Tech Help thread

[Angelfms]

3DS Nyko Battery Power Pak+

So I bought and installed and have been using the Nyko PowerPak+ for probably a year now. I just noticed about a week ago it's stopped charging to full according to the display. So far I've gotten lucky and haven't played it to the point where it might die, so I have no idea if it's actually full and displaying wrong, or if it's really stopping charging before reaching capacity.
Thinking back, I believe a 3DS system update came out a few days before I noticed the problem, so I'm wondering if maybe the updated something with the battery access code and that might have caused it.

• Is there a way to check logs for specifics of what was done in an update?
• Anybody else have the PowerPak+ and noticed this problem?
  • It could be because I typically plug it in whenever I have access to a plug, and play it while doing so, so I might have just screwed up the batterypak myself.
    • If that is the case I still have the original battery and case backing, so I can switch back if necessary, I'm just really paranoid about battery life, so I like to have as high a capacity as possible.
  
  Thoughts?

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

Ethernet/Wi-Fi Problem?

Does anyone here know why our PC loses internet connection when I plug the ethernet cable into our Xfinity Wireless Gateway?

The Wi-Fi does work, and when the Comcast technician connected his laptop to our internet via ethernet, he got impressive speeds.

System Info:
PC Model: HP 110-326 Desktop
OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit
CPU: Intel Pentium G2030T @ 2.60 GHz
RAM: 4.0 GB
Video: Intel HD Graphics
HDD: 500 GB

 

[Angelfms]

Re: Ethernet/Wi-Fi Problem?

Does anyone here know why our PC loses internet connection when I plug the ethernet cable into our Xfinity Wireless Gateway?

The Wi-Fi does work, and when the Comcast technician connected his laptop to our internet via ethernet, he got impressive speeds.

System Info:
PC Model: HP 110-326 Desktop
OS: Windows 8.1 64-bit
CPU: Intel Pentium G2030T @ 2.60 GHz
RAM: 4.0 GB
Video: Intel HD Graphics
HDD: 500 GB

First thing to check would be if the Ethernet adapters are enabled on the PC. From there update drivers. Is it the same cable that the tech used? Could be the cable is bad. I assume it's the same router port, so that's fine. Could be the ethernet port on the pc is bad, or even the chip/card.
Try to check those things, and then send an update, we'll see what happens.

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

The PC ethernet adaptors are enabled and drives were already updated. Yes it was the same able that the tech used.

I dunno what you mean by router port, our modem and router are the same device, and it's the ethernet that i want fixed, our Wi-Fi works but it keeps dropping.

If it does turn out to be the port or card, how much would it cost to fix/replace either?

 

[Angelfms]

By port I just mean the slot you plug the cable into. Sometimes when cables are plugged in a slightly loose contact can mar a contact on the port itself, and screw it over. Most routers have 4 or 5 ports, most wifi cards on pcs have either 1 or 2. Try switching those around, maybe you'll get lucky.
If the cable was in the same port on the router for your pc as it was the technician then that wont be the issue. As for the port/card on the pc, it'll depend. Easiest/Cheapest way is going to be to buy either a pci or pci-e lan card. You'll have to find out what your pc has in the form of open slots. This thread seems to be a good primer for the subject
From there you can buy a card to put in from best buy, tigerdirect, or other places. Try not to go too cheap, as they can cause problems with cruddy drivers or overheating or other issues. You don't need to go super expensive or fancy either.

 

[Toviah]

A few days ago, I switched ISPs and went from DSL to cable. Before the switch, my ISP offered 20mbps and now I have 60mbps. Ever since the switch, my computer will randomly drop the internet speed down to a screeching halt. At first I thought I was being disconnected but the connection is solid, the speed isn't. I'm also on a wifi connection but even with a wired ethernet connection I'm averaging 15-19mbps when I should be getting atleast 55mbps. I've had a technician from the ISP come out and look at things and everything checks out alright and other computers in my home are pulling 55-60mbps solid. I've updated drivers with no luck. I've also uninstalled my antivirus, firewall, and Netgear Genie and it makes no difference. I've also scanned for malware with Malwarebytes and Avast! antivirus and both have came up clean.

Right now, I'm thinking that my network card might be the problem. My laptop is almost seven years old and is kept in great condition but I know that parts will eventually fail over time, no matter how much TLC you give it. My question is about replacing the network card itself. I'm not entirely comfortable with taking the laptop apart completely (when you take off the back panel, only the RAM, processor, and heatsink are exposed) and I'm heavily considering going the USB route. Since I'm still getting the same speed even using a wired ethernet cord connected to the modem completely which makes me wonder if a USB substitute would still work. It seems logical to me that there would be an ethernet port on the adapter itself but I'm not finding any with that feature.

So guys, what should I do? Go with a USB network adapter or roll the dice and risk not being able to put my laptop back together?

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

By port I just mean the slot you plug the cable into. Sometimes when cables are plugged in a slightly loose contact can mar a contact on the port itself, and screw it over. Most routers have 4 or 5 ports, most wifi cards on pcs have either 1 or 2. Try switching those around, maybe you'll get lucky.
If the cable was in the same port on the router for your pc as it was the technician then that wont be the issue. As for the port/card on the pc, it'll depend. Easiest/Cheapest way is going to be to buy either a pci or pci-e lan card. You'll have to find out what your pc has in the form of open slots. This thread seems to be a good primer for the subject
From there you can buy a card to put in from best buy, tigerdirect, or other places. Try not to go too cheap, as they can cause problems with cruddy drivers or overheating or other issues. You don't need to go super expensive or fancy either.

My PC doesn't have any expansion slots...it's a cheap budget low end dual core that my mom bought for $210 New in March.

 

[Angelfms]

You... may have a problem then. Without any expansion slots you can't add new card without replacing the motherboard, which doing that you may as well just buy a new pc.
Take a peak inside the ethernet cable port on the back of the tower. See if any of the little gold contact bits are bent out of place or anything. If so, that'll be your problem. Other than taking a tiny flat head screw driver and trying to bend em back into place (not seriously recommended), it's kinda screwed. Basically at this point if it's a physical problem, you're doomed. So check that, then we'll stick to software fixes/tests.
Try buring a linux live cd. Ubuntu or if you want lightweight and fast PuppyLinux. You can find guides on that anywhere. Boot into the live cd and plug in the cable. See if you get internet. If so, then its a software problem. If not, it's hardware.
If it's software, try uninstalling the ethernet adapters/drivers completely. Then do the "Add New Hardware" thing or Windows update or w/e works and have it detect the device and redownload and install the drivers. See if that works. You also may try a rollback before that. Right click the adapter in the network connections thingy, properties, drivers, and find Rollback Driver. It might be grayed out, but if not, give it a shot, it'll use an older version of the driver, it could be the last driver update got corrupted or was buggy or something and that caused the failure.

 

[Angelfms]

A few days ago, I switched ISPs and went from DSL to cable. Before the switch, my ISP offered 20mbps and now I have 60mbps. Ever since the switch, my computer will randomly drop the internet speed down to a screeching halt. At first I thought I was being disconnected but the connection is solid, the speed isn't. I'm also on a wifi connection but even with a wired ethernet connection I'm averaging 15-19mbps when I should be getting atleast 55mbps. I've had a technician from the ISP come out and look at things and everything checks out alright and other computers in my home are pulling 55-60mbps solid. I've updated drivers with no luck. I've also uninstalled my antivirus, firewall, and Netgear Genie and it makes no difference. I've also scanned for malware with Malwarebytes and Avast! antivirus and both have came up clean.

Right now, I'm thinking that my network card might be the problem. My laptop is almost seven years old and is kept in great condition but I know that parts will eventually fail over time, no matter how much TLC you give it. My question is about replacing the network card itself. I'm not entirely comfortable with taking the laptop apart completely (when you take off the back panel, only the RAM, processor, and heatsink are exposed) and I'm heavily considering going the USB route. Since I'm still getting the same speed even using a wired ethernet cord connected to the modem completely which makes me wonder if a USB substitute would still work. It seems logical to me that there would be an ethernet port on the adapter itself but I'm not finding any with that feature.

So guys, what should I do? Go with a USB network adapter or roll the dice and risk not being able to put my laptop back together?

Honestly, I don't reccomend opening the laptop any more than the basic hatch like you saw. Unless you've been doing this for a while and have ALL the proper tools, it can be risky.
Try to see if the network card is overheating. Install Speedfan, and see what it reads, or on the low tech side, figure out specifically where the card is and put your hand on it right when the interwebs drops out, see if its REALLY hot/warm.
If overheatings the problem, get a can of air and blast it in every hole you can find. Open up the hatch and try from there too.
As I reccomended to the other guy, try a linux live cd to check if it's hardware or software. You might have a slightly more difficult time as sometimes wifi drivers don't work off the bat with live cds, usually only if the laptop has a cheap never heard of wifi card though. After that, try rolling back the drivers, or uninstalling and reinstalling them.
If it is a total hardware failure, USB Dongles work ok for wifi, from my experience they sometimes have overheating problems, especially when old and used for heavy traffic, like an MMO. I've not seen a wired usb Dongle, though that would be nice. Probably just not useful enough as most comps/every one ive seen have an ethernet port, where as wifi isn't as common, or atleast wasnt. Who knows.

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

You... may have a problem then. Without any expansion slots you can't add new card without replacing the motherboard, which doing that you may as well just buy a new pc.
Take a peak inside the ethernet cable port on the back of the tower. See if any of the little gold contact bits are bent out of place or anything. If so, that'll be your problem. Other than taking a tiny flat head screw driver and trying to bend em back into place (not seriously recommended), it's kinda screwed. Basically at this point if it's a physical problem, you're doomed. So check that, then we'll stick to software fixes/tests.
Try buring a linux live cd. Ubuntu or if you want lightweight and fast PuppyLinux. You can find guides on that anywhere. Boot into the live cd and plug in the cable. See if you get internet. If so, then its a software problem. If not, it's hardware.
If it's software, try uninstalling the ethernet adapters/drivers completely. Then do the "Add New Hardware" thing or Windows update or w/e works and have it detect the device and redownload and install the drivers. See if that works. You also may try a rollback before that. Right click the adapter in the network connections thingy, properties, drivers, and find Rollback Driver. It might be grayed out, but if not, give it a shot, it'll use an older version of the driver, it could be the last driver update got corrupted or was buggy or something and that caused the failure.

All I know is that when I plug the ethernet cable into our modem + router combo device, my ethernet connection still keeps switching between "Connected" and "Unplugged Cable".

It can't be the ethernet cable though, since my PS3 accepts it just fine, and I did disable the wi-fi connection first.

 

[SobriquetP]

All I know is that when I plug the ethernet cable into our modem + router combo device, my ethernet connection still keeps switching between "Connected" and "Unplugged Cable".

It can't be the ethernet cable though, since my PS3 accepts it just fine, and I did disable the wi-fi connection first.

Is this on your computer where it is saying this? If so, then that right there yells Hardware. If it truly works perfectly fine with your PS3 then it sounds like the Ethernet Port on your computer is probably loose or going bad.

 

[Angelfms]

All I know is that when I plug the ethernet cable into our modem + router combo device, my ethernet connection still keeps switching between "Connected" and "Unplugged Cable".

It can't be the ethernet cable though, since my PS3 accepts it just fine, and I did disable the wi-fi connection first.

Is this on your computer where it is saying this? If so, then that right there yells Hardware. If it truly works perfectly fine with your PS3 then it sounds like the Ethernet Port on your computer is probably loose or going bad.

Exactly what I was going to say. Check the port on the PC for any marred or bent contacts, if you can get em back in position, you're probably good, otherwise open 'er up and see if the port is just kind of out of position, sometimes a knock on the tower can shift things around and if there's a bit of the tower frame in the way it could prevent the cord from getting in right.
Most likely however, you'll need to replace the port/ethernet card, and since this is an onboard card on a pc with no expansion slots, you... are kinda doomed in this respect.
Sorry, buddy,

 

[Kit Chan]

How does the DS connect to the Wii (specifically Battle Revolution)? Does the Wii need internet access for this or can they link directly using wifi - and if so how would i activate it?

Not sure if this has been answered, no you don;t need internet. Just enter a screen on PBR where it wants you to connect to a DS game and go to the Continue, New Game etc menu in the DS game and while PBR is searching for a DS "Connect to Battle Revolution" should appear in that menu.

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

Exactly what I was going to say. Check the port on the PC for any marred or bent contacts, if you can get em back in position, you're probably good, otherwise open 'er up and see if the port is just kind of out of position, sometimes a knock on the tower can shift things around and if there's a bit of the tower frame in the way it could prevent the cord from getting in right.
Most likely however, you'll need to replace the port/ethernet card, and since this is an onboard card on a pc with no expansion slots, you... are kinda doomed in this respect.
Sorry, buddy,

Darn...I really wish mom had spent the extra $100 to buy a better PC then.

Someone on another forum suggested that I should get a plugin or USB wired ethernet network adapter though.

Do you think that would help?

 

[Angelfms]

I'd say a usb wifi adapter is gonna be your best bet, if not the only one. There's a chance that they have USB wired adapters, but I've never come across one. Hold on, gonna not be lazy. ....
Yep, they make em, and they're relatively cheap, saw quite a few between 25 and 35. That'd be a better option than the wireless as they tend to be bad quick, wired is older so it's easier to make run well.

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

I'd say a usb wifi adapter is gonna be your best bet, if not the only one. There's a chance that they have USB wired adapters, but I've never come across one. Hold on, I'm gonna not be lazy.

Yep, they make them, and they're relatively cheap, saw quite a few between 25 and 35. That'd be a better option than the wireless as they tend to be bad quick, wired is older so it's easier to make run well.

I made a typo earlier, I meant to say USB wired adapter, not wireless. Our wi-fi works fine, it's the ethernet that's not working.

Anyways, thanks for confirming what others have said...I found a CableMatters USB Ethernet Network Adapter for $9.99, is that a good brand?

Cable Matters USB 2.0 to 10/100 Fast Ethernet Network Adapter

 

[Angelfms]

Never heard of em. Might wanna go about 20 instead of 10, but it might be fine. Check the reviews, see if you can find it on other sites and check reviews there too

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

Never heard of em. Might wanna go about 20 instead of 10, but it might be fine. Check the reviews, see if you can find it on other sites and check reviews there too

My network card doesn't support gigabit ethernet, I'm stuck with the inferior fast ethernet.

 

[Doctor Floptopus]

My IPhone 4 is being unresponsive (I locked it and now it won't turn on). I've tried plugging it in and attempted recovery mode, but neither helped. I can't take the battery out because Apple is dumb. Does anyone know how I can get it working?

 

[Battle Trainer 111]

I went ahead and bought an USB 2.0 Wired Ethernet Network adapter, so far it's working perfectly. Heck, my connection actually improved from 6 mBps to 8 mBps after I switched from wi-fi to ethernet.

I would still like to fix the PC's built-in Ethernet Network Adapter though, so I don't have to rely on the USB Adapter.