The Computer Help Thread

[Gray Fox]

PC has twice today, suddenly shown the screen as glitching and the sorry your PC has encountered a problem and needs to shut down. The image is broken up when it happens.

It's going to be the GPU isnt it?

[Spikey M]

Have you tried a different HDMI lead?

[Gray Fox]

I can give that a shot. Surely though that would only cause display issues and not a PC shut down?

I've turned it down from performance mode to energy saving and am checking everything for updates I may have missed.

[Spikey M]

No idea, but I'd give it a shot before digging deeper.

[Gray Fox]

It did it again almost immediately after posting, so turning it down didnt help.

[Baz]

My laptop overheated twice yesterday, both times while playing World of Warcraft. Worrying. I hoovered the fans on the bottom after the first time but it happened again in the evening. I play Hardcore too so disconnecting during combat is simply unacceptable!

I have one of those little lap trays to have it on my knee without burning my nuts off but I can imagine it’s counterintuitive in terms of cooling, although I’ve never had a problem before. Are laptop cooling pads (https://a.aliexpress.com/_EQpLylL) worth bothering with?

This is a game changer by the way. Sure it’s loud but I usually play with headphones on so don’t mind. Laptops as cool as a cucumber even after 5 hours of WoW

[Gray Fox]

Downloaded OCCT stress tester, so essentially force it to cough up whats wrong and 5 mins of full speed on CPU/GPU showed no errors. On the other hand, testing the memory immediately flagged up errors.

I have disabled the XMP for now and it shows no errors now. I hope that is the reason and not just a symptom.

[Gray Fox]

Downloaded OCCT stress tester, so essentially force it to cough up whats wrong and 5 mins of full speed on CPU/GPU showed no errors. On the other hand, testing the memory immediately flagged up errors.

I have disabled the XMP for now and it shows no errors now. I hope that is the reason and not just a symptom.

Glitches came back and so got onto an MS forum and they came back suggesting their diagnostic tool. Recommended a motherboard and RAM stick clean, booting in a safe mode and then testing. I did so and an immediate hardware error flagged. Shifted the sticks around and found it would only error with one specific one in.

It's over 2 years since building, but it's a Corsair stick and they supposedly offer a lifetime guarantee on them, so I've submitted an RMA ticket and we'll see.

[Lofty]

Fingers crossed they do because I've got 4x16gb RGB sticks of theirs in mine.

[Gray Fox]

Fingers crossed they do because I've got 4x16gb RGB sticks of theirs in mine.

They just granted my RMA request and sent me a label.

[Lofty]

Excellent news.

[Baz]

They just granted my RMA request and sent me a label.

What kind of info did you provide? Might try and scam some freebies.

[Gray Fox]

Originally they asked for the serial number printed on the dodgy stick as well as the specs of my system.

Once it was clear it was fucked they wanted an invoice of the purchase and a photo of the serial number on the dodgy stick. Once I gave them that they wanted a photo of all sticks from the set, along with close ups of the serial numbers on all stick from the set.

Luckily I have them in pairs and not as a 4, because they have asked for the full set back.

[Dquincy]

This is a game changer by the way. Sure it’s loud but I usually play with headphones on so don’t mind. Laptops as cool as a cucumber even after 5 hours of WoW
Fella, how are you getting away with playing 5 hours of WoW with a wife and kids? Impressive.

[Shindig]

Probably doing it during work hours.

[Dquincy]

Really?! Do you people not work?

[Gray Fox]

If the kids are young, they'll be in bed between 7-8. Gives you some gaming time.

[Baz]

My kids don’t go to bed. It is indeed during work time. And quite rarely tbh.

Also the latest windows update (I installed the one proper one and one optional one so couldn’t pinpoint it) gave me constant BSOD loop so had to system restore. Avoid it.

[Lofty]

Don't tell Giggles ffs.

[Bam]

So I want to change my laptop over to a MacBook Pro, I've been looking at the M4's but have started to think I might be splashing money out for nothing.

Is there actually much difference between the M4 models and the M3 models?

[Boydy]

What do you need it for?

[Bam]

What do you need it for?


FM - but want it to run lots of leagues with ease, office work, browsing the internet and I'll also be downloading quite a few apps.

I'll want it to link to my phone.

Its mainly for speed though and longevity. The Lappy I have now is about 4 years old and starting to get sluggy, I'd rather pay more and it last a few more years. Also the battery's last ages off charge I'm told?

[Bam]

I'd also probably use it for movies and music also.

[Ben]

I’m sure you could source a beast Windows laptop for a lot cheaper, if running all leagues in FM is the goal.

[Clunge]

Totally different generation and irrelevant, but my first MBP is still going strong (i.e. is perfectly useable) after 12 years. I'm on an M1 MacBook Air now and FM flies on it. An M3/M4 Pro will absolutely demolish anything you throw at it. FM is just processing grunt. Even if you go absolutely bog standard base M4, now they come with 16GB of RAM as standard and no stupid 128GB storage options meaning your storage was running off a single chip rather than multiple (thus not utilising multi-channel tech), it'll run FM with every league and player loaded at a canter, I'd imagine. The base M4 MBP looks like a steal. And the new Mac Mini is an insane deal with M4 (if you went desktop with it).

A equivalent Windows laptop will also do the job and will no doubt be cheaper, but once you've gone over to Mac and the miles better build quality + integration with other Apple stuff (if you have iPhone, etc), it's impossible to look back. I simply cannot comprehend going Windows again, ever. And I'd more likely go to an emerging 3rd, 4th or 5th option before going back to Windows. But atm, Apple has a total stranglehold on my tech (Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, Airpods, etc).

[Bam]

I’m sure you could source a beast Windows laptop for a lot cheaper, if running all leagues in FM is the goal.

Yeah I do agree but I just find there lifespan not great and tbh. I also just fancy trying a macbook out with all the apps they have, also linking it up with my phone would be handy.


Totally different generation and irrelevant, but my first MBP is still going strong (i.e. is perfectly useable) after 12 years. I'm on an M1 MacBook Air now and FM flies on it. An M3/M4 Pro will absolutely demolish anything you throw at it. FM is just processing grunt. Even if you go absolutely bog standard base M4, now they come with 16GB of RAM as standard and no stupid 128GB storage options meaning your storage was running off a single chip rather than multiple (thus not utilising multi-channel tech), it'll run FM with every league and player loaded at a canter, I'd imagine. The base M4 MBP looks like a steal. And the new Mac Mini is an insane deal with M4 (if you went desktop with it).

A equivalent Windows laptop will also do the job and will no doubt be cheaper, but once you've gone over to Mac and the miles better build quality + integration with other Apple stuff (if you have iPhone, etc), it's impossible to look back. I simply cannot comprehend going Windows again, ever. And I'd more likely go to an emerging 3rd, 4th or 5th option before going back to Windows. But atm, Apple has a total stranglehold on my tech (Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, Airpods, etc).

Does this seem a decent buy?

https://www.johnlewis.com/2024-apple-macbook-pro-14-m4-processor-16gb-ram-512gb-ssd/space-black/p112845399?irclickid=U4oU4pW7LxyKUa73tL2Hsws0UkCVz RTniXSDxI0&irgwc=1&tmcampid=99&s_afcid=af_312327_Content

[Bam]

Meh, its not in stock anyway. :panda:

[Bam]

Although this looks pretty nifty.

https://www.johnlewis.com/2023-apple-macbook-pro-14-inch-m3-pro-processor-18gb-ram-1tb-ssd/p111266608

[Baz]

Whenever my dad asks me to do anything on his Mac, my blood pressure drastically increases. Windows for life.

[Clunge]

Although this looks pretty nifty.

https://www.johnlewis.com/2023-apple-macbook-pro-14-inch-m3-pro-processor-18gb-ram-1tb-ssd/p111266608

Just go Apple Refurbished. Everything on there is restored to as-new standard, majority of devices on there are just returns – some might have the most minor cosmetic nicks. My Apple Refurb Air has been just fine. You can usually get great deals on previous gen devices (so M3). If you're not actually using your MBP for professional purposes, you'll be hard-pressed to actually see the benefit of an M4 over and M3. M4's getting a lot of attention because it's really the first time in the Apple Silicon era there's a big enough performance jump from an older generation (M1 to M4) so it's being billed as the first real 'upgrade' moment for a lot of power users. But if the toughest thing you're going to throw at it is FM, go M3 refurbished.

The 15-20% you'll save on the unit you can put towards buying a higher spec one. So push for maybe a slightly higher grade of processor with more cores/gfx cores, push up from 16GB of RAM to 20GB or 24GB, push up the base storage to 512GB or 1TB (higher capacity base storage = faster read/writes on the SSD).

If you're saving 15-20% by going refurb, you can for the same price as an outright new one, afford at least one – maybe two – of these upgrades. Just monitor the Apple Refurbished site. I've never established exactly when they upload new stock each day, suspect it's in the early hours of the morning. But all the good stuff goes quite quickly so once you've established what you're looking for, just check every morning and pull the trigger when your ideal machine appears.

[Clunge]

Although, that John Lewis deal above is pretty shit hot, gotta say. The space black version is another £50 cheaper too. There's an equivalent 16-inch on Apple Refurbished for £2k, but presume you're looking at 14-inch.

[Bam]

Although, that John Lewis deal above is pretty shit hot, gotta say. The space black version is another £50 cheaper too. There's an equivalent 16-inch on Apple Refurbished for £2k, but presume you're looking at 14-inch.

Yeah my current laptop is 14" and I'm more than happy with it.

[Bam]

Fuck it, ordered. :cool:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Hipster cunt.

[Raoul Duke]

Welcome to the Elite Human Club :cool:

[Giggles]

You can blog like a boss now.

[Bam]

Hipster cunt.

Got to be honest, I expected that response to come from Giggles.

[Giggles]

Got to be honest, I expected that response to come from Giggles.

Nah they're probably something I'd go for myself all joking aside. But for what I'd be using it for, the iPad with keyboard probably does enough for me. For other stuff I usually get away with specing a fairly decent Windows one in work, so far anyway.

[Bam]

So I picked up my Macbook Pro yesterday, impressed with it so far.

How can I move FM24 on to it? I'm not sure steam is supported anymore. Also, can I move my graphics over or would I have to re-download them?

[Raoul Duke]

So I picked up my Macbook Pro yesterday, impressed with it so far.

How can I move FM24 on to it? I'm not sure steam is supported anymore. Also, can I move my graphics over or would I have to re-download them?

You can just run a cable from one machine to the other. Might be different if you move from PC -> Mac though

[Shindig]

Dusted the PC out this morning and now I get no display or hard drive access. Everything seems to power up.

[Gray Fox]

How did you dust it? Possible that you knocked a few connectors a little loose. I'd go in and check everything on the board is tightly in.

[Shindig]

I blast it with compressed air so I'd be surprised if something was unplugged.

EDIT: Aside from the case fan which, as far as I can tell, won't stop your PC from posting. Everything else looks securely in. In the meantime, I've dug an old PC out from upstairs. At least that confirms the hard drive wasn't the problem.

My guess is it's the power supply finally conking out. Not fully kaput but not enough to get the thing posted.

[Ben]

https://github.com/yuliskov/SmartTube

I know Giggles was asking about this. Adblocker for YouTube on smart TVs, Android boxes, Firesticks etc.

[Shindig]

Windows 11 just killed my PC. Can't access the recovery stuff. EDIT: Two boot USB's later, I'm back. Computers are weird.

[niko_cee]

Tech support please.

My windows 11 laptop (gigabyte aero 15) has gone all black screen of death. It did it of its own volition at some point whilst on and otherwise working normally yesterday - ie I think it went black as a power saving measure and won't now come back to life. Manual restarting has no effect, you don't get the bios screen / manufacturer logo etc but it does make the windows sound which I assume is it going to the login screen, the fans come on and the keyboard lights up as normal. I've tried draining it of power, disconnecting the battery, even putting an old nvme drive in to try to boot it up with but the same issue persists.

I'm going to try to connect it to a second display later on but am concerned that won't do anything as all the advice I have seen about connecting to a second display requires you to do stuff in windows, which I can't do as I can't see anything or login etc.

I've tried the reset graphics driver shortcut but that just gives me a beep and not much more, do you need to be actually logged into windows for that to work?

Has the nvidia driver updated itself and caused this, and if it has how do I rectify the shit?

[Ben]

Does it have a pinhole reset on the underneath? Lenovo do and that always sorts that problem.

[Raoul Duke]

If you can connect it to a monitor with the lid closed it might let you see it as the main screen. Sounds like a display/driver issue

[niko_cee]

I can't see any small holes it would be possible to stick something into.

[niko_cee]

Without wanting to sound too retarded, where are the drivers 'stored'? Are they like firmware things that live in the physical things (ie the graphics card) or do they live in the OS/on the hard drive? If it is the latter, shouldn't putting an old nvme drive in (I think it still has all of the original OS etc on it but maybe I should check that) reset things back to an older working situation if this has been triggered by some sort of update?

[Gray Fox]

Drivers are all OS based.

It does sound like a driver issue, in which case connecting the 2nd display should get you back on your feet with it.

[Boydy]

Could be hardware too. I've had a monitor cable come loose in a laptop before.

[Giggles]

My display issues on my Lenovo turned out to be hardware after trying every driver under the sun for it. The only way it is usable any more is to not use the on board graphics at all.

[niko_cee]

OK, so the second display/monitor works, now what?

All of the device drivers appear to be up to date, Windows device manager says the integrated monitor [presumably this is the laptop screen] is working properly. However, the external monitor appears to be using the nvidia graphics whereas the intergrated one is using the intel UHD, so is that the problem?

Gigabyte has this stupid control centre thing where the official version and the latest version of the drivers aren't always the same, I'm half wondering whether it is this control centre thing that is actually the problem as it is fucking useless.

[Gray Fox]

If you roll back to a previous version of windows, assuming the update was made over the last day or two you shouldn't be rolling back too far, does it fix your issue?

[niko_cee]

Yeah, nothing seems to be doing. There haven't really been any recent updates and trying to use the windows 11 update recovery thing doesn't seem to have done much. Thing runs fine on the second monitor. Now when I go into the device manager the integrated display has completely disappeared, so I'm thinking this is maybe more of a hardware issue. The thermal paste on the nvme drive looked to have gone a bit funny when I opened it up earlier and I think that is very close to the display ribbon connector thing. Might try unplugging that and plugging it back in. If it's in the screen end that strikes me as being more of a problem.

[Raoul Duke]

I've heard DDU (https://www.wagnardsoft.com/display-driver-uninstaller-ddu-) is useful for clearing out graphics driver cruft. Not used it myself.

Otherwise yeah, sounds like a hardware problem.

[niko_cee]

Tore it apart, those pesky Taiwanese certainly didn't want people getting to the screen, no obvious problems with the connectors, new cable costs about the same as a monitor so I'm not that bothered about spending that and then finding it isn't the problem (it also seems to cost about the same as a replacement screen itself:/). Think it might be time for semi retirement. Keep running it as a desktop and replace it with a better desktop in time, hopefully harvesting some of the better bits as I replaced the RAM and the nvme drive not too long ago. Think the slow death of it might be related to swapping the hard drive. I've done it many times before but this time little things have been going wrong over time - no longer recognising the finger print thing etc - but I'm not technically minded enough to try and figure out where it has gone wrong. I suppose it has had a hard five years.

[Giggles]

My display issues on my Lenovo turned out to be hardware after trying every driver under the sun for it. The only way it is usable any more is to not use the on board graphics at all.

Actually, on this, how do I stop the AMD Radeon Graphics reinstalling itself in the background. I've no notification it does it until I see the display start glitching again.

[Ben]

Look up any reference to AMD Radeon in Regedit and Task Scheduler and nuke them.

[phonics]

My xbox controller is linked to my PC. I don't own another console. It's no longer linked to my PC. I hold down the wireless hub and the controller search and the light turns white. My PC doesn't recognise it. What is happening.

[Shindig]

The controller should have a reset hole on the back. Stick a pin in that and see if it wipes whatever it thinks it's paired with.

[Spikey M]

My laptop is being a nonce and the screen won't turn on. Anyone got a recommendation for a decent replacement? Pretty basic requirements. Word processing, Football Manager and Civilization.

Don't know where to start with looking anymore.

Is this (https://www.currys.co.uk/products/samsung-galaxy-book4-edge-15.6-laptop-copilot-pc-snapdragon-x-plus-512-gb-ssd-sapphire-blue-10271842.html) any good?

[Ben]

Curry's will be overpriced and pre-loaded with shite.

Look for a refurb from a (reputable) eBay seller. You'll get a beast for the same price.

[Manc]

https://community.sports-interactive.com/forums/topic/530852-fm24-pclaptop-advice-thread-please-read-opening-post-before-posting/

[AJ23]

I've got a Macbook Pro that has some screen damage in the top left corner. There's a dark shadow that runs down the left side of the screen and across the top there is a line which flickers.

Apple are quoting around £600 for a replacement screen. My local repair shop quoted £500.

Has anyone had anything similar and is there anything else I can do as a cheaper solution? Seems like I might have to swallow the repair costs, buy a new laptop, or just put up with it.

Other than that, the laptop itself works fine.

[Clunge]

How old is it? And what sort of grunt do you need out of a laptop? At £500-£600, you’re half-way towards a brand new M4 Air (just refreshed) or if you went for a refurbed Mac, you’d get a bit more bang. If yours is already a high-end, newer M-series Mac, the repair might make sense if it’a got 4-5 years lifespan left. If you’re on something from the Intel era, it’d be worth investing in something newer.

[SincereTheRebel]

Lads. I need Adobe illustrator or some alternative. What options do i have, the cheaper the better

[Pepe]

Paint

[Ben]

GIMP? Or is that the Photoshop knock off?

[Boydy]

Inkscape is meant to be the GIMP to Illustrator, I believe.

https://inkscape.org/

[phonics]

Lads. I need Adobe illustrator or some alternative. What options do i have, the cheaper the better

You can pirate the Adobe suite pretty easily. All the copycats are dogshit.

[Giggles]

Got sick of this laptop with the graphics thing in the end but always liked it as a laptop outside of that, so ordered a Yoga 7 2-in-1 14 this morning. Seems to be pretty much the same spec but has more ports so I can dispense with my dock.