Archive for the ‘Hardware’ Category

For future growth, success and proactive management decisions, it is essential that the vital business data should be protected and made available in-time. There are so many threats including software/hardware malfunctions, viruses, unintentional deletions and un-authorized usage that can disrupt the business operations. That is why an ongoing backup routine is critical.

Dell LTO-3 tape products is ideally designed for those data administrators that are seeking for higher storage performance, longer working life, reduced power consumption and low maintenance cost. Customers can efficiently incorporate the high speed Dell LTO-3 tape drive in their storage system. These high speed tape drives are engineered for more flexibility and can fulfill the challenging demands of broad range of I.T environments.

No matter how tough the working and environmental conditions are, Dell PowerVault LTO-3 drive will perform brilliantly under huge workloads. Dell LTO-3 ultrium drives can be attached externally as well as internally with the computer systems. On a single ultrium LTO-3 tape, the users can backup enormous 400GB / 800GB information.

Backward compatibility of PowerVault LTO3 drive goes back 2 generations. Data can be retrieved from LTO-2 and LTO-1, while users can also backup data on LTO 2 tapes. This means that with Dell LTO3 drive the customers can work with 3 versions of LTO tapes. Smaller size of Dell LTO-3 drive helps to conserve valuable space, and its low energy consumption will decrease the operational costs. That is why Dell LTO-3 is the smart choice for data mining, digital audio/video archiving, remote offices and supply chain management.

Protect your sensitive information from being changed or altered with the help of Dell LTO-3 drive’s WORM (write once read many) technology. WORM mechanism is very useful in regulatory compliance, and further strengthens the data security. Dell LTO3 drive attains remarkable speed of 288 GB per hour in native mode. Unique combination of massive capacity and ultra high transfer speed enables the IT managers to pack huge data volumes on fewer tapes in lesser time. Dell LTO-3 tape products are competitively priced, and are built tough for extended useful life and low cost per GB. Dell-branded LTO tapes are listed below:

Dell LTO4 backup tapes
341-4647 and 341-4640

Dell LTO-3 ultrium tapes
0HC591 and 341-2647

Dell LTO-2 tape
340-8701

Dell LTO-1 tape
09W084

CommVault Galaxy, Veritas Backup Exec, Yosemite TapeWare and other industry leading backup software are supported by Dell PowerVault LTO3 drives. Therefore you can select the one which best fits your I.T needs. You can confidently move the Dell ultrium LTO3 cartridges to remote locations, because their durable cartridge shell will protect it from bumps, shocks, mechanical stress and unintentional drops.

Low ownership cost, outstanding compatibility, longer working life and unbeatable performance make Dell ultrium LTO-3 a complete cost effective solution. LTO-3 PowerVault drive comes with a quick start guide and SCSI cables for easy installation, and SCSI terminator that helps in external deployments. Dell LTO-3 tape technology provides you the capacity and storage performance to keep your business running in a cost effective manner.

The standard video editing software found on recent Windows operating systems is known as Windows Movie Maker. With the help of this program, you can upload videos to your computer, edit them with transitions and titles, even narration, and make a movie of your own to convert to DVD.

The Windows ME operating system was the first to bring this program along, and Vista and XP carried it as well. After Vista, Windows Movie Maker was dropped in lieu of Windows Live Movie Maker, a different but more recent program. However, you may find that you cannot find a lot of desired features in Windows Live Movie Maker that were found in its predecessor. Windows Live Movie Maker seems to have been created for the sole purpose of making quick videos for YouTube uploading and the like; however, classic Movie Maker features a lot more editing and transition tools that are desired.

If you have Windows 7, though, there is hope, as the Microsoft website will allow you to freely download Windows Movie Maker for your own use.

Using Windows 7 to Convert VHS to DVD

You have to get a few tools and programs to give Windows 7 the capability to convert VHS to DVD, which are included below. You need:

A. Windows Movie Maker. Since you will not get this automatically from Windows 7 like you would other OSs, you have to download it from Microsoft themselves. While the Live version is more recent, it is far simpler, lacking a lot of features you may want to use.

B. Video Capture Device. In order to get the analog data off your VHS tape in order to convert it to your hard drive, you need this. You can find a plethora of capture devices that Windows 7 will recognize, making installation and set up a snap, so there are no concerns on that front.

C. Software for Burning and Authoring DVDs. In the event you want to use a DVD player to play your DVDs, DVD Authoring Software is necessary in order to make it a video DVD.

Step 1: Plug The Capture Device In

First, you have to get the capture device connected to your computer. You should not have a lot of trouble with this, as with the right driver and hardware Windows should recognize the capture device. All you should have to do is plug it in, update the drivers, and you are set.

Since Windows 7 recognizes a vast number of devices, we will not go over every single possible device procedure there is. However, since this Windows operating system is designed to make installation extremely easy, you should have little to no problem.

Step 2: Put Windows Movie Maker On Your Computer

You have to download and install Windows Movie Maker onto Windows 7, since it is not included automatically with the operating system, unlike most previous versions of Windows. After you have it installed, all of its myriad features will be provided to you.

Step 3: Start Recording

Plug the VHS in to the capture device that you have, and get ready to transfer the video to your Windows Movie Maker program. Movie Maker’s primary feature, which is called Record Dialog, is the means by which you will convert the video to your computer.

You will appreciate a lot of the features found in Record Dialog. Prior to recording, you will have the option to tell Movie Maker that you want to record sound and video, or one of them separately. Naturally, capturing both audio and video will be your ideal option if you want a straightforward edit from VHS to DVD, but if you want to mess around with it, you can choose one or the other for various situations.

After this, selecting the capture device is your next step. If you have multiple capture devices on your computer, it is necessary to select the one you want. The Change Device button is there for this express purpose. Click it, and pick the capture device shown on the drop down menu that you find there.

The “Record Time Limit” feature also could come in handy. Use this option when you want to stop recording at a specific time interval, Windows Movie Maker ceasing recording once it hits that mark, saving the file for later. You can use this option in order to prevent yourself from suffering through the unenviable task of being slaved to your computer as the capture process is completed, in case you just want a particular clip from your VHS tape. In the event you do not set a record time, you have to stop capturing manually.

Following this, the video capture quality should be next on your list. Keep in mind that there is a correlation between file size and the quality of the audio and video; don’t worry, though, because Windows Movie Maker will only record if it knows you have enough disk space. In the event that you have the quality setting set too high for the disk space that you have remaining, it will give you the highest quality that it can supply while still using what disk space it has. It is also possible to pick another hard drive to save it to, if you want to take that option.

The High and Medium quality settings are the options you want to pay attention to. While you still get a 320×240 pixel resolution with either setting, the medium setting will only capture at 15fps, while you get 30fps with the high quality option, guaranteeing a better capture. Your video will be much smoother on the High setting than it would be in the Medium setting.

You will also get better audio quality if you go with the High setting. If you have it on High, the audio will be recorded at a higher bit rate, making it clearer.

Extra Bits Of Advice

Your computer will be using whatever resources it has as it converts. Hitting the Disable Preview button will free up more space and processing power. Picking this option will take away your preview window as it records and captures the video for you. With this, you will not be allocating resources to watching the video as it records, giving you a better quality video in the end.

Do you want to know why there are times when it is better to pick Medium Quality? Basically, it leads to a smaller, more manageable video file. When you pick the High quality setting, the video file will be twice as large, and if you have a lot of movement in these videos, that is an ideal setting. You have to make sure you know what you want in terms of what is in the scenes and how big you want the file to be. You can easily record a video of fairly static motion on Medium without a great loss in quality, but if you have a lot of movement in the video, there will be motion blur. A car race, for example, will have a lot of movement in it, and as you move the camera the movement is exacerbated, so a Medium capture of this will look like a slideshow.

Video quality is another important consideration. If you are converting a VHS tape, you might be noticing some degradation in the image as the years go on, making it harder to see what is going on. Using Medium to capture it might make the picture better in the long run, as it smooths out the image.

Step 4: Record

After everything is set up and ready to go, just hit the Record button, and Windows Movie Maker will do the rest for you, capturing the video as you have told it to. the time limit settings and file names will be ascribed to the video, so there is virtually nothing else you are asked to do for it until the file is captured.

After you have your captured file, you can play around with it in Windows Movie Maker, using all the features that Windows Live Movie Maker lacks in its program. Compared to Windows 7′s default video editing program, you will have a much better experience with Windows Movie Maker.

Step 5: DVD Burning

You cannot simply copy and paste the video file to a DVD and expect it to play in a DVD player. Licensing problems prevent Windows from providing a DVD authoring program for your use. You might need to buy a separate DVD authoring package in order to convert your video file to DVD, enabling you to read the DVD in your DVD player as a regular disk, allowing you to watch the movie on your television.

You can find a lot of DVD authoring packages that enable you to make a professional-level DVD package for your video, complete with chapters, menus and transitions; there are so many different options, that it will have to wait until another article to go over what you could do.

You might be worried about your VHS collection, particularly about how to keep that precious media lasting longer, as well as the space requirements it takes to store all of those bulky tapes. In order to carry out a successful VHS to DVD conversion, you have to know how exactly the process works, and how the two formats are different.

VHS records things in analog. A magnetic tape is coded with the information that makes up the film in the form of magnetic fields. As time goes on, this information can start to lose quality and fade away, until you cannot see the information anymore. Digital video comes in the form of DVD. Digital information is put on these discs which are in the form of computer information, providing a much longer lasting medium for your films and shows than VHS.

Given the differences between the two formats, you have to discern a method to convert from analog to digital, requiring the use of a VHS to DVD converter for your particular duties, so that should be your first step. You can find plenty of avenues by which to get one of these devices, and your particular needs and budget will determine what you actually need to get.

Computer-Based Converters

In order to use these new methods, you will really need to learn how to use computers and technology. You will require an analog-to-digital converter in order to implement these methods, and despite the simple nature of some of these strategies, you might have to work to learn how to do others. However, the most advanced the technique, the more leeway and freedom you will have to do with your footage as you will.

Capture Boxes and Cards For Your VHS Tapes

When you convert a VHS tape to a DVD, you might end up with a slight lowering in video quality. If you want the most appealing results, you will want an MPEG-2 encoder, which will use a DVD-friendly format. If you buy a USB encoder box or video capture card, you will have the high quality encoder chip required to convert your video, as your processor will not be a part of this process, all the work falling to the converter box. The final product will then be cleaner and clearer, especially if contrasted with the DV Camcorder. Keep in mind that you will experience a slight decrease in picture quality when you convert from analog to DV, then straight to DVD after that – artifacts can occur that just look terrible.

Despite the fact that it will take a lot of technical know how to pull of this last method, you will get fantastic picture given the right software. If your software has the right features, you could turn your VHS tape into a full blown DVD, complete with menus and transitions, making it look extremely professional.

DVD Recorders

The DVD equivalent of a VCR is the DVD Recorder, and it will work pretty much like it in terms of function. It can play the DVDs that you insert in it, and you can also hook it up to your television and record what is on screen. Now, you may need to learn the best way to do this in order to get it to work, but as long as you have recorded stuff from a TV onto a VHS before, you should be fine. As an extra bonus, the copy protected movies will be able to be recorded with the help of these devices.

VHS to DVD Recorders

You will find the easiest way to do this conversion with this device. Basically, a VHS to DVD recorder has both a DVD burner and a VHS player inside. Just put both your VHS and DVD media in, and you will dub over the DVD with the VHS footage, much like you could with two VHSs. Those of you who do not have a lot of experience with technology or electronics, you might find this the most effective and easy to use. On the other hand, you will not be able to transfer your copy protected movies to DVD with this device, making it not the ideal solution.

DV/Digital 8 Camcorders.

You will be able to use digital camcorders to convert between analog and digital. Just connect the camcorder between your computer and your VCR, and your VHS to DVD converter is now completed and ready to go. Your VCR will send the signals into your digital camera, storing them in that format. Your camcorder will then send the data to your computer as a digital video file, which is done via the USB cable or FireWire cable you have hooked into it.

Prior to implementing this method, you do have to consider a few technical issues that may arise. You might need a lot of storage space, as DV files can take 14 gigabytes in order to record an hour. More space is needed to convert the file to DVD and burn the disk itself.

VHS to DVD Conversion Service

While this might be the most expensive method to convert your tape, it will require the least amount of work and education on your part. You can hire on the VHS to DVD conversion services of one of many companies online or in your area in order to get the tapes that you want put on DVD. You might have to pay a lot of money though, as much as $100 a tape to get all the nice features.

The price is the only real downside to this option, however. For that price, though, you can get tapes cleaned up so the quality is vastly improved, which is something you may not have the expertise or time to do.

Therefore, you should not feel you have no options when it comes to converting your old tapes to DVDs; it just depends on the hardware that you have and the time you want to commit.

Since the current age of computers began in the 1950s, the industry has been typified by the gradual reduction in size of computing systems. An assembly that would have taken up a large room in the early days can now be small enough for a person to hold. The change in the power to size ratio is amazing.

Laptops are a part of this development and Dell has been involved in researching and improving computers since 1984. In 1989, Dell introduced their first notebook, giving freedom from being limited to using a PC at a desk. As with all new technology, further developments followed and in 1991 the laptop with colour and a battery that could last up to three hours was produced. This type of development increased the market for laptops and increased the pressure to improve the machine even further.

The Lithium ion battery came into use in 1994, giving significantly longer between charges and so increasing the usefulness of the laptop. The Dell laptop charger was a significant part of these developments, being an essential tool for the recharging of laptops and notebooks. Improvements continued following the Lithium ion battery and in 1997 came the express charge, giving even faster re-charging times for laptops.

As the technology of laptops and batteries has developed, so too has the technology of laptop chargers. Here at Laptop Power UK, we supply laptop chargers that are compatible with major makes of laptop, so that you can keep your laptop fully charged and ready for work at any time.

Laptop chargers help to make sure that your laptop is available for you to use when you want to. A laptop with no charge in its battery is of no use if you are away from mains power and this means you depend upon your laptop charger to keep your laptop ready for action.

This usb 3.0 front panel pci can be installed into a free 3.5 bay of your computer and can be connected internally by using the included PCI Express card. Installing PCI Express cards is easy, simply unscrew and remove your computer’s main body case cover. On your PC’s motherboard near the rear of the computer you’ll see some slots. Then you just plug it in there and take a screw driver to secure it to the back. It expands your system by two USB 3.0 ports which are also downwards compatible to USB 2.0 and USB 1.1. You can connect different USB devices like Docking Station, Card Reader, external enclosure etc.

It took LaCie nearly a full year to ship the 2big USB 3.0 RAID drive — a device that was announced in the fall of 2009 — but now that it’s here, it’s being accompanied by a concept that actually far outshines the unit itself: USB 3.0 on a Mac. For whatever reason, Apple has refused to offer SuperSpeed USB on any of its machines, even a fully specced-out Mac Pro costing well north of $10,000. We’ve seen purported emails from Steve Jobs noting that USB 3.0 just isn’t mainstream enough to sweat just yet, but coming from the guy who’s still bearish on Blu-ray, we get the feeling that it’ll be quite some time far too long before Apple finally caves and upgrades from USB 2.0. We’re obviously no fans of the holdout — after all, even a few sub-$500 netbooks are enjoying the SuperSpeed spoils already — so we couldn’t have possibly been more excited to hear that a longstanding storage vendor was about to fill the void that Cupertino continues to ignore. We were able to pick up a LaCie USB 3.0 PCIe expansion card as well as a 4TB (2 x 2TB) 2big USB 3.0 drive and put the whole setup through its paces on our in-house Mac Pro. Care to see how it stacked up against USB 2.0, FireWire 400 and FireWire 800? Head on past the break for the grisly details.

Just to refresh those who completely slept through November 4th, there actually is a way to get USB 3.0 on your Mac. Shocking, right? First off, you’ll need a new piece of hardware: either a LaCie USB 3.0 ExpressCard/34 (on sale now for $59.99) or a LaCie USB 3.0 PCI Express card (on sale now for $49.99). Then, you’ll need a free driver, which can be downloaded here. Mind you, this support only extends to OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard); Tiger users and below are out of luck. This means that any Mac Pro and any last-generation MacBook Pro can gain USB 3.0 support with a relatively inexpensive piece of hardware. Thanks to a stroke of genius that may only ever be understood within the lairs of Cupertino, the newest unibody MacBook Pro units all have an SD card slot in place of the ExpressCard slot (the gargantuan 17-inch MBP notwithstanding), so for once, it pays to have yesteryear’s best rather than today’s. Also, we should point out that the 2big USB 3.0 used here includes the $49.99 PCIe expansion card right in the box.

 Building a pc ?

This article gives you all the tips you need to repair a broken PC, it’s been designed and bulit to give you all the tips and tricks needed to get you going. You will soon find out that building your own PC is very easy and fun.

PC building is made easy to follow

If this is your first time building a PC, you’ve found the only right place. You’ll discover your first step of what kind of PC tools you’ll need to build your own computer with.

Right through to deciding what kind of design you want your pc to look like, or which type of Motherboard!

CPU and RAM, Video and Sound Card etc, which will best suit your budget and requirements.

Building a pc as a home use or work place use, makes this website the right place for information. We all know desktop PC’s are one of the most common used system at homes and offices.

Sometimes, it’s froustrating to find yourslef stuck with a broken PC when you can find the simplest way to repair it yourself, your problem is solved today because, this website is to help you to know how to do it yourself.

PC building on this website will give you the step by step on how to build a PC and design your own system, repairs, Trobleshooting, and many more.

One of the reasons why this website is built is because, I see and know so many people spending a huge amount of money to repair and buy expensive PC’s which I think they can repair or build it for cheaper.

Another reason why I design this website is to helps you save some money by not going to the PC technicians to get you rip off by a simple solution which you can solve yourself. Please take your time and go through each and every steps of the webpage links carefully.

The content is free and easy to use on this website, therefore we have got a free online help by email to guild you when you are stuck.

All is free!!!!! and this website will be updating and giving you the latest tips and tricks to help you solve common problems, also latest Tech news, will be provided for free.