Zxian

Wouldn't it just be easier to use the silent install switch of /s rather than the autoit script? You'd have to remove the icons you didn't want, but you can do that in your install.cmd file after the installation is complete. EDIT - After downloading and extracting the file, that's not the directory structure at all! What did you use to create the MSI file? Installsheild? EDIT2 - You could make the package even smaller by using 7-zip. I've got it down to 3,753KB so far.

Yup. It's possible with Partition Magic. Windows can't do it for you though. Just resize the partition like you would with any other partition. PM will tell you to reboot, and then it'll apply the changes on the next boot.

Excellent... thanks! I tried to find some other freeware stream savers, but all the links were out of date.

I'm trying to download a streamed video for a friend, from this website. Upon digging through the webpage code, I found that the video file was located at http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives/2002/en...20000711et1.wmv Now.... that opens in WMP as a streaming video, with no option to save. When I use a download manager to download it, I get a tiny file (definately not 3 minutes of video). After changing the extension to .txt and opening, I get [Reference] Ref1=http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives/2002/en/wmv/oka20000711et1.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf Ref2=http://192.168.99.129:80/archives/2002/en/wmv/oka20000711et1.wmv?MSWMExt=.asf If I try to download oka20000711et1.wmv or oka20000711et1.asf, I get the same small file. Any ideas?

Have you tried downloading the updates from the microsoft site directly? Do a search at microsoft.com for KBXXXXXX (where the X's are the update number) for the downloads. Save them to your hard drive, and then run them.

Eep... I remember the times before I got my 802.11g wireless card in my laptop... so... slow... Although somehow, I could still stream DivX/XviD movies.

Ah... yeah, the AF wall is very nice.

It could also be that the advertized 16ms response time isn't actually what stands up to tests. Check the tests over at Tom's Hardware for various LCD monitors, and you'll see that the response time is actually higher than what the manufacturers advertise. I'd take a quality built 12 or even 16ms monitor over a crappy no-name 8ms.

Wireless is a lot nicer than wired for laptop/PDA users. I can be anywhere in my house with my laptop and browse just like I can with my desktop. The only difference is that transferring files is a little slower than with wired connections, but if I want to do large file transfers, I'll plug in.

Well... I can say with 100% confidence that I'm not going to use Look'n'Stop. I uninstalled Sygate on my computer, and then installed the Look'n'Stop trial. I downloaded all the tools from the Firewall Leak Tester and when I ran Test 1 of Wallbreaker, guess what happens? Blue Screen of Death! It's the very first one that I've got on this computer in over a year, so don't tell me I have problems with my installation. The BSOD also reffered to a Look'n'Stop system file (lnsdw.sys ?), so I knew that it was the culprit. Not to mention that after having used it for a while, and allowing all my main programs (Outlook, MSN, Winamp, Explorer for file sharing), it failed most of the tests anyways! If a firewall is going to crash my machine, it can go out the window (haha, get it?) for all I care. I've never had another firewall cause a problem like this (except for trying to install PC-Cillin on a Win2003 machine... ). My vote =

Well... I'm done with Star Wars... Onto FFX-2 B) Dirty VS: RoyalFour Wallpaper: Yuna by smileyno1 (sorry - can't remember where I got it) AveDesk 1.3 Samurize All the usual lickin's.... @Wicket20519 - Do you actually have that many wallpapers of girls? @SiMoNsAyS - Where are our finalists!!! Nice desktops everyone!

bah... I know why... I was just too tired to realize it. To enter quotes in commands like that you need to use \". So... ;!@Install@!UTF-8! RunProgram="setup.exe –s -f2\"%systeemdrive%\pdvd.log\"" ;!@InstallEnd@! Also... should there be a space between the -f2 switch and the log destination? like the following: ;!@Install@!UTF-8! RunProgram="setup.exe –s -f2 \"%systeemdrive%\pdvd.log\"" ;!@InstallEnd@!

Could it be this? Should be systemdrive, not systeemdrive.

I don't know how much I trust that site. It says that Sygate doesn't have Application Monitoring, when it does. The first time a new program tries to access the network/internet, Sygate will tell you exactly what program it is. I'm gonna download all the programs and test them out tonight for myself.

With the live CD/DVDs, you can't really get a feel for how the system is going to run once you've got all your drivers and programs installed. Also, you don't get to experience how to install programs for each distro. There's no real way that you can install something when running from Live CD, is there?

Grab your Windows XP CD and pop it in your CD drive. Exit out of the setup if it appears. Go to Start->Run and type in cmd. In the command prompt that appears, type in sfc /scannow. After it's done, reboot your computer. Does that help any?

I've actually found that the best way to find your favorite distro is to try them out. Fire up VMware and install whichever one you want. If you can get it working to a point where you can find information on the internet, you're golden.

You can run Gnome in Suse. You can run any desktop environment in just about every modern distro (I think). All you need to do is install the right packages. It's all about apt-get.

Isn't that what I said?

Right-click My Computer ->Properties ->Advanced ->Settings (under "Startup and Recovery") ->Uncheck "Automatically Restart"

It is? It's not on the homepage or the forums...

Ok, if you've got an ATi card, then I think this should make it easier. Right-click on the desktop and select Properties. Under the Settings tab, click Advanced. Under Displays, you should see your TV. You can find all the settings related to your display there. If I remember correctly, there's an option to offset the display left/right. Try playing with that.

Zxian’s Windows 2000/XP Troubleshooting Guide Here’s a little guide I thought I’d write to help with general Windows troubleshooting. It’s a first step that you can take yourself before looking for help on the internet or paying hard earned money at your local computer store (where they might follow this guide anyways). First - Did you change anything recently? This question includes - Installing/Uninstalling software - Installing/Uninstalling hardware (this includes USB keys, Cameras, Printers, etc) - Changing Windows options - Changing software options and more. Anything that you can think of that wasn’t simply using the computer, write it down. If you do get to the point where you ask for help from someone, they’ll probably want to know that information. If you did change something, try to change it back. If you installed new software or hardware, try uninstalling it. If that solves the problem, check the manufacturer’s website for any information on incompatibilities with your system (usually found under Support or Drivers/Information). Second - Are there any Error Messages/Codes? One of the most annoying problems that Tech Support receives from customers is that the customer gets an error message from their computer, but they click “OK” before writing down what the error is. That being said, if you are getting an error message, write it down! After that, Google is your friend. Simply visit www.google.com and enter the error code or message. Chances are that you’re not the first person in the world to have encountered this problem, and the answer is out there waiting for you. If you can’t find the solution yourself, whoever’s going to help you will want to know this information as well. Third - Have you checked for Malware on your system? Malware is any type of software that is designed to cause harm to your system. This includes viruses, worms, trojans, adware, spyware, and more. A good first step is to update your anti-virus definitions, and run your anti-virus scanner (you do have an anti-virus program, right?). If your anti-virus program doesn’t find anything, visit http://housecall.trendmicro.com, and run the online scanner there. If that doesn’t find anything, then the good news is that you probably don’t have a virus. Next thing to do is get the trio of anti-spyware software. - Ad-Aware Personal SE - Spybot Search&Destry - Microsoft Anti-Spyware Install each of these programs and update them. Then use each one to scan your system for spyware. If the program tells you to clean/fix problems, do it. Fourth - Do you have the latest drivers for your system? Check the manufacturer’s website for any driver updates since you bought your computer. Outdated drivers may have bugs in them that cause strange behaviour. The most important drivers to consider are Chipset drivers and Video drivers. If you have a video card made by ATI or nVidia, check those websites for the latest version of the Catalyst (ATI) or ForceWare (nVidia) drivers. In all likelihood, you’ll find the most up-to-date drivers there. After all that, you now have to get into the nitty-gritty. It sounds scary, but it’s not that bad. You have to figure out what part of your system is causing the error. If the problem always comes up when you’re typing in Microsoft Word, there’s no point in checking your hardware, right? Software Errors These are probably the easiest to solve, since the error is coming from one place. Try uninstalling the software, and then reinstalling it. If the software has an option to “Repair”, ignore it. I’ve often found that this doesn’t help all that much. Check the manufacturer’s website for support information, updates, and/or patches. Windows Errors If you’re getting problems with Explorer crashing or similar problems that happen with all software, it could be a Windows problem. Go and grab your Windows CD and put it in your CD/DVD drive. If the Windows Setup screen appears, click Exit. Access the Run command by clicking Start->Run and typing in cmd. A command prompt window will appear (remember the good ol’ days of DOS?). Type in sfc /scannow and wait. This will check your system files against those from the CD to make sure that all the correct system files are in place. Once this has finished, reboot your system. Hardware Errors If you’re getting errors about memory not being able to be read or written at 0xXXXXXXXX (a bunch of numbers and letters), then you’ve probably got a problem with your RAM. Download Memtest86+ (http://www.memtest.org/) and burn it to a CD. Boot your computer from the CD and run Memtest86+. You’ll probably want to leave this running overnight as it takes a while to check for all possible memory errors. Another good test to run is Prime95 (http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm). Install the software and run the program. Go to Options->Torture Test and select Blend. Let the program run for a good long while (overnight if possible). If you wake up and the computer is still chugging away, then it’s a good sign. The Blue Screen of Death Ah… the memories of Windows 95/98/Me… I’ve only had one BSOD on my computers since switching to Windows XP. Most of these are caused by driver problems or hardware errors. Hopefully, if you’ve followed the guide to this point, you shouldn’t be experiencing any BSODs. If your computer is restarting with a flash of a blue screen, go right-click on My Computer and select Properties. Under the Advanced tab, click on the Settings button under Startup and Recovery. Here, uncheck the box beside Automatically Restart. The next time your computer gets a BSOD, it won’t automatically restart, and you’ll get a chance to write down the STOP code that you receive. Write down the full line under Technical Information - something similar to Technical information: *** STOP: 0x0000004e (0x00000099, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000) Some extra points (Thanks Takeshi): searching using the short notation STOP 0x0A is often the same as the long notation 0x0000000A thus making it simpler; if the message contains a specific message like DRIVER_IRQ... then this immediately gives a clue about a driver problem; if the message lists a specific file, xxx.sys then it's well worth Googling this too. most of the BSODs are hardware related but some are due to software conflicts Then visit this site and see if you can find the error that you’re receiving. The site also provides a good guide on how to troubleshoot STOP Messages. Those are at least the basics of my troubleshooting. If you’ve done all that, go ahead and ask your friends or local computer gurus for help. The most important thing to remember - Google is your friend! If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Windows does release the memory. After you close a program, the memory that was used is available to other programs.What Windows does (and this is the thing that people get confused about), is that it doesn't erase the memory right away. Imagine the situation where you open a program, close it, then remember that you needed to do one more thing. When you run the program again, most of it is already in memory waiting for you. If the memory had been cleared, Windows would have to reload all the files from the hard drive. If you want something done automatically, you need something running. It's as simple as that. You could also look into DIRMS and Buzzsaw. That might be another option for you, but then again, it's a service that runs all the time. Your choice.

My main annoyance with WMP is that it always resizes to the size of the video, regardless of the settings. With MPC, the video is always resized to the MPC window, the way it should be. Now... to figure out this filter/codec problem I'm having...(that's another topic though).