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Patrick3D

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Everything posted by Patrick3D

  1. Same thing with Windows 10 2004 not booting when a Highpoint 2720SGL SAS controller is installed. Windows 10 no longer has a driver for it and trying to install the old driver isn't working. I tried downloading the driver from the Windows Update Catalog and from Highpoint themselves. The driver installs but the card doesn't work. I've got a Highpoint 3720A on order that is coming in Thursday to see if it's a matter of legacy hardware being dropped. To get around Windows not booting I just pull the boot drive (it's in a removable cage) and wait for the Highpoint to begin initializing drives, then pop the boot drive back in. Edit- Forgot to mention to boot I have to have a bootable USB connected to get the Highpoint card to begin initializing then pull the USB and pop the drive in while the card is initializing.
  2. MakeMKV for sure. Also install the Java runtime and configure MakeMKV settings to point to it. With Java installed it will automatically find the correct stream to Rip on Blu-rays that have 100+ streams.
  3. Have fun customizing something to work with standoffs and the back-panel I/O cutout while leaving enough room for airflow. This is the kind of thing that would make for a great custom modded PC though.
  4. The only other company I know if that still makes cases suitable for HTPC builds is Streacom, they are not cheap though and as far as I know are only available with a raw aluminium finish (no black or color options.) You can find them on Newegg or visit their website for a list of authorized resellers.
  5. TP-Link Kasa if you just want affordable bulbs from a dependable manufacturer. They work with Alexa & Android. I don't care for Phillips, out of their starter Hue set I had one bulb die in the first week and the bulbs were very unreliable over the 2 years I used them. YMMV.
  6. It took me 12 years to wear out the feet on a Logitech MX518. They didn't actually wear out either, the glue just stopped holding the feet in place. I bought some replacement feet off of Amazon for a few bucks and it has worked fine since. I've only used the mouse on hard mouse pads, in fact I believe I started with the Allsop hard pad before upgrading to X-Trac hard surface pads.
  7. AmazonBasics has a "big and tall" office chair with wide seat. Lay-Z-Boy also makes some "big and tall" office chairs. Personally, I just buy whatever is on sale at Office Max/Staples and replace it every 5 years or so. That way I can visit the store and try out the chair before buying. The most important thing is having something under the desk to elevate your legs/feet. I use an overstuffed small beanbag chair.
  8. DREVO BladeMaster TE 87K (10-keyless) is $89.99, they have a wireless version that is $159.99, and full-size keyboards as well. Heavy metal base, different switch options, macro support, and a knob on the left-side that can be assigned different functions. I use the knob for volume, it also clicks in and different functions can be assigned to single-click & double-click. I use the single-click for mute. My only real gripe with the keyboard is the knob is a little difficult to turn due to it being tight and having a smooth rubber ring around it that results in fingers sliding over it instead of gripping easily.
  9. This belongs in the tech support thread, anyways, run chkdsk to check the hard drive for bad sectors and check the Event Viewer for System events to see if something is quietly failing. https://www.tekrevue.com/tip/fix-hard-drives-chkdsk-windows-10/
  10. Turn on "Loudness Equalization" in Sound Properties for your desired output device. Right-click the speaker icon > Open Sound Settings > Sound Control Panel (text link at the upper right) > select the desired output device > click Properties > click Enhancements tab > scroll down and it is at the bottom of the list, put a checkmark and click OK.
  11. Loved it until I tried to go to sleep in the same room with it. Now I don't want it in anything. I wouldn't mind a backlit keyboard actually, but don't want that awful chiseled line font most are using. Sigh.
  12. Factory worker opened a ticket to report the Internet was down... Sometimes I feel like a babysitter more than a Systems Administrator.
  13. Okidata still makes dot matrix printers that will work with serial or parallel: https://www.oki.com/us/printing/products/dot-matrix-printers/index.html
  14. Two suggestions: 1.) Update the BIOS 2.) (Assuming Windows 10): Start > Settings > System > Power & sleep > Additional power settings > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > un-check "Turn on fast startup" then click "Save changes" and try shutting down to see if the issue persists.
  15. Goto antennaweb.org and check what your distance is from your local broadcast towers. No one can provide adequate suggestions without knowing the distance. Another question: is your roof metal, wood, or asphalt shingles? You may be able to get away with mounting an antenna inside of the attic, it depends on your distance though. As for splitting the signal inside, just get a SiliconDust HDHomerun which has a built-in tuner and makes the OTA TV stations available to any device on your home network including digital set-top boxes and smartphones.
  16. That specific model of drive is known to have problems reading Blu-ray discs, the fix is to use a USB Y-cable that provides additional power to the drive. Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/USB-2-0-Splitter-Cable-Black/dp/B00VV24L7E/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1532712428&sr=8-9&keywords=usb+y+cable
  17. Buy 50' Active (Redmere) HDMI cable Unscrew wall plate that has coax port in basement Disconnect coax cable from wall plate Bind coax cable to "Source" end of HDMI cable Unscrew wall plate that has coax port in living room Disconnect coax cable from wall plate and pull HDMI cable up to living room Connect "Source" end of HDMI cable to satellite receiver Connect "TV" end of HDMI cable to new TV Investigate options for replacing the wall plates for a tidy appearance
  18. I use a Pinnacle Dazzle brand video capture device that plugs in via USB to backup VHS movies. I haven't used it in a few years now but it's not exactly a one-button experience. You start recording, then play your source, stop recording when the source is over. You then need to clip the start and end of the video and possibly crop the video if the source had black bars or random crap in areas that would normally have been covered by the overscan of tube TVs. After all that you then will likely want to compress the video. The software the Dazzle comes with is supposed to automate most of that but I never found the automation useful.
  19. If you are not going to overclock then get the 1600X, it's only $20 more on Amazon. 3.6GHz base clock is more than enough for your GPU.
  20. Turn the computer off, pull the power cord, hold the power button for 5 seconds, plug the power cord back in and turn it on. If no luck then try a CMOS clear and full power cycle.
  21. This is normal, when the system powers on the power is delivered to the fan before the system has the chance to read temperature sensors, it's basically safeguarding the CPU from burning up before POST is compete.
  22. Clear CMOS and power on, let it sit for 2 minutes. You should hear the fans starting and stopping several times and then it will eventually POST. I thought something was wrong with my new build (MSI B350M Mortar Arctic) but I left it alone while it was going through that and it is working perfectly fine. There was no display until it finished all the fan power cycling also.
  23. M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD if you're an enthusiast and can afford it, 2.5" SATA SSD for everyone else.
  24. SFX for lower noise. Flex PSU is likely to be 10+ higher decibels under the same load.
  25. Unless you are dealing with a computer joined to an Active Directory domain, then cloning with modern cloning software that handles 4K alignment won't be an issue. If you do clone a domain joined computer, you will simply need to remove it from the domain and re-join it to generate a new "domain SID" for it..
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