11-22-2007, 04:57 PM
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#1341
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: in your blind spot.
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If you say he stopped then the MBR shouldn't have been rewritten. Nothing should have been rewritten. Can you use the XP repair console and try to repair?
__________________
"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
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11-22-2007, 05:16 PM
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#1342
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Atomic Nerd
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehead
If you say he stopped then the MBR shouldn't have been rewritten. Nothing should have been rewritten. Can you use the XP repair console and try to repair?
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Nothing he does can see the harddrive in it's previous state. He's tried it in an enclosure and now he's put it into a new computer with an SP2 install and Disk Management also claims it's only a 137GB raw, unformatted drive. When he uses an SP2 disk to boot off that drive, the installer still only sees the drive as 137GB unformatted so I don't think a repair console repair would work since everything says it's unformatted and wouldn't be able to detect a previous installation. I'm certain his data is still on there though, in the unallocated area. We can't figure out why the drive got stuck in this way since he never actually formatted it.
One night, he was in windows and was considering formatting so he just popped in the XP CD to take a look and as soon as he got to the partition screen he noticed Windows showed it as a 137GB drive and quit immediately without deleting the partition or creating a new one. From that point on, his old partitions disappeared and the drive only recognizes as a pre-LBA 137GB drive in any computer.
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11-22-2007, 06:58 PM
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#1343
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: in your blind spot.
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Well, regardless of happened, it appears the partition table has been altered. Time to look up partition recovery software.
__________________
"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
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11-22-2007, 08:23 PM
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#1344
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Atomic Nerd
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Calgary
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobblehead
Well, regardless of happened, it appears the partition table has been altered. Time to look up partition recovery software.
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Yes, I was looking for suggestions as to what software I should be using. Tried one called ZAR but it too failed to recognize the true size of the drive.
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11-22-2007, 09:54 PM
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#1345
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: in your blind spot.
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Have you tried going into the recovery console and doing a fixmbr?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058
Edit: I've also heard good things about Spinrite
__________________
"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
Last edited by Bobblehead; 11-22-2007 at 10:02 PM.
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11-23-2007, 09:38 PM
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#1346
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Calgary
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A quick question, can a person load Computer Games which are for Windows XP onto a new Computer that runs Vista?
My computer is getting old and I need a new one pretty soon....kinda of concerned the games will be obsolete.
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11-23-2007, 09:40 PM
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#1347
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Scoring Winger
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flambers
A quick question, can a person load Computer Games which are for Windows XP onto a new Computer that runs Vista?
My computer is getting old and I need a new one pretty soon....kinda of concerned the games will be obsolete.
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it depends game to game. Some will work no problem, but some won't work at all.
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11-26-2007, 02:49 AM
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#1348
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Powerplay Quarterback
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Walking Distance
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Finally going for a new laptop. Couple questions.
1-What is a good reputable review site? I have been using CNET.
2- So I'm probably going to go to best buy, futureshop or the like. Anybody have any suggestions on good laptops? I'll throw out some info for what I need.
Pretty good battery life/average size - Currently rocking a big mofo (hp zd8000). I got it for fast processor and graphics, but the only games I play now are circa the year I bought it (3 years ago?), so I dont think i need a huge multimedia laptop again. I would rather have a battery (extra large add on battery is fine) that lasts 4 or 5 (or more).
I do however use some somewhat demanding apps. DJ apps, Audacity audio editing (especially greedy) , Photoshop, 3dsmax hobbies (nothing too serious).
The list
15.4"
I am looking in the 1000-1500 range,
2.0+ processor? my current is P4 3.2 will I notice significant slowdown to a non multimedia laptop? The p4 just kills battery though.
2gb ram (1gb too little for me?)
256 mb video card w/ s-video out (better is preferable but not necessary)
xp if available, will I have a tough time finding xp nowadays? Should I go vista?
4 hour + battery
harddrive not that important, I use my external for most important stuff, 40 or 60 would be minimum.
since I dj, a nice soundcard would be a nice bonus but not necessary. I do have an external (need two outputs plus line in) , but it would simplify everything if I had a nice 2 channel output card w/ a line in. So once again if possible I would do it.
Have I missed anything?
Any new techs that if I don't incorporate I will be screwed 6 months down the line?
Lastly, who is the best equalized with USD?
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11-26-2007, 10:04 AM
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#1349
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Lifetime Suspension
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Hard drive dead
Ok my quandry is this. I upgraded to a new HP Media Pavillion computer and my kids were thrilled. It has been a great upgrade over the five or six year old HP Vectra that is now our backup computer. Now the hard drive in the old one has died (not the first time and this was an upgrade).
My boys are clamoring for another computer where they can play games against each other on a semi-level playing field. The new one is so much quicker.
So questions :
1. Is there a way I can fix this second computer up as a bare bones do nothing but gaming without spending a lot of money? (I have a third computer setup to just surf the internet so it can be very one dimensional)
2. Would a better solution be to buy a Wii and tell them to get their gaming experience multiplayer on a console?
Thanks for any suggestions!!!
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11-26-2007, 11:58 AM
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#1350
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Franchise Player
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: in your blind spot.
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ShaolinFlame - Don't go to BestBuy/Futureshop. Check Dell.ca or Lenovo.com, they both have plenty of notebooks that fill out your checklist. XP is an option most places from what I have seen (but not BB/FS - there you get what it has got). More memory is always nice, but 1GB should be OK for XP, unless you are doing anything hardcore. For processor, make sure you stick to a Core 2 Duo processor and it will kick the crap out of any p4 and use MUCH less battery.
You may also want to see if there is anything on an Apple laptop, but they are a bit pricier.
JohnnyFlame, I doubt there is anything cheap you could do to make a 5+ year old computer work on a par with a brand new system. I would suggest add memory, but the memory used is probably expensive as hell since it won't be made in quantity anymore. Some older games may be alright - the whole Unreal tournament seems to run well on anything. Generally speaking, gaming is the cutting edge top end of the computer spectrum. Console gaming may be the way to go, if they can get along.
__________________
"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
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11-26-2007, 01:12 PM
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#1351
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: /dev/null
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
1. Is there a way I can fix this second computer up as a bare bones do nothing but gaming without spending a lot of money? (I have a third computer setup to just surf the internet so it can be very one dimensional)
2. Would a better solution be to buy a Wii and tell them to get their gaming experience multiplayer on a console?
Thanks for any suggestions!!!
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Chances are you will need to upgrade the processor and video card to be on par with the new HP. Which will likely involve upgrading the memory and the motherboard. On top of this you may require a more powerful power supply. Overall, it requires a whole new computer.
With two kids like that, unless they are both into very technology oriented hobbies (outside of games), just buy them a Wii/Xbox360. It will be cheaper then trying to maintain two full gaming PC's. It's expensive enought to maintain one 
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11-26-2007, 03:01 PM
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#1353
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Lifetime Suspension
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Thanks guys -- I just needed the nudge as I was heavily leaning that way in the first place. Because yes gaming computing is expensive and trying to maintain two computers is beyond me. A nice new console for Christmas sure sounds good.
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11-27-2007, 11:17 AM
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#1354
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: /dev/null
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyFlame
Thanks guys -- I just needed the nudge as I was heavily leaning that way in the first place. Because yes gaming computing is expensive and trying to maintain two computers is beyond me. A nice new console for Christmas sure sounds good.
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If you go with the Wii, be sure to buy rechargeable batteries (AA's). My remotes chew threw them like candy.
The Xbox360 batteries havn't needed to be changed in 6 months and I certainly use that machine more.
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12-02-2007, 10:24 AM
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#1355
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Franchise Player
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I'm trying to remove McAfee Security Centre from my PC, which I no longer need. When I try to delete it, I get a message that "legacy program must be removed first." What does this mean and how do I do this?
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12-03-2007, 02:26 PM
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#1356
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First Line Centre
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: /dev/null
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MoneyGuy
I'm trying to remove McAfee Security Centre from my PC, which I no longer need. When I try to delete it, I get a message that "legacy program must be removed first." What does this mean and how do I do this?
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Programs like Norton and McAfee are notorious for being impossible to remove. This is the primary reason I tell people to avoid these two products (and the one from Telus... ick).
You can remove McAfee manually, but it's a little messy: - Run "msconfig"
- In the Startup and Service tabs, un-check any entries dealing with McAfee. Don't reboot yet.
- Delete any entries from your startup folder (in Programs on the Start Bar)
- Reboot. McAfee should not be running at this point.
- Delete the McAfee application directory on your computer. I don't know the exact path but it's likely it's in C:\Program Files\...
- Run the Uninstall from the Add/Remove Programs portion of Control Panel. It should error out, but allow you to remove the link.
That *should* clean it off the system, but I know it will leave some stuff behind in the windows directory.
Keep in mind though that I advise this for older (> 2 years) versions of McAfee/Norton. I don't have much experience with the newer ones which may do some more advanced stuff involving root kits and driver installations.
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12-03-2007, 09:00 PM
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#1357
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Crash and Bang Winger
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12-09-2007, 11:37 AM
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#1358
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#1 Goaltender
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Calgary, AB
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Hey fellow CP computer techies!
I am looking for some video card help.
I bought an Ati x1650 agp about 3 months ago. It was working fine until about 3 weeks ago. I am running Vista and sometimes when running regular programs or games the computer freezes and the screen will either go blank or the screens fills with lines of different colors.
The computer has been reformatted and I installed a fresh copy of Vista and it worked fine until I tried playing World of Warcraft. Last night I got the game going but today the same thing happened, either blank screen or lines of different colors then the computer freezes.
I have tried using all different types of drivers from the one that came in the package to latest on Ati's website. Also, Ati's website is not too helpful for trouble shooting Vista problems.This morning I took out the card and put in my old Ati 9600 and its running Wow fine.
Its got me thinking its the video card itself. It worked so good and ran a lot of games up until now. Could it be the card is not getting enough power? I do have a lot fans and hard drives running in my computer.
Thanks! Any help is much appreciated.
__________________
You lack rawness, you lack passion, you couldn't make it through war without rations.
Last edited by RedMan12; 12-09-2007 at 01:53 PM.
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12-09-2007, 01:49 PM
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#1359
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Threadkiller
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: 51.0544° N, 114.0669° W
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^ it does sound like the vid card is the problem - be sure to check that it is seated and tight, and there is enouigh airflow around it as well
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12-09-2007, 01:54 PM
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#1360
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#1 Goaltender
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Calgary, AB
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I am going to rewire all the dvd, hard drives and the video card and see if that fixes the problem.
__________________
You lack rawness, you lack passion, you couldn't make it through war without rations.
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