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Tech/Computer advice from me

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t-, they think it was my laptop. I have great security on my Mac, but the HP Laptop I have was just something I used when I traveled. Now, it stays in my office mostly. I have run 4 different scans from varying security programs and the only thing I was able to find was PUP.FakePlug...

Any ideas? I got rid of it, but it's hard to believe that something that is so hard to get info on would do so much damage to a share drive...

Edit: After searching thoroughly it looks like I have a VPN Privitize corruption. Now, I gotta figure out how to get that off my laptop, but the virus that hit our share driver at work was porn related, which is another red flag that it wasn't me because I have never looked at porn on that computer.
 
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Elephant said:
t-, they think it was my laptop. I have great security on my Mac, but the HP Laptop I have was just something I used when I traveled. Now, it stays in my office mostly. I have run 4 different scans from varying security programs and the only thing I was able to find was PUP.FakePlug...

Any ideas? I got rid of it, but it's hard to believe that something that is so hard to get info on would do so much damage to a share drive...

Edit: After searching thoroughly it looks like I have a VPN Privitize corruption. Now, I gotta figure out how to get that off my laptop, but the virus that hit our share driver at work was porn related, which is another red flag that it wasn't me because I have never looked at porn on that computer.
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No, no ideas without more information. I don't know how anyone can accuse someone of anything with logs that prove it. Odds are they don't have the logs and are just guessing.

I'd ask them what specific piece of information it is that points to you. They either have logs that show it was you, or they don't have any logs which means they don't have any idea who did it.

if they know what file contains the virus then the file should have an 'Owner' attribute that should indicate who created it. It might be ambiguous and say something like 'Network Service' or 'Administrators', but if it has a specific user name I'd ask to know what it was.

That all depends on how serious of an issue it is though.
 
tshile said:
Yeah, you'll see a bunch of little plugs that hook into a series of pins, the cables attached to the plugs will run in a bundle to the front of the machine.

The series of pins on the mail board will look like this:


The plugs connecting to them will look like this:

Unplug one at a time then plug them back in keeping track of where it plugged in and how; each plug has a positive and a negative, if you plug it in backwards you could cause damage (at best it just wont work). If you can identify which one is the power you can just do that one, since the problem is power related. It should be marked.
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Okay, I'm just now trying to replace the PSU, mainly because I was just letting it last as long as I could. Now it seems to be completely dead and cant power on at all.
But I'm stuck at a very basic problem. I can't seem to release some of the plugs you're talking about. Some of them seem to have a clip to press, that releases the plug. While some have no such clip. I apply a reasonable amount of pulling to try to unplug but it still wont come out. And of course I'm afraid to force it out, and do damage. Any suggestions on how to unplug them ? Is this normal for some to have lips and some not ?
 
Those plugs should only connect to the buttons on the front of the pc, not the power supply. Unless I don't understand correctly. And they shouldn't have clips, just pull straight out.
 
Fear The Spear said:
Okay, I'm just now trying to replace the PSU, mainly because I was just letting it last as long as I could. Now it seems to be completely dead and cant power on at all.
But I'm stuck at a very basic problem. I can't seem to release some of the plugs you're talking about. Some of them seem to have a clip to press, that releases the plug. While some have no such clip. I apply a reasonable amount of pulling to try to unplug but it still wont come out. And of course I'm afraid to force it out, and do damage. Any suggestions on how to unplug them ? Is this normal for some to have lips and some not ?
Click to expand...
There should not be clips for those tiny headers connecting the mobo to the case power button, reset button, led lights, etc.

It seems like you are removing the cables originating from the PSU, which is separate from the cables connected to the power button. Do any of the things you are removing look like these in the following page? If yes, then you're removing connectors connecting the PSU to the motherboard.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

Also, what PSU are you intending to use to replace the old one? I help can direct you to some good ones.

I know you're computer is down, yet you're able to post. Is it possible for you to take a photo of the computer's innards?
 
Yeah posting a picture would be the best way to allow us to help you :)
 
SirClintonPortis said:
There should not be clips for those tiny headers connecting the mobo to the case power button, reset button, led lights, etc.

It seems like you are removing the cables originating from the PSU, which is separate from the cables connected to the power button. Do any of the things you are removing look like these in the following page? If yes, then you're removing connectors connecting the PSU to the motherboard.

http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/connectors.html

Also, what PSU are you intending to use to replace the old one? I help can direct you to some good ones.

I know you're computer is down, yet you're able to post. Is it possible for you to take a photo of the computer's innards?
Click to expand...

Yes, the cables are from the PSU, not from the power button. And they do look like the ones in the pics from the link you posted.

Here are pics. I have tried to give a close-up of each plug that originates from the PSU and connects to the unit, and labeled them. Then the last one is the overall view of the guts, while the PSU is partially pulled out, if that helps...

(Removed pics to save bandwidth, since they were huge, and problem has been resolved).
 
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The ones going into the drives (on the right side, of the pic with everything) just pull out. no clips.

the ones going into the motherboard definitely have clips - at least every one I've ever worked on has. The fat one you can see the clip in your picture.

The one that's real wide has a clip, it be on the wide side opposite the side showing in picture 2.
 
tshile, and SCP, thanks so much for the assist ! Got it done !
Successfully swapped out PSU's and it solved the problem.

But here's the most interesting thing. I had just remembered that I had an old PC laying around, that wasn't even working. I didn't even know why it didn't work, but I figured I'd try the PSU from that unit to see if that part was any good. It was the same voltage, and had the same types of clips as my newer PC. And just to give you an idea how old that PSU was (much older than the one I replaced) - it was so old, that the PC it came from, was still using Windows 98 !! And the PSU worked !

So glad that a novice like me, could do this, and not spend a dime on either parts nor labor ! Thanks again, guys. I am GREATLY GRATEFUL !!
 
Glad to be of service, Fear the Spear.

I'm very curious of the make and model of your PSU(geek me loves looking at computer hardware), because not all PSUs are made equal. Fortunately for you, your dead PSU did not take out your mobo and other components when it reached its end.

Oh, and now that you've seen the inside of the computer, you might want to consider doing a RAM upgrade for that rig to rid yourself of those stalls while computing. RAM are those long sticks near the top right of your motherboard.

Also, you should consider purchasing a new computer in the near future. Even budget builds will run circles around PCs with Pentium 4-based processors.
 
SirClintonPortis said:
Glad to be of service, Fear the Spear.

I'm very curious of the make and model of your PSU(geek me loves looking at computer hardware), because not all PSUs are made equal. Fortunately for you, your dead PSU did not take out your mobo and other components when it reached its end.

Oh, and now that you've seen the inside of the computer, you might want to consider doing a RAM upgrade for that rig to rid yourself of those stalls while computing. RAM are those long sticks near the top right of your motherboard.

Also, you should consider purchasing a new computer in the near future. Even budget builds will run circles around PCs with Pentium 4-based processors.
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Wow, I didn't know it was all that common that a bad PSU could fry a mobo.
If that's a concern, then how do you know ahead of time, when your PSU is about to reach it's end, so you don't risk ruining those other components ?
Off the top of my head, I don't know the make and model of the PSU, but I'll check it, next time I open up the unit.

And I definitely want to upgrade my RAM.
There's a program I want to use, and it says I don't have enough memory.
It says I need 512mgs of RAM, while I only have 496mgs. So, imagine my frustration of being short only 16mgs of RAM.

Could you tell me in simple terms, the basic process of acquiring the proper RAM upgrade ? For example, should I pull out my memory cards and bring them to a computer shop and tell them I want to upgrade from those cards, to "such and such" an amount of RAM ?
 
WOW! A pentium 4 with 496MB of RAM? You should offer your pc to the museum! Everytime you use your pc it must feel like you are stepping back to the '80's.

I'd love to know what capacity the hard drive is.

If you are going to upgrade, get yourself a new pc. I doubt you'll be able to find any hardware that would be compatible with your mobo nowadays.

I don't know about in the US, but down here, you can get a pc with 1TB HDD, 4 GB RAM, 1GB grafix card, quad core CPU, at a minimum, for less than $600.
 
Fear The Spear said:
And I definitely want to upgrade my RAM.
There's a program I want to use, and it says I don't have enough memory.
It says I need 512mgs of RAM, while I only have 496mgs. So, imagine my frustration of being short only 16mgs of RAM.

Could you tell me in simple terms, the basic process of acquiring the proper RAM upgrade ? For example, should I pull out my memory cards and bring them to a computer shop and tell them I want to upgrade from those cards, to "such and such" an amount of RAM ?
Click to expand...

When you upgrade RAM, you do not upgrade the stick you have. You get new sticks with more capacity. Then you install the new RAM in an empty RAM slot or replace your current RAM with the new RAM.

First thing you have to do which type of RAM you have, such as DDR2 RAM and DDR3 RAM, since different types of RAM have incompatible sockets.

You can download a program called CPU-Z. In addition to tellling you info about your CPU, it will tell your memory info.



Here's a video where the guy installs RAM. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsXNT6fnHmM[/media]
 
You have to make sure what your mobo is capable of accepting in regards to RAM. I can remember back in the day that the mobo in one of my early computers would only recognise a 20GB hdd, and 512MB of RAM.
 
SkinnedAussie said:
WOW! A pentium 4 with 496MB of RAM? You should offer your pc to the museum! Everytime you use your pc it must feel like you are stepping back to the '80's.

I'd love to know what capacity the hard drive is.

If you are going to upgrade, get yourself a new pc. I doubt you'll be able to find any hardware that would be compatible with your mobo nowadays.

I don't know about in the US, but down here, you can get a pc with 1TB HDD, 4 GB RAM, 1GB grafix card, quad core CPU, at a minimum, for less than $600.
Click to expand...
Eh, the 80s had the 80186, which is much slower than the Pentium 4. P4 was about 10 years ago. It's a P4 Prescott Celeron, I suspect.

But yes, it's slow and not suitable for things more demanding than video 480p video and web browsing, aka a typical modern-day netbook. How insufficient RAM can further bring any system to its knees because hard drive space is used as extra RAM, and data travels between the hard drive and CPU much more slowly than between the RAM and CPU.

USB was already ubiquitous back then and there are still PCI cards floating around even though PCI Express replaced it.

The HD is probably anywhere between 40-120GB and uses the IDE interface, which is no longer on current motherboards.
 
Fear The Spear said:
I found out I have DDR, DIMM RAM.
So, how do I know if my mobo can handle more RAM, or how much ?
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Go to the "Mainboard" tab in CPU-Z. It will tell you the motherboard model and manufacturer. You can then try to Google search that info.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIMM

The most common types of DIMMs are:

72-pin SO-DIMM (not the same as a 72-pin SIMM), used for FPM DRAM and EDO DRAM
100-pin DIMM, used for printer SDRAM
144-pin SO-DIMM, used for SDR SDRAM
168-pin DIMM, used for SDR SDRAM (less frequently for FPM/EDO DRAM in workstations/servers)
172-pin MicroDIMM, used for DDR SDRAM
184-pin DIMM, used for DDR SDRAM
200-pin SO-DIMM, used for DDR SDRAM and DDR2 SDRAM
204-pin SO-DIMM, used for DDR3 SDRAM
214-pin MicroDIMM, used for DDR2 SDRAM
240-pin DIMM, used for DDR2 SDRAM, DDR3 SDRAM and FB-DIMM DRAM
244-pin MiniDIMM, used for DDR2 SDRAM
 
SirClintonPortis said:
Go to the "Mainboard" tab in CPU-Z.
Click to expand...

I havnt yet downloaded the CPU-Z program. I got the information on the type of RAM from some paperwork I had. But before I downloaded it to get the information you just posted about, I read some very scary reviews on CNET, about the program now containing other malicious programs, so now I am afraid to acquire it......Is it no longer trustworthy ? ....a few of the quotes

http://download.cnet.com/CPU-Z/3000-2086_4-10050423.html


Pros

*Used to be* an awesome app giving users many quick reference items regarding deep details about their system.

Cons

*Used to be* an awesome app, but apparently has either been hijacked or handed over unwittingly to malicious individuals.

Summary

I used to love this app, but when I went to fetch the download for a newer PC I noticed something I had never seen before: a disclaimer stating that another app would be installed to piggyback the download of the app I wanted and that doing so would automatically cause me to accept the policies of the company creating the piggyback downloader. No need for such a small app to use a piggyback app unless something malicious is going to take place in the background so when I went to click on the terms that I was supposed to agree to, the browser attempted to take me to another website that both Web of Trust and my security suite blocked for the safety of my computer. Used to be an awesome app, but no longer so. Leave this one alone and find a new option for accessing this data.

Pros

I did not install as I noticed another program installing when I loaded cpuz. This occurred from their own website

Cons

Attempts to load another piece of software

Summary

Load at your own risk
 
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