Advice Thread

[Elomin Sha]

Not really, depending on how often you recharge the controller or if you are charging and playing at the same time. The latter can wear out the battery. I have to tell customers this every day especially with preowned items. You had the controller new right?

[Bebop Man]

Yep, both controllers new, and I never charge and play at the same time. Suddenly one of them works fine and the other (also works fine) but won't charge any more.

A part of me wonders if it's just an error - maybe the controller is already fully charged. You know the red light that should be blinking whenever it's charging? It doesn't blink. All I have to go on is the battery icon (which is half depleted) that shows up at the top right of the screen.

So I don't know what to do. Should I keep playing and see if the battery dies on me?

[Elomin Sha]

Usually when charging the light should stay on. It blinks when trying to find the console.

[Bebop Man]

Roger that, but where does that leave me?

[Elomin Sha]

You may have a battery that has a shorter life expectancy than normal for some reason.
I'd say charge it fully and keep using it until it goes to see how long it lasts. I think PS3 controllers should last about 24 hours. If it is lower I'd say replace the battery (it's easy to do, I've smashed a few PS3 controllers when we write them off at work so I know what the insides look like), a couple of screws and a single cable on the inside.

On an interesting note, PS3 controllers are the easiest to destroy. 360 take a little more effort, Wiimotes you have have to put your foot through them to break it.

[ch3m1kal]

I've had to open up one of my PS3 controllers after it got some coke spilled on it and the PS button was sticking.

The battery pack is indeed replaceable.
You can pick one up for next to nothing from Deal Extreme (yes, that price does include shipping)
http://www.dx.com/p/replacement-1800mah-lithium-battery-pack-for-ps3-wireless-dualshock-controllers-13314#.VFzPxPmUd8E

The only tricky part of the whole process is that the 2 boards inside are joined by a ribbon cable that doesn't actually plug into anything, but is in fact held in place by the position of the board and is pretty annoying to get it aligned correctly when you're putting it back together. (you'll know what I mean when you open it up)
There's also a little bit of plastic behind the triggers that likes popping out of alignment when you try to close the thing.

Other than that it's fairly easy, you just need to be a little patient with the fiddly little bastard.

[Bebop Man]

Haven't opened it up yet but the more I think about it the more I'm sure it's a problem with the controller's USB port. It can't be the battery, I've had both controllers for little over a year and only one of them is acting funny like that. But then why would the USB port go faulty? Anyway, I'm hoping I can discover whatever's going on inside on my own.

[Elomin Sha]

USB fault could be to excessive force or wiggle on the connection.

[Bebop Man]

Hmmmm OK... if I open up the controller, can I manually accomodate the USB port myself?

[Elomin Sha]

What do you mean by that?

[Bebop Man]

Like, if the problem is the controller's USB port (the hole at the top where you plug the cable), can I fix that by opening it?

[Elomin Sha]

Possibly, but that may be more effort than the battery.

[viscomica]

Like, if the problem is the controller's USB port (the hole at the top where you plug the cable), can I fix that by opening it?

You can have it replaced.
EDIT: I don't own a ps3 but once one of the USB ports of my computer stopped working and had to have it replaced. I don't recall it being expensive.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

How do I digital Art?
What computer programme is best for creating digital images from scratch (digital painting).
This is so I know which evening university course to do.

[Bebop Man]

Like, if the problem is the controller's USB port (the hole at the top where you plug the cable), can I fix that by opening it?

You can have it replaced.
EDIT: I don't own a ps3 but once one of the USB ports of my computer stopped working and had to have it replaced. I don't recall it being expensive.

I don't think that's an option at all.

[Dutch guy]

In that case the big question becomes, how handy are you with a soldering iron?

[Bebop Man]

EDIT: Switched batteries between good controller and bad controller. Bad controller continues to not charge. So I guess it's not a battery thing. Any more ideas or do I just drop off the controller for tech support, throw money at it and get it over with?

[Lord Chrusher]

I assume that a replacement controller would be ridiculously expensive in Argentina.

[Bebop Man]

Not as expensive as dropping it off for tech service, I hope. I'm just pissed I don't understand why it won't charge, just like that, overnight.

[ZePancakes]

I've had 2 controllers do that sort of thing and I feel like it had to due wear and tear from plugging it in and taking it out.

I just forked over and bought one of the off-brand controllers for half the price. The dongle for it to work takes up one USB slot, but for my needs it has been fine.

[Kapol]

So, due to not being able to find a computer I like in the range I wanted, I decided to build my own. Here's what I'm currently thinking/looking at:

Rosewell CHALLENGER ATX Mid case
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD3 AM3+ AMD 990FX + SB950
AMD FX-8350 Black Edition Vishera 8-Core Processor (I might go with the 8320 instead unless the extra .5 gigahertz per core will make a huge difference)
G.SKILL Ripjaw series 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
SAPPHIRE 100364L Radeon R9 270X 2GB GPU
RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-630SS 630W ATX12V PSU

I've also considered going with an A-10, but I figured that getting it wouldn't be necessary given I intend to get a dedicated graphics card. I also have just a junk DVD drive for basic stuff. I need to find a decent HD. I'll likely use a product key from my now-broken laptop for Windows 7, or just use my HD from my current computer.

The advice I'm looking for is... will all this work together? Is there any adjustments (either around the same price or cheaper) that can be suggested? This will be my first time building my own PC, and I'm nervous about it.

Alternatively, I could just upgrade my current PC with a new GPU and get some more DDR2 RAM to up it to current standards, then get a decent gaming laptop for the extra cost. But given my PC is now 5 years old, I think it's getting time for an upgrade. Current specs are a Asus P5Q motherboard, an Intel Q9550 CPU, a GTX 260 GPU, 4 gigs of RAM, and some other basic stuff.

[Lord Hosk]

Does anyone have any actual experience with Indian appreciative gift giving norms?

Is there any difference to North American traditions?

I have a Professor who has been incredibly helpful to me this year. I want to say thanks to him for all his help but I don't want to unintentionally do something that would be uncouth.

While he has lived in the US for over a decade and is a US citizen he is from Nagpur and regularly regularly returns home to do consultation work and visit his siblings. He occasionally wears a sarong and both times I have met his wife she was wearing a Sari. This gives me the impression that they are still rather connected to the country and traditional values.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

Avoid products from dead cows. That's all I know.

[AdmiralMemo]

Anyone know why I'm getting weird battery charging issues on my HTC One?

Image ridiculously large for unknown reason - Click to Expand

If I turn the phone off, it'll charge to 100% but only 50% if charging while on. Google searches for the problem don't seem to help.

[Rikadyn]

Tried more than one charger? Kinda would make me think the power draw is higher than the charge rate.