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    Q: Power usage of PSUs?

    Ahh, so that's how it works. Thanks Chocobo and pkme :)
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    Q: Power usage of PSUs?

    Let's say there is a 500W power supply unit. Does it mean the maximum power it can supply to components is 500W? Does it constantly use 500W and dissipate remaining energy as heat is the sum of components only requires 300W? In other words I am wondering if replacing a PSU to a...
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    dvd burner problems

    If it used to burn fine and now it doesn't, it's most likely a hardware failure since you've tried everything possible. The usual suspect is the laser being misaligned or wearing out. You could try opening the device and adjust the POT for the writing laser, but finding the right voltage for...
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    Mobo powers on without switch connected

    It may be that the circuits for the front panel power switch is shorted against the case, but unlikely. For some motherboards it's natural for them to startup as soon as a turned-on power supply is plugged in, though. I've had the problem in a Soyo dragon Mobo and have seen it in others...
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    WinXP SP2 Virtual memory-> Let the OS manage it or set it yourself?

    General consensus is VRAM = 1.5 times the physical memory on a drive which isn't your OS drive. Having less than 1.5x physical memory does not really speed up paging (except initialization and hibernation) but it does save space. Windows NT does have pretty good paging algorithms in terms...
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    Light Saber????

    Do not try this, though! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050525/ap_en_mo/star_wars_sabers
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    Switching Motherboards

    I upgrade my mobo around once a year and it's always a "swap and pray" process. The latest one failed despite uninstalling all drivers beforehand, but a repair-installation fixed everything. Other times I simply needed to install the new drivers to get everything working. Sticking to the same...
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    HDTV in Japan?

    Hm, I guess I'll actually answer the original question ;) Japan does not use ATSC as the HDTV standard; it uses ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting) instead. So far Japan and Brazil are the only ones using this broadcast format, but ISDB uses channels more efficiently(OFDM)...
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    SATA hard drives shows up as a Removable Storage in XP

    > Didnt know they were hot swappable. That's pretty cool. (I dont have a sata drive yet) It's good to make sure you get controllers and drive which are compatible with hot swapping; most of the first generation SATA hardware didn't support hot swapping.
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    Will the Samsung TX-P2664W work as a computer monitor?

    PC DVI output doesn't send interlaced signals out of the box, so you'll have to go with 480p, or 800x480. You can use programs like powerstrip to convert outgoing signal to 1080i, but you will need to have the right graphics cards.
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    Unix host performance logging and graphing software

    Thanks for the tips; I'll look into them!
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    Unix host performance logging and graphing software

    My organization uses a home-brew script to log (cron + prstat + vmstat + ps) system performance. Every quarter we use a huge python script to parse and feed the data to gnuplot to create graphs for performance evaluation meetings. The scripts have been patched and modified numerous times...
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    Lost XP Pro CD

    Phisrow is correct; you can use anyone's CD to install Windows as long as you use your own CD-key. If you have lost your CD-key and there's no sticker on the back of your system don't panic; Microsoft has a process--albeit lengthy--to verify your purchase if you call them. It's not very...
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    What's difference between DVD+R and -R?

    Even though the DVD specification allows double sides, there are no publicly available DVD+Rs, DVD-R, or DVD-RAM discs on sale which record on both sides since it's cheaper to manufacture two one-sided discs. The CD specification does not allow double sides, on the other hand. The...
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    Dell 2005FPW - No Bios Screen on Boot Up

    It could be that your vid card only detects and switches to the DVI output after going through POST. :o
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    Gamers: What Train sims do you like?

    If you like the driving aspect of train simulators MS Train isn't bad at all. Trainz Railroad Simulator 2004 is another good candidate with added support to steam engines. Yet neither of the above offer much in creating a whole model train environment with terrain and rail layout. The...
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    batch file help

    Yes, you can either specify the full path of the application to run, or you can add the path to the %PATH% variable in the script using quotes. example: start "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" or set path=%path%;"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox" start firefox.exe
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    128mbs of ram enough for Windows XP?

    Yes, 128 MB is enough and is not too bad, although 256 or above will be much better for running various applications. 500mhz is a little on the slow side but if you just want an internet/email machine there's no big problem. The official requirements are available here...
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    Help with my Wireless Network!

    WEP is not automatic; you will need to create public keys on the router which you need to manually enter on all the clients. This should be outlined in your user guide, but setting it up in the server and the client will be different for each model. Usually you need to access the server though...
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    what is safe to uninstall

    Yes, it is. You may not be able to uninstall the service pack or repair it using file check, though. You can also delete the folder $NtServicePackUninstall$ if you can do without uninstall option. This one can take up a few hundred megabytes, too.
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    Windows 2000

    It isn't illegal to boot form an alternate OS to replace or modify the password SAM file as long as you are not breaking into an authorized system :) This does not involve any "cracking" or reverse engineering of any Microsoft propriety code. Emergency Boot CD http://ebcd.pcministry.com/...
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    Windows 98 ISO

    Microsoft does not provide software ISO images online even if you have a valid license. There are no legal 3rd party vendors who offer such service as far as I know, but corporate customers are another story.
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    XP pro x64

    It would be a long time before lots of games come out with 64 bit versions. Even with current 64bit versions the benefits aren't that drastic compared to 32bit, assuming the publisher doesn't cheat and add caviats for using the 64bit version (won't name who!) :) So sticking with 32bit until...
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    Windows Explorer

    An "alternate" explorer will not work if the filesystem is corrupt. Try going in to Safe Mode: Command prompt only by pressing "f8" while staring up Windows, before the Windows LOGO comes on. Then type: chkdsk c: /r and press ENTER. This will run the disk checking program with...
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    How hot is too hot for Video Card

    A typical high end graphics card now a days can heat up to 50 degrees celcius. This is definitely very hot to touch but won't damage anything as long as the hot air can escape.
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    iBook LCD/DVD-CD driver problem

    The screen problem is a known problem for the dual-iBooks. Basically the GPU socket becomes loose and falls off the mainboard, but the connection is too fine to solder casually. There is a workaround by opening up the back and inserting objects to push the GPU into on to the mainboard but...
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    Why is my wireless network so slow?

    USB 1.1 has two speed modes: - Full Speed Mode (12 Mbps) - Low Speed Mode (1.5 Mbps) So judging from your max speed it seems like somewhere USB connection is using low speed mode. The USB wireless device and your USB controller most likely supports full speed mode so it may be...
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    Windows Explorer

    Does the problem continue in safe mode? What if you use command-prompt to list directory contents? Are you able to run scandisk? If safe mode works it's most likely another process or service which tries to hijack explorer's operations. If explorer failes in safemode but command...
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    Smoke from CPU

    If it boots back up again you can probably continue using it, at the risk of total malfunction at any time. It could be a crappy thermal compound or particles left on the top of the CPU which burnt. I've fried some CPUs but I've never seen smoke coming out of itself yet :) Correction: Oops, I...
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    how will computers continue to keep up?

    Four ways to speed up a delivery in anything (mail or electrons) is to: 1. increase velocity of transfer 2. decrease distance 3. send more packets at once 4. decrease required number of packets to send Increasing speed: You can't speed up velocity of electrons easily, but you can use faster...
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    Why do gates do what they do?

    All gates are made of transistors. A transistor has one function; to allow or block flow of electrons. When there is enough voltage applied to a transistor, the electrons from the first input can flow to the output. A very primative version of transistors is the vacuum tube. I'll explain how...
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    SATA Hard Disk

    In case you want to make an exact copy of the old drive and also boot up from the new drive, you can follow johnjkr1's steps and then use a software like Norton Ghost to copy the HD contents on to the new drive, bit by bit.
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    At what temperature is a CPU running too hot at?

    My AthlonXP has survived 3 summers of un-airconditioned 90 degrees (F) room running at 55 idle 63 load 67 alarm :) Replacing an old AthlonXP chip can be certainly cheaper than getting a new case with watercooling mods so 50 idle/ uppler 50 load should be enough for most chips if you have a...
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    Any way to change the letter of the boot drive?

    One word of caution is that certain programs save settings with paths hardcoded. If you change drive letters these programs will try to access F drive as your system drive even if it's now C. (and vise versa) Partition Magic comes with a utility which looks for these hardcoded paths on your HD...
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    Saving Default Administrator's profile

    Recommended is just to change the username. Most script kiddies just try out the "administrator" username, and having another account with admin rights and disabling the original one is not more secure than just having that new admin account. (Which is same as renaming the original account)...
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    Next Gen Question

    It's possible but double bandwidth means more than double wiring and double the cost. Not only wires but gates must be increased. Memory storage must be larger. Double wiring leads to double space, and there are significant space constraints in IC design. ...Not to mention power usage and heat...
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    Windows 64-Bit or Not?

    Besides drivers, going 64-bit Windows isn't much helpful if all your software aren't also 64-bit. There's not much 64-bit Windows software out there, and tests show they could even run slower in a 32-bit system with the same Athlon 64 chip. Athlon64 on Windows 32 works like a charm so I'd...
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    AGP video slot compatibility

    You can use slower AGP cards on any higher speed AGP slots. Usually the other way around (8x card on a 4x mobo) would work, too. In this case the bandwidth will be limited, though.
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    usb tv tuners

    On the other hand RF cable video doesn't need that much bandwidth. I don't see any difference in quality between my USB 1.1 Hauppage external vid-cap and my internal ATI All-In-Wonder card. Your cable signal clarity would probably be a bigger factor in terms of quality. Meanwhile, if you have...
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    Any nforce3 250 939 boards?

    Nvidia announced its new chipset "nForce3 Ultra MCP" in the COMPUTEX TAIPEI a week ago. Features include: -Socket 939 -Native Gigabit Ethernet Controller: I/F compatible, GbE PHY compatible -NVIDIA Firewall -Advanced RAID Support for SATA/PATA -Support for next generation 3Gb/s SATA They...