A thread for boring computer questions.

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What about cable?

o. nate (onate), Thursday, 30 September 2004 14:37 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, your cable company should have it available (and I've always found that cable is better than phone company DSL anyway, and it should cost approx the same)

Allyzay Science Explosion (allyzay), Thursday, 30 September 2004 14:38 (twenty years ago)

Yes, cable is faster and more reliable than DSL in my experience.

o. nate (onate), Thursday, 30 September 2004 14:41 (twenty years ago)

i wouldn't trust comcast though!

mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 30 September 2004 14:43 (twenty years ago)

I want to paste the the filenames from a Windows Explorer folder into a Word doc as text. Any tips on how to do this (Microsoft's help isn't particularly helpful)?

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Saturday, 2 October 2004 22:56 (twenty years ago)

Here's an iBlog / iPhoto hell question.
I'm told by the online help to:
"NOTE: If you are not able to view the photo albums from the iPhoto application, make sure you have the iPhoto Library File path set right in the iLife panel in iBlog application preferences. This path is usually /Users/YourAccountName/Pictures/iPhoto Library/AlbumData.xml."

However, there *is*
(Folder)2002
(Folder)Albums
Dir.data
Library.cache

Within the folder Albums, there is:
Last Import
Pending Rotation
Photo Library
all of which appear to be empty.

THEN I have, on the same path in Pictures

iPhotoLibrary_1
and in it is:
(Folder)Albums
Dir.data
Library.data

And surprise, in the Folder called albums there is again:
Last Import
Pending Rotation
Photo Library
which appear to be empty.

When I go to iLife prefs in iBlog, there is no .xml file for me to select therefore I ca't select anything. I also can't figure out where my iPhoto albums are being stored. I don't have an iLife application file, if there is such a thing.

Help? I just want to add pictures to my iBlog


Library.dataxml file anywhere on that path.
Here is what I do have:

Orbit (Orbit), Saturday, 2 October 2004 23:30 (twenty years ago)

I don't have the file they want me to have, and when I create it, it is empty. Therefore I can't find my iPhoto albums, and neither can iBlog.
Help?

Orbit (Orbit), Saturday, 2 October 2004 23:58 (twenty years ago)

three weeks pass...
A question regarding the playing of mp3s -

I have just installed musicmatch jukebox in an effort to play mp3s on my (admittedly quite crap) computer. Whenever I try to play anything I get the following error message - MMJB Soundcard error. WaveOut format not supported. I have no idea what this means and can't find anything in the Music match help thing about it. Can anyone help?

hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:03 (twenty years ago)

Sounds like a Musicmatch problem. Try winamp instead.

57 7th (calstars), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:10 (twenty years ago)

I did try to but I couldn't get to the download page. Will try again. I have also been unable to access my pc's volume control or play any of the error beeps in the 'sounds' control panel.

hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:16 (twenty years ago)

Ok, got winamp. I think this computer (which belongs to my flatmate and which I am using for the first time today) doesn't have a sound card. Winamp has generated an error to that effect anyway. Is there any way that there could be a soundcard which the computer doesn't recognise?

hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:20 (twenty years ago)

go into control panel > sounds and make sure the mute box is not checked and all the volume controls are up. Also make sure the volume control on the pc itself, either buttons or a dial, is all the way up.

57 7th (calstars), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:23 (twenty years ago)

All I get when I go to sounds is the menu to pick the error & syste, sounds. No volume thing in sight. I have tried adding new hardware and it seems as if there is a soundcard but no driver. I'm having a bit of trouble locating a driver as the only information that is provided about the card is that it is a 'PCI multimedia audio device' which I have just learned is a generic term. Is there any way I can find out what kind of sound card I have?

hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:34 (twenty years ago)

pop it out and read it.

Are you running Windows XP? The troubleshooting function there is v. good.

Kenan (kenan), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:36 (twenty years ago)

Nope, Windows 98.

Forgive me for being a total technophobe but I actually have no idea how to go about popping out the sound card. If you could supply basic instructions, I'd really appreciate it.

hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:38 (twenty years ago)

Windows 98 is your problem.

I probably couldn't give you good enough instruction on popping anything out to prevent breakage and general computer rupture.

Kenan (kenan), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:42 (twenty years ago)

shit. It's my flatmate's computer and she is not here.

hmmm (hmmm), Friday, 29 October 2004 17:46 (twenty years ago)

trying to make a php-generated (from mysql) table sortable by header, in over my head.

teeny (teeny), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:17 (twenty years ago)

Does it have to be php? I'd use javascript for this.

http://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/sorttable/

Kenan (kenan), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:21 (twenty years ago)

haha I've been fucking with that js already!

teeny (teeny), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:22 (twenty years ago)

Exactly what are you doing? Are you calling mysql from the page directly, or using movable type or wordpress or something?

Kenan (kenan), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:24 (twenty years ago)

I don't know why I asked that. It doesn't matter. The javascript will only sort what's generated by the scripting, and won't affect the scripting itself. Just generate a table in the order you want it in when it's first on the screen, then make that table sortable. (Careful, though, with, like, making the table striped. The javascript will botch that.)

Kenan (kenan), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:30 (twenty years ago)

hm, this has some fun toys: http://exorsus.net/software/

I've got a little php script that makes an html table from a mysql database; it's a lot of info (will possibly be around 3000 records when complete) and so want an easy way for a user to sort.

xp: yeah, it doesn't matter, I think maybe I'm trying to skip a step by putting that javascript in an index.php, also, I'm just learning some of this stuff.

teeny (teeny), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:34 (twenty years ago)

hmmm - what's the type of the PC (make and model)? If it's newish it may have onboard sound.

Otherwise have you checked the slots at the back of your PC? Is there one that looks like it might be a sound card (headphone sockets/audio out etc..)

If so have you tried looking in Device Manager to see if Windows recognises your card?

Go to Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager (think this is right - I use Linux at home so can't check). Expand what's listed under Sound or Multimedia or some'int like that. If there are any yellow exclamation marks then Windows sees the card but doesn't recognize it.

If there's nothing there, then the card is probably dead.

bert (bert), Friday, 29 October 2004 21:45 (twenty years ago)

So - to take your points one at a time; I don't think this computer is particularly new. There is a headphone type audio out at the back of the computer. There is no sound or multimedia section listed in the device manager. It does list the "PCI multimedia audio device" that it found before in the 'other devices section' with a big yello question mark.

Am I correct to assume that, becuase ther is an audio out socket and as the computer seems to recognise at least some kind of sound card, that I don't need to go out and buy a new one? All I need is to find out what kind it is and get a driver... correct?

hmmm (hmmm), Saturday, 30 October 2004 09:54 (twenty years ago)

teeny. first thing that came to mind is to make the column head a link to the same page but with an additional argument on it ie

a href="this_page.php?sort=name"
a href="this_page.php?sort=date"
a href="this_page.php?sort=size"
(maybe even sort=size_descending / sort=size_ascending if you feel fancy)

then use the value of the sort variable to call a slightly different mysql statement (with different ORDER BY clause) before printing it all out in the table. (DON'T just pass in the value of the sort variable straight into the sql as people could do bad things with it, like delete all your data)

yes, this requires all the data to be fetched from the server everytime they change the sort order but it's either that or sorting in the javascript which is painful.

hth,
andy

koogs (koogs), Saturday, 30 October 2004 18:44 (twenty years ago)

I think this computer (which belongs to my flatmate and which I am using for the first time today) doesn't have a sound card.

The first thing to check here: are there speakers? If the answer is yes, there's a soundcard.

If you go into the Control Panel and click on the System icon, you can select the Device Manager and look under the sound and multimedia section to see if there's a soundcard; it may just be that the driver has gotten munched. If there's nothing there at all then who knows but if there's something with an exclamation point beside it, you'll have to update the driver.

Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 30 October 2004 20:16 (twenty years ago)

If there's nothing there at all then who knows

a) if it doesn't have speakers, see if it at least has speaker sockets on the back.

a) try and see if you can detect "new" hardware

b) Get a Linux boot CD - Knoppix or similar - and run the 'lspci' command. It scans your computer's bus, interrogates the hardware it finds, and prints out what there is.

caitlin (caitlin), Saturday, 30 October 2004 20:29 (twenty years ago)

thanks andy! I actually made the javascript work; I just had to figure out my escape characters in the php script.

teeny (teeny), Saturday, 30 October 2004 23:23 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://www.la75.com/jpg/street-pc.jpg

57 7th (calstars), Sunday, 31 October 2004 11:59 (twenty years ago)

http://www.la75.com/jpg/street-pc.jpg

57 7th (calstars), Sunday, 31 October 2004 12:01 (twenty years ago)

How does one highlight multiple songs in iTunes?

Peanuts (Peanuts), Monday, 1 November 2004 01:52 (twenty years ago)

hold down apple key

LE CHUCK!™ (ex machina), Monday, 1 November 2004 01:54 (twenty years ago)

Or if you want to highlight a whole group, click on the first one, press shift, and click on the last one.

jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 1 November 2004 06:53 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...
WTF, I just tried to post a comment TO MY OWN BLOG, and a window popped up that says

Your IP was found in the OPM blacklist and will not be allowed to post.

It then takes me to this Open Proxy Lookup where it tells me that my IP address "is an active entry in the OPM blacklist, it was confirmed as an open proxy by our scanning software at 2004-12-31 03:31:22 GMT."

I have no idea what this means. I did call my Internet provider (SBC) the other day because I was having connection problems and they said they'd try to get it taken care of -- which it seems like they have. I don't know if that's related.

I just don't know what to do now. How do I go about "securing a proxy"? What the hell is a proxy in the first place?

jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 6 January 2005 05:20 (twenty years ago)

And why is it preventing me from commenting on my blog? My e-mail works fine, I can post to ILX fine (obv.), etc.

jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 6 January 2005 05:22 (twenty years ago)

Dumb question -- have you tried posting from a different IP? (to be certain that the problem isn't with your blog host)

MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 6 January 2005 06:38 (twenty years ago)

Not yet. This just happened. But I'll check when I go in to work tomorrow.

jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 6 January 2005 06:54 (twenty years ago)

Oh, and I can post new blog entries just fine, too. It's only the comments that are fuxored -- and I use a diff. comment system (Haloscan) than my blog host (Blogger).

jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 6 January 2005 06:55 (twenty years ago)

Configuring apache 2 for XP is driving me fucking insane. Especially since, having used OS X for months at work, I feel fully entitled to be able to use Apache any damn way I please, and with relative ease. I cannot be a web developer and use Windows for ONE MORE FUCKING SECOND. I CAN'T EVEN GET A VIRTUAL HOST TO WORK BECAUSE THE DNS IS THIS OBSCURE OBLIQUELY LABELLED THING THAT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO MODIFY. I CANNOT FIND ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS FOR HOW TO DO THIS BECAUSE NO ONE EVER DOES THIS BECAUSE THEY ALL JUST GIVE UP AND BUY A MAC.

*ahem*

At least I'm past the point of feeling stupid because I think I'm missing some simple little thing that will make it all work. Nothing about this is simple.

Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Thursday, 6 January 2005 07:35 (twenty years ago)

I guess that wasn't really a question, was it?

Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Thursday, 6 January 2005 07:35 (twenty years ago)

Oh, and you know Movable Type? Try getting *that* to run on apache 2. Without going grey, I mean.

Fuck this. it's beer time.

Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Thursday, 6 January 2005 07:38 (twenty years ago)

Actually, that last statement isn't so true:

http://lawver.net/geek/geeked/002212.php

These are clear instructions for how to install MT... on OS X.

Pears can just fuck right off. (kenan), Thursday, 6 January 2005 07:52 (twenty years ago)

Actually, that last statement isn't so true:

What, it isn't beer time? Damn.

OK, so I have a question.

I have a PC on long-term loan, from a mate who's gone abroad, which over the past year has become slower and slower - pop-ups everywhere ("simply the best!" being the main culprits), another unwanted and useless search window every time I use Google, and all sorts of other gremlins.

While my mate (the owner) has blamed it on me downloading too much t33n-g0th-sc4t-pr0n - an outrageous slur and not true (honest!) - I think it'sd down to my flatmate and his constant search for ever better MP3 mixing software.

Last night, I emptied the C: drive of all my MP3s, documents and JPGs, with a view towards either formatting the hard drive, or defragging the thing, or both if necessary/useful.

I just want to drag the lake, so to speak, to get rid of all the detritus.

But.

Apparently I can't format the HD without a disc to reinstall Windows afterwards, and I don't have one of those.

And I can't, literally can't, find the defrag application anywhere on my PC. Programs/Accessories/System Tools? Nope, not there. But it must be somewhere, right?

Help! Urgh.

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Thursday, 6 January 2005 09:39 (twenty years ago)

apache for windows is a bugger and really should be avoided, just you wait till you come to try and install PHP then you'll be sorry. If you wnat to run Apache on your PC then it may be time to swich to Linux. If it's just for development purposes thn you could set up a dual boot system, windows for most things and linux for web stuff. Not ideal but cheaper than a Mac or even a second computer, although you could set up a second box to run Linux very very cheaply with bits from eBay.

Ed (dali), Thursday, 6 January 2005 09:51 (twenty years ago)

Charlie, you need to run adaware, spybot search and destroy and an updated virus checker, AVG is free, CWShredder may help.

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
http://www.intermute.com/spysubtract/cwshredder_download.html

Jarlr'mai (jarlrmai), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:01 (twenty years ago)

this spyware/malware/etc checker might also be useful:

http://www.ewido.net/en/download/

mookieproof (mookieproof), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:19 (twenty years ago)

Thanks folks - the thing is though, i'm loathe to download yet more applications, for fear of clogging up my system further, unless they really are amazing.

Do the above gizmos prevent more bad things happening, or actually *purge* bad things that have already happened? In my head, I'm imagining a little fella climbing in and out of every nook and cranny of my PC, grabbing nastiness and putting it in a box like a Ghostbuster, then throwing the box into the ether when it's finished...

It's driving me nuts - often when I have just one window open, trying to open another window, or a document, or a jpg or whatever, results in an "insufficient memory - please close some programs and try again" message...THERE'S NOTHING TO CLOSE, ASSHATS.

*sob*

CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:50 (twenty years ago)

What's wrong with Apache for Windows?

I mean, I can't say I have a lot of experience with it; I was trying to show a friend a bit about programming and he wanted to know about PHP, so that's about the limit of my experience with it, but it was quite straightforward. PHP was a little more hassle, just editing a couple of files as I remember. Apache was about as easy as installing software gets.

We've used it on an ad-hoc basis at work under Windows too.

Does it not work or something?

KeithW (kmw), Thursday, 6 January 2005 10:57 (twenty years ago)

Charlie, you need to get rid of all the crap on the computer, and to do that you need to download the programs mentioned. They'll tell you what crap you have on there and how to get rid of it. They're useful to have for the future, and they won't make anything worse.

Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 6 January 2005 12:17 (twenty years ago)


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