Sir Dude

Where do I go to actually do that? I couldn't seem to find anything that wasn't sketchy. And I don't actually need to use the Mac. I'm just trying to make a Windows server PC, I'm broke af and this is the most powerful computer I own. I just need MacOS to hand the hardware over to Windows because just throwing a Windows installed SSD into the machine didn't work last time I tried.

I've got an old 2009 Mac Pro that was completely wiped from previous hijinks. I've got a new SSD that I'm trying to reinstall MacOS onto but on top of having no real idea of how MacOS works (I've never used one before) Google isn't helping with reinstalling MacOS onto it. I know it helps to have another Mac device on hand to perform some reinstall/repair process, but I don't have one available. I've got a flash drive I can use, but that's about it. How do you reinstall MacOS without another Mac?

@jaslion I've been doing research today and that's what I've gathered so far. Is there a way to get Boot Camp or Apple Software Updater on the computer, or do I have HAVE to install some version of Mac OS?

You know what I didn't think of that. This was roughly put together this morning before work after months of road blocks/putting it off, so I'll check that out in the morning. I suck at research so as much as I feel like an ass for asking for easy answers, they do certainly help. Thank you! It's running Windows Server 2019. I had another problem before with another computer that my friend pulled from a dumpster where it needed some CPU drivers in order to connect to the internet/have ethernet cables be recognized so I thought it was a similar issue here. I have no idea what any of that is :v I've never properly used a Mac before so I used the aforementioned dumpster computer (affectionately named the "Fire Hazard") to install Windows Server on an SSD and just threw it in there. I'll take a look at the network card and see if that's my issue (that's also probably why I couldn't find anything.) Also I apologize for the scrappy-ness of all of this, but until I can get a sufficiently powerful NAS and game server for $30, dumpster gems and hand-me-downs are the best I've got :v

I'm putting together a new (old) server running on that CPU (two of them, in fact, inside an old Mac Pro) and I can't connect to the internet, which is in fact very bad for a server! Device manager shows that there are no drivers for the Ethernet Ports nor is there a Network driver. I've been trying to google it, but with no luck. The various websites I've been to either refuse to download the driver, the downloaded thing is not the driver, or they try to offload some random program onto me that I don't feel comfortable using. I also can't seem to find them on Intel's website. Does anybody know where I can get them?

My friend has a PS Vita and he says the left speaker is super quiet. It probably just needs to be cleaned because he spilled something on it but I'm trying to source a replacement in case one is needed. It's the 1000 version (the fat one, not the slim one) so finding parts for it isn't as common, at least from what I can see (for example, iFixit only has the slim version's replacement speakers for sale). I did find some with just a google search, but they're from websites I've never heard of. Is there a website or seller you trust that you'd recommend?

tl;dr: Can I upgrade from Android version 4 (Kitkat) to Version 5, or any other later version? It's an old RCA tablet from Walmart. Model number: RCT6203W46 Android Version: 4.4.2 Kernal Version: 3.4.67 Build Number: (model #)-(android version)V51-V1.9.50 Context: I wanna draw digital art, but I don't wanna buy a whole new piece of kit just so I can lose interest after a month and not touch it again for a year. I've got this old tablet from high school lying around and I looked into turning it into a drawing tablet. Turns out, you can just download an app for that. I found one called VirtualTablet and it gives you 3 options for connecting, WiFi, Bluetooth, and Tethered. Of course, the wireless options are laggy, so I chose Tethered. And... it's only supported on Android 5 or later. So now I've spent the last 5 hours trying to flash, update, and research this tablet. I understand upgrading Android OS's isn't exactly a safe thing to do, and you've gotta make sure it'll even run on the device, but is it even possible? I can't seem to find a straight answer and of course I've got this seemingly unknown device that's hard to find documentation for.

Alright, one more question. If I put my current router in AP mode, would that act as both an access point AND a switch, or just an access point?

I already have a decent router, and I honestly don't need to upgrade. However, I like tinkering with things and I'm trying to become an IT guy, so the more things I can learn in a real world scenario, the better. I just looked it up, and if my house were bigger, sure, but the closest room halfway between me and the router is right across from me and I wouldn't achieve anything running something into there. I'm also just out of sockets on my surge protector. I can make it work though, and as I said above I'm trying to actively learn some networking stuff so the more options (even convoluted ones) the better. Call me crazy and stupid but would it work if I got an 8 port PoE switch to put near my router, and then run a cable to my room for a smaller switch?

2 of the 4 outlets in my room are dead, and all of my computery things are attached to a single surge protector on one wall. It's never been a problem for me but I don't want to make it one either. There isn't a cable running to my room already, it's running off of wifi, hence why I'm upgrading my network. I'm actually following this video by Techquickie: I can get a PoE switch or something, right? Or does it HAVE to be a separate device?

I'm planning on upgrading my home network. My modem and router are in one corner of my house, and my bedroom is on the other corner. In my room I have my main gaming rig and a second computer for Twitch stream encoding. I don't want to purchase and run 2 cables, so I was wondering if there are any good inexpensive 3 port ethernet switches (1 input, 2 outputs) that do not require external power and are worth my time. Both machines can and will be used simultaneously.

I can't even boot into windows, the screen stays black. The storage drives are completely empty, I wiped them myself. And I know they work because they show up on another computer with no problem. That other computer has hot swapping available so I try doing that with this Mac (plugging them in while it's turned on) but nothing happens and they don't show up. Turning the machine on with them plugged in has the screen not turn on. Something I did discover was when the machine boots up normally, if I push the power button it shuts off instantly. However, when I boot it up with another drive installed pushing the power button does not immediately shut off the machine. I don't know if that means anything.

I'm in the process of making a new NAS/game server. The computer I'm using is a 2009 Mac Pro running the latest version of Windows Server. I don't know the specs exactly but it has 2 Intel Xeons, what I would guess is a GT 220 graphics card (I ripped it out of an old Windows XP gaming machine purely so I can get a display out and nothing more), and 16gb of memory. I don't have a problem with anything software related, but I'm having a major issue regarding hard drives. I've got 3 completely blank and reformatted used drives for a combined 4tb of just storage. Windows Server is installed on it's own SSD. With just that, the computer boots up fine, no issues there. The problem is only 1 of the 3 hard drives boots to Windows. The other 2 have a completely blank screen when installed. I've tried looking things up myself but my setup is so particular that I'm not finding the answers I need. Whenever I try going into Mac's startup utility, the screen stays blank even with no other additional drives installed. Something I noticed is the only drive that works is the oldest drive, 5 years older than the other 2. I don't know if that's got anything to do with it. When the computer boots up normally, of course it'll go the lock screen. If I then press the power button, the computer immediately shuts off. But then when I install one of the black screen drives, simply pressing the power button does nothing (or at least nothing noticeable). I have no idea what's going on or what I can do to fix this. If nobody here has an answer, then can I be pointed to another forum or somewhere with people that may know more? It's not imperative that I use THIS computer but it's the only one we have on deck that's good enough and I'm completely strapped for cash.

I'm looking for 2 15" or small form factor monitors. I don't have a lot of space on my desk, so I can't really go any bigger than that. These will all be secondary, so quality isn't my highest concern, at least with 1 of them. I stream on Twitch and I use a laptop for video encoding, however this laptop is past it's prime and the hinge is falling apart. I intend to replace it with a small form factor PC (for ease of maintenance) so I want a color accurate display to go with it. I'm not a professional by any means so it doesn't have to be SUPER accurate, just something that isn't as faded as my current laptop screen and so I can make sure the colors of my streams actually look good. I also stream from multiple locations around my room/house so not only do I not have room for a large monitor, I also need to lug it around. I did find this on Amazon but I just want a second opinion on it, maybe somebody has a better more affordable option: https://www.amazon.com/Portable-Monitor-15-6-1920x1080-Brightness-Computer/dp/B08LYVCNGH/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2NW2ZEHY3RU1J&keywords=15"%2Bcolor%2Baccurate%2Bmonitor&qid=1654641907&refinements=p_n_size_browse-bin%3A2633094011&rnid=2633086011&s=pc&sprefix=15%2Bcolor%2Baccurate%2Bmonitor%2Caps%2C114&sr=1-3&th=1 The second monitor is just for my main rig. I don't need that to be anything fancy at all, just another display. Most of the results I see on Amazon just look WAY too chunky for a small monitor, and also seem like they're really expensive for that size. I'm even willing to buy a barebones laptop panel or even gut my laptop for it's panel, I'm just hoping there's something cheap that looks nice so I don't risk breaking things.

Original GBA. It's also the purple one that you see in all the ads for it so that's why I don't wanna replace the shell.

Hey all! Linus Tech Tips recently put out a video where Linus and Dan took apart their old gaming handhelds and did some repairs and upgrades, which made me bust out my old Gamebody Advance so I can try the same. I did some googling and it brought me to handheldlegend.com, where there's all kinds of parts I can get. What I'm looking to get is a rechargeable battery, new screen, and an IPS display panel. The main thing though is the display panel. These are kind of expensive and I was wondering if there were a particular model people favored so I know I'm getting the right one. I was also thinking on getting an audio amplifier and an HDMI converter kit, but I don't even know if they would fit and I'm curious one what you all think. I'd also like to keep the original shell if I can, can't have an old console without some well worn beat up plastic!

The PC I'm using is an old office PC my friend pulled from a dumpster. It's an old AMD Athlon II 64x with no graphics card (as of right now anyway) with 8 GB of new memory. I did buy a new 1 TB hard drive for it as it was intended for file backups but I've collected more older and smaller hard drives as I've gone through our old computers and consolidated them. I realize it's a trash computer (literally) but I'm not asking a lot from it and I do intend to upgrade when I have the money for it.

I've got several hard drives laying around that I can use and I don't have space for a rack, I was looking more for the software side of things. And I'd prefer free if possible. Will do!

I have an old computer that I ran Minecraft servers off of and I have some files stored on it, but I want to upgrade to something more "professional". I want to make a server that I can access remotely to quickly and easily transfer files to and from, and I want it to have network access so my friends can do the same. I've been reading into things like FreeNAS/TrueNAS but my brain glosses over with reading so I was wondering if anybody here has any advice on where to start or can point me in the right direction.

I wanna buy my brother a computer. I'd rather it be built, but he's not the most hardware savvy and he's also a state away so it won't be easy to help him build it himself, plus hardware prices are still kinda butt cheeks right now. I remember from Gamers Nexus that they said the ABS Challenger was the "best" they reviewed, so we settled on this PC: https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali570/p/N82E16883360205?Item=N82E16883360205 However, I also remember from Gamers Nexus that prebuilts can be kind of sketchy and awful, even from reputable brands. So I was wondering, before we pull the trigger on this PC, do any of you have any recommendations? We have a budget of about $1400 USD, and we could go about $200 over, but no more than that. My brother really wants a system with an i7 in it. I asked him why and he gave kinda vague answers, so I'm sure AMD would be okay as well. Just so long as it has about 6-8 cores. We'd also like to have a 30 series card, but we could go with a 20 series if need be. He's not the biggest fan of RGB (I know, he's a heretic) so preferably something that isn't too flashy. He's been wanting to join me in streaming and content creation, so if we can get 32GB of memory for cheap, that'd be great! Otherwise, 16 is fine. That should be all that's really required, thank you so much in advance!

I understand this PC will have *terrible* thermals, but the power we wield here can cripple nations. Anyway, kind of? It's hard to see the finer details on that picture. The end of the cable is almost an inch long and it has 2 silver wires that the come together at the end and touch a small square dot.

I'm building a PC for a friend, and we're repurposing a case from an old gaming PC he got from a friend's uncle. The case is the Viper Eagle Tech https://www.newegg.com/red-eagle-tech-viper-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811117084 I disassembled it because it's nasty af and there was a mess of cables that I had no idea what they were. I've figured them out, but there's an LCD panel at the front that's like a readout for your PC's stats. I'm pretty sure it'll show things like fan speeds and your CPU's temps and whatnot. The thing is there's a cord coming off of it that's just labeled "CPU" and it has plastic covered cables at the end. I'm pretty sure it's a temperature sensor, I just have no idea how to mount it or if it even is that. I'm also aware that CPU's have built in sensors nowadays, I just would like to get this case operating as intended. If anybody has any ideas or even just the user manual for the case, that'd be much appreciated!

Damn, I was hoping it'd be easier. I think I did briefly see that Passmark had a single core chart, is that true and is it good/reliable?

I'm trying to become more familiar with PC hardware so I can make more informed purchases in the future. I play a lot of Minecraft and over the past year have dabbled in making servers. My latest attempt was a modded server running over 100 mods and as it turns out, my little Athlon II couldn't keep up with the workload. In doing research I learned that Minecraft is a single threaded game and can only utilize a fraction of a CPU's power. I learned this the hard way when I borrowed a friend's computer which had some Xeon chip inside it with really good multi-core performance, only to have the server's max stable player count go from 3 players at a time to 5. The thing that gets me and the reason why I'm asking this is product pages don't seem to give me the info I need. I remember hearing in an LTT video (and double checking on Newegg to be sure) that a high end 64 core server CPU which absolutely crushed games only has 2.0Ghz speed, whereas my almost 10 year old Windows 7 PC had 2.3Ghz (albeit like, only 2 cores or something). I know core count can tell you roughly how fast it is, but how do you tell how fast each core is? I know clock speed doesn't mean much nowadays and while doing research on this I learned about IPC, or Instructions Per Cycle, but I don't know how useful that metric is and it's not listed on product pages anyway. Do you just have to do research on each CPU you're interested in or is there a faster off-hand way of finding out?

@Somerandomtechyboi@NelizMastr I've had one hell of a week and I lowkey forgot I made this post, lol. I'm kinda understanding what's being said here but some of these terms are getting a little over my head. Could you send some shopping links, like Amazon or Newegg? I'm used to speccing a computer if I have a specific CPU picked out, but I just don't really know where to start with these.