I recently’ got a couple of second hand APC network management cards (an AP9617 and AP9630). Both had static IPs set (i.e. they didn’t get an address from DHCP) so in order to access their web interface I needed to locate them.
Posts Categorised: Misc Hardware
0The perfect HTPC power supply 2020?
I recently got a new GPU for my HTPC which required a replacement power supply as the old one wasn’t suitable for powering a GPU with an 8 pin PCIe power cable. The HTPC is in use for an average of around 6 hours per day and with electricity at 15p/kWh any reduction in power at the wall works out at 33p a year per Watt. This isn’t a big saving, but if consumption is reduced by several watts the saving can add up.
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
4Sleep and WOL with Intel 82567LM‑3
I have a couple of old USFF Dell Optiplex 760 PCs that have a built-in Intel 82567LM‑3 gigabit ethernet connection. Getting this adapter to work with both Sleep (S3 Suspend to RAM) and WOL (Wake on LAN) has proven very tricky. The PC originally came with Windows Vista and as a business class PC you’d expect these 2 features to work but it has always been a battle to get them working.
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
0The search for a storage server PSU
I recently posted abiout my search for a new storage server case. My next search involves finding a suitable PSU! It seems in recent years it has got much harder to find the type of hardware I like to use, probably because the fashion has been to go smaller and sleeker which is generally more possible in this era of improved performance-per-watt devices. However, if you have space and you want systems to be cool, quiet, and efficient then large is still the way to go.
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
2The search for a 12 bay 5.25″ full tower case
I have an original CoolerMaster Stacker case (STC-T01-UW) that I use for my server. It is great because it has 12 5.25″ external drive bays. Strictly speaking it has 11 useable as 1 of them is taken up by the power button and front-usb module, but this can be modified if necesary. This spectacular case is great for fitting lots of HDDs for a storage array. My system currently has 10 regular size HDDs and 2 SSDs in it which fit easily with plenty of cooling. As I want to build a second server to migrate the older drives into I am looking for another case with equally impressive capacity…
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
0WiFi switches from letters to numbers
With the news that WiFi will get a new version next year, and that it will be called WiFi 6, I thought I’d knock up a little guide to the previous versions of WiFi that we’ve had
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
0Fixing a slow Amazon Fire HD 8
A couple of xmases ago I bought my better half an Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet as she wanted a budget tablet to read books on at night, and to play free android games like clash of clans. The Fire seemed an ideal option as it would link into her Kindle account without any hassle, and is also android based. It was also possible to get a good sized device within the price limit we set each other.
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
0Moore’s Law: Deader than the parrot
In September 2013 I wrote an article about the apparent end of regular PC price drops. Just over a year later, I thought I’d return to see if things had improved.
… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
0Fixing stability issues with Asus E35M1‑M Pro
The basis of my main HTPC is an AMD E350 Brazos in the form of an Asus E35M1‑M Pro. I had quite a lot of problems with the system when I first built it, which were caused by issues with the Seagate Momentus XT storage drive I used. These were fixed a good while ago via firmware update from Seagate, and since then the system has largely worked without any issue.… ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
1The end of regular PC price drops?
I regularly build PCs for people, and have recently been looking at a high end spec for someone. I started, as I often do, by looking at what I’d got for a high end system about a year ago, to see if it was worth moving up the the new generation, or if a substantial drop in the older spec made it tempting to repeat. In the past the year old system has always been substantially cheaper, so I was quite surprised to find that this time it wasn’t. … ਪੂਰਾ ਲੇਖ ਪੜ੍ਹੋ
“Hi James I realise it has been a long while, but I just checked this on windows 11 (build 23H2)…”