Plastic Nev

Hi David, sorry, you quoted the wrong figure 230V for your power supply, that is the mains voltage I hope, we need to know what the figure is followed by a "W", if just a typo and is actually 230W then it will not be big enough, the minimum specified is a PSU of 400Watts. Have a look here- XFX Radeon HD4650 1GB AGP Graphic Card - Misco.co.uk scroll down to the minimum system specifications, if your system matches or is better, and providing you have a spare PCI Express slot, you should have no trouble with it providing the PSU is big enough. Nev.

Thanks for this information. I actually found it elsewhere nudge, wink;) However I have done my best to spread the word amongst those I know who use Facebook.

Hi Dave, any chance of pulling the drive out and connecting it to another machine, then scan the drive with everything you can lay your hands on from the good machine? You may even be able to get OTL into it that way too. Nev.

Hi, before we go buying graphics cards, Which type of audio cable did you get, and also which type of adapters, plus what sockets do you have on the TV? Next is which sockets or ports have you plugged the sound cable in to, both on the TV and the computer? Lets see if we can get you the sound before going to more expense you may not need to spend. Nev.

I also agree with Goku, he has done a good job of describing why we settled on those listed. My own preferences are definitely on the side of "Free", I use Comodo firewall, (note the firewall only) Avast antivirus, and both Malwarebytes and Superantispyware for the none virus nasties. I also have quietly running in the background Spywareblaster. So quite an armoury, and all free. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help, first thing we need to know, is there a separate graphics card installed, or is it the normal graphics as provided on the motherboard? do you know if there is a card, and therefore a plate with graphics related ports at the back. I am assuming this is a desktop machine, or is it a laptop, as you don't say. If a laptop there is likely not a separate card. Can you please tell us what make and model your computer is please as well, thanks, Nev.

Hi and welcome from me too and glad to see you here, a new graduate too, the more the better. Nev.

Hello and welcome from me too, have a look round and find your way, if any problems just ask. Nev.

Hi Tom a warm welcome from me too, good to see you here. Nev.

Hi Match, yes Myself and Admin agree with you, I also had a natter about it. As you say, he hasn't been back so may have done just that, and gone looking for a specialized OC forum. If you do come back to have a look here joaogil, we do recommend you look for more specialised help on the overclocking forums available. A question in Google should find you one or two. Nev.

Hi, Is the computer connected to a network? or just some form of connection to the internet, such as an ADSL modem or other type of connection, if so just pull the plug before starting up the computer. In fact, the only things that need to be plugged in are mouse and keyboard if a desktop, or if a laptop, just the power supply. (No point in flattening the battery!!) A connection to the internet is not necessary at this point as you will be working from a boot disk. Nev.

Hi, and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. I am sorry, but I have removed the photograph as it was miles too big for the forum. if you can possibly reduce the size and repost it, or perhaps provide a link to a host service such as Photobucket, it will help. However for other members benifit, the message was the IRQL-not- Less- Or- Equal one. This quite often means a fault in the RAM or memory stick. In your specifications you state it is 512MB. Is that what the laptop came with, or have you increased it to that size by adding more from say 250mb? If it is the size of RAM that it came with, you may be able to remove it and try replacement. I haven't looked, but it does sometimes depend on the make and model as to whether it can be removed easily. Also have you tried running it in safe mode as per the instruction on your blue screen, keep tapping F8 at start up. will it run in safe mode or does it still go to the blue screen? Nev.

Ok, with the cover off, you should see a cable going from the point where USB cable goes in which should then be plugged in to the drive unit itself, it is that plug and socket I meant, also trying another or new USB cable is worth a go at too. Also, is there another computer you can try it on? Just to be sure it is the drive and not something in your computer settings. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. Although I am no network wizard and will have to leave you for someone else to help you, could you tell us who your Internet Service Provider (ISP) is, as that may be of some relevance to your problem. Nev.

Hi Match and joaogil, Ithink this statement from that program sums it all up-- Note:“It is not recommended to overclock your system. Overclocking and over-voltage may affect your system stability, or even cause damage to your MB or devices. It should be done at your own risk and expense. ASRock is not responsible for possible damage caused by overclocking and over-voltage.” In other words, it is entirely on your own risk and responsibility if any overclocking is carried out. However if Match feels there is some safe level to go to, do take heed of that advice and do not exceed it. That will be between you both, and cannot be accepted as any form of responsibility of this forum. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help saoirse, If it has been stored in a cupboard for some time I suspect it may be nothing more than an internal connection, either loose if it has been knocked, or very slight corosion on contact pins. The case should be easy enough to open, (with it disconnected and powered off) then check the plug and socket(s) inside, just remove and replace is usually enough to make a poor connection good again. Same for external connections too. I will warn about storing electronics inside wooden cupboards or cabinets, certain woods do over time give off a slightly acidic vapour, which can be the cause of this trouble. If storing equipment for any length of time, it is best to seal it inside a dry plastic bag with as much air expelled as possible. Let us know if that works or not please. Nev

Hi again, if you can list the titles on each disk it may help us to decipher which one is the right one, as sometimes a disk just marked up as for the mother board is the one wanted. Nev.

Hi Panbrunek, Welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. You may need to run an audio cable as well from the PC to the TV as some of these DVI to HDMI connections only carry video. Do you have either two RCA sockets on the TV or a Scart socket? If only a Scart socket, you can get an adapter from scart to RCA. An adapter is shown here- SCART to Phono IN Adaptor : Connect! - SCART : Maplin This adapter has the red and white audio sockets on it as well as a (not needed) yellow video and possibly an S video socket. If you have RCA or sometimes called Phono sockets on the TV the red and white sockets are the Audio in, all you would then need is a cable with the standard jack plug on one end with the red and white phono or RCA plugs on the other, one shown here- Twin Phono to 3.5mm Stereo Jack Lead : Connect! - Phono : Maplin I also seem to remember there may also be a special cable that has the HDMI plug at one end, and the DVI plug plus a 3.5mm audio Jack plug at the other, but not sure about that and at the moment cannot seem to find one. I may be wrong about the existence of such a thing. Nev.

Hi Caswilf, just popped in to say please don't try any of the disks you have yet unless you have one that definitely has the word "Drivers" in its title. The operating system disk you mention is to completely reload the operating system, and if allowed to continue after inserting may wipe all your information and data before re installing XP. You would still need to install the drivers after that anyway. At the moment a re install of XP is a very much last resort.

Great stuff Randy, I like the way he got straight back on and carried on riding when he fell off, a determined young fellow isn't he. Brings back memories of myself, and still only a youngster, teaching two friends to ride, I ran down the street holding the back of the bike till I felt he had the balance, and then let go. It was great to see the look on his face when he realised that for half the length of the street, he had ridden on his own with no support. I did exactly the same some weeks later for the other friend. We used to go off exploring our town on our bikes after that.

You may already have tried this, but an uninstall completely of Skype and Voipcheap, use something like Revo uninstaller to mop up everything, then reinstall, see if it is down to a corruption in the installation on that particular computer. If you haven't got Revo, it is free, or you can use the pro version for 30 days free trial from here- Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download it searches out, and can remove, all the left behind files and bits that the normal uninstall leaves behind. That way you can be sure a new install won't be influenced by any remaining bits. Nev.

OK, thanks for the update, the 2GB stick removed stops the as you call them "artifacts" but may be confusing the issue. I am like you a little suspicious now about the graphics card, although it was tested and seems OK, and it may well be OK, but it could be a compatibility problem with your mother board. So if possible try a different card before we go back to looking at that 2GB ram stick. Nev.

Hi Mell, I have been a little busy elsewhere but Frank has done some good groundwork so thanks for that. Odd freezes can be difficult to pin down, especially when as in this case you are not getting any messages coming up, either when it freezes or later when re-started. However, we can perhaps do some basic stuff and see if there is anything comes up as far as anything virus, or other malware is concerned. First download and install Malwarebytes from here, click on the blue "download free version" button on the left.- Malwarebytes.org Once installed, find the "Update" box and update it, then run a quick scan with it. Once it is finished it will produce a log of all it finds. Please copy and paste it here. If there is anything looking strange, I will ask Starbuck to have a look. Nev

Hi again, considering that we can be pretty certain that this computer has been built out of bits or spare parts and is not a full manufactured one, I am beginning to suspect that all those disks may not be of any use at all, and have been just put in with the computer to make it look like a full deal without actually being one. However, if by any chance the machine was put together originally using those disks, and providing they will accept the environment they are in, a full re install of the operating system can at least be tried. A warning though, that will remove everything stored on that computer, all data, music, photographs etc will be lost. Add to that, if as Ken suggests the disks are not fully legal, the operating system will likely refuse to work anyway. However if you wish to give it a try we can go ahead. But in all seriousness I recommend you take it back to whoever built it if possible, or if not, to someone who is fully recognised as a reputable technician, as I do doubt that we can do much more with this being on a remote basis. Nev.

OK Emy, i know now from what you say that it is a computer that has been built for you and not one from a manufacturer. We now need to know as much as possible about the disks that were given to you with the computer. can you describe what is written on each disk in as much detail as possible please, then we can hopefully work towards a repair of your system. I also realise that any hand written stuff on the disks may not be in English, so if possible a translation would help if you can. if not we will try ourselves. Nev.