Is My Computer Dead?

This is a follow-up post with PC Won't Turn On post.

Today I managed to thoroughly test/troubleshoot my problematic computer. Here are what I’ve done:

1. Remove motherboard from its casing. I wanted to make sure that there is no faulty grounding.
2. Replace power supply unit, for isolation purposes.
3. Remove HDD, RAM, Video card and tested the board with only CPU installed. I was expecting for RAM or video card error.
4. Re-installed RAM, hoping that will give me video card error as its not yet installed.
5. Re-installed video card, hoping that it will give me HDD error.
6. Re-installed HDD, hoping it will boot properly.
7. System speaker may also be faulty as it don’t make any sound.

I’ve tried each procedure twice in minimum but gave me no joy.

CPU fan and video card fan turns on when powered on but nothing happen. No leaking/bloated capacitors or simply no visual issues on motherboard and its peripherals.

I am now thinking of buying new computer as replacement.

Any suggestions or comments are highly appreciated.

Thanks!

Kingston Launches HyperX External USB 3.0 SSDs

If you're packing a USB 3.0 PC, then you likely have the need for speed. SSDs are clearly on our list of things that make our computers go faster, but those are already sitting happily in our internal SATA interfaces.
Kingston has a solution for those wanting to make their USB 3.0 fly, and that is with the just-made-official HyperX MAX external SSD. We first laid eyes on this product in its early stages back in June of this year during our tour of the Kingston factory, but now the product is finished and ready to ship in December.

The HyperX MAX 3.0 has a read speed of up to 195MB/sec., and a write speed of up to 160MB/sec., when paired with a USB 3.0 compatible device. It is also fully compatible with USB 2.0 devices, but the speed defaults back to USB 2.0 capability.

During Kingston's internal testing, a 10GB movie file was transferred in 1 minute, 12 seconds to the HyperX MAX 3.0 from a USB 3.0 system. On a USB 2.0 port on the same system, however, the transfer time increased to 5 minutes, 52 seconds.

Read full story...

Nvidia New Website

Good news for Nvidia lovers, Nvidia launched their new website. check out: geforce.com

What I like about this new site is its "Auto Detect Your CPU". As the name suggest that it will automatically detect your install Nvidia GPU and will suggest the best driver available.

Its "Beta & Legacy Drivers" are also cool.

This one big step from Nvidia supporting their video card drivers and users.

External TV Box - KWorld SA220

I have an extra 19" LCD monitor that I wanted to turn it to a television.

So I went to the local computer/electronic store and I found out this External TV Box: Kworld SA220. There is actually very small options of this item and I do not get any good and bad review of this brand/model on the internet, so closed eyes I get this. Anyways here is what it offers:

Enjoy analog TV and video games on your wide screen LCD monitor

• Support wide screen LCD to 1680x1050 resolution *Compatible with output resolution for 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1680x1050.
• Supports 4:3/16:9/16:10 ratio.
• Multi-channel preview function to easily facilitate channel selection.
• Still-picture function enables you to capture wonderful moments from TV program.
• Enhanced PIP function: size and position are adjustable. (PIP is not supported in YPbPr input)
• Full-function remote control.
• The supplied MMI cable enables you to connect to multiple entertainment devices. The product supports standard-definition and higher definition signal input (480i/480p/576p/720p/1080i).
• Auxiliary functions such as automatic start up or shutdown with in 24 hours, calendar, calculator, game and etc.
• Channel editing function allow you to arrange the order of programs up to your needs.
• PC/VGA/TV switch.

Unfortunately HD functionality is not available in this model. I think it is on its SA230 model.

I have cable TV connection. All channels are good on my tv but a little bit distorted on my TV Box which disappoint me.

will post more upon completion and testing of all its features.

PC Won't Turn On

My Windows 7 is acting weird today, it automatically shutdown while I am watching movie and it wont turn on when I tried to turn it on.

After re-seating the RAM it worked but during start up it turned off again. I turned it on again to no avail. So I re-seated the RAM again, it turned on until I finished on movie and I decided to turn it off, however this morning it won't turn on again and I'm now feeling that this take another re-seating to fix it.

I am now checking the hardware hoping to see any visible culprit.

Will be posting here for any development.

Any suggestion is highly appreciated.

Report: Dell ditches RIM for own WP7-based smartphone

IDG News Service - Dell is getting ready to move its 25,000 employees from BlackBerrys to its own Windows Phone 7-based smartphone, in preparation to the launch of its own migration service, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

Dell employees will be given the upcoming Venue Pro, and the move will start next week. The company will then begin marketing a service to its business clients within two weeks aimed at helping them make a similar switch, according to the Journal.

Dell officials were not immediately available to comment.

The Venue Pro comes with a 4.1-inch display and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The move will save Dell about 25% in mobile communication costs, primarily by eliminating the need for BlackBerry servers, Dell told the Journal.

Dell's decision to move away from RIM's smartphones to its own products doesn't come as a surprise to Leif-Olof Wallin, research vice president at Gartner.

"It would be kind of embarrassing to have your own sales staff walking around with a product from a competitor," said Wallin.

Read full story...

Windows 7 - God Mode

Yes there is a God Mode in Windows 7.

When you're in this mode you, you have all your settings and configurations in one window, just like this:














Click the image to maximize.

Below is the list of settings available in this mode.

1. Action Center (15 items)
2. Administrative Tools (10 items)
3. AutoPlay (3 items)
4. Backup and Restore (2 items)
5. BitLocker Drive Encryption (2 items)
6. Color Management (1 item)
7. Credential Manager (1 item)
8. Date and Time (4 items)
9. Default Programs (2 items)
10. Desktop Gadgets (6 items)
11. Device Driver Manager (1 item)
12. Devices and Printers (9 items)
13. Display (11 items)
14. Ease of Access Center (26 items)
15. Folder Options (5 items)
16. Fonts (3 items)
17. Getting Started (4 items)
18. Home Group (2 items)
19. Indexing Options (1 item)
20. Internet Options (14 items)
21. Keyboard (2 items)
22. Location and Other Sentors (3 items)
23. Mouse (8 items)
24. Network and Sharing Center (16 items)
25. Notification Area Icons (6 items)
26. Parental Control (1 item)
27. Performance Information and Tools (4 items)
28. Personalization (10 items)
29. Phone and Modem (1 item)
30. Power Options (7 items)
31. Programs and Features (8 items)
32. Recovery (1 item)
33. Regionaly and Language (10 items)
34. RemoteApp and Desktop Cennections (1 item)
35. Sound (4 items)
36. Speech Recognition (3 items)
37. Sync Center (6 items)
38. System (22 items)
39. Taskbar and Start Menu (10 items)
40. Troubleshooting (12 items)
41. User Account (13 items)
42. Windows CardSpace (1 item)
43. Windows Defender (1 item)
44. Windows Firewall (1 item)
45. Windows Update (2 item)

Enjoy the God mode!