Search results

  1. N

    Buying a 1994 Ford Ranger with 470,000 kms?

    So I've been looking for a cheap beater truck to learn how to drive stick and I came across a 1994 Ford Ranger 2wd listed for $550. I offered $300 and the lady accepted. I have arranged to go see the truck tomorrow. The lady says the truck is in good running condition (does not burn or leak...
  2. N

    Any realistic games to learn to drive stick? I have a Logitech G25 wheel

    Before anyone laughs, yes, I know no game is going to be like driving the real thing, but Im just wondering if there are any games or simulators that would be good for practicing how to drive stick with a Logitech G25 racing wheel? It's got a 6 speed shifter and clutch. Just trying to learn the...
  3. N

    Audio out of sync and lag when playing high definition movies

    Ok I am completely lost on this Ive tried almost everything and the best I could come with resulted in smooth video and audio, but the audio is out of sync. I'm using VLC player and Ive already played around with all the output modules, buffer settings, etc, and I still cannot seem to get smooth...
  4. N

    Career help. Picking between two companies? What would you do?

    Hi, I was interviewed for two companies: company A and company B. Both are engineering summer jobs. Not to be cocky or anything, but I think I did very well on both of them, and my interviewers definitely appeared impressed. Company A will get back to me first, while Company B will take 1...
  5. N

    Couple of WHS Questions. Hypothetical failure situations. Possible to restore computer through wifi?

    I am building a WHS machine and just waiting for the parts to come in. I just have a few questions. I currently have a very old machine running Windows 2000 with a single 640gb drive formatted in NTFS and using that as a cheap NAS. With my new WHS build, I will install WHS onto a main 80GB...
  6. N

    Whats the maximum I can UNDER-clock an AthlonXP 3000+? To save power, for server use.

    Currently Ive got a Pentium 2 350mhz system which I have underclocked by setting the jumpers to run at 233mhz. It is running Windows 2000 and I am using it as a home server. Power consumption is only a mere 20 watts on idle and the processor runs cool even with the fan off. I have another...
  7. N

    New WD hard drive. Load cycle count keeps increasing too often!

    I upgraded my laptop's hard drive to a Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5" SATA. The model number is WD5000BEVT. Problem is that I have noticed my Load Cycle count (checked using HD Tune) keeps increasing slightly, even though I have not power cycled the notebook. The drive only has about...
  8. N

    New house with "smart" wiring. Running data and phone over cat5e?

    I am a bit confused and was hoping someone could help clarify things a bit. I have a newer built house and they use cat5e sockets for where the phone plugs into. From my understanding, the central pins of cat5e are used for phone, while the outer pins can be used for ethernet networking. All the...
  9. N

    Hard drive maintenance on home server?

    I built a home server running windows 2000 on an old 233mhz pentium 2 machine with a 640gb WD SE16 hard drive. I use it to backup, serve files over my home network, and download torrents. The machine runs 24/7. I am just wondering if there are any necessary regular maintenance operations that...
  10. N

    SATA hard drive is slower after upgrading to XP SP3

    My new Jetway J7F2WE2G motherboard came in and I did a clean install of XP SP2. Doing a test on CrystalBenchMark, my sequential read and write speeds were about 40MB/s. However, I was having hibernation problems so I did a clean install of XP SP3 (no more hibernation problems now). However...
  11. N

    MSWord 2007 Annoyance: Alt key shortcuts

    Ok so I just upgraded from MSOffice 2003 to 2007. It is great, but there is a slight annoyance that has been bugging me. I searched, but couldn't find much relevant info. In Microsoft Word, when I press ALT, it shows some sort of hotkey shortcuts or something at the top. Such as F 1 2 3, H N...
  12. N

    Low power consumption video recorder for car?

    I was wondering if there exists a very low power consumption video recording device? Would also be nice if the device could automatically delete older footage to make room for new footage...thereby making the device practically maintenance free. Hopefully can store atleast a day worth of video...
  13. N

    Recommend a good USB soundcard with no external AC adapter.

    Hi, I am running Vista and I tried a DAC for my laptop. Although the sound quality is superb, it was a hassle to control the volume. The main volume control in Vista did nothing and the only way to control volume was with the little slider in WMP. I really dont like that kind of...
  14. N

    DIY Air conditioning

    I want to build a small DIY air conditioner for my car as shown here: Instructables DIY 12v air conditioner Now I just need to find a heater core. Ill probably drop by the local junkyard and pull one out myself. So I am just wondering if maybe you guys could give some tips on pulling out a...
  15. N

    Do I have to bleed the brake line after replacing brakes?

    My car has about 90 000 kms on it and I am still on the stock brake pads and shoes. There is still a fair amount of material on the brakes, but I think Ill replace the pads and shoes myself this summer. Right now, the brake feels a bit soft and spongy. Is that normal for brakes wearing down...
  16. N

    Anyone have experience painting their car body?

    I want to replace my front bumper and passenger side fender. I found a good site to buy aerosol cans for the matching color of my vehicle: http://www.paintscratch.com/ OPTION 1: eBay has good deals on some of these parts and they are already primed. So I am thinking to just buy the...
  17. N

    Cheap Altec Lansing MX5021 Mod for better SQ

    If anyone has a set of the MX5021s, they will know how fantastic these sound. I dont think I have ever heard another set of computer speakers sound even close to these. Anyways, for those who have this set of speakers and are into the mod thing, I found this link to make these speakers sound...
  18. N

    For those of you who had your stereo stolen...

    Just curious. Did anyone ever had their stereo stolen even when the faceplate is off? Most people probably keep their faceplates in the glove box and I am guessing thieves know this. Sort of like how thieves break into cars even when they see a gps mount, but no gps (because its probably...
  19. N

    How do I Fix Stripped Lug Nuts?

    I took my car in to get the tires replaced about 7 months ago and I think the installer forced the lug nuts on somehow because now they are stripped. I was able to take the wheel off just fine before taking the car in. However, recently I tried to take my wheel off and I cannot because the screw...
  20. N

    Netgear WPN824 router keeps losing IP address

    My Netgear WPN824 router keeps dropping the IP address randomly. When this happens, the computer is still connected to the router, but internet is temporarily cut off. When I check the connection status, it says the "Lease Expires" is only about an hour. However, the router may lose the ip...
  21. N

    How do you make a USB key appear as a fixed drive?

    For carpc purposes, the front end that I am using (Centrafuse) does not autoplay music on resume from hibernation if I am using removable storage. However, it does autoplay if the drive is fixed and appears as a disk drive. So I am wondering if there is some way to make my USB key appear as a...
  22. N

    Can I mix and match ink refills designed for other manufacturers?

    I am interested in this Brother network printer/fax for only $90: http://www.futureshop.ca/catal...5000FS10093505&catid=# However, the only thing holding me back now is that it is a Brother and it isnt exactly easy to find refill ink for it. I have been refilling my HP for a long time now...
  23. N

    Where do you think I can get some free deep cycle batteries?

    I have a carpc and I could use a deep cycle battery to be able to keep my system running for extended hours at a time without draining the main battery. I dont exactly need the battery, but it would be nice addon so that got me thinking. Anyone have any suggestions to what companies might be...
  24. N

    Do you always yield to the person on the right in an Uncontrolled Intersection?

    When I took my first driving test, I failed the first time. I was driving on a straight main residential road and coming up in front of me to the right was a very tiny small road. But this small road did not have a yield or stop sign, so the intersection between my main road and this little road...
  25. N

    Does ReadyBoost kill usb keys?

    I was wondering if maybe someone could clear this up for me. I did a search and could not find much useful information about this. I am aware that flash memory has a limited number of times that it can be written onto. When my usb key is being used as a ReadyBoost device, the tiny light on it...
  26. N

    Is it illegal to drift in a public parking lot?

    No, I am not some punk street racer kid. But there is this big snow covered public parking lot that I park in everyday. When I get off late from university, this lot is very empty with wide open spaces. I have been "playing around" in this parking just to practice my winter driving skills such...
  27. N

    -30C, Car didnt start this morning. Do I need new battery?

    -30C this morning, and my car wouldnt start. I think I spent about 10-15 seconds with the key in the START position, trying to crank my engine. It groaned, but no luck in starting. Is it bad for my starter motor/engine to crank the car for that long? I then hooked up the battery on my dad's...
  28. N

    Need to build a 12 volt 10amp voltage regulator

    Hi. I am hoping to regulate a voltage source that puts out 12-14 volts output. I want to regulate this to 12 volts exactly (cant exceed 12.4v) at 10 amps max and I was hoping maybe someone could recommend a simple chip to do this? I have experience building voltage regulators out of the lm317...
  29. N

    Is it okay to run 4ohm speakers off a 6ohm Amplifier?

    I have some really nice sounding speakers which are 4ohm, and they are currently being run off an amplifier rated for 6ohm. The amplifier gets fairly hot, so I installed some cooling fans. The amplifier is very cool now. In fact, the amp running at high volumes with a 4ohm speaker is even cooler...
  30. N

    How do I fix my fever?

    First day of school today and I had to go home early because I didnt feel good. My body temperature is a little over 39.8C (103.64F) and I have a small sore throat and heavy head. The worst part is the chills I am feeling. I did some googling and got mixed results on the best way to treat the...
  31. N

    Help me choose what contact lenses to pick. Cheap is good

    There doesnt seem to be any popular contact lens forums so I thought I might as well try asking here. I have been wearing some black thick framed glasses for a few years, but today I got my first contacts. I dont like how glasses irritate my nose and back of the ear after a long day. The eye...
  32. N

    Do you think small blinking red LEDs deter's thieves?

    I see people with bright blue blinking leds in their car, but I think those just look cheesy and just attract attention. But what if I had a small red blinking led on my dash (maybe blinking at about 5hz). Would this deter you if you were a thief? On my parents' 2007 Freestar, there is a small...
  33. N

    2.5 to 3.5 Adapter, drive not detected in BIOS

    I bought a 2.5 to 3.5 drive adapter to use a notebook drive in a desktop. I have tried plugging in the notebook drive boths ways but the motherboard does not detect anything. I can connect a normal drive to the IDE channel, and it works just fine, so I know the IDE channel isnt dead. I also know...
  34. N

    Ebay: Tracking says item delivered, but there is nothing in mail.

    Hi. I bought a router on eBay and according to the Canada Post tracking, the item was "successfully delivered to receiver" yesterday, but even today, there is nothing in my mailbox. So I contacted Canada Post and they said that the sender would need to contact them to issue a trace on the...
  35. N

    Cant get Tire Warranty? Imported from US to Canada

    Hi. I bought some Kumho Ecsta ASX tires from tirerack (USA) and got them installed locally at OK Tire, which is an authorized Kumho dealer in Canada. They told me I was not eligible for warranty with these tires because I bought them from the USA. Just wondering if you guys can confirm this...
  36. N

    Need to move to a small town for summer student job...Advice?

    Hi. I am a chemical engineering student and I just got accepted into a summer student position for an oil company and I will be paid $21/hr (never even came close to being paid that much before). The only catch is that I need to move to a very small town (Gadsby Alberta, population 40...yes...
  37. N

    Poor wifi reception directly below router

    Hi. I have a router setup upstairs and I am able to get 54Mbps speeds at most areas of the house. However, sometimes I like to take my laptop downstairs in the living room on the coffee table. The location just happens to be almost directly below where my router is placed. The antenna on my...
  38. N

    UPS wont let me clear customs myself =(

    Hey. I bought some stuff from the US and they only ship with UPS. Even with the customs factored in, the product is still cheaper than buying locally. Before I ordered, I called UPS and the customer service rep assured me that there is a port of entry where I live (Calgary) and hence I...
  39. N

    Canada: Avoiding UPS brokerage fees

    Hi. I want to buy some tires and they only ship with UPS. My total order will come to $338.50 USD. I want to buy the tires, ship with UPS, then clear the customs myself. However, I called UPS and they said I would have to go to the port of entry to get the paperwork for clearing customs. I...
  40. N

    If I buy Kumhos from the net and install at Walmart..is there still warranty?

    Hi. I want to buy a set of Kumho Ecsta ASX size 195/55/15 online from Tiretrends and get them installed at Walmart. Walmart said they would only charge $70 to install all four tires and this seems to be the cheapest. However, will my tires still carry Kumho's manufacturer warranty? I am...