Audio: What is Integrated Digital
Audio?
Your PC comes with a new type of audio system, which is integrally part of your
PC's processor, BIOS, and operating system.Audio processing is performed digitally
on your microprocessor as part of your Windows® software drivers. A companion audio
CODEC (coder/decoder) from Analog Devices provides analog I/O and mixing functions.
Rather than connecting through a 8-133 MB/second ISA or PCI
peripheral bus, bus, your audio system uses the PC's new internal 266 MB/second hub link,
bypassing the peripheral buses that are already busy handling graphics data or LAN packet
transfers. The speaker and microphone signals are piped directly to/from the microprocessor
through their own dedicated interface, the Audio Codec (AC) link.
Audio:
Does the digital audio processing impact my PC's performance?
No, not for the large majority of applications. In most cases, the microprocessor performs
audio tasks in the background while it's waiting for storage devices or other peripherals
to finish their own operations. We've also included one of the more processor intensive tasks,
CTO sample rate conversion, into the CODEC's hardware.
Optical Drive: Why is the Optical Drive not
recognized?
These are four common causes for this problem:
- Incorrect jumper position on Optical driveIncorrect
jumper settings on Master Drive If the Optical Drive is attached to another IDE
device as a slave, then the Master drive must have its' jumpers positioned properly
to function in a Master / Slave configuration.Loose or disconnected IDE cable;
check cable connection.
- Loose or disconnected power cable; check cable connection.
Optical
Drive: How do I position the jumper on the back of the Optical Drive?
On the rear of the Optical drive is a set of 6 pins labeled CSEL, SL, and MA. If
the Optical Drive is attached as a slave to a hard drive, place the jumper across the pins
labeled SL. If the Optical Drive is attached to a separate controller, place the jumper across
MA. If the drive is not recognized, try jumping CSEL in addition to the MA / SL jumper.
Optical
Drive: Why do I hear no sound from my Optical Drive?
Use the 3-conductor end of the audio cable that came with the Optical drive, and attach it
to the 4-conductor audio input Data that goes into a computer device. on the sound card.
You will need to look at the pin-configuration diagrams in the Optical Drive Manual and the
Sound Card's Manual to determine which of the 4 pins must contact the 3-pin plug. NOTE: On
many sound boards, the plastic socket around the 4-pin audio connector can be gently pulled
off and provide access to the 4-pins that may be prevented by the presence of the plastic
socket.
CPU:
What is Dual Core?
An Intel dual-core processor consists of two complete execution cores in one physical processor,
each running at the same frequency. Both cores share the same packaging and the same interface
with the chipset/memory. Overall, an Intel dual-core processor offers a way of delivering
more capabilities while balancing power requirements, and is the first step in the multi-core
processor future.
Hard
Drive: Why does my computer hang or receive error messages on startup?
Make sure that the drive’s power and SATA cables are properly connected.
Hard
Drive: Why does my drive not power up?
Verify that only one power cable (either SATA or legacy) is connected to the drive. Check
to see that the power connector and SATA interface cable are securely attached.
Hard
Drive: Why are jumper settings not required for my Serial ATA drive?
The Serial ATA interface connects each drive in a point-to-point configuration with the built-in
SATA port on the motherboard. Each drive utilizes its own cable for data transfer rates.
Hard
Drive: How do I verify if my Serial ATA drive is recognized by my system?
Right-click on the My Computer icon, select Properties, left-click on the Hardware tab, and
click on Device Manager in the window. Double-click on Disk Drives. Your Serial ATA drive
should be listed as a "SCSI Disk Device" or "Serial ATA Disk Device." If
not, make sure that all cables are securely attached and that your system BIOS has been properly
configured.
Monitors
and video cards: Why does my monitor click and blink when I change screens?
A low to moderate clicking and a very brief pause between screens is usually normal, and
occurs when the video adapter card changes the video signal's resolution or refresh rate.
When this happens, the monitor (which was synchronized with the old signal), must automatically
synchronize to the new signal. This is what you are seeing and hearing.
Monitors
and video cards: Why is the screen image so small?
A screen image that is too small may be caused by one of the following:
- A resolution that is set too high. Solution: Try
setting the resolution to 640 x 480
- Horizontal and /or vertical size not adjusted properly.
Solution: Use monitor’s controls to adjust horizontal and vertical size.
Monitors
and video cards: What is Refresh Rate? What does it have to do with Resolution?
Vertical Scanning Frequency describes how often the monitor paints a complete monitor screen
or how many times the entire screen is redrawn per second. A refresh rate of 60Hz, for example,
means the screen is drawn 60 times per second. Higher refresh rates mean less image flicker.
Monitors
and video cards: What are the advantages of a High Refresh Rate?
The vertical refresh rate, sometimes called the vertical scanning frequency, describes how
often the monitor paints a complete screen (or refreshes the screen). Vertical frequencies
are measured in Hz. Higher vertical frequencies are associated with less flicker.
