******** This thread now closed. Please see Volume 66 ********
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=34824
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 65. 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
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.
|
Computer related question coming up as well as it possibly being a IHAQ candidate.
Anyway, my DVD recorder that's connected to the TV won't accept any DVD+RW's that have previously been used in my computer. What I mean by that is that the DVD recorder says that no disc is inserted and subsequently won't record a TV programme. If however, I insert a movie recorded onto the DVD+RW then it plays it with no problems.
Blank DVD+RW's that have never been put into my PC's DVD drive continue to work fine in the DVD recorder, as do discs that have had recordings put on them by the TV recorder, and later played on the PC.
I *think* it's a formatting problem, where my PC might format or erase a DVD+RW differently to how my Tevion DVD recorder formats and erases.
Any ideas?
|
Well you have ruled out the common problem of real dvd players not liking some media.
What software do you use on the PC to create disks ? How do you do it ?
My dvd plyer (its a toshiba) will do things like show directory listings, auto slideshow a disk full of jpegs, etc. Does yours do anything like that ? Does it work with CD's (either vcd or audio or files) >?
|
Using Nero on the PC.
The DVD recorder doesn't have any issues playing either pre-recorded DVD's, or DVD's that I've created from the PC. The DVD recorder also doesn't have any issues playing CD's and the like.
The only issue it has is that if I put a blank DVD+RW in my PC beforehand, or erase a DVD+RW in my PC that had a TV programme on it that I recorded on the DVD recorder, then I subsequently cannot use that DVD+RW in the DVD recorder to record TV programmes on again.
|
OK,
I think your problem is the packet writing stuff - InCD? is it called on nero ?
sounds like it is as you thought automatically formatting.
what windows version are you on ? are you running the packet writer? Does it make a difference ifyou hold the shift key when inserting a blank dvd ?
|
Yes, it's InCD.
Running WinXp home edition, and the InCd software.
Haven't tried holding down the shift key whilst putting in the DVD+RW, but I've tried using Nero to erase it; which says it has done and would need re-formatting before using again. Tried re-formatting it in the DVD Recorder, but it still says No disc is inserted.
I'll try the shift key tonight though and report back.
|
I'll try the shift key tonight though and report back.
Nope, still got a redundant DVD+RW that no longer works in the DVD recorder, but works fine in the PC.
|
|
|
|
DD
You will *never* get domestic DVD players or DVD recorders to reliably use DVD RW after they have been in a PC. Sometimes they wont work in another PC either.
Its all down to how the PC drive burns the CD and how good the dye is on the CD. Signal strength varies and hence the vital parts of the DVD (ie file tables type thingies) become undreadable by anything other than the drive they were written to.
You may get it to work with trial and error ( ie a brand of DVD, -R or +R)
Does not happen on DVD Rs as they have far greater burn tolerances
|
|
|
|
Hello,
Win98SE PC, trying to run Scandisk from within Windows, Scandisk keeps restarting, after 10 attempts I get an error, something like "Scandisk has reset 10 times due to Windows or another application writing to this drive"
I should say that no other programs are running though Norton AV might be doing something in the background, I have installed NAV 2005 since I last ran Scandisk. Could this be the issue?
Also I have tried the normal holding down Ctrl on restart to access Safe Mode (so I can run Scandisk in Safe Mode) though I just get a Stuck Key error, any ideas re entering Safe Mode, I have never had to do it on this PC.
Regards.
|
>>I should say that no other programs are running>>
Do you have a screensaver or power management set to shut down your HDD or monitor after a certain period of time?
If so, while running Scandisk, occasionally move the mouse slightly to prevent them coming into operation.
Press F8 to go into the section to start in Safe Mode after the intial bootup (you may have to keep pressing F8 briefly until it becomes operative).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
>>occasionally move the mouse slightly>>
Also applies if you are doing a long defrag.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
normal holding down Ctrl on restart to access Safe Mode
>>
to start in safe mode, try restarting the computer and tap the F8 key every few seconds.
also, refer to
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=32...3
|
Isn't that what I've already suggested...:-)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
>>Do you have a screensaver or power management set to shut down your HDD or monitor after a certain period of time?>>
Yes, however it never used to upset Scandisk, the only thing that is new is NAV 2005, I have tried disabling it though I think it still runs in the background. I will try F8 re Safe Mode later and report back.
Regards.
|
|
|
|
The other advice is sound and you may well find that running scandisk once in Safe Mode will mean that it will subsequently run fine.
However, there are a number of things which can cause this effect and one is Spyware or a Virus keeping a file locked or consistently writing itself to another part of the disk each time it is interrogated.
It is worth having a thorough look to ensure that you're clean.
It may actually relate to a piece of spyware or similar that you have already got rid of, and just be the remnants.
It can also be quite innocuous, but just as well to be sure.
|
Hi,
I had considered a Trojan or similar, I have always had up to date virus defs and have performed a full system scan with NAV 2005 and all seems well.
Many thanks.
|
cheddar,
"The other advice is sound " - i believe no-fm2r was refering to my link to the previous crq thread where the possibility of a trojan was mentioned. ( and missed by stuartli ! ).
however, if your system is clean, official ms knowledgebase advce on this specific error message is here:
support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;2...9
|
>>( and missed by stuartli ! ).>>
Most likely reason is that, apart from one occasion which was entirely my own fault, I've not suffered from a virus, Trojan or similar for some very considerable time, so tend not think on those lines...:-)
Benefit of running Avast!, Ad-Aware, Search and Destroy and SpywareBlaster and ensuring that all are updated/upgraded as and when necessary - Avast! updates itself automatically if necessary whilst you are online.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Thanks for the help, very useful info from Stuartli, Dalglish's MS link finally sorted me out, it was NAV causing Scandisk to restart as I suspected.
Best regards.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Does anyone know where FF stores the bookmarks, for some reason mine has lost all of them!!! just wondering if ther is any way to get them back?
|
I think
documents and settings/{username}/application data/mozilla/firefox/profiles/{profile}/bookmarks.html
|
|
|
|
mark99's path looks about right in Windows. For the future try the Bookmark Backup extension, which makes a backup every time FF is closed. Bookmark Synchronizer allows you to keep a copy on an ftp, http, or https server and downloads/uploads a copy whenever FF is opened/closed, which means you have identical bookmarks on every machine you use.
|
Should have added these:
Mac:
/{username}/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/{profile}.default/bookmarks.html
Linux: /home/{username}/.mozilla/firefox/{profile}.default/bookmarks.html
|
|
Thanks guys, It was where you said it was, for some reason it has set me up with a "User" and "Default user", but I copied the files across and normality has been restored ;o) Oh and the "application Data" is a hidden file!!!
|
|
Glad to see someone using Firefox. I have just started to use it and it is much faster and less clunky than IE. I was about to post recommending Firefox when I saw your post.
|
|
|
|
|
Hi- my CD-RW (Liteon) has just stopped working. Previously I uninstalled a couple of games, which (as usual) included saying yes to some .dlls which I was warned might be required by other programs. Since then, the drive LED flashes and the drive letter (D) appears in Windows Explorer, but it never lists any files; there are no 'errors' as such.
Have tried Device Manager- it claims everything is ok, and I have manually checked that all the files listed in the Driver tab are present and don't have new dates on them (they're all Microsoft standard CD driver files, nothing specific- Liteon site has nothing for my drive).
OS is Windows XP Pro.
I can probably create a bootable floppy (includes standard CD drivers) and reinstall Windows, but any less drastic suggestions gratefully received.
Cheers
John
|
The only driver required for your LiteOn drive is the standard Windows CDROM driver which is installed automatically when the drive is installed.
Re the missing .dll files. Go to Start>Run and type in scanreg /restore into the box (note the space after scanreg) and click OK.
You will probably need to have your XP Pro installation disk handy.
An alternative is, of course, System Restore which will have set a Restore point when the software was uninstalled.
You don't need to reinstall XP Pro at all (drastic and unnecessary) - all that would be needed would be a Repair installation which would retain all your hard drive's configuration, programs, applications etc.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
An explanation of System Restore from the Microsoft website:
tinyurl.com/967aq
and scanreg /restore
tinyurl.com/bfqpn
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
PS
Have you tried uninstalling the LiteOn from Device Manager and then rebooting?
XP Pro will Find New Hardware and reinstall the driver.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Sorry, ignore the scanreg /restore advice - thinking of 98SE and my mate's business system...:-(
Use:
sfc /scannow
Same re XP Pro disk etc
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
This is Microsoft's listing of SFC commands: (sfc {space} command (use Run box to start required command)
tinyurl.com/33d7p
More details in Help and Support under SFC from Index.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Thanks Stuarti.
sfc- needs to read Windows CD on CD drive... doh! :-)
System Restore- restored to a 'checkpoint' from Sunday, but didn't help.
Uninstall device- seemed to reinstall ok, but no improvement.
scanreg- no scanreg* in c:\windows (and subdirs) ?
Tried booting from boot floppy, but still couldn't read CD-RW. So I'm going to try replacing drive with a DVD+RW which arrived yesterday and was planning to play with at the weekend...
|
The DVD+RW works! (same bay/cables etc.)
Perhaps the Liteon after 2.5 years trouble free service decided to have a strop, knowing it was about to be replaced.
I'll try putting the Liteon back again in case it was just a loose connection, although I did press everything I could.
|
Nope, Liteon definitely not working. So either it's an amazing coincidence that it should stop working the day after the DVD+RW arrives, or it's something subtle/weird in the driver department. Probably the latter.
I'll keep hold of the Liteon and give it another go next time a have a 'clean' PC. In fact I'm just about to put one together for my stepson to take to Uni...
Cheers
John
|
If nothing you've tried works then the most likely reason is that the laser has gone to its maker or, much less likely, that the bhelt which spins the disk has snapped.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
I did a correction to the scanreg bit...:-)
sfc /scannow
You may have to go into the Registry to alter the Source Path to c:/ so that it will use the copy (I trust you have a copy of i386 on your system!) rather than the disk.
Follow the Registry advice in this link to change the Source Path:
www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
If you do need to do a Repair follow these instructions (saves me typing them all out yet again!):
www.dougknox.com/index.html
In around two years of XP Pro use I've had to do it twice, the first time for something I can't remember now and the second because I installed a new motherboard (XP doesn't always like a new mobo so a Repair points it in the right direction!)
But make sure you choose Repair and NOT Recovery Console.
Also alter the Bios to boot from CDROM (your XP Pro installation disk).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
If you do need to do a Repair follow these instructions (saves me typing them all out yet again!):
Thanks again- I might try that (and sfc) now that I do have a working drive (obviously neither possible with just a non-working drive, as they both rely on reading the Windows CD). Although the fact that the new drive appears to work fine tends to imply it's hardware rather than software.
|
|
|
|
I'm doing a favour for someone which involves creating a PowerPoint showing a couple of embedded QuickTime videos (QT v5). They have sent me the .mov files, and everything works fine except that I cannot get the videos to show full screen automatically.
I've tried running the movies from a batchfile and guessing at command line parameters like 'full' and 'fullscreen' and 'fill'.
I've had no joy and am running out of ideas.
Can anyone help please?
Simon
|
|
|
I have a dell Dimensions 4100 opertaing under Windows ME. It does its job but a couple of points that niggle me because it aint perfect are as follows:
After Msconfig the System Confuration Utlility under the Gen Tab shows three starting selections:
(1) Normal Start Up
(2) Diagnostic Start Up
(3) Selective Start Up - this is the one that box uses.
If I try and change to normal it does not accept. If I try to achieve this under safe Mode it blue screen faults me.
Is this normal and what do I do to get it to start in (1) mode.
Further.
My Keyboard is corrupt.
Pound sign (UC) shows when typed as a hash mark
Hash mark (LC) shows as
key(LC) works OK.
Speech Marks at 2 (UC) shows @
@ at (UC) shows up as " speech mark.
Language elsewhere is shown as English.
AV, Ad and Spyware does not show any infections.
Any suggestions.
dvd
|
The keyboard configuration is probably showing as a US keybpard and should be altered to show a UK keyboard.
Its in one of the settings in control panel. If you can't find it easily I'll dig out an ME machine and have a look.
What happens if you try with Normal startup ?
|
|
|
dvd:
uk keyboard; as no-fm2r advises,
go to control panel and change keyboard and language settings to uk english. if that fails to find the relevant drivers, this might help find them:
www.computing.net/windowsme/wwwboard/forum/45250.h...l
msconfig & normal start-up;
try ticking all the options found in the start-up tab of msconfig.
these may be of further help :
service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/...9
www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php
aumha.org/win4/a/shutdown.php
|
Thanks Guys. Printed off.
Rain forecast for the morrow so it's a day inside to try and sort out.
dvd
|
Just got the machine back after I put it in Hospital so can update.
Fault one wasn't a fault it was because I ticked certain items in Start Up not to load i.e. used selective start up. When all items shown are ticked it starts up as normal.
Fault two was because certain files in WE had been corrupted or lost. Having WE wiped off and re-installed has corrected that and other minor faults.
dvd
|
|
|
|
|
Evening Gents,
I've looked high and low and can't find one so here I am. I need a new keyboard. Simple enough you might think but it must:
* Have a volume control on it
* Be a laptop style one
I can find one, but not the other. I suppose the very nature of laptop style ones are that they are small so they aren't cluttered with buttons. I need a volume control though - nothing else just a volume control because my sub is hidden in the desk and a real pain to adjust the manual volume as it's at the back but no matter what I do, the volume's completely different.
E.g. Movies may come on dead loud but when I listen to some music it's really quiet. I know it's only a minor thing but it's very useful!
Many thanks anyway,
--
Adam
|
Adam, if you go to Run>Settings>Control Panel>Sound and Audio Devices?first tab you can alter the basic volume setting from low to high.
If you buy a recent wireless keyboard (or wireless keyboard and mouse set) it will almost certainly have a volume and mute facility - it's setup via the drivers and associated configuration panel for Internet, Microsoft programs such as Word, Outlook Express etc.
I think a laptop style keyboard is asking rather a lot as an individual item....:-)
In any case the layout of the keys is normally a real turn off and if I use my mate's lap top I attach my wireless keyboard to it via the USB socket, plus the mouse (again a laptop version is usually a right pain).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Thanks for that Stuart. I know about the volume settings but I'm incredibly lazy so I guess that's why I wanted a wheel. I know I was asking too much though!
The keyboard I have now has a zillion buttons on for everything and I don't use any of them. It's just looking a bit tired now, the keyas are a bit sticky (not gooey sticky) and the mouse is really annoying me too.
Not fussed about wireless or not. I can't read the screen from my bed and I have a separate tray for the keyboard so it isn't like the wires get in the way.
Finally, I do most of the work on Mum's laptop simply because, I'm like lightening on those keys. I can easily type quicker on a laptop than on mine. I tried a mate's new laptop type one the other week and that's what's got me wanting now.
Thanks for your help anyway - I've seen one at PC World so I'll just go for a bog standard slim one with no extra buttons.
Thanks again Stuart,
--
Adam
|
|
|
PS
Wireless keyboard and mouse sets now around £14.99 to £19.99 (Staples has a Belkin at £14.99 and Lidl for £19.99, latter is a rebadged A4Tech set by Silvercrest and is excellent, especially the optical mouse. I'm using one right now).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
* Have a volume control on it
E.g. Movies may come on dead loud but when I listen to some music it's really quiet. I know it's only a minor thing but it's very useful!
Most movie viewer volumes can be controlled by the existing buttons on a keyboard.
Windows Media player for instance,
Funtion key F10, Vol up
Funtion key F9, Vol down
Funtion key F8, Mute.
Nero Showtime,
+ key, Vol up
- key, vol down.
|
Ahh stop being so damn practical Dave. I want a shiny volume wheel!
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
|
Not so much a question as something that's interesting to know -
a colleague mistakenly sent a text to his house not his wife's mobile. But no disaster - the phone rings and a computer voice reads the message out. Tried it on our phone and it works here too, really groovy! We're on BT so not sure about other providers
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
|
We used to get something like that a good few months ago although at the time, we had no idea what it was. It was garbled rubbish anyway.
Turned out, Dad's phone had been pressing it's own buttons when in his pocket and sending to the house number (although how it scrolled down the list to "HOME" so many times I don't know).
Sometimes, I think he was doing it on purpose to make us think we were all going crazy.
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
You may think of this as good news. I dont. (soon to be ex)wife accidentally sent a text to my landline at about 7pm one night. BT thought it was vital I heard the contents of this text at 3am the next morning. I was not very impressed..
|
|
|
Intel, of Pentium fame, offers text to voice telecoms technology:
tinyurl.com/bp4jb
Tiscal use to offer voice e-mails but not sure if it still does.
Other versions of text to phone voice include:
www.email2phone.net/
www.databasesystemscorp.com/psivrttv.htm
www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/ueContent.jsp?scTopic=t...e
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
Hi- 2 PCs running XP Pro, Windows LAN (wired), setup using Internet Connection Sharing. Host can browse web and sees client, and can read/write files on client. However, client can see host (ie. host PC appears in Microsoft Windows Network / Workgroup) but can't see any of host's folders/files- get '\\hostname is not accessible blah blah' if I attempt to explore it.
Windows Help has help on a task 'Grant incoming connection access rights to your computer', and talks about clicking Incoming Connections in Network Connections. But I don't see this- there's a 'Change settings of this connection', but I can't see anything in there along the lines of 'allow access to this PC'.
Not surprisingly I can't browse web on client (via host's connection).
I've shared the host's C drive. Host is FAT32, client is NTFS. Host has LAN card, client has LAN on motherboard.
Please can someone point out where I'm going wrong?
Cheers
John
|
|
Think I'm getting somewhere- ZoneAlarm (host only) was blocking at least some of the access from client to host. I can now ping host from client...
|
Sorry- all ZoneAlarm, problem solved. (That is, ZoneAlarm was doing what it is supposed to do; I just hadn't configured it correctly.)
John
|
|
|
|
For a few days I have had a problem logging-in to HJ. The problem also affected other sites such as EBay where my selections for "compare", say, did not register.
On HJ my email and password were blank and even though they were filled in by me, did not register. I was still unable to
log-in.
Now; for no reason that I can see, everything is working correctly again.
Any ideas what the problem might have been, should it reccur?
Don
|
Any ideas what the problem might have been, should it reccur?
Did you set the security settings to a different level ?
|
Did you set the security settings to a different level ?
No. I did fiddle with various settings AFTER the problem ocurred.
|
|
|
|
Great drbe, I'm glad you're sorted.
I just re read your post and understood it better the second time, hence the slightly odd e mail I sent you;)
Hugo
|
|
Lost cookies I suspect. Why they came back is inexplicable to me, if you weren't fiddling! :-)
|
|
|
|
|
Hi- has anyone managed to use their Canon A75 digital camera as a webcam with MSN Messenger? Can't see anything in the manual, but I would have thought it's possible.
Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers
John
|
Judging by this link apparently not:
tinyurl.com/ap44r
However, you can buy a webcam (which is all that you require) from around £15-20 upwards, such as the D-link NetEasy Pro 350 from www.scan.co.uk. See:
www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=6&Categ...s
It's the one I use and it's got exactly the same specification and performance as a previously owned Creative VideoBlaster Webcam costing three times as much.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
|
|
Hi all,
Right - I've studied my books and had a look but I'm at a loss.
But of a problem with some tables in Access. THe thing is, I'm almost sure I overcame this problem before the exams but I can't for the life of me remember how.
I'm building a database and have two tables - a job table, and a stock table.
Let's say the stock table has the data in it saying something like 100 5mm screws are in stock.
In the job table, you put in each job and all the materials it requires. Let's say a particular job requires 10 5mm screws.
I need it so that the stock table then shows 90 5mm screws.
I'm quite embarrassed because I'm pretty sure it's an easy problem to overcome. I can't shake this nagging thought though that last time I only got it working by running a query or once I'd done the forms for each table.
Any light you can shed on this would be much appreciated and I'm sure I'd owe the person who helps a pint or two.
Cheers,
--
Adam
|
Urm... how are the materials required listed in the job table? Is it possible that a job needs more than one type of material and if so how do you record that?
Access can be a pain for doing anything other than really basic queries. If you're familiar with VBA you can make things much more powerful though.
|
I had thought about the possibility of leisting more than one material and knew I'd encounter a problem but I'll omce up with something once I know how to update the stock table!
VBA, SQL - P'ah.
I hate Access.
--
Adam
|
OK - using the table structure:
tblJob -
Job_Name : Text
Item_Name : Text
Qry_Required : Number
tblStock -
Item_Name : Text
Stock_Level : Number
(so you can have several items to a job if you want - chances are your tables will be a bit more complicated and have numeric IDs and that but I couldn't be bothered)
The query below will remove the relevant numbers of each stock item if you give it a known Job_Name in ParamJobName
UPDATE tblStock, tblJob
SET tblStock.Stock_Level = tblStock.Stock_Level - tblJob.Qty_Required
WHERE tblJob.Item_Name = tblStock.Item_Name
AND tblJob.Job_Name = ParamJobName
However - for a solution that's a bit more scaleable forget Access forms, queries, macros and all that - do it in VB instead and just use Access as your data store. Better still, use SQL Server or Oracle.
|
Jon,
you are a star. I'll give that a whirl later when I can find all my papers!!
Cheers,
--
Adam
|
|
|
|
I realised that I had deleted Word from the program list, so I decided to use the system restore option to restore setting to last week.
It all seemed to work okay (I've used system restore before) but when it rebooted it went past the black XP screen, on to the screen - dark blue band top and bottom of screen, lighter blue in the middle with the XP logo, but has not booted up any further.
I've tried to restart in safe mode and last known working config but with the same result. Any other suggestions please?
|
It seems you are not alone...:-(
www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/31874/?o=220
All I can suggest is a Repair of XP as suggested earlier in this thread re CW drives. Again the method is outlined here to save typing it out again (set Bios to boot from CDROM and have your XP installation disk in the drive before exiting and saving Bios change):
www.dougknox.com/index.html
It has the main benefit of retaining all your programs, applications, configuration etc on your hard drive.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
PS
You may also have to reinstall SP2 and any subsequent SP3 updates (check from My Computer>Properties>General tab if SP2 is still on your system after the Repair if you go ahead).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
|
Hi, Pezzer jr is becoming a bit dischuffed because some of his older games will not run in XP, even more since SP2.
I currently have a partitioned Master drive with XP and Xandros 3 running (Lilo bootloader) and as this drive is a bit short on space I wondered if it would possible to load yet another OS 98 or ME on the Slave drive purely so that he can run these games.
However I'm not sure if you can boot from a slave drive even assuming I can update the bootloader.
Thanks in advance
P
|
No fraid not - your boot manager can only boot drives on the same physical drive. and You can only have one boot mangler.
suggestions
dump it all and just have a linux.
Oh damn, Linux cant run games properly either despite all the blurb of emulators.
Lets try again.
1/ A disk caddy. Have a few disks about loaded how you want them, just slap them in and boot. well a double boot so the bios can sort itself out.
2/ A LARGE hard drive, partioned with multiple OS's. I have seen a boot mangler control up to 6 OS's
|
|
|
My desktop PC says RF is wrong. I have two drives and three OSs installed. XP and Ubuntu on the Master and SuSE9.3 on the Slave. They all appear in Lilo at boot time. It could be that the bootmangler will have trouble with two instances of Windows, but it can boot two drives and multiple OSs, no question.
Install W98 on the slave drive then when you're finished reboot with the Xandros install disk in the CD drive. When the Xandros install splash screen appears it gives you a repair option (hit F1 I think). This will attempt to repair the bootloader on the Master drive and *should* find W98 (no guarantees). If that doesn't work, then reinstalling Xandros last of all is another option, but that's a bit drastic unless you have /home/ on a separate partition. Finally, if Xandros doesn't pick up W98 even then you can edit Lilo (it's just a text file) and manually put W98 in the list. Google and the Xandros forums will tell you how.
Disclaimer: I haven't tried this with multiple versions of Windows and Windows is a bit brutal in taking over the boot record for itself, but the worst that can happen is that you end up back where you started.
|
My desktop PC says RF is wrong.
I stand corrected then, boot mangling has moved on since my days
|
Not sure if it still applies but there used to be a recommended order for installing things, I usually do windows first because its the one that gets all huffy with the boot sectors.
windows95/98 (xp?) -> Win NT/2000 -> SCO -> linux
If your only a windows user there used to be an excellent boot mangler written as freeware by a French bod, let you integrate all sorts into the standard win nt/2k boot.ini, (cant remember what it was called though) but it would let you boot linux/sco etc from boot.ini
|
|
Can't you just select which disk to boot from in the BIOS screen? I can :-)
|
|
|
you normally have to load the mangler after any windows nt4/server/2k or xp. If it finds a mangler it always tries to remove it (and any others it finds on any other disks it can see)
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks Guys, methinks that where there's a will there's a way. Smokie - dont fancy letting junior fiddle with the BIOS eachtime he wants to shootemup or play hydro-thunder (speedboat racer) ...:-)
P
|
|
|
|
I have had my computer home network running perfectly happily for some time. (mixed netgear 834 wirless and ethernet). Shared printing to a HP 930c (using the hp corporate driver) which overcame all the printing problems that I had on initial set up.
Server running XP prof SP2 upto date (and my main machine with 930c USB on it)
1 machine running XP prof
1 old Sony laptop running 98SE, - no printing problems but have to use a 'local' HP MS embedded driver for an 870 as I can not make anything else work!)
I have just added a new laptop running W 2000 (I have no choice on this as it is wife machine 'supported' by another organisation).
The new W2000 machine (user id) is in the Workgroup so it can file share , transfer and allow access the internet without any problems BUT IT WILL NOT allow me to connect to the network printer. It can see the printer, but when attempting to set it up it just hangs. Requiring a hard reset.
5 hrs on and I am brain dead. Any bright ideas please.
I am happy to deal off line by tel if anybody can suggest anything, mail me via my profile, and I will ring back or give you my number.
please.....
--
pmh (was peter)
|
How and to what is is the printer connected?
|
Ignore that - just seen its connected to the main machine via USB
So I assume (1) the printer has appeared on the win2k machine as a shared printer yes? (2) when you try and print to it the win2k machine locks up yes?
1, indicates the connectivity is ok
2, indicates the printer driver is not ok on win2k
|
Sorry if it was not clear... (brain dead)
It locks up when ( I presume) attempting to install the printer driver. ie When going thro the 'add a printer' sequence. This is presumably before it even tries to print ie use the print driver.
With 98 SE you can cheat it by installing a 'local driver' from the local machine, but it appears on 2000 that it attempts to automatically get the driver automaticallythe from the server?
is there any way in which you can cheat 2000 (or NT) for installing the local print driver?
HP web site is not a lot of help, because officially they do not support the 930 for shared use, altho they have produced the corporate driver to overcome some of the problems! (This version is a cut down driver without bells and whistle like monitoring ink level etc).
--
pmh (was peter)
|
Peter, forgive me if you've already done this (and I suspect you have) but what about if you put the printer address in manually;
\\Peter\HP930 for example.
Sadly, I've never had to install a network one on 2000 simply because mine was the only machine that ran it but that's how I do it with XP.
--
Adam
|
|
|
you could try putting the printer on the w2k machine and load the cut down w2k driver from the HP site. Its probably tryin to load the winxp driver
I notice the win2k and winxp drivers have different dates.
then put the printer back on the proper machine and try and print over network
|
Adski thks for suggestion have tried that previously!
RF I had discovered that there are lot of different versions of the driver and had previously tried that.
It did prompt me however to try installing drivers for an old DJ printer on the server and this then gave similar problem, the driver seemed to install (took 5mins!) but if you actually try to print, some other timer times out.Similarly you cannot use print preview from a standard MS application, as it locks up the machine. (This does not happen if you install a local printer with local drivers)
Similarly to remove the shared printer driver from the 2k machine takes 3-5 mins! but is ultimately sucessful.
It looks as tho altho the networking is working for file sharing etc, but when the w2k machine tries to network any printer there is a problem! There appear to be long delays 3+ mins? in accessing the remote printer at all times.
So it looks like an underying networking /printing conflict. And everybody 2k is the MOST stable OS.
Any overnight thoughts pse
--
pmh (was peter)
|
I have an old HP OfficeJet 1190C which I share on my home network. None of the of the 1190c drivers would work on the remote Win98 systems, but I had a tip to configure it as a 550c on those machines, and that seemed to work fine.
Having said that, it isn't USB and there is no Win2k anywhere (mix of 98 and XP) but it might be worth a try.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Calling TYRO, re your post of 29 Jan 05 " Toshiba laptop shuts down " I have a Satellite Pro which is now exhibiting the exact same problem. Could you please advise if you found the problem with yours and what was it?
Thank you, Pete.
|
Petel
No, I never found what the problem was. It seems to be one of these intermitent faults. It has not happened for months, but no doubt will do it again next week.
As a result, however, I don't tend to do important work on that laptop.
Let me know if you discover more than I did!
|
Hello Tyro, thanks for responding. Will post if I find the problem, can't believe this has not been seen before.
Rgds, petel
|
|
|
|
I apologise if this has been covered before. My kids unearthed some old Win 95 games from the darkest recesses of my computer desk (remember Frogger), and surprise XP wont play ball, even when the compatibility setting are tweaked.
My cunning plan is to partition 50/50 a slave 80Gb drive, load Win 98 on one half, and then Ghost my current XP onto the other half (my Master only uses 12Gb of its 80Gb capacity). I will then reverse my Primary and Slave drives, giving me a dual boot system, and load the old games onto the Win 98 partition.
My enthusiasm is high but computer confidence is low, so my questions are:
1. Am I nuts? Or is this really going to be as simple as it sounds.
2. How do I partition the drive 50/50, with one partition in FAT32 and the other NTFS?
3. Will the system allow me to select which partition I boot from on startup?
4. I currently use the 80Gb Slave drive purely as a clone for backing up my 80Gb Master. Is swapping drives, and a 2nd operating system likely to cause problems with my registered copy of XP ( it was pre-loaded)
5. This must be a common problem - does anyone have any better solutions, (excluding scrapping XP – it has worked well so far..)
Any help appreciated.
|
does anyone have any better solutions, (excluding scrapping XP
When I had a similar problem, I got a cheap old computer (a laptop) on ebay which had Windows98 installed. That has worked fine. It means I have one extra computer in the house, but it doesn't take up too much room.
|
|
|
Dual boot is probably your best way forward, No need for a boot manager as its just two versions of windows
www.winxpfix.com/page5.htm
|
|
Thanks for the great link.
|
|
|
|
|
