Rig: 2 out of 5

Communication skills: 1 out of 10...

So for some reason today my laptop PC's built in card reader is not recognising SD cards. I have tried restarting my computer and oddly the card reader does not appear in the list of devices in Device Manager, so my guessing is that it has somehow been disabled. How do I renabled it if it's not appearing on this this of devices?

If anyone can help me that it would be really appreciated.

Comic_Capers

If it's not on the Device Manager lists, then for the OS the card reader isn't there.  That can only mean that the card reader died, or that there's an internal fault such as the power connector which got loose...

Well I just installed Passmark 8 and now I'm getting explorer.exe crashes sometimes when I go to the Control Panel.  They mentioned something about the faulting application was Exlporer.exe.  I had 3 of them in the last hour.  This was when running at an all-core turbo of 3.8GHz with auto vcore.  I thought that maybe my chip can't handle all cores running at 3.8GHz but then it happened with the stock turbo settings as well.  Maybe all this overclocking damaged my chip?  Maybe installing Passmark messed up something in my system?

DJP3000

Passmark often crashes under Win7/8.  Has more to do with the GPU than with the CPU.  Try running Passmark without anti-aliasing.

When having removed the heatsink, always, but *always* do a thorough clean-up and re-apply some thermal paste. Always.

It might be the ram, if you have other ram, test it out.

GummiRaccoon

With faulty RAM --or even no RAM at all-- the PC stays powered-on with all fans working.  It just doesn't post.  When an internal speaker is attached to the mobo, a continuous beep-beep-beep will sound...

[QUOTE="JimmyJumpy"]

[QUOTE="LordTrexGuy"]

I've got this desktop with an E8400 (dual core 3.00Ghz) and about 3GB of RAM, which I might be able to take upto 4GB. Also, the only graphics card I've right now is GT 9500 1GB. Will I be able to play Skyrim on Medium settings at 1024X768 at 30FPS? I can change my graphics card only. What would you guys recommend? If my computer can hold out the aforementioned performance, I'll add performance-friendly ENB and some other high-res textures with some performance increasing mods. Will my computer be able to hold out? Getting real tired of playing the game on my PS3. I might buy a more decent computer but for now, I'll try to squeeze out all I can from this ancient system.

LordTrexGuy

The E8400 was the best of the 'E' series Core Duo CPUs and paired with a beefier GPU it would still kick some lilly-white in a lot of games.  A surfacing problemo could be your power supply.

When adding, say, an HD7870 or GTX670, you're going to need a PSU of around 550/600 watt...

Adding more RAM will only help when running on a 64-bits operating system since 32-bits is limited to 4GB overall (including video card RAM).

I run Windows XP because I find it the best for playing games on, so that means 4 GB is enough right? And how do I find out my PSU without opening the whole rig? Also, could I overclock this machine without having to buy an after-market fan? I want it to go at least 3.6Ghz with the inbuilt fan.

Windows XP also has a 64-bits version, but it's a tad more confusing since installing programs doesn't go as smooth as with Windows 7 64-bits, due to the fact that WinXP wasn't optimized as well as later opertaing systems.

Also, when running Windows 7, you always have the option --should an older game not function properly-- to run that game under compatibility mode for WinXP.  I've been running Win7 64-bits since 2009 and even with games from 2001 never had any problems installing/playing them.

When you should get a GPU with 2GB of V-RAM, then your system would have only a max of 2GB left under a 32-bits OS... so, maybe time to seriously consider making the step to at least Win7...

You can always upgrade the hardware and see what gives.  When not entirely satisfied, you can test Win7 64-bits for a while :)

Wow... that's some serious set-up.... :shock:

Have a look at this Seagate hard drive at NewEgg...

I've got this desktop with an E8400 (dual core 3.00Ghz) and about 3GB of RAM, which I might be able to take upto 4GB. Also, the only graphics card I've right now is GT 9500 1GB. Will I be able to play Skyrim on Medium settings at 1024X768 at 30FPS? I can change my graphics card only. What would you guys recommend? If my computer can hold out the aforementioned performance, I'll add performance-friendly ENB and some other high-res textures with some performance increasing mods. Will my computer be able to hold out? Getting real tired of playing the game on my PS3. I might buy a more decent computer but for now, I'll try to squeeze out all I can from this ancient system.

LordTrexGuy

The E8400 was the best of the 'E' series Core Duo CPUs and paired with a beefier GPU it would still kick some lilly-white in a lot of games.  A surfacing problemo could be your power supply.

When adding, say, an HD7870 or GTX670, you're going to need a PSU of around 550/600 watt...

Adding more RAM will only help when running on a 64-bits operating system since 32-bits is limited to 4GB overall (including video card RAM).

Before you start flashing things, do as Cyberdot says and check the wiring of the front I/O, especially the wires for 'PWR' (power, white/orange cable) and 'RES' (reset, white/blue cable) and see to it they are seated in the proper place....