Info and forum posts by 'Andy-W'

Hitachi D-R150 DVD Recorder Chip?

My cousin has bought a very nice Hitachi D-R150 DVD Recorder.

From other posts on this forum it appears this unit is available pre-chipped, (invalidating the warranty of course). Unfortunately, this one isn`t, meaning it`s set for Region 2 only.

Can anyone supply a hardware Mod for this unit, or point me in the correct direction to get one?

Many thanks

Andy Woolford

Toshiba Chipping Service???

Had no replies to my previous thread "Toshiba D-R150 DVD Recorder Hack" posted on 24 July 2006. :/

http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/forums/thread.asp?Forum=176&Thread=582425&Type=1

Does anyone out there operate a "chipping" service for Toshs, or can provide a link to somewhere that does (in the UK).

(I`ve had no real success on google either - other than ending up here of course!) :D

Thanks

Toshiba D-R150 DVD Recorder Hack

Looking for a Multi-Region Hack for the Toshiba D-R150 DVD Recorder (UK version for the avoidance of doubt). So far unsuccessful.

If no remote hack available, perhaps someone can point me in the direction of a hardware fix (chip)??

(I am competant and qualified to fit myself)

Any guidance greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Andy Woolford

This item was edited on Monday, 24th July 2006, 17:38

RE: New External USB Drive - Help

Yep... I`d go with Gavin57 on that. The issue is that XP hasn`t "mounted" the drive - hence why it doesn`t appear in Explorer. If it is showing "connected" via USB and identified in Device Manager, then I think it is fairly safe to say the hardware settings are probably okay. The Disk Management tab in the Computer Managment Console will detect all connected drives and assign a Drive letter to them and Mount them. (Your internal boot drive will always be the C: Drive).

Regards,

Andy Woolford

Nokia 6310i and Jabra Bluetooth problems

Hi,

Have had a Jabra bluetooth earpiece for a while now. Use it mainly while driving, along with my Nokia 6310i phone. So here are two things which bug the hell out of me...

1) For driving (especially at night to keep the backlight on) I need the phone to use the Handsfree profile. You can train the Nokia to select Handsfree by pressing the VOL and ON button on the Jabra earpiece simultaneously at startup, then waiting for 8 seconds or so before pairing the two devices. Fine.

But power the Nokia phone off for any reason, and it always forgets to use the Handsfree Profile, although it remains paired. Instead it uses the Headset profile (which does not keep the backlight alive). The only remedy is to re-pair the two devices as above.

2) Every so often - at seemingly random moments, the Bluetooth connection will be lost. It happens with annoying regularity, and it is not to do with the phone and headset being too far apart. It can happen while driving (when the phone is mounted on the dash about 2 feet from my head) or in my pocket, or even just sitting on the table in front of me. Sometimes, pressing the ON button momentarily on the earpiece will re-establish a connection. Sometimes it won`t. Sometimes the phone has to be turned off and on again to re-establish the connection. (Then see the annoyance above).

So I`ve had to live with this for about a year. None of the phone shops seem to be much help and of course the Service Provider (Orange) doesn`t want to know. Seeing as how this is such an excellent and knowlegeable site, I`m wondering if any member here has any ideas how to improve things?

Thanks,

Andy Woolford

This item was edited on Friday, 16th December 2005, 03:21

RE: No XP Login after Ghosting Drive

Darren,

Well, although a Newbie to this forum, I must confess to having had prior experience in the field. That login had me pretty flumoxed though. I thought I had a pretty good software toolkit, but you know what it`s like when you need a screwdriver and only have a blunt knife? Anyway, thanks again Matey.

Regards,

Andy Woolford

RE: No XP Login after Ghosting Drive

Well, thanks DBS... the fix worked fine. I now have everything working properly on my new 80Gb HD.


Neat little utility that BootitNG! I`ll keep it handy for the future.

Thanks again and Best regards,

Andy Woolford

This item was edited on Thursday, 15th December 2005, 23:55

RE: Laptop power supply problem - help desperately needed!!!

I`m sorry Alfie, I re-read your posts and found your clarification about half-way down. Should have read it more carefully.

At this point matey I wouldn`t concern yourself about the warranty. If you have smoke billowing out of it - especially after you`d dropped it - then I would strongly suggest your warranty is void already, unless there is some sort of an accidental damage cover with it.

Either way I would hand the unit into a qualified PC repair specialist - preferrably a service agent for the manufacturer - and get it fixed. Unless you have some electronics experience I definately would not recommend trying to dismantle the unit yourself. Besides, the smoke would indicate some components or the wiring harness will need replacing anyway -so you`re back to the manufacturer.

I am not aware of any external battery chargers for Li-Ion batteries, since they are not "generic". Each one is particular to your PC. Again - back to the manufacturer. If it is an "obscure" brand, then I doubt you would find much luck with finding a battery elsewhere. Even if you did, you would still have the problem of keeping it charged!

Sorry to sound a bit glum about this, but I don`t see any way you can avoid seeking professional help. You could always consider claiming against your household contents insurance (which often covers such accidents) if the cost of the repair is more than the excess on your policy.

Good luck.

Andy Woolford

RE: No XP Login after Ghosting Drive

Many Thanks DBS,

I was a bit confused... only because my laptop is still operating on the original drive until I found a fix for the new one. Anyway with that cleared up - I`ve burned a CD from the ISO image.

Now just need to get my screwdriver out...

Thanks for the explanation. I will keep you posted on progress. Does this Drive Signature also contain the Drive Description and serial number etc which appears in Device Manager, or System Information fields? (eg Toshiba MK4018GAP).

If so - should I expect to see a few blank spaces in my system data in future? Not necessarily a problem of course - just so I know what to expect.

Regards,

Andy Woolford

RE: No XP Login after Ghosting Drive

Wow... thanks for the quick reply.

Not quite clear on what to do with the second PC?

What does this (BootitNG) do exactly?

Thanks again.

Andy Woolford

RE: Laptop power supply problem - help desperately needed!!!

Sorry to hear your power supply fried.

For the price you can pay for a branded PSU, you might consider the gadget I bought which is called a Kensington DC Auto/Air Adapter, model no: 33069.

Rated at 70W, it comes with a selection of DC plugs which means it should fit any laptop.

Both the mains lead and the DC lead are detachable - and there is also a cigar lighter lead to run the unit off a 12V source. It is a proper switched mode power supply, so will regulate and clean "dirty" power sources such as you might find in an aircraft or vehicle or spikes on the mains. When running off the mains it will auto-range from 100V to 230V AC, so can be used anywhere in the world with impunity!

I did a search for you and found the cheapest in the UK seems to be here:
(23 in stock when I last looked)

www.morecomputers.co.uk/textra.asp?pn=33069

Good luck,

Andy Woolford

This item was edited on Thursday, 15th December 2005, 01:33

No XP Login after Ghosting Drive

Hi Newbie. Just start off by saying what a great find this site has turned out to be!

Have a Laptop running Windows XP Professional with a 40Gb HD. Ran Norton Ghost to image the existing drive to a new 80Gb HD. Ghosting process ran well (apparently) and all the OS, folders and files all seem to be on the new drive. I selected the new drive to be bootable in the Ghost options.

Having installed the new drive in the internal bay, it is automatically recognised by the BIOS and the bootup proceeds normally with the Windows XP startup screen until we get to what should be the WELCOME screen. At this point all I see is the Windows logo on a blue background, (it doesn`t even say "Welcome") and there is no Login or account information.

Therefore I cannot log in to the OS and the bootup appears to be "hung" at this point.

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks,

Andy Woolford

www.flightpro.co.uk