HTPC Setup – Fast, Cool, Looks Good, and Somewhat Affordable

Over the past few years, the number of Home Theatre PCs (HTPCs) has grown tremendously as more media are digitalized.  Whether it is photos, music, videos, movies, or TV shows, we often save it on our computers instead of CDs or DVDs.   So how can an HTPC help you?  It will act has a bridge for you to access all of your digital content from another computer or server at home right on your HDTV.

I have built quite a number of these HTPCs, using everything from tiny ITX motherboards all the way up to standard ATX motherboards, but the one I want to discuss today is rather unique.  This setup is somewhat challenging in that it is extremely simple!  Space is tight, but if planned carefully, this HTPC will be a great addition to your home theatre.

Let’s start with specifications:

Component	Description
Case	Moneual Moncaso 312 (Black)
Case Fans	Scythe Mini Kaze Ultra 40mm x 20mm Silent Mini Fan (SY124020L)
Power Supply	Cooler Master GX Series 450W 80+ Bronze (RS450 ACAAD3 US)
Motherboard	MSI G41M-P34 775-pin
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz LGA 775
CPU Cooling	Scythe Shuriken Rev.B SCSK-1000
Memory	Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333MHz (PC3-10666) CMX6GX3M2A1333C9
Hard Drive	Intel 330 Series – 240GB Solid State Drive, SSDSC2CT240A3K5, SATA 6Gb/s
Optical Drive	LG UH12LS29 – 3D Playback & M-Disc Support with LightScribe

I’ll skip all the details of these parts because if you’re reading this article, you may have an idea already.  Instead, I shall jump to the reasoning and concept behind this build.

First off, the most expensive purchase for this set up is the case.  The Moneual Moncaso 312B  is unique for its low profile, the optical drive being mounted in the center, the large volume control knob, and has the capabilities of mounting a mATX motherboard along with an ATX power supply.  Furthermore, it has a built-in IR receiver so you can use the included remote control to access your computer.  Overall, this case will blend in well with the rest of your receivers, amplifiers, blu-ray players, etc…

Secondly, this case has been out for a long time, and people have reviewed it a lot.  However, I am taking advantage of using popular quality parts of the previous generation in order to maximize the cost-to-performance ratio.  The Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 runs fast, stays cool, and if you search for a used one online, it will cost you about $50-60.  The reason why you don’t want to buy a new one is because it will come with the OEM heatsink (which you won’t need), and it will cost more.  In addition, a lot of users paired this processor with DDR2 memory, but I’ll be using DDR3 memory instead.  To top it off, I tossed in a solid-state hard drive, so the thing boots up insanely fast – within 13-15 seconds or so.  Again, I’m simply taking advantage of the old and the new to maximize system potential.

Finally, due to the confinement of space inside the case, careful planning is required so that you can have a nice clean case.  You will want to plan your cable management and perhaps get a modular power supply to reduce cable clutter for ample air flow to keep temperatures down.  The last few tips for building this system would be:

• The Scythe Shuriken Rev. B SCSK-1000 heatsink is worth the cost and fits the case design perfectly.  I highly recommend it.
• Try not to use memory with the tall heatsinks because it may interfere with the installation of your optical drive.  If the memory is low profile with heatsinks like the ones I’m using, then that is okay.
• LG Blu-ray drives seem to work better than other brands because they are shorter in length.  See pictures for the gap between the drive, heatsink, and memory.  The length of my drive is 6.75 inches (~17.2cm).
• Install the CPU processor heatsink last, you may have to remove the power supply (but keeping all the cables plugged in), in order to get your hands in there.
• The “Blu-ray Disc” front panel cover should be done second to last, because once you stick it on, you don’t want to have to take that thing off again.
• The three 40mm case fans are tricky.  Some people say that they are noisy and not able to pull much air, so it’s not worth the trouble.  Personally, I think it would be better to have at least two fans to have a little circulation.  Having a little bit of air current is better than nothing – especially if the machine is left on for extended periods of time.
• For the push-button to eject the CD tray… it is kind of a funky design.  When I line up my drive, the button isn’t able to reach when depressed.  So I cut out a thin piece of rubber and glued it to back side to increase the reach by 1-2mm.  That did the trick.

So, how much did all of this cost?  In September 2012, the total cost was around $700.  Before anyone gets mad at me, please know that the majority of the costs went into the case (~$250) and the solid state drive (~$160).  I also know that there are better processors out there – i3, i5, and I’ve even seen i7s built using this case with SLI graphic cards and triple-channel DDR3 memory. Or other types of HTPC that uses nettops or similar smaller profiles with a tiny footprint.  Although these other systems definitely run faster, I want to remind folks that this set up is nice in that the case design will fit into your home theatre equipment and not be easily detected as an HTPC.  In addition, it’s a fully capable computer so you won’t be concerned with it being under-powered or not having enough memory.

Results of the system:

• The system is using up about 105 watts, and runs relatively cool thanks to the 45nm Wolfdale processor using only 65W at 1333Mhz FSB.
• Processor at idle is about 31-32C (88-90F), and levels at 57-59C (134-138F) under full load when running Prime95 for torture testing.
• The hottest thing in the computer right now is the south bridge, which is around 40-41C (104-106F).  It’s not bad, but can be easily fixed.
• I currently have it connected to my home network in order to access all media content from remote servers in my room.

If you have any questions or inputs, please feel free to let me know.  It always helps to receive feedback or constructive criticism – so don’t be shy!

 

Clever Advertising – KP Duty Ad

It’s one of those strange occasions where I find a magazine delivered to my home, under my name, yet I do not recall subscribing to.  On top of that, it’s a fitness magazine – a woman’s magazine.  So, how does that work if I’m a man?  [...shrugs...]  Oh well, I never miss the opportunity to see what women are reading today.

As I’m thumbing through the articles about the latest exercise fashion, new diet/meal plans, and workout equipment, I landed on an advertisement for keratosis pilaris - a common skin condition characterized by the appearance of small, rough bumps on the skin, usually on outer sides of upper arms and back.  Roughly half of the population is both adults and children are affected by keratosis pilaris.  To me, it’s nothing new, but I upon a closer look, I definitely have to admit that the ad is surprisingly clever.

Here, the product being advertised is DERMAdoctor’s KP Duty.

Fair enough, I thought.  With “DermaDoctor,” it’s a term for “skin doctor.”  I get it.

KP Duty is an abbreviation for Keratosis Pilaris.  I understood that too.  Then there’s the word “duty” attached.  I thought maybe they’re talking about “heavy duty,” but then I saw the picture which portrayed actual “KP duty”.

For those who aren’t familiar with the term “kp duty,” it simply is military slang for “kitchen patrol”.  This means that whoever gets kp duty or is on kp duty will have the wonderful pleasure of scrubbing pans, slinging slop, and serving in the mess halls.  I remember hearing this term when I was in the Boy Scouts at the age of 11-12 years old.  KP duty is hard work and I don’t mind it, but it can be pain if you’re doing dishes at night and hot water isn’t available.

The ad did a collage of images where you see an attractive woman, who is in a military uniform, with a big grin and an “attend-hut!” salute to all the awesome soldiers who serve our country.  She has on a lab coat as well – perhaps to demonstrate that she’s a doctor who serves for the military and she’s recommending KP Duty will help those who suffer from keratosis pilaris, but at the same time providing a visual illustration of KP duty with a kitchen backdrop and potatoes all over the place.

So what did I do?  I went online and ordered myself a bottle of this stuff.  I don’t have KP, but I’m curious as to what it can do.  When you use the product, it has those microbeads that is normally found in skin exfoliating creams, so assuming you have to scrub it on your body, it feels as if your doing kitchen patrol on yourself.  How great is that?!

Obviously, quite a bit of thought went into the name of the product and the design of the entire ad.  Everything seems to connect, so it makes some sense more or less.  It’s not like other products where you see a woman on a bicycle or a couple walking along the beach, and they’re advertising anti-acid calcium tablets or bandaids.  Anyway – just thought I shared.

External 3TB Hard Drive Size Not Detected – Formatting Shows Only 349GB or 746GB

Today is the day after Thanksgiving – otherwise known as Black Friday. A friend found a good deal on a Seagate 3TB external hard drive with USB 3.0 speeds. Since he did not have a USB 3.0 port on his computer, he wanted to move his files via SATA, but when he removed it from the external enclosure and connected the hard drive straight into the computer, it only showed 349GB (or sometimes 746GB if it is a WD hard drive).

Here’s a quick explanation of what is going on and how to format the drive so that it is usable with 3TB or roughly 2.7TB due to allocation of drive space. We’ll go through the difference between MBR and GPT formats, discuss how it originally recognizes with USB and not SATA, and finally how to format the drive in Windows.

MBR vs. GPT

First, hard drives are typically formatted in MBR (Master Boot Record) or GPT (GUID Partition Table). When you install your operating system, like Windows XP or Windows 7, the drive needs to be formatted as MBR because that drive needs to be bootable in order to load an operating system. The MBR system will allow you to create a partition of 2TB in size, while the GPT system will allow you to go beyond the 2TB limit. So in theory, if you have an 8TB hard drive, you can only make four 2TB partitions with MBR, whereas with GPT, you can make one 8TB partition or a hundred 80GB partitions.

USB vs. SATA

When you used your external hard drive, the 3TB hard drive was recognized without any problems, but when you installed it into your computer, hard drive size detection became an issue. One possible explanation is that the device is originally intended to be operated as an USB device, so the controller board is designed to get past that 2TB limit, so without the additional hardware, you didn’t see the entire 3TB as one volume.

Formatting the 3TB Hard Drive in Windows

*** NOTE: Please back up information you want to keep before formatting drive. ***
1. Go to “My Computer,” right-click on it, and select “Manage” from the menu.
2. Look for your drive at the bottom of the screen (Disk 1.. Disk 2… Disk 3.. etc..)
3. Right-click on the partition of selected drive and Delete Volume… to delete the partition.
4. The drive should show up as “unallocated partition” and may show up as two separate partitions. (One partition will be 2048GB and the other as 746GB or something like that)
5. On the left, click on the Disk # part, and click on “Convert to GPT Disk”.
6. Then proceed to format the drive as NTFS by right clicking on the partition and “Create New Simple Volume…” and go through the wizard to create a new simple volume, which will ultimately end with the options to format your drive as NTFS.
7. Open My Computer to see if you drive shows up in Explorer.
8. If it doesn’t show up, go back to Disk Management and see if the drive has been made into an active partition and also check to see if it has been assigned a drive letter. All of this can be done by right-click on the partition of the drive.

** Convert to GPT Disk is grayed out because my disk partition is not unallocated yet.**

This technique should help you utilize the maximum capacity of your 3TB hard drive. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to let me know!

Sex and Ice Cream

So now that I have your attention, I want to discuss about sexuality, communication, and gender behavior.   Originally, I wanted to write about each of these topics separately, but the more I thought about it, the more they seem to intersect with one another.

Previously, we talked about communication and the language barrier that exists between men and women.  This wall impedes on getting accurate messages across.  Our goal is to try to reduce as much misunderstandings as possible, without being redundant or patronizing.  Moving beyond the conception of verbalized language, the popularized “body language,” shows us that certain forms of communication are done subconsciously.  And there are times when certain emotions are too strong for us to express which will tend to lead to kissing, touching, and then the crème de la crème, sex.

I remember a quote which said, “A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”  It was a simple way to say that words can’t always define a situation when you have a multitude of emotions rushing through you.  Whether it’s the way you feel about someone or the way they make you feel, there will a time when you can no longer describe that wonderful, overwhelming emotion.

However, we need to be careful.  Much is said in the context of communication and sex because the two can go hand-in-hand, but at the same time, it can be disastrous.  Do you communicate through sex or do you let sex do the communicating?  You wouldn’t want to be blabbing during sex, yet at the same time, remaining quiet to let sex do the talking is not right either.  So there is this balance between when to talk and when not to talk.

To make sure I’m explaining this clearly, the point is that communication and sex are different for men and women.  Since focusing on a task, like reading the newspaper or talking on the phone, is a relaxing task for men, most men are able to drop everything and focus on sex.  Guys can leave the emotional and mental drama out of it.  On the other hand, women are great at multi-tasking, like driving while putting on makeup and eating a slice of pizza.  Often times, it is harder for women to get “in the mood” because they are emotionally oriented.  If something bad happened at work, they probably aren’t feeling very kinky.  I think that is what women mean when they say they don’t “feel” like being intimate.

Basically, the point is that we all come across situations where things were going good and then suddenly, everything goes wrong.  Most of the time, it’s all about communication.  Whether it is during a meal or during sex, communication is able to bring about a sense of comfort.  With that in mind, both partners will be able to enjoy their activities, both outdoors and in the bedroom, a little bit more.

Miscommunication: “The Break-Up”

Over the past couple of months, I have heard many discussions from my friends about their significant others and the recurring theme is either the lack of communication, or having difficulty communicating well.  I started thinking back to the summer of 2006 when my girlfriend at the time went to the theatres to watch the movie, “The Break-Up,” with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.  I thought it was a comedy, but it turned out to be more dramatic than I had anticipated.  However, something had materialized toward the end of the movie when I looked over and saw my ex-girlfriend crying.

I felt like there was something that I didn’t understand that my ex-girlfriend was feeling.  Perhaps the source of the her emotions was due to previous  experiences in which she could relate to Aniston’s situation?  On the other hand, I was unable to conceive what was going on.  At that moment, it dawned upon me that interpretation is important when it comes to communicating effectively.  With this introduction, we will launch into an analysis relationships and communication using the film to set examples.

When I saw the film, the first thing I related it to was the book, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus”.  It goes without saying that there has always been miscommunications between the two genders.  Girls “expect” certain things from guys without telling them.  In the end, it’s the guy’s fault for not being a mind reader.  Guys want women to be direct and stop hinting.  But women don’t think it is romantic when they have to give “commands” or “instructions” for their men.  After a while, this becomes tiring for both partners.

“The Break-Up” provides a story in which Vaughn is a typecast for the “regular guy,” and Aniston is the stereotypical “every day woman”.  From the beginning, we see that both of them have  trouble expressing what they wanted to say to each other.  An example would be doing the dishes.  Aniston wants him to “want to do the dishes,” and Vaughn responds with, “Why would I want to do the dishes?”  I’m sure most of the women audience understood what Aniston meant to say.  I’m also sure that most guys would understand Vaughn’s defense.

At times like these, it is crucial to understand that the art of communication is not universal.  If an individual say a sentence to a group of people, there can be 3-5 different interpretations of that statement.  It is not to say that one is better than the other, but simply that men and women talk on different levels.  Trying to make the other person understand a man or woman’s  “dialect” is extremely difficult.  It is a vain attempt that could lead to separation or divorce, as seen in the movie.

An interesting point to note is that both Vaughn and Aniston subconsciously know that deep down, they might have a good thing going besides the mortgage on the house.  However, the current dynamic has reached an unbearable limit, which led the fight scene where Aniston just broke down to tears.

So… possible solutions?  I think it’s best that we come up with our own ways of interpreting and expressing what we think and how we feel.  From the book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,” there were several main points.  The first is “communication styles.”.  Women talk to share stories in order to bond and/or vent.  Men often do it to find solutions and not sympathy.  Next is the “point system” – where men assign value to each item, and women assign value to the quality of items instead of the quantity of the item.  The third point is “expose and retreat”.  When conflict arises, men will withdraw until they find a solution, whereas women want to discuss about it.

In short, no one ever said relationships were easy.  Love and hate will happen because those emotions are real, and a relationship is real.  We can’t expect everything to be constantly beautiful.  That is just… too perfect.

Things the Near Future Will Bring

On any given day, this topic won’t be as significant as today.  With six 1s that represent a date that happens once every century, it’s quite amazing that Veteran’s Day happens to land on 11-11-11.  But more importantly what does this mean?  This means it’s been over a decade since the Y2K concern, and all of us seem to be doing all right.  This means that despite the fact that people are hurting with incomes are declining, job loss, poverty and inequality rising, we’re still hanging on.  This means that despite the fact that mortgage foreclosures and credit card debt increasing and a spike in cost of utility, food, and gasoline prices, we manage to struggle day by day.

So the question is… what will the future bring?  What’s the outlook like?  Will the weather forecast be bright or gloomy?  What are some of the next few obstacles people and industry will face?   All very tough questions to answer.

In terms of science and healthcare, there may be some very drastic changes.  It’s not only about policies and insurances that govern healthcare, but the entire field as a whole.  With new supercomputers, robotics, and telecommunication devices, we’re starting to see human and machines merging.

In the field of  computers, there’s a plateau in performance.  Despite the fact that the processors are getting more complex, the problem of heat dissipation and processor architecture are still limiting obstacles.  Moreover, the main bottleneck in my opinion, is the chipset.  Processors, memory, hard drives, and graphic cards are getting faster and faster, but the chipset technology has not changed drastically enough to keep up with speed that other components deliver.

In technology, the future will most likely bring us a new trend in the way we interface with our digital devices.  Apple devices and their iCloud is such an example.  However, the direction things seem to be heading toward is simplification.  We need to be able to access a lot of data and information very quickly, therefore, our operating systems will change in order to update us on weather, emails, calendars, pictures, music, etc.. at a quick glance.  A system will also develop in order to integrate all these devices so that data content will be more centralized.

The Internet will also change.  Network speeds are getting faster and faster, because the volume of data we’re transferring is increasing.  Instead of regular media with moderate file sizes, consumers want high definition media, which requires faster speeds to handle larger file sizes.  As more and more devices are moving toward 3G or satellite communications, people will want the convenience to access the Internet anywhere and everywhere at anytime.

The energy crisis is starting to change with the develop of hybrid cars and solar panels.  However,  it won’t stop there.  Companies are developing ways to harness wasted energy so that we can recycle that energy to operate basic machinery.  The problem hurdle is that nuclear power plants are still more efficient in per square mile to power output than any other natural source such as sunlight, wind, or water current.  This energy revolution will change the way we approach conservation of power and energy in order to maximize retention of resources.

Transportation and cargo shipping will be redesigned as well.  The methods used now are decades old, and with the advent of computer technology, automated systems can now be integrate to manage containers that come off ships and boats that the ports.  Furthermore, transportation for humans will require a shift because with an increasing population, the roads are crowded.  High speed bullet trains and other modes of public transportation will be developed in order to create quick and affordable travel, while saving the environment by lowering emission byproducts.

Finally, there needs to be a change in market globalization.  Despite the fact that it’s growing, there needs to be a standard in regulation so that there is consistency in policies and regulations.  At the moment, there are still too many factors that have not been resolved, therefore leaving loopholes in that system which people are exploiting.

As we can see, there are quite a bit of challenges that lie ahead of us, and some of these problems and its developments can be more complex than we can imagine.  The future of children growing in a world of iPhones and iPads, Blu-Ray, HDTVs, and electric hybrid cars, who knows what the next generation will bring.

Hard Disk Recovery: How to Fix a Broken Hard Drive

There are several situations that may indicate a problem with your hard drive.  The methods listed here are not guaranteed ways to save the hard drive, but rather an attempt to recover information before tossing out the hard drive.  If you do not feel comfortable doing this yourself, please refer it to professionals.  Naturally, the best way to prevent this is to make sure the information is backed up elsewhere.

---

Problem:
The hard drive is making audible “clicking” or “ticking” noises.  This is “click-click-click” or “tick-tick-tick,” … pause… “tick-tick-tick”.  Do not confuse this with the regular “rrr-rrr-rrr” sound the hard drive makes when it is reading normally.  The clicking is very distinctive and you should notice a dramatic decline in performance.  The computer may shut down unexpectedly too.

Cause:
Also known as the “click of death,” the hard drive’s head on the reading arm is making contact with the surface of the metal disk.   The arm could also be hitting me the rotor and repetitively loading and unloading.

Possible solution(s):
First, attempt to back up whatever data you can IMMEDIATELY.  If you don’t have an external hard drive or flash drive, turn off the computer and go get one.  Because once the computer starts clicking, you typically have very little time left to backup and your computer will only work for 10-15 minutes at a time, or maybe shorter.  The reason is that metal to metal contact creates friction which causes heat to increase and then the drive will shut down.  Essentially, as you are backing up, the life of the drive will degrade and die very soon.

Now, if you search online, you will find the “freezer” method discussed, where people put the hard drive into a zip lock bag and throw it in the freezer for a few hours.  By doing this, people hope that metal parts would shrink inside, temporarily disengaging physical contact of the metal pieces, thus reducing heat.  It does work in some cases, but unfortunately, not all the time.

Another method that might work is to replace the logic board on the hard drive with another one from an identical drive.  See below for instructions for changing logic boards due to loss of power.

---

Problem:
The hard drive is making an audible screeching sound.  It is one continuous screeching sound as like nails on a chalkboard.

Cause:
This is when the reading arm is broken or dislocated, and now the head is making complete contact with the surface of the hard drive.  It’s like putting a screwdriver against the side of a bench grinder.

Possible solution:

***WARNING***   I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS METHOD BECAUSE THE CHANCES FOR SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY IS LESS THAN 5%!  ****

Wear gloves and remove the top cover off the hard drive carefully with a torx screwdriver (T-8).  You see the location of the arm by a ring created on the surface of the disk that looks like the arm has carved into the disk and discolored it by leaving a deep groove.

If you see this, the arm is broken, and probably not repairable.  If you don’t see that ring, perhaps the arm is dislocated due to shock or something, and you can try to move it to dislodge it back into place.  Try powering up the drive and see if it moves properly again.  If it does, then good news and start backup immediately.  If it doesn’t, you may want to identify the problem, if possible, and see if the drive will be recognizable.

Essentially the drive is going to be destroyed once the cover comes off in a short period of time.  So, please use this as a last resort.

---

Problem:
The drive on the computer disappears.  You check that your drive is plugged in, but it’s not receiving any power.  It’s like a dead drive – doesn’t spin up or make any whirring sounds at all.

Cause:
Most likely, this is due to a defective, faulty, or broken logic board.  The logic board is the “brain” to control the hard drive and provide power management.

Possible solution:
Usually, the solution for when a hard drive does not power up, or acts up intermittently is to swap out the logic board with another one.  Listed below are the steps to swap logic boards.

Make sure the drives are same.  Same manufacturer, model, capacity, speed (rpm), and firmware.  If the firmware is not the same, it will display an error.

       

Use a torx screwdriver and remove the screws from the bottom side of the hard drive.

        

Swap the logic board, and put the screws back.

        

Your drive should have power and work without any problems.  If everything is fine, start backup immediately.  If you hear clicking sounds, still start backup as soon as you can because the drive is in bad shape.  Good luck!