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3926

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 29, 2012, 07:47 AM »

Now can I go to bed?


 


PS: Looks like the ports are paired 1 & 3 and 2 & 4.

3927

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 29, 2012, 07:20 AM »

No spare Sata Cable - so we now use the optical cable and switch it to HDD to test?

-CleverCat (February 29, 2012, 07:15 AM)

Since the HDD is not showing up, unplug its cable from the motherboard, (assuming it's plugged in), and plug it into one of the other SATA ports on the motherboard.

Leave the optical alone at the moment since it appears to be working.

3928

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 29, 2012, 06:51 AM »

Haven't made it to bed yet....

BTW in BIOS SATA Controllers say enhanced?

-CleverCat (February 29, 2012, 06:24 AM)

In your case: Enhanced = Enabled

Okay - swapped cables and optical works but SATA HD not recognised!

-CleverCat (February 29, 2012, 06:49 AM)

There is a choice of four SATA connectors on the motherboard, perhaps trying another might help.

They count from 1 to 4 starting at the bottom.  In theory, the HDD is probably plugged into number 1, (the lowest), as it's reported as Primary IDE Master.

Try the SATA optical in port number 3, (second from the top), that should appear as Secondary IDE Master.

On your motherboard, the SATA ports are either all on or all off.

If it fails in the 3rd port, then try the other two - if they fail, you most likely have a bad cable.

Now I'm really going to bed. 

3929

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 29, 2012, 06:11 AM »

Was just in BIOS and didn't see my optical! Says both my drives (IDE ATA and SATA) are on Primary IDE Master?

-CleverCat (February 29, 2012, 05:56 AM)

That's normal, the SATA bus appears as a IDE bus, (no AHCI or RAID on your motherboard), and because the SATA drive is currently plugged into the first SATA port it appears as a Primary IDE Master.

Did you try swapping the SATA data cables between the devices to see if the optical shows up and the HDD disappears?

If it doesn't show up then it's possible the SATA optical is toast and we'll have to play musical devices again.


Bed time for me...SJ will, (maybe), be along shortly to carry the night-shift

Back on duty at 1000 AEDST.

3930

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 29, 2012, 05:39 AM »

^ what he said - check in the BIOS to see if it's recognised.  You can check the power connection to the optical easily enough - push the eject button.

If it isn't recognised in BIOS, unplug the SATA data cables from the devices and swap them over and then check the BIOS to see if both or either are recognised.

Maybe there is a reason the SATA optical was unplugged after all.

3931

General Software Discussion / Re: Need Disk Imaging tool that can restore from external HDD

« Last post by 4wd on February 28, 2012, 07:34 AM »

Hm... Not quite entirely Scot-Free, as it requires a registration for the 'free' serial number before allowing install.

-Stoic Joker (February 28, 2012, 06:40 AM)

Open the file with 7-zip and extract the ISO - no registration required.

I've been using UniExtract on these for a couple of years now, it's a Linux boot disk and IIRC no serial is required for it to run, it's just to get past the self-extractor.

3932

General Software Discussion / Re: Need Disk Imaging tool that can restore from external HDD

« Last post by 4wd on February 27, 2012, 10:44 PM »

They also have a free rescue kit.

-xtabber (February 27, 2012, 02:49 PM)

f.y.i. they force you to friend them on facebook in order to get the download link.

-Gwen7 (February 27, 2012, 09:30 PM)

Do they?
Paragon Rescue Kit free Edition

Downloads->Free Express Versions->->cnet link

3933

Living Room / Re: Looking for opinions on changing ISP

« Last post by 4wd on February 27, 2012, 05:28 PM »

.

-Stephen66515 (February 26, 2012, 07:51 PM)

Short and to the point, I like that.

-4wd (February 26, 2012, 09:55 PM)

the blank canvas of the forum world

-tomos (February 27, 2012, 09:21 AM)

Not quite so blank...but pretty close

Uncanny! It almost exactly reflects everything I know... 

-cranioscopical (February 27, 2012, 12:32 PM)

Don't you feel better now knowing it wasn't completely blank   

3934

Living Room / Re: Looking for opinions on changing ISP

« Last post by 4wd on February 26, 2012, 09:55 PM »

.

-Stephen66515 (February 26, 2012, 07:51 PM)

Short and to the point, I like that.

3935

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 26, 2012, 01:21 AM »

Now we are good to go - need a free and clear day - Wednesday will be D Day, or should I say 4wd Day? 

-CleverCat (February 26, 2012, 12:55 AM)

No, no, no - SJ wrote the script, I just drew the picture

3936

Living Room / Re: Looking for opinions on changing ISP

« Last post by 4wd on February 25, 2012, 10:43 PM »

...Gun toting admins, killer penguins, & a chopper ... This is a joke right?!?

-Stoic Joker (February 25, 2012, 03:12 PM)

It's doable:





Oh sorry, you said admins...



Disclaimer: Yes my humour is strange...so sue me.

3937

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 25, 2012, 06:40 AM »

Opticals are screwed in both sides, right? So need to remove both side covers from case?

-CleverCat (February 25, 2012, 04:08 AM)

Yes, that's correct - HDDs normally as well.

Also, the screws for the HDDs have a different thread to the screws for the opticals so keep them separate, otherwise you might end trying to use the wrong one for the device.

3938

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 25, 2012, 03:55 AM »

If worst comes to worst, (perish the thought), you have pictures of how it was so you can restore it.

You have printed at least one, right?

3939

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 24, 2012, 11:17 PM »

What SJ proposes is this:



1) Remove the IDE optical, (*).
2) Move the SATA HDD, (1), to where the arrow points, (bay 4), using only two screws on one side to hold it.  This should be fine if the machine is not moved around a lot.
3) Move the SATA optical, (2), to bay 3.
4) When those two SATA devices are in position then you'll be able to plug the extra SATA power connector, (3), into the back of the SATA optical since it should reach from the SATA HDD.

Optional for neatness:
a) Move the IDE connector, (4), to the IDE HDD.
b) Put the IDE optical in bay 1 to plug the hole, but don't bother connecting it up.

It would be best to unplug the SATA cables, (both data and power), from the devices before moving them.  Try to avoid waggling them up and down as you unplug or plug them in.  They are polarised and the data connector is smaller than the power connector, looking at the back of the device you have the power connector on the left, the data on the right.



When you remove the SATA optical, (slide the opticals out through the front of the case), take the time to study both the plug and socket so you're familiar with how they go together.

3940

Finished Programs / Re: Done REGION GRABBER - A program to capture fixed regions for all to Enjoy!

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 08:53 PM »

* 4wd uses evil empire, comes up with: Screen Grabber by Eddie Bole

3941

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 04:06 PM »

Pull the IDE optical drive, and move the SATA HDD to its position. Then just bolt it to one side (they don't torque-up that hard), and if it sags a bit it can't go far...it's already at the bottom. Put the SATA optical in the slot above it, now the cables reach ... And the IDE HDD can have the leftovers where it's at.

-Stoic Joker (February 23, 2012, 01:19 PM)

Nice 

The IDE optical won't be used but then at 8 years old it's probably near laser-death, (depending on frequency of use).

Unplug the IDE cable from the IDE HDD during the install and then plug it back into the last plug on the cable.

No extra parts required, only a screwdriver needed - is that possible CleverCat?

3942

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 12:38 PM »

SJ, (I know you were watching when I typed this  ), any comments/ideas/alternatives?

-4wd (February 23, 2012, 06:31 AM)

eek! ...You work for Google?!?

-Stoic Joker (February 23, 2012, 07:04 AM)

Nothing so evil...but I do confess to staring at the Who's Online sometimes 

Removing stuff is generally easiest ... So just unplug the IDE cable from the board, run the install with the SATA devices, and if all is well...pull the IDE device power cables. Device removal is optional.

I think the only way to get the SATA optical going in it's current position is to unplug both IDE power plugs - I think I can see an extra SATA power connector on that lead.  Otherwise there doesn't seem to be enough lead length between the any of the plugs, (molex/SATA), to enable both SATA devices to be powered.

But then after install it would need to be unplugged again due to the need to have the Maxtor working, so then the IDE optical would need to be powered again, (again because of insufficient lead length between plugs) - leaving that nice SATA optical sitting all by it's lonesome again.
Aarrrgghh! 

Hell if it was my mom...I'd be lucky to get that far.

Mine too

3943

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 06:31 AM »

The best option would be rearranging the drives as shown at the top and Option 2, OR Option 1 and Option 2.

Doing one of these combined options will get all the drives working and the IDE devices into the correct Master/Slave cabling relationship.

Of the two combinations, doing Option 1 and Option 2 is probably the easiest.

SJ, (I know you were watching when I typed this   ), any comments/ideas/alternatives?

3944

General Software Discussion / Re: Special File Recovery Software

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 06:27 AM »

I think I smell spam.

-Innuendo (February 22, 2012, 09:36 AM)

3945

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for a "virtual scanner' software in one pass, outputting in PDF.

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 05:56 AM »

Thanks a lot, will try it ASAP !

-MerleOne (February 23, 2012, 04:56 AM)

Should have put them in a comment or something, the nconvert command/options used are:

-quiet      [no CLI output - no strictly necessary since I hide the CLI window]
-multi       [multipage output]
-c 4         [ZIP compression]
-out pdf    [errr, PDF output]

I don't do any dpi/scaling/etc, so you may want to tweak the settings for enhanced output.  Just change the following line to add options:

   $nconcmd = 'nconvert.exe -quiet -multi -c 4 -out pdf -o ' & $newfile & ' ' & $file

3946

General Software Discussion / Re: uTorrent alternatives?

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 05:47 AM »

Using µTorrent 1.8.2 here simply because private trackers prefer those earlier builds and it works.

3947

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 23, 2012, 05:34 AM »

See SJ, my luck is holding  

First off, whoever put it together really shouldn't be in the business, (sorry if it was you).

OK, I don't know how deep you want to go here but if it was me and working with what I have in the case, I'd do the following:
1) Remove the IDE & SATA optical drives;
2) Remove the IDE & SATA HDDs;
3) Remove the floppy drive.

Then replace them in the following positions:


Given the length of the power connections this positioning should allow for all drives to be powered, (the floppy is discarded).


Otherwise we have two alternatives, both of which require some fiddling.

Option 1: Obtain a set of 3.5 to 5.25 adapter mountings and move the SATA HDD to just below the SATA optical, this would allow the SATA optical to be powered also.

This is a pair mounted on a HDD, then you just screw the HDD into a 5.25" slot.


Doing this means you could disconnect the whole IDE bus because you'd still have the SATA optical drive to install Windows with.
Heck, tell me your address and I'll post you a pair

Option 2: We fix the IDE Master/Slave fiasco - the easiest but you still end up with a non-functioning SATA optical.

The problem with the IDE bus is that the HDD is the designated Master device, however it's in the wrong position on the cable to be the Master, (the Master is supposed to be on the end of the cable).

However, the Maxtor is actually in the correct position on the cable for what we want to do, ie. remove it from the system during install.

What you need to do is re-jumper the Maxtor and the IDE optical so that they get swapped around, ie. the optical becomes the Master and the Maxtor the Slave.

On the back of the Maxtor there is a small jumper block something like this, (red star over it):

NOTE: The jumper block might not look exactly like this since they changed the style a few times, you'll need to tell me the exact model number so I can find a diagram.

The back of the optical drive will look like this, (thankfully they're pretty standard):


What needs to be done for both the Maxtor and the optical is to move the jumper from whatever position it is currently in to the position marked CABLE SELECT, (or CS, CSEL).
On the optical picture I've marked it as the number 2, the jumper is the little thing marked 1.

This is normally a pretty easy thing to do, a bit fiddly when the drives are installed but certainly doable with a bit of patience and some needle nose pliers - the most fiddly will be the optical drive since the jumper block is on the other side of the IDE cable, (when viewed from the photo perspective).  A good light and a magnifying glass might also be of benefit or a really friendly neighbour with good eyesight and a steady hand.

Don't forget, disconnect the power.

3948

General Software Discussion / Re: Looking for a "virtual scanner' software in one pass, outputting in PDF.

« Last post by 4wd on February 22, 2012, 06:15 PM »

Here's a little single purpose program in AutoIt that will:
a) monitor a directory for .TIF or .TIFF files
b) call nconvert to output a PDF when it sees one

eg. test.tif -> test.pdf

Put it in a directory along with nconvert.exe, (available from here).

Call it from the CLI, (you can close the CLI afterwards), like so: ncfet2p <dir>

The archive contains the executable, source, UDF and example.

Basically just a butchered version of the example script in the archive.

You can exit it using the context menu on the tray icon, (standard AutoIt icon).

NOTE: I tested it on XP using the x86 version of nconvert.exe but I don't see a reason why it shouldn't work on Vista/7 x86/x64.

Feel free to do what you like with it, change it to use IrfanView, (which I don't use), or something else but remember: If it formats your drive, I wasn't anywhere near it

Should mention, it will overwrite any existing PDF of the same name and it doesn't delete the original TIF.

UPDATE: Pops up a ToolTip for a few seconds when it start a conversion, (just to let you know it actually recognised a file).

3949

General Software Discussion / Re: I Need DC Input

« Last post by 4wd on February 22, 2012, 08:00 AM »

That's realy a strange (bad) configuration, as IDE will only run at the speed of the slowest device, and optical drives aren't usually that fast. So it's got to be holding the IDE HDD back performance wise.

-Stoic Joker (February 22, 2012, 06:49 AM)

But having only one IDE port on the motherboard kind of limits things

I thought I read somewhere that they finally got around that slowest device problem, here we go from our friends at Wikipedia: Parallel ATA
So really only a problem if accessing both devices on the same bus concurrently.

I'm hoping that the optical drive is sitting on SATA Channel 1 and not IDE Channel 1 but with my luck.....

Still a nice picture of the inside should clear things up a bit

3950

General Software Discussion / Re: ReImage: online Windows repair!

« Last post by 4wd on February 22, 2012, 07:46 AM »

No, it won't work. OEMs self activate based on a string read from the MB...which won't be there if changed. The license is also tied to the hardware (e.g. motherboard), so it isn't 'legal' either.

-Stoic Joker (February 22, 2012, 06:42 AM)

Thanks SJ, I thought that might be the case but wasn't sure.

Go for the Upgrade version Curt, not OEM.