iLikeProg

Would putting a blank hard drive in the machine, install fresh windows 8.1, then clone the missing bootloader partition to the ssd work?

Yes, i have a bootable 8.1 dvd that I made from Microsoft download. Not sure the next steps to recovery

I plugged in the original disk, and it gives me basically the same error, but a different screen: Here are the boot options: How is it possible that he deleted the bootloader? Can the boot loader be reinstalled when upgrading/installing windows 10 fix this issue without deleting data?

yes, right now we are working off the clone drive. Ultimately, we would like the clone drive to become the new OS drive as it is a 1TB SSD and the original drive is a very old 750GB HHD

Hello, I am trying to help my friend with his old windows 8.1 pro computer. We are both windows idiots so please be gentile. This PC does not go on the internet, only used to run audio plugins and instruments over a local ethernet. He started getting boot issues after making a system clone to another drive, which is when I was brought into the picture. Here is the BIOS screen: and here is the screen we see when trying to boot: I made a DVD of the windows 8.1 ISO, booted and tried the startup repair (which ran for a good 20 minutes), then got this: Next, watched a bunch of YouTube to try some commands run from the windows disk advanced command line, here are the results: The strange thing is, I made a USB disk of the windows installer before using the homemade disk and somehow was able to boot into windows while this was connected, like the computer used the USB install version to get past logging in and then the computer SSD took over and was back to normal. So there must be a way to get the boot partition fixed, right? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Doing my first build for a home file back up server and had a few question on hardware. Been reading and watching tutorials for a few weeks but still confused on best solution for hardware. Before hardware choices, here is my use: I am an Amateur video producer with MacOS editing computers (A M1 mini, old MacBook Pro and a mackintosh main station). Currently transferring projects to portable Sandisk SSD for working on any station and getting overwhelmed with external drive fatigue knowing where my media for old projects are. Want to centralize all data for easy access throughout the house, organize and archive old projects. Plus system backups for all computers (was thinking super duper system drive clones). A Alex media server maybe down the road, but not necessary. Would also like to separate a directory for family photo backup and another for shared music. Onto the hardware: Going to use one of my old PCs with 3 choices: 1. Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H i7-4790K CPU 48 GB RAM Non-Ecc 2. Gigabyte GA-H97M-D3H intel i7-4790 CPU (non K) 32 GB RAM Non-Ecc 3. Asus P9X79 Pro Intel 3930K i7 64GB Ram Non-Ecc I have an old XFX HD-6870-CNFC Radeon HD 6870 2GB GFX card laying around that I could include, not sure if it would help at all. During the holidays, I purchased 3ea 16TB Western Digital Red Pro drives (WD161KFGX) also purchased a 1 TB NVME Samsung that I thought was going to be the OS Drive but now realize that this is overkill. I will now be using an old 256GB ssd for TureNas Scale OS. So besides the system choice, what can I do with the 1TB NVME drive? Is it possible to setup the Raid with all 3 red drives and keep the 1TB NVME drive as a video stock media drive to be accessed over a gigabit network? Or should I just return the NVME drive? Any help/advice is greatly appreciated!

So many great replies, thank you all so much! I have never done a VLAN, so might be something worth considering in the future. I am leaning towards simplifying the setup and just going with the Deco mesh guest network for both personal and business guests. However, I wanted to throw this out there: We have 10,000sqft upstairs future residential/ warehouse and 10,000 sqft downstairs business/ commercial that is currently being run by wired cat6 and the mesh system. What about adding an Airport router in bridge mode with only a public guest network and invisible unused 5ghz network? The reason, I can keep the entire mesh wifi for personal use and the business can have a custom SSID (mybusiness.net) and it can be turned off after business hours. Am I asking for trouble with this by overcomplicating my network? Wifi signal is not an issue as I can set the channels manually and even though I am in a downtown area, there are not many wifi signal competitors around as we all have brick buildings and lots of space. Again, all the help has been greatly appreciated!

Currently the guest network on the Mesh is setup for wifi bulbs and smart on/off switches (which we have a surprising number of) and other 2.4GHz devices. So I was hoping to provide a small, separate network for the small business that is here during the day and keep our personal guest wifi for bulbs and smart things.

I currently have a large area (10,000 soft) that is covered with by a TP-Link - Deco AX3000 (3-pack all hard wired) mesh Wifi setup with fiber internet. Works great. Now I would like to create a public wifi network with my old AirPort Extreme router that can use the internet, but not see all my devices on the network. When I use the automated setup wizard from airport utility, it sets up a "new network" in bridge mode. But I think this is wrong. The network can use the internet, but all my devices are seen on the network. When I try to manually setup in DHCP and NAT, I get a bunch of errors. Clearly I am not a networking expert, so any help would be appreciated! I don't even know what to research. I simply want this Airport to connect to the internet and create its own network but not have access to any of the devices on the mesh network. Is this possible? Any help is appreciated!

Thanks everyone for the great tips. I will definitely do all shielded cable and I appreciate the long posts with details very much! So, does anyone have a recommendation for a cable supplier or a tool supplier? I hate Amazon as well for the reasons posted above, and I also disapprove of Monoprice. I love the Monoprice low cost TV mounts, but have been scared away from them with poor QC audio cables (un-shielded "shielded" audio cables, reversed polarities, and cheaply manufactured "professional" audio cables that fall apart after a year). Maybe their bulk CAT cables are fine, never purchased any from them? Maybe even a tool brand recommendation? I wouldn't recognized a cheap CAT crimper from a good one since it is something I have yet to do. And knowing how many cables I will need to create for this project scale, I am willing to invest in some good tools (and cable) to start with. Thanks again everyone!

My family and I have all made a big move, sold our house for a large 20,000 sqft commercial building for our business and eventually our residence. Step one right now, get internet to the building and figure out how to network this monster. This will be my first time making ethernet cable from bulk line and need some advice. Like many here, I enjoy technology and consider myself a prosumer (video editor and musician), but networking tech has never been my forte. From the little research I've done so far, it seems like our security cameras will all be running CAT 5e for energy and cost savings, and CAT 6 for computer and device networking with conduit to allow replacing with CAT15A 20 years from now. Step one is doing more research: any links to information resources for such a project would be extremely helpful. Step two: recommendations for buying bulk cable without overspending and best tools for making cable runs. Thanks in advance for any assistance with this!

I recently purchased a BN LINK programmable timer from Amazon that arrived today. Plugged it in and noticed nothing was working, no screen readout or any signs of life. Seemed odd, like it wasn't getting any power from my outlet. I am no genius in the electricity department, but I thought "I've built several computers, I'll open this up and see if maybe there is an easy fix" Took out the four back screws and this is what I saw: (see photos) Notice, the electrical posts have no wires attached. Is this the root of my problem? Looks like it is well grounded, but nothing on the actual electric posts. But this is my first time opening something like this so maybe I am not seeing things correctly?

Thanks for the quick replies all. I don't think I connected my ms account, really only boot to windows for games, though I might switch full-time to windows if Adobe continues to lay back on mac support. I'll google the command line way and see if that works. If not, i'll be back with more questions Thanks for the help.

So I had to change my admin password a year ago and stupidly did not write down the password change. Autologin still works, so I can still boot and use the computer just fine. Since I am logged in as the admin, is there a way to change the password without knowing the current password? Or should I just backup my files and re-install all over again? Sorry for the noob question, I am new to windows after being a mac guy for years. I only use windows recreationally for games since building my first PC hackintosh. Thanks!