problems Archives - Page 2 of 2 - TBNI.Blog

Plugable USB 3.0 Powered Hub : The Good News is it Seems to like an iMac

October 21, 2017October 22, 2013 by TomBoyNI

I recently posted up a thread in which I explained how my previous USB 2.0 Powered hub didn’t seem to like my new 2013 iMac and it was subsequently returned, and that I was on the look out for a replacement…

https://tbni.blog/2013/10/18/d-link-usb-2-0-7-port-hub-unboxing-important-mac-related-notes/

Well after a little searching I felt I may have found that replacement, and at this early stage it does indeed seem that I have.

So if you are a late 2012 or late 2013 iMac owner who has had issues with USB hubs not being able to cope then one worth trying for you is the ‘Plugable’ Powered USB 3.0 HUB. I picked it up on Amazon.co.uk for about £30.

For reference I currently have a 500Gb Portable USB 3.0 drive, a 1TB Portable USB 3.0 drive, and a powered 3TB USB 3.0 plugged into the rear of my iMac along with this 7 Port Powered Hub. In the HUB I have had running without any issues whatsoever a 320Gb Powered Drive and a further 1TB Powered drive (These are both USB 2.0). I have also had at the same time my iPhone 5s and iPad (3rd Generation) syncing and iPhoto pulling photos off my Panasonic TZ30 digital camera as well as my GoPro HD Hero 3 Black Edition.

Now admittedly there is a lot going on here on here and much more than I usually would be doing at one one time, but it was a good way to test the hub. The results were ‘two thumbs up’ everything worked away doing its thing, without any drive drop outs or apparently power problems. (My previous HUB failed on simply having the 2 external drives plugged into it).

So all in all after over a weeks use the HUB is yet to experience any issues or give me any problems. A firmware update is available however it must be done from a Windows machine. I have not at this stage completed this firmware upgrade as things are working well, and as the man says, ‘If it ain’t broke then don’t fix it.’

One little superstition I did carry out was before I plugged in any USB 2.0 devices into the HUB was I allowed each port to mount a USB 3.0 drive. I don’t know if this is a requirement, and to be honest I doubt very much it is, however it is something I and my colleagues always do with USB 3.0 ports – mount a USB 3.0 device first. The legend goes it lets the port know it is a 3.0 rather than getting locked in at 2.0 speeds.

So there you have it, if you are experiencing iMac related USB HUB issues this may well be the HUB worth trying, (one final thought is that the blue LEDs can be rather bright at night, so make sure you have some black electrical tape to cover them up).

Plugable USB 3.0 Powered HUB Unboxing Gallery :

Acer Aspire One D257 Netbook Windows 8 Installation

October 18, 2013 by TomBoyNI

Acer Aspire One D257 Windows 8 Installation :

I have decided to add this as an individual post to make it easier for anyone looking for specific information in relation to installation of windows 8 on a netbook, so apologies for the double post.

They say it couldn’t be done! They say it wont work! I say, ‘Bring it on!’

Every one loves a challenge right? So here is the thing Windows 8 is out, I have it. It was on my Mac, I got rid of the Mac, so I had a licence of Windows 8. I wanted it on my netbook. It requires a minimum resolution of 768. My netbook has a resolution of 600. They say nothing will work, I say we will tell it to work!

If you are in the same position and have a 600 resolution netbook and would like to see what Windows 8 is like, it is entirely possible. The upscaled resolution would look completely polished but it is entirely usable and more importantly fully functional!

This machine comes with Windows 7 Starter Edition so the first thing to do is to make sure it is fully updated so run windows update.

– Now Install Windows 8 – as you would if upgrading any machine. Run the ‘Setup’ from the USB / media…Windows 8 will install.

D-Link USB 2.0 7 Port Hub Unboxing & Important Mac Related Notes

October 18, 2013 by TomBoyNI

Whilst I was still using my MacBook Pro I had also been using a USB Hub, although due to power restraints I had to upgrade to a Powered Hub. After a little research the D-Link 7 USB 2.0 Powered Hub seemed to be the way forward. I ordered it up and upon its arrival I plugged in it, stuck in in the MBP and now had an extra six USB 2.0 Hubs to play with.

On this machine it worked flawlessly, never missing a beat, my machine didn’t have USB3.0 so that wasn’t an issue and this hub happily powered four HDDs (2 of which were powered, 2 were portable). It also worked whilst syncing my iphone / ipad and camera. No complaints whatsoever on this machine.

This specific Hub also has two ports which are dedicated to charging. They are ports six and seven, and if your machine is powered down but the hub is still on (via the wall socket) you can use ports six or seven to charge your phone / tablet etc. It does not charge whilst the machine is in use.

For reference the machine this Hub was being used with was a Early 2011 MackBook Pro i7 2.2GHz (1Gb Graphics), 8Gb RAM, USB 2.0 with a Apple Cinema Display attached via Thunderbolt.

Then came the problems. I upgraded my computer to an iMac. It was at this point that this hub stopped working.

Again for reference the machine it was being used with was a late 2013 27″ iMac i7 3.5Ghz, (4Gb NVIDIA Graphics), 8Gb RAM, USB 3.0.

In this set up I used 3 of the 4 USB 3.0 ports on the rear of the machine to deal with three USB 3.0 hard drives (2 portable and one powered). The forth port was used to power the D-Link Hub. At this point only 2 hard drives were being used in it (both themselves powered desktop drives). This is when things started to fail. Both drives would mount momentarily, then disconnect with errors, mount -> disconnect and repeat! If you removed one drive the other mount successfully (either drive). Either drive would successfully mount via the USB ports to the rear of the machine.

For some reason when both drives were plugged into this port things failed. My only option was to bin the hub and try again with a new one. A quick Google search for USB hub problems with an iMac do tend to suggest that this is an issue with many hubs and the power they require as opposed to what they actually supply.

As expected customer service from Amazon was excellent and a new hub was ordered.

D-Link USB 2.0 Hub Gallery :

Griffin Protector Case Unboxing and Quick Thoughts

October 18, 2013 by TomBoyNI

This isn’t so much of a review as more of an initial quick thought post.

I purchased this case as a quick installing silicon case for my iPhone 5s, at this stage such cases specific to the iPhone 5s are pretty scarce, so this case is one that has been in production since the iPhone 5. There is no functionality for the Touch ID fingerprint sensor, but other than that everything else is perfectly functional. All ports are accessible and the camera cut out works well, both with and without flash.

I won’t dwell on this case too much by simply stating the obvious, this is a silicon case, it has reinforced corners offering a good degree of drop and bump (or as it says on the packaging ‘jolt) protection.

It is face safe in that the edge of the case around the screen ensures the screen itself does not come in contact with a flat surface, should it be placed screen down on one.

I like silicon cases for the protection they offer, although like most such cases there are a few negatives.

– This case catches dust and dirt – a lot. Even in the unboxing images this is cleary evident, remember at this stage this case has been out of its packaging for mere seconds…

– With only one application there was evidence of stretching…

Spigen Tough Armor Case for Apple iPhone 5/5s Unboxing and Review

October 17, 2013 by TomBoyNI

With the addition of the Touch ID Finger Print sensor on the new iPhone 5s it has meant that case developers are still working on the technology for my usual style of tough cases such as the Griffin Survivor, or Otterbox Armor / Defender Series. Obviously anything for the iPhone 5 that covers the home button will not be compatible with the new iPhone 5s’ Touch ID Sensor.

And like anyone with a new toy I want to play with it, so at this point covering the Home button isn’t the option I want to use. A quick search on the net then pointed my in the direction of a manufacturer called Spigen. I haven’t owned a Spigen case, nor seen or used one before so on taking some online reviews at their word I ordered myself a Spigen Tough Armor case. It was pretty expensive at £20 from Amazon, however if the reviews are correct it should be a £20 well spent.

As usual with Amazon it arrived quickly and on taking it out of the box I was pretty impressed. The case feels solid, and well manufactured. It looks good, the white version complementing the white iPhone well. The subtle branding of the case looks smart. The explanation of the tech behind it is basically impact diversion. The case takes a knock and the design of the case then spreads the forces from the impact throughout the case, keeping the forces away from your phone. The result is it shouldn’t break. Thats the theory anyway and the inside of the case has nice lines running from corner to corner, maybe this is an illustration of the force distribution or something. I think it looks like flight plans plotted on a flattened out globe, but anyway that hardly matters.

One thing I really did like about this case is that it comes with a serial number that you type into the Spigen website and it checks the authenticity of the case. As you will see from previous posts I have been a victim of counterfeiters before and this is a really nice idea by Spigen. Something other premium branded and high cost case makers should consider implementing,

The phone fits well into the case. The buttons are responsive, power and volume buttons are covered. The remaining ports and silent rocker switch are left open. There is a cut out on the rear for the shiney Apple logo to peek through, ye know just in case some one might not be aware you are using an iPhone.

G-Form Extreme Case for iPhone 5/5s – Unboxing and Review

October 21, 2017October 17, 2013 by TomBoyNI

Having been using my G-Form Case for my iPad since April 2012 and with it still going strong, (although a little dirtier than when it started life) I had a G-Form case ordered and sitting on my desk about 10 days before I even had my iPhone 5s. I had made an enquiry with G-Form to make sure it would fit (which it does) and that order was placed.

I am a huge G-Form fan, the iPad case I use is this one :

https://tbni.blog/2012/04/27/april-2012-review-g-form-extreme-sleeve-for-ipad-and-others-up-to-10/

I have had my iPad safely homed in it for 18 months and it has been in some strange and wonderful places. The iPad is still absolutely immaculate, the case although the yellow shows up any marks is still 100%, the material is uncreased, unfolded with no scuffs or tears. It is generally in a back pack but I have 100% faith in the job it is doing in there, after all back packs are not generally one of the safest nor more stable places on earth!

It is for these reasons that I decided to entrust my brand spanking new release day iPhone 5s to G-Form.

The case feels tough and strong with the reassuring ‘squigginess’ of the G-Form material. The case has a certain ‘tackiness’ or ‘stickiness’ that means you can put the case on the dash of your car and most of the time it will sit there, however it wouldn’t be as sticky as, for example, a Griffin Survivor. It slips into your pocket and out again with ease, something the pure silicon cases don’t. And it isn’t a dust magnet, so unlike the silicon cases when you put it into your pocket it doesn’t come out as if it has just done an impression of a vacuum in your pocket.

The case is face-safe, in that it has a raised lip sitting above the bezel of the screen, meaning you can place it face down on a desk and the screen won’t touch the desk.

All ports are open and plugging in the official Apple sync charging cable causes no issues, however the official Apple 9 pin to 30 pin connector won’t fit in, you would need the cabled adapter if this was an accessory you relied on.

The camera ports caused me no issues when taking photos, with or without the flash.

The full screen is open so using the Touch-ID fingerprint scanner on the iPhone 5s isn’t an issue.

Nook Simple Glow Light – UnBoxing

October 17, 2013 by TomBoyNI

In my previous post I mentioned my Nook Simple Touch. A short time after I bought this Banes and Ernst dropped the price of the Nook Simple Glow Light to £49.

I had mentioned in the above post that one of the only faults with the Nook Simple Touch was the fact that without a source of light you couldn’t read from it. The Nook Simple Glow Light solves this problem.

The Glow Light is a back lit e-Reader and makes reading your Nook anywhere a complete possibility. It has been mentioned across the web that the back light isn’t great, however I think that it is important to point out that there is nothing else at this price point offering such a complete e-Reader experience. The light isn’t as uniform as that of the likes of a Kindle. However it is perfectly usable making reading in the dark a doddle!

My advice however is, if you are going for a Nook, go for the Glow Light, I didn’t think having a back light would have made much of a difference, however it only took me a matter of hours before I realised how handy it would actually be. The most obvious on is in bed. No back light means a bed side light at the minimum needs to be on. The just by lying on your back you arm is likely to cast a shadow on the screen blocking off part of that ‘page.’ The back light removes any such problems and at such an affordable price point you should definitely considering making the extra investment in the Nook Simple Glow Light.

Finally one other difference between the two is that the Nook Simple Glow Light comes supplied with a waller charger (plug & lead – the lead doubles up for data transfer purposes also). The Nook Simple Touch comes only with a charging and data transfer lead, if you don’t already have a compatible wall charger you will need to buy one or rely on charging through a USB port on your computer.

Fake OtterBox Defender for iPhone 5s Damages Phone.

October 16, 2013 by TomBoyNI

Following on from my last post I put together this very quick video illustrating the damage that the FAKE Otterbox Defender for iPhone 5s did to my phone.

Thankfully this damage was able to be cleaned off, thanks solely (in my opinion) to the protective shield I had installed. I can’t imagine cleaning this off the aluminium would have been in any way easy!

[youtube=http://youtu.be/SyBNsnVzsj8]

My advice on this one is simply, avoid any FAKE Otterbox Defender cases like the plague!

FAKE Otterbox Defender for iPhone 5s – Unboxing, Review and Warning!

October 9, 2013 by TomBoyNI

IMPORTANT UPDATE : After making contact with Otterbox this case has found to be fake! A refund was received from the seller who claims it was a genuine mistake. The original post has been corrected by removing any reference to this case being genuine and any Otterbox related conclusions then, I would like to stress Otterbox were extremely helpful as was the original seller, however at this point I will use this post and associated gallery as an illustration of what you can look for for!

For clarity here is a copy of the confirmation I received from OtterBox informing me the case was fake :

iTunes 11 – It is Here!

December 3, 2012 by TomBoyNI

Screen Shot 2012-11-29 at 21.57.25

Apparently the new iTunes is ground breaking, designed from the base up, intuitive, streamlined and ready to rock your musical library!

It is now here, and ready for download, and has been for a couple of days. I have been using at it now since its release and I quite like it. However I really liked iTunes 10, I know people said it was bloat, useless junk, however it did what I needed it to do, and for that reason I liked it.

So how then does iTunes 11 cope or compare. Well in my opinion at this early stage it copes, but only just. There is no doubt it is nice to look at but in my short time playing around with it I have the following questions!

Disclosure :