'No Stupid Questions' (NSQ) Internet & Technology Edition

[SandyCat]

My computer monitor has one of those AC/DC power bricks or what ever they're called looks like one of these


I wanted to replace just the cord itself with a longer one, looks like one of these

If I were to buy just a new cord for it would any work as long as the plugins match? Or do the different cords have their own individual autistic electrical requirements for specific power bricks? I know the power bricks have to be matched up with your monitor but was unsure about the cord

 

[DavidS877]

My computer monitor has one of those AC/DC power bricks or what ever they're called looks like one of these
View attachment 6861933

I wanted to replace just the cord itself with a longer one, looks like one of these
View attachment 6861960
If I were to buy just a new cord for it would any work as long as the plugins match? Or do the different cords have their own individual autistic electrical requirements for specific power bricks? I know the power bricks have to be matched up with your monitor but was unsure about the cord

Yes, they're all the same for cords if the plug matches. That will be "IEC C5".

 

[rareblacklobster]

How would I burn a 900MB CD-R? Are only specific CD drives able to burn them, and what software would I need? Linux preferably, but I have (((Windows 10))) if needed.

 

[Kosher Dill]

How would I burn a 900MB CD-R? Are only specific CD drives able to burn them, and what software would I need? Linux preferably, but I have (((Windows 10))) if needed.

I believe it's all highly dependent on the hardware and software you use, both for burning and reading. I'd stay far away from that, any drives and media you buy today are probably going to be "just close enough to spec" rather than something you could push the limits of the possible on. Just burn a DVD+R.

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

What is your approach to replacing SSDs and HDDs?

Do you wait for them to fail? Do you replace them based on age? Do you use software to track how much use they've had and their health in general?

I've been using the same SSD in my main PC for nearly 14 years and it gets a ton of use, but I haven't replaced it as it's working fine, so I was wondering how other people approach this stuff.

Does it have stuff you actually need on it? Like family photos, work documents, password manager databases? If so, then everything should be backed up to an external hard drive or another SSD in the same PC (you can get PCI-e cards off AliExpress that'll hold up to four M2 SSD's of the appropriate type) and also the important stuff at least should be backed up to at least one offsite location and you should keep an eye on the SMART monitoring via SpeedFan or something similar and swap in a new SSD as soon as there's a hint of trouble.

If it's just storing Steam games then who gives a shit, buy a new SSD when it dies.

 

[rareblacklobster]

I believe it's all highly dependent on the hardware and software you use, both for burning and reading. I'd stay far away from that, any drives and media you buy today are probably going to be "just close enough to spec" rather than something you could push the limits of the possible on. Just burn a DVD+R.

Dreamcast doesnt support DVDs.

 

[Disco Inferno]

I'm looking to add more fans to my North XL case. What fans would you guys reccomend?

 

[Battlefield42]

I'm looking to add more fans to my North XL case. What fans would you guys reccomend?

Noctua. You won't see them anyway.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Dreamcast doesnt support DVDs.

Just use the scene releases and ImgBurn or something.

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

I'm looking to add more fans to my North XL case. What fans would you guys reccomend?

I use these. You can't hear them or see the lights if you put the case under your desk and wear headphones.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

So my external HD isn't working. Says it can't be mounted. I checked it with GParted and got this:



Problem is I don't use windows. I am not sure a chkdsk function exists and quick googling says the command that does exist in Linux is not idea and unlikely to work the same.

I really don't wanna install a whole ass Windows on my backup notebook. Can I perform this fix via virtual machine by just making a windows VM, giving it access to the USB port and telling it to run chkdks /f on it?

 

[Aidan]

So my external HD isn't working. Says it can't be mounted. I checked it with GParted and got this:

View attachment 6898551

Problem is I don't use windows. I am not sure a chkdsk function exists and quick googling says the command that does exist in Linux is not idea and unlikely to work the same.

I really don't wanna install a whole ass Windows on my backup notebook. Can I perform this fix via virtual machine by just making a windows VM, giving it access to the USB port and telling it to run chkdks /f on it?

You could use a virtual machine, yeah. I think the Windows repair image also has chkdsk which may be preferable, again you could do that with a VM and skip installing Windows.

 

[Post Reply]

So my external HD isn't working. Says it can't be mounted. I checked it with GParted and got this:

View attachment 6898551

Problem is I don't use windows. I am not sure a chkdsk function exists and quick googling says the command that does exist in Linux is not idea and unlikely to work the same.

I really don't wanna install a whole ass Windows on my backup notebook. Can I perform this fix via virtual machine by just making a windows VM, giving it access to the USB port and telling it to run chkdks /f on it?

Is ntfsfix available in your distro? Kinda wacky to use NTFS in a Windows-free environment.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

Is ntfsfix available in your distro? Kinda wacky to use NTFS in a Windows-free environment.

Going to check, its a older HD that I had used with Windows machines before I went full Linux. I think I can use ntfsfix but I hear spooky rumours it might not fix the problem only hide it for a little while which worries me.

 

[Post Reply]

Going to check, its a older HD that I had used with Windows machines before I went full Linux. I think I can use ntfsfix but I hear spooky rumours it might not fix the problem only hide it for a little while which worries me.

You might build on Aidan's suggestion and try a rescue/boot CD then. I remember using Hiren's back in the day.

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

Going to check, its a older HD that I had used with Windows machines before I went full Linux. I think I can use ntfsfix but I hear spooky rumours it might not fix the problem only hide it for a little while which worries me.

If the problem is that the drive is failing, nothing will 'fix' the problem. Have you tried checking the SMART stats and maybe running a quick self test with smartctl? If you have actually important stuff on the drive that you don't want to lose, then you should do a block level copy to somewhere else before running anything that will modify the MFT, official or not.

ntfsfix syncs the $MFT and $MFTMirr if they're inconsistent, but doesn't go as deep checking for errors as chkdisk.

Just use a Windows machine to run chkdsk. Or write a Windows install USB and use Shift-F10 to start a command prompt and do it from there.

 

[General Emílio Médici]

If the problem is that the drive is failing, nothing will 'fix' the problem.

I think the problem might have been the USB port I was using on my PC was shitty and causing bad connections which caused errors. I am gonna run that stuff to check before I bust out the Hiren to try and solve it or the Windows iso to shift + f10. Thankfully its just personal data like movies and music and some game backups nothing that is really valuable or unrecoverable without some time and effort to re-download.

 

[el_4aba7]

I'm thinking of scraping the forum(most likely without attachments), is that likely to be ok with the admins or am I asking for trouble or is there some ready database I can download?

 

[Wol]

I'm thinking of scraping the forum(most likely without attachments), is that likely to be ok with the admins or am I asking for trouble or is there some ready database I can download?

Knowing that the forum has had DDOS problems and stutters along from day to day, I would recommend that you approach/DM Null about getting permission for scraping, including your intent and scope for it off the bat.

 

[Celebrate Nite]

So is the Amber/Orange light on the motherboard considered the "check engine light" of computers?

This happened to two older towers I own. One was my regular tower I've had and used for over 10 years and the other was a tower i got from a relative that doesn't need it anymore. They're both Dells

• Inspiron 620
• Optiplex 390

The Optiplex was the relative tower. The Inspiron I've had for so many years used to work completely fine and the only "work" I've ever done to it (outside of giving it a good dusting every-now-and-then) was add another memory stick to it. Both towers by default have 2 memory slots but only had one stock 4GB stick. The memory stick i got to give the Inspiron the additional 4GB was a Neo Forza (NMUD340C81-1600DA20) which came in a 2-stick pack and was recommended to me by MicroCenter when I asked what my options were. A few days ago I made the touch decision to retire the Inspiron, as it was making crackling noises with a high pitch wine which made the entire computer freeze. It used to happen like a "once in a couple years" kind of thing but now it was doing it almost every day. Before i got rid of it, I noticed it had the Amber/Orange light on the motherboard, and looking it up online, the issue could be a multitude of things.

• Motherboard failure
• power supply failure
• wires/components not connected/fastened properly
• not enough power going into the motherboard to support the additional requirements from the memory sticks.

I looked up the stick info but nobody has any clue about it. Seems like a no-name brand from China that isn't documented well (there's more info on the stick ending in DA10 instead of DA20). I checked all the connections and they are tight and secure. I've been testing out the Optiplex and so far it seems to run good (the fan is a little loud but I can deal), but now it's doing the Amber/Orange light as well.

So my only conclusion is that these two towers either have power supply issues or motherboard issues, and I don't know which one it is. I don't want to go out and buy another power supply for nothing if it doesn't fix the issue.