Q: I've seen a lot of press talking about the new Ultra-DMA/100 standard, but now I'm seeing terms like Ultra-ATA and Ultra-DMA. Are these all the same things? If so, what's the difference between them?
A: With so many terms and acronyms in the PC industry, we sometimes get sloppy and use terms interchangeably when we probably shouldn't. Even I have done this from time to time, but maybe I can make amends here. Ultra-ATA refers to the latest implementation of the ATA-5 standard that provides for larger, faster hard drives and ATAPI devices (i.e. CD-ROM drives). Unfortunately, "the industry" also uses the terms Ultra-DMA or Ultra-DMA/100, which also relates to the drives, but refers more to the extended data-transfer rate supported by Ultra-ATA (specifically multiword DMA data transfers at up to 100Mbps). In practice, all three terms refer to the same class of hard drives and controllers.
Q: My monitor becomes really fuzzy about once a week. It started to happen when I got my new Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 video card and new Asus P/I-P55T2P4 motherboard. The monitor is a Viewsonic 6E. Do you have any solutions or suggestions?
A: This is a tough symptom to call because "really fuzzy" can be interpreted a lot of different ways. I doubt that it's your Viewsonic monitor because the problem didn't start until after you upgraded the video board. It sounds like you're suffering an intermittent condition that is probably related to the new video board. Start with the obvious and double-check your connection to the monitor (loose connections can play havoc with the display). Also check to see if there are any later video drivers for the board. Even though the board may be new, there's no telling how long it's been in the box. Also verify that the new video board is seated properly in its expansion slot. You might try the board in another slot (away from other expansion devices, if possible).
Also check to see if the problem occurs only in particular applications (or combinations of applications). Your new video board may not be fully compatible with a particular game or other application that you use only infrequently. If that's the case, there's not much you can do but update the offending application(s) to a later version that better supports the new video board. If the problem continues, you might consider replacing the video board with the same model (to see if your video board may simply be defective), or switch to a different model outright.
Q: I just added a new exhaust fan to help the air flow in my system. It's a 12-volt box-type fan. I used a Y-adapter to split power from the hard drive. The problem is that now my hard drive is acting weird-I sometimes get errors when saving or reading files. How could a fan do this?
A: You have a power problem. Both your hard drive and box fan are very power-hungry devices, and hard drives can be extremely sensitive to variations in power (as well as to "noise" in the power wiring). When you try to run the fan and hard drive with the Y-adapter, there just isn't enough power left to run the hard drive effectively. Fans are also notorious for producing electrical noise, which can travel back into the power supply-and your hard drive. Try disconnecting the box fan. You might also remove the Y-adapter and reconnect the hard drive directly to the power supply cable. I bet you'll find that your hard drive will run reliably again.
There are generally two solutions to your problem. First, you can use the Y-adapter to split fan power from a different place. Most technicians will split the power going to a floppy drive since the floppy drive is only used infrequently and is less sensitive to power variations than a hard drive. Second, you can upgrade your power supply to a model that offers some additional drive power cables. This means you can operate the fan directly without having to split power from another device. Of course, it is cheaper and faster to simply use the Y-adapter.
Despite all that, you may still encounter power problems. If you rearrange your Y-adapter and continue to see your hard drive acting up, it may be that your power supply is being overloaded by the additional box fan. This can happen on systems using under-rated power supplies, or on systems that already have a lot of drives and expansion boards in place. In this case, you have little alternative but to forego the extra fan, or upgrade your power supply.
Stephen J. Bigelow is the author of "Troubleshooting, Maintaining, and Repairing Personal Computers (4th edition)." He is also publisher of The PC Toolbox troubleshooting newsletter http://www.dlspubs.com.
