computer needs new hard drives

[gaekwad2]

Old actually, but only used around halloween.

[swingdjted]

I'm still using those hard drives and they work like new. I can't believe this otherwise 2008 computer is still all I need. Not complaining though. I did have to upgrade the video card at one point so that it could play 1080p videos at 60Hz. I had to downgrade video quality on some videos at that setting either by going to 30Hz or 780p. The newer card supports 4K so I'll be good for a while. It has a couple bugs that I'll mention at the end of this post.

Here's my last post regarding the newer video card from HardForums (I had posted this in December of 2018):

TheFlayedMan said:
Alternatively, you could buy a budget graphics card such as an Nvidia Geforce1030 for $84.99

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...iption=1030&cm_re=1030-_-14-932-004-_-Product

Good news!

The Gigabyte card liked in the quote above arrived this afternoon. I removed the old card, which is this EVGA GTX 260...

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130370

...and I installed the new card. The first thing I noticed is that it is very small and lightweight by comparison. Upon starting the computer, everything showed up in 800x600 resolution, so I adjusted that in the Windows display/resolution settings. Also, it had automatically reverted out of the Windows 7 Aero setting and into the basic theme, but before I could adjust that, it was telling me to restart to apply some plug-n-play settings. Upon restart, everything looked good.

I tested it with some 1080p@60fps videos, both from Youtube and from my camera. The video playback quality was perfectly smooth. The old video card had 1080@60 video inconsistently speeding up, slowing down, stuttering, or freezing.

Next test was to run a music video at 1080p@60fps on the TV while simultaneously running a few different music visualizations fullscreen on the monitor (1920x1200@60fps). It still did the job without hesitation.

These tests are non-scientific, but are useful to me and are real-world in nature. No need for gaming on this box, so as far as I can tell, this computer is back to doing more than I need it to do.

Thank you very much for your suggestions. This fix is really all I needed, because the rest of the hardware doesn't give me any issues with speed at all when it comes to the tasks I give it.

So one last question, what on earth can I do with this old GTX 260? It's only worth just over 25 cents if I sell it as electronic scrap at the scrapyard. Any other uses? Throw it in the air for skeet shooting?

Thanks again.

---
So an update on the old card - I got around $10 plus shipping for it on Ebay, so at least I received something for it.

This new card, about once a week, will cause the screen to black out for about 3-5 seconds, and the entire system hesitates, including audio during that time, but no programs stop running or crash. I'm not sure how to address that.

[Warrior of the Light]

On windows 7, you know that's no longer supported right?

[swingdjted]

I've been dragging my feet and procrastinating the upgrade to Windows 10. I guess I need to do that.

[iomegajaz]

I've been dragging my feet and procrastinating the upgrade to Windows 10. I guess I need to do that.

No! Resist!

I refuse to downgrade from Windows 7 to 10 "software as a service", "we know better than you" garbage.

As for the rest of your previous post: TL;DR.

[Aminifu]

My 2 cents,

Hi iomegajaz,

I guess you are balled and chained.

Hi swingdjted,

I suggest you back up everything you have now and make the switch to Windows 10.

I've been running it for over 2 years now without any major issues. Features you don't want or need can be disabled or removed. What the OS itself doesn't let you do, there are plenty of free 3rd party utilities that do. I had a couple of compatibility issues with old apps, but I was able to upgrade them or find acceptable replacements. Most of my hardware is over 10 years old and I was able to find Windows 10 drivers for everything. The Windows 10 installation took care of most of that automatically.

You will have to learn a few new ways of doing things. But, nothing stays the same forever, everything changes over time. Give Windows 10 a good workout, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If not, delete everything and use the backup you made to switch back. The Windows 10 installation makes a backup that allows you to switch back, but I don't think you should depend on that alone.

As for your new video card issue, are you using the driver that came with it? If so, look for the latest Windows 7 driver for it. That might help.

[NJK]

I've been dragging my feet and procrastinating the upgrade to Windows 10. I guess I need to do that.

the new computer and the new laptop for the Mrs came with Win 10 but everything else here is still running windows 7
i still run XP on one system that is feeding my internet stream.....

as long as those computers keep running smoothly as they do at the moment i won't change to Win 10.

[Aminifu]

...

i still run XP on one system that is feeding my internet stream.....

...

If it ain't broke don't fix it, also makes sense.

I hope most of the bad guys have moved on to fresh targets and will leave your system alone.

[NJK]

If it ain't broke don't fix it, also makes sense.

I hope most of the bad guys have moved on to fresh targets and will leave your system alone.

all systems here are running behind a firewall

[Forstationve]

This is bad situation when our old files and other valuable documents are lost. You can also uninstall of unwanted software and check setting all to run.

[iomegajaz]

Hi iomegajaz,

I guess you are balled and chained.

Constantly, for the past 15 years.

[Wineroz]

I myself

1] Make copies by hand on archive drive that is always on-line; every couple of weeks
2] Make automatic copies of everything new with software on archive drive that is always on-line; on a daily basis
3] Make copies by hand on archive drives that are stored on a shelf; every couple of months
4] Make copies by hand on Blu-ray discs; 1-2 a year and store them in my house and also give them for safe keeping to trusted persons which do not live in the same building
5] Should be making copies in the cloud

[Viffleros]

I have been using SSDs for a long time now, as a technician at the service center advised me. SSDs increase the speed and responsiveness of systems and applications. Because of their architecture, SSDs provide high read and write speeds (with caveats) and, more importantly, significantly increase IOPS - I/O operations. But one day my computer crashed and just wouldn't turn on. I thought all my data might be destroyed. But I was advised to contact the professionals at SSD DATA RECOVERY, and they saved all my system files. I advise you to contact SSD data recovery professionals and don't look for the solution yourself. Otherwise, you may not see all your data again.