Plastic Nev

One reasonable quality stereo amplifier is possibly all you would need, connect the output from the sound or speakers port on the computer to the amplifier input, then from the amplifier use your switch to switch to the different speakers in different rooms. I wouldn't personally try to find a new stereo amplifier, you may be surprised at what you may find in second hand shops, working and fairly cheap if cost is a problem. I actually have a complete stereo system, originally made as a complete record, CD, cassette tape, and radio player unit that is hooked to the computer and the sound quality is excellent. Though I don't need it to play in other rooms so just one set of speakers. Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. The reason speakers are powered is because the output from the normal computer sound system is not of any great power and in fact unpowered speakers can damage the computer sound system. When a speaker system is powered, in actual fact it has an amplifier inside the speakers. So, providing you use powered speakers and not unpowered you can do as you wish, but those speakers in other rooms must be powered ones. Nev.

Hi Mokles, if you do get back to look, I have found that regardless of the operating system, you can wipe everything using a CD or DVD boot disk using DBan. There are others available so do have a look at this list of free data erasing tools. http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/tp/free-data-destruction-software.htm I personally would go for DBan, it does have a good reputation. Nev.

The rotary engine is to some extent still in BETA mode. Like Christian, even if I could afford one, I wouldn't like to risk that much cash for a rebuild when it has worn out. I actually doubt that they or any other engineering company will ever get the rotary engine to the same reliability as for example the Peugeot engines have. A motor mechanic friend tells me they have yet to replace or rebuild a Peugeot engine except for those damaged by accident or other outside influence, they just keep going even when the rest of the car is a heap of rust on the floor. That takes some doing as well, Peugeot bodies just don't rust easily. Nev.

You will need a blank USB flash drive, the system you need to use will format and erase whatever is on the drive so if wanting to keep the data on the one you have, don't use it, if you don't have another drive going spare you may have to buy a new one. One other point, you need to be able to set the BIOS to boot from USB, some earlier BIOS systems may not be able to so you need to check in the BIOS if it will boot from USB. If not sure how to enter BIOS to check, I quote from :- http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/a/biosaccess_pc.htm __________________________________________________________________ Dell XPS, Dimension, Inspiron, Latitude. OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro Press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Press every few seconds until the message Entering Setup appears. Older Dell desktops and laptops may instead use Ctrl+Alt+Enter or Del to enter BIOS. Older Dell laptops may use Fn+Esc or Fn+F1. ___________________________________________________________________ Follow all the instructions given in the link from Randy which is this one :- http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=612&sid=2&lang=en The instructions for creating the correct file on the flash drive, in case you miss seeing it are here :- http://support.wdc.com/download/notes/DLGDiagUSBInstructionsv3.pdf Note that in order to create the flash drive, Western Digital recommend using the third party "Rufus", for creating the bootable flash drive. In case you miss seeing the link to download and install Rufus, it is here :- http://rufus.akeo.ie/ I know the whole thing does look complicated, but if you follow the instructions step by step, it isn't too difficult. If possible, print them so you can keep the copy by your side to read as you proceed. Nev.

OK, I think we still need to see the results from that disk checking tool that Randy linked to. Please give that a run and let us know. Nev.

Hi Gary, I had forgotten about that thread, thanks for the reminder. KenB is away for the weekend and may be as late as Tuesday before he gets back, however Starbuck will be around tomorrow if not later today. Before we say yes the hard drive is rubbish, lets see if either of them can give any advice. However, what did you use out of all the advice from the previous thread to get to where you are now? Nev.

Hi, yes it does tell us there are problems, the one Randy suggested is a deeper look to see what else it can find and give us more information. Read and follow all instructions on that page to download and put the test onto a USB flash drive. Run the quick test as outlined in the instructions first, and let us know the results please. Only try the extended test if we ask for it. Do not do the "Write zero's to drive" as that will destroy or wipe out all your data, including the operating system. Nev.

Hi, considering you had problems in the past with the warnings, did you create any backups of your data? If so what type, was it just data, as an image, or as a clone to another hard drive? If an image or clone which software did you use to create them? I think first we need to ascertain if the hard drive is definitely dead, no point in replacement if it isn't! So the next thing we need to know will be the make of the hard drive that is fitted so we can run the makers diagnostic on it. Do you know which make it is? If not, considering the computer won't start up, it will have to be a manual examination by accessing and possibly removing it to see the makers label. Here is a link to a full manual which describes exactly how to remove the hard drive :- http://www.manualslib.com/manual/36701/Dell-Xps-M1530.html?#manual Click on page 10 at the top of the page, then click the blue "Hard Drive", read through the instructions for removal, then get back to us as to what you find for the make. (Don't forget to remove power and battery) Once we know, it then means downloading and burning the diagnostic ISO software to a disk, or downloading to a USB drive from the manufacturer. Nev.

Hi, this does not sound good and is a possible hard drive faulty. Firstly can you tell us please the full make and model of the laptop, and which operating system it is running, Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8. Also do you have the disks for it? Do you also have another computer, we may need you to burn disks! Nev.

Hi, if those lines are still there it does look like a faulty screen, some laptops the screen itself can be replaced, others require the complete lid. If you can let us know the exact model number of that Sony, we can look it up, sometimes for some makes the complete full service manuals are available on line so we can determine from that what can be done. Nev.

Hi sahara and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help, click the start orb, then providing you know the titles, type them in the search box. If they are still on the computer but have moved to a different folder, that should find them. If they have got moved, check the top left for which folder they are now in. If on the other hand they have been deleted for some reason they will not show up or at best it will tell you the system can't find them when you click on each one. Let us know what you find. However as to why this happened in the first place is a mystery, I have never heard of that happening before. If the original files were definitely in the "Music" folders within the libraries, there is no reason as to why they have either been deleted or moved elsewhere. Nev.

Sorry, but I only experimented with Ubuntu once, so can't really help as I got rid and went back to windows. I hope someone with more knowledge can help. Nev.

Hi Bringe and good to know it's all a success. For a good free antivirus, I will leave Starbuck to best answer that, though Avira is one of the good ones! Nev.

Hi and welcome to Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help. When it was last working, was it disconnected without using the "Safe to remove hardware" feature? Has it been knocked or dropped? .Is it possible to plug it in to a Windows 7 or earlier system computer, if so what does it show on that? can you please tell us what make and if possible the model of the external hard drive please. If you know answers to those questions we will better know which way we can help you. There is file recovery software that can be used to recover data, but I don't want to recommend that till we know a bit more Whatever happens do not reformat it. Nev.

Hi Mokles, welcome back again. Having only used Ubuntu once I had to go looking, however it would seem that most Linux systems, including Ubuntu have their own secure deleting tool called "Shred" To save me typing, have a look at this page where it explains how to use the tool, it does overwrite whatever you choose with lots of rubbish zero's and other numbers, so all data is no longer able to be recovered. Here is the link to the page. http://techthrob.com/2009/03/howto-delete-files-permanently-and-securely-in-linux/ Best of luck with it, Nev.

A small Scottish community had kept a communal cow for many years to provide milk for everyone, however as it got older it stopped producing milk. The village elders got together and realised that they would have to get another cow, and as they found out there was a cow for sale at a reasonable price from a small village in Wales, so they arranged for its purchase. Once the cow had arrived everyone was once again happy as the new Welsh cow was providing lots of milk. The elders thought that it may be a good idea to obtain a bull so that to prevent a future loss of milk they should be able to breed more cows, so a bull was obtained. However it seemed to prove a bit fruitless as whenever the bull approached the cow, the cow moved away, whatever the bull did, the cow wouldn't allow him anywhere near. The next nearest village did have an old vet who was regarded as perhaps the wisest man in Scotland, so they went to see him and explained that the bull couldn't do his duty with the new cow as whatever the bull tried, the cow just avoided him, if the bull approached from behind, the cow moved forwards, if from the front, the cow moved backwards, if from the side she moved sideways away. The vet rubbed his chin and asked if the cow happened to be from Wales? The people were amazed as they hadn't told him where it had come from, so he must indeed be a wise man, so asked him how he knew? He looked into the distance with a whimsical look and said "My wife is from Wales!"

A recent scientific announcement says we should never trust atoms, they make up everything. From a different story, if you see a couple of bacteria around on the forum, it is OK, they work here, they are staph. (Don't know what that makes me though!) Nev.

Happy Birthday Pete and hope you have a good one. Ken and myself best start running as you are catching up to us. :D

I sorted that problem, it is always bang on exactly what time it is. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/Watchnow_zps43015fb3.jpg

Best of luck with it and hope you can still get a replacement. You might get lucky with any of the electronics parts stores such as Maplin or similar. Nev.

Not that I am jealous, but!! It's only a watch! It does at least what this will that I got myself as a retirement present in June last year, it cost me all of £10-00. http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y282/plasticpig/Watch_zps957fa136.jpg

You just might also need the system preparation tool first which can be downloaded from here :- http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11282 Se how the service pack 3 from Starbuck works first though, but if it refuses to install you will need that preparation tool. Once again, to be as safe as possible you should get that service pack 3 installed for the security it has. Nev.

Hi, you do most certainly need to replace that battery, as without the absolute correct time as set by the internet time service it will not receive updates (Unless it is running XP then there are no more updates) there is no other way round to my knowledge. One good thing about Acer, they are good and free at providing service manuals with good explanations about dismantling it. You will need to do most of the dismantling to get to the battery, however I am pretty sure it is the object encased in yellow plastic in the photographs shown and it looks like a wired in type. They may only be available from specialist suppliers so I suggest contacting Acer themselves as they will know where to obtain one. (Unlike desktop mother boards where the battery is held in clips and easily replaced) Here is a link to a PDF download of the service manual, http://acersupport.com/acerpanam/Manuals/acer/2009/ServiceGuides/SG_Veriton_N260_N260G_BOOK_20090520.pdf You need to scroll down to chapter 3 on page 33 for the description of dismantling, unfortunately there isn't much about the battery or replacement, however you should see the yellow encapsulated thing as it stands out in the pictures. I have also found a video and looking at one point in the video the yellow battery is seemingly plugged into the mother board, though the video is about replacing the RAM, the motherboard pictures are a bit better than those in the manual, Here is the video Have a good read through the manual, it will tell you quite a lot about other aspects of the computer you may not know about as well. Nev.

Hi Bringe, you possibly require the update service updating, try this fixit on this link first and let us know if it worked or not :- http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949104 If that fixit doesn't work, have a look at the instructions here :- http://www.simpletechs.com/simple-blog/windows-xp-updates-error-number-0x80244019 Nev.