Posts by Catweazle

Saving it as .DOC format will allow the document to be opened in Wordpad. Wordpad can read and write .DOC files, but does not provide all the formatting and other features. The freebie program was designed with non-Word users in mind, to enable them to access Word document files ;)

AdAware should be downloaded from the Lavasoft website. If you got it from elsewhere please contact the moderator you refer to and get them to check the link.

No hitchhikers should accompany AdAware.

Here's the ieview link

https://addons.update.mozilla.org/extensions/moreinfo.php?application=firefox&id=35&vid=1179

If you are using Windows XP, the 'Internet' icon in the left column of the start menu changes to that of Firefox when you set Firefox as your default browser.

Clicking on email links in Messenger still uses IE.

I'm moving this topic to Windows Software, as it does not belong in the Lounge section.

I'm thinking about changing from IE can someone give me more info on Mozilla?

Is it free? Got a URL for downloading?

Thanks
zeroth

This sticky links to a step by step guide to changing from Internet Explorer to Firefox.
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforums/thread17906.html

If people have technical questions could they please post them in either the 'Windows Software' section of TechTalk or in the appropriate OS version section?

Just depends who presses he 'give rep' button, or even who actually notices that it's there I suppose. Got me buggered how my own rep ever got so high, given that I'm such a crusty old bugger who pisses people off quite often :D

Simple fact is, Tekmaven is an 'old-timer' here who's been accumulating rep points for a long time cause he's helped lots of people!

Good question, Coconut Monkey. The problem is that what I'm storing is raw footage in AVI format. These files are uncompressed, which is what I want. But, of course, they're very big.

If they are your raw data, then I'd see that as all the more reason to have a safer and more permanent storage medium for them than simply keepin them on a hard drive. Even, that is, if you have to split the files into smaller portions and then rejoin them again later when they are being worked on. Whether it's still photos or movies you are working with, if you only store your 'negatives' on the hard drive, you are running a big risk with them!

Why not simply uninstall the Dell drivers and use reference drivers for the card instead?

I cannot stress enough that the problems will NOT originate from the updates. They will originate from other problems on your system, which may not have even yet manifested before the updates were installed.

I'd suggest you replace the drive instead. I'd also suggest you read this:

http://www.pcuser.com.au/pcuser/hs2.nsf/web/C2A06B8908469E8ECA256F4300031B39

Moved to the correct section, by the way :)

Reboot your system.

The 'Out of memory' message usually indicates that system resources have been used up, and there are no more 'hooks' available for Windows to hang things on, so it reports that there's no more room. Some program you are running is probably 'leaking' memory, and a reboot should correct it.

What software have you installed recently?

That's the 'biggie', because most such problems are created by software conflicts which stuff up the settings and Registry entries related to your drive.

But the questions asked by DMR are very important also, together with these:

What cable did you attach the new drive to? The same one as the CD drive? Did you correctly configure the jumper settings on your drives as 'Master' and 'Slave' accordingly?

For compatibility mode, right-click on the program icon and choose the 'Compatibility' tab. You'll find the options there.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/russel_02february18.mspx

Aha! The good ole U.S. of A(ds everywhere)! I am sooooooo glad to live in a counbtry where education is the province of the public and not the private, and where even a conservative government has not proved capable of bastardising everything!

That said, the course listed there are genuine ones, but I'd disregard the catchy 'Free offers' that are listed. Read the fine print and you'll find that they're not genuine. Sure, you can get 'Free training' from them. If, that is, you are a person who already has the knowledge the course provides, who can send in all the coursework virtually immediately, have it assessed, and be granted the qualification all within the space of a few short months. That's not an offer to provide free training, it's a gimmick to gain further plaudits for themselves.

Good point!

The 'XP fix' is only available on a particular private website. All other sources link back to there.

Currently, the site is down, and it may have been discontinued. I'd try again down the track again and see if it's back up. Perhaps the fellow simply didn't pay his bills!

The tip I provided, goodtaste, will eliminate the need to use 'Safe mode', for most people anyway :)

A search engine such as Google is useful for finding just about anything! But you need to be careful with your search criteria. For example, I'm sure you refer to 'cross-stitch' there, rather than 'crossword'.

By the way, I've used convert photo to knitting pattern and turn photo into knotting pattern and uncovered nothing of worth, I'm afraid. You'll need to be more creative than I was with your search.

MicroATX is simply a motherboard which is smaller than standard ATX, and designed to physically fit in a smaller case. It is still the same standard as ATX and does not use power in any different way. Running a MicroATX motherboard from an ATX power supply unit is perfectly fine!

The amount of RAM on a video card is damn near irrelevent to its capability. It is the graphics processor and the RAM speed on the card which largely determines how powerful it is, and the graphics processor and RAM speed on the FX5200 are substandard in relation to the requirements of modern 3D games.

My apologies, as I appear to have misread your question. It was kinda late when I was responding to it last night.

In fact, not having had 'hands-on' with Win2000, I can't even comprehend what you mean by 'graphics properties' which are separate to 'display properties' in the desktop context menu. They do not appear to be present in any Windows version I've used :confused:

Seemed to me, Mr Andy, that by following some of the Registry changes on that site you could even pick and choose which facets of display properties you want displayed, or simply disable the whole lot of it and the Control Panel as well!

Thanks for that, w1r3sp33d. Here in Australia, where out police are all under State or Federal administration, we have well-established Computer Crimes units, and stalking/harrassment is also taken quite seriously. Being under State administration, our local police have very clearcut mechanisms whereby such matters can be dealt with. Perhaps you have been unlucky enough to strike a situation where communication between authorities isn't the best. Going directly to the people responsible would certainly be a good move to make!

There is no option to artistically arrange them on screen and then lock them there, however :(

I'd suggest a read of this page:
http://programmerworld.net/win/winsecret.htm

I'm sure you'll find some useful tips there :D

Mike, quite frankly I think it sounds like you've already gone well beyond the 'Where do I start?" point and are well into "Is it worth continuing?" territory. Obviously your system has had underlying problems BEFORE those updates were installed, and your troubleshooting efforts since have really only built on them.

Sometimes you really need to sit back and consider if you've reached a point where backing up your data, wiping the drive and installing everything again fresh may not just be the best move to make!

I suspect you may have got there :(

Maybe others here more knowledgeable about such matters may be able to advise you differently, but I suspect that you are going to out of luck tracking the source of threatening messages sent via a web-based mail account. Those messages can be sent from anywhere, and are not tied to location and oerson in the way that POP3 emails are. If the message comes from an ISP-based email account it's more easily traceable.

I'd suggest that you advise all in the organisation to make complaint to MSN whenever such messages are received, and to continue reporting every instance to the police. I think that the best you can hope for is to convince MSN to shut down the accounts used to send such messages, and I'm sure that if a series of accounts proves to be used for such a purpose, and the messages originate from a particular location, further action might then be possible.

But the key to success is to ensure that the people in your organisation do not give him any satisfaction by allowing his messages to impact on them. If his efforts bring reward he will continue, if they don't he will stop!

You sound like a nice person, and it's probably a pity that you're unlikely to have some 'not-so-nice' friends. A few of them paying the fellow a visit is what this situation sounds like it needs :)

Considering stand-alone browsers are available which provide those features, and which do not inherit the security risks of IE, I can't really understand why anyone would choose an IE 'bolt-on'

I'm not familiar with the way Medion bundle their laptops, but does that unit of yours come with recovery media of some sort so you can restore it to original state? A 'Recovery' CD or instructions for accessing a hidden menu from wich you can restore it to the condition in which it was provided?

I'd seriously consider backing up the data on it and doing just that. If it continues to crash after being wiped and reinstalled, you'll know it's a hardware problem, but I suspect it's a software problem you have, and a corrupted Windows installation.

Fair point indeed. However, I also think that when such matters have been raised publically the situation can be taken advantage of for the benefit of all. Regrettable all round, but let's use it as a 'learning experience', eh? :D

I'll also move this to the 'Forum Feedback' section, where I think it more rightfully belongs.

What do you mean by 'install again'?

Are you trying to install over the top? If so it sounds like you're screwed. You should really (after backing up data) use the installation routine to delete the system partition, create a new one in its place, and then install onto that.

And yes, it sucks to have to set it all up again! :(

The general matter of suitability of topics for the 'Lounge' section has been raised for discussion amongst the administrative group.

I regret that feelings have been offended here, and would ask that patience be displayed to allow a more co-ordinated approach to be devised and implemented.

Kevin, I'd not like to see you discontinue visiting here over this single incident, despite the fact that in the absence of a more co-ordinated approach to this particular matter I give my support the decisions of other members of the admin/moderator team.

Best alternative is to list the titles you want to use. There may be specific things you need to do for each to get them to run under XP, and some may be incompatible to the extent that it's unwise to install them.

It would be best to do this as a separate topic in the Windows XP section.

Did it come accompanied with installation discs and you've since lost them? If so you will need a new copy of Windows to install with, and you will also lose all of the software which came with it.

Did it come accomanied with instructions on restoring the hard drive included in the product documentation, and you've since lost the documentation? If so you'll need to contact the support people via HP's website and get uinstructions for restoring the hard drive.

One thing's for sure. It definitely WOULD have come accompanied with a method of restoring the original drive image it was provided with.

If that drive image was included on a 'hidden' drive partition, and you've since used partition tools to remove the hidden partition, then you've lost it.

This page mentions HP recovery CDs:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?dlc=en&lc=en&product=77620&lang=en&cc=us&docname=bph07143

Shut down and then power up. Do a restart. Repeat both those alternatives several times each. See if the problem returns.

From a post of mine at http://forums.pcpowerplay.com.au

Simplest way. Use notepad to create a file called ShowDesktop.SCF and with the following contents:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Drag the file to the QuickLaunch area.

Done deal!

What make and model of computer have you got? Was it purchased new or secondhand? If it's a 'brand name' PC it should be accompanied with either a 'Restore' or 'Recovery CD which can be used to restore it to its original installed stae, or with the necessary files on a 'hidden' partition on the hard drive which is accessed by a factory set keypress combination at power-up.

If it is not a 'brand-name' PC, it should have come with a Windows CD.

If none of that applies, and you are still using the Windows installation which someone else put there from their own Windows install CD, you will need to purchase your own copy of Windows!

Right-click the icon and choose 'QuickTime preferences'. From the drop-down box select 'Browser Preferences'. Deselect 'QuickTime system tray icon'.

No more little blue 'Q' :D

If Windows XP is installed on a system with a single hard drive and only one partition created, which takes up the entire storage space of the drive, then you will need to use a partition management tool to add Windows 98 and leave the Windows XP installation in place.

While it is DEFINITELY preferable to wipe the drive and install Windows 98 firsat, if you insist on adding it later follow this procedure:

http://www.pcuser.com.au/pcuser/hs2.nsf/web/E6D96526AF2C872BCA256DD700280269

If you have a restore CD with that PC then yes, it would be wise to use it.

If it came with a Windows XP disk then make sure you have all the installation disks for your programs ready, because you'll need to install them again.

Either way, yes, wiping and installing fresh is the best way to get rid of residual problems!

Yes, you should certainly start over!

This time, install the Service pack BEFORE you install drivers and software ;)

If you haven't already got the full Service Pack 2 installation saved to disk, you can get it from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

No, that's not possible. If you wipe the drive and install fresh then it doesn't matter where the install directory of your programs is, you still have to reinstall them, because the Registry entries related to the programs will be missing.

It will also help if you let us know the make and model of your laptop, and also the Windows version you are using.

OK, that's a better power unit. Now you need to be attentive to the display card. It's well and good to say the PC is only going to be used for gaming occasionally, but if it's gonna be used at all it needs to be playable! The FX5200 is a very low powered card, and if those games are going to be in any way modern 3D games then you'd be better to get a more capable card.

WQork the figures out and see what sort of a budget you can squeeze out for a display card, and it will be easier to make recommendations.

The main consideration with a power supply unit is QUALITY, rather than power rating. cheaper, generic or rebadged units units such as the one you linked are prone to delivering unstable voltages, and can cause system instability later on. They are also more prone to failure.

I'd suggest a unit from Antec, Thermaltake, OCZ or Zalman. More expensive, but a better investment in the long run. Remember, if the power unit blows it can take out motherboard, CPU and other components with it ;)

There is no such thing, in my view, as the 'Best Company'. It doesn't matter what brand you buy, as the build qualities are all good and the after slaes support is all quite good as well.

What you need to look for is the PC which contains the components which best suit the customer's individual computing needs. Every manufacturer produces a whole RANGE of PCs, and they suit different needs. Your question is impossible to answer, and in reply the question must be asked:

The best computer to do WHAT with?

Sorry, no option there for me. I distrust ALL 'brand-name' PCs and either build my own or purchase 'white-box' unbranded PCs. That way I get more powerful equipment for the money I spend. That way I also get components and system cases which use standard formats and can be up/graded/replaced/added to quite easily. That way I also don't have to pay extra for customer support which I'll never use.

That all said, HP/Compaq are the brands I would MOST steer clear of ;)

Agreed. The motherboard connector is the same, but unless you install the motherboard in an ATX case (which it will fit into without any problems) then you may not have the necessary space for a standard ATX power unit.

http://www.voodoofiles.com/

You'll find driver downloads there for using it under Windows XP.

You only need Professional if you intend to connect the PC to a large network. XP Home edition is limited with regard to networking, but in most other respects is virtually identical. The defrag tool is not as good but that's about it!

XP Home is perfectly adequate for the needs of the vast majority of people.

If it turns out that your PC will not accept the processor, I'd suggest you replace the system case as well as the motherboard. Compaq cases are generally quite solid, but they are non-standard in design, and very difficult to work on when adding, removing or replacing internal components.

You should also realise that you will need a retail copy of Windows XP as well, becuase the OEM copy included will not be transferrable. Once you replace a motherboard, your system is classified as a new one. The Windows XP installation you have will fail to start, because it will detect the new hardware and see the motherboard change as the replacement of numerous components. (There are actually 10 to 12 components on the motherboard which are included in the anti-piracy audit.)