Plastic Nev

The problem with used cards is universal to anything pre used, you don't know how long they have been used for or how heavily, and therefore how much longer they will continue to work, so buying second hand of anything has its risks. In this case something quite important for what you need, I would say hang on and save a bit more, you never know the single powerful card you would like might also drop a bit in price, especially after Christmas. (Don't forget, you might have to upgrade your PSU to work it) Just my two pence worth of thoughts. I find quite often with something second hand, it is fine if it is for something simple that it doesn't matter if it has a scratch on the front and is OK to do whatever simple job it does. A hammer or other tool for example. However for important things, such as one of my musical instruments, I saw too many second hand that just weren't quite right, didn't perform as they should or used to, or other problems. Hence why in the end I saved up and bought new. Nev.

Great stuff Bob, please repost this in the SP1 thread so that Ken does definitely see it, as well as helping the continuity of that thread. Also either tell Ken what is written on the label, or better take a photo of the label on the disk and post that as well please. Ken will be able to tell from the label what type of disk it is as it just may be only a factory reset disk. Then we are finished with this one. Nev.

Yes you can buy the complete player which will fit where the original fits, providing it is an easy job to remove the original one. If it is a tray type already fitted, this is an example :- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-UJ240-dv5-1032eg-TravelMate-VPC-EC1M1E/dp/B005FI8HIE Some newer laptops and smaller notebooks no longer have a slide out tray, it is just a slot you push the disk into though and extremely difficult to replace in a lot of cases. Usually a job for a professional technician and could be expensive for that type. Nev.

Hi Bob, do you mean screen shots? If so do you have a Photobucket account? If so you can use that, upload the screen shot picture to Photobucket, then copy the IMG link and post it here. Let us know, otherwise I will walk through the method using the forums own uploader for you. Nev.

Hi, can you give us some details please, we need to know the operating system you are using, which backup system you are trying to use, and it might help to know the computer make and model as well as the make and model of external drive you are using. Nev.

Hi, software to control case fan speeds would also require some form of hardware I would think which would be specially built into the motherboard. Some top end gaming motherboards may well have case fan controllers, but I doubt it for that motherboard you have and cannot see anything in the specs for it. So basically I don't think it can be done, though if anyone knows differently they are welcome to say so. As for the box of spare parts from the old computer, if a member of E Bay, you might be able to sell them on there, certainly the motherboard and CPU, and maybe the RAM as a separate item.

If it has actually installed OK and shows in the list of installed updates, the next time it comes up, right click on that particular update and then select to hide it. Hopefully it won't show up again. Nev.

OK Richard, let us know if any problems with the Windows reinstall. If there are it may just be the hard drive, though hopefully not. As for the combined other electronic device failures, have you had any problems with the electrical supply as it sounds like a possible mains electricity surge, do you have a surge protector? Nev.

Hi Quirkie, indeed that weatherbug program is a very resource intensive one, from what I have seen it is running continuously, gathering weather data all the time, using up processor time and RAM space to quite a large degree if on one of the simpler low cost systems, that doesn't have such a great processor or large RAM in the first place. Nev.

Sir Clive Sinclair gives an interview first talking about the early days of the Sinclair computers that made computing cheap and available for everyone. Then moves on and says, that although they may be much faster now, there hasn't been that much further movement. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30333671 Also under the video is an interesting write up too. Nev.

OK, Richard, I think you should also get the complete drivers disk with that motherboard, so providing you have the current product key, or if that Windows DVD hasn't been used elsewhere and have the key for that, you should be able to fully reinstall Windows 7 and activate it with no problems, then put the drivers disk in for the motherboard. Nev.

That is actually the same board you linked to earlier, however, it should be OK as far as I can see, the graphics card you have should also be compatible if it is still OK. If Windows will not boot once you have installed the MB, do you have the original Windows disk? Nev.

OK Richard, considering the original motherboard is full size and fortunately not one of the small form factor boards, basically the world is your oyster. You know what you want from a motherboard, so unless you are prepared to change it, the only restriction is compatibility with the original CPU, as everything else is more or less universal except the graphics card. However if that has died and you need to replace it anyway, even that may not be a problem. (Could do with another computer to try fitting that graphics card and see if it has been damaged or not) Bear in mind that other makes of mother board may be slightly smaller, or slightly different fixings as that Asus one is, and therefore mounting pillars may have to be changed or moved. So, do have a good look round, when you see something that fills your needs, let us know before actually buying it so we can check out what is what or if there looks to be any problems with for example CPU compatibility etc. That Asus board you linked to for an example looks to be fairly good, though at least two years behind in design as it was first released in 2012, a more recent design may give more and worth thinking about. Nev.

If a driver has an update available, you do so in device manager. Not too sure how you find your way into device manager on Windows 8 or 8.1 as I don't have it. However, I hope it is similar to earlier operating systems, by typing "Device Manager" into the search box, then click the "Device Manager" in the search result. Whichever device you are interested in, as perhaps in your case graphics, click the small arrow next to "Display Adapters", then double click the next to open. In that window click to select the drivers tab at the top, then click the "Update driver" If an update is available, Windows will search the internet to find it and install it. However, if the driver is already up to date, nothing will happen other than it will tell you it is up to date, even if the driver itself is faulty. For any other driver, I would then say, click the uninstall button then reboot the computer, you then either let Windows install a driver, or if you already have it downloaded double click the downloaded driver to install it. I am reluctant to say to do that with graphics drivers though, as it may mean you might then have no display to see and work with. Hence why new graphics drivers should install over the top of the existing driver. KenB is hopefully back home tomorrow and he may be able to help further with this, as graphics is not one of my strong points. Sound and most other things perhaps, but can only generalise with graphics. Nev.

Good to hear that AVC is working for you and thanks for letting us know. As for the other question, the simple answer is a definite yes, dropbox is an internet resource. If however you download something to your computer and save it, then of course it is on your computer and can be accessed without an internet connection just the same as anything else stored on the computers hard drive. Nev.

Ok Richard, if a full reinstall is no problem then I understand. It is a bit late here so no time to look up full specs, however I will tomorrow and let you know what I find, depends also on what you are prepared to spend as well of course, so if you can give us a general idea of how much, it will help in finding the best for the money. Nev.

H Richard, that board is an Asus board, therefore you may have a problem getting Windows to boot as it will see a different environment. I have found also on Amazon the same board I think as your original so Windows should have no problem booting, also a cheaper price too here :- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigabyte-970A-DS3P-Motherboard-Socket-Express/dp/B00CX4MUCC Also looked at the specs for the graphics card, is this the same model? http://www.asus.com/uk/Graphics_Cards/EAH6670DIS1GD5/specifications/ If so it only requires some 75 watts, so that 600 watt PSU should be OK, though I would still look towards buying a larger wattage PSU when you can afford it. Please bear in mind that the graphics card you have may have been damaged along with the motherboard by the PSU blowing. You may find you have to get a new one too.

Sorry, there is only the one version, at least it isn't all in French or some other language. ;) There are video editors around that can possibly improve a video to some extent, however they are programs you need to buy, the free editors are nothing more than cut and splice type things and probably not much good for what you want to do. Strangely, of the free editors Microsofts Movie maker is the best of the free stuff that I have found, but is still pretty basic in what it can do. I did a review of one of the good paid for video editors for our FPCH magazine last year, have a look here http://magazine.freepchelp.uk/look-lightworks-video-editor-pro/ It does have quite a steep learning curve, and unfortunately is only available on a twelve months subscription, however it is widely used by professional film and video makers. Depends a lot on whether you want to spend and how much really. Nev.

There are such circuits available, however it is the usual story, too much expense to fit them in. Considering the original PSU was 720 watts, ideally you need similar or possibly larger, as it is the possibly most important part of the computer, go for a good quality one and dont be tempted to skimp on price. Nev.

Hi, sounds about right and glad that most stuff seems to have escaped. Not too sure about the graphics card, and of course it is a wait and see as far as the CPU is concerned, though I think you might find that also has escaped as it isn't on the higher voltages. As you will be taking the CPU off the old board, then yes you will need the thermal paste. Make sure you clean off all the old paste. Nev.

Hi Richard, I am afraid it does look like the PSU failing has wiped out the mother board as well. As for the other attached components such as the CPU, hard drive, RAM, and if fitted CD/DVD drive, they can only be checked by trying on a good system, though the CPU I would not advise too much messing with that except to install it on a new motherboard. Providing the tester is accurate, the 36 volts on the 12 volt rail is the most likely reason. Providing you can get a replacement motherboard and install it, then try the other components with fingers crossed is about the only thing I can offer. Bear in mind, if that high voltage has damaged other stuff, it may be cheaper to buy another computer. Nev.

This software will download from Youtube, and also convert the video to most mobile types as well. Once downloaded and during the install, check for unwanted tool bars or other junk and remove ticks for that, also if offered a choice of custom install, use that so you can find and remove the ticks for the junkware. http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/ Nev.

Hi, I did find this from AMD which might help. http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/catalyst-windows-install.aspx Also this, http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/update-drivers-windows-8.htm scroll down to the AMD section. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/tp/windows-8-drivers.htm Nev.

Hi thanks for that. The graphics driver is the one you want from this site, download it, then double click on the file and it should install the new driver. You can also use the check for updates first if you wish, it may update the driver for you. Make sure your operating system is the one shown in the drop down menu. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=4158&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&sw_lang=&product=6761878 Nev.

Hi Quirkie, Please let us know the full make and model name, it may just need the driver replacing so we need those details to find one for you. Nev.