r/computerhelp

Hi there!

I wanted to try to build my own homelab for a while. Recently, a friend upgraded his PC to a gaming one, so he gave me his old one.

It has a very low end graphics card (though I don't know yet which one), two 8GB DDR4 RAM modules and the motherboard is an Aliexpress server board (by looking at it I think the model is a AD12-B V1.0). It only has one ethernet port, so no management ports I guess. It also does not have any hard drives connected yet, because I want to try and see if any of my old ones still work.

When I connected the graphics card into my screen to access the BIOS (to test the hard drives and then install the OS), it outputs no signal. When I looked at it closer, I noticed that the GPU's fan powers on when I power on the computer, and then it powers off. I don't know if this is normal behaviour or not.

With no luck entering the BIOS, I thought I could try to test the hard drives and install the OS remotely. I connected the computer straight to my router with a brand new Ethernet cable, but when I entered my router's config using my other desk PC, in the local network map, I can only see said PC, my smartphone and my laptop. The "soon-to-be-server" is nowhere to be seen.

I have basic computer networks knowledge, so I understand that, for some reason, the initial POST signal from my computer is not being sent to the router, so it doesn't assign it a new IP.

I've tried starting the system with only one RAM module (trying both in turns) and no GPU, just if there was a problem with any of the hardware. But I got the same results.

Also, when I connect the computer to my router, the lights in the router's port are on (one blinks slowly and the other is permanently on).

Any suggestions?

my dad is furious af and wants to completely shut down my windows usage i use double OS, win and ubuntu but all of my games are at windows and cant run at ubuntu anyways last time he tried doing this he downloaded windows parent safety, i knew the pin to the admin acc and opened another user and called it a day, this time he will change my pin, make my usage time 0 on windows family safety and disable all aditional users. i know the pin to the current account please tell me a way to do this thing in at least 3 hrs.

So I have tried several different installs, manually loading drivers… etc. it’s an AMD unit SER5 max with the 6800h. I have about 34 of them deployed and I’ve only had this happen to two. So I did a fresh reset and a fresh install of Windows 11 Pro and for most of the computers it worked no issues drivers everything and then I made sure to get my drivers for AMD. But for two of them, it decided to not recognize the generic Bluetooth adapter or the Wi-Fi or network control controller. And I’ve emailed link support but they are located in China and country origin and we have china blocked on a firewall and I can’t get it unblocked to install the software they sent me so I ideas of what else to try I have tried different SSD’s and multiple multiple fresh installs. It won’t boot with another windows ssd from another pc and I tried to copy my disk to that disk and it won’t work. They say it’s no way it’s a bad ssd or anything. Idk I’m hitting the troubleshooting wall where I’m stuck.

Edit: I have run a smart test and the drive is healthy with barely any use on it like 20 hours.

I dont know what too tag this as. I built my pc i am passed the warranty on its parts. I dismantledit most of the and dried it the best i could with low fiber towels and Qtips. I dont know if it was on as my fiance was the last too use it and I dont know if he turned it off after. But he peed into it and soaked the power bank and the back up power supply that was next too my pc. and I have called and called but the places that do clean pics have told me no because its a biohazard which I understand but I dont know what too do. Im scared too put it back too gether and turn it.

My laptop that seemingly doesn't have a graphics card (according to my parents, since it was a gift) and i expected some lag. The thing is the frame rate drops to 0-20 fps for more than a few seconds even with simple games on roblox. Am I dumb or is this normal?

Hello everyone, maybe someone can help me. I had installed MVP 2005 and modded it to the 2015 version. I had some fun with it, however now with MVP mods sadly ending, i was looking to get back into it and play the 2020 mod, however i cannot find a way to unmod my game. I have done a full uninstall, i even used Revo uninstaller to make sure all the files are removed, yet whenever i try to reinstall, i get the 2015 Mod automatically.

If needed, i used the mod for 2015 with the explodeme.exe which auto mods the game through an application, which maybe is the issue but i figured if i deleted all the files the mod would be gone.

Anyone have any idea how i can start with a brand new base copy of MVP 05 and not have the mod installed?

Thank you, happy gaming

Long story short I got offered a job, they sent me a laptop I was supposed to get the login info for in an email prior to their virtual orientation, however, they no longer needed me by the time all that was supposed to have rolled around. I asked about what I should do with the laptop, and they were basically like “idk, keep it I guess.”

This was well over a year ago, and I’d honestly completely forgotten about the whole thing. Moved, got a job that actually hired me. I was cleaning out the winter stuff from my closet, and I found the laptop. I just tried to get in for the first time, and obviously, I cannot, because again, I never got any login info.

Is this just a very expensive brick right now, or is there a way to totally reset it? It’s an HP running windows.

I have worked at the same hotel for months now, and have never had this problem with connecting my laptop to the WiFi before. The troubleshooter just says “WiFi doesn’t have a valid IP configuration” and I can’t figure out how to fix it

I have already:
- attempted to open the hotel’s connect website, to no avail
- turned off firewall
- restarted laptop multiple times / attempted to reconnect multiple times
- uninstalled/reinstalled my WiFi network driver
- flushed DNS

I’ve tried connecting to other networks (ie: my hotspot) and that seemed to work fine

Is this just a router thing? Or is there anything I can do with my laptop to get it to connect again?

My PC seems to be getting locked at around 15 fps. It first started when I opened CS2. The game launched fine initially and was running at 200+ fps but as soon as I moved my mouse the FPS instantly dropped to exactly 15 and my entire PC/desktop also dropped to extremely low fps.

I opened AMD Adrenalin and it says my 9070 XT is at 100% utilization with 3000+ mhz clock speeds even while sitting on the desktop. The weird part is my temps stay around 50-55C, so the utilization/power/clocks don’t seem to match.

Task Manager shows completely different numbers than adrenaline, usually around 5-20% GPU utilization.

Things I’ve already tried:
- Reinstalled AMD drivers normally
- Reinstalled again using Factory Reset
- Cleared shader cache
- Verified CS2 game files
- Disabled Wallpaper Engine
- Closed SteelSeries GG / Sonar
- Checked monitor refresh rate (280Hz is set correctly)

The desktop sometimes feels normal after rebooting, but as soon as I launch CS2 and move my mouse the whole system goes back to 15 fps.

I have no clue what is causing this. I’ve heard about DDU uninstaller before and am thinking about trying that, but I’m not at all familiar with the process.

Any help would be appreciated.

I have a Lenovo Windows 11 Ideapad. It keeps lagging randomly and whirring loudly. I have tried pretty much everything digitally. It's about a year old. Is the computer just sucky or is there something we can do to fix this? I have Roblox and Cookie Run Ovenbreak on my computer, but not much else.

If you bought Team Group DDR4 or DDR5 desktop memory (RAM) in the U.S. between January 1, 2018 and February 28, 2026, you may qualify for cash from a false advertising class action settlement.

The lawsuit claims Team Group overstated the actual performance speeds of their DRAM modules (advertising speeds that required overclocking or XMP profiles to achieve). The company denies wrongdoing but settled.

Key Points:

• No proof needed for up to 5 units per household.

• With proof (receipts): Claim more than 5 units.

• Payouts are pro-rata based on total claims (estimates range from $10–$150+ depending on units claimed).

• Nationwide settlement.

• Deadline: August 2026

Full guide + direct claim link:

https://www.claimstacks.com/settlements/team-group-dram-settlement

I have a USB with a PS2 emulator and I’d like to be able to “plug and play” at any of my computers but whenever I plug it into any of them it sets the drive to either E: or D: so I have to redefine file paths each time which is annoying. I’ve discovered how to manually set a drive letter through windows, but that only assigns it for that specific computer, is there a way for me to be able to automatically set it once it’s plugged in?

I have no idea what's causing this issue it is unreplicable it happens randomly for no apparent reason I could be playing games watching videos doing literally nothing with nothing running at all I will be sitting there the screen will freeze my mouse will still be visible then it will become unresponsive and then black screen crash everything that is on the Pc except for YouTube or discord and then it'll be fine again