A thread for boring computer questions.

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*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!

Aaron A., Friday, 9 January 2004 21:21 (twenty years ago) link

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

ron (ron), Saturday, 10 January 2004 01:49 (twenty years ago) link

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).

Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Sunday, 11 January 2004 14:20 (twenty years ago) link

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?

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:34 (twenty years ago) link

has your ISP blocked it?

Ed (dali), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:39 (twenty years ago) link

AOL? I should fucking well hope not!

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:42 (twenty years ago) link

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

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:42 (twenty years ago) link

try running adaware

Ed (dali), Sunday, 11 January 2004 22:43 (twenty years ago) link

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

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Sunday, 11 January 2004 23:11 (twenty years ago) link

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.)

Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 07:52 (twenty years ago) link

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

Aaron A., Monday, 12 January 2004 07:55 (twenty years ago) link

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 my powerbook is also hopelessly out of date!

Orbit (Orbit), Monday, 12 January 2004 07:56 (twenty years ago) link

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

Access it and Yahoo and whatever else through Trillian.

Kenan Hebert (kenan), Monday, 12 January 2004 07:59 (twenty years ago) link

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

Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 08:19 (twenty years ago) link

this kb article has info on installing memory.

Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 08:22 (twenty years ago) link

Thank you Ed.

Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 08:31 (twenty years ago) link

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

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Monday, 12 January 2004 09:54 (twenty years ago) link

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.

Sarah (starry), Monday, 12 January 2004 10:30 (twenty years ago) link

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 :)

C J (C J), Monday, 12 January 2004 11:47 (twenty years ago) link

Are you using Internet Explorer CJ?

Also a link to the chat rooms would be helpful.

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Monday, 12 January 2004 14:23 (twenty years ago) link

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.

C J (C J), Monday, 12 January 2004 14:39 (twenty years ago) link

is it Java or javascript?

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

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Monday, 12 January 2004 14:49 (twenty years ago) link

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 :(

C J (C J), Monday, 12 January 2004 14:58 (twenty years ago) link

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.

N. (nickdastoor), Monday, 12 January 2004 15:02 (twenty years ago) link

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

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Monday, 12 January 2004 15:05 (twenty years ago) link

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

C J (C J), Monday, 12 January 2004 18:47 (twenty years ago) link

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.

Mary (Mary), Monday, 12 January 2004 21:01 (twenty years ago) link

cool

Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 22:46 (twenty years ago) link

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).

Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Monday, 12 January 2004 23:26 (twenty years ago) link

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.

Ed (dali), Monday, 12 January 2004 23:29 (twenty years ago) link

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.

Eyeball Kicks (Eyeball Kicks), Monday, 12 January 2004 23:43 (twenty years ago) link

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?

Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 00:23 (twenty years ago) link

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

Ed (dali), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 00:24 (twenty years ago) link

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.)

Mary (Mary), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 00:27 (twenty years ago) link

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.

Ed (dali), Tuesday, 13 January 2004 00:30 (twenty years ago) link

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

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 01:05 (twenty years ago) link

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!

Orbit (Orbit), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 01:45 (twenty years ago) link

have you paired the devices?

they have to be paired to work

System Preferences->Bluetooth, use the setup thingummy

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 01:57 (twenty years ago) link

WHY DOES ITUNES NOT HAVE A STOP BUTTON???

(NB rhetorical question)

Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 10:57 (twenty years ago) link

Can't putty just bash through it Ed?

Sarah (starry), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:21 (twenty years ago) link

Unfortunately, it's too squishy.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:24 (twenty years ago) link

"I was just wondering if there was a program that sacrifices a little bit of quality in exchange for more stability"

What CPU do you have?

try Media Player Classic

or BSPlayer

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:26 (twenty years ago) link

ooops, I might have forgotten to do sudo sshd -p 443 before I left for work.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:31 (twenty years ago) link

Oh no! Your house is going to explode!!

Markelby (Mark C), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:34 (twenty years ago) link

I have a PC laptop. last week, I turned it on, after having used it w/o probs the previous day, to find it hung, after the bios? screen, telling me FATAL ERROR READING BOOT.INI or whatever. I used the system recovery disc I got w/, this [EVENTUALLY] brought up a screnn w/ options I couldn't click on because a dialog box had appeared, over them, w/ something about the user partition of the hard drive being corrupted and needing to be formatted.

now, I do not have any of the really VALUABLE data from the drive backed up, naturally. I took it to a laptops place in town and they took out the drive and were about to read it but asked me if I had a password on windows and I said I did and they said they could not, then, recover anything from it because of the way windows XP is. well, they said they couldn't recover anything from program folders or from the windows folder. he plugged it in, anyway, but said it wasn't even being recognised. then he told me to come back this week, when his boss would be back from holiday and should be able to access it w/ some linux-based software?

is any of this bullshit?

it should be recognisable w/ perseverence because my computer could tell it was a 30GB drive, even though it is corrupted?

a friend said it's possible [but not 100%ly so] to just format the drive and use some data retrieval progs?

:''' (

RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 15:42 (twenty years ago) link

Help the man out - he college work as well as Simpsons episodes on there.

N. (nickdastoor), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:00 (twenty years ago) link

You could use something like Knoppix or DamnSmallLinux (single cd linux distros) as recovery discs.

Ed (dali), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:15 (twenty years ago) link

Sounds about right to me, but if the laptop drive is not being picked up in the BIOS you may be SOL.

Even if there's is an XP password you can just put it as a slave disk in another PC with XP and take ownership of the files.

If the drive can be formatted you can get data off it, do not format the drive.

"but said it wasn't even being recognised" is the big problem, it might be this guy doesnt know how to install a HDD properly but this sounds bad to me.

Depending on the value of the data there is always these people

http://www.ontrack.com/

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:22 (twenty years ago) link

the data is priceless but I only have £15.

my friend that said it could be formatted and have data retrieved from also said that the password/windows XP should not be a prob and the files should be available if it was plugged in as a slave drive.

I will find out, tomorrow, when I take it back to the shop.

yeah, I am not bothered about simpsons episodes/mp3s/whatever but all of my photographs from SPECIAL times and a ton of drawings that I NEED. that I should have had back-ups of.

thanx all the same.

RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:42 (twenty years ago) link

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.

This might just be how the files were encoded.

anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Wednesday, 14 January 2004 17:46 (twenty years ago) link


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