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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 17/04/2008 at 11:43
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Thanks for the advice in Vol 150. I had forgotten about Scandisc but it will not scan an unformatted disc so I am in a chicken and the egg situation. I shall buy a new one and bin the problem one. Matter closed!
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I have a Virgin Media Broadband connection.
I have recently got a laptop from work and my son is getting a pc as well.
I need to hook them all up to the broadband and understand I need a router but which one do I buy? I dont want wireless as I had one before and it was a nightmare to set up and the connection kept dropping out.
All responses gratefully received!
{subject line changed, as per the 'please note' message at the top of this thread}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/04/2008 at 11:23
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Stuartl
I have had Virgin Media for 4 years and can heartily recommend my Netgear Router.
I have the WGR614 (which is a wireless one, but has a 4-port switch on the back) Works flawlessly (I'm touching wood as I speak)
I used wireless up until recently when about 9 other networks sprung up and I ran into major problems with reliability/consistency. As I VPN into my workplace 3 days a week, this was a major issue, but it's not the routers fault.
They still make the WGR614 but you could buy the RP614 which is the same without wireless.
I'm also using a combination of Netgear and Solwise Homeplug adaptors from my router to my Garage and upstairs rooms rather than wireless now
Hope this helps
Charles
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/04/2008 at 11:23
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My Belkin offers wireless and 4 wired connectors - having both offers flexibility - also had a fairly painless setup wizard
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/04/2008 at 11:23
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I also use a Belkin with Virgin Media (IIRC they recommend this or Netgear)- wireless or up to four hardwired machines. Similarly no major issues in setting it up.
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I've used Virgin Media broadband for around 7 years (took it out when NTL!) and have used both a Linksys wired only router and more recently a Linksys wireless one (with 4 port switch). It just works.
If you have a separate cable modem (and not via STB) then it's pretty straight forward.
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Thanks for all the replies on this, much appreciated!!
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Stuart,
You could utilise your mains electricity system as a network. Develo are not cheap but are the first thing for the computer that I ever got that just worked straight out of the box... (though you can secure your network if required).
www.devolo.co.uk/uk_EN/index.html
Regards,
John R @ Work :¬)
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Thanks, Welshlad.
I tried as you suggested but couldn't find a 'size' option on the print preview. Anything else I should be trying?
P.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 07/04/2008 at 11:24
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>>but couldn't find a 'size' option on the print preview.>>
Try from View>Text sizes>altering the size of the text (Medium is the usual Default setting for Internet Explorer); the same steps in Outlook Express will enlarge e-mail message printouts.
Edited by Stuartli on 11/04/2008 at 13:39
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I would like to download a free version of Adobe/Acrobat Reader, if available.
Any recommendations, please?
Clk Sec
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CLK
yes - don't! Go for Foxit reader instead. All of the functionality, none of the bloat. And from what I recall of the last acrobat install, easier to install too.
I may have picked that tip up from Stuartli - giving credit where iot's due.
www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php
JH
Edited by JH on 07/04/2008 at 19:46
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Foxit seconded, much lighter install.
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Seconded for Foxit Reader - it's very quick to load up too.
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You mind reader, M. Chevron!
Also to create .pdf from text docs look here :- tinyurl.com/yo34db
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Brilliant - you have solved (at a stroke) a problem I was having with my Vista Laptop - it wouldn't load Acrobat, kept giving an error message. This Fox thing works seamlessly and bolts on to the Firefox browser seamlessly. Thank You ! This is what this site does best !!!!!!!!!!!!
Edited by Pugugly on 07/04/2008 at 21:02
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"I would like to download a free version of Adobe/Acrobat Reader, if available"
The Foxit suggestion might work but Acrobat Reader has always been free from Adobe. Am I missing something? Why ask about a free Acrobat Reader when it is free anyway (albeit a little bloated).
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I use Foxit in preference to Adobe primarily because it supports all sorts of far eastern fonts that Acrobat doesn't, even after I've downloaded the latest version of Acrobat reader and the extra plug-ins for far eastern character support.And it boots faster.
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You can also add your own text with Foxit.
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Thanks JH and all for the advice.
I was having the same problem as PU, but have now downloaded Foxit which works extremely well. So simple and very quick.
Ten out of ten!
Clk Sec
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Just tried the Linux 'preview' Linux version on a ~1800 page tech spec I read for work, and it works fine apart from not having search or print functionality. So I'll be sticking with Adobe for the present, but are these functions present in the Windows version and hence perhaps destined for the full Linux version?
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Foxit reader does not let one copy & paste content into another application. This can be limiting if you are researching facts etc. and your source is in .pdf and you wish to extract part of the material.
I have found an even better .pdf reader which, from the "Tools" button allows a copy function among others.
It is PDF-Xchange viewer from Tracker Software. The free version may be found
here:- tinyurl.com/e2qj9
It has a splash screen, but that can be disabled in preferences, if you, like me, hate all product splash screens!
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" Foxit reader does not let one copy & paste content into another application."
Mine does. Use the camera icon to highlight the area of interest and it is automatically copied to the clipboard.
Foxit does everything Adobe Reader does and more. Some of the editing features require the paid version, but that is also true of Acrobat, which is vastly more expensive (and horribly slow - I've used it).
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Foxit does everything Adobe Reader does and more.
The Linux version doesn't (yet).
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I should have added that the camera icon is for graphics, or 'text as graphics'. Editable text is highlighted with the icon next to it (select text) from where it can be copied onto the clipboard with a right-click.
For those that need to create PDF's, it's worth noting that the facility is built into Open Office.
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Presumably the abvility to copy / paste images and / or text out of a pdf will depend largely on how it has been generated e.g. searchable/ non searcahble, as much as what programme is being used to view it. I had simialr issues trying to edit text in a pdf, I was using the full version of Acrobat 8 - 1 GB download !
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"1 GB download!"
Bloatware or what? A whole Linux distribution, including several suites of application software and even a few games, is less than that!
One of my workplaces uses Nitro PDF for editing, because 5 licences cost only slightly more than one copy of the full Acrobat, and it is just as capable, as well as being far faster. Not surprising, when it occupies less than one thirtieth of the space...
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There's also, of course, the Foxit PDF editor:
www.foxitsoftware.com/
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There are a whole raft of Linux pdf readers that are better and less bloated than Adobe. I use gwenview for quick reading and KOffice, which can edit pdfs now. Shouldn't be too hard to find an alternative.
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For the last 3 weeks i have been trying to access my yahoo emails and whenever i put in my password i get a page come up that says Internt Explorer cannot open the webpage. I have tried opening my second yahoo mailbox (different email address) and that works perfectly - but i cant get into this one. I have looked for answers on the Yahoo help site but cannot seem to get anywhere. If anyone could help me i would be very grateful
Many thanks in advance
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Are you on BT/Yahoo Broadband - I read in either the Telegraph or its rival that BT had had problems affecting some customers who use particular servers.....
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no, i am on virgin - have tried accessing the emails from a variety of computers but still no luck
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no, i am no virgin
Try Firefox instead of IE
www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/02/firefox3_beta5_re.../
Edited by jbif on 09/04/2008 at 19:08
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It's probably better, if you do decide to try Firefox, to avoid the beta of Firefox 3 and stick to the current, recently updated version of Firefox 2 (2.0.0.13):
www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
Betas are intended to be used to eliminate bugs and other problems before final release.
Edited by Stuartli on 09/04/2008 at 19:56
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wow guys the firefox thing worked - thats great - thank you so much for your help
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It might be worth getting them to confirm your login details (to your working address!)
Click on 'Forgot your ID or password?'
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I was sent a Word document by email attachment. I downloaded it, and then printed it off. At the bottom appeared its "address" on my computer, i.e. C:\Documents and Settings\Joe Bloggs\My Documents etc.
How do I print out the document without this "address" at the bottom?
I should add that I use Open Office, not MS Word on my computer. (Thanks to good advice from the Backroom!)
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t,
sounds like it's a footer. In Word it's Click "View", "Header and Footer" and then delete it. Of course with OpenOffice... I'm sure it can't be too different?
JH
Edited by JH on 10/04/2008 at 20:19
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Thanks, JH. That was indeed what I needed.
I had a feeling that the answer was going to be something simple. MS Word isn't exactly my specialist subject.
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The "c" key of my e-machines 550 pc now invariably locks and won't depress if I press it normally. If I press it gently away from me at the same time as pressing it down it's mostly OK.
1) Is there any cure ?
2) If I need to buy a new keyboard, will it work straight away or will I need to configure my pc to accept it? If so, how would I do this?
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If so, how would I do this?>>
Probably a bit of dirt or spilled liquid. You should be able to prise/lift the key off gently and clean the area as much as possible.
However, a new wireless keyboard and optical mouse pack shouldn't cost more than £20 and is easy to set up.
Just install the drivers first (it's most likely to be a USB device) and follow the sequence for allocating the keyboard and mouse channels and you'll be away...:-)
In fact you may well find that both will work OK using the standard Microsoft mouse and keyboard drivers.
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You should be able to prise/lift the key off gently and clean the area as much as possible.
What holds the keys in place?
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>>What holds the keys in place?>>
The key, which will/should have a groove on the underside, is normally held on a spline which moves up and down a short distance - similar to the knobs on a portable radio or a gas cooker (for want of better examples!) which can be pulled on and off for cleaning or dismantling purposes.
You should be able to prise it off with a small screwdriver quite easily.
I wouldn't bother taking the keyboard apart as it can be soul destroying getting some examples back together again in one piece - it also rarely provides any benefit.
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New keyboards are so cheap that it's probably not worth dismantling. If your computer is more than a few years old, you might need one with a PS2 (round) connector, rather than USB, although some come with an adaptor anyway.
This is a good place to start looking...
tinyurl.com/3spffa
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If your computer is more than a few years old you might need one with a PS2 (round) connector
It's about 6 years old, and has a round connector. Thanks for letting me know they'd changed.
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Put it in the top rack of the dishwasher facing keys down and run 'light soiling' cycle*. Let it dry for a week. It will be like new.
*Don't forget to tie up the cable securely so it doesn't get tangled in anything.
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The best keyboards were the original IBM & Compaq keyboards from the late 80's early 90's. Reliable and have a nice touch - they should have - at the time they sold for some £140 each -
Taking inflation into account that is probably the same amount as a complete base PC & screen these days.
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>>Let it dry for a week. It will be like new.>>
But it's 11 days after the beginning of the month.....
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Put it in the top rack of the dishwasher facing keys down and run 'light soiling' cycle*.
I think you're pulling my whatsit!
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>>I think you're pulling my whatsit!>>
Pretty much my point as well...:-)
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It's not the first time I've heard this but I'm not trying it. Would not plug it back into any PC of mine to see the PC get damaged for the sake of a few quid.
A couple of weeks back I got a new keyboard (a Samsung one that is very Apple Mac like)... trouble is it crashes when starting up quite often. Swapped keyboards back and all fine again. So I'm leaving my old keyboard on for now.
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It's not the first time I've heard this but I'm not trying it. Would not plug it back into any PC of mine to see the PC get damaged for the sake of a few quid.
Oh well. This is nicely done, though I never bother to take the thing apart:
coudal.com/keywasher.php
The idea that the PC might get damaged is ridiculous. All sorts of liquids get spilled into keyboards all the time with no serious consequences. I doubt there is an office block in the country where there isn't at least one drying out somewhere.
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I've done it twice with no ill effects--essential on my Fancy Dan Apple usb keyboard, which is lovely to use, no longer available, and transparent, so you can see the filth. Also works with seven pin plugs for trailers and caravans, aluminium bicycle components, and assorted ironmongery.
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When I've psyched myself up sufficiently I might have a go at cleaning it as per this tinyurl.com/6sw4s I've got some ethanol.
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At the weekend I treated myself to a compact-design Microsoft 500 keyboard (with the required PS/2 plug) ~ £ 9.99 from PC World. It was "plug and play" and has loads of hot keys which my original didn't. I could have bought a "budget level" Trust brand keyboard for £4.49 (!) but decided that £9.99 wouldn't break the bank.
Problem solved.
Thanks for all the advice ~ except possibly for the dubious suggestion that I put the wonky keyboard in the dishwasher. I think the bin is a more appropriate place to put it now!
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Well, now you have a replacement keyboard you can experiment on your duff one by putting it in the dishwasher. You know, for the benefit of the HJ collective...
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Well now you have a replacement keyboard you can experiment on your duff one by putting it in the dishwasher.
With or without a Finish Powerball?
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I removed the wonky key. There was no dirt. It felt as if the return spring inside the keyboard was broken. I've binned it.
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I've been asked to recommend an MP3 player for someone who doesn't have a computer. I'm reasonably au fait with the players, but have limited experience with ones with audio inputs. The only one I've got that does that has limited recording quality, which I suspect is a function of processing power. Any experience/thoughts appreciated...
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If they do not have a computer then the thing you need to ask is how are they going to get music on it? Do you mean they are going to record their music via a line in from another source? If so that will be lower quality than say ripping CDs or purchasing MP3 tracks and will take forever.
If they're going to use someone else's PC then they are best with one that you can drag and drop MP3/AAC files onto in which case it kind of rules out a nice iPod Touch.
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"nice iPod Touch"
Hmm.. More style than substance, IMHO. They want a radio, too, which rules out all iPods, I think.
You've confirmed my suspicions about line-in facilities, though. Looks like I shall end up ripping their CD's after all!
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"nice iPod Touch" Hmm.. More style than substance IMHO.
If they just want an mp3 player then yes, I'd agree with you. But an iPod Touch, with its lovely big touch screen, also does email, calendaring, address book, web browsing, photo storage and viewing, video, TV (using streaming BBC iPlayer), and will soon have officially sanctioned 3rd-party applications. So it's more 'computer in your pocket' than mp3 player. If they just want a basic mp3 player with a radio, tell them to buy a mobile phone.
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"tell them to buy a mobile phone"
That's a fair point. I've only recently got an up-to-date mobile myself (the previous one was perfectly OK, but at 7 years old, the battery was getting a bit tired!) and the music player and radio are really nice to have built-in. One less thing to have to remember to charge up, too!
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Occasionally "new", in red, appears besides forum messages - for obvious reasons.
But not usually - why?
Edited by Glaikit Wee Scunner {P} on 11/04/2008 at 17:48
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Depends how many computers you're using, I think...
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Doesn't always work if you are not logged in.
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or your session cookie has been cleaned (deleted).
JH
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Maybe interested in one of these mobile broadband dongle deals. Have noted a recent article suggesting that the prices may come down over the ensuing months but interested in what I can download for 1GB and if the 3GB allowance will be too little.
Our home allowance is 8GB which we regularly exceed (I blame the kids) but would be interesting to know how much say a 1 hour BBC programme on the iplayer would use up. Or how much an hour of browsing would consume.
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If the size of a typical video on the streaming version of iPlayer is similar to the versions you download before watching then some of the BBC iPlayer files I downloaded a while back vary between 250Mb to around 500Mb for an hour's programme.
I suspect the quality and therefore file size for the downloaded (DRM enabled) files is larger though.
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If the programme can be downloaded iplayer tells you how many Mb the full programme is. An programme of an hour is about 600Mb.
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I've recently bought a Vodafone dongle, works great where there's a 3G signal, but where there's not it reverts to 2G, a bit like a quickish dial-up.
So first thing is to check 3G coverage for whichever provider you're thinking of.
Vodafone is far from universal.
I think the service is aimed at surfing/emailing and the occasional listen to the radio on a laptop in a hotel room.
Not suitable for downloading movies or other large files.
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Have a look at Watchdog's website regarding the tariffs.
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"Vodafone dongle"
'3' do something similar, but as with Vodafone, it depends where you are. Video needs a lot of bandwidth and a good (landline) connection, something that ISP's are getting jumpy about since the BBC invented its iPlayer...
www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/03/bbc_highfield_isp.../
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 14/04/2008 at 16:25
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Does anyone know of any good freeware or Microsoft XP software that will convert AVI to MPEG? Tried one freeware prog but conversion did not work. Does the latest version of Media player do this ? (I am using media player 11 and it does not seem to support this).
Trying to convert short movies on digital camera so that they will play on DVD player (does not play AVI).
Thanks
S.
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Windows Media Player 11 is the latest version...:-)
SUPER, listed on this page, is one quite well known piece of freeware - others are listed as well:
www.snapfiles.com/Freeware/gmm/fwvideconvert.html
Also:
www.majorgeeks.com/Any_Video_Converter__d5692.html
www.majorgeeks.com/Kates_Video_Convertor_d5681.html
home.cogeco.ca/~avi2vcd/
Various others available.
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If you want to create DVDs to play on a normal DVD player then you'll need to get hold of some DVD creation software. Although the video files are MPEG2 on standard definition DVDs, the video is not stored in simple MPEG2 files but in something called VOBs (which can have multiple audio and subtitle text) and are sort of indexed via the IFO files.
If you have software to author DVDs then you will find these should be able to convert the AVI files you have into the MPEG2 format needed to make DVDs.
I personally have Nero Premium which can do this for me. I also have Adobe Premiere Elements which also can create DVDs including menus etc.
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Am unable to print PDF via both foxit and adobe although I am able to print normal word documents in Windows XP.
Obviously a setting problem somewhere!!!!???
Can anyone help
THANKS
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Sometimes have to set up printer settings in Adobe to your printer - not always automatic.
Other reason maybe that the document's security is set so it cannot print (unlikely for all pdf files). Check printer and security settings in adobe.
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I am running out of disk space on my laptop and am thinking about moving my music to an external hard drive, but what I really want is to get a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive which I can connect to my router and access wirelesley with my laptop.
All I want to do is store music, photos and the odd document from 2 laptops onto it.
Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap NAS solution? I am even toying with the idea of building a low powered PC/server as I would like to keep the NAS / server powered up all the time
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You can get NAS cases for standard 3.5" hard drives from Ebuyer and Maplin, or you could get a separate packaged 2.5" or 3.5" USB drive (Seagate/WD/Iomega etc) and use a Linksys NSLU2 unit, affectionately known as a 'slug' and which is, in effect, a little server. They are currently listed on Amazon for about £60.
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 16/04/2008 at 00:59
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I've been using a Linksys slug for over a year now (it's been running the whole time withonly one break, a few months ago, for electrical work on the house) and they are terrific little machines, running Linux, with all the flexibility that brings. There are several projects to provide improved firmware (Google "unslung firmware") to add much greater functionality (including web server) than the stock system. Extremely good value, easy to set up in stock form, and very reliable.
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I just purchased a Linkstation Live NAS for £135 from Comet (with discount code). Comes with 500 GB HDD space, it is also customisable like the Slug, but without having to load hacked firmware on it, you just use software to enable the Telnet software and then telnet to it and there are guides on what to do if you don't know Linux (I haven't yet had the time to get to grips with Linux
It has 2 USB ports for adding additional storage, and it is a Media Server too. I hacked mine to allow it to connect to my Topfield PVR so I can pull off media files.
You can use the discount code at Comet (10NETDATA) and collect instore !
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Just happened to check the updater on my Vista machine yesterday, guess what every update since February had failed to install. After multiple attempts to do it manually failed it came up with an error code which told me that the "updater had a corrupt file" there was a fix available via the DOS (yes DOS after all these years!) which worked and eventually I was able to successfully update it. What annoys me was there was no automatic warning of these failures. Check your systems.
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and they claimed years ago Internet Explorer was so tightly integrated to Windows it could not be removed... And yet Windows 2008 Core has no Windows or Internet Explorer. Hmm
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The Wow is now, remember?
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Vista updates and DOS -
Yes, keeping my points as simple as possible, there were some combinations of hardware which required a special update to prepare them for the imminent Service Pack 1 update.
Look up Microsoft "Notable Changes in Windows Vista Service Pack 1"
technet.microsoft.com/en-gb/windowsvista/default.a...x
Final SP1, which will be about 65MB for those getting via autoupdates, includes changes to the KERNEL and is due to be pushed out in a phased rollout via autoupdates any day now. The standalone full SP1 version is 450 to 550 MB depending on the version.
If you cannot wait your turn for it to be offered via the autoupdate, you can get it via "windows update" or download the full standalone version.
"Windows Vista SP1 now available through Windows Update
You can now get Windows Vista SP1 in English, French, German, Spanish, and Japanese by visiting Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Center."
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"pushed out in a phased rollout via autoupdates any day now"
Just say no!
www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/16/vista_defender_sp.../
Even by MS standards, disabling your keyboard and mouse is not very bright...
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Just say no!
The story in the Register refers to an alleged problem with "Defender" anti-spyware software. The Register is known to be a MS basher but even there in the last few months the readers' comments below each bashing article have revealed that usually the problem reported by the Register is in keeping with its "Red Top" tabloid image. Articles written by Kelly Fiveash are worthy of note in this regard. Just look back at some from the past two months and the readers' comments correcting his mis-speaking, as Hillary Clinton would call it..
I have followed Vista's progress for the last 2 years from Beta to current SP1 release. By all accounts, it has suffered far fewer problems than would have been expected for a product sold numbering in millions with a plethora of combinations of hardware and software.
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"Vista Upadates"
Have you got the Italian version, PU? Pasta la vista, perhaps.. :-)
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What's the best way to back up personal files? At the moment I back up to CDs. I gather you can get things which plug into your computer but I'm afraid I'm not au fait with such technology.
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>>What's the best way to back up personal files?>>
You need an external hard drive such as these two Seagate models
tinyurl.com/6fetkc and tinyurl.com/5travq
These are Maplins examples but all the online retailers such as Scan, Dabs, Novotech, e-Buyer etc sell them - some may offer them more cheaply or perhaps a bit more.
I have a Seagate One Touch 400GB external drive and backup the entire hard drive at least once a week - as the name suggests, it's just a "one touch" operation once the initial backup has been done, with subsequent backups being incremental.
You do have to ensure, however, that you use Safely Remove Hardware before shutting down a USB external hard drive.
The same question has been answered in early CRQ threads.
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What's the best way to back up personal files?
Are you talking in terms of a few MB or tens of MB or hundreds of MB, GB, or TB.
For an internal slave drive solution , you can now get 1Terabyte SATA hard drives for around £100, 500GB drives for around £50.
www.ebuyer.com/store/Components/cat/Hard-Drives?re...n
Your PC may not be SATA compatible, in which case look up prices for 3.5" IDE drives. It is quite easy to connect up a slave drive; i.m.o. not much harder than changing wiper blades on your car!
External usb connected ones were in the last CRQ vol150.
I use CDs and DVDs to save personal documents in a safe physical location, as well as some online free storage such as MS skydrive.live.com/ and I also regularly make a full "ghost" image of my hard disk on to a slave drive (especially before any changes to the system are applied).
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There are a number of backup solutions, partly depending on whether you want to make a mirror image of your present set-up (to allow a complete restore if necessary) or just to keep your data (documents, photos, music etc) backed up. The simplest storage medium in either case is an external USB drive, widely available as a standalone box, usually with something like 500Gb space, for £70-ish. You can get a bare HD drive for slightly less, and put it in your computer, but the small extra cost of having a portable drive, with which you can back up laptops and other people's stuff is well worth it, IMHO. They are usually very easy to set up and use.
The major players (e.g. Seagate, Western digital, Iomega) will include some backup software, but I use Acronis True Image server to make disc images, and Karen Kenworthy's 'Replicator' (an excellent piece of freeware) to make data backups.
www.karenware.com/powertools/ptreplicator.asp
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but I use Acronis True Image server to make disc images
Note that a Seagate rebadged version of ATI 2007 Home version of that software is available free to anyone from the Seagate website. See my comment previous CRQ vol150.
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Forgot to mention earlier but I plumbed in a Freecom Networked Hard Disc Drive into my home network. This cost £80.00 from PC World - It has 250gb of storage. It connects to the ethernet or USB 2.0 socket on my BT Homehub. and then though the bundled software it took around 20 minutes to get up and running. I can access it via my Laptop or Desktop PCs and merely drag and drop music and photo/video files onto it. It can be switched off when not in use. There is software on it to automatically back up without user intervention, I won't use this until I've sussed it out !
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Running Vista Home Basic (with service pack 1) on an Asus laptop. On start-up I'm getting what appears to be a tab for a webpage on the bottom task bar that says "IR_SERVER". On left-clicking it no web-page opens - right-clicking gives the options "close" or "move". Running AVG and Spybot.
Any ideas what it is? Some updater? Inland Revenue?
Edited by colinh on 17/04/2008 at 09:34
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Any ideas what it is? Some updater? Inland Revenue?
What was formerly Inland Revenue is now HM Revenue and Customs, aka HMRC.
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:-) The Inland Revenue is spying on you.
Seriously, I don't know, but could it be malware?
Did it appear immediately after SP1? If so, contact MS. You qualify for free support for all Update related issues.
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Infra-red port? (much nicer than ruby!)
Most laptops have an infra-red communication facility and I suspect that Vista is trying to make sense of it, so not too sinister.
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