PC Tech Talk

[Bane of Soldiers]

So, I've been having some trouble with my laptop as of recently... Suddenly, starting up and logging in became really laggy and windows explorer would just stop responding whenever I wanted to do something besides open a picture or Firefox. I would be able to use Firefox for about a minute before it stopped responding for two minutes because Flash Player kept crashing. And once windows explorer stopped responding, it wouldn't come back... well, I got impatient after waiting five to eight minutes so I force shut down around then or earlier. When it stopped responding, if I try to click once or hover over the taskbar, the mouse pointer wouldn't respond either. Windows Task Manager and CTRL + ALT + DEL wouldn't work either.


I turned up with nothing when I ran two full scans using Malware Bytes and nothing from System Restore, as expected. Someone suggested to me to use CCleaner and Auslogics Disk Defrag. Things improved after cleaning the registry and windows log, defragging, and optimizing, but Windows Explorer still crashes more often than I would like. I can now open media files and programs, although I did crash when I tried pressing play on a paused WMP video. Downloads in the MBs upset my computer, and it is still slightly more laggy than before. I've had some registry difficulties when logging into STEAM, and my computer does not take well to my attempts to download games. Often very laggy when I try to open my Libraries, Downloads, or Documents folders; although win explorer crashed on folders that had less to load anyway.



The same person also suggested updating my drivers, but I have not done so yet. Computers are not my thing... can anyone point out the possible source of this mess and provide solutions (in layman's terms, step by step) so that I can go back to using my laptop normally? Have no idea where the install disk or whatever is; returning to factory settings was last on my list anyway

[Arkaine]

So, I've been having some trouble with my laptop as of recently... Suddenly, starting up and logging in became really laggy and windows explorer would just stop responding whenever I wanted to do something besides open a picture or Firefox. I would be able to use Firefox for about a minute before it stopped responding for two minutes because Flash Player kept crashing. And once windows explorer stopped responding, it wouldn't come back... well, I got impatient after waiting five to eight minutes so I force shut down around then or earlier. When it stopped responding, if I try to click once or hover over the taskbar, the mouse pointer wouldn't respond either. Windows Task Manager and CTRL + ALT + DEL wouldn't work either.


I turned up with nothing when I ran two full scans using Malware Bytes and nothing from System Restore, as expected. Someone suggested to me to use CCleaner and Auslogics Disk Defrag. Things improved after cleaning the registry and windows log, defragging, and optimizing, but Windows Explorer still crashes more often than I would like. I can now open media files and programs, although I did crash when I tried pressing play on a paused WMP video. Downloads in the MBs upset my computer, and it is still slightly more laggy than before. I've had some registry difficulties when logging into STEAM, and my computer does not take well to my attempts to download games. Often very laggy when I try to open my Libraries, Downloads, or Documents folders; although win explorer crashed on folders that had less to load anyway.



The same person also suggested updating my drivers, but I have not done so yet. Computers are not my thing... can anyone point out the possible source of this mess and provide solutions (in layman's terms, step by step) so that I can go back to using my laptop normally? Have no idea where the install disk or whatever is; returning to factory settings was last on my list anyway

You sure your hard disk isn't failing? Usually OEM computers will have a diagnostic tool that you can run at boot (typically F9, F10, or F12): HP Diagnostics, Dell Diagnostics. If not, you can try this application.
http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

[Bane of Soldiers]

You sure your hard disk isn't failing? Usually OEM computers will have a diagnostic tool that you can run at boot (typically F9, F10, or F12): HP Diagnostics, Dell Diagnostics. If not, you can try this application.
http://www.passmark.com/products/diskcheckup.htm

I already got through it (I think?), but thanks for the advice anyway! Things started running smoothly after I disabled every non-Microsoft service and startup items. Now I have to narrow them to the problematic item. Here's to hoping that there aren't any complications

[|2esolution]

Here's a couple pics of the gaming pc I recently "assembled"

OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-180G 2.5" 180GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 7660D AD580KWOHJBOX

ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

APEVIA X-TELSTAR-BL Blue/ Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer CaseNo Power Supply

BIOSTAR Hi-Fi A85W FM2 AMD A85X (Hudson D4) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

ICY DOCK MB990SP-B Dual Bay 2.5" to 3.5" SATA/IDE SSD & Hard Drive Bracket / Adapter

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Mushkin Enhanced Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model 996997

1 x XFX Double D FX-785A-CDFC Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready

1 x Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified

23" widescreen Hp LED monitor

IMAG0098.jpgIMAG0099.jpgIMAG0100.jpgIMAG0101.jpg

I plan on changing the cpu fan as the Zalman I got did not fit this processor and was my fault although its not needed this thing runs cool now but in the future when the games are more intense i may overclock

I also plan on adding an Apevia power supply just for looks because it is a clear and multi color led power supply

[jwtemp]

That's a really cool case but a little showy for my tastes. Also why is every PC power supply/case light friggin' night club, house music, rave blue? LOL Seems like every PSU I've had suffers this fate.

I do like the 'RPM' gauges on the front though, definitely a nice touch. Where on the mobo do those plug in? My biggest complaint about your build is you went with an AMD processor over an Intel. Intel is big time crushing everything AMD puts up in terms of price-to-performance, not to mention that AMD doesn't really have anything on its roster that competes with Intel's upper echelon of chips at all really.

I recently built a monster myself during the Black Friday deals last year. I got an incredible price on a cutting edge machine and like to remind myself of it whenever possible. Here are my specs, but I just have a basic Rosewill Challenger case, nothing fancy:

• ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
• Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5Ghz
• RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with ...
• Intel 330 Series Maple Crest SSDSC2CT180A3K5 2.5" 180GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Western Digital Caviar Green WD15EZRX 1.50 TB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
• G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
• ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
• EVGA GTX 670 FTW Edition
• 27" LG 1080p widescreen monitor

The GTX 670 is the pride and joy of this box. It runs every single PC game out on the market right now silky smooth, 1920x1080 with everything cranked to max. I positively love it.

When I first got the machine, I attempted to go with Windows 8. Installed the OS, updated my drivers, downloaded my first game (CS:GO actually), went to fire it up, the install process completed annnnnnnnnd... crash to desktop. Alright, maybe something went wrong. Reboot (eight second reboot time on the SSD, SO SEXY) and try again. Crash to desktop. WTF.

Troubleshoot an hour and a half. Fuck this. Loaded Windows 7.

[|2esolution]

IMAG0080.jpgThanks for the compliments. I went with AMD over Intel because the floating point on AMD processors is better for gaming than Intel. Also cost wise and speed wise you tend to get just a hint more for the money in AMD and last but not least I have ALWAYS used AMD and NEVER had an issue. The case is flashy to match my personality. Looks like you have a really nice computer as well if you only had a flashy case lol! Also if you were having problems running Windows 8 on your machine the very first place I would look is video memory compatibility and your stick memory compatibility. Are you over clocked because you have the option to run your memory overclocked to be compatible with your mb as I do run mine Oc'd. I run windows 8 with no issue but built my pc around win 8 "Which I hated at first". The gauges on the front of the case are activity and temperature gauges they are great and very accurate. They plug in the mb in the front and have leads that go to the vid card and processor.

[What]

So my laptop will still have the speakers playing after I plug in headphones or external speakers. All drivers are up to date, and the issue seems to have appeared suddenly. If I stop my headphones from going all the way in then the speakers turn off and the headphones work alone, rather than in tandem with the computers speakers. Any suggestions?