The computer and electronics super geek thread

[eugimon]

Event log has numerous 300, 302, 351 errors---the most common being "USB mini port driver for input device"-----but seriously, refusing to boot because of that? (and running the GFX fan on uber-max for no apparent reason this afternoon) I don't even think that PC really has anything on USB, other than the basic keyboard, mouse, and printer---none are using mini ports, all are plugged in directly to the motherboard's USB ports I think.

If the bios is beeping, the error is either a configuration error in bios or a hardware error.

[Chewie]

I work at Best Buy and we get the 6110y back ALL the time with the above described problem. We've pretty much narrowed it down to bad motherboards.

How long ago did he buy it?

[David Hingtgen]

Not sure--less than a year I'd guess. If he takes it in, would the fact that it now seems to be "fixed" be an issue?

[Chewie]

Not sure--less than a year I'd guess. If he takes it in, would the fact that it now seems to be "fixed" be an issue?

Not at all. Geek Squads diagnostic software is actually really good.

Do you know if he got the black tie protection or is it just under the manufacturers warranty? If he bought the extra warranty, they would probably just replace the whole thing. If not, they will likely charge him for the diagnostic and from there the prices skyrocket.

He could attempt to deal with HP, but they are very, very, very, very shady and hard to deal with when it comes to getting something covered under the 1 year warranty.

[David Hingtgen]

I highly doubt he paid anything extra. And I know first-hand how it is to deal with HP. (why do you think I build my own PC's now, and always try to get others to do so as well?)

My suggestion would be that if it happens more than like once a year, to replace the mobo---though that would likely involve HP's infamous "tattoo" of the OS/CPU/mobo. (yet another reason to buy system-builder OS, and not rely on HP/Dell/etc OEM versions)

[Seto Kaiba]

Hey all, don't routinely post in this thread but I've been having a rather unusual issue with Firefox 3.6.x on my system and figured I would try appealing to my fellow tech-savvy Macross fans for insight and/or a solution...

Let me say in advance, I know Vista sucks. This is a cheap work computer I bought for, oh, about $400 to give to whatever family member breaks their good computer... an event that happens with all the regularity of the f***ing tides. Upgrading it to Win7 isn't a viable option since the hardware won't support it, downgrading to XP isn't an option as the install disks are impossible to find, and the various flavors of Linux won't do for my technologically-inept family.

Okay, so I've got a cheap little work laptop system here that's running Firefox 3.6.8 w/ Norton 2009 on Windows Vista 32bit, and ever since about Firefox 3.6.6 I've noticed that Firefox exhibits some weird behaviors when downloading files. Ever since they introduced that godawful unstable mess called the plugin container, Firefox takes bloody forever to scan files when downloading. Now, what I've noticed is that on Firefox 3.6.8 the files I download will disappear from the downloads folder when the browser window is closed. The files just flat out vanish, even if you have the folder window open and just refresh the view... they just disappear. If you use the search tool to look for them, they do appear briefly, but show as being 0kb and promptly disappear from that view too. After checking for malware and ensuring that the file system hadn't started to fall apart on me, I dug into the Firefox configuration, and found that manually setting the value of the key for browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone to "false" seems to eliminate the problem.

Any idea which party is the guilty one? Firefox or Norton? (I'm inclined to go with FF, since nothing's showing up in the quarantine)

[Chewie]

What hardware are you running that runs Vista but won't run 7? That doesn't make any sense.

[Seto Kaiba]

What hardware are you running that runs Vista but won't run 7? That doesn't make any sense.

Eh... I suppose it's more a matter of the hardware itself being compatible with Windows 7, but the stupid manufacturer-specific drivers for the video card aren't. The system uses a GeForce Go 7600, but the driver installer supplied by NVIDIA won't recognize the card and their site insists that it's advisable to use the driver supplied by the manufacturer. Of course, those don't work very well on Vista, let alone Windows 7. Using hacked installers to load the most recent drivers onto the system is inadvisable at best, since it breaks a fair few elements of functionality, renders the driver unstable and crash-prone, and adds an amusing overheating problem that destroyed a motherboard before we identified it.

Basically, it's not that the hardware isn't theoretically compatible with Windows 7, it's that we have ample evidence to suggest that it'll literally self-destruct if we update it to the new OS.

[lechuck]

Err...

1. go to nvidia.com,
   
2. click on "Download Drivers" top-left of the page,
   
3. select your model "GeForce Go 7 series",
   
4. select your preferred OS
   
5. and then click "Search" button and start downloading
   

[Chewie]

Use the hacked drivers to get the card working then use windows update to get it to the current/default. One of the best ways to do it. I put 7 on a P4 system with an OLD Asus motherboard running SiS drivers that were almost non existent. I had to download a custom made driver, connect to windows update then get the default driver 7 supplied.

System runs better with 7 than it ever did with XP on it.

Just a thought.

[Seto Kaiba]

*snip*

Eh... there are few things in this world quite as obnoxious as someone who offers obvious advice that they've already been told point-blank doesn't work. Of course, none of this has anything to do with the question I actually asked about an odd behavior observed in Firefox 3.6.8, so what the hell guys?

By way of an expanded explanation for what I've already told you, taking this system over to the NVIDIA website and using their fancy little "find the right drivers for my machine automatically" tool generates a message politely asking you to f*ck right off back to the manufacturer's website and download the version they've modified and vetted. Selecting it manually using the dropdown menus lets you get as far as running the executable, at which point it promptly informs you the card isn't supported by the current driver release, and exits. Issues of sanity aside, HP has clearly done SOMETHING to the system to ensure that even after a clean install of the OS, the only version of the drivers that'll install and work properly is the one they provide. Stupid? Absolutely. Sadistic? Very probably. A big pain in my ass? You bet.

Use the hacked drivers to get the card working then use windows update to get it to the current/default. One of the best ways to do it.

Tempting... but what I said about the system self-destructing when the hacked drivers are used for any length of time was no exaggeration. In any event, I don't really care to buy the Windows 7 update at $200+ for a machine that only gets used when my girlfriend or one of my siblings breaks their good computer. It's just not worth the money.

The question I asked... and am still waiting on an answer for... is whether anyone else has experienced the aforementioned anomalous behavior from Firefox 3.6.x (any downloaded files vanish into the ether when the browser is closed when post-download virus scanning is enabled) and if anyone knows what the root cause is so I can either put together some kind of workaround and/or file a bug report with the party responsible.

[lechuck]

Eh... there are few things in this world quite as obnoxious as someone who offers obvious advice that they've already been told point-blank doesn't work. Of course, none of this has anything to do with the question I actually asked about an odd behavior observed in Firefox 3.6.8, so what the hell guys?

...

The question I asked... and am still waiting on an answer for... is whether anyone else has experienced the aforementioned anomalous behavior from Firefox 3.6.x (any downloaded files vanish into the ether when the browser is closed when post-download virus scanning is enabled) and if anyone knows what the root cause is so I can either put together some kind of workaround and/or file a bug report with the party responsible.

No, I have never had this problem with FF 3.6.x. You seemed to have figured out a workaround yourself by disabling browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone in the config window

and the problem is not new for FF as evident by this link Unable to download or save files. So what exactly you want solved kind of eludes me!?

But just in case this doesn't suffice for "His Majesty's Ungratefulness", I have some more obnoxious things for you to try

• Have you tried pausing Norton, to see if FF downloads work?
  
• Can you download files with IE?
  
• Does your FF use the default downloads folder? If yes, then try setting it to prompt for a download path.
  
• Maybe reset the downloads folder: reset anything under browser.download.xxx that has the status "user set"
  
• Have you tried uninstalling and then re-installing FF?
  

Regards,

your obnoxiously friendly forum member.

[azrael]

Okay, so I've got a cheap little work laptop system here that's running Firefox 3.6.8 w/ Norton 2009 on Windows Vista 32bit, and ever since about Firefox 3.6.6 I've noticed that Firefox exhibits some weird behaviors when downloading files. Ever since they introduced that godawful unstable mess called the plugin container, Firefox takes bloody forever to scan files when downloading. Now, what I've noticed is that on Firefox 3.6.8 the files I download will disappear from the downloads folder when the browser window is closed. The files just flat out vanish, even if you have the folder window open and just refresh the view... they just disappear. If you use the search tool to look for them, they do appear briefly, but show as being 0kb and promptly disappear from that view too. After checking for malware and ensuring that the file system hadn't started to fall apart on me, I dug into the Firefox configuration, and found that manually setting the value of the key for browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone to "false" seems to eliminate the problem.

Any idea which party is the guilty one? Firefox or Norton? (I'm inclined to go with FF, since nothing's showing up in the quarantine)

It's probably Firefox. Try this:

• Close Firefox and backup the bookmarks (either the physical file in (Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<something.default>\bookmarks.html) or import/export it).
  
• Delete the Firefox user application data folders. There's 2 of them, one in Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming and one in Users\<username>\AppData\Local\ .
  
• Restart Firefox and let it rebuild the profile.
  
• Close Firefox and copy back your bookmarks file.
  

[David Hingtgen]

HP has clearly done SOMETHING to the system to ensure that even after a clean install of the OS, the only version of the drivers that'll install and work properly is the one they provide. Stupid? Absolutely. Sadistic? Very probably. A big pain in my ass? You bet.

Hmmn. Doesn't sound quite like HP's "tattoo"--probably related to being HP's version of Windows. (another reason not to have OEM versions and to build your own)

[Seto Kaiba]

You seemed to have figured out a workaround yourself by disabling browser.download.manager.scanWhenDone in the config window

Granted... but not a workaround I'm particularly happy with. I prefer to take a somewhat paranoid outlook on system security, since my immediate family are about as non-computer savvy as it gets, and I want to keep them from making more work for me. (To say nothing of focusing on network security technologies when I was working on my master's degree)

and the problem is not new for FF as evident by this link Unable to download or save files. So what exactly you want solved kind of eludes me!?

Ah, that article somehow eluded me whilst I was searching for some rather more specific terms in the Firefox support section. Thanks for digging that out for me. It wasn't the right solution, but definitely something to hang onto for future reference at least.

• Have you tried pausing Norton, to see if FF downloads work? Yes, it produces the same results as disabling scanWhenDone, though I still suspect the process Firefox uses to invoke the scan or the Norton IPS plugin as the prime culprit, which lays a little blame on both sides
  
• Can you download files with IE? Yeah, though I'd never use that as my primary browser for obvious reasons
  
• Does your FF use the default downloads folder? If yes, then try setting it to prompt for a download path. Tried that, same results...
  
• Maybe reset the downloads folder: reset anything under browser.download.xxx that has the status "user set" Tried that too, just for giggles... didn't work
  
• Have you tried uninstalling and then re-installing FF? Not yet... I wanted to fix the software in place since getting my plugins back on and configured the way I like 'em would take a while.
  

[mikeszekely]

All I can say is that when I used AVG, it seemed like Firefox took forever to scan a downloaded file. I switched to Microsoft Security Essentials, and then problem stopped. The problem seems to be a Firefox thing, since I had a similar issue with AVG that you're having with Norton, but what AV you use does seem to be a factor.

[Seto Kaiba]

It's probably Firefox. Try this:

No dice... and uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox 3.6.8 didn't sort it out either. The files aren't ending up in the quarantine folder or anything like that, so I'm inclined to suspect Firefox 3.6.x as the culprit rather than my antivirus software. We weren't having problems until they introduced the plug-in container, at which point the stability of the browser promptly went to hell in a handbasket. Given that the problem doesn't happen when I'm using Internet Explorer 8 or Google Chrome, my guess would be it's a problem with the way Firefox is calling the antivirus program to scan the file(s).

Ah well, I guess I can file a bug report with Mozilla and run it with scanWhenDone turned off until they either fix it or roll out Firefox 4 this fall.

On a note related to the originally-unrelated tangent (now that's a mouthful), I'm biting the bullet and upgrading my main machine to Windows 7 Ultimate. It previously had an OEM edition of Windows Vista Ultimate, which wasn't exactly a bad deal, but post-Service Pack 2 the Windows Search 4.0 shenanigans drove performance into the toilet by starting up at random intervals and monopolizing the hard disks for an hour or so at a stretch, even if the search indexing option was turned off.

[Chewie]

Never even thought to ask here.

Would anyone be interested in a brand new copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2010 for $150 below retail?

[Seto Kaiba]

Would anyone be interested in a brand new copy of Microsoft Office Professional 2010 for $150 below retail?

Okay, gotta ask... brand new legitimate copy of Microsoft Office Pro 2010? Is it a student license? An OEM license? If it's the retail version then I gotta ask... what's the catch?

Edited July 27, 2010 by Seto Kaiba

[Chewie]

Okay, gotta ask... brand new legitimate copy of Microsoft Office Pro 2010? Is it a student license? An OEM license? If it's the retail version then I gotta ask... what's the catch?

Yes, it is totally legitimate. It's a copy I got through an accommodation from work.

Edited July 27, 2010 by Chewie

[azrael]

No dice... and uninstalling and reinstalling Firefox 3.6.8 didn't sort it out either. The files aren't ending up in the quarantine folder or anything like that, so I'm inclined to suspect Firefox 3.6.x as the culprit rather than my antivirus software. We weren't having problems until they introduced the plug-in container, at which point the stability of the browser promptly went to hell in a handbasket. Given that the problem doesn't happen when I'm using Internet Explorer 8 or Google Chrome, my guess would be it's a problem with the way Firefox is calling the antivirus program to scan the file(s).

Ah well, I guess I can file a bug report with Mozilla and run it with scanWhenDone turned off until they either fix it or roll out Firefox 4 this fall.

And I assume you've already gone through this list of fixes, correct?

http://kb.mozillazine.org/Unable_to_save_or_download_files

[Seto Kaiba]

And I assume you've already gone through this list of fixes, correct?

Yeah... each and every one of 'em. The only one that generated results was disabling the on-download virus scan altogether in about:config. Oddly, I've noticed that it only does this "file goes missing" malarkey to the first file downloaded in each session... others downloaded after it seem to stay put just fine.

This would seem to be an issue unique to Firefox-on-Vista, since I tested it on one of my other systems running the same antivirus program and the same browser version and add-ons, but on Windows XP, and it didn't have any issues.

[Uxi]

Firefox sucks anyway. Bloated binary, even before any plugins

Opera > Chrome > IE8 > Firefox

[azrael]

Yeah... each and every one of 'em. The only one that generated results was disabling the on-download virus scan altogether in about:config. Oddly, I've noticed that it only does this "file goes missing" malarkey to the first file downloaded in each session... others downloaded after it seem to stay put just fine.

This would seem to be an issue unique to Firefox-on-Vista, since I tested it on one of my other systems running the same antivirus program and the same browser version and add-ons, but on Windows XP, and it didn't have any issues.

Do other user accounts on this computer exhibit this problem when using Firefox? Because I ran Firefox on several Vista setups and it never gave me a problem.

[Seto Kaiba]

Do other user accounts on this computer exhibit this problem when using Firefox? Because I ran Firefox on several Vista setups and it never gave me a problem.

Good question... can't answer it because this machine only has the one user account.

[azrael]

Good question... can't answer it because this machine only has the one user account.

Well then, my answer to you would be to create another user account on the system and test Firefox.

[Valkyrie addict]

Hey guys, I'm really off on recent technology advancements for pc

I wanted to know if you guys could help what's new on new CPU Processors from Intel and AMD, and vidcards??

I want to built an entertainment center with 50" LED and want to hook up a PC in there too....

any suggestions for recommended PC hardware to enjoy recent games

thanks guys

[VF-19]

Hey guys, I'm really off on recent technology advancements for pc

I wanted to know if you guys could help what's new on new CPU Processors from Intel and AMD, and vidcards??

I want to built an entertainment center with 50" LED and want to hook up a PC in there too....

any suggestions for recommended PC hardware to enjoy recent games

thanks guys

Well, my Core Duo 8400 and Radeon 4870 (1 Gig RAM version) are still perfectly fine for everything I play. This system is almost 3 years old. Fallout 3 no problems, Dragon Age no problems, Mass Effect 2 no problems.

You'll do very well with either ATI's or Nvidia's top of the line card (or slightly below top of the line), a good Intel CPU, and 4+ gigs of RAM.

[azrael]

Hey guys, I'm really off on recent technology advancements for pc

I wanted to know if you guys could help what's new on new CPU Processors from Intel and AMD, and vidcards??

I want to built an entertainment center with 50" LED and want to hook up a PC in there too....

any suggestions for recommended PC hardware to enjoy recent games

thanks guys

How much are you willing to spend for a potential HTPC/Gaming setup?

[Valkyrie addict]

Thanks for the quick reply

since I'm dishing major bucks on the TV and surround, I'm expecting to spend only 500-600 on the pc rig if possible, I only need the CPU to connect to the TV...

Edited August 1, 2010 by Valkyrie addict

[azrael]

Thanks for the quick reply

since I'm dishing major bucks on the TV and surround, I'm expecting to spend only 500-600 on the pc rig if possible, I only need the CPU to connect to the TV...

Are you hoping to use it as a DVR at some point or strictly gaming? Please add additional info if needed.

[VF-19]

Thanks for the quick reply

since I'm dishing major bucks on the TV and surround, I'm expecting to spend only 500-600 on the pc rig if possible, I only need the CPU to connect to the TV...

So, you plan on recycling what you can from your previous rig? I mean, 5-600 is a tight budget. You're going to need at least $200 (more or less) for a CPU, and about $150 for the Mobo. Don't forget that RAM will take up the rest of the cash...

If you can squeeze about $1000, or even $800, you've got some more flexibility.

If you wait a few weeks, you may be able to get some nice "back to school" deals, which will help you out.

[mikeszekely]

since I'm dishing major bucks on the TV and surround, I'm expecting to spend only 500-600 on the pc rig if possible

*sigh*

They always blow their budget on the TV, then want to scrimp on what they plug into the the TV...

While $500-$600 will get a you a computer that you can connect to a TV, it's going to be decidedly mid-range at best.

[Valkyrie addict]

nah....no DVR

just gaming and stuff

soo...600 is tight budget??

well, I guess I can go up to 800 something, I don't want extreme hardcore gaming, just enough to put up a good looking image at a proper frame rate on the TV resolution so I can enjoy it and end up with retina burnout from hours of gaming

I don't need "extreme", I just need good up to date, my current pc is rather dated

Edited August 2, 2010 by Valkyrie addict

[Chewie]

$100 for a quad Athlon II.

$120 for a DDR3 motherboard.

Roughly $100 for 4gigs of DDR3.

$100-150 for a decent ATI card that supports HDMI.

Case, power supply, optical drive(s), OS and skill to build it aside, the above is more than decent for what you need and within your budget shipped.