We recently tried upgrading a Optiplex GX280 to dual monitors by putting in a PCI video card and using the onboard video at the same time. This attempt failed miserably. It turns out the Optiplex GX240 had an optional PCI-Express DVI output video card that can be coupled with a 1 x DVI -to- 2 x VGA pigtail. We found the card on ebay with the pigtail for around $30. The PCI-Express / Pigtail solution worked great.
ATK0110 ACPI – NVidia NForce
Ran across unknown device with ASUS P5N73-AM.
Upon examining the devices hardware ID i found
ACPIATK0110
*ATK0110
Downloaded the driver below to fix it…
http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/misc/utils/AiBooster_V20068.zip
IBM Thinkpad t40 Lockup / Freeze
Found a thinkpad t40 that locks up and freezes at random. Sometimes you press the power button and it turns on according to the LEDs but it never shows anything on the screen. I found this to be a loose GPU, and reflowed the GPU solder to fix the problem.
Google “t40 gpu reflow” for additional details…
D-Link Switch Failure / Problem
Today I found a switch that when plugged into the network caused all network connectivity to cease.
I unplugged every device from the switch and just hooked it up to a router and the router would stop responding to pings. Unplug the switch, and ping replies resumed. There were no firmware updates for this networking device and it behaved the same way with a new router.
There were no other devices plugged into the switch, so it was a quick removal process. Apparently the switch bugged out after a power outage.
It was already known to have bad ports…
Aspire 3003WLCi – Freeze after / during install
Came across an Acer Aspire 3003WLCi that is freezing. Memory is good, HDD is good, Temperature is OK, and the user had already formatted the HDD. After installing windows, the keyboard and mouse pad wouldn’t work. I hooked up usb mouse & keyboard and was able to determine that the system process was taking up to 80 % of the CPU. I was baffled…
Eventually, I removed the battery and re-installed windows. That fixed the problem.
Re-installing the battery caused the freezing problem to return… Ordering a new battery today.
Migrating MS SQL DB – Transferring / Upgrading to New Server
I was transfering an Office Tools Pro MS SQL Database today. After transfering the database files to the new server, I installed SQL Server Management Studio on the new server -link-, and then I ran otpsqlserver.exe from an email they sent when we switched to MS SQL OTP on the new server. The installation failed though…
So… I opened SQL Server Management Studio, Connected to the North40Systems database on the new server, and used this article to detach from the database setup during the debunked install above, and to reattach to the transfered database files in their new location on the new server. To run the commands you have to drop into SQLCMD Mode (available from the query drop down menu once you have connected to a db)
Now to map the new server on everyone’s desktop…
A Horrible Device Known as Office Jet Pro l7780
If you ever have the pleasure of setting up wireless on one of these babies, god help you. Patience is the key though, and these are steps that helped me.
Description of l7780 freeze…
1. The printer will freeze / lock up when you try to connect to a wireless router.
2. Unplugging the power and replugging the power will not fix the printer once it freezes.
3. Buttons on the front of the device will cease to function, if you play with it long enough.
4. You might find some articles that suggest it is your router’s firmware and update accordingly.
Solution…
1. Hold down # and 6 while unplugging and replugging the power cord.
2. Wait for the printer to become ready.
3. Enter network setup and specify an IP address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway for the printer.
4. Enter the setup again and use the Wireless connection wizard.
5. On each computer make the printer use an Standard TCP/IP Port instead of USB.
6. Try not to break anything if it doesn’t work, go back to step one if the printer freeze’s again.
MDAC 2.8 INF Install Failure. Reason: Access Denied
I got this nifty little error trying to install MDAC 2.8 on a Windows 2000 workstation. To fix I went to start > run Typed in “attrib -r c:winntinf*” without quotation marks and pressed enter/return Then I reran MDAC_TYP.exe