Computer and tech talk and questions

[Shato]

Here's a good question.

I recently purchased minecraft and downloaded it onto my computer. When I went to open it, it told me I needed to update my java. I did so, and that pacified it for the moment. But when I actually tried to go in and set up minecraft, it gives me a error message telling me I have bad video card drivers.

 

Two questions come out of this mess. Well, three...

A.) what are video card drivers?

b.) How do I go about finding the right one/ones and install them without crashing my computer?

c.) Does this have anything to do with little cards that must be inserted into the computer? If it does, even more questions follow.

 

Note: my computer is a desktop from probably around 2001, and I am not tech savy at all.    Probably not a good combination in the first place...but it's all I got.

Video card drivers are basically the software that helps your video card run correctly, it tells your OS (opererating system) how to use the video card. With wrong or outdated drivers the video card can't do it's job.

 

Depends what video card you have, ATI/AMD or Nvidia. You'd go to the manufactueres site and download the latest drivers for your card.

 

Not sure what "little cards" you're talking about but I'd be glad to help if you can elaborate a bit.

 

You can also try out this link and see if it helps

 

[MysticTiger]

By little cards are you referring to SD Cards? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital)

 

And, no, that wouldn't make any difference. Why exactly are you putting them in your computer in the first place? Do you transfer a lot of files or need them to save information on?

[grammydragon]

Caesin Miirik:

I think the "little" cards referred to are the SD (for San Disk) chip from the

digital camera to download photos onto computer. If so, that would not

be the video card used for your computer.

[7Deadly$ins]

Caesin Miirik:

I think the "little" cards referred to are the SD (for San Disk) chip from the

digital camera to download photos onto computer. If so, that would not

be the video card used for your computer.

It stands for Secure Digital. San Disk is a company.

[Caesin Miirik]

Video card drivers are basically the software that helps your video card run correctly, it tells your OS (opererating system) how to use the video card. With wrong or outdated drivers the video card can't do it's job.

 

Depends what video card you have, ATI/AMD or Nvidia. You'd go to the manufactueres site and download the latest drivers for your card.

 

Not sure what "little cards" you're talking about but I'd be glad to help if you can elaborate a bit.

 

You can also try out this link and see if it helps

Thank you, this actually helps a lot. The funny thing is that I found that exact website not too long after I posted the original question, and got the game up and running.

 

And yes, the little cards I was mentioning were SD cards. The error mentioned "card" so I was wondering if it ws one of those, which luckily it isn't, since my computer doesn't have a place to insert one of those.

 

Thanks to everyone for their help!

[Dimar]

So, for college/graphic design reasons I will soon be getting a Mac to replace my older PC laptop. But I've never gone through the process of getting a new computer before, so I have a couple of questions.

 

First, how do the files from the old laptop get transferred to a new one? I don't want to buy one of the cords that you plug into both computers at once, so my most obvious option is flashdrives/Dropbox. But that seems too time-consuming and impractical- if I take my PC to the Apple store where I buy the Mac, can they transfer everything?

 

Second, what about my iTunes library? Most of my music is off of YouTube so that's not the important part, but iTunes is where I have over a hundred Doctor Who episodes and obviously, I can't lose those. Is there a process I have to do in order to move the library or will the Apple store do it? Since Apple owns iTunes and all that, I assumed that they will ask me if I have an iTunes account to be synced with the Mac, but I want to be sure.

 

Finally, I HAVE to transfer my Photoshop program. I've looked up some stuff about transferring the license cross-platform, and some people say that it's a difficult process while others say it's easy. Has anyone here done that? What's the best way?

 

Sorry there's so much text- I really need to know what to do, and my Dad knows about this stuff but whenever I try to have a discussion with him it's impossible. And there's a lot of conflicting information on the Internet. So it's kind of getting frustrating.

 

[TikindiDragon]

So, for college/graphic design reasons I will soon be getting a Mac to replace my older PC laptop. But I've never gone through the process of getting a new computer before, so I have a couple of questions.

 

First, how do the files from the old laptop get transferred to a new one? I don't want to buy one of the cords that you plug into both computers at once, so my most obvious option is flashdrives/Dropbox. But that seems too time-consuming and impractical- if I take my PC to the Apple store where I buy the Mac, can they transfer everything?

 

Second, what about my iTunes library? Most of my music is off of YouTube so that's not the important part, but iTunes is where I have over a hundred Doctor Who episodes and obviously, I can't lose those. Is there a process I have to do in order to move the library or will the Apple store do it? Since Apple owns iTunes and all that, I assumed that they will ask me if I have an iTunes account to be synced with the Mac, but I want to be sure.

 

Finally, I HAVE to transfer my Photoshop program. I've looked up some stuff about transferring the license cross-platform, and some people say that it's a difficult process while others say it's easy. Has anyone here done that? What's the best way?

 

Sorry there's so much text- I really need to know what to do, and my Dad knows about this stuff but whenever I try to have a discussion with him it's impossible. And there's a lot of conflicting information on the Internet. So it's kind of getting frustrating.

Bit of a nightmare job for you I'm afraid. Mac parts and PC parts broadly aren't compatible - so you couldn't take the HDD from one and plug it into the other. No guessing how easily you could transfer across a network either, Dropbox may actually be your best option to get files across.

 

Even then - Macs and PCs are very different beasts. File formats in one often won't read in the other. And unless you've got some sort of windows emulating software on the Mac it won't be able to run programmes writted for Windows either - including Photoshop. Best bet with that would actually be to go and get a Mac-specific version.

 

I know nothing about iTunes, I'm afraid, so I can't comment on that. I suspect you'd have similar problems though.

[Shato]

So, for college/graphic design reasons I will soon be getting a Mac to replace my older PC laptop. But I've never gone through the process of getting a new computer before, so I have a couple of questions.

 

First, how do the files from the old laptop get transferred to a new one? I don't want to buy one of the cords that you plug into both computers at once, so my most obvious option is flashdrives/Dropbox. But that seems too time-consuming and impractical- if I take my PC to the Apple store where I buy the Mac, can they transfer everything?

 

Second, what about my iTunes library? Most of my music is off of YouTube so that's not the important part, but iTunes is where I have over a hundred Doctor Who episodes and obviously, I can't lose those. Is there a process I have to do in order to move the library or will the Apple store do it? Since Apple owns iTunes and all that, I assumed that they will ask me if I have an iTunes account to be synced with the Mac, but I want to be sure.

 

Finally, I HAVE to transfer my Photoshop program. I've looked up some stuff about transferring the license cross-platform, and some people say that it's a difficult process while others say it's easy. Has anyone here done that? What's the best way?

 

Sorry there's so much text- I really need to know what to do, and my Dad knows about this stuff but whenever I try to have a discussion with him it's impossible. And there's a lot of conflicting information on the Internet. So it's kind of getting frustrating.

Do you have to get a Mac? Buying a 16-32GB Flash drive would be a good idea if your internet isn't the best for uploading files to dropbox. I've never heard of Apple transferring your stuff for you so I don't know about that and I personally wouldn't trust them with my stuff.

 

If your music library is from downloaded YouTube videos then that won't be transferred and you'll have to transfer all the individual music files to the new mac. As far as the Doctor Who episodes, anything you've purchased via iTunes will stay on your iTunes account.

 

As far as Photoshop goes maybe take a look at this http://feedback.photoshop.com/photoshop_fa...cs5_mac_license

[SilveryKit]

Someone tell me, is there a good free program out there that I can use to learn how to program? Please tell me about it!

[Shienvien]

Someone tell me, is there a good free program out there that I can use to learn how to program? Please tell me about it!

A program to learn how to program? Not sure what you mean here...

 

There is a good variety of programming guides up in the Internet, so my advice is to just download a program which would run your written code (interpretor) and find yourself something to try, something simple to begin with. (Most such development environments are completely free.)

As for what language would be easy to use for a beginner programmer ... Python, perhaps? Should be good enough for starting out, since it doesn't look as messy as a few others and it isn't completely useless when you want to do something a bit more complex afterwards, even if it tends to be a bit slow and has a few other weaker spots (but those would not matter unless you start to deal with advanced programming).

[crazyflower]

I am considering upgrading my computer. I currently have this:

Video Card: Radeon HD 5770

RAM: 4 GB

CPU: Phenom II X4 840

 

Considering upgrading to this:

Video Card: Radeon HD 7850

RAM: 8-16 GB

CPU: AMD FX-6300

 

My monitor resoloution is 1680 x 1050.

I want to be able to run pretty much every game at max settings. I also need more RAM because I like to play Terraria with my cousin, but it would be pointless to rent a server for the two of us so I use my computer as a server. I like to be able to multi task at the same time. Running the server with the two of us alone uses about 80% of my current RAM. Would this be a worthwhile upgrade?

[Shato]

I am considering upgrading my computer. I currently have this:

Video Card: Radeon HD 5770

RAM: 4 GB

CPU: Phenom II X4 840

 

Considering upgrading to this:

Video Card: Radeon HD 7850

RAM: 8-16 GB

CPU: AMD FX-6300

 

My monitor resoloution is 1680 x 1050.

I want to be able to run pretty much every game at max settings. I also need more RAM because I like to play Terraria with my cousin, but it would be pointless to rent a server for the two of us so I use my computer as a server. I like to be able to multi task at the same time. Running the  server with the two of us alone uses about 80% of my current RAM.  Would this be a worthwhile upgrade?

Are you strictly upgrading or building? And what is your budget?

 

I'd also recommend taking a look at this http://www.logicalincrements.com/

 

and just FYI taken from the site "All these builds are focused on optimum gaming. If you do not game, get a lesser GPU and use the saved $$$ to upgrade something else, such as adding an SSD"

 

And this http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+HD+7850

Edited July 2, 2013 by Shato

[TikindiDragon]

I am considering upgrading my computer. I currently have this:

Video Card: Radeon HD 5770

RAM: 4 GB

CPU: Phenom II X4 840

 

Considering upgrading to this:

Video Card: Radeon HD 7850

RAM: 8-16 GB

CPU: AMD FX-6300

 

My monitor resoloution is 1680 x 1050.

I want to be able to run pretty much every game at max settings. I also need more RAM because I like to play Terraria with my cousin, but it would be pointless to rent a server for the two of us so I use my computer as a server. I like to be able to multi task at the same time. Running the server with the two of us alone uses about 80% of my current RAM. Would this be a worthwhile upgrade?

Do bear in mind that unless you start running a 64bit version of Windows your computer won't recognise more than the 4 GB of RAM you already have. So unless you are planning on upgrading your software as well it's not worth sticking more RAM in.

[crazyflower]

Do bear in mind that unless you start running a 64bit version of Windows your computer won't recognise more than the 4 GB of RAM you already have. So unless you are planning on upgrading your software as well it's not worth sticking more RAM in.

 

I have a 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. I suppose this could possibly be considered a new build considering I may have to replace the motherboard, PSU, cooling , etc. I'm guessing it will be around $700 to buy everything, unless my current CPU is enough and won't bottleneck anything.

[Shato]

I have a 64 bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium. I suppose this could possibly be considered a new build considering I may have to replace the motherboard, PSU, cooling , etc. I'm guessing it will be around $700 to buy everything, unless my current CPU is enough and won't bottleneck anything.

If you're going to spend $700 you can look at the $700 build here http://www.logicalincrements.com/?aid=cr it's in the very good range and the video card is a 650ti boost however you're not going to be able to max out all settings with a single 650ti especially stuff like Crysis, Batman, BF 3 and 4 etc but you can probably get decent FPS, enough to enjoy the game. I'd say even go for a 660 if you can afford it, would be better than two 650's. Also depends what games you want to play

[TheDarkCynder]

So I've been getting a lot of random freezes on my built desktop and I've been trying to find the culprit. I get a BSOD and it says that it is a hardware error.

 

Soo. Any way to easily find out which piece of hardware is being wonky? I'm thinking the RAM could be the most likely culprit?

[Jet Raptor]

If you have spare working RAM lying around, you could swap it out and see if the computer runs with it maybe?

What BSOD stop code(s) or error messages did you get? I don't know what each code points to specifically, but if they're the same codes my old desktop had...it could be hard drive or RAM problems. We also had a power supply problem but, if your computer is still turning on, it's probably not a power supply problem. ._.

[Shato]

So I've been getting a lot of random freezes on my built desktop and I've been trying to find the culprit. I get a BSOD and it says that it is a hardware error.

 

Soo. Any way to easily find out which piece of hardware is being wonky? I'm thinking the RAM could be the most likely culprit?

How much RAM do you have right now and what are you running also what kinds of things are you doing when it freezes?

[TikindiDragon]

Driver errors are actually more likely than hardware errors. Most BSOD errors are caused by corrupt DLL files. So updating any drivers should usually be the first step.

[Switch]

Okay i've got a problem

 

So, I need to record some audio clips. My microphone actually has pretty dang good sound quality, but there's a very loud buzz/hum in the background that's basically level to my voice. And the audio clips need to be good quality.

 

I've tried every solution I can find but nothing works. ._. I need the audio clips by the 30th.

 

I don't exactly know what information I should give because I'm admittedly not very good with these sorts of things. I can't even figure out what's causing it... but I am 100% positive that it's not background noise.

Any ideas?

[Shato]

Okay i've got a problem

 

So, I need to record some audio clips. My microphone actually has pretty dang good sound quality, but there's a very loud buzz/hum in the background that's basically level to my voice. And the audio clips need to be good quality.

 

I've tried every solution I can find but nothing works. ._. I need the audio clips by the 30th.

 

I don't exactly know what information I should give because I'm admittedly not very good with these sorts of things. I can't even figure out what's causing it... but I am 100% positive that it's not background noise.

Any ideas?

Try this

[Switch]

Try this

Thanks, but I can't do that. I don't have the enhancements tab.

 

Woops I forgot to mention, I'm on windows 7. Such a basic thing...

[Shienvien]

Random note: Switched-on speakers in vicinity quite often cause this kind of loud buzz.

 

Otherwise, what recording software do you have installed?

[Shato]

Thanks, but I can't do that. I don't have the enhancements tab.

 

Woops I forgot to mention, I'm on windows 7. Such a basic thing...

What microphone do you have, is it on a headset?

[urge101]

SOOOOOO frustrated at C++.

 

So, I'm new to C++, was looking around and decided to use Dev C++ for a compiler, as it is the easiest one tutorial-wise. But... when I compile ANYTHING, AVG protection detects a Trojan Horse. Can someone either tell me how to uninstall it, a better compiler, or a way to eliminate this problem? Thanks.