Few simple questions I'd like answered.

Hey Guys,
I just had a few questions (some hardware some software, not sure if this is the proper place tho since software questions too).
Hardware--
1)When someone says about bare-bone and putting the motherboard on cardboard/static mat, could you also use a static bag under the motherboard? Would that make a difference?
2) I read in a thread about a "green" SATA HD. What's it mean by "green"
Software--
1)Is Speccy better than Everest? I've never used Speccy I've always used Everest to get my Specs.
2)I had a copy of Everest (along with Malwarebytes and Registry Defense) that worked fine on my XP computer but now that I have Windows 7 they don't want to work. I got Everest from a torrent(if that causes this to be thrown out :-o) but I got the other two from a friend and I don't know how he got it. Any suggestions to why this doesn't work?
Thanks,
Spock96

 

Hi

1) No, I don't BELIEVE anti-static bags are as good as static mats, because I think the anti-static bags are mostly protected from static INSIDE. Maybe if you were to turn the anti-static bag inside out? Maybe someone else could jump in with this one, as I've never heard of using an anti- static bag like that.

2) The "green" SATA HDD is simply the series. Western Digital makes Caviars (for desktops) and Scorpios (for laptops). They have the Green, Blue, and Black drives. The Green drives are the cheapest, Blue is middle of the line, and Black are the best. I personally have two 2TB WD Caviar Blacks in my tower.

Software:
1) Speccy and Everest both have their besting moments with each other. It just depends on the hardware. I personally use Everest, though I've used Speccy once or twice.

2) This forum does NOT look well upon using pirated software, at all. I'm sorry, but you need to legitimately purchase a software license for something if you want to get help with getting it to work on your system.

 

Hardware:
1) Also, the reason you are taking the motherboard out of the case and putting it on a piece of cardboard is so that you can troubleshoot case grounding issues. It's not really for 'anti-static'.

Software:
2) Just because he got it off of a torrent doesn't mean it's pirated. First thing I would do would be to go to http://majorgeeks.com/ and on the left side of the site, there is a list of categories with files to download. If you go to System Info, there are plenty of free programs to identify your system that should work fine with windows 7. (Everest Free edition, Aida32 personal edition, Speccy)

 

I suppose I misunderstood the question. I thought he was simply referring to being able to use an anti-static bag in place of an anti-static mat when working on circuit boards.

No, it doesn't HAVE to be pirated software to be from a torrent, but I haven't seen too many Everest torrents without a crack/keygen/etc. Also, the free edition of Everest is pretty crippled.

 

As to torrents, there's not much legal and clean stuff, except for the various Linux distros. Use MG like was mentioned.