(Part 2) Top products from r/24hoursupport

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002LM0U2S/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1498745874&sr=8-7&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=usb+sound+card+dual+mic&dpPl=1&dpID=41vusjGecFL&ref=plSrch

Here's the one I use, I got it for around 20 though, and it only has 2 inputs. Alternatively, you could buy two of these,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IRVQ0F8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1498746083&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=usb+sound+card&dpPl=1&dpID=51FLiQuh7EL&ref=plSrch

and use them in conjunction with your computer's microphone Jack, provided you have enough usb ports.

My recommendation is to shop around, your problem should be easily solved with under 20 bucks. Good luck :)

http://www.amazon.com/VGA-HDMI-Cable-6-feet/dp/B002TUC64W is the link to the one i bought. Yeah, I thought at the time is was too easy but for $4 I thought I would try. Now I would like something that would for sure work.

If OP wants to DIY, A cable tester is in order. Test a short length of cat5 and attach that to one of the jacks with the remote end of the tester still attached (eliminating the short wire as a problem) Check the termination in the attic.

the pinout at the jack is 'correct' B standard.

for the actual crimping, look for something less painful than the standard ends, just make sure they are compatible with your crimping tool.

if you have B in the jack, B in the attic, continuity in the wire, and working ports in the netgear, everything should work perfectly.

From your post I think you are going to get out of your league fairly quickly here. You are going to be able to set up 4 hard drives "somewhat" easily. The "somewhat" part is that you are going to have to set 2 of the drives as master and 2 as slaves. You will also have to designate them as primary or secondary depending on which IDE cable they are on.
Each hard drive has a different pin setting to set the drive as a master/slave. You will need to either look on the HD and hope that the pin settings are listed or go to the manufacturers web site to look up the model for the pin settings. As for the 5th drive you will need to install a pci ide hard drive card. You will also need to use another IDE cable.

StarTech.com 2 Port PCI IDE Controller Adapter Card PCIIDE2

As far as the RAM is concerned, no you do not need drivers for it. Once again you are going to need to make sure that the RAM you have is appropriate for the motherboard. A quick google of the serial/model number off the RAM chip should tell you what type/speed it is. Then you will need to google the motherboard serial/part# to find out what type of Ram it takes.
The ethernet card will also require a google to find the drivers.
Don't get me wrong if you are interested in learning how to custom build computers this will be a good learning exercise but be aware there are quite a few pitfalls up ahead.

So basically if you are not familiar with building pc's and discerning part #/serial#'s etc. you are going to get underwater very quickly.

tl;dr Building pc's is harder than it appears with legacy hardware.

yes and might as well splurge for the 750:

http://www.amazon.com/APC-BE750G-Saving-Battery-Back-UPS/dp/B000Z80ICM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1377720206&sr=8-5&keywords=apc+battery+backup

Audio out of the PC is easy:

The Cheap Way using internal sound card

Or using an external DAC

For the 360 it will output audio and HDMI at the same time, there is just a plastic shield over the hdmi port when the component cable is plugged in. Options are:

you can break it off the plastic tab so both the component cable and hdmi cable can be plugged in at the same time or

Get an xbox vga cable

I didn't think the wii had hdmi out so I have no idea what you are doing there.

The router is a dual channel router so it outputs G and N at the same time. I have not changed it. The other devises can connect to either one. The XP machine is using a G PCI wireless card.

http://www.amazon.com/Cisco-Linksys-WMP54GS-Wireless-G-Card-SpeedBooster/dp/tech-data/B0001D3K3A

They're usually called "precision screwdrivers." Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Stanley-66-052-6-Piece-Precision-Screwdriver/dp/B00009OYGV

I think something like this might work: http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-MX400-BEHRINGER-MICROMIX/dp/B000KGYAYQ

Except don't get that because the output is mono, not meant for stero headphones.

This is an eSATA port. That must be on the back of the external HDD you are purchasing as well as your computer.
This is an eSATA cable.

See where it says av out? If you want to test using headphones you need to buy this adapter http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000I23TTE/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1397524631&sr=8-3&pi=SX200_QL40

Fairly cheap, depending on the drive you have they should have a USB conversion for it - http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-CB-ISATAU2-Supports-2-5-Inch-5-25-Inch/dp/B000J01I1G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348530263&sr=8-1&keywords=harddrive+to+usb

Even this is $21 before shipping:
>http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DRX-530UL-External-CD-RW-Drive/dp/B0001BRIQC/ref=sr_1_20?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1332878573&sr=1-20

It's hard to know how much power is being used by these devices without actually testing.

A Kill A Watt can help answer your questions more precisely, and they usually sell for around $20. If you aren't in the US, there is surely something you can find that does the same exact thing. You can figure out exactly what it costs then decide if it makes a difference to you or not.

Personally, I unplug things I don't use on a regular basis, but if I use it at least a few times a month, I'll leave it alone.

try disconnecting all external devices first.

you can't access bios, is that correct? if so, last resort would be taking it apart and resetting the bios if possible, or take out the hdd and connect it to another machine via this

and remember: back things up regularly, so your boss doesn't kill you. solely relying on old machines is a bad idea.

Overheating would not be a driver issue , its more likely to be a cooling issue with fans either being dead or filled with dust or the thermal compound that sits under the cpu and gpu heatsink has dried up, if you want to invest in laptop cooling .. link

Is that different than this?


Or the switch in the OP?


Actually my problem is a little more: I want to record OTA programs on my stand alone DVR while watching cable or OTA, or record a cable program while watching OTA, without connecting and disconnecting cables.

Is that too much to ask?

ESD wrist straps are usually something like a megohm to ground so that there is enough of the path to discharge any static buildup, but not enough current to kill you should something go wrong. If you work on live equipment and have a short to ground on one arm and touch something with the other, the current path goes straight across your chest. Here, $1.73 for a strap If you want to make one you need 1 megohm resistor to put between your body and the ground.

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