Random Technology Questions

[Presidential]

On 2/13/2022 at 11:10 PM, StreetLife101 said:

Is Windows Game Mode good or bad?

Last I heard the difference is negligible but that's been a few years ago since I even checked out any real comparisons. I'm sure you could find a few recent comparisons on YouTube with a proper search but I was unable to find anything that wasn't from 2019/2020.

[Mister Pink]

On 12/30/2021 at 2:10 PM, Craigsters said:

is the Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) worth getting? to play music,  ask info etc ???

 

I also want to get smart plugs and light bulbs eventually

I think you read you already got one. A person at home got one as a gift. We use it all the time. Handy when cooking and just asking to play music off Spotify or when guests are over and you want to put on music, you can just ask Alexa. For privacy concerns we keep it muted when not using it. 

[Death]

On 2/13/2022 at 10:10 PM, StreetLife101 said:

Is Windows Game Mode good or bad?

You will get a negligible difference with and without Game Mode active.

[BSD83]

Hello, the "Link for IRC clients" click part doesn't work

[DEALUX]

On 2/21/2022 at 10:52 PM, -l- said:

You will get a negligible difference with and without Game Mode active.

Though ironically some Microsoft Store games can suffer from having game mode active.

[ṼirulenⱦEqừinox]

I recently updated to Window's 11 last month and everything was fine until the other night when I installed Windows update and when it updated and took me back to my desktop I noticed my D: is missing and everything such as rolling back the update, doing a restore and even reset my computer I've tried has failed to bring it back and doing some online searches revealed this seems to be a common problem with Windows 11 and tried things they've suggested to no avail

 

It was a 1TB Internal Drive that held my games on it, i'm not too worried about it as I can install my games on my External SSD drive but i'd like to have it back.

 

Anybody have any suggestions on how to get it back or should I just go ahead and call my buddy who's a computer guy to come over and see if he's able to get it back for me

[Mister Pink]

On 2/27/2022 at 8:30 PM, ṼirulenⱦEqừinox said:

I recently updated to Window's 11 last month and everything was fine until the other night when I installed Windows update and when it updated and took me back to my desktop I noticed my D: is missing and everything such as rolling back the update, doing a restore and even reset my computer I've tried has failed to bring it back and doing some online searches revealed this seems to be a common problem with Windows 11 and tried things they've suggested to no avail

 

It was a 1TB Internal Drive that held my games on it, i'm not too worried about it as I can install my games on my External SSD drive but i'd like to have it back.

 

Anybody have any suggestions on how to get it back or should I just go ahead and call my buddy who's a computer guy to come over and see if he's able to get it back for me

Can you see the drive in Disk Management? 

 

 

If you can, right-click on the drive you suspect is the D Drive (it wont have the letter but you can tell by the size of it) and go to Change Drive Letter & Paths. Then choose a letter for it. 

 

Hope that helps. 

Edited March 1, 2022 by Mister Pink

[ṼirulenⱦEqừinox]

9 minutes ago, Mister Pink said:

Can you see the drive in Disk Management? 

 

Yeah i've done all that - 

Instead of us going back and forth read that thread and if you have any other suggestions then what they've already suggested  i haven't done yet was unplugging and plugging it back in let me know the only thing other ways I'm just going to replace the hard drive with a 4TB one i've been wanting to do anyways

[Mister Pink]

10 minutes ago, ṼirulenⱦEqừinox said:

Instead of us going back and forth read that thread and if you have any other suggestions then what they've already suggested  i haven't done yet was unplugging and plugging it back in let me know the only thing other ways I'm just going to replace the hard drive with a 4TB one i've been wanting to do anyways

 That's a frustrating alright. 

 

The only other thing I can think of is starting from a troubleshooting point of why it's not showing up in Disk Management. Method 2, 3 and 5 from link below might be of relevance. It's not Windows 11 specific but more a troubleshooting options of drives not showing in Disk Management on Windows 10. Perhaps some of the causes errors were inherited from Windows 10. 

 

https://appuals.com/fix-new-hard-drive-not-showing-up-in-disk-management/

[ṼirulenⱦEqừinox]

7 minutes ago, Mister Pink said:

 That's a frustrating alright. 

 

The only other thing I can think of is starting from a troubleshooting point of why it's not showing up in Disk Management. Method 2, 3 and 5 from link below might be of relevance. It's not Windows 11 specific but more a troubleshooting options of drives not showing in Disk Management on Windows 10. Perhaps some of the causes errors were inherited from Windows 10. 

 

https://appuals.com/fix-new-hard-drive-not-showing-up-in-disk-management/

Thanks, I'll look into it

[StreetLife101]

My laptop stopped opening and the caps lock blinks three times. I tried searching it up and Gogle says that it's a problem with the PC's memory. Any fix for this without screwing off the back of my laptop?

[Mister Pink]

On 3/5/2022 at 6:56 AM, StreetLife101 said:

My laptop stopped opening and the caps lock blinks three times. I tried searching it up and Gogle says that it's a problem with the PC's memory. Any fix for this without screwing off the back of my laptop?

Could be a power supply issue. If you can test it with another PSU, that might help. I know that's not convenient but other options involve opening your machine. 

 

This video might be useful. Repairing the BIOS with a USB

 

Edited March 8, 2022 by Mister Pink

[StreetLife101]

2 hours ago, Mister Pink said:

Could be a power supply issue. If you can test it with another PSU, that might help. I know that's not convenient but other options involve opening your machine. 

 

This video might be useful. Repairing the BIOS with a USB

 

It's not a power supply issue. Google says that a caps lock blinking three times means that there is a problem with the memory/RAM stick. The caps lock in the video you shared blinks two times.

 

I don't wanna open the back of my laptop because I'm scared that I might break it, and I'm not an expert at these stuff.

[sivispacem]

14 hours ago, StreetLife101 said:

It's not a power supply issue. Google says that a caps lock blinking three times means that there is a problem with the memory/RAM stick. The caps lock in the video you shared blinks two times.

 

I don't wanna open the back of my laptop because I'm scared that I might break it, and I'm not an expert at these stuff.

The obvious answer is if you're scared of doing it yourself then take it to a repair shop. But swapping laptop RAM is very easy. Fiddly sometimes, yes, but never that hard. 

[Mister Pink]

I just upgraded the RAM on my laptop from 16gb to 40gb. Upon doing so I noticed how dusty the fans have gotten. It's a year old. What's the best way to clean fans in a laptop? Any recommendations of methods or videos? 

 

For context, you can see the fans in this video. Same model. I see some videos of people completely disassembling them off the board etc. Is it advisable to leave it in somewhere to be cleaned? I'd prefer to do it at home if I can. 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Mister Pink

[universetwisters]

Are there any good alternatives to ipod touches now that apple isnt making ipods anymore? I use an ipod touch as an mp3 player, mobile web browser, camera, etc. so I can have a flip phone I only pay 25 dollars a month for.

 

Granted I could just buy a second hand ipod touch but idk, id rather buy new if I can nawhimean?

[Graven]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:13 AM, Mister Pink said:

I just upgraded the RAM on my laptop from 16gb to 40gb. Upon doing so I noticed how dusty the fans have gotten. It's a year old. What's the best way to clean fans in a laptop? Any recommendations of methods or videos? 

 

For context, you can see the fans in this video. Same model. I see some videos of people completely disassembling them off the board etc. Is it advisable to leave it in somewhere to be cleaned? I'd prefer to do it at home if I can. 

 

 

I'd just remove the cover, or as little as you need to expose the fans and clean them with pressure air carefully while holding the fan still with other hand. Then moist Q-tips to get the stickier dust off the flaps.

If you don't have pressure air you could try with a vacuum cleaner blow function, using a very narrow head.

edit: a straw and lungs might be just enough. Eye shields recommended.

That's strange in my opinion if you have dust issues after one year. I got my dad's old laptop, it's been used 6-7 years daily and had only little bit of dust stuck in the flaps.

 

I've never had any issues with disassembling and putting PCs/Laptops back together but those anti-static rubber gloves could be useful.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Graven

[motomami]

Does anyone here game on a laptop? I need someone's expertise.

 

I just had to replace my laptop battery over the weekend because it was swelling and couldn't hold a charge for very long anymore. Before I replaced it, I was looking at my battery report and I noticed that the week I started playing GTA V on my laptop my battery's Full Charge Capacity went from 70,161 mWh to 52,496 mWh in one week. Before that the capacity was degrading at a normal pace in a span of 2 years, starting at 96,991 mWh.

 

So my question is, does gaming on your laptop significantly decrease your battery's life span and is there anything I can do to help with that? I just spent a lot of money on this new battery and I want it to last. When i'm gaming is it better to have my laptop plugged in or is having it constantly plugged in bad for the battery? I'm seeing conflicting advice on Google.

[Mister Pink]

On 5/17/2022 at 6:44 AM, Graven said:

I'd just remove the cover, or as little as you need to expose the fans and clean them with pressure air carefully while holding the fan still with other hand. Then moist Q-tips to get the stickier dust off the flaps.

If you don't have pressure air you could try with a vacuum cleaner blow function, using a very narrow head.

edit: a straw and lungs might be just enough. Eye shields recommended.

That's strange in my opinion if you have dust issues after one year. I got my dad's old laptop, it's been used 6-7 years daily and had only little bit of dust stuck in the flaps.

 

I've never had any issues with disassembling and putting PCs/Laptops back together but those anti-static rubber gloves could be useful.

 

Thanks for the tips. Really appreciate it, dude. 

 

Yeah, this laptop has a reputation for being good at keeping cool, IIRC, but the the fans are noisy and work a lot. I'm also often rendering/exporting a lot of 4K video which really puts the laptop to work. It's on a stand for the last 6 months to help with airflow and just ergonomics and I do try keep the place relatively dust-free. But if I was to guess why it has quite a bit of dust, it's probably due to the work I put it through with 4K/6K video footage I work with. 

 

When I get the chance, i'll open it up and take before and after photos. Maybe it's not as dusty as I think, relatively speaking. But I read somewhere they should be cleaned at least once or twice a year. 

 

On 5/25/2022 at 11:51 PM, motomami said:

So my question is, does gaming on your laptop significantly decrease your battery's life span and is there anything I can do to help with that? I just spent a lot of money on this new battery and I want it to last. When i'm gaming is it better to have my laptop plugged in or is having it constantly plugged in bad for the battery? I'm seeing conflicting advice on Google.

I see conflicting advice on this too. I read it was bad to keep your laptop constantly plugged as the battery should have time to discharge and recharge, otherwise it can be damaging. Other YouTuber's I've watched said to keep it plugged in because with it plugged in you can achieve higher frame rates and that every time you charge and discharge your battery loses a bit of it's overall life. To me, the latter sounds like it's ignoring what's right in order to fulfill wants (ie. better gaming) but I don't know how objective that advice is from those YouTubers. 

 

This video from Lenovo is actually pretty informative. Bear in mind he's only referring to Think Pad and Think Books. But, presumably most medium to high-end laptops have the technology that he says Think Laptops have and that's when it is plugged in constantly, the laptop knows it's at 100% and switch to mains power. It won't over charge and wont overheat. It will still deplete your battery over time but very gradually/slightly.

 

 

Edited May 28, 2022 by Mister Pink

[motomami]

1 hour ago, Mister Pink said:

I see conflicting advice on this too. I read it was bad to keep your laptop constantly plugged as the battery should have time to discharge and recharge, otherwise it can be damaging. Other YouTuber's I've watched said to keep it plugged in because with it plugged in you can achieve higher frame rates and that every time you charge and discharge your battery loses a bit of it's overall life. To me, the latter sounds like it's ignoring what's right in order to fulfill wants (ie. better gaming) but I don't know how objective that advice is from those YouTubers. 

 

This video from Lenovo is actually pretty informative. Bear in mind he's only referring to Think Pad and Think Books. But, presumably most medium to high-end laptops have the technology that he says Think Laptops have and that's when it is plugged in constantly, the laptop knows it's at 100% and switch to mains power. It won't over charge and wont overheat. It will still deplete your battery over time but very gradually/slightly.

 

 

Very informative, thank you! Maybe i'll try that trick he mentioned of lowering the max percentage it can charge to when plugged.

[Mister Pink]

On 5/28/2022 at 5:38 PM, motomami said:

Very informative, thank you! Maybe i'll try that trick he mentioned of lowering the max percentage it can charge to when plugged.

You're welcome. 

 

Incidentally, MyAsus popped up and recommended I change my battery settings. I set it to "Maximum lifespan." Notice it says "Ideal if you always use it plugged into the charger." So, I'm kind of leaning towards, it just being OK to so. 

 

[Mexicola9302]

I only let my MSI GL63 charge to 50% capacity all the time, if the laptop is at home, if i know i will need the battery i just charge it to 100% and the battery lasts for like 4,5 hours. Every 3 months i use the "Battery Calibration" in the Dragon Center, gonna have to do it next on the 15th june, so pretty soon.

 

Some ppl are so ignorant and just always charge their laptop to 100%, and then they wonder why the battery is dead so soon.

 

But i still wonder if i should charge the battery up to 100% every once in a while at least, while doing the "Calibration" it only gets completly discharged and then it charges to 50% while i got the 50% setting active. Maybe i should charge it to 100% every 3 months while doing the calibration, and then activate 50% again.

[DexMacLeod]

Does anyone here have experience with OLOy RAM? I found that I can get 32gb of it for $79 on amazon but I'm a little leery of the fact that it's a relatively unknown "brand". Most of the reviews are the typical amazon fare where the reviewer's only had it or a day or two. I'm more curious about long-term quality.

 

Or just any recommendations for good, reasonably priced RAM would be helpful. I've been into 3D modeling for almost two decades and I still know very little about hardware.

[sivispacem]

That's "run away now" cheap. What RAM do you actually need? DDR, speeds, timing's? Use case?

[DexMacLeod]

8 hours ago, sivispacem said:

That's "run away now" cheap. What RAM do you actually need? DDR, speeds, timing's? Use case?

 

I don't know anything about timing or speeds. All I really know is that Blender eats up a lot of RAM and when I render a moderately complex scene it sometimes needs more than I have and crashes. I currently have 16gb but only about 13 of that is actually usable. I've gotten pretty good at optimizing things so there's less crashes but it'd be nice to not have to worry about it at all.

 

I'm torn, part of me wants to pull the trigger on this stuff (OLOy offers a lifetime warranty) but part of me also wants to just wait and see if some more reputable stuff goes on sale somewhere for Black Friday.

 

Here's a link to what I'm talking about, by the way: https://www.amazon.com/OLOy-2x16GB-288-Pin-Desktop-MD4U162619DZDB/dp/B086XF6D4K/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pl_foot_top?ie=UTF8

[sivispacem]

What motherboard and other components do you have?

[DexMacLeod]

motherboard is a biostar a320mh, AMD Athlon 200GE processor with a Radeon Vega 3 GPU. I'm not too concerned about compatibility, though.

[sivispacem]

47 minutes ago, DexMacLeod said:

I'm not too concerned about compatibility, though.

You probably should be, if you want things to work. Not to be sh*tty, but that's absolutely garbage hardware.

RAM is the least of your concerns in Blender with a 2 core, 4 thread 35w TDP processor (basically a laptop processor pretending to be a desktop one). 16GB of anything will massively outpace the rest of your system. 

[DexMacLeod]

I just mean that I'm not concerned about compatibility because I've checked and it's compatible. Increasing RAM is my main concern because I'm consistently running out of RAM. I'm not concerned with speeding things up, I just use a very RAM hungry program.

[Giga Chad]

Does the SysMain service really helps my computer improve performance or no? Should I turn it off?