ASUS GTX580 introduces the most powerful DirectX 11

The successful Fermi series from NVIDIA continues to expand with the new GTX 580, featuring 512 CUDA cores and achieving the most impressive DirectX 11 performance ever fielded by a single NVIDIA GPU. ASUS has added its own exclusive Voltage Tweak to the GTX580 for significant output gains on demand. The hardcore performance of the ASUS GTX580 offers full HD NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround gaming and movie watching on up to three screens, and CUDA parallel computing that puts the great power of the GPU at the disposal of the CPU for overall system enhancement.

Product Highlights

• ASUS exclusive Voltage Tweak gives users a quick and accessible way to overvolt the graphics card to its limit at 1157MHz – up to 50% faster performance compared to reference.

• ASUS GTX580 is factory overclocked at 782MHz with 512 CUDA cores, the most of any current NVIDIA design. It features a large 1536MB GDDR5 video memory, rated at over 4GHz. The massive 384-bit memory interface opens up performance by removing data transmission bottlenecks for better hardware utilization.

• Support for NVIDIA 3D Vision Surround in full 1080p HD — users can expand 3D games, movies and photos on up to three screens at once for the most immersive PC multimedia experience around.

• With its over-the-top power, ASUS GTX580 opens up optimal utilization of DirectX® 11 features such as advanced tessellation and real time ray tracing. This enables high resolution PC gaming in unprecedented detail, allowing even the most taxing titles to run smoothly at maximum frames per second.

• HDMI 1.4a updates video output to the fastest, highest-bandwidth standard available.

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How to add a second hard drive

The questions most ask by people are how do I add a second hard drive to my computer? I bet you've been using your computer lately to store MP3 files, downloaded movies or videos, high resolution images, or to play games. Right? These days, anything less than 40 gigabytes of storage just isn't enough, so it may make a lot of sense to add a second hard drive to your computer. There are two possible ways to expand your computer's data capacity. One is to replace your current hard drive with a newer larger one, and the other is to simply add a second drive to accompany the first. Before you decide which option to pursue, consider the following. Is your computer capable of supporting a second drive (sometimes called a "slave" drive)? If you have an older system with only one IDE channel (a connector inside your computer to add internal IDE parts to you motherboard), your existing hard disk and CD-ROM may already take up that connector. There goes your further expansion plan.
If you've never so much as opened up your computer's case, perhaps you might want to let someone slightly more experienced help you with this. If you're keen to try and want to go ahead and add a second drive on your own, here are some straightforward steps to follow to get the system up and running.

1. First, you're going to need a new hard drive, such as Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor, etc. You should notice an IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) cable (a wide gray ribbon cable) running from the back of your current hard drive and down into the motherboard primary IDE connector. Hopefully, the CD or DVD drives are plugged in to the secondary IDE connector.
2. As you follow the cable along, you should find another white IDE pin connection that is unused (not plugged in to another drive). Now, look for a spare unused power connector (white plastic head with wires running to the power supply). Lastly, locate the empty drive bay in the case into which you'll be mounting the new hard drive. Now, look at the back of your new hard drive. You'll notice an opening into which the power connector will plug and also a set of pins onto which the IDE cable will connect.
3. Before installing your new hard drive, locate the diagram for changing the jumper setting to a slave. These are the pins which regulate how the new hard drive will be used. The three common settings are MA (Master), SL (slave) and CS (Cable Select). Assuming your current hard drive is already running as the "Master" or MA, you should ensure the plastic sheath for the pins is covering the "SL" pins, or "Slave" pins. The diagram depicts different sets of pins with a black box around them. First look on the top of your drive. If it's not there, see if your drive came with printed instructions or check the manufacturer's website. To change the jumper, you may need to have a set of tweezers handy. Use them to reposition the jumper between the four male prongs and the IDE ribbon connector. Match the settings depicted in the diagram on top of the hard drive to make sure you do this correctly. You may want to make sure your original hard drive jumper is set to a master. Chances are it already is since most hard drives come this way. You should double-check just to be sure. Once these pins are set, connect both the power and the IDE cables.
4. Now, you're ready to mount the drive in the case. Most newer desktop hard drives will fit snugly into one of the spare bays in the case. Slide the drive into the bay and then secure it in place with the screws that come with the drive.
5. Once the drive is secured with the cables already attached, it's time to power up the computer and turn it on. Leave the case off for now until you've established the drive is properly connected and accessible.
6. Once the computer starts to check memory, press the DEL key to enter the system BIOS screen (in some systems this is the Esc key or some other FN key).
7. In the BIOS, access the standard settings and set the hard drive menu to auto, then save and exit the BIOS and reboot.
8. This time, the BIOS should recognize the new drive. If for some reason the BIOS don’t acknowledge the new drive, you should double-check all the connections and the pin settings. If the BIOS have recognized the drive, you're ready for the next step.
9. Now, you're going to need to partition and format this new drive. An excellent walk-through for using FDISK is located Radified Fdisk Guide or Microsoft’s How to use the Fdisk Tool. (See also How to partition and format the hard drive). Reboot and enter Windows. Once there, go into My Computer icon and select the new drive letters and chose to format them. Whatever you do, DO NOT accidentally format or partition your existing hard drive (usually C :). Now, after a reboot, you should see the new drives ready for you to fill them up with a pile of new data.

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5 ways to speed up your PC

Everyone knows that Windows computers can sometimes slow down over time. While not an exhaustive list of solutions to problems. By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer and keep it running smoothly. This article discusses how to use the tools available in Windows XP Service Pack 1, 2, and 3 to more efficiently maintain your computer and safeguard your privacy when you're online. This collection presents five ways to speed up a computer.

Free up disk space
By freeing disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.

Speed up access to data
Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer. Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

Detect and repair disk errors
In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility. As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced. If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

Check for Spyware and Adware
Spyware is software that allows companies to monitor what websites you visit or even access your computer. Adware is software that displays advertisements. Both use system resources and slow your computer down. Detecting and removing the programs will improve system performance.

Scan for Viruses
Viruses can wreak havoc on your computer. Detecting and cleaning viruses is an excellent way to improve your system's performance. There are many antivirus programs to choose from like AVG, Norton, or Bit Defender.

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How to Install a new Video Card

Installing a video card is a little bit easy. Just follow these instructions on how to install a new video card. If you’re really not sure if you can do it then you have to look for someone (like a Computer Technician) who knew how to install a video card. The first thing you should consider is choose something that fits your needs. As with the other components it is important to get something that fits your needs. So you need to decide up front what you want from your final computer. Is it a media PC, an office type PC, something as cheap as possible or a high spec gaming PC? Whichever of these it is, will mean different aspects will be more important to you, but generally the faster the better. Determine the slots of you’re video card on your motherboard. Is it PCIe? AGP? PCI? Or ISA (for old model of mainboards). Now here are some instructions on how to install a new video card.

Shut down the computer. Disconnect all peripherals from the computer. Remove the cover of the chassis. Discharge your self first by putting your both hands on the chasses. Otherwise, put on a grounding strap if you have one and follow its instructions. Remove the computer's back panel if necessary. Knock out or unscrew the metal plate on slot holder on the computer's back panel. Remove old video card gently. If your video card is an AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) insert the video card gently but firmly into an AGP slot. Or, if you’re using a PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) video card insert the video card gently but firmly into an available PCIe slot. Don't touch any connectors on the card. Rock it into position if necessary, but don't force it. Screw the video card into the slot holder if it has a screw hole. Reconnect the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Reboot the computer. If your monitor displays properly, the card is working. If you here some beeps and no display on screen (see also Beep Codes). Turn off the computer, unplug all connections. Unscrew and remove the video card again and put it back gently. Reboot the computer. If it is now working then proceed to windows. Insert the video card driver CD onto the CD/DVD Rom drive and follow onscreen instructions to install driver and additional software. If Windows doesn't prompt you, manually complete the installation using the Add New Hardware control panel. After the installation of video card driver is complete. Reboot the computer.

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How to know a drive is about to fail

As reliable as hard drives have become, they still have a finite lifespan. While regular backups and RAID technology can help you prevent data loss when a hard disk drive fails, it's better to catch the problem early and replace the hard disk drive on your schedule, rather than when it decides to fail.
Ironically, improvements in hard drive technology have caused some of the symptoms of impending failure to disappear. For instance, hard disk drive and controller designs now can hide the intermittent read/write failures that once foretold a hard disk drive going bad. Likewise, today's hard disk drives are virtually silent, which eliminates the changes in sound that used to alert IT personnel that a drive was going. Bearing failures, which used to be one of the most common causes of drive failure, are much less common today.

1. Disk takes a long time to come up. A hard disk drive that takes a long time to boot up is working hard. Maybe it's working hard because a lot of stuff needs to be initialized. But it could also be trying to compensate for intermittent read/write failures.
2. CHKDSK shows bad sectors. Bad sectors used to be a fact of life. Not any more. These days, any bad sectors showing up with chkdsk or similar disk test utilities usually mean the disk is going away. This is doubly true if the number of bad sectors is increasing, even very slowly.
3. Running hot. All drives get warm, but if the hard disk drive itself is running unusually hot compared to others in the enclosure, it is probably nearly the end of its useful life.
4. Consider the drive's history. A hard disk drive that has been dropped onto a hard surface (running or not) or else has overheated should be regarded with suspicion. It's a good candidate for failure. Overheating usually occurs when an enclosure's main fan or fans fail, allowing temperature to build up. If the system gets hot enough that you start getting read-write errors before the problem is spotted and fixed, there's a good chance the lifespan of the drives has been drastically shortened.
5. Drive LEDs that never go off. There's no relationship between overt computer activity and hard disk drive activity, as indicated by the drive LED. But if the LED used to come on intermittently and now glows constantly, something is very wrong and is probably going to get worse.
6. Disk cannot locate file table. If the disk can't find the Windows Master File Table (MFT), especially after an unexplained crash, the disk is almost certainly dying.

By: Lutdlutod and Hectic Capiznon Bloggers 2009

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How to choose a Motherboard

Motherboards (alternatively, Mainboards, mobo, or planar boards) are the backbone of any computer system. Without a working or properly installed motherboard, the computer is just an inert junk of plastic. The latest motherboard technology right now is called PCIe or PCI Express. In PCIe, the shared bus is replaced with a shared switch. Each device in the system will have exclusive access to the switch, and the switch will be able to create point-to-point exclusive communications between devices.

When choosing a motherboard, it is important to carefully consider the following concepts.
Non-Integrated System Board – each major component are installed in computer as an expansion card, like video card, sound card, LAN card, etc.
Integrated System Board – most of the component that would otherwise be installed as expansion card are integrated into the motherboard circuitry and were designed for simplicity.

Selection of motherboards
Consider the following when selecting a new or replacing a motherboard:
1. The footprint, or size requirements, form factor of the computer case. Such as ATX (Advanced Technology Extended), Micro ATX, NLX (New Low Profile Extended), and BTX (Balanced Technology Extended).

2. Compatibility with other devices such as CPU/processor, power supply, memory modules, and storage devices.

3. Compatibility or type of BIOS (Binary Input Output System).

4. Memory needs of the system. The type of memory, is it DDR2 or DDR3? How much memory can the motherboard handle? How many modules can the motherboard physically hold?

5. Number of expansion slots. How many regular PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect)? How many PCIe? Availability of an AGP (Accelerated graphics Port) if there is?

6. Number and types of ports. How many USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports at the back of the motherboard? Are there USB slots integrate on the motherboard? Availability of a Firewire, serial port, parallel port, and keyboard and mouse port?

7. What integrated peripherals are included on the motherboard? Such as Network card (LAN card), video card, or sound card.

8. Disk controllers. IDE (Integrated Device Electronics), RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Discs), or SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment).

9. Are there drivers available for all the on-board components that match the operating system you want to use?

10. Is the motherboard going to be used in a media center PC? If so, are the television/cable connections available?

See also NForce SLI Motherboard, GeForce 9800 GTX, HD 4870 IceQ 4, Kingston HyperX DDR3, Seagate Barracuda Hard disk

By: Lutodlutod

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How to Choose the Right Memory for Your System

Adding RAM to your PC usually delivers the most speed for your system, but only if you buy the right kind of memory module for your PC. There are more types of PC RAM. Do you want SDRAM, PC100, nonparity, or unbuffered DIMM? Why not enjoy a refreshing DDR SDRAM, PC2700, CL2.5, or registered DIMM? Here are the ins and outs of PC memory. Begin by checking your system's user manual to identify the types of RAM your PC's motherboard supports. If you don't have the manual, visit the manufacturer's Web site and search for downloadable manuals or other tools that might help you find the information you need for identifying the right RAM for your PC. Enter the make and model of your PC or motherboard to generate a list of compatible RAM types.

Before you buy consider the following:
Maximum module size:Find out the maximum size of memory module that your PC supports. Don't buy a module larger than what your motherboard's memory slots can each accommodate.

RAM and connector types: Determine which of the four types of RAM your system uses: DRAM (EDO or FPM), SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, or RDRAM. All four types are mounted on one of three module types: SIMM, DIMM, or RIMM.
Most machines support only one type of RAM and have one type of module or connector, so mixing types isn't an option. The few motherboards that do accept two types of RAM allow only a single type to be used at any one time.

Memory speed: SDRAM, DDR SDRAM, and RDRAM are rated to match or exceed the PC's frontside bus speed (FSB), which is the speed at which data moves between the CPU and RAM. If your system comes with PC66 SDRAM, you can use PC100 SDRAM to replace it and get the faster speed, as long as your PC's frontside bus supports the higher rate. But if you mix RAM of different speeds, all RAM will operate at the speed of the slowest chip.

Memory banks: On some PCs, the memory slot closest to the CPU--usually called bank 0--must be filled before the motherboard's other memory slots. On other systems, bank 0 must have the largest RAM module (if you are using modules of different sizes). There's no fixed rule, so check your PC's documentation.

Column address strobe: The lower the CAS rating--or the CL rating--is, the better. SDRAM comes in CL2 or CL3 types, and DDR SDRAM comes in CL2 or CL2.5. Unless your motherboard requires a specific CAS or CL rating, get the lower (faster) rated module. Cost differences should be negligible. Again, if you mix modules of different speeds, they'll all operate at the slowest module's speed.

By: Lutodlutod

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How to know your motherboard are dying

How will you now that your motherboard is dying? This has happened to me twice now. First time it was the BIOS chip that had failed on me. The board refused to get past the "verifying dmi pool data" message. New board on that one. Second time around it was the CPU overheating. If you don't mind playing with the hardware and you have some sort of speaker on the motherboard then try the following suggestions:

Remove ALL of the pci cards, the ram modules and the mouse (yes, the mouse as well) and bare-boot the board. (If you are using a separate graphics card then unplug that too for the moment). If you have a speaker connected to the board then when you try and boot you will hear a long series of continuous beeps (See PC Boot Problems), which means that the board is trying to tell you that you have no ram installed. This is good because it means that the board's BIOS chip and the CPU are working just fine at this point.

If you hear nothing then it's time to either try another CPU or to change the board. Game over...

If you get past this point then switch off and plug the ram back in, and then try a re-boot. If you have more than one module then switch off and try each one separately before booting. If the problem is the ram then this will soon show up. If you get to this point then you should hear a different set of beeps (usually one long and three short). This means the board is looking for a graphics card.

Now switch off, plug in the graphics card (if it is off-board) and try booting again. If you get a hang-up this time then you have a graphics card problem. If all is ok at this point then you can turn off the pc, replace each pci card one-by-one and try booting every time you plug one in. If the problem is with one of the cards then this will soon show up. I suspect you may fall over at one of the first two options, which means either board or CPU.

Note: not everyone knows how to tweak and configure a PC. So if you’re one of them, don’t try to experiment because it will do more damage to your system or other components. But if you got lucky, then that’s good. If you’re not sure of what you are doing on how to troubleshoot your own PC try to look for a Computer Technician because he/she knows what to do.

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How to know different Hardware components need for networking

This guide will help you decide what hardware you will need to setup you HOME network: here are a list of components, you may not need to buy depending on the number of computers you have.

1. Each machine will need a NIC (network interface connectors).

2. a hub

3. router

4. switch

5. cables (crossover / straight through)

Deciding which cable to use:

here's a small chart that will give you an idea which cable should go where:
computer to computer - crossover cable
computer to hub - straight through cable
hub port to hub port - crossover cable
hub uplink to hub port - straight through cable
computer to broadband router port - straight through cable
computer to switch - straight through cable
computer to cable modem - crossover cable
cable modem to router - crossover cable
hub uplink to switch port - straight through cable

note:

Some hubs share the connection on the Uplink Port with the port next to it. Some hubs and switches use a switch or button to enable or disable the Uplink Port. Check your product manual to see how to do this.

Maximum cable length:
Maximum cable length for Ethernet depends on what kind of Ethernet you are talking about! Here are some details on the most popular kinds of Ethernet. (UTP = unshielded twisted pair)

Gigabit Ethernet (over copper), 1000baseT

Speed: 1000 Mbps

Max Len: 100 Meters

Cable: UTP, RJ-45 connectors

Fast Ethernet, 100baseT

Speed: 100 Mbps

Max Len: 100 Meters

Cable: UTP, RJ-45 connectors

Twisted Pair Ethernet, 10baseT

Speed: 10 Mbps

Max Len: 100 Meters

Cable: UTP, RJ-45 connectors

Two computers scenario:

If you only have two computers, you will only need two nic's and a crossover cable. If you also require both computers to have internet access, then you could either

(a). Install another NIC (connect it to the cable/DSL modem with a crossover cable) or fax modem in one and connect it to the internet, then use a software proxy, ICS, Wingate, etc to share the internet.
(b). Get a router (I would prefer getting a router). Connect it using a crossover cable to the cable modem and connect the computers to the built in switch on the router. Some routers don't have built in switches, in this case you will need to get a switch or hub and connect it to the internal interface of the router.

More than two computers scenario (hub/switch cascading):

With more computers you will need a hub/switch and straight through cables, connect all computers to the hub/switch with straight through cable. If you run out of ports then add another hub/switch to your network. Connect the uplink of one hub/switch to a port on the other hub/switch using a straight through cable, or connect port to port using a crossover cable.
If you have more than two hubs/switches, then connect all the hub/switches using uplink ports and straight through cables, to regular ports on a main hub/switch.
If you require internet connectivity:

(a) Install another NIC (connect it to the cable/DSL modem with a crossover cable), or fax modem in one machine and connect it to the internet. Use a software proxy, ICS, Wingate, etc to share the internet. Now connect the gateway computer and the rest of the computers to the hub's ports using straight through cables.
(b) Using a broadband router, connect a cable modem with a crossover cable to the WAN port of the router, then connect the other computers to the router's LAN ports with a straight through cables.If you do not have enough ports then get more hub/switches. Connect the uplink ports to the router's LAN port with straight through cables and connect your computers to the hubs/switches.

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How to Decide Whether to Upgrade Your CPU/Motherboard

Postpone a CPU/motherboard upgrade as long as possible. Upgrade your motherboard and CPU only after you exhaust the other possibilities. A major CPU/motherboard upgrade involves some serious computer surgery and has some possible negative consequences:

A CPU/motherboard combo is one of the most expensive upgrades you can make to your computer. First consider upgrading random access memory (RAM) and your video card. Adding RAM and a faster video card is (usually) cheaper than upgrading a CPU/motherboard combo. And, depending on the types of applications you run, the RAM/video card upgrade might provide a better performance boost than using a new CPU and motherboard. A side benefit is that the longer you postpone a CPU/motherboard upgrade, the more of a performance jump you get when you finally take the plunge.

A CPU/motherboard combo is one of the most difficult upgrades to install. To facilitate this upgrade, you have to take out every adapter card and unhook every wire and possibly even disassemble parts of your case — and then do it all again in reverse.

A CPU/motherboard combo has dependencies. No matter how fast your new motherboard-and-CPU combo might be, it still depends on your existing adapter cards — including video, sound, modem, and port cards — to take care of putting (respectively) video on your monitor, sound in your speakers, and Internet data in your browser.You might have to scrap your existing memory modules and power supply. Using a new CPU/motherboard combo might force you to dump all the memory modules you’ve collected over the past few years and that low-rated power supply.

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Six signs a drive is about to fail

As reliable as hard drives have become, they still have a finite lifespan. While regular backups and RAID technology can help you prevent data loss when a hard disk drive fails, it's better to catch the problem early and replace the hard disk drive on your schedule, rather than when it decides to fail.

Ironically, improvements in hard drive technology have caused some of the symptoms of impending failure to disappear. For instance, hard disk drive and controller designs now can hide the intermittent read/write failures that once foretold a hard disk drive going bad. Likewise, today's hard disk drives are virtually silent, which eliminates the changes in sound that used to alert IT personnel that a drive was going. Bearing failures, which used to be one of the most common causes of drive failure, are much less common today.

However, hard disk drives can still give off signs that they are about to fail. Including:

1. Disk takes a long time to come up. A hard disk drive that takes a long time to boot up is working hard. Maybe it's working hard because a lot of stuff needs to be initialized. But it could also be trying to compensate for intermittent read/write failures.

2. CHKDSK shows bad sectors. Bad sectors used to be a fact of life. Not any more. These days, any bad sectors showing up with chkdsk or similar disk test utilities usually mean the disk is going away. This is doubly true if the number of bad sectors is increasing, even very slowly.

3. Running hot. All drives get warm, but if the hard disk drive itself is running unusually hot compared to others in the enclosure, it is probably nearly the end of its useful life.

4. Consider the drive's history. A hard disk drive that has been dropped onto a hard surface (running or not) or else has overheated should be regarded with suspicion. It's a good candidate for failure. Overheating usually occurs when an enclosure's main fan or fans fail, allowing temperature to build up. If the system gets hot enough that you start getting read-write errors before the problem is spotted and fixed, there's a good chance the lifespan of the drives has been drastically shortened.

5. Drive LEDs that never go off. There's no relationship between overt computer activity and hard disk drive activity, as indicated by the drive LED. But if the LED used to come on intermittently and now glows constantly, something is very wrong and is probably going to get worse.

6. Disk cannot locate file table. If the disk can't find the Windows Master File Table (MFT), especially after an unexplained crash, the disk is almost certainly dying.

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Digital Visual Interface (DVI)

The Digital Visual Interface (DVI) is a video interface standard designed to maximize the visual quality of digital display devices such as flat panel LCD computer displays and digital projectors. It is designed for carrying uncompressed digital video data to a display. It is partially compatible with the High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) standard in digital mode (DVI-D). The Digital Visual Interface

uses a digital protocol in which the desired illumination of pixels is transmitted as binary data. When the display is driven at its native resolution, it will read each number and apply that brightness to the appropriate pixel.

DVI cable connectors are designed in such a way as not to allow the user to connect the cable in an incorrect position or orientation. DVI connectors are available in five models, differing in the way they handle analog or digital transfers.

In the digital transfer one or two channels are present. Video and monitor cards which are exclusively digital cannot be connected to analog, but can be connected to equipment that handles both analog and digital signals. The DVI standard also supports the Display Data Channel (DDC) and the Extended Display Identification Data (EDID), which allows computers to communicate with different monitor extensions. This uses Transition Minimized Differential Signaling (TMDS). A single DVI link consists of four twisted pairs of wire (red, green, blue, and clock) to transmit 24 bits per pixel. The timing of the signal almost exactly matches that of an analog video signal. The picture is transmitted line by line with blanking intervals between each line and each frame, and without packetization. No compression is used and there is no support for only transmitting changed parts of the image. This means that the whole frame is constantly re-transmitted. The Digital Visual Interface connector therefore has provision for a second link, containing another set of red, green, and blue twisted pairs. When more bandwidth is required than is possible with a single link, the second link is enabled, and alternate pixels may be transmitted on each, allowing resolutions up to 4 mega pixels at 60 Hz. The DVI connector usually contains pins to pass the DVI-native digital video signals. In the case of dual-link systems, additional pins are provided for the second set of data signals.

As well as digital signals, the DVI connector includes pins providing the same analog signals found on a VGA connector, allowing a VGA monitor to be connected with a simple plug adapter. This feature was included in order to make DVI universal, as it allows either type of monitor (analog or digital) to be operated from the same connector.

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How to Solve Common PC Problems

Common problems in PC, crashes, and safety precautionMost of us computer users have experienced at one time or another that your computer sudden urge to freeze up and crash. Most of you might blame it on windows and most probably Bill Gates, but there are other reasons or causes why a certain program of yours suddenly won’t respond, or why your computer suddenly won’t boot up. I know you might experience some of this, but never fear lads, you are not alone in this kind of crusade. We are legion. Even MAC or Linux users get the blues.Now let see if you’ve had any of these nerve-wracking and head banging events happening to your computer just trying to beat a deadline…Your computer slows down, and part of the screen goes either black or white. This usually means that you’re using too many applications or programs all at once, and your computer can’t handle it. Try pressing ctrl+alt+delete, and look for the program that giving you trouble (usually labeled “not responding”), then try closing the said application by clicking end task. And if your computer is still in the line age of the dinosaur, try not to do all things at once. You might end up with less than you want to gain. Also, this may mean that your 20 years old version computer needs some upgrading like increase of RAM, or better yet, a new computer.You removed some files or programs from your PC, and the next time you boot up, it won’t.

All computer operating systems (OS) have their own standard files and applications that will render the computer inoperable if you remove them. It safe to say that in windows, whatever was installed in your PC should not be removed, because windows will look for it when you boot up again. Also don’t simply delete programs that look unnecessary or uninstall them. When you boot up, windows system files look for programs that have been installed, so whether you remove the program manually or accidentally, you’re bound to get in trouble.

You installed a new hardware and software, and get a fatal exception error (or something like that). That’s what you called “Blue Screen of Death”.You might have installed something that is incompatible with your OS, it might be a new sound card, RAM, device driver, software. Try to remove that hardware that you installed or download the latest software updates for that particular hardware. Also pieces of advice, if you are unsure about installing something, try to find someone who knows better.

Why doesn’t my PC shut down, why is it so slow? When about to shut down your PC, allow a few minutes for some rest time. Illegal shutdowns can result in more permanent damage to your files or worst to your PC as well. The system might still be resolving something, maybe like cleaning up temporary files or folders, reallocating memory. This will help prevent from crashes. Try to backup your files on another media, like CD, DVD, or another hard disk. When your system fails, you can still restore your files. Screensavers and desktop themes along with a huge desktop picture of you and your boyfriend/girlfriend can also eat up resources, so try to disable those, or get one that’s not too heavy. Regular system maintenance can prevent slowing down or crashes of your PC. Try to run disk defragmenting and scan disk sessions, virus scanning, dust cleaning, and cleaning up unwanted files. That’s all folks thanks for reading.

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How to Troubleshoot PC Boot Problems

Beep Codes

The first thing that you’re computer will perform is POST (Power On Self Test), it tests the computers hardware insuring that it meets the necessary system requirements and that all hardware is working properly before starting the boot process. It later continues with additional tests (such as the memory test that you see printed on the screen) as the boot process is proceeding. If the computer passes the POST the computer will have a single beep (other computer BIOS manufacturers it may beep twice) as the computer starts and the computer will continue to start normally. However, if the computer fails the POST, the computer will either not beep at all or will generate a beep code, which tells the user the source of the problem.

What is Beep Codes?

Beep codes are the beeps you hear from the PC speaker when you turn on your computer. They are your computer’s way of letting you know what’s going on when there is no video signal or a bad memory or something rather serious goes wrong that your computer will start beeping. These codes are programmed into the BIOS of the PC. There is no official standard for these codes due to the many brands of BIOS there are on motherboards.

Pc Boot problems: (beep codes)

IBM BIOS

No Beeps - No Power, Loose Card, or Short.

1 Short Beep - Normal POST, computer is ok.

2 Short Beep - POST error, review screen for error code.

Continuous Beep - No Power, Loose Card, or Short.

Repeating Short Beep - No Power, Loose Card, or Short.

One Long and one Short Beep - Motherboard issue.

One Long and Two Short Beeps - Video (Mono/CGA Display Circuitry) issue.

One Long and Three Short Beeps - Video (EGA) Display Circuitry.

Three Long Beeps - Keyboard / Keyboard card error.

One Beep, Blank or Incorrect Display - Video Display Circuitry.

AMI BIOS

1 short - DRAM refresh failure2 short - Parity circuit failure.

3 short - Base 64K RAM failure4 short - System timer failure.

5 short - Process failure6 short - Keyboard controller Gate A20 error

7 short - Virtual mode exception error

8 short - Display memory Read/Write test failure

9 short - ROM BIOS checksum failure

10 short - CMOS shutdown Read/Write error11 short - Cache Memory error

1 long, 3 short - Conventional/Extended memory failure

1 long, 8 short - Display/Retrace test failed

AWARD AND PHOENIX BIOS

1 short beep - Normal

2 short beeps - CMOS error

1 long and 1 short beep - RAM error

1 long and 2 short beeps - Video card error

1 long and 3 short beeps - Keyboard error

1 long and 9 short beeps - ROM error

Long continuous beeps - RAM not installed correctly

Short continuous beeps - Bad power supply or over heating

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A COMPUTER KEYBOARD KEYS

Definition of Terms

Character keys – the keys marked with letters produce alphabetic characters.
The Shift Keys – You can type capital letters by holding down the shift key.
The Control Keys – the control key in conjunction with another key causes a different code to be sent to the computer, but it effect varies according to the program you are using.
Alternate Keys – It is used in the same manner as the control key but with a different effect depending on the software you are using.
The Escape Key - It is normally used to go back to a previous screen, previous application or to clear or to reset a command.
The Print Screen Keys – Sometimes you will want to print a copy of what you see on the screen.
The Function Keys - These keys from F1 to F12 are used to perform special functions. Each type of Software assigns different meaning to each key. Pressing a function key may allow the user to accomplish something quickly or it may be the only way to issue a command.
The Cursor – marks the screen location where the next character, number, or symbol will appear.
The Backspace Key – the backspace key deletes the character to the left of the cursor and moves the cursor one position to the left unless the cursor is already at the far left edge of the screen.
The Home and End Keys – Generally it can cause one character or one line in the direction of the arrow.
The Insert Key – This key allows you to insert characters to the left of the cursor.
The Delete key – To delete a character at the cursor position.
The Page Up and Page Down key – These two keys “Turn an electronic page”, press them to display information stored “above” or “below” the displayed screen information.
The Scroll Lock key – This special purpose key is defined differently for each type of software. This key locks the scrolling of the “electronic page”.
The Tab key – This key is labeled with two arrows and pressing this key usually causes the cursor to move one tab position to the right.

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Parts of the Keyboard

The Keyboard

The keyboard is the common data entry device in a computer system. It is also called the Standard Input Device. You should also note that it is the slowest of all the input devices to use. It works with the very low current to send electrical impulses to the CPU when you press a key. Because the low current there is very little risk of electric shock from a keyboard and safety precautions are not necessary when using one.

A typical keyboard is divided into 5 regions:

1. The Qwerty keyboard – This is the part of the keyboard that is used the most and gets its name from the first six letters of the top rows of the keys i.e. “Q, W, E, R, T, Y”. Note that this is only the case in the UK – other countries such as France have different key combinations reflecting their different use of letters. The layout of the keys was originally devised to actually slow typist down as the early typewriters were prone to getting jammed if the keys were hit too quickly. The average speed of a trained typist on a qwerty keyboard. Such as the shown above is up to six character per second.

2. The Function keys – this part of the keyboard is situated above the qwerty keyboard. These keys are given the symbols F1 to F12 and are really shortcut keys to operate actions in programs or in the computer’s memory system. For example, pressing the F4 key might be a shortcut to saving a document to disk in a common word processing package.

3. Editing keys – this part of the keyboard is situated to the right of the qwerty keyboard and is used to edit text or data in common programs. The edit keys are also used to move around the document (Page up or Page down) or go to the start (by depressing the Home key) or end (by depressing the end key).

4. The Cursor Control Keys – These keys represent a quick way to move the cursor (in. for example, a word processing program) and are often quicker to use than the mouse. They are not recommended for moving the cursor over large distances. Here the home, end or page up and page down keys should be used.

5. The Numeric Keyboard – this part of the keyboard is used mainly by the people in the financial services to enter large amounts of numerical data. The keys are duplicates of those above the Qwerty keyboard but are the positioned on the extreme right of the keyboard for ease of use with one hand.

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