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| General Hardware Questions
1. What would you recommend as a small server for my home?Reader: I am looking at building a small "server" for my home. What do you suggest? Would you recommend one of the newer 400 MHz computers?
Computer Doctor: For a small server I would recommend a system based on the SE440BX motherboard from Intel. This is a 100MHz or 66MHz CPU bus board that supports any Pentium II processor from the lowly Celeron all the way to the top of the line 400MHz Pentium II. Gateway, Dell, Micron and many others sell systems based on this board if you don't want to build your own from scratch.2. Would it be cheaper for me to upgrade my old Aptiva computer or buy a new one?Reader:I already have an IBM Aptiva 720 with a 75mz CPU, what problems would I have to look into if I just wanted to buy a new case, motherboard and CPU?
Computer Doctor:Your Aptiva system most likely uses an LPX form factor motherboard, which is unfortunately a proprietary design. What this means is that there are no other available motherboards, power supplies, or cases that will interchange with yours. The drawback is that this essentially renders your system as non-upgradeable, at least as far as those main components go.
The good thing is that since your system currently has a Pentium 75, you can probably upgrade it by changing ONLY the processor and get up to at least 200MHz (possibly more). Your motherboard probably has a Socket 5 design for the processor, which means it supplies 3.3 or 3.5v to the processor. To upgrade to 200MHz, you will need a socket capable of providing 2.8v to the processor (Socket 7), or a special processor and voltage regulator adapter combo that will allow the lower voltage processor to work in your socket. Intel makes such a processor called an "Overdrive" Pentium MMX processor, which is available at speeds up to 200MHz. These are sold via any Intel dealer.
There are also upgrade modules including voltage regulators which use the AMD or Cyrix Pentium clone processors and which will work in either Socket 5 or 7. These are available from companies like Evergreen and Kingston.
To get the full advantage of these upgrades, you will need to set your CPU bus speed (motherboard speed) to 66MHz. Currently your system is set to 50MHz. Look for jumpers on the motherboard and consult your documentation as for how to set them to get the 66MHz speed. Then install the new processor according to the directions you get with it.
As a side note, I have found that many 75MHz Pentiums (50MHz motherboard speed times 1.5 CPU multiplier) will run at 100MHz (66MHz x 1.5) by simply changing the bus speed jumper on the motherboard. If this worked for you, it would give you a 33% faster system for free!
Using one of these processor upgrades, you should be able to get to 200MHz (the speed of Intel's fastest Pentium Overdrive) with no problem, and there may even be versions running 233 or 266MHz from Evergreen or Kingston that may work for you.
Unfortunately because of your system's proprietary LPX motherboard design, you will not be able to take advantage of the inexpensive motherboard and CPU upgrades available. To prevent this from happening in the future, I recommend only purchasing systems which use ATX form factor motherboards, which are fully interchangeable and upgradeable.
3. What is the parallel port pin configuration for the ECC and EPP?Reader:I need to know the parallel port pin configuration for the ECC and EPP. I don't think its there in your book. Can you assist me there?
Computer Doctor: Sure, the pinouts are the same for all parallel ports no matter what the mode. What's in the book applies no matter whether it is standard, bi-directional, EPP, or ECP. 4. How would you connect a joystick to a laptop computer?Reader:I bought a notebook recently and a strange fact dawned on me: What do you do if you want to play a game on your laptop and you want to use a joystick? I have never heard of a PCMCIA card which allows you to plug in a joystick(I'm sure this would be quite pricey, too.
Computer Doctor:You need a "GameCard PRO" which can be used with any notebook or computer equipped with a PCMCIA type II Slot and provides the computer with an 'Industry Standard' games interface, because of this absolutely no modification of games software is required. Any game or program which can be controlled by PC joysticks will instantly recognize the GameCard PRO interface.
Internally, the card is 100% compatible with current analogue and digital joystick designs. The two fully implemented channels allow the use of either dual joysticks or multi-channel, multi-feature single joysticks - Making the interface compatible with dual player games and joysticks having extra fire buttons or channels for features such as throttle control. Connection to the joystick is via a normal sized 15 way D-connector.
The GameCard PRO package consists of PCMCIA type II card with rear I/O connector, High quality cable to connect between the card and joystick(s) - terminated in a standard 15 way D type connector, Software enablers and automated installation routine on 3.5" floppy disk, Installation and technical manual. The GameCard PRO has an R.R.P. of 49.99 pounds inc. V.A.T. (UK Price only)."5. Can you recommend a good sound card for recording live music?Reader:: I'm building a PC for my rock musician son-in-law who plans to record some of his band's noise on CD-R to use as master. Can you recommend some specific sound card that would be better suited for this specific need than say, a Soundblaster AWE 32? Also, what brand CD writer to choose? HP, Plextor, Phillips or what?
Computer Doctor: I am not into high end audio much these days, so you might be better off contacting other musicians to see what they are using. I can say that the AWE-64 or whatever Creative Labs current high end card is would probably be a good choice. As for CDROMs, the brand is not as important as the interface. Get a SCSI drive with a good Adaptec PCI SCSI adapter. I do like Yamaha drives (SCSI) lately since they seem to be the fastest overall and support the new CD-RW better than most. 6. I need to know if I can purchase software similar to what the technicians use in computer shops to diagnose computers.Reader: I need to know if I can purchase software similar to what the technicians use in computer shops to diagnose computers. I looked for the CheckIt program referenced on page 492 of the 12th edition as being on the companion CD-ROM, but didn't find it included on the CD-ROM.
Computer Doctor: Unfortunately that was an oversight; that comment should have been removed as we do not include that software with the latest edition.
Consider it a blessing in disguise, as the version of Check-It that was included in previous editions was only partially functional, not the full release. As a better alternative, I recommend you download the #1-TuffTEST Lite program for free from . It is an excellent diagnostic, better than Check-It and fully functional. You can get a more functional version of TuffTEST for under $10 and a professional version for under $30. These are all variations of the former PC Technician program which sold for $500! They are true hardware diagnostics which bypass the OS and directly verify hardware operation.
Other diagnostics I highly recommend include the Norton Utilities by Symantec http://www.symantec.com, MicroScope by Micro 2000 http://www.micro2000.com, and PC-Doctor http://www.pcdoctorstore.com. There are many more, but these are a good start.
7. Why don't OEM CPU's come with a fan?Reader: I'm confused about adequate cooling for my system. I notice that retail boxed CPU's come with a heatsink/fan attached, but CPU's sold for use by system builders don't. Why don't OEM CPU's come with a fan?
Computer Doctor: Most professionally designed systems from large OEMs such as Dell or Micron use a case mounted fan that draws air over or through a processor heatsink either openly or via a duct. This means that air drawn over and heated by the processor heatsink is directly vented to the outside, and that a passive heatsink (no fan) is used on the processor.
Heatsink/fan combinations are usually referred to as "active" heatsinks, and are intended for situations where a smaller computer company or a hobbyist is building the system. That is because it is hard for the average person to properly select and engineer a passive thermal solution (which normally requires knowing airflow volume and direction across the processor as well as ambient temperatures, however an active heatsink only requires that one know the maximum inlet temperature (i.e. internal case ambient).
This is why Intel and AMD attach an active heatsink to all of their "boxed" processors, which are designed for smaller system integrators or end users to install in typical chassis where airflow is not a well known quantity.
Large OEMs like passive heatsinks since they are normally less expensive, and if designed properly will work better. Most active heatsinks vent the hot air back into the case, which raises temperature inside the case overall and is simply less efficient. Not only are the (now usually ducted) case fans more efficient, they use larger fans for better cooling, and are more reliable in the long run too (larger fans last longer in general).
9. Looking for Books covering Data Recovery/RetrievalReader: I am having trouble finding any books or cds that deal with data recovery or retrieval whenever a hard disk or even a floppy or cd goes bad.
Computer Doctor: Unfortunately there aren't any books currently available on the subject that I am aware of. I started teaching Data Recovery classes back in 1987, and at that time it lead to me writing a book on the subject. I wrote "Que's Guide to Data Recovery" back in 1991. It covers the FAT file system in detail, and I haven't seen a more complete reference since. It predates FAT32 and NTFS, so those filesystems are not covered, although FAT32 is very similar to FAT12 and FAT16, so what you learn about those would apply. It never sold well and was taken out of print by my publisher quite some time ago.
Barring my out of print book, the simplest way to effectively learn data recovery is by trying it yourself. Purchase the latest versions of the Norton Utilities (or Norton SystemWorks) and begin playing with the DISKEDIT program on live (test) systems. DISKEDIT is absolutely the most powerful and ultimate tool in any data recovery toolkit, so learn it well. The documentation that comes with the program can be helpful as well.
Once you understand how boot sectors, FATs, directories, and the file system in general works, then you will be able to see how to rebuild and repair these areas. You'll also want to experiment with the DOS/Windows FDISK, FORMAT and SYS commands, as they are all very useful. This will give you an understanding of how more automated tools like NDD (Norton Disk Doctor, included with the Norton Utilities), UNFORMAT (Norton Utilities), Lost and Found (by PowerQuest), etc. all work. Sometimes I use automated utilities when I know they'll do more good than damage. Sometimes they can do more damage than good so you have to be careful with them.
10. Can I use PCI 2.1 cards on my PCI 2.0 compliant computer?Reader: I am planning to replace some old ISA sound and video cards with PCI cards, but the cards I want to buy support the PCI 2.1 bus specification, and my computer supports PCI 2.0. Can I use these cards in my system?
Computer Doctor: PCI 2.1 adds concurrent processing (the ability for PCI to transfer while the CPU bus and/or ISA bus are also transferring), a couple of new card ID data elements added, and a few other minor changes, including some things which were optional in PCI 2.0 made mandatory in 2.1. For the most part these changes were very minor, and most PCI 2.1-compliant cards will work in PCI 2.0 systems.
To find out for certain if a particular PCI 2.1 card will work in a PCI 2.0-compliant system, check with the card manufacturer. I know that many newer video cards do require PCI 2.1, and will not work in older 2.0 systems.
Another issue is that with the older PCI 2.0 standard is that most systems had only one busmaster slot. PCI 2.1 systems feature all busmaster slots, and some cards require a busmaster slot to work. Consult your motherboard documentation to see if one or more of your PCI slots have busmaster capabilities.
Note also that if you use a lot of older software, especially any that is DOS or Windows 3.1- based, you will not want a PCI sound card. Most older software will have problems working with these cards since they don't use ISA DMA channels like ISA cards do. If you use only Windows 95 or later software, then you shouldn't have any problems.
11. How do I avoid counterfeit computer hardware?Reader: I've heard a lot about about fake motherboards, video cards, etc. Does this stuff work at all? How can I avoid getting ripped off.
Computer Doctor: Fakes are counterfeits: they may work but the essence of the fakery is that a cheap and/or low-performance device is being sold as if it's more expensive. For example, a cheap motherboard could be re-labeled as a more expensive brand/model. Here's ASUS's guide to counterfeit vs authentic ASUS motherboards: http://www.asus.com.tw/Company/right.html and an article about fake SOYO motherboards: http://www.maximumpc.com/content/2000/12/01/12308
A cheap video card can have its chipset ID altered; a CPU can be remarked as a faster model. Here are some articles about the problem of remarked CPU and other parts:
http://malaysia.cnet.com/internet/guidebook/Remarkers/index.html http://www.marstechnologies.com/link2/990128/
http://www.tweakit.com/remarked.html
http://www.computernerd.com/futu28.html
This goes on all the time. I have quite a collection of counterfeit parts. There were fake parity SIMMs http://www.kingston.com/tools/bits/bit6.asp, motherboards with fake cache on them , actually pieces of plastic made to look like cache chips, but with no circuit in them and no power to the chips! Fake mice - take a cheap $2.32 mouse and make it look like a $35 MS mouse and you can rip people off for $20 and make them think they're getting a deal on the real thing.
The latest counterfeit was with Adaptec SCSI cards. http://www.adaptec.com/worldwide/company/pressrelease.html?pressCat=/Home+Page&prodkey=10252000&cat=/Company/Press.
And of course there are tons of fake copies of OEM Windows, Office, and many other MS products available.
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/companies/watch/microsoft/docs/045438.htm
http://www.maximumpc.com/content/2000/04/06/11156
As PT Barnum reportedly said "There's a sucker born every minute." The best place to find counterfeit stuff is at the local computer shows and flea markets, oh yeah and Ebay too. The fakes are so good unless you know what to look for it's hard to tell them from the real thing. Don't be a sucker, buy your stuff from reputable sources.
12. Where can I buy Static Protection equipment for working on PCs?Reader: I would like to know where I can get a work station mat and metal wrist strap like the ones you use in your computer assembly-disassembly videos for static protection of the equipment.
Computer Doctor: You'll see a kit like the one I used at http://www.tecratools.com/pages/datacom/esd.html. I think the more expensive 3M kit is like the one I use with a metal "Speidel" watch type wrist strap. You can also get that type of strap from http://www.texastechnologies.com/grounding.html.
13. I need help with diagnosing the cause of my system "hanging" up.Reader: I am having problems diagnosing a PC which is "hanging". What are the key places to check first?
Computer Doctor: I recommend you start by stripping the system to as few components as possible (for example, just a video card). Then retest. Add components until it starts hanging again. The last component you added is most likely the culprit. If it hangs even when stripped, then possibly the motherboard, processor or RAM are bad, in that case replace them one at a time and retest.
Similarly, if you are trying to install a new motherboard, you should install just the motherboard, RAM, CPU, and video (either integrated or add-on, depending on the board) to start with. Make sure the new motherboard works in this 'barebones' configuration, then add one card at a time until you have populated the system. If the system stops working after you add a component, that component is either defective or is conflicting with the rest of your system.
14. I've installed a new video card and now my system will not go into hibernate mode, please help!Reader: I have a new Micron PC and new Sony display; both are Energy Star compliant. After I installed a new ATI All-in-Wonder Pro 128, the system was no longer able to go into hibernate mode. The nohiber.txt file states that there is a system conflict with the following file atippcap.vxd and it says that hibernate is not supported by the audio driver.
Computer Doctor: Hibernation is tricky on most systems. I would contact Micron to see if there are updated ACPI (power management) or other chipset drivers for your motherboard that may help. I also recommend you go to ATI's web site and download the latest drivers from their site for the video card. If installing the latest motherboard and video card drivers doesn't help, then you could try a clean install of Windows (and all your drivers) to see if that will help (but that will be a lot of work). If none of this helps you'll either have to live without hibernation, or find a suitable replacement video card that won't cause the feature to be disabled. Now you know why companies like Gateway, Micron, Dell, etc. select only certain components to be factory-installed in their systems. There are many small interaction problems and conflicts that can arise between products from different manufacturers!
15. The fans on my PC are making noise, how can I reduce the noise?Reader: The fans in my computer are making noise. Is there a type of lubrication or something else that I could use to quiet them down? I have cleaned them with compressed air.
Computer Doctor: If the fans (which can be located on the front or back sides of the PC case or on the CPU) are making noise, they are due for replacement. The bearings are not designed to be lubricated and if you try you'll most likely succeed in getting oil on the internal components. Anytime I've tried to lubricate a fan, all it did was make it quiet for a very short time; the fan still failed. For replacements make sure you get only fans that use ball-bearing motors. If the power supply fan is making noise, replace the entire power supply, since it isn't designed to be disassembled.
16. What's the difference between open and closed jumper?Reader: What do the terms "Open" and "Closed" mean when applied to jumper blocks used for setting up CPU speeds, master/slave jumper on drives, and so forth?
Computer Doctor: An open jumper has no jumper block installed across it or has the jumper block attached to only one pin. A closed jumper has a jumper block across both pins simultaneously to connect the signal between them. | |
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