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<title>Computer Hardware Help forum - dslreports.com community</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/hwhelp</link>
<description>Computer Hardware Help forum current topics</description>
<language>en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2007, dslreports.com</copyright>
<pubDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:13:59 EDT</pubDate>
<lastBuildDate>Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:13:59 EDT</lastBuildDate>

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<item>
<title>Odd Memory Issue</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23288847</link>
<description><![CDATA[Hello all. this one is odd.  Motherboard is Asus P7P55D with i7 860 CPU and 4 - 2GB PC3-12800 DDR3 memory.

Here is where it gets odd:

[att=1]

Notice that I do have a 64 Bit version of Windows installed, and also note that it is reporting the installed memory as 8.00 GB, yet it also says there is only 3.99 GB usable memory.

Here is what Everest 5.30 shows:

[att=2]

I ran Memtest86+ on all 4 DIMMs and no errors were reported. I have already loaded the latest BIOS, and all drivers are up to date, although it cannot be a driver issue as when I boot to the BIOS it shows the amount of memory installed as 4088 MB.  I tried every memory setting I could - memory re-map, dram speed, voltage, timings, you name it I did it to no avail.

Has anyone ever seen a problem like this? Tech support is useless.. Asus says it is the memory, and Corsair says it is the motherboard. 

What I found with various searches lead to at best a non-answer.  Any idea what it could be?]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23288847</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-04 08:04:04</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Removing laptop GPU</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23263709</link>
<description><![CDATA[Have a HP laptop that has a 8600gs GPU which is failing.  I have a new GPU that I was planning on replacing it with.

Took the laptop all apart.  Then when I get to the GPU, it is glued with some red plastic type compound to the motherboard.

Does anyone have any experience with this?  How would I remove the old GPU so I can replace it?  It can be done, otherwise why would they sell replacement GPU's.
--
This world needs a Reset button]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23263709</guid>
<pubDate>2009-10-29 22:23:11</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>something loose inside laptop.</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23307405</link>
<description><![CDATA[I was moving my wife's laptop just a second ago and I heard something like a screw, or plastic moving around inside under the keyboard.  Everything works fine, I have noticed that the cpu area getting a little warmer, but I've got like a million things running at once, including boinc.  Should I be worried?  It's about 6 months old, Compaq 419 bought from Wal-Mart.

Like mentioned everything seems to be working like normal.
--
What else would you do?
--
There is hope!]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23307405</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-07 18:20:57</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>[hard drive] Need to know where can locate security hex screwdri</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23267327</link>
<description><![CDATA[The usb port on my external hard drive is broke. One of the gold connections is broke and won't allow connection to be made. I tried to locate the security hex at sears but supposeably only special order if they have it in their catalog. Is there anywhere online besides Ebay to look for the security hex I need to remove the hard drive from the case. ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23267327</guid>
<pubDate>2009-10-30 16:26:11</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Looking for driver for Samsung SH-S223C DVD drive</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23298759</link>
<description><![CDATA[Seems to be really hard to find.  Anyone wanna take a crack?  I've looked and looked, and I found two sites, but one of them requires registration at cost ($1.99 per month) and the other has not responded with an email to confirm my email (required for free registration).  There's even an option to send me an email with a link to a download if all I wanted was just one file to download.  I went for it, but no email.  Went to Samsung site about it, but no reply.  I got this OEM drive from Newegg, and I need help here... ]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23298759</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-05 20:38:59</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Hardware compatibility with Windows 7 64 bit</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294949</link>
<description><![CDATA[Here is the background:

I spent a lot of time yesterday trying to install Windows 7 64-bit on my computer, including spending over 3 hours on the phone with a microsoft support person.  Before I bought windows 7 I thought I had done my homework and had checked compatibility both using the windows7 upgrade adviser and checking the gateway site to see if my computer could be upgraded.  Both places said I could upgrade to windows 7 64-bit.  I also ran easy transfer for windows 7 as I am going from Vista Home Premium 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit and I know I will have to do a custom install.

Well I tried to install win7 64-bit per the instructions posted on the microsoft website.  It said, the installation disc is not compatible with your version of windows.  blah, blah, blah, boot your computer using the installation disc, and then select custom.  So I tried that and the computer started to boot, spun the dvd, then went to a black screen with some garbled text on it.  At this point it froze up.  I then called Microsoft support and they guy tried for an hour and a half to help me get the computer to boot from the disk. I won't go through all the junk he had me try but he did try.

At this point he told me my hardware was not compatible with a 64-bit OS and that was the problem. So we should install Windows 7 32-bit and I should talk to gateway about what particular hardware component I needed to upgrade to be able to go to 64-bit. I agreed to this although I wasn't happy about his solution.  So we try to install win7 32-bit, it starts and does the compatibility check then says I need to uninstall Kaspersky AV and Perfect Disc.  I do this, try again and it says Perfect Disc is still there.  At this point I think he decided I was totally incompetent and asked to take over running my computer remotely.  He fooled around with it for probably another 45 minutes, got hidden Perfect Disc files deleted and we tried again.  This time it looked like the install was working.  He stayed connected and watched progress for another hour until the installation process rebooted the computer the first time.  Everything continued and seemed to be working.  While I was away from the computer it rebooted again(the fans are loud so I can hear when it boots) and when I got back to the computer it said that the win7 32-bit install was not successful and was reinstalling my old OS.  The microsoft tech called back and I told him what had transpired.  Well now he says I have to do a custom install on the 32-bit...

I decide to talk to gateway and see what needs to be changed/fixed so I can install the 64-bit OS since I don't want to reinstall all my programs etc for 32-bit and then have to turn around and do it again for 64-bit.  I figure they can help me out since my computer is still under warranty and the Gateway website says this computer is upgradable.  Well bottom line is they won't help because I didn't buy the upgrade from them.  They tell me I need to call their paid support line which costs 60 bucks for 30 minutes talking.  

This forum is my last ditch effort to figure out what is wrong before I either tear all my hair out or just give up and install 32-bit win7 and forget ever going to a 64-bit OS.  I really, really want to run win7 64-bit because I game a lot on this computer and it is supposed to be a lot better for that.  My specs are below.  Here are the questions.  What do I have to do to be able to install win7 64-bit OS?  Should I just give up and custom install the 32-bit?  

User: SystemAdmin
Operating System: Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium Home Edition 6.00.6001 Service Pack 1
Report Date: Thursday 05 November 2009 at 07:53

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>>
  > Mainboard : Intel OEMD975XBGG1
  > Chipset : Intel i975X
  > Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2400 MHz
  > Physical Memory : 3072 MB 
  > Video Card : NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
  > Hard Disk : WDC (250 GB)
  > DVD-Rom Drive : ATAPI DVD A  DH16A1P ATA Device
  > DVD-Rom Drive : ATAPI DVD D  DH16D1P ATA Device
  > Monitor Type : Gateway FPD1975W - 19 inches
  > Network Card :  PRO/1000 PM Network Connection
  > Operating System : Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium Home Edition 6.00.6001 Service Pack 1
  > DirectX : Version 10.00
  > Windows Performance Index : 5.0

More System info

---------- System Overview ----------
Model: Gateway FX530
System name: DUALCORE

---------- Processor ----------
(4)Intel #6f7, 2400 MHz
266MHz external bus

---------- BIOS ----------
Intel Corp. LA97510J.15A.0285.2007.0906.0226 09/06/2007

---------- Memory ----------
3072MB physical
90% free resources
4 memory slots, 0 free (1024+1024+512+512)

---------- Video ----------
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS Screen Area/Colors: 1440x900 pixels, 16 million colors
Monitor: Generic PnP Monitor

---------- Disk ----------
C:\ (NTFS) 228243MB total, 73367MB free
D:\ (NTFS) 10228MB total, 4376MB free
E:\ CD-ROM/CD-RW or DVD Drive
F:\ CD-ROM/CD-RW or DVD Drive
G:\ Removable
H:\ Removable
I:\ Removable
J:\ Removable

---------- Modem/Network ----------
(net) Intel Intel PRO/1000 PM Network Connection
(net) Microsoft Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
(net) Microsoft isatap.Belkin
(net) Microsoft Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
(net) Microsoft RAS Async Adapter

---------- Windows OS ----------
Windows 6.0.6001 6.0.6001 SP1 (Windows 6.0.6001 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1) Original setup date: 8/19/2007 DirectX Version: 6.0.6000.16386 (vista_rtm.061101-2205) SWAP FILE DISABLED File cache managed by Windows

---------- Browser ----------
MSIE 8.0;  6.0; Trident/4.0; GTB5; SLCC1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; Media Center PC 5.0; .NET CLR 1.1.4322; FDM; .NET CLR 3.0.30618; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; MS-RTC EA 2; msn OptimizedIE8;ENUS
Proxy: No proxy set
HTTP level: direct 1.1, proxy 1.0
Scripting version: 5.7.0.6000

---------- Hardware ----------

==== 1394 ====
Texas Instruments OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller (6/21/2006)

==== CD and DVD Drives ====
ATAPI DVD A  DH16A1P ATA Device (6/21/2006) ATAPI DVD D  DH16D1P ATA Device (6/21/2006)

==== Hard Drive Controllers ====
Intel 82801G (ICH7 Family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF (9/15/2006) IDE Channel (6/21/2006) IDE Channel (6/21/2006)

==== Hard Drives ====
WDC WD2500AAJS-00RYA0 (6/21/2006)
Generic USB CF Reader USB Device (6/21/2006) Generic USB MS Reader USB Device (6/21/2006) Generic USB SD Reader USB Device (6/21/2006) Generic USB SM Reader USB Device (6/21/2006)

==== Hidclass ====
USB Human Interface Device (6/21/2006)

==== Input Devices ====
Microsoft HID-compliant mouse (6/21/2006) Standard PS/2 Keyboard (6/21/2006)

==== Media ====
Creative Technology Creative SB X-Fi (5/28/2007)

==== Pdiports ====
Portrait Displays PDI Kernel Ports Device Driver (9/15/2006)

==== Ports ====
Intel Active Management Technology - SOL (COM3) (9/6/2006) Printer Port (LPT1) (6/21/2006) Communications Port (COM1) (6/21/2006)

==== Scsiadapter ====
Intel 82801GR/GH SATA RAID Controller (10/31/2006) Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (6/21/2006)]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23294949</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-05 08:05:16</pubDate>
</item>

<item>
<title>Asus G71 Notebook won&#x27;t turn back on</title>
<link>http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23309794</link>
<description><![CDATA[Ok so I had the notebook for about 3 months now.  It works great, it 's running Vista 64bit...however it always takes forever to shutdown.  So normally I just close the lid and the notebook shuts down (eventually...2 to 4min).  On Friday I had the same issue, notebook was taking forever to shutdown and I had to catch a train.  So I close the notebook and shove it into my notebook bag (as I always do).    Today (Sunday), I take the notebook out and try to power it on...no go.
So I think the battery is dead, that's ok, I take out my power brick and plug it into the notebook.  I can see the Charge Light go on but the notebook won't power on.  I keep pressing the power button I even hold the power button for few seconds....no go.
So I unplug the notebook from the power brick and I remove the battery...wait 20 seconds...plug just the power brick in (without the battery)....no go...then just the battery...no go...then both again...no go.

So basically the notebook is DEAD.  What gives?   I had many  notebooks in my life and even if the notebook failed to shutdown once I put it into my laptop bag I knew it would not overheat since all my previous notebooks had a thermal shutdown protection...that killed all power to the notebook if/when the Tc temp read higher then the predefined limit.  Did Asus failed to initiate the thermal safeties?  That is the only thing that I can think of would have break the notebook.  My only theory is thermal...that the notebook has never shutdown after I placed it in my notebook bag and it overheated.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated before I am forced to turn this heavy brick into Best Buy Geek Squad.   Also, has anyone dealt with Best Buy Geek Squad before?  Can I bring it to any best buy?  or do I have to bring it to the one where I purchased it from?  How long does it normally take to have it return?]]></description>
<guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,23309794</guid>
<pubDate>2009-11-08 11:40:27</pubDate>
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