External Hard Drive – LaCie Starck or Origin Data Locker?

In this digital technology world, everything is digitalized including your photos, music, videos, documents, games, etc. More and more people are considering having an external hard disk to store their digital files. What is your main priority and requirements in choosing an external hard disk – storage capacity, portability, security or aesthetics? The newly launched LaCie Starck Desktop Hard Drive or Origin Data Locker might fulfill your requirements.
LaCie Strack Desktop Hard Drive, similar to other LaCie’s products, has a unique and cool appearance. One of the remarkable features of the LaCie Starck is its intelligent touch-sensitive surface at the front panel. It will respond to your touch with a short tap or a touch to open an application as preset via LaCie Desktop Manager Software. Aside from this intelligent touch-sensitive front panel, the LaCie Starck also comes with huge storage capacity available in 1TB and 2TB models at around $130 and $250 respectively. The Starck supports Windows 7 and measures 195mm x 115mm x 52mm with a weight of 1.38kg.

Is your PC dead? Find out why and how to fix it

1. Make sure everything is plugged in correctlyThis is a very common mistake. Usually it is the motherboard or the boot drive. Some motherboards have two connectors: The 24-pin one, and a small 4-pin or 8-pin square one. If your motherboard does not have both of these, it will only have the 24-pin. Make sure that is secured into place. If that's ok, move on to all/the hard drive cable(s): 4-pin molex/sata power and the L shaped data (if sata) 40-pin if Eide. The data ribbon should trace to the motherboard. Also,if Eide, the red side of the ribbon should be on both pins 1 or both pins 40; it cannot be turned around.

A general review of all the wires should be performed. Where do they start and end? Do the connections make sense? Despite what most people think, the inside of a computer is really common sense; everything fits only in one slot/hole.

2. Clear the CMOS
This is often the solution, and it's usually bloody frustrating because it's so bloody simple once you know about it. All you have to do is find out from the motherboard manual where the CMOS jumper is. Make sure the system has no source of power (meaning the power supply is unplugged and the battery is removed). Then, move the CMOS jumper over the pins that clear it. After a few moments, put the jumper back, plug the power and battery back in, and try it.

If it works, job done, congrats, fireworks will light the heavens and so on. If not, carry on down the list.

3. Strip the system down
The first thing you should do is remove the system from the case**, place it on a non-conductive surface, and disconnect all components from the motherboard with these exceptions
CPU (and heatsink/fan)
A single stick of memory
Graphics card (if you have one)
Power supply
Power button

New Upgrade Computer

I've been in the process of upgrading my PC over the past few months. I'm fianlly done. I have maxed out my wallet and to an extent my motherboard. I could install a hexa-core, but I'm not that rich.

OLD setup:
Motherboard: ASUS M2N68-AM SE2
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (Dual core)
RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 667 (PC2-5300)
GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8500GT
PSU: Some ****ty 300W switching power supply
HD: 2TB (1TB internal / 1TB external)
New setup:Motherboard: The same as above
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz (Quad core)
RAM: Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 (PC2-8500)GPU: ZOTAC 1GB GeForce GT 240
PSU: Antec 550W (with 4 individual 12V rails with plugable wires, I like this because I can split the power load to keep my PSU running cooler)
HD: Same as above.

Replace Dell Latitude D630 D620 Motherboard

I recently replaced the motherboard in a Dell Latitude D620.

There is a known issue with the Nvidia video chip on the D620 and D630 model and Dell seems to be willing to replace the motherboard if you are less than one year out of warrenty.

Here is my step by step that I used in conjuction with some videos on the proceedure I found at Google video.

Dell D630 D620 Motherboard replacement

Take out Battery, Hard Drive, Memory

1. Remove all the screws on the back

(Under hard drive are two more screws)

(keep track of big vs little screws ... there are four little screws back two corners and LCD anchor holes marked D )

2. Flip Laptop

Take out keyboard
2nd memory out
WLAN out
WLAN cabling out
LCD cable unplug
LCD out

3. Take out P labeled screws - 3

4. Take our palm rest - I start with the section by the hard drive bay which is loose, then work the back end of the palm rest by the ports ... do the front last as you can slide the palm rest forward to loosen the front edge.  IMPORTANT: Read these three items below:

*  Wifi hardware switch mush be in OFF postion

*  Also battery connector wire near WLAN radio MUST be in unplugged - little black and red wire

*  AND Disconnect the touch-pad cable connector from the system board as you pull the Palm rest up


5. Take out speaker

6. Heat sink out - four screws in order 4,3,2,1

7. CPU out - twist screw to loosen (note position and put immediately into new mobo)

8. Remove modem if installed

9. CABLES:  detach hard drive ribbon cable / detach cable next to WLAN and serial port / detach fan power cable / detach very small cable next to modem and

nic port

10. Motherboard screws: 4 with little white arrows next to them

11. Unscrew anchor screws for video port and serial port - use 3/16 socket

12. USB / Modem / NIC connect to motherboard via cables - unhook and or remove

13. Take out motherboard

14. Insert new motherboard ... keep an eye on little cables

(A plastic cover over the USB ports had to be removed on my replacement motherboard)


Then just go backwards through these instructions to reassemble the laptop.

NOTE:  When replacing the Heat Sink I cleaned off the old heat sink putty with the cleaning wipe provided and put on a new strip of provided heat sink putty.  VERY IMPORTANT: Screw back in the heat sink screws in numerical order! 1,2,3,4! Firm but not too tight.

Core Components for New Build

I'm playing with the idea of building a new system soon as my present one is caput. I'm using the defibrilators but no life has come back into it yet.

It's not going to be a gaming system, though I may ocasionally play the odd game or flight simulator, it is mainly going to be a system for editing audio, but also some video and still images too.

These are the base components options I am thinking of using in my new system:


1) Argon Extreme Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz @ 4.40GHz USB3 Overclocked Bundle

- CPU: Intel Core i3 540 3.06GHz @ 4.40GHz
- Motherboard: Asus P7H55-M/USB3 Intel H55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
- RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
- Cooler: Akasa Nero S CPU Cooler (H70 Upgrade available)



2) Radon Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz Overclocked Bundle

- CPU: Intel Core i5 760 2.80GHz @ 4.00GHz
- Motherboard: Gigabyte P55-USB3 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard
- RAM: Corsair Dominator 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel
- Cooler: Akasa Nero S CPU Cooler (Upgrade options available)
- Artic Silver 5 Thermal Compound



Do you think I'd be better off with the i5 and the extra cores or the extra raw speed of the i3 for this type of non-gaming setup?

I was going to continue with XP Pro SP3 32-bit for now. I also have some other components I can salvage from my old system and make do with until the time is right such as the hard drives (SATA2) and DVD-RW. I will definitely need a new case though and graphics card. Thinking of going with a single GTX 460.

Any thoughts on which of these bundles would be better and recommendations for cases or better coolers? I am thinking the bigger any fans the better because they wont make as much noise?