Friday, July 30, 2010

Alien Shooter 2 Conscription 10% off

AlienShooter2 Conscription 10% off from Sigma systems

10% off Coupon key code when purchaced from CE's Geek Stuff Coupon Code CESG-7A2C

This is my first try at game capture and edit hope this will get better :)

I'm not much of a gamer .. hopefully you can't tell in the video :)




Alien Shooter 2 Conscription with coupon code CESG-7A2C use this at check out to get the game normaly for 9.99 now 10% off at CE's Geek Stuff
Alien Shooter 2 - Conscription is the continuation of cult Alien Shooter 2 , which is a unique blend of two game genres- Action and RPG. Every player can choose a character to the liking, get experience to develop skills, earn money and spend it at weapons, medications and useful devices.


And here is the rest of it.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Gateway MA7 / MX6930 No Power will not charge battery fix

Got a Gateway model number MA7 MX6930 in with no power none of the LED's would light up and the battery would not charge.

Gateway MA7 motherboard repair

The Gateway MA7 would run just fine off of a charged battery but no matter what charger was used it would not power on with just the AC adapter.

The MA7 / M6930 quick spec's are

Processor Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology
Intel® Core™ Duo processor T5200
1.60 GHz | 2 MB L2 Cache | 533 MHz FSB
Screen 15.4-inch Widescreen Ultrabright™ WXGA TFT (1280 × 800)
Chipset Intel® 945GM
Memory 1024 MB 533 MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 × 512 MB)

Full spec's are at the end of the Post

After some poking and prodding I found the issue is in
the mid-plain on the system board. And no amount of changing the power jack would help .. The traces sandwiched between the layers of the motherboard have been corroded away ...

To fix the issue you will need to follow the tear-down guides for the GateWay MA7 (these are a work in progress links to follow)

here are some pictures of what was needed to be done.. basicaly you need to short the center pin of the power jack to the closest chip on the system board... sorry did not get before pictures for you but was not sure if this would really work.









Put the Heat Sink and fan back on to test before putting all back together ... you will need to remove the Heat sink to get the system back together. ..
And here is the rest of it.

Full Specifications of the Gateway MA7 MX6930:
Processor Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology



Intel® Core™ Duo processor T5200



1.60 GHz | 2 MB L2 Cache | 533 MHz FSB



Screen 15.4-inch Widescreen Ultrabright™ WXGA TFT (1280 × 800)



Chipset Intel® 945GM



Memory 1024 MB 533 MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 × 512 MB)



Total Slots: 2 DDR2 Slots | Available Slots: 0 DDR2 Slots



Video Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950



Up to 128 MB shared video memory



Audio High Definition 2-Channel Audio



Built-in Speakers



Optical Drive DVD+/-RW Multi-Format Double Layer (up to 8.5 GB)




Write maximum:


8X DVD+/-R, 6X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+RW, 2X DVD-R DL, 2.4X DVD+R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 24X CD-R and 16X CD-RW discs



Read maximum: 24X CD-R/RW/ROM, 8X DVD-R/RW/ROM, 4X DVD+/-R DL, RAM, discs



Media Reader 4-in-1 Digital Media Manager



Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick, Memory Stick-Pro, and Multimedia card (MMC)



Modem 56K ITU V.92 ready Fax/Modem (RJ-11 port)



Network




* 10/100 Mbps built-in Ethernet



* Intel® PRO/Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g (3945ABG) Including SecureEasySetup™




Interfaces




* 4 - USB 2.0 Ports



* 1 - VGA External Connector



* 1 - S-Video External Connector



* 1 - IEEE 1394 Port



* 1 - RJ11 (Modem)



* 1 - RJ45 (Ethernet LAN)



* 1 - Microphone In



* 1 - Headphone / Audio Out



* 1 - Kensington Lock Slot




Pointing Device Integrated Synaptics Touchpad with Vertical Scroll Zone



PCMCIA 1 - Type I or Type II; Card Bus



Battery 6-cell Lithium-ion0





Pictures are of actual system.

























Friday, July 23, 2010

Verizon Wireless forcing Data Plan on Loyal Customers


Verizon Wireless forcing Data Plans 29.99$ on current loyal customers "BS".

I have been with VerizonWireless for years... actually had one of the original Brick Phones. And dad carried around one of the bag phones.. (oohhh that's showing my age isn't it).

I'm sure this is old news to most but when my wife's current LG Envy3 started acting up I had to move fast and get her a replacement phone. She is not ready for an up grade through Verizon Wireless and she utilized my last upgrade to replace another dieing phone last year.

So last night I presented her with the Samsung Saga. It looks to be a nifty Windows Mobile Smart phone running WM 6.1. It's a bit bigger than what she likes but it should do for now. It is a used phone, but new to her. I called and verified that the ESN was clean and clear to activate on our plan, but did not activate it at the time of calling.

Now here is what is chapping my hide...


Its 11:30 p.m. on Verizon Wireless web site activating the Samsung Saga on our account and it is forcing (requiring) the 29.99 Data Plan. The site will not let me activate the phone with out it.

That is just not right .. I have had Smart Phones for at least the last 5 years from the XV6700, to the Motorola Q, to my current XV6800. And I have never been required to have the Data Plan for 29.99 $ ... And I use the Smart Phones for collaboration (Wi-Fi) eases of use with OutLook with calander, and contacts.

This is just another way for Verizon to bilk cash out of our pockets. Can you say "Fleecing of America" on "America's Largest and Most Reliable Wireless Network."

We are already over paying for cell phone service IMO we have 3 phones that are almost a requirement now days to stay in touch with what is going on with a busy family. Not to mention we have a teenager (texting is a must any more.. still can't figure out how they can text over 3,000 messages in a month ... my fingers would fall off)

And if you have read any of my posts you know I'm on a Budget.. Can't spend anymore than we already do... With the economy the way it is and paychecks are not what they were 3 years ago. It is just not with in our budget to add data plans on all 3 phones when they come up for renewal or the phones just plane die.

Here is what I have found ... (come on Verizon Knock this off ... or Yikes!!! I may have to go to CRICKET...)

These are just the Smart Phones that add the 29.99$ charge per month ... but to add insult to injury on any of the 3G Mulitmedia Phones they are selling ... They are now tacking on a minimum of 9.99 Data Plans on top of those per month too... GREAT Thanks Verizon.

Let you thoughts be heard comment at the bottom of this post.

Samsung Saga™ in Gray
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HTC Ozone™
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Palm® Pixi™ Plus
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HTC Touch Diamond™
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* Camera 3.2 Megapixel
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Palm® Pre™ Plus
Compare phones Palm® Pre™ Plus

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* Palm webOS
* Camera 3.0 Megapixel
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* Requires data pkg $29.99 or higher
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BlackBerry® Curve™ 8530 smartphone in Black
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* Wi-Fi
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BlackBerry® Curve™ 8530 smartphone in Smoky Violet
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+ Add to Wish List
LG Ally™
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* Android
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Buy the LG Ally and Get One FREE!
with 2yr activation per phone
MOTOROLA DEVOUR™ with MOTOBLUR™
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* Android
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* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)


HTC Imagio™
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Windows Mobile® 6.5!

* Camera 5.0 Megapixel
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* Requires data pkg $29.99 or higher
* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)


Samsung Omnia® II
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Online Exclusive 2-Year Price!

* Camera 5.0 Megapixel
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BlackBerry® Bold™ 9650 smartphone
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* Mobile Broadband Capable
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* Requires data pkg $29.99 or higher
* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)


Buy the BlackBerry Bold 9650 and Get One FREE!
with 2yr activation per phone
BlackBerry® Bold™ 9650 smartphone without camera
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* Requires data pkg $29.99 or higher
* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)


Buy the BlackBerry Bold 9650 Non-Camera and Get One FREE!
with 2yr activation per phone
HTC Ozone with TALKS™ for Verizon Wireless
Compare phones HTC Ozone with TALKS™ for Verizon Wireless

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* Screen Reader-Enabled
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* Geared for the Blind or Low Vision Customer
* Requires data pkg $29.99 or higher
* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)


BlackBerry® Storm2™ 9550 smartphone
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Buy the BlackBerry Storm2 and Get One FREE!
with 2yr activation per phone
DROID by Motorola
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Buy the DROID by Motorola and Get One FREE!
with 2yr activation per phone
LG Fathom™
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Windows Mobile® 6.5 Professional!

* Touch Screen
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* Requires data pkg $29.99 or higher
* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)


DROID INCREDIBLE by HTC
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* Android
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DROID X by MOTOROLA
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675 reviews
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* Android
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* Early Termination Fee $350 (1 yr/2 yr contracts)





Saturday, July 10, 2010

PHP "No input file specified" GoDaddy Hosting Linux

Using PHP on GoDaddy web hosting service getting "No input file specified"

Ok so I have made a jump and I am now starting into my own web sites... That is not to say I will not continue with this blog because I will.

But on my first site (have to do something to make a little extra cash here) check out my new store it will be changing but its up. CE's GeekStuff

The index.php worked just fine the home page came up perfectly fine. But as soon as I clicked on any one of the links .... it would give me the error "No input file specified" not a 404 error or any thing but the "No input file specified" cryptic right?

Well after several hours of "banging head against keyboard" lol would never do that to my MacBook Pro... she is too sweet to do that to. And multiple searches
on Google, reading and modifying the .htaccess, config.php, php.ini, and other files with no help. Eureka!!!!! (btw love that show if you have not seen it check it out on HULU)

Log in to your Hosting with Godaddy

From the Hosting Control Center

Click on the Settings tab

Click on File Extension



change the .php extension

From PHP 5.x FastCGI

To PHP 5.x




And Voila It works... YMMV






Saturday, July 3, 2010

Apple PowerMac G5 High Speed fan fix? Boot issues

Apple PowerMac G5 High Speed Fans. Possible Temporary Fix.

PowerMac G5 won't boot in to OSX.

I know this PowerMac G5 system is a few years old, and you get what you pay for.... but I knew the system had issue when I was buying it ...

But how could I pass up a PowerMac G5 Dual Processor unit all clad in Aluminum.. By the way I have not had the opportunity to pick one of these up till now much less play with them so this whole system is new to me.

The symptoms that were explained to me by the previous owner were classic to what I have found on the web.

The PowerMac G5 will turn on but after the classic Apple Ding it will ramp up the fans to full speed, the gray screen with the apple on it will show with the spinning wheel, and the PowerMac G5 will act like it is booting up will go to a light blue
screen and hang. After about 5 min. on the light blue screen the PowerMac G5 will shut down.

After searching the web for these issues with the PowerMac G5 I have found many Apple users experiencing similar issues (and other issues) but I could not really nail it down to a specific fix for these. There was mention that a company out in Germany could do a Re-Flow .. but there was no mention of which chip needed the repair.

Most posts that I read for fixing the PowerMac G5 were to replace the LogicBoard. Well if you know me ... (read any of my posts) you know I am cheap and will try a DIY repair before going out and spending more money.



After a couple of hours poking around the PowerMac G5:

Cleaning the Fans
Cleaning the Processor Heat Sinks (cool Dual 2.3GHz G5 Processors :) )
Re-Seating the Video Card
Swapping Memory
Re-Seating Fans

Nothing invasive to the system...

Not one of those items fixed the Boot issues with the PowerMac G5..

So.... what to do next?? Well I know these systems were built in China or some other area that may or may not have the same quality standards of a Swiss Watch (lol)...

BGA issues on video chips have plagued the HP Pavilion entertainment Laptops, and the whole Apple Mac iBook series... it must be a cold solder joint or a BGA on one of the bridge chips...

After poking and proding the system for another couple of hours.. eureka I may be very close to fixing it ...

On the back side of the PowerMac G5's LogicBoard there is another set of heatsink's and heat pipes... these cool the chips on the back side. Sorry don't have a picture just yet...

These chips on the PowerMac G5 are the chips that are causing the problem

With my trusty Heat Gun in hand I warmed up the G5 Logic board between the memory chips... (not very hot we are just testing here) not hot enough for a re-flow like the systems in the DV6000 no video fix.



And Voila the PowerMac G5 sprun to life and booted directly in to OS X....

Add a bit of pressure on this chip and the PowerMac G5 appears to be stable ....



(a full sheet of copy paper for now)

This is a very temporary fix this may only last for a day or so ... maybe longer who knows... but it got my system up..

The pressure on the chip is a sheet of paper folded many times and shoved under the PowerMac G5 processor heatsink .... applying pressure to the back side of the chip (bridge chip not sure which one) ...

As soon as I have more time I will take the logicboard out of the PowerMac G5 and perform a Re-Flow on those chips and let you know.


***** "The Best things in life are Free" (quote from somewhere idk)..... but if this site has helped you in any way ....

DONATE!!!!

or buy a guide...
*****

Friday, July 2, 2010

Acer Aspire One SSD How to Speed up Windows XP

How to speed up an Acer Aspire One AOA 110 NetBook with the slow SSD (Solid State Hard Drive) with Windows XP

As usual I am late to the party again... But I had the opportunity to pick up the tiny Aspire One for cheap. I wrangled this little NetBook to do some more testing with BackTrack 4.

Originally the Acer Aspire One shipped with a 16GB (small) Solid State Hard Drive loaded with Linpus Lite Linux operating system. Amazingly enough the Atom Processor and the Solid State Hard Drive combined with the 1GB of installed memory is lighting fast with this modified version of Linux.

Boot times are almost immediate and the GUI comes right up. Internet surfing was a breeze and setting up the network on my Wi-Fi was simple.

But if you have read anything from my blog you know that's not enough for me ... I have to change that ... Now I don't have the time or energy right now to turn this little Acer Aspire One in to an Hacintosh.... But I will load XP on it and dual boot with BackTrack 4.


Thinking this will be easy and fast to setup .... I hooked up my trusty USB to IDE/SATA



to an internal DVD-RW drive I have hanging around for this very reason.. ** Side note if you are doing any continuous mod's or repairs to NoteBook's, NetBook's, Laptops, or even desktops you really should pick up one of these they are cheap from your local Fry's or MicroCenter they should be in the range of 15$ USD.

Well loading Windows XP Home on the Acer Aspire One AOA110 was not all that bad time wise. But when I actually booted in to Windows XP the realization set in....

The SSD (Solid State Hard Drive) in the Aspire One is

SUPPER SLOW

it took me almost a full day to download and install updates and patches from Microsoft.

This just will not do... I had already done all of the normal stuff to clean up Windows XP Home Edition on the Aspire One AOA110 like:

Turning off System Restore
Turning off Pagine file
Disabling unneeded services
Fixing Cache and system temp files ...

But all of that did minimal help to speed up the Aspire One AOA110.

What I did find that made the NetBook usable and almost as fast as it was with the modified version of Linux was an Open Source Project called FlashFire. Remember Open Source Projects are usually FREE to use ...

BUT REMEMBER **** just like this Blog is free *** the creators of these Projects put a lot of time and energy in to them ... so if you find it useful DONATE.. Thks :)

After loading FlashFire on the Acer Aspire One AOA110 this little NetBook sprung to life and ran like a champion. Web browsing and doing all of the normal things you would do with Windows became very fast .. It was an amazing transformation..

Now some of the start times and program loads will still be a bit tedious with the still very slow SSD on the Aspire One AOA110 but this will make these little machines a very useful part of your life.

From their web site.
- FlashFire is software for Solid-State Drives
- FlashFire uses host RAM to enhance random write performance of a SSD
- FlashFire is especially useful for the system using low-end SSDs




Good Luck in all of your endeavors....


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