Random Question Thread: Tech

[Niya]

K, so it's a BIOS or SATA controller that reads the SMART data but doesn't pass it on to the OS... Whoever thought of that shit.
w/e, a SMART warning is a SMART warning, so the replacement should be ok. At least when HP did their homework and interprets the SMART parameters correctly. There's a ton of them and most can differ for every HDD manufacturer...
Or you just hook the HDD up to another mainboard or controller and try to read the SMART values that way.

[jmc]

Sounds like good news for you: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...arly_2012.html

Thanks for the heads up, gonna wait a bit instead of buying right when I get the refund now.

[Halion]

I got a external HD that wasn't being detected, they had me rma it without even troubleshooting, whatever it's on warranty. I got the second one and this one isn't detected either. The first one made some pathetic noises when I plugged it in, this one is silent. Does that mean I got a second dead one? If I have to ship another one back that's the freakin sale price gone that made me buy it in the first place -_-

[Caiyuo]

K, so it's a BIOS or SATA controller that reads the SMART data but doesn't pass it on to the OS... Whoever thought of that shit.
w/e, a SMART warning is a SMART warning, so the replacement should be ok. At least when HP did their homework and interprets the SMART parameters correctly. There's a ton of them and most can differ for every HDD manufacturer...
Or you just hook the HDD up to another mainboard or controller and try to read the SMART values that way.

thanks, Niya, have a few days since I had to buy the replacement online so I'll pull it again and see what I can find.

[Caiyuo]

I got a external HD that wasn't being detected, they had me rma it without even troubleshooting, whatever it's on warranty. I got the second one and this one isn't detected either. The first one made some pathetic noises when I plugged it in, this one is silent. Does that mean I got a second dead one? If I have to ship another one back that's the freakin sale price gone that made me buy it in the first place -_-

what kind is it? model and all; might be that there's just something dumb and simple going on. I'd think maybe unformatted but I thought Windows would at least detect the drive.

[Halion]

what kind is it? model and all; might be that there's just something dumb and simple going on. I'd think maybe unformatted but I thought Windows would at least detect the drive.

Iomega Select 34974 External Desktop Hard Drive - 2TB, 3.5", USB 2.0, 480Mbps
The fact it doesnt even wrrr or spin or beep or anything makes my main question can that happen and the drive be functional.
Either way to pre-empt you having to ask what I tried in case the answer is yes, I tested both cords, I don't have the usb in a hub, I have used other devices in this usb slot, I turned my computer off and on plugged in the power and waited then plugged in the usb, I tried different power outlets, refreshed and rescanned disks in disk management. The light comes on, absolutely nothing else happens. Windows doesn't list it in diskpart and none of the drivers install/list into the usb controllers. I assume the warranty will cover their techs having to figure out what is wrong with it I just want to know the likelihood of it being dead so I know how pissed to be XD.

[Caiyuo]

given the newegg feedback it seems to be pretty fucking common, lol http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822186269

Depending on the retailer you bought it from, I don't think it'd be a stretch to ask for a refund for the shipping or having them email you a pre-paid label.

[CrosisX]

AMD Quad-Core A6-3420M or i3-330M 2.13 ghz

[Jojimbo]

The A6-3420M, AMDs integrated graphics are well ahead of intels and I think the CPU itself is more powerful anyway (plus its a true quad core, i3 is dual core with hyperthreading)

[kamugi]

Does this card:
NVIDIA Geforce GTX 550Ti Graphic Card
http://www.nvidia.com/object/product...-550ti-us.html
Run FFXI well?

Not sure if I should post this is Tech or RQT for FFXI, so asking in both, sorry!

[TacoTaru]

It should, my wife ran XI on max settings on a low-end mobile card not made for gaming. XI is just so old I think even then lowest tiered card of any GPU set that comes out will run it on max settings.

For reference, this is the card my wife was using: GeForce 310M

[kamugi]

I just remember seeing a bunch of stuff about newer cards not working with FFXI correctly and not running it well. So i figured I'd ask before buying.

[hey]

All the problems with newer nvidia cards in ffxi were fixed a year or two back.

[kamugi]

Ah! thats awesome, guess its cool then. Thanks~

[Kerberoz]

(w7) Is there a way to globally disable "always on top" for all programs 100% of the time?

[Edgie]

I have a Droid Bionic, trying to figure out which type of video file it will play thru hdmi to lcd tv. Do i need a app to get it to play videos correctly.

[hey]

(w7) Is there a way to globally disable "always on top" for all programs 100% of the time?

Not natively, as far as i'm aware of, but it shouldn't be terribly difficult to write a program that detects when something is set as always on top, and automatically disable it. Though, if such a program has already been written, good luck finding it.

[Kuishen]

A good, decently priced controller for playing emulated PS2/Gamecube/PSX games on?

[Caiyuo]

Logitech has a handful of gamepads in varying prices, I'd check out which one fits the budget you're looking for compared to how they differ. I think 360 and PS3 controllers are also used, but I remember drivers with the 360 controller have been a pain in the ass for full functionality.

[Kerberoz]

I use a wired 360 controller and haven't had driver issues.