Computer issues, Viruses, trojans, crashes, install problems etc Options

[Decrepit]

[censored], that's awful. And so if Best Buy got erased in your parts, I wonder what else was in that tornado path. Where do you shop for gaming stuff?

The tornado also erased our Barnes & Noble. It was finally rebuilt, in a new location, earlier this year. Sad thing for B&N is that during its absence I ceased buying paper books in favor of Kindle e-books. As for computer gear, I usually buy online from NewEgg and Amazon, buying locally only rarely. (Even when we had a couple of stores carrying computer parts, it was rare that they stopped the exact parts I wanted.)

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

[censored], that's awful. And so if Best Buy got erased in your parts, I wonder what else was in that tornado path. Where do you shop for gaming stuff?

We lost our Best Buy last year. That being said, I buy most of my gaming stuff from Amazon. Games I usually just buy digitally on whatever platform.

[mirocu]

Yeah some issues with Youtube nagging on me for using a blocker. Refreshing the page seems to work for now.

Also; my adblocker doesn't really block any ads, rather it fast forwards them right to the end so it really shouldn't be detected

[Kane]

Well, after further issues from the last time I posted, I now actually am up and running with my upgrades. The CPU I wanted just would not sync with my existing motherboard, so after I returned the second CPU I ended up buying a whole new motherboard and a better CPU. It's now the PC of Theseus but it works! The only existing parts are the case and hard drives. I also plan on getting a new SSD down there road, though.


Transferring Windows was the only thing I had concerns about, but it went flawlessly. Just had to make sure my license was linked to my MS account and all I had to do was login with that on the first boot up.

[mirocu]

Sounds awesome!

[Acadian]

Great news then, Kane!

[SubRosa]

After many trials and tribulations (and experience points gained), success!

[mirocu]

Started my backup Win7 and updated savefiles from Fallout 3 and Oblivion to it. Also pics taken up till now. Haven't had this one up and running since 1st of July so it was due.

[mirocu]

On my backup Win7 again to update a couple of pics and savegames for Oblivion.

I also downloaded another adblocker just because, and an autoplay blocker that actually seems to work!

If anyone wants to try as well I have the link here (Chrome)

Edit: Ok, it seems it's not bulletproof after all. It apparently works best when opening a video in a new tab (i.e right-clicking and not left-clicking).

This post has been edited by mirocu: Dec 26 2024, 06:26 PM

[mirocu]

Updated my Windows XP with all images and most recent savegames for Fallout 3 and Oblivion. I don't see it as a backup computer for daily use but it never hurts to have yet another storage!

[Decrepit]

After a year of procrastination, I finally drummed up the gumption to replace the 500GB NVMe drive that, until yesterday, served as my primary PC's "O" drive/partition with the on-hand 2TB NVMe drive removed following last November's unrecoverable Windows 10 load-partition corruption SNAFU. Pre-swap, with the 2TB drive housed in an NVMe / USB adaptor, I shrunk its two remaining partitions and then moved them to the far end of the drive. That allowed me to create a new "O" partition over twice as big as the 500GB NVMe. I then copied my 500GB "O" partition data (games) to the 2TB "O" partition, turned off the PC, made the physical swap, and fired up the PC. Voila! At some point, I will move the data on those two other 2TB NVMe partitions to a dedicated storage solution, but there's no great hurry.

With the above done I can resume turning my previous primary PC into a secondary PC . . . when I drum up the gumption.

[mirocu]

Been trying out a number of adblockers again since I've been experiencing issues on and off with the one(s) I used. Seems like no adblocker is flawless anymore.

[Renee]

mirocu: That's amazing you've got an XP-based computer. Long ago in the '90s I had a chance to buy a used computer from my job for just $300, but money was tight. It had Windows 98, which would be fun to have in these modern times, just to see the differences.

Decrepit: Hey, good luck! The drive on my auxiliary computer (not for gaming) is also just 500 gb. So I need to be careful. Especially with memory hogs like videos.

My "computer issue". Yesterday I put my gaming computer online to download some stuff into New Vegas, and got the first instance of "Your computer is Windows 10, which will soon be outdated! Would you like help in transferring to Windows 11?"

Heck no!!!! Thank goodness we get a choice in the matter, is my opinion.



This post has been edited by Renee: Jan 13 2025, 08:05 PM

[mirocu]

Dodged a bullet there I guess, Renee. I hate updates I didn't ask for which is why I have everything turned off. Some roll their eyes at that but it has served me well over the many years. Even better when I simply can't upgrade my browser because my Windows is too old!

[TheCheshireKhajiit]

Feels like I just switched to Win10 from 7. I’m not changing the operating system on my current PC again. When I build a new PC I will, but it’s just not worth it for this old one.

[mirocu]

Looks like Brave has introduced a thumbs up/down system for websites without collecting data from the user. Maybe that will be the browser I eventually migrate to?

[Renee]

This is the motherboard which I'm pretty sure fits into my 2014 gaming PC. Nothing's wrong with the board I've got now, but I'm just thinking ahead.

That board (in the link above) is refurbished. Its original manufacturer was MSI and is a refurbished Kaili, right? I'm looking at its layout (where the RAM slots are, where the graphics card goes...) and it looks close enough to what I've got.

I mean, I'm not going to buy something so important off the 'net, I'm going to research what else is out there, but some of y'all have actually built these things. So you'd know.

Micro Center is just up the road, about a half-hour away. Can I assume they'll have something I can just replace the original board with? Or is the Kaili too far out of date?



This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 12 2025, 02:59 AM

[Renee]

Replacing a motherboard is the biggest thing you can do with a computer. Because everything else is dependent upon it.

The first thing to keep in mind is you cannot put just any processor into any motherboard. Make sure you are buying a processor that will work in the board you buy.

Also, make sure the board is the right form factor for your computer case. Unless you also want to buy a new case while you are at it. If you do, it will be the cheapest of all three.

Likewise, make sure your new motherboard will have the right type and number of connectors for your devices. Especially the right kind of slots for your RAM. But also video card, hard drives, optical drive, etc...

Cool, tahnks!

[Decrepit]

Strange times, computer-wise.

For about two months, Malwarebytes did not recognize my primary PC, though I've paid for a Premium subscription for some years. However, the Malwarebytes site correctly showed both primary and secondary PCs as being activated for Premium. (The secondary PC wasn't affected and still ran Premium.)

I ignored it for a while. When I finally decided to remedy the situation, I ran into what proved to be an unsolvable SNAFU. Every time I attempted to access the activation server, I received an error code saying that it could not be reached. A recommended uninstall/reinstall did nothing. This went on for some days.

I then caught a severe case of influenza Type-A, which eventually morphed into something nastier. I still suffer from whatever it is, often feeling utterly miserable for long stretches of time. No way was I up to tackling the Malwarebytes SNAFU.

Fast-forward to yesterday, February 15. A strong storm passed through the area. Power was out from around 1400 until fifteen minutes before my normal bedtime.

This morning after breakfast, power restored, I booted the primary PC, launched Brave Browser, and was greeted by an ASUS ROUTER configuration screen, asking for certain log-in data. This scared me. The router is ancient. I've not had to fiddle with its controls in forever. I floundered here for a while. Then, out of the blue, a window popped up with what looked to be my correct login info. BINGO! I'm able to reach websites. Hurrah!

I'd not been online long when Malwarebytes popped up, informing me that it had just scanned the PC and found nothing amiss. I've had to do these scans manually since the Malwarebytes SNAFU first appeared. I launched the full Malwarebytes app. Sure enough, the PC is now recognized as running Premium. All Premium functions are active. I fear that I'll boot tomorrow and find the SNAFU returned. Time will tell. <crosses fingers>

[Renee]

Yikes. Influenza can be really dangerous and draining, right? I got super-sick last summer after walking innocently through a late summer rain in bare feet. Thought it was COVID, but turns out it was pneumonia, and it was a nasty sickness. I seriously thought I was dying.

What is malwarebytes? I don't feel like Googling, so just curious. Edit: Oh, I see, it's an app. So, sounds like success on your end!

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 17 2025, 04:42 AM