Mike's Window : Hardware

Monitor Aspect Ratios unraveled..

Mike Hall — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:44:59 GMT

Sometimes, the native resolution of a newly purchased monitor can make it hard to read for those who do not have 20:20 vision. And then there are those who like to see more on their monitors and have good enough eyesight to cope. I have to use reading...(read more)

It’s simple..

Mike Hall — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:26:53 GMT

This morning, I read a post in a newsgroup where a computer user had endeavored to use the Vista backup facility. The backup software selected the D drive, but the computer user did not realize that the D drive was the recovery partition. The backup reported...(read more)

Software is the scapegoat..

Mike Hall — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:54:48 GMT

Some recent quotes I have seen.. “Too bad they won't offer those of us with Vista a free upgrade. I guess if I'd lived in the right time period, I'd have bought an Edsel, too.” “IT SAID WINDOWS XP 7 IS COMING MAYBE IN THE FALL. IT WONT BE...(read more)

Windows XP to 7.. Is it time yet?

Mike Hall — Sun, 17 May 2009 15:55:28 GMT

I have been preparing an older XP machine for Windows 7 recently, and it brings back memories from 2006/7. In fairness, the machine in question is a good performer running XP, but is in the bottom 20% of desktops according to PCPitsop. The processor is...(read more)

LCD Monitors

Mike Hall — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:00:28 GMT

For the last two or three years, I have used a 19” LCD monitor as my primary display alongside an 18” Dell P990. Three months ago, the LCD monitor started to play up. It would lose colour brightness occasionally, but one day decided it was not going to...(read more)

Hardware Installation Review – Asus M3N78VM..

Mike Hall — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:36:55 GMT

I recently installed one of the above motherboards into a client machine to a replace a first generation P4 Intel D845WM, and there are some points that I would like to make. The Asus board is a Micro ATX type c/w integrated video, sound, network port;...(read more)

How much RAM?

Mike Hall — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 23:26:00 GMT

Windows 2000 machines aimed at business would sit on the shelves with 128mb fitted. When the corporate buyers came along, more memory would be specified, maybe 256mb. Windows 2000 would rattle along quite nicely with 256mb powering it, but if it was fitted...(read more)

Vista and keyboard scroll wheels.. part 2

Mike Hall — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:36:48 GMT

How to disable the keyboard scroll wheel after having gotten it to work by installing the Win 7 driver until the next reboot. BTW, this is the ultimate detrimental side effect. Depress the SLEEP key.. Now, when one wakes the computer by swishing the mouse...(read more)

64bit + Canon Lide 30 + Vuescan 8.5

Mike Hall — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:25:37 GMT

It works, and I should be really pleased, and I was until I clicked on ‘Purchase now’. There are two versions of Vuescan: standard or professional. Pricing is essentially half the price of a new scanner, or almost full price of a new scanner. To offset...(read more)

A new USB keyboard and mouse?

Mike Hall — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:11:32 GMT

If you buy a new OEM computer these days, it will most likely come supplied with a USB keyboard and mouse. It wasn’t always this way. Early IBM clone computers used a 5 pin DIN port for the keyboard and a 9 pin ‘D’ serial port for the mouse. These were...(read more)

Vista 64 and Vantec Nexstar USB IDE enclosures..

Mike Hall — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:13:00 GMT

It took me a day or two to figure out why Vista 64 would not see my USB enclosure. It has a WD 80gb IDE drive installed in it, and the jumper was set to slave. It seems that 32bit does not really care where the jumper is, but Vista 64 likes to see the...(read more)

Slow machines.. Hardware issues

Mike Hall — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:21:00 GMT

What has happened to the concept of respecting your customers? How do the CEO’s of major stores and direct sellers sleep at night knowing full well that their company has sold underpowered junk to ‘would be’ computer users who do not...(read more)

Hard drives.. In My Opinion

Mike Hall — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:16:54 GMT

Benchmarks.. a exercise in futility? For those of you who just love numbers, here are the ‘read’ results of running HD Tune Pro on my hard drives. What they essentially show is that a large SATA II drive with a cache twice the size of smaller drives has...(read more)

Memory.. a reason to upgrade, a reason to cry

Mike Hall — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:58:00 GMT

There was a time when the only limit on how much memory could be installed in your computer was down to the size of your salary. The top module is of the 30 pin type and you could get silver or gold contacts. It could make a diffe rence. The 72 pin module...(read more)

Snappy start-up = no features

Mike Hall — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 18:39:00 GMT

I did something recently that I have never done before. I used the ‘disable’ function in WinPatrol to eliminate some start-up items. For the most part, they were the ones which auto start but don’t show in the notification area, so I...(read more)

Add Bloat To Taste

Mike Hall — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:42:01 GMT

Actually, I hate the word 'bloat', but I use it now because it is bandied around quite a lot. According to sources, the next version of Windows will no longer include an e-mail client, picture viewer, and MovieMaker. It is said that this will...(read more)

That Darn Magnifier..

Mike Hall — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:19:01 GMT

I doubt that many people ever knew what the additional buttons on a modern mouse did until fairly recently. Just so that we are on the same page, I have included a picture of a Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 5000, where you will see a red arrow pointing...(read more)

Overheating?

Mike Hall — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:10:00 GMT

This is why.. Even in the cleanest of domestic and commercial environments, a computer will manage to attract dust. A fair amount gets blown through the system as can be seen if you look at the wall or partition behind the case. Some of the lighter particles...(read more)

Where To Get Device Drivers ..

Mike Hall — Wed, 07 May 2008 00:14:00 GMT

Windows Update should only be used to obtain drivers for a device in your computer if you are unable to locate drivers for a simple generic device like, for example, an internal modem or network interface card. You could take a chance and try others which...(read more)

Moving Can Be So Traumatic..

Mike Hall — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:37:00 GMT

I have recently moved from Eastern Ontario across to the South West of the province. The move itself was not too bad, and within a couple of days, I had set up my computers, cables etc, and connection to Rogers Internet. This part was not all plain sailing...(read more)