Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2018 August 15

Welcome to the Wikipedia Computing Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

August 15

Transatlantic PC compatibility

I am considering buying this gaming PC from Amazon in the US. The PC will be used in the UK but this precise model is unavailable in the UK. Is there any reason why this PC would not function as normal in the UK? I understand that I would need to buy a US-to-UK plug adaptor, but other than that, are there any issues? Thanks, --Viennese Waltz 09:57, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

The main thing I can think of is to make sure the voltage selector on the power supply is set correctly. I believe in the UK you'd need it set to 220V, but if it's coming from the US it will be set to 110V. I've heard stories about people bringing computers to the US from overseas and thinking their power supply died, when really they forgot to flip the voltage switch so the computer was only getting half the expected power. The opposite of this (e.g. in the case you listed) would end up getting twice the expected voltage, which could end up in a fiery ball of problems. Random character sequence (talk) 16:35, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

Thanks very much, that is helpful. Do all computers have such a voltage selector these days? --Viennese Waltz 18:38, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

No. Very cheap power supplies do not. Decent power supplies often don't either, as they have active PFC and can generally accept any voltage from 100-240V without a switch. Given the specs of this computer, I would hope the PSU is active PFC and can accept 100-240V. Note that if the PSU isn't some completely weird version, it should have an IEC 60320 C14 socket and it will make more sense to buy a cord with an IEC 60320 C13 plug on one end and BS 1363 plug on the other instead of a US to UK plug adaptor. If you have an old computer with a cord that you don't use, you can use that. Nil Einne (talk) 01:14, 16 August 2018 (UTC)

I found an older model [1] has HPG-600BR-F12S which according to this [2] / [3] (from [4]) is active PFC with 100-240V. It's also a standard ATX power supply. Nil Einne (talk) 01:27, 16 August 2018 (UTC)

The Power supply unit (computer) is the thing, You need to be careful. 20 Years ago, a patch of opening the Delon circuit was the the way to solve it. Sometimes, a voltage selector switch on the backside enabled the user to do exactly this. Today PSU often come with a voltage range of 100 to 240 volts. If declared this way, the computer can be operated. Another point are the certifications of the PSU. Check the label on the PSU if declared to be operated in the U.K. This is for safety, only. If someone sues You for burning down the house, this declaration on the label might help You out. The power grid frequency of 50 or 60 Hertz is just a question of the 400 volts capacitor inside the PSU. So do not care, the capacitor will be large enough. When it fails, it is another reason. Todays PSUs with active PFC can not be configured the easy way form 115 to 240 volts. The other way would be more easy by adding such a delon circuit into the PSU. But this is for engineers. When needed to change the PSU, check the needed power ans connectors inside the PC, if it meets the ATX standard, just replace by a compatible PSU. Note, a single IEC 60320 C13/C14 is always present on each PSU, but it does not specify any operating voltage! It is about the user to care for compatible equipment. The cable needs to fit the wall plug. The PSU needs to fit the voltage. Cable and PSU fit the IEC 60320 C13/C14 connectors. --Hans Haase (有问题吗) 12:32, 18 August 2018 (UTC)

I can't find a suitable title for this

Why do people assume QAnon is a singular person? I don't know much about 4chan/8chan, but if I were to fake being QAnon, would I be caught as an imposter or would people believe me and commit more terrorist attacks? There are no usernames or IP addresses.

IDK. This has bugged me since I heard about it. 108.245.173.217 (talk) 10:17, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

While 4chan does not have classic logins, they do have a form of unique identifier [5]. I don't know the details but from the description they key issue may be length allowed and length displayed. If 4chan allows a reasonable length for both, even with a relatively weak hashing algorithm it's likely to take too long to break that it has never happened even with a GPU [6]. I think 8chan has something similar. Identifiers between services could be linked by the identifier on the first service linking to the second service. This claims that Qanon did use tripcodes [7] but I don't know if they are reliable. It's of course possible to add your own signature e.g. with GPG to each message although I don't think that was done. Nil Einne (talk) 14:26, 17 August 2018 (UTC)

color printer - colors not lining up

On my HP color laser printer, the magenta and cyan print is not lining up. (I noticed this after I changed the black ink, but I don't know if that had anything to do with it.) Is there a way I can fix this? (I checked to make sure the cartridges were seated properly.) Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 16:43, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

You did not specify the model but here is a possible solution. Ruslik_Zero 19:22, 15 August 2018 (UTC)

Thanks, it is an HP Color Laserjet CP1215. I did the firmware (over 5 years old) and the hard reset, but I still have the color misalignment problem. Bubba73 ^{You talkin' to me?} 20:01, 15 August 2018 (UTC)