[Argee]

Dear Computer GURU,

I bought a new HP a335w...it came with Windows XP, a Pentium4 processor, an 80 Gig hard drive, a CD burner and a 3.5" floppy drive. It was a great price, :clap: but I wanted a 8in1 media reader and a DVD Rom, so I purchased them from CompUSA and brought them home to install...:truth:No Problem, right? Bullsh!t...I can't even figure out how to plug the 8in1 reader in...they say there is a USB port internally in the box....if it's in there, I can't find it....the power lead in the computer doesn't fit the player....

I installed the DVD and the related software....I can load a DVD, but it won't play I know I'm technologically challenged, but I do know how to follow directions (or so I thought)....What the hell am I doing wrong???

Frustated in the State of Confusion

 

[guest]

randy are you loking for the usb port on the computer CPU? sometimes on the fronts of the boxes there is a little panel that flips up that has the usb ports... others have 2 on the back... none on the back?

DVD: did you try more than one DVD? does it see a disk when you look at the drive in my computer? Does it see the new drive you added? maybe its just not autostarting.. and if it sees a drive in my computer and a disk in that drive can you click on it to start the dvd?

 

[Live Oak]

If you added a dvd, you may have to download player software. I had to rename a drive to get mine to work too. I bought mine from Dell and got the free tech support. Was on the phone with some dude in Bombay India for over 3 hours getting it right. Got my money's worth on that one!

 

[jodyand]

Originally posted by Chief
Was on the phone with some dude in Bombay India for over 3 hours getting it right. Got my money's worth on that one!

That must have been fun it took 5 min to fix your problem and 2hr 55min saying what speak English dude.:furious:

 

[Ingersoll444]

My wife just picked up a dell desk top, and did not come with a floppy. [BTW whats with that???? No floppy?? how are you gonna save stuff??] When she installed it, she had to assine it a drive letter in setup.

 

[MowHoward2210]

That's probably going to be the new trend, Paul. It is assumed that everyone has access to a storage network, which is not always the case. Her backup or storage options are: a server
a USB jump drive
external floppy
zip drive
burn to disk

 

[Argee]

SJ....The instructions state there is a USB port inside the box where the two front USB ports originate...N-O-T...it does recognize the disc when I put it in, but that's all it does...shakes hands then shuts up..I didn't try more than one...may give that a try.

Chief...I tried that route by calling the support number...I too talked to some Bombay resident...after 10 minutes of repeating my name and address 15-20 times, I figured it would be the next morning when we got around to talking about the problem with the computer....I asked him if there was anyone around who could converse intelligently in English...to which he replied "I can English conversation with intelligence to you sir"...close but no cigar....so I just hung up!!

 

[tisenberg]

The internal USB connectors are sometimes different than the ones you see externally. Internal ones can look like the external ones, but sometimes they are smaller more square'ish.

As for the DVD not working. I would put a DVD movie. If the disc does not show up in explorer/MyComputer, it is probably not working. If it shows up and you can't "play" it, then it could be that you do not have the "player" installed or the decoder is not right.

I tried finding the model on HP's site but do not find that model number. I was going to pull up the model and verify if USB's were internal. If so, I was going to figure out what motherboard is in it and then find the specs on it and tell you where the internal port is... if it has one.

For the DVD, let's break it down to the basics and find out what does work and what does not then we can go from there.

For the 8-in-1, get us the specific model HP you have and then research what it claims to have then figure out what it has. Also, please verify that the 8-in-1 is USB connection only. It may have IDE/firewire/ATA, but I don't remember.

 

[Old_Nodaker]

I doubt if this is your problem, but my Dell, if I do a reset, will then not recogonize the cd or dvd. I have to do a shut down and restart.

 

[Argee]

I've decided I'm not going to mess with it or mess it up...taking it to a professional tomorrow and have the installation done properly.

 

[tisenberg]

Not a bad idea as long as they don't rape you.

 

[homergreg]

Argee,

I'll bet that the internal USB connection they are talking about is not what you are used to seeing. Trace back the cabling from the USB ports that are mounted to the outside of the case back to the motherboard, and you will see a connector attached to 2 rows of pins. There's probably some more pins right in that bank of pins. That's the usb connection to the motherboard. It doesn't look like the external connections you are used to seeing.

There's a load of reasons that the DVD might not be working, including drivers, cable select settings on the DVD drive and whatever other device is attached to that IDE channel. Sometimes I've even seen BIOS setup issues. I've seen some pretty poor instructions on CD/DVD drives relating to proper IDE setup. Sometimes it's easier to let the pro take care of that on a new PC, it's just sometimes those pro's charge way too much for a relatively simple job for them. Hopefully you will find someone that will do the work at a fair price.

Do you have any Yard challenged, but PC guru neighbors that might want some help with an outdoor project in enchange for their help on a computer project?

 

[Argee]

Well I took it to the expert yesterday...Here's how the initial conversation went....
(Argee)"Hi, how ya doing....I talked to you on the phone earlier about the DVD player"
(Nerd...eating a bowl of Wendys chili) "Slurp, dribble..dribble..Yeah, just set it there on the floor...BAD DOG!! what did I tell you about eating people food?"
(dog) BARK
(Argee) That's a cute puppy, what is it a Black Lab?
(Nerd) Yeah, it's a replacement dog for my other one that died last month, which was a replacement for the one that died last year"
(Argee) "I see.....uh I'll just leave this here...do you need the manuals and the mouse?"
(Nerd) "Nah...I'm a nerd...come back in 1/2 an hour..it'll be $40"
(Argee) "O K, see ya later"

I left it and came back in an hour...he had just started on it...he invited back to the workbench area of the shop...I reluctantly sat in the chair as the puppy started to chew on my shoelaces...For the next two hours, he and I conversed about various things and the entire conversation went on like above. Did he fix my computer?....you bet he did....Does he know his shit? Yes he does!!! Does he scare me?? YES...I have never had the opportunity to converse with a nerd before...Interesting conversation would be an understatement.

As it turned out, the new DVD drive that I had purchased was defective. It would recognize media discs but not DVD's...So now I am the proud owner of two drives...The media reader was simply hooked up by removing one of the expansion slots and plugging the reader in on the teminal on the back of the computer...GO FIGURE!!

 

[Live Oak]

Glad to see you got the bugs worked out Argee. :thumbsup:

 

[tisenberg]

ROFLMAO

 

[guest]

glad your all set now randy

 

[Argee]

This guy was wearing a white coat (like doctors wear) and a Homer Simpson tie on a plaid shirt. He has a crooked mustache and missed half his beard when he shaved in the morning. He was quite pleasant....just different......very different!!

 

[Live Oak]

He cut you a pretty decent price for $40!

 

[jodyand]

Originally posted by Argee
This guy was wearing a white coat (like doctors wear) and a Homer Simpson tie on a plaid shirt. He has a crooked mustache and missed half his beard when he shaved in the morning. He was quite pleasant....just different......very different!!

Sounds like you met tisenberg:furious: You get that lattice up yet tisenberg:furious: :furious:
Jody

 

[Argee]

Originally posted by Chief
He cut you a pretty decent price for $40!

Yeah...he worked on it for 3 hours...he gets $80 an hour and only charged me for 1/2 hour.