[Q&A] SBF IT Q&A Thread (Ask your IT questions here!)

[Fritz]

Are there any sites that I can visit on learning how to build my own PC? There's so much stuffs that I don't understand like motherboard compatibility issues with CPU's, amount of voltage needed of a PSU and etc.

[Fritz]

Also, I would like to know why my external HD can't be detected on a MAC when it works on Windows.

[xiaohaizi]

i downloaded mozilla firefox but it cannot be opened. i tried downloading it alot of times but it is still not working. any idea how to solve?

[kwanheng]

Also, I would like to know why my external HD can't be detected on a MAC when it works on Windows.

 

is ur HD running on NTFS? convert it to Fat32 and it should read.

[kwanheng]

i downloaded mozilla firefox but it cannot be opened. i tried downloading it alot of times but it is still not working. any idea how to solve?

 

give us more hints like cannot open, cannot install, install already cannot use.

[xiaohaizi]

installed already but when i click on the icon, nothing came out.

[crazydj]

Are there any sites that I can visit on learning how to build my own PC? There's so much stuffs that I don't understand like motherboard compatibility issues with CPU's, amount of voltage needed of a PSU and etc.

 

Bro

 

This one, sad to say must learn by yourself one. Computer thing i find it was a steep learning curve. Last time i in secodary school learn by myself one, go library, go internet. Because got alot of different thing ah. Then if we tell you also hor, abit outdated one. Got so many new different technologies one. Just google regarding computer can already one. I suggest use Wikipedia to learn. That was where i learn alot of thing.

 

If got like any other burning question ah, just ask here ah. We will help you one! Good luck ah!

[kwanheng]

installed already but when i click on the icon, nothing came out.

 

are yuo running on vista or xp?

[chuan.z]

Are there any sites that I can visit on learning how to build my own PC? There's so much stuffs that I don't understand like motherboard compatibility issues with CPU's, amount of voltage needed of a PSU and etc.

 

Depending... what's the purpose? If to save a few bucks, then it's not worth the trouble, coz it's literally a few bucks only. If it's for the DIY kick, then

 

If you're totally clueless, probably a good place to start of is ExtremeTech's How to - Build Computers and PC Systems for some reference builds. Keep in mind that prices are in USD.

 

Next, go to Sim Lim Square (SLS) and grab a copy of all the flyers ppl thrust at you, or put outside the shops. Or go http://hardwarezone.com.sg/priceguide/download.php, and download the PDF copies (free registration required)!

 

From the reference build, swap out parts that you don't like, or wanna upgrade, add in things that you want, take away stuff that you don't need, etc. Then armed with the SLS price list, you can get yourself a pretty decent quotation for your DIY project

 

Get a friend to help you, or at least on standby, during the parts assembly & OS installation, just in case things get a little bit messy.

[crazydj]

I have to agree with chuan.z. Sometimes, you just pay the unkle at SLS 10 bucks and he fix everything for you. Its easy to assemble a PC, but not for me. I have a bad back and large hands and fingers. And sometimes, i can take many hours modding my friends' coms because i need to rest every 5 mins.

[kwanheng]

I have to agree with chuan.z. Sometimes, you just pay the unkle at SLS 10 bucks and he fix everything for you. Its easy to assemble a PC, but not for me. I have a bad back and large hands and fingers. And sometimes, i can take many hours modding my friends' coms because i need to rest every 5 mins.

 

hmmm soon to be ah pek?

[kwanheng]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1004376/1/.html

 

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpLR2Zlq.jpg

 

Microsoft Singapore urges consumers to be wary of illegal software

Posted: 11 September 2009 1859 hrs

 

 

 

SINGAPORE : Microsoft Singapore has urged consumers to be careful when purchasing computers to ensure that they do not unintentionally buy systems preinstalled with illegal software.

 

The warning came after police raided a retailer suspected of selling laptops loaded with pirated software at the COMEX 2009 computer and IT exhibition on Friday.

 

The police seized 55 China-made Losang-branded laptops installed with unlicensed Microsoft Windows XP Professional software worth an estimated S$31,240.

 

The laptops were affixed with recycled Certificates of Authenticity (COA). A COA is a label intended to help buyers determine whether the software they are purchasing is genuine and should not be sold independently of the software.

 

The raid followed a tip-off received through the Business Software Alliance (BSA) anti-piracy hotline on Thursday.

 

Jonathan Selvasegaram, Corporate Attorney for Intellectual Property, Microsoft South East Asia, said swift action was important to ensure that consumers are protected.

 

He said: "Our concern is that consumers may be duped into buying computer systems that appear legitimate but are instead preloaded with counterfeit software. Pirated software can pose a serious security threat, and consumers may unwittingly be using computers with illegal programs that can lead to a corrupted system, loss of data, and even identity theft."

 

Furthermore, counterfeit software does not provide users with access to important Microsoft security upgrades, technical support, and special offers.

 

Mr Selvasegaram said investigations revealed that several hundred units of the Losang laptops containing unlicensed software may have been imported into Singapore for sale during COMEX.

 

"Consumers should inspect the COAs on new PCs before purchase to ensure that they are buying systems with genuine software, and be wary of suspicious looking COAs. They must also ensure that the systems come with accompanying product collaterals such as the software CD-ROM, manuals, and end-user licensing agreements," he added.

 

Under Singapore's Copyright Act, parties found guilty of selling counterfeit software can face a fine not exceeding S$10,000 for each article, up to a maximum fine of S$100,000, or a jail term not exceeding five years, or both.

 

According to a study by the Business Software Alliance and IDC Global, Singapore had a PC software piracy rate of 36 per cent in 2008, with losses amounting to US$163 million.

 

- CNA/al

haiz why must china people do this..

 

you know my work place a lot of people formated the os which came with the laptop itself and they installed china mod version os.

 

i feel so sian everytime i see those mod os, so many things has been removed from the os causing instablliy thus many funtion cannot work. Yet so many china workers likes to use them... really don't understand why...

 

anyway to make my life easy is there anyway to stop them from installing their os? besides bios lock?

[crazydj]

hmmm soon to be ah pek?

 

Unkle already la son...

[Fritz]

is ur HD running on NTFS? convert it to Fat32 and it should read.

 

Say if I convert, then all the data inside my HD will be wiped?

[Fritz]

Bro

 

This one, sad to say must learn by yourself one. Computer thing i find it was a steep learning curve. Last time i in secodary school learn by myself one, go library, go internet. Because got alot of different thing ah. Then if we tell you also hor, abit outdated one. Got so many new different technologies one. Just google regarding computer can already one. I suggest use Wikipedia to learn. That was where i learn alot of thing.

 

If got like any other burning question ah, just ask here ah. We will help you one! Good luck ah!

 

Depending... what's the purpose? If to save a few bucks, then it's not worth the trouble, coz it's literally a few bucks only. If it's for the DIY kick, then

 

If you're totally clueless, probably a good place to start of is ExtremeTech's How to - Build Computers and PC Systems for some reference builds. Keep in mind that prices are in USD.

 

Next, go to Sim Lim Square (SLS) and grab a copy of all the flyers ppl thrust at you, or put outside the shops. Or go http://hardwarezone.com.sg/priceguide/download.php, and download the PDF copies (free registration required)!

 

From the reference build, swap out parts that you don't like, or wanna upgrade, add in things that you want, take away stuff that you don't need, etc. Then armed with the SLS price list, you can get yourself a pretty decent quotation for your DIY project

 

Get a friend to help you, or at least on standby, during the parts assembly & OS installation, just in case things get a little bit messy.

 

Oh thanks. I did learn quite a bit from youtube and wikipedia regarding the different computer components but just wasn't sure how to read those 'benchmarks' and other terminologies / lingos. In a way, this is to better prepare myself so as not to get ripped by the SLS predators.

[redbeacon]

Say if I convert, then all the data inside my HD will be wiped?

 

Yep. Data will be gone. Best if you transfer it to a temporary location first, like another supported computer

 

This is not a "convert", but rather you have to "reformat" your hard drive, or you can choose to reformat that single affected partition that you wanna use.

 

==================

 

Anyways, for your guys' info:

 

When you plug a removeable drive into an Apple Mac, these disk/partition formats can be used:

 

- Mac OS Extended

- Windows NTFS - can read but can't save data to it

- Windows FAT32 - can read/write, but file size limit is 4GB per file

[Fritz]

Windows FAT32 - can read/write, but file size limit is 4GB per file

 

Ouh that sucks.

[kmax]

Ouh that sucks.

 

but what single file would u need for 4GB ???

[redbeacon]

haiz why must china people do this..

 

you know my work place a lot of people formated the os which came with the laptop itself and they installed china mod version os.

 

i feel so sian everytime i see those mod os, so many things has been removed from the os causing instablliy thus many funtion cannot work. Yet so many china workers likes to use them... really don't understand why...

 

anyway to make my life easy is there anyway to stop them from installing their os? besides bios lock?

 

If your company has a proper network infrastructure in place, your employees wouldn't find a reason to wipe the whole laptop. For instance:

 

#1. PCs need to be joined into the domain otherwise employees can't access their company work files, intranet, or internet. Only technicians like you can help them do it. This ensures that they don't load funny OS'es into their loan laptops.

 

#2. BIOS lockdown + Windows Group Policy + HDD anti-theft low-level security encryption

 

Here's #2 explained:

 

BIOS lockdown - If you set the BIOS to strictly load from the hard drive, and set an access password to it, they can't pop in an XP CD and begin the install.

 

Windows Group Policy - This can be used to stop people from running applications without authorisation - especially the Windows installer on the XP or Vista CD itself. This is set by the System Admin or a desktop engineer who have some working knowledge in Windows Server, XP, and Vista operating systems

 

HDD anti-theft low-level security encryption - Combine all of the above with this, they can't extract the hard drive, use another PC and drop in an operating system by themselves. Most HP and Compaq laptop have this feature.

[redbeacon]

but what single file would u need for 4GB ???

For power users and movie- or entertainment- savvy people, lets say if you rip a DVD into your computer, because a DVD is 4.7GB, a FAT32 drive won't accept it.

 

so yeah, some computer users do deal with large files too. VMware disk images, huge HD video files (this is true for Mac users in the graphics and video design sector), etc...

[Fritz]

but what single file would u need for 4GB ???

 

Games, movies and my raw edited video files.

[crazydj]

Bro, then if forget bios password how? The only way to reset it to open and reset the bion jumper settings right? If i happen to reset my bios jumper settings, my i re-flash to the latest one? No right? Thanks. Been out of action with this kind of thing.

[crazydj]

Oh thanks. I did learn quite a bit from youtube and wikipedia regarding the different computer components but just wasn't sure how to read those 'benchmarks' and other terminologies / lingos. In a way, this is to better prepare myself so as not to get ripped by the SLS predators.

 

I like to act like noob idiot when i go sim lim. Then act bobo shopper. Then after when i wanna play with the salesman, i will show ma skillz then they always stunned. Got many many shops you got to avoid one.

 

I do same thing for bike shop last time. Act dumb dumb. Haha. Got this one shop at upper changi road, the malay salesman wanna sell me 10 year old rxz for 4 K sia. Tell me my insurance is 1.5 k third party. I might as well buy new bike haha.

[Tequila]

installed already but when i click on the icon, nothing came out.

 

1. Try opening up your task manager(ctrl+alt+del), close all instances of firefox from the application tab as well as the process tab.

 

after doing that, then try opening up firefox.

 

2. If still in vain, go to Start>Programs>Mozilla Firefox>Mozilla Firefox(Safe Mode).

 

3. If both method above still cannot, then i think there's some sort of malware inside your PC. Download & Install Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, update it and then make a full system scan.

 

Good luck.

[chuan.z]

I like to act like noob idiot when i go sim lim. Then act bobo shopper. Then after when i wanna play with the salesman, i will show ma skillz then they always stunned. Got many many shops you got to avoid one.

 

I do same thing for bike shop last time. Act dumb dumb. Haha. Got this one shop at upper changi road, the malay salesman wanna sell me 10 year old rxz for 4 K sia. Tell me my insurance is 1.5 k third party. I might as well buy new bike haha.

 

Yea... that's the BEST way to screen out the shops to avoid, and find those looking for an honest living... Rare, but yes, they do exists...

 

There are some shops that I'm just so comfortable dealing with, macam fren fren, even though I hardly visit, just like honest bike shops... They might not have the cheapest deal in town, but they won't sell you a gaming rig when all you need is just an average PC for email/forum/IM...