180 Archived Topics
Remove Filter  | I've never been a fan of readme files. They are fine for project files where you will likely need note of building an application, or for distribution packages where you might need extra information on installing a package. But sometimes you want to add a comment to a file (perhaps … |
| | I have been having a problem for a few months with the video driver for my Dell laptop. The hardware/driver are from Intel. The driver from 2016-09-29 works just fine. It has a feature that I use regularly to rotate the display via hotkeys - very convenient for document reading. … |
| | Here's an interesting little scenario. You get challenged to a game of coin toss. Both players pick a sequence of coin toss results (heads or tails). The coin is repeatedly tossed until the sequence for one of the players occurs. The loser pays the winner a dollar. You'd assume that …  |
| | You can win up to [$55,000 to optimize NASA's Fluid Dynamics code](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/05/nasa-wants-you-to-make-its-fortran-code-run-faster/). See the link for details. |
| | I'm at the cottage for the summer. Out here I have a metered connection and I try to keep under 3 gig per month (or I have to pay extra). Until this year that hasn't been a problem. This year, however, I have Windows 10. With Windows 7 I could …  |
| | For anyone who is having trouble with regular expressions, I suggest you have a look at [this site](https://regexper.com/#%5Cd%7B1%2C3%7D) by Jeff Avallone. It takes a regular expression in the native (cryptic) format and produces a visual display of the same expression. For example, ^[a-z0-9_-]{3,16}$ becomes  and the pattern for … |
| | My son is looking to buy a new gaming system. For reasons I have detailed elsewhere on Daniweb, there is no way in hell we will consider a Dell system. They were great once. They aren't anymore. And their service sucks big time. We would prefer a prebuilt system because … |
| | Here's a handy tip I haven't seen documented anywhere. If you have an Explorer window open, do the following 1. Click in the address bar to the right of the address so that the entire address is highlighted/selected 1. Type `cmd` in the address bar so that it replaces the … |
| | I got a call from recently from someone claiming to be a Dell tech rep. He said my laptop was reporting multiple errors. Realizing immediately that this was a scam I let him continue while I started a Windows 7 Virtual Machine session. Because I had some free time I …  |
| | I frequently find myself looking for files on my computer. 99.9% of the time I am looking for a file by name rather than by contents. Typically there are two ways to find a file when you don't know what folder it is in. You can do it from the …  |
| | I'm having issues with my TrendMicro anti-virus software where my disk activity hits 100% for 10-15 minute periods randomly throughout the day. TM tech support has made a few suggestions but in order to track their effectiveness I have to monitor my disk activity in such a way that I … |
| | I thought this was only me, but apparently there are other users who have noticed that somewhere in the last few Microsoft Updates, the option to set a wi-fi connection as metered has been removed. Fortunately, you can still set/unset this option from the command line. For details, and a … |
| | A note to everyone on Daniweb who is eligible to vote this November, especially young voters who show up in notoriously low numbers. This is not like making a bad decision, knowing your parents are there to save you. There is no safety net. There is no do-over. If you, … |
| | Before I enrolled in Computer Science at the University of Manitoba I spent several months in Engineering in Saskatoon. It was a hellish time (my first extended time away from home) in a strange city with no friends. I did make one good friend named Hugh Baker. He was the … |
| | In Chrome, when I scroll to the bottom of a forum and click **Mark Forum Read**, it just scrolls me back to the top of the page and does not actually mark as read. It works as expected, however, in Firefox. I used to see this behaviour if I clicked …  |
| | Sometimes there are functions you want your program to perform in the background while you are busy doing other things. For example, if you are building a picture viewer application you may not want to wait until thumbnails are generated before getting on with the business of viewing the pictures. … |
| | I have been using [AutoHotKey](https://autohotkey.com/) for quite some time and I have found it to be invaluable for enhancing Windows 7/10 functionality. I thought I'd post a couple of useful scripts here. Windows 10 has a desktop feature that lets you hide/show your desktop icons. I prefer a clutter-free desktop … |
| | A quick recap on a Dell Inspiron I bought in December 2014. So far I have had a video problem that was caused by the Dell Tech installing a bad driver while trying to fix a bad USB 3 port problem. I had to send the unit back to Dell …  |
| | In order to further (artificially) inflate the number of Windows 10 installations, Microsoft is now showing the following pop-up on some users' computers:  And even more heavy-handed, some users are getting the following:  Smart users will realize that they can always click **X** and just close … |
| | I just got off the phone. It was an interesting call. It was a technician from Microsoft calling to tell me that my computer had been sending a lot of fault data to Microsoft and that he was going to remote in to fix the problem. First he had me …  |
| | My number two son is looking to replace his old(ish) Alienware laptop with a new gaming desktop. He is leaning toward another Alienware (although desktop this time rather than notebook). Does anyone have any recommendations that aren't in the super-ultimate-deluxe-megabucks category? His reason for going to a desktop system is … |
| | The election is over and it looks like fear loses, at least for now. Our former Conservative government, led by Stephen Harper, went down in flames to the Liberals, led by Justin Trudeau. Thus ends a decade of Conservative rule that was slowly turning Canada into the US. One of … |
| | Warning - DO NOT BUY DELL IF YOU NEED TECH SUPPORT Let me start by saying that until today I was a loyal Dell customer. My first personal laptop was a Dell Inspiron 1720. My father-in-law had a Dell desktop and my two sons have three Dell laptops between them. …  |
| | Skype used to have a setting that would allow me to block all unsolicited contact requests. Shortly after Microsoft acquired Skype this feature was removed. I used to get 2-3 requests per week and it was easy enough to delete-and-report-abuse although I suspect nobody ever actually looked at these reports. … |
| | I use Skype frequently for voip. After I reboot, and for an indefinite time after, everything works fine. But eventually my microphone (Dell built-in) stops working. The party at the other end no longer hears me. It's not just Skype. Windows Sound Recorder doesn't pick up anything. Neither does Audacity. … |
| | ##How to set up file synchronization using BitTorrent Sync (part 1) There are a number of services that offer file sharing/syncing via the "cloud". The free versions come with limitations on file size. As well, DropBox suffers from security issues in that encryption is done at the server meaning that … |
| | I have had this problem since I got the laptop last December. Video in full screen is erratic. In scenes where there is little motion there is no problem (or the problem exists but is not visible). The problem manifests as a horizontal "tear" about two inches down from the …  |
| | I thought I'd install the newest Visual Studio (2013) but all that happens is this (see below). I have all available updates installed plus the latest C++ runtimes. Does anyone have any suggestions? Attempts to get the referenced update result in downloading Visual Studio 2013 Update 3 and when I …  |
| | At a recent conference, Microsoft said that the switch to allow Secure Boot to be turned off would be optional. "Hardware can be Designed for Windows 10 and can offer no way to opt out of the Secure Boot lock down." The presenter did not touch on whether OEMS can … |
| | I just got my new laptop (after toasting my 2008 model with a glass of water on the keyboard). It's a Dell Inspiron 5748. I was excited to see it came with a USB 3.0 port (plus two USB 2.0 ports). The excitement vanished, however, when I tried my first … |
| | I have a Dell Inspiron 1720 running Windows 7 Pro. At random times throughout the day it says "boop" (a short, mellow toned beep). It is not associated with any particular action or program and doesn't seem to be a Windows sound. I've run diagnostics twice and nothing shows up. … |
| | I came across this must-read article. I was a maintenance programmer for 29 years and I've come across many of the deadly sins that he discusses and maybe even one or two that he does not. [How to Write Unmaintainable Code by Roedy Green](https://www.thc.org/root/phun/unmaintain.html).  |
| | Please read through the following suggestions before posting in this forum. Questions in this forum are answered by people who generously volunteer their time. Following these guidelines will increase the chances of getting a quick and accurate answer. 1. Use Search to see if your question has been asked and … |
| | [Article here](http://thenextweb.com/google/2014/08/07/google-is-now-ranking-websites-with-https-higher-in-its-search-results/)  |
| | In true Microsoft fashion they have made the download process so counterintuitive that your chances of getting what you want is near impossible. Fortunately someone has created a "simple" [12 step process](http://www.istartedsomething.com/20140616/the-12-step-process-to-download-microsoft-sql-server-express-2014/). For yuks, see also [here](http://www.istartedsomething.com/20121216/downloading-sql-express-2012-from-microsoft-com/). And to see how little things have improved see [Bill Gates Chews Out … |
| | Sometimes you want to add a little functionality to an existing class but you don't want to go to the trouble of sub-classing. A technique that you can use is known as **Extending**. For example, I frequently use regular expressions when working with strings. Wouldn't it be nice if strings …  |
| | I created an app to view and tag all of my home movie files. To play back the video I embedded Windows Media Player in the form. It also allows me to add comments to videos and search based on the comments. While it is functional, I would prefer to … |
| | Here's my current setup Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop 42" digital TV with just about every input imaginable Wired/wireless router What I want to do is stream audio/video from my laptop to the TV wirelessly. Is there a device I can connect between the router and the TV, along with software … |
| | If your Excel spreadsheet is laid out as regular columns and rows with a header row that identifies the columns then this code will allow you to read the data using ADODB the same way you would read records from a database table. To try this code 1. Create a … |
| | I started havinig an odd problem with Chrome a couple of weeks ago. Today I tried to resolve it by uninstalling and re-installing Chrome but the problem persists. The window display frequently (as in every minute or so) refreshes, then displays two overlapping images. Please see the attached shot. If … |
| | I've been having a problem for (I'm guessing) a few months that I finally resolved and I'm posting it here as a warning. The problem occurs in Outlook 2003 but may also occur in later versions. **Symptoms** I'd start composing an email in Outlook 2003 and save it to the … |
| | CESG, the UK government's arm that assesses operating systems and software security, has published its findings for ‘End User Device’ operating systems. The most secure of the lot? Ubuntu 12.04. For the full article see [here](http://www.zdnet.com/uks-security-branch-says-ubuntu-most-secure-end-user-os-7000025312/)  |
| | There are reports surfacing that Microsoft has taken enough of a beating over Windows 8/8.1 that a new version, codenamed Threshhold, is in the works. Reliable sources claim that Threshhold will have the traditional desktop with a proper start menu and the ability to run Metro apps on the desktop. … |
| | I've rewritten this question a half dozen times and each time it makes less sense. In a nutshell, I want to populate a listview with large icons representing image files but I can't get them to come out unstretched. They are always stretched along the x or y axis because … |
| | [This post](http://joelgrus.com/2013/12/24/why-programming-language-x-is-unambiguously-better-than-programming-language-y/) by Joel Grus is both insightful and highly entertaining. Make sure to read the comments which are also witty and amusing.  |
| | I cannot get BlueTooth to work on my laptop. I have a Dell Inspiron 1720 running Windows 7 Pro. When I got it back in 2008 the BlueTooth was working fine. I have re-installed Windows several times since then and have never had to use bluetooth. Today I got hearing … |
| | I recently had to send my laptop back to Dell for some warranty work and when I got it back it had the same problem as before it went in. I was told that they replaced the system board but I am having my doubts. I'm going to send it … |
| | Several people have asked about storing binary data in a database. I coded up an example today that uses an ADODB.Stream to copy the binary data but after some fiddling I found a more direct way. If you are using MS SQL Server, the easiest way I have found is … |
| | I find that I occasionaally have special projects where it would be nice to have a context menu for files. I tend to write housekeeping scripts and it is convenient to be able to run these scripts against one or more files at a time without having to navigate and … |
| | Thanks to diafol for putting me wise to the imdb api. Unfortunately, due to my ignorance of all things related to web programming I am stuck. I fetch my information via the following Dim url As String = "http://mymovieapi.com/?title=@title&type=xml&plot=full&episode=0&limit=1&year=@year&yg=1&mt=M&lang=en-US&offset=&aka=simple&release=simple&business=0&tech=0" url = Replace(url, "@title", "Star+Trek") url = Replace(url, "@year", "1979") WebBrowser1.Navigate(url) … |
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