Computer stuff - Teh Forum

<body> <div id="header"> <span class="left"> <span class="back"><a href="lthread_list.php?webtag=DEFAULT"><span class="image mobile_back" title="Back"></span></a></span> <span class="image mobile_logo" title="Beehive Forum Logo"></span> </span> <ul> <li> <a class="reply_all" href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.0&return_msg=43007.8"> <span class="image mobile_reply_all"></span><span class="text">Reply to All</span> </a> </li> <li> <a class="navigation" href="#"> <span class="image mobile_navigation"></span><span class="text">Show messages</span> </a> </li> <li> <a class="main" href="#"><span class="image mobile_menu" title="Menu"></span> </a> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="menu main"> <ul> <li><a href="lthread_list.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Messages</a></li> <li><a href="lpm.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Inbox</a></li> <li><a href="lsearch.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Search</a></li> <li><a href="llogon.php?webtag=DEFAULT">Login</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="menu navigation"><a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.1">1–10</a><a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.11">11–20</a><a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.21">21–22</a></div> <div id="page_content"> <h3 class="thread_title"><a href="index.php?webtag=DEFAULT&amp;msg=43007.8">Computer stuff</a> </h3> <div id="messages" data-navigation="43007_8_22_10"> <a name="a43007_8"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_8"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)<span class="message_time">22 Jan 17:53</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: william (WILLIAMA) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 22 Jan 18:29"></span></span> <span class="message_count">8 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8">43007.8</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.7">43007.7</a></div> <div class="message_body"> If you need a cheap license, <a href="https://www.kinguin.net/c/15019/windows">https://www.kinguin.net/c/15019/windows</a> worked for me last month for Win10.<br /> </div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.8&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.8"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_9"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_9"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: william (WILLIAMA)<span class="message_time">22 Jan 22:46</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 22 Jan 23:39"></span></span> <span class="message_count">9 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.9">43007.9</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_8" target="_self">43007.8</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Thanks. I've actually got a spare license I bought for something else that never materialised, so I may use that to keep things tidy. Having had no call back yet, I went on a google road trip to find out. The fastest I found was an hour. The slowest (apart from never) was 7 weeks. There's no contact route other than general phone numbers for your region. And that's for "free" support. Came across people shelling out £500 for one-off support requests and then... nothing, nada, for days, weeks. </div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.9&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.9"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_10"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_10"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)<span class="message_time">22 Jan 23:39</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: william (WILLIAMA) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 23 Jan 16:55"></span></span> <span class="message_count">10 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.10">43007.10</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_9" target="_self">43007.9</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Ugh. I can't imagine paying for it.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.10&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.10"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_11"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_11"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: william (WILLIAMA)<span class="message_time">23 Jan 17:14</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 24 Jan 12:23"></span></span> <span class="message_count">11 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.11">43007.11</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_10" target="_self">43007.10</a></div> <div class="message_body"> You get what you pay for - or in this instance a little less. I'm fairly certain that according to the detail of the MS licensing arrangements I can make major changes to my PC and still reactivate it. It gets tricky in two areas. 1) the digital license from accepting a free update from Win 7 and later to Win 10 is not transferable. So if you do make changes, it's the story of the broom with two new brushes and one new handle. It seems there's an internal policy. Change your motherboard etc once. That's OK. Do it twice and you'll probably have to go through the phone route. This may explain why my PC isn't listed on the activation server, but is listed on my MS account. (I swapped in an identical ancient mobo a year or so back and it reactivated fine). The internal policy apparently is that after 5 hardware changes, major or otherwise, they'e going to start muttering, and may well argue that you're doing a transfer. 2) The other tricky area is that at the level of MS support I'm likely to encounter, I probably know as much in most areas, and more in others than they do., and it's very likely that I'll get refused a reactivation on the grounds that the provided method doesn't work, so I must be wrong. <br /> Anyhoo, I can't be arsed with all this so I'm going to update from Win 10 home to Win 11 pro as there are some extra bits I'd like to play with.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.11&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.11"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_12"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_12"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: william (WILLIAMA)<span class="message_time">24 Jan 11:17</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: william (WILLIAMA) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 24 Jan 11:17"></span></span> <span class="message_count">12 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.12">43007.12</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_11" target="_self">43007.11</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Upgrade to 10 pro took under 5 minutes, now downloading 11 pro (still a free update). 12 is on the horizon. Wonder if that will be a free update.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.12&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.12"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_13"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_13"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)<span class="message_time">24 Jan 12:28</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: william (WILLIAMA) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 24 Jan 13:17"></span></span> <span class="message_count">13 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.13">43007.13</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_12" target="_self">43007.12</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Pretty sure most users get Windows through single-use disposable computers (tossed when the slightest problem or perception of slowness manifests). Buying retail copies is where it can get expensive, unless you go to the dodgy dealers.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.13&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.13"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_14"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_14"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: william (WILLIAMA)<span class="message_time">24 Jan 18:29</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 25 Jan 15:23"></span></span> <span class="message_count">14 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.14">43007.14</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_13" target="_self">43007.13</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Here's a bit of fun. Couldn't install Windows 11 because my system disk is MBR and not GPT. So I tried a partition manager, AOMIE, to convert it. System now unbootable. Anyway, I've got backups of all I need so I thought, clean install time since it's what I should have done anyway. So I stick in a Windows 10 installation USB stick and boot from it. Lo and behold, my Windows 10 pro starts instead of the installer. It's like it's using the USB bootmgr to get to start Windows on the C Drive. In fact that's all it does. It refuses to go to the installer menu.<br /> <br /> So I wipe the boot disk. Does this help? Not really. It still tries to load - something. Anything but the installer. Eventually when I elect to "use another operating system" I get to the installer. Will it work? No. It looks like I have to pull all the drives except the target.<br /> <br /> Tomorrow.<br /> <br /> </div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.14&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.14"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_15"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_15"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: william (WILLIAMA)<span class="message_time">25 Jan 11:52</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 25 Jan 15:23"></span></span> <span class="message_count">15 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.15">43007.15</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_14" target="_self">43007.14</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Looks like the problem was the partition manager (AOMIE). Not sure how it fucked the drive, but at least one thing it did was to leave it set to MBR, which in my view is below the minimum requirement for a partition manager's "convert to GPT" function.<br /> <br /> </div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.15&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.15"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_16"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_16"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)<span class="message_time">25 Jan 15:35</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: william (WILLIAMA) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 25 Jan 22:09"></span></span> <span class="message_count">16 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.16">43007.16</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_14" target="_self">43007.14</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Yeah the GPT/MBR thing is a Win 11 deal-breaker for me, also the TCM thingy, which I haven't activated on my ~5-yo motherboard because multiboot hassles. Everything I read about 'converting' a drive from MBR to GPT indicated the drive would be effectively wiped.<br /> <br /> I accidentally formatted a pair of drives for a RAID 0 to GPT, which seems to work ok, but fdisk complains every time that the "primary GPT table is corrupt, but the backup appears OK, so that will be used." After some googling about it, I concluded let sleeping dogs lie.</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.16&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.16"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div><a name="a43007_17"></a><div class="message" id="message_43007_17"> <div class="message_header"> <div class="message_from"> From: william (WILLIAMA)<span class="message_time">15 Feb 10:47</span> <div class="clearer"></div> </div><div class="message_to">To: CHYRON (DSMITHHFX) <span><span class="image post_read" title="Read: 15 Feb 14:12"></span></span> <span class="message_count">17 of 22</span><div class="clearer"></div> </div> </div> <div class="message_links"> <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.17">43007.17</a> In reply to <a href="lmessages.php?webtag=DEFAULT&msg=43007.8#a43007_16" target="_self">43007.16</a></div> <div class="message_body"> Anyhoo, my main takeaway lesson, from this and the "phantom disk" thread, is to beware of false economy.<br /> <br /> I had a decent Plex server running for 3 to 4 years using >10 yo bits which was fine. However, when this started to go wrong, penny-pinching made me invest in a large number of ineffective remedies to try and rescue what I had. I now have a decent Plex server on a modern(ish) AM4 board with a Ryzen 3, 16GB of DDR4, enough disk space for the time being, and a new (very old design) Coolermaster case. This should last a while. The downside is that the ancient case design means that the cabling is a total rat's nest. Plus I have a semi-operational SATA card and no obvious way to expand.<br /> <br /> If I'd just bitten the bullet straight away, I could have bought something like the much better <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-B550M-VC-ProSeries-Motherboard-Wi-Fi/dp/B0BDCZRBD6/ref=asc_df_B0BDCZRBD6/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=641743732250&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16981031191234491077&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045819&hvtargid=pla-1873323799167&mcid=89ae4e237375322b9c286634ec0bcde5&th=1">MSI PRO B550M-VC WiFi</a> motherboards, which has 8 SATA ports and 2 M2 slots, all of which can be used, and a fabulous case like a <a href="https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-2/">Fractal Design Meshify 2</a>. When I include things like cables, brackets, case fans (included with the Fractal Design case) etc etc , I'd probably still have change from what I spent.<br /> <br /> *Also, I wouldn't have tried to cram everything into the original case, causing a plastic tab to snap off one the SATA drive data connectors so that I now have one drive with a cable that has to stay in place and not be knocked or shaken or the drive stops working!</div> <div class="message_footer"> <div class="message_footer_links"><a href="lpost.php?webtag=DEFAULT&reply_to=43007.17&return_msg=43007.8" class="reply"><span class="image post"></span>Reply</a></div> <div class="message_vote_form" data-msg="43007.17"> <span class="rating">0/0</span> <span class="image vote vote_down vote_down_off" title="Vote Down"></span> <span class="image vote vote_up vote_up_off" title="Vote Up"></span> </div> </div> </div></div> <div class="message_page_footer"> <ul> <li class="right_col"><form accept-charset="utf-8" method="get" action="lmessages.php" target="_self"><input type="hidden" name="webtag" id="webtag" class="bhinputtext" value="DEFAULT" dir="ltr" /><input type="hidden" name="msg" id="msg" class="bhinputtext" value="43007.18" dir="ltr" /><input type="submit" name="submit" id="keep_reading" value="Keep reading…" class="button" /></form></li> </ul> </div> </div> </body>