Help Desk FAQ thread

Another general hardware question.

Q) I bought a 200GB HD, but it's only 188GB! I GOT RIPPED OFF!
A) Nope. Computer manufacturers list drives in a different format than what computers actually use. Drives are listed as if 1GB = 1000KB. However computers really see it as 1GB = 1024KB. So while you think your 200GB HD = 200,000KB, since 1GB really equals 1024KB, given you actually do have 200,000KB, you really have 200,000/1024 minus formatting and such. Don't worry, you're not the only one who finds the standard stupid.



Oh, and use this link for the BIOS beep codes, as it covers more info.

http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/index.htm

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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Another common problem is Windows booting slowly, run msconfig (type "msconfig" using the Start Menu's Run function) and disable any non-microsoft Services and startup programs you don't use.

Note that Windows 2000 does not have msconfig by default. Also, Spybot Search & Destroy has this feature too in the advanced section. You can not only disable items, but you can delete them too.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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Also typing "services.msc" will let you tweak the services much more deeply than msconfig than.

I don't recommend this for n00bs though. Spybot is probably the best way to go for somebody who doesn't know much about computer.

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hahahaa! i had forgotten about that... what a great idea for a question.

I remembered the issue, but the terms were escaping me. Thanks to Duminas for helping out, though he should do his explanation, it'll be way better than my crappy attempt.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

For Black Viper's guide, the site itself is gone. Wayback time!

http://web.archive.org/web/200504010...lackviper.com/

Double Post:
Q) HELP ME MY FILES ARE GONE!!!!!!!!
A) Ok, relax. If you haven't done anything since you accidently delete your files, you're safe. Windows doesn't actually "delete" anything, it actually marks the files as free space so they can be written over. But if you don't do anything on that drive, you can recover them. Look for a file recovery program such as "Stellar Phoenix FAT & NTFS". And when it finds files to recover DO NOT RESTORE THEM IMMEDIATELY TO THAT DRIVE. Have them saved to another drive then move them back.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Q) Help my drive is low on space. What's eating it all up?

A) http://www.werkema.com/software/spacemonger.html

Give this free program a try. It gives a visual representation of folders and files. The bigger it is, the more space it's eating up. Just be careful what you delete!

How ya doing, buddy?