Your questions answered
Broken Alienware?
TechLife responds: There are two versions of the Alienware 25 monitor, and which model you have will determine which card you’ll need. The G-Sync version (model number AW2518H) requires a G-Sync compatible card, which basically means GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost or higher. If you have an AMD card – any Radeon RX model – you’ll need the FreeSync version (AW2518HF). One final consideration: 240Hz mode is only available through DisplayPort, it’s not supported through HDMI, so make sure your card has a DP 1.2 or better.
If you have the G-Sync model with a compatible Nvidia graphics card, open Nvidia Control Panel and click “Set up G-SYNC” under “Display.” Check “Enable G-SYNC” and click “Apply.” Then, verify the AW2518H is the primary display under “Set up Multiple Displays,” select “Manage 3D settings” under “3D Settings,” and click the “Monitor Technology” dropdown to check G-Sync is the selected feature.
Still struggling with G-Sync? Visit http://bit.ly/MPCblurbusters for a guide to setting up and optimising it.
Move programs to new drive
Expert solutions for everday problems.
My monitor is an Alienware 25 and it says it will display 240Hz, but if I go to my settings to change it to 240Hz the screen goes black and then nothing happens until it reverts automatically to 60Hz. Do I need to have an Nvidia graphics card, or can I use it with an AMD graphics card?
Gregory Muenzer
I want to know how to move my
OS. I’ve upgraded from a 2TB Western Digital Black SATA HD to a 6TB WD Black drive.
I want to move Windows 10 Home x64 to an SSD all by itself
and keep my program files on a separate 6TB drive with Windows pointing to the data drive. Is it possible to do this and not have to reinstall all my programs?
I asked the tech support department for WD and Acronis (I used their drive clone software for my HD upgrade). Both tech support departments replied with responses that sounded like they were reading from a script, basically saying, “Yes, you can clone the old drive to the new drive very easily.” I restated the original question and both companies skated around the question with the same reply. If it is possible to do this, what is the best-size SSD to use for Windows 10 Home x64? William Heckel
TechLife responds: It’s technically possible to split off your programs and Windows without reinstalling everything, but TechLife isn’t a fan of doing so – apps and Windows are tied together so tightly you might as well keep everything on the same partition. Now that 500GB SSD drives can be had for around $90, you should find that it leaves you ample room for Windows and most apps.
What you can and should do is keep your personal files on a separate partition, so if something happens to your Windows partition they’re still accessible. Step one of the process is to partition your current 6TB drive in two, then transfer across all your photos, documents, files, and so on to the new partition. Do this by opening File Explorer to “This PC,” right-clicking each of your user folders – Desktop, Documents, and so on—in turn and choosing “Properties > Location” tab to move it to your newly created partition. This ensures that Windows knows where the files have been moved to. Click “OK,” the files will be moved (not copied) to free up space on ther partition.
After you’ve moved everything across, your Windows partition should be much smaller, but if it’s still larger than your SSD drive, here’s the bit you’ll be most interested in: Moving apps and programs without reinstalling them. With apps installed through the Microsoft Store, navigate to “Start > Settings > Apps,” click on an app, and use the”Move” button to switch the drive it’s installed on.
Most programs can’t be moved this way, which is where a free tool (Steam Mover, www.traynier.com/ software/steammover) comes to the rescue. The app moves selected programs across to your data partition, then creates special shortcut links called “junction points” to fool Windows into thinking they’re still on your C drive.
Steam Mover is incredibly easy to use: Launch the program as an administrator and click “…” next to the “Steam Apps Common Folder” shortcut to select your Program Files folder, which is where most of your programs should reside. If you’re running a 64-bit version of Windows, programs are mostly split between here and the Program Files (x86) folders, so after moving programs from one folder, select the other and repeat the process.
Now click “…” next to “Alternative Folder” to choose a folder on your data partition. Finally, using the Size column to help identify the largest programs, Ctrl-click on the program(s) you wish to copy across. Once selected, click the blue right-facing arrow button at the bottom, and the files will be transferred. All actions can be undone later.
Focus on transferring as few programs as you can get away with – they’ll launch and run more slowly than those on your SSD, so place less frequently used programs on your data partition.
The final step of the process will be to clone your Windows partition
to the new SSD using a suitable tool, making sure it copies the boot partitions as well as Windows itself. Once done, reboot, making sure your PC is configured to boot from the SSD – once back into Windows, which should boot more quickly now you’re on the faster SSD, you should be able to remove the original Windows partition from your 6TB drive and reallocate the space to your data partition or keep it separate (perhaps as a backup drive for your main Windows partition).
Potentially tricky RAM upgrade
I built my current system last summer around an MSI MEG Z390 ACE mothrboard and a Noctua NH-D15S fan with only the original (inside) fan fitted. I currently have two G-skill Trident Z RGB 8GB DDR4-3200 sticks in the “proper” slots. Is it possible to add two more sticks without removing the Noctua tower first to do it? I know they will fit below the fan if I can get them in there. It seems like there’s enough room to slip it in below the fan, but I don’t want to have to remove that fan to do it. My system is performing fine now, but I’d like to do a bit more future-proofing.
DocDJ
TechLife responds: Judging from your motherboard manual, it appears you’ve got DIMMs in slots A2 and B2, which leaves the slot closest to the CPU as the trickiest to populate. That said, it looks like there should be enough clearance to get a new RAM stick fitted without too much trouble – although you’ll need to temporarily remove at least one stick of existing RAM (the one in slot A2) to give yourself room to fit the new RAM into slot A1 underneath the fan.
In fact, why wait to determine if you’ll be able to fit the upgrade without having to remove the fan? Power down your PC, and then open the case, having remembered to take the usual anti-static precautions. Remove the stick of RAM from slot A2, then try fitting it into slot A1 (if it’s a bit cramped, consider removing the stick of RAM from slot B2 too to give you more room). Once you’ve confirmed whether it’s possible, simply restore the RAM to the original slots, reboot, and you’ll know exactly what to expect when you upgrade your memory.
File recovery
I accidentally deleted three SMV files from a flash drive. I recovered the files using Recuva, but they’re corrupted. What can I do to recover such corrupted files? The videos are messages I made for my son, and I would like to keep the original files and not just make new ones. Thank you!
Scott Sherrill
TechLife responds: The key to any data-recovery operation is to stop writing files to the affected drive as soon as you’re aware that data has been lost. As soon as part of the deleted files has been physically overwritten with fresh data, your chances of retrieving a non-corrupted file are pretty much zero. File recovery also works better with more commonly used file types rather than niche formats like SMV.
All may not be lost, however: Because it’s an uncommon file type (along with the fact Recuva hasn’t been updated since 2016), you might find that another tool is better at retrieving it. Two tools to try are EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard ( http://bit.ly/MPCeasus), which can recover up to 2TB of data for free, and DMDE Free Edition ( https://dmde.com), which is a powerful tool supporting a wide range of file systems.
Why drive letter X?
What causes the HDD drive to change from C: to X: on booting? Manuel Trucco
TechLife responds: The X: you’re seeing on booting into the Windows recovery environment isn’t your Windows partition, but a temporary RAM disk created by WinRE to load its own files into. That said, typing c: and hitting Return at this point wouldn’t necessarily have taken you to your Windows partition, so first type “diskpart” and hit Enter, then type “list volume” and hit Enter to see what letters the recovery environment had allocated to your drives. In rare cases drive letters may appear to be mixed up where there is more than one volume, but it’s all temporary – when rebooted, the Windows drive would have reverted to drive C. Ultimately none of this would have hindered any subsequent attempts to repair your system using the Lazesoft Recovery Disk.
We recommend taking the time to set up a robust backup system using Macrium Reflect Free ( www.macrium.com/reflectfree) to take regular system images of the entire drive to prevent any future disasters.