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kano

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Status Updates posted by kano

  1. What will happen if I draw too many amps from a modern (decent quality) PC PSU? Will it shut down gracefully, or will it do something worse? I destroyed more than a few of those conventional AC adapters/wallwarts when I was a kid by doing this! But I would like to think that improvements have been made.

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. teh_saccade

      teh_saccade

      fkn limits, i forgot... forget it - you're fine. Just don't make any internal hardware changes while the machine is on - the worst that can happen is your PSU won't kick out 1.21 gigawatts to go back in time to let you know that daisy-chaining un-fused sockets to anything is a bad idea.

       

      Also that PSU's have always worked this way (except now I think they have inrush to charge @ 60a / 240v).

       

      https://computer.howstuffworks.com/power-supply.htm

    3. kano

      kano

      I'm talking about drawing too much power inside the computer. I've seen people intentionally short out a PSU, and it just shut off gracefully without damage. (impressive). So I hope a modern one would shut down if the load exceeds the max output.

    4. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      @Kano, take this thread to the tech support section fella. The update column isnt really to right place for this.

  2. Found a funny TDM bug that's also in 2.05. Equip a weapon, hold down attack, press escape to bring up the menu while continuing to hold attack, and then escape again to leave the menu while still holding attack. Now, walk around and you have become separated from the weapon! You can walk all around it and in front of it. Sadly, you can't hit yourself. When you let go of attack, the weapon fires from where you are, not where it is.

    1. Show previous comments  1 more
    2. kano

      kano

      Yep, I saw that happen with the sword (it getting stuck in the "prepared to strike" position). Try it with the bow or blackjack, and you should see it floating there as you freely walk around, until you let go of the fire button.

    3. nbohr1more
    4. AluminumHaste
  3. Built a Ryzen system. Got segfaults, so exchanged CPU. Segfaults are solved, except for in cases of crap software that segfaults on any machine. But before, I also experienced very rare crashes followed by hardware errors during next boot. Naturally I thought that the new CPU would solve this too. I found out this morning that I was wrong.

    1. Show previous comments  6 more
    2. Bikerdude
    3. kano

      kano

      Only ASLR I know of is Address Space Layout Randomization. It is a feature of the OS to randomize the way memory is allocated, in an effort to make attacks more difficult to execute. Far as I know, it has nothing to do with BIOS.

    4. lowenz
  4. I awakened at 7 AM this morning by some jack-off running a jack-hammer right outside the window. I live right next to a McDonalds. This is not the first time; I've called the police because they were running a F***ing power washer at 3 AM before. I thought there were laws about making excessive noise at inappropriate hours, but as we all know, laws rarely apply to businesses.

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. jaxa
    3. stumpy

      stumpy

      We had the noise of fireworks at 2am on 6th november till 2:30am. Airbomb repeaters and rockets that go phuzzz BANG are not quiet.

    4. kano

      kano

      Yeah, people do that here too. But they're smart enough to only light off one or two fireworks per night, making tracking them down pretty much impossible.

  5. Nothing will make you appreciate ten-year-old-equipment that still works more than seeing a unit that is less than two months old fail completely. BTW, many modern external hard drives are essentially designed to take the data hostage.

    1. kano

      kano

      First, the USB-to-SATA bridge is integrated in the drive. That means if the bridge fails, you can't put the drive in a different case or hook it directly to a computer. Second, they encrypt the data on the drive, even if you don't specify a password. This is so that you can then decide to set a password later and not need to write everything again, or at least that's what marketing wants you to believe.

    2. kano

      kano

      The reality is that the encryption locks you out of the data if the bridge chip fails, even if you're handy with a soldering gun. No, knowing the password won't help you, because the actual key is inside the bridge chip! And the encryption isn't even secure. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/10/20/western_digital_bad_hard_drive_encryption/

       

      TLDR: F*** this C***. Only buying spec-compliant SATA drives from now on.

    3. Atomica

      Atomica

      Avoid pre-installed portable HDDs as much as possible. Best option is to buy a standard drive and an external enclosure. Bit more tedious but you avoid problems like this.

  6. Government is allowed to switch this feature off, but as consumers, we're not. Nothing suspitious about that, no sir-eee. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/21/purism_cleanses_laptops_of_intel_management_engine/

    1. Epifire

      Epifire

      If it receives a hard enough backlash (which it sounds it is for Intel) it's likely to assume it wont be in newer CPUs down the road. Also seems a bit dirty of Purism to use it for their own marketing endeavor at the same time.

    2. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      nFor now we just need to find the ports it uses and what IPs its talks back to and block them.

    1. freyk

      freyk

      Sounds nice. We have to search for a sdk. We got steam-os almost working.

    2. jaxa

      jaxa

      It remains to be seen how powerful the AMD APU is. A Zen-based chip could make it interesting. But the system won't be super fast and at that price point it competes against cheap computers and Xbox One/PS4 on sale. This product could end up being a flop.

  7. I got a hard drive that vibrates so much that you can feel it on the outside of the PC case! Is that a bad sign? It is brand new. But damn, I never saw one induce so much vibration.

    1. Show previous comments  5 more
    2. New Horizon

      New Horizon

      @Biker - But he said it's a brand new drive. Perhaps defective?

    3. Atomica

      Atomica

      Cheaper high-density SSDs can't come soon enough.

    4. jaxa

      jaxa

      SSDs can also fail unexpectedly.

  8. Anyone else fail to get TDM 2.05 to run in latest Wine? (it used to run great)

    1. kano

      kano

      nevermind, thedarkmod.exe did not get updated by the Linux updater, leading to trouble when trying to run it in wine. Running the Windows TDM updater fixed it.

    2. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      Have you also tried having a play with PlayOnLinux..?

  9. I'm running Linux and Windows on Ryzen side by side with VGA passthrough. I couldn't pass a USB hub into the VM though, so I had to make the power button on the case detach the keyboard/mouse from the VM, using a script. lol With VGA passthrough, you can't use a traditional escape sequence like you would with VMware.

    1. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      surely thats just a case of drivers? or if not that a replacement KVM?

  10. How can we get a copy of the KOMAG fan mission archive for the Thief series? Could someone set it up on Mega or something? I think they provide 50GB for free, which is quite high, surely high enough.

  11. When I was a kid, you could leave batteries in something for six months and not find them completely dead. The opsession with making everything digital, including power buttons, has resulted in everything drawing phantom current, even when the thing is supposed to be off. Compare this to a mechanical flashlight, or old-school Gameboy, and you can understand what I mean.

    1. Show previous comments  3 more
    2. GameDevGoro

      GameDevGoro

      Analog mechanics rule. Digital stuff is ok. Always-on digital sttuff is crap. IOT smart devices is the devil and should burn in a pit of molten tungsten.

    3. Atomica

      Atomica

      Current IoT gear is crap because the manufacturer's don't care about security and robustness. Recently there was a story of some smart locks getting bricked because the vendor pushed a firmware update for a particular model onto the wrong model of lock. The locks didn't even have the ability to detect that the firmware wasn't going to work, they just accepted whatever firmware came their way. Such a lack of foresight.

    4. GameDevGoro

      GameDevGoro

      Yeah, aside from issues like botnets and unlawful surveillance and other gaping security holes. My mind wanders to issues with cheap stuff that's designed to be replaced in quick succession with newer products. Electronic waste from things that had no business having it, like toothbrushes and underwear! :D Some smart devices are just no-exception useless and fall under the category of a party gift or something. And inevitably gets tossed in the bin right quick. :P

  12. This music would be *so* perfect for TDM. It just screams TDM-ish atmosphere.

    (starts at 16.02) Too bad we don't know who made it!
    1. kano

      kano

      Imagine sneaking around and listening to that!

  13. Got a Ryzen 1700 today. Damn, is the box big! I was used to the older CPUs like Phenom II that came in pretty small boxes. This is actually a lower power consumption part, but I hear that they threw in a nice (larger than necessary) cooler, so that must be why.

    1. stgatilov

      stgatilov

      Good luck getting it to work! =) Especially if you are going to use high-speed RAM...

    2. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      @Kano, nice. Your multi-core perf will be monster, but single thread not so much. What CPU did you upgrade from..?

       

      @stgatilov, motherboard bios's are mature enough now to alleviate this issue for the most part.

    3. kano

      kano

      It is an upgrade from Phenom II 1100t.

  14. Found a great (user friendly/free) program for Linux to map gamepads to function as a keyboard and mouse for gaming. Its called Qjoypad. You can play any game with a gamepad/joystick, even games that forbid it (if such a thing exists).

    1. kano

      kano

      All this time you worry about the OS logging keystrokes, when the audio drivers are doing it (too!).

    2. nbohr1more

      nbohr1more

      I wonder what that default-on game video sharing thing in Win 10 collects? ;)

  15. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/01/intel_amt_me_vulnerability/ Remember when people were saying that this sort of stuff would happen? I do!
    1. AluminumHaste
    2. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      But HOW has it been patched? directly in the chip firmware or some driver in the OS..?

    3. kano

      kano

      From what I understand, you'll need a new version of BIOS/UEFI. And that's if the manufacturer of your motherboard feels like providing one. (Just because Intel provides patches doesn't mean that vendors will pass them on.) And BTW: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/05/05/intel_amt_remote_exploit/

       

      Supposedly this only poses a serious threat to enterprise users, for now. But what scares me, is how long before we are all at risk.

  16. A moment of appreciation for Brutal Doom... Someone has finally managed to mix the good aspects of old and new games correctly in a way that creates something that feels new, but is not watered down. There is no two weapon limit, auto-healing, or snail-like movement. What there is, is a whole lot of blood and guts, grenades for clearing out monster infested areas, multiple functions for weapons, fast paced action, easter eggs/secrets, smarter/tougher monsters and an unlimited number of levels...

    1. Sotha

      Sotha

      Brutal Doom is awesome! No way I'm playing the old Doom after that.

    2. teh_saccade

      teh_saccade

      tempt you with doom 2?

       

      https://classicreload.com/doom-ii-hell-on-earth.html

       

      (that i paid £50 for way back when - 4 discs!)

  17. Playing a game today that I passed by twenty years ago. (Blood: Cryptic Passage) The levels and atmosphere are still fantastic. Age does not take a toll on good design. From the sounds inside and outside the lighthouse, to the music, to the secrets, to the way things are interconnected, you can tell a lot of effort was put into this!

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. kano

      kano

      Its just as good. But damn, I hit a snag. Upon completing map04, it sends me to one of the maps from the first episode! (after the train crash) Its not supposed to do that; there is a full episode of 10 maps. Not sure what's going on. I can always start on the next one manually, but then I lose inventory. Oh well, it makes the game more of a challenge anyway!

    3. Melan
    4. DatMaxNub

      DatMaxNub

      I need to replay Blood and on the highest difficulty

  18. I have this MicroUSB cable... they actually embossed the USB logo on the wrong side! And the cable is so poorly designed, that it just effortlessly slides out of whatever you plug it into. I am tempted to throw it away, but I can't stop laughing at it. This belongs in the hall of shame, for sure.

  19. Its so much more fun to take things apart when you don't have to worry about making them ever work again...

  20. Finally played through Max Payne 1 and 2 this weekend.. They were very enjoyable games. Although many games dip in quality at the end, I felt that the final segments of these games were the best. They give you all the goodies, (sniper rifle, molotovs, grenades), as well as plenty of enemies to use them on.

    1. AluminumHaste
    2. Melan

      Melan

      The first in particular is an evergreen classic. I never tire of replaying it every second year or so.

  21. Its always funny when a product that is half the price gets a higher score on a benchmark test... Today, its some NiMH batteries.

    1. kano

      kano

      The Eneloops are supposed to be 800mAh, but they only scored around 780. The far cheaper EBL batteries all scored over 800, something which none of the Eneloops reached!

    2. Bikerdude

      Bikerdude

      I heard about those, some tuber reviewed them..

    3. jaxa

      jaxa

      Tomorrow it's AMD Zen

  22. Remember kiddies, if you're not paying for a product, you *are* the product. Oh, nevermind; this is the 21st century, and you're still the product even when you pay for something. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/02/06/ftc_spanks_vizio_for_slurping_viewer_activity/

    1. Show previous comments  2 more
    2. stumpy

      stumpy

      Apparently the camera built into the xbone did something similar, but that just lets microsoft watch you in real time, on the sofa on in your bedroom, or in your kids room.

    3. kano

      kano

      This is an example of why I won't buy anything that mandates an Internet connection to function. And just because they're not doing it today doesn't mean that e.g. EA, Valve, or Microsoft won't push out a mandatory update and start doing it tomorrow. For this reason, I see being forced to use some online service as ?putting myself on a leash?.

    4. lowenz

      lowenz

      So our player base is our product? :D

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