Search results

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    Pre-Built HTPC Recommendations?

    Looking for a small/inconspicuous HTPC for a living room. This will be used for web browsing and music/video streaming. Budget is ~$700. What do you guys recommend?
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    Xeon E3-XXXX and C204/C206 Chipsets?

    I'm in the market to build a server, but I want to wait for the Xeon E3-XXXX series chips and the corresponding CXXX chipset motherboards. Any idea when they're going to hit store shelves? Thanks!
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    solid small business router?

    Hello I am looking for a wired router for my friend's coffee shop. This router will solely be used with a Pepwave Officepoint 400 to provide his customers with free wi-fi access. The router must be fast enough to handle a 50mbps down/50 mbps up WAN connection. Some traffic control features...
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    trouble setting up two routers together

    I am setting up a verizon fios router (actiontec MI424WR) and a PePwave officepoint 400 access point. The access point will be for public wifi access, so I want to segregate it from the rest of the network. The access point has a "router mode" which I think achieves what I want. The problem...
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    Building a video surveillance PC

    I am building a video surveillance PC for a friend. He will be running 8-12 cameras and wants to store 1 month's worth of video on it. It must be rackmounted. Since this is my first time dealing with a server type build, I need some input as to what's going to go into the PC. What I...
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    Isolating public wifi access from company network

    Hello I am helping my friend upgrade the network at the coffee shop he owns. He is currently experiencing connectivity issues (wifi users getting dropped and no network connectivity at the point of sale machine). He is currently using the verizon supplied actiontec FiOS wireless router. He...
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    Need a hard drive wiping utility

    I just sold one of my old IDE hard drives on ebay and I would like to wipe it clean before shipping it out. The drive is connected to my computer using a simple IDE to USB converter. I tried running DBAN from DOS but it does not detect USB drives. Basically I need a freeware utility that...
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    RAID Controller

    I have a Dell Poweredge T110 Server. It has a 160GB HD inside which is currently being used for the OS. I plan to turn this into a file server for a small school and I already purchased 2 1.5TB Western Digital Drives. I would like to setup RAID 0. Should I buy an add-on controller card...
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    Windows 7 Startup Repair

    I just installed Windows 7 Ultimate on a friend's computer and it was working fine for a week but all of a sudden "Startup Repair" pops up on startup and runs for a very long time before booting into windows. He says that this pops up each time he starts up the computer so it takes an...
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    Dell SMTD Stalled at Patching File System Boot Sector

    I just received my Dell Poweredge T110 server in the mail and I popped in the Dell SMTD 6.1.0 CD and went through the setup and prepping process for installing Server 2003 R2 x64. Now SMTD is stuck at "Patching File System Boot Sector" and has stayed at 15% for two hours or so. Should it...
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    Server crashes while installing Windows Server 2003 Standard R2 x64

    I just bought a Dell Poweredge T110 and also downloaded Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 off Technet. I burned the ISO and proceeded to pop the CD into the server and start installing the OS. The normal blue screen with Windows Setup in the upper left appears and it starts loading...
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    Computer freezes for 5 seconds

    Ever since building my computer, I have had a problem where it would randomly freeze for 5-7 seconds and then act normal again. When it freezes, I cannot move the mouse and usually I have iTunes or Foobar playing some music so 1 second of the song would loop over and over while it is frozen...
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    best freeware disk imaging and remote desktop software?

    What is the best freeware disk imaging and remote desktop software? I need to create complete images of my small business's computers that I can restore from. I also need to control the computers remotely from home so I can do troubleshooting from home. I've used RealVNC in the past and...
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    Which CAT6 patch panel to buy?

    I need a 48 port patch panel and I have several in mind. APC 48 Port for $263 Tripp Lite 48 Port for $110 Monoprice 48 Port for $60.90 Why is there such a big difference in price between the 3? What's so good about the APC panel? Any other panels I should consider? I will be using...
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    Where to buy RJ45 crimper and plugs?

    I just bought 2000 ft of bulk CAT6 cable to help my friend wire up a building. Now I need the jack and tools to assemble the cables. Where is the best place to buy jacks and the crimper I need to make the cables? Also, do I need a cable tester? If so, where should I buy it? Any...
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    Wireless card no longer functioning

    A friend of mine has an HP dv2210us laptop. Recently, his wireless card stopped functioning and he was unable to connect to the internet through WiFi. After taking a look at his laptop, I notice that the WLAN connection is gone from "Network Connections" in control panel. Only his 10/100...
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    Where to get volume academic licensing for Windows and Office?

    I'm setting up a small computer lab for a new school and I need about 9 copies of Windows Vista (with free upgrade to 7) and Office 2007. This number will grow steadily as we receive more grants from the state. Where should I be looking to get the best deal on bulk licensing? Thanks!
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    DFI Lanparty NF4 Will not Power up

    I bought a DFI LanParty NF4 off FS/FT here to replace my dead A8N-SLI and haven't got around to installing it till now. After installing the mobo in the case, dropping in the CPU, HSF, and graphics card and connecting the appropriate cables, I turned on the power switch on the PSU. I see...
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    Can Adobe Premier Pro CS3 Split MPEG Clips?

    I'm doing a video project for class and I borrowed my friend's camcorder which records to a hard drive instead of a MiniDV. The camera encodes the video to MPEG format and saves it to the hard drive instead of recording raw video. I tried to import it to iMovie but since it isn't raw video...
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    XGA TFT LCD vs Ultralight XGA TFT LCD in Lenovo Laptop

    Hey guys, I'm thinking about purchasing an IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad X61s ultraportable laptop and I need help choosing a display. There are two options: 1. XGA TFT LCD 2. Ultralight XGA TFT LCD The description on the IBM website says that the Ultralight is brighter, lighter, thinner, and...
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    computer gets blue screen when trying to reformat

    Hello, I'm trying to fix my friend's computer. Whenever he tries to boot it up, it says some kind of missing file, so Windows XP won't load. I removed the hard drive and put it in my computer to backup his important files and Windows XP ran a check disk and repaired some stuff. I...
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    should I buy an apple cinema display?

    I'm in love with the aesthetics and sleek aluminum sexiness of the apple cinema display. I'm in the market for a new monitor too and I'm looking for a higher end S-IPS panel. I will be driving this with an ATI HD4870 and using the panel primarily for gaming (counter-strike), photoshop, and...
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    Part out my Dell Dimension 8100 or sell as a whole?

    I want to sell my old dell dimension 8100. I was wondering if I would get more profit by selling it as a whole or parting it out? Here are the specs: 1.3 GHz Pentium 4 Socket 423 Dell motherboard 256 MB (2 x 128MB) PC800 ECC RDRAM Western Digital 120GB ATA/100 HD ATI Radeon 9600XT w/...
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    Help choosing a PSU

    Hello, I am building a new computer in the near future and I need help picking out a PSU. My new rig is going to have these components: Intel Core I7 CPU (when it comes out) X58 chipset mobo (when it comes out) 2GB-4GB DDR3 RAM WD 300GB Velociraptor ATI HD 4870 DVD Burner I don't...
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    Sennheiser PC151 vs PC161 Headset

    What is the difference between the two headsets. Is the PC161 worth the price premium? My Icemat Siberia just broke in half, so I need a new headset ASAP. Thanks!
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    PC keeps shutting down

    My friend gave me his computer to take a look at. It shuts down randomly for no reason during normal usage. Sometimes it shuts down a few seconds after the computer starts up and boots into desktop. Other times it shuts down when I try to update Steam. One time I was using it for a...
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    Hard drive diagnostic utility?

    My friend's computer's OS installation just went corrupt and I need an app to check to make sure that his hard drive isn't failing. Are there any good freeware hard drive diagnostic utilities that I can burn to a CD and boot off of to scan the hard drive for bad sectors?
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    Hard drive corrupt?

    Hello, my friend has a HP s3120n slimline PC that had windows vista home premium installed on it. It is only 2 months old and hasn't given him any problems since he bought it, but suddenly when he tried to boot up his computer this morning, it gave him the "Invalid system disk. Replace the...
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    good backup program that will backup the entire drive as individual files?

    Hi, I'm looking to sell my laptop and need to back it up before reformatting and reinstalling windows. I have an Iomega 250GB external hard drive and it comes with backup software, but the problem with it is that it will backup the entire hard drive as an image or it will lag like crazy when...
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    My printer ink may have dried out! what to do?

    i just sold an HP AIO printer and I forgot to test to see if it powers up before selling it. I tested it today and it powered up fine, however I purchased a new black ink cartridge for it a year ago and installed it a year ago and left it in the printer. Now no text appears when I print black...
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    consumer router vs. cisco router vs. building your own router from an old computer

    What are the benefits and drawbacks of each? I am doing the structured wiring of my new house right now and would like to know so I can purchase the appropriate networking gear to connect all the ethernet ports in my walls. Thanks
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    Practical uses for my dell poweredge T105 Server?

    I just bought a Dell PowerEdge T105 server a few weeks ago and its been sitting in my garage collecting dust ever since. What should I do with it?
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    help removing tavo.exe and kavo.exe

    So I was browsing the web today and suddenly a fatal error comes up, so I check to see if some malicious software had installed itself in the startup. I checked msconfig and I saw that kavo.exe and tavo.exe were there. I have no idea how this malware was installed because I never visit...
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    Gameplay is very jerky after installing 7600GT

    Hi, my friend purchased my evga 7600GT. He was upgrading from a 6600GT. The 7600GT gave me no problems while I was using it. I got a consistent 100fps in counter-strike even while running through high quality smokes. Now after my friend installed it in his computer, he says his fps...
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    Is Syntax the same company as Chaintech?

    Hi, I just reformatted my friend's computer and I'm downloading drivers for it. The manufacturer of the motherboard is Syntax and the model number is S865PE. When I google this, a board from syntax and a board from chaintech come up both with the model number S865PE. I can't seem to...
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    Intel E2160 vs. AMD Opteron 1210

    Which is the faster processor?
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    Any idea when the Nehalem chips are coming out?

    I'm thinking about building a new rig and was wondering if anyone knew approximately when Intel's new Nehalem chips were coming out? Also, is it worth the wait to buy one of these chips or should I just go with one of the core 2's out there now? Thanks
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    What is the difference between a nvidia reference card and one from evga, bfg etc?

    Hey, I'm about to buy a 7900GTX from someone. He stated it is a nvidia reference card. What is the difference between this and a 7900GTX from evga or bfg or any other name brand manufacturer? Thanks!
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    When I search for songs on itunes music store ask.com pops up in my browser?

    Hi, Today when I was searching for some songs on the iTunes music store within iTunes, ask.com came up in my browser. Every time I press enter after entering the artist or song I'm searching for, ask.com pops up in my firefox window. This is the first time this has happened. I'm pretty...
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    Questions about my new Dell Poweredge T105

    Hi I just received my Dell Poweredge T105 server in the mail today and I noticed a few things. First of all, when booting up for the first time, BIOS prompted me to insert the dell cd that came with my server to install the OS. I didn't purchase an OS with the server, so I disregarded the...