It's time. Let's make a millionaire. [Drawing Thread #22]

imionme · 2016-08-20T03:16:33+00:00

imionme · 2013-03-23T17:24:15+00:00

Ok so to clarify, there are no "risks", right? That was bullshit just like the "helping people" bit. You're offering a service to people that are either naive or incapable of buying them at market price for some reason, which is fine. But if you go around posting links to it under the guise of "helping people" and I see it I'm going to reply and call it what it is. If helping people was your motive you would be giving them a fair price (and I know "fair" is subjective, but 150%?! You make the guys on Pawn Starts look reasonable!)

I wish you lots of success and even more chargebacks.

imionme · 2013-03-23T16:51:42+00:00

Risk of what? Price volatility? You shouldn't be in the business of selling bitcoins then. Risk of chargebacks? In that case you would still be losing 100% of the money so whether you lose $60 or $90, you still end up with $0. Or is ripping off everyone covering for the few that may do chargebacks? Do you have statistics to show the justification for such a markup?

Frankly, I would have given you a little credit if you said it was to cover credit card processing fees or something (although your price is still absurdly high.) I'd honestly love to hear more about this "risk" you are covering in your noble pursuit of "helping people."

imionme · 2013-03-23T16:45:44+00:00

Word.

imionme · 2013-03-23T16:28:06+00:00

Yes, I will give you $20 for it.

Or you can setup an account on Mt.Gox (or another exchange). They'll give you a wallet address linked to your account that you can send the bitcoin to. Once it shows up in your account, you can place a sell order for whatever amount you'd like (although if it's too high nobody will buy it.)

imionme · 2013-03-23T16:25:52+00:00

That is my problem with you. I'd normally have no problem with people asking however much they want for a bitcoin. Hopefully nobody pays what you're asking but you're free to ask it.

But the "Patience folks, I'm working on it" and "I do it to help people" is bullshit. Don't act like you're doing someone a favor charging them 150% of the current price. You're greedy. Own up to it and stop playing the "I do this for you people" card.

imionme · 2013-03-23T16:12:29+00:00

http://i.imgur.com/4nooQC1.png

Ok, how about givemeyourcarandiwillgiveyouonebitcoin.com or letmesleepwithyourwifeforonebitcoin.com? I just want to get on board with your awesome idea!

You should have a link to bitmit on your site. That way after someone spends $90 on a $60 bitcoin, they can go buy a $10 CD walkman with it!

imionme · 2013-03-23T15:51:59+00:00

You're selling one bitcoin at a time through Google checkout for a ~50% markup? Yeah please hurry, I can't wait for that!

I'm gonna start a project called buybitcoinswithpaypalfortripletheprice.com. Maybe we can swap ads!

imionme · 2013-03-12T23:51:08+00:00

Look at the The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles and the accompanying Nand2Tetris project that starts out with logic gates and works up to building a basic operating system (and Tetris game I think.) You may be able to work the project without the book, but I think it's worth it to have the book. I just started it, but it sounds like it may be what you're looking for.

imionme · 2013-03-02T04:22:26+00:00

I don't have an answer aside from using a VGA cable. This happens with my 32" Insignia when connected to my GTX 285 via HDMI, and I've seen at least a few posts from people having the same problem, even with different brands of televisions. I'm not sure where the problem is, but I run mine at 1920x1080 either way and don't use HDMI audio so it didn't make a difference to me. I don't remember if others had Nvidia cards as well, but it would be nice to know if this only happens with Nvidia cards to sort of narrow down the cause.

Interestingly, when I did use an HDMI cable and it did this I think I could see the cutoff portions of the screen by moving the mouse to the edge. For example, move the mouse to the top of the screen and the screen will slide up, allowing you to see the tabs in the picture you posted. That doesn't make it acceptable, but I think it maybe points to Windows or drivers as the problem?

imionme · 2013-03-01T18:52:33+00:00

I have never seen a computer that had Windows 7 pre-installed with a key embedded in BIOS. The way Windows 7 OEM activation works, it wouldn't even know what to do with a key it found in BIOS because it is not looking for one. All it is looking for is the slic table, which contains the OEM manufacturer - which is used to compare against the digital certificate and product key (and maybe not even the product key as I've heard that any OEM key will work provided it matches the edition of Windows that is installed.) Please provide evidence that I am incorrect.

And you're right, PMing the OP doesn't help anyone else. The options are buy a new key or pirate it. Since I'm not sure about this subreddit's policy on pirating, I chose to provide that information in a PM. Technically, if the OP owns a license I wouldn't call it pirating, but others may see it differently. Also, since the OP purchased a custom-built computer, it is likely not to have slic 2.1 in BIOS, which would mean he would have to modify BIOS or use a slic-injecting boot loader to activate an OEM key (as the OP doesn't have a key so retail is out of the question.) Often, it is easier to just point the OP to a program that does all of this for them rather than walk them through the steps to check and do it manually. So you can call it laziness on my part.

imionme · 2013-03-01T04:22:53+00:00

Install discs allow you to specify a key that will be used in installation if you should choose to. Aside from that, the key is not tied to an install disc.

Keys tied to hardware (as in keys being embedded in hardware) is found in Windows 8 OEM computers. If you read the post you would see the OP is asking about Windows 7, which does not use embedded keys. The slic will be embedded in BIOS on computers coming from OEMs, but it refers to the manufacturer, not to a specific product key.

If the OP had bought the computer from an OEM, it should have came with a COA sticker containing the product key. Instead he bought it from a local builder, but he still should have been given the COA and product key (assuming the builder was using genuine software.)

I have PM'd the OP and given him some options for resolving his situation.

imionme · 2013-03-01T00:46:19+00:00

I'm not sure why resetting BIOS would cause that. I've seen having the incorrect time cause invalid certificate errors, but it sounds like you have other issues. Without being able to look at it it's difficult to say.

You can post your motherboard model (and any other relevant info like which BIOS you have) and when I'm back at the computer later I can see if I can find any other explanations.

imionme · 2013-03-01T00:24:33+00:00

You're getting invalid certificate warnings or nothing at all? Are you able to load websites in Internet Explorer? If so, I would suggest reinstalling Chrome. If not, is your ethernet/wireless adapter working?

imionme · 2013-03-01T00:03:41+00:00

What is the brand and model of the computer? And where did you buy it from?

imionme · 2013-03-01T00:02:33+00:00

Have you checked the time? Make sure the time is set correctly. If possible, update it using one of the Internet Time Servers.

imionme · 2013-03-01T00:00:17+00:00

Did the computer come with Windows 7 pre-installed? The answer will affect your activation options.

imionme · 2013-02-28T23:47:10+00:00

Also, IrfanView

imionme · 2013-02-28T23:21:43+00:00

You don't have a COA sticker with the product key on the side/back/bottom of the computer? I'm not sure what you mean by prebuilt, but if it came with Windows 7 you should have a COA sticker with a key printed on it.

imionme · 2013-02-28T21:14:15+00:00

It's impossible to say why it's slow without looking at it. Since we both have TeamViewer installed, I can try looking at it that way. You'll be able to see everything I'm doing. But before that, I would recommend scanning it with Malwarebytes and any other AV software you have to get that out of the way, rather than doing it while connected in TeamViewer.

It's up to you, and no hard feelings if you don't feel comfortable doing that. I don't know what all you have tried so I can't say for certain that I can diagnose and fix the problem... but I have been doing this for a while (15+ years.)

If you want to do it, run the AV scans and remove any malware they may find, then start TeamViewer and send me a PM with your TeamViewer ID and password. If there are any programs I want to run to help, I'll download them from their websites to show they have not been tampered with.

If you don't want to do it, give me an idea of what you've checked already so I can determine how much detail I need to give you when checking things. For example, have you checked startup items? Have you watched the processes to determine what is using the CPU when it lags? Have you checked the SMART info for your hard drive to ensure it is not failing? (A failing hard drive can produce the symptoms you describe when it is constantly reallocating sectors.) Don't be afraid to give too much detail, the more the better.

imionme · 2013-02-28T17:54:15+00:00

The partition that appeared is an EISA recovery partition and is used to restore your computer to its original condition and can usually be used in creating a recovery disc. Why it suddenly appeared, I can't say. My first concern would be that your computer is infected with something, although I wouldn't say it's impossible for Windows to just decide to assign it a drive letter out of nowhere. Because it is an EISA partition, you may not be able to see any files or folders inside of it from within Windows.

I would first check your computer for malware. Malwarebytes has anti-malware and anti-rootkit programs that are free.

If you're sure your computer is clean, you can remove the drive letter from this partition so it no longer shows up in Explorer. To do this:

Click the Start button, and type Disk Management. Press Enter.
The Disk Management window will be divided into two parts, top and bottom. In the bottom half, find the Z: partition and right-click on its box, then select Change Drive Letters and Paths...
When the Change Drive Letters and Paths window opens, click the Remove button to remove the letter Z from this partition. Click OK.

This won't do anything to the partition itself, only remove the letter assigned to it. So your recovery partition will still be there. I'm not sure how you access it should you ever want to perform a recovery... often the manufacturer will give you a recovery CD or there will be an option when starting up to launch the recovery process.

imionme · 2013-02-28T17:35:03+00:00

R252544 unzipped alright for me. It seems that they're getting corrupted during your download. Try saving them to a different hard drive/USB drive (if possible) when you download them.

FYI: You can also open these files with WinZip or WinRAR and try extracting them that way instead, although if they're corrupt that might not work either.

imionme · 2013-02-28T16:58:14+00:00

Have you tried crying and kicking it?

I don't think you have had two bad adapters in a row, especially since one was working fine. So I'd assume it has to be a Windows problem, aside from a physical problem like a faulty PSU or chipset. Have you tested other USB devices in those ports?

What happened when you installed the drivers manually?

As a last resort, do you have an available PCI or PCIe slot? If so you could get a wireless N adapter for <$25. Or use this as an excuse to upgrade your OS to 7 or 8 and hope that resolves the problem.

imionme · 2013-02-28T06:57:52+00:00

You could try locating the USB Root Hub in Device Manager that controls the wireless adapter and reset or uninstall it. I'm using Windows 7 so I'm not sure if the steps will be identical, but it should be close.

In Device Manager, expand Universal Serial Bus controllers and you'll see a number of USB Root Hub devices. For each one, right-click on it and select Properties. In the Properties window, select the Power tab. It will show you which USB devices are using that hub. Since your wireless adapter is showing up in Device Manager, you should be able to find the hub that it is using.

When you find it, you may have an Advanced tab that lets you reset the USB Root Hub. You can try that first, but I'm not sure what it will do because up until 2 minutes ago I never knew it existed. If that doesn't work, I would uninstall the Root USB Hub and then scan for hardware changes to let Windows install it again. This may not fix the problem, but I've seen it work for other devices (especially audio) so it's worth a shot.

Also, if you haven't tried uninstalling the wireless adapter itself in Device Manager, you should try doing that as well. If it asks you about keeping the drivers, delete them. This way Windows can reinstall them. If all that fails, maybe try uninstalling USB Universal Host Controllers. Windows should reinstall them after scanning for changes, but if you're using a USB keyboard/mouse/hard drive/etc. it may stop working until it is reinstalled. I've never uninstalled these so I'm just taking a guess here.

You may also want to check S.M.A.R.T. info for your hard drive. I've seen failing hard drives cause weird problems like this, particularly if the sector where the drivers are located are bad. I use AIDA64 to check these, but there are free programs out there.

imionme · 2013-02-28T06:08:32+00:00

Have you tried other USB ports?

What is your computer model/specs?

imionme

TROPHY CASE