Geek Squad

[Commander_Undies 618]

I'm pretty sure my Windows 7 is pirated. That's one of the reasons I want to upgrade to Windows 8.

I don't have a lot on my hard drive.

Would it be beneficial to do a restore? How does that even work on a custom PC?

[Diddums 4,346]

Hold on, you haven't tried a clean install of Windows? I thought you had. That's what you need to do then, it's basically the most important thing you need to do. Lay down a clean foundation upon which to build. Don't worry about pirated versions, the ones I use are great. Also, skip W8 and go straight to W10. W8 is a bit crap and W10 is awesome. I'll upload a copy of Win7 in the mean time and send you a link. I'll also upload all the drivers you'll need so you can do it all in one shot. This way you're at least eliminating any potential software issues right off the bat. It is imperative that you do this. All you'll need is a USB stick of 8gb or bigger and a couple of hours. I'll be on Gmail chat / Whatsapp so we can run through the whole process together. It might fix some issues, it might not, but given that it's free and software could potentially cause all the shit you're fighting with, it's first port of call. I'll get on it on Saturday and send you a link.

[Commander_Undies 618]

Ok cool, I'll go find a USB stick. Hopefully, I have one of that size. If not, I'll ask my sister.

[Sennex 1,903]

I disagree, I don't think wiping and resetting will fix this, I think it is the video card.

[Commander_Undies 618]

Hold on, you haven't tried a clean install of Windows? I thought you had. That's what you need to do then, it's basically the most important thing you need to do. Lay down a clean foundation upon which to build. Don't worry about pirated versions, the ones I use are great. Also, skip W8 and go straight to W10. W8 is a bit crap and W10 is awesome. I'll upload a copy of Win7 in the mean time and send you a link. I'll also upload all the drivers you'll need so you can do it all in one shot. This way you're at least eliminating any potential software issues right off the bat. It is imperative that you do this. All you'll need is a USB stick of 8gb or bigger and a couple of hours. I'll be on Gmail chat / Whatsapp so we can run through the whole process together. It might fix some issues, it might not, but given that it's free and software could potentially cause all the shit you're fighting with, it's first port of call. I'll get on it on Saturday and send you a link.

 

How will I be able to get Windows 10? Pirated also? I'd love to have it. Anyways, looking forward to Saturday.

 

I get the cheap GPU tomorrow (Friday), shall I wait until after this Windows stuff on Saturday?

[Commander_Undies 618]

I disagree, I don't think wiping and resetting will fix this, I think it is the video card.

 

Ok, hopefully we will figure this stuff out in the coming days.

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

Keep in mind that when you install the new GPU you will now have 2 variables. You will have new hardware and new drivers for that GPU card.

 

So it will be difficult for you to determine if the problem is GPU or driver related.

 

If it doesn't work then the problem is probably with the operating system

 

Patrick

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

How will I be able to get Windows 10? Pirated also? I'd love to have it. Anyways, looking forward to Saturday.

 

I get the cheap GPU tomorrow (Friday), shall I wait until after this Windows stuff on Saturday?

 

 

Here's how you get a free version

 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-upgrade

 

 

However since your version is pirated, that might be hard for you to do

 

Also a shit load of apps might now work properly once you download it and then you have to update those

[Diddums 4,346]

Pat Nvidia's drivers are all backwards compatible, so as long as he has the latest ones, it'll work with any Nvidia GPU.

I wouldn't bother with W10 yet, it's still a bit of a mess. Give it a few more momths.

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

Dave,

 

I won't argue with you since I know little about the Nvidia one.  I am sure you are correct about a single driver for all products (I know ATI/AMD works that way), however I suspect that the driver configures itself based on the card that is present. I has too because of the type of memory, PCIE interface, RAMDAC settings and a bunch of other functions.

 

I guess in the end it does not matter if we can get Mike going again

[Sennex 1,903]

I wouldn't bother with W10 yet, it's still a bit of a mess. Give it a few more momths.

 

Ignore him.

 

Windows 10 is solid as shit right now.

[Plumbers Crack 4,062]

Ignore him.

 

Windows 10 is solid as shit right now.

And if you've ever stepped in any, you'll know that is a wide and varied spectrum to pick from!

[Diddums 4,346]

Ignore him.

 

Windows 10 is solid as shit right now.

Don't ignore him. If you're not already in the Preview Program (read: Beta) you're not getting in, simple as that. Microsoft are no longer accepting new machines in to the program and it isn't officially released until the end of the month so trying to install it via whatever means people tell you to will result in a clusterfuck.

Also, given that we're going to be working with drivers fkr a while, it's best to stay with an OS which has a bit of a record. W10 doesn't yet. It's a great os, don't get me wrong, it's just that right now, for your needs, it's not only unavailable but could also cause issues.

Pat - Nvidia Geforce Experience or whatever it's called handles the drivers perfectly. So much so that when I stick a Geforce 750 ti next to my R9 290, it gladly disables PhysX for me (the bastard). It downloads the relevant stuff from Nvidia's library.

[Sennex 1,903]

You said Windows 10 is a bit of a mess. It isn't

 

Thats why you should be ignored. As far as getting a copy of it, well, there are ways, and there will be more ways as of the end of this month.

[Diddums 4,346]

Shuddup. You're not a cop.

[Commander_Undies 618]

Put cheap GPU in, no screen tear and played a long HD documentary. Dusted and put the 660 back in 30 seconds into the Fallout 4 trailer, screen tear. Seems like it's my GPU.

 

I have 2 sata ports on my motherboard. I switched my hard drive to that port and it still doesn't work. So it looks like it's something with my hard drive.

 

So what's the plan now? I need to try and re-download Windows 7 on Saturday. Call to see if my warranty is still there for the 660? And return the cheap GPU. If the warranty is still there, i'll be super surprised. So it looks like i'll have to buy a new GPU when I get the funds.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

I'm working until Sunday night, but if you need me to call Monday, let me know.

Glad to see you opened it up and got your hands dirty. Good job. Told you it wasn't too bad.

Hopefully this helps narrow things down and your beast will be going full strength soon.

[Diddums 4,346]

Mike I'm uploading a copy of Win7 right now, will probably take a few hours. I'll also do the drivers and whatnot so you have it all in one package ready to go. 

 

 

You'll need to make your USB bootable, it's all covered in THIS GUIDE. 

 

 

Stick to that word for word and you'll be fine. After that, you'll need to create a folder on the USB, call it whatever you want. Copy the drivers in to it. Then once that's done, insert it into your PC and power it up. As soon as it turns on, keep hitting F2 until you enter the BIOS, which will look something like this:

 

 

You'll be looking for the word "boot", it'll either be "boot device priority" or "boot order" or something. You need to change it so that USB is the first option, this is just telling your PC that when you power it on, it has to load the USB first which will start the Windows install process. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND REMEMBER! Don't be afraid. This is the worst that could happen, and you're forcing it to happen. Anything that happens now can be undone so don#t be afraid to have a nose around the BIOS. I know it looks scary and daunting, but you can literally reset everything to defaults with one single button. Gone are the days when you could fry PC components with a BIOS, it's all idiot proof now

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

Make any progress today?

[Commander_Undies 618]

Make any progress today?

I sent you a text earlier, did you get it?

I talked to Dids and I'm going to do this process probably tomorrow, following his guide. I just want to figure out how to move my saved games from steam to my flash drive before I do that. Particularly Skyrim and Batman.

[BO7H B4RRELS 2,453]

No. I didn't get it. My signal at work is absolutely terrible. I'd you ever want to get a hold of me on the weekend, PMs or emails are better than texts. Feel free to PM about whatever the text was. Sorry man. I'm not sure how to go about moving saves and stuff. Never tried to do it, but I should be easy. Good luck tomorrow. Message me if you need anything.

[cyberninja2601 1,106]

I sent you a text earlier, did you get it?

I talked to Dids and I'm going to do this process probably tomorrow, following his guide. I just want to figure out how to move my saved games from steam to my flash drive before I do that. Particularly Skyrim and Batman.

 

 

I know that Skyrim is saved on Steam so you don't have to move it. Don't know about the Batman. At least it was on my account when I installed a new disk

[Commander_Undies 618]

No. I didn't get it. My signal at work is absolutely terrible. I'd you ever want to get a hold of me on the weekend, PMs or emails are better than texts. Feel free to PM about whatever the text was. Sorry man. I'm not sure how to go about moving saves and stuff. Never tried to do it, but I should be easy. Good luck tomorrow. Message me if you need anything.

Ok, it's no problem I'll just copy and paste my text in a PM for you.

[Commander_Undies 618]

I know that Skyrim is saved on Steam so you don't have to move it. Don't know about the Batman. At least it was on my account when I installed a new disk

Oh ok thanks pat! I wouldn't want to lose all my Skyrim playtime. I did so much!

[Commander_Undies 618]

So in regard to my steam games, I figured out that some games save to their Steam Cloud. It looks like Batman and Skyrim are saved there. So i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they really are!

 

 

Mike I'm uploading a copy of Win7 right now, will probably take a few hours. I'll also do the drivers and whatnot so you have it all in one package ready to go. 

 

 

You'll need to make your USB bootable, it's all covered in THIS GUIDE. 

 

 

Stick to that word for word and you'll be fine. After that, you'll need to create a folder on the USB, call it whatever you want. Copy the drivers in to it. Then once that's done, insert it into your PC and power it up. As soon as it turns on, keep hitting F2 until you enter the BIOS, which will look something like this:

 

 

You'll be looking for the word "boot", it'll either be "boot device priority" or "boot order" or something. You need to change it so that USB is the first option, this is just telling your PC that when you power it on, it has to load the USB first which will start the Windows install process. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND REMEMBER! Don't be afraid. This is the worst that could happen, and you're forcing it to happen. Anything that happens now can be undone so don#t be afraid to have a nose around the BIOS. I know it looks scary and daunting, but you can literally reset everything to defaults with one single button. Gone are the days when you could fry PC components with a BIOS, it's all idiot proof now

 

Working on all of this now. I'm waiting for the USB to be formatted. So i'm almost done with that. Then I can dig into the BIOS stuff.