Random Question Thread: Tech

[Omniyoji]

I am bad with computers. Which one of these will be able to play FFXI best (if at all)?

They're all capable of running FFXI (not awesomely but way better than my 7yr old laptop could. They're essentially the same with minor differences. The last two are your best bet. Pick the one with options you'll like.

[Not Kuno]

I don't plan on doing anything fancy pants like 2boxing on that pc. My 2nd PC broke and I need a laptop, so I figured I'd get a laptop that can run a 2box brd (crappy graphics don't matter, etc).

I'm just really dumb when it comes to video cards and stuff. As long as it'll work it's fine. Thanks for the advice.

[Purrrfect]

it auto-detects my PS3. but it does weird tricks with my PC. besides the aforementioned weirdness with having to turn the TV on first, it also gets freaky with fullscreen applications. for example, if I maximize a movie that's playing in windows media player, it'll go black for a second and then display the movie along with the little box that shows the resolution and frequency (which normally only appears when a new signal is detected).

I mean it's working, so I'm not too worried. just seems strange. I've never had this weirdness with a monitor.

That reminds me of some wierd shit I noticed with my 42" bravia as a second monitor. I think I recall it being something like if I turned the tv off after the computer was running it wouldn't get detected when turned on until I rebooted.

[Phoenyx]

Not by design, that is the only way I know how to get it on there. I am no programmer, just the most knowledgeable person they know who will do this for free. Thanks for your help Phoenyx

Edit: I converted it to a .jpeg because I thought that it would work this way but, I was wrong. Would you happen to know how to embed the image as a .pdf or .jpeg? I have the menu hosted on google docs if that matters. Thanks again.

Can try something like the following code to embed the .pdf as an object in the page. Or simply link to the actual .pdf and code it to open in a new tab/window.

Object code:

<!-- Embed PDF File -->
<OBJECT src="YourFile.pdf" TYPE="application/x-pdf" TITLE="SamplePdf" 
WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=100>
    <a href="YourFile.pdf">shree</a> 
</object>

Edit: Can also take a look at http://pdfobject.com/ for some other options.

[Not Kuno]

Does a nintendo DS USB charger exist? A search on google brings up only SPs and the fat DSes.

[Wintermute]

Any good programs for cleaning out old Video Card drivers when updating?

Driver Sweeper seems to have been discontinued.

[Cephius]

Any good programs for cleaning out old Video Card drivers when updating?

Driver Sweeper seems to have been discontinued.

It still exists it just isn't hosted by Guru3d anymore, you can get it from Phyxion's site. It looks like his site is offline right now though, so here's a working link http://www.softpedia.com/get/Securit...-Sweeper.shtml

[Callisto]

I keep getting a little windows popup notification saying that an audio device has been unplugged from the jack, but I only have one audio device plugged in(speakers) that is firmly plugged in and doesn't appear to be acting up at all, and an integrated sound card, the popup gives no details as to what is being 'unplugged'...anyone know a way to figure out what is causing this? Using Win7 Ultimate.

[Anakron]

Anybody have experience with desktop-replacement laptops? I've had 3 now (VAIOs) and all have, at around the 2-year range, started getting very hot. I'm talking like 90C / 190F hot. For the last 2, I always used an external laptop fan underneath the laptop, but doesn't seem to help much. I'm not even playing graphics-intensive games (on the current laptop, Starcraft 2, FFXI, WoW and Aion all on lowest settings).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MS6NM8 < this is what I currently use, got it 4/09

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor (Centrino 2)
4 GB RAM, Blu-ray read and DVD/CD read/write
Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics (up to 2280 MB of available memory)

Anything I may be doing wrong, or is it kinda expected for these kinds of laptops?

[Cephius]

Anybody have experience with desktop-replacement laptops? I've had 3 now (VAIOs) and all have, at around the 2-year range, started getting very hot. I'm talking like 90C / 190F hot. For the last 2, I always used an external laptop fan underneath the laptop, but doesn't seem to help much. I'm not even playing graphics-intensive games (on the current laptop, Starcraft 2, FFXI, WoW and Aion all on lowest settings).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MS6NM8 < this is what I currently use, got it 4/09

2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor (Centrino 2)
4 GB RAM, Blu-ray read and DVD/CD read/write
Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT graphics (up to 2280 MB of available memory)

Anything I may be doing wrong, or is it kinda expected for these kinds of laptops?

More likely the airways in your laptop are getting clogged. Extra fans won't help if the hot air inside the computer has nowhere to go. Take apart when you can (usually the bottom panel and keyboard are enough) and take a can of compressed air to it. Blow out the fans, and the airways leading to and from the processor. Pay attention to the gap between the processor heatsink and the computer chassis, sometimes dirt/hair/fuzz gets stuck in there.

[MoogleAura]

I hate having to clear old books out to charity stores all the time so I've been thinking of investing in an e-reader, any advice? Do they support PDF and Word files? Is there a pretty extensive range of books to purchase online for download?

*Nvm, found a thread that answers all that and more. ^^;;

[Cail]

Can you use a Win7 installation disc on more then 1 computer? I don't have one, the recovery is supposed to be built into the hard drive on a hidden partition, but the recovery program doesnt work and now I'm stuck

[Jojimbo]

If you mean the one you used to install/activate windows 7 on that PC then yes, you can reinstall win7 onto the same PC as many times as you want.

[Cail]

No I meant say Win7 got installed on PC A. Can I use it to install on PC B too?

[Jodwahh]

If it's the same version on Win 7 (Pro,ultimate,home etc) then yes you can. You can't use the same activation code though. Your product code should be stuck on the side of your pc, if not then google "Whats my windows serial number" and then run any of the tools to pull it up.

[Isiolia]

If it's the same version on Win 7 (Pro,ultimate,home etc) then yes you can. You can't use the same activation code though. Your product code should be stuck on the side of your pc, if not then google "Whats my windows serial number" and then run any of the tools to pull it up.

Though also keep in mind that the license needs to be the same. For example, you can't take a generic OEM copy and use the code from a Dell on it, or vice versa. Dell's codes are for Dell's bulk license, so you don't necessarily need the disc that came with your specific Dell, but you'd need a Dell disc.

You might try looking into the support options from whatever company made your computer. Often you can order a set of recovery discs.

[Boyiee]

What does everyone use for video playback? And to a lesser extent, music?

I've recently reformatted and am using media player classic, but I hate it, and I REALLY hate WMP so I don't even have it installed. Is VLC the popular choice? Also I'm running a 2560x1600 monitor and a 1920x1200 monitor... How do you deal with watching 720p dvd's or whatever since their resolution is so small and looks so shitty maximized?

As for music player, I use itunes since I have an iphone and it works fine since all I need it to do is shuffle, so that is why it's a lesser extent.

[Boyiee]

Though also keep in mind that the license needs to be the same. For example, you can't take a generic OEM copy and use the code from a Dell on it, or vice versa. Dell's codes are for Dell's bulk license, so you don't necessarily need the disc that came with your specific Dell, but you'd need a Dell disc.

You might try looking into the support options from whatever company made your computer. Often you can order a set of recovery discs.

I have a work computer I need to reformat. It is a dell that was donated to the firehouse. No recovery discs, no idea of where it came from. It is using XP, and has the code on the side. Will I be able to take a XP disc that I have (same version) and use it to reformat the computer?

[Isiolia]

I have a work computer I need to reformat. It is a dell that was donated to the firehouse. No recovery discs, no idea of where it came from. It is using XP, and has the code on the side. Will I be able to take a XP disc that I have (same version) and use it to reformat the computer?

Only if it's a Dell OEM disc. Actually, if it is, it probably won't even ask for a key, it'll be preactivated and just work (look here under Royalty OEM).

The key on the side of the case, however, won't work if you plug it in for a generic OEM disc/etc (I've run into that myself when people have brought personal machines in for me to look at). You may still be able to get it to work by calling in to MS for an activation code.


Regarding media players... I usually use Winamp for music, because I've been using it since the 90s and I'm used to sorting my music manually via the OS.
I don't use media library features or anything, so it works fine for me to drag n' drop without trying to add things to a library every time.

I have heard good things about Foobar2000 if you do use media sorting in the application, and want something customizable.

For video I usually install MPC-HC and VLC. On OS X I have VLC and MPlayer, which has a Windows version too that you could try.
While there may be other options to mess with, you might also look into what hardware acceleration or filtering options are enabled. If you have an older version of MPC, it might not support them. Most of my full-screen watching is on my TV though, so the resolution isn't quite as demanding.

[Callisto]

What does everyone use for video playback? And to a lesser extent, music?

I've recently reformatted and am using media player classic, but I hate it, and I REALLY hate WMP so I don't even have it installed. Is VLC the popular choice? Also I'm running a 2560x1600 monitor and a 1920x1200 monitor... How do you deal with watching 720p dvd's or whatever since their resolution is so small and looks so shitty maximized?

As for music player, I use itunes since I have an iphone and it works fine since all I need it to do is shuffle, so that is why it's a lesser extent.

For music I'm super lazy and use WMP, but honestly I can't think of something I've used that worked better than MPC for video. I had a ton of issues with subtitles not rendering properly in VLC even with codecs, I'm not a huge fan of MPC's interface but it just does a better job of playing shit correctly than other stuff.