PC Tech Thread

I know Lacie don't make drives. Yet the WD green ones don't seem to work, people have suggested its a firmware problem. If anyone here can suggest a way of getting them to work please let me know.

I know Lacie don't make drives. Yet the WD green ones don't seem to work, people have suggested its a firmware problem. If anyone here can suggest a way of getting them to work please let me know.

Are there available firmware upgrades? Or possibility of flashing the firmware? Without fucking it of course?

I'm not going to flash the bloody things I think I'll just sell it and setup an internal RAID

Thank you Hippy for merging. Any advice on a desktop to suit my needs would be gratefully received.

Might be worth having a look at Tier 1 (www.tier1online.com) - they're basically a refurb outfit, although they do sell off some 'open box' stuff too.

For a basic desktop / laptop they're pretty hard to beat in terms of price.

you london ish at the mo?

Might be worth having a look at Tier 1 (www.tier1online.com) - they're basically a refurb outfit, although they do sell off some 'open box' stuff too.

For a basic desktop / laptop they're pretty hard to beat in terms of price.

Thanks

Hmm. Computer died last Saturday, wouldn't post, never mind boot.

I assumed it was the motherboard, not really having any way of testing. So bought a new board, memory and processor (because none of it is compatible is it, stupid planned obsolescence).

Taking the computer apart, I found that the 4 pin ATX 12v plug was partly burnt out! Eek. The plastic around one of the four pins had burnt away and there was scorching around two of the pins, plus a little scorching in the corresponding two motherboard pins.

Various things could have caused it but it seems using a (albeit reasonable quality) 350w PSU to drive a quad core overclocked from 2.4Ghz to 3.2Ghz with a reasonable graphics card may not have been such a good idea, although it was fine for ages, so a badly fitting plug seems more likely.

Anyway, I clearly need a new PSU now (great, more money). But when I get it do I risk plugging it into the old system to see if the motherboard is ok? Or is the risk of frying the new PSU with a potentially dodgy motherboard too great?

Put it like this, if you fry the new motherboard as a result of experimenting with something you suspect fried your old one... is it likely to be accepted back under warranty?

No?

Don't do it then :)

And get a bigger PSU.

The PSU was probably at its limit with that arrangement, go for something in the 650watt+ area... It won't necessarily draw more power either, just get an efficient one, look at seasonic or corsair.

Not sure if this is the right thread but anyway...

I want something to connect to the telly for watching downloaded content as well as iplayer/4od etc.

Was thinking WDTV, any other suggestions?

For the price the WDTV is incredible. But what software does it use?

I've personally got an old laptop on which Windows runs a copy of XBMC. Together with a Logitech diNovo http://www.logitech.com/en-gb/keyboards/keyboards/dinovo-mini .

Just about did it for me, and as I recycled the netbook (which was on it's last legs as a usable computer but functions great as just a media server) it cost me very little. Just the Logitech keyboard thing.

But then... I also had NAS storage.

So yeah... once I work out the total price, the WDTV is damn compelling. If it can play all you want, why wouldn't you get it?

Is WDTV ondemand compatible?

I like the idea of just having a pc running xbmc hooked up to the telly, my only issue with that though is having non geeky people in the house not being able to use it.

I haven't used xbmc in a while though, can you run things like iplayer on it easily now?

My girlfriend is non-technical. She's totally comfortable with the set up.

I set Windows to autohide the task bar, set a cinema-esque desktop wallpaper. Then went into appearance settings and made the desktop icons so big there is basically only space on the desktop for 12 icons.

On the desktop are shortcuts to Internet Explorer for BBC iPlayer, LoveFilm, etc. And there's a shortcut for XBMC. IE starts full screen and has a password manager plugin installed (LastPass), so that it auto-logs in to LoveFilm and the like... and you're already on the "What film to watch" page. VLC has the NAS set up as a library location that is a network folder mounted locally... so VLC will always offer whatever is on the NAS to play.

It's basically super simple.

She's perfectly comfortable going into LoveFilm, or firing up XBMC, or watching something on catch-up. And none of the above requires a TV license at all... BBC iPlayer favourites mean you can watch everything so long as you don't want to watch it the second it's broadcast.

I prefer Windows and IE because so many sites work perfectly on that combination... such as the Eurosport Player (also a desktop link).

As for WDTV... no idea. It looks stunning, but if I ever bought one I'd just blow away the software and install a Linux.

Put it like this, if you fry the new motherboard as a result of experimenting with something you suspect fried your old one... is it likely to be accepted back under warranty?

No?

Don't do it then :)

Bought in 2007 or 2008 so no warranty. I may buy a very cheap PSU and see if it works. Having read up more it seems unlikely that the PSU (a Seasonic, actually) would have taken it out when it went.

The PSU was probably at its limit with that arrangement, go for something in the 650watt+ area... It won't necessarily draw more power either, just get an efficient one, look at seasonic or corsair.

I've had a play with a PSU calculator and it was using well over the 350 watt maximum - at least 400 watts.

Oops.

It's a tribute to Seasonic's quality that it lasted as long as it did.

The new system has an i5, which won't be overclocked, so will actually draw less power overall.

I'm replacing it with a fanless Seasonic 460w, which is going to live at the bottom of the case and chuck it's heat out via convection.

There shouldn't be too much heat though as it has greater than 90% efficiency :)

My girlfriend is non-technical. She's totally comfortable with the set up.

I set Windows to autohide the task bar, set a cinema-esque desktop wallpaper. Then went into appearance settings and made the desktop icons so big there is basically only space on the desktop for 12 icons.

On the desktop are shortcuts to Internet Explorer for BBC iPlayer, LoveFilm, etc. And there's a shortcut for XBMC. IE starts full screen and has a password manager plugin installed (LastPass), so that it auto-logs in to LoveFilm and the like... and you're already on the "What film to watch" page. VLC has the NAS set up as a library location that is a network folder mounted locally... so VLC will always offer whatever is on the NAS to play.

It's basically super simple.

She's perfectly comfortable going into LoveFilm, or firing up XBMC, or watching something on catch-up. And none of the above requires a TV license at all... BBC iPlayer favourites mean you can watch everything so long as you don't want to watch it the second it's broadcast.

I prefer Windows and IE because so many sites work perfectly on that combination... such as the Eurosport Player (also a desktop link).

As for WDTV... no idea. It looks stunning, but if I ever bought one I'd just blow away the software and install a Linux.

Cheers for that. Got a combination of Linux OSX and XP running in the house, as we're moving, thinking of tidying it all up, and also do not want to pay a TV license any more.

I actually am selling a HP Microserver that's currently running xbmc. (moving country). Will miss it, but no need for it in my new place since I'm sharing

Would the logitech remote work with the WDTV?

Also does the WDTV have a HDD or does it rely on your computers HDD? I'm new to all this media centre lark.

xbmc remote on android > *

Would the logitech remote work with the WDTV?

Also does the WDTV have a HDD or does it rely on your computers HDD? I'm new to all this media centre lark.

I'd echo Kirths thoughts and use an app. It comes with a remote too.

You can plug in a usb drive to it, or you can access networked drives in your house.

They also do a model with a built in 1tb drive.

I only use the Logitech remote as I use XBMC + IE, VLC, etc... so wanted a keyboard and mouse that could be a remote, and vice versa.

If you're ever likely to come out of XBMC, to access something like LoveFilm or Eurosport Player... then you'll want some way of having a mouse and keyboard.

The Logitech diNovo is basically that... a mobile phone sized keyboard with a little trackpad on the side, with battery life meaning that it feels like a remote and not a phone, and the ability to do keyboard shortcuts fine... Felicity knows CTRL+W closes IE windows so never comes out of fullscreen mode.

There are iplayer plugins for Xbmc, they're not as easy to use as the site though and I don't think the streams are as good a quality.

My old PC is getting pretty slow so it's time to build up a new one but I'm not really up with current technology. I'm thinking of a base of an SSD and an i5 or an i7 but what's the best "bang for your buck"?

It won't be used for anything too hardcore, occasional hefty Excel spreadsheets and video processing are the main heavy things so it doesn't need to be anything too top-end.

I have no idea about modern video cards, I run two 1920x1080 monitors, watch HD films, occasional gaming (nothing too recent) so again nothing too fancy.

Any suggestions gratefully received or any links to sites with decent reviews, etc.

Cheers

Can some-one recommend a good but affordable (I know, its relative) NAS?
I've been gawping at the qnap TS-412 but i'd rather keep this below £250 so my gf doesn't castrate me.
I know qnap are pretty much the best out there - a couple of friends that spend their lives in server rooms have them at home and I know Velocio, you have a 6-bay monstrosity for music...

It'll be used for music, backing-up a couple of macs via Time Machine and also for accessing/uploading big files when I'm out and about... Those are the requirements.

I'm thinking 2 or 4 drives, capacity should be 3-6 TB.

Muchos Gracias.

You're doing it wrong.

Divide the price of the NAS by the number of drives, add the price to the drive price, tell your GF that's the price of the drives, and buy the drives + NAS.

That should do it.

And if she asks, these are server drives because they have to be on 24/7 and be power efficient. Hence more expensive than regular consumer drives, but that's what you've got to do when you care about the data.

Dazzle with science.

BTW, this also works on bosses who don't know details, etc.