So back in September, I finally got what I had really been wanting for years; my own computer, and a good one (by my standards) at that! It has no problems with games like Fallout 3, Left 4 Dead, and Call of Duty: World at War (the single player, at least. Online has some difficulties, which I will get to in a moment), most of it works flawlessly, and some of my peripherals make my friends feel insignificant about their computers, but alas, it's not perfect. Here are some of the issues that I am facing with my computer:
-The internet. I got an Edimax PCI Wireless LAN Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as to give me my fill of the web, but had problems from the start. When first assembled, it refused to recognize the modem/router (thing, which I will refer to as 'Archer') just across the house. So, I hauled it into the room with it, and connected a LAN cable to it, and magically, they found each other. Now I understand that a cable should give you a better connection, but my card at this very moment is at 52% (low) with a MBPS of 18 (also low, and is about what it runs at normally). So I was getting sick of the poor quality connection, so I removed my wireless software and stretched a 50' LAN cable all the way across my house, and I had 100 MBPS connection, and it was great. The cable got in the way, so I had to take it down every night, and since then, the connection seems weaker every time, even if it says 100 MBPS, it doesn't seem like it AT ALL (caps for serious). So what I am asking is this: Why? Surely the wired connection should give me a God-like connection, and not a mediocre one, yes? I have COX if it matters. My dad and I were talking about running a LAN cable through the walls so I can have a good connection without it getting in the way, but seeing as how it doesn't meet my expectations, I wonder if it is worth it. and also, could my modem/router be the problem? Or is it just my service?
-My USB ports. They disappoint me dearly. I have an Antec 900 chassis (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as which if you are lazy, has 2 USB ports in the front; an EVGA 750i motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as which if you are still lazy has 6 USB ports, and my Logitech G11 keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as which if you are STILL lazy has 2 USB ports (not USB 2.0). And basically the problem is: they don't work, with the painful exception of my keyboard's. When I plug any USB connector into it, it reads nothing, like I didn't put it in, except my keyboard, which doesn't hesitate to see my flash drive or anything else, minus my calculator (which is what prompted me to write this eye-bleeding amount of text) and that wouldn't be a problem except that they are a bit of a pain to get to, they aren't USB 2.0, so they are slower, and even they don't work sometimes. My question: Why don't the rest of them work? I thought it might be the keyboard's doing, so I hooked up a PS2 keyboard and still had the same problem. I am 98.65% sure that I hooked it up correctly. I have looked for updated drivers, but couldn't find any (maybe you know where I can find 'em?) I really want them to work so that I can get games for my calculator, among other things. Yes, I have tried all of the ports.
-The start up/boot up screen. Not a really big issue, but a bit annoying. when I turn on my computer, a black screen comes up with lots of white text and numbers (it asks you to enter the BIOS or continue). and it always says %26quot;floppy fail%26quot; or something to that effect (which makes sense, seeing as I lack a floppy drive), but occasionally instead of nagging about the floppy drive, it says that the CPU changed and the system case openedwhich means I have to reset the BIOS and continue. after F1 (continue) it loads another black screen with white text and then starts up. So, what does it mean when it says the CPU changed and the case opened? I don't mess with it unless I have to, so where does that come from? And more importantly, is there any way I can avoid the start up screen and F1ing every day?
-Windows Media Player hates me. True story. Lets say that I want to learn how to play the guitar sitting next to me. Great. I buy a 'how to learn guitar' set of DVD's. Awesome. I don't want to bother my family with my shredding, so I decide to play in my room on my computer. What could be the problem? well, WMP doesn't play them. So I read somewhere on the world wide internet that I need a decoder. So someone shares a decoder with me through Limewire. Hooray. When I put the disk in, the decoder wants me to use it. Sure thing. About 2 seconds after pressing play, it goes to the BSOD. Just what I wanted. So I delete the decoder, and it still won't play. What should I do?
So that's about it. Some day I want to get deep down in my computer and mess with the BIOS, seeA Few Problems with My Self-Built Rig?1) Wireless. I'm not sure about your wireless adapter, but with the wired 100megabit per second is only the cap on the line. In reality you get much less than that, besides the whole bit %26gt; Byte conversion. I know at my uni the connection speeds increased by a factor of 2-4 by switching to gigabit. In a home network that shouldn't really matter. 100mbps is still faster than what your internet provides you. In that case the 100mbps is for LAN transfers.
2) The USB ports on the G15 are USB 1.1, and provide no power. This is why your stuff doesn't work. With the ports on the board, I would presume that's either a) a BIOS option [overclockers like to disable their USB to minimize voltage drops] or b) you didn't install the drivers. Install the nvidia chipset drivers, which should be on the cd that came with the motherboard. If you have more issues on that, try out the EVGA forums. They're great guys there. While I don't have your particular motherboard (I've got the EVGA X58) there's a section dedicated to the 750i/730i [http://www.evga.com/forums/tt.asp?forumi
3) CMOS losing data. My first guess would be that it's losing your settings. Make sure your CMOS battery is situated right and (if that board has one) the reset CMOS button isn't being depressed by the i/o shield. Try entering the BIOS and setting the time, and save the current CPU settings as a profile. I believe that board supports overclocking profiles. Remove the Floppy from the boot order (that could be all that's causing the boot issue).
4) WMP does not have DVD decoding support out of the box. I'd download VLC or Media Player Classic. I personally use the Combined Community Codec Pack (www.cccp-project.net)
Hope that helps. Definitely try the EVGA forums. Remember there's always the 24/7 tech support. You did register in %26lt;30days for the lifetime warranty, didn't you? If not, you still get like 1-2 years of coverage.A Few Problems with My Self-Built Rig?I never made it out of the first paragraph, condense all that down to a few details please...A Few Problems with My Self-Built Rig?The wireless issue is probably caused by some type of interference. Plasma TVs are very %26quot;noisy%26quot; and interfere with many wireless devices. Cordless phones and electrical wiring in the walls are also a common source of interference. Electric motors can cause interference as well. You can try changing the channel that the wireless router uses and see if this helps with connectivity. You may also need to enter a security key when connecting to the wireless router, if you have the wireless security enabled on the router. ( You should have the security enabled for obvious reasons ).
Since you are removing the patch cable from your computer each day you are probably rolling up the cable. When using a patch cable, or running cable through the walls, you should keep the cable as short and as straight as possible. Looping the cable will cause problems as well as will sharp turns in a short space of the cable. Never kink the cable. Since the ethernet connection seems to be getting worse with each use, it is probably due to your rolling up the cable and then unrolling it again when you need it. These cables do not like to be flexed more than necessary to make the connection.
The USB ports may be disabled in the BIOS. I would check to assure that they are all set to %26quot;enabled%26quot;. Also check any USB headers on the motherboard to assurre the USB cables are connected properly.
While in the BIOS you will need to do two other things. Set the floppy drive option to %26quot;not installed%26quot; and then remove it from the boot order. You can also see if there is a setting to enable the boot screen logo. If so, enable it and the %26quot;text%26quot; will virtually disappear when you are booting your computer. For the CPU changing message, make sure the BIOS is set correctly for the CPU you are using. Should this not be set correctly, the BIOS will reset it to a %26quot;safe setting%26quot; to allow the computer to boot.
Windows Media Player hates everyone. Just some more than others.
Yes, I am very patient and I think I can actually help. Sometimes I am bored and have nothing better to do. : -)
