66 5 - 18 February 2020
VIDEO
Adjust VLC setting to stop
videos looking darkQ
Following your illuminating article
about VLC (www.videolan.org) in
Issue 469 and the kind response
I received to my request for alternatives,
I have persevered with VLC and and am
also using PotPlayer (potplayer.daum.
net) and Splash (bit.ly/splash494).
When I use VLC to play my videos,
they look dark, and lack contrast and
brilliance. This can be temporarily
resolved by using video effects and
filters to correct the levels. However,
using this method prevents me from
recording or taking screen captures.
I’ve spent some time investigating the
extensive settings and menus in VLC but
I’m unable to find any controls that allow
me to permanently alter the basic display
settings. My videos, files and DVDs
display perfectly in PotPlayer and Splash,
as well as on my TV, so I don’t think they
are the cause of the problem.
Keith Warwick, via emailQ
Some time ago, I bought a
Seagate Personal Cloud and
installed it at home. I went through
the process of adding all my old
backups, so they would all be in one
place, and connected all my devices.
I found the cloud element, which lets
you access your files from any device,
to be a great idea. However, I recently
went on holiday and couldn’t access
my files because the cloud option was
off. Now I’m back home again, it
appears that there’s an error with the
unit, which is showing a red light and is
failing to start.
I have contacted Seagate but the
warranty on my device has expired.
Is there a way to restore my files?
I kept everything on it, including family
photos, documents, books and more.
Joanna Dziedzic, via emailleast 20 seconds, then release it.
This performs a factory reset and
the red light should flash while it does
this. Don’t turn off the device – wait
until the light becomes a steady white,
then set up the Personal Cloud as if it
was new. Any files that were on the
drive prior to the reset are moved to a
folder called Recovery within Public
Share. Check this after setup is
complete and, fingers crossed, your
files should be there.Recover files from a failing hard driv
HARDWARE
TheSeagate
PersonalCloud
maybeoutofwarranty
butit couldspringbackto
lifewitha factoryresetAsk the Expert
Roland Waddilove, computer programmer and PC
journalist since 1981, answers all your technical questions.
Email us for help at [email protected]
A
It’s too late now, but
the golden rule for
keeping data safe is to
never have only one copy of
your files. If the drive or storage
system you’re keeping themon
fails, you can lose everything,soit’s
essential to keep backupsorcopiesof
files elsewhere.
It depends on the nature of the
problem with your Seagate Personal
Cloud, but it may be possible to repair
it by resetting the device. Turn off its
power by using the button at the back
of the device, then insert a straightened
paperclip or something similar in the
hole at the back and use it to press
the Reset button. Keep it held down
with the paperclip and turn on the
device with the power button. Keep
holding the Reset button down for atPress Ctrl+E
in VLC to
access the
video effects.
Disable any
that are
causing a
problem