Glitch PC Forums - Blogs http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php Glitch PC is a free computer help forum community, with Live Support. We offer free support to everyone, regardless of their PC skills. Our support covers most Windows-based operating systems, as well as support for malware, computer hardware, software, networking, security, computer programming, web design, web development and pc gaming. en Fri, 30 Jul 2010 23:03:03 GMT vBulletin 60 http://glitchpc.com/forums/blueevolution/misc/rss.jpg Glitch PC Forums - Blogs http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php Blame it on the heat wave! http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=41 Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:33:26 GMT Recently it was brought to my attention that I haven't been to Glitchpc.com in a while and since this horrible heat prevents me from doing what I am supposed to be doing, I thought it may be fun to write my first blog. I'm sure it won't be anywhere as entertaining as JJ's CPU Cooler blog but here goes anyway.
Spring, summer and fall are just too short for everything I need to do on my house and in my yards and the older I get the faster time goes. I have a bad habit of putting other people first so over the decades I have watched everyone else's homes improve by my hand while my place slowly fell apart. Well, you probably know the old saying about the shoemakers children going barefoot. This year things have changed! No more Ms. Nice Gran! I'm going to have a nice home before I die even if it kills me! (Ummmm, well, you know what I mean.)
I am surprised that I am getting ahead on my projects when everytime I turn around there is another birthday party, BBQ, baby shower, house warming or sporting event that I must attend. Construction and landscapeing just don't go with nicely manicured hands!
It's not until late in the evening that I can find a little time to go online and answer the days Email, hopefully without falling asleep on the keyboard waiting for my dialup. That's why I haven't been around.
Does this mean that I have done nothing with computers since I last posted? Of corse not! A girl has got to have a little fun every now and then! Remember my neighbours computer (OS Mess)? Believe it or not I got it up and running, installed some protection and other utilities and he has been very pleased with it since. I just kept trying different free recovery programs, each one getting me one step futher ahead, until it booted and I was able to replace the corrupt files. By the time it was done I couldn't remember what I had done and in what order so I didn't post it. From now on I am going to keep a log when I am tackleing a big job.
Thanks to all of the excellent core training I have received here I have also fixed two other computers without having to bother anyone! In the process I learned about beep codes ( Of course it had to be a little known Pheonix code that is unique to Dell instead of something easy!) and I got to use compressed air for the first time. I was amazed at how much dust came out of the computer!
My daughter has asked me to try and fix her computer so I may be asking some more questions soon! In the meantime I will keep looking for a photo for my profile. I have been looking for months but I still haven't found my good side. Until I find the right picture perhaps I will just use one of me doing a little landscapeing. Yes, that may do for now.
BTW- Love the relaxed robo!:smile2: ]]> techgranny http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=41 What would you do if you could travel back to 1977? http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=40 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:53:43 GMT I just found this article on the Internet that detailed what this one guy would do if he traveled back in time to 1977, complete with pictures!

http://www.behance.net/Gallery/ALT19...AVELERS/545221

Tux2 ]]> Tux2 http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=40 I has got me a CPU cooler! http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=39 Thu, 21 Jan 2010 08:16:29 GMT Finally got myself an after-market HSF, for my poor overheating AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition revision C3 CPU. Repeat that quickly, 10 times in... Finally got myself an after-market HSF, for my poor overheating AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition revision C3 CPU.
Repeat that quickly, 10 times in a row.
Go on. I dare ya!
It's the 125w TDP version, in short.

So it gets hot around here.
At times, so much so that even I break a sweat, which is usually something that requires temperatures of greater than 40°C.
Unless there's no breeze and humidity is off the scale.
On the odd occassion where all 3 of those elements are combined, one hides in airconditioning. Be it at the local shopping centre, or in the car.
Or at a mate's place, who can afford to run such electricity-hungry devices.

Naturally, one's computer system is sensitive to operating temperatures, that need to be within reasonable parameters, much like one's own biological make-up, in order to function properly and/or efficiently.
Amassed with this astounding knowledge, I went a-hunting for a good cooler, that wouldn't break my wallet. Or my bank.
Now, you'd think that finding a decent after-market CPU-cooler, that's actually worth the financial outlay in the budget-end of the proceedings, wouldn't be much of an issue. Especially when you consider the plethora of available options.
That's right. Most budget HSFs aren't worth the box they're in, much less have cooling capacity that matches, let alone exceeds, the stock HSF (which, by all accounts, is the best AMD has yet provided).

Now, I'd read a review by a local national highly-regarded (even by me) publication, that Aywun has a model that does exactly what it says.
So I figured, why not.
Of course, the model I was after, the Aywun A1-V8, was not in stock at any of the local suppliers.
As I'm not the patient type, nor interested in paying extra postage for a cooler, which would then cost as much as a well-known name-brand HSF I could get locally, I got the bigger brother.
Behold, the might of the A1-V10.

Pretty, isn't it?
Yes, you get the heatsink, the 120mm "98.2CFM" (figure-fudging aside) fan, as well as a speed controller (which I don't use. at max RPM, the fan is, for all intents and purposes, silent), all the relevant hardware to make this sucker fit to any motherboard bar socket 478, and some thermal paste, which I never opened.
Coz I'm a snob. I has used me some Arctic Silver 5 - the old stable-mate, that's still hard to beat, even after all these years.
The heatsink has five 8mm copper pipes, that run the length of both sides of the heatsink, and are in direct contact with the CPU's die.
Sweeet.

But... does it actually work?
No suspense. I hate that crap.
Just straight out with the answer.
All that beating-about-the-bush just gets my goat up.
Kind of like when people start explaining something to you and then go off the rails into subjects that have nary a bearing on the original conversation/explanation at hand.
That's just sooo annoying!

Oh

Yes.
By at least 10°C at maximum load, whilst overclocked to 4GHz (it's great to break that barrier), at 1.53v compared to a mild overclock (3.8GHz) at 1.46v.
This is die temperature, not core. Core temperatures are always higher, but the maximum die temperature for this CPU is a ludicrously low 62°C.
The core temps never went over 59°C. The die temps stayed below the 56°C mark, so it's all safe territory.
That's an astounding feat for such a cheap cooler, with a fairly decent 120mm fan.
During a cool night (only 24°C!), I was amazed to see it idle at 37°C. That's lower than any CPU I've ever had in my life. Considering this is the most powerful CPU I've ever personally had in my life, makes it all the more amazing.
At load, during that same cool night, temps never went beyond 52°C.

I'm happy, fo' sho'.

Would I recommend it to anyone?
If you're not overclocking, most certainly. It beats the stock HSF hands-down, by a considerable margin - both under load and whilst idle.
If you're considering a mild overclock, it would still be a great-little-153mm-high cooler.
On the other hand, if you're a serious overclocker, then you'd probably be best served going for a True, or a Scythe, or even a H50. Perhaps more serious water cooling, or even LN2. If you're that way inclined.
Thing is, this cooler equals or beats many coolers, that retail at double the price.

Now I just need to get myself another fan. Something a little more powerful, so I can use a push-pull configuration.
The way the fins are designed, means that the pull fan needs to be a higher capacity, than the push fan.
Temps will drop even further when that's in place.
Once I have that, I shall report back, erm, to myself.
This is a blog after all.
Which makes me think..

I'm typing to myself..

Second sign of going crazy? ]]> jjFarking http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=39 Finally Got My Free Laptop http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=37 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:35:46 GMT Well...

I finally got the free laptop I was waiting for. Dorothy's daughter gave it to me. It's an Acer TravelMate 4011WLCi.

The battery won't hold a charge, so I ordered a new one. I also forked out the money to max its RAM capacity from 512MB to 2GB. Worth the money...I suppose. Still waiting for the new battery to arrive.

I think I'll leave XP on it. Although it's just under 5 years old...it'll serve its purpose. ]]> GlitchPC http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=37 When a Computer Tech Buys a computer for himself, what does he do first? http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=36 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 23:25:24 GMT Well, I went out and bought myself a new laptop last night. It is a Compaq Presario CQ60-420US. 2GHz Dual Core CPU, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive,... Well, I went out and bought myself a new laptop last night. It is a Compaq Presario CQ60-420US. 2GHz Dual Core CPU, 3GB of RAM, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11b/g wireless card, ethernet port, 3 USB ports, and a 5-in-1 card reader, oh, it also has a Lightscribe DVD-RW drive. (There, now you don't have to ask me what kind it is and what the specs are. :biglaugh:) The operating system that is preinstalled on it is Windows Vista Home Premium. It had a free upgrade form to Windows 7 included as well.

So, what did I do when I took it out of the box?
The first thing I did was to go through the initial Out Of Box Experience, (OOBE). After I filled in the information and actually had a chance to use the laptop I made the 3 DVD set recovery discs.
This is important for everyone to do on computers that don't come with the recovery discs. The manufacturer almost always provides a way to make ONE backup copy to an optical medium (CD/DVD/DVD-DL,Blu-ray). If you don't make this, you will probably regret this later.

The next thing I did was to go to the website they had listed to get the free Windows 7 Upgrade (Yes, I want my Windows 7 upgrade!).
While your computer is burning those discs it is the perfect time to go through all of the rebates, and free upgrade offers for the laptop. It also gets your mind off of wanting to just play with it and it ensures that you will get your rebates, and not just thinking that you will do it later.

After I registered the laptop I went through the arduous process of removing all of the bloatware that came pre-installed.
Most factory built computers now a days have tons of pre-installed programs that the manufacturer hopes you will use and buy. This software also helps to slow down that brand new system that you spent so much money on. Some common things that I found on my system that got pre-installed was Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (Trial), Norton System Protection 2009 (Trial), HP games (also known as Wild Tangent games, nice spyware that comes pre-installed!), Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer 2007, Windows Live toolbar (hey, whoever uses this toolbar anyways?), among other things. Another common program that gets installed is McAfee. Now, even though I uninstalled the anti-virus programs that came with the computer, if you use and like the installed anti-virus, don't remove it.

When I was done with that whole process I went and downloaded the programs that I use on a daily basis.
Now that the computer is cleaned up you can start loading it up with your favorite programs. The first thing that you should always put on is your anti-virus program to keep you protected from all those viruses out there. Some free ones that are recommended on this site are Avast, AVG, and Avira. You also need spyware protection on your computer if your anti-virus program doesn't have it, a good free one out there is Spybot Search and Destroy.

After that I copied all my files from my old laptop to my new one.
Even though I did a manual copy of my files, some people might be more comfortable using Microsoft's Easy Transfer. What it does is migrates all of your old files and settings to your new computer.

Then, after I completed those things, I sat down and wrote this post. :spinny: ]]> Tux2 http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=36 New job! http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=35 Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:03:35 GMT Just thought I would let everyone know that I got my job at Overclockers.
I'm starting on Wednesday, working 3 days a week until my 2 weeks notice is up at my current job, then working full time from then on.
It's long hours, so I might not be here as much, but I'll try to minimise the impact.
I'm really happy that I got this job, means I'll actually be doing something close to what I want to do.
Thanks for the support everyone! ]]> Calum http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=35 What Santa Brung Me... http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=34 Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:28:57 GMT Well...apparently, I was a good boy! Santa was very good to me this year, though I may not have deserved it.

Here's a list of the things the jolly old elf left me, before drinking the milk and cookies we left for him...and crawling up the chimney:
  1. Grandpa & Me Photo Frame: Featuring "yours truly" and my granddaughter, Kori Lynn
  2. Sign for my door which reads, "Steve's Man Cave...Where Men Can Be Men"
  3. Logitech "Wave" wireless keyboard and mouse combo
  4. Vivatar 810HD, 8.1 Mega Pixel, Compact Digital Video Recorder
  5. Some Glitch PC merchandise...a cap and a few shirts
  6. Iron Man Gift Set: Mug, Frame and candy - for the kid in me
  7. Jeans - Levi's, of course! I have to exchange them, though...apparently Santa thought I was a tad skinnier
  8. Stocking full of "goodies", including a CD of Susan Boyle...She's not much to look at, but that woman can sing!
  9. Two bottles of Jovan cologne...my girlfriend's favorite...and mine, too
  10. Stanley 3-in-1 Tripod LED Flashlight
  11. Scented candles
  12. Two large mugs...filled with chocolate....mmm...mmm!
Well...that's pretty much it! I think I covered everything.

We spent the day at Dorothy's daughter's home and had some wonderful eats and I got to hold my grandson, Aiden.

All in all...it was my best Christmas ever!

I hope all of you enjoyed your Christmas, as well...and got everything you wanted. ]]> GlitchPC http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=34 Passed A+: IT Technician! http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=33 Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:23:40 GMT Well, I just passed the 220-602 (A+ IT Technician) exam, with 847/900.
Finally, I'm actually qualified to be an IT technician, at some level.
I'm so happy right now ... have to thank everyone on the site for the support you showed me when I took the Essentials exam, and also for teaching me what I know now and therefore helping me pass.
That's about all I have to say for now ... ]]> Calum http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=33 eBay http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=32 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:17:29 GMT I suddenly find myself addicted to eBay... what a shame. In the last 3 days I have purchased a PS3 for £209.99, a cable for said PS3 for £3.99, a... I suddenly find myself addicted to eBay... what a shame. In the last 3 days I have purchased a PS3 for £209.99, a cable for said PS3 for £3.99, a battery for my old Samsung D500 phone for £5.99, a DVD of 'most haunted' for £6.99 and a HDMI cable even though I have two, but it was a meter longer.. I'm buyer happy. This can only end in tears. ]]> Mulreay http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=32 PortableApps.com http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=31 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:19:28 GMT PortableApps.com?* PortableApps.com is a free, open-source, portable platform that...]]> What is PortableApps.com?
PortableApps.com is a free, open-source, portable platform that has almost all of your favorite open-source applications that can be run directly on a flash-drive with no admin privileges on the computer. It even boasts some popular applications such as Skype. It's the perfect solution to take your apps, your work, and even your favorite open-source games with you. No more fighting to get your work done on a computer that doesn't have the applications you need.

How does it work?
It lives on your flash drive, or external hard drive. When you plug in your device windows detects it and pops up (in windows XP, Visa, and 7) asking you if you want to launch PortableApps.com. Once it launches it lives in the system tray right next to the clock. You just click on the little icon and it shoots up it's own program menu, where you can choose from the programs you have installed on your USB drive.

How do I get started?
Just go to the PortableApps.com home page and download the Platform, there are 3 choices, with various applications preinstalled. Once you have it downloaded run the installer and tell it to install to the root directory of your USB drive. Once it is installed you can go through their extensive list of applications and customize it to your needs.

How do I uninstall an application I don't like?
Just open your USB drive and go to the PortableApps folder and delete the program's folder. Everything for that program resides in that directory. So this IS a clean uninstall.

Does it work in Linux?
Yes, most of the applications on the PortableApps.com platform work perfectly under wine in linux. Even I use my portable apps in linux. ]]> Tux2 http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=31 A+ exam tomorrow http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=30 Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:47:12 GMT Just wanted to let you guys know that I have my A+ Essentials exam, the first half of the A+, booked for 2pm tomorrow.
Wish me luck, and I'll post back tomorrow evening with either a time and date for a celebratory party, or for a consolation party.

Well, I'm kidding, what I mean is I'll let you guys know if you should be buying me a congratulatory present or one to cheer me up(A+ exam voucher would work in that case, not dropping too many hints or anything...) ]]> Calum http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=30 My Experience setting up a webserver using CentOS http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=29 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:37:09 GMT Setting up a webserver using linux shouldn't be that hard should it? I've set one up using Ubuntu first try, why would it be any different in CentOS? Well, yes and no. First of all, you might be wondering why I would be using CentOS if I knew that I could get one set up using Ubuntu. There's one simple reason for that: Ubuntu didn't have the raid driver for the server, and I wasn't going to go searching for a driver for it, too much time I thought. (Hind sight: Might have been easier).

So, here I've installed CentOS and also have the apache, php, and mysql packages installed. So far, so good. Let's see if it pulls up the It works page in firefox... So I went to 127.0.0.1 and, it said that it was unavailable. Hmm... so the service isn't running I though. So I went in and enabled the service and started it. Went back to firefox, and yay! I had my page... So, now, I need phpMyAdmin so I can manage the mySQL server. I download it off the internet and put it in the /var/www/htdocs directory. Went to firefox and it immediately complained that my PHP version wasn't high enough.... no problem, I'll just compile the PHP module from source... Well, let's just say that I messed up my whole CentOS installation doing that. :( Back to square one: Reinstall CentOS. Then I went to the internet to find how to get the new version of PHP in and found that it was in the testing packages. Yay! So I enabled the repository, and it worked! Let's just say that it went smoothly from there out and I was able to get Moodle installed.

What I learned through this:
When using CentOS to set up a webserver make sure you install PHP from the testing repository, unless you are fine with PHP version 5.1 (I needed 5.2), otherwise, good luck. ;)

Would I do it again? Only if I couldn't get Ubuntu installed on a computer. :mad3: ]]> Tux2 http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=29 Who is me? http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=28 Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:48:20 GMT I am here to learn how to fix my computer. Also a friend of mine recommended this =) Belle I am here to learn how to fix my computer. Also a friend of mine recommended this =)

Belle ]]> Belle http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=28 Ubuntu 9.10 is here! So, what is different about it? http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=27 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:29:12 GMT As all of you may be aware of, Ubuntu 9.10 came out late last month. As a user of Ubuntu, I was excited to see what was new in the new release. ... As all of you may be aware of, Ubuntu 9.10 came out late last month. As a user of Ubuntu, I was excited to see what was new in the new release. Here's what I found to be the most obvious:
--A new Package manager. They totally revamped the Add/Remove Package manager. Replacing it with an entirely new, easier to use, (at least for the newbies) Ubuntu Software Center. Their aim with this is to get some commercial companies to sell their software through this package manager.
--New updated packages that weren't available in Ubuntu 9.04. Some of the development team must have thought that instead of designing some of the stuff for 9.04, they should wait until 9.10. Good thought, bad for those users who don't upgrade.
--Some stuff isn't ported to the new 9.10 yet. Including one of my favorite applications: XBMC. So, I guess some open source people will be lagging for a month or so after the release... You might want to check and make sure the software you want can be installed before you upgrade. (unless you use the standard software that comes with Ubuntu)
--A Slightly updated look and feel. They updated the look with a new theme, which turns out to be a little bit darker than the original Human theme. I quickly went back to the old theme. On the positive note here, they did add a lot of new wallpaper, including a whole bunch of space shots as a desktop slide show. Guess what I am running. ;)

So, is it worth the upgrade? Yes, just make sure your application is on the list of programs though, or you might be in for a surprise.
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]]> Tux2 http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=27 Glitch PC Now Offers Live Support! http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=26 Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:10:41 GMT I have to tell you...I came across this freeware program called Live!Zilla...it's totally awesome. So much, in fact, I decided to make it a staple of our Free Computer Help Community and offer Live Support to all of our visitors and members.

Of course, it's not manned 24/7...however, if you visit us while our Operators are online...we can offer you support live. If we're offline...you can leave us a message...and we'll get back to you...as soon as possible.

As always, we still have our forum community...and that's another option for you...should you need help.

Just thought I'd give everyone a "heads-up"! ]]> GlitchPC http://glitchpc.com/forums/blog.php?b=26