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The Tech Help Thread

Discussion in 'Technical Board' started by rei, Oct 19, 2009.

  1. Arctic_Scrap

    Arctic_Scrap
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    The motherboard failed again on me today. This time, I let the PC run all day to download stuff while I was at work. I came home, checked my downloads and saw they were done so I restarted the PC. Now it's doing the exact same thing again, even after trying a cmos clear. I am getting a refund this time and will go with a different motherboard.

    I just realized that both times it happened, I was restarting the PC. Anyone with more knowledge than me have anything to say about that?
     
  2. Binary

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    I had an issue recently with a computer that wouldn't restart. I suspect it was a bad electrical component on the motherboard that didn't like if it was even slightly warm. I could never reboot the computer - you had to shut it down and let it sit for at least 15 minutes, sometimes longer, and then turn it back on again. I considered taking a can of compressed air and seeing if I could isolate the component that was problematic by force cooling different parts of the motherboard, but this was an old computer and I had a replacement motherboard so I didn't bother.

    Tried replacing the power supply and it didn't help, so I replaced the motherboard and boom, the issue went away. Same symptoms as yours - it would start up long enough that I could hear the fans start and the components flicker, then it would immediately go off again.
     
  3. joule_thief

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    I can't think of a way to do this directly. You could attach it to your computer and use internet connection sharing perhaps.

    There should be wireless routers available. Look at Cradlepoint: http://www.cradlepoint.com/
     
  4. Diablo

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    Hypothetically, could one record the Victoria secret fashion show tonight (a digital feed from the line, to the cable box, to the TV) on a VCR with VHS hooked up to the cable box?

    I obviously don't know much about it, or if that even how the wiring would go. I assume the VHS is analog, so would it record the digital signal when its connected as an addon to the loop?
     
  5. scootah

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    not possible. You can get next G modems from Telstra that look like a wireless router and have ethernet ports that will do the job though.

    If you have the option, go into a decent sized Telstra shop and ask them about it. Telstra direct plans are usually better value for data then bigpond ones.
     
  6. scootah

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    Depending on your Cable box outputs, hypothetically yes. Wouldn't it be much easier to download a torrent of the broadcast later though? Also, people still have VCRs? I thought showing people a picture of a video cassett and asking them to identify it was accepted as proof of age in lieu of photo ID now?
     
  7. zyron

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    Has anyone ever used a HDMI switch? Just got a new TV for bedroom on sale but it is a 27 inch and only has 1 HDMI input. I would like to hook a blu-ray and sometimes my X-BOX on it along with the cable. Just want to know if it is going to affect picture or sound quality.
     
  8. Celos

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    I haven't used one, but HDMI being digital, I can't imagine there being any picture/sound quality degradation.
     
  9. jrussellmikkelsen

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    Bought a new computer for me. Am thrilled. Now I need help with codecs.

    Downloaded a couple movies. I'm getting video but no audio. I googled "codec" and downloaded the first hit, which is what I usually do every time I get a new computer. But it didn't fix the problem. In the past, I've never had to do more than that. I did a search for "audio codec" and downloaded the first hit. Still no audio.

    I downloaded VLC and of course it plays the movies with no problems, video, audio, all good. But, I'm picky and I'm just not crazy about VLC. I prefer to use Windows Media Player (please don't hate me). So, what can I do? Have I just not found the right codec?
     
  10. Nettdata

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    One of the easiest attack vectors for inserting a virus onto a computer is by having the end user download the "codec" needed to play a movie.

    Stick with VLC, play it full screen if you need to, and play it safe.

    $0.02

    But it's up to you.
     
  11. jrussellmikkelsen

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    Yeah, I hear you. The uploader didn't say anything about needing a codec and they didn't suggest any. These are movies I've downloaded from the exact same place in the past. I'm just downloading them anew for my new computer.

    Naturally, I'm hoping someone here knows of a safe solution.
     
  12. scootah

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    First off -

    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.malwarebytes.org/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.malwarebytes.org/</a>
    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.avast.com/en-au/index" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.avast.com/en-au/index</a>

    Most codec downloads are thinly veiled malware. Lots of them aren't even thinly veiled. Once you're done cleaning on whatever that first download was, quit using video players that require codecs. VLC is the best bet for almost everyone. KMPlayer is a good alternative if you really hate VLC for some reason. Shit just works.

    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html</a>
    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.kmplayer.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25</a>
     
  13. Binary

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    If you're that tied to players that require external codecs, try the K-Lite Codec Pack:

    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.free-codecs.com/download/k_lite_codec_pack.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.free-codecs.com/download/k_l ... c_pack.htm</a>

    As stated above, codecs are not where you want to start going to Google and downloading random links.
     
  14. Celos

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    I assume this unnatural affection towards WMP comes from being used to it's user interface. If that is the case then this page is for you.

    edit: Also, Media Player Classic - Home Cinema is a pretty good player and it should be able to play most common files right out of the box.
     
  15. rei

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    The Codec pack I've always used without fail has been CCCP (Combined Community Codec Pack) because VLC I've found has been ugly as shit and slow as balls rendering certain types of videos
    <a class="postlink" href="http://www.cccp-project.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cccp-project.net/</a>
     
  16. wexton

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    I remember 10-12 years ago, when you first started to see lots of tv shows/movies on torrents and the like. There were a few different packs you had to get. Then a couples years after that you had to go out and get and update ffdshow no mater what pack you had downloaded. Now you can pretty much just download the show and any media player will work.
     
  17. Arctic_Scrap

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    If you're talking DIVX or XVID movies, it's most likely the AC3 codec you need.
     
  18. thabucmaster

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    I've got Exchange 2003 running on SBS 2003, and a single iPhone user receiving his emails through Activesync. This user is reporting that his emails on the phone sporadically will only download the subject of the emails. Within the email, the message is "This message has not been downloaded from the server".

    Sometimes it will download a portion of the message, while other times, not at all.

    I did some research and it said that setting the date/time to manual has fixed this, but since the user travels a lot, we would like the network to set the date/time automatically. Has anyone run into this before, and if so, what did you do to resolve it?
     
  19. Dcc001

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    Is there a way to appear offline on Facebook? All the google searches I do bring up forums from two or three years ago.
     
  20. joule_thief

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    Click the chat bar in the lower right, then click on the gear/wheel looking thing and then uncheck "Available to chat".

    Haven't tried it out, but probably doesn't stay that way if you close the browser window.