The Computer Thread

If you're at a university or work in a company that uses a lot of Microsoft software, double-check what your Microsoft benefits are. You can get Word for $10 through Microsoft's HUP.

x4

Would all that really take up 4.5GB? I've ran the Disk Cleanup program that Windows has built in and while that usually helps nothing's changed recently. I still have 325GB out of 454GB available (89GB being taken up by one anime series while I'm not sure where the other 39GB went) but I like to have as much free space as possible.

Also Windows keeps asking me to install the same update over and over again every few weeks even though I already have that update installed. Is there some way to fix that? It's been doing this since November but it's really stating to get annoying.

edited 21st Feb '16 12:10:00 AM by Chariot

Defragment your drive too, as well as check temporary files.

Drive C for me just went from 49.2GB free to 54.1GB free, just after defragmenting...

edited 21st Feb '16 12:29:12 AM by entropy13

Top clear out temp files, I use Bleachbit.

CCleaner here.

But yea, temp file buildup can get huge.

Multiple gigabytes easily if you use WinRAR, considering it is very bad about cleaning up after itself.

I think its revenge for no one ever paying for it.

edited 21st Feb '16 2:26:25 AM by Imca

If you have mysterious gigabytes of your hard drive being used with no idea why, no tool beats Win Dir Stat for figuring out the exact breakdown of space usage in your disks.

I use SpaceSniffer for that.

I think its fair to say, if its windows, there are MULTIPLE apps for that.

That's the thing though. Windows's Disk Cleanup program is supposed to get rid of temporary files and per Window's website if my computer is less than 10% fragmented there's no reason to defrag it and currently the fragmentation is 2%. No clue why I'm missing nearly 40GB that are unaccounted though I've been assuming some of that must be the Windows OS itself in addition to the programs and stuff Toshiba comes with pre installed. Even still that shouldn't amount to so many missing GB.

Basically out of 128 or so GB that I've used up I know for a fact that 89 of them are dedicated to one anime series since I have 100+ episodes from the past nearly 4 years saved. I just don't know where everything else is since even all the other things I've downloaded aren't that big.

edited 21st Feb '16 3:29:47 PM by Chariot

Windows Disk Cleanup is a very poor option for getitng rid of temporary files.

In general if windows does it, there exists 3rd party programs that do it better.

Even down to the humble task manager.

I like that this triggered widows defender, more accuratly that windows defender also noted that its primary purpose was to amuse the user.

edited 23rd Feb '16 1:30:06 AM by Imca

Anyway to run Quake 3 on Windows 10 at full screen? It just letterboxes on me (right and left blank spaces but it's at least taking the top and bottom of the screen).

I went up against some old bots a friend had programed...I forgot how smart Q3A bots can be...and he jucied the three "girls" to be smarter than the stock bots.... Much smarter than the UT2004 bots. I died...a lot.

If anyone wants those .botfiles PM me.

EDIT: This Very Wiki looks good on Pale Moon. Are their pages for web browsers?

edited 24th Feb '16 5:25:20 PM by TairaMai

Computers can tell if you're bored, shows new study: "Computers are able to read a person's body language to tell whether they are bored or interested in what they see on the screen. The research shows that by measuring a person's movements as they use a computer, it is possible to judge their level of interest by monitoring whether they display the tiny movements that people usually constantly exhibit, known as non-instrumental movements."

Wi-Fi achieved at 10,000 times lower power: "Computer scientists and electrical engineers have generated Wi-Fi transmissions using 10,000 times less power than conventional methods. With 'Passive Wi-Fi,' signals can be transmitted at rates up to 11 megabits per second — rates that are lower than maximum Wi-Fi speeds but are 11 times faster than Bluetooth — and decoded on any of the billions of devices with Wi-Fi connectivity."

Crossposting from the Yack Fest thread, but due to the fact that my laptop is 7 years old and has recently shut down a few times due to overheating while not even doing anything particularly strenuous, I'm building a new desktop.

Specs here: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Balmung60/saved/, O/S will be Linux Mint 17.3, monitor will come from a local store.

edited 2nd Mar '16 6:19:55 AM by Balmung

How often did you open it to clean it up?

Not terribly often, but last time it overheated, I opened it up an didn't really find any appreciable amount of dust.

Just a word of warning that if you do decide to use Linux Mint.

Well, I didn't download an ISO on that date and I do have a secure 17.2 boot USB.

Edit: and from the sound if it, only the direct download was compromised, while the torrent download remained secure.

edited 2nd Mar '16 9:00:17 AM by Balmung

Balmug, get some canned air and blow out the fans. Dust is the enemy, pull out the dust bunnies and clear away the desk. Make sure the airflow is unobstructed.

Is your laptop and your new PC going into the bedroom with all your fluffy pillows and sheets? Or into the livingroom with a carpet?

The fan may have bearing issues. Download an app like Coretemp both for the old lappy and your new PC.

Cut some filer material from your local hardware store, fit it around the vents on your new comp. If you can, get the washable & wringable kind. 3M makes a good filter that's washable.

I have a laptop and use a cooling pad from Belkin, a stopgap for your old laptop or a future one (or a friend if you're feeling generous, it's USB powered btw) .

And now I use a Targus Chill Mat with a 4-port hub.

edited 2nd Mar '16 8:57:26 PM by TairaMai

Sure, but it's still getting replaced, and I reiterate the absence of dust bunnies when I cracked it open. All the parts are ordered and the biggest hurdle is that recent urgent medical work (came up within hours of placing the orders) won't let me physically lift the case for a few weeks.

And "fans"? What bourgeoisie laptop paradise do you live in? My laptop has one fan serving the CPU, GPU, and chipset heatsinks via heatpipes.

Edit: I have a USB-powered cooling pad, it's just not enough for my ancient toaster.

Edit Edit: It's going in my bedroom.

edited 2nd Mar '16 9:01:36 PM by Balmung

My new lappy has two, but my old one has one. The new laptop also runs Intel and Nvidia which seem to have a better way of running with heat.

HP Envy is the new hotness, HP Pavilion is my old school lappy.

EDIT: for the "toaster" consider a USB case/kit for the old HD and consider selling it for parts. Get some money back when you build your new comp.

Yeah, filters for your new case: dander, hair, dust, dust bunnies, lint and how/where your bedroom is in your airflow can kill your case over time.

My first apartment had this gray "living dead" colored carpet that got everywhere when I vacuumed (I had to 'cause my GF at the time had asthma and refused to visit unless the place was clean). When I was in the Army, a lot of barracks had poor airflow and everything in one room (with just the bathroom closed off). Dust and lint was everywhere. I had to blow out my laptop and my cooling pad with canned air once a month. At times a "grey mist" would come from my poor lappy from the lint.

Realize that a HUGE part of the problem you can't get rid of: your body sheds skin and hair, your linen lints away, your bedroom might have poor airflow.

To fight that:

• Cable management, neckbeards use zip ties, pros use velcro because they know they will have to re-wire something later.

• A washable filter cut to fit the openings of your case.

• Fan management where one pulls air in and the rest push air out the back.

• Vacuum the bed room. Makes you feel better, helps you score with the ladies (because they're not sneezing when you show them your rig) and keeps the dust down.

edited 2nd Mar '16 9:08:50 PM by TairaMai

It's going in my carpeted bedroom, gonna put it on the desk, rather than on the floor.

Edit: I don't the the toaster's HDD is likely in good shape after 4 years of hauling it around town and sitting in that overheating scrapbox. Just gonna beg my old external HDD to work once more.

edited 2nd Mar '16 9:06:32 PM by Balmung

At this point, it's an emergency EVAC when your laptop goes south. When you get your new comp built, moving files should be easy with the HDD now in a USB case or bolted into your new comp until it goes to the happy HDD hunting grounds.

Is there a way to upgrade from Windows XP Home Premium to Windows 10 without paying for it? The websites I found all suggest purchase, or are very vague about whatever they're talking about.

It should also be pretty easy with my external drive. Slow, but easy. I've already used it when updating the toaster from LM 13 to LM 17.2.

Just not gonna bother with backing up my games, and instead just going to redownload them through Steam while our bandwidth cries itself to sleep for half a week.