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Source: (consider it)
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Thread: Heaven: Geek Bail-Out: it's computering question time! 2016
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Alisdair
Shipmate
# 15837
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Posted
Dear Ariel,
Sometimes it's worth taking courage in your hands and, while noting the warnings, venture forth.
The warnings of dire consequences if you dare to look inside your computer are really there to cover people's backs (and protect their incomes if their living is at stake).
1. Don't go poking around with a screw driver.
2. Make sure the base unit is DISCONNECTED FROM THE MAINS; just switched off is not good enough!
If you are de-dusting, use a narrow paint brush to dislodge dust, and put the vacuum cleaner on a low setting, using the narrow nozzle (no need to touch anything - though see just below).
If you use compressed air, or the vacuum cleaner, just be careful not to blast fan blades. Stop them spinning with your finger, or a bit of tape, or something. It is possible to over-speed them and wreck the bearin, but I think you would have to try fairly hard to do that!
That's about it. As long as you take seriously the 'no poking about with a screwdriver*' and 'pull out the power plug' advice, and are not a complete maladroit, you are very unlikely to cause your computer, or yourself, any harm; and a good annual de-dusting is a very good idea.
I have been de-dusting computers for over twenty years and have never broken anything or harmed myself. I'm not an IT professional, it's just routine housekeeping - once a year is usually quite enough, unless you realise your computer lives in an unusually dusty environment.
* For the record there are capacitors on the motherboard which store electricity and can give a real belt if allowed to earth. This is the reason for the 'no poking about with a screwdriver' (or any other conductive object). A passing paintbrush will not trouble them.
Posts: 334 | From: Washed up in England | Registered: Aug 2010
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Very sound advice, and very detailed, Alisdair. Thank you very much!
Re 'unscrewing the casing' - my desktop (DELL Dimension 5000, repeatedly upgraded - and, yes, regularly backupped!) is from 2005, and opening them is easy: those cases just have to be carefully laid onto one side, and a big slider on the top has to be slid forward in order for the entire, big metal side to come off.
I don't think any recent machine (from the last 10 yrs or so) will have the much-dreaded physical screws any more; the last desktop I used with 'real' screws was from 1995, and yes, that was always an awkward procedure.
And another word of encouragement: check your computer manual, either the printed or downloadable versions - I've found every single handbook to contain very helpful information on how to clean out the insides. This, plus Alisdair's good hints above, and you should be on to a winner. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Why not look at it as a cleansing ritual in Lent for your electronic friend! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) ![[Angel]](graemlins/angel.gif)
(NB. Back-up first before you work on the inside. Regular back-ups are quite sensible in any case.)
[ 10. March 2016, 13:34: Message edited by: Wesley J ]
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
I'm running the latest version of Firefox on Windows 7. Firefox has suddenly decided to crash at regular intervals, particularly (it would seem) when I'm entering text (such as here) or on my webmail. Does anyone have any clues as to what might be wrong? I've flushed my cache and reinstalled the browser. ![[Help]](graemlins/help.gif)
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
when you uninstall Firefox, it can leave behind files. You should manually remove those. It is easy to find the ones under the Program Files folder, but the type this code:
%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
in the search window in the bottom left of your screen after you click on the start button. Delete the Mozilla folder. Now, that does contain your bookmarks, so if you wish to preserve them, drill down the menu until you find the bookmarks folder, copy it elsewhere, then delete.
First, though, I would malware detector and an anti-virus.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
Do you have add-ons on your Firefox? I find that the Ship's old UBB software doesn't always combine well with all add-ons.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by lilBuddha:
First, though, I would malware detector and an anti-virus.
My anti-virus isn't finding anything. What are the crew's latest recommendations on anti-malware software?
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
Malwarebytes - the free one is fine, just don't accept the trial offer at the end to avoid getting nags after 30 days (which can be disabled by stopping the tray icon running).
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
I second the malwarebytes with three notes:
One, that nothing protects from everything.
Two, that deliberate choices can contravene protections and, once running, some viruses and malware are more difficult to detect. It can help to occasionally allow your anti-virus and malware protection to run from boot, before widows is fully loaded.
Three, paying for useful software is not actually a sin.
[ 12. March 2016, 13:48: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
Agreed on all three points. And in spades when it comes to paying nominal sums for frequently used utilities (mbam, SecondCopy, BeyondCompare etc all well worth supporting for me).
The advice re mbam wasn't to avoid the nag for payment, but to avoid getting the impression it was stuffed when the trial of Pro runs out so the resident bit stops working.
TBH Eutychus problem sounds more like an iffy add-in or corrupt install than malware, but ...
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Sarah G
Shipmate
# 11669
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Eutychus:
My anti-virus isn't finding anything. What are the crew's latest recommendations on anti-malware software?
Computeractive via Dennis Labs run frequent tests, and Kaspersky has come out on top for a while, although Norton is only a whisker behind. MBAM can be installed alongside as long as it's only used for scanning- not the real-time protection upgrade.
Posts: 514 | Registered: Jul 2006
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Ariel
Shipmate
# 58
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Eutychus:
I'm running the latest version of Firefox on Windows 7. Firefox has suddenly decided to crash at regular intervals, particularly (it would seem) when I'm entering text (such as here) or on my webmail. Does anyone have any clues as to what might be wrong? I've flushed my cache and reinstalled the browser.
I'm no expert but I've noticed that the latest version of Firefox seems to eat up huge amounts of memory quite quickly. Especially if there's more than one or two tabs open and one of them is Facebook. I sometimes find the only thing to do is often to close it down and start again.
I wonder if it might be worth your reverting to an earlier version of Firefox to see if that crashes in the same way?
Posts: 25445 | Registered: May 2001
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
TBH Eutychus problem sounds more like an iffy add-in or corrupt install than malware, but ...
I think I've found the problem. It looks to be something to do with a recent update to some software which, Googling, I find to have caused other Firefox users problems. I've stopped that running and it looks as though doing so might have stopped the crashes, although I'll need a longer time at my desk to be sure.
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
While I was away, my Toshiba Satellite Click-Mini hybrid tablet developed a major glitch. It has had a known glitch involving battery recharging, which seemed to be manageable. It has been shutting itself down randomly which is irritating, but tolerable for an otherwise nice thing.
But, while I was using it to move photos from SD cards to an external hard drive, it shut down, and won't start up. It wouldn't start up when plugged in (to the ship's supply, via a surge protection plug between it and the adaptor). The transformer heated as if working. It does not have a little light to give its status, so I am faced with no way of knowing what is up. It could be the batteries. It could be on, but the screen could be the problem. Or it could be that the hard drive had run out of space. I had cleared out a load of stuff to the external drive to avoid problems, but I was doing a memory intensive activity.
If it is that, and a number of people on board thought it could be, should it be possible to connect the computer through its USB port (one of which is the one it receives charge through) to another computer which could read its hard drive as if it is an external drive? If so, I could empry it and it could work again. Or I could empty it, and take it back to John Lewis. It's still in warranty.
I can't do it yet because its lead is in the suitase which didn't make it from Bergen, but is on its way.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
It's unlikely to be a full disk. Even if there's no space at all the BIOS should give you a boot message or splash screen etc.
Try disconnecting all power and peripherals. Hold the power button in for 10 seconds. Release, wait 10 seconds, hold the power button in for 30 seconds (if the battery is detachable, remove it before the 30 second hold). Re-attach battery and power and try to start normally.
If it's basically a tablet then it may be overcharged. I've seen this with Asus units. In which case the other thing to try is not to touch it or plug it in at all for two or three days, then try to start it without external power.
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Lamb Chopped
Ship's kebab
# 5528
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Posted
I've got Windows 8.1 on a Lenovo machine, and bloody Windows 10 has already downloaded itself and installed itself once (I refused the terms and reversed it) and is threatening to do so again every 24 hours. I have googled the thing to hell and back and can't find a safe AND effective way of stopping it permanently. (Yes, I have killed that one update, and changed the update manager to "ask me first before installing," but it will doubtless be back from the depths of hell, and in fact, I have a bloody screen RIGHT NOW asking me to choose between installing Windows 10 immediately or in three days. No "go to hell" button is included.)
Help.
Help, help, help.
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Er, this is what I've been up to (book).
Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!
Posts: 20059 | From: off in left field somewhere | Registered: Feb 2004
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Amanda B. Reckondwythe
Dressed for Church
# 5521
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Yes, I have killed that one update, and changed the update manager to "ask me first before installing."
I've found that the only foolproof way to stop updates is to change the setting to "Never check for updates." Even so, I'm prompted regularly that this is the setting and I really should be checking.
Can't help you on how to get rid of the Windows 10 update prompt, though.
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"I take prayer too seriously to use it as an excuse for avoiding work and responsibility." -- The Revd Martin Luther King Jr.
Posts: 10542 | From: The Great Southwest | Registered: Feb 2004
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
LC, not sure if you've gone too far, but Google GWX Control Panel. Caveat: I have never used it, but it seems well regarded.
I'm assuming "restore from recent backup" is not a helpful suggestion here (so far I've only seen 'forced' installs on machines where at some point the download has been agreed to, although the stealth download and attempt to get agreement is increasingly persistent.)
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
It's unlikely to be a full disk. Even if there's no space at all the BIOS should give you a boot message or splash screen etc.
Try disconnecting all power and peripherals. Hold the power button in for 10 seconds. Release, wait 10 seconds, hold the power button in for 30 seconds (if the battery is detachable, remove it before the 30 second hold). Re-attach battery and power and try to start normally.
If it's basically a tablet then it may be overcharged. I've seen this with Asus units. In which case the other thing to try is not to touch it or plug it in at all for two or three days, then try to start it without external power.
Thanks. It shouldn't be overcharged because it started when it was down to about 30%, ie 60% in the battery in the keyboard part. It has two batteries, neither removable, and the usual start up shows a little image of either the one in the screen or the two of them showing the status of charge in each one. It has not done this.
I'll have a go at the hold and release thing, though I think I've done something similar by accident. It has now had a couple of days to relax, anyway.
But it hasn't worked. Pity.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
Don't you just love it when things make you look a complete wally? Having failed to access anything via the USB port, I spent ages trying to find the receipt - failed for some reason - and the box, hidden in a special secret place which I did find, I set off for the shop. There, in the Tech support department, I unfolded my tale of a dead computer to the young woman, who tried starting it up without external power, and then plugged it in to the mains. The one thing I had not tried, because I had already tried it on the ship, and left it to charge up, and nothing had happened. when connected (via a surge protection plug, because I don't entirely trust ship power - even though this had charged the computer fully perfectly well earlier.) And the dear little thing did its battery report, good as gold, went on to the Toshiba start screen, and then on the the sign in screen with my aurora picture on it. The keyboard battery, which had reported itself 60 odd % full just before it shut down was absolutely flat. The tablet battery, empty just before shutdown, had some charge, but not much, and is now merrily recharging itself.
How it managed to move the charge about I do not know, but it would have been nice if it had told me about it, instead of just sulking, and making me look stupid.
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
quote:
Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
Yes, I have killed that one update, and changed the update manager to "ask me first before installing."
I've found that the only foolproof way to stop updates is to change the setting to "Never check for updates." Even so, I'm prompted regularly that this is the setting and I really should be checking.
Can't help you on how to get rid of the Windows 10 update prompt, though.
One thing that might help is another (free) product from Spybot, Spybot Anti-Beacon.
Not sure if this gets rid of the nag, but it should give you some more privacy at least. Worth a try, I've installed it on 4 Win 7 machines. - I think there's a couple of other tricks to stop the Win 10 nag, but I'd have to look into these.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Alisdair
Shipmate
# 15837
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Posted
Re Windows 10 update nag/coercion:
Don't worry, you will come to love Big Brother. Accept the fact that 'Windows-as-a-Service' means that you merely 'rent' the use of Microsoft's operating system.
The price you pay for being allowed to use it is that you give up a substantial amount of formerly available control over how the system works, and trust that Microsoft will always behave with probity and timeliness with regard to the security of your data and the access that you have, both to your data and to the software you use.
The question you have to ask yourself is: "Am I feeling lucky?"
Posts: 334 | From: Washed up in England | Registered: Aug 2010
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Alisdair
Shipmate
# 15837
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Posted
For anyone who is serious about removing MS nagware re Windows 10, you may wish to explore using 'GWX Control Panel', which by all accounts is effective:
http://tinyurl.com/qauay2q
I can't vouch for it myself as I don't use Windows, but there is plenty of online chatter about it.
Posts: 334 | From: Washed up in England | Registered: Aug 2010
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lilBuddha
Shipmate
# 14333
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Alisdair:
Re Windows 10 update nag/coercion:
Don't worry, you will come to love Big Brother. Accept the fact that 'Windows-as-a-Service' means that you merely 'rent' the use of Microsoft's operating system.
The price you pay for being allowed to use it is that you give up a substantial amount of formerly available control over how the system works, and trust that Microsoft will always behave with probity and timeliness with regard to the security of your data and the access that you have, both to your data and to the software you use.
The question you have to ask yourself is: "Am I feeling lucky?"
It's worked for Apple for years.
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I put on my rockin' shoes in the morning
Hallellou, hallellou
Posts: 17627 | From: the round earth's imagined corners | Registered: Dec 2008
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
Help!
I have a new Windows 10 lappie. I supposedly synced it to my gmail account, but I cannot login with my gmail password. Nor can I log in with my Windows Live password. I can't log in with ANYTHING except my fingerprint, thank God I set that up.
Once I'm in, I can't of course change the password because it wants the old password and I'll be damned if I know what it is. It wouldn't let me use the same root password I have always used for every single one of my computers I've ever owned because its' fucking MICROSOFT and they know better than I do. Fuckers.
What do I do?
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
I hate Microsoft. Hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate Microsoft.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
mt--
You've probably already checked all this, but just in case:
"windows 10 gmail sync problem" search on duckduckgo.
From a quick skim, looks like lots of other people are having problems, too.
And this has lots of hits about how to reset a forgotten Windows 10 password:
"windows 10 password reset" search on duckduckgo.
Hope there's something in there that can help, and that it's resolved soon.
If you're going to rely on chanting to Microsoft, you have to be loud enough to be heard in Redmond...
[ 20. March 2016, 07:53: Message edited by: Golden Key ]
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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mousethief
Ship's Thieving Rodent
# 953
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Posted
Thanks GK. Wish I could say that this did the trick, but alas. The first link has to do with syncing email, which I'm not trying to do. I trolled through some of the threads and there's nothing I can use. The second link is a search I've already made.
I actually got a reply to my whiny post on Microsoft Community. They asked some technical questions. I just now answered them and am waiting to hear back.
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This is the last sig I'll ever write for you...
Posts: 63536 | From: Washington | Registered: Jul 2001
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LeRoc
Famous Dutch pirate
# 3216
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Posted
I just installed GWX control panel. Hopeful.
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I know why God made the rhinoceros, it's because He couldn't see the rhinoceros, so He made the rhinoceros to be able to see it. (Clarice Lispector)
Posts: 9474 | From: Brazil / Africa | Registered: Aug 2002
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
I've been needing to use Google maps of the London area recently, and they have suddenly started coming up with the Underground lines overlaid on the map in the different line colours. I really don't want them showing, how can I get rid of them?
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Leorning Cniht
Shipmate
# 17564
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
I've been needing to use Google maps of the London area recently, and they have suddenly started coming up with the Underground lines overlaid on the map in the different line colours. I really don't want them showing, how can I get rid of them?
Click on the menu (horizontal lines to the left of the search box) and deselect "Transit"?
Posts: 5026 | From: USA | Registered: Feb 2013
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Sparrow
Shipmate
# 2458
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Leorning Cniht:
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
I've been needing to use Google maps of the London area recently, and they have suddenly started coming up with the Underground lines overlaid on the map in the different line colours. I really don't want them showing, how can I get rid of them?
Click on the menu (horizontal lines to the left of the search box) and deselect "Transit"?
Thanks, that worked!
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For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Posts: 3149 | From: Bottom right hand corner of the UK | Registered: Mar 2002
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Bene Gesserit
Shipmate
# 14718
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
...Google maps of the London area ...have suddenly started coming up with the Underground lines overlaid on the map in the different line colours.
Yes!!! Thank you - I'm going to spend a geeky few mins looking at them!!! ![[Hot and Hormonal]](icon_redface.gif)
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Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Posts: 405 | From: Flatlands of the East | Registered: Apr 2009
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Bene Gesserit
Shipmate
# 14718
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Posted
Looks like the thickness of the lines indicates passenger numbers...
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Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Posts: 405 | From: Flatlands of the East | Registered: Apr 2009
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
Is anybody else finding there is a bug in the latest Firefox version, 45.0.1 (tested on several machines running Win 7)?
This is about the refresh button. Whereas the rightclick 'Refresh tab' works perfectly well, clicking on the refesh button in the top frame ain't workin' no more.
The only other evidence that others are having the same problem was here, on the page of a Firefox add-on called 'Reloadevery'. Now, quite interstingly, I do not have this add-on, but the non-working refresh button seems to be the same.
Any thoughts? Any observations? Thanks.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Amorya
Ship's tame galoot
# 2652
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Bene Gesserit:
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
...Google maps of the London area ...have suddenly started coming up with the Underground lines overlaid on the map in the different line colours.
Yes!!! Thank you - I'm going to spend a geeky few mins looking at them!!!
Try this one, if you want to geek out:
http://carto.metro.free.fr/cartes/metro-tram-london/
Posts: 2383 | From: Coventry | Registered: Apr 2002
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
My PC clock has gone berserk! Everything in the house [phone, watch, clocks, etc.] says it is nearly 09.00 but the PC insists it is nearly 10.00 but also fails to synchronise with time.windows.com - silly thing but I tend to glance at the clock top right of the screen at regular intervals...
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Welease Woderwick
Sister Incubus Nightmare
# 10424
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Posted
Sorry, panic over, I told it to synchronise with something else and it corrected itself - time-a.nist.gov solved the problem.
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I give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.
Fancy a break in South India?
Accessible Homestay Guesthouse in Central Kerala, contact me for details
What part of Matt. 7:1 don't you understand?
Posts: 48139 | From: 1st on the right, straight on 'til morning | Registered: Sep 2005
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Main household computer has died (at least the fan is working and the screen but I am not sure what else). It now is not even getting as far as bios so I can't even try bsod remedies.
My guess it is either hard drive or motherboard. Any shipmate willing to make a guess?
It is fully backed up twice over so no real panic. I am taking the physical backup into work and seeing if I can get the work machine to read the personal files.
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
Is there a little internal battery which has expired? Often known as a CMOS battery - looks like the sort of battery one gets in a camera.
[ 04. April 2016, 08:40: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
It won't be the CMOS battery. That only really serves the purpose of keeping the clock ticking when there's no mains power. If there's mains power then it will boot, but may have lost the clock/BIOS info and need to be reset.
From the symptoms described my money would be on a dead PSU. A lot of modern(ish) ATX PSUs fail on some but not all of the lines. So rather than the old "Bang!" <smell> of yore, now you get what amounts to:
- My computer won't start! The fan spins but nothing happens.
-- It's the PSU
- It can't be, the fan spins
-- It's the PSU, the 5v rail is probably OK and the 12v rail has probably gone
- But the fan spins and the little light comes on
-- IT'S THE PSU!!!!!!!
- Pfft, what do you know?
<time passes>
- Fixed my computer!
-- Yeah, what was it?
- Oh, this bloke swapped the power supply out and now it's OK. Why didn't you suggest that?
-- Nnnnngggghhhhhhhh
(For reference, if it was the HDD you'd get to the BIOS. If it was RAM you'd get error beeps. If it was the CPU you ought to get error beeps. So it's either the motherboard, or the PSU. But it's the PSU ![[Biased]](wink.gif) )
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Jengie jon
Semper Reformanda
# 273
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Posted
Thanks, that has persuaded me it is probably worth taking to the guys in work to see what they come up with. Work gives limited support to our home computing; this is not asking favours. The reason being that so much work is done at home it makes sense to support the use of home computing
Jengie
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"To violate a persons ability to distinguish fact from fantasy is the epistemological equivalent of rape." Noretta Koertge
Back to my blog
Posts: 20894 | From: city of steel, butterflies and rainbows | Registered: May 2001
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Baptist Trainfan
Shipmate
# 15128
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
It won't be the CMOS battery. That only really serves the purpose of keeping the clock ticking when there's no mains power. If there's mains power then it will boot, but may have lost the clock/BIOS info and need to be reset.
I'm not so sure; my old computer (an AppleMac) wouldn't work at all if this battery was flat. Change it and - hey presto! - everything would work again.
Mind you, I defer to Snags who seems to know more than I do about these things!
[ 04. April 2016, 13:00: Message edited by: Baptist Trainfan ]
Posts: 9750 | From: The other side of the Severn | Registered: Sep 2009
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Bene Gesserit
Shipmate
# 14718
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Amorya:
quote:
Originally posted by Bene Gesserit:
quote:
Originally posted by Sparrow:
...Google maps of the London area ...have suddenly started coming up with the Underground lines overlaid on the map in the different line colours.
Yes!!! Thank you - I'm going to spend a geeky few mins looking at them!!!
Try this one, if you want to geek out:
http://carto.metro.free.fr/cartes/metro-tram-london/
Ooooh!
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Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus
Posts: 405 | From: Flatlands of the East | Registered: Apr 2009
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Snags
Utterly socially unrealistic
# 15351
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Jengie jon:
Thanks, that has persuaded me it is probably worth taking to the guys in work to see what they come up with. Work gives limited support to our home computing; this is not asking favours. The reason being that so much work is done at home it makes sense to support the use of home computing
Jengie
They'll almost certainly have a spare PSU lying around, and it's about 10 minutes work to rig up a Frankenstein with wires all over the show to test the theory. It's certainly what I would do.
quote:
Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
quote:
Originally posted by Snags:
It won't be the CMOS battery. ...
I'm not so sure; my old computer (an AppleMac) wouldn't work at all if this battery was flat. Change it and - hey presto! - everything would work again.
Mind you, I defer to Snags who seems to know more than I do about these things!
Well, it's kind of my job, indirectly (we actually do more consultancy/support than hardware these days, but used to do a lot of custom builds way back when). Which doesn't mean I'm always right by a long shot, but I've seen enough to play the percentages.
I can honestly say I've never seen a dead CMOS battery (excluding ancient ones that were soldered to the board) prevent a PC from at least booting to BIOS, though. Nothing about a Mac would surprise me, though So that's another bit of info filed away in the 'just in case' slot, thank you.
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Vain witterings :-: Vain pretentions :-: The Dog's Blog(locks)
Posts: 1399 | From: just north of That London | Registered: Dec 2009
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Wesley J
Silly Shipmate
# 6075
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Posted
quote:
Originally posted by Wesley J:
Is anybody else finding there is a bug in the latest Firefox version, 45.0.1 (tested on several machines running Win 7)?
This is about the refresh button. Whereas the rightclick 'Refresh tab' works perfectly well, clicking on the refesh button in the top frame ain't workin' no more.
The only other evidence that others are having the same problem was here, on the page of a Firefox add-on called 'Reloadevery'. Now, quite interstingly, I do not have this add-on, but the non-working refresh button seems to be the same.
Any thoughts? Any observations? Thanks.
This has been at least partially solved now: it appears that amongst other add-ons, a few of the 'IE Tab' ones caused the problem; have therefore uninstalled them for the time being.
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Be it as it may: Wesley J will stay. --- Euthanasia, that sounds good. An alpine neutral neighbourhood. Then back to Britain, all dressed in wood. Things were gonna get worse. (John Cooper Clarke)
Posts: 7354 | From: The Isles of Silly | Registered: May 2004
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
I have managed somehow to unifentifiably affect the fonts and sizes displaying on the Ship in Firefox on my laptop.
I have checked my browser display font options compared to another machine, and they are identical but the display is different.
I have fiddled with Ctrl+ and Ctrl- to adjust display size, and that isn't the problem either.
Does anyone have any other suggestions?
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Golden Key
Shipmate
# 1468
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Posted
Eutychus--
You might look for an add-on called "NoSquint". It lets you set up different font sizes, and other things, for each site. I've found it very helpful.
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Blessed Gator, pray for us!
--"Oh bat bladders, do you have to bring common sense into this?" (Dragon, "Jane & the Dragon")
--"Oh, Peace Train, save this country!" (Yusuf/Cat Stevens, "Peace Train")
Posts: 18601 | From: Chilling out in an undisclosed, sincere pumpkin patch. | Registered: Oct 2001
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Eutychus
From the edge
# 3081
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Posted
I think Ctrl+0 has done it, thank you.
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Let's remember that we are to build the Kingdom of God, not drive people away - pastor Frank Pomeroy
Posts: 17944 | From: 528491 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Penny S
Shipmate
# 14768
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Posted
I have a Nook ereader, bought because it wasn't Amazon. Now Barnes and Noble are pulling out from the UK.
I had thought, no problem, I can still borrow ebooks from the library, buy from Waterstones, or stick pdfs on it from other sources. I've put all my folk song repertoire which I used to have on my Palm Pilot on it.
But earlier this week, someone on the radio said that from mid-May, the thing will turn into a lump of flint, and be totally useless.
Is this true?
And, if so, why are they allowed to do this?
Posts: 5833 | Registered: May 2009
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