Hardware

iPad appears in Windows 10, but not showing in iTunes

· Reading time: ~1 minute(s) (183 words) techsupport hardware

I have an aging iPad2 which is getting on a bit but still works fine, but often won’t appear in iTunes, but is showing in Windows 10 as a device in ‘This PC’.

I find it usually happens after an iTunes update when the iPad was plugged in already, and it seems Windows throws in a generic driver when the Apple drivers are removed as part of the upgrade process. To solve the problem, I do the following:

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Windows 10 IoT on a Raspberry Pi 2

· Reading time: ~4 minute(s) (698 words) raspberrypi hardware iot

I thought it a good idea to spend some time looking at Windows 10 IoT edition on my Raspberry Pi 2. I’ve been looking at this since it was first announced a while back, but never actually got around to having a proper look into it and getting it installed on one of our Pis.

What kit do I have then?

  • Raspberry Pi 2
  • Edimax EW-7811Un Nano USB Wireless Dongle (which turned out to be unsupported, but there is a workaround - details to come later)
  • Official Power Supply (the white Raspberry Pi 2.1A model)

First of all I need to get the operating system downloaded. I found the Windows IoT Dashboard software available for free from Microsoft (I downloaded it from https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/iot/Downloads.htm) and installed it onto my laptop ready to go. This software allowed me to specify that it is intended for running on a Raspberry Pi (it lists the Pi 2 and 3 - I assume the Pi 1 isn’t powerful enough?) so I followed the steps and created my MicroSD card ready to go.

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Intel Graphics Driver Crashes on XPS15

· Reading time: ~1 minute(s) (190 words) techsupport xps hardware

On my XPS15, I’ve noticed recently that the Intel graphics driver crashes a quite a bit (mainly when using Google Chrome). Although it recovers successfully, it’s still pretty annoying. A couple of days ago, I finally reached the end of my tether and started seriously looking for a solution (as compared to a quick Google search and then get distracted).

I came across a thread on Dell’s community forum: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3519/t/19658452 which discussed this problem. Bas66 commented on here and provided instructions to obtain Beta version Intel drivers which should resolve the problem, and also how to install them (via a tutorial intended for MS Surface - http://www.windowscentral.com/how-install-intel-beta-graphics-drivers-surface, but it still applies albeit for a different graphic adapter model).

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Reinstalling a Samsung NC10+ Netbook = Painful

· Reading time: ~2 minute(s) (249 words) techsupport hardware family

I’ve had to do a restore on a Samsung NC10+ which is an Atom N450 based netbook from a few years back. But for some reason, the recovery stuff just won’t work and I’ve had to do a clean install of Windows. And the Samsung support website… well, it’s not much support at all. In fact, I don’t think they even remember releasing the NC10+. Only the original NC10.

Luckily, Windows 7 installs drivers for most things, but missing the two important ones… Video and Wireless. So after a long hunt, I’ve found the needed drivers to be:

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LG G3 - No fun here

· Reading time: ~6 minute(s) (1241 words) mobilephones hardware

Edit 04/04/2016

I should have updated this post sooner. Usually I’d just include an addendum at the bottom, but I’ve re-worded a few bits in the content as my original review was maybe a tad harsh, and I’ll explain why below. It’s just a shame it took so long for the Marshmallow update to be available, as I’d already had enough with the handset and wanted back to an Apple where things are just simple!

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A Decent 10" Android Tablet... Does one exist?

· Reading time: ~3 minute(s) (603 words) hardware android family

My son bought an Android tablet around 18 months ago with a combination of Christmas and Birthday money. It became an extension of his body with him taking it everywhere to play games and watch YouTube videos about Minecraft and Garry’s Mod.

He recently leapt into bed one night (forgetting the tablet was on his bed) and broke the screen with his knee. It was a complete accident, but he was absolutely devastated by what had happened. I explained that if we couldn’t get a screen, I’d pay for half of any replacement as he had looked after it so well up until the accident.

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Boot Booster (EFI) Partition on an Asus EeePC 1005P

· Reading time: ~2 minute(s) (322 words) techsupport hardware

We have an Asus EeePC 1005P netbook which comes with the Intel Atom N450 CPU. The BIOS provides a “Boot Booster” option which caches POST information in a special partition on the hard drive to speed up the boot process. Unfortunately, as part of removing all the partitions from the hard drive, this “special” partition has been lost and I needed to recreate it.

You will need:

  • Windows installation media
  • Linux live media (I’m using a Lubuntu CD)
  • Plenty of time (it is an Atom CPU afterall!)

I’ve cleared the disk of all partitions using GParted (using the Lubuntu CD), and I’ve installed Windows 7. As part of installing Windows, I’ve selected a “Custom Installation” and specified a 60Gb (61440Mb) partition for it to be installed to. The Windows installation process adds an additional partition of 100Mb (containing boot information for Windows).

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XPS 15 Update

· Reading time: ~2 minute(s) (268 words) hardware

I’ve had the XPS 15 for a few weeks now (well, actually it’s only a fortnight off 2 months!), and I’m still very impressed with it as a full package. The build quality is excellent, it doesn’t flex at all if you hold it by a corner when it’s open. The keyboard took a little getting used to, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly and my typing speed is increasing every time I use it. The adaptive resolution that Windows 8 introduced (so you get a decent sized text on additional screens even if different sizes/resolutions) is good, but a little frustrating. I use 1080p on a 15.6" Dell laptop at work and I think the high resolution of the XPS meant I was losing screen real estate which is a big no-no in my eyes. I’ve since disabled it and set it to 125% scaling across the board which increases the sizes sufficiently to see (although the font on the Wordpress post edit box is a bit on the small size), but gives me the real estate boost I was hoping for. All in all, I couldn’t be happier. As nice as they are, a MacBook Pro wouldn’t have satisfied my needs (I wanted native Windows for Visual Studio). And the hardware is exactly what I was after (a 4th generation i7, 8Gb+ RAM, 256Gb+ SSD, 1080p+ resolution, around 2kg in weight) at a very similar price to an equivalent* MBP.

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Dell XPS 15

· Reading time: ~2 minute(s) (351 words) hardware

It’s finally arrived!

I was getting to the point of wondering if it would ever get here or if it would stay in the limbo land between the factory and the courier in the UK.

I’ve had it a couple of days now and did the usual charging process (1st charge to full while setting it up etc.). I’ve since used it for around 5hrs on battery and at 12% decided to do the 2nd charge. I’ve been installing bits and pieces and just doing general setup steps so no doubt the battery will last better from now on.

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Dell's Informative Delivery Service

· Reading time: ~2 minute(s) (297 words) hardware

OK, so I’m not alone here. I finally decided on an XPS 15 and ordered it 10 days ago now. After a couple of days, the Dell website showed the order as shipped and I could track it through their agent Walsh Western (a.k.a. Syncreon). I’m now sat here on the evening before my expected ETA date and it still hasn’t reached the UK. The last update is the common “DEPARTED MANU.FACILITY” which appears to be in China. Apparently this is normal in most cases and it might still turn up tomorrow, but how much should I believe it?

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