Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 September 18

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September 18

Updating Issues:

Could you give me the exact downloading link for the code: "80070103" please. Regards. 103.67.156.36 (talk) 05:06, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

The various fixes to this issue are specific to drivers and hardware for your PC. You have not given us enough information to answer your request. Try here: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_other/windows-7-error-code-80070103/48ea17d1-e808-4dd0-ab7b-b1f7f2939406 196.213.35.146 (talk) 05:54, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

I've gone the the link you specified and followed through, how do I know which one is the defected driver? Which option should I expand...? 116.58.205.226 (talk) 12:37, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

The link I gave is a specific solution for a nVidia Geforce 7300 GT display adapter in Windows 7. Use can you the Device Manager to update the drivers of your particular display adapter. 196.213.35.146 (talk) 14:16, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

196.213.35.146: Solved. Thank you. 116.58.200.98 (talk) 02:31, 23 September 2017 (UTC)

Laptop Problem

I possess a Toshiba Satellite L850-166 Laptop. Problem is:

I start my Computer by pressing the power button, after Logging in to the Computer from the start I am unable to use it properly every (in between) 5 minutes or so – the “Busy” mouse pointer appears and the Laptop movement becomes slow e.g., keyboard typing becomes slow, mouse cursor movement becomes slow, closing applications/windows becomes slow… – thereafter it behaves like it got ‘hanged’ or something (if you know what I mean)…

What is the or How do I findout what is the problem?

Note: System restoring is not restoring properly…

116.58.202.106 (talk) 11:19, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

You can start by opening the Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and see with processes are "hogging" the CPU/memory/disk. Open resource monitor to see more details. Use Event Viewer to browse the Windows Logs. You should get a few clues there. There are just too many possible causes to say what the problem is, but start with those. 196.213.35.146 (talk) 13:26, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

A) Could be malware. Try to run some type of cleaner like Ad-Aware to clean it up.

B) The 5 minute delay makes me suspect overheating, but a shut down is more likely than hanging in that case. Still, try pointing a big fan at it and see if that makes difference.

C) Most computers defrag automatically these days, but maybe yours doesn't and is badly fragmented. StuRat (talk) 20:08, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Problem fixed. I've kept the PC on for a while than a window appeared titled: javaws.exe with a message code: 0xc00012d (or something alike). Used Task Manager and deleted the Java updating file... Thank you all (WPdians as always). Regards... 103.67.156.105 (talk) 05:45, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Does the VIA Eden 800 MHz CPU support PAE?

I'm interested in installing a Linux distribution on my old POS but I am struggling to determine whether my CPU supports the PAE function needed for many distributions. --178.170.142.159 (talk) 17:12, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

According to VIA C3 Nehemiah Processor Datasheet PAE is not supported. Ruslik_Zero 17:57, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Thanks. One the other hand I found this page which says the Eden C7 800 MHz does have PAE! The machine is a Wyse V90L so hopefully it has the same processor discussed on that page (no additional information in the BIOS). --178.170.142.159 (talk) 22:27, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

This datasheet says that C7 Eden supports pae. Apparently 'Eden 800' may refer to two different processors. Ruslik_Zero 18:58, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

Hard discs dying from long storage

I've read that a hard disc in storage will eventually die from not being used. Is this true? Is it the data that dies or the disc itself? If I buy a brand new one and just keep it on a shelf, will it last for a long time, or should I buy a new one only when I need it? Many thanks. Anna Frodesiak (talk) 19:56, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

I hadn't heard that just storage is a problem, but movement can be. There's a procedure called "parking" which makes it less vulnerable to damage from movement, but these days that happens automatically when it is powered down: [1]. So, in the old days, if you stored a hard disk for a long time, without parking it, that could indeed lead to failure, if it was moved around while stored. And, since the damage would not be obvious when it was moved, the storage itself might be blamed when it was next fired up. StuRat (talk) 20:01, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Don't think it so much die- as fade away. The information is stored as magnetic domains, and over time those domains they will gradually realign themselves to the Earth's magnetic field. As they are reckoned to lose their magnetic field strength at a rate of 1% per year, it depends on the manufacturing technology of your HDD. Of course re-formatting them will create new fields. The platters are made of aluminum and atmospheric pollution and atmospheric oxygen will in time degrade them. But in a box with the descant sashay they may last until your grand-children exclaim WOW- Grandma! - Its huge! and only stores one terabyte and my little smart-watch store ten petabytes. Aspro (talk) 20:42, 18 September 2017 (UTC)

Do you have a citation for the "As they are reckoned to lose their magnetic field strength at a rate of 1% per year" claim?

If they do lose magnetic field strength, formatting will do nothing. With the exception of real antiques like an IBM XT 5MB HDD, disk drives almost always have One side of one platter that is used to position the heads and not accessible to the operating system. This may change in the future: see the "Tricky Business: Head Positioning" section of [ http://forensicswiki.org/w/images/7/79/Maxtor_Disk_Geometry.pdf ]. --Guy Macon (talk) 00:10, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

Thanks for the feedback so far. So, what's the bottom line on this one? If I buy a new HDD today and shelve it unused, will it be just as good in three years as one bought new in three years? Anna Frodesiak (talk) 08:32, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

I've had two hard drives that failed within three years. One I dropped (only from a few inches onto a carpet), so I blame myself for that, but the other was working perfectly, then I didn't use it for a year, and when I tried to read the data the heads just repeatedly failed to read the file table. One example doesn't mean that this is a common problem, of course, and this was a 3.5-inch external drive (they seem to be less reliable than modern 2.5-inch drives). Personally, I would wait if you are not needing the drive for three years. By then, solid state drives will be much cheaper. Dbfirs 16:15, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

That may mean that the flash memory for the HDD Microcontroller has faded and needs re-flashing with a EEPROM programmer. That is assuming the HDD has an external chip which one can get at and not a HDD with the firmware flash memory built into the microcontroller chip itself. Aspro (talk) 17:59, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

Thank you for that suggestion. I hadn't thought of that possibility — I thought the controller would be in ROM. If it was my only backup, then I would try re-flashing, but I have another copy of the data — I'm paranoid about multiple backups! Dbfirs 20:08, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

I don't suggest buying a hard disk and putting on a shelf, untested, for several reasons besides the risk of it going bad in that time:

1) As mentioned above, technology will advance, so you can get more for less by waiting. If you wait too long, your hard drive may even be obsolete when you want to use it.

2) It may be defective, and if you don't test it right away, any warranty will have expired by the time you do.

3) Why clutter up a shelf for years ? StuRat (talk) 20:40, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

Good advice, StuRat. I'll take it! Thank you kindly! :) Anna Frodesiak (talk) 21:03, 19 September 2017 (UTC)

It is a long time since I had cause to delve into the inner working of a HDD and the volatile memory between my ears is too evaporating as to how they work (or cease to work) . Found this link. That shows that re-flashing is not worth the time and effort - except in exceptional circumstances. Like Dbfirs, I am paranoid about backups and would never enter an exam room unless I had written out a backup of all the answers in ball-point pen on my forearms first. Aspro (talk) 16:49, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

I recall one GCSE exam where I had all the answers written in tiny writing on flash cards in my top pocket, but I was too busy to look at them! Dbfirs 16:55, 20 September 2017 (UTC)

Sounds like you made the same mistake as I. We didn't drop out of college like Bill Gates did. Thus we became Salerymen. If I had to my live my life over again I would become a politician. No hard study nor qualifications required - just a large repertoire of BS. And you can get all that from just reading Niccolò Machiavelli over a bank holiday weekend – if one's a slow reader. Aspro (talk) 20:13, 20 September 2017 (UTC)