If your iTunes software is refusing to open, even after you have reinstalled, you need to completely uninstall iTunes and then re-download it and reinstall. Just installing the new version over the old isn’t going to work because it doesn’t remove the corrupted support files.
Win XP: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1925
Vista / 7: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Serial ATA (SATA) and Parallel ATA (PATA) are two different (and incompatible) connection standards for hard drives, optical drives and other storage media.
PATA is also called IDE, EIDE, ATA-5, ATA-6 and UltraATA. It uses a 40 pin (desktop) or 44 pin (laptop) ribbon cable and connector. Desktop PATA drives typically also have a 4 pin Molex power connector. Laptop PATA interfaces incorporate the power into the 44 pin connector.
Serial ATA drives use a 4 pin data connector, and a 9 pin power connector. The cables are much smaller and more flexible than the PATA ribbon cables.
SATA vs PATA (IDE) drive connections
Serial ATA controllers and drives come in three different speed standards; SATA I 1.5 Gbps, SATA II 3.0 Gbps and SATA III 6.0 Gbps. The drives and controllers are backwards compatible, so the speeds can be interchanged, and will automatically run at the speed of the slower device. The distinction between 3.0 Gbps and 6.0 Gbps is lost on hard drives, because a rotating hard drive can’t match even the 3.0 Gbps bandwidth, but it can show performance increase on flash based SSD drives and high end RAID arrays of hard drives. For the highest speeds, both the drive and the motherboard SATA controller must support 6.0 Gbps operation.
Serial ATA uses one motherboard connector and one data cable per drive. An external version of SATA with more robust connector and cable design is called eSATA. There is an eSATA mode called Port Multiplier which allows up to four hard drive data signals to be carried one eSATA cable. This requires both the controller and the device to be Port Multiplier (PM) capable, and due to the bandwidth limitations of the single port, the data transfer is not as fast as four individual drives on four separate ports. SATA Background
PATA (EIDE) comes in three speeds IDE-33, IDE-66, IDE-100 (plus IDE-133 which was never an official standard but was a speed promoted by the drive company Maxtor).IDE-33 was used by optical drives long after hard drives had standardized on the faster 66 or 100 form. In general though, a PATA or EIDE drive will be compatible with any PATA or EIDE connection. One PATA motherboard connector typically supports two drives, a Master and a Slave. PATA ribbon cables usually have two drive connectors separated by a few inches. Background
SATA and PATA hard drives usually come in 2.5″ wide (laptop) and 3.5″ wide (desktop) formats, although there are some 1.8″ and smaller variants used in netbooks and audio players.
Cookies are not malware. They are small text files that are written to your hard drive by your Web browser. There will be a separate batch of cookies for each different web browser program you run (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari). Cookies are not indicative of your machine being infected by a virus, even if your Antivirus program flags that you have “x” number of cookies.
Cookies in themselves are not a threat. They are simply text files which store information from a particular website that you have visited, so that when you go back to that website, it can retain some information from your prior visit. Without cookies, a website couldn’t remember from page to page that you had logged in to your account at that site, or keep track of the products you had put in your shopping cart at shopping site.
In theory, a cookie can only be read by the web site that wrote it, so Amazon cannot read the cookies that were written by Netflix, for example. There is one cause for concern however, and that is with tracking cookies from third party advertising networks. You know when you go to one site and it has a banner ad for Nike shoes, for example, and then on a completely different website there is also a Nike banner ad? Those ads are provided by advertising networks (doubleclick, 2o7, yieldmanager, adfarm, admax, atwola, effectivemeasure, eyereturn and many others), and those servers will write cookies to your machine to track what sites you have been to, in order to customize the delivery of ads and to sell the aggregate information to advertisers. Although this is supposedly anonymous, it is still tracking your behaviour online in a way you may not like, and the potential is there for personally identifiable information to be collected (perhaps in combination with other techniques like Web Beacons, embedded graphics, Flash and other scripting that runs along with an ad).
You can delete cookies, either within your Web browser software itself, with cache cleaning software like CCleaner (Win) or OnyX (Mac), or using your antivirus program.
Keep in mind that as soon as you get on to any websites, then new cookies will start appearing.
You can opt out of accepting cookies globally in your web browser settings (usually found under the Privacy, Security, or Content option menus). But this may give you problems with any banking, commerce or subscription sites you want to use. Alternatively, you can block cookies from specific sources with your Web browser software, and also refuse third-party cookies (that is, cookies written by servers other than the one whose page you are visiting)
Managing cookies in:
Firefox
Chrome
Safari
Internet Explorer
For Firefox, there is an add on called Taco which opts out of 100s of known add tracker and web beacon sources.
In addition, you should consider limiting permission for scripts and pop ups to run in your browser. http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/05/blocking-javascript-in-the-browser/
For Firefox, the add-in NoScript allows you to control what scripts from what servers are permitted to run
More info on cookies
http://www.aboutcookies.org/Default.aspx?page=1
http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/
What will happen if I have to reinstall or if my hard drive has problems?
Apple offers the Lion OSX 10.7 operating system upgrade for sale by download, but no longer sells it on DVD.
If you have installed Lion on your machine, you can make a bootable backup of the installed on a DVD or on a USB memory stick
The easiest way is probably to use Lion DiskMaker software http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/39701/lion-diskmaker
Or you can do it manually following these instructions http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/08/make-a-bootable-mac-os-x-10-7-lion-installer-from-a-usb-flash-drive/
Keep in mind that this is only for people who have purchased the downloadable installer from Apple because it requires the installer files.
Of course, for any Mac owner, you should have a backup hard drive to back up your data files to, either with TimeMachine or with a backup utility like SuperDuper. You can create a bootable external hard drive by cloning your existing drive with SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner.
If your machine powers on but Windows does not load properly, the first step is to try restarting in Safe mode – Start the machine, and hit F8 while it is starting, you should get to a text screen which gives you a choice of Safe Mode or Safe Mode with Networking. Safe mode only boots the machine with basic Windows software, and allows you to troubleshoot or recover files. http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true
If there is an option for it, choose the “Last Known Good Configuration” http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307852/en-us
Or choose a System Restore point back to a date when you know the machine worked http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084/ System Restore will not erase your data, but it will uninstall any software or system updates you made after that date.
If that doesn’t work:
Repair the Registry http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545
If that doesn’t work, start the machine from the Windows XP disk and do a Windows Repair installation. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/
Microsoft list of things to do if Windows doesn’t boot http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308041/en-us
If you can boot, check the SMART status of your hard drive to see if it may be a failing drive http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/smart.htm
http://www.ariolic.com/activesmart/hard-disk-smart-status.html
If it is a hardware issue, address the problem or take the machine to a technician
Once it is running:
Scan for viruses and trojan horses and clear caches in Safe mode
CCleaner (cleans out caches) http://www.ccleaner.com
MalwareBytes http://www.malwarebytes.org/
Superantispyware: http://www.superantispyware.com/superantispywarefreevspro.html
Avast! 4 Home: http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html
Update the device drivers for your hardware by visiting the manufacturers sites for your motherboard/computer, video card, and other devices, and downloading and installing the latest drivers for your model.
Make sure that you are running up to date anti-virus software, and keep your Windows OS and other software like Adobe Flash and Web browsers completely up to date.
If a crash happens always while running a specific piece of software, uninstall it and reinstall the latest version of that software.
If a crash happens only after the machine has been on for some time, and only when the machine is under load (watching videos, playing games, doing compute-intensive tasks) then it may be a heat-related hardware problem. Make sure the machine is clean of dust, and that the fan(s) and air vents are functioning properly.
Hang up the phone immediately. This is a scam.
(Never believe a phone caller. If your service provider really needed to contact you, you could hang up and call them back on their support phone number, which you can easily verify)
Outfits based in India are calling households claiming to be working on behalf of “your ISP” or “your service provider”. They will tell you that they have detected problems on your machine and you must fix them, or that your machine has been detected ‘making illegal downloads’ or ‘spreading viruses’.
They will then offer to fix it for you. They will either ask for a credit card right away for the fee to fix it, or they will ask you first to download some software or go to a website so that they can ‘fix’ the machine for you. They will try to convince you that this is required or you will be cut off by your service provider.
The software or website will install a virus or remote control software on your machine that allows them to disable your machine. Then they will demand hundreds of dollars from you to ‘fix’ it. It is blackmail. Of course they are also free to abuse your credit card information and to troll through your computer looking for passwords or banking information to steal.
If you have given out your credit card number, call your bank right away, explain the scam and cancel the card.
If you have downloaded any of their spyware / malware or visited their website, immediately pull out the cable that connects your machine to the internet, or turn off your wireless router. Do not let them attach to your machine – they can’t do anything more if your machine is physically disconnected from the net.
Call your ISP or broadband service provider and report it to them, and ask for their advice. You may want to change your email address, and ask the ISP to assign you a new IP address for your broadband modem.
If they were active on your machine for any length of time, they could have downloaded private information from your machine. If you use financial websites, or have your credit card information stored on the machine, or have other confidential logins and passwords, you may have to change all of those cards, numbers, login IDs and passwords as well. Ask your bank for advice. Your local Better Business Bureau is also a resource for defending against frauds.
At the very least, take the time now to change all of your online passwords to something secure (a long password with a mixture of letters, numbers, Upper and lower case, and symbols if the site allows them.) Do not use the same password for every site, make them different.
Even if you were running antivirus software, by installing the software yourself, you have bypassed much of the antivirus protection. This is called a Trojan Horse attack, because you have explicitly invited the attacker in past your defenses. Assume now that your machine is now virus / malware infected, and do not plug it back into the Internet until it is cleaned up. Their software could ‘phone home’ to them as soon as you have a connection.
Without knowing the exact nature of the malware, you need to take a shotgun approach. Here are instructions for removing the most common viruses
Note: ComboFix – this powerful tool can do some damage if not used in the right situation, so it could be skipped in the first attempt
Install and enable a firewall with both incoming and outgoing detection
ZoneAlarm Firewall
www.zonealarm.com/ download free version
or Comodo Personal Firewall
personalfirewall.comodo.com/free-download.html
The malware may be a rootkit, here are additional instructions for removing one common class of rootkit
Obviously, you won’t be able to download the repair tools on your machine while it is disconnected. Go to someone else’s computer and get the tools you need, and copy them onto a USB memory stick or burn them to a CD to bring them back to your infected machine.
Please let your friends and relatives know that these scammers are out there, and to hang up the phone (or delete the scam email without clicking on it).
More info on Scams
BBB Scam Source: www.bbb.org/canada/scam-source/
RCMP Scam and Fraud page: www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/index-eng.htm
Canadian Anti-Fraud centre: www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/english/home-eng.html
ABC Fraud quiz: www.abcfraud.ca/
Financial and investment fraud – BC Securities Commission: www.befraudaware.ca/fraud-warning-signs?gclid=CKSr7uWFvrQCFQ_hQgodJ3IAMA
The first step is always to create and Administrative login account on the computer, which the children do not have the password for. Change the login account(s) the children use to Standard or limited privileges to prevent them from installing software or changing the settings.
For Mac, you can enable Parental Controls, Automatic filtering, and then customize it by entering specific sites in the Always Allow and Never Allow lists http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2900
To block specific websites from your machine you can use the Hosts file. Where you find the hosts file depends on your version of Windows.
Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7
C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Windows 2000
C:\WINNT\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Before you start, backup the Hosts file and put the copy somewhere safe, in case something goes wrong you can revert to the backup file.
http://www.overclock.net/faqs/44143-how-use-hosts-file-block-websites.html
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2003/05/13/use-the-hosts-file-to-block-web-sites
In Internet Explorer: Tools > Internet options > Privacy > Sites then add the address of the site or the URL, and choose Block (this only works for IE of course)
or
How do I prevent my children from accessing bad websites?
——————————————–
Google for Parental Controls
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-control_software
Some ISPs offer parental control software with your subscription – ask your ISP what is available.
Commercial products (not an endorsement)
NetNanny http://www.netnanny.com/products/netnanny
Cybersitter http://www.cybersitter.com/predl.htm
HideTools http://www.hidetools.com/
Both Internet Explorer and Firefox offer content restriction
FoxFilter https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4351
Content Advisor for IE
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/ie6/using/howto/security/contentadv/config.mspx
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Internet-Explorer-Content-Advisor-frequently-asked-questions
Vista and OSX have some parental control features built in
OSX 10.5 http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/parentalcontrols.html
Vista: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/parental-controls.aspx
Windows 7 Parental Controls and Windows Live Family Safety http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/parental-controls
Microsoft also offers options to restrict the Windows features available
SteadyState: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/sharedaccess/default.mspx
Spyware Blaster blocks the URLs of known malware sites from your browser http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,23106/description.html
McAfee Site Advisor flags websites security risks as you browse: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,62594-order,1-page,1/description.html
Block Pop ups
Firefox http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Pop-up%20blocker
IE http://support.microsoft.com/kb/843016
http://download.cnet.com/windows/popup-blocker-software/
Safari http://www.technipages.com/safari-enabledisable-pop-up-blocker.html
Where can I find my WPA or WEP key?
———————————–
You created it when you set up your Wi Fi router. Hopefully you wrote it down- the best place to record it is the inside cover of your router’s manual.
If it’s not your router, ask the router’s owner.
There are two main passwords, the administration interface password and the wireless password (key).
(If it is your router, and you have forgotten the admin password, then you will have to reset the router to factory defaults, and re set it up from scratch. Consult the router’s owners manual for instructions.)
Resetting router to factory defaults
Netgear: kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9665
Linksys: www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?pid=80&vw=1&articleid=4008
D-Link: www.dlink.com/support/faq/default.aspx?question=Reset
Belkin: en-us-support.belkin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/48/~/performing-a-hardware-reset-on-the-router
TP-Link: www.tp-link.com/ca/article/?articleid=109
Asus Support Center: support.asus.com/ServiceHome.aspx?SLanguage=en
Trendnet www.trendnet.com/kb/kbp_viewquestion.asp?ToDo=view&questId=406&catId=309
When you reset the key on the router, you will have to use that new key on all devices that attach by WiFi to the router.
Remember to set an administrative username and password immediately, so it can’t be hacked:
Netgear: http://kb.netgear.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1024
Cisco/Linksys: http://www6.nohold.net/Cisco2/ukp.aspx?pid=80&login=1&app=search&vw=1&articleid=19584
D-Link: http://www.dlink.com/support/faq/default.aspx?question=password
Belkin: http://en-us-support.belkin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/30/~/setting-the-router%27s-administrator-password
Trendnet: http://www.trendnet.com/kb/kbp_viewquestion.asp?ToDo=view&questId=410&catId=309
Read the manual or download the information for your specific router, it varies by brand and model.
For additional security, you could restrict access by MAC address , (although this will make it much harder for friends to bring their computers or smartphones over and hook up). Every device has a unique Ethernet serial number called the MAC address, so in many routers you can identify which devices you will allow onto you network.
Keep in mind that all of the above security precautions can still be gotten past with dedication and time.
For ultimate security, you could turn off WiFi in the admin interface, or simply put your router on a powerbar and turn off the switch when you are not using it (just be careful that you are not turning off net access for streaming media and internet based phones if you have those.)
Audacity is a great program for Windows and Mac – here are some links for it and for additional resources
www.computer-answers.ca/2011/music-recording/q-i-downloaded-audacity-to-edit-mp3s-now-how-do-i-use-it/
Sony Acid Express (Win only) www.sonycreativesoftware.com/download/freestuff
MULab Free (Mac and Win shareware) www.mutools.com/mulab-product.html
Rosegarden (Linux) www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/Rosegarden/
And of course, GarageBand comes with every new Mac
More resources:
Shareware Music Machine http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/
SonicSpot http://www.sonicspot.com/music.html
FreeMusicSoftware http://freemusicsoftware.org/
You can also look on C|Net (download.com) for shareware and freeware music tools for Mac download.cnet.com/mac/audio-production-recording-software/?tag=rb_content;main
and Windows download.cnet.com/windows/audio-production-and-recording-software/?tag=rb_content;main
Computer Music magazine comes with a suite of freeware tools on the cover DVD
Also: Hit the library and read up in back issues of magazines, or subscribe, to Electronic Musician, Keyboard, Computer Music, FutureMusic, Sound on Sound, Recording and Mix – they have hundreds of how-to articles and comparative reviews of software, instruments, equipment and interfaces.
If you search on YouTube, you’ll find all kinds of tutorial videos for the program(s) you are using. Here are links to some other online tutorials for
Audacity:
audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/tutorials.html
Garageband:
acomp.stanford.edu/tutorials/garageband_music_composing
www.apple.com/findouthow/music/
Looping:
www.loopblog.net/category/tutorials/
www.videomaker.com/article/14205/
General music making tutorials:
www.hitsquad.com/smm/tutorials.html
www.world-of-songwriting.com/home-music-recording.html
www.kevinkemp.com/homerecordingtutorial
The easiest way is to buy an external hard drive. Yes, it will cost some money but you really need to have a backup drive for your data. Don’t ever trust your data to one media device only. Every hard drive in the world will fail sooner or later.
If you are replacing your hard drive, you could buy the replacement internal hard drive plus an external enclosure. That makes it easy to do the migration – put the new drive in the enclosure, clone the old drive to the new, then physically swap the drives. If the old drive is still functional, you can use it in the enclosure as a backup or data transport drive.
If you are reformatting the existing drive in place, then you can clone the internal drive to the new external, reformat it, and then either clone the drive back, or bring back just the folders you need, including the music.
A good program for cloning a drive is HDClone http://www.miray.de/products/sat.hdclone.html
or
Acronis TrueImage or DiskDirector http://www.acronis.com/
Your hard drive manufacturer may also offer some software by download
Seagate DiskWizard http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard
Western Digital TrueImage http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119
For a Mac,
CarbonCopyCloner http://www.bombich.com/
or
SuperDuper http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
The alternative is to use a USB memory keychain ‘drive’ to copy off your data folders, but for the cost of 32 GB or 64 GB flash drives, you are better looking at a 250 GB or larger hard drive. The hard drive will also be much faster than the flash drive.
VGA Cable
It depends what outputs you have on the computer, and what inputs you have on the TV.
If you have a VGA output on the compter only, then you will have to have a VGA input on the TV.
There is no economical way to convert the analog VGA signal to digital DVI or HDMI – there are encoder boxes but they will cost $60 + and they will not improve the quality over VGA. You would be better off buying a new video card for the desktop machine (not an option for laptops).
DVI Cable
If the computer has a DVI or HDMI output, you can go to a DVI or HDMI input on the monitor with the appropriate cable. You can also convert from DVI to HDMI with a DVI-HDMI cable because the digital video signal is the same between the two interfaces.
Keep in mind that unless it is a good quality TV, the screen view may be lower resolution and lower quality than you would expect.
DVI to HDMI adapter cable
Also, VGA and DVI do not handle audio, so you will not get sound on the HDMI input on the TV if you go DVI to HDMI or if you run VGA direct. You will have to run sound separately though analog audio cables or a digital audio cable to a receiver. Typically, you would use a Y cable to go from the 3.5mm stereo headphone output of the computer to two RCA inputs (right and left) on the TV, powered speakers, or a stereo receiver. If you have HDMI output on the computer, double check that your video card supports sound on HDMI.
If you have a Macintosh, you may have a Mini-DVI or a Mini-DisplayPort or a Thunderbolt video output, depending on your model. There are adapters that will go from each of these to DVI or HDMI.
There are several other possible analog inputs for TVs, none of which are good for computer monitor use because their quality will be too low.
If you have to, there are adapters that will bring out a component or composite signal from a computer’s VGA output, and there are encoding boxes that will generate S-Video or Composite analog signals from an HDMI digital input, but these can get pricey.
Component YPbPr video – three RCA jacks, usually red, green and blue
Component video jacks
S-Video– a round multi-pin connector – better quality than Composite, not as good as Component
S-video Connector
Composite video – one RCA jack, usually yellow. The poorest quality video signal.
RF input – a “cable” screw connector. This isn’t a video signal at all, this is a television cable or broadcast signal. To use this jack, the TV has to have a tuner, and the source signal must be modulated into a TV signal on channel 2 or 3. This is seldom if ever a workable solution.
The space used on your hard drive is data that you have put on it, plus the operating system, plus any programs you have installed and the data files they generate.
Have you Emptied your Trash? When you throw files away they don’t get deleted from the drive until you Empty.
Have you been downloading music or movies or games? The obvious answer is to delete the stuff you have downloaded and no longer need, or move them to external hard drive or DVD-Rs.
Are you using torrents?
Are you automatically subscribed to podcasts?
You can run a program CCleaner which will clean out caches and temporary files www.piriform.com/ccleaner
You can run a program called PCDeCrapifier which will delete unneeded software that the manufacturer shoveled onto the drive. pcdecrapifier.com
Your machine may have some program that is not erasing its temp files properly, or a runaway log file. Try TreeSize (free or paid) or WinDirStat (free) or Directory Report ($25) to help locate which files and directories are oversized.
Clear out your Windows Update cache en.kioskea.net/faq/2471-windows-cleaning-the-update-cache
You can limit the amount of hard drive that Windows System Restore uses for storing Restore Point information:
Win 7 www.mydigitallife.info/how-to-change-windows-7-system-restore-system-protection-disk-space-usage-size-limit/
Win Vista www.mydigitallife.info/change-and-set-vista-shadow-copy-or-system-restore-disk-space-limit-in-explorer-gui/
Decide if you want to disable Hibernate mode www.howtogeek.com/howto/7564/how-to-manage-hibernate-mode-in-windows-7 Definitely do this if you have an SSD drive.
Here is a list of other options:
download.cnet.com/1770-2248_4-0.html?query=File+size&searchtype=downloads&rpp=10&filter=platform=Windows&filterName=platform=Windows&tag=pe-searchFacetsTile;navForm
Do you have more than one partition on your drive? You may have a 300 GB drive but if it is divided into a partition of 60 GB as C: and 240 GB as D: drive, you could well be running out of space on your C: drive (your default boot drive) while there is lots of room on D:. Unfortunately, you can’t easily transfer free space from one partition to another. Trying to do so will result in all data from one or both partitions being deleted. You can try backing up all the data from the second partition (D: in this example but it may be different on your machine) and expanding the size of the primary partition C:. Please read up on instructions for your specific version of Windows before attempting this.
Windows 7 www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2670-partition-volume-extend.html
Commercial and freeware partition products
Acronis Disk management products: www.acronis.com/?gclid=COOIqKuN_LECFeaDQgodNDkABg
EaseUS Partition Master download.cnet.com/EaseUS-Partition-Master-Home-Edition/3000-2248_4-10863346.html?tag=mncol%3bpop&cdlPid=10982635
For Mac:
WhatSize will find the large files whatsizemac.com
OnyX will allow you to delete temporary files www.macupdate.com/app/mac/11582/onyx
Monolingual will allow you to delete unneeded foreign language resources in OSX 10.4 – 10.6. monolingual.sourceforge.net
Ultimately, if you want to keep the data you have, you may need to get a larger hard drive and clone your existing drive onto it. www.computer-answers.ca/2012/computer-questions/windows-questions/q-how-do-i-get-the-data-off-my-hard-drive-so-i-can-reformat-or-replace-it
You can upgrade the video card in a desktop Windows machine as long as
1) The motherboard has an available PCIe x16 slot,
2) There is physical space in the case for a full length, double width card (most modern gaming cards are large, so compact chassis and small form factor machines likely won’t take them),
3) The power supply has enough power (in Watts) that the video card manufacturer recommends
and
4) The powersupply has the PCI-Express Graphics (PEG) Power connectors that the card needs
Refer to the video card manufacturer’s specifications for the recommended minimum power requirements. Make sure you know that the power supply has enough 6 pin or 8 pin PCI-Express Graphics (PEG) power connectors for the card. There are certification programs for SLI compatible power supplies and Crossfire compatible power supplies.
This web calculator allows you to estimate the size of power supply you need http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
You often have to upgrade a power supply before you can install a gaming video card. Most over-the-counter Dell, HP and Compaq machines have the lowest possible capacity of power supply built in. Make sure that your machine will take a standard ATX format power supply before purchasing. Some consumer machines and small form factor machines take a smaller or proprietary PSU design and cannot be upgraded with a standard full sized PSU.
If your machine has an insufficient power supply or no PEG connectors, you could choose a low power video card that doesn’t require additional PEG power connectors, but you will not get good gaming performance.
Multiple Cards: If you are planning to run Crossfire (AMD) or SLI (Nvidia) mode with two or more video cards, make sure that the power supply is SLI/Crossfire certified and has enough power cables for all the cards you are planning for (typically two per card). The motherboard has to have enough PCI-e video card slots and be SLI compatible or Crossfire compatible, and the case has to have room for the cards.
You also have to get two identical cards or two near-identical cards from the same chipset family. For example you can’t do SLI with a GTX- series card and a GT- series card together. Check with AMD or nVidia for details before buying. If you are pairing two different cards, the graphics memory on the larger card will be reduced to match the memory of the smaller card.
For relative gaming performance of different cards, here are some charts
Tom’s Hardware 2012 GPU charts www.tomshardware.com/charts/2012-vga-gpgpu/benchmarks,135.html
High End Graphics 2011 Gamer Index
Enthusiast Index
Passmark video benchmark charts
Notebook video performance comparison
Other common video card questions are –
Q. Can I use a PCI-e 3.0 card in a PCI-e 2.0 x16 slot?
A. Yes. PCI-e 3.0 is backwards compatible with PCI-e 2.0, it will just run with the speed and features of 2.0
Q. If I don’t have / have enough PCI-e power cables on my power supply, can I add them?
4 pin Molex To PCI-e Power Adapter
A. Maybe. First of all, the power supply has to have enough capacity to support the additional load. There are two varieties of PCI-e Graphics (PEG) power plugs, 6-pin and 8-pin. The PCI-e power connection is rated for 12 Volts at up to 75W each (6-pin) and 150W each (8-pin), so adding multiple plugs means that your power supply has to support it. Check the specifications of the power supply and of the video card.
There are adapters that will take the power from two Molex (4-pin) hard drive power connectors and deliver it to one PCI-e power plug. If you are installing a video card that requires two 8-pin PEG connectors, or two video cards requiring two PEG connectors each, you will almost certainly have to upgrade the power supply. (Note, do not mistake the 8 pin ATX motherboard power connector for an 8 pin PEG connector, although it is visually similar it has different voltages. The PEG connector will be labelled “PCI-e”.)
Q. Can I put a graphics card with a 60nm video chip into my machine that has a 90nm CPU?
A. Yes, the measurements that you see are the size of the micro-circuit components on the chips. The technologies that the chips are built on do not affect each other – all you need to know is that the graphics card has a PCI-e x16 connector and the computer has a PCI-e x16 slot for it to go into.
Q. Can I put a graphics card with GDDR3 RAM into my machine that takes DDR2 RAM?
A. Yes, the type of RAM on the card doesn’t have any relationship to the type of RAM on your motherboard. Again, as long as the PCI-e slots match and you have the correct power, you can install it.
Q. Do I have to use an AMD video card with an AMD machine?
A. No. You can install any brand of video card that your machine has a PCI-e slot, space and power supply for. Both nVidia and AMD based video cards are compatible with both AMD CPU and Intel CPU machines.
The only constraint is if you are installing a second video card in a machine, you should match the same brand so that you can use the same drivers.
When you are installing two video cards in a paired – SLI or Crossfire mode for higher gaming performance you will need to match the cards for both the same brand and family of GPU chipset to ensure that they can work together (your motherboard and power supply need to be SLI or Crossfire compatible as well). For example, if you have a nVidia GTX560 card and want to pair it in SLI mode, your second card has to be from the nVidia GTX500 series (not the GT- series and not the GTX400 series). Check with the manufacturer’s websites (nVidia or AMD) for details.
Q. Can I upgrade the video of my notebook machine?
A. No. Notebooks don’t have normal graphic card slots – 99.9 % of laptops have their graphics soldered onto the motherboard, even if they are advertised as having discrete – vs. integrated – graphics (discrete means that the graphics chip is not integrated into the main CPU or core chipset, and that it has its own graphic memory separate from the system memory). Very few notebook machines use Mini-PCIe cards or MXM cards for graphics. These cards are not commonly available — this company has a list of laptops they have upgraded http://www.mxm-upgrade.com/
This is because the Mac Mini’s input jack is a Line input not a Mic input (this is true of some other models as well).
A microphone produces a signal that is many times weaker than a line level signal.
CDs, stereos and electronic music instruments output a much stronger Line level signal
To use a mic with a line input, you need to preamplify the mic signal, with a preamplifier, a mixer or similar.
Alternatively you can get a USB connected audio interface
or you can get a USB microphone
Completely re-installing a computer
Did your computer come with Restore or Recovery DVD or CD disks? You would use those to reformat the drive and restore / re-install your machine. These will put your machine back to the state you purchased it, with the operating system and accessory programs that the manufacturer installed.
WARNING – this will destroy all of your data, pictures, music, emails, contacts, user accounts, saved passwords, and any software you installed. BACK UP ALL YOUR DATA FIRST! If you don’t know how to, then get some support before proceeding. Your software programs will have to be re-installed from their original disks or installers, with serial numbers if required.
If your machine did not come with restore disks, then the restore data is probably on a hidden partition on the hard drive. Try hitting F2 or F1 or F8 or F10 or F12 or the zero key repeatedly at boot time, before the Windows screen comes on (depending on the brand and model of your machine). Read your owner’s manual or contact the manufacturer for the correct key and instructions.
Your machine may have given you the option to create a set of restore disks when you first set it up. If your machine is operational you may still be able to create them if the information is still on the hard drive. Acer Dell HP Win 7 HP Vista Lenovo Lenovo Win7 Sony
The correct key will take you to the Advanced Boot Options, then an option to go into Repair and run the System Recovery Options or Factory Image Restore or whatever the manufacturer chooses to call it.
Erasing and reinstalling Windows without the factory programs: if you don’t have factory restore disks or a recovery partition, you can use a Windows disk to reformat and install, but it will be a stock Windows install, not the factory install with the original programs and drivers.
Format and install Windows XP http://lifehacker.com/software/windows/geek-to-live-how-to-format-your-hard-drive-and-install-windows-xp-from-scratch-157578.php
Format and install Windows 7 from DVD: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html
If you have lost the restore disks or deleted the restore partition, contact the manufacturer, you can often buy a replacement set for $20 – $50, or you could purchase a retail copy of Windows and reformat the drive from scratch. PCMagazine article on getting recovery disks
Do this First:
Before doing any of these operations, it is a good idea to go to the machine or motherboard manufacturer’s website and download the latest drivers for the machine. Also do this for your make and model of video card and any other installed options. Copy these driver installer files to a USB memory stick so you can reinstall them on the machine after restoring.
Also keep in mind that you will need to reinstall the anti-virus and security software ASAP. Having an up to date anti-virus program installer on your USB stick is a good idea,so you can install it before plugging the computer into the Net.
Windows will also need a boatload of service packs and critical updates. Be prepared for several hours of downloading and updating with Windows Update. Do not skip these updating steps, they are essential to keep your machine safe from malware by patching vulnerabilities in the operating system and software.
Restore to a Restore Point means something different:
If you are talking about taking it back with System Restore to an earlier Restore Point, then the instructions are different. A Restore Point will undo system changes and upgrades, registry changes and software installations back to that date, but it doesn’t delete data – nor does it recover data that has been deleted.
Rolling back to a restore point is unlikely to get you all the way back to factory default but it is a good tool for getting a machine working if a software install or Windows update has failed and made a machine unstable. You would choose a previous System Restore point from a date you know the machine worked
Go back to an earlier Restore Point:
XP: support.microsoft.com/kb/306084/
Vista: windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/What-are-the-system-recovery-options-in-Windows-Vista
Windows 7: windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/system-restore
