Tech Geek Thread Do-Over

[Forefinger]

"The solution is fire"

[tricksterpup]

This week, for whatever reason, my... taskbar? The blue strip at the bottom of my XP computer screen? Anyway, that thing keeps freezing--everything from the start menu on the left to the clock on the right.

Does anyone have any idea why this may be happening, and maybe a solution to it?
What do you mean by freezing?? Do you have it in hide mode and when you click on it, it doesnt do anything?

[Huh?]

When you say "freezing" do you mean you can't even scroll over it? The time doesn't move? or you just can't click on anything?

[Ed Cunard]

I knew I'd get the fire solutions.

What do you mean by freezing?? Do you have it in hide mode and when you click on it, it doesnt do anything?

When you say "freezing" do you mean you can't even scroll over it? The time doesn't move? or you just can't click on anything?

I didn't know there was a hide mode. No, what's happening is, the clock stops advancing, and I can't click on any of the programs listed in the bar, or on the start menu--it just doesn't do anything--nothing lights up, nothing moves. But I can scroll over it.

[Ed Cunard]

Oh, how freaking creepy is this--I just post that answer, and it starts working again--all windows magically reopen, and the clock advances the half-hour it wasn't advancing.

[Gaz]

The answer is that your computer sucks. Or XP does. Or Bill Gates... I don't know.

[tricksterpup]

I knew I'd get the fire solutions.





I didn't know there was a hide mode. No, what's happening is, the clock stops advancing, and I can't click on any of the programs listed in the bar, or on the start menu--it just doesn't do anything--nothing lights up, nothing moves. But I can scroll over it.
Ed, how many programs are you running when that happens? What programs are you running when that happens?

[Dreadstar]

Run a spyware sweeper. You just had a registry lock.

Whether or not that's do to something malicious, or simply a hung cookie is the question, but I'd try to make sure it wasn't the former.

[Huh?]

I didn't know there was a hide mode. No, what's happening is, the clock stops advancing, and I can't click on any of the programs listed in the bar, or on the start menu--it just doesn't do anything--nothing lights up, nothing moves. But I can scroll over it.
The next time it happens, hit CTRL+ALT+DEL and then go to task manager, then click on the tab labelled "performance" if you don't have anything open, your CPU usage should be at zero most of the time with occasional short spikes every once in a while.

I suspect you will see that the CPU usage is constant at 100%. If this is the case, go to the tab marked "processes" and see what is running. If it looks clearly like a piece of spyware or adware, remove it in the control panel. If you aren't sure what it is type it in this thread and someone can tell you.

That is all I can think of.

[tricksterpup]

Run a spyware sweeper. You just had a registry lock.

Whether or not that's do to something malicious, or simply a hung cookie is the question, but I'd try to make sure it wasn't the former.
If you do not have a spy cleaner.
Go to CNET.com and search for Ad aware and spy bot. and then download them. I would then run them both afterwards. Run them one at a time or it will take forever to run.

[Forefinger]

Oh, how freaking creepy is this--I just post that answer, and it starts working again--all windows magically reopen, and the clock advances the half-hour it wasn't advancing.
I'm sorry Ed. I thought that I had an answer for you, but I realized that it wouldn't work. And to be fair, burning it would solve the problem. You would need a new computer, but you wouldn't have the freezing toolbar problem anymore.

As to the problem, it's obvious to me that you are the victim of a Voodoo curse.

[Dreadstar]

As to the problem, it's obvious to me that you are the victim of a Voodoo curse.

If that's true, why burn it?

Some chicken entrails on the keyboard will work fine.

[tricksterpup]

If that's true, why burn it?

Some chicken entrails on the keyboard will work fine.
Yes it would but you forget that Ed would still need to rub Peanut butter and olive oil on his body for it work properly.

[Ed Cunard]

Thanks, guys!

[Gaz]

Thanks, guys!
I'm gonna warn you if you're new to the spybot/ad-aware thing, you will be terrified by what comes out after the first scan...

[Forefinger]

If that's true, why burn it?

Some chicken entrails on the keyboard will work fine.
Burning stuff is more fun than dealing with cleaning up chicken entrails.

[Dreadstar]

...dealing with cleaning up chicken entrails.

Just invite tricksterpup over, he'll take care of it.

[Forefinger]

Just invite tricksterpup over, he'll take care of it.
I'd be scared of what he would think of to do with them before ingesting them.

[Ed Cunard]

I'm gonna warn you if you're new to the spybot/ad-aware thing, you will be terrified by what comes out after the first scan...

Oh, no--I've done it before. I just didn't know that this could be related to that.

Now, I'd type more, but now I have to start a thread about cleaning chicken parts out of the space between keys.

[tricksterpup]

Oh, no--I've done it before. I just didn't know that this could be related to that.

Now, I'd type more, but now I have to start a thread about cleaning chicken parts out of the space between keys.
Actually if you place your keyboard in a dish washer and let it sit and dry for 3 days it should be fine. Or you can spend $10 and get a new one.

[tricksterpup]

I'd be scared of what he would think of to do with them before ingesting them.
I prefer Sheep entrails but chicken will do in an pinch.

[jessecuster3]

Listen to huh? thats good advice. If you run into a problem where you cannot hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE then it is most probably some sort fo spyware.

I have had great experience with Microsoft's anti-spyware software. Unlike most Microsoft software, they did not write this, they bought it from Giant Software who were known for having the best anti-spyware on the market.

[GreenHornet]

Hey folks, some of you might know that I am BIG into helping the Special
O and complete in strongman stuff, well the PLANEPULL is coming and I am getting my new team ready and here's my problem. MY sponsers wants to see what I am getting them involed in and all I have from my last pulls are on video so heres my problem:
A-what is the best way to get it in like Youtube so I can hand out links?
B- How do I get the pull from tape to DVD
C- once on DVD can you make copies?



So know that MANY of you have IQs as high as my benchpress I know I came to the right place
Thanks
GH
Oh if you want to know "What the hell is a Planepull?" go to: www.planepull.com

[SteelTownr]

You'd need a video card on your computer that could accept the output from the VCR to get it onto your hard drive and a DVD Burner to burn it onto a DVD.

If you don't already have that equipment, I think that your best bet would be to have a professional do it. Looking in the phone book would be your best bet, I'd say.

Good Luck!

Mark B.

[SOGG]

also note, btw that youtube only accepts <10 min videos unless you're an admin. Although if you're planepulling for more than 20 minutes, you might just be able to pull a flex mentallo and just flex the stuff onto dvd.

[GreenHornet]

also note, btw that youtube only accepts <10 min videos unless you're an admin. Although if you're planepulling for more than 20 minutes, you might just be able to pull a flex mentallo and just flex the stuff onto dvd.



Thanks the both of you for the advice and no a Plane Pull is normally over in 7 seconds ( kinda like my love life) Hahahahahahahahaha..............whew I kill me
Anyway thanks I never heard of a video card and any of this so I will get some pro help.

[jessecuster3]

Ok itunes experts. I just got a new motherboard and processor combo. I put my existing hard drives, video card, etc onto it and I sort of have new computer. The motherboard is an AMD Socket 754 type with video,lan and sound on it. I installed all the drivers and everything else seems to be working fine. However, I cannot listen to anything in itunes, it just sounds all choppy. I have tried Windows Media Player, MusicMatch, and Real Player and the same mp3 file sounds fine with no problems. But itunes and quicktime just come across choppy. Any suggestions ?

[Drew Van T.]

Laptop on the fritz? Or you just want to show it off? Post it here.

Can't get that email account working? Think the network might be down? Post it here.

Got a software or hardware tip for the rest of us? Here it post.


Has anyone seen the Acer 9800 yet? This is their new 20-inch laptop. Calling it a gigantic lumbering beast does not do it justice. The picture below...does not do it justice. At the store, I was trying to pick up my eyeballs from the floor.

http://www.theinquirer.net/images/articles/Acer_Aspire_9800_20_inch.jpg

I don't know the weight for this thing (they had it clamped to the table...somewhat bizarrely, because no one in their right mind would try running with this in their hands) but I suppose it could be as much as 15 pounds.

I think I'll stick to my 17-inch Fujitsu-Siemens...which is big enough as it is.

http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/6506.jpg


Hey Morts, you have a new laptop yet?

[MKTerra]

Hmm, I have a question.

My laptop's been running hot recently in Windows, even when I'm doing nothing, and while the CPU pretty much sits around 0% activity, according to the Task Manager. I've tried disabling antivirus and firewall (with the 'net unplugged, of course) and leaving it to cool, but AFAICT it still stays hot.

The heat isn't the hard drive. It's more in the upper right side of the machine where the air vent is and where the power cord plugs in, and whatever other hardware might be in that area.

OTOH, while running Linux it tends to stay cooler. It'll get warm if I'm watching a video or something, but it doesn't get really, constantly hot.

Any ideas what might be causing this?

[Drew Van T.]

Hmm, I have a question.

My laptop's been running hot recently in Windows, even when I'm doing nothing, and while the CPU pretty much sits around 0% activity, according to the Task Manager. I've tried disabling antivirus and firewall (with the 'net unplugged, of course) and leaving it to cool, but AFAICT it still stays hot.

The heat isn't the hard drive. It's more in the upper right side of the machine where the air vent is and where the power cord plugs in, and whatever other hardware might be in that area.

OTOH, while running Linux it tends to stay cooler. It'll get warm if I'm watching a video or something, but it doesn't get really, constantly hot.

Any ideas what might be causing this?

That's almost certainly your GPU...your graphics card. Most laptops have two fans: the main one, and another one to cool the GPU, because it produces so much heat.

I'm 90% certain that the only problem here is your graphics card driver (the software that controls the second fan). Do you have an Nvidia card, or ATI, or...?

The reason that you don't experience the problem in Linux is because there, a different driver controls the fan, or it is configured to work differently.

You probably need to look at how the driver is configured in Windows. If that doesn't work, try reinstalling it, or downloading the most recent driver first and then reinstall.

[MKTerra]

Hmm, thanks. The laptop's a Centrino (I think Sonoma with the 915GM chipset) and has no separate ATI/NVidia GPU that I know of.

I do remember turning down hardware acceleration a while back while trying to take screenshots from a game, but I turned it back up after I'd finished. Hmm.

Thanks again! I'll look into that.

[Jeff Brady]

Tech Geek Thread. (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=3836)

[MKTerra]

I tried installing the latest drivers from here (http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=1862), but so far it doesn't seem too different. In any case, thanks anyway :)

[LtMarvel]

Where are you running it? Running it in bed on the blankets is usually bad news (put a book underneath to get air circulation underneath).

[howyadoin]

Tech Geek Thread. (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=3836)That thing's so bloated it's next to useless now, though. High time we got a new one, especially if you wanna talk about something other than Treos.






(No offense intended to Morts of any other Treo fan; it's just boring for the rest of us.)

[Gilda Dent]

I don't know what a Treo is except that Emily's been trying to convince the higher ups at work to buy her one on their dime.

However, I do have a computer problem.

I'm using firefox for my browser, and I keep getting a strange thing happening. Usually it'll happen when I have four or five windows all open at once. Some editing feature gets turned on that I hate and don't want, but I can't turn it off without closing all the open windows and restarting firefox. It takes one of two forms. The first is that the apostrophe key activates a search/replace menu at the bottom of the screen instead of making an apostrophe. It's either stop using contractions, or close everything and lose any accumulated work in the windows. I once wrote a two thousand word essay in my blog with no contrations and no possessives because of this. It's an interesting excercise. The second, far more annoying, is that the backspace key becomes a "back" button for the browser, which I usually discover once I've hit it four or five times and retreated that many pages. Sometimes I can get back, but often whatever I was typing is lost.

Oh, and one more. Sometimes I'll be browsing, and go to shut down one of my windows and I'll get a popup saying I'm about to close more than one window or tab or something like that, when I'm just hitting the one. And then I find after closing it that I have closed another window that I had opened separately.

Any idea what's going on here? Is there a way to turn it off without closing and restarting? What's up with closing two windows at once instead of just the one I'm hitting the red X for?

Gilda

[Drew Van T.]

The laptop's a Centrino (I think Sonoma with the 915GM chipset) and has no separate ATI/NVidia GPU that I know of.

You have integrated graphics then.

Frankly: Intel graphics are a pain in the ass. Software been terrible to me in the past.

I had a similar problem before, except the opposite: the fan would never, ever stop. Good temperatures, but the frickin' noise...and it wasn't the normal hardware controls, they were fine. It turns out that I had inadvertently disabled one of Nvidia's multiple programs constantly running in the background (in an attempt to free up RAM).

Good luck with it. All laptops get pretty hot, and this is what kills them in the end. Seeing as how several parts are not easily replaced (or expensive to replace), abnormally extreme temperatures are effectively shaving months off its lifespan. As LtMarvel says, you can always improve its surroundings: tilt it from the desk by propping up the back, get more air underneath the vents. I even have an elongated USB fan that I aim at the underside during hot days.

[Drew Van T.]

I'm using firefox for my browser, and I keep getting a strange thing happening. Usually it'll happen when I have four or five windows all open at once. Some editing feature gets turned on that I hate and don't want, but I can't turn it off without closing all the open windows and restarting firefox. It takes one of two forms. The first is that the apostrophe key activates a search/replace menu at the bottom of the screen instead of making an apostrophe. It's either stop using contractions, or close everything and lose any accumulated work in the windows. I once wrote a two thousand word essay in my blog with no contrations and no possessives because of this. It's an interesting excercise. The second, far more annoying, is that the backspace key becomes a "back" button for the browser, which I usually discover once I've hit it four or five times and retreated that many pages. Sometimes I can get back, but often whatever I was typing is lost.

Oh, and one more. Sometimes I'll be browsing, and go to shut down one of my windows and I'll get a popup saying I'm about to close more than one window or tab or something like that, when I'm just hitting the one. And then I find after closing it that I have closed another window that I had opened separately.

Any idea what's going on here? Is there a way to turn it off without closing and restarting? What's up with closing two windows at once instead of just the one I'm hitting the red X for?

Wow, those are some complicated tabbing/windows issues, right there. The apostrophe/key issue is the first I've ever seen; I have no clue what that might be.

Are you sure you don't have any firefox extensions installed, and if so, which? Because extensions can 1) become corrupted, and 2) conflict with each other.

Even if you don't have extensions installed, they might in fact offer a solution. There is one called Tab Mix Plus (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/1122/) and it gives you far more control over both tabs and window behavior. Crucially, it also has a session manager that will let you restore all tabs and windows as they were prior to a crash. That way you'll preserve your work, at least.

[Gilda Dent]

I don't know if I have any extensions or if so, which ones. I checked your link, and I don't think I have that one. I'm not even sure what tabbed browsing is. When I have several windows open, there's a little button at the bottow of my screen with the name of the site or thread on it. Are those the tabs?

Assume I'm like, six years old, and not a particularly bright six-year-old at that, and you'll have my level of computer expertise about right.

Sometimes I'll get a popup that says firefox has installed a new update, and I just click on ok and restart when that happens. Could that have hurt things?

Oh, dang it, I thought of a new one. My right click context menus go screwy a lot when I have a bunch of windows open, and I lose the ability to copy/paste either from a right click or from the edit menu at the top.

Gilda

[Drew Van T.]

I don't know if I have any extensions or if so, which ones. I checked your link, and I don't think I have that one. I'm not even sure what tabbed browsing is. When I have several windows open, there's a little button at the bottow of my screen with the name of the site or thread on it. Are those the tabs?

Ah, gotcha. Tabs means having several pages inside the same window, making it easier to switch between them and to manage them. First you want to start using tabbed browsing. Go to options, click on Tabs, check things like "open a link...into a new tab", "force a window into a tab", etc.

I would not bother with extensions just yet, in that case. Better to familiarize with the tabbing first. Once you "get" tabs, you'll love it.

Sometimes I'll get a popup that says firefox has installed a new update, and I just click on ok and restart when that happens. Could that have hurt things?

No, that's the right thing to do. You should have version 1.5 or higher (check Help > About Firefox). The older versions are potentially unsafe.

Oh, dang it, I thought of a new one. My right click context menus go screwy a lot when I have a bunch of windows open, and I lose the ability to copy/paste either from a right click or from the edit menu at the top.

Bizarre. Sure you don't have any software outside Firefox interfering? But I would start simply by using tabs.

[ragnarok_2012]

Those are some pretty unusual problems with Firefox.

I LOVE Firefox.

By the way Gilda, if you uninstall & reinstall your Firefox, make sure to back up your bookmarks first.

Go to Bookmarks/Manage Bookmarks. Next select File/Export. You can export a copy of your bookmarks to another location for safe keeping (or to make a back up copy on disk). One you reinstall, you can import the bookmarks back onto your browser.

And I too highly recommend that you learn to use tabbed browsing.

[Typo Lad]

Hey Morts, you have a new laptop yet?

Alas, no. I won't for some time, as money is tight as heck. In the meantime, I'm using my younger brother's bride's laptop. She'd been having this annoying problem with the screen going dead. I popped it open and saw where a screw was pinching the display cable. I removed that screw and viola, working laptop.

I need to buy a battery for it, but otherwise it does the trick.

That thing's so bloated it's next to useless now, though. High time we got a new one, especially if you wanna talk about something other than Treos.

(No offense intended to Morts of any other Treo fan; it's just boring for the rest of us.)

Hey, no offence taken. I love my 650, but I'd rather talk about other stuff too.

How's that iMac working out for you? That's the model I'm saving for. I don't like the later iSight-added models. They changed the case to make it less user-servicable. I can live without an Intel Mac, frankly.

I don't know what a Treo is except that Emily's been trying to convince the higher ups at work to buy her one on their dime.

Long story short, they're a cellphone with a computer in it. I've owned all but one model, including the models that had a different name. Basically, I get to carry a machine on my hip that's more powerful than my first computer. I dunno, I get some kind of thrill out of it, basically.

[Gilda Dent]

Ah, gotcha. Tabs means having several pages inside the same window, making it easier to switch between them and to manage them. First you want to start using tabbed browsing. Go to options, click on Tabs, check things like "open a link...into a new tab", "force a window into a tab", etc. [quote]

Ok, while I was trying to find that, I found the extensions menu. I apparently have Adblockfilterset.G updater, colorful tabs, and Adblock plus.

[QUOTE]I would not bother with extensions just yet, in that case. Better to familiarize with the tabbing first. Once you "get" tabs, you'll love it.

What's the difference between tabs and the buttons at the bottom of the screen? Those switch between programs when I hit them. I don't want to mess anything up and have to have Emily fix it later on or end up erasing all my files. A third time doing that would not be pleasant.

No, that's the right thing to do. You should have version 1.5 or higher (check Help > About Firefox). The older versions are potentially unsafe.

Ok, got that one. I have 1.5.0.5.

Bizarre. Sure you don't have any software outside Firefox interfering? But I would start simply by using tabs.

I don't know. How could I figure that out? I have a bunch of icons down next to the start button on the left and next to the clock on the right bottom, but I don't think I have any other programs running except Itunes to play some music or sometimes to watch cartoons when browsing.

Gilda

[ragnarok_2012]

What's the difference between tabs and the buttons at the bottom of the screen? Those switch between programs when I hit them. I don't want to mess anything up and have to have Emily fix it later on or end up erasing all my files. A third time doing that would not be pleasant.


I've included an attachment that shows the three tabs I have opened inside my firefox window.

The benefits? You can see titles for each window inside the tab, and you can move between them more quickly than you could with multiple, separate Firefox windows.

As for your specific problems, the only solution I can think of is to try uninstalling and reinstalling the browser.

[Forefinger]

I just bought a new computer, but there is a LOT of information that I want and need from my old CPU. Is there any way that I can connect the two so that I can just transfer from one hard drive to the other?

[Typo Lad]

Over a network would do it. Also you could put the old HD in the new computer as a secondary drive.

[howyadoin]

I just bought a new computer, but there is a LOT of information that I want and need from my old CPU. Is there any way that I can connect the two so that I can just transfer from one hard drive to the other?Do you have a DVD burner?

[Forefinger]

Do you have a DVD burner?
Not on the old comp.

[jessecuster3]

Not on the old comp.

You could take teh DVD burner out and put it in the old one. But Typo's suggestion is better. Alternatively if they aren't networked but are both on the internet, you should be able to see them and copy the files that way.

[Forefinger]

Over a network would do it. Also you could put the old HD in the new computer as a secondary drive.
Ok, as you have figured out after reading MANY of my posts, I'm about half-retarded. I have no clue how to network them, or take a HD out of one and put it in another.

How could I network the two PCs?

[Forefinger]

You could take teh DVD burner out and put it in the old one. But Typo's suggestion is better. Alternatively if they aren't networked but are both on the internet, you should be able to see them and copy the files that way.
I can only have one online at a time due to only having one cable modem.

[jessecuster3]

Ok, as you have figured out after reading MANY of my posts, I'm about half-retarded. I have no clue how to network them, or take a HD out of one and put it in another.

How could I network the two PCs?

The easiest thing to do than is just bring teh hard drive to your new pc. This is really easy, open the side panel and unscrew the 4 screws holding the hard drive in. You will see a big gray cable connected to the hard drive and also a small white plug on a colored cable. remove both of these and pull the hard drive out.

Then do the reverse of this on the new pc. Only don't remove either cable from your new PC's hard drive, just connect the old one on the same gray cable and then find an open white plug on colored cable to bring in power and you should be all set.

[MKTerra]

I'm using firefox for my browser, and I keep getting a strange thing happening. Usually it'll happen when I have four or five windows all open at once. Some editing feature gets turned on that I hate and don't want, but I can't turn it off without closing all the open windows and restarting firefox. It takes one of two forms. The first is that the apostrophe key activates a search/replace menu at the bottom of the screen instead of making an apostrophe. It's either stop using contractions, or close everything and lose any accumulated work in the windows. I once wrote a two thousand word essay in my blog with no contrations and no possessives because of this. It's an interesting excercise. The second, far more annoying, is that the backspace key becomes a "back" button for the browser, which I usually discover once I've hit it four or five times and retreated that many pages. Sometimes I can get back, but often whatever I was typing is lost.The apostrophe thing is Firefox's Quick Find bar. If you hit "/", it searches all text. If you hit apostrophe, it searches link-text only. It's not supposed to trigger while you're typing in a text field, though. Same with the Backspace-Back thing.

Do you use a laptop? If so, your hand might be brushing the touchpad (which it reads as a tap-click) and stealing focus from the text field. It helps to turn off tapping in the mouse settings (should be in the Control Panel somewhere).
What's the difference between tabs and the buttons at the bottom of the screen? Those switch between programs when I hit them. I don't want to mess anything up and have to have Emily fix it later on or end up erasing all my files. A third time doing that would not be pleasant.Tabs are nice in that they keep your websites all in one browser window, so you don't have multiple website buttons in your taskbar (the bar at the bottom of the screen). It's like moving the extra website buttons onto their own bar inside the single browser window.

http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~mguidry/firefox/tab.jpg

Use the little red x on the right end of the tab bar to close tabs. Middle-clicking on a tab also works.

Oh, and middle-clicking on a link opens it in a new tab.
By the way Gilda, if you uninstall & reinstall your Firefox, make sure to back up your bookmarks first.

Go to Bookmarks/Manage Bookmarks. Next select File/Export. You can export a copy of your bookmarks to another location for safe keeping (or to make a back up copy on disk). One you reinstall, you can import the bookmarks back onto your browser.Firefox keeps your profile (settings, bookmarks, extensions, etc.) in a folder separate from the program folder, and the profile isn't removed by the uninstaller. When you reinstall, it picks the profile right back up. (that said, it's a good idea to back up bookmarks anyway, since weird stuff can happen sometimes)

This has... pluses and minuses. On one hand, you don't lose your settings and stuff. On the other hand, it doesn't tell you how to get rid of them if you'd ever want to (like if your profile had a bug or something). FYI, IIRC the profile manager is launched by doing Start -> Run, and entering

firefox.exe -p
I had a similar problem before, except the opposite: the fan would never, ever stop. Good temperatures, but the frickin' noise...and it wasn't the normal hardware controls, they were fine. It turns out that I had inadvertently disabled one of Nvidia's multiple programs constantly running in the background (in an attempt to free up RAM).Hmm, I might've done something like that. Not recently though. Will check later.

[Forefinger]

The easiest thing to do than is just bring teh hard drive to your new pc. This is really easy, open the side panel and unscrew the 4 screws holding the hard drive in. You will see a big gray cable connected to the hard drive and also a small white plug on a colored cable. remove both of these and pull the hard drive out.

Then do the reverse of this on the new pc. Only don't remove either cable from your new PC's hard drive, just connect the old one on the same gray cable and then find an open white plug on colored cable to bring in power and you should be all set.
Wow. That sounds like it has real potential for me to fuck something up. I guess I'll do it though, if it's the only way. Thanks.

[jessecuster3]

Wow. That sounds like it has real potential for me to fuck something up. I guess I'll do it though, if it's the only way. Thanks.

No man this is the easiest way, if you have screwed or unscrewed anything in
your life, its a piece of cake. The Big Gray cable is going to be flat and about 3 inches wide. The colored one is actually 3 cables red, yellow, and black all leading to the white plastic end and if you trace it back it is coming out of the power supply. Just make sure everything is really off before you do any of this, you know flip the black switch on the back of the pc.

[Typo Lad]

Is there a compusa near you? They sell a PC to PC link. It's a basically a bi-directional USB cable.

[Typo Lad]

I played with a Macbook for the first time today.,

WANT!

[jessecuster3]

Is there a compusa near you? They sell a PC to PC link. It's a basically a bi-directional USB cable.

Yeah that would work, however adding the hard drive will give you lots more space for porn.

[Gilda Dent]

MKTerra: Thank you. If Emily ever gets home tonight I'll ask her if she can set it up for me. I don't want to risk screwing things up. I once accidentally reformatted the hard drive while following instructions I got online, and do not want a repeat of that mess.

I'm not using a laptop right now, just a regular Alienware desktop. My laptop has been in storage because I have little use for it with no job.

Gilda

[Wyclefdoug]

Does anybody know anything about running a blogger blog on another host?

I want to buy my own domain name from godaddy.com, but still use blogger (maybe wordpress) to do all my blog like things.

After I buy my domain name, do I simply enter the FTP info at blogger (or wordpress).

Any info would be nice.

[MKTerra]

MKTerra: Thank you. If Emily ever gets home tonight I'll ask her if she can set it up for me. I don't want to risk screwing things up. I once accidentally reformatted the hard drive while following instructions I got online, and do not want a repeat of that mess.

I'm not using a laptop right now, just a regular Alienware desktop. My laptop has been in storage because I have little use for it with no job.

GildaYou're welcome. The laptop-touchpad guess was my only idea for your apostrophe/backspace problems, unfortunately. If it's not that, it might just be a weird Firefox bug.

[Typo Lad]

Does anybody know anything about running a blogger blog on another host?

I want to buy my own domain name from godaddy.com, but still use blogger (maybe wordpress) to do all my blog like things.

After I buy my domain name, do I simply enter the FTP info at blogger (or wordpress).

Any info would be nice.

I think that while yes, you enter the ftp data, you also need to put a script from blogger on the page itself.

[Spike-X]

The easiest thing to do than is just bring teh hard drive to your new pc. This is really easy, open the side panel and unscrew the 4 screws holding the hard drive in. You will see a big gray cable connected to the hard drive and also a small white plug on a colored cable. remove both of these and pull the hard drive out.

Then do the reverse of this on the new pc. Only don't remove either cable from your new PC's hard drive, just connect the old one on the same gray cable and then find an open white plug on colored cable to bring in power and you should be all set.
Do we want to try talking him through jumper settings? Otherwise he might end up booting from the old HD, depending on how the respective jumpers ahve been set.

[jessecuster3]

Do we want to try talking him through jumper settings? Otherwise he might end up booting from the old HD, depending on how the respective jumpers ahve been set.

Yeah I guess I forgot to mention those. Theres only one to adjust though, just make the second one slave.

Fore, if you are going to do the adding another hard drive, there is one more teeny tiny thing you have to do.

[Drew Van T.]

I played with a Macbook for the first time today.

What did you think of the unusual new keyboard?

[Typo Lad]

What did you think of the unusual new keyboard?
Funny feel, but good tactile feedback. Impressive.

[Forefinger]

No man this is the easiest way, if you have screwed or unscrewed anything in
your life, its a piece of cake. The Big Gray cable is going to be flat and about 3 inches wide. The colored one is actually 3 cables red, yellow, and black all leading to the white plastic end and if you trace it back it is coming out of the power supply. Just make sure everything is really off before you do any of this, you know flip the black switch on the back of the pc.
I'll take the old one apart this evening to see if I think I can pull it off. My intention is to give the old PC to a buddy of mine for his family's use. All he has is a laptop through his work. Anyway, I'll get what I want off of the old HD (porn and a couple of programs) and then reinstall the old HD so I can give the comp to him.
Is there a compusa near you? They sell a PC to PC link. It's a basically a bi-directional USB cable.
See, now that's the sort of "unfuckuppable" thing I'm looking for! Yeah that would work, however adding the hard drive will give you lots more space for porn.
That computer is from 1998. I had to upgrade it's memory to get it up to 12 GB! It wouldn't hold much!

[Typo Lad]

You upgraded the Hard Drive to 12 Gig, you mean. Hard Drive's are technically a form of Memory, but when you talk about "memory" you should only use the term to refer to the RAM.

Just sayin'

[Forefinger]

I just called a local computer supplies/repair store. They have the PC to PC USB link. I'm going to go with that since I have a laptop, and it will be helpful to be able to transfer files between that and my desktop easily. Thanks Typo.

I'll pull the old PC apart still jesse. I'm curious to see what a hard drive looks like.

I know, I'm such a noob. I've been working with computers for well over a decade now, but I have virtually no knowledge of the inner workings.

[Forefinger]

You upgraded the Hard Drive to 12 Gig, you mean. Hard Drive's are technically a form of Memory, but when you talk about "memory" you should only use the term to refer to the RAM.

Just sayin'
Right on. Ok, the HD was 12 gig. I don't know what the RAM was. My new PC has 1 Gig of RAM and 250 Gig HD.

[Typo Lad]

Oh that's a nice little rig. What type of chip?

[Forefinger]

I'm embarassed that I don't know. I just know that the bastard was expensive!

[Typo Lad]

Got the model number? The maker?

[jessecuster3]

Fore, go to your start button and hit run. Then type in winmsd and you will see a screen come up with all your specs. Let us know !

[Forefinger]

Got the model number? The maker?
I know it's an HP......I'm at work ok? Jeez!Fore, go to your start button and hit run. Then type in winmsd and you will see a screen come up with all your specs. Let us know !
I'll do it when I get home.


I didn't pay much attention to what model the PC was; I was impressed with the shiny bells and whistles!

[Lubichev]

I didn't pay much attention to what model the PC was; I was impressed with the shiny bells and whistles!
Bells and whistles? Man, computers have come a long way.

[jessecuster3]

Bells and whistles? Man, computers have come a long way.

My new case even came with a plastic window on the side so you can look inside and a neon light so you can make it all glow blue !

https://www.pcdirect.com/images/large/MID_A-P4NEONBK.jpg

[Drew Van T.]

My new case even came with a plastic window on the side so you can look inside and a neon light so you can make it all glow blue !

https://www.pcdirect.com/images/large/MID_A-P4NEONBK.jpg

Impressive, but not as impressive (or silly?) as the Aquarium Case...

http://www.twc.de/fileadmin/twc/images/unserebilder/aqua3.gif

[jessecuster3]

Impressive, but not as impressive (or silly?) as the Aquarium Case...



Its totally not impressive, its silly, I only got the case for the 2 case fans, and the separate fan that blows air onto the processor fan. My PC could be an air conditioner at this point.


And while I love how clever people can be with the case mods, I would never do that to my pc in a million years.

[Drew Van T.]

Its totally not impressive, its silly, I only got the case for the 2 case fans, and the separate fan that blows air onto the processor fan. My PC could be an air conditioner at this point.


And while I love how clever people can be with the case mods, I would never do that to my pc in a million years.

Arguably, but your blue neon light is no more or less useful than those fish, wot?

[jessecuster3]

Arguably, but your blue neon light is no more or less useful than those fish, wot?

Thats what I was calling silly. I only bought the case for its cooling properties.

[Drew Van T.]

Thats what I was calling silly. I only bought the case for its cooling properties.

Oh, of course.
Do you intend to do some overclocking, then?

[jessecuster3]

Oh, of course.
Do you intend to do some overclocking, then?

Thats why I always buy AMD's.

[jessecuster3]

Anyone ever seen this:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l32/jessecuster2/question.jpg


I cannot figure out what it is or what it is doing. I cannot right click or get any more info on it. I have tried to google most of the processes running but haven't had any luck. I am not sure it is bad but I would like to know what it is. Alternatively if anyone can recommend a site I can post this to as well.

[LtMarvel]

Just got back from camping for Wizard World Chicago. Best buy for the trip: Power Line's DC to AC Inverter just under $30 at Wal*Mart. I was able to plug in my battery recharger, my radio recharger, and my laptop (my kid loved watching DVDs on the long drive home). Wal*Mart has three different models, so check to see what you need.

[Forefinger]

Anyone ever seen this:
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l32/jessecuster2/question.jpg


I cannot figure out what it is or what it is doing. I cannot right click or get any more info on it. I have tried to google most of the processes running but haven't had any luck. I am not sure it is bad but I would like to know what it is. Alternatively if anyone can recommend a site I can post this to as well.
I have no idea what that is, but I'd be obsessive compulsivly running anti-virus and anti spyware/adware programs!

[jessecuster3]

I have no idea what that is, but I'd be obsessive compulsivly running anti-virus and anti spyware/adware programs!

Its my dad's PC, I have run all kinds of antivirus and anti-spyware, I am now googling every process that runs on his PC, and he has lots of them, to see if something sets of alarms. The next step is to completely disable his startup processes and see if I can find it that way.

[Bear]

My speakers are functional, but the range of volume is diminished somehow. That has always been the case on this computer. Anyone who could suggest an appropriate course of action here? I tried to adjust the maxima in my control panel, but it is still the same. I though maybe is was a driver issue, but I'm not certain.

[Rallura]

My speakers are functional, but the range of volume is diminished somehow. That has always been the case on this computer. Anyone who could suggest an appropriate course of action here? I tried to adjust the maxima in my control panel, but it is still the same. I though maybe is was a driver issue, but I'm not certain.

Not sure really. Have you tired making sure all the wires are connected, then running your OS troubleshooters? That's what I would do.

[Spike-X]

What are you trying to listen to? Through which player? Every player program has it's own volume control.

[Forefinger]

Does anyone use a Fax program so they can send faxes from their computer? If so, what program did you use? Would you recommend any from this site http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-20&qt=fax&tag=srch ?

[jessecuster3]

Does anyone use a Fax program so they can send faxes from their computer? If so, what program did you use? Would you recommend any from this site http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?tg=dl-20&qt=fax&tag=srch ?


My dad has used WinFax Pro since like the dawn of the PC. But he also still pays for a 2nd phone line to use it. Do you have a scanner ? usually they include fax software with those.

[Forefinger]

I guess I need to dig up the disk. It's an HP scanner, copier, printer combo. I didn't spring for the fax version. Anyway, as soon as I plugged it into the new computer I was able to use it. I guess it's the HP hookup.

[jessecuster3]

I guess I need to dig up the disk. It's an HP scanner, copier, printer combo. I didn't spring for the fax version. Anyway, as soon as I plugged it into the new computer I was able to use it. I guess it's the HP hookup.


naah its the Windows XP hookup actually.

[Forefinger]

Cool. (I can't find the freaking disk, that's wonderful)

[jessecuster3]

Well if you aren't going to plug a phoneline into it, you know there are web based ones you can use for pretty cheap also ?

Check out: http://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page/homePage?CMP=OTC-us_il

[Bear]

Not sure really. Have you tired making sure all the wires are connected, then running your OS troubleshooters? That's what I would do.

"OS troubleshoot?" Where do I find that. Yes: they are all connected. It is just that the highest I would like the volume to go isn't very high at all (unless I'm going deaf).

[Bear]

What are you trying to listen to? Through which player? Every player program has it's own volume control.

I just want to get my speakers to go to the maximum decibel, if for nothing more than to hear my recycle bin noise once in a while.

[Rallura]

"OS troubleshoot?" Where do I find that. Yes: they are all connected. It is just that the highest I would like the volume to go isn't very high at all (unless I'm going deaf).

Have they always been low? It could just be crappy speakers. Which OS do you have?

[Bear]

Have they always been low? It could just be crappy speakers. Which OS do you have?

Well, to be perfectly honest: they are kind of old. I purchased them back in 1997 with my first computer from hewlett packard. They always worked though. Then I slapped together a computer that was mostly a hand me down; and so I carried them over to that one. Thing is: the sound card on that second machine never really worked. So I was without sound on a computer for about two years. After a few months, I transferred them over to my present computer, and though they function: they are lower than they have ever been.

Not to be a skin flint: but I just don't want to purchase new speakers for something that could be corrected with a driver download.

[Rallura]

Have you downloaded the drivers for them?

[Ronald Bryan]

And make sure you check the advanced controls under your volume controls. I sometimes find something turned down that I don't know how got turned down. Also, I've had programs like Quicktime's volume setting cause the volume on Windows Media Player to be a bit quieter.

[Night]

Well, to be perfectly honest: they are kind of old. I purchased them back in 1997 with my first computer from hewlett packard. They always worked though. Then I slapped together a computer that was mostly a hand me down; and so I carried them over to that one. Thing is: the sound card on that second machine never really worked. So I was without sound on a computer for about two years. After a few months, I transferred them over to my present computer, and though they function: they are lower than they have ever been.

Not to be a skin flint: but I just don't want to purchase new speakers for something that could be corrected with a driver download. 1997... Are these powered speakers (I.e. have their own power cord and volume knob)? Some of the older computers had sound cards that had real amplifiers in them, and could drive unpowered speakers... However, most newer cards don't have that kind of power behind them... they assume speakers are powered or there's an external amp. There are cards these days that could power unpowered speakers but powered speakers are cheaper or more practical.

If this turns out to be you're problem, drivers won't fix it. You should be able to find a modest set of powered speakers for about six bucks should you choose that route. If you can't find them where you are... http://www.directron.com/ada215.html

[Bear]

1997... Are these powered speakers (I.e. have their own power cord and volume knob)? Some of the older computers had sound cards that had real amplifiers in them, and could drive unpowered speakers... However, most newer cards don't have that kind of power behind them... they assume speakers are powered or there's an external amp. There are cards these days that could power unpowered speakers but powered speakers are cheaper or more practical.

If this turns out to be you're problem, drivers won't fix it. You should be able to find a modest set of powered speakers for about six bucks should you choose that route. If you can't find them where you are... http://www.directron.com/ada215.html

Much thanks, but no they are merely powered by the computer itself; although I do remember those you mention (I have them at work).

[Bear]

Have you downloaded the drivers for them?

I haven't, only because it is hard for me to tell which in the list that drops down is the right one to upgrade.

Legacy?
Audio Codec?

I checked online for some of these, but I got lost:confused:

[Jack Zodiac]

http://www.sitefights.com/community/spirit/jackzodiac//sledge.jpg

[Bear]

Yes: I definitely have that feeling sometimes. Although, this computer is much better than the one we bought in 1987. Seems like we get a new one every ten years.

[Forefinger]

Well if you aren't going to plug a phoneline into it, you know there are web based ones you can use for pretty cheap also ?

Check out: http://www.efax.com/en/efax/twa/page/homePage?CMP=OTC-us_il
I'm looking for free. I tried to use the Winfax program, but I guess that needs an additional program to send it through a cable modem. Anyway, Microsoft suggested several programs that need to be paid for. I searched around and found that page on downloads.com that listed those programs.

[Boldido]

There is a Clerk's Office website that I use frequently for work. When I go to do a search it opens a new window. The problem is the window is only about 1 1/2 inches square and only shows a small portion of the screen. There is no box to maximize it and when I right click it won't let me maximize either. Its like the computer thinks this is the size the window should be. It tried on CBR to use a link that would open a window and when it does it was the right size. It seems to be limited to this site. Any ideas?

[Dreadstar]

Any ideas?

Hunt down the site programmer and beat him to within a quarter inch of his life.

What? It works for me.

[SOGG]

There is a Clerk's Office website that I use frequently for work. When I go to do a search it opens a new window. The problem is the window is only about 1 1/2 inches square and only shows a small portion of the screen. There is no box to maximize it and when I right click it won't let me maximize either. Its like the computer thinks this is the size the window should be. It tried on CBR to use a link that would open a window and when it does it was the right size. It seems to be limited to this site. Any ideas?

Do you know the URL? Maybe it'll help if i can see it.

[jessecuster3]

Have you tried both IE and Firefox ? Does it look the same with both ?

[macul]

There is a Clerk's Office website that I use frequently for work. When I go to do a search it opens a new window. The problem is the window is only about 1 1/2 inches square and only shows a small portion of the screen. There is no box to maximize it and when I right click it won't let me maximize either. Its like the computer thinks this is the size the window should be. It tried on CBR to use a link that would open a window and when it does it was the right size. It seems to be limited to this site. Any ideas?

Sounds like the coder hard coded a window size, either by pixels or percentage. If percentage, then you might be able to change your screen resolution to fix the problem. Otherwise, you might have to contact them.

[the_coldest_sun]

Hey, I was wondering if there's a good message board anyone knows of for PC support and troubleshooting? My computer is on the fritz right now. Mainly, my CD-Rom Drive. Its not showing up in "My Computer" or the Device Manager. The power works fine. I can open the drive and the little green light comes on when there's a CD in the drive, but my computer is not reading the drive at all. Windows Media Players shows no CD burner drive is connected. Now, I've searched the web for help but nothing so far is helping because those sites only help if you're installing the drive for the first time.

My drive has been working perfectly fine since I put this damn computer together a year ago. Then, I turned it off last night, went to sleep, woke up this morning, and WTF! the drive isn't working anymore. I haven't done anything different. I didn't install any new software. I didn't install any drivers. I didn't update anything. I didn't shift my computer around (maybe the IDE cable came loose?). I guess I'll have to open this damn thing up to verify that.

Well, even if thats not the case, then I still need help. So, can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

[the_coldest_sun]

When you do the search, right-click the link and choose open in a new window. Even if the link opens in its own new window to begin with, doing that above should open it in a new sizable window.

At least, I think I'm understanding that right.

[tricksterpup]

Call your company's helpdesk.

[tricksterpup]

Hey, I was wondering if there's a good message board anyone knows of for PC support and troubleshooting? My computer is on the fritz right now. Mainly, my CD-Rom Drive. Its not showing up in "My Computer" or the Device Manager. The power works fine. I can open the drive and the little green light comes on when there's a CD in the drive, but my computer is not reading the drive at all. Windows Media Players shows no CD burner drive is connected. Now, I've searched the web for help but nothing so far is helping because those sites only help if you're installing the drive for the first time.

My drive has been working perfectly fine since I put this damn computer together a year ago. Then, I turned it off last night, went to sleep, woke up this morning, and WTF! the drive isn't working anymore. I haven't done anything different. I didn't install any new software. I didn't install any drivers. I didn't update anything. I didn't shift my computer around (maybe the IDE cable came loose?). I guess I'll have to open this damn thing up to verify that.

Well, even if thats not the case, then I still need help. So, can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks.

replace the cables for your drive and then try it. sometimes they just go bad.

[the_coldest_sun]

replace the cables for your drive and then try it. sometimes they just go bad.
Oh shit, you're right. That could very well be the case. Even though most of these parts are new, the cd-rom drive is from my old computer and so is *duh* the cable. Good call. I hope thats it! I mean the cable is about 6 years old. :o

[Boldido]

Thanks for your help everyone, I just tried the same site using my laptop and got the same results, so it has to be the site and not just me. I'll send them an e-mail to fix the problem on their end.

[macul]

If using Win2k or XP: Right click on My Computer and click on Manage. Select Disk Management. Does the CD drive show up there?

[Jack Zodiac]

And if any of that fails...

http://www.sitefights.com/community/spirit/jackzodiac//sledge.jpg

[Stellar]

you're an old fashioned kinda guy, aren't ya, Jack

[Jack Zodiac]

Ya' damn kids and yer Internets and fibeoptics and vaccum tubes!

[ArtemisEntrerie]

If it's not the cable, then it's probably the cd-rom drive has gone bad. I've seen it happen before. Thankfully CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drives , even burners are very very cheap these days. I don't think your problem is system related or a device driver from how you explain the mysterious failure, however you may want to google search for Starforce and removing it, as it can interfere with systems but it seems highly unlikely the way you describe the occurance of the problem that that is the issue.

[the_coldest_sun]

Thanks everyone. I havent checked the cable yet, but my roommate was telling me it could also be that the Drive has gone bad, like you said Artemis. It happened to him after 2 years. Mine was lucky enough to last 6! And I haven been meaning to get a DVD/CD burner some time soon anyway.

Okay, now I have another question. Kinda the same situation. My DVD rom drive IS shown in "My Computer" and Device Manager, but it can't read any disc at all. When I boot up, before Windows loads, it briefly shows the drives it reads. It doesn't show my DVD rom drive connected, but yet when Windows loads, it does! I tried updating the driver but it doesn't want to update. I've even tried DriverGuide.com's technique of saving the driver to the bootup disk and typing "update.bat" but it won't accept it since its not reading the DVD rom drive before Windows loads. Any ideas on this one?

[the_coldest_sun]

If using Win2k or XP: Right click on My Computer and click on Manage. Select Disk Management. Does the CD drive show up there?

No, it doesn't. Just my hard drive and my useless DVD rom drive. :mad:

[Jeff Brady]

Look for firmware updates for the drives. I was haveing major problems with my DVD burner. I had all the software & drivers updated, but it would only burn at one speed. Once I got the firmware updated, it has run smoothly ever since.

[the_coldest_sun]

Look for firmware updates for the drives. I was haveing major problems with my DVD burner. I had all the software & drivers updated, but it would only burn at one speed. Once I got the firmware updated, it has run smoothly ever since.

I've even tried DriverGuide.com's technique of saving the driver to the bootup disk and typing "update.bat" but it won't accept it since its not reading the DVD rom drive before Windows loads.

Okay, so i downloaded the firmware from a site called The Firmware Page, and the technique for installing the firmware is exactly like how DriverGuide.com said to do. But the problem here is, that my BIOS isn't reading the drive connection. Its only until Windows XP loads that its able to read the drive (for whatever reason). So if I go into MS-DOS mode, it refuses to install the firmware because it doesn't read the connection for the drive.

Its like telling a Gas Station attendant to fill up my car with gasoline, yet he doesnt see my car. It won't do it! It just really sucks, cus right now I'm running off a computer with no CD input!!

[the_coldest_sun]

oops. unintended post here.

[Forefinger]

And if any of that fails...

http://www.sitefights.com/community/spirit/jackzodiac//sledge.jpg
Phht, that's totally wrong. It should be on fire when you smash it.

[the_coldest_sun]

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp!!!

:(

[Forefinger]

I'm sure that you have, but have you disconnected it and then reconnected it with the computer running? I had a shitty Dell that the Army bought for my office. I had to constantly take the thing apart and disonnect the CD rom from the board, and then reconnect it. Sometimes it worked while it was running, othertimes it had to be shut down and then started up with it reconnected. I think that was more of a lose wire sort of thing though.....

[Typo Lad]

I don't suppose any of my fellow tech geeks have a Viao battery or charger laying about?

[Callie]

Sorry, can't help you. I'm still waiting for my replacement PowerBook battery to arrive. :(

[Typo Lad]

My prother needed his iBook back and I'm laptopless again. I ahve a P2 Viao, but it needs some juice, yo.

[Typo Lad]

You know what's amusing?

I've got 192 MB of RAM and 6 gig in this thing. I'm installing 98SE (need to see if Unbutu will run on it).

I remember when that would be considered a tricked out laptop.

[Tadhg Adams]

You know what's amusing?

I've got 192 MB of RAM and 6 gig in this thing. I'm installing 98SE (need to see if Unbutu will run on it).

I remember when that would be considered a tricked out laptop.

Xubuntu!!!

[Typo Lad]

Oh.

Sorry.

So not a Linux geek...

[Tadhg Adams]

Oh.

Sorry.

So not a Linux geek...

No Xubuntu is ubuntu but it uses Xfce instead of KDE or GNOME. Much better for older machines.

[howyadoin]

No Xubuntu is ubuntu but it uses Xfce instead of KDE or GNOME.Easy for you to say.

[Typo Lad]

To type, maybe.

I'd like to hear him say it ten times fast though.

[Nate Grey]

Okay, basically when I open up a "Save As" window, the folders inside are in...whatever order Windows XP is picking. If I right click inside the window, do the "Arrange Icons By>Name", it'll arrange it by name...but the next time I open up the "Save As" box its right back to that bizarre order. So basically I have to do "Arrange Icons By>Name" every single time I open up the "Save As" Box.

This is JUST with the "Save As" box: if I open up, say, "My Documents", the folders inside are in the correct order (by name, which I prefer) as always. Its just for some reason when I view those same folders inside the "Save As" box its all discombobulated. :confused:

I've ran Norton twice, so I don't think its a virus. I've reboot my computer twice, but the problem is still there. I'm guessing its some sort of registry problem, but I don't know jack about the registry except I can really mess up my computer messing with it if I don't know what I'm doing. I've tried every search string in Google I can think of but no one on the planet seems to have had this same problem before, so nothing's there. Even tried Microsoft's website, but no luck. :(

[Clint Barton]

My son's solution to anything weird with my computer is "defragment, Dad." Hey, I've had weird things like what you've described happen before and it fixed it so who am I to argue with a 15 year old?:)

[darkkeeperjr]

when you "arrange icon by name" did you save that setting? Just a shot in the dark really,cause i have no idea how to fix the problem, I also think you're right by saying you're the only one that has this problem.never even heard of such a thing in all my Internet days.

[Nate Grey]

when you "arrange icon by name" did you save that setting? Just a shot in the dark really,cause i have no idea how to fix the problem, I also think you're right by saying you're the only one that has this problem.never even heard of such a thing in all my Internet days.

lol just my luck. :D:(

How do I save that setting, exactly? I guess at some point today it got...unsaved?

[DrewTheXenocide]

Hey, uhh, Clint, sorry to bust your bubble, but I always say that to my dad whenever I'm too lazy to fix his computing woes. But hey, if it works, it works, right?

[Matt]

Techies have a little saying.
"If something doesn't work, then hit it. If it still doesn't work, you didn't hit it hard enough."

You'd be surprised how many times it works.

[Clint Barton]

Hey, uhh, Clint, sorry to bust your bubble, but I always say that to my dad whenever I'm too lazy to fix his computing woes. But hey, if it works, it works, right?:D LOL! Yeah. Yeah, I guess it does. Never knew it was a conspiracy. ;)

[Night]

Ok time to stop the fun.


A "Save As" Box is entirely different code as a "My Computer" Windows Explorer window. The "odd" format is probably the "unsorted" way that old Dos used to do it (wherever it appeared in the FAT table). It also depends on exactly which version of a "Save As" box an application is running, the MFC one, the COM one, the NET one, or something that was developed specifiacally for the application in question.

You might check out some of the solutions in:

http://www.laurenceholbrook.com/TechnicalInformation/Win2KProfessionalCommonDialogBox.html

[Nate Grey]

Ok time to stop the fun.


A "Save As" Box is entirely different code as a "My Computer" Windows Explorer window. The "odd" format is probably the "unsorted" way that old Dos used to do it (wherever it appeared in the FAT table). It also depends on exactly which version of a "Save As" box an application is running, the MFC one, the COM one, the NET one, or something that was developed specifiacally for the application in question.

You might check out some of the solutions in:

http://www.laurenceholbrook.com/TechnicalInformation/Win2KProfessionalCommonDialogBox.html

Like if I right clicked on that very link you just posted, choose "Save Target As", the box pops up, I pick "My Documents" from the left hand side, all the files are a different order than what they would be if I just opened up "My Documents" on its on. I'm on Windows XP Home SP2, this didn't start happening till this afternoon (around 5pm).

[ocelotrevs]

Right. I want to back up stuff on my hard drive.
Mostly photographs, and assignments.

There are 5 users on my computer, and I think the most anyone has on thier area in terms of work is 2GB's.

What's the best type of disc to use. I have some DVD-R (4.7GB) and what's the best method of putting the data onto the discs.

Thanks.

[ocelotrevs]

Right. I want to back up stuff on my hard drive.
Mostly photographs, and assignments.

There are 5 users on my computer, and I think the most anyone has on thier area in terms of work is 2GB's.

What's the best type of disc to use. I have some DVD-R (4.7GB) and what's the best method of putting the data onto the discs.

Thanks.
Anyone giving advice?

[Typo Lad]

Small external HD set to sync every night.

[Stellar]

Anyone giving advice?

If you have access to alla counts, burn it to a dvd.

[ocelotrevs]

Small external HD set to sync every night.
Alright thanks, but buying things isn't really a good option right now. That's why I asking about DVD burning methods.

If you have access to alla counts, burn it to a dvd.

What's alla counts?

[Stellar]

I meant ALL accounts. I was Typo Lad's evil twin for that split second. If you have access to all accounts from one and you have a DVD burner, burn your files to a DVD.

[ocelotrevs]

Oh right. I get you.
So it's just drag and drop right?

[Stellar]

I'd advise you to either copy paste with Nero or manually add to compilation. Drag and drop can be a drag (no pun intended) sometimes.

[Buried Alien]

A question for our computer experts here.

During the past few days, I've been having trouble with my computer during shutdown. Whenever I try to shut my computer down, I get a message about "DDE Server Error" or some such. I always need to cancel this box or let it run through (a few seconds), then shut down a *second* time before my computer actually...you know, shuts down. Also, the shutting down process takes much longer. It used to take about twenty seconds. Now it takes nearly two minutes. What's wrong? How do I fix it?

I use Windows XP on a Pentium 4. Please give all advice in plain English, please. I'm a total tech retard. :)

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Jeff Brady]

I'll help you ONLY if you admit me to the COTM club.

I need a little bit more info, like the complete error message and what programs you are using.

Worst-case scenario, you have to re-install Windows.

Not-nearly as bad scenario (most likely), you just have to deal with it.

[Buried Alien]

Done.

Now fix my computer.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Jeff Brady]

Thank you sir! See my freshly-edited post above.

[Buried Alien]

I'll have to wait until my next shutdown before I get the error message again. It's not much, but I don't remember exactly what it said.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[the_coldest_sun]

Okay, so I'm looking to upgrade my computer and my motherboard is a Chaintech SK8T800 with a socket 754. I bought it as a barebone kit that came with a AMD Sempron 2800+ processor. At the time I remember looking online and seeing I could always upgrade it an AMD Athlon 64, but recently I can't seem to find any Athlon 64 processors that fit socket 754. All I see available are just Semprons. I'm currently at 1.60 GHz, and I remember some Athlon 64 socket 754 processors getting some decent speeds like 2.4 - 3.2 GHz. These Sempron 64s simply dont come close to that. So, what happened to all the Athlon 64 processors for socket 754?? Were they really that obsolete?? Why are the Semprons still available if they're slower than the Athlon 64s?? Am I stuck with this thing until I buy a new mobo? Please help me out.

[RaulTheCat]

I went to NextTag.com and found several results for socket 754 Athlon 64.

[BoosterBronze]

Hey gang,

Does anyone know what I can do to stop software from automatically starting when my computer does? I have a couple programs that I dont want to get rid of, but I wish didn;t autolaunch whenever I turned my comp. on, becasue from when I flip it to "ON" to when it's ready to work is like 5 minutes.

Any help would be neat.

Love
Boost

[Jeff Brady]

Each of those programs should have a Settings menu where you can toggle "launch on startup."

There's another way, but I don't remember it off the top of my head.

[Paradox]

Also, if you have XP, go to settings, admin functions then services. There's a lot of junk in there that Microsoft starts that you don't need. Don't screw with the stuff you don't know about, though.

[Jeff Brady]

And 'Dox comes in with the one I don't remember! Excellent.

[Paradox]

And I got it wrong. Replace "settings" with "control panel".

And here's a fair informational page on what you can shut off and what you can't in that area.

Turn it OFF! (http://www.jasonn.com/turning_off_unnecessary_services_on_windows_xp/)

[macul]

If you are using WinXP, the easiest method is:

1. Start
2. Run
3. Type MSCONFIG
4. Click the Startup tab
5. Uncheck everything you don't want to automatically start. You'll have to reboot afterwards.

Some of those applications will periodically reconfigure themselves to start automatically, so you'll want to check the Startup tab every so often.

[the_coldest_sun]

Thank you, RaulTheCat! I'll check it out.

[BloodRedSandman]

Okay, so I'm looking to upgrade my computer and my motherboard is a Chaintech SK8T800 with a socket 754. I bought it as a barebone kit that came with a AMD Sempron 2800+ processor. At the time I remember looking online and seeing I could always upgrade it an AMD Athlon 64, but recently I can't seem to find any Athlon 64 processors that fit socket 754. All I see available are just Semprons. I'm currently at 1.60 GHz, and I remember some Athlon 64 socket 754 processors getting some decent speeds like 2.4 - 3.2 GHz. These Sempron 64s simply dont come close to that. So, what happened to all the Athlon 64 processors for socket 754?? Were they really that obsolete?? Why are the Semprons still available if they're slower than the Athlon 64s?? Am I stuck with this thing until I buy a new mobo? Please help me out.

If you are lucky, you might find an AMD Socket 754 Athlon 3200. However they have been discontinued a long time ago along with all the other Athlon Socket 754. The parralle release of Socket 754 and 939 was a big mistake for AMD.

You are going to be just better off purchasing a new motherboard, processor and possibly ram. If you are going to stick with AMD, then I suggest you go Skt AM2.
If you are goingto move to intel, what ever motherboard you purchase, make sure it CORE2 Ready.

[Angel of Sorrow]

If you are goingto move to intel, what ever motherboard you purchase, make sure it CORE2 Ready.

Agreed.
Even the E6400 has been know to get overclocked to around 3 GHz.
And thats the second lowest processor on the core line right now, I believe.

[Stellar]

AMD is currently focusing on the Socket 939, Socket AM2 and future Socket AM3 processors. You might find a 3200 for the 754, but it might be a little hard. Check geeks.com and Tigerdirect.com. If you can't find anything, I suggest getting a new motherboard, they're relatively cheap right now. You can find a good one with a 1 year warranty for as low as $40.

[the_coldest_sun]

Thanks, guys. Great advice here.

Stellar, Tigerdirect is where I usually shop and the first place I looked, and they stopped carrying Athlon socket 754 much to my dismay.

At the time of wanting to purchase a new computer, I was deciding between socket 754 and 939. I saw a barebones kit with the motherboard I mentioned eariler that was fairly inexpensive, so I went that route. This computer's doing okay for now, but I'm looking to do some video editing and possibly computer gaming. I'm actually waiting on purchasing a new PC until MS Vista is all figured out.

At the time, this computer was a HUGE improvement over my old one. I was still using a Gateway with 733 MHz Intel processor and 128 MB of RAM, and used that up until about a year and a half ago. I put that baby through some hard times and pushed it beyond its limits, mainly using it as a home recording studio for my music project. Looking back, I don't know how that thing ever held up to the tasks so well.

EDIT: got one more question. I'm searching for this AMD Socket 754 Athlon 3200, but I can't seem to find a site with answers to its speed. How many GHz does this thing run? Thanks.

[Stellar]

Athlon 3200 should run between 2.0 and 2.4 Ghz. Depends on the model.

And you really should have gone for the Socket 939, they're still around and there are tons of processors. If you're getting a new board, though, you might want to get a Socket AM2 board. The downside, however, is that you'll have to purchase new memory since AM2 boards only take DDR2 memory and not DDR (different slot).

[the_coldest_sun]

Athlon 3200 should run between 2.0 and 2.4 Ghz. Depends on the model.

Thanks.

And you really should have gone for the Socket 939

Yeah I realize that now, but at the time I got that barebone kit at quite a bargain so it wasn't that bad.

Good info to know about the AM2 socket motherboards taking different memory. That sounds like more of a hassle than I'm willing to put up with. This mobo should suffice for now. Thanks again.

Oh and I ended up purchasing this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103605
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 2.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor
Has good customer reviews and at 55.99, why not? :)

[shaxper]

Hey guys,


My new computer is being delivered tomorrow (Dell Dimension C521), and I want to move my 70 GB of music and videos from my old PC to my new one. Instead of getting bogged down in installing my old hard drive as a slave drive (I'm afraid I'd end up breaking the computer), I'm wondering if I can use my brand new 80 GB video Ipod to carry the files over. Now, here are the problems:

1. I've never used an Ipod in my life, so I don't know how it works. Is it just a regular flashdrive with a fancy operating system, or can it only hold specific formats of music and movies?

2. My old PC is running Windows 98 SE, so I can't set up itunes or access my Ipod on that PC at all. Is there a driver I can download that would allow Windows 98 to recognize the Ipod and transfer files to it?

Please reply as if you were talking to a moron because, when it comes to technology created after 1998, I am one.


Thanks in advance!
shax

[Spike-X]

It would seriously be so much simpler and easier to simply hook up your old HD to your new computer. Search Google - there's probably a hundred or more sites that could show you how to do this.

However, you would probably be breaking your warranty just by opening the case.

Another solution - take your old HD to a computer shop and ask them to put it in a removable HD case. Then you can just hook it up via USB and access your files that way.

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

Ya, just buy a duel USB cable from Best Buy, or comp usa, make sure both computers are all turned on and running, connect them via the USB cord and then just start transfering files, but it will prolly take you close to a day to get all the files transfered...:D Have fun.

[Callie]

Your 80 GB iPod has a regular hard drive on it. The problem is that they're formated with Apple's HFS+ file system first and it's not something that Windows can recognize until it reformats it to FAT32 using the iPod updater software to do so. There might be some apps out there though that mimic the iPod updater or patch the updater to work on Win98, so you might want to do some exploring.

Then, you run into the problem that your Win 98 computer will not have USB 2.0 ports on it, unless you installed a USB 2.0 card yourself...and then again I don't even think Win98 works with USB 2.0? An iPod will work with a USB 1.1 port, but unless you like stabbing yourself repeatedly with an icepick, you're not going to enjoy transferring large amounts of files at that speed.

I gotta echo Spike-X here when he says that converting your computer's old hard drive into an external hard drive might be easier...or if you're good at installing hard drives, you could install it into your new computer. Alternately, if you have any networking know-how, you could pretty quickly set up a peer-to-peer network between the two using an ethernet cable--if your old computer has a network card.

[shaxper]

Thanks for the advice, guys.

Fortunately, my new computer came with an install disk for Windows XP, so I installed it onto my old PC. Couldn't get itunes to work (my processer speed does not meet the minimum requirements), but XP immediately recognize my ipod as an external storage device, so I've begun copying my files over (it's a very slow undertaking). Hopefully, this is the end of the story and it will all end happily.

Thanks again!

[shaxper]

BIG PROBLEM

Sorry to bother you guys again, but I have a crisis here. When I updated my old computer from Win 98 SE to Windows XP, the files contained in my desktop folders all disappeared. The folders and sub-folders are there, but the files themselves are nowhere to be found (not even with an advanced search). I had everything in these folders - 7 years worth of documents and photos, including the last photos of me and my father before he died. Does anyone know how this happened or have any idea how to get these files back? I installed Windows XP on top of Win 98 instead of uninstalling and doing a clean install. Could that have somehow caused this?

Thanks in adance for all of your help. I'm desperate for solutions.

[Spike-X]

I don't know how to help you with this problem, I'm afraid, but here's a tip to avoid it happening again; partition your HD. This is piss-easy to do under WinXP. What it basically does is divides your HD into two (or more) sections, whatever size you choose (working within the size limits of your HD, of course).

You'll end up with a C: drive, as normal, and a C: drive. Use your C drive for Windows and program installs, and use your D partition for file storage. that way, if anything ever happens and you have to wipe your C drive (or it gets wiped, which appears to have happened here), your files are still safe on your D drive.

[ocelotrevs]

Small external HD set to sync every night.
I'm going to go for an external.
Who make the best ones?

I'm looking for about a 250gig, it's 100gig more than my internal.

[Jeff Brady]

BIG PROBLEM

Yer basically fucked.

[Typo Lad]

I'm going to go for an external.
Who make the best ones?

I'm looking for about a 250gig, it's 100gig more than my internal.
Personally, I like the Maxtors.

[Sophisticated_Gamer]

BIG PROBLEM

Sorry to bother you guys again, but I have a crisis here. When I updated my old computer from Win 98 SE to Windows XP, the files contained in my desktop folders all disappeared. The folders and sub-folders are there, but the files themselves are nowhere to be found (not even with an advanced search). I had everything in these folders - 7 years worth of documents and photos, including the last photos of me and my father before he died. Does anyone know how this happened or have any idea how to get these files back? I installed Windows XP on top of Win 98 instead of uninstalling and doing a clean install. Could that have somehow caused this?

Thanks in adance for all of your help. I'm desperate for solutions.

Ya, I think you like messed up the whole operating system, I think you might have to reformat your hard drive, and reinstall....I hope there is a beter way.

[LordKaos]

I tripped on my Ethernet cord and now my laptop says the network cable is unplugged. I checked the cable, which is connected to a router, by plugging it into my PS2 and connecting to the internet, it worked fine. So now I'm thinking I've broken a computer I've only had for four months. Is there anyway to fix this?

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron E1505 and I running Windows XP Pro

[Stellar]

Way I see it, if your PS2 connects, then it's your Laptop's network card that's busted. See if you can get it fixed, if not, new ones aren't that expensive.

[Typo Lad]

Well, if it's build in fixing it would be expensive... but it's cheap to just grab a PCMCIA card network card, yes.

Cheaper than a new motherboard, anyway.

[LordKaos]

The laptops wireless connection still works so I was thinking that I could buy a wireless router and run a cable from my wired router to it. Is that possible? And if so how would I go about doing it?

[Typo Lad]

Youcan do that, but why bother?

Just replace the wired with the wireless. Almost ever Wireless router I've ever seen includes at least 4 wired ports as well.

[LordKaos]

If I were to switch out the wired router I would have to place it in another room.
That's a problem becuase the room is far off amd also because it's my brother's room and he'll probably mess with it.

So I don't have to do anything special with the wireless router? Just plug in the wire into the wireless router and that's it?

[LordKaos]

I'm thinking about the Netgear WGR614 802.11g Wireless Router since it's cheap. Positive or negative reviews?

[Stellar]

I usually stick to Linksys, but I've heard good things about Netgear. Might want to try it, but check the warranty.

[Stellar]

Okay, I got a problem. When I turn on my computer, it shuts down after a few seconds. Fan on the motherboard dies, too. I tried it with two mohterboards and the Power supply seems to be working. Help?

[Typo Lad]

get new fans?

[Stellar]

It's not just the fan. The comp just shuts down.

[Typo Lad]

If the fans don't work, the PC will overheat and shut down, is what I'm getting at.

[Jaye]

Yeah, at work I have to replace fans all the time for that exact problem. Its easy to do, and will fix ya.

[Stellar]

Okay, I'm going to try to replace the fans. Thanks.

Question. I'll be getting my Multimedia degree next year. How much does a webdesigner make in the states?

[Typo Lad]

Depends. It varies from city to city, state to state, and quality of work.

[macul]

My dad has decided it is time to buy a new computer. His current desktop is a 500mhz. He was looking at a Dell, but after spending some time on Newegg with him, I've convinced him I can build him a better computer for a comparable (and perhaps cheaper) price. At the very least he will know what part is going in to his computer.

This is a budget desktop. He's definately not gamer. This is what I'm currently considering:

-LG CD Burner: Nothing fancy. Not a well-known brand. He wants a standard CD burner rather than a DVD burner. $17.49

-Cooler Master Centurion 5 case: I have a Cooler Master. I like it. Very roomy and easy to work with. $49.99

-Western Digital Caviar SE Hard Disk: 160GB 3.0Gb/s SATA. $52.99

-Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor: Nothing fancy here. $159.99

-GIGABYTE GA-M61PM-S2 Motherboard: AMD AM2 board with integrated Nvidia video, sound, lots of USB, 8GB RAM support. Not crazy about integrated video, but he's not a gamer and won't need to upgrade. $74.99

-Rosewill RP500-2 ATX Power Supply: Nice 500watt power supply. I use this in my desktop and love it. $58.99

-CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533. $103.99

-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Orleans 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor. $99.99

-ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink: I use this also in my desktop. Very nice unit. Quiet. $34.99

I'll add a few extras. Perhaps another fan case and a heatsink for the RAM. Ended up costing a bit more than the Dell he was looking at, but only by about $75. For that he's getting a much faster machine with quality parts. Any recommended changes or comments?

[Stellar]

I bet you got the monitor from Tigerdirect. I was going to buy the same one, but I went for a 19" CRT instead.

I wouldn't call that a budget machine, except for the lack of a video card. For the rest, it's a pretty sturdy machine.

[Spike-X]

My dad has decided it is time to buy a new computer. His current desktop is a 500mhz. He was looking at a Dell, but after spending some time on Newegg with him, I've convinced him I can build him a better computer for a comparable (and perhaps cheaper) price. At the very least he will know what part is going in to his computer.

This is a budget desktop. He's definately not gamer. This is what I'm currently considering:

-LG CD Burner: Nothing fancy. Not a well-known brand. He wants a standard CD burner rather than a DVD burner. $17.49

-Cooler Master Centurion 5 case: I have a Cooler Master. I like it. Very roomy and easy to work with. $49.99

-Western Digital Caviar SE Hard Disk: 160GB 3.0Gb/s SATA. $52.99

-Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor: Nothing fancy here. $159.99

-GIGABYTE GA-M61PM-S2 Motherboard: AMD AM2 board with integrated Nvidia video, sound, lots of USB, 8GB RAM support. Not crazy about integrated video, but he's not a gamer and won't need to upgrade. $74.99

-Rosewill RP500-2 ATX Power Supply: Nice 500watt power supply. I use this in my desktop and love it. $58.99

-CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533. $103.99

-AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Orleans 2.4GHz Socket AM2 Processor. $99.99

-ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Copper Heatsink: I use this also in my desktop. Very nice unit. Quiet. $34.99

I'll add a few extras. Perhaps another fan case and a heatsink for the RAM. Ended up costing a bit more than the Dell he was looking at, but only by about $75. For that he's getting a much faster machine with quality parts. Any recommended changes or comments?
I'm also not crazy about integrated video, but I guess you can install a video card later if needed.

If you can get the Gigabyte BIOS to recognise the SATA HD, can you let me know how it's done? When I built this computer, I had to use my old IDE HD to install Windows* - the BIOS simply would not acknowledge the presence of the SATA HD. Once I installed Windows everything was fine, until I installed a particular set of drivers. Then it vanished again. Had to do a System Restore back to before I installed those drivers, then it was all good.


* I've since cloned it onto a new IDE drive, after the old one started making funny noises.

[macul]

I bet you got the monitor from Tigerdirect. I was going to buy the same one, but I went for a 19" CRT instead.

I wouldn't call that a budget machine, except for the lack of a video card. For the rest, it's a pretty sturdy machine.

All of those prices are newegg.com. I think you are correct about the lack of a video card, though. My desktop is similar, except mine has more RAM and better video for gaming.

[macul]

I'm also not crazy about integrated video, but I guess you can install a video card later if needed.

If you can get the Gigabyte BIOS to recognise the SATA HD, can you let me know how it's done? When I built this computer, I had to use my old IDE HD to install Windows* - the BIOS simply would not acknowledge the presence of the SATA HD. Once I installed Windows everything was fine, until I installed a particular set of drivers. Then it vanished again. Had to do a System Restore back to before I installed those drivers, then it was all good.


* I've since cloned it onto a new IDE drive, after the old one started making funny noises.

hrrm...you know, I had originally picked a different board (Asus I think), but I changed my mind when one of the reviewers mentioned that the manual stated you MUST have XP SP1 installed before you could use SATA hdds. Kind of stupid if you are doing a clean install. I hadn't heard that about the Gigabyte board. If that's the case, I'm picking a different board.

I didn't run in to that problem with my Abit A8N-SLI.

[macul]

Spike, do you recall what service pack of XP you tried to install with?

[Spike-X]

Spike, do you recall what service pack of XP you tried to install with?
SP2.








(ten characters)

[macul]

I bet I know what the problem is: you probably have to supply the driver for the controller during the install. I've had to do that with scsi controllers while installing servers. Probably the same thing.

[Spike-X]

I bet I know what the problem is: you probably have to supply the driver for the controller during the install. I've had to do that with scsi controllers while installing servers. Probably the same thing.
Yeah, I tried copying the drivers onto a floppy and doing all that shit, but it didn't work.

I prefer having my boot HD and storage HDs on separate units, anyway.

[Stellar]

Okay, so another one of the computers crashed again. We changed the motherboard on that machine three times already and it always crashes after about two months or so. At the moment the case has two fans. What's the problem?

[Typo Lad]

Take it into the shop. That's a big one.

[Stellar]

Good point. I wanted to do that ages ago but the boss is being a cheap bitch.

[the_coldest_sun]

Hello, peeps. Gotta new problem that I need help solving with my computer.

My computer "delays", meaning that my mouse doesn't move for a split second or my typing doesn't show up for a split second. Also--and here's where the problem bugs me the most--if I'm watching a video or listening to music, the sound chops for a second (like Max Headroom). Sometimes it last for as long as 3 seconds, which gets pretty scary and I think my PC froze until it finally stops. Now the thing is, it does this constantly. As I type this, it has "delayed" at least 10 times so far.

It didn't always use to be like this. I recently installed a new processor (as you can tell by my previous posts in this thread). It was working a little iffy but nothing crazy. I then reformatted my hard drive and did a clean install of Windows XP pro. Everything fine then. After a while, I updated Windows Media Player from version 9 to 11 (which I hate). The one day, WMP froze while playing an MP3, so I "End Task"ed it. Ever since then, WMP would either freeze upon opening, or no longer open altogether. Well, I decided to uninstall and revert back to version 9. And THAT's when this whole "delaying" problem began.

Even if I don't touch Window Media Player, the computer still acts this way. It kinda feels like something is draining th