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Edited by Dynamic Dave on 12/08/2009 at 13:26
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Any suggestions as to why our laptop has become very slow in the last few hours? 5 Mins to start, minute or so to open any apps, HD light constantly on. Tried safe mode but just the same. Machine won't restore to an earlier date. Only recent change is iTunes download three days ago.
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Two critical Microsoft patches issued yesterday - perhaps it's these installing incorrectly or you've picked up some virus or spyware/malware?
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Does there seem to be any unusual internet activity? Is it Windows Vista if so it could be doing an automatic defrag. Maybe the anti virus scanner is doing a scan?
Have a look in task manager to see what is hogging the CPU resources.
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Its' running XP, so not a Vista problem. Nothing untoward on task manager, activity low even when hd light is constantly on. I've removed itunes. Done a full virus scan no problems. Browser showing not responding, then responds again - typing this has taken 5 minutes due to regular drop outs!
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Can you tell me where task manager can be found = XP + IE8
Thank's in advance.
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CTRL/ALT/DEL middle button, bottom row of the box that pops up.
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>>> CTRL/ALT/DEL middle button, bottom row of the box that pops up. <<<
Ciao :)
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Looks like it's terminal. A rebuild took over 12 hours and resulted in a list of errors, then a hard disk failure imminent warning.
Any experience of netbooks?
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They're quite small if you go for a 8.9/9" or 10.2" screen. So make sure you can live with the keyboard.
The spec of the Dell Inspiron Mini 10 (not the V) looks interesting if you get it with the HD screen. It also has HDMI out so you could plug into an LCD TV and use as a media player too.
But the Mini 10 is totally different to the 10V inside so won't run Mac OS X :-( which I'd try putting on it.
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...any experience of netbooks...
I have an 'original' Eee PC and it's fine for surfing, backrooming and email.
It runs Linux, which is not to everyone's taste, and the screen is small and fairly low-res.
My brother has just bought a new 10" netbook and I reckon that might be the way to go.
Not quite so portable, but the extra screen and keyboard size make you almost forget it's a netbook.
It runs XP and has an eight hour battery.
Cost around £300, for which you could buy a basic full-size laptop, but I'd rather have the smaller machine.
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...any experience of netbooks...
Top of the PC Pro A List for netbooks is a Samsung NC10 www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/234621/samsung-nc10.html
Edited by Victorbox on 02/08/2009 at 18:08
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Thanks for the responses. I'm grabbing machine time from wherever I can, or using an Ipod touch.
Laptop can wait for a few weeks, but a quick look shows £400 gets a machine which is more than adequate for our needs.
Looked at netbooks, but DVD writers are handy for backing up photos.
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Looked at netbooks but DVD writers are handy for backing up photos.
So are USB pen drives. I also back up a lot of my photos to my free online PhotoBox account.
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 04/08/2009 at 20:24
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In a clear out I came back to sort out old CDs and DVDs from the last few years. Frightening to find so many with errors and none kept in sunlight or heat! I also had them on hard disk so no problem.
I knew CD/DVD writeables had a life span but this was not very long in some cases. No scratches/marks/thumb prints etc. Out of interest I could copy most if I wanted but didn't need to.
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Has anyone any experience of this ?
I was having problems getting a strong enough WiFi signal in my house as the router has to be located at the far end due to telephone wiring.
I have installed two Ethernet powerline adaptors which work at upto 85Mbps and are working fine, full bandwidth available and good speed.
My question is does anyone know about leakage through such systems?
We are not talking huge current here so do not think the signal will stray too far but wonder if it is possible for someone on the same sub-station and power network to 'see' anything coming out of my house ?
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I believe the signal is encrypted, so even if someone discovered it, they wouldn't be able to access the data.
In theory I think it should be possible to plug your adaptor into a neighbouring house on the same phase and get internet there (great for student houses perhaps??).
If you're really worried about this, I suppose you could install an isolating transformer with a TT earth and throw in an harmonic damper on the supply side for good measure.
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Thanks for your reply.
I did some more reading and as you suggest, there is some encryption and the network devices only work in pairs.
That coupled with the private network and password I have created should be enough to keep it secure enough for home use.
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Hi,
I have the above video card and am using it to play full HD movies onto a 50" 1080p plasma. I have played around with the settings for optimal performance but i still seem to get a slight judder (as in freeze frame for 0.1 seconds) every 6 seconds whilst playing moves through KM player.
Any ideas how i can sort this or do I need a better video card? If so, any recommendations?
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You need to make sure the software being used to play the video is making using of the hardware acceleration for HD video on the graphic card. HD video in H.264 format takes a reasonable amount of CPU time to decode otherwise.
What software are you using? What processor is in your system?
The graphic card in questions calls the part that helps with HD encode/decode Avivo. Check it out on the AMD-ATI website. They might even have the download you need. It will be a CODEC of some description depending on software being used.
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Thanks for the quick response, Im using KM player & CoreAVC Codecs, AMD 64 Dual Core Processor. The file being played is a .mkv
I will have a look at ATI website but just recently updated.
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You probably need to use a different media player unless that one can be made to use the accelerated decoder for the high def mkv (i.e. H.264 wrapped in an mkv container) file.
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Its not the decoder, or the video card its the rest of the system. Its just not getting into the video card in sufficient quantity or with a big enough buffer.
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Thanks AE, do you really think so? Its a Dual Core AMD64 with 4Gb RAM. The Video Card is 512Mb. It happens on both 720p and 1080p playback.
Any suggestions?
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But to take advantage of the decoder hardware on an ATI Radeon, the media player also has to make use of the hardware. Otherwise it falls back on the CPU.
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Thanks for all the responses. I have tried several different media players with different results and also played around with the ATI Radeon settings a bit more. I have managed to improve the jerkiness on the majority of HD movies but strangely it is the 720p movies that cause more issues.
Im sticking with KM and CORE AVC Codecs for now and will just play around until I have cracked it.
Cheers
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If you don't use a codec and player that can take advantage of the AVIVO feature of the card then you will rely on the CPU for all the decoding. And it takes a lot of CPU power to decode a full HD movie - more than some decent PCs can really muster.
Obviously also depends on what the movie you're watching is encoded as and whether it is a proper HD disk or an AVI file of some type. Could even be a problem with the file itself - how was it encoded if you did it yourself? Have you checked what format the problem files are in? Probably H.264 of some kind in a container like an mkv file or is it just an mp4, AVI or MOV file?
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Thanks again. The CPU shows 0 usage when I play the movies on KM with Core AVC so I am assuming that it is being fully decoded by the Radeon?
I didn't encode the movies myself, they are mostly from "ahem" newsgroups which may explain a lot too for the hit and miss issues I am seeing. Would playing them direct from a USB2 external drive cause any issues? I have most on internal drives but also have a TB external with some on.......
I was starting to think it may be an issue with individual files and will check again tonight when I get home.
Much appreciated rtj40
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Quite often when I open IE8 I get a message which says "Your last browing session closed unexpectedly." What closing down sequence should I adopt to avoid getting this message? I'm just curious as to what I'm sometimes doing wrong.
Edited by L'escargot on 02/08/2009 at 10:01
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... I'm just curious as to what I'm sometimes doing wrong....
L'escargot,
As one computer whizz-kid to another...
I get that message if I shut the computer down before closing the browser - red X in the top righthand corner.
Might also happen if the internet signal or the computer's power supply is interrupted.
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ifithelps has the most likely answer; however, if you use Firefox it would Save the session and ask you on Rebooting if you wished to open it again.
Alternatively it will ask you, given time before Shut Down, if two pages or more are open on a page or p[ages, if you wish to Save the session or Quit?
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Can someone reccomend a computer forum or website that would be useful for someone with basic computer knowledge (me) who's trying to learn more. Thanks in anticipation.
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How about evening classes?
I'm sure nearly every college offers basic computing courses.
You might even meet some real people with real names. :)
There are plenty of books whose titles purport to offer basic tuition.
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There are many such websites, including:
www.bbc.co.uk/learning/subjects/information_techno...l
www.computerbasicsandbeyond.com/
www.tips4pc.com/
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Thanks ifit&stuart. I work in a school so i don't fancy going back "to work" in the evening. The 3 websites reccomended look really useful, i've added them to my favorite list. Many Thanks.
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I work in a school ... >>> reccomended <<< & >>> i've <<<
------> :-D
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Further to my posting in the previous volume about my slower bb speed after a lightning strike, I bought some wizzo filters from Adslnation and the result? 300kbps slower with the new filters. Put back the old BT filters that came free with the modem, back up to 1.5Mbps. I'm amazed. So I'm thinking perhaps a master socket with a built in filter as I used to have before the lightning strike (which gave 2Mbps) may be the answer. How I get BT to do it is another matter.
I've seen certain routers recommended (eg Netgear DG834) which anecdotally have provided faster connections in marginal conditions like mine, a long way from the exchange with a poor SNR margin. Does anyone have any experience that would back this up?
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The DG834 is not faster then any other router, What it will do however is connect with and hang on to ADSL lines with less than optimal S/N ratios.
If your line is slow to connect to or wont connect at all, or it keeps dropping, a DG834 is a worthwile investment.
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I'm currently using a BT Voyager 105 modem. Would the DG834 be any better? My line connects ok, hangs occasionally for a few seconds late afternoons and evenings when I assume internet traffic is higher and is much slower at these times. Too slow to stream a Youtube video for example which works fine during the day.
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I'm currently using a BT Voyager 105 modem. Would the DG834 be any better? My line connects ok hangs occasionally for a few seconds late afternoons and evenings when I assume internet traffic is higher and is much slower at these times. Too slow to stream a Youtube video for example which works fine during the day.
no waste of time changing your router.
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So I'm thinking perhaps a master socket with a built in filter ................ How I get BT to do it is another matter.
You can do it yourself. You remove the lower half of your BT NTE5 master socket and replace it with an ADSL master faceplate splitter. The faceplate has a filtered socket for a telephone and an unfiltered socket to connect your modem. There are connectors inside to enable you to wire both filtered and unfiltered extension sockets.
Solwise currently supply two. tinyurl.com/799hv
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Unfortunately it's not a BT NTE5, it's a new Openreach one-piece faceplate. I can't seem to find a self-fit replacement.
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Contact Solwise for advice. I found them to be very helpful. Click on my link for contact details.
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Thanks, I will, I'll email them with the problem and see what they think.
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Solwise is an excellent company and there is also a lot of valuable information and advice on its website.
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Firstly, I'm the very edge of my knowledge here.
I've never "torrented" anything at all, having no interest in the thing. However, having worked myself up into a grumpy lather yesterday about the total non-availability of archived BBC programmes, I thought I'd look at it.
I discovered that I could apparently get hold of some old (seventies/eighties) Horizon programmes, back when it was worth watching.
I duly installed a torrent client program on the Mac and clicked all the bits - and it eventally told me it was going to take 8 to 12 weeks to download.
I then ditched the whole idea and deleted it all again from the Mac, breathing heavily, and went back to my book.
It was a 79Gb file, which not incidentally would have been interesting as Virgin Media have a 3Gb a day cap on my broadband link anyway.
Do torrents REALLY take that kind of time? Is this really what young people do? At the moment the issues of legality, practicality and general faff seem to far outweigh any possible benefit for me.
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Torrents rely on downloading bits of the file(s) from numerous other computers with the file you are after. If it is a "popular" file and lots have the bits you need and those computers are on a fast link you can download very large files quickly. If the file you are after is at the end of a slow link and not held by many then it can take a very long time.
In the Bit Torrent client you can see how many other machines you are downloading from, what part of the file they hold etc.
This is all known as peer to peer technology - you share from each other. The original BBC iPlayer downloader worked this way but I cannot be sure if the current iPlayer desktop client does. All users of it basically shared the files.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent_(protocol)
If you download a file over a long period then obviously you don't hit the 3Gb cap.
Edited by rtj70 on 03/08/2009 at 10:46
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....This is all known as peer to peer technology - you share from each other. The original BBC iPlayer downloader worked this way....
I was told radio programmes on iPlayer were direct from the BBC and it was only TV programmes that used file sharing.
Hence it was deemed safer from a hack/virus point of view to listen to radio on iPlayer than to watch TV.
That was a little while ago so things may have changed.
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The original technology behind the downloading of BBC programmes from iPlayer (not streaming) used peer to peer as did Sky's solution. They actually used the same service in the background on the PC.
This probably changed with the new client. But it certainly was originally peer to peer. The original version was PC only and now it support Linux and Mac OS X too. But I did say the original iPlayer and not current. The current one now uses Adobe AIR.
Edited by rtj70 on 04/08/2009 at 17:48
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Just checked my old PC and it was the KService (Kontiki P2P) that iPlayer used to use. It used your bandwidth when iPlayer was not running unless you told it to stop sharing programmes. Devious of them really.
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Just checked my old PC and it was the KService (Kontiki P2P) that iPlayer used to use.
I think Channel 4's 4oD service still uses it.
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I was 'listening again' to BBC radio a fair bit, but since the last redesign of the site, the service doesn't seem as easy to use.
As is probably apparent from my earlier post on this subject, it's at the limits of - or more likely beyond - my understanding.
What's a desktop client?
And do I need one to listen again to the occasional play or documentary on Radio 4?
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What's a desktop client? And do I need one to listen again to the occasional play or documentary on Radio 4?
It should all be handled by your browser - you just press the appropriate buttons that are displayed on the web page eg. go to www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00hk12x and click on 'Listen' - does that work?
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... click on 'Listen' - does that work?...
Yes, using my house connection.
I used to be able to listen to the plays using the wireless connection at the caravan site in leafy North Yorkshire, but I struggled at the weekend.
It could be the caravan site's connection is slower than it was.
I see the BBC are now advertising the radio programmes as stereo, which I imagine must take up more bandwidth.
As a general comment, it seems to me that we have ever more complex and bandwidth hungry websites and applications which, for many of us, are not matched by a fast enough connection.
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as above , i am using the service on a laptop , accorting to the software and newspaper hype , o2 did a deal with BT to gain access to all there "openzone" sites.
however when i log on , I just get a page asking for me to buy a hour/day/week subscription , or to log in with my user name and password , obviously I am not an openzone subscriber , so don,t have a password , the only thing O2 checks is your modem sim card No , and credit?
any ideas chaps?
{moves to correct place. You need to reply to the top most post, not the 2nd one down}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 03/08/2009 at 13:37
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I downloaded this sometime ago, but I wondered where it went to!!
I 'found' it recently in tools and it is handy for any born again idiots (like me) who choose not to look so when filling in/out forms on IE ... such as this one!
www.iespell.com/download.php
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Firefox has the British English Dictionary add-on:
addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browse/type:3
From FF's Tools>Options>Advanced tab you should tick Check My Spelling as I type.
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...eg. photobucket or Yahoo Groups, using Linux or Windows, from desktop PC or laptop. Can using laptop at work. Any ideas?
I wondered if it might be my Netgear router firewall's default inbound services rule of blocking everything, but I think I've disabled this by adding an 'allow any' rule for LAN server PC address 192.168.0.6. But this hasn't made any difference.
ISP is Tiscali, 2Mb.
Any ideas appreciated.
F
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This is possibly related to my upload problem. Earlier this morning my internet access seemed fine. Now however I'm typically getting a delay of a minute or 2 (or more) between clicking the Google button on my browser and it displaying the Google.co.uk home page. Similarly for this site. However, if I ping these addresses while the browser is trying to load the page, everything looks fine - consistent times of 25-35ms (ttl=~50) with no missing packets.
Using Linux/firefox 3.0.12, although my wife has also experienced similar problems on the desktop PC using IE7 and Windows XP (I've been told to 'sort it out'...). Netgear DG834, wired connections.
Any ideas?
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What ISP are you using. This sounds to me to be a DNS problem - it takes a while to load a page from a site and then that site works fine. Go to another site and the problem is there.
Does this sound like your problem. I'd even hazard a guess at you being on Virgin Media.
You could try changing the DNS entries used for your connection to use the OpenDNS servers (208.67.222.222 and 208.67.220.220). If it is DNS this would fix the problem quickly - or more accurately avoid the problem DNS servers which are slow to resolve hostnames to IP addresses.
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What ISP are you using. This sounds to me to be a DNS problem
Thanks - thought I was using OpenDNS but wasn't, and have updated the router settings. Not sure if it's fixed the problem - HJ and Google still aren't as quick to load as I'd expect, but not minutes at the moment. I'll monitor it.
I'm with Tiscali (yes I know there are cheaper/better providers in theory but I'm limited to 2Mb, and I'm paying £10 for an 'unlimited' service*; don't want subscription TV and as a lowish phone user prefer to stick with BT/18185).
* when it's working :-)
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I'm with Tiscali ... >>
www.tiscali.co.uk/cgi-bin/status.cgi doesn't show any current known problems.
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I'd even hazard a guess at you being on Virgin Media. >>
?? ;-) two posts up he said "ISP is Tiscali, 2Mb" !
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Didn't bother reading the other post - but knowing Virgin Media has often had DNS problems and this is one such symptom it was a fair guess. And may have helped others on VM cable. Ironic that you can have up to a 50Mbit/s connection but initial page load could be very slow ;-)
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Earlier this evening I swapped the Netgear modem/router for a 4 year old 3COM one that had been relegated to the garage, and so far so good - everything loading quite snappily. Same cables, phone socket, and modem settings AFAIK apart from DNS which are set to the Tiscali servers at the moment.
Fingers crossed...
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I left Tiscali more than three years ago (after initially starting in the WorldOnline days) for TalkTalk - best move I ever made, both performance and financially wise...:-)
Yes, I'm aware that Tiscali is now under the CPW umbrella.
Edited by Stuartli on 11/08/2009 at 00:16
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Using FF 3.0.13 Screen resolution 1024x768, window maximised,
the 3 boxes
Honest John's Backroom,
Honest John's RoadTests,
News,
all display at the bottom of the page. (not on Top RHS)
I think that it did this with the previous version of FF? but just updated and wanted the 'Forum Search' facility.
Displays correctly using IE8.
Does anybody else have this problem? If so, mods pse send on to SK.
Edited by pmh3 on 05/08/2009 at 08:23
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www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/05/i_plate/
Article says:
BT has started handing out Broadband Accelerators to customers prepared to stump up £1.20 in postage, and promises an average speed increase of half a megabit.
BT customers interested in a free boost to their broadband can apply on-line for a free Broadband Accelerator, assuming they're prepared to pay for postage, have the right kind of BT socket, and aren't already getting the promised bandwidth from BT.
The device is actually BT's I-Plate, and it has been around since last year, retailing for under a tenner. It blocks the bell wire that's prone to picking up in-home interference, as well as providing some filtering on other lines. Anyone with extensions around the house should get one, as the improvement to ADSL connections can be dramatic. This is why BT is handing them out with such enthusiasm.
The bell wire is supposed to provide a signal to make extensions ring, but modern phones don't use it - it doesn't even pass through the ADSL microfilters that should be fitted to every socket. So it just acts as one big antenna picking up rogue signals from around the house - such as those generated by florescent lighting - and channelling them into the ADSL line to interfere with the data connection. Simply cutting the bell wire also works, as well explained by Jarviser, though the filters in the I-Plate may improve things even more.
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My bell wire was already disconnected, and I was splitting using a single filter before distribution around the house, but I thought I would try and tidy things up and use an I plate. Nett result - a loss of about 0.5 of a Megabit/s!
Not a guaranteed solution!
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Well according to the BT page I've got the wrong type of socket (type 1) so won't benefit. But I get pretty close to my 2Mb max anyway, when it works - see previous topics. I thought it might help.
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BT's i-Plate is of no value if:
There is already an SSFP (Service Specific Front Plate) installed, thus separating the broadband and telephone signals
Where the socket is a newly installed BT Openreach socket (with BT Openreach Logo)
Where the line is newly installed, without the bell ringer wire included
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The BT page (link above) has a step-by-step process for checking whether you'll benefit from the i-Plate, including pictures of sockets which if already fitted mean that you won't.
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Following installation of IE8, I get an unwanted window every time I go on line and can't stop it. It is headed Setup Windows Internet Explorer 8 and reads Welcome to Internet Explorer, with links to an explanatory section. Is there a way of stopping it please? (I am using Windows XP)
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I recall this window when I installed IE8 when it first came out - there must have been a Don't Show This Again message or similar opportunity as it's never appeared again.
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Unfortunately, there is no such facility in my case.
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IE8, I get an unwanted window every time I go on line and can't stop it. >>
Try setting all the options you want as per the welcome page, then opening a new tab, then closing the welcome tab.
If that fails, and bearing in mind
Unfortunately, there is no such facility in my case. >>
Try tinyurl.com/md8r6h ;-)
Edited by jbif on 08/08/2009 at 11:35
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The message was Ask Me Later I've discovered.
This is apparently Microsoft Technical Support's solution (for XP):
Run GPEDIT.MSC
Find "Administrative Templates", drill to "Windows Components", "Internet Explorer"
Double click on Internet Explorer to get a long list and locate "Prevent Performance of First Run Customize Settings"
Right click, select properties, and set to "Disable"
Click on Apply, OK, and exit Group Policy Editor
Vista:
www.winhelponline.com/blog/disable-ie8-tour-welcom.../
Note the .exe file download about half way down (ie8-tour-disable.zip) to save editing the Registry.
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Looks like we've been following a similar path.....:-)
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Many thanks for suggestions
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It's Mr Mactrouble again, I'm afraid.
Suddenly, and without showing any other symptoms, my Powermac G4 is taking quite a long time to start up and when it does the Airport card is always switched off - can be turned on again easily so far - and the drive icon on the top bar just says 'no drives', so I can't put any disks in it.
It has a combo drive and a superdrive, both normally work without problems.
I've run a disk verification check, and it passed, but 'help' isn't at all helpful - doesn't give any troubleshooting advice for this sort of thing at all.
Does anyone have any idea how I can get it to recognise its own drives again?
{New question, so moves to correct place as per the Please Note request at the start of this thread}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 10/08/2009 at 20:30
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When you open up Disk Utility, does it show any of the missing drives?
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No, just the two main drives, 149gb and 60gb
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What version of Mac OS X are you running? I am assuming Tiger....
... so did you install the updates last week for Mac OS X? On Leopard this took it from 10.5.7 to 10.5.8 but I know there was also a Tiger update.
Or has this problem existed for a while? I cannot help wonder if a security/firmware update is behind some of your problems.
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I have Tiger 10.4.11 - the last before Leopard I think. 'About this Mac' still says its 10.4.11
Yes I did install the update last week, it does seem a bit of a coincidence, doesn't it?
Do you think it would help if I went to the Mac support site?
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Update:
I started up in safe mode and did a disk verifications repair, which seemed to go ok. Now the Airport card comes on again at boot up but it still says there are no hard disks. It recognises USB keys as drives in the normal way though.
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Further update: I did an ordinary re-start and the Airport card had to be started up separately again. Ah well...
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You might have more luck on a Mac website. Interesting the wireless LAN worked without problem in safe mode.
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Using my partner's desktop this morning a got a Microsoft Security Alert pop-up telling me that the computer had 595 Trojans and a few Worms in it. I was then offered a download to remove them but the file was not from a known source and not recommended for download. Obviously I ignored it. I then did a full scan with AVG Free which has always seemed reliable and it found a few tracking cookies but nothing nasty. What may be going on, please?
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What may be going on, please? >>
Was it similar to one of these?
online.wsj.com/article/SB123976230407519659.html
internetaddictsinfo.blogspot.com/2009/07/false-sec...l
If so, it is scareware malware :
www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/07/scareware_market/
see links at bottom of the article for specific sources of recent scareware.
Edited by jbif on 11/08/2009 at 11:28
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The website visited displayed pop ups that were trying to convince you to buy their scanner software to remove the security issues that do not exist. Or worse the download itself is a Trojan or worm.
If you were to use anti-spyware scanner, it would take some time to find all of the Trojans and worms (if they existed) by scanning all of the hard disk(s).
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My thanks to 2 Backroomers who are both unfailingly helpful and accurate, jbif and rtj70. I was suspicious, took no action, and it looks as though this was a very good idea. Thank you gentlemen - case closed!
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The screen on my laptop sometimes flickers and breaks up into horizontal lines.
It occurs across the whole screen, not just an open window, and clears itself after a few seconds.
The laptop is a £400 Lenovo running Vista Home Premium.
I use it most days, but I don't think I've ever tinkered with any screen settings.
Any ideas what might be causing the problem?
Thanks.
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It is either a driver problem, or a hardware problem
To update your drivers, go to the lenovo website www.lenovo.com/uk/en/
click support / drivers at the bottom.
Hardware problem could be your video card or screen.
Flop your screen backwards and forwards to see if its the cable, does it happen when the laptop is warm? check the air exhaust is not blocked.
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Can you plug a monitor into it and see whether you get the same thing?
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How long have you had it? And do you know if it has an Nvidia Geforce 8M series graphic processors in it? Could be a hardware fault - there were problems with Nvidia chips last year due to a manufacturing problem.
Edited by rtj70 on 12/08/2009 at 11:38
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I had problems similar to this a few years back.
Problem was the ribbon cable that is part of the hinge area that connects CPU etc to screen.
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So based on what Falkirk Bairn says, can you try what Focus says and connect to an external screen? If it's the LCD of the laptop to blame the problem will not appear on the external monitor.
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