Some general PC questions...

[Newbie12]

Hello again!

I have some questions relating to computers I'd like answered:

- When you have win98se on a computer may I use XP's setup to delete the 98se partition was once created by Fdisk? I mean is this the correct way of deleting this partition after I backup everything I need to keep?
- Zero filling a HDD is just like buying a brand new HDD, right?
- When is it necessary to zero fill HDDs?
- How do you know if your HDD is contaminated by air from the outside because those also cause bad sectors?
- Is there any external, not internal, benefits to installing IE8 on XP?
- Does dropping a HDD from a height screw up your HDD?
- Do you know an easier, and quicker if possible, way of executing 99 files than by hand?
- Do you know how some games are installed by two or more CDs, right? I'd like to know how to turn that two or more CDs installation into one or more DVD if possible. Or go back the other way as in one DVD or more installation to one or more CDs? (I like to keep things nice a tight together...)
- Is there a good reason as to why you must have a dedicated GPU power connector?

thanks.

 

[Furby]

When you have win98se on a computer may I use XP's setup to delete the 98se partition was once created by Fdisk? I mean is this the correct way of deleting this partition after I backup everything I need to keep?

Wow, its hard for me to believe someone is still using 98, why you want to delete the partition? Format it.

- Zero filling a HDD is just like buying a brand new HDD, right?
- When is it necessary to zero fill HDDs?

"Zero filling" - Formatting? It depends, when you feel you os doesn't run that smooth anymore even after defragmenting disk.

- How do you know if your HDD is contaminated by air from the outside because those also cause bad sectors?

You know after your little sister played with it.

- Is there any external, not internal, benefits to installing IE8 on XP?QUOTE]
"external"? You mean like appearance?

- Does dropping a HDD from a height screw up your HDD?

Depends if you enjoy it.

- Do you know an easier, and quicker if possible, way of executing 99 files than by hand?

A script.

- Do you know how some games are installed by two or more CDs, right? I'd like to know how to turn that two or more CDs installation into one or more DVD if possible. Or go back the other way as in one DVD or more installation to one or more CDs? (I like to keep things nice a tight together...)

I am not sure if this is possible, never tried nor needed it. Just download full version from the internet, if the company that made the game allows you to.

- Is there a good reason as to why you must have a dedicated GPU power connector?

Because you have bad-ass GPU that eats a lot?

 

[Varine]

For the DVD thing, you can copy the contents for the disk onto the hard drive and burn it into a DVD. It may or may not work; some games use protected sectors in the disk that won't copy over. You could just save all of them as an .iso or something and burn those to a DVD as well, and then mount them for installation.

And yes, dropping your hard drive will probably damage it by driving the pin thing into the disks and scratching it.

They use a hermetic seal, which if broken would allow air into your drive, and I believe that would effectively make it useless, not just give you some bad sectors.

 

[Newbie12]

Wow, its hard for me to believe someone is still using 98, why you want to delete the partition? Format it.

Yeah, I sort of still use that for some old games/programs that definetly won't run under newer OSs, but I have now given up on it, I now plan to use a newer OS than 98se. But don't you need to delete the partition to format the drive? Because you can't just go straight to formating the drive, or can you...?

"Zero filling" - Formatting? It depends, when you feel you os doesn't run that smooth anymore even after defragmenting disk.

So is zero filling a HDD like buying a brand new HDD from the shops?

You know after your little sister played with it.

- Is there any external, not internal, benefits to installing IE8 on XP?

"external"? You mean like appearance?

No, not really appearance, more in security wise and other benefits like if it will make other programs run more efficiently or if it adds to any security holes you have on your system.

Depends if you enjoy it.

Err, I didn't really enjoy it because I accidentally knocked it off a table....

A script.

What's the script?

I am not sure if this is possible, never tried nor needed it. Just download full version from the internet, if the company that made the game allows you to.

I have got the full version, just got some games that are on CDs and would like to turn it into a DVD or DVDs installation disc for both backup and copy purposes.

Because you have bad-ass GPU that eats a lot?

Well, I just got this GPU that requires a molex power connector and I am not sure whether to have it also hooked up to my HDDs/CDD or just have it dedicated to the GPU.

For the DVD thing, you can copy the contents for the disk onto the hard drive and burn it into a DVD. It may or may not work; some games use protected sectors in the disk that won't copy over. You could just save all of them as an .iso or something and burn those to a DVD as well, and then mount them for installation.

Tired that, the files on the first disc are the same as the files on the second disc and so on so I am unable to combine those files together unless I rename them but that wouldn't go well with the installation process...

And yes, dropping your hard drive will probably damage it by driving the pin thing into the disks and scratching it.

Okay.:thup:

They use a hermetic seal, which if broken would allow air into your drive, and I believe that would effectively make it useless, not just give you some bad sectors.

So, how do I know or tell if the seal is broken?

 

[Slapshot136]

for most of your questions, it just plain and simple won't work - they don't put power connectors on graphic cards and cd/dvd drives for no reason, they need power - if they don't get it, they won't run, simple as that. same as if the hard drive seal was broken - it would not run at all, not just cause a few bad sectors - normally when not in use the needle is "parked" so that it won't scratch the disk from a small bump, but if you put it in and hear a clicking/scraping/etc. noise, it will have error and fail soon.

I would also suggest that you just make a digital iso or something out of your old CD games, maybe copy your 98 into a virtual machine so you can play your old games

the script could be made in something like notepad, and look like

program1.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\SpeechEngines\Microsoft\program2.exe
thingtorun3.exe
folder/otherstufftorun.exe

and then re-name the extension from .txt to .bat, also make sure you get your file paths right (those were just example ones)

your PSU normally has a few molex connectors, so you can connect multiple devices to them (although usually only fans use them, as graphic cards use a 6-pin or 8-pin connector, and cd/dvd drives use a sata power connector, but I don't remember too well what older computers used

 

[Newbie12]

for most of your questions, it just plain and simple won't work - they don't put power connectors on graphic cards and cd/dvd drives for no reason, they need power - if they don't get it, they won't run, simple as that.

I know that part...

same as if the hard drive seal was broken - it would not run at all, not just cause a few bad sectors - normally when not in use the needle is "parked" so that it won't scratch the disk from a small bump, but if you put it in and hear a clicking/scraping/etc. noise, it will have error and fail soon.

Not sure about this one though because I think I might of accidentally broke the seal while trying to screw the HDD into the case...I think it could be the cause of this because every now and then, the HDD just seems to freeze or the computer itself just seems to freeze however the mouse still is movable - that's strange, doesn't when a computer lockup, the mouse also freezes in time too?

I would also suggest that you just make a digital iso or something out of your old CD games, maybe copy your 98 into a virtual machine so you can play your old games

I see.

the script could be made in something like notepad, and look like

program1.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\SpeechEngines\Microsoft\program2.exe
thingtorun3.exe
folder/otherstufftorun.exe

and then re-name the extension from .txt to .bat, also make sure you get your file paths right (those were just example ones)

So where would the file "program1.exe", "thingtorun3.exe" and the "folder/otherstufftorun" be located of the HDD? Does the location be specfic?

your PSU normally has a few molex connectors, so you can connect multiple devices to them (although usually only fans use them, as graphic cards use a 6-pin or 8-pin connector, and cd/dvd drives use a sata power connector, but I don't remember too well what older computers used

well, older computer use them molex power connectors and I am unsure to have a dedicated molex power connector to the GPU or have it universal with the CDD/HDDs...

 

[Slapshot136]

So where would the file "program1.exe", "thingtorun3.exe" and the "folder/otherstufftorun" be located of the HDD? Does the location be specific?

it depends how you want to define it, if you leave it at program1.exe then it needs to share the same directory as your script, if it's in folder/otherstufftorun, then the script should be in the same directory as the folder, and then the program should be inside the folder - or if you want them to be in a completely different location, then you need to give it the full path (C:\xxx or whatever it is)

I guess your molex question should be answered by what kind of PSU you have - usually they will just have a single rail for all of them, so it doesn't matter what you connect where, since they all connect back together at the PSU anyways, but some PSU's have split rail designs where each rail has it's own max current - usually these are the larger ones which were meant to have 1 graphic card on each rail

 

[Newbie12]

it depends how you want to define it, if you leave it at program1.exe then it needs to share the same directory as your script, if it's in folder/otherstufftorun, then the script should be in the same directory as the folder, and then the program should be inside the folder - or if you want them to be in a completely different location, then you need to give it the full path (C:\xxx or whatever it is)

This is exactly what I wanted!! Thanks, though I have three question:

- How come it doesn't work with some files?
- Can it be made so that it can execute all named files at the same time instead of one after the other once I close the first one?
- How could I use this method for windows updates files where I'd like it to execute one after the other by itself and have it's default action(if present) not to restart the computer and show the window of each during installation?

I guess your molex question should be answered by what kind of PSU you have - usually they will just have a single rail for all of them, so it doesn't matter what you connect where, since they all connect back together at the PSU anyways, but some PSU's have split rail designs where each rail has it's own max current - usually these are the larger ones which were meant to have 1 graphic card on each rail

My PSU is a Macron Power MPT-301. Here's the specs I could pull out:

- Red: +5V = 30A
- Yellow: +12V = 15A
- White: -5V = 0.5A
- Blue: -12V = 0.8A
- Purple: +3.3V = 14A
- Brown: +5VSB = 3A
- Orange: P.G
- Black: GND
- Gray: PS-ON

I don't know if it's single rail or not. What does the rails do anyway?

I also have a couple more questions if it's not too much to ask:

- What are the causes to have give a PSU to go pop?
- Is there a way to convert a movie on DVD into two or more CD given that it must still have the exact quality of the DVD version?

 

[Slapshot136]

I think there are some restrictions as far as spaces/special characters in the names of files, and the computer needs to know how to open/run the files, mind posting what files in particular it doesn't work with? (do they work if you double-click them?)

if you want to run multiple things simultaneously, type "start " before it (ex: start program1.exe) and then it won't wait for it to finish before calling the next one

not sure how to get it to run windows update.. Microsoft usually likes to keep windows update protected to prevent users from messing with it (and/or hacking their updates), and I don't have any old systems to test this with

your PSU is a single rail PSU - they are ways of splitting power/balancing it

you won't be able to run any new graphic cards with it (it is only 300W, and no pcie/pci power connectors)

 

[Varine]

Tired that, the files on the first disc are the same as the files on the second disc and so on so I am unable to combine those files together unless I rename them but that wouldn't go well with the installation process...

... what? You mean like you have games on multiple disks and both have files like autoplay.exe or something? That's typical; just make folders like Disk One, Disk Two, etc. If that's not what you mean I have no idea what you're talking about.

If your computer is freezing that has little to do with the hard drive; it's more likely you have some program that's bringing the CPU or memory up to the max usage. Load task manager and see if something is using a lot of CPU usage. Typically that doesn't freeze up the entire computer for very long, or at all (usually it will just glitch a bit until it goes back down), but it might if it's got high priority.

A PSU making popping noises probably means you need a new PSU. And yes you can put one DVD onto several CD's; you would need to divide the file up into segments though. DVD's usually have something like 4.7 gigs of storage space; CD's have a couple hundred megabytes. I do not see why you want to take things from a superior storage device and put them on a soon-to-be obsolete device though.

Also they make emulators for older games.

 

[Newbie12]

I think there are some restrictions as far as spaces/special characters in the names of files, and the computer needs to know how to open/run the files, mind posting what files in particular it doesn't work with? (do they work if you double-click them?)

Some of the files are 'Game Booster.exe', 'A wonderful place.doc' and the 'Guide to life.rtf'

if you want to run multiple things simultaneously, type "start " before it (ex: start program1.exe) and then it won't wait for it to finish before calling the next one

Do I do this with all the other on the list?

not sure how to get it to run windows update.. Microsoft usually likes to keep windows update protected to prevent users from messing with it (and/or hacking their updates), and I don't have any old systems to test this with

Aw, so I can't use this to execute the 99 windows updates files? Well, that blows...because that was the main reason why I asked...

your PSU is a single rail PSU - they are ways of splitting power/balancing it

So what is the advantage of this? Are there also any disadvantages? How can one tell if single rail or multiple rails?

you won't be able to run any new graphic cards with it (it is only 300W, and no pcie/pci power connectors)

I see. I have an old AGP card that requires an external power source.

... what? You mean like you have games on multiple disks and both have files like autoplay.exe or something? That's typical; just make folders like Disk One, Disk Two, etc. If that's not what you mean I have no idea what you're talking about.

Well, the files on the first disc is exactly the same of that on the second disc, so how am I able to put them together without the computer asking if I want to replace the same file? I can't open them and extract them somewhere else as windows says error. Files like compressed0.zip, compressed1.zip etc. which would bring up another question that actually might solve this problem once and for all: Is it possible to create your own custom games/program installer? So that you can rename the files and the installer will work just as fine as the original one. Then I'd might be able to turn DVD installation into CD installation and vice versa! Or combine small cabs and stuff like that into a big one along with my custom installer!!

If your computer is freezing that has little to do with the hard drive; it's more likely you have some program that's bringing the CPU or memory up to the max usage. Load task manager and see if something is using a lot of CPU usage. Typically that doesn't freeze up the entire computer for very long, or at all (usually it will just glitch a bit until it goes back down), but it might if it's got high priority.

Are you sure? My mouse still moves but other than that the computer is just locked up and the keyboard doesn't respond. So I can check task manager... I suspect the HDD as it could be the result of air contamination...

A PSU making popping noises probably means you need a new PSU.

Hmmm, I think my psu just died... computer won't turn anymore...perhaps the fuse blew thus is why the nice blu-ish white light.

And yes you can put one DVD onto several CD's; you would need to divide the file up into segments though. DVD's usually have something like 4.7 gigs of storage space; CD's have a couple hundred megabytes. I do not see why you want to take things from a superior storage device and put them on a soon-to-be obsolete device though.

How would I divide the segments into smaller ones that I can put on CDs? Reason - old computer that only has a CD ROM drive...

Also they make emulators for older games.

Why do I need an emulators? I got the genuine copies of the programs and games... all I need is to some how make them run on newer OSs...

 

[Varine]

If you wanted to you could make a custom installer, but that's kind of redundant as there already is one. I already told you how to bypass the issue of files having the same name: you make folders.

If your hard drive was breached it wouldn't work at all.

You would need to either archive them, or find a program that will divide, in your case, a video file. A much better option would be to spend ten dollars and get a DVD drive.

And an emulator is what makes them run on new operating systems.

 

[Slapshot136]

any reason not to just make 2 separate iso's out of the 2 CD's?

and yes, you would need to put start before each program that you wanted to run, but not wait for it to finish before starting the next one

 

[Varine]

That might take even longer as your computer could freeze up or overheat.

 

[Newbie12]

If you wanted to you could make a custom installer, but that's kind of redundant as there already is one. I already told you how to bypass the issue of files having the same name: you make folders.

...okay, I'll try that way and see if that works with the installer file...

If your hard drive was breached it wouldn't work at all.

I seem to have quite of a lot of bad sectors recently... I am sure it's the air contamination...

You would need to either archive them, or find a program that will divide, in your case, a video file. A much better option would be to spend ten dollars and get a DVD drive.

I see. Very well.

And an emulator is what makes them run on new operating systems.

Uh-huh.

any reason not to just make 2 separate iso's out of the 2 CD's?

I don't wish to run any imaging tools or re-burn them onto CDs with some program, I just want to have all the files and folders in under one folder - makes things less complicated as I have less discs to look after. Later all I have to do is copy the files and folders onto a DVD and save any possible damages to the original discs...

and yes, you would need to put start before each program that you wanted to run, but not wait for it to finish before starting the next one

Sure.

That might take even longer as your computer could freeze up or overheat.

I doubt my computer has ever overheated though the only one time it did was because I didn't have sufficient air flow out and that killed my gpu which was very reliance on the air flow as it has a big-ass heat-sink all over it - that was a long time ago. Now I have good airflow out and in.

I am sure it's the HDD. I shall replace that as soon as I can. WD still have the 3 yr warranty on this right?

 

[Varine]

Hard drives can be corrupted by reasons other than the seal being breached, and as I said the entire drive would likely have been lost, but if you insist then by all means blame air. And as to what your warrant is I have no idea; regardless of whether it still has one, it won't cover dropping it.

But you seem to have it all under control now so best of luck to your endeavors, even though I fail to understand why you wish to do most of them.

 

[Slapshot136]

I don't wish to run any imaging tools or re-burn them onto CDs with some program, I just want to have all the files and folders in under one folder

well, if they have the same file names and you don't want to replace them, you can have a folder that contains cd1.iso and cd2.iso, and then browse through the .iso files as if they were zip files with something like winrar (not sure why you want to avoid imaging programs, but w/e - winrar doesn't count!), or just have 2 folders instead of isos if you perfer that

 

[Newbie12]

just make folders like Disk One, Disk Two, etc.

Hm, well that failed; put the *compressed0.zip* file in folder Disk One(from the original Disk One) and the other *compressed0.zip* file from Disk Two to the folder Disk Two. Still asked for Disk Two and Disk One didn't even work properly... I suppose I might want to take the other option of creating your own game installer...

well, if they have the same file names and you don't want to replace them, you can have a folder that contains cd1.iso and cd2.iso, and then browse through the .iso files as if they were zip files with something like winrar (not sure why you want to avoid imaging programs, but w/e - winrar doesn't count!), or just have 2 folders instead of isos if you perfer that

Just don't want too much thing going on, on the computer that's all. I like to keep my computer nice and tidy... I still need to extract them via WinRAR to install them...

Hard drives can be corrupted by reasons other than the seal being breached, and as I said the entire drive would likely have been lost, but if you insist then by all means blame air. And as to what your warrant is I have no idea; regardless of whether it still has one, it won't cover dropping it.

But you seem to have it all under control now so best of luck to your endeavors, even though I fail to understand why you wish to do most of them.

Well, change of HDD seemed to fix this.

I also have one other question I'd like to ask:
- Do you know what the alternative molex power connector's for on some mainboards such as that of the Intel D915GAG?

 

[Newbie12]

? - Too busy to help me on this...?

 

[Slapshot136]

there seems to be a 20/24 pin power connector for the motherboard, and an additional 4 pin power connector for the CPU - those are pretty standard, except that some of the higher-end motherboards will have a 8 pin cpu power connector instead

I can't seem to find any nice detailed pictures of that to tell you more accurately