GB
> Ubuntu Lite 8GB


Except that although W11 insists on 64GB, it most certainly does NOT need it. It takes up just a few GB more than W10 did. My personal take is that, under the guise of greater security, MS and PC makers have tried to move more boxes. They might well suffer from a Linux backlash because of that.
If you want REALLY small, MenuetOS is based on nothing else, is a fully fledged 64-bit system, and fits on a single 3.5" floppy diskette, if you still have one. That's right, everything you need, nothing you don't, in 1.44Mbytes. Full symmetric multi-processing up to 32 CPUs. Not cores, CPUs. Resolution up to FHD.
Now, that should run..._rapidly_. It's written in assenbly language.


----------



## StuAff (23 Apr 2022)

You can still buy USB floppy drives…bought one twenty years ago for my then-new Power Mac G4, and hardly used it. Can't remember the last time I did! I've still got it, and a load of discs.


----------



## cougie uk (23 Apr 2022)

I've just bought a Chromebook as mentioned in the bargains thread. Seems excellent for the £70 or so so I'm interested to see what my £400 laptop does better.


----------



## GuyBoden (24 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> Ming the Merciless said:
> 
> 
> > I had the 6502 assembler manual for BBC micro. Programming using the many interrupts available. Happy days for a teenager. As you say it was not a ARM (Acorn at time) designed CPU based computer.
> ...



I think that the ARM processor made by Acorn Computers, was an addition to the BBC computer also made by Acorn Computers, enabling it to become the main CPU of the system. 

"The BBC tasked Acorn Computers in Cambridge, England with designing and building the BBC Micro. Acorn would go on to become ARM, whose processor designs are at the heart of almost every smartphone in pockets all over the world."

https://microbit.org/news/2021-12-02/the-bbc-micro-is-40/

Mostly thanks to: Sophie Wilson CBE FRS FREng DistFBCS


----------



## Ming the Merciless (24 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> I think that the ARM processor made by Acorn Computers, was an addition to the BBC computer also made by Acorn Computers, enabling it to become the main CPU of the system.
> 
> "The BBC tasked Acorn Computers in Cambridge, England with designing and building the BBC Micro. Acorn would go on to become ARM, whose processor designs are at the heart of almost every smartphone in pockets all over the world."
> 
> ...



Nope ARM chips never added to the BBC range, they were 6502 cpu and it’s derivatives . The first computer that appeared with RISC OS / ARM chips was the Acorn Archimedes which did run BBC Basic but wasn’t a BBC computer.


----------



## newfhouse (24 Apr 2022)

GuyBoden said:


> I think that the ARM processor made by Acorn Computers, was an addition to the BBC computer also made by Acorn Computers, enabling it to become the main CPU of the system.



There was a co-processor slot that allowed a Z80 to be used but I think you have your chronology slightly mixed up about ARM chips.


----------



## MontyVeda (24 Apr 2022)

This ARM chip dates from the mid seventies, if that helps...


----------



## MontyVeda (6 May 2022)

All the bits have finally arrived; PSU, SSD, RAM, CPU, etc... so it's ready to assemble. 

Do I need to worry about static whilst I'm mounting the CPU... or is it one of those insignificant things that geeks spend far too much time talking about?


----------



## ColinJ (6 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Do I need to worry about static whilst I'm mounting the CPU... or is it one of those insignificant things that geeks spend far too much time talking about?



Don't _WORRY _about it... _DO _something about it! (Earth yourself.)

You may well get away with being careless, but wouldn't you be somewhat peeved if you didn't? 

Read _*THIS*_.

I went to a conference in London once and there was so much static build-up from walking down a particular carpeted corridor that everyone got zapped when they reached for the door at the far end. I stood and watched for a few minutes, and then dashed out after someone else opened the door!


----------



## MontyVeda (6 May 2022)

ColinJ said:


> Don't _WORRY _about it... _DO _something about it! (Earth yourself.)
> 
> ...



so just... touch the radiator first?


----------



## ColinJ (6 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> so just... touch the radiator first?



Not if you have to walk over a carpeted floor to reach it and then recharge yourself on the way back! 

I once saw a colleague walk across a carpeted office floor carrying a large and _very _expensive prototype board (several thousands of pounds worth!) which was not in the required anti-static bag, and he was absent-mindedly stroking his fingers across the PCB's tracks as he went...


----------



## ColinJ (6 May 2022)

To do it properly, you would use a wrist strap like _*THIS*_.


----------



## DCBassman (6 May 2022)

But, in the absence of a strap, install the psu, then plug it in to a switched-off socket. This earths the case, so by touching it every few secobds, you can avoud the problem.


----------



## MontyVeda (6 May 2022)

the radiator is directly next to where i'll be working. 

What does the strap connect to?


----------



## Venod (6 May 2022)

I need some help.

The daughter in law has a HP laptop with a SSD drive that won't boot, now this is the second time this has happened, last time I re-seated the memory and all connections and it booted, but it wasn't running great so I re-installed Windows 11 and all was good for a while, now its showing three long and two short flashing LEDs on the caps lock key, this indicates a bios failed to load problem, I have followed all the steps on the HP site to restore the bios, but I can't get the bios files to load to a USB stick as per the instructions, I am not alone in this, there are a lot of people with the same problem.
Are there any suggestions on how to load the bios, the windows + b key without a USB stick doesn't work, so the next suggestion is try the same keys with the bios on a USB stick, but how do I get the bios to install on USB stick, I have tried 2 different computers and the downloaded bios doesn't run as suggested on the HP site.


----------



## ColinJ (6 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> the radiator is directly next to where i'll be working.
> 
> *What does the strap connect to?*


Something earthed!

Like a copper pipe to a radiator... (obviously to bare metal, not through a thick layer of paint) 

Or maybe the case of a PC plugged into the mains, but switched off!


----------



## Grant Fondo (6 May 2022)

Venod said:


> I need some help.
> 
> The daughter in law has a HP laptop with a SSD drive that won't boot, now this is the second time this has happened, last time I re-seated the memory and all connections and it booted, but it wasn't running great so I re-installed Windows 11 and all was good for a while, now its showing three long and two short flashing LEDs on the caps lock key, this indicates a bios failed to load problem, I have followed all the steps on the HP site to restore the bios, but I can't get the bios files to load to a USB stick as per the instructions, I am not alone in this, there are a lot of people with the same problem.
> Are there any suggestions on how to load the bios, the windows + b key without a USB stick doesn't work, so the next suggestion is try the same keys with the bios on a USB stick, but how do I get the bios to install on USB stick, I have tried 2 different computers and the downloaded bios doesn't run as suggested on the HP site.



Not that TPM issue with Win 11 is it? If not I would try booting up with one stick of RAM. Good luck.


----------



## DCBassman (6 May 2022)

Venod said:


> I need some help.
> 
> The daughter in law has a HP laptop with a SSD drive that won't boot, now this is the second time this has happened, last time I re-seated the memory and all connections and it booted, but it wasn't running great so I re-installed Windows 11 and all was good for a while, now its showing three long and two short flashing LEDs on the caps lock key, this indicates a bios failed to load problem, I have followed all the steps on the HP site to restore the bios, but I can't get the bios files to load to a USB stick as per the instructions, I am not alone in this, there are a lot of people with the same problem.
> Are there any suggestions on how to load the bios, the windows + b key without a USB stick doesn't work, so the next suggestion is try the same keys with the bios on a USB stick, but how do I get the bios to install on USB stick, I have tried 2 different computers and the downloaded bios doesn't run as suggested on the HP site.


A great deal depends on what you mean by ' BIOS on a USB stick'. To flash a BOS from a USB stick, you need a stick formatted to boot DOS or FreeDOS, the flashing programme, and the BIOS ROM file. What concerns me is the incidence of reports. Sounds like more than just a minor problem, more like some sort of design fault.


----------



## Venod (6 May 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Not that TPM issue with Win 11 is it? If not I would try booting up with one stick of RAM. Good luck.



I had to Google TPM issue, but I don't think that's the problem, tried with one stick of RAM no joy.


----------



## DCBassman (6 May 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Not that TPM issue with Win 11 is it? If not I would try booting up with one stick of RAM. Good luck.


Then there is the whole can of worms that is "secure boot". On some machines, you have to disable it initially through Windows. If you can't boot Windows...
And you MUST disable it to bot your USB stick. Catch 22


----------



## Venod (6 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> A great deal depends on what you mean by ' BIOS on a USB stick'. To flash a BOS from a USB stick, you need a stick formatted to boot DOS or FreeDOS, the flashing programme, and the BIOS ROM file. What concerns me is the incidence of reports. Sounds like more than just a minor problem, more like some sort of design fault.



This is where I and several others need help, the instructions from HP to create the BIOS flashable USB don't work.


----------



## DCBassman (6 May 2022)

Venod said:


> This is where I and several others need help, the instructions from HP to create the BIOS flashable USB don't work.


Or is it that the machine won't boot from what you've created? See "secure boot" conundrum above.
If not, can you access the BIOS at all?


----------



## DCBassman (6 May 2022)

If the machine cannot load its BIOS (and uou cannot access it), then it's a deader. You need a BIOS to update one, normally.


----------



## Venod (6 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Or is it that the machine won't boot from what you've created? See "secure boot" conundrum above.
> If not, can you access the BIOS at all?



I am unable to create a BIOS usb from the downloaded file and the instructions provided.


----------



## DCBassman (6 May 2022)

Venod said:


> I am unable to create a BIOS usb from the downloaded file and the instructions provided.


Hmm, unusual. It's not normally a problematic process. Can uou link me to the instructions page, please?


----------



## Venod (6 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Hmm, unusual. It's not normally a problematic process. Can uou link me to the instructions page, please?



These are the instructions, but don't work for a lot of people.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_4129273-2331498-16


----------



## Seevio (6 May 2022)

I kind of do this for a living so it looks straightforward to me. Which step isn't working?


----------



## Venod (7 May 2022)

Seevio said:


> I kind of do this for a living so it looks straightforward to me. Which step isn't working?



The bios update file downloads and installs in a new folders on a separate computer but when the .exe runs it does not open the window to select "install bios to USB drive" infact nothing happens, I have tried on two different computers, it seems a problem a lot of people have.


----------



## DCBassman (7 May 2022)

The problem I see is that if the original PC won't load its own BIOS, how's it ever going to boot from the stick?


----------



## Venod (7 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The problem I see is that if the original PC won't load its own BIOS, how's it ever going to boot from the stick?



I don't know ! but these are the instruction's to restore the BIOS from a USB stick, 

https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/ish_1997719-1528356-16

The flashing light codes suggest a memory problem, but two different memory sticks have been tried, I think there is probably a motherboard problem, but it would have been nice to have been able to create a USB BIOS recovery stick to try that.


----------



## DCBassman (7 May 2022)

Venod said:


> I don't know ! but these are the instruction's to restore the BIOS from a USB stick,
> 
> https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/ish_1997719-1528356-16
> 
> The flashing light codes suggest a memory problem, but two different memory sticks have been tried, I think there is probably a motherboard problem, but it would have been nice to have been able to create a USB BIOS recovery stick to try that.


In the meantime, maybe try creating a live Linux USB stick, just to see if it will boot at all...


----------



## Venod (7 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> In the meantime, maybe try creating a live Linux USB stick, just to see if it will boot at all...



This brings us back to your conundrum, if the BIOS isn't loading I don't think it will boot from a USB, but HP suggest you can repair the corrupted BIOS from a USB, if only you could create a stick to do it, which I can't seem to do.


----------



## MontyVeda (7 May 2022)

improvising...


----------



## DCBassman (14 May 2022)

Writing this on my Dell XPS 1640M laptop while away dog-sitting.
Decided, as I have a fallback netbook, to try and upgrade this to Windows 11. It has no TPM, no UEFI BIOS, a hopelessly off-the-list CPU, but plenty of RAM and Storage.
After some research (about 5 minutes!), I realised it was as least faintly possible, without any great hassle. A coin-toss. Go for it.
I'm writing this on Windows 11.
Happy to go into detail if anyone is interested.


----------



## MontyVeda (14 May 2022)

I was watching a YT video about upgrading hopelessly underspeced PCs to W11 a few days ago... they used a bit of script added to the ISO folder to get round the (supposed) needlessly high spec requirements. I didn't watch it all because it was rather boring... they also claimed that W11 doesn't actually need anything near the spec it demands and MS will likely relax things as W10 become obsolete


----------



## DCBassman (14 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> I was watching a YT video about upgrading hopelessly underspeced PCs to W11 a few days ago... they used a bit of script added to the ISO folder to get round the (supposed) needlessly high spec requirements. I didn't watch it all because it was rather boring... they also claimed that W11 doesn't actually need anything near the spec it demands and MS will likely relax things as W10 become obsolete



It's much easier than that. A well-kmown USB-burning program called Rufus will do it all for you. The only thing you need to know is how to use this.


----------



## DCBassman (14 May 2022)

Just to be clear, this was an in-place upgrade using a Rufus-modifies ISO file. I've not yet tried this as a clean install on a non-UEFI machine.


----------



## DCBassman (14 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> W11 doesn't actually need anything near the spec it demands


The reality is that it doesn't need any more, at all, than W10 does.


----------



## Grant Fondo (15 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The reality is that it doesn't need any more, at all, than W10 does.



My old i7 6700K wasn't on the Win 11 compatability list for gods sake! Still a decent cpu but had to upgrade anyway due to top-end gpu bottlenecking and '4 core impact' in some modern games.


----------



## StuAff (15 May 2022)

SydZ said:


> Spent this morning setting up my new Mac Studio.
> 
> Longest part was moving 357Gb of RAW images from my Windows machine. These sat on a 4Tb drive sitting in a 2 bay cradle connected over USB 3. A previous backup to a second 4Tb drive in another USB 3 cradle had taken the best part of 8 hours so I wasn’t expecting anything quick. I knew the USB bypus on the laptop was being stretched by the process but was pleased to see to Mac Studio complete the task via2 USB C ports in under a quarter of the time.


Nice! What spec?


----------



## DCBassman (15 May 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> My old i7 6700K wasn't on the Win 11 compatability list for gods sake! Still a decent cpu but had to upgrade anyway due to top-end gpu bottlenecking and '4 core impact' in some modern games.


Yup, gaming, a tough thing at the top! OS pretty irrelevant though, despite MS saying 11 is better for gaming.
Just for giggles, I did a clean install onto a Toshiba Satellite A100, slightly upgraded. 4GB RAM, of which only 3 usable, due to part of the chipset being 32-bit. C2D T7200. It runs, but not terribly well, due to lack of drivers. If I can fix that, I'll leave it on! As I'd once had W10 on an A100, it even activated it!


----------



## DCBassman (19 May 2022)

A100 not playing ball with W11 due to drivers, so back to Linux Mint 20.3 it goes.


----------



## DCBassman (21 May 2022)

Everything I have that can go to W11 now has done.


----------



## DCBassman (22 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Everything I have that can go to W11 now has done.


I lied. My Asus TP200SA now has 11.
After some more research into compacting Windows 10, and plugging in some external drive space, the in-place install worked. I had to 'keep nothing', but no problem as this is a non-essential toy, really. Once I've examined the final configuration, I 'll be able to free up a bit more space and undo the compaction, which will improve performance slightly. 
Due to that compaction, the install took most of the night!


----------



## Grant Fondo (22 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I lied. My Asus TP200SA now has 11.
> After some more research into compacting Windows 10, and plugging in some external drive space, the in-place install worked. I had to 'keep nothing', but no problem as this is a non-essential toy, really. Once I've examined the final configuration, I 'll be able to free up a bit more space and undo the compaction, which will improve performance slightly.
> Due to that compaction, the install took most of the night!



You can do it all again in a few months, Win 12 on its way


----------



## DCBassman (22 May 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> You can do it all again in a few months, Win 12 on its way


Nah, 2025 when 10 dies.


----------



## DCBassman (23 May 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I lied. My Asus TP200SA now has 11.
> After some more research into compacting Windows 10, and plugging in some external drive space, the in-place install worked. I had to 'keep nothing', but no problem as this is a non-essential toy, really. Once I've examined the final configuration, I 'll be able to free up a bit more space and undo the compaction, which will improve performance slightly.
> Due to that compaction, the install took most of the night!


All done. Now runs as well on 11 as It did on 10, and, counter-intuitively, I've ended up with more disk space. Basically because I've learnt a lot about what can be got shot of. But not particularly easy, or quick.


----------



## MontyVeda (25 May 2022)

finally put the new/old PC together, although I'm yet to install the OS...







It'll need a whole heap of drivers too i expect?

Question for @DCBassman:
I've used an old chassis fan which is noisy as feck. Question is, with an SSD, does it actually need a chassis fan? (The PSU has its own fan, as does the CPU)


----------



## DCBassman (25 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> finally put the new/old PC together, although I'm yet to install the OS...
> 
> View attachment 646200
> 
> ...


Mine has a teeny 3cm chassis fan, but it's not needed really. So long as the CPU cooler is up to the job. What's the inside of the case look like?


----------



## Grant Fondo (25 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> finally put the new/old PC together, although I'm yet to install the OS...
> 
> View attachment 646200
> 
> ...



Wow, that Bios is a blast from the past! Yes from me on at least one case fan, particularly as the hot weather is on the way, so it draws air through the front (maybe?) , across the hot cpu cooler and pumps it out the back.


----------



## DCBassman (25 May 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Wow, that Bios is a blast from the past! Yes from me on at least one case fan, particularly as the hot weather is on the way, so it draws air through the front (maybe?) , across the hot cpu cooler and pumps it out the back.



Depends on the size of the case. Mine's not nearly big enough to take standard fans. Whereas the main pc is the size of a small apartment block...


----------



## DCBassman (25 May 2022)

Whole innards





Tiny fan.


----------



## DCBassman (25 May 2022)

@MontyVeda ,yours has USB3, so is slightly later than mine. Find the very latest BIOS and install it. 
If it's anything like mine, it's pretty snappy even using the integrated graphics.


----------



## MontyVeda (25 May 2022)

Cheers guys. I'll borrow the fan from my current PC when i get round to taking its cd/dvd drive out.



DCBassman said:


> ... What's the inside of the case look like?








I decided to secure the SSD on its edge so only a minimal amount of dust can settle on it. Hopefully the soundcard works because it was buying that that meant i had to build this.

Just downloaded all the drivers from the ASUS site.

I'm currently running W10 with a W7 licence. Not sure if that'll work again on this build.


----------



## DCBassman (25 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Cheers guys. I'll borrow the fan from my current PC when i get round to taking it's cd/dvd drive out.
> 
> 
> View attachment 646217
> ...


Get a nice 80mm Corsair fan, or other name brand. You will not hear it. Also, the BIOS may contain fan profiles that enable you to set the fans low and quiet.


----------



## MontyVeda (26 May 2022)

Surprisingly, Windows accepted the same licence key I'm using on this PC


----------



## DCBassman (26 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Surprisingly, Windows accepted the same licence key I'm using on this PC


Good result!


----------



## DCBassman (27 May 2022)

Decided I needed more USB on my main laptop. I almost invariably use a mouse because I don't like touchpads. So I'm always a USB port down.
Lightbulb: there's an ExpressCard slot. Quick search through eBay nets me a 3-port USB3 card for slightly north of a tenner, delivered. Click.





Of course, it cannot actually do the full USB3 thing, because the ExpressCard bus doesn't run that fast, but 3 extra ports is very useful.


----------



## MontyVeda (29 May 2022)

one can never have too many USBs.


----------



## MontyVeda (29 May 2022)

in other news... I'd forgotten how much i hate a new PC. All the fecking around trying to find where i'd put all my passwords, installing all those piddly bits of software I'll seldom use, trying to figure out why i can't download anything, and wondering why the hell it won't let me look in my mahoosive 'photos' folder when i 'm logged in as the Admin yet 'access is denied'


----------



## MontyVeda (29 May 2022)

I was adequately happy with the install of W10 on my other PC, but the install of W10 on this new(old) one is like I've installed a draconian nanny state. I've had to give myself, as an administrator, special administrative permission to view my own photos folder, but am still blocked from looking inside any subfolders within it, possibly because, as an administrator, i don't have administrative rights to look at my own stuff. AND every time i open uTorrent, i have to open it as an administrator otherwise the M$ nanny state will block me from using a torrent client to download any torrents. All the while I'm logged in as the administrator and it keeps saying "nah you can't do that" FFS . I'm seriously considering moving over to the lightside of the force and installing a Linux OS instead. Life needn't be so awkward.


----------



## MontyVeda (30 May 2022)

...and to top it all... the audiophile sound card was working fine yesterday, today (after a reboot) Windows says it has no drivers and even pointing it directly at the folder with the drivers in, it won't install them 

EDIT... uninstalled the device and reinstalled the drivers, working again... but for how long?


----------



## icowden (30 May 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> ...and to top it all... the audiophile sound card was working fine yesterday, today (after a reboot) Windows says it has no drivers and even pointing it directly at the folder with the drivers in, it won't install them
> 
> EDIT... uninstalled the device and reinstalled the drivers, working again... but for how long?



Until the next update if it is anything like my audiophile sound card. I sold it in the end and got a USB UR44C instead.


----------



## DCBassman (6 Jun 2022)

Hopefully, the Mac Pro finds a new home today. I just don't find it or its OS any great fun to play with...


----------



## Grant Fondo (6 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Hopefully, the Mac Pro finds a new home today. I just don't find it or its OS any great fun to play with...



I recently specced up a mates new pc after he took the plunge after years with Macs, he's an architect. Awesome rig, AMD 5900X and RX6800XT plus big 4K monitor ... he's over the moon with it.


----------



## DCBassman (6 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> I recently specced up a mates new pc after he took the plunge after years with Macs, he's an architect. Awesome rig, AMD 5900X and RX6800XT plus big 4K monitor ... he's over the moon with it.


I'd like to persuade my niece to do the same, she's also an architect.


----------



## DCBassman (9 Jun 2022)

Next small project: find a way to get more RAM into the SFF box. This has 2 slots and will take 2x8GB, but I don't have any of those. A shedload of 4GB sticks, however. 
It currently runs an I7-2600K, so can use older Intel chipsets. A few days of perusing eBay and I find a Q67-based Intel business board. Sold as parts because it won't boot with the i3-3220 also supplied. It cannot, doesn't support that generation. So, this will almost certainly be ok, and I can sell on the CPU to offset the total cost of £11.36 delivered! The board has four RAM slots to a max of 32GB. I'll install 16 and be happy. It also has faster SATA channels, so a bonus there too.
Asus P8H61M LX2 will go up for sale with 4GB RAM and an i5-3470. That's a great general purpose PC right there.


----------



## Grant Fondo (9 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Next small project: find a way to get more RAM into the SFF box. This has 2 slots and will take 2x8GB, but I don't have any of those. A shedload of 4GB sticks, however.
> It currently runs an I7-2600K, so can use older Intel chipsets. A few days of perusing eBay and I find a Q67-based Intel business board. Sold as parts because it won't boot with the i3-3220 also supplied. It cannot, doesn't support that generation. So, this will almost certainly be ok, and I can sell on the CPU to offset the total cost of £11.36 delivered! The board has four RAM slots to a max of 32GB. I'll install 16 and be happy. It also has faster SATA channels, so a bonus there too.
> Asus P8H61M LX2 will go up for sale with 4GB RAM and an i5-3470. That's a great general purpose PC right there.



Same here, loads of RAM knocking about ... DDR2 800 to DDR4 3000 .... if you or any CC'ers need anything let me know. Just took an 8800GT out of an old gaming rig + a nice Dark Rock Pro cooler spare from when I switched to water


----------



## DCBassman (10 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Same here, loads of RAM knocking about ... DDR2 800 to DDR4 3000 .... if you or any CC'ers need anything let me know. Just took an 8800GT out of an old gaming rig + a nice Dark Rock Pro cooler spare from when I switched to water
> View attachment 648218


Will keep in mind!
Astonishingly, the 8800GT is far slower han the 'office grade' GT1030 I'm currently running! Such is progress...


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Will keep in mind!
> Astonishingly, the 8800GT is far slower han the 'office grade' GT1030 I'm currently running! Such is progress...



Aye .... It was a great card back in the day as well. Didn't cost the earth either.


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (10 Jun 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> I was adequately happy with the install of W10 on my other PC, but the install of W10 on this new(old) one is like I've installed a draconian nanny state. I've had to give myself, as an administrator, special administrative permission to view my own photos folder, but am still blocked from looking inside any subfolders within it, possibly because, as an administrator, i don't have administrative rights to look at my own stuff. AND every time i open uTorrent, i have to open it as an administrator otherwise the M$ nanny state will block me from using a torrent client to download any torrents. All the while I'm logged in as the administrator and it keeps saying "nah you can't do that" FFS . I'm seriously considering moving over to the lightside of the force and installing a Linux OS instead. Life needn't be so awkward.


You need an registery script that add's take ownership to your right click, takes ages both solves all issues, had the same while switching to an ssd and having part of my pictures and large files on the ''normal'' hdd which has become the second/storage hdd.


MontyVeda said:


> ...and to top it all... the audiophile sound card was working fine yesterday, today (after a reboot) Windows says it has no drivers and even pointing it directly at the folder with the drivers in, it won't install them
> 
> EDIT... uninstalled the device and reinstalled the drivers, working again... but for how long?


yeah sounds cards from the past 5/7 years suck mostly realtek based they have lots off issues, if you have an pc you can add in an SoundBlaster card they are usually dirt cheap second hand and really good.



DCBassman said:


> Hopefully, the Mac Pro finds a new home today. I just don't find it or its OS any great fun to play with...


yeah tried running it on pc years ago with succes but once you have it running it just doesn't feel natural, like they make every thing complicated to make it look simple or something. Linux, beOS(alltough mostly death now) etc. are much more logical in my opinion


----------



## MontyVeda (10 Jun 2022)

dutchguylivingintheuk said:


> You need an registery script that add's take ownership to your right click, takes ages both solves all issues, had the same while switching to an ssd and having part of my pictures and large files on the ''normal'' hdd which has become the second/storage hdd.
> ...


Thanks I'll look into that  edit... looked into, sorted!


dutchguylivingintheuk said:


> ...
> yeah sounds cards from the past 5/7 years suck mostly realtek based they have lots off issues, if you have an pc you can add in an SoundBlaster card they are usually dirt cheap second hand and really good.
> ...


My audiophile card is a good 20 years old. It is currently working but I might have to reinstall it each time bloody windows updates


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Jun 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> Thanks I'll look into that  edit... looked into, sorted!
> 
> My audiophile card is a good 20 years old. It is currently working but I might have to reinstall it each time bloody windows updates



Y'know not had a sound card for 20 years. Current mobo has a Sabre combo DAC and sounds great ... the old Soundblasters were good though.


----------



## MontyVeda (10 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Y'know not had a sound card for 20 years. Current mobo has a Sabre combo DAC and sounds great ... the old Soundblasters were good though.



I only got it because i wanted phono plugs instead of 3.5mm jacks on the back of my PC, which often needed a little fiddle to get a balanced signal. Got it for a tenner off fleabay which i thought was a decent price, but what i didn't consider was having to subsequently buy a motherboard (£30) with a PCI slot to fit the soundcard into, plus a CPU (£20), some RAM (£18), an SSD (£20), a case fan (£8) and a PSU (£8)... so yeah... a tenner... bargain!


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (10 Jun 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> I only got it because i wanted phono plugs instead of 3.5mm jacks on the back of my PC, which often needed a little fiddle to get a balanced signal. Got it for a tenner off fleabay which i thought was a decent price, but what i didn't consider was having to subsequently buy a motherboard (£30) with a PCI slot to fit the soundcard into, plus a CPU (£20), some RAM (£18), an SSD (£20), a case fan (£8) and a PSU (£8)... so yeah... a tenner... bargain!


is started off with an bargain right? so recognizable


----------



## DCBassman (11 Jun 2022)

Today's fettling: hoover the dust from the box-of-many-fans. Good job there's filters...


----------



## DCBassman (12 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Next small project: find a way to get more RAM into the SFF box. This has 2 slots and will take 2x8GB, but I don't have any of those. A shedload of 4GB sticks, however.
> It currently runs an I7-2600K, so can use older Intel chipsets. A few days of perusing eBay and I find a Q67-based Intel business board. Sold as parts because it won't boot with the i3-3220 also supplied. It cannot, doesn't support that generation. So, this will almost certainly be ok, and I can sell on the CPU to offset the total cost of £11.36 delivered! The board has four RAM slots to a max of 32GB. I'll install 16 and be happy. It also has faster SATA channels, so a bonus there too.
> Asus P8H61M LX2 will go up for sale with 4GB RAM and an i5-3470. That's a great general purpose PC right there.


It arrived yesterday, and as expected, the cpu runs fine in the Asus board. Will finish installing the Intel board later.


----------



## Grant Fondo (12 Jun 2022)

Next project for me is cooling! Top floor pc room is roasting, better airflow case + 360mm water cooler looks a good bet.....
...... or get aircon .....


----------



## DCBassman (12 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> It arrived yesterday, and as expected, the cpu runs fine in the Asus board. Will finish installing the Intel board later.


And the Intel board runs the 2600K really well. So once I've offloaded the CPU, I'll have done this upgrade for a fiver. 
I'm the @SkipdiverJohn of PC building!
In fact, as previously mentioned, I'll sell the CPU and 4GB RAM installed in the Asus P8H61M-LX2 and make a bit of profit.


----------



## DCBassman (13 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Hopefully, the Mac Pro finds a new home today. I just don't find it or its OS any great fun to play with...



Maybe swapping it for an HP Proliant ML350 Gen 8. 2x Xeon E2680v2. 10c/20t. Each. Oh, and 56GB of RAM!


----------



## ColinJ (13 Jun 2022)

It has taken me months to realise that you are all playing tech Mornington Crescent!


----------



## Grant Fondo (13 Jun 2022)

ColinJ said:


> It has taken me months to realise that you are all playing tech Mornington Crescent!



Not sure us tech nerds are quite that sophisticated


----------



## DCBassman (13 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Maybe swapping it for an HP Proliant ML350 Gen 8. 2x Xeon E2680v2. 10c/20t. Each. Oh, and 56GB of RAM!


Well, I have it. There's going to be a *seriously* steep learning curve. 56GB RAM, and I still have 10 free slots! 
There's twin redundant PSUs. An onboard computer to administer the computer. Needs a second Ethernet connection to connect with that...
The initial, bound-to-change plan. My younger son will have the remains of the Corsair box back, IF, and that's a bit if, I can get his running as I want it. In the meantime, I'll move the drives from the Corsair into the SFF box mentioned above to ensure normal service is maintained. 
Being a server, it thinks being shut down, as in switched off, is a problem, and then goes full diagnostic and takes 6 minutes to boot! Aaargh!
I will survive...


----------



## StuAff (13 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Well, I have it. There's going to be a *seriously* steep learning curve. 56GB RAM, and I still have 10 free slots!
> There's twin redundant PSUs. An onboard computer to administer the computer. Needs a second Ethernet connection to connect with that...
> The initial, bound-to-change plan. My younger son will have the remains of the Corsair box back, IF, and that's a bit if, I can get his running as I want it. In the meantime, I'll move the drives from the Corsair into the SFF box mentioned above to ensure normal service is maintained.
> Being a server, it thinks being shut down, as in switched off, is a problem, and then goes full diagnostic and takes 6 minutes to boot! Aaargh!
> I will survive...



Sounds like a headache rather than a challenge....


----------



## Grant Fondo (13 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Well, I have it. There's going to be a *seriously* steep learning curve. 56GB RAM, and I still have 10 free slots!
> There's twin redundant PSUs. An onboard computer to administer the computer. Needs a second Ethernet connection to connect with that...
> The initial, bound-to-change plan. My younger son will have the remains of the Corsair box back, IF, and that's a bit if, I can get his running as I want it. In the meantime, I'll move the drives from the Corsair into the SFF box mentioned above to ensure normal service is maintained.
> Being a server, it thinks being shut down, as in switched off, is a problem, and then goes full diagnostic and takes 6 minutes to boot! Aaargh!
> I will survive...



So how many DIMM slots has it got? Thought 12 was the max?


----------



## DCBassman (14 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> So how many DIMM slots has it got? Thought 12 was the max?


24...
14 filled.
And I think you're correct - per processor!


----------



## DCBassman (14 Jun 2022)

StuAff said:


> Sounds like a headache rather than a challenge....


A distinct possibility...


----------



## Grant Fondo (14 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> 24...
> 14 filled.
> And I think you're correct - per processor!



So 'limited' to 384GB then, lol.
* i just had to see what current DDR5 servers can run ... 32 x 512GB sticks! ... or a new car instead no doubt.


----------



## MontyVeda (14 Jun 2022)

I've just stuck a 4port USB3 card in the PCI-e slot... so now have 6xUSB3 and 6XUSB2 on the box


----------



## DCBassman (15 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> So 'limited' to 384GB then, lol.
> * i just had to see what current DDR5 servers can run ... 32 x 512GB sticks! ... or a new car instead no doubt.


Spec says 768GB!


----------



## DCBassman (15 Jun 2022)

Anyhow, the server idea is a non-starter. Can't tame the noise enough. Will strip and sell. Handily enough, one of those 10-core Xeons will drop right into my main box...


----------



## MontyVeda (15 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Spec says 768GB!



apart from a super computer destined to come up with 42 as its final answer... what in the blazes needs 768GB of RAM?


----------



## ColinJ (15 Jun 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> apart from a super computer destined to come up with 42 as its final answer... what in the blazes needs 768GB of RAM?



A HUGE server...?


----------



## DCBassman (15 Jun 2022)

ColinJ said:


> A HUGE server...?


Actually, a fairly small one!
Big servers have many processors and _terabytes_ of RAM


----------



## DCBassman (15 Jun 2022)

Have already removed the 4-core/8 thread i7-3820 from my "office" pc and substituted the 10-core/20 thread Xeon E5-2680v2.


----------



## Grant Fondo (15 Jun 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> apart from a super computer destined to come up with 42 as its final answer... what in the blazes needs 768GB of RAM?



Or 16TB of RAM possible in the latest servers?


----------



## StuAff (15 Jun 2022)

A lot of modern workstation Xeons support 2TB of RAM. Several thousand Chrome tabs?


----------



## Grant Fondo (15 Jun 2022)

Only ever seen 20+GB used a couple of times but guess servers are different.


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (15 Jun 2022)

MontyVeda said:


> apart from a super computer destined to come up with 42 as its final answer... what in the blazes needs 768GB of RAM?


8k editing comes a long way, alltough there are more bottlenecks like drive speeds etc.


----------



## DCBassman (21 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> So how many DIMM slots has it got? Thought 12 was the max?





DCBassman said:


> And I think you're correct - per processor!


Nope, turns out a single E5-2680v2 can handle a max of 768GB!


----------



## DCBassman (25 Jun 2022)

The Xeon is ticking along with solid reliability in the P9X79 motherboard. I'd ecpect nothing less. You can't mess with it or overclock it at all, it simply does what it does.


----------



## Grant Fondo (25 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The Xeon is ticking along with solid reliability in the P9X79 motherboard. I'd ecpect nothing less. You can't mess with it or overclock it at all, it simply does what it does.



What no OC? Thought Intels were made for big voltage abuse. 
When it was cooler got my i9 to 5.3ghz on all 10 cores ... that's nudging 230W, and add in 350W for gpu OC'd.
Both now undervolted until September.


----------



## DCBassman (25 Jun 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> What no OC? Thought Intels were made for big voltage abuse.
> When it was cooler got my i9 to 5.3ghz on all 10 cores ... that's nudging 230W, and add in 350W for gpu OC'd.
> Both now undervolted until September.


I just tried the Asus AI tweaker to see if it would adjust anything, but no. Not something I'd routinely do anyhow, just curious!


----------



## Grant Fondo (25 Jun 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I just tried the Asus AI tweaker to see if it would adjust anything, but no. Not something I'd routinely do anyhow, just curious!



Assume base clock is locked so raising BCLK to 102 ish should work?


----------



## ColinJ (25 Jun 2022)

I'm going to clean up my 10 year old desktop PC and donate it to a friend. He will only use it for web browsing, email, YouTube and some old PC action games so it should be ok for him. I reckon it is about 2-3 times quicker than his current PC.


----------



## DCBassman (4 Jul 2022)

Been messing with the low-spec laptops.
The old A100 Toshiba is dying, I think. Will retrieve the RAM and CPU and recycle the rest.
The Asus TP200SA, lowest spec but most modern PC I have, has not fared well on Windows 11. So I investigated Linux again, with a twist.
I'd been using it with a fast 128GB Samsung Fit drive in an equally fast USB port. Well, Linux will allow you to specify that as your main drive. The piddly 32GB installed drive isn't even an SSD, it seems, but an eMMC chip. Jeez, no wonder it is slow. So, nothing whatever to los by giving this a try.
eMMC partitioned as 110MB EFI prtition and the rest is /home.
The Samsung 128GB is root and all else goes there. Using Mint 20.3 Cinnamon. It's still no speed demon, but ti works, and doesn't seem to bog itself down like it did before.
Result!


----------



## Grant Fondo (4 Jul 2022)

I plan to dig my daughters old i3 Sandybridge pc out tomorrow and see if I can update/speed up a bit. 10 years old, if I can nab an i7 on the cheap and stuff more RAM in, should be half decent


----------



## DCBassman (5 Jul 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> I plan to dig my daughters old i3 Sandybridge pc out tomorrow and see if I can update/speed up a bit. 10 years old, if I can nab an i7 on the cheap and stuff more RAM in, should be half decent


If a BIOS update will allow it to go Ivy Bridge, an i5-3470 is a great all-rounder, and not expensive. Otherwise, I7-2600!


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (5 Jul 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> I plan to dig my daughters old i3 Sandybridge pc out tomorrow and see if I can update/speed up a bit. 10 years old, if I can nab an i7 on the cheap and stuff more RAM in, should be half decent


if i recall correctly i-7's of that time where on the pro version of the ivy bridge so you would be stuck with an i5 then. If it does take an i7 it would be an huge boost, but also requires upgraded cooling. as they run hotter.


----------



## DCBassman (6 Jul 2022)

I run an i7-2600K on an Intel DQ67OW board, so no need for Sandy Bridge-E. There certainly isn't much choice in LGA1155 i7s. 2600, 2600K, 2700K, that's it, but these are still very good processors. 
Mine is using a stock cooler with no issues. Just depends on whether the board will take Ivy Bridge also.


----------



## Grant Fondo (6 Jul 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I run an i7-2600K on an Intel DQ67OW board, so no need for Sandy Bridge-E. There certainly isn't much choice in LGA1155 i7s. 2600, 2600K, 2700K, that's it, but these are still very good processors.
> Mine is using a stock cooler with no issues. Just depends on whether the board will take Ivy Bridge also.



Regret flogging the 2500K now! 2700K's look to be about 40 quid, so not too bad.
Nagging feeling about doing a better upgrade for £130 - comet lake i3/cheap mob .... got 16gb ddr4 spare to bung in as well? Tough call as that would be way faster.


----------



## DCBassman (21 Jul 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The Xeon is ticking along with solid reliability in the P9X79 motherboard. I'd ecpect nothing less. You can't mess with it or overclock it at all, it simply does what it does.


And continues to do so, even after I've managed to overclock it a little, up to 3.3GHz.
The rest of the server has gone off to a new home. Put it on FB Marketplace, and someone promptly drove here from Bournemouth to grab it!


----------



## alicat (14 Aug 2022)

Needing a bit of help.

My laptop wouldn't charge yesterday. I left it alone and plugged it in today and it charged and I put it down as 'one of those things'. The same thing happened today. 

What can I do to see what the problem is? It's a Lenovo Yoga 310 11IAP. It doesn't owe me anything. I quite like it because I can take it on my travels and not worry about it being stolen. 

Thanks for any suggestions.


----------



## DCBassman (15 Aug 2022)

Obvious things first: check charger, cables, and DC input jack for signs of looseness or damage. A way to test for less obvious problems of this type is to see if it runs reliably with the battery removed, assuming that's possible. Other tests are by substitution, ie battery and charger, but this is not usually something that's available. 
Another possibility is to see if the BIOS has a battery health check, and see what it says. 
The single biggest likelihood is the battery particularly if you've had it, and used it, for some years.


----------



## alicat (15 Aug 2022)

^^^ thanks for the pointers @DCBassman


----------



## wafter (5 Sep 2022)

alicat said:


> ^^^ thanks for the pointers @DCBassman



How did you get on? If necessary, depending on spec I can supply a used, genuine charger if necessary 


Not really fetting as such, but I've finally got around to using my "new" laptop - a Lenovo X280. Tbh I'd have happily continued using my old Samsung 900 series however it's single, non-upgradeable, soldered-to-the-board 4Gb RAM chip has increasing been struggling with my slapdash attitude to browser tab closure and it's starting to show its age (9yrs) so has been relegated to stereo-youtube-conduit duties.

The Lenovo's a nice little machine of a decent spec (IIRC tth gen i5, 16Gb Ram, 256Gb SSD, silly screen res for a laptop) but it's taken me a while to get used to it as it's running W10 (demoted from 11, everything else in the house is still on 7) and Lenovo in their infinite wisdom have put the Fn key where Ctrl is on any other civilised machine..

Having coaxed the internet into showing me how to bin Windows search results from the net and hiding a load of the commercial crap I now feel a lot more at home.


I feel legit in posting on this thread however as my main desktop is a 2009 Dell XPS with 1st gen i7 and a load of retro-fitted bits (SSD, 16Gb RAM, uprated Corsair PSU after the original shat the bed, some low-end passively cooled GPU after the original went the same way as the PSU). I'm also still using the 20" Dell 2007WFP monitor purchased in 2006; so have certainly had my money's worth 

The old dear is running an even older Acer Core 2 Duo desktop, made tolerable with some more RAM and and SSD.

Not that I ask a lot from my desktops but I'm impressed by how capable they are given their age


----------



## DCBassman (5 Sep 2022)

wafter said:


> I'm impressed by how capable they are given their age


8GB of RAM or more, and an SSD, can make almost any machine tolerable. My main laptop is still a Core 2 Duo (T9550) Dell Studio XPS with 8GB RAM and a 750GB SSD. Making these old machines fly, even if they groan at the effort, is like rebuilding old bikes - part of the fun.


----------



## Grant Fondo (6 Sep 2022)

Great to see some old hardware still munching integers in 2022!
My current rig has got a 9 year old psu, an original OCZ 64gb ssd (along with three other newer ones) and monitor is a 6 year old 4K 32 inch. Three cpu/gpu/ mobo changes since 2012 though, which has been pricey, but great fun rebuilding every 4/5 years or so.


----------



## alicat (6 Sep 2022)

wafter said:


> How did you get on? If necessary, depending on spec I can supply a used, genuine charger if necessary


 Hi @wafter 

Thanks for thinking of me.

The short answer is that I dug out the laptop's predecessor and am getting on okay with it for now.

The longer answer is that I decided that the problem might be the charging connection inside the laptop - the connection seems wobbly and I'm prone to trip over leads etc. I also remembered that I was irritated by the touchpad not working after I spilt coffee on the machine and by the wifi crashing quite frequently so I'm tempted to put the laptop away for now and/or sell it for parts. If I decide to investigate further I'll DM you and maybe see if I can borrow your charger to see if that is the problem.


----------



## DCBassman (6 Sep 2022)

I would suggest the wobbly power input and potential problems caused by liquid make it a parts job. If so, don't forget to keep your hard disk.


----------



## alicat (6 Sep 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I would suggest the wobbly power input and potential problems caused by liquid make it a parts job. If so, don't forget to keep your hard disk.


Thanks - glad we are on the same page.

I will be back asking for help when I decide to upgrade the hard drive on this laptop - I know you like a challenge!


----------



## lazybloke (6 Sep 2022)

Ah, drive upgrades.
I thought my daughter's old SSD on a SATA interface was reasonably fast was 500MB/s, but it was always full so she now has a Gen4 M.2 SSD, which manages a whopping 6,994 MB/s. Holy smoke, it's FAST.

My first hard drive managed only 0.5 MB/Sec.... (10 MB RLL drive)


----------



## wafter (6 Sep 2022)

alicat said:


> Hi @wafter
> 
> Thanks for thinking of me.
> 
> ...



Cool and no worries - sounds like it's worth flogging for bits in that case. Over the past year I've been well educated as to how fast stuff like this depreciates, so if you've made the decision to write it off, I'd get shot of it ASAP while it still has some value


----------



## Grant Fondo (7 Sep 2022)

wafter said:


> how fast stuff like this depreciates



Usually! Remember when 'the great silicon shortage' hit, sold my 4 year old graphics card in the november for £180 and they were changing hands for £350 six months later. So, two years on things are almost back to normal, but not quite yet.


----------



## PeteXXX (9 Sep 2022)

Question: I have a Vodafone router in the lounge and a TP Link extender in the back room. At present they have different names and passwords. 
Can I name/pw them the same so that laptops, phones etc flipflop seamlessly between them depending on the best/strongest signal or will it confuse them? 

TIA


----------



## alicat (9 Sep 2022)

Just because it says 'Tetley's' on the bus, it doesn't mean it's got tea inside. Happy to be corrected...


----------



## cyberknight (9 Sep 2022)

geobook i bought mealier this year had the screen cover that had come loose ( i reckon its been droppes ) so i clicked it back together which took some force , there was also some loose metal spacers i had to take out to get it back together .
Unfortunatly the screen is now knackered and it looks like the cost of a new screen is going to be the best part of £100


----------



## DCBassman (9 Sep 2022)

PeteXXX said:


> Question: I have a Vodafone router in the lounge and a TP Link extender in the back room. At present they have different names and passwords.
> Can I name/pw them the same so that laptops, phones etc flipflop seamlessly between them depending on the best/strongest signal or will it confuse them?
> 
> TIA


As I understand things, there are two routes you could take.
1) If you cannot rename the extender, you will need the router admin password. Then you can change the router's name (SSID) and password to match.
2) Most extenders can be set so that their SSID appears as "main SSID"_EXT, with the same password being automatically set. Then all that is needed is to register each network on each device, and they should move as needed.
Be aware that the possibility exists that for scenario 1, each ends up on the same channel. It's unlikely, as the extender should routinely choose something different to the router, but conflict is possible. It also may just work, regardless!
Go through the setup procedure for the extender with a fine tooth comb, it should list all the possibilities. Normally, to get the _EXT setup, it's a matter of first resetting the extender to factory settings. Then press the WPS button on the router, then something similar on the extender. It should then set itself up. The extender instructions are vital to make this easy, so if you don't have them, they are certainly on TP-Link's website. They will also give you instructions as to what to do if your router doesn't have a WPS button.


----------



## PeteXXX (9 Sep 2022)

These are my options at the moment (1,2 & 5) as the TP can connect to 4 or 5G

I do have the instructions & WPS buttons, too.


----------



## Grant Fondo (9 Sep 2022)

PeteXXX said:


> View attachment 660495
> 
> These are my options at the moment (1,2 & 5) as the TP can connect to 4 or 5G
> 
> I do have the instructions & WPS buttons, too.



I have got a TP Link extender and it plays havoc with any other powerlines in the house, no idea why? I'm all ears if you get a solution.


----------



## icowden (9 Sep 2022)

PeteXXX said:


> Question: I have a Vodafone router in the lounge and a TP Link extender in the back room. At present they have different names and passwords.
> Can I name/pw them the same so that laptops, phones etc flipflop seamlessly between them depending on the best/strongest signal or will it confuse them?
> 
> TIA



Essentially yes. Or at least that's what I did with BT Homehubs at one stage.


----------



## Seevio (10 Sep 2022)

PeteXXX said:


> Question: I have a Vodafone router in the lounge and a TP Link extender in the back room. At present they have different names and passwords.
> Can I name/pw them the same so that laptops, phones etc flipflop seamlessly between them depending on the best/strongest signal or will it confuse them?
> 
> TIA



Dunno. But what I do know is that it won't irrevocably break things if you try it and it doesn't work.


----------



## PeteXXX (10 Sep 2022)

I'll give it a go soon.. Thanks folks 👍


----------



## DCBassman (15 Sep 2022)

A fix for brave souls who are short on disk space on their Windows drive.
Search for fortinmike / reclaim-disk-space.bat on Github. This MUST be run as administrator, so right-click and choose accordingly.
This is extremely agressive, but will likely get your C drive to below 20GB used. You will be unable to roll back any updates installed before running it.
Again, use with caution. A full system image backup is a really good idea before use if you've even the slightest worry.
This made my netbook usable with Windows 11 and 10. It seems to have given a bit of extra oomph to this laptop also, even though I really didn't need to scrimp on disk space really.
To repeat, do all the required updates you need, then make sure they are all working properly. Then, and only then, run the batch file!


----------



## Proto (16 Sep 2022)

iMac help advice please. 

My wife uses a MacBookPro for work, 2017 model running Monterey. She used it when we were travelling in our van and she loves it. However it has it's limitations in my opinion (screen size, no mouse) and I think she'd be better off with a desktop. 

So, I've got a spare iMac, 2012, 500GB SSD, 8GB RAM, running Catalina, which is the newest OS it can legitimately take, and I'm suggesting to her that she takes it over, and works with either as and when necessary. 

I've read that there's a patch that allows Monterey to be installed on older machines, but that it's obviously unsupported by Apple, and could potentially have problems.

So, couple of questions. Anyone had experience of running Monterey on an unsupported machine, errors, problems, downside, or has it worked well?

Are there any any issues with her working across two machines if they are running different OS's?

Cheers.


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (18 Sep 2022)

Proto said:


> So, couple of questions. Anyone had experience of running Monterey on an unsupported machine, errors, problems, downside, or has it worked well?
> 
> Are there any any issues with her working across two machines if they are running different OS's?
> 
> Cheers.


From toying around with installing Macos on Pc's i known the main issue is always hardware, so it might be that some hardware your older Imac has won't be supported in Monterey, i remember they switched from onboard Intel graphics to dedicated graphics at some point for example.


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (18 Sep 2022)

DCBassman said:


> A fix for brave souls who are short on disk space on their Windows drive.
> Search for fortinmike / reclaim-disk-space.bat on Github.


Nice collection of scripts saves having to look-up all individual commands


----------



## Grant Fondo (18 Sep 2022)

.... talking about storage, i have bunged a couple of these in old pc's with sub-320gb old hdd's. Wasn't expecting much, but Windows load up times don't seem that different to 'posh' Samsung pcie SSD in my main machine. No reliability issues either. 
https://www.cclonline.com/asu630ss-...MIy_3BuK2e-gIVo4BQBh0xugDtEAQYEyABEgJsBvD_BwE


----------



## DCBassman (18 Sep 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> .... talking about storage, i have bunged a couple of these in old pc's with sub-320gb old hdd's. Wasn't expecting much, but Windows load up times don't seem that different to 'posh' Samsung pcie SSD in my main machine. No reliability issues either.
> https://www.cclonline.com/asu630ss-...MIy_3BuK2e-gIVo4BQBh0xugDtEAQYEyABEgJsBvD_BwE


Even today, you can only cram so much down the processor's throat...


----------



## Ming the Merciless (18 Sep 2022)

DCBassman said:


> This is extremely agressive, but will likely get your C drive to below 20GB used



Having deleted every single one of your photos and videos and all your music.


----------



## icowden (18 Sep 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Having deleted every single one of your photos and videos and all your music.


Nope. Those aren't even necessarily on your system partition. The reclaim-diskspace process deletes service back uninstallers, windows rollbacks, images etc. Essentially removing windows stuff that you can live without (usually).



> :: Disable Hibernation (removes hiberfil.sys)
> :: Remove temp files (will probably log warnings for files that are in use, but will remove lots of things nonetheless)
> :: Remove $GetCurrent directory (created during the upgrade process). It contains log files
> :: Remove $WINDOWS.~BT (won’t be able to downgrade to the previous build of Windows 10 or previous version of Windows your PC had installed.All existing service packs and updatescannot be uninstalled after this command is completed.
> ...


----------



## DCBassman (18 Sep 2022)

Ming the Merciless said:


> Having deleted every single one of your photos and videos and all your music.



Certainly not on my machines.


----------



## pubrunner (19 Sep 2022)

Proto said:


> So, I've got a spare iMac, 2012, 500GB SSD, 8GB RAM, running Catalina, which is the newest OS it can legitimately take, and I'm suggesting to her that she takes it over, and works with either as and when necessary.



I've a couple of iMacs from 2011/12 - I've put Windows 10 on them and they run very nicely.


----------



## Grant Fondo (3 Oct 2022)

currently installing the 'big' Win 11 update, fingers crossed


----------



## FishFright (3 Oct 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> currently installing the 'big' Win 11 update, fingers crossed



Having used Windows since 3.1 and never had an update brick my machine I hope to one day bottle the skill and sell it to the unfortunate .

For some reason computers like working with me , even when a power supply let all the smoke out in one go nothing else was damaged !


----------



## Grant Fondo (3 Oct 2022)

All up and running, about 20 minutes start to finish ... new look task manager ... seems my cpu has been given a big overclock? LOL. Don't remember gpu info in the old version either?


----------



## DCBassman (3 Oct 2022)

My three Win 11 machines are all technically unsupported, so haven't yet been offered the upgrade. But the scuttlebutt is that they certainly will be, just later on.


----------



## Grant Fondo (9 Oct 2022)

Wifi is so easy to use these days. Anyone remember mucking around with all sorts of weird and wonderful bits and pieces with dubious compatibility issues?


----------



## DCBassman (9 Oct 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Wifi is so easy to use these days. Anyone remember mucking around with all sorts of weird and wonderful bits and pieces with dubious compatibility issues?
> View attachment 663973


Still happens sometimes. Wishing to get things up to date and moving a bit more quickly, I bought three TP-Link 802.11AC dongles. They are all easily outperformed by a £2.50 ebay 802.11N adaptor. So much for going for the big names...


----------



## DCBassman (10 Oct 2022)

As it looks like both my ops will now be encompassed by one longer hospital stay, I decided it was time to start prepping for absolute minimum usable tech to take.
Asus Transformer Vivobook TP200SA, with a Bluetooth mouse. Fresh install of Linux Mint Cinnamon 21, running off a 128GB Samsung Fit USB stick plugged into a 5GB/s port. Should do the trick. Small, weughs next to nothing, good battery life, nice long power lead.
Of course, I could just use my phone, but where's the fun in that?


----------



## fossyant (10 Oct 2022)

DCBassman said:


> As it looks like both my ops will now be encompassed by one longer hospital stay, I decided it was time to start prepping for absolute minimum usable tech to take.
> Asus Transformer Vivobook TP200SA, with a Bluetooth mouse. Fresh install of Linux Mint Cinnamon 21, running off a 128GB Samsung Fit USB stick plugged into a 5GB/s port. Should do the trick. Small, weughs next to nothing, good battery life, nice long power lead.
> Of course, I could just use my phone, but where's the fun in that?



I just took our laptop, and whilst in there upgraded it to SSD, just had the parcels sent home. I was stuck on my back for 6 weeks.


----------



## DCBassman (10 Oct 2022)

fossyant said:


> I just took our laptop, and whilst in there upgraded it to SSD, just had the parcels sent home. I was stuck on my back for 6 weeks.


My main laptop is a big heavy beast, currently with no battery, so a non-starter. And I doubt they'll keep me in too long, 10 days tops.


----------



## dutchguylivingintheuk (19 Oct 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Wifi is so easy to use these days. Anyone remember mucking around with all sorts of weird and wonderful bits and pieces with dubious compatibility issues?
> View attachment 663973


at some point these where reasonable compactible, especially compared to those xircom combi things (isdn/ethernet etc.) but that's the 56k v.92 area those days, when 10 mbit adsl felt like 1gbit


----------



## icowden (19 Oct 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Wifi is so easy to use these days. Anyone remember mucking around with all sorts of weird and wonderful bits and pieces with dubious compatibility issues?


Wifi shmifi!

When I were a lad I remember mucking about with a 2400 baud modem (and my papa mucking about with a 300baud modem) and before that mucking about with a tape deck trying to get the right speed and sound level to load a program!

A bit later on I still had a modem (V56 one) which I used with an HP 96LX that I still have in a drawer somewhere. I used to use it via dial up to hook into Compuserve and read the forums...

Those were the days... but you tell kids now that programmes came in magazines and they look at you like you are mad!


----------



## ColinJ (19 Oct 2022)

icowden said:


> Wifi shmifi!
> 
> When I were a lad I remember mucking about with a 2400 baud modem (and my papa mucking about with a 300baud modem) and before that mucking about with a tape deck trying to get the right speed and sound level to load a program!
> 
> ...



Pah...! 



ColinJ said:


> The first modem I used wasn't even a modem... This was in the pre-Internet days.
> 
> We had access to Warwick university's computer but we had to physically take our Algol programs over there on cards which we had punched using a hand punch at school!
> 
> You really learn the meaning of 'slow' when you have to share a hand punch with 20 other pupils, wait a week to go over in the school minibus to hand your punched cards to the computer operators, then go back a week later to pick up the cards and a printout usually saying something like 'Syntax error, line 3'!


----------



## DCBassman (20 Oct 2022)

If we're talking bauds here, I've personally worked on 50 and 75 baud teleprinters!
Edit to add: that were in use!


----------



## DaveReading (20 Oct 2022)

Anyone remember the fun trying to get the phone to stay in the acoustic coupler ?


----------



## DCBassman (20 Oct 2022)

DaveReading said:


> Anyone remember the fun trying to get the phone to stay in the acoustic coupler ?


Nope, skipped all that and started at 14.4k modems!


----------



## Grant Fondo (20 Oct 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Nope, skipped all that and started at 14.4k modems!



I was early modem too, in hong kong where, dare I say it, the infrastructure was a bit more advanced than the UK. Even now their average broadband speed is higher than the UK.


----------



## DaveReading (20 Oct 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Nope, skipped all that and started at 14.4k modems!



14.4k was a dream in those days:


----------



## DCBassman (4 Nov 2022)

OK, downsizing. Can no longer justify the space and power for a 32GB 10-core monster PC, so my younger son is having it back to use as a game server.
So I now use the i7-2600K with 16GB and a GT1030 graphics card. More than enough. Found an old Radeon HD2400Pro for the server, so when he's collected it, it's ready for his drives and setup.


----------



## Grant Fondo (5 Nov 2022)

You can save £££'s by not using pc's at stock settings, with a bit of eco-fettling. I've de-tuned mine to save 150W which should add up over time, quieter as well.


----------



## ColinJ (5 Nov 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> You can save £££'s by not using pc's at stock settings, with a bit of eco-fettling. I've de-tuned mine to save 150W which should add up over time, quieter as well.


Or just use a laptop and save much more!


----------



## DCLane (5 Nov 2022)

I've been playing with two PC's today; firstly my Zwift set-up which now has a lovely Philips 23" monitor. All set ready for Zwifting.

Then son no. 2's old PC which I set up with a Dell 24" monitor/speakers/webcam plus additional webcam/microphone for 'spare' office use. I'm currently sharing SWMBO's office (i.e. I'm squatting in it apparently) and this will provide both of us with an alternative.


----------



## FishFright (6 Nov 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> You can save £££'s by not using pc's at stock settings, with a bit of eco-fettling. I've de-tuned mine to save 150W which should add up over time, quieter as well.



I run mine turned down when not running anything power hungry


----------



## ColinJ (9 Nov 2022)

A question for you PC experts... 

I have a Lenovo 710s-13isk running Windows 10. It's keyboard is not too bad as far as rubbery laptop ones go. I am, however, not a touch typist so I type looking at the keyboard and occasionally mistype by either double-clicking a key or not clicking hard enough, causing extra or missing letters. It can be annoying. I would like to turn on a key click sound so I can immediately hear when that happens rather than discovering it 30 seconds later when I finally look up at the screen, but I can't find any way to do it. I thought that there would be an entry in the keyboard settings, but no.

Any ideas?


----------



## Grant Fondo (9 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> Any ideas?



Try highlighting this in Settings ... this is Win 11 so Win 10 may be slightly different?


----------



## cisamcgu (9 Nov 2022)

This might help https://www.laptopmag.com/how-to/enable-keyboard-typing-sounds-windows-10

but, I couldn't get it to work on my laptop


----------



## ColinJ (9 Nov 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Try highlighting this in Settings ... this is Win 11 so Win 10 may be slightly different?
> View attachment 667381


I think that is only for on-screen keyboards.


cisamcgu said:


> This might help https://www.laptopmag.com/how-to/enable-keyboard-typing-sounds-windows-10
> 
> but, I couldn't get it to work on my laptop


I found that earlier, and it was no use to me either! 

I seem to be okay typing until I get tired but then I get a bit clunsy (<--- ha ha - like that) - _clumsy,_ and mistype. (Not that key clicks would help me when hitting the wrong key altogether.)


----------



## Bonefish Blues (9 Nov 2022)

By way of random thought as I noticed the thread, can I recommend HK Soundsticks & sub as a premium speaker system. Really very good indeed, and cost very little s/h (£50 for the Bluetooth Mk3 set in my case)


----------



## Venod (9 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> I seem to be okay typing until I get tired but then I get a bit clunsy (<--- ha ha - like that) - _clumsy,_ and mistype.



When I used to work for a living, one of the favorite pranks of somebody was to reverse the position of the N and M keys on the keyboard, it was surprising how long it took people to notice.


----------



## Oldhippy (9 Nov 2022)

Am I imagining that there was a compact note book mini laptop type thing that had an older version of Windows office that didn't require Internet to use but had email facility if need and a functioning but smaller keyboard? If so ehat brand we're thry and where would I get one?


----------



## ColinJ (9 Nov 2022)

Oldhippy said:


> Am I imagining that there was a compact note book mini laptop type thing that had an older version of Windows office that didn't require Internet to use but had email facility if need and a functioning but smaller keyboard? If so ehat brand we're thry and where would I get one?


Netbooks!

Does it have to be Office, or would any old word processor do?

Somebody gave me one a couple of years back. I can't remember if I left it as a Windows machine or stuck Linux on it...


----------



## ColinJ (9 Nov 2022)

Venod said:


> When I used to work for a living, one of the favorite pranks of somebody was to reverse the position of the N and M keys on the keyboard, it was surprising how long it took people to notice.


The one I liked was taking a screenshot of someone's desktop and displaying that full screen on their machine. They would come back from their coffee break and be clicking away on the picture of icons rather than icons themselves, and wondering why nothing was happening!


----------



## newfhouse (9 Nov 2022)

Venod said:


> When I used to work for a living, one of the favorite pranks of somebody was to reverse the position of the N and M keys on the keyboard, it was surprising how long it took people to notice.



My colleague Nartim got very upset with me by the fifth time.


----------



## Milzy (9 Nov 2022)

How can I draw lines freehand in google classrooms?


----------



## Seevio (9 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> A question for you PC experts...
> 
> I have a Lenovo 710s-13isk running Windows 10. It's keyboard is not too bad as far as rubbery laptop ones go. I am, however, not a touch typist so I type looking at the keyboard and occasionally mistype by either double-clicking a key or not clicking hard enough, causing extra or missing letters. It can be annoying. I would like to turn on a key click sound so I can immediately hear when that happens rather than discovering it 30 seconds later when I finally look up at the screen, but I can't find any way to do it. I thought that there would be an entry in the keyboard settings, but no.
> 
> Any ideas?



Freeware, use at your own risk. 
That said, I tried it and windows defender hasn't thrown a fit yet and my files don't appear to be encrypting...


----------



## ColinJ (9 Nov 2022)

Seevio said:


> Freeware, use at your own risk.
> That said, I tried it and windows defender hasn't thrown a fit yet and my files don't appear to be encrypting...


I did think of looking for something like that, but my paranoia held me back! 

It just struck me that there ought to be some way of enabling such a basic feature without extra software.


----------



## Oldhippy (10 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> Netbooks!
> 
> Does it have to be Office, or would any old word processor do?
> 
> Somebody gave me one a couple of years back. I can't remember if I left it as a Windows machine or stuck Linux on it...



Any word type programme would do as long as I could email it and write my adventures down and it wasn't cumbersome on a cycle trip.


----------



## ColinJ (10 Nov 2022)

Oldhippy said:


> Any word type programme would do as long as I could email it and write my adventures down and it wasn't cumbersome on a cycle trip.


I am going to check that the netbook is working ok. If it is, you'd be welcome to it***. (I checked with my pal - he doesn't want it back, and is happy for me to pass it on to a fellow cyclist!)

It's an ASUS eeePC, 1025C, as reviewed here...



Unlike that one, this device does not have upgradeable RAM - it is fixed at 1 GB but that would be fine for writing simple documents, and emailing.

It has Windows 7 starter edition installed. That is no longer supported so obviously it won't have had security updates for years. No problem for your simple requirements though.

It has a 100-240 V mains power block with two prongs on it. I have an adapter to UK 3-pin standard. You might need a different adapter for some other countries. The battery life might not be super-long. Anyway, I'll give the device the once over and get back to you tomorrow. You can then decide if you want it.


*** Free, gratis, and for nothing!


----------



## Oldhippy (10 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> I am going to check that the netbook is working ok. If it is, you'd be welcome to it***. (I checked with my pal - he doesn't want it back, and is happy for me to pass it on to a fellow cyclist!)
> 
> It's an ASUS eeePC, 1025C, as reviewed here...
> 
> ...




That is so very kind of you thank you. May I at least donate something to your favourite charity? It will be used to do my travelogues when I'm touring as a phone screen is a pain for size. Again thank you.


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> Unlike that one, this device does not have upgradeable RAM



Not, exactly .... it does have a removable RAM module, just getting to it is a faff and a half!


View: https://youtu.be/H0UAOR2VQfc


----------



## ColinJ (10 Nov 2022)

Oldhippy said:


> That is so very kind of you thank you. May I at least donate something to your favourite charity? It will be used to do my travelogues when I'm touring as a phone screen is a pain for size. Again thank you.


No problem - I was given it, and several CycleChat members have given me things in the past.

If you feel happy with it and want to make a charitable donation - either Parkinson's or a Ukrainian refugee charity would be good.

It will definitely work well on mains power. I suspect that the battery life will be poor though because it is probably the original (now 10 year old) battery and they do wear out with use. (Replacements are still available.)

I am running a soak test with a long YouTube video. I imagine that you could probably get 30-40% more time typing text than playing videos. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts. My guess is that it won't last an hour, compared with 3+ hours when it was new!



Grant Fondo said:


> Not, exactly .... it does have a removable RAM module, just getting to it is a faff and a half!
> 
> 
> View: https://youtu.be/H0UAOR2VQfc



I stand corrected! I was looking at the review model above, which had a removable cover for the RAM module. This one does not, so I assumed that they had decided to solder the RAM in.


----------



## Grant Fondo (10 Nov 2022)

I think I have the same problem with an Acer Swift ultrathin. I want to upgrade from 4gb to 8gb and put Win 11 on it, but not going to risk bricking it if its a big dismantle to get at the module. 4gb isn't too bad anyway?


----------



## Grant Fondo (11 Nov 2022)

Some advice please from you learned fettlers!
Madame Fondo has snapped off the power adapter to her Lenovo laptop and the end plug is stuck in the socket, any ideas on getting it out and somewhere to get a cheap replacement?
Thanks all


----------



## DCBassman (12 Nov 2022)

Battery.off if possible. Very thin pliers/tweezers to remove snapped bit. Check ebay for refurbished Kensington adapters, can often be had for a tenner, then get the right tip. Bonus is you then have a multi-machine adapter!


----------



## wafter (12 Nov 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Some advice please from you learned fettlers!
> Madame Fondo has snapped off the power adapter to her Lenovo laptop and the end plug is stuck in the socket, any ideas on getting it out and somewhere to get a cheap replacement?
> Thanks all



As above, battery out and I'll raise the game to tweezers 

I've been charged (no pun intended ) with selling some (genuine, used) Lenovo power supplier at work; I think we'll be looking for about a tenner plus post. By all means drop me a PM with spec (current output, plug type) if you'd like me to take a look on Monday


----------



## Grant Fondo (12 Nov 2022)

Thanks both! Yes small tweezers worked. I'll let you know @wafter and thanks for offer


----------



## DCBassman (19 Nov 2022)

Two things started yesterday.
1) Upgrade all the household mice, 5 out of a total of 6 wireless ones, to rechargeable AAs, using IKEA LADDA cells, which are rebranded Eneloops. The remaining wireless mouse has a built-in rechargeable.

2) Begin the process of upgrading the Asus Vivobook. This can only be done by complete motherboard replacement, as everything is soldered on. Aliexpress for the board, should have it done ready for my hospital stay. Takes it from a poor dual-core Celeron with 2GB ram and 32GB storage to a quad-core Pentium with 4GB and 64GB. The dual-core N3050 is comprehensively left in the dust by any half-decent Core2 Duo, the Pentium N3700 should redress that. Checking the figures shows my best Core2 Duo still outperforms the Pentium on raw power, but the extra cores make up for that, mostly.


----------



## wafter (19 Nov 2022)

If it's of any interest I have some old bitsa desktops up for grabs for any fettlers local to Oxford


----------



## FishFright (19 Nov 2022)

Got home the other day to my pc refusing to boot and not waking up the monitor.

Motherboard codes reported IDE detect failure. After trying a couple of other drives, swapping out the graphics card and nothing was helped.

On a whim we tried removing one DIMM and tada it works fine . One of the DIMMS is dead so back down to 16gb of single channel memory so I won't be running any benchmarks anytime soon.


----------



## ColinJ (19 Nov 2022)

I just got a call from a pal who needs to replace the battery on his motherboard because his PC clock won't work. He could not figure out why the back would not come off after removing the screws. I told him that there are probably retaining tabs which the back needs to be slid past. He should be able to do it now, but if not I'll go round later to do it for him.


----------



## Grant Fondo (19 Nov 2022)

FishFright said:


> Got home the other day to my pc refusing to boot and not waking up the monitor.
> 
> Motherboard codes reported IDE detect failure. After trying a couple of other drives, swapping out the graphics card and nothing was helped.
> 
> On a whim we tried removing one DIMM and tada it works fine . One of the DIMMS is dead so back down to 16gb of single channel memory so I won't be running any benchmarks anytime soon.



RAM can be a right pest at times. I had real problems installing two more modules, so 4 total. Exact same spec and serial numbers, finally got things running with XMP and manually increased voltage. Memtest passed no problem, then spotted two modules were Samsung, two were Micron and it all made sense


----------



## fossyant (19 Nov 2022)

We've got a Lenovo S20 Thinkstation that we picked up cheap some years back as a desktop - still used occasionally and it's really quick, but it takes server memory that's a bit tricky to get right - wouldn't mind maxing it out, but the 8gb is enough for word and internet. It's been changed to SSD with two HDD's.


----------



## DCBassman (21 Nov 2022)

fossyant said:


> We've got a Lenovo S20 Thinkstation that we picked up cheap some years back as a desktop - still used occasionally and it's really quick, but it takes server memory that's a bit tricky to get right - wouldn't mind maxing it out, but the 8gb is enough for word and internet. It's been changed to SSD with two HDD's.


I've got 8x2gb fully buffered ecc ddr3-667 dimms if they're any use? Suspect they're too small, unless you have lots of slots!


----------



## fossyant (21 Nov 2022)

DCBassman said:


> I've got 8x2gb fully buffered ecc ddr3-667 dimms if they're any use? Suspect they're too small, unless you have lots of slots!



The ones in it are UDIMM ECC (unbuffered) at 1333 unfortunately. 6 slots, 4 full (4x2gb)


----------



## ColinJ (21 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> I just got a call from a pal who needs to replace the battery on his motherboard because his PC clock won't work. He could not figure out why the back would not come off after removing the screws. I told him that there are probably retaining tabs which the back needs to be slid past. He should be able to do it now, but if not I'll go round later to do it for him.


He managed it in the end, so now his PC no longer thinks that it is 2008... It must be an ancient machine!


----------



## DCBassman (21 Nov 2022)

ColinJ said:


> He managed it in the end, so now his PC no longer thinks that it is 2008... It must be an ancient machine!


Yup, that's getting on a bit now! However, if it was high-end then, it would probably be OK now, with maxed RAM and an SSD.


----------



## ColinJ (21 Nov 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Yup, that's getting on a bit now! However, if it was high-end then, it would probably be OK now, with maxed RAM and an SSD.


Definitely _NOT _high-end - he got it cheap from a local tech-recycling charity! He only uses it for web access, email, and playing ancient PC games.


----------



## DCBassman (29 Nov 2022)

In a dual effort to reduce the sheer level of stuff and lessen power consumption, I've sold the big Dell laptop. In its place, an Asus S200E, which is the same form factor as my TP200S. But it can use a proper storage drive, so I'll whip out the 64GB eMMC and git something quicker and larger. I will then run the two off against each other and sell the loser!


----------



## DCBassman (4 Dec 2022)

DCBassman said:


> In a dual effort to reduce the sheer level of stuff and lessen power consumption, I've sold the big Dell laptop. In its place, an Asus S200E, which is the same form factor as my TP200S. But it can use a proper storage drive, so I'll whip out the 64GB eMMC and git something quicker and larger. I will then run the two off against each other and sell the loser!


Received the Asus S200E. Hmmm. No bluetooth, despite being stated as such, and specified as such, so someone's been in here before. However, the 64GB eMMC storage turned out to be a 500GB mechanical hard drive. No wonder it was slow, with this spec...Easy to up grade, though, so now has a 750GB SSD.
Given that it's an older generation Pentium 987 dual core, it's a much quicker system, now that it has decent storage, than the more modern TP200S. We'll see how that improves with the new motherboard. Storage won't be any great shakes for speed (64GB eMMC, soldered on). But it has 4GB ram and a quad-core Pentium N3700, so should still see a hefty improvement.
Meantime, ordered a replacement wifi card that does bluetooth also. Both this and the new motherboard for the TP200S should be here before Chrimbo, so I can make a considered choice between the two for my hospital stay.


----------



## fossyant (4 Dec 2022)

Not quite PC, but certainly IT related. Lost connection to the garage powerline adapter, which meant the garage PC and CCTV weren't connecting. Even the BT Mesh Disc, that was using the powerline as a 'backbone' wasn't connected. Reset the adapter, even factory reset, but it was very flakey, was able to connect to it, then not.

Googled to find that the ethernet on the mesh disc can be used for wired devices (garage PC and CCTV). Binned the powerline, and just plugged the network switch into the back of the Mesh Disc, and vola, all working again.


----------



## Grant Fondo (4 Dec 2022)

I bought one of those wifi extenders for the top floor ... kicks out the other powerlines for some reason, so not being used. A conflict somewhere but i can't fathom it?


----------



## DCBassman (4 Dec 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> I bought one of those wifi extenders for the top floor ... kicks out the other powerlines for some reason, so not being used. A conflict somewhere but i can't fathom it?



No clue on that one...


----------



## DCBassman (6 Dec 2022)

Received the new motherboard for the Asus TP200SA early. Fitted it, new install of Windows 10.Gone from a complete slug to a very usable machine! But only slightly quicker than the S200E, mainly because that uses much faster SSD storage, as against eMMC in the TP200SA.


----------



## Grant Fondo (12 Dec 2022)

2022 PC cases are starting to go 'wood effect' like 70's hi-fi ... wonder if it will catch on?


----------



## Grant Fondo (12 Dec 2022)

I'll admit, they look better than my first cream coloured 286


----------



## DCBassman (13 Dec 2022)

Hmm, agree that they're better than beige boxes, but...but...


----------



## Grant Fondo (14 Dec 2022)

Tried installing Win 11 on my 2016 laptop today, cpu not good enough as a '6 series' Intel ... shall stick with Win10


----------



## DCBassman (14 Dec 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> Tried installing Win 11 on my 2016 laptop today, cpu not good enough as a '6 series' Intel ... shall stick with Win10


Download a program called Rufus, currently version 3.21. Select and insert an empty 8GB+ USB stick. Ensure Rufus is 'looking at' that stick. Ensure you have the Win 11 .iso file you need. Select that file is Rufus. Rufus will then eject a pop-up asking you how you want to modify the iso as it is written to the USB stick. This will enable you to install 11 on anything, just about.
Having said all that, I only have one Win 11 machine, the i7-2600K box. The rest are 10. Might upgrade the Asus TP200S to 11 now that it will pass all bar the cpu requirements.


----------



## DCBassman (18 Dec 2022)

A definite rant: wanted, found, purchased, a half-decent mini-PCIe wifi-bluetooth combo card for the Asus S200E laptop. All installed, no BT. Faint, familiar alarm bells were sounding. Yup, this Intel card can only have the BT part activated by whoever is building the system, for some fiddling regulatory reason. Tried fruitless for some time to access a driver, to no avail. Just to increase general irritation, if I fire up a live Linux system on it, the Bluetooth is detected and fully activated without issue.


----------



## Grant Fondo (18 Dec 2022)

DCBassman said:


> A definite rant: wanted, found, purchased, a half-decent mini-PCIe wifi-bluetooth combo card for the Asus S200E laptop. All installed, no BT. Faint, familiar alarm bells were sounding. Yup, this Intel card can only have the BT part activated by whoever is building the system, for some fiddling regulatory reason. Tried fruitless for some time to access a driver, to no avail. Just to increase general irritation, if I fire up a live Linux system on it, the Bluetooth is detected and fully activated without issue.



That's annoying ... no doubt it mentions plug 'n' play with that card?


----------



## DCBassman (18 Dec 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> That's annoying ... no doubt it mentions plug 'n' play with that card?


To be fair, it doesn't. But why would it ever need to be this way? Certainly shows where Linux can lead, though. Will investigate a more modern 802.11AC/BT card, which will hopefully be PnP.


----------



## DCBassman (19 Dec 2022)

Solved it, I think. Did some more digging and found a driver lurking in the repositories for a certain model of Dell XPS13 laptop. Unusually, it didn't object to being installed on a non-Dell machine, but then it's really an Intel driver anyhow. Will test it properly for function today.


----------



## Grant Fondo (19 Dec 2022)

DCBassman said:


> Solved it, I think. Did some more digging and found a driver lurking in the repositories for a certain model of Dell XPS13 laptop. Unusually, it didn't object to being installed on a non-Dell machine, but then it's really an Intel driver anyhow. Will test it properly for function today.



so glad its easier (usually) with drivers these days.
i remember the faff of having to load graphics card drivers off floppy disk, which generally took 5 attempts, or more like 15 if you had two cards in SLI or crossfire mode ... it could be a right royal pain in the a*se, particularly AMD for some reason.


----------



## Grant Fondo (19 Dec 2022)

* even in 2015 it could be a real mither ..... these two had serious driver crash issues, gave it three months then they went on ebay and were replaced by a single Nvidia card .... no more problems


----------



## Grant Fondo (19 Dec 2022)

* i know i'm labouring the point .... but i didn't learn my lesson back in 2010 ... same pain in the derriere with these in crossfire, grrrr.


----------



## DCBassman (20 Dec 2022)

Have finally received a supposedly-trashed Asus S200E for spares. It works. Have now built one higher spec machine out of the two, to give me a Core i3-2365M cpu instead of the Pentium 987.
Not the easiest job, but nice outcome. And this one had the correct wifi/Bluetooth card in so no problem there either. The only downside to these things is the growing collection of slim 2.5" 500GB hard drives...


----------



## Seevio (20 Dec 2022)

DCBassman said:


> The only downside to these things is the growing collection of slim 2.5" 500GB hard drives...



Get a Pi or old laptop and make yourself a NAS box.


----------



## DCBassman (20 Dec 2022)

Seevio said:


> Get a Pi or old laptop and make yourself a NAS box.


My main desktop has a 1.5TB secondary drive, trying to get through sorting everything to fit on that! If I had a larger case, I'd use the little drives as a RAID array. But then I still have 2x1TB 3.5" drives that would be better for that...
They'll probably all just stay sitting in the cupboard...


----------



## yello (20 Dec 2022)

Has anyone else pretty much given up fettling? (They're probably not on this thread if they have!) These days, I only dick about on 'puters/tech when needs must, maintenance mode if you like.

I'm so out of touch now as to be virtually a luddite.


----------



## Grant Fondo (20 Dec 2022)

yello said:


> Has anyone else pretty much given up fettling?


There is always something to tweek or change surely?


----------



## DCBassman (20 Dec 2022)

yello said:


> Has anyone else pretty much given up fettling? (They're probably not on this thread if they have!) These days, I only dick about on 'puters/tech when needs must, maintenance mode if you like.
> 
> I'm so out of touch now as to be virtually a luddite.


In terms of juggling settings to keep a rig running at optimum? No, haven't done that for a long time. But messing about with this and that, rebuilding laptops etc, there's still lots to do!


----------



## yello (21 Dec 2022)

Grant Fondo said:


> There is always something to tweek or change surely?



Oh sure. As I said, maintenance mode fettling. I no longer play like I used to though, or mess with stuff just to try out 'what if' scenarios. I used to be occupying hours just messing around, stuffing things up and rebuilding/restoring! It was what I did, how I learnt - digging myself out of holes etc. I'd read something, have thoughts about where I could use that/do that and give it a go. These days, nope. I'm happy to let things be and tweek when I have to.


----------



## Grant Fondo (21 Dec 2022)

I was really chuffed with my 'eco-fettling' recently .... with some bios tweaks and undervolting shaved about 30% power usage off the main pc .... some trial and error with crashes at the limit, but now running cooler, quieter and i have saved the planet, kind of


----------



## DCBassman (3 Jan 2023)

Built another decent Asus S200E from more eBay cast-offs:


----------



## Grant Fondo (3 Jan 2023)

Finally got the wi-fi extender working on the top floor after much fettling faffing around ... still don't know what the conflict issue was? Possibly different wiring around the old house?
Anyhow, 30 mbps is now 90 mbps so can't say fairer than that


----------



## dave r (Saturday at 11:33)

A question for the experts, new Android tablet running Android 12, upgraded from Android 11, behind the No Root Firewall, I've had something called System (uninstalled) requesting internet access, I've denied access for now, has anybody here come across this? I couldn't find it on the tablet and an internet search revealed one reference to it three years ago, but no information on it, I'm leaving it blocked for now.


----------



## DCBassman (Saturday at 11:57)

dave r said:


> A question for the experts, new Android tablet running Android 12, upgraded from Android 11, behind the No Root Firewall, I've had something called System (uninstalled) requesting internet access, I've denied access for now, has anybody here come across this? I couldn't find it on the tablet and an internet search revealed one reference to it three years ago, but no information on it, I'm leaving it blocked for now.


No clue, but think you've done the right thing.


----------



## Grant Fondo (Saturday at 13:09)

DCBassman said:


> No clue, but think you've done the right thing.



+1 on that


----------



## Grant Fondo (Saturday at 17:42)

Android, grrrrr. Just updated phone after putting off for 3 mths ... battery getting hammered, easily lasts a whole day before, not now .... couple of hours down at 20% and falling fast .... 19% as i type here's the chart:


----------



## dave r (Saturday at 20:01)

Grant Fondo said:


> Android, grrrrr. Just updated phone after putting off for 3 mths ... battery getting hammered, easily lasts a whole day before, not now .... couple of hours down at 20% and falling fast .... 19% as i type here's the chart:
> View attachment 673681



Have you just moved to Android 12? My trusty Nokia updated it self to 12 and it started using more battery, it wasn't as drastic as yours but definetly more than it used to.


----------



## Grant Fondo (Saturday at 21:33)

dave r said:


> Have you just moved to Android 12? My trusty Nokia updated it self to 12 and it started using more battery, it wasn't as drastic as yours but definetly more than it used to.



Yes now on 12, but a dramatic change in battery use, why?
Really regret doing this update.


----------



## Grant Fondo (Saturday at 22:06)

... crikey, i've sorted it. Turned all spammy notifications off, disabled all the bloatware. Powered off. Back to normal and the phone isn't like holding a piece of uranium .... software developers eh?


----------



## classic33 (Saturday at 22:23)

IDE SSD, how hard to get hold of a new one?


----------



## Grant Fondo (Saturday at 23:06)

classic33 said:


> IDE SSD, how hard to get hold of a new one?



IDE came out in 1986?


----------



## classic33 (Saturday at 23:14)

Grant Fondo said:


> IDE came out in 1986?


But is it possible to still get an SSD one?


----------



## ColinJ (Sunday at 00:04)

classic33 said:


> But is it possible to still get an SSD one?


Googling IDE SSD suggests that the answer is 'yes'!


----------



## Grant Fondo (Sunday at 00:19)

classic33 said:


> But is it possible to still get an SSD one?


Yes, but why? The dated bus cripples an ssd.


----------



## classic33 (Sunday at 11:39)

Grant Fondo said:


> Yes, but why? The dated bus cripples an ssd.


I fear the current hard drive may be on its way out, after only 18 years. Looking at replacements before it does go.


----------



## Grant Fondo (Sunday at 16:12)

classic33 said:


> on its way out, after only 18 year



Lol, thats not bad usage. Thinking about it, when i got rid of my last HDD a couple of years ago (a 100gb Hitachi) that must have been over 15 yrs old, still worked fine.


----------



## DCBassman (Monday at 07:20)

classic33 said:


> I fear the current hard drive may be on its way out, after only 18 years. Looking at replacements before it does go.


Good grief, what are you using that still has an IDE drive? And on what OS? Kudos for extending its life, but you must be able to cook a meal between 'on' and 'ready'!


----------



## classic33 (Monday at 10:11)

DCBassman said:


> Good grief, what are you using that still has an IDE drive? And on what OS? Kudos for extending its life, but you must be able to cook a meal between 'on' and 'ready'!


A Dell Optiplex, Window XP Pro.


----------



## DCBassman (Monday at 20:02)

classic33 said:


> A Dell Optiplex, Window XP Pro.


Wow. Hope you're behind a decent firewall and AV if using on line! Xp was always good though.


----------



## classic33 (Monday at 20:12)

DCBassman said:


> Wow. Hope you're behind a decent firewall and AV if using on line! Xp was always good though.


Nothing happened so far virus/threat wise.
Maybe I've just been lucky.

Large format printers bought at a liquidation auction(costly at £2.50 & £44). Three and five figure sums to replace them.


----------

