Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Proz on 17 May 2009, 17:30:40
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Mmmm my super hi spec lappy decided to freeze on me a few times yesterday .... never thought any more about it till it wouldn,t boot up again and froze on the boot screen :-? .... so i puts in a call to the helpline and was not suprised to be answered by someone in a forgien land therefore the usual communication problems started >:( >:( >:( ....... after over an hour on the helpline and trying various things and diagnostic boot ups which still wouldnt get passed the boot screen the system is to be collected on Tuesday and taken away for up to 7 days for repair ..... However i was a little suprised at this cause i have the next day " at home " warranty ... he said its so it can be fully tested to see whats wrong but cant an engineer do that at my place :-/... and as for replacing parts surely he can carry enough parts to replace what is actually causing the problem .... its only a laptop after all , parts cant be that big :( :( ..... and its not even 6 months old :'( :'( ... oh well back to the old coal burning laptop i suppose , its better than nothing :y
Sorry .... rant over , i feel better now ;D ;D
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From what you have described, it sounds very much like a software problem.
I can tell you now that your "repair" will consist of nothing more than someone running the recovery DVD to put it back to the way it was on day one.
Note that running the recovery disk means that whatever data is on your hard drive will be wiped, it really will be back to the state it was in the first day you got it.
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I have to say it....
Get a Mac! ;)
Truthfully, I have had less problems with Macs that I have with Windows computers over the years and Macs can run Windows now for essential applications aswell making them better, in my opinion anyway.
:y
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I have a dell xps, have you tried all the software dvds that came with??
I had the same problem a little while ago, all i had to do was upgrade the bios.
Hope this helps. :y
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Sounds like corruption of files.
Either a chkdsk, or a Windows repair is likely to fix the problem while retaining all your files.
Did you try to start it in safe mode?
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Dell arranged for my daughter's laptop to go back to them for a replacement hard drive. I have to say that I couldn't really fault the whole set up. It cam back after about 10 days - but that was over the Christmas period.
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Ive tried everything :'( .... the guy on the phone had me try and boot it while pressing buttons like " function " and the "d" key cause it gives a series of flashing lights to diagnose whats up with it .... said it kept giving different codes everytime so hence decided it would have to go in to there workshop rather than the engineer coming to mine .... it wont go past the Dell boot screen ... you know the one with the dell logo and the bar that fills up ... freezes at various levels .... i never thought about putting the vista disk in though ... i may try that just now ... wont it have to go past the dell boot screen though :y
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I have to say it....
Get a Mac! ;)
Truthfully, I have had less problems with Macs that I have with Windows computers over the years and Macs can run Windows now for essential applications aswell making them better, in my opinion anyway.
:y
Mmmm yes but i prefer my SLI gaming at full speed :y
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Dell arranged for my daughter's laptop to go back to them for a replacement hard drive. I have to say that I couldn't really fault the whole set up. It cam back after about 10 days - but that was over the Christmas period.
I must admit the guy did have me trying lots of things and did seem to know what he was talking about ( once we got over the language barrier ) but couldnt make sense of the different error codes it was giving every time it tried to boot .
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I have to say it....
Get a Mac! ;)
Truthfully, I have had less problems with Macs that I have with Windows computers over the years and Macs can run Windows now for essential applications aswell making them better, in my opinion anyway.
:y
I had an ibook and this dell, in the end i lost the will to live with the mac, so i broke it for spares.
No complaints with the dell, only teathing problems, but for a top of the range lappy its ace :y
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it wont go past the Dell boot screen
I interpreted your original post as locking on the Windows boot screen.
If it's locking on the POST screen (Dell logo), then that is a hardware problem for sure.
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it wont go past the Dell boot screen
I interpreted your original post as locking on the Windows boot screen.
If it's locking on the POST screen (Dell logo), then that is a hardware problem for sure.
POST screen (Dell logo)
Yeah thats the one , Post Screen ..... couldnt remember the phrase :-[.... is there any software on the disks that have diagnostic stuff on them , mind you its no good if it wont go past the post screen is it ??
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Dell arranged for my daughter's laptop to go back to them for a replacement hard drive. I have to say that I couldn't really fault the whole set up. It cam back after about 10 days - but that was over the Christmas period.
I must admit the guy did have me trying lots of things and did seem to know what he was talking about ( once we got over the language barrier ) but couldnt make sense of the different error codes it was giving every time it tried to boot .
LOL ! Did you find your self talking like him after a while hahahaa I know I do if on for a while :y
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Dell arranged for my daughter's laptop to go back to them for a replacement hard drive. I have to say that I couldn't really fault the whole set up. It cam back after about 10 days - but that was over the Christmas period.
I must admit the guy did have me trying lots of things and did seem to know what he was talking about ( once we got over the language barrier ) but couldnt make sense of the different error codes it was giving every time it tried to boot .
LOL ! Did you find your self talking like him after a while hahahaa I know I do if on for a while :y
Yes !!!! ;D ;D ;D .... you have to ;D ;D :y
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If you have NBD warranty on it, they must honour that. Call trading standards first thing in the morning.
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If you have NBD warranty on it, they must honour that. Call trading standards first thing in the morning.
Yes i do have the " Next Buisness Day " but i'll need to check the conditions of it i suppose :y
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Mmmm my super hi spec lappy decided to freeze on me a few times yesterday .... never thought any more about it till it wouldn,t boot up again and froze on the boot screen :-? .... so i puts in a call to the helpline and was not suprised to be answered by someone in a forgien land therefore the usual communication problems started >:( >:( >:( ....... after over an hour on the helpline and trying various things and diagnostic boot ups which still wouldnt get passed the boot screen the system is to be collected on Tuesday and taken away for up to 7 days for repair ..... However i was a little suprised at this cause i have the next day " at home " warranty ... he said its so it can be fully tested to see whats wrong but cant an engineer do that at my place :-/... and as for replacing parts surely he can carry enough parts to replace what is actually causing the problem .... its only a laptop after all , parts cant be that big :( :( ..... and its not even 6 months old :'( :'( ... oh well back to the old coal burning laptop i suppose , its better than nothing :y
Sorry .... rant over , i feel better now ;D ;D
As it seems to be hardware problem.....he only needs 3 things...
Usual process is
1. Change the memory
Fix it? No
2. Change the proccessor
Fix it? No
3. Change the system board
By now it must be fixed :y
And as TB says if you have Onsite warranty......you can insist a 'engineer' visits you.....tho you may prefer to send it away, as you could be hanging about at home for hours waiting for the 'engineer' to fix it, depending how technical they are.
And ive seem some real numpties in my time.....i think the best ever one was.....i had to show him how to take the side off a HP desktop and that was a HP 'engineer' ::) ;D
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Mmmm my super hi spec lappy decided to freeze on me a few times yesterday .... never thought any more about it till it wouldn,t boot up again and froze on the boot screen :-? .... so i puts in a call to the helpline and was not suprised to be answered by someone in a forgien land therefore the usual communication problems started >:( >:( >:( ....... after over an hour on the helpline and trying various things and diagnostic boot ups which still wouldnt get passed the boot screen the system is to be collected on Tuesday and taken away for up to 7 days for repair ..... However i was a little suprised at this cause i have the next day " at home " warranty ... he said its so it can be fully tested to see whats wrong but cant an engineer do that at my place :-/... and as for replacing parts surely he can carry enough parts to replace what is actually causing the problem .... its only a laptop after all , parts cant be that big :( :( ..... and its not even 6 months old :'( :'( ... oh well back to the old coal burning laptop i suppose , its better than nothing :y
Sorry .... rant over , i feel better now ;D ;D
As it seems to be hardware problem.....he only needs 3 things...
Usual process is
1. Change the memory
Fix it? No
2. Change the proccessor
Fix it? No
3. Change the system board
By now it must be fixed :y
And as TB says if you have Onsite warranty......you can insist a 'engineer' visits you.....tho you may prefer to send it away, as you could be hanging about at home for hours waiting for the 'engineer' to fix it, depending how technical they are.
And ive seem some real numpties in my time.....i think the best ever one was.....i had to show him how to take the side off a HP desktop and that was a HP 'engineer' ::) ;D
Just of the phone again and it seems as mine is a complicated issue and not something that can be narrowed down to motherboard or anything specific it needs extensive tests at there factory . The diagnostic boot ie pressing and holding d whilst powering on is producing different results every time :-/ . So it needs to go away :y
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I have to say it....
Get a Mac! ;)
Truthfully, I have had less problems with Macs that I have with Windows computers over the years and Macs can run Windows now for essential applications aswell making them better, in my opinion anyway.
:y
Mmmm yes but i prefer my SLI gaming at full speed :y
That was my feeling until I got bored with the endless money I had to pour into a PC to keep it up-to-date to play the latest games and all my friends are on the Xbox 360 so I got one of those instead and am getting a MacBook soonish!
:y
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Mmmm my super hi spec lappy decided to freeze on me a few times yesterday .... never thought any more about it till it wouldn,t boot up again and froze on the boot screen :-? .... so i puts in a call to the helpline and was not suprised to be answered by someone in a forgien land therefore the usual communication problems started >:( >:( >:( ....... after over an hour on the helpline and trying various things and diagnostic boot ups which still wouldnt get passed the boot screen the system is to be collected on Tuesday and taken away for up to 7 days for repair ..... However i was a little suprised at this cause i have the next day " at home " warranty ... he said its so it can be fully tested to see whats wrong but cant an engineer do that at my place :-/... and as for replacing parts surely he can carry enough parts to replace what is actually causing the problem .... its only a laptop after all , parts cant be that big :( :( ..... and its not even 6 months old :'( :'( ... oh well back to the old coal burning laptop i suppose , its better than nothing :y
Sorry .... rant over , i feel better now ;D ;D
As it seems to be hardware problem.....he only needs 3 things...
Usual process is
1. Change the memory
Fix it? No
2. Change the proccessor
Fix it? No
3. Change the system board
By now it must be fixed :y
And as TB says if you have Onsite warranty......you can insist a 'engineer' visits you.....tho you may prefer to send it away, as you could be hanging about at home for hours waiting for the 'engineer' to fix it, depending how technical they are.
And ive seem some real numpties in my time.....i think the best ever one was.....i had to show him how to take the side off a HP desktop and that was a HP 'engineer' ::) ;D
Just of the phone again and it seems as mine is a complicated issue and not something that can be narrowed down to motherboard or anything specific it needs extensive tests at there factory . The diagnostic boot ie pressing and holding d whilst powering on is producing different results every time :-/ . So it needs to go away :y
Doesnt matter if you have onsite warranty.......it can only be the 3 things ive said.....if you shout loud enough....dont let them fob you off :y
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Mmmm my super hi spec lappy decided to freeze on me a few times yesterday .... never thought any more about it till it wouldn,t boot up again and froze on the boot screen :-? .... so i puts in a call to the helpline and was not suprised to be answered by someone in a forgien land therefore the usual communication problems started >:( >:( >:( ....... after over an hour on the helpline and trying various things and diagnostic boot ups which still wouldnt get passed the boot screen the system is to be collected on Tuesday and taken away for up to 7 days for repair ..... However i was a little suprised at this cause i have the next day " at home " warranty ... he said its so it can be fully tested to see whats wrong but cant an engineer do that at my place :-/... and as for replacing parts surely he can carry enough parts to replace what is actually causing the problem .... its only a laptop after all , parts cant be that big :( :( ..... and its not even 6 months old :'( :'( ... oh well back to the old coal burning laptop i suppose , its better than nothing :y
Sorry .... rant over , i feel better now ;D ;D
As it seems to be hardware problem.....he only needs 3 things...
Usual process is
1. Change the memory
Fix it? No
2. Change the proccessor
Fix it? No
3. Change the system board
By now it must be fixed :y
And as TB says if you have Onsite warranty......you can insist a 'engineer' visits you.....tho you may prefer to send it away, as you could be hanging about at home for hours waiting for the 'engineer' to fix it, depending how technical they are.
And ive seem some real numpties in my time.....i think the best ever one was.....i had to show him how to take the side off a HP desktop and that was a HP 'engineer' ::) ;D
Just of the phone again and it seems as mine is a complicated issue and not something that can be narrowed down to motherboard or anything specific it needs extensive tests at there factory . The diagnostic boot ie pressing and holding d whilst powering on is producing different results every time :-/ . So it needs to go away :y
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Uh-oh, bull shit detector on overload, they haven't got a clue what they are doing, and are fobbing you off with a pseudo technical excuse (a load of crap).
Think about it , what is the most expensive part of any laptop ?. The screen ?, the mainboard ?, the case ?. NO YOUR WORK. How many hours have you spent typing stuff into the machine, lots I would imagine. Now multiply that by your hourly rate, and I'll bet it comes to a lot more than your laptop cost. And there is a real risk they will just wipe the hard drive if they can't be bothered to sort a software problem. I know HP will wipe a hard drive if they can't be bothered, and Dell prob aren't any different. If there is anything important on the drive it is worthwhile removing it before sending it off, else you might loose your work.
I have seen a number of these Dell XPS machines duff because of bad soldered joints/crap components doing jobs they are not suited for, and as for HP repairs that last for 4 months then die again. Its not worth buying a new laptop, they tend to fail to early.
Ken
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Ring there head office in Bracknell up ;)
im sat across the road from there now......
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Ring there head office in Bracknell up ;)
im sat across the road from there now......
Do you know the number .... i cant find it ..... would like to give them both barrels :y
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From what you have described, it sounds very much like a software problem.
I can tell you now that your "repair" will consist of nothing more than someone running the recovery DVD to put it back to the way it was on day one.
Note that running the recovery disk means that whatever data is on your hard drive will be wiped, it really will be back to the state it was in the first day you got it.
Disagree, sounds like the hard disk has given up, occasional lockups followed by failure to boot would suggest a hard drive fault to me.
Not surprised, Dells have don't have a great record recently in build, although they are better now.
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From what you have described, it sounds very much like a software problem.
I can tell you now that your "repair" will consist of nothing more than someone running the recovery DVD to put it back to the way it was on day one.
Note that running the recovery disk means that whatever data is on your hard drive will be wiped, it really will be back to the state it was in the first day you got it.
Disagree, sounds like the hard disk has given up, occasional lockups followed by failure to boot would suggest a hard drive fault to me.
Not surprised, Dells have don't have a great record recently in build, although they are better now.
Yeah its defo hardware but the rep said the diagnostic flashing lights were giving different codes all the time so hence its going away rather than someone coming to me :-/
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From what you have described, it sounds very much like a software problem.
I can tell you now that your "repair" will consist of nothing more than someone running the recovery DVD to put it back to the way it was on day one.
Note that running the recovery disk means that whatever data is on your hard drive will be wiped, it really will be back to the state it was in the first day you got it.
Disagree, sounds like the hard disk has given up, occasional lockups followed by failure to boot would suggest a hard drive fault to me.
Not surprised, Dells have don't have a great record recently in build, although they are better now.
Yeah its defo hardware but the rep said the diagnostic flashing lights were giving different codes all the time so hence its going away rather than someone coming to me :-/
Dell XPS aint cheap, chuck it in for a MacBook Pro ;)
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Dell XPS aint cheap, chuck it in for a MacBook Pro
Tell me about it .... mine has dual 512mb Nvidias and Blu-ray ... fast dual core chip .... cost me a fortune but has gone pop in less than 6 months >:( >:( >:( .... will probly loose all i had on it as well which is worse :'( :'( :'( :'(
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Dell XPS aint cheap, chuck it in for a MacBook Pro
Tell me about it .... mine has dual 512mb Nvidias and Blu-ray ... fast dual core chip .... cost me a fortune but has gone pop in less than 6 months >:( >:( >:( .... will probly loose all i had on it as well which is worse :'( :'( :'( :'(
Chucking too much heat generating shite into a small laptop case is always going to be a disaster, no matter who made it. Thats why we have desktops ;)
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Thats why we have desktops
Yeah i know cause i did think about a desktop ..... but not so easy to take a desktop to work for those multiplayer COD5 gaming sessions on long weekend days or nights ;) ;) :y
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Not surprised, Dells have don't have a great record recently in build, although they are better now.
Like many manufacturers, Dell had a torrid time adjusting to lead free. It would seem they appear to be over this now :)
(I should say Dell's supplier's, as Dell do not make laptops, they use manufacturers such as Quanta (who happen to make Apple, HP/Compaq and many others. It is suspected they manufacture for Tosh as well))
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Thats why we have desktops
Yeah i know cause i did think about a desktop ..... but not so easy to take a desktop to work for those multiplayer COD5 gaming sessions on long weekend days or nights ;) ;) :y
My view, that I've held for an awful long time, is if you want to play games, buy a gayStation/seXbox/Nintendo... ...there are very few cases in the world that are built with dealing with VGA card heat dissipation, whereas games consoles are built for that (ignoring the manufacturing flaw on the seXbox).
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Dont get me started on the xbox 360 ...... had problems with that too ;D ;D .... its just everyone at work has Dell's too hence why i got one so i could join in the gaming marathons :y
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it would appear the gaystation has an inherant cooling issue too seems to be only affecting the 65 -90nm Cell processors though
it also appears to be watercooled too but having not taken my'n apart im not sure but it does look like it has a radiator & fan in the back
Dells Head office address is Dell House The Boulevard, Cain Rd, Bracknell, RG12 1LF
Telephone number 01344 860456[ch8206]
as listed on google :y
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it would appear the gaystation has an inherant cooling issue too seems to be only affecting the 65 -90nm Cell processors though
it also appears to be watercooled too but having not taken my'n apart im not sure but it does look like it has a radiator & fan in the back
Dells Head office address is Dell House The Boulevard, Cain Rd, Bracknell, RG12 1LF
Telephone number 01344 860456[ch8206]
as listed on google :y
Thanks for that .... i did look but all i could get was the 0844 no's ....
I bet the office will be cllosed now though :y
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From what you have described, it sounds very much like a software problem.
I can tell you now that your "repair" will consist of nothing more than someone running the recovery DVD to put it back to the way it was on day one.
Note that running the recovery disk means that whatever data is on your hard drive will be wiped, it really will be back to the state it was in the first day you got it.
Disagree, sounds like the hard disk has given up, occasional lockups followed by failure to boot would suggest a hard drive fault to me.
Not surprised, Dells have don't have a great record recently in build, although they are better now.
Yeah its defo hardware but the rep said the diagnostic flashing lights were giving different codes all the time so hence its going away rather than someone coming to me :-/
Dell XPS aint cheap, chuck it in for a MacBook Pro ;)
Hear hear! MBP is far better than the Dell IMHO. ;)
:y
A mate of mine has the M1730 and it weighs a ton and isn't all that fast tbh. :-?
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Dell XPS aint cheap, chuck it in for a MacBook Pro ;)
Ignoring the obvious for a minute (much more freely available software on the Windows platform), what makes you believe that Apple hardware is any different to IBM compatible hardware in the reliability stakes?
Chucking too much heat generating shite into a small laptop case is always going to be a disaster, no matter who made it. Thats why we have desktops ;)
For once (and just for once since I've been here), I agree 100% with you.
My view, that I've held for an awful long time, is if you want to play games, buy a gayStation/seXbox/Nintendo... ...there are very few cases in the world that are built with dealing with VGA card heat dissipation, whereas games consoles are built for that (ignoring the manufacturing flaw on the seXbox).
Steady on TB, you carry on making statements like that and I might actually warm to you ;)
Dont get me started on the xbox 360 ...... had problems with that too
There is only one problem with the 360, and it costs less than £5 to rectify it so that it never occurs again.
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I did have the RROD so i did the x-clamps and its been fine ever since , thats over a year now ..... but now its started notreading discs , another common fault i know but i cant be bothered fixing it again :y
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but now its started notreading discs
Another easy fix.....a £10 DVD-ROM drive that was destined for the PC (which will read a piece of toast if you put it in the right way up) is the answer to that.
Feel free to PM me about that, as Admin don't like members discussing subjects such as playing legal backup copies of whatever you own as they believe the likes of FAST and FACT are more interested in OOF than (say) digital forums.
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Steady on TB, you carry on making statements like that and I might actually warm to you ;)
Have you been drinking ;D
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Steady on TB, you carry on making statements like that and I might actually warm to you ;)
Have you been drinking ;D
Yes, but I only started after I finished at normal time (3pm).
In terms of alcohol, that equates to 5 pints of kangaroo pi$$ (Fosters), followed by 4 large measures of Eastern European drain cleaner (cheap Vodka).
I tend to take it easy during the week as I may have to do more than what I bargained for the following day ;D ;D ;D
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but now its started notreading discs
Another easy fix.....a £10 DVD-ROM drive that was destined for the PC (which will read a piece of toast if you put it in the right way up) is the answer to that.
Feel free to PM me about that, as Admin don't like members discussing subjects such as playing legal backup copies of whatever you own as they believe the likes of FAST and FACT are more interested in OOF than (say) digital forums.
We have to draw a generic line somewhere, and that is where we chose.
The site owners are legally responsible for content, and can be prosecuted for comments upon the site.
Whilst we may not get Microsoft after us for a single post on xbox hacking, but we need a consistency, and at least one small forum looks like its had a cease and desist for publishing too much about circumventing copy protection on its products.
Its a very simple rule, that even a dunce like me can understand. So, please, no discussion, including implications, about it.
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Steady on TB, you carry on making statements like that and I might actually warm to you ;)
Have you been drinking ;D
Yes, but I only started after I finished at normal time (3pm).
In terms of alcohol, that equates to 5 pints of kangaroo pi$$ (Fosters), followed by 4 large measures of Eastern European drain cleaner (cheap Vodka).
I tend to take it easy during the week as I may have to do more than what I bargained for the following day ;D ;D ;D
Thats a sure sign of getting older ;D - bet you never though that when you were 18 ;D
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but now its started notreading discs
Another easy fix.....a £10 DVD-ROM drive that was destined for the PC (which will read a piece of toast if you put it in the right way up) is the answer to that.
Feel free to PM me about that, as Admin don't like members discussing subjects such as playing legal backup copies of whatever you own as they believe the likes of FAST and FACT are more interested in OOF than (say) digital forums.
I changed the laser and ribbon and it did help for a while but now its not reading original games either ... ive even adjusted the pot with a multimeter which again did help for a while .... or it does eventually after ejecting it about a million times ..... now dont you need sata ports to communicate with the new drive though .... my lappys dont have them but i dont know about the old desktop in the kids room :-/
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God, I wish I understood all this. It literally might as well be chinese :(
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Whilst we may not get Microsoft after us for a single post on xbox hacking, but we need a consistency, and at least one small forum looks like its had a cease and desist for publishing too much about circumventing copy protection on its products.
I understand what you are saying, but telling people how to install a DVD-ROM drive that will read legitimate discs for years to come (as opposed to 18 months) cannot really be called hacking in my book.
If anything, it is an improvement to a "manufacturing design fault".....especially as the drives won't even read original discs after such a short time frame.
The final call is yours of course.
Thats a sure sign of getting older ;D - bet you never though that when you were 18 ;D
Good god, at 18 I was downing 2 bottles of Smirnoff's finest in a night and was still ready to go at 7am the following morning.
These days, I do tend to know about it after just the 1 bottle....and I don't truly recover from that until about mid-day (hence moving to the kangaroo pi$$).
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repairing the DVD drive is not a plug & play job the console is tagged to its dvd drive so you have to get the old frmware off the old drive and then reflash the new drive with the old firmware
a normal PC drive will not work either you need the specific one for an xbox as they are different inside
theres a few different makes of optical drive i replace with samsung units as theyre cheap as chips and you can get around flashing it if your a dab hand with a solering iron but this wont obviously work with the others
i fix them on the side this isnt hacking what im doing as i use the original firmware bins not the naughty ones!
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the easiest way is as i said if your using a samsung just swap the PCBs over simple and sorted
im more into the PS3 now its just sooooo sooo sooo much better plus it will run linux straight out the box no modding needed and its all legally allowed by sony
The Cell processor is an interesting bit of kit and i reckon its the future desktops laptops servers etc will go this way i reckon
in linux mode though the console locks out the PPEs and 6 SPEs leaving you with one SPE! so it wont do no hardcore stuff
shame it wont run unsigned code as i could have a serious play with the cell and give it some serious stick! i can go on more about it but ill shut up now but no ps3 game as of yet utilises all 7 SPEs either
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repairing the DVD drive is not a plug & play job the console is tagged to its dvd drive so you have to get the old frmware off the old drive and then reflash the new drive with the old firmware
This is what you need sata ports for ??? am i right