A thread for boring computer questions.

Hahaha I have just said this elsewhere on the interweb and it turns out I was talking to a friend of the bloke who WROTE dselect.

Hahhahahahahaha help.

apt-get rules, if you don't know what sources to use, get a generic sources.list from the debian website, or use dselect to set the sources then use apt-get. Use the debian package database, also on the debian website, to decide which package to install. (PS are you installing from cd or internet?)

As far as compiling goes, what's the debian equivalent of fink? Compiling straight seems to work OK for me but I think it very much depends on how well the ./configure script works for each source tarball. This depends on how one's compilers etc. are installed, I suppose, seeing as Apple set mine up I can't help you there.

what exactly IS fink?

apt-get is nice, but I LOVE gentoo's emerge.

Well the bloody C compiler was screwed when I first had it (gcc) but I think I've finally managed to prod it into working again. Vaguely. I got stuck in dependency hell. Dselect/apt-get tells you what you need but straight installs?! ARRRGGRHHH.

Installing from interweb - someone else did the install for me and I don't know which flavour of Debian I have blah blah... odd window manager as well.

When I first started the xterms wouldn't come up for some reason... ARGH!

Also ./configure isn't that hot. I was so gutted after spending all of Judge John Deed compiling mame and STILL it didn't want to work!

s1ocki, fink is debian's package management tools ported to mac os x plus a few extras to make compiling a doddle. It's also part of a wider project to port open source software to mac os x. see http://fink.sf.net for further details.

Sarah, why not install the woody version of debian? It's meant to be guaranteed to work, (well that's what they say, in their dreams I say).

Okay, I'm sorry to keep flogging the same old donkey, but can anyone point out a layman's guide to running VPC+Windows+Slsk on OSX? Does it eat up a lot of space/memory? Is it dangerous? How is it done?

Failing that, what is this "nicotine client" for slsk and how does one find/use it?

don't bother with the vpc shit, run nicotine, it's better in the long run.

see here

Thanks!

SHEESH. So I buy a 512MB PC2100 RAM module today, snap it in, and my computer seems to recognize it... So I test it by opening the same # of windows and apps that usually gives my computer problems and whaddya know, the same problems arise. I click on Show Desktop and get a 'not enough memory' error. So the memory made no difference! What could be the problem here?

adam the nicotine client install doesn't actually look too hard (it just seems to take a long time, most of which is spent waiting) and i think i'm going to give it a shot this week. will report back. also i have a good how-to bookmarked somewhere which i can send to you if you email me.

aaron: is the new memory showing up as 512M? have you tried memtest86 on it (comes as a bootable floppy image)? try mozilla firebird instead 8)

star: what errors are you getting from xmame? i've compiled it recently and it went ok (this was either mandrake or suse or both though)

andy

Okay, so...

I cannot access ANY webpages whatsoever WITH THE SOLE EXCEPTION OF ILX. WTF is going on here?

*sheepishly* me again...

I just installed Win XP on my D: drive (I have 2 HDDs). Win 98 is still on C:

I figured my old settings from Win 98 would be xferred automatically to XP, or it'd ask me if I wanted them xferred, but that wasn't the case.

So how can I transfer all my old settings from Win 98 (which is still on my C: drive) to the new OS?

Thanks again!

try the transfer files and settings wizard. if you can't find the shortcut for it, search in the help &support center

Is there a way to totally block internet access without a password on a computer? (This is to stop me using the internet, by the way, but not the other person who uses the computer). Just changing the password to the ISP account isn't any good. I really need to password protect access to both modems (dial up and broadband). Is that possible? (Old computer, Windows 98).

Firewall question:

Suddenly, and for no reason I can discern, my PC (Windows 98, IE6) has somehow grown itself a firewall preventing me from using MSN Messenger. I haven't downloaded anything for ages, although I do use slsk on a regular basis. Is there a possibility that I've inadvertently let something in?

All I want to do is lose the firewall, if indeed it exists, so I can use messenger again. I've tried the Help function but it doesn't even recognise the word "firewall", amazingly!

Anyone?

has your ISP blocked it?

AOL? I should fucking well hope not!

...and my Yahoo! messenger works fine, not that I ever really use it.

try running adaware

ok, so i've installed and run adaware, it's still not working. grrr. any other ideas?

My question is not only boring but stupid. Here goes.

I have 64 RAM on a G3 Powerbook from '99. I believe I should add some more memory? How much should I add and how do I go about this? (There were specs originally when I bought the computer about how much how I could add, but this was a while ago and Apple seems to have severed all ties to this nostalgia item.)

Charlie, other good anti-trojan/spyware/malware progs are Spybot Search and Destroy, and one called Hijack This. They've both helped me.

mary i can relate. my powerbook is also hopelessly out of date!

If your Messenger has gone out, good. It's an enormous security hole anyway.

Access it and Yahoo and whatever else through Trillian.

mary, ad a 256Mb or even better a 512Mb module. To install (do this all with the power cable out and the battery removed, also before you start touch some grounded metal, like an unpainted radiator, water pipe or tap, this removes any static charge from your body:

1) unlock the keyboard by twisting the screw between the F4 and F5 90 degrees, with a small flat bladed screwdriver.

2) Pull back the two catches between esc and F1 and F8 and F9 and fold back the keyboard over the track pad.

3) Remove the two cross head screws that are in the middle of the exposed areas and lift out the metal plate that they fixed in position.

4) Slot the memory module in, angling it at first then lowering it into position.

5) refit the metal plate and keyboard

done

this kb article has info on installing memory.

Thank you Ed.

Thanks, you lot. In the end I just reinstalled MSN Messenger 6.1 and now it works again. Woo.

I think that Charlie should test his Messenger by talking to ME on it (not that I'm bored or owt). In fact I think anyone with Messenger shd talk to me also. I am moorsmeerkat@hotmail.com. Not a reference to the moors murderers, in case you were worried.

Andy: I believe I got up to the point where I would type xmame [name of rom here], it would give me some gumph about CPU numbers and then exit. It's a bit of a bugger, you might say. I can't remember more precise details as this was a while ago on The Beast. I'm going to take it round to my broadband enabled pals, I reckon, and see if that helps at all. Hurrah for getting a free ethernet card with the laptop and people with dorky home networks! :) I believe I was pointed at a debian build but this was only after I'd spent, literally, hours, downloading and building from source so I might give that a go when I'm on faster connection.

Oooh! I have a boring computer question! I'm pretty clueless when it comes to computers, so I'm hoping this is something which will be easy to resolve and that some kind soul can point me in the right direction .....

I want to get into a particular chat room, and it uses javascript. Every time I try and get there, my computer freezes up and won't let me in. Do I need to download anything? or enable javascript or something? If so, any ideas how I do this?

Eternally grateful, and sorry to be so dumb etc etc :)

Are you using Internet Explorer CJ?

Also a link to the chat rooms would be helpful.

Yes, I'm using Internet Explorer. I've gone to Internet Tools - Security - and checked the box marked 'enable' under the section called signing and saved all that. I even tried lowering my security settings, but that made no difference.

I don't actually know the link to the chat room, because it's accessed only via an icon on a message board which you click - it doesn't seem to show any properties when I right-click on it (it just says 'javascript'). You need to register with the message board (I've been a member there for about three years) and make sure you are logged on (which I am), but I still can't get into chat which is baffling.

is it Java or javascript?

Do you get a grey box where the chat window should be?

It says 'javascript'.

I don't even get as far as the chat window - sometimes a red sort-of "No Entry" sign flashes up briefly on the screen, as though it's some kind of restricted site (but I've listed the site as trusted and not restricted in my security settings), other times I don't get any warnings - I just can't connect to it, and sometimes the screen just freezes.

They used to have their MB chat room on MSN and I could get into that one just fine. They recently changed to this new one, but it obviously doesn't like me :(

It might be a javascript link, but it sounds to me like the chat app itself runs in java. I get a similar problem with Yahoo games sometimes.

If it is a Java applet then you may need a Java VM depending on your version of Windows iirc MS took it out of Windows XP/IE6 because of antitrust.

You can get one from Suns java resource site.

http://www.java.com/en/index.jsp

That's done the trick, thanks Jarlr'mai!!! :)

NYU will sell me 256 for $60 and install it themselves for $30. All in all that's cheaper than any memory I could find. I don't think my computer can handle 512.

cool

Hey, nobody answered my question about twenty posts up. If it can't be done, I can take it. Just tell me so.

Also I have a new question. How can you help your computer handle video files which have a lag problem between the audio and the video? It seems to depend on the source to an extent (i.e. all files from one site will have the problem, whatever the size of the files) but is there something I can do to minimise such problems? Like, what are the best free-ish programs for showing video? (Again, pretty old computer, Windows 98).

Might be the level of compression, the more compression the more computing power required to decompress it, especially with divX, Xvi. the only solution might be a more powerful computer.

Okay, I don't know much about this but I'll try to give more details. The particular files I'm trying to view right now are mpg files (on the site they describe them as wmv files: I don't know the difference). They work out at roughly 10MB per minute. Pretty good quality (I mean you can do them on full-screen and it looks about as good as TV). I have no idea if this means they're compressed. I have had problems with divX files, but I don't know if that's what these are.

The problems I've had like this in the past do vary depending on what program I use to view. With these files, in Windows Media Player, the audio is consistently behind the video. In Winamp, they shift about, sometimes ahead, then behind, then nearly spot on. I was just wondering if there was a program that sacrifices a little bit of quality in exchange for more stability.

How do I back up my hard drive? I suspect it involves buying an external cd writer?

At what point should I throw in with all these upgrades and shell out for a new 'puter?

Will OSX hurt my computer? Perhaps I shouldn't go higher than 9?

OSX should be fine on your 'puter but 12" G4 iBooks are pretty damn attractive right now.

Will the apple store (or someone else) buy back old models? How much do you think I could get for this baby? (Mom of the 12" G3 iBook isn't down with the trade.)

You'll get best value selling it on eBay, but some stores may do a trade in. I obviously don't know of any stateside.

anyone here kow anything about microsoft procy and how to ssh through it?

Please help me before I hurl myself, my phone, and my powerbook out the FUCKING WINDOW!!!!

Equipment: PowerbookG4 running OSX 10.2.6
Phone: Sony Erikson T68i
Bluetooth
Software: ISync 1.3

Scenario:
Open iSync
plug Bluetooth into USB port
Make phone "Discoverable"
point blue light at the infrared port on the pwerbook
The phone shows up as a Device in iSync
THEN
iSync tells me it can find no devices, therefore can't sync

ARRRGGGHHH.

The objective: To put the contacts from my address book and the iCal calendar INTO my phone.

please help me before i am a whimpering mass of un-tech supported frustration o pleeezee yes i have tried "help"! per-lease! purty pleeezeee!