General PC Help Thread - OP updated with useful links - READ

[Grumpy David]

Of course, a solid state drive isn't particuarly perturbed by movement. But you do want to get it secured somehow. The last thing you want is it coming loose and knocking into other components (like RAM) if/when the case is moved.

Zip-tie it.

Letting it dangle then! Installing Windows now. Thanks for helping a worrying nub afraid of breaking his expensive adult lego.

I had no zip-ties to spare, and unless I turn the computer upside down and the SDD comes lose off the cables there's no chance of it hitting the RAM. It's a botch job and I know it. However, it seems fine. For now...

I hope you've learnt your lesson about trying to skimp on the case.

Yep. Too small to work in, poorly ventilated (I want a ceiling fan dammit!), and missing some nice things I would have liked had I known more about cases at the time. I was just really trying to keep it within budget at the time, major regret now.

Are the horizontal cases good? I always liked them because they keep the graphics card the right way up but I think they've fallen majorly out of fashion for years now.

He has a baby size case with two oversized graphics cards. (and horrible wiring)

I don't have two graphics cards. It's just the AMD 6950 2GB card but I deliberately went for the ASUS 3 slot thick card for MAXIMUM cooling. The motherboard should have been designed with the SATA3 ports where the exposed SATA2 ports are though. I blame the motherboard, and small case.

I don't deny the wiring is terrible though!

[False]

My eyes!

[systematic]

For optimal cooling look into the rotated motherboard cases, such as the Silverstone RV02-E.

The firmware on your SSD needs to be updated btw. 0009 has a nasty bug where after 5000 hours of use the drive becomes unstable.

[Grumpy David]

The firmware on your SSD needs to be updated btw. 0009 has a nasty bug where after 5000 hours of use the drive becomes unstable.

Ah strawberry float, I figured the speed increase by going to 0009 also fixed that 5000 hours bug I'd read about. Only problem is my graphics card blocks SATA ports 0-3. I'm only able to connect stuff to SATA 5/6 but the firmware update needs to use one of the first 4 ports. http://edge.crucial.com/firmware/m4/030 ... _01-12.pdf

My motherboard doesn't have a video output connection unless a graphics card is connected so I guess I'll need to eBay myself a dirt cheap card that's small enough to not block any SATA ports to allow myself to update the firmware?

Silly Crucial not making firmware work through any SATA port, and having the bug in the first place, and not having it fixable through Windows.

Edit: noticed a typo.

[False]

Just get a cheap right angled sata extension.

[systematic]

Only the two white ports under the GPU are SATA3. The blue ports will limit you to SATA2 speeds.

Didn't your motherboard come with a right angled SATA3 cable? My budget £55 motherboard came with both a straight and right angled cables!

[Tineash]

For optimal cooling look into the rotated motherboard cases, such as the Silverstone RV02-E.

The firmware on your SSD needs to be updated btw. 0009 has a nasty bug where after 5000 hours of use the drive becomes unstable.

Yikes, better do mine too!

[TheTurnipKing]

Only the two white ports under the GPU are SATA3. The blue ports will limit you to SATA2 speeds.

Didn't your motherboard come with a right angled SATA3 cable? My budget £55 motherboard came with both a straight and right angled cables!

Of course it did. You can see it in his image.

With the right-angled end plugged into the drive, not the motherboard.

[John Matrix]

I've got an old desktop (around 6 or 7 years old I think) that doesn't appear to be booting up. The lights come on and the fans start to spin but that is it. I've tried connecting it to a different monitor with different leads and I've tried a different PSU but no joy. Motherboard or memory problem? Is it worth replacing the motherboard on such an old system anyway?

Any help would be much appreciated, I've not really kept up with PCs over the last few years so I'm a bit out of my depth.

[False]

Any beeps or boops?

[Wiggy G32]

For optimal cooling look into the rotated motherboard cases, such as the Silverstone RV02-E.

The firmware on your SSD needs to be updated btw. 0009 has a nasty bug where after 5000 hours of use the drive becomes unstable.

Thanks for this info just updated mine! im on the look out for another now to put in my Dell laptop seems theres a bit of a price war going on over the M4 so im keeping my eye out

[John Matrix]

Any beeps or boops?

Nope. It never made any when it was working though?

[TheTurnipKing]

Not even on bootup? Pretty much every PC will give beep the internal speaker during POST that comes from the case or motherboard speaker. Is it possibly disconnected?

[Grumpy David]

:lol:

Just get a cheap right angled sata extension.

Well I tried using a right angled cable into the motherboard but the graphics card won't slot into the PCI slot because the graphics card is so big and even a right angled cable sticks up enough to prevent the card from clicking in.

So the only option I'm aware of is buying a small dirt cheap 2nd hand graphics card off eBay that won't block SATA0-3 so I can update SSD firmware. Then once it's done, I just have a spare graphics card lying around.

[False]

If you get a cheap sata cable, you can break the plastic cover and flex the cable however you like.

[TheTurnipKing]

If you get a cheap sata cable, you can break the plastic cover and flex the cable however you like.

That works. I was about to suggest that the SATA cable pinouts are widely available online, so there shouldn't be much to prevent you (or someone else) soldering up a custom cable.



Though naturally all this kind of shennagins is right into the realm of hackery and at one's own risk.

[False]

At this point, his entire PC is basically shaping out to a giant bodge so what harm is a bit of 'custom cabling' going to do?

[TheTurnipKing]

If I could predict a problem, I'd warn about it specifically instead of simply indemnifying myself incase of fireball. (yes, I exaggerate: I think it'd be safe enough, or I wouldn't even suggest it).

Though to be fair, I think modifying an existing cable as Falsey suggested is probably the path of least resistance.

[False]

Could always wrap it it electrical tape after stripping it.

[systematic]

SATA0-3 = the four blue ports. You should have no problem flashing your drive with your current configuration.

I don't think you would have problems flashing the drive using any Intel SATA port. I think the notice is just a precaution for those using non-Intel chipsets.

You really do need to find a way of connecting the drive to one of the white SATA ports, otherwise you'll only be connected in SATA2 mode and sacrificing half of your read speeds.