How-to Fix a Video Card in the Oven
I recently happen to come across a video card that had problems with 3D rendering. I usually would just throw out the video card and get a new one, but when the video card is a Nvidia 8800 GTX I just couldn’t throw away the card no matter how bad it was broken. Luckily shortly after I got the card in it’s broken state I found this article over at Engadget about someone who was able to fix their Nvidia video card by baking it in the oven. Now of course I thought they were crazy but figured “it’s not like it can break my video card any more”. So I gave it a shot.
I was completely surprised that not only did it do no visible harm to the video card. When I plugged it in my test machine it worked flawlessly. I wasn’t able to test extensively because I don’t have a dedicated desktop that can handle any games that would really test this card. So instead I ran a 3D benchmark tool before and after I cooked the video card. Lets just say that before I cooked it the benchmark tool wouldn’t even start, and after it worked flawlessly.
I am not saying this is a fix for everything you might have wrong with your computer but you may want to give it a try if you have a video card on the fritz. The reasoning I read in the forums that this works, who knows if it is actually true, is that some cards will get micro cracks in their solder joints that cause bad connections between components. Solder melts at 365 degrees Fahrenheit so when you stick the video card in the over you are really just softening and filling in those micro cracks. I have some pictures of the card before and after (there wasn’t much difference) so you can see exactly how I set the card in the oven.
I cooked my card at ~385 for 8 1/2 minutes. We will see how long this card lasts.
In the forums there are probably 2-3 dozen reports of this working on other video cards. I have see 2 unsuccessful attempts out of all the reports I read, and I even saw one person unsuccessfully cook their motherboard to see if it would fix their problems. Let me know if you give it a try in the comments.
Netbook Bios Idea for ISO Files
So I was thinking the other day after I found this article over at Lifehacker about WinCDEmu that can auto-mount .iso, .img, etc. files into virtual drives in Windows. I know physical media is slowly dying out and it probably won’t be too long until we don’t have those formats any more. But wouldn’t it be cool if your netbook had an option in the bios to have a virtual CD/DVD drive? You could have a simple option in the BIOS to turn it on and then just point the BIOS to the .iso/.img file and boot off it like you would with any normal CD/DVD. I guess the option could exist to copy the file to a USB drive first (in case you are going to be formatting your hard drive). But overall it would just let you mount a file as a virtual drive in the BIOS level. This way it wouldn’t matter what OS you are running because even when you are booted to the OS the BIOS would be able to tell your OS that you have a new virtual CD/DVD drive and your OS wouldn’t know the difference.
I think this is something similar to what the MacBook Air has with its drive sharing, but that needs network and another computer that has the drive to share. I don’t know why that couldn’t be applied just to a file that exists on a USB drive or something. Although OSX already automounts .iso files inside the OS, and I applaud them for this, you shouldn’t have to have a OS running to carry out this basic task.
I just thought I would throw this out there because in my head it makes a lot of sense, especially with machines getting smaller and smaller, I think CD/DVD drives will soon be obsolete (especially on notebooks).
If this is already possible on computers, and I am just crazy, please let me know in the comments.
Twitter updates
- at disneyland california adventure today. No big lines getting in today so we are off to a good start. #
- 155,200 on Toy Story ride. Not too shabby and really fun.
# - I am excited for all the new technology that is going to be announce/released this week. Zune HD, Palm Pre, PSP Go just to name a few. #
- @erinlynneh It was new, according to wikipedia the next 2 weeks will be new episodes too. Sadly it is cancelled after that though. in reply to erinlynneh #
- NBC why you got to suck so much? You show the first two games of the stanley cup and then don’t show the last 5!! Not all of us get VS chanl #
- @geektonic IMO MS/Sony are competing with a dead console. Nintendo needs to come out with a new console next year if they want to live. in reply to geektonic #
- @erinlynneh ae you l looking for a job so you guys can move out? in reply to erinlynneh #
- Getting ready to record the next mintCast #
- Holy crap…is youtube down? #
- I am out paintballing today. The gun I am borrowing is insane!! #
- this is awesome. The whole field is just for our group. Friday’s are definitely the day to go. #
- @c_welker lets just say it had a setting for fully automatic. 20 paintballs per second. in reply to c_welker #
- I’m at the pick a part today looking for an exhaust manifold for my mr2. It is packed because its is a 1/2 off weekend. I hope I find it. #
- Penguins got PWND tonight.
#
Removed Automatic Twitter Updates
I just wanted to let everyone know that I just removed the automatic Twitter updates from my site. While I like the idea of having content automatically updated from other things I am doing, I just felt like I was almost spamming my own site. I will still be using Twitter/Identi.ca and I like the idea of their service but having it post stuff on my site isn’t really what I intended for this site in the first place. I am sure most of you won’t be sad about this and if you really want to see these updates go ahead and follow me on Twitter.
I am still going to try and update my site with a article/how-to once per week but I won’t have the weekly Twitter posts anymore. I just thought I would let any of my readers out there know about the change.
If you have any other things you would like to see updated often on the site let me know in the comments.
*update* OK I thought I disabled them. I disabled the “feature” in the plugin again. I will have to check it later in the week to make sure it is still disabled.
Twitter updates
- Finally going to go see Star Trek. #
- who would win: Gandolph vs. Dumbledore (#vs my first hashtag) #
- @Karolis I can see what I can do. To be honest I never looked for that setting before. in reply to Karolis #
- @Karolis I just changed the settings. That should work a lot better now. in reply to Karolis #
- Yay! My Logitech PS3 adapter is all set up and running. Now I truly have a universal remote. #
- tip of the day: if you are taking apart a mac mini for the first time, let it run for 30 min to warm up. It makes the plastic easier to pry. #
- tip of the day 2: don’t forget to plug in the front cable next to the speaker on the mac mini or your fan will stick at full speed.
# - @erinlynneh I will be down by you on saturday. I am going to bring you guys a new computer so I hope you are around. in reply to erinlynneh #
- @erinlynneh I am getting down there early to fix my car. Hopefully I will be done in the afternoon. in reply to erinlynneh #
- #vs who would win: mini me vs. willow #
- I could really go for some HDMI on my TV right now. I really want to play computer games on my TV but don’t want to get out 3 adapters. #
- WTF!! Antz on my computer!! #
- Holy holy crap! Top Gear is on Zune marketplace. That rocks! and it will look great on the Zune HD http://ping.fm/G63tZ #
- I am starting up Team Fortress 2 if anyone wants to join me. This is my first time playing. My steam account is xrothgarx #
- @erinlynneh dad knows a guy that is going to help me out. So I will be at his place most of the day. in reply to erinlynneh #
- Looks like the problem isn’t my piston ring after all. I probably floated a valve and bent it. At least it is a cheaper fix. #
- Am I the only one that didn’t know Pushing Daisies was on tonight? I must have missed something cause I don’t know what is going on. #
Video Podcast 3
I recording a “video podcast” which was more of a review of the Logitech PS3 bluetooth to IR adapter, Windows 7 media center, SecondRun.tv, and Hulu desktop.
And here is part 2
Twitter updates
- At Kohl’s trying to find new clothes; Remembered I don’t like clothes shopping. #
- Getting ready to record the next mintCast. #
- Listening to TuxRadar podcast episode 8. One of my favorite Linux podcasts. #
- Looking over training material for Red Hat certification. I have never used Red Hat though :-/ #
- LOL, just finished their Pre-assessment Questionnaire. Conclusion: Your knowledge of the materials at this skill level is spotty. #
- Daytime nighttime, anytime. Things go better with rock! –Autograph #
- Watching Total Recall on Scifi…classic! #
- Thanks for the C0D4 guys. It brings back lots of good memories. #
- @DownloadSquad if all you do is update what is on you site I am going to stop following. I already have RSS for that. Who’s with me? in reply to DownloadSquad #
- Yay for going home early! Boo for not being told to go home early till 30 minutes after everyone else already went home! #
- Catching up on Fringe using the fantastic @SecondRun program. #
- Working on the new mintCast website. Trying to transfer over all the old posts. #
Software Recycler
I had an idea a while ago for a website that I know I will never be able to act on so I thought I would just post it here and maybe someday someone will find it and have the time and know-how to complete it.
The basic idea for the website is to be a software recycler. The site allows you to donate your old/unused software either digitally or by mailing in the CD/DVD, and it also allows you to download software you are looking for completely free (donations accepted). With so many software companies just allowing you to download installers and emailing you a key this would be fairly easy to implement.
The site’s main goal would be to support free and open source replacements like Linux, Open Office, and Gimp for common applications, but there would also be the opportunity to get a license key for Windows XP, Microsoft Office, and Photoshop. Most of the funding for this site would come from donations of people downloading software and ads for the open source counterparts. I would imagine this site would mainly be non-profit though simply because of the amount of server storage and bandwidth needed to host this.
Large companies often buy software only to phase it out in two or three years. The software works just fine and for third world countries, non-profit companies, and individuals this could save a lot of money and stop the needless purchase of software if someone is no longer using the key for software they just upgraded. Similar cases would be when companies like Microsoft stop supporting Windows XP. There are going to be countless unused keys for legal versions of XP that I am sure a lot of people would love to have and countries can take advantage of.
The idea of donating your unused license I am sure would have a lot of legal implications, but I think once the software has been purchased it is able to be sold/given to anyone once the initial purchaser is done with it. There would also need to be a verification process when the software is donated. The way I think of it would be to have some sort of VM running a installer to verify its authenticity, but for volume licenses a phone call would probably need to be made to the developer of the software.
I think a website that could allow this service could not only help open source projects but it would also help the world by saving money and getting the word out about free alternatives. Let me know what you do with your old software and what website you think the world could benefit from in the comments.
Twitter updates
- Any of my friends watch NHL? This playoff series has been fantastic. #
- Which would you pick? Unlimited data/txt or unlimited voice on you cell phone? I think I would pick data/txt. #
- hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to disneyland I go #
- disneyland is having problams printing tickets. Stuck in line #
- Fnally got inside #
- Indiana jones is broke, going into the tiki room instead. #
- Finally home again. Disneyland was good times. #
- Good game Ducks. That was one of the best series in NHL that I have seen for a long time. Now lets hope my Penguins can stay in it. #
- Getting ready to take my Vista certification test right now. #
- Passed my Vista certification. That was much harder than expected. #
- Porto’s café in downtown glendale is pretty fantastic! #
- I just opened up the mintCast group on http://www.linux.com If you have some feedback or just want to show your support come join the group. #
- Just bought hockey for dummies for 50 cents. Yay thrift stores #
- Cherry on top, it’s colder than cheap stone. #
- Trying out ping.fm to update all my social networks. Also just signed up for a Identi.ca account. This is getting ridiculous. #
How-to enable blank passwords in Windows
If you set up a user account in Windows and you want to allow the user account to have a blank password you may find it a little difficult. In order to accomplish this you probably need to change a couple settings in Windows.
The error message you probably got is:
The password does not meet the password policy requirements. Check the minimum password length, password complexity and password history requirements.
To allow a blank password go to Start -> Run and type in gpedit.msc then hit enter.
You should get a window that pops up and has a whole bunch of settings you may have never seen before. On the left side expand Windows Settings -> Security Settings -> Account Policies and then click on Password Policy. On the right side you will need to change a few of the settings.
The three settings you will need to change are Maximum password age, Minimum password length, and Password must meet complexity requirements. Change maximum age and maximum length both to zero and disable the complexity requirements. Once you have these three settings changed you can just close out the window and now you should be able to set a blank password for your user account.
If you cannot change these settings you may be joined to a domain which has these settings locked down. I can’t help you there, but this should help in most other cases.
Let me know if this helps, or doesn’t help, in the comments.