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Computer related questions Volume 8 - No Do$h

******** Thread now full, see volume 9 ********

www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=21495


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

Usual rules apply,

No motoring related discussion,
No politics,
No Speeding, speed cameras, traffic calming
No arguments or slanging matches
Nothing which I think is not following the spirit of the thread
Nothing that risks the future of this site (please see the small print for details www.honestjohn.co.uk/credits/index.htm )

Any of the above will be deleted. If the thread becomes difficult to maintain it will simply be removed.

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

This is Volume 8. Previous Volumes will not be deleted.

A list of previous volumes can be found here:-
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=20892

Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Kuang
Well, I tried fitting the new processor at the weekend but appear to have trashed my computer in doing so

Hmm.. doesn't sound like a happy bunny.

Have you tried returning the BIOS to its default settings? There's generally a jumper on the motherboard that needs to be connected before the machine is turned on (there are usually three pins on the header in question: placing a jumper on positions 1+2 usually resets the BIOS, and 2+3 is the normal boot setting). After 5 seconds or so of having the machine on with the jumper in the reset position, turn the machine back off and return the jumper to its original setting. It should hopefully then boot as normal.

It's quite rare that a processor upgrade will change any data on the hard drive though - I'd go for the soft option before trying anything else.
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - smokie
Sounds possibly heat related - are you sure you put the CPU fan on, and plugged it in? And that it is turning? An un-cooled processor will be totally unpredictable, except that it will not do anything for very long. If you have no cooling, but have only had the computer on for short periods, it is unlikely that you have cooked the processor, although that is possible.

Agree with Kuang that your disc is likely to be intact. Sometimes you need to change BIOS (jumper) settings when changing processor to take account of different speed multipliers etc, but most new motherboards will auto-detect so this might not be necessary.
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Mike H
Never fiddled or even noticed jumpers on motherboards before. Am I looking for something similar to a jumper on a disk drive? Are they likely to be in any particular place? What size are they?

Also, would it be worthwhile getting some heat transfer paste (or whatever its called) to properly stick the heatsink back on to the 866 processor before I try anything else? I know that it's warming up so I assume it's still working. The 1.4ghz one stays as cold as a cold thing in a cold place.

I hear what you are saying about the disk drive not actually being a problem, although I had something similar on a machine at work where it kept telling me that all sort of .sys & .drv files were missing - I ended up reloading Windows 2000. And I bought a modem/router that appeared to corrupt a .vxd file - I cured that by upgrading to XP!

Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Kuang
On the Dimension 4100 (is that correct?) the reset jumper is just next to the PCI slots - it should be marked 'BIOS Reset' or similar. The jumper itself will look exactly the same as a hard drive one (ie. small and fiddly) but instead of having 2 pins in a row you'll have three.

The normal position is 1-2 and the reset position is 2-3. Set it to 2-3 with the power off, power the machine on and then off again after a few seconds, set the jumper back to 1-2, cross your fingers and power back on! :)
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Mike H
Thanks, I'll try it tonight when I get home - should I go for the heat transfer paste to firmly reattach the processor & heatsink?
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Kuang
Can't hurt, although the attaching effect is negligible - that's always handled by the springclip on the heatsink itself. The stuff is gunky, but not that much :)

Make sure you only put a thin layer on though, with no air bubbles - too much can stop heat transferring smoothly to the heatsink. I always find that the ideal thing to apply it with is a thin (1cm or so) strip of stiff acetate or similar - place a dob in the middle and then smooth it to the edges. You'll only need heat paste on the die itself (which is the raised metal or ceramic bit on the chip).
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Mike H
Sorry to prolong the discussion, but would I be better off scraping the old paste off now the seal is broken, giving a proper metal-to-metal contact between the die and heatsink, rather than leaving it on, even if I don't replace it?
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Kuang
I'd say that if it's still on there then you'd be best to leave it on, although it might benefit from smoothing over slightly - the only reason to get rid of it would be if you intended to replace it. Metal to metal can introduce hotspots and other undesirable side effects which may harm the chip.

TBH It's not always easy to tell how much difference you'll get from different applications of heat paste, but it's always best to err on the side of caution - in discussions regarding chip cooling, you'll always get into an 'opinions are like armpits' situation sooner or later.. ;)
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Welliesorter
I don't have any particular expertise in this, other than owning the same model of PC with a different processor. I'm still reasonably satisfied with it although the fan has always been noisy.

I seem to remember reading that Dell motherboards are customised Intel ones and only fit Dell cases. For that reason I don't think you can swap the motherboard in a Dell case with a generic one.

It might be worth searching the archives of alt.sys.pc-clone.dell using the advanced search at groups.google.com/advanced_group_search?hl=en to see if these issues have been discussed there. If not, it might be worth posting there or in the very extensive forums on the US Dell site: forums.us.dell.com .

Please believe me when I say I'm not trying to be a gloom and doom merchant. I'd be interested in the outcome as I'm contemplating some sort of upgrade myself.

Aldi (cheapo German supermarket chain) have a good PC offer this week. I'm almost tempted although I've heard they always sell out very quickly.
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Mike H
Well, we're back in action!!

For everyone's benefit, I did as Smokie suggested & Kuang talked me through - that is, reset the BIOS. This didn't work initially, so then I cleaned all the old heat-transfer gunk off the chip and off the heatsink - reassembled - and bingo! Booted no problem.

If you guys were nearer, I'd kiss you! Probably best if you don't tell me how close you are......my finances really wouldn't have stood the cost of anew PC, and my nerves/patience wouldn't have stood a new motherboard with or without a new case.

Seriously, thanks to all who replied, I could never had sorted this out on my own.

Welliesorter, it seems that my motherboard wouldn't have taken anything more than a 1.0Gb processor. Whether this had anything to do with things I don't know - but my guess is that the 1.4Gb processor was dead when I fitted it. Whether a new motherboard could be fitted is now academic - I sure ain't fiddling around with things any more.
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - Altea Ego
Does this thread mean that the PC does not work with the old CPU inserted back in? I can understand the newer one playing possum, but there is no reason why the old one (as long as sufficient care has been taken) should not pop back on and work.

Make sure its the white gunk we are talking about it, and not a sticky thermal pad. If its a pad then it should be scrapped off as its now no longer doing its job once parted.

Does this machine boot up with the old CPU? whats the symptoms.
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - smokie
Just because I've never used heat paste doesn't mean it isn't recommended, but it certainly isn't essential.

A cold processor is clearly not working.

Dell use a riser board on the motherboard which does prevent you upgrading to a more "standard" type, as the PCI slots are in the riser card and therefore are at the wrong angle to the slots on the back of the case (did that make sense?).

However the good news is that if you are considering changing your motherboard, a new case is under £30.
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - No Do$h
However the good news is that if you are considering changing
your motherboard, a new case is under £30.


Or free if you live near Poole and want to pop round at the weekend to pick it up. I've got a midi ATX tower (standard PC world £40 effort) kicking around that I keep meaning to build up into a functioning PC with all my old bits from various upgrades, but it will be 2009 by the time that happens so I'd rather someone else had it and got some use out of it.

ND
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - smokie
That's generous ND, personally not interested but potential customers may need to know if it has the extra power supply lead for the processor (or do I mean fan?) which was lacking when I recently upgraded from a Intel 800 to a Celeron 2400. It was cheaper for me to buy a new case than a new power supply!
Replacing a processor (from thread 7) - No Do$h
I seem to remember that it has a 400w PSU with a dedicated fan lead, but would need to check when I\'m home at the weekend.

I used this case for a little over a year, running a twin pentium III 500 that a friend had outgrown. It hasn\'t been used since I since built up my current pc (2800 AMD Barton) last summer.
Wireless Printing. - owen
I\'ve just bought a new laptop, samsung x05, and very nice it is too. It\'s got a built in wireless network card, which works great with my wireless router thing (i\'m not too hot on computers to be honest!). I\'ve also got a pretty standard HP printer with USB connection, and what i would like to do is to be able to print wirelessly? Can this be done, if so how, and most importantly, how much!

Ta!

Owen
Wireless Printing. - Mark (RLBS)
You need a printer plugged into your wireless LAN. This depends on having a network enabled printer and a spare slot in your modem or wireless.

If you want specifics, then what is your modem, wireless and printer model(s)
Wireless Printing. - owen
Thanks for the quick reply mark!

Printer is (i think - i\'m skiving at work now, so it\'s not in front of me) a HP 845c - nothing flash, so i very much doubt it has any sort of network capability.
Wireless router is an Adaptec. And is connected to an NTL cable broadband modem. There are four other sockets in the router.
Wireless is built in to laptop.
Wireless Printing. - DavidHM
Owen - is the router Adaptec or Actiontec? Either way, it makes no odds - though I happen to have the Actiontec, which NTL use.

If the printer had a parallel connection, you could buy a HP wireless print adaptor or a third party equivalent. This would cost about £90 for the third party ones, such as this: tinyurl.com/yqb7k (The HP one is about three times the price).

Alternatively you could buy an HP 5850 (which is the duplex enabled, wireless version of my 5650 - which is excellent) for £150 from PC World. (It's cheaper there than anywhere online). However, given the absence of a parallel connector on your printer, it looks like the second is the only realistic option.
''new'' message flags - Stargazer {P}
Hi everyone,

Been away a while, but has the behaviour of the red 'new' message flags changed? On first logging in after 3.5 weeks I see loads of new messages but none have the red 'new' flag, today some have the flag but it doesnt vanish when I have read the message.

cheers

Ian L.
''new'' message flags - Dynamic Dave
Ian,

What number of days have you got set in the History settings? If it's less than the number of days you've been absent from the site, then that could be the reason for no "new" flag.
''new'' message flags - Stargazer {P}
Dave,
Where are the history settings? I have the topics displayed set to 50. I assume this is a back room setting rather than a browser setting?

Typically after testing the above behaviour and posting a message
some things start to work again. Maybe the cookies cant keep up with prolonged gaps in the access times and it will sort itself out in a few days.

thanks anyway,

Ian L.

''new'' message flags - Dynamic Dave
Dave,
Where are the history settings?


If using Internet Explorer, Tools/Internet Options.
''new'' message flags - Stargazer {P}
Dave, that explains why I cant find them.....Linux,Mozilla only here.

thanks

Ian L.
''new'' message flags - Stargazer {P}
Found the setting in Mozilla, set to 9 days, I have been away for nearly 30 days so looks like your reasoning is correct.

thanks

Ian L.
''new'' message flags - PoloGirl
If you read a message and then hit 'back' it takes you to the list page you were on before, as it was displayed before (as if you've gone back in time, and therefore haven't read the message.)

If you read the message and then click on discussion, it refreshes the list before taking you back to it, so the 'new' tag should disappear from the message you just read.

(Does that make any sense?)

''new'' message flags - Welliesorter
(Does that make any sense?)


Yes. It's because the page is still stored on your PC in the cache instead of having to get it from the web server again.

I prefer to right click on the each link that interests me and select 'Open Link in New Tab'. This also works well when you want to read a number of articles on a news site.

(Spot the plug for the wonderful Mozilla Firefox which enables you to do this.)
''new'' message flags - Dynamic Dave
I prefer to right click on the each link that interests
me and select 'Open Link in New Tab'.


Holding down the "Shift" key while left clicking with the left mouse key does the same thing.


ps, This thread will move to the Computer thread at some point today.
''new'' message flags - Welliesorter
>> I prefer to right click on the each link that
interests
>> me and select 'Open Link in New Tab'.
Holding down the "Shift" key while left clicking with the left
mouse key does the same thing.


That opens a completely new window, which will very quickly clutter the screen. A bit of experimenting reveals that holdng down CTRL opens a new tab.
''new'' message flags - SR
Pologirl,

It does make sense, but I'm not sure it's correct in all cases. I find if I go into a thread that has new flag, then come back out using the "back" button on IE, the "new" flag has disappeared. I don't need to click on "discussion".

I don't know if I have a particular setting that enables this.
''new'' message flags - Dalglish
Found the setting in Mozilla, set to 9 days,


note that some firewalls eg. zonealarm-pro also have settings within them for cleaning the history cache.
Network Connection fault - Dwight Van Driver
Help me to retain sanity:

PC is a Dell Dimension operating Windows ME/AOL 8.

In my Dial up Network Programme in the Control panel there are three icons:
(1) Make new connection (2) AOL Dial on demand feature please do not remove this (3) My Connection with false details about myself.

Now when I first start up, after the background has loaded, a programme box for (3) above loads and stays on screen until deleted by X. It also appears when I use the delete key on the keyboard and surruptitiusly at other times.. Absolutely annoying and I cannot seem to get rid. If I delete (3) in the Dial up Network then AOL continually tries to load. When I am lucky and can get back to Control Panel and re-create (3) then AOL ceases its activities and becomes manageable..

Norton AV, Spybot and Disc Scan do not show anything untoward.

Three questions:

(a) How do I get rid of (3)?
(b) If I delete (2) will I still be able to access AOL or will I have to un/reinstall AOL and
(c) if I take this action will I be back to where I started from?

Still wearing PC red L's so any solution in flow chart please.

DVD
Network Connection fault - Dalglish
Now when I first start up, after the background has loaded,
a programme box for (3) above loads and stays on screen
until deleted by X. It also appears when I use
the delete key on the keyboard and surruptitiusly at other times..
Norton AV, Spybot and Disc Scan do not show anything untoward.
Three questions:
(a) How do I get rid of (3)?
(b) If I delete (2) will I still be able to
access AOL or will I have to un/reinstall AOL and
(c) if I take this action will I be back to
where I started from?



1. check if norton av or spybot or suchlike is set to auto check for updates.

2. go to aol's internet explorer equivalent of tools/internet-options/connections

3. set the radio buttons to either never-dial-a-connection or always-dial-my-default

4. i have not used aol for 3 years. but a tip from the past which may or may not apply now. if you do not already do so, afer firing up aol8, minimise the window, fire up internet explorer or other browswer, and use that browser for your surfing.
Network Connection fault - Godfrey H {P}
Could be a trojan trying to phone home, if none of your legitimate programs are trying to update.I'm feeling a bit unwell so I can't help you tonight. Meanwhile have a look at this thread: tinyurl.com/2ct9d Email me by my profile tomorrow if you still have problems. You may have a dialer trojan, in which case Hijackthis will be needed to find it. Good luck!
Network Connection fault - Dwight Van Driver
With fingers crossed and baited breath it looks Mr Dalglish that your suggestion at (2) has worked. Never dial a connection box was ticked but it could be that I only clicked OK and not Apply first. It looks as if it has departed so enjoy the drink that is reserved for you in the Cyber Bar. Thanks.

GH Also greatful thanks for your kind offer.

DVD
Network Connection fault - Dalglish
your suggestion at (2) has worked. Never dial a connection box
was ticked
DVD


glad to hear it.

but beware - symptom masked does not mean problem at source has gone away.

i use agnitum outpost firewall which tells me exactly which connection is dialled through which port. that helps me keep track of and/or stop unwanted outgoing and incoming traffic.
Sloppy ISP - frostbite
Paypal sent me an email reminding me my credit card details were due for renewal, which took about two minutes online. Good for them.

It also reminded me that, two years ago, when my last card expired, my Freeserve Anytime account got suspended because they didn't have the brains to ask me for replacement card details (happened with Compuserve too, yonks ago).

I thought I would meet this one coming so trawled through endless FS account pages - no facility to renew. Phoned their 0800 'customer service' number to be told "you have to phone 0870.... to do that".

Sticking point. Why should I have to pay for a national rate call that earns them money, in order to avoid their inefficiency which I know is coming?

Anyone know if 'Freenetnames' is any good as ISP?
Sloppy ISP - Altea Ego
Paypal? Credit card details? This is not one the scam sites to fleece users of the credit card details is it?

www.theregister.co.uk/content/55/36411.html
Sloppy ISP - frostbite
No, twas the genuine article - already had my details with drop-downs to update.
Sloppy ISP - Civic8
Scams have it as well.possibly reason why so many are fooled.and they are getting better.
Sloppy ISP - hootie
I'm glad I saw this today - I've just ordered a couple of things off on line shops, but I'm not aware that paypal was involved in the transaction - then today I got a mail from an address noreply at pay pal .com - the subject line just says 'thankyou' the body of the mail says

'You were registered to the pay system.
For more details see the attachment.'

and there is a zip file attached.

I deleted it.

Was I right to do so?

(as you will have gathered I am a relative computer novice)



Sloppy ISP - smokie
Hootie - a big YES
Sloppy ISP - hootie
Thanks Smokie, I thought so, but you know when things have an untimely habit of arriving when they just *might* have an element of truth in them?

I like to be reassured - so cheers.
Sloppy ISP - Van Driving Man
Paypal sent me an email reminding me my credit card details
were due for renewal, which took about two minutes online.
Good for them.


Hmmmm - I would have been suspicious, as I am about ANYONE who emails and asks for my cc details. I have had a few emails in the last couple of weeks purporting to be from Paypal, and looking VERY authentic, asking for various bits of information. The best clue to them being forgeries is that they start 'Dear PayPal User' or 'Dear PayPal Member'. REAL PayPal emails start with you being addressed by name eg 'Dear Frost Bite', or 'Dear John Smith'. Hopefully this was the case in the mail you received !! :)

Also, if in ANY doubt, do not click on any links in the email, even if they say they will take you to PayPal's site - they will take you to an authentic-looking forgery, and attempt to get your details that way.

Link to the REAL PayPal's security advice: www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/email-secu...e

I may be paranoid, but I prefer to be safe rather than sorry.
Sloppy ISP - borasport20
Anyone know if 'Freenetnames' is any good as ISP?


I have used freenetnames' free hosting service (no longer available to new customers) for my web site www.mikes-walks.co.uk for several years now and had virtualy no problems, which is not bad for a free service

They are not my main ISP, i only use their ISP services to upload to the website and read mail from a freenetname mail account, and again, Ive had very few problems

hth

Mike

p.s. - nice to see MUCH less of the pop-ups, and a close button too - whatever next


just 'cos I know what I'm saying doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about

Sloppy ISP - frostbite
Thanks for the responses chaps. Like you VDM, I am/have become highly suspicious but this letter, quite correctly, reminded me of the pending expiry of my card and the https site was only interested in the new dates, not the card number.

Freenetnames anytime dialup deal caught my attention on the net4nowt site as it is cheaper than my current, but then again so is Tesco etc.. Wonder what they're like?
Sloppy ISP - John R @ Work {P}
My freenetname pay as you go dial up account is generally OK for connection and there are very few down times...
BUT my freenetname e-mail inbox is inundated with (Rotting) SPAM.
Usually over 300 a week! I am thinking of just walking away from it. Also it can only be accessed by dialling the frenetname number, unlike many POP3 e-mail servers which can be accessed through any ISP.

I also have a Tesco.NET pay as you go dial up account is fine and has recently stopped attracting the 2 or 3 SPAMs a day it used to get.

NTL do a pay as you go but you may need to have a NTL number (not sure)

I have just gone onto broadband (150kbps @ £17.99 from NTL and I wish I had done it ages ago. Alro got a wireless (ActionTec) router and USB Tranciever so there are no wires about the house. Tecnology at its best.
John R
Sloppy ISP - borasport20
john - i dont think that the amount of spam is related to your ISP other than if you receive only small amounts of spam because your ISP has a good spam filter.

My freenetname mail account is one i have used only a few times in relation to my web site (because of the inconvenience of having to use the freenetname dialup) and is the one account I have that receives NO spam at all (touch wood !)

My freeserve account receives between 100-150 spam messages a day. I put this down to the fact that when I was green in these matters, I used an 'un-munged' but distinctive email address when posting in newsgroups on as a contact address on websites i'd done for other people - and once an email address is on one mailing list, its on a million. I've found this annoying because i can get batches of 6 or more identical emails and freeserve cannot identify these as spam, but when I send an email to more than 12 people, freeserve have assumed it is spam and binned it without sending it and without informing me !

having posted to work-related newsgroups in the past with a work related address, it was not uncommon to come in on a monday morning and find 200+ spam in my inbox, but since January, when demon internet implemented a spam filter, that has dropped to 3 or 4 spam !


just 'cos I know what I'm saying doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about

Sloppy ISP - John R @ Work {P}
Mike,
You are probably right, I used to have a web site from Freenetname which had a contact me link on it... site no longer exists but the email keeps arriving. Costs me at about 5p to dial in and delete them (using Mail Washer) each week (it takes about 4 mins to do so, with a minimum charge of 4.9p per call from NTL).


John R
Netsky Virus. - M.M
Not been about much so this might have been discussed but...

Is everyone else being bombarded with Netsky virus mails? I'm getting more than a dozen a day. No problem as either my ISP or Norton stops the catual virus...but what a pain filling my inbox up.

Where are they comming from?

M.M
Netsky Virus. - Mark (RLBS)
I suspect that someone who has your e-mail address in their address book has the virus.

It is then spoofing your address and sending out e-mails to all and sundry. When that gets stopped, the return notification comes to you as the e-mail address showing.

It won't stop until whoever it is notices that they have the virus.
Netsky Virus. - PhilW
I was "infected" yesterday. Think my firewall stopped it going out again (asked if "FV-protect" could connect to internet)and pretty certain it came from a guy at work who "apparently" and strangely e-mailed me with a music attachment (which I didn't open)
According to my virus scanner which I had set to update once a week my computer contained about 1800 files which had something to do with Britney and Eminem (who?) enjoying various acts!! Have now set virus scanner to update daily and on start-up.
Suppose it is a modern form of grafitti or vandalism.
Netsky Virus. - smokie
It's good ole Netsky...

securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w...l
Broadband -Metronet - DG834UK router - buzbee
Has anyone any experience of using Metronet for their ADSL broadband connection?

How about experience with the use of the Netgear DG834UK ADSL and Ethernet router-modem (not wireless version).

The appeal is the combination of a modem with built-in firewall. A concern is a 13/02/04 review that complained of no FTP upload. However, since one well known dealer is now buying them in, in 1000's, is it safe to assume any problem has since been fixed?
Broadband -Metronet - DG834UK router - Altea Ego
The netgear stuff is good, the reports about FTP problems on that seem patchy some people suffer - others dont.

I am using the SMC Barricade SMC7804WBRA on Tiscali broadband.

It a 4 port router, 54G wireless, Firewall. Works super. Nicolle has a 54g SMC wireless card in her lap top, I have built in wireless on my centrino lap top. All worked, first time out the box.


Broadband -Metronet - DG834UK router - buzbee
A professional colleague uses the Netgear DG834GUK wireless version on NTL running 4 PCs with no problems and likes it. But the wired version is probably all I need (My second PC is a reserve one in case I ever crash this one) and is cheap enough to change my mind and go wireless later, thanks.

The Metronet interest arises because they offer a low cost 500k link, for the low user, with the option to exceed the 200 Meg download limit and be charged the standard rate for that month.

Very friendly, I thought.
Spybot Search and Destroy thing.. - PoloGirl
Hello!

I'm staying at my nan's this weekend (hence the concern at my lack of posting), while bloke I live with works among the millions at the NEC, with the idea being that I can get work done, but actually because I'm too much of a wuss to stay here by myself! Snuck home to check email and I keep getting a weird message when trying to view one of the sites I usually go to. It's something like:

"trying to download Avenue A Inc. Would you like to block?"

Regardless of whether I click yes or no, the page doesn't load properly... so I'd like to stop it asking the question, but can't remember what I clicked to ask it to ask in the first place.

Can anyone help please? Thanks!
Spybot Search and Destroy thing.. - Van Driving Man
I am not 100% certain that SpyBot S&D WILL allow the blocking of Avenue A cookies silently.

However, hoping that you have more luck than I did, on the S&D immunize page, turn on the permanent protection and set the notification level to 'Block all bad pages silently'.

Let us know how you get on !!

Spybot Search and Destroy thing.. - Van Driving Man
Hmmm.... tried it again last night, and rebooted the PC after making the change and...... so far at least.... it seems to have stopped the 'Avenue A' warnings. :)

Hope you have the same success! :)
Spybot Search and Destroy thing.. - Dalglish
"trying to download Avenue A Inc. Would you like to block?"
>> Can anyone help please? Thanks!

>>

try typing the following in google (including quotation marks)

"avenue a" spyware

see if the links are of any help.
Spybot Search and Destroy thing.. - Dalglish
"avenue a" spyware


links which may help:

forums.sudhian.com/messageview.cfm?catid=59&thread...1

www.sptimes.com/2004/03/01/Technology/Spybot_alert...l

www.atlasdmt.com/privacy/opting.asp

www.atlasdmt.com/privacy/opting.asp?cookieStatus=a...e


Spybot Search and Destroy thing.. - PoloGirl
Thank you to Dalglish and Van Driving Man... I'm now doing that blocking silently thing and it seems to be working!

~ woss it mean? - drbe
I repeatedly get on my opening screen a logo called ~ (I think it's called a cidilla, is that right?)

I don't know what it means, or what it's for, if I delete it, it goes away and then comes back a few days later.

The point is I don't what I am doing to create!

Any advice please?

Don drbe
~ woss it mean? - Dalglish
I repeatedly get on my opening screen a logo called ~
(I think it's called a cidilla, is that right?)
Any advice please?
Don drbe


i'll keep this short & sweet.

try these links to learn more about cdilla

www.auditmypc.com/freescan/readingroom/cdilla.asp
www.spywareeliminator.com/forum/index.php?showtopi...6
www.felgall.com/doswin30.htm
www.computing.net/security/wwwboard/forum/10352.ht...l
www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_i...0
~ woss it mean? - Van Driving Man
Actually, the '~' character is known as a tilde, rather than a cidilla.

(A cedilla is a 'hook' added under certain consonant letters as a diacritic mark to modify their pronunciation. The most frequent character with cedilla is the ç (c cedilla) from French and old Spanish.)

Having spouted all that, I cannot say I have have ever heard of this 'tilde' popup. Is it there when the PC is booting? Is it like a popup window, or just a character on screen (a la DOS)?
~ woss it mean? - Civic8
if you get it on XP then it was a problem with a windows update.
I get one sometimes after doing a download.Apparently it does have a fix on the microsoft site which I did some time ago and it worked.as I did a reload the other day I need to find it myself again.
~ woss it mean? - Dalglish
I repeatedly get on my opening screen a logo called ~
(I think it's called a cidilla, is that right?)

Don drbe


apologies for my previous reply - i got taken along the wrong the path by your reference to cdilla.

if you have the latest microsoft patches, the problem described below should go away.

the ~ "tilde" problem is probably best explained by quoting and giving full credit to the daily telegraph expert as below:

quote

Faqs! Facts! Fax!
(Filed: 07/10/2003)

Do you have a technological dilemma? Contact Rick Maybury at fff@telegraph.co.uk for some answers

Q.
Over the past few weeks, an unnamed file with a tilde underneath appears on my desktop for no apparent reason. At first, not knowing what it was, I deleted it. However, it reappeared. This time I did a virus scan with Norton 2002, which checked out OK. I opened it with Notepad to find it contained a list of all the addresses in my address book. It seems to reappear when a new address is added to my address book. I am using Windows 2000 but a friend has a similar problem with his Windows 98SE system. Is this something to worry about and if not, why should it suddenly occur?
L H

A.
There's no need to panic, the mystery file is an automatic backup of your address book, placed there by a recently installed Microsoft update to fix vulnerability in Outlook Express. There's a bug in the patch file, which occurs if you have a shortcut to OE on your desktop. You can remove the patch (see MS Knowledgebase article 330994) or simply leave it alone (it does no harm). It could prove useful if your system suffers a virus attack so why not copy the file to another location or better still, to a floppy disk. Microsoft is aware of the bug but as yet has not released a fix.

end of quote
~ woss it mean? - drbe
Thank you. I can now relax.

It's surprising what you learn when you ask!

Don drbe
Big Text on Webpages - paul45
Help...

I was trying to do some french translation on babel fish and used their world keyboard for accents etc., however on visting my bank web site all the characters / text are now large. I've checked the sizes of the fonts on control panel and this seems to be set on the smallest. Weird thing though it doesn't do it on HJ's website or freeserve, but it does do it on just about all the rest in my favourites folders. Any ideas how to make the web page text back to its smaller size?

Much Obliged

Paul
Big Text on Webpages - Van Driving Man
Have you tried changing the text size in Internet Explorer? (View ----> Text Size ----> Medium (or larger, or whatever).

If you have a scroll mouse, the text size is all to easily changed by holding down the Ctrl key while scrolling. Not all sites are affected by this change, as you have discovered! ;)

HTH

VDM.
Big Text on Webpages - paul45
Van Driving Man - you are a Yoda of the PC - thanks from a novice !!

I can now read more than one line at a time on various websites - and I can now make the text bigger or smaller all at the flick of a switch !!

Cheers

Paul
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - Vin {P}
Two problems:

1. Xp is auto filling in when I have to type in data (e.g. account names - which I consider to reduce my security - currently people have to know both n my username AND my password). How do i stop it doing this.

2. Outlook express has started taking a day or so to send emails. They just sit in the outbox then at some indeterminate point, they go. No rhyme or reason to it that I can see.

Any help gratefully received.

V
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - Dynamic Dave
Answer to question 1. Goto Tools/Internet Options. Select the Content tab, then click on the \"Autocomplete\" radio button, then untick the relevant boxes. Finally click on the \"Clear Passwords\" radio button. Exit out of the menus.

No idea about question 2.

XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - Obsolete
2. Outlook express has started taking a day or so to send emails. They just sit in the outbox then at some indeterminate point, they go. No rhyme or reason to it that I can see.

You could try and select the outbox folder with the mouse, and then press F5. This should cause it to service sends and receives.
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - smokie
...and if the F5 thing works, look for an option which is something like Send/Receive every xx minutes, and somewhere nearby there is an option to send immediately, IIRC
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - Vin {P}
Thanks for the help, particularly the solution to Point 1.

Sorry, I should have given a better description of point 2. Outlook has always sent stuff OK, until the past few weeks. The symptoms are that if I manually click send/receive, I get the box stating that it is sending mail message 1 of 1. The progress bar sits at halfway completed until eventually it times out. I have Outlook set to send/receive every 15 mins, but this doesn't send the stuff either. Then, after a long time (up to a few days) the mail will suddenly no longer be in the outbox, as it's been successfully sent. This is happening with all my email accounts, which are with three different ISPs, which is why I feel the problem must be at my end of the connection. Very, very odd indeed.

V
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - smokie
Haven't been playing with account settings have you? Or got one of the latest nasties?

Do you know if the mail is being received when it eventually goes?

Don't you have the option of viewing errors during the Send/Receive?

I imagine you are receiving mails OK, but are they old by the time you get them?
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - Vin {P}
No nasties (I am paranoid and use every tool I can).

Yes, mail does get there.

I'll look at the error log.

Receives perfectly fine.

I'll check tonight and get more detail on the problem.

ta, everyone,

Vin
XP auto fill & Outlook Express problem - Mark (RLBS)
you have "send immediately" checked in options/send ?? Not quite the same as the periodic send/receive.
any Outlook express experts out there ? - borasport20
Outlook Express 6, Windows XP

I've been using OE6 for reading newsgroups for a while. I used to use Forte Free Agent, but this was removed from the system a few months ago, and today I made OE6 the default newsreader.

Now, when I go into OE, the only threads that are visible are those to which I have posted, so I never see any new posts.

Any clues ?


just 'cos I know what I'm saying doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about

any Outlook express experts out there ? - Dynamic Dave
Now, when I go into OE, the only threads that are
visible are those to which I have posted, so I never
see any new posts.


Try pressing ctrl H. Not quite sure of the correct wording, but it does something like switching off \"only show replies to my messages\" Also goto the View menu and select \"show all messages\" (I think. Don\'t have OE in front of me at the moment.)
any Outlook express experts out there ? - borasport20
Dave - have a pint on me !

i've toggled 'show all messages' on and of several times and it didn't make any difference, but crtl H does it


in the view drop down box, CtrlH is described as 'show replies to my messages' - it would be a lot more useful if it said 'ONLY show replies to my messages', which is what it does

just 'cos I know what I'm saying doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about

Laptop Graphics - CM
I\'ve got a lap top and if I want to run some CD-Roms with decent graphics I come a cropper. Apparently I need a 3d Card that is an ATI Radeon 8500 or higher. I am not sure if I can download something like this or not.

Any help would be appreciated
Laptop Graphics - smokie
This is the video hardware rather than something you can download. Usually (always?) on a laptop the video card is built into the motherboard and cannot be changed.

I\'m afraid you\'ll need a new(er) system.
Laptop Graphics - Altea Ego
yup sorry CM that is the laptops one weakness - the video subsystem. This is only now being rectified by the later versions of laptop with decent graphics subsytems, but they still lag behid the top notch blow your eyes out graphics cards for pc. No upgrade for laptops is possible.
Internet Explorer Problem. - hootie
I need some help for an irritating problem please, if anyone knows what\'s wrong...

I have Windows XP and Internet Explorer on my comp - which is a year old. The comp is a private one at home.

When surfing the net I encounter an intermittent problem that one or more of the open windows will just suddenly and radomly disappear - which is very annoying when it\'s an msn site that you have to sign into. It can happen with any site though, not just a certain few.

I used to have a direct link to a private msn club message board that I belong to (would open directly from \'favourites\' without the passport sign in) but now, I can only get in there by going to msn.com, signing in, and going from there. If I try to open up msn.co.uk the page just closes down before it loads properly.

I\'ve asked around but no one\'s been able to tell me what to do, so I\'d really appreciate any advice (in dead simple terms please)

Oh and I have updated and run scans for viruses.

Thanks.

Printworks - From Volume 7 - Dynamic Dave
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=20891&...e

Nitroburner was asking about refill kits for his Epson C62 printer and I mentioned that his printer cartridges have a chip in them. Well I saw in PC World today a JR Inkjet \"Zap-It\" tool to reset these chips, so that you can refill and re-use the same cartridges again.

Price £9.99.

My new 64mb pen drive wont work - alan kearn
Yesterday i bought a Adtec Flash 64mb pen drive from the nation wide group "The Computer Shop" . It looks as if i have successfully downloaded and installed the driver and the program manager from the Adtec site and there is a program manager button in my start / programs list. When i click this button a pop up box tells me to plug in the device, when i do so nothing happens .I have also tried right clicking my mouse but is no prompt in the pop up box Does anybody know where i have gone wrong please, or has anyone had the same problem. Maybe i will have to throw the £9.99 piece of plastic in the recycle bin

O/S 98se

Thanks
Alan

Forgot to say i restarted my computer after i installed the programs and before i tried to use the pen drive.

My new 64mb pen drive wont work - smokie
I guess this is USB. Recently had woes installing a similar device, an MP3 player, on daughter's Win98SE.

However, when you plug the device in you will usually see something happen, if it's working right. Either the New Hardware Device Found wizard will start up or, if the drivers are properly installed, either an application or simply an Explorer window (or prompt) for the device. If you aren't seeing this, then it is probably the hardware or connection that is at fault. On my daughter's, I was using a USB extension cable, and removing that seemed to fix it (i.e. plug the device straight into the port).

Do you know if the USB port is working OK? If so, and if you can, try the device on another computer before taking it back.

btw there are version numbers associated with USB. I think we are now on v 2.0. But previously there was 1.1. So if the device requires v 2.0 and your computer is only 1.1 then that might be a problem...someone else will know more about this than I.

And this has reminded me of my mate who bought two USB MP3 players, one was bust. Seems like these devices might be a little unreliable?
My new 64mb pen drive wont work - Citroënian {P}
Good Lord! The level of support here has taken a leap of late! Some really knowledgeable people around. Wish I was one of them... Anyhow.

98SE should support USB happily. I've ran 128/256/512 keys from different manufacturers happily on 98.

v2.0 is backwardly compatible with 1.0/1.1 so should work fine too. Good advice about plugging another USB device into your PC to see if it's working - would be worth plugging the key into a 2000/XP machine as they should (I would imagine) detect the key OK. So you can determine if it's working or not.

You can get right into this and start swapping USB controller drivers, but (ducks) have you tried re-booting with the key in and with the key out. Sometimes works.

Finally, (ducks again), the key will need to connect directly to a USB port on the PC - using an adapter like the USB to PS2 for a mouse won't work.

Good Luck,
Lee

--
Lee
MINI adventure in progress
My new 64mb pen drive wont work - rustbucket
Yesterday i bought a Adtec Flash 64mb pen drive....


Did you follow the installation instructions to the letter, it is important to only plug the usb device in when it says so during the driver instalation.You may have to uninstall and start again.

rustbucket (the original)
My new 64mb pen drive wont work - Welliesorter
Is this the first time you've tried to use a USB device on this PC? Windows 98 (obviously) dates from 1998. It was the first version of Windows to support USB properly. Although USB ports started to appear on PCs sold a year or two before that, devices that could use them didn't become available in any numbers until several years later.

Some time ago I was asked to help a colleague sort out some problems with a PC that was supplied with Windows 98. When fiddling with this I noticed that USB was disabled in the BIOS. This didn't matter to her because she had no USB devices. I can only assume the suppliers of the PC decided it wasn't worth the hassle of setting up USB support as you couldn't then buy any equipment that needed it.

Have a look in Windows Device Manager. The easiest way to access it is to right click My Computer and select Properties from the menu that pops up. See if you can find something like 'USB controller' listed. If not, go into the BIOS (done by pressing Del or some other key before the PC boots) and take a look there to see if USB has been disabled. I can't be any more specific than that as the exact method will depend on the make of BIOS and motherboard or PC.
My new 64mb pen drive wont work - alan kearn
Thanks to all for the response to my post. The problem is solved Both the driver and program were installed ok. It looks as though i bought a faulty pen drive because a friend bought two at the same time as me and i tried these in my computer usb port, both were ok so i will get the faulty one exchanged tomorrow. Computer technology never ceases to amaze me how the hell you get 64mb of storage in a piece of plastic 6cm x 1.5 cm, well it just baffles me. Is it any wonder that floppy disks are going out of fashion

Alan
My new 64mb pen drive wont work - rustbucket
never ceases to amaze me how the hell you get
64mb of storage in a piece of plastic


you marvel at 64 mb, the latest pens that size are now 1gb

rustbucket (the original)
My new 64mb pen drive wont work - alan kearn
Shows, how out of touch i am

Alan