Computer Repair n Tips

Any security expert is going to tell you to not run unsupported software because it is just asking for trouble. That bit about the Adobe Flash and leaving ports open? Those are called exploits. Exploits are what you use to take control/advantage of unsupported software like Windows 7. I'm sorry, but this is IT security 101. I can't just hack your Adobe Flash and have instant access to everything on your computer unless there is an underlying weakness (an unsupported OS).

Remember that WannaCry virus that brought down hospitals, manufacutring plants, and grandmas? Yeah, Win 7. And that was with support. But hey, go ahead and play digital Russian roulette. Makes no difference to me.

Also, Linux Mint is not safe either.

EDIT: I am not trying to be mean but what you say is just not sound advice. Like at all.

EDIT 2: Your Y2K reference was an actual thing and everyone making a big deal about it is why there was no disaster. Everyone had enough warning and ample time to apply patches. Boom. No Y2K.

You can also thank the "Y2K scare" for fixing most of the underlying problems with computers that had existed in one fashion or another (hardware and software) up until the year 2000.

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

I don't mind you sounding like a broken MP3 player.

This lousy computer has all those specs already (except the graphics card, which is the one you recommended to me a bunch of years ago for my previous machine and which was MARVELOUS until I moved it into this lousy thing).

My concern with shipping this back (beyond the humongous annoyance) would be having to take everything back out that I put in, putting things back in where they were (which I might not even REMEMBER), and then doing without a main computer for as long as it would take to straighten this out. I can't. I have deadline-oriented work that won't get done on my tiny 11" laptop. (There are good reasons I use two large monitors connected to my desktop.)

Now, if I could perhaps buy a better, working computer as per your specs, get THAT up and running, and THEN complain to the CyberPower folks about this one again, then I'd have some overlap and would already have a better computer running. And if CyberPower bilks me, I'll just sell this thing as a large doorstop on eBay.

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Ideally I don't build from the ground up -- I'd rather buy a machine with the right basic specs and then upgrade the graphics card and maybe the RAM and/or power supply on my own as needed. That's what I THOUGHT I was doing with THIS thing. I'm not going to pay bigger $$$ for a "gaming computer" again. I'll go back to buying a solid machine and upgrading a few elements for my gaming needs. (With your recommendations above.)

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I honestly don't get the hate for Win10. I adore it and have loved it since I first installed it when they offered it free years ago. My first thought then was, "Wait, a free OS from Microsoft? YES, PLEASE."

I can't get my parents to upgrade, though, which is annoying since I'm their IT support. Now I can't do much over the phone with them anymore since our screens are slightly different. (They need a lot of hand-holding and things have to be EXACTLY the same as I'm saying they are or they get lost.) They have a visceral reaction against any sort of upgrade or change to their computers. They don't really seem to get the idea that computers ARE change. Constant change. That updates are a good thing in most cases.

So, when my mom calls with another complaint of "The thingy is blinking! What do I do?" I just get in the car and drive to their house. I think it's their way of getting me to visit more often.

@Tacitus: I think you pointed me to this card back when I first griped about this computer. Still a good choice? This is the highest I'd want to spend for just the graphics card, BTW. Lower would be better.

https://amzn.to/2GbNSJ2

I will say that, most of the time, you will never get the same longevity and reliability that you get building from the ground up and that's because most manufacture's skimp on their motherboards. That is the single most important thing you will buy and, IMO, should require the most amount of research before buying. It is far better to spend more money on a motherboard and skimp on other parts when building than it is to spec out a PC with awesome parts that are all plugged into a mid-grade motherboard.

I speak from experience.

Anyone know why my search engine spontaneously changes from Google to Yahoo?
I even use the Google search page as my "home page."
But it seems that at random intervals my searches will just start coming up with results from Yahoo.

Every other week I have to go back into settings and change it (after selecting Google, I even go and delete Yahoo from the list of search engines and then a couple weeks later it not only will be back in the list, but will be selected as my default search engine).

Do you use/update Java frequently? If so, their installer could be partly to blame. They bundle a Yahoo related extension that likes to change things.

But more information would help: what browser? Where are you inputting your searches (address or search bar)?

I see what you're saying here, but in my 30+ years of owning computers (how old are you, BTW? HA!), I've literally never had a mobo go out on me. I'm not a heav-duty gamer. Just a midpoint gamer, I'd say, which is why this new computer has frustrated me. It's not like I'm one of those types who clock frame rates and stuff. I just want the game to WORK.

So I'll typically buy a nice solid machine and then upgrade as needed: RAM if I didn't get it with the machine, power supply, graphics card. That hasn't done me any harm in all these years. I'm not saying anecdotal evidence is everything, but I guess I'm willing to continue taking my chances if the price is right.

I'm also lazy and dislike getting the engineer hubby involved unless I have to. That much building would involve him... and he's still putting together his own Frankenstein machine after more than 5 years of collecting parts. (He has no sense of time when it comes to projects of any sort.)

You got that wrong, I wasn't giving advance I was explaining how I personally feel about switching OS. I'm not concern in the least with W7 support ends. I bet my PC is more secure than most MoFos.

That’s cool, and do as you please.

Yep, that one looks fine.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

I am not saying they go out. I am saying they bottleneck you. I guarantee every one of your computers when it got too old was because your motherboard hit its maximum capacity.

For instance, number of RAM slots and maximum amount of RAM you can have. The speed of the RAM. The types of processors you can put on it. The number of hard drive connectors. Expansion slots for add-on cards. Faster slots for faster cards. These are all things that cannot be upgraded without a new motherboard. The better your motherboard the longer you can upgrade as needed.

For example: my best researched build allowed me to make 3 CPU upgrades and 3 graphics card updates (including switching slot standards from AGP to PCI-E). That is something you are not going to get with an off the shelf PC, and if you do you are going to pay twice as much as you should if you had just bought the parts yourself. Most people have to buy a new motherboard when they upgrade their PC or graphics card because of this exact phenomenon.

There is nothing wrong with the way you upgrade PCs. I am just sharing that the single biggest component in a person's build is often the most overlooked.

There is nothing worse than being stuck on a mid-grade motherboard for years that is absolute ****: you will spend most of your time tweaking and diagnosing and less time fragging.

I wouldn't sweat about a motherboard AT ALL, provided it has the appropriate PCIE slot for adding a graphics card.

Well, the refurb regular ol' business computer arrived Tuesday and I immediately added the better graphics card and the extra RAM. On my own, mind you. With no problems. Go me!

The better PS I had hoped to put in it seems to have blown a fuse so for now I still have the 290W PS in it. Once I'm completely done with that old CyberCrap PC (offloading data, etc. etc.), I'll take the 500W PS out of that thing (which I added when I bought it) and put it in this new machine.

My only issue right now is how long it's taking for Carbonite to restore files I backed up from the CyberCrap machine... but I'm not in any big hurry. It's just data.

And it's weird to have NO BSODs for DAYS now. (None with the new rig, of course.) Even while I was exporting Outlook files from the old POS, the darned thing BSOD'd on me one last time. Just for old time's sake. Good riddance to this thing. Now I'll start hassling CyberPower about it since it's still under warranty. But I'm under no illusions about how THAT will end up.

Let me just say it's a JOY to play games in Steam that don't crash or freeze. WHO KNEW that was even possible?

I'm never buying a "gaming rig" again. I do better on my own. Thanks for all the tips here, guys!

Anyone here use a larger T.V. in place of a monitor? If so, what are your thoughts?

I use a 2-screen monitor setup at work but I'm thinking to just buy a cheaper, larger T.V. to put on the home desk instead.

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"My Dionne Warwick understanding of your dream indicates that you are ambivalent on how you want life to eventually screw you." - Joel

"Ever try to forcibly pin down a house cat? It's not easy." - Captain Steel

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I used a 42" 1080p TV as a monitor for a good few years and liked it. It's not for everyone though - The pixel density (sitting inches from a big screen and not feet) can annoy people. A 4k screen would alleviate that.

That's comforting actually. Was thinking 32" or 42" due to the depth of my desk and predicting eye sight doing what I do will probably get worse.

Thanks for the reply!

Arrrgh. I've tried swapping out two different power supplies in this new computer, since it came with only a 290W one (though I've had exactly ZERO performance issues with this new computer at ALL on any level in the week I've had it).

Both were 500W PS, with on/off switches on the back. And both, when connected with the same cable connectors connected as with the original PS, did NOTHING when I tried to turn them on. Nada. Will have hubby help me use the self-tester later to see if there's an issue, but now I have a feeling I'm just missing something obvious when I try to hook it up. When I hook up the original 290W PS again, all is well.

What am I missing?

P.S. A computer forensics expert and friend recommends that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, leaving the 290W PS there since it's doing just fine even with Steam gaming. Thoughts (and not just gamers-upgrade-everything thoughts). I had high hopes to not involve the engineer husband in this setup! Oops!

@Tacitus ... On the new computer, I'd like to install GeForce Experience on the hard drive (E: ) and not on the small SSD (C: ). But along the way, the installation never asks me where I want to put it. Any way to change the default location of this installation? I right-clicked the .exe file, hoping for more options, but nothing's giving me control over where to install it.

I used to run a 43” 720p plasma as my main monitor but had to give it up after my eyes started bleeding. So yeah, definitely a case by case scenario.