Computer Related Questions - Volume 121 - Dynamic Dave

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In this thread you may ask any computer related question for which you need help, advice, suggestions or whatever.

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There is a wealth of knowledge in here, much of which is not motoring related, but most of which is useful.

This is Volume 121. Previous Volumes will not be deleted.

A list of previous volumes can be found here:-
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PLEASE NOTE:

When posting a NEW question, please "Reply to" the first message in this thread, i.e. this one. This keeps each question in it's own separate segment and stops each new question from getting mixed up in amongst existing questions. Also please remember to change the subject header.

Why Have 2 Network ports? - R75
Ok, so I have got a new motherboard now (see previous CRQ), but what I can't really work out is why you would need 2 network ports, my old board had one and that was enough, but the new board has 2, and I really can't see any additional benefit - can anyone explain why you would need 2?
Why Have 2 Network ports? - cheddar
One to a router, one to a LAN switch, particulary if used in a server.
Why Have 2 Network ports? - rtj70
You could link the two together to get twice the throughput or use as a fault tolerant pair so if one link failed the other okay. In businesses type environment you'd have both going to different physical network switches.... so for a home user pointless to be honest. But for the motherboard manufacturer's a difference to their competitor that is actually pointless to you?
Why Have 2 Network ports? - Altea Ego
Its done because a: the chipset made by someone else supports it, and b: the motherboard can be the basis of a cheap server or part of a cluster, whereby two network ports are a minimum commercial and operational requirement,
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Why Have 2 Network ports? - Baskerville
Just one example.

2 ethernet connections+Smoothwall Linux=Internet gateway/firewall ideal for small businesses.

See:

www.smoothwall.org/

Your new motherboard is overkill though since a 486 is quite capable.
Adding Extra RAM - Jemima Can
On my ancient PC (5yr old Packard Bell) I have only 256MB RAM - and I get 'virtual memory low' warnings a couple of times a day

When I run AOL computer check it says I should have 512MB of RAM

I can't really afford a new PC - if I wanted to add another 256MB of RAM - how much would it cost?
Would I have to take the computer box apart?

Is it difficult to do but would it make a big difference?

All thoughts appreciated


Adding Extra RAM - Chicken Vindaloo
Go to www.crucial.com. They can determine how much memory you can have in your pc and will suggest compatible memory to buy. 256MB shouldn't cost you too much - I just bought 1GB for my laptop for about £70. The more memory you put in your PC, the faster it will perform.
Adding Extra RAM - cheddar
Extra RAM will help though you need to determine what you have and what you can fit, if you have two 128Mb sticks and only two slots you will need two more sticks so it might be worth getting 2 x 512Mb, however if you have one 256 then another will do the job, also some motherboards have 3 slots so buying 2 x 256Mb will give you 768, the more the better generally. As has been said the Crucial memory adviser is useful.

www.crucial.com/uk/

However virtual memory is something else, assuming you are on XP right click on My Computer then Properties then Advanced then under Performance click Settings and make sure that "Let Windows choose whats best" is checked.
Adding Extra RAM - SpamCan61 {P}
I would think the low virtual memory error could also arise if the hard disk drive is running out of space, so make sure your Recyle Bin is empty .
Adding Extra RAM - Altea Ego
Its a two pronged thing,

Virtual memory is memory paged out to the C drive.

Its paging a lot out becuase there is not enough physical memory, and then moaning there is not enough free space on C to page it out to., Both problems exist here
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Adding Extra RAM - L'escargot
I would think the low virtual memory error could also arise
if the hard disk drive is running out of space, so
make sure your Recyle Bin is empty .


CCleaner is a free utility that will get rid of unwanted rubbish. See tinyurl.com/3yeav
--
L\'escargot.
Adding Extra RAM - Jemima Can
Thanks very much guys - I've looked up the Crucial website but unfortunately they don't have my PC on their 'scanner'! It's an imedia5053.

I've emailed them and hopefully they will get back to me!

Thank you for the virtual memory advice, Cheddar. I did that before, but I still get the warnings!

I'll defintely buy some more memory. The guides on the Crucial site look good too.

I think my computer has room for 2 slots - one is 256 - Is it OK to buy 512 for the other slot or would it have to be 256 too?
Adding Extra RAM - Dalglish
jemima -

you say you cannot afford a new computer - so try searching google for "freestuff" or www.free2collect.co.uk/index.php
www.swapitsurrey.org/offered.htm

or comercial sites
www.morgancomputers.co.uk/
www.cex.co.uk/

or auctions such as www.wellers-auctions.co.uk/general.htm
(e.g. www.wellersauctions.co.uk/Catalogueupdate/general....m that list last weeks items - see 2807 onwards.)
Adding Extra RAM - SpamCan61 {P}
Well i've trawled the 'net for the spec. on your PC, it seems to use PC2100 DDR DIMMs. I have no idea what that means, to be honest, but it looks like you could use this memory, although it would be nice if someone more competent than me could confirm.

www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/20929
Adding Extra RAM - Jemima Can
Thank you!!! That's brilliant - I don't know what they are either but they look right! Thank you for doing all that work.

Now I know what I need and it's not as expensive as i thought either - yippee!
Adding Extra RAM - SpamCan61 {P}
I'm just thinking it might be worth emailing / phoning Crucial to see what they recommend for your PC, and then comparing the price with eBuyer - IMHO it would be worth paying a few quid more for a part from Crucial which is guaranteed to be the right type.
Adding Extra RAM - Jemima Can
Thank you 2!

That free2collect website looks great - I might find lots of things other than computers there!!

I don't feel confident buying computer stuff because i just never know what will work or whether it's compatible - education is the best gift!

It's funny - I have fairly simple computer needs but the machines seem to get more and more complex

I bet there's a market for 'idiot machines', like there was for those really simple Japanese mobile phones a while back - no frill and big buttons - I'd buy one (if I had the money!) thanks again

Adding Extra RAM - SpamCan61 {P}
These freebie sites are probaly a good source if you want to replace that slightly dodgy monitor of yours, CRT monitors are getting expensive to dispose of, so people/comapnies are literally giving them away, we sent about 50 fully functional 21" CRT monitors for disposal at work this week :-(
Adding Extra RAM - Jemima Can
Thanks - I've emailed Crucial

I never thought of swapping the the monitor DOH!! - Eyes peeled from now on
Windows Vista - Altea Ego
As good an unbiased tale as I have seen about the perils of trying to upgrade an existing machine to VISTA.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6407419.stm


Moral of the story? DO NOT upgrade an XP machine to Visat unless you are very PC aware and experienced.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Budget Laptop for M.M & Vista (cont). - M.M
Thanks all for the flurry of views on the previous CRQ thread.

This Vista business is getting to me more and more. Every laptop I've liked is pre-installed with Vista... and the ones that fit our budget with ease only have the basic Vista. So on advice given I looked at the ones loaded with Home Premium... and with all the component upgrades that entails it taks us just a bit over our ideal spend.

Thing is we don't actually want or need Vista and perhaps should let others trial it for a bit before we dive in.

Some of the links posted on the previous thread did lead me to online sellers with older/discontinued models that had XP but I don't know these guys well enough to trust their service. I say that compared with getting a Dell. Our desktop was bought new from them 2yrs ago and has been brilliant... as has their response when I've ever needed help.

So a possible new direction. Local small shop has a 18mth old Fujitsu Siemens with a pretty good spec (was £750 new) and that will be formatted and re-loaded with XP plus its original programs. It has all the features we need and is £250 with 3mths warranty.

Is that a sound idea firstly and is it a fair price?

Thanks,

DW
Budget Laptop for M.M & Vista (cont). - cheddar
>>>> Some of the links posted on the previous thread did lead
me to online sellers with older/discontinued models that had XP >>


No, lots of contemporary machines avaiable with XP, i.e:

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Laptops/cat.asp?PT_Ma...y

www.dabs.com/productlist.aspx?&CategorySelectedId=...g

re-loaded with XP plus its
original programs. It has all the features we need and is
£250 with 3mths warranty.


Not bad though this was £1200+ perhaps 8 months ago, £400 now new with 12 months warranty.

www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=4D11&Categ...5
Budget Laptop for M.M & Vista (cont). - M.M
Sorry Cheddar... it would be more accurate to say I looked at those links and then wandered the Internet... which then lead me to older and discontinued models from sellers I'd never heard of.

The problem really is that this is a new area to me an there is so much to take in... bit like a novice car buyer posting on here that they would like a nice car for £3000 and what should they buy. There is so much to find out about their needs and then so much to tell them about the options.

Anyway I am offering the seller nearer £200 on this used Fujitsu later today and if he accepts that can give me a first experience of laptops. If I don't get it I will by-pass the very budget end (under £350) of the new market and go for one that is at least Home Premium ready.

Appreciate all the advice given.

DW
How to link pics.? - P.Mason {P}
I'd like to post a link to the backroom- (I have, on my 'Picasa' program, a picture of a large German staff car parked in front of the ruins of the ReichChancelry in Berlin, and wanted it identified) Can anyone tell me how I can transfer it to the net so I can 'tinyurl' it?

Thanks,

P.
How to link pics.? - SpamCan61 {P}
upload the pictue to one of the variety of photo hosting sites, for example www.tinypic.com
How to link pics.? - Altea Ego
Its a Mercedes Benz 770-K with a 230 hp from supercharged single-overhead-cam straight-8s employing dual carburetors and dual ignition, with 2 plugs for each cylinder. 100 mph was probably the top speed ever reached and even with 51-gallon gas tanks, this gas eater gets barely 3 mi. to a gallon, affording a driving range of only 150 mi. Equipped with independent front and back power brakes the car could be lubricated en route by a couple of pumps on a pedal on the driver's side. Many features, such as the 4-wheel independent suspension with coil springs and hydraulic shocks, was standard equipment.


Probably.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Flash plug-in - L'escargot
One of the websites I visit occasionally now says I need to install Flash plug-in to view the site. Is there any risk attached to doing this? I'm wary about downloading things willy-nilly onto my computer.
--
L\'escargot.
Flash plug-in - Chicken Vindaloo
You'll be ok. Flash is an annoyance which web developers use to make their sites look "pretty". Every so often Macromedia will release a new version of Flash and then you have to update the plug-in on your PC. It's perfectly safe though.
Flash plug-in - L'escargot
I disabled Shockwave Flash Object some time ago because it gave me problems. Is there any connection between the "Flash" in this and Flash plug-in?
--
L\'escargot.
Flash plug-in - Stuartli
Shockwave is used more for games purposes these days. Information on the different Flash versions can be found at:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macromedia_Shockwave

There are different versions of Flash, one for Internet Explorer and another for Firefox etc. Either (or both if you use more than one browser) can be downloaded from:

www.filehippo.com/software/browsers/


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Linux touchpad configuration - maz64
I'm running Linux (CentOS) on my Dell X1 laptop which has a Synaptics touchpad. Touching the pad used to be equivalent to a left mouse click, but now it's like a middle mouse click. (So if I touch the pad in a terminal window, it brings focus to the window but also pastes stuff onto the command line.)

Anyone know how to confiure the touchpad under Linux/CentOS?

Cheers
John
Linux touchpad configuration - Baskerville
As I'm sure you know CentOS is enterprise grade server software based on Red Hat Linux. I doubt it is very friendly right out of the box for this kind of configuration.

However there is a configuration utility called qsynaptics which may be installed already. If not there will almost certainly be rpms in the CentOS repositories. The homepage is here:

qsynaptics.sourceforge.net/
Linux touchpad configuration - maz64
As I'm sure you know CentOS is enterprise grade server software
based on Red Hat Linux.


I do now :-)
I doubt it is very friendly
right out of the box for this kind of configuration.


It's what we use in our company; I've only played with the odd Linux live distro CD previously so haven't got much to compare it with.
However there is a configuration utility called qsynaptics which may be
installed already. If not there will almost certainly be rpms in
the CentOS repositories.


Hmmm.. haven't been able to find anything yet...
The homepage is here:
qsynaptics.sourceforge.net/


Linux has many advantages over Windows, but from my experience ease of software installation isn't one of them. As with this one, you usually have to compile the software yourself - they try to make it as painless as possible, but as with this one, it can fail :-(

Thanks for your help Baskerville- I'll keep trying...

Cheers
John
Linux touchpad configuration - Baskerville
I have never used CentOS or Red Hat Enterprise Linux, but I believe the package manager is called YUM. There should be an icon to click and if it's anything like the other package managers I've used you can search for packages by name or keyword or whatever. It might come up as Ksynaptic for the KDE desktop or Gsynaptic for the Gnome desktop, which is what RHEL uses I believe, but there should be no need for compiling. Being aimed at IT professionals RHEL is much less friendly than something like Ubuntu, which is for desktop users. Ubuntu comes with the tool for configuring the Synaptic driver built in. I assume you're tried the forums at CentOS:

www.centos.org/
I.E. 7 Problems - Robbie
I've had problems with my PC this morning and had to restore to another date. Now I've lost all the toolbars at the top of the page and I'm not able to access anything, even the Favourites. I've had to go a roundabout way to get this page up. Can anyone help please? I've tried everything to no avail.
I.E. 7 Problems - Dynamic Dave
Try right clicking in a blank area of any remaining area at the top of the page and selecting the relevant tool bar(s) from the menus shown.
I.E. 7 Problems - sine
Pushing the 'Alt' key will also show the menu temporarily but DDs method should be more permanent.
I.E. 7 Problems - Robbie
Neither of these work. I'm at a total loss.
I.E. 7 Problems - Robbie
I have at last managed to uninstall IE7 - I tried before to get back to IE6 but it didn't work - I'm now back on IE6 with all of the toolbars.

I'm unsure whether to download IE7 again.
changing wlan ip address - billy25
Afternoon folks,
Billy is very frustrated! - friend? brought around scrambled laptop, he's been trying to set up a wireless connection, to cut a long story short, ive got it virtually sorted, and although i can connect to his network wirelessly, i cant connect to AOL, although i can with the Ethernet cable connected.
looking through the thread on this subject in vol 120, and running the cmd ipconfig/all thingy, i see that i do indeed have have a wlan figure starting 169, so............ how do i change this to the proper no, and where do i find the proper no?

not much hair left now folks, so bog standard simple replies would be ever so gratefully recieved!
many thanks
Billy
changing wlan ip address - Dalglish
... how do i change this to the proper no, and where do i find the proper no?


try google: release renew ip address

follow the instruction from whichever link you find easiest. eg.
compnetworking.about.com/cs/windowsnetworkin1/ht/r...m
support.microsoft.com/kb/117662/
changing wlan ip address - billy25
thanks Dalglish!
Tis so much easier when pointed in right direction!
All done 'n' dusted now!
should really have asked here and googled earlier, might have had some hair left! but had router plugged into phoneline and not my trusty? desktop!
thanks
Billy
Laptop spillage - Round The Bend
My lad has managed to spill some milk onto his laptop. (Doh!) The spillage was limited to the south west corner of the keyboard but already some of the keys and the mouse are behaving irregularly.

2 questions:

(1) What should I do to have this fixed?

(2) He has had the laptop for just 6 months but we did n't elect to buy the extended home support package from Dell. I assume if we have the laptop repaired locally (which would be my preferred option) we will invalidate the guarantee.

Many Thanks


_______
IanS
Laptop spillage - adverse camber
spilling liquids on it probably blows the guarantee anyway.

Is it easy on that model to remove the keyboard ? If so take it off and clean it leave plenty of time to dry and then refit. You do need to make sure that whatever you use to clean isnt going to cause problems. I have washed keyboards in water without problems, but they must be clean and dry before being reconnected.
Laptop spillage - SpamCan61 {P}
If you're brave enough to want to take the keyboard out then the Dell service manuals show how to do this, you should be able to find them starting here:-

support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=ge...t

Having faced the same issue ( only with ginger beer) I took the easy way out and bought a USB external keyboard for a tenner.
Laptop spillage - smokie
Having been on a Dell laptop hardware course some years ago, I wouldn't try to diy unless you are very confident. Even the trainer had some screws left over once we re-assembled the laptop!!

I'm not sure how much Dell would charge you to fix this but it would be worth giving them a call before going to an independent. I'm pretty sure yu could either have a home visit or a collect and return.
Laptop spillage - No FM2R
>>What should I do to have this fixed?

Take out the power lead
Take out the battery
Make sure its switched off
pour some solvent - any screen wipe stuff will do - into the keyboard and get it good and soaked, press the dodgy keys a lot.
pour out the solvent
Leave the laptop upside down in the airing cupboard for a day or so
Switch back on.

Done it loads of times courtesy of the girls. Did it about a week ago with a Ribena'd Blackberry - back and working fine after 24 hours.

'course I'm not recommending it as an approach to anyone else and accept no responsibility should anybody copy me.

Laptop spillage - Round The Bend
Thanks guys. Mark's method appeals and I will not hold him to account in the event of failure!
Laptop spillage - Altea Ego
Thanks guys. Mark's method appeals and I will not hold
him to account in the event of failure!


For a reasonable percentage, PU will work on a no win no fee basis to recover damages from Mr No should your laptop be screwed following his advice.......
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Laptop spillage - Pugugly {P}
RF,

Gone into "no fun no fee" now - far more productive. I dunked a Blackberry as well, fortunately it was one of them with a hard-case, it worked ok after dry out.
Laptop spillage - Round The Bend
No tried Mark's method yet. Still trying to squeeze enough moisture from a bundle of screen wipes.
Laptop spillage - No FM2R
Fool.

Lay the whole lot together on a tray and quickly stand on the entire pile so that the moisture comes out of them all at the same time. If you're doing it one at a time it'll be evaporating too quickly.
Laptop spillage - Altea Ego
You stupid boy No. When you step off the pile they all expand and soak back up the moisture instantly

YOu put them in the Juicer.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Laptop spillage - Round The Bend
OK Mr Mainwaring.
Was looking to see if Dell did a mini-mangle.
Laptop spillage - Baskerville
OK Mr Mainwaring.
Was looking to see if Dell did a mini-mangle.


Yes but it's USB1.1 so quite slow. Not compatible with Vista, obviously.
Laptop spillage - No FM2R
You *know* the juicer alone isn't going to work, expecially as you're talking of an electric one, the bits of cloth will clog it up. I would suggest one of those manual lemon juicers - you know the ones that are like a saucer with a lump sticking up in the middle.

Hold all the wipes in your right hand, hold a bucket in your left hand placed to catch whatever is squeezed out of the wipes; Then sit on the lemon juicer......
Laptop spillage - Pugugly {P}
You can buy this solvent in PC World ! Cripes, you'll be crushing your own grapes soon to make wine !
Laptop spillage - L'escargot
Then sit on the lemon juicer......


............ and swivel ? ;-)
--
L\'escargot.
Laptop spillage - Altea Ego
Well Mr No, i shall try what you suggest, as it seems to be a whole hearted recomendation I am sure its based on personal experience
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Laptop spillage - No FM2R
Clockwise, Stumpy, clockwise. Anti-clockwise simply doesn't hack it.
Laptop spillage - Altea Ego
Baldy, can you do me a favour and try this one for me? let me know how it goes.

gizmodo.com/gadgets/home/best-looking-lemon-squeez...p
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Laptop spillage - No FM2R
I prefer a non-stick surface. I would however commend this example as being most likely to be suitable for your needs.

www.supinfo.com/en/b07cefe4-3da3-4c5a-b033-35c11c9...x
Anti-virus comparisons - Phil I
Lot of work gone into this.

preview.tinyurl.com/32uftp

Happy Surfing. Phil I
Anti-virus comparisons - tyro
Thanks for that. So what do the panel recommend? If one uses Avast, should one get AVG in addition, or change to something else?
Anti-virus comparisons - Stuartli
The free edition of Avast! is more than adequate for the majority of home users - it is not only effective but updates itself automatically and provides a visual and verbal warning that it has done so.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
Anti-virus comparisons - Baskerville
How on earth did Microsoft OneCare manage to come out last on this? You'd think the company that built the system and has access to the source code would know best how to protect it, wouldn't you?
Anti-virus comparisons - cheddar
I use F-Secure on my workstation, F-Secure AV is FOC to Barclays internet banking customers, an upgrade to IS is only £10-00 p/a.
Anti-virus comparisons - cheddar
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6418965.stm
XP logon question from CRQ 119 - cheddar
Hello,

I asked the following - I have the welcome screen enabled on two computers, both XP Pro, however one boots through to the welcome screen allowing me to type my password in without having to click on my name (laptop), though the other boots through to the welcome screen however only displays the icon next to my name so I have to click on the icon before typing my password (desktop). The difference is but one click however I would like to know why?

Well it seems to be something to do with shared folders, I have now set up a shared folder on the laptop and it now requires the extra click before typing in my password.


Thanks and regards.
Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - M.M
Very close to our laptop choice after a few days distracted looking at used models up to 2yrs old (usually either cheap with faults or OK but hugely overvalued by sellers and buyers alike).

I have pretty well sussed every aspect of our new machine requirements apart from the graphic card/chip issue. The usual tasks for this PC will be office applications, moderate photo editing and DVD playing. However the kids will want to play their games... nothing more complex than the latest Lara Croft at the moment.

The two laptops my choice is between have the following graphics... 1: ATI Radeon® Xpress 1150 HyperMemoryTM (integrated) 2: 256MB ATI MOBILITYTM RADEON® X1400 HyperMemory

I think the X1400 is a dedicated card/chip but not sure. Any advice on its extra capability?

Worth mentioning our home PC has a Ge-Force FX200 128MB graphics card and easily handles all our needs at the moment.

Thanks,

DW
Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - cheddar
If the home PC Geforce is up to the job then the Intel 950 integrated graphics in a 945GM chipset that would come with a Core Duo or Core 2 Duo would be more than up to the job and is better on battery life than a dedictaed graphics card.

The ATI Radeon 1150 HyperMemory is slightly more powerful and is likely to feature on an AMD CPU machine. Bear in mind that Intel processors are way ahead of AMD currently, particularly in notebooks .

The X1400 is more powerful again though is "HyperMemory" so uses system memory as required rather than having toatlly dedicated memory, it will also lower battery life. I think Dell and others offer this as an option on Intel machines in which case they would feature the 945PM chipset that does not have integrated graphics.
Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - M.M
That's great Cheddar thanks.

It seems the budget Dell laptops from a starting price of £349 all have AMD processors with the X1150 graphics. Then at the £499 price point they move to Intel Dual Core (T2060/T5200/T5500 etc) plus you also get the X1400 graphics.

£500 was our absolute max so at least we can get a decent processor/graphic in budget.

DW
Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - cheddar
Make sure you have 1024Mb memory though dont pay too much for it, so perhaps buy it with 512Mb and buy an additional 512Mb SODIMM, either 533 or 667Mhz as required for about £25 to £30 from Dabs etc.
Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - Dalglish
£500 was our absolute max so at least we can get a decent processor/graphic in budget


remember that these two dell laptops will be below your budget after you take account of the quidco cashback:
www.hotukdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?p=388110
www.hotukdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?p=388064

Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - M.M
Cheddar. Taking Dell as my benchmark they now do 1024 RAM on all but the basic £349 laptop so I will get that amount of RAM for certain.

Thanks for the links Dalglish... so who are Quidco and how does that work then.

DW
Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - Dalglish
.. Thanks for the links Dalglish... so who are Quidco and how does that work then...


i am sure that hotdealsuk or www.moneysavingexpert.com/ will have details of real experiences, but for info see :
www.quidco.com/

Laptop Graphic Card/Chip Choice. - cheddar
Check out Acer laptops, I recently bought an Acer Travelmate from Dabs for business, Dabs not the best buying experience though great spec and a good price, an Aspire 5630 would be ideal for you, Google "Aspire 5633" or "Aspire 5634".

Comet do a high spec 5634 for £650, the following is laptopsdirect who are reputable, the Aspire 5633WLMi at £480 is a good price, as I said you can add 512Mb memory for 30 quid or less, ignore their "low cost double memory offer", they will charge you 60 quid.

www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Acer_Aspire_Core_Duo_Lapto...p

This is a Core 2 Duo T5500 which runs 667Mhz FSB, the Dells at that price might have 1024Mb as std though are either Core Duos (T2060 etc) or the T5200 which is 533Mhz FSB so I am guessing have a more basic chipset, perhaps based on the Intel 915.

Most Acer Aspires come with Vista or XP MCE with an upgrade path to Vista HP, the latter is the best option currently IMO, my machine is XP Pro with a Vista Business upgrade path.

AOL 9 and Firewalls - mark(NEScotland)
AOL appear to have provided an update for AOL 9 which SWMBO must have downloaded on Monday. I caught a glimpse of a message box on the desktop, but didn?t pay it much attention.

However, we have now lost our dial-up connection and AOL appear to blame this on our personal firewall configuration. We use Norton on Windows 98SE, but judging by AOL?s instructions, the problem affects all main security vendors. I have followed their ?fix? instructions and attempted to locate their files under ?programme files?, but get really frustrated when AOL?s file names- waol.exe aoltpspd.exe AOLacsd.exe and AOLDial.exe cannot be located!! I have found similar files and changed Norton?s Application Control area to ?permit all? from ?automatic?; but not convinced I have done this correctly.

I also note that they say if you have earlier AOL versions still installed (which we probably have), you ?may? need to sort this in ?other AOL folders?!

You really shouldn?t have to go to these lengths to sort out their problems; (lord knows how non-IT people would sort this)

Despite having followed their ?suggested fix?, we still cannot get past AOL?s error box. This is AC-3000 err0x84100101 OS Win 98SE ACS4.6.61.4 DUN Entry, Norton Internet Security. I have even switched off the firewall and tried to connect with no success.

Before I put a hammer through the computer, or worse still try and communicate with their ?global help facility?, can anyone offer more meaningful help?

Thanks

mark

AOL 9 and Firewalls - Altea Ego
AOL?

Quick run away, run away......
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Dalglish
Before I put a hammer through the computer, or worse still try and communicate with their ?global help
facility?, can anyone offer more meaningful help?


1. restore your pc to earlier date/time than when "new aol" installed.
2. in future, log in via aol9, minimise aol9, use ie7 or ie6 or even mozilla firefox rather than aol9.
3. even better, transfer to aol-uk internet's new owner (talktalk).

AOL 9 and Firewalls - Dalglish
re item 3. >> even better, transfer to aol-uk internet's new owner (talktalk).


www.timewarner.com/corp/newsroom/pr/0,20812,159471...l
Under the agreement, Carphone Warehouse will acquire AOL's Internet access customer base in the UK as well as the supporting management and infrastructure (the "Access" business). For its part, AOL will provide co-branded portal, content and other audience services and will manage the online advertising sales for Carphone Warehouse's combined broadband customer base through a revenue-sharing agreement.


AOL 9 and Firewalls - Baskerville
>>even mozilla firefox rather than aol9.

That bad, huh?
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Stuartli
>>That bad, huh?>>

Now, now....
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AOL 9 and Firewalls - Stuartli
TalkTalk's home page was recently combined with the AOL version. See:

www.aol.co.uk/talktalk
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AOL 9 and Firewalls - Dalglish
That bad, huh?


put out the bait and soon caught two. fruits of "success" or "popularity" : www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/07/mozilla_patch_fix/
The need to patch faulty security updates is a problem that periodically affects updates from Redmond, though it's something of a first for the Mozilla Foundation

AOL 9 and Firewalls - Stuartli
Firefox users can download NoScript if they have any doubts:

noscript.net/
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AOL 9 and Firewalls - Baskerville
>>fruits of
"success" or "popularity" : www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/07/mozilla_patch_fix/
The need to patch faulty security updates is a problem that
periodically affects updates from Redmond, though it's something of a first
for the Mozilla Foundation


This was actually patched a week ago.

Nothing to do with popularity either--that's a Microsoft Certified Excuse that doesn't add up--just to do with complex code. I'm surprised it took this long actually. Anyway I couldn't adopt IE7 "Don't Panic Mr Mainwaring Edition" even if I wanted to as it is not cross platform.
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Dalglish
..This was actually patched a week ago...


which is exactly what the register article says. however, mozilla did not get around to telling punters about the patch until monday:
Announced: March 5, 2007
www.mozilla.org/security/announce/2007/mfsa2007-09...l

:: ;-) ::
Anyway I couldn't adopt IE7

maybe because it is a product of a commercial organisation, and not from a caring sharing commune(ist) organisation.
:: ;-) ::

AOL 9 and Firewalls - Dalglish
p.s. to baskerville - what led you to drop your original "chris " user name?
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Baskerville
I just fancied a change and was doing some work on fonts at the time.
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Baskerville
>> ..This was actually patched a week ago...
which is exactly what the register article says. however, mozilla did
not get around to telling punters about the patch until monday:


Firefox updates automatically and tells you on startup that it's doing it. Mine all did it last Tuesday I think--can't remember exactly.
maybe because it is a product of a commercial organisation, and
not from a caring sharing commune(ist) organisation.


He he. MS Office for Mac is your spanner in the works of course. Adobe, Sun, Novell, and a host of other nasty commercial organisations all produce cross-platform software. In the case of IE though the browser ties you (or more specifically corporations) to the platform and the company Kool-Aid. I actually quite like IE7 from the limited time I've spent with it, but it's just not powerful enough for me.
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Stuartli
The security fix, Firefox 2.0.0.2, was downloaded and installed on my system on February 23rd.
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AOL 9 and Firewalls - billy25
I use AOL all the time (usually have no qualms about them!), and the only "Aol update" that i have seen is "AOL 9.0 VR" which is the "Vista" version of Aol, i tend to think she has downloaded this inadvertently thinking it was just an ordinary Aol update. It did state that this would cause connectivety probs on non-vista machines, so i would say to make life easy on yourself, go to add/remove programs, uninstall ALL aol related versions/files, and re-install the basic Aol 9.0 from CD. Whilst you are at it, in my opinion, you should also completely dump Norton internet security in favour of more user friendly options like, A.V.G Antivirus and Zonealarm firewall (both have free versions) and are in my experience 100% reliable.
HTH,
bILLY
AOL 9 and Firewalls - mark(NEScotland)
Thanks Billy and everyone; I'll try reinstall and review antivirus.

mark
AOL 9 and Firewalls - Stuartli
>>you should also completely dump Norton internet security in favour of more user friendly options>>

If you have any problems with removing Norton, don't forget the Norton Removal Tool:

service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/...9
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Computer keeps freezing up. - Peter
Over the last month or so my computer (XP Home & SP2 updates) has taken to freezing in the middle of a program, not one in particular just anyone. The cursor will either stay as an arrow or the egg timer, nothing happens. After say, 30 minutes, I physically switch the machine off. Give it 5 minutes and switch ON, the computer goes to the Windows screen with the moving bar and stays there, occasionally the screen goes very dark and it all hangs up there.

Can anyone tell me what might have happened, how do I overcome it and how can I get into the machine programs to start any rectification processes such as reformatting the C drive etc?

Many thanks in advance.
Computer keeps freezing up. - local yokel
Have you run anti-virus and anti-adware checks?
Computer keeps freezing up. - billy25
Sometimes screen -freezes can be caused by overheating, are the fans working, are the vent ports blocked, does the case feel unusually warm?, try attacking it with the suction pipe of the "hoover".
Billy
Computer keeps freezing up. - Dalglish
Can anyone tell me 1. what might have happened, 2. how do I overcome it and 3.how can I get into the
machine prrograms to start any rectification processes such as reformatting the C drive etc?


answers to all three question:
go to start (or in windows explorer) > right click "my computer" > select "manage", and then in the
1. > system tools > event viewer for logs of the problem.
2. then select each problem from the list and right click and choose properties and follow link to get info from microsoft.
3. if you really want to reformat, etc, then again it can be accessed from the computer management console.

Computer keeps freezing up. - billy25
Before you think about blitzing your existing hard drive by reformatting it (particularly if you have alot of personal details on it) dont forget to "back-up" first, if you cant get the machine to bootup to allow you to do this,or anything else as drastic, it may be possible to "borrow" a "working" hard drive with an operating system installed, and install it as your primary drive, and set your existing hard drive to "slave".
this way you may be able to gain enough access to your own drive to either effect a repair or to get off your important things.
Billy
Computer keeps freezing up. - Altea Ego
Take off the lid, and blow the crap and dust out of the fan and heat sink on top of the cpu. There may be similar on the video card as well. Make sure the fan ports are not blocked.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
Computer keeps freezing up. - Stuartli
Apart from the suggestions already made, have you tried Ctrl Alt Delete and ending the particular program or application that may be causing the freezing?
...i.e. from Task Manager.
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