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Post by Norfy the Walrus on Nov 5, 2008 10:57:48 GMT -5
Excellent. I'm glad you guys voted. Its very important.
Being Canadian this is the first time I've ever payed attention to the US elections. Last time when Bush came back in I sorta followed it but not really. But I think at that time it was pretty easy to predict what would happend.
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Post by Norfy the Walrus on Nov 6, 2008 1:37:46 GMT -5
So good news. I'm getting a new computer....for free! My mom is getting a new computer at her job and they are giving away the old ones. But in comparrison to mine it is very new. I don't know the specs on it but mom said it runs super fast. Plus shes working for the government so I'm sure they have really good quality computers. And if by chance what I have already is better, either way, its free!
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Post by masaia on Nov 6, 2008 20:13:14 GMT -5
And since it's a government computer, maybe it will come with some hidden functions... Like it will turn into a car at night! Even if it isn't what you need, you can always add what you want
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Post by Norfy the Walrus on Nov 6, 2008 22:16:57 GMT -5
Secret Agent Norfair! So holograms are apparantly real now. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi.....
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Post by Caller on Nov 6, 2008 23:56:48 GMT -5
Yeah I saw that and the first thing I said was "This has no place in an election coverage, this has 'THIS WILL GET THEM TO WATCH US' written all over it."
It's kinda not holography and it kinda is. It's basically advanced blue/green screen because if you notice, he can't see her. She's not there. WE see her. It's just now in 3D. There's an explanation of it in the "more info" but we're not there yet. Close though.
Now, this technology actually does exist and yes, someday soon, we will have real holograms. But this isn't it.
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Post by Caller on Nov 10, 2008 0:30:36 GMT -5
My focking display driver died today for the 3rd time. This thing hasn't worked right since I had it and it's barely a year old. I don't know what the problem is and Dell's little helper told me they won't help me because my warranty expired (I'm not even allowed to download drivers). I may take it to Best Buy though but last time I did THAT it took 3 weeks to get a "we didn't find anything wrong with it."
I've had display problems since the day I had this thing but I didn't care at the time because I didn't want it for gaming, I wanted it for school (that, and my previous laptop dun died). I'm looking at a desktop for about $750. I HATE desktops with a fiery passion but I don't want to spend another $1k on a laptop.
Y'know, I don't have the former thread anymore to double check this...but didn't this exact problem happen around Xmas last year with me? <.< *ominous music*
I hate to continue supporting Dell but I'm sure as hell not going back to Toshiba and Best Buy's floor models tend to suck worse than those. Choices!
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Post by UltimateCloud on Nov 10, 2008 6:41:27 GMT -5
I hate to continue supporting Dell but I'm sure as hell not going back to Toshiba and Best Buy's floor models tend to suck worse than those. Choices! Build your own! I'm sure Mas won't mind putting it all together for you... it's probably cheaper than buying a whole new computer anyways.
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Post by dejibo on Nov 10, 2008 8:35:09 GMT -5
with the economy in the toilet the prices are going to drop for the christmas rush. Lots of good choices at Circuit city who is strugglign financially. PLEASE haggle in the store. NEVER EVER walk away paying the advertized price, even if its on sale. Those MFs will bargain bargain, bargain, then ask for one of their come on coupons for another 10% off. Make um bleed. Steph hates to go shopping with me, but I get good stuff at great prices.
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Post by Office Ninja on Nov 10, 2008 12:03:27 GMT -5
You say your display driver died. what is it doing?
If you just need a driver we can get you one from elsewhere.
What is your video card, ill find you a driver.
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Post by Caller on Nov 10, 2008 15:56:24 GMT -5
I don't have a video card really, it's integrated. I didn't want integrated, but I got an amazing deal on this computer (like $350 off) so I wasn't going to pass it up since I knew it was light years ahead of my old one anyway. Etc etc. Anyway, what it does is the screen will flicker, flash, and then black out for about 30-45 seconds. Then, it looks like it's restarting and the screen just comes right back to where it was, and a bubble appears in the bottom right that says "Display driver has stopped responding but has recovered." Sometimes. It's a good news day when that bubble appears. Sometimes I have to hard boot the computer to get the screen back, but when I do that, then the keyboard doesn't work and I have to restart again. By the second restart everything's usually back to "normal" but then the screensaver doesn't work, and then when I try to run LotRO or WoW, the frame rate is 10 or less (usually it's 5 or less). And then there are those "what the fuck did my computer smoke to ignore its pain" days because sometimes the thing works perfectly. It's nuts. My computer is nuts. <.< I was looking at desktops because they're easier to fix than laptops but they're just so damned inconvenient. -.- EDIT Here's that bubble, and yes, I have Legolas wallpaper. I also have Merry! img.photobucket.com/albums/v337/seraphimhunter/Random/DisplayFailure.jpgEDIT2 CNN's hologram hasn't been received very well, and I found an article on CNET about it too. I wonder how their producers are taking it. news.cnet.com/stop-the-insanity-cnns-hologram-was-horrendous/
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Post by Office Ninja on Nov 10, 2008 17:36:49 GMT -5
Do you know how to see what kind of integrated card yo uhave?
In the device manager go to Display Adapters. Under there tell me anything you have, and what symbol you see. IE: Red X yellow Exclamation. Whatever it may be.
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Post by masaia on Nov 10, 2008 18:50:54 GMT -5
Actually, it looks like it's installed perfectly (no exclamation point or anything). That's what is the most frustrating part. I am honestly believing its the motherboard that is at fault, since his keyboard is failing at times as well.
It's an ATI Express card, I *think* the X1300, but I'd have to look at his computer again.
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Post by Caller on Nov 10, 2008 19:08:59 GMT -5
Yeah I know, it's ATI Radion Xpress. So far I've learned anything with "Express" in the title sucks ass. There is no ? or ! by it, and it says "This device is functioning normally" and when I try to update it says I already have the most recent drivers. Which I know I do because I've been to ATI's site about 5 or 6 times now to redownload those drivers. I don't know what the problem is I just know it's broked.
EDIT So I tried the game tonight and it worked almost flawlessly. Interestingly...the more I turned the textures up...the better the game ran. I have the draw distance down to "you have to break your nose on it before you see it" settings but the frame rate was actually pretty good.
...Though the screensaver is again not working.
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Post by UltimateCloud on Nov 11, 2008 4:14:21 GMT -5
Sounds like a weird problem to me.
The most obvious source to me, and I'm sure you've checked... but is it over heating at all? Like when these problems occur, is the laptop dead hot?
I know my old lap top had issues when it got hot and in the end I had to not use it on my lap (kinda defeats the purpose, but...) otherwise it would encounter so many problems. >.>
Might be worth checking if you're sure it's not a software/driver problem.
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Post by Office Ninja on Nov 11, 2008 10:44:26 GMT -5
So the keyboard has issues too? Any other devices? what I would be curious to see is if you eave the device manager open, does it kind of seem to refresh on its own every once in a while? Like to the icons maybe vanish for a split second then come back. To any of the + signs change to minus signs by themselves? Little things like that.
If so then you have something loose or broken on your motherboard. Possible one of the slots like your video card slot for instance. Or even just a wire.
With laptops its hard to check because obviously you cant open them up as easily as a desktop.
the over heating could also be a problem like UC said. I might suggest taking a can of air and blowing it into the vent for a bit. try to angle it and move it around to clear anything that could be blocking it or hopefully covering any of the items inside.
Also, do you ever have these problems when its not plugged into the charger? Do you ever use a different outlet to charge your computer? If not try it. see if anything changes.
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