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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 02/01/2009 at 23:49
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Sorry if this sounds very basic but I am that sort of chap!
There has been a recent thread regarding wi-fi connections but I don't think that my query was relevent to it so I am starting a new one.
I have a Dell desktop system running Windows XP Home with Service Pack 3 installed. My wife has a Toshiba laptop also with XP Home/Service Pack 3. They were set up on a network by a local PC doctor - router wired to my desktop and laptop connected wirelessly.
My query is, if I were to buy an additional laptop for myself how much expertise would be needed to add it to the network?
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None over and above clicking the Network wizard. Should auto detect, may need a password if you PC chap set one up (which he should have)
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Pugugly is right - none. As long as you know the password used for the WiFi security. If you get stuck just ask questions on here.
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Many thanks to both of you.
That was what I was hoping to hear.
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Scouse,
As well as adding the laptop to the router to gain access to the internet, do you also want the ability to print to the printer attached to the desktop?
If so, Click Start and then "My Network Places" (or My Computer, My Network Places),
Then, "setup a home or small office network.
Click through the nexts, inserting the correct workgroup name when you get there.
Click finish, then restart the laptop. If doc's are also shared from the PC you can now view them too.
slight typo corrected for you - let me know if I was wrong !
Edited by Pugugly on 01/01/2009 at 19:57
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ND
Yes, if I bite the bullet and go for a laptop I will want to, at least, have the option of using my printer with it so your advice is apposite and much appreciated.
I will decide whilst the current rash of 'New Year Sales' exist (probably until late summer!).
If I need more help I know where to look.
Cheers
SF
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.. I will decide whilst the current rash of 'New Year Sales' exist (probably until late summer!).
In which case it is likely that your new laptop/PC will have Vista as the standard OS.
The network config setting will be different to XP, and have given some people a little bit of bother finding their way around the new OS, but nothing that is insurmountable. Again, as rtj said, post on here if you have problems once you get your new machine.
Edited by jbif on 01/01/2009 at 21:03
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In defence of Vista - it was simplicity itself to link my Vista Laptop to my network, three or four clicks and the password.
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In defence of Vista - it was simplicity itself to link my Vista Laptop to my network
Ditto.
It is taking a long time, but the initial bad press that Vista got is gradually being proved to have been massively overhyped. Most of the initial teething problems due to legacy hardware/software issues were solved by the time SP1 was released. There are still many people around happy to bash Vista without ever having tried it for themselves. I have found no problems with Vista so far, and other people who have encountered difficulties have found that the problems are solved easily. IMO, Vista is a lot more secure and stable than XP was/is.
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Ok, I've got Movie Maker to create a big AVI file ready for burning to DVD, as suggested by
tinyurl.com/qwm5e
It goes on to say that you use your DVD burning program to take the AVI file and burn the DVD. But my cut-down Nero Express won't accept AVI files for making DVD video discs. Can anyone suggest a free alternative that does?
F
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I'm trying the recordable CD option first - only another 60 minutes to go...
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DVDs have VOB files which are MPEG2 based. So your DVD creation software needs to convert the AVI file into MPEG2/VOB files. This is the part that can takes ages to do because of the transcoding time.
When you create a DVD you'll probably want to mark out chapters etc. too.
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Because of the memory required to create the files prior to writing to DVD I would suggest that you turn off ant other programs that are running. That means your Anti Virus, internet connection, spyware etc. infact anything that uses memory.
Remember however to turn them back on after you have burnt the DVDs
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How do you shut off Ethernet connection without disabling hardware.
In actual fact, creating an MPEG file or DVD VOBs is mostly CPU bound due to the transcoding of the AVI file to MPEG2 format.
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Oh and camcorder DV tapes are not DAT ;-)
Edited by rtj70 on 02/01/2009 at 11:39
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Oh and camcorder DV tapes are not DAT ;-)
Doh!
Edited by rtj70 on 02/01/2009 at 11:39
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I typed DVD tapes by mistake - so that was the edit.
How's the making of a DVD coming along. I thought of an alternative to creating a proper DVD though. If you have a DVD player that plays DIVX files you could transcode from AVI to DIVX.
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I typed DVD tapes by mistake - so that was the edit.
Having erroneously banged on about DATs for so long I didn't think I was in a position to mention that :-)
How's the making of a DVD coming along. I thought of an alternative to creating a proper DVD though. If you have a DVD player that plays DIVX files you could transcode from AVI to DIVX.
After spending over an hour creating the CD, I put it in the DVD player only to find that the DVD player didn't support the format. Further investigation revealed that Movie Maker generates Highmat by default, which is a Microsoft format. I guess this perhaps isn't (yet) as popular is something like VCD which is what I assumed would be created.
Back to work today - might have another go tomorrow. I'd like to see if Movie Maker has a VCD creation option, and also I found some AVI to MPEG2 utilities for creating a DVD (open to recommendations though). Not sure whether player supports DIVX - I suspect not, but will check.
(Work is on a Linux laptop, video stuff on desktop which I can only use in the morning before the kids get up :-)
Cheers
F
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If you convert the AVI to MPEG2 you're part of the way there. But a DVD encapsulates the MPEG2 into the VOB files with other files "describing" the DVD structure. So you need software that creates DVDs.
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So you need software that creates DVDs.
Right- I'll look for that, thanks.
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Nero might be one option. The full version has Nero Vision. Another which I've not fully explored of course is Adobe Premiere Elements. Does a log more than creating the DVD files etc.
I'm sure there must be some free software as well.
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I'm sure there must be some free software as well.
Hope so...
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Some possibilities:
downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000375,39394984s,00.htm
www.erightsoft.com/SUPER.html
www.dvdflick.net/
mediacoder.sourceforge.net/
www.majorgeeks.com/Dr._DivX_d5208.html
If you don't already have one of the K-Lite audio and video codecs packs, it's well worth installing the latest version of the Full Pack:
www.majorgeeks.com/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_Full_d4844.ht...l
(The Mega version includes Windows Media Classic Player).
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Thanks Stuartli - I'll have a look at those over the weekend.
F
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Another good tip for you with AVI files (which are big)... tip applies to more though.
Now you have a Firewire cable for the camera (6pin to 4pin), this can also be used to transfer files quickly between the laptop and desktop you have. Firewire supports a network connection.
So just go into control panel -> networks and find the Firewire IEEE1394 network and give it a private address like 10.1.1.x and subnet 255.255.255.0. Nothing more needed. Obviously the address needs to be different for the laptop and desktop.
When you want to access the other computers shares (or the entire drives as C$, D$, etc.) then use this IP address. 400Mbit/s is a lot faster than 100Mbit/s. I do it all the time for my laptop/desktop transfers.
So accessing drive C on my laptop might be: \\\\10.1.1.2\\c$
Edited by rtj70 on 03/01/2009 at 16:00
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Now you have a Firewire cable for the camera (6pin to 4pin) this can also be used to transfer files quickly between the laptop and desktop you have. Firewire supports a network connection.
Thanks. It was because Windows assumed I wanted to use the Firewire card for a network connection that it wouldn't initially work with the camcorder :-)
However, in general I don't share anything between the 2 machines. That is, the laptop is my work machine, and I don't do any work on the desktop. There's no personal stuff on the desktop I can think of, so there's no need to go the other way either. Laptop is a little Dell X1 which is great for use on the train but would be pretty rubbish for video editing/creation - it's relatively slow, no optical drive, and has a Edited the "Welsh" spelling of Firewire (two Ff's) :-) I backup my work laptop to me desktop every so often using Firewire network connection. It is faster than the normal Ethernet connection. On paper it is 100 vs 400 Mbit/s but Firewire is way faster than the x4 difference.
Edited by rtj70 on 02/01/2009 at 20:22
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I currently have over 5GB of photos and about the same of music on my laptop. While it's not noticeably slowing anything down, I am worried about what I would do if something happened to my laptop and I didn't get a chance to get the photos and music off (particularly as a lot of the music is stuff I've paid for from itunes and haven't burnt to CD or anything). When my old laptop died I lost about a years worth of photos, and I'm a bit soft and sentimental about these things.
Probably showing my age here, but when I was at uni we used zip drives to store loads of stuff and move it around. Does such a thing still exist? I've got memory sticks that I use for work, but I have seen other peoples' stop working (I've been lucky so far) and I don't know if they hold as much as I would like/need them to hold.
I know nothing about this kind of thing, I just have this nagging feeling that I ought to back things up, or I'll have about three years worth of photos and hundreds of pounds worth of music just... lost.
What's the best thing to do?
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5Gb to back up? If you have a DVD writer on the laptop, burn a couple of disks - a CD writer you could burn a few more perhaps about ten.
Alternatives would be a memory stick - a 8Gb is less than £10, 16gb could be had for about £16-20.
You could buy an external hard disk which plugs in and will give you a huge capacity, a bit more money for that though.
If you have access to another computer you could connect to that and copy the files over.
Perhaps the most important thing is not to rely on a single back up (these can fail) and make sure that you check any backups you make to ensure they will work when (if!) you ever need them.
hth
Lee
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My approach would be to have an archive strategy and a backup strategy.
1. Every now and again archive all files to DVD writeable disks and store then. At 4.7Gb per disk that a lot of photos etc.
2. Have an external drive for backups. They often come with backup software so you only copy what has changed. Failing that the good old ROBOCOPY is pretty good and I use that too. I'd do backups more often.
What we all need to remember is if files become corrupted and then back them up.... well we've been backing up corrupted files. Hence my idea of archive on write once disks.
I remember the time I had a file system corruption which, even if RAIDED (including mirroring), was close to total loss. It wasn't though.
For about £40-50 you can get about 160Gb external USB drives which I would think is more than enough. Even cheap 8Gb USB flash drives too... but don't assume a backup to one physical disk/device is enough for term.
Next question is where to keep the backups....
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Perhaps the most important thing is not to rely on a single back up (these can fail)
Ditto as per Lee Citroenian's suggestions, except I would not trust myself to be able to find a precious 8GB memory stick when it matttered. [It may get misplaces or go walkies when you are not look looking].
Store in two or three diverse locations; eg.
1. CD/DVD
2. external Hard Drives [see here for current bargains
www.hotukdeals.com/computers/deals/hot ]
3. free online storage [googlefor these 4 words: free online storage GB ], eg.
skydriveteam.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!977F793E846B...y [microsoft's 25GB free offering]
or this 50GB offer
www.adrive.com/static/aboutus_features#storage_cap...y
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Scan currently has an offer on this 320GB Buffalo HD-HS320 USB external hard drive (normally £56) for just £37 on its TodayOnly page:
www.scan.co.uk/TodayOnly/Index.aspx (scroll down to External Drives)
It's a very good price and, what's more, if you need some SD memory cards, the Toshiba 1GB card is just £1.14 on the same page...:-)
I bought my Seagate One Touch 400GB external drive from Scan (been using the company since 1988), which cost me only £53 at the time (about 12 months ago) using the TodayOnly offers page.
I do a backup once a week on the drive, which takes about 15 minutes altogether; only changed files etc are obviously updated.
Edited by Stuartli on 02/01/2009 at 19:18
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Got several annoying computer problems right now (clients machines)
1) A desktop I charged £120 only three months ago to replace a power supply, fit a better video card and upgrade the RAM, now the hard drive has failed :(.
2) A desktop which is fine, no viruses, done all the rootkit tests, done all the hardware tests but no browser will just load up, Firefox, IE etc loads into the RAM but dosnt fully load up, when you click on it nothing happens. It is rather bizzare, I shall try an SFC scan to see if that solves the problem. AVG will also not uninstall so I am guessing it could be connected probably some severe registery corruption.
I really need my own business premises as this is getting too stressful.
Dreading telling the customer that his hard drive has failed :(. I feel sort of blame as I have done work on this PC before, but I cannot exactly test the hard drive before I ever do any work on peoples PCs, a mechanic dosn't do an engine preasure check after replacing the suspension so its kind of the same thing but people don;t understand when it comes to computers.
Edited by rtj70 on 01/01/2009 at 22:50
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Regarding 2), does it work properly in safe mode?
Edited by rtj70 on 01/01/2009 at 22:50
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Rattle, thread renamed but you might know a better title. It seemed originally to follow on from the backup files sub-thread.
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Sorry forgot to change the title, it looks like Rob has done it now. Yep it does work in safe mode which makes me think it is something do with AVG.
I will see if I can disable it from services.msc and then start it up in normal mode. The computer had a nasty varient of Virtuemonde and the problem of browsers not working appears to be since then.
Edited by Rattle on 01/01/2009 at 22:52
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(1) If the hard drive supports SMART then you can check errors reported. You will know what SMART is?
(2) Boot up something like BartPE or Ubuntu Linux on the machine and see how it runs. My preference would be Ubuntu. If the PC works fine hardware wise it is their install but booting up a copy of this without any installs is a very good test. Indeed you can resize partitions and all sorts without installing anything.
If you need help with what I suggest in (2) then I can expand. But if the machine including browsing is fine on another fresh copy (not installed) of Windows XP (BartPE) or Ubuntu then its their copy of Windows installed.
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There's some software called something like Hijack This, which is a registry scanner. I'd give that a go. I haven't used it for years, but IIRC there are related forums and you run the program which produces a report which you then post and someone knowledgeable analyses it and comes back with suggestions of stuff to remove.
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Run an online scan from Trust Micro too (HouseCall).
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Yeah I actually ran the Seagate drive test tool on it and it found a few bad sectors, its repaired them now but when it gets to stage stage its best to replace it anyway, I tried using Ubantu but could not access the drive from it as NTFS has flagged as locked (I know there is a way round that). It does now attempt to boot XP but it just restarts, a blue screen flashes for a second before instantly rebooting. The hard drive does not sound healthy either, it sounds rather like an old floppy disk which bad sectors! SMART was turned off, have enabled it but not yet read the report.
I am doing a RAM test on it now.
It looks like I will at least be able to recover most the data on this drive.
2) I haven't done any hardware tests, but I replaced the RAM on this machine over a year ago as they took it another computer shop which just formated it without diagnosing what caused the problem in the first place. I remember the system was very healthy then and the computer has not been used much, so I would be surprised if it was a hardware error especialy as it works perfectly in safe mode.
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I meant to say use Ubuntu Live CD - it install nothing. It can see NTFS disks though and can resize them even. But the great thing is it installs nothing (unless you want it to). I even had it booting from USB.
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I have used it quite often, ,the only problem is if windows dosnt shut down properly NTFS puts a flag on so the data system cannot be read by anything but windows, I am sure there is a a terminal command to get round this can't remember how you do it though. I also have a USB stick which contains a stripped down version of Windows XP, that also dosn't load anything and is also quite handy, not quite sure how legal it is though :(.
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My points was to prove the hardware (apart from the disk with errors) works fine. Rules out a lot if you can run X-Windows on say Ubuntu and surf the web on the same hardware. If that does not work then look elsewhere for the problem.
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Indeed :) I will try it tomorrow, the RAM tests seems to have found no errors so far. It is quite obvious the hard drive is on its last legs but obviously I need to be sure the rest of the hardware is working fine before I replace that. I hope it has SATA connectors as IDE drives are getting hard to source now, they are lot more expensive too.
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"now the hard drive has failed :(. "
What age PC by the way and what is the error for the disk? Is it SATA or IDE?
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Bad sectors, it is reading now :) So its not as bad as I thought it would be, just sounds pretty horrible so before doing anything I will back up what data I can. Its around 2-3 years old, it has DD2 RAM but an IDE drive, its a Maxtor. I think the exact error code I got was 0X20.
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Again a reason for Ubuntu.... avoid using the OS on the main system.
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Hi Rattle - to force mounting of a locked NTFS partition use this in a shell: -
mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /mnt -o force
You'll have to be su - I don't use Ubuntu but I think you'll have to use sudo. Change the sda1 to whatever the NFTS partition is and mnt to whatever your mountpoint is. The Windows partition's usually sda1 on a SATA hard disk, or hda1 on an IDE - check first though. Hope this helps.
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2) A desktop which is fine no viruses done all the rootkit tests done all the hardware tests but no browser will just load up Firefox IE etc loads into the RAM but dosnt fully load up when you click on it nothing happens. It is rather bizzare I shall try an SFC scan to see if that solves the problem. AVG will also not uninstall so I am guessing it could be connected probably some severe registery corruption.
Rattle,
I can just about guarantee it is a root kit stopping the loading.
I had this about 2 weeks ago, at a customers and about to give up having carried out all the test including malware antimalwarebytes.
It found some trojans and the like, still couldnt open. On the second scan it found the root kits.
It can be downloaded from www.malwarebytes.org/ and is free!!
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I've already done all that :(. It apparars to be a very very basic install, the only software loaded is the OS and AVG by the look of things, so it will probably be easier just to back the thing up and reformat it. I shall try a rootkit scan one more time though.
I really really hate having to a format as it seems like cheating but sometimes it jsut saves a lot of agro. The odd thing is the computer is very fast, it takes seconds to boot XP etc and on boot up it only uses 180mb of RAM so its very healthy otherwise.
I've backed up data on the other system now, done a CHKDSK and it now boots windows fine, I will advice my client that its now working but he really needs a new drive if he wants long term reliability, as its only gaming machine though he might decide to take the risk with the old drive.
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My Mum mentioned that she has started getting a pop-up warning that her Epson printer is nearing the end of its working life and needs servicing. I don't know the exact model of printer, but I think it was fairly cheap, so presumably a proper service is going to cost more than a new printer.
Has anyone had this warning and just carried on, and if so, any ill effects? Does the printer just eventually refuse to work?
Cheers
F
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Not familiar with any warning msgs relating to "printer life". Are you sure its not the "ink life" and stating that it is running low. You can pick up new inkjet printer for as little £20 but the refills start at that price.
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Are you sure its not the "ink life" and stating that it is running low.
Yep - you can find some info by googling, but couldn't find the answer to what happened if you just carry on.
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It seems to be a "waste ink pad protection" issue on the epson forums. When this has been reached the printer cannot physically print so needs the tube and pad replacing. They were quoting around £50 on the fourms
www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3082840-2.php
Sounds like the DPF of the printer world?
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It seems to be a "waste ink pad protection" issue on the epson forums.
Thanks - cheapest approach then is probably to keep printing until it stops (or output is no good) then get new one, which of course will have a full set of new cartridges as a bonus.
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I am now on my 3rd Epson printer since I first dipped my toes into the world of the PC in 2002. The first one was very basic (came 'free' with the PC) and I used it for about 18 months before upgrading to an all-in-one version. The difference was similar to driving an Audi after a Trabant. It ran perfectly for about 3 years and then just stopped. No warning - nothing! I was told at the time that that is what happens.
I now have a Stylus Photo RX520 (since 2006) and it, too, is a great performer but I await its demise any time now. If I remember correctly it cost about £50.
Incidentally I use 'compatible' cartridges which cost about £2 each and are absolutely fine. No doubt Epson would wash their hands of it were I to ask them to service it.
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before upgrading to an all-in-one version
For Mum's use probably not worth it, but I'll mention it to her.
Edited by Focus {P} on 02/01/2009 at 11:47
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All-in-one versions i have found while being perfectly capable are "jack of all trades, master of none"
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See:
www.stevesforums.com/forums/view_topic.php?id=5159...0
I have an Epson R300 (also use compatible cartridges which cost just over £4 for full set of six cartridges from www.diskdepot.co.uk) and never switch it off.
This prevents the constant head cleaning routine that would result each time it was switched on and the eventual waste ink tank full warnings.
A useful utility is SSC. See:
www.ssclg.com/epsone.shtml
Edited by Stuartli on 02/01/2009 at 13:11
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Hi!
When at my parents house I can connect to their wireless internet with no problems from my laptop (running Windows XP). After between 20 minutes and an hour of use the little wireless indicator turns yellow. Trying to reconnect brings up an information box with the statement "Problem applying Profile". Nothing I do will unfreeze it and the computer needs to be restarted in order to reconnect to the internet. This happens regardless of how strong the signal is. Very irritating!
I've tried googling the problem with no success, (using a PC so no connection problems to interrupt me!), so am hoping one of you will be able to assist!
Wishing you a happy and healthy new year!
Cheers
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I can connect to their wireless internet
Details of their router make/model might prove helpful.
If HJ's Backroom fails to solve the problem, you may want to try Intel support site:
www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/CS-025807.h...m
Edited by jbif on 02/01/2009 at 12:17
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Details of their router make/model might prove helpful.
Apparently it's an SWC Barricade 2804WBR and is about 8 years old!! (That'll probably be why then!!) Mum and Dad are complete technophobes so it's been up to my brothers to 'pimp' the house up with technology!>> >> I can connect to their wireless internet
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Have you got latest drivers and also have you try and recreate your Wireless Network Connection in XP. Is there any reference to "profiles" in your LAN applet (indicator at bottom, you may need to right click on this and select options/settings?)
Next time try undiasbling and enabling your Wireless Network connection instead of rebooting, the problem may be that that is corruot (if that is possible).
It does seem like this is a common problem if you google this error
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Next time try undiasbling and enabling your Wireless Network connection instead of rebooting the problem
I've tried. Although it says it's disabled the little icon is still yellow and it doesn't do anything.
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What does teh yellow icon say if you put your mouse cursor on it (without clicking)?
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If I were to use someone else's wireless network (unsecured obviously) would they be able to see what websites I am surfing? Also are there any security issues to worry about, eg would they be able look at any files on my hard drive?
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It depends. Make sure you workgroup is not called MSHOME or workgroup. Make sure you don't have any important files in shared folders. Unless they have a fancy router or are serious hackers they will nto be able to see the websites you visit. They will be able to see MAC address though if they checked, and since every computer in the world has a unique MAC they could in theory find out you used their network. Since its unsecure they are probably clueless idiots.
I did this once, do download a 650mb linux distrubiton :D Well since their giving their bandwidth away for free I may as well use some of it :D
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I did this once, do download a 650mb linux distrubiton :D Well since their giving their bandwidth away for free I may as well use some of it :D
In England and Wales, that is theft.
You have just admitted to committing a crime.
www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/15/stolen_wifi/
www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/21/wi_fi_squatting_a.../
and there are other wi-fi "hotspot" cases that have gone to court and the thief has been found guilty.
DD - note this case: www.theregister.co.uk/2008/10/30/wi_fi_arrest/
" .... The lad in question got himself a Wi-Fi-equipped laptop back in April, and uses other Wi-Fi equipment on his own network, but admits he might have accidentally clicked on the wrong connection when logging on. A quick look around reveals seven networks in the area, two of which remain unsecured even now.
Apparently the neighbour has had some trouble getting online lately, and a friend noticed the neighbour's boy's laptop had been allocated an IP address by the DHCP server - the lad isn't technically up to changing his computer's name, which had been set up by his dad to be his own. ... "
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Indeed :)
It wasn't quite like I said above, and it was quite a long time ago (well back in 2005) but I have done more recently if I in a pub and found a free wireless network, I have a wireless phone, but if a network says "linksys" in a pub and its unsecure surely that is inviting people to use it?
I think the law should make it clear between people who leave their networks unsecure and those that secure them. If you hack into a network than that is clearly theft and ilegal, but if its unsecure how do you know its not a public network especialy if its ina public place.
I now have free internet on my phone anyway, and I use ethernet on my desktop so I only use wifi on my laptop now (my own of course).
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I think the law should make it clear between people who leave their networks unsecure and those that secure them. If you hack into a network than that is clearly theft and ilegal, but if its unsecure how do you know its not a public network especialy if its ina public place.
Down to the user to make sure they are not committing an offence.
If you leave your car unlocked, or your home unlocked, and stuff gets stolen, then your insurance may not pay you but the thief who took the stuff is still a thief.
The supermarket I use has its doors open and most stuff is on open display but high value stuff [eg. USB sticks, Satnavs, etc.] is in locked display cabinets. That does not mean that you are being invited to take the stuff on open display without paying.
As one of the links says:
"Anyone caught stealing a Wi-Fi connection can be fined up to a grand, even if it's left unsecured, so make sure you ask nicely next time you're looking to log on, .."
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DD, two wAys to look at this
1. No idea what they're doing so unsecured and this no chance of finding someone else using their bandwidth
2. Honeypot. Set up open network and see who comes along-it's fairly easy to intercept and scan traffic if you're in control ofthe connection and sufficiently bored-malicious-nerdy
If all you're doing is iPlayer or BBC news I wouldn't worry. Would be cautious about passwords though
Finally, yes unauthorised access is illegal but then so is 74mph on a motorway you takes your chances :)
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Oh access to your pc-possible just turn off file sharing,ensure you have the firewall on and that your local computer passwords are complex,preferably passphrases. If you're properly paranoid run Microsoft's baseline security analyzer (sic) which will highlight an possible issues.
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Finally, yes unauthorised access is illegal but then so is 74mph on a motorway you takes your chances :)
Major Difference: Theft is a criminal offence. If arrested, it justifies your DNA and fingerprints being taken even if you are subsequently not charged.
I guess that shoplifting is OK by your moral compass.
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jbif
There's nothing in my post to suggest I approve of such action and I take offence at your inference. You have no idea which way my moral compass points, that post is bordering on trolling.
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There's nothing in my post to suggest I approve of such action and I take offence at your inference.
Apologies. I am sorry if I misunderstood the meaning behind your words: "yes unauthorised access is illegal but then so is 74mph on a motorway you takes your chances :)"
Edited by jbif on 02/01/2009 at 17:33
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You takes your chances - if you get caught, then you accept the consequences.
I hardly shouted "let him have it"
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.........and the Americans won't welcome you with open arms when you want to see Mickey Mouse either.
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Maybe wouldn't miss Mickey Mouse, but would be gutted not to be able to see Barry Manilow in Vegas ;-)
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As mentioned previously, Mum's Epson looks to be on its last legs, so she's looking for a replacement. Does anyone have any particular suggestions? Requirements:
- cheap
- light use so doesn't have to have lowest running costs
Ones I've been looking at:
www.ebuyer.com/product/143592
www.ebuyer.com/product/146764
Cheers
F
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Out fo the two the Canon is the best, its not a bad printer, I've bought a few for clients.
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Out fo the two the Canon is the best
Thanks- and I see it's available for £26.91 from www.pcworld.co.uk with free delivery.
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Just be aware that the ink refills that come from the mfg in the printer will not be full. More like 25% so I would check the cost of refills as they dry very quickly and can make the cost to run high. If you are good with doing your own refills that can work out cheaper. Make sure she uses it at least once a week even if it is just a test page
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ink refills that come from the mfg in the printer will not be full. More like 25%
Didn't know that- thanks.
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>> ink refills that come from the mfg in the printer will not be full. More like 25%
That is absolutley not the case. My two epsons, and my cannon came with exactly the same part numbered carts as those ordered from the factory.
plus
The economics of making special 1/4 filled cartridges to use in new printers does not add up
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I know HP printers I had ran out quickly. I have a Canon Pixma iP5000 and that uses clear plastic for the ink cartridges so you know how much ink is in them. Lower end Canons used tri-colour and black cartridges with print heads in the cartridge (like an HP). Mine has separate cartridges and the print head also separate.
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Mine has separate cartridges and the print head also separate.
I know separate cartridges/heads are 'better' but AFAIK printers that use them tend to be more expensive in the first place. For the amount of printing my Mum does it might not be worth it, but I'll mention it to her.
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Evenin' all;
Just bought myself a new 120GB HDD for my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, running out of space on existing 35GB drive. Stuck the new drive in a USB 2.0 caddy, formatted it NTFS, then used Acronis True Image Home Edition to create a sector by sector clone of the old HDD onto the new one. Then powered down PC, swapped internal HDD from old to new and rebooted. Gets as far as BIOS then says ' cannot find bootable disk' - going into BIOS setup indeed shows no HDD. Have I missed something somewhere, or is this one of those Dell 'features' to stop cheap upgrades ? :-/. OS is Win XP SP2. Any ideas gratefully received.
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Don't know the answer, but does it still work OK if you stick the old one back in? (thinking dislodged wire at t'other end or similar)
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You shouldn't have needed to format the drive first either. But this sounds like it ought to have worked. Was there only one partition on the original drive?
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I've done several hard drive replacements on that exact laptop. They can be a nightmare as the early ones you had to flash the BIOS otherwise 137gb is the limit. However it would still work you just loose space. In this case however you only have a 120gb drive anyway, I assume its an IDE type.
Have you made sure the connector is on as tight as it can go?
There is no clever bit of a software, any 2.5" IDE drive will work upto 137gb. I got to know quite a bit about this laptop with the nightmares I had, in the end I diagnoses the fautl down to a falty IDE controller on the motherboard.
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The 6000 is a complete dog when it comes to upgrades, you need to flash the latest bios and even then it might not work.
It does sound tho like the new partition is not primary active or has the boot loader system files in the right place on the hard drive
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The BIOS should be detecting it regardless. The only other issue may be the power requirements. If the new one requires a lot more ampage could it be that the power supply just is not delivering enough juice?
I've always liked upgrading and repairing Dell laptops as they are a lot easier than other brands such as Toshiba or Sony, but the if I ever see a 6000 dread the things, they seemed to be quite poorly made too compared to other Dells as I see have seen a lot of them.
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>The BIOS should be detecting it regardless
not if the number of platters, heads and sectors is not in the bios disk descriptor table - the bios can scanning the disk and not finding a match as a valid drive.
whats the date on your bios?
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whats the date on your bios?
Rev A04 dated 02/02/2005.
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OK thanks folks, I've stuck the old HDD back in, and I'm typing this message on it, so OK there at least ;-). Sounds like it should work in theory then, I'll give it another go and see what happens. The BIOS did scare me in that there seemed to be no user adjustable parameters other than time and boot order. I've added second HDDs to two Dell desktops at home, this is the first time I've tried changing a primary drive and thought it might be a tad trickier.
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What make is the hard drive? It might be worth downloading the driver tester tool ISO from the manufacturers website and then seeing if you can see it from there. I use the Ultimate boot CD which has all the ultilities on, it lets you set all the paramters for the hard drive like the old BIOS used to on the old 386 and early 486 machines, but be careful!
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The new HDD is a western digital wd1200beve-oowztd, I did check the power requirements before ordering, they were the same as the existing Hitachi disk. Thanks again.
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ok download the UBCD, on there you will find Western Digitals hard drive ultilities, it may help you to solve the problem.
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OK folks, problem solved! I'm embarassed to admit it was a mechanical problem, I hadn't noticed that the HDD has an adaptor which converts the double row of pins on the HDD to a single row on the PC , switched this adaptor over from the old HDD to new and we're up and running :-)). Off to flush my head down the loo now... sorry about wasting your time.
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