Posts by Reverend Jim

You also might try the takeown command. Type

takeown /?

for instructions.

I was hoping for a few more weeks of Indian summer (if I can still call it that).

@rproffitt - I'll trade you some snow for some heat.

Greetings from the GWN (Great White North).

But the result is the same. I'm getting pointless PMs from a noob.

What is it with so many shows that have people writing out equations, evidence, etc. of transparent panels in the middle of a room? Things are so much easier to read on a white board, and there is no reason to want to read from the other side where everything is backwards. You can't even get a decent photo of stuff on a clear panel with the background cluttering everything all up.

If you don't even know how to use a switch statement then I suggest you start with something a little simpler than a POS system. If you are too lazy to google c switch statement then I suggest you pick a less demanding field.

And I just got a PM from him saying "cheers". I thought newbies couldn't send PMs.

“The greatest tragedy in mankind’s entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion.”

• Arthur C. Clarke

The thing is, the difficulty gets wiped away as the knowledge keeps on coming in.

Most people who drive a car don't know the mechanics of how it works and most don't need, or care to know. That's most computer users. My point is that the knowledge/skills required to be an effective Linux user is beyond the capability of most users. For most people a computer is an appliance.

Anything is difficult when newly challenged by it.

Yeah. But Linux is the gift that keeps on giving. How many GUIs can you choose from now? Last I looked there was Unity, KDE and Gnome. Any more? Yes, I realize that with each new version of Windows they change where everything is located. It's my major complaint with MS. Hopefully things will settle down with the new paradigm.

Every day, these choices just keep on getting better.

And more varied, thus adding to the confusion. I think Emo Philips was a prophet.

Having said all that, you may get the impression that I really don't like Linux. On the contrary, I think it is a remarkable achievement. The value is outstanding for the cost and its capabilities and almost infinite configurability are remarkable. And for a certain small segment of the public it is far better than Windows. But for the rest, it is not.

But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

• Dennis Miller

Yes. Windows is more susceptible to malware, etc. than Linux. Then again, Linux is much more difficult to use and maintain for the vast majority of computer users. The majority of people I know with computers use Windows. The only ones who use Linux are the hardcore techies. You know them. They are the ones who recompile the kernel every six months. At several points over the last couple of decades I had considered making the switch but I always came back to Windows because Linux was just too damn much trouble.

There is a (rude word)-ton of non-techie information and help available to everyone on using Windows. In my experience, the skill set required to set up, configure, use and maintain a Linux system is just beyond most users and the information that is available is usually incomplete, assuming knowledge that most people just don't have. What is easier for most users who want to install and use a program?

1. Double click on the installer and follow the menus
2. Figure out some complex and arcane command line with equally cryptic arguments and switches

The first time I tried I couldn't get the wireless to work. After browsing many forums I finally found one of those command line thingies to install a missing driver (that should have been included in the distro). Even then it didn't work because "everyone knows that to make it work you have to...".

I will likely get many replies about how everything is …

Yeah. I read all about your experience in this thread. In my case I blame Dell more than I blame Microsoft.

Over the years, I had been hit many times in Windows, and I fixed it. It's just that the last time was it!

And you never considered that perhaps the problem was with you? It seems to me that the fault lay with you not taking proper precautions, following unsafe practices, etc. I've set up many systems for friends & relatives and only one system ever got infected by malware. That one was because my father-in-law repeatedly downloads and installs every "free" game on the internet. In his case I have a pre-borking image saved so after each borking I just slap on the image, apply outstanding updates and take a new image. Installing Unchecky has really helped.

And I've been using Windows since 3.1 and have never been the victim of malware so it seems to me that you are just making the point that you don't know how to protect a Windows based system as opposed to "Linux is better than Windows, nyah nyah".

It turns out that 64 is not excessive. Who knew?

The final tally on the rebuild is that I have the latest udates installed. However, I now have four copies of RavBG64.exe (video) and six copies if RTBroker.exe (some MS hack for managing the new universal apps). Also, sixty-four copies of svchost.exe. I realize that there will usually be multiple copies of this running but 64 seems excessive.

Possible that what?

Water under the bridge.

Judging by your post it is possible that you have not read the Daniweb Posting Rules and Terms of Service. Please give these a read. You might also want to Read This Before Posting a Question to increase your chances of getting a timely (and more useful) response.

So I don't really want to adjust the rules to cater to the current state of affairs.

Darwin pointed out that it's not survival of the fittest but survival of those best able to adapt to change. Unfortunately I am as much in the dark as everyone else here as to how to adapt.

The clean install is mostly done and things are mostly working but it's like being told that in order to fix a leaky tire I have to completely rebuild my car. It took me only two days.

Here we are again. I have now gone through

-Ellie
-Hanna P
-Anne B
-Mary Grace B
-Renabesh M
-John L
-Jenolyn R
-Leonard

It was Jenolyn who finally stated (with no evidence whatsoever) that "obviously" Dell had installed some component that was being detected as Drive Image 7. Plausible, but unsupported by any evidence.

In any case I decided to just do a clean install with a windows.iso provided by M$ which included the Fall Update (or FU as I now refer to it).

It installed cleanly (so I thought) but as soon as I started cleaning the crap off the start menu I ran into problems. Trying to add/move a new item resulted in the start menu disappearing. Upon re-opening it I saw thecrap had returned. That's when Leonard got involved. After several tries on his part to fix it I simply responded

Ayup

I'm trying a clean install again.

This is bullshit.

PS: Most good code editors have a hotkey where you place the cursor over a bracket and the hotkey toggles to/from the matching bracket.

you could make your logic a lot less complicated by something like

if (score > 100)
    \\invalid
else if (score >= 90)
    \\A+
else if (score >= 80)
    \\A
else if (score >= 75)
    \\A-

etc.

You should also pick one of the more widely accepted methods of using brace brackets. For example

if (condition) {
    statement;
    statement;
}

or

if (condition)
{
    statement;
    statement;
}

but not

if (condition)
{   statement;
    statement;
}

If you'd done that your bracket mismatch problem would have been immediately obvious.

And I haven't posted the last three tries (it still is not resolved). So far the best they can offer is "do a clean install then reinstall your apps". I suppose they think 2-3 apps is all anyone should need, just like they thought 640k would be enough memory.

Once more unto the breach...

Mary Grace B

Thanks for contacting Microsoft support, my name is Mary Grace B. Please allow me a few moments while I review the information you provided.
5:30 am

Me

ok
5:30 am

Mary Grace B

Hi! I can see here that I am chatting with Jim. Hope you are doing well. I can see here that you have issue with installing update in Windows 10 and have been assisted with different technician to assist you methods on how to apply possible resolution and you even have the Windows 10 download to your USB, I would like to confirm after trying the Update Now option, do you still have an issue installing updates?
5:36 am

Me

I'm still getting told to uninstall Drive Image 7. And now I've downloaded the update six times and wasted a lot of bandwidth and the major part of a day.
5:37 am

Mary Grace B

Alright, thanks for the added information for your concern, if I may ask is your computer originally have Windows 10 or is it preinstalled with Windows 7?
5:38 am

Me

Pre-installed with Windows 10. I haven't even seen Drive Image 7 since long before I retired in 2008.
5:40 am

Me

It's a Dell Inspiron 5759.
5:41 am

Mary Grace B

Thanks for the heads up, I understand that you have been checking all possible ways on how to detect the Driver Image 7 from your system …

The next session went like this...

Anne B

Thanks for contacting Microsoft support, my name is Anne B. Please allow me a few moments while I review the information you provided.
10:01 pm

Me

reference number: 1401662545
10:01 pm

Anne B

Hi Jim. Please give me 2-3 minutes to check the case number.
10:01 pm

Me

ok
10:01 pm

Anne B

Thank you for patiently waiting, upon checking the case number you are having issues with installing update on your device. Is this correct?
10:03 pm

Me

Issues is the polite way of putting it.
10:03 pm

Anne B

I understand.
10:04 pm

Anne B

As we proceed, please note that we can provide a No-Charge support for your concern about installing update, we also have self-help options if you wish too. We can talk about our Service Plan in case you're interested, but let’s resolve your issue first! Here's your case number as well for our session today: 1401662545
10:04 pm

Anne B

To help better and for faster troubleshooting, may I assist you over a remote session?
10:04 pm

Me

I'm going to say no. The last time I let a tech remote in I had to reload my system from a saved image to undo the damage. I have a Comp Sci degree, 32 years experience programming & many years Windows desktop support so I am capable of following directions.
10:05 pm

Anne B

That was good …

I think we should have a highly visible link to the rules on the page where people create a new topic

I believe I've mentioned this one or twice (or a dozen) times.

So I tried downloading the in-place upgrade. That got me the same error as the first time but in purple.

So it's back to chat once again tonight.

That was followed by yet another long wait while the updates download for the third (or fourth) time. When it failed again, this time with the oh so useful

I tried chat again. Here is how that went...

Hanna P

Thanks for contacting Microsoft support, my name is Hanna P. Please allow me a few moments while I review the information you provided.
7:48 pm

Hanna P

Hi there!@
7:48 pm

Hanna P

Welcome to Microsoft!
7:48 pm

Me

RE: 1401662545
7:48 pm

Hanna P

Please allow me a few moments while I review the information you provided.
7:48 pm

Hanna P

Hi there Jim...
7:49 pm

Hanna P

Thank you for patiently waiting
7:49 pm

Me

Take your time. When I tried the web install I got "Something went wrong" and error number 0xc1900208.
7:49 pm

Hanna P

Just to verify, the concern that we have here is that you're trying to update your Windows 10, is that right?
7:49 pm

Me

Yes.
7:50 pm

Hanna P

Oh, okay...
7:51 pm

Hanna P

Thank you for the verification
7:51 pm

Me

And naturally, Microsoft does not provide a way to save the downloaded update files so every time I try the update I have to wait for yet another massive download to complete. Thanks Microsoft.
7:51 pm

Hanna P

Oh, sorry for that inconvenience...
7:51 pm

Hanna P

Jim, …

I tried Microsoft Chat Support. The first conversation went like this...

Thanks for contacting Microsoft support, my name is Ellie R.. Please allow me a few moments while I review the information you provided.
Hi Jim, thanks for patiently waiting. It seems that you simply want to update your Windows to the latest update

Me

I've been trying to install the latest Windows updates. It fails, saying that an application is incompatible with the update. It says the application is "Drive Image 7" which I have never had on my computer. In fact, I haven't had any PowerQuest software on any computer.

Ellie

No worries, you have me on the line now and we'll get this sorted out for you.

Me

Just for the hell of it I opted to let MS Uninstall. It failed and said "you have to do it manually".

Ellie

Alright I will be helping you with that.

Me

Great.

Ellie

Before we start, we provide mainstream support for download, install and activation issues of Windows. This means that you’ll definitely get a no charge technical assistance specifically to this issue.

Me

Even better.

Ellie

We also have other support options if ever your concern falls outside our mainstream support. We can discuss it with you later on if there's a need. For now, let's work together in performing some basic steps in resolving the issue.
For me to check it more further, can I do a remote access session on your computer and …

Today I tried to install the Windows 10 Fall Creator's Update. It failed with the message

I found this peculiar because I don't have that application installed. I do have Macrium Reflect (Free) version 6 but certainly not Drive Image 7 (Powerquest).

As usual, clicking the Support link took me to a totally unrelated page. Has anyone else had a problem with the update?

By the way, clicking the Uninstall button produced

Under Keep it Organized you will find

• Do not post the same question multiple times

I believe cross posting is covered by that rule. Even though is might be implied that this refers only to posting the same question on Daniweb, it isn't expressly stated.

Nobody here is going to do your homework for you. However, if you post what you have so far and show us where you are stuck you might get the help you are looking for.

You don't write pseudo-code in python. Pseudo-code should be language independent. Thus the "pseudo" part.

In VB.net you can assign a handler at run time with AddHandler. I think the c# equivalent is to assign it using New EventHandler(handler). Just loop through your textbox controls and voila.

That's one of those questions they like to put on the exam to see if you know the inner workings of c/c++ even though no sane c/c++ programmer would ever code like that.

536 lines of code and not one useful comment in the lot.

Don't use Java!

That may be good advice (or not) but it doesn't in any way help the OP. That's like reading "how do I change my oil" and replying "you should really rotate your tires".

Try

^(\+\d{1,2}\s)?\(?\d{3}\)?[\s.-]\d{3}[\s.-]\d{4}$

I just heard back from Michael Maltsev (Unchecky author) and he said that they are now using 0.0.0.0 because of a change to the TCP loopback interface in Windows 8.1. As rproffitt and cereal pointed out, a reference to 0.0.0.0 fails immediately (thanks for the tests - should have thought of that myself).

I have been using my HOSTS file for years to dummy out ad sites by adding entries like

127.0.0.1   www.ukbanners.com

A while back I installed Unchecky, a program which automatically unchecks all of those software extras that some installers like to enable by default (like McAfee). Today I noticed nthat Unchecky added entries like

0.0.0.0 media.opencandy.com

to the end of my HOSTS file. A google search resulted in conflicting and ambiguous information as to the use of 0.0.0.0. The most complete explanations (in geek-speak) are usually of the "it depends" variety. Can anyone explain, in non-technical terms, the difference between a HOSTS entry of 127.0.0.1 and 0.0.0.0.

The same way you get good at any skill like dancing or playing a musical instrument. You just do it. Practice makes perfect. Also, read about good programming techniques because malpractice makes malperfect.

And like anything that takes skill you have two choices:

1. Learn to do it well, or
2. Learn to enjoy doing it poorly.

I've heard many people say things like "I'd do anything to be able to play the piano like that" or "I'd do anything to be that thin". The trouble is that by "anything" they mean anything but what they actually have to do which is practice, diet/exercise, etc. Unless you are a savant, developing skill at anything takes effort. As you can see we have put a lot more effort into answering your question than you put into asking it.

There are no shortcuts, no tricks, no secrets.

That's not how Daniweb works. If you are having a specific problem you can post a question (with code, if appropriate) and we will try to help you find a solution. But first you need to show us that you have put in reasonable effort to do it yourself. We are not going to write your application for you. If you have no idea how to do it then you should either buy some off-the-shelf software or hire a contract programmer to write it for you. In the words of Robert Heinlein, TANSTAAFL.

Try WinMerge. It is a worthy successor (same company) to PMDiff, originally written for OS/2 (which I still miss).

But not as much as my Amiga OS (totally off-topic plug)

Judging by your post it is likely that you have not read the Daniweb Posting Rules and Terms of Service. Please give these a read. You might also want to Read This Before Posting a Question to increase your chances of getting a timely (and more useful) response.

Are you asking how to make the drive visible again as D? Or are you asking how to recover the files from the deleted drive? If you just deleted the disk then the files are still there. Try EaseUS if that is the case.

In any case, why would you want to make your system one big drive? In my experience, you are much better off with C (OS & apps) and D (data). It is much easier to maintain. You can image the C drive and restore it in case of emergency without affecting your user files on D.

We used to use a KVM switch to use one monitor/mouse/keyboard on multiple servers. Staples has one for $35.

At least shows like The Voice and Project Runway give exposure to people to possibly help launch a career. Big Brother might as well be called America's Top Douchebag. I'm always amazed at how many people are so willing to return to Survivor again and again.

I have to admit to a guilty pleasure in order to rant about this next one. My favourite comic as a lad was The Flash. As such I watch the current TV seties purely out of nostalgia even though I am consistently disappointed in the intelligence of the writers. We have had three seasons in which an almost unstoppable villain is a super-speedster. One was only stopped when Eddie Thawn killed himself to prevent a descendent from ever existing. Another died before killing our hero because he was shot in the back by Iris.

So we've proven again and again that super speed is awesome. Except that The Flash is consistently being overpowered by the villain of the week because super speed is actually pretty lame.

Then (spoiler alert) as we neared the finale of last season (I had to wait until September to see it), the team needs to find a save place to hide Iris. They also need a power source that is only available at one lab and The Flash can't just run in and steal/borrow it because the lab is protected by a field that negates meta-human powers. Follow me here - Savatar is a future version of The Flash. …

Still catching up on all the shows I missed during the summer. We just finished the latest season of American Ninja. All through the season the repeatedly referenced that the winner gets a million dollars but in several seasons we have never seen anyone actually awarded the prize. Then I looke it up. The show defines "the winner" as the person who finishes the final stage (stage four, I think) in the fastest time. Stage four is clearly impossible to finish so in all the seasons they have been on they have never had to award a prize. Competitors do not get paid for participating so basically they have never had to pay their athletes a dime. If the NFL worked this way the players would walk off. In tennis, at least, you get paid for every tier with the payouts increasing as you advance up the tiers. Again, if only the winner got paid their would be no professional tennis.