Can sitting a computer on my hard drive damage it?

Robert

Hi I recently did something rather stupid I sat my large computer on my portable hard drive , my question can this corrupt the files on it or damage them in any way?

It was only sitting on half the hard drive for like 2 min, it's a powerless portable hard drive very small size of a persons hand, is powered by USB.

I have video files on the drive and I don't want them to be corrupted from having had the computer sit on the drive, so can this effect my files and if so how.

5 stars for best answer and if you can recommend a good hard drive scanning tool apart from scan disk that can scan for corrupted damaged files and bad sectors from external damage.

Thanks guys and Gals.

Answer
Hi there

2 things could happen in this situation: if the HDD was on and plugged in, it is technically possible for the pressure on the case to affect writing to the drive, though still unlikely. Second is if it was not connected and off, there should be no problems assuming there is no physical damage.

I'm going to assume it was on. I'd load the drive and attempt to access the video files, right away they should tell you if they are corrupted/unreadable.

Agent James Robbins
In-home Cadet
On assignment in the Portland Metro Area

Answered November 1st, 2013

Best Laptop/tablet for graphic design students (2013)?

Lexi

Hi I am about to go into college and a need a laptop or tablet that is best suited for the graphic design major as well as gaming ( mostly sims3 ) i have been looking around and i do have a small budget. nothing over 500 the max is 600 but nothing more. It needs to be fast, light weight. lots of space, Sims 3 compatible, adobe suite compatible, great or decent graphics, it MUST have a USB hub. long battery life, 3+ hours, and it should not heat up to quickly or stay relatively cool to the touch. i currently have a dell INSPIRON15 (on of the originals before it got cool) and it pretty decent but heavy and it heats up. i am a serious multitask-er. and i think it time to trade up. and suggestions?

Answer
Asus has one option which you can consider and it comes under your budget of $600 with the price of $550. The reason of recommending this laptop is its almost same features which you are requiring from a laptop. And also it performs really as one of an actual user describes its Performance as commendable. Here is a complete review which you can see and it will help you:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R5ZANLYD4ZQ41/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B009RUS452&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=hawmekm-20

Also it has really good features which help you in performing every task which you have mentioned. It includes Intel Core i5 3317U 1.7 GHz and 6 GB DDR3 which is perfect for fast processing. It has storage with 750 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive and 24 GB Solid-State Drive. It has good portable 15.6-Inch Screen with Intel GMA HD and Windows 8.

All of these features, good performance and good built comes in a package of $550. So I would recommend it to you among other good options. But if you want to see other laptops for comparison with it then here is a list of laptops which are best selling and also comes under your budget of $600:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_36_6?bbn=565108&qid=1374316835&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108&rnid=2421885011&low-price=&high-price=600&x=-180&y=-3564&tag=hawmekm-20

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Is it worth upgrading my computers internal hard drive?

Liliana Av

I've had this computer since I was 13 and I'm turning 17 by the end of this year.

When I bought it, it was considered top of it's line, 500GB storage, 500MB graphics card and 4GB ram. However, as the years have passed, between games, music, programs and videos, it only has roughly less than 100GBs left (And this is WITH a portable 500GB HDD I use to keep videos on).

Originally, I was planning to get a new, faster and larger computer by the end of High School for University, which would've been next year. However, due to medical and personal reasons, I've decided to hold off University until 2013 - 2014 and I'm unsure if it's worth getting another say, 500GBs or so between now and then.

Any suggestions?
Money isn't an issue, and I know the place where I am most likely to buy the HDD from also installs them for an extra $10.

Also, what would this do for the speed of my computer? I mean, would it effect it at all?

I had my graphics card upgraded last year to a 1GB because the old one burnt out or something, the computer handles it just fine though.

Answer
Adding another internal drive should work fine if you are running short of drive space. My PC (about 3 years old) came with a 250 GB primary drive and I installed a second 1 TB drive as additional space. Most motherboards support a minimum of two drives and many support 4 or more. Given the PC is about 4 years old, it probably uses SATA drives and probably has 4 SATA connectors. As one of the other responses indicated, a 1 TB drive is less than $100 so adding it as a secondary internal drive would make a lot of sense if you are running low on space.

Installing the drive is fairly simple. New retail drives usually include a step by step guide to installation and setup for systems running Microsoft Windows operating system. If the drive doesn't include this, there are plenty of online resources to walk you through the process. While $10 is pretty cheap, it doesn't make sense to pay for such a simple task.

As for the speed of the computer, it won't have a big impact. Defragmenting the drive could help performance (although I've seen debates both for and against this), but for most systems the video card selection is the primary bottleneck for performance.

I have lost my wd smartware installation files from drive?

Nitin

My product is WD My Passport 1tb usb 3.0 Portable Ext. Hard Drive (Black).

Product Model No. WDBBEP0010BBK. Sept-2013 version 1.6.4

I have lost the installation files and have searched their website for a possible online installation files but I Cannot found the same for version 1.6.4 Kindly suggest me?
I have 2 another Laptop and PC, I just want to install backup and utility,security software to another PC

Answer
If you're on Windows 7, 8 or Mac OS X, just use the built-in Windows Backup (Or Time Machine on a Mac). They work much better than WD SmartWare.
If you're on an older version of Windows, or just really want SmartWare, you can download it here:
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?level1=2&lang=en
Just choose whatever Passport model you have, and it'll give you download links for drivers and the WD SmartWare software.

After installing, the program should keep itself up to date.

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Best Laptop/tablet for graphic design students (2013)?

Lexi

Hi I am about to go into college and a need a laptop or tablet that is best suited for the graphic design major as well as gaming ( mostly sims3 ) i have been looking around and i do have a small budget. nothing over 500 the max is 600 but nothing more. It needs to be fast, light weight. lots of space, Sims 3 compatible, adobe suite compatible, great or decent graphics, it MUST have a USB hub. long battery life, 3+ hours, and it should not heat up to quickly or stay relatively cool to the touch. i currently have a dell INSPIRON15 (on of the originals before it got cool) and it pretty decent but heavy and it heats up. i am a serious multitask-er. and i think it time to trade up. and suggestions?

Answer
Asus has one option which you can consider and it comes under your budget of $600 with the price of $550. The reason of recommending this laptop is its almost same features which you are requiring from a laptop. And also it performs really as one of an actual user describes its Performance as commendable. Here is a complete review which you can see and it will help you:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R5ZANLYD4ZQ41/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B009RUS452&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=hawmekm-20

Also it has really good features which help you in performing every task which you have mentioned. It includes Intel Core i5 3317U 1.7 GHz and 6 GB DDR3 which is perfect for fast processing. It has storage with 750 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive and 24 GB Solid-State Drive. It has good portable 15.6-Inch Screen with Intel GMA HD and Windows 8.

All of these features, good performance and good built comes in a package of $550. So I would recommend it to you among other good options. But if you want to see other laptops for comparison with it then here is a list of laptops which are best selling and also comes under your budget of $600:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_36_6?bbn=565108&qid=1374316835&rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Cn%3A565108&rnid=2421885011&low-price=&high-price=600&x=-180&y=-3564&tag=hawmekm-20

backsound x factor 2013 ales and sierra - trouble?

nicta

anybody knows the song started at 0:28 - 1:42? the accoustic one. been searching but still cannot find who sing it and what is the tittle. please help identify it :(

this is the youtube link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drjn__xVyeI

Answer
Guitar

Out of all the string instruments, guitar is certainly the most popular and has lasted for centuries. music lessons for acoustic guitar will inspire you entertain friends and strangers at parties. It's the perfect portable instrument that doesn't require electricity, which allows you to take it anywhere. It's also a wonderful instrument to sing along with. Once you learn a handful of basic chords, you can learn to play and sing hundreds of songs. It's also a convenient tool for songwriting.

Not many other instruments are as versatile as an acoustic guitar, which can be used as either a lead instrument for melodies or a background instrument for rhythmic chord progressions. Electric guitar is also an instrument that adds imaginative techniques to your playing, but requires extra gear, such as an amplifier, cables and effects units. Once you take music lessons for acoustic guitar, you can quickly accelerate at electric guitar.

Piano

The widest range of frequencies among acoustic instruments can be found on a standard piano, which is a simple instrument to understand because the notes are laid out on a linear keyboard. It does take many music lessons to be proficient at piano, which is also true of most instruments. You don't have to learn classical pieces to be considered brilliant on piano. Like guitar, it's a great instrument for accompaniment to singing and a tool for writing songs.


Music lessons for piano will prove valuable for learning the synthesizer as well. It's the same progression of notes, but a synthesizer gives you many more variables to play with, such as adding electronic beats, altering sounds and adding effects.

Bass

A bass can be acoustic or electric and is important for adding deep tones to music. Learning the bass is essentially learning how to be creative with root notes to chord progressions, which gives music a fuller, more powerful sound. It's the bassist's job to act as the glue that holds rhythm and melody together. The bass works with the drums to form the rhythm section of music while accenting notes that help define a song's melodic structure. Music lessons for bass put you at the core of understanding a full arrangement.

Drums

The beat of music is driven by the drummer, who needs to be the clock of a band. Even though drums are typically not a solo instrument, there are many times in every musical genre when a drummer gets to shine. Music lessons for drums will help your sense of timing, as it can strengthen the foundation of music, especially for dancing. In many ways drums are the key instrument in defining a genre.

Harmonica

The harmonica is an excellent instrument for traveling because it fits in your pocket. Even though you can't sing and play harmonica at the same time it's a fine instrument for mixing with guitar and adding solos. Music lessons for a harmonica are really not that hard to learn while the instrument adds fullness and variety to music, especially for traditional songs.

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I'm a high schooler and I don't know if I want to get a laptop or computer...?

best portable hard drives 2013 image

Esther L

I already know that laptops are used if you're more mobile but can some one tell me which is best for me? I occasionally go on vacations with my family around 3-4 times a year for about two-three days each trip, so I don't think I would need to bring a laptop with me but I don't know if I should use a computer or a laptop for doing school work and gaming because both are okay with me and I just don't know what to pick. And what are the best brands/certain types of laptops and computers in 2013? If you can, please mention a certain type of product(s). Thank you very much!

Answer
Desktop are better for gaming and will last longer then any laptop out there. Laptops are portable and will last 3 to 5 years depending on how you treat it. Any puter you buy will begin to age out after 3 years because of the march of technology. I know a lot of people who buy new every three years just to stay up with the new advances in CPU and GPU.

I prefer ASUS and HP. ASUS has the best warranty of the market on most of their products. Most of their laptops come with a accidental drop warranty.

If you want ask another question and all of use can provide links to our favorites system to recommend.

Brand buying advise.

You get what you pay for. Systems with high end parts with low prices are to be viewed with suspicion. They have to cut corners somewhere to get the price down.

Apple makes a good quality laptop. The problem comes when it requires service or minor upgrades. It is near impossible to do anything with them. They even glue the battery and hard drive down so you can not change it. They solder the ram to the logic board so you can not increase it. They lock up most of the software so your stuck with what they approve.

Lenovo has serious stand behind their product problems. They bought IBM PC division and proceeded to drive the quality of the system into the ground. Their customer service is well below par. They even makes Dell customer service look good. The last and final thing to remember about them is they are a Chinese Government own company. It is up to you if you want to trust them.

Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony should be avoided because of their heavy modification of Windows and the drivers. If you remove some of the bloat they install, you can cripple the system.

Acer, Gateway, and eMachines should be avoided period. Low end system that are driving the race to the bottom.

Dell once made a good system and fell from grace. They are now struggling to regain their place in the market. Customer service is one of many problems with this company.

Alienware are glorified Dells and are more name then product. Priced extremely high for what you get. They do perform but you can get the same for less by looking around, just not packaged to be eye candy to the gamers.

Samsung has a history of using cheap parts in critical areas. Capacitors has been one area Samsung has a known history of going cheap, causing units to fail early. For that reason I would avoid them.

ASUS and HP do not modify Windows as bad as the other manufacturers. They have excellent build quality. They might add a lot of bloat but they also makes it easy to get rid of it.

Ultrabooks are the higher end of Wintel laptops but they have some of the same concerns as Apple. They make it next to impossible to change any hardware in them. Service of them will have to be done by the manufacturers. With most of them, you can not change your own battery or hard drive. They are designed to catch your eye but they are not any more special then other laptops except for the fact that they are slim or thin. Your paying for it being thin and slim. For the money your going to spend on it you can buy a much better laptop with more power.

Hybrids are the worse of the worse. The flip or detachable touch screens are just a disaster waiting to happen.

Never buy an All In One. They are far worst then laptops of any kind to service and they have a higher failure rate.

Choose wisely.

Should I upgrade to the xbox 360 slim? or should a buy a 3ds instead?

Samuel B

I already have the xbox 360 arcade system and I never brought a hard drive for it and the slim model does look good. I also like portable gaming and I'm in college and can play the 3ds in between my classes. I was also thinking about the ps3 but for $250 that is to much! And I could just buy a blu-ray player if I really want which at the moment I don't so any advice is good advice so thanks :)

Answer
The X Box 720 is coming out in 2013.

So You shouldn't get another X Box until 2013.

So You should get the 3DS

Because you can play music (even with the system close)

You can LOWER the VOLUME of 3D

You can also turn the 3D OFF Completely

And 3D is good for working out your eye muscles & brain to keep them in shape as shown in this link:

http://www.aoa.org/x17309.xml

The Nintendo 3DS has downloadable 3D Music videos from today's American music artist which I have already downloaded the 3 free 3D Music Videos to watch anywhere and the 3DS has 3D "Blue Man Group" video and College Humor (in 3D) with the FREE "Nintendo Video" App that you can download (but its 4 3D Videos at a time and they replace them once in a while) and you can download cheap downloadable 3D Apps & 3D games costing from 99 cents to $5.99 and the Nintendo 3DS also has FREE downloadable 3D Apps & 3D Games, which I have already downloaded 3 Free 3D Apps and I have downloaded 2 Free 3D Games and the 3DS has a 3D Camera and I have already used the 3DS 3D Camera to take 3D photos and I have uploaded some of my 3D footage online using the Nintendo 3DS's Web Browser to upload my 3D footage online and I have used my 3DS Web Browser to also download other peoples 3D footage from the Internet on my 3DS Web Browser and I have view all sorts of 3D content on 3D Websites online on my 3DS's Web Browser and I have use my 3DS 3D Camera to play 3D Augmented Reality games as well and it's all in 3D without the Glasses using the 3DS 3D Camera and It has beautiful 3D HD graphics that equal to that of a 3D HD version of Wii Graphics and I have Streamed 3D Videos Online on my 3DS in the eShop and I have also Watch 3D Trailers for upcoming 3D movies coming to Theaters in 3D and I have done all of this in 3D Without the Glasses

The 3DS with a Wi-Fi Update can RECORD 3D Videos in 60 fps (unlike other camcorders, that only Record in 2D Only and in up to 30 fps only)

So you can pay $169 for a Nintendo 3DS and buy the greatest Games ever & all in 3D Without the Glasses like Cave Story 3D & Kid Icarus & Super Mario 3D Land & Mario Kart 7 using the MOTION SENSORS to play the game like if you were turning a real steering wheel to turn the Kart left & right and also play such other 8 GB 3D Games like TheatRhytem Final Fantasy & Kingdom Hearts 3D & Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D & Crush 3D and Shinobi & Animal Crossing & Rodea the Sky Soldier & Michael Jackson: the Experience 3D & Ridge Racer 3D & Super Street Fighter 4 3D & Monster Hunter 4 & Golden Sun 4 & Star Fox 3D & Zelda 3D & Sonic Generations 3D & Tetris 3D & Resident Evil: Revelations & Tales of the Abyss 3D & Tekken 3D which also has the 3D Movie Tekken the Movie 3D in it to watch and also play other 8 GB 3D HD games as Spider Man 3D and 100% of the 3DS games are in HD 3D Without the Glasses

And the 3DS pixel density is MUCH sharper than an average HD TV

They're making Angry Birds 3D as a downloadable game

And the 3DS has DLC (Downloadable Content) like Xbox Live for a bunch of 3DS games to add content to the game later on for Free

1 of the Free 3D Apps I have downloaded was Netflix

And Netflix is getting 3D Movies in the next few months, so for $169 you can watch 3D movies on the free Netflix App on the 3DS in 3D Without the Glasses

And 100% of the people who have said that they get headaches from 3D, have said that after up to 1 week of using the 3DS they NO LONGER get headaches anymore and that they now play with the 3D all the way up 100% all the time, non-stop

But I have never had any problem with the 3D at all, but each person has a different experience with the 3D ON during the first week

You can now pay to download 3D Videos on the 3DS

The 3DS is getting Hulu Plus before the end of this year (2011) as a Free downloadable App and Hulu already has 3D Content

and you can check this Link below for more 3DS Games:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nintendo_3DS_games

P.S. You will want to check these sites out for the Web Browser's 3D ability:

http://www.3ds-screenshot.com/

http://gamecrunch.co/3dscreens/

http://3dporch.com/

http://3dspaint.com/

http://www.klutz.com/static/nintendo/n3ds_mm9.html

http://www.instructables.com/3ds/

And there are such great cheap downloadable games from the eShop as:

Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword

Dillon's Rolling Western

Pushmo

Pyramids

And here are the 2D Resolutions:

Wii = 640

3DS = 800

And here are the Motion Sensors:

Wii = 1 Axis

3DS = 3 Axis

And here are the Frame Rates (Frames Per Second):

X Box 360 Slim = 30 fps

3DS = 60 fps

And the 3DS Wireless is 2.4 GHz.

And here are the Audio's:

X Box 360 Slim = 5.1 Surround Sound

3DS = 7.1 Surround Sound

And the 3DS has way more better graphics than the Wii as shown in this Link Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aVETRohXnrg

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