Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 May 4

= May 4 =

which memory module?
One of the four RAM sticks in one of my computers has gone bad. Crucial gives two types that will work - one is CL=11 and the other is 9-9-9-24. I don't know exactly what is in there now. Does the new one have to match what it in there now, for compatibility and best performance? Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 00:22, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Download and run CPU-Z (http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html). It will allow you to find out the exact model you have installed. As for "does it have to match", it's recommended. Worst case scenario, it'll behave like the "bad" stick it's replacing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.120.104.138 (talk) 11:22, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * If you haven't found which stick is faulty, then memtest 86 should shake the failing stick out. LongHairedFop (talk) 19:53, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * The repair store located the bad one. It has a warranty from Crucial.  I bought it as a two-stick kit.  They no longer make that speed, so they are going to replace both sticks with matching ones of a faster speed.  Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 20:55, 4 May 2017 (UTC)

P.S. - I downloaded MemTest86, put it on a CD, and ran it on one computer. It is a pain going through the process of getting it to boot from the CD. Then I discovered that on Windows 7 and later, if you type in "memory", it takes you to the Windows Memory Diagnostic, which you can set to run when you restart (much easier). Bubba73 You talkin' to me? 22:25, 6 May 2017 (UTC)

apartments and cabling (again)
Hi, I asked a previous question about running cable through apartment walls, and received a good answer. This one doesn't directly relate to cabling, but it relates indirectly, and I feel this is where people know the most about this topic. I spoke to my dad about the cabling issue, and he says most apartment blocks are not double-walled between apartments. Does this sound right? Then there is only a single wall separating me from my neighbour, so surely no one could run a cable through the walls, and out through a wall socket. Does this sound right? Thanks, IBE (talk) 00:58, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Not quite sure what you mean by double-walled. There will likely be vertical wooden supports, and drywall nailed to both sides (your apartment and the neighbor's).  While this means the cable would need to pass through the wooden supports, there are probably already holes drilled through it for other wires, plumbing, etc.  So, you could run a cable through those holes, or drill new holes, but this would require removing the drywall and cause a lot trouble.  So, I would suggest that if the cable needs to come in from the outside, that you drill directly from an exterior wall to the interior, then run the cable along the interior walls to where you need it, which will make it visible.  You can get some nice looking color-matched conduit/floor molding to cover it up. StuRat (talk) 01:21, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks Stu. Double-walled means there are two walls, and a gap between them, so my apartment has a wall on its west side, then a gap, then my neighbour's east wall. But I'm told it's more likely single brick, so no gap. Don't know if there's much use of drywall in apartments in Australia (where I'm from). That's why I was thinking it probably would be single brick. IBE (talk) 02:52, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * They use bricks in interior walls there ? That seems like an odd choice.  They are typically used for their insulating properties, but their weight makes them only useful directly over a foundation, where they can be fully supported.  An exterior wall benefits from the insulation and is over the foundation wall. StuRat (talk) 04:21, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * I don't know exactly how it's all built, but as I sit in my apartment and type, I assume it's concrete floor underneath my carpet, and it would be steel reinforcement running through the concrete. Most of the apartments I assume are a steel structure that of course gets built first, and then concrete fills it out. No idea how they get the concrete to disobey gravity and sit there, but that's another story. And all around me, I can only see brick walls, so I hardly knew there was any other way of doing things. I've seem American tv, but didn't quite pay attention to the walls. I hear the term "drywall" a lot on American shows, but never even knew what it meant. IBE (talk) 18:14, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * See drywall. The construction method you describe sounds like a tall building.  Is this what you live in ? Around here (Detroit) tall buildings are mostly for offices, and most people live in houses or small buildings, no more than 3 stories tall, with wood frame construction. StuRat (talk) 05:29, 5 May 2017 (UTC)


 * (nb. i edited your indenting) 9 storeys, brick construction everywhere. Probably with cavities between me and the neighbour, it seems here IBE (talk) 17:29, 5 May 2017 (UTC)


 * No one knows what sort of apartment construction is common where you are. The age and height of the building would likely make a difference, though. --76.71.6.254 (talk) 02:48, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * Thanks - someone might know - eg. people who live in Australia might. Stu already seems to know a fair bit about the US, so others might know about Oz. Thanks for the input. IBE (talk) 02:52, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
 * You're talking about bricks, but I have a suspicion that you might mean this type of precast block which are very common in partition walls in New Zealand, and I'm sure, in Australia. As far as running cables through them, they of course consist of hollow cavities down which cables can be dropped, with all adjacent cavities being filled with concrete. Akld guy (talk) 06:35, 7 May 2017 (UTC)

Hard drive failure
When a 1.8-TB hard drive has a total of 784 bad sectors, about how far is it from total failure? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:9868:2BC0:E7B0:1536 (talk) 04:03, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * I'd swap it out. There was a Google study a while back indicating that the slightest SMART error predicted a shorter than usual drive life, though not necessarily imminent failure.  Which statistic are you seeing bad sectors from?  Some are more troublesome than others.  Also if the error is increasing over time, that's a bad sign.  Having a few remapped sectors isn't that big a deal all by itself.  173.228.123.121 (talk) 06:03, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * I agree (especially since, whether or not failure is imminent, my PC is working much worse lately and deteriorating noticeably) -- but, if I swap out the hard drive, do I get to keep the same OS, or does the new hard drive come with a new OS? Also, once I do get the new hard drive (or a brand-new PC), are there any tips on how to prevent the same problem from happening again? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:9868:2BC0:E7B0:1536 (talk) 09:59, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * SMART can not handle the reason of failute, is just can swap sectors an monitor failure. If the drive has a problem on a connector, flex-PCB, head driver voltage regualtor or particles soaked by the air flow of platter spin, smart can not identify the reason. -- Hans Haase (有问题吗) 10:40, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
 * New hard drives are usually sold completely empty, like a ream of blank paper. You have to copy the contents of your old hard drive onto it.  If you're using Windows, Ghost (software) is or was popular for that.  I've never used it so I can't report anything about it from personal experience.  But unlike file copying, it copies the entire drive image including the OS and everything, so you should be able to drop the new drive in.  If your system doesn't have an empty disk slot, you could do the copying with an external USB enclosure.  In any case, as long as you're using the old drive, be extra sure to maintain current backups, write out any new work to at least two places, etc. 173.228.123.121 (talk) 07:12, 5 May 2017 (UTC)
 * That's good to hear! But would it be possible to put in a new blank HD, install the OS from a CD-ROM (I happen to have a CD-ROM with Windows 7, which I like even better than the Windows 8.1 I have currently), and then install all my apps from their respective media and copy my files from my backup device? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:BC30:FAC:AB7A:647D (talk) 11:27, 5 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Possible in general, yes sure assuming you have working backups of all desired files, working media for all your apps, the licences (including for Windows 7) etc. I am fairly surprised you have a CD-ROM of Windows 7. Windows 7 installers were generally larger than would fit on a single CD-ROM. Even cutting down on unnecessary files for versions etc, I would expect multiple CDs. Are you sure this CD-ROM is actually the Windows 7 installer and not some sort of limited recovery media or something? Anyway possible in your case is impossible to say. Notably some new chipsets and other essential components have very limited support of Windows 7. The fact that your computer came with Windows 8.1 (I assume) rather than Windows 10 reduces the chance, still even if it can work it may be far less straight forward than you would expect. (Not that having backups and working media and licences for all apps is necessarily trivial either.) Nil Einne (talk) 08:17, 6 May 2017 (UTC)
 * Just a reminder that you should always have good backuping practices regardless of whether you're using the old drive or a new drive, and yes even and SSD or RAID setup (as RAID isn't a subtitute for backups). Drives do just fail without warning, then there are all the ways you can lose data without a drive failure (accidential deletion/user error, malware, power failures, weird OS errors, natural disasters & fires....). If you have reason to think the drive is much more likely to fail, you probably should be more vigilant but ultimately without good backuping practices you could easily be one of the many people each day who find themselves without their important data. Nil Einne (talk) 12:21, 5 May 2017 (UTC)
 * It can be very difficult to say. I've had drives go for several months with slowly increasing bad sectors. I've also had (although in the fairly distant past but many people still have this) drives just suddenly die with or without bad sectors. Even what little statistics there are out there probably are of limited utility since they may not reflect yout situation (by which I mean if you had a median or mean of your situation it could easily be fairly different as statistics are likely to be from data centres and similar who use, install, and acquire drives differently from you). Nil Einne (talk) 12:21, 5 May 2017 (UTC)

Updating Issues, Code: "8024200D" and "80070103".
After clicking the links (Get help with this error) individually on the "Windows Update" window, it takes me to the "Windows Help and Support" window stating the following "WindowsUpdate_8024200D" "WindowsUpdate_dt000" and "WindowsUpdate_80070103" "WindowsUpdate_dt000" in each Search bar with no suitable results.

What's the easiest way to mitigate these problems?

43.245.120.133 (talk) 12:39, 4 May 2017 (UTC)


 * You might try searching for just the part after the underscore. I've always found it unacceptable that rather than tell you what an update is for, right in the update tool, they instead expect you to do a web search to try to figure it out.  I am tempted to sneak into the homes of the developers, remove all the labels from their cans of food, leaving just the batch numbers and expiration dates, so they can do web searches to try to figure out what each contains.  StuRat (talk) 14:51, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
 * If you decide to follow through with that, let me know. I've got your back. ᛗᛁᛟᛚᚾᛁᚱPants   Tell me all about it.  15:14, 4 May 2017 (UTC)
 * 8024200D refers to an issue downloading the update. Download it manually from the Microsoft update catalog (searching on the KB number) and try installing again. 80070103 refers to a driver issue; Microsoft recommends disabling the offending update. Xenon54 (talk) 15:23, 4 May 2017 (UTC)