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SlayVus
Jul 10, 2009
Grimey Drawer

kizudarake posted:

My wife dropped her laptop. It's fine, but her USB stick snapped off. Are there any services that are goon recommended to pull the data off it? It's 6 years of powerpoints and word docs that she's created for the courses she teaches.

I've repeatedly told her to regularly back up her data, but apparently she last did it three loving years ago. Normally, I'd just tell her 'sorry, babe', but this is career-related.

I've googled the temporary fix, but I don't solder, and we/she is willing to pay for a good service, and aren't trying for 24 hr turnaround.

I've dealt with this once as a low level help desk. The usb stick itself was still in tact with the solder points for the male USB connector. What I did was take male to female USB extension cable and remove the cover around the female end. I then held the female end against the solder points on the USB stick then taped it together. This made it possible to remove the data without issue. We charged like $70 to the customer for $5 in parts and .10 hours of time.

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future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
^^^
good idea.

FaustianQ posted:

I've got two issues

1) A relative has an old laptop that was working fine up until a week ago, which is now locked into an endless boot repair loop. I failed to deal with it before and this is the second time this is happening. I had originally thought it software related since RAM passed validation and the HDD wasn't returning errors, so I eventually gave up, pulled their data and reinstalled. I thought everything was fine because it ran and booted fine through several updates, but it's apparently back to being a hunk of metal again. It's an HP nc8340.

If it can't be saved I have my HP laptop that's only 2 years old and I'm willing to pass it off to them.

2) I have a G930 headset that works fine 95% of the time but will occasionally begin emitting a buzzing noise that grows, causes the wireless signal to cut in and out while punctuated by high pitched distortion then finally draining the charge. It seems entirely random, I haven't been able to replicate it and I can't predict when it will do it, but it's usually no more than twice in a monthly period. What the hell am I doing wrong with this headset?
1) Probably RAM, although if the HDD is the original 80GB model it might be dying without throwing SMART errors. I'd try replacing the RAM with another stick(s) or at least running a memtest on it, and maybe swap out the HDD with a newer SATA drive if a memtest doesn't reveal anything.

2) I'd suggest contacting Logitech support. Unless things have changed their service was always very good and they might be willing to fix the headset or replace it if it can't be repaired.

EmpyreanFlux
Mar 1, 2013

The AUDACITY! The IMPUDENCE! The unabated NERVE!

cisco privilege posted:

^^^
good idea.

1) Probably RAM, although if the HDD is the original 80GB model it might be dying without throwing SMART errors. I'd try replacing the RAM with another stick(s) or at least running a memtest on it, and maybe swap out the HDD with a newer SATA drive if a memtest doesn't reveal anything.

2) I'd suggest contacting Logitech support. Unless things have changed their service was always very good and they might be willing to fix the headset or replace it if it can't be repaired.

1) It's got a 320GB WD HDD, but I'm unsure of age, possibly 6 years old, possibly only 2. I ran both the windows error checker and memtest86, nothing came up. The RAM is however two separate companies so maybe the mismatch is finally calling it in, wonder if the voltages are different? Ones a Hynix 2GB but the other is completely unlabeled, thanks HP.

2) Fair enough, hope I'm still covered because it's about 2 years old at this point and only recently started this behavior.

FCKGW
May 21, 2006

My 8gb Windows NAS/Plex box is constantly in the state low ram.



Free ram seems to constantly hover around 0-200mb free.

Is it time to bite the bullet and upgrade to 16 GB? The two memory hogs that seems to be taking up most the ram are some terribly coded Java programs that back up and sync data around so I can't really quit those.

Grapeshot
Oct 21, 2010

FaustianQ posted:

I've got two issues

1) A relative has an old laptop that was working fine up until a week ago, which is now locked into an endless boot repair loop. I failed to deal with it before and this is the second time this is happening. I had originally thought it software related since RAM passed validation and the HDD wasn't returning errors, so I eventually gave up, pulled their data and reinstalled. I thought everything was fine because it ran and booted fine through several updates, but it's apparently back to being a hunk of metal again. It's an HP nc8340.

If it can't be saved I have my HP laptop that's only 2 years old and I'm willing to pass it off to them.

2) I have a G930 headset that works fine 95% of the time but will occasionally begin emitting a buzzing noise that grows, causes the wireless signal to cut in and out while punctuated by high pitched distortion then finally draining the charge. It seems entirely random, I haven't been able to replicate it and I can't predict when it will do it, but it's usually no more than twice in a monthly period. What the hell am I doing wrong with this headset?

1. You can probably fix it by reinstalling but I would suspect the underlying cause is that the laptop is overheating and shutting down, corrupting the file system.

2. Does it start while you are putting it on or taking it off? It might be a static discharge from rubbing against your hair causing some bad things to happen with the audio amp.

Guitarchitect
Nov 8, 2003

My laptop won't start :( Similar to Faustian, it's in a boot repair loop. I think grapeshot probably nailed the cause of my issue - lately it'll shut down in about 20 mins from overheating if I watch netflix on anything other than the lowest quality.

it's a core duo computer (HP Pavillion dv2000) from 2007. windows vista. given how quickly it's overheating, is something going wrong inside of it? Is it worth doing a full wipe and reinstalling (probably with windows 7)? or is it just going to get corrupted again?

Rexxed
May 1, 2010

Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Guitarchitect posted:

My laptop won't start :( Similar to Faustian, it's in a boot repair loop. I think grapeshot probably nailed the cause of my issue - lately it'll shut down in about 20 mins from overheating if I watch netflix on anything other than the lowest quality.

it's a core duo computer (HP Pavillion dv2000) from 2007. windows vista. given how quickly it's overheating, is something going wrong inside of it? Is it worth doing a full wipe and reinstalling (probably with windows 7)? or is it just going to get corrupted again?

There's no way to be certain of what is wrong but usually it's either that the HD is corrupt or the fan is full of dust or has failed and can't adequately cool the system. Here's a teardown video for that model:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x1UDPma8tg

Guitarchitect
Nov 8, 2003

Rexxed posted:

There's no way to be certain of what is wrong but usually it's either that the HD is corrupt or the fan is full of dust or has failed and can't adequately cool the system. Here's a teardown video for that model:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x1UDPma8tg

whoa, this is awesome - thanks!
I will probably try to pull out the HD and get what I can, then format it and re-install with windows 7 instead of vista, and see if it'll last me the summer. I'm planning to upgrade to a surface pro 4 when it's released so I'd like a BIT of life out of it if I can get it. that video should help with cleaning the fan and improving my chances!

EmpyreanFlux
Mar 1, 2013

The AUDACITY! The IMPUDENCE! The unabated NERVE!

Grapeshot posted:

1. You can probably fix it by reinstalling but I would suspect the underlying cause is that the laptop is overheating and shutting down, corrupting the file system.

2. Does it start while you are putting it on or taking it off? It might be a static discharge from rubbing against your hair causing some bad things to happen with the audio amp.

Would a USB laptop cooling pad, after a thorough cleaning and replacement of the fan (if possible) be a good investment to recommend?

No, but static discharge is something I hadn't given thought to. Odd, but would simply tapping metal help?

Rexxed posted:

There's no way to be certain of what is wrong but usually it's either that the HD is corrupt or the fan is full of dust or has failed and can't adequately cool the system. Here's a teardown video for that model:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x1UDPma8tg

Are the fans for HS mostly universal for laptops? I'm guessing the answer is no because laptop, which would suck because I can't find a HSF replacement for the nc8340.

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva

FaustianQ posted:

Are the fans for HS mostly universal for laptops? I'm guessing the answer is no because laptop, which would suck because I can't find a HSF replacement for the nc8340.
Most laptop fans are universal, at least per-OEM or for a major laptop line (ie: DV6xxx). Make sure the size is correct - if you're replacing a 30mm/40mm fan make sure the replacement is the same size.

If a laptop's overheating, besides checking vents and the heatsink(s) for blockages I would replace the thermal paste on the CPU. Use something non-conductive like ceramique, MX-4, etc., and not AS5.

Gothmog1065
May 14, 2009

cisco privilege posted:

Most laptop fans are universal, at least per-OEM or for a major laptop line (ie: DV6xxx). Make sure the size is correct - if you're replacing a 30mm/40mm fan make sure the replacement is the same size.

If a laptop's overheating, besides checking vents and the heatsink(s) for blockages I would replace the thermal paste on the CPU. Use something non-conductive like ceramique, MX-4, etc., and not AS5.

The only universal parts I've found in laptops are the RAM, HDD and CMOS battery. I would always double check that number directly on the fan. It's always better to take that extra step than to have the wrong one.

Grapeshot
Oct 21, 2010
HP consumer laptops, especially the DV6000 series, are notorious for the heatsink clogging up with dust and hair. There's a vent on the bottom and then a 1cm gap between the heatsink and the fan that's just perfect for dust accumulation, and you have to remove the motherboard to take out the fan. Anyway, the dust won't build up nearly as fast if you don't use your laptop on soft surfaces like carpet or the bed. Vacuuming more and not having pets would probably help too. When you clean out the fan, don't spin it up to high speeds with compressed air because that can wreck the bearings.

Nemesis Of Moles
Jul 25, 2007

There's a high pitched whistle/whine coming from my PC, but only if I sit in certain spots around the room. If I get up close to the machine, its just generally chugging away, but if I sit on my couch, like 5 feet away, there's the whine. Its definately coming from the PC, but I can't work out why I can't hear it when I get close to the computer.

I'm thinking that its just weird acoustics and the fans making the noise. Ghosts? Rogue Electricity? Tinnitus?

Deanut Pancer
Nov 24, 2012
Sounds like it could be coil whine? Try google for that term and you'll get all sorts of info.
I had it on my machine for a while, and I managed to solve it by changing some power/idle settings in the bios.

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
If it's not coil whine it could be one of the fans - the motors on Panoflo fans drive me up a wall depending on the voltage they're running. You could try stopping the fans by putting your finger on the hubs (only if they're not high-speed fan models), or you can pull the fan power connectors and see if it stops after that, in which can you might need to replace the fan(s) depending on how much it bothers you.

Nemesis Of Moles
Jul 25, 2007

I'll have a fiddle around and see if I can nail down what's causing it. Its just weird that it seems to only be audible from a certain distance away.

Chuu
Sep 11, 2004

Grimey Drawer
Is there an adapter that can convert those 4-tip 3.5" Headphone Connectors to two 3.5" Connectors -- one for audio out and one for microphone in? I can't figure out the right search terms to make this happen, or if there is some technical reason this is not possible.

Geemer
Nov 4, 2010



Chuu posted:

Is there an adapter that can convert those 4-tip 3.5" Headphone Connectors to two 3.5" Connectors -- one for audio out and one for microphone in? I can't figure out the right search terms to make this happen, or if there is some technical reason this is not possible.

You'll want to search for combo jack adapters.

Chuu
Sep 11, 2004

Grimey Drawer

Geemer posted:

You'll want to search for combo jack adapters.

Thanks, this is getting me a ton closer, but I'm still having problems. Pretty much every hit I get is going the opposite way -- Mic + Headphone to Combo Jack. I'm looking for the opposite. Does what I'm looking for exist, or do I just buy one of those and two 3.5mm male to male cables?

Rexxed
May 1, 2010

Dis is amazing!
I gotta try dis!

Chuu posted:

Thanks, this is getting me a ton closer, but I'm still having problems. Pretty much every hit I get is going the opposite way -- Mic + Headphone to Combo Jack. I'm looking for the opposite. Does what I'm looking for exist, or do I just buy one of those and two 3.5mm male to male cables?

I'm not quite sure what you need based on the description. It sounds like you want a 4 pole male to two 3 pole male (or one male one female?) but those aren't likely to exist because they'd be for connecting a device to another device instead of what you usually do which is connect a device to headphones or something.
Anyway here's 4 pole male to 2x 3 pole female:
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-headsets-separate-headphone-microphone/dp/B004SP0WAQ/

and 4 pole female to 2x 3 pole male:
http://www.amazon.com/StarTech-MUYHSFMM-Headset-Splitter-Adapter/dp/B0058DOWH6/
http://www.amazon.com/EZOPower-Headset-Adapter-Smartphone-smartphone/dp/B0046FMRGA/

If you need to go from device to device with either of them you'll need male to male cables in addition.
4 pole male to male:
http://www.amazon.com/3-5mm-Record-Audio-Headphone-Connect/dp/B00MPGMIRA/
http://www.amazon.com/Estone%C2%AE-3-5mm-Noodle-Record-Stereo/dp/B00MM1KZBY/

3 pole male to male:
http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-109764-3-Feet-Stereo-Plated/dp/B00AJHB8R8/

There's a lot of options available on amazon and the prices are all over the place. There is a small price premium on uncommon cables which is why a company like Startech exists. You can also look on Monoprice. They don't have quite as many hard to find cables but their prices are rock bottom for common cables like the 3.5mm male to male.

Chuu
Sep 11, 2004

Grimey Drawer
4 Pole Female to 2x 3.5 3 Pole Male is what I was looking for. Thanks for the link.

BONESAWWWWWW
Dec 23, 2009


I have a Raspberry Pi and i'm having trouble getting it to recognize my 3tb external drive. It shows it as having only about 800gb of total space on the partition, which is NTFS right now for a number of reasons.

When this happened before, I tried using a SATA->USB adapter and that worked, but now I have a different SATA->USB adapter and it doesn't. This all works fine on my Windows machine, though, both the current enclosure and the new adapter.

Does anyone know of an enclosure that will work for my situation for my RPi and Windows? I wouldn't imagine this being OS specific but here I am.

BONESAWWWWWW fucked around with this message at 00:35 on May 18, 2015

Ramadu
Aug 25, 2004

2015 NFL MVP


I am having an internet issue. My internet has been doing this weird thing where it feels like it is stuttering. It's just fine and then anywhere from 5 minutes to 8 hours later it fixes itself and is fine. Even power cycling the modem and the router won't fix the issue occassionally. Any ideas what could be happening? I really hope its not my router kicking the bucket :(

Alereon
Feb 6, 2004

Dehumanize yourself and face to Trumpshed
College Slice

Ramadu posted:

I am having an internet issue. My internet has been doing this weird thing where it feels like it is stuttering. It's just fine and then anywhere from 5 minutes to 8 hours later it fixes itself and is fine. Even power cycling the modem and the router won't fix the issue occassionally. Any ideas what could be happening? I really hope its not my router kicking the bucket :(
This is complicated enough that I think it warrants its own thread in the Haus. We'd need to know things like what kind of Internet you have, what modem and router you have, whether you use wireless or wired, and whether it shows up on speed tests.

kojicolnair
Mar 18, 2009
So I've been having random crashes and stuff and after running memtest all night it showed 125 errors. Should I just immediately replace my ram/RMA it or could something else be causing this? Just want to make sure.

I don't have time to wait on an RMA really so I'll have to go out and buy new ram if that's the case.

sleepy gary
Jan 11, 2006

It could be the motherboard, but you'll only be sure by putting in good RAM and getting clean test results.

ElehemEare
May 20, 2001
I am an omnipotent penguin.

Desktop started BSODing and memtest reported 65,535+ errors. After multiple instances of pulling my GPU (lousy backplate clearance on the tabs! :argh:) then pulling sticks and running memtest, I narrowed down to one of the four sticks being bad.

Is there any downside to running 3x4 rather than 2x4 with regard to memory bandwidth?

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva

ElehemEare posted:

Is there any downside to running 3x4 rather than 2x4 with regard to memory bandwidth?
There will be some minor performance penalties that you may not notice at all. On the other hand if you need to send the stick in for RMA and it was bought as a set you have to send the whole set in, and you'd probably notice half your RAM missing.

ElehemEare
May 20, 2001
I am an omnipotent penguin.

cisco privilege posted:

There will be some minor performance penalties that you may not notice at all. On the other hand if you need to send the stick in for RMA and it was bought as a set you have to send the whole set in, and you'd probably notice half your RAM missing.

It's six year old Corsair Vengeance so I'm probably just going to leave the 12GB in and wait out the inevitable failure of the rest of the hardware, then never buy RAM with big dumb heatsinks ever again. Thanks.

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON
Corsair has a limited lifetime warranty on RAM and their RMA process is one of the better ones in the industry. I'd replace it for no other reason than it will literally take 10 minutes of your time to fill out the RMA form.

Belial42
Feb 28, 2007

The Sleeper must awaken...with a damn fine can of Georgia coffee.
Any recommendations for a CHEAP PC to run 2 video outputs (preferably HDMI)? This box would power 2 TVs that display DVR footage or mostly static websites.

EDIT: Has to be some sort of Windows box (does not need OS included). DVR software only runs in Windows, websites need Firefox so a ChromeBox is out.

Belial42 fucked around with this message at 16:09 on May 22, 2015

Geoj
May 28, 2008

BITTER POOR PERSON
Intel NUC, the one linked above has 2x full size HDMI ports. Add your choice of mSATA SSD, RAM, and you'll need a three prong notebook power supply cable too. If you need WiFi it also has a micro PCI express slot and is pre-wired with an internal antenna.

e: not sure what your budget is like but if the i3 model is too expensive there's also a Celeron-powered unit that's about $100 less that should be able to handle video playback just fine - I'm using one as a HTPC and it doesn't have any issues playing 1080 HD content. It's a touch slow when you start an application but once its running you don't notice it.

Geoj fucked around with this message at 18:33 on May 22, 2015

lollybo
Dec 29, 2008
I have a high end realtek integrated sound card on my current mobo, but I also have an ancient 10 year old soundblaster xtrememusic. I was wondering if it was worth it to install the old soundcard at this point- the realtek sounds pretty good, but part of me wonders if the higher quality parts and dedicated sound processor on the xtrememusic might make it worth it, despite the age of the card (it was pretty expensive at the time). I understand what I care most about is the quality of the DAC on the cards.

Alereon
Feb 6, 2004

Dehumanize yourself and face to Trumpshed
College Slice

lollybo posted:

I have a high end realtek integrated sound card on my current mobo, but I also have an ancient 10 year old soundblaster xtrememusic. I was wondering if it was worth it to install the old soundcard at this point- the realtek sounds pretty good, but part of me wonders if the higher quality parts and dedicated sound processor on the xtrememusic might make it worth it, despite the age of the card (it was pretty expensive at the time). I understand what I care most about is the quality of the DAC on the cards.
It's not worth it unless you have a lower-end motherboard with poor isolation. On higher-end Asus boards for example the isolation is as good as real soundcards.

lollybo
Dec 29, 2008
Alright, thanks. I have an asus Gryphon so it is a high end mobo. I looked up the specs and it seems like the SNR for the two cards is similar. I do recall the soundblaster sounding a bit crisper but it may just be a slight difference.

Flipperwaldt
Nov 11, 2011

Won't somebody think of the starving hamsters in China?



Doubt you'd find a driver for a modern OS for it too.

program666
Aug 22, 2013

A giant carnivorous dinosaur
I'm having the weirdest problem right now, my video card's cooler will go into some high rotation and the pc won't boot. If I turn off the PSU until the mobo green light goes off it boots and I can even go into the OS for a while, but after a few seconds the screen will just go black. If I don't wait the PC will just start into the high rotation mode without me pressing the on/off button. I have two cards and I tested them individually and bothbehave the same way, so I'm guessing it's either mobo or PSU right? Without the cards I can go into the OS and even run Prime 95.
Oh, and sometimes it will boot into with a message on that memtest screen: "overclock failed" so I'll try removing my overclocking settings next.

program666
Aug 22, 2013

A giant carnivorous dinosaur
Removing overclocking stuff actually worked so I went ahead and pumped up some 0.007 more voltage into the processor and I'm running furmark + prime 95 at the same time with no problems. I'm guessing the presence of a video card was causing some slight instability on the voltage being provided to the processor, and since I keep this voltage at the minimum it wouldn't be enough after the machine heated up a little? Does this even make sense?

future ghost
Dec 5, 2005

:byetankie:
Gun Saliva
Check your videocard's fan for dust as it's probably overheating given that the fan's revving up and you're seeing black screens. Depending on the videocard age you may have to reseat the cooler with new thermal paste since the cheap stock poo poo can turn rock-hard eventually.

Black screens can also be caused by a bad power supply, and that might be the cause of your booting problem, but the fan sounds like videocard overheating.

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program666
Aug 22, 2013

A giant carnivorous dinosaur
Thanks bro but it's already working, it was all because I keep the voltage on my overclock way too low. I just didn't thing of it at first because:
- the fans on the videocards would go to maximum rotation
- booting without the cards worked
- I expect that processor degradation would give a blue screen during a game at first, and I played a game last night before turning the machine off, still today it just went into unbootable state for some reason

Just too little voltage on my processor, that was all that is.

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