Overwhelmed - New Computer or upgrade.

You can run something like 128 usb devices from one port if needed!

I do know someone will correct me for the real number

Glad to see you are progressing well. BTW my typing speed is about 55 w p hour

kiwichris wrote in post #19007941
You can run something like 128 usb devices from one port if needed!

I do know someone will correct me for the real number

Glad to see you are progressing well. BTW my typing speed is about 55 w p hour

Hi Kiwichris,

55 w p HOUR!? You must use the 'hunt-and-peck' style of typing.

It's good to know. I'll purchase a USB hub if I need more room. I do need one for my electric toothbrush.

P.S. I looked at your flikr photos. So very creative. I created my own account too. Nice website.

Hi StarlingGirl,

"That's what forums are for" to Dionne Warwicks tune.... Glad to be off help!

Regarding your USB port issue - I have had this problem before. USB ports can be a bit "iffy", power supply to the USB ports can cause issues - especically on USB deivces that draw more power. Also, not sure if it is hardware/software/OS related but sometimes ports just take a "dislike" to a certain device being plugged in. I have this on my PC, I have two front ports plugged into the motherboard. one is tempermental, it has good days and bad days, the other works 100%. Can't nail down why.

At this stage I have accepted it and run an extender cable from the rear USB ports so that if I need to plug in two USB devices at once, I use the good front port and this cable for the second device. Not perfect with a cable running accross my desk but it works!

Good luck getting familiar with windows 10. It took me a little while and it has little quirks but I have found it to be better overall to Win7.

StarlingGirl wrote in post #19007918
Success! Windows 10 is up and running!

StarlingGirl.

Keep us posted on the learning experience with Win 10. There are ways to make it resemble Win 7. Review https://www.howtogeek.​com …-act-more-like-windows-7/ as a starting point.

On the USB 3.0 port issue, I had suggested a while back that when you were inside you PC, double check that all the connections are seated properly. By “seated”, I mean that most internal cabling connections are designed to click or lock into place. If you can see and release the locking mechanism, I would even disconnect the cable, then reseat it. As someone else posted earlier, loose connections are often the issue.

Worse case, but only about $20, you could replace the front panel ports, which actually are mounted on a card. See https://www.amazon.com …l-FS-U2-Pro/dp/B071P5C6CS for a replacement that might work for $16. These cards come in several “flavors” that yield up to (5) USB 3.0 ports (about $30). But personally, if the cabling isn’t an issue, I would leave the keyboard and mouse on the rear 2.0 ports where high speed isn’t essential. If you need reliable (and more) front panel ports, you could get a small Anker hub that would give you several more USB 3.0 slots. Something like https://www.anker.com …ra-slim-data-hub/A7516011.

John from PA wrote in post #19008093
On the USB 3.0 port issue, I had suggested a while back that when you were inside you PC, double check that all the connections are seated properly. By “seated”, I mean that most internal cabling connections are designed to click or lock into place. If you can see and release the locking mechanism, I would even disconnect the cable, then reseat it. As someone else posted earlier, loose connections are often the issue.

Worse case, but only about $20, you could replace the front panel ports, which actually are mounted on a card. See https://www.amazon.com …l-FS-U2-Pro/dp/B071P5C6CS for a replacement that might work for $16. These cards come in several “flavors” that yield up to (5) USB 3.0 ports (about $30). But personally, if the cabling isn’t an issue, I would leave the keyboard and mouse on the rear 2.0 ports where high speed isn’t essential. If you need reliable (and more) front panel ports, you could get a small Anker hub that would give you several more USB 3.0 slots. Something like https://www.anker.com …ra-slim-data-hub/A7516011.

Hi John from PA:

Thanks for the link to make Win 10 look more like Win 7. I think I've got it really. I did change colors around a little however. Windows explorer looks a little different but the 'pin' feature allows me to have what I need at my fingertips.

Re: the USB, interestingly enough, when I shut down the computer, then restarted it, I got a blank screen. Note: My garmin watch was plugged into the USB 3.0 Port that is giving me the problem. Also note: Because I was upgrading my computer, I changed in BIOS to check USB first to start from about a week or so ago. So I unplugged my Garmin and restarted with no problems. Maybe that USB 3.0 port is denoted as a start up and therefore giving it less functionality. Just a thought.

Once I reformat the HDD, I'll change the BIOS to start from the SSD. Maybe the USB problem will go away then. Maybe not. I'm not too concerned at this point because if I do need more 3.0 ports, I'll purchase the hub as you suggested. I don't want to reopen the computer again at this point. Things are so tight in there that I unplugged the HDD the first time through. However, now I know what to do if things go haywire again: I have the option to check connections inside or replace. I save these to my Amazon lists for future reference.

You're a wealth of information. You must have eons of experience.

As ever, thanks again.

StarlingGirl

P.S. I have been bragging to my friends how wonderful, knowledgeable and patient you all have been helping me through this exercise.

From what I could tell of your model computer it is fairly old. Nothing wrong with that: older computers can still perform quite well for anything now. However, you might have to get expansion cards if you want the latest interface (like thunderbolt 3 or PCI form of SSD). Another common thing with older computers is poor cable management: more cables with higher density of them in which you can't organize and keep a minimum for more air flow. An extreme example for me was building a dual Xeon system and RAID SATA discs with a case that wasn't completely full sized "workstation" sized. Loads of cables to go to all the HDs, power cables for the motherboard and graphics...huge CPU fans for quiet operation. Even though there was no way I could try cleaning cables to a minimum....there was airflow because of active fans in front forcing air though the HDs and into the case.

Another option for USB 3.1: if you have an extra PCI-e slot, USB expansion boards are pretty cheap.

davesrose wrote in post #19009098
From what I could tell of your model computer it is fairly old. Nothing wrong with that: older computers can still perform quite well for anything now. However, you might have to get expansion cards if you want the latest interface (like thunderbolt 3 or PCI form of SSD). Another common thing with older computers is poor cable management: more cables with higher density of them in which you can't organize and keep a minimum for more air flow. An extreme example for me was building a dual Xeon system and RAID SATA discs with a case that wasn't completely full sized "workstation" sized. Loads of cables to go to all the HDs, power cables for the motherboard and graphics...huge CPU fans for quiet operation. Even though there was no way I could try cleaning cables to a minimum....there was airflow because of active fans in front forcing air though the HDs and into the case.

Another option for USB 3.1: if you have an extra PCI-e slot, USB expansion boards are pretty cheap.

Hi Davesrose,

Yes, you are correct. It's a fairly old computer. It seems based on preliminary tests that I can effectively upload photos in bulk (ie, 2.5GB) to the SSD in less than a minute. I can also use DPP (Canon's editing software) which I've yet to learn how to use. I was able to make lighting changes to photos quickly. These two items I was unable to do with the stock computer. The upgrade to the SSD and only 8GB RAM seems to suffice for my current needs.

Thunderbolt 3 (which I had to look up) will have to wait for me given my current financial situation.


Your cable management comments peaked my interest however. My computer box is smaller than most, and things got a little tight inside because I didn't remove the HDD when I installed the SSD. The SSD and attached cables are just sitting inside under the HDD practically on top of the USB 3.0 PORTS (which is probably the cause of one not working properly as John from PA suggested). Anyway, should I be concerned about airflow and overheating in my box? Is there a way to tell the temp inside the box or of the equipment?

Again, Thanks for your thoughts. I appreciated it.

P.S. thanks for the USB expansion board idea. I"lll keep that in mind in the future if I see the need.

StarlingGirl

Intel has a good app for both PC and Mac:

Intel Power Gadget

It will let you know your fan speeds and CPU temp (you can Google your CPU and see "safe" temps). One thing I've noticed in the coming years is that maximum CPU temps have seemed to increase. Chances are that your computer was setup so that if your CPU was starting to overheat, you'd hear the CPU fan start to really spin up. You're probably still OK with everything. If I could be there and help you....I'd probably be looking at how much dust has accumulated in your case. The thermal concerns with your gen computer was especially with the folks who were into over-clocking. Never really understood it. Way back when, when I did try it....it might have increased frame rate in a few games but was highly unstable. You've stayed with the system defaults, so chances are that if you're not hearing high fan speeds everything is fine.

Thunderbolt may have its own kettle of fish. I've been a steadfast PC user, but recently got a MacBook Pro for more development work. Well it's not just Mac laptops: all laptops just seem to want to eliminate as many ports as possible. My MacBook Pro has 4 thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports. I've only got one device that's fully USB-C: an external SSD. For all my other devices, I need adapters and dongles . But with the most common external HDs now, I'd say USB 3.1 is the standard.

Speaking of helpful little aps, there's one called Core Temp. It's small, free, takes up very little space and lets you know in real time how hot your individual cores get.

Too hot and the CPU will start throttling down. I'm using an 8-year old I7-2600K Intel which is still hanging in there, mated to some SSD's a reasonably fast WD hard drives. I have a lot of funs and routinely blow out the case but now and then I get unexplained high CPU usage, check the temps, and also look around for suspicious background activity. Usually it's just me trying to do too many things at one time. It's a handy ap though

i use nzxt cam https://www.nzxt.com/c​amapp

it shows cpu, ram and gpu load.
free harddisk space and network load.
also a nice info screen with the hardware in the pc.
i dont no if it works when the gpu is intregated in the cpu?
but if give me some insight in the use off the gpu in photoshop.

davesrose wrote in post #19009124
Intel has a good app for both PC and Mac:

Intel Power Gadget

Intel Power Gadget primarily looks at the Intel CPU, which your PC has. Crystal Disk Info, which I suggested previously, will yield the temperature of your SSD and HDD.

Most consumer SSDs are rated for running up to 70 deg C (158 deg F). You might want to check the temperature of your SSD after moving (or during that 2.5 GB transfer). It likely won't even approach any limit like 158 deg F but you might see an increase.

StarlingGirl wrote in post #19009108
Hi Davesrose,

I can also use DPP (Canon's editing software) which I've yet to learn how to use.

StarlingGirl

Although about 5 years old, Canon has some nice DPP tutorial videos, eleven in all, at https://cpn.canon-europe.com …re/dpp_video_tu​torials.do. Most of the sections have a RAW file to download and work with.

As for a DPP manual, the latest and greatest, about a week old, can be found at http://gdlp01.c-wss.com …17/dpp-4-12-0-w-im-en.pdf.

John from PA wrote in post #19009204
Intel Power Gadget primarily looks at the Intel CPU, which your PC has.

And the OP has...

davesrose wrote in post #19009270
And the OP has...

The early on link to her machine indicates an Intel Core i5 4th Gen 4440 (3.10 GHz) and the latest rev of the Power Gadget covers from the 2nd generation to the 10th Generation Intel Core processors.