Random Question Thread: Tech

[Nynaeve]

Trying to find some sort of affordable splitter for YPbPr component to send one output signal to two displays, but not really having any luck...anyone know of one that they can recommend?

Do you want one component split to 2 components, or component to 2 VGA or 2 HDMI?

[Nishida]

I am going to start using two monitors soon, and as such I have a couple questions as I've never done this before.

1. Is there any reason to run two desktops, or is it generally better to just extend your desktop to the second screen?
2. Does anyone have a good resource for multi-monitor desktop wallpapers? (preferably HD)
3. This question is half-related. I have an HDMI cord connecting my main monitor to my computer. Is there any reason that it looks exactly the same as it did when I had it hooked up to DVI? What stuff shows up crisper? Movies? FFXI, desktop, etc all seem to look the same. -- the related portion of this is..if I have HDMI set up on my main monitor and DVI on the second monitor is that going to cause any interference?

[Isiolia]

1. Not sure what you mean - most options are to mirror, or to extend the desktop. It takes third party utilities to even get the Start menu (or whatever) to extend to another monitor.

2. 4chan is an excellent source of wallpapers, but you can also use things like Displayfusion to automatically stitch pictures together (particularly helpful if your screens aren't the exact same resolution).

3. HDMI is largely the same as DVI - it's a little more capable, but is "pin compatible" - either are digital though (well, generally, DVI can have analog in some variants). You likely won't see a difference between the two. DVI won't carry audio, 3D, whatever though. Using different interfaces shouldn't mess anything up -unless- your particular video device doesn't allow for using those two. My integrated video for my living room PC, for example, can do VGA + DVI or HDMI, not DVI + HDMI.

[Yuri-G]

o k, this may be the first of many building-my-own-pc questions. but here goes:

- installing a pci express x16 video card, but it doesn't seem to fit right. the one end (by the lever) fits just fine but the card tilts upward, to the point where the other end has a little bit of the connector showing (though it's still in the slot).

is it fine like this? if not, what should I do? the only cause I can think of would be if my motherboard is too flush to the case, and the metal bracket on the video card is keeping that end from being as deeply inserted as the other. I installed the motherboard myself so I don't know if that's the problem (it's my first). I'm not sure how to fix it if that is the problem, though.

oh and I can't get the card to sit in there solid, either. it rocks back and forth if I push on it. I'm no expert but that doesn't seem right.

please help, if you have any ideas. I would really appreciate it. this is my first attempt at building a computer and I'm freaking out that I'm going to end up with a $800 paperweight.

[Isiolia]

Is the metal bracket seated like the slot cover(s)? The bottom tab often has to slip into a slot or something, and if that's not quite aligned it could make for an odd fit. Also make sure that the bracket isn't getting blocked from sitting flush by another slot cover (or screw) - I've had plenty where I had to remove a neighboring screw to get to fit right.

The motherboard can't usually fit too many ways - I mean, if it you have it on the standoffs (usually a few are preinstalled, so hard to miss), and screwed down, there's really not a whole lot you can change, though you could try loosening the screws and shifting it slightly.

[Yuri-G]

stand...offs?

uh oh.

glad I asked this question before I turned the computer on. I'm not sure if it was on the standoffs or not. I don't think so, though - I also noticed that the various ports on the motherboard (speakers, ethernet, etc.) seemed like they were improperly aligned with the case. I'm not sure but I think that you hit the nail on the head without even trying

can't wait to get home and check it out now. hopefully I didn't wreck the motherboard. it didn't seem to flex or break or anything when I screwed it in. but we'll see.

[Kerberoz]

ugh, yeah, no standoffs + current = very bad

Modern video cards never really feel like they're held securely in place, though.

I am going to start using two monitors soon, and as such I have a couple questions as I've never done this before.

1. Is there any reason to run two desktops, or is it generally better to just extend your desktop to the second screen?
2. Does anyone have a good resource for multi-monitor desktop wallpapers? (preferably HD)

1. Not sure what you mean. Windows, by default, will treat multiple monitors as one big monitor, except for fullscreen programs which go to the "primary" by default.
2. Photoshop + image larger than your total desktop size.

Spoiler: show

[Isiolia]

stand...offs?

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fea..._step?page=0,1

First image in that (dated tutorial parts-wise, but the step-by-step might be helpful)

While it's possible to miss them, like I said, most cases I've seen will preinstall some, usually the ones for a microATX board, leaving it up to the user to put additional ones they might need in. If yours didn't, and you put the board in without them, then it'd probably be a teensy bit low - and would probably short out if you tried to power it on.

[Yuri-G]

yeah, I definitely did not install standoffs, now that I think about it. and if some were pre-installed it certainly wasn't all of them. hopefully I didn't fuck up the motherboard, I did screw it in pretty tight. it creaked a little but I don't think anything broke.

hahaha that's all I'm going to think about all day now. oh well, I'll find out when I get home tonight.

thanks!

[Kerberoz]

It has nothing to do with the motherboard cracking, but with it shorting out against the case if you turn it on.

[Yuri-G]

ok so I should be fine then, I didn't power it on. thanks, that makes me feel better.

[Senji]

It has nothing to do with the motherboard cracking, but with it shorting out against the case if you turn it on.

Yes, but what he might have done was jam the IO board into the case slots and then started to screw the MB down, flexing it. Some of the standoffs preinstalled? Who knows.

[Jintu]

I'm having trouble with my connectivity at night on random days, usually 1-2 nights per week. It doesn't happen every night but when it does my connection goes out for a couple minutes and then comes back but when it does the speed is unbearable, it slowly climbs back to normal browsing speeds for me. Normally, during the day I can get 15-20 mbps down, 1-2 upload, my latency never changes though, it's always pretty good <100. Here's a screen of tonight where it happened again:

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/speedp.png/http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v724/fuzen/speed.png

Anyone have any clue what the hell is going on here? Is it my modem fucking up or simply my isp?

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/839/speedp.png/

[Jodwahh]

Invariably it's going to be your ISP throttling your connection. I get it all the time. Usually I have a solid 8 down, sometimes it just drops down to 0.5 for no reason. Google Fu on the matter gives the generic "heavy usage during peak times blah blah blah" shit.

[Jintu]

Invariably it's going to be your ISP throttling your connection. I get it all the time. Usually I have a solid 8 down, sometimes it just drops down to 0.5 for no reason. Google Fu on the matter gives the generic "heavy usage during peak times blah blah blah" shit.

It usually occurs at or around midnight though, lol. I guess it could be "peak times" but I really doubt it that late.

[Isiolia]

One cable provider I had years ago seemed to do a hardware reset every night around then. If I was watching TV, it'd go out for a second - cable modem would have to reconnect. Could be that they're doing something like that and the slowed performance is due all the reconnecting equipment/etc.

[Kipling]

Lately my mouse seems to be very unresponsive and losing it's sensitivity, I often find myself having to very forcibly drag it to things I need to click on. Is there any way to fix this? Or should I just get a new mouse? It's a bit over 2 years old, so.

Laser mouse.

[Yuri-G]

ok, pc is up and running! woo-hoo!

but now I'm having hard drive troubles.

- when I first tried to install windows it gave a driver error, said it was missing a system file and gave the filepath (which I did not have the presence of mind to write down at the time). tried again, got another error with a ridiculously long number with lots of 0's and f's (which I did write down, but I never got this error again anyway).
- then my computer kept getting stuck at the "Loading Operating System..." screen, so I went into the bios and told it to boot from the cd/dvd.
- after that it got as far as the setup screen for windows, but that screen itself took ages to go through - like 5 minutes just to load the agreement.
- so I tinkered around in the bios, I have the hard drive set on native IDE and it loads the setup screen right away no problem, but when it comes time to install windows it can't find my hard drive even though my bios sees it just fine. tried pulling some drivers from the motherboard installation CD and it didn't like any of them.

thinking of going and getting another hard drive, and returning this one if that works. but I'm not sure if that is a good next step to take or not.

[jmc]

I may have misread, since I'm tired as hell.

did you build a new PC, but using IDE hard drives?

[Isiolia]

I may have misread, since I'm tired as hell.

did you build a new PC, but using IDE hard drives?

Sounds like SATA mode - could be what his BIOS terms legacy compatibility. If that's the case, optimally, you want to put the drive mode as AHCI - it'll let you use the more advanced features of SATA drives, and changing it post-install isn't straightforward (Windows will bluescreen on startup if you change it, unless you go tweak the registry in Legacy mode).


I would run a RAM test if you haven't - could be a bad module, could be that settings are off. I've done multiple reinstalls, and replaced the drive before when it the issue was RAM. Had some of the same indicators (missing file during install).
I've seen Windows 7's installer take a really long time to come up on machines before - not sure exactly why, but I've typically seen them work just fine after.