LS_Dragons

Yes - you have it pretty close to 'right'. According to what I have heard, though, you should be able to install on your laptop and activate via telephone. M$ phone people are supposed to be very easy on approving at this point in the OS lifecycle. Just tell them that after you installed and activated everything went to hell on your system and you ended up reformatting and reinstalling. You will be able to follow the same process if you happen to screw something up so badly on wither system that a re-install is required - but again, they should be pretty easy about it. A suggestion -- invest in a product like Norton/Symantec Ghost and once you have a perfect install with EVERYTHING working just how you like it on both systems - make a Ghost Image. You will be able to restore the ghost image rather than reformat and re-install should something go balls up. Lance

XPerties is right about the System Restore feature in XP. I have gotten into the habit of creating a new restore point before I install ANYTHING - especially hacks. However, I also use Ghost on every system I work on after I get everything installed and everything is PERFECT!!!!! That way - if system restore doesn't get me back to a good solid point in time - Restore that Ghost Image and all is good. Another thing about system restore - it will get your WindowsXP install back to a previous point in time - but not necessarily other installed applications and especially not DATA files!! Lance

If you are planning to go add a laptop with wireless card - I highly recommend the Linksys router plus wireless access point. One thing to be VERY CAREFUL about is the chip vendor for the wireless card you get for the laptop. DO NOT GET ANYTHING that utilizes the Intercil chipset. They have been absolutely terrible about getting any of the *crap* to work under XP. Make sure you check the Windows XP Compatibility listing for wireless - they have been very much the stickler about the 802.11 stuff they certify and I would trust them in this case. Lance

You won't have a problem -- just make sure (before it is too late and you need it) that you create the appropriate DOS Boot disk including the GHOST executables. Best case - you should burn your 2 backup ghost files to CD and make sure your DOS boot disk also includes drivers for the CD drive. Anyway, once you start Ghost - it does not care about File Systems - just drives/partitons at the system level. I would do a test run - boot to DOS -- start Ghost -- tell it to restore partition from file -- browse to the appropriate source file -- select the correct Target partition ----- then cancel before you actually start the copy. Good Luck -- LS

Assuming your Home Phone Line Network is set up properly (basically this is ethernet using the existing phone lines in the house). Can you see computer B in My Network Places on computer A? If so, you should be able to go to the folder you want to share and right click then select Sharing and Security. Select "Share this folder" and put in the proper permissions - user name that youwant to give access to etc. note that by default "Everyone" is given full permissions so you will need to adjust this accordingly. LS

.... I did do a search - but did not find that particular post. Probably because the 'subject' was not about Windows Update. I looked at TONS of Windows Update titles posts, and had not seen this trick. I should probably just email you my posts ahead of time in order to make sure I don't repeat Just Kidding --- There is so much info on the forum, somtimes it is hard to find. LS

I have been messing around with Windows Update and came accross this very cool tip that will let you download the updates (without installing right away). This way you can burn various updates to CD for re-application should you have to reinstall the OS - or whatever. Here is the trick: 1st go to the XP Windows Update site the normal way. In the left hand 'pane' you will see a link to PERSONALIZE. Now look for a Check Box that says "Display the link to the Windows Update Catalog." Now at the top click SAVE SETTINGS. A new link will appear in the left pane that takes you to a searchable online database of XP-related patches and updates. Whatcha Think???:behead LS_Dragons

Hey Rick - I am not sure about an exact answer to your issue. I have always read (and my own experience has proven) that the best dual boot scenario for a Win 9x plus Win NT type situation is to always install the 9x first - then add the NT dual boot after. A pretty easy solution to follow if you have already installed NT (XP) is to simply add a second hard drive. Unplug the XP drive and install 9x on the 'new' drive and then plug the XP drive back in making it in the 2nd position (D). This will keep it from totally getting screwed up and you simply edit the boot.ini file to provide the choice of 9x or XP at boot. If you are talking about some OS other than 9x as 'the other' I fear I can offer no help. Haven't gotten around to playing with linux or any others yet. LS

Try going into the setup for the games and tell it to 'render in software' -- I have seen many posts elsewhere saying that works for lots of games. Soon, the publishers will have to post updates that 'fix' things for XP. LS

To change the way users log on - you have to be logged in as an administrator. I am sure you already do this. Now go to Control Panel - User Accounts. Click on Advanced Tab and at the bottom of the windows you will find Secure Logon. Check the box to require users to press control alt delete to logon. This will now get you to the Windows 2000 style initial logon screen. Unfortunately - it will also get rid of any of those cool XP Logon Skins you might have downloaded...... I am not sure - but it might also get rid of Fast User Switching. I can't really test that cause I am on Domains with my systems, so Fast USer Switching is not an option. Good Luck!!!! LS

Sure - I will give it a shot anyway. I am not sure from the posts whether your DSL 'connection app' is a dialer or not so this may not work. But what you want to do is go into My Network Places - then click "View Network Connections". You should then be anle to "Create a new Connection" -- UNLESS your DSL Connection already shows up. If it does, forget about the next step. Go through the create new connection wizard and hopefully you will be able to use the DSL 'dialer' to make the connection. Now change 'the way users log on' to the old Win2K style (Ctrl-Alt-Del). You will have a check box that says log on using Dial Up Networking. Check that box and when you log on a Choice List of 'Connections' will pop up. Choose the DSL Connection you just made and it should 'activate' the DSL and then finish logging you on. My setup was a bit different cause I am using VPN and have to put in Domain/Username info and stuff, so I am guessing about some of this stuff - but won't hurt to give it a shot. Hope it makes a bit of sense ----- LS

Hey XPerties - did you try changing the logon to logon with dial up networking? Just curious if you did and whether it made a diff. When I want to logon to my work network - I do that (i can do it after boot up but prefer starting in the network) and it lets me choose the connection - I am choosing a VPN - but should let you select the DSL 'dialer' as well. Just curious about some of the solutions my warped mind comes up with and whether they might work.... LS

After taking BAH's advice and checking for new firmware - there was new stuff available, installing it and restarting everything, my cable modem, linksys router, and 3 XP desktops have been on AND CONNECTED since 12/2/01 ----> 4 days and counting. That is the longest I have been able to keep my internet connection 'live' since installing XP Pro. Muchas Gracias BAH. I know I should have known to check for drivers and firmware - and actually had been fairly regularly with no updates. Just goes to show we can all forget the 'simple' things now and then. LS

Try right clicking on the folder. Win2K and XP allow you to move some 'system' type folders like My Documents via this method. I don't have "Offline folders" on this computer or I would check for you....... If that doesn't work - try just creating a new folder in the desired location and reestablishing the offline share -- but this time don't accept the defaults - browse to the folder you want to use for storage. LS

....but you might change your logon to the old windows 200 style (ctrl alt del) and then check the logon using dial up networking and select the 'dsl dialer' as the default. Other than that - i will give some more thought. also - try the forums at www.dslreports.com --- they have very deep knowledge of these types of issues LS

Another XP Setting you can utilize to get back some hard drive space. Iknow -- I know -- hard drives are cheap so sho cares. I guess I do after downloading a couple of full DVD movies with eDonkey. I got a disk close to capacity error - so started searching for some tweaks to get space back. Here are 2: :mad: SYSTEM RESTORE -- while a 'somewhat' useful feature, the default setting for system restore takes up 15% of your hard drive space. Reduce it by Right click on My Computer, select Properties, and select the System Restore tab. Select your main drive (usually C:), click Settings, and move the slider to reserve a more reasonable percentage. :mad: RECYCLE BIN -- Right click on the Recycle Bin, select Properties, and on the Global tab, decide how much space you want the Recycle Bin to consume. :mad: Internet Explorer Cache -- Tools/Internet Options. Under Temporary Internet Files, click the Settings button and select a reasonable size for this cache area. Some rules of thumb: if you have a fast connection, 5 Mbytes to 10 Mbytes is adequate; 25 Mbytes or so is usually enough with a slower dial-up connection I suppose this post 'could' be moved to tweaks, I will let the mods decide LS_Dragons

:spaced DUH!

Hey BAH - based on your message - I have looked at the linksys site and found that the latest firmware is updated. My router is BEFW11S4 and the latest firmware is now: version 1.39.2 dated 10/15/2001. That date corresponds with WinXP release so I will definitley try it out. Will post after I have some results. Thanks again.....LS

Thanks BAH - hope you have an idea. The firmware is: 1.37.9b, Jun 21 2001 The wierd thig is it just started after moving to XP. Under 2K it did not seem to need the daily reset. LS

check the stuff at the following links. not sure which one you might want to try 1st, but since you are in experimentation mode - maybe one will unlock the xp media players dvd playback ability h*tp://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/playback.html h*tp://www.digital-digest.com/dvd/downloads/encoding_2.html#plugin LS

Just a thought - but if Lou's suggestions don't get you all the way there - you can enable Netbui and all should be able to see each other. Netbui is not 'supported' in XP but can be made to work. If you do this - be sure you have a GOOD firewall!!! LS

ZYFER - I appreciate the reply, but according to the roadrunner 'help' pages see the following quote: "Microsoft has recently released the newest version of its Windows Operating System - Windows XP. As with any major OS release, Road Runner is conducting quality assurance testing to ensure that there are no compatibility issues with XP and the Road Runner service. As soon as Windows XP testing has passed and is complete, support information will be posted on Help & Member Services." All drivers are completely up to date as well as router firmware. As I said in original post - all worked as it should with windows2K so even though RR does not 'technically' support routers - there was not a problem under 2K - but is uner XP. Repeat - any suggestions for something 'inside' xp to check? LS

.... and Excel Access and Outlool are 2627 and Frontpage is 2623........ Just thought I would finish up for XPerties. hehe So looks like between 2623 and 2627 those are the FINAL builds. LS

You say this was an 'upgrade' install - so I assume you had already installed the mediamatics patch for win2K??? If not - try that. As you know - many xp problems are solved with 2K drivers and patches. If you have to resort to buying something to get it working, you can get a PCMCIA card by MARGI (i think that is the spelling) that will enable hardware decoding on almost any laptop. Actually - you will get better playback - just costs a bit more. LS

I know this is a minor inconvenience only - but ever since I installed XP on my home network my cable modem or linksys router has to be reset at least every other day. Sometimes daily, sometimes it will stay up 2 days. It seems that it fails to refresh the dynamic ip address. Before - with Win2K it would stay up forever. Of course - roadrunner claims to not 'support' XP - but I don't see anything that should cause this problem. ANY SUGGESTIONS of stuff to look at??????????? LS