I tried I couldn’t figure out how to filter it to just one app.
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Tips for using Google to research tech problems
- If the issue involves relatively new hardware or software limit the search results to the last year or so.
Click Tools > Anytime and select an appropriate timeframe
- Use the specific name of the OS or application, for example-
Windows server 2012 r2 setup remote desktop
Adobe Acrobat X change font size in textbox - To include words that must be in the search results enclose them in quotes. In this example only search results containing the words “remote desktop” will be returned.
Windows server 2012 r2 setup “remote desktop” - To limit your search within a certain website. Use the site: operator.
For example site:www.twit.community crimsonchin only returns the phrase crimsonchin from this website. - You can exclude a word or phrase by prefacing with a minus sign. For example swing -baseball
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Recently my computer has been laggy. I’ve noticed it’s been randomly slowing down with occasional curser lag and display lag while scrolling. RAM usage has been slightly higher than usual (around 70%) but not high enough to cause this. CPU util is actually approximately average. Anyone have any ideas of how to fix it?
I use Macrium Reflect Free edition on a dozen systems. My requirements are simple, so the free version is fine for me. If I’m installing anything I’m not sure I want to keep that may be leaving unwanted stuff behind when uninstalled, I do a disk image on a USB hard drive, and just restore from the image to get rid of the unwanted software. That’s just my particular habit, but it does mean that I am confident in the ability to restore from an image, because I have done it multiple times without issues.
To make sure you really get the free version rather than the Trial Version that’s emphasised on this page, scroll down until you see “Download Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition” on the left hand edge of the page. That’s the real free version, rather than the Trial one which asks you to pay up after x days.
Like I said, my requirements are simple, I just use it to make disk images before installing major Windows updates or new software, but it’s worked fine for me over a number of years and Windows systems from XP to 10.
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The problem is, you have to know what you are searching for and 9/10 times, you will get conflicting advice. As a system administrator with around 40 years experience of IT, googling doesn’t always help. If I know the answer but need to jog my memory, google is fine.
If I want to find out something I don’t already know, it can take along time and I’ll end up getting conflicting advice. Plus, you need to know which sites, listed in the results, you can trust.
The worst are results for things like Stackoverflow or Reddit. But there are also a lot of sites out there that are just in it for the advertising or are scams that don’t offer any real advice or it is incomplete or misleading.
I’d much rather ask in a forum where I know I can trust at least some of the people to give good advice or links to sites that are actually helpful. It is also one of the reasons why I frequent sites like this, so that I can help people who need advice.
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Anyone have any ideas of how I could get a cheap Linux system? I need Linux for one of my classes but VMWare is destroying my computer.
The cheapest Linux system is going to be a Raspberry Pi I presume. It’s gonna cost you up to $100 depending on what parts you’d already have. But didn’t you ask before about ideas for an RPi, so maybe you already have one.
Alternatively, you could rent a VPS for about $5/month. Checkout someone like Digital Ocean, Linode, or OVH (Canada).
Edit: OVH likes to hide their cheapest VPS ($5/mo), so here’s a link if you’re interested OVHcloud
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Yeah I thought of linode but I need a GUI and the ability it run VMs. My problem is that one course regularly requires me to run VMs inside a VM.
If you need to do VM based work, I would suggest you go with a second hand Thinkpad. Depending on your budget you might find a bargain with an i5 or i7 and enough resources to do what you need, or buy something now and then add more ram/disk later.
Dells are also cool, I have used them at the office for years.
Starting VMS inside VMS is a bit tricky though you can do it with VMware although I am not sure how much that will cost and with KVM,
It’s not the fastest PC in the world, but my friend bought one to replace a Mac Mini he was using as a VM server and seemed pretty happy with it: " Seeed Studio Odyssey Blue J4105" https://www.amazon.ca/Odyssey-External-Celeron-Powered-Re_Computer-Ethernet/dp/B08FT4WHQN (This is an Amazon.ca link because I know Sam is Canadian, but for others interested, Seeed sells through Amazon US as well as directly.)
I meant so I could run the OS that would normally be inside the first VM.
Thanks that’s great.
I need help. I’ve been trying to make a warranty claim for my computer monitor. Dents and dots are randomly appearing on the monitor this has been happening since I got it but more are appearing more often. My problem is LG wants a photo but I’m having trouble getting a good one with the dents and scratches visible. Any idea of ways I could capture them well? The dents are only visible when the screen is on.
Here are a couple of the photos I’ve taken:
Can you fill the screen with a less intense colour than white, say a lighter or darker grey and still have the defect be visible? Then use a camera in a tripod with flash disabled, and manually focused. If the camera auto focus won’t register on the glass (because of the reflectivity) try putting a piece of cardboard in front of the screen, lock focus on that, then remove it for the photo. (You will probably need a helper to do that.)
Lights on:
Lights off:
What’s actually on the screen:
I also can’t get enought resolution for the dents to be visible.
Not gonna lie; I can’t see any dots or dents 
Maybe you need a macro lens or magnifying glass? Maybe circling the affected areas could help? I’m sorry, dealing with monitor issues is a pain. I have a new one coming this week and I’m already anxious about it.
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That’s the entire issue they’re only visible from certain angles which makes them a pain to capture in photos. I’m having trouble finding a solution. The dents are definitely there though.
Recently I’ve noticed my computer stuttering and freezing randomly. It doesn’t appear to be RAM or CPU util both are normal. I was able to play video games on the computer yesterday so I don’t think that it’s a problem with Task Manager not reflecting properly.
Also unrelated to that: I’ve been noticing that for some reason the wifi at my house frequently provides higher upload speeds than download speed.
Any ideas about how I can solve either issue?