Root Access

bwDraco

00:14

On the HP-Maingear OMEN X desktop...

store.hp.com/us/en/…

Four hot-swap drive bays.

Maingear says it takes NVMe disks, which is interesting. Does this mean the system has a U.2 backplane?

maingear.com/custom/desktops/omenx

> OMEN X offers incredibly fast and reliable storage options with four hot swap hard drive bays supporting the latest NVME SSDs as well as massive 10TB HDDs.

Aug 17 at 17:03, by bwDraco

HP will be shipping OMEN X systems on August 16. Maingear-branded variants will be available 1Q 2017.

I'm wondering how they would wire a U.2 backplane to do both SATA and U.2 disks...

I would suspect they only do either SATA or PCIe in each slot and rewire it on the motherboard if this is to be changed.

Journeyman Geek

@kerbalspacecat speaking of bounties...

just answered a 200 rep bounty question

I think my answer is correctish, but I doubt I will get the bounty ;p

bwDraco

Your thoughts on how one would wire a U.2 backplane?

Journeyman Geek

No idea. I dropped out of ~~obedience~~ EE school ;p

bwDraco

Perhaps the backplane has one U.2 connector and three SATA connectors...

I don't get it.

Looks like it's entirely possible to wire a U.2 connector to both SATA and PCIe simultaneously.

So I guess the first connector on the backplane is connected to both SATA and M.2 on the motherboard, and the rest are connected to SATA only...

Journeyman Geek

00:33

ah,

and/or a thing that sticks over the connector

bwDraco

Obviously, a desktop with this kind of drive bay setup has to have some sort of purpose-built backplane but it took me a while to make sense out of it.

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco actually... that's the setup that workstations use, only with SAS

bwDraco

The case itself, which takes mATX boards, can be had for $600 if you want to build your own system with it.

cutrightjm

Omen X: When you pay a lot for a cool case and everything else you can buy for around 1000 bucks

(GPU not included)

Journeyman Geek

00:51

lol

it feels impractical.

its pretty but the footprint dosen't seem very efficient

cutrightjm

01:16

Yeah.. it is neat, but man that's a pretty big footprint when you can fit all of that stuff in a midtower

only thing that would really consume the most space in the case would be the GPU

Journeyman Geek

its at an angle

and you can only really use it in one orientation

bwDraco

Love the design, but mATX is a disqualification for me.

cutrightjm

@JourneymanGeek Just lay it on the side!

Journeyman Geek

why?

bwDraco

(even though I'm now more space-constrained than I used to be)

cutrightjm

01:25

(I was being sarcastic)

Journeyman Geek

actually my dream wierd desktop would have all the rear panel and front panel stuff on top

cutrightjm

only thing I use on my desktop that I just built on a regular basis are the usb3 ports, which are on top

bwDraco

I'd prefer a traditional design. I'm not hugely into flair or fancy lighting. I'm fine with just a simple LED light strip inside the case.

Journeyman Geek

I don't want any lights ;p

cutrightjm

I prefer cases with no lighting / windows / etc like the fractal design r5s

Journeyman Geek

01:27

and I like big cases and I cannot lie.

bwDraco

I like a bit of lighting but I'd rather not go overboard. I want a clean and simple design that's as practical as it is elegant.

Journeyman Geek

I currently have a cosair 600T. If I wanted another case, I'd go with a coolermaster HAF XB Evo

cutrightjm

I actually don't like big cases... I meant to order a mid tower and ended up getting a full tower, so I kept it though because shipping was expensive

Journeyman Geek

@cutrightjm I tend to tinker/clean a lot. I like the space

my system is pretty minimal otherwise. 1+2 drives, video card, and that's it.

cutrightjm

I tinker a lot, but not with my desktop. I put it under the desk and leave it there.. it has 3 drives and no video card

bwDraco

01:29

Problem is, ATX full towers are really, really heavy. They also hog a lot of space. We recently disposed of a mid-tower and it's already very, very big.

cutrightjm

but 3 onboard video outs, so I have 3 monitors on it

bwDraco

I may not have the space to support an ATX full tower.

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco I have ~~pretty big hands~~ paws so...

cutrightjm

@JourneymanGeek I actually got a new computer room so I have plenty of tinkering room now

Journeyman Geek

@cutrightjm 2x 27 inch UHDs ;p

bwDraco

01:31

@JourneymanGeek In what space? How many feet (horizontally) does your setup take up?

cutrightjm

I only have 2x24s and a 20" right now, the 24s I stole from my brother because he's out of town for a few months.. will buy my own when I get a job

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco 4 1/2 foot desk

bwDraco

Hmm. I guess I can accommodate this if I make good use of my space...

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco if its a permanent space and you arn't bias lighting, VESA wall mounts would be an idea

bwDraco

I intend to have a bias lighting setup.

Journeyman Geek

01:34

I built mine ;p

cutrightjm

bias lighting?

Journeyman Geek

@cutrightjm lights behind your monitor basically

cutrightjm

oh, that sounds nice

Journeyman Geek

I swear by it. Does wonders for eye strain

cutrightjm

I was gonna make one of these for my desk lol cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0145/5942/products/…

did you just use LED strips?

Journeyman Geek

01:37

2

Q: What are my options for bias lighting for a PC monitor?

I've heard many good things about bias lighting, and am looking at options for it. I'm handy with a soldering iron so some assembly required is cool but I suspect other people may prefer something with minimal assembly requirements. My criteria? Well, its bias lighting. Nice to have features? ...

monitors

pretty much, and wired it into my PSU

cutrightjm

your opinion is biased

Journeyman Geek

I've gone 2-3 iterations of mounting since

@cutrightjm so's my lighting!

cutrightjm

lol :p you just use a spare +12v?

Journeyman Geek

yup

and it turns off when your PC does

cutrightjm

I may have to do that, sounds like a good idea

bwDraco

01:38

I can probably just wire it to USB easily...

cutrightjm

don't think USB would have enough power would it?

Journeyman Geek

and its a lot cheaper/brighter than the prebuilt kits

@bwDraco the common LED strips are 12V

@cutrightjm enough power, wrong voltage.

cutrightjm

ah

Journeyman Geek

dx.com/p/…

cutrightjm

I'm not good with power. I have some bright white light strips, but I'd like to maybe get some mellow ones

Journeyman Geek

01:39

I used these, wood for the backing cost about .... 4 dollars

@cutrightjm white's better for biasing it seems

cutrightjm

a bright white is?

because if so I'm in luck

bwDraco

Wiring it to the PSU isn't exactly hard, but it's rather inelegant.

Journeyman Geek

cool rather than warm

bwDraco

I can use a voltage regulator to step up the voltage...

Journeyman Geek

I'd just buy something like this and chop em dx.com/p/…

@bwDraco actually...

cutrightjm

01:41

I actually have a few spare ones of those

How'd you run it out of the case?

Journeyman Geek

@cutrightjm my case has a watercooling port...

cutrightjm

and did you put a disconnector on the outside as well?

oh

Journeyman Geek

I used that.

cutrightjm

mine might, I don't know

Journeyman Geek

ah, that's the clever thing

the lights go off when the system does

cutrightjm

01:42

I meant if you for some reason have to move your desktop

Journeyman Geek

I use a fan connector for one, and a DIY one I wired into a molex to floppy

cutrightjm

That sounds like a good project, I may do that in a little bit. Also need to modify the BIOS of my virtual machines so the scammers won't see "VMWARE" when they open msinfo32....

Journeyman Geek

so Molex from PC to one connector that connects to the light and a second molex, which connects to the second connector

so I can disconnect the lights individually

cutrightjm

good idea

I was thinking about just running on the desk right behind the monitors but on the monitor probably has a better effect

Journeyman Geek

yup

bwDraco

01:44

Given that the IKEA LEDBERG strips run at 24V, I might use one of these: pololu.com/product/2569

Journeyman Geek

I made my own vesa plates ;p

cutrightjm

I have a spare +12v dimmer too for an old set of LEDs I used for a project

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco I thought they ran on 12

bwDraco

The newest ones use 24V.

Journeyman Geek

ah, mine are older

on hindsight, I probably could have just used fan connectors the whole way

bwDraco

01:45

Would be really easy to design the regulator into the circuit and wire it to a USB cable.

Journeyman Geek

@bwDraco if its 12v, premade units exist

I just wasn't sure if it would work, and well, technical debt

If you wanted to do it with proper overkill...

cutrightjm

actually I have a few spare backplates, I could wire a +12v barrel connector into one lol

bwDraco

I can just cut and strip any USB cable, strip the input wiring of the LEDBERG, and solder the ends to the regulator board.

Journeyman Geek

once again tho

I was skeptical and wanted the quickest/cheapest way to get it working ;p

and 12v LED strips are crazy cheap

bwDraco

Plug into USB and presto!

It's honestly a job that takes no more than ten or so minutes to complete.

Journeyman Geek

01:49

assuming you have a regulator lying around and knew how to use it. And that might need heat sinking and...

I'd probably redo this with better mounting hardware someday

bwDraco

Seriously doubt a heatsink is going to be needed.

The regulator will probably run warm, but shouldn't get very hot.

Journeyman Geek

What's that phrase they use

"Minimum usable product"

Ben N

Minimum viable product?

Journeyman Geek

and I'd definately go for 12V LEDs over 24V

yeah, that

cutrightjm

I didn't know what ledburgs are, all I have is those adhesive strips

Journeyman Geek

01:56

@cutrightjm they're ikea's basic LED strips

designed to be plugged into a wall, and used for accent lighting and such

cutrightjm

yeah.. my state doesn't have an ikea

Journeyman Geek

they were my MK0 bias lighting

I think there's premade USB ones

but not as bright, since they have fewer LEDs

cutrightjm

What should have been a case of pull out the dishwasher to fix a leak is quickly turning into a much larger project..

Journeyman Geek

that always happens

Bob

05:35

-1

A: Can I simply copy to restore AppData / Roaming folder in Windows 10?

no that is not easy to do that if you done then it also not going to work

wtf kind of answer is this

Journeyman Geek

06:15

@Bob there is no answer. ONLY ZUUUL

Rahul2001

06:38

hello!

The new UAC prompt is so ugly :/

kerbalspacecat

07:59

@Bob a short and direct one

@Rahul2001 are you suggesting UAC hasn't always been ugly?

Journeyman Geek

Bob

@kerbalspacecat and absolutely wrong...

Rahul2001

@Burgi Back when Steve Jobs was a teen, HP's primary products were calculators...

And the HP founder/CEO said "you can come work for us once you're 18", because they liked him

kerbalspacecat

08:21

@Bob Perhaps, but "wrong" isn't a flag reason for a reason :-P

Bob

@kerbalspacecat yea, but it does make the ...third? downvote I've ever issued :P

kerbalspacecat

@Bob Ah lol. I'm a lot more... liberal with my downvotes

Bob

@kerbalspacecat yea, I tend not to unless it's terribad - and not flaggable, as you say

also IMO the edit actually changed the intended meaning of the answer... superuser.com/posts/1122876/revisions

meh.

Journeyman Geek

that's wierd. Coulda sworn I had deleted it

kerbalspacecat

@Bob Have you ever successfully restored a ntuser.dat file just by copying it?

Bob

08:34

@kerbalspacecat Funny you should mention that... I did it a couple months ago -_-

Ok, not really copying technically.

kerbalspacecat

My memory's hazy but as far as I remember I tried that once and it didn't work due to the user GUIDs not matching or something

Bob

@kerbalspacecat Ahhhh it was back into the same user for me.

Just an older version of it.

kerbalspacecat

Yeah, that should work

(I suppose you could change the user GUID in the system registry or something, never tried that)

Urgh, so I'll be legally and practically homeless in 5 days, I should sort my shit out.

Bob

@kerbalspacecat Edited. Thanks.

@kerbalspacecat O_O

Rahul2001

09:09

LOL, the HTML validator itself isn't valid xD validator.w3.org/nu/?doc=http%3A%2F%2Fvalidator.w3.org

kerbalspacecat

09:26

@Bob o_o

@Rahul2001 Trust you to spot that

Rahul2001

lol

allquicatic

09:52

hi

DavidPostill

morning

allquicatic

slept through the night for the first time in a while

Bob

@allquicatic ah... our fault? :P

speaking of which, gaming within next 24 hours?

Journeyman Geek

lol

DavidPostill

10:31

spam for your flagging > superuser.com/a/1122924/337631

allquicatic

10:43

0

A: My mouse randomly disconnecting and reconnecting.Windows 10

Things to try: I. Disable automatic USB suspend In Device Manager, find your mouse under the heading "Human Interface Devices". Right-click, select Properties. Go to the Power Management tab. Make sure "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" is unchecked. If it's checked, l...

@Bob gaming in approximately ... 18 hours? 17? 19? I can't count. something like that.

gaming in less than 24 hours from now, let's put it that way

kerbalspacecat

11:36

@allquicatic me too! What a coincidence

Bob

11:54

@allquicatic yup. I'll try to make normal time - or at least be on steam on phone.

construction thingo is continuing despite... injuries...

kerbalspacecat

!! Caaaaaaaaaat

ChatBot John Cavil

allquicatic

@Bob ??

Bob

12:12

@allquicatic nah, just the thing we talked about... Tuesday? Monday?

allquicatic

@Bob I have no idea what you're talking about

Bob

@allquicatic :S steam then

kerbalspacecat

13:41

Bob

@kerbalspacecat :D

Tropico 4 free

kerbalspacecat

14:32

So

This quitting my job thing is really having an impact on my finances.

DavidPostill

@kerbalspacecat Of course any smart person would have realised that this is one of the consequences ...

Bob

@kerbalspacecat uhm... yea, I think the typical strategy is to have another job to move to first

Ben N

kerbalspacecat

@Bob Well firstly I'm atypical, and secondly, that generally involves wanting another job at all.

allquicatic

@BenN linking him to that site is like linking a user to Super User because they realized that buying a computer means they have to know what all this stuff is for and they have no idea and they don't even know you have to press the power button to turn it on

Bob

14:39

-_-

Ben N

thatsthejoke.jpg :p

kerbalspacecat

@allquicatic Oh that was a link?

@BenN I didn't get it

allquicatic

@kerbalspacecat unless you were born into riches, it's not really an option unless you're okay with starving / dying / living a miserable homeless life with no comfort

Ben N

Maybe it wasn't very well-executed on my part

That's what I get for trying to be funny before drinking coffee

allquicatic

it's not a question of whether to work; it's a question of which job you will hate the least while making enough money to live the life you want

kerbalspacecat

14:41

@allquicatic Well I made this choice to be free as a bird. Just that birds aren't exactly known for having regular, steady incomes.

I was born into broke, filthy, poverty in Asia.

@allquicatic "life I want" well there's the problem

Bob

ok, so it turns out reinstalling audio and video drivers tends to interrupt playing youtube videos (audio) quite a lot

kerbalspacecat

I guess not wanting a life at all kinda removes the need/motivation to get a job to pay for it.

@Bob -_-

Bob

@kerbalspacecat :(

Ben N

Well, money gives you options, so getting any job even for a short while will help a little until you decide what you want to go for

Journeyman Geek

Yup.

Heh. Been having the itch to build something. Hard.

@BenN that's exactly why I accepted a short contract with zero information .-. cause it was better than sitting on my arse.

kerbalspacecat

14:59

Eh, I have plenty of money. I'm just not used to seeing the numbers go down so steeply every month instead of ... well... staying relatively steady.

Also doesn't help in buying a house if you're spending your savings paying someone else's mortgage

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