Random Tech Questions you want answered.

PaladinTom wrote:

How come some games allow you to change audio outputs in Windows after you've launched them, and other don't?

If directing audio to different outputs is something you do a lot, I highly suggest learning and using Voicemeeter Banana.

Make VB the default input and output, then toggle which physical output(s) are getting the signal in VB.

I use this to direct audio between my standard headset, Oculus Rift built-in headphones, and monitor speakers.

*Legion* wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

How come some games allow you to change audio outputs in Windows after you've launched them, and other don't?

If directing audio to different outputs is something you do a lot, I highly suggest learning and using Voicemeeter Banana.

Make VB the default input and output, then toggle which physical output(s) are getting the signal in VB.

I use this to direct audio between my standard headset, Oculus Rift built-in headphones, and monitor speakers.

For me, Windows 10 has made switching really easy in software lately, and only becomes an issue when some games launch and they lock in the audio output. Some time in the last couple years (I think) Windows updated and you can just toggle between all of your audio outputs at the volume icon in the taskbar and then clicking on the name of the output to open the list to select another. Prior to that, it involved going into the sound settings for me.

So does VB really offer that much more flexibility?

mrtomaytohead wrote:

So does VB really offer that much more flexibility?

Yes. It's basically a software mixing board.

bepnewt wrote:

Do you guys have any recommendations on a gadget I can use to run Bluetooth through my Denon? Here's pics of it if that will help. I'm currently only using the 2 HDMI inputs and the 2 front, 1 center, and the SW outputs. I don't have my 2 back speakers mounted in this oddly shaped room, yet.

-BEP

Edit: I will do my own standard research; I'm just hoping somebody here has been through this and has personal feedback.

*Legion* wrote:

You're looking for something like this

Have you used that one before? If so, what's your happiness rating with it?

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

You're looking for something like this

Have you used that one before? If so, what's your happiness rating with it?

I actually used this specific one in my car, to turn my AUX jack into a Bluetooth input. (There are smaller ones more suited to car use, but usually of lesser quality). I found it to be pretty nice. One great thing was the NFC connection, so I could touch my phone back to the top of the device to establish the connection. (I could also simply pick the device from my phone's Bluetooth device list as well).

*Legion* wrote:
bepnewt wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

You're looking for something like this

Have you used that one before? If so, what's your happiness rating with it?

I actually used this specific one in my car, to turn my AUX jack into a Bluetooth input. (There are smaller ones more suited to car use, but usually of lesser quality). I found it to be pretty nice. One great thing was the NFC connection, so I could touch my phone back to the top of the device to establish the connection. (I could also simply pick the device from my phone's Bluetooth device list as well).

Thanks, Legion. That NFC capability seems mighty convenient.

-BEP

*Legion* wrote:
PaladinTom wrote:

How come some games allow you to change audio outputs in Windows after you've launched them, and other don't?

If directing audio to different outputs is something you do a lot, I highly suggest learning and using Voicemeeter Banana.

Make VB the default input and output, then toggle which physical output(s) are getting the signal in VB.

I use this to direct audio between my standard headset, Oculus Rift built-in headphones, and monitor speakers.

Thanks! Will give it a go.

TheGameguru wrote:

I would try the manual windows update and go to version 1903. Make sure you remove any usb or SD cards.

Hit the Update Now from this link

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/soft...

it will download the tool that will update to 1903 bypassing any incremental updates you might be getting stuck on.

I thought that I'd gotten it through repeated use of the "Windows Update Settings" screen, but this morning the popup came back. Thank you for the link; I'm about to give it a try. I don't have any USB drives plugged in (and haven't had any for the duration of the issue) so hopefully it'll take.

Has anyone purchased a pair of truly wireless earbuds with AptX on them? I'm on a mission to get one that does not have an audio/video delay. I have BT headphones that have a wire wrapping around my head and that works fine with audio/video delay. I've already sent 3 wireless earbuds back...None of them had AptX.

Jonman wrote:

I've started to have some stuttering issues across several games, including ones that shouldn't be particularly taxing my rig (e.g. Enter The Gungeon).

How do I go about troubleshooting this?

I had this problem recently and I have a 1080ti, I fixed it by disabling GSync, not sure why though, but I was seeing stuttering in Borderlands 2 and Plague Tale

Hi all,

So not one but both of my backup external hard drives have failed. Took them to a repair place and was told that at this point I needed to send them to data recovery. Does anyone have recommendations on which services to use and approximately how much it's gonna cost? I'm hearing that it will cost hundreds but hope it's not that much.

Good recovery will average around $2000ish to realistically get around 70-80% of the data recovered. It works if the data is critical though but don't expect miracles.

Two problems, one annoying, one worrying...

Annoying - After some amount of time and use, my mouse cursor changes erratically. As it moves across areas where it would change, sometimes it does not change, but stays with whatever it last changed to. So when it should be an arrow, it's a double angle, or an insert symbol. Most used programs are Firefox and Path of Exile. Two Win 10 updates in the last month or so... Started in late July.

Worrying - After an unknown period of uptime, a tiny sliver of the middle of the screen displaces to the far right edge. When booting, there is sometimes an empty spot in a similar area of the screen while the rest of the screen is displaying; then it fills in. Worried that this is a memory failure. Running a 1660 TI with G-Sync and compatible monitor.

Any thoughts welcome.

Robear wrote:

Annoying - After some amount of time and use, my mouse cursor changes erratically. As it moves across areas where it would change, sometimes it does not change, but stays with whatever it last changed to. So when it should be an arrow, it's a double angle, or an insert symbol.

Weird. Sounds like what's happening is the coordinates of your mouse pointer is being successfully sent to your GPU (which, presumably, is continuing to draw the hardware cursor it's been told to draw at the new coordinates), but the OS is not correctly processing "oh hey, mouse has moved here, this area requires this different mouse cursor."

Once upon a time, there was a way to force Windows into software mouse pointer rendering, which might give you some big clues as to what's going on, but it's been too many decades and I probably drank those brain cells away anyway. If you can't google up a way of doing it, you might sidestep your way into forcing it by downloading a custom mouse cursor (does Windows even still support that? I don't know).

Or, the GPU memory is messed up and presenting the wrong cursor... Hmmm. Dunno how likely that is but it's worrying.

Please no cursoring in this thread. Keep it clean.

Having a gaming controller (even just the dongle for one) plugged in when you don't need it has caused problems with the mouse cursor for me in the past

Oh, sure, get past the cursor ban with a casual dongle mention. I'm watching you.

(The odd thing is that I've recently unplugged the Nostromo I had in there. So no extra controllers. Have not removed the software, but as I recall, it uses the HID driver anyway, so there should be no change there.)

I've seen display scaling screw up relative cursor behavior. App thinks it has X*Y and windows thinks it has (x*1.25)*(y*1.25) and hilarity ensues.

Hmmm. But why would it do it at the native desktop resolution, thereafter? (Referring to the strip on the right in this case).

Without seeing it the strip thing sounds more like a short in the LCD panel circuitry. Especially if it is always the same set of pixels that transpose. If it was the GPU I'd expect the fault to switch places and manifest in different ways as different parts of the rendering process utilize the faulty bits. Always in the same spot makes me think issues with the physical display itself.

I'd at least try to eliminate that possibility.

Hmmm. Okay. I'll keep that in mind, Rezzy. I don't have another monitor to try, but I guess I could try a different cable...

Tempest wrote:

Has anyone purchased a pair of truly wireless earbuds with AptX on them? I'm on a mission to get one that does not have an audio/video delay. I have BT headphones that have a wire wrapping around my head and that works fine with audio/video delay. I've already sent 3 wireless earbuds back...None of them had AptX.

Delay when connected to what? There are a lot of factors in play, like AptX-LL being pretty rarely implemented, different devices using different Bluetooth revisions, and even devices supporting the Audio Video Distribution Transport Protocol that keeps things in sync but not always enabling it (classic/worst case being YouTube's app on iOS being a laggy mess compared to YouTube in Safari working as intended).

So, my wife’s Samsung phone's browser seems to have been hijacked - every time she opens it, 4 to 6 tabs open on pages that all look the same. I’ve tried a couple malware-remover software, but they’re not detecting anything.

Any ideas?

That happened to me on my iPhone, and there is usually a way in the app settings to reset the app data. If that doesn't work, you may have to do a factory reset.

Wink_and_the_Gun wrote:

So, my wife’s Samsung phone's browser seems to have been hijacked - every time she opens it, 4 to 6 tabs open on pages that all look the same. I’ve tried a couple malware-remover software, but they’re not detecting anything.

Any ideas?

Can you install another browser for Android (like Firefox) and set it to default? At least you have peace of mind knowing you can always wipe and re-install if it happens again.

I probably need to upgrade my OS from Windows 7 to Windows 10 soon. Are there any pitfalls I should watch out for?

Laptop or desktop?

Desktop.

Performance shouldn't be an issue, this is a fairly recent build and the only part that's getting long in the tooth is the NVidia GPU, which is now a couple of generations behind.

The SSD with the OS on it is a bit short on space, but I freed up a bunch by moving a lot of documents to the multi-terabyte HDDs.

Gremlin wrote:

Desktop.

Performance shouldn't be an issue, this is a fairly recent build and the only part that's getting long in the tooth is the NVidia GPU, which is now a couple of generations behind.

The SSD with the OS on it is a bit short on space, but I freed up a bunch by moving a lot of documents to the multi-terabyte HDDs.

I’m running an older i5 with a 770gtx, and haven’t had any problems.