Random thoughts.... [Tech Edition]

I added you to a PC hardware group on FB that is UK based, there is usually something for sale or people will offer you something when you're looking for something. Pending admin approval though.

Thanks! I've ordered the BIOS chip since £8.50 for a potential fix is worth a try. I'll make a post on there and see if anyone has a clues and see if they have anything for sale.

A windows server? What sorcery is this?

Just a Windows 10 machine with a bunch of disks, SMB shares and Plex running on it really. Other than having a tape drive it doesn't actually do anything an 8TB drive in my normal machine couldn't do. I wouldn't trust that single disk though...
 
Managed to get my hands on another ASUS Z97 PRO GAMER board after the BIOS chip unfortunately made no difference, it's used but I'm hoping the original problem was just a freak one-off issue and I won't see it again. I ended up paying less that 50p less than the price I paid for the board new in 2015, which is a little depressing but that's what they cost.

Replacing like for like was very nice, everything went back where it should and it fired up first time. The only BIOS tweak needed was enabling hot swapping on one of the SATA ports. Thanks to using Storage Spaces no RAID configuring was required either, it all just worked.

I had installed the 8TB backup drive in my normal machine to access the files on there but it's so noisy I'm glad to see the back of it. It seems that no matter what the OS does, the firmware keeps the drive spinning as long as it possibly can...
 
Managed to get my hands on another ASUS Z97 PRO GAMER board after the BIOS chip unfortunately made no difference, it's used but I'm hoping the original problem was just a freak one-off issue and I won't see it again. I ended up paying less that 50p less than the price I paid for the board new in 2015, which is a little depressing but that's what they cost.
I went through a similar issue with my old server recently. All of the replacement bits were just as expensive, or more so, for a used part. Just broke down and bought a Synology and slapped my drives into it. ?‍♂️
 
My luck is holding up quite well this week, managed to get a USB hard drive working yesterday that I had basically written off. No Windows 7-10 machine I plugged it into was interested but my old Dolch PAC 62 running Windows 98 (more accurately MS-DOS) was able to format a small part of the disk using fdisk.

Once that was done Windows 10 could see the 40GB FAT32 partition and all of the free space without a problem, allowing me to create a full-sized partition and that was job done. Probably could've used a Linux boot disk but actually getting a use out of old hardware is nice.
 
I think my AIO/CLC has died. So begins the RMA process.
 
It is the Fractal Design Celcious S36. I haven't really done anything with it since I diagnosed it. Busy with life and other things. It is still under warranty, so it is just a formality to get it replaced.
 
How did you first notice the issue? Was the BIOS reporting the pump failure first or did it get further? I hadn’t thought much about it but with no moving parts visible you’re relying on software to catch the failure before anything is damaged.
 
I just came home and sat down when the fans kicked up in speed and would not come down at all. I was able to shut it down before it automatically shutdown.

I was able to tell the pump was at least trying to start when I turned the computer on later, but it would only take a minute for the fans to jump up in speed again.

I do wish I could see if the fluid was flowing in the system.
 
I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the Technology Help subforum, so I figured out this doesn't need its own thread.

I'm buying a new monitor, as my laptop has an utterly miserable 1366x768 TN screen, but decent specs otherwise. What I want is an IPS screen no bigger than 27" and of 1440p resolution to be used as an external monitor. I'm planning to enrol into IT design at college, so what I need is something that'd be of use for some graphic design, multimedia and CAD. My budget is 350€.

What I have on my mind is the DELL U2518D, which seems to tick all the boxes. I even prefer its 25" size to 27" and bigger monitors in the same price range. The reviews seem to be positive and it seems to be decent for my needs, but I'm wondering what are your experiences with DELL IPS monitors? Is there anything better for the price? I'm buying new, and I'm buying locally, so those two factors are important to consider.
 
We used to have similar ones at work, they are pretty solid monitors, if you got Amazon where you are I would take a look at their warehouse deals to see if you can get something nicer open box, I ended up with a 4k IPS screen like that for similar price to what that Dell is.
 
Also had/have a bunch of older Dell IPS in 24" 1080p at work. Can't say anything bad about them - colors are good, they work reliably with our fairly diverse laptop portfolio, the works.

For newer 1440p monitors the IT have gone for the Lenovo P24h-10, those are awesome - very thin bezels, great picture quality and colors, and very nice connectivity with native USB-C for video, USB3 hub and even 45W power delivery all in one. Really nice when used as a docking station for laptops in a flex office, combined with a decent mouse & keyboard. Though I guess for home/desktop use all the USB-C stuff is unnecessary.
 
My last few monitors have been from Dell. They're a solid choice and usually decently priced, especially if you can catch a sale.
 
Anyone aware of any software that allows you to change the priority that media controls are applied? Up until now the usual audio applications (iTunes or WMP) would take the media control inputs no matter what else was open, but recently the media controls have been affecting background Youtube tabs in Chrome or any other tab that has media instead.

I suspect that this is due to a recent Chrome update so I won't be able to fix it, instead I would like to set my own priority.
 
Anyone aware of any software that allows you to change the priority that media controls are applied? Up until now the usual audio applications (iTunes or WMP) would take the media control inputs no matter what else was open, but recently the media controls have been affecting background Youtube tabs in Chrome or any other tab that has media instead.

I suspect that this is due to a recent Chrome update so I won't be able to fix it, instead I would like to set my own priority.
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/04/17/fix-chrome-blocking-keyboard-multimedia-keys-from-working/
 
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GoPro are offering £100 off a new Hero 7 Black when you trade in an old camera worth $100 USD or more when new. That's a damn good offer and my old Sanyo camera was £130 when new. I assume this is an incentive to choose GoPro over the new DJI Osmo Action and it might work for me...
 
This is probably a good opportunity to take advantage of buying some old cameras off Swappa or something, then trading them in.
 
This is probably a good opportunity to take advantage of buying some old cameras off Swappa or something, then trading them in.

I don't know if and how they intend to avoid this, maybe they want original proof of purchase. :dunno:

I do actually have that for my Sanyo Xacti, it was actually £99.99 so thankfully it's $100 rather than £100 if I wanted to go ahead with it.
 
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