Andromeda43

The invention of SATA and its release into the wild, so to speak, opens up all sorts of avenues. I wanted to upgrade to a SATA drive but my mobo would not support it. SO, I got a SATA controller card from Buslink. (About $30) I was able to get my new SATA drive up and running on that little PCI card with only a minimum of difficulty. I was even able to add a second SATA drive and RAID the two drives together. The RAID configuration ate up both SATA ports and two drives and didn't give me the scorching speed I was looking for. So I dismantled the RAID setup and went back to a single SATA drive. Then, I found the IDE to SATA adaptor. I just installed it on the back of my old IDE drive and plugged it into my SATA controller with a SATA drive cable. I was astounded and amazed to see that it made my little 60 gig Maxtor (IDE) drive run just like a new SATA drive. I saw data transfer speeds of 1.5mbpm. So there's just one more option available to someone wanting faster performance from their IDE drives.\ It just gets better and better, Good Luck to all, Andromeda43

Yes... You need to have the drivers on a floppy, so when the install asks you to press F6 to install special drivers, you can do that. Most mobo driver CD's that support SATA will have a driver floppy building routine on the CD. Take a look at it. I hope that later versions of Windows will have SATA drivers already built into the Setup.exe program. Cheers Mates, Andromeda43

To save space within a program, many are written to take advantage of things already written in the OS. If it was written for XP, then 98 just doesn't have the stuff to run it. Accept it.....don't fight with it. If you want to run programs written for XP,,,,then just do the upgrade to XP. Good Luck and Happy New Year, Andromeda43

Been there.....Done that, and got the bill for double connection from my ISP. It sort'a worked but not the way I thought it would. When I found out that my ISP was billing me an extra dollar evey time I connected I promptly quit doing that. I doubt that there are many ISP's that support double logon and would do it for FREE. The download speeds weren't really twice the single modem speed and it was eating up system resources like crazy. Didn't anyone ever tell you that slot #2 was the recognized slot for a phone modem? Well, it is. IRQ wise, that's the best place to put your (one) modem. It will work better there and you'll have fewer IRQ problems. If your modem is a "Win" modem, you're crapping in your own nest anyway. Only a hardware modem will give you top performance without hogging CPU time, RAM and other system resources. A Win modem is dumb and must be run every step of the way, by your CPU. Good Luck and Happy New Year, Andromeda43

randi,,,, unless you're a more accomplished programmer than the hundreds of professionals that wrote Windows 98, leave it alone! The recycle bin was put there for a very good reason. Many programs use it. Windows uses it. Leave it the way MS set it up and don't futz with it. If you delete a file or folder and you don't want it to go into the Recycle Bin, then hold down the left shift key while you hit or click the "Delete" key. That will throw the file completely out of the system and it will never go into the Recycle Bin. Find something else to occupy your time.....golf, pool, cribbage, porn? Screwing around with Windows features will give you ulcers, hemhoroids and cause you to become a real PIA to people on the forums as well. No respectable tech in the world would suggest that you futz around with Windows System files and features. Cheers Mate,

That's a problem that seems to haunt Windows 98 more than any other OS. During boot up, something has interfered with the loading of the Video Drivers. The more programs you have loading on boot-up, the worse this problen seems to get. I've found that you can restore the high quality settings, but only one at a time. Go in and set your colors to High Color 16 bit,,,apply and reboot. Now the colors should be OK... Go back into settings and set the resolution to 800x600,,,,apply and reboot again. Now everything should be back up to normal. I've walked my 98 customers through this hundreds of times over the phone. And, I've never seen it fail to work when done as I've said here. (one item only, at a time) good luck, Andromeda43

No responsible technician is going to answer that question without knowing "What is the name of the program in Question"? For instance.....Norton System Works puts nearly a thousand entries in the registry. How would you like to remove those, manually? So, if you'll ask the right question, you'll be more likely to get the Right answer. Cheers,

Fantastic! A very good move on your part. As a professional, not a geek, nerd or whatever, I want to give myself and my customers the very best security software that I can without getting deeply into their pocket books. "Never buy something if you can get it for FREE!" Isn't that the American way? I've tested dozens of programs in my quest for perfection and the CLEAN computer. I will settle for nothing less than a 100% clean PC. Also, ease of operation and a very friendly user interface are of GREAT importance, as many of my customers are retired folks and lots of "little old ladies". For my sake and theirs, I do everything on the KISS method (Keep It Simple Stupid)! Now back to AVG 7.1 FREE.....that's the program you want. Don't mess around with the Pro version unless you just have money to throw away.....in which case, throw it MY way. I had the Pro ver. for two years and found that I'd just wasted my money. The free version does just everything the normal user needs to stay safe. If you want the best Security Software that money CAN't buy, here's my personal list: *************************************** These are the programs I use every day to keep my own PC spotlessly clean. I suggest every person having any Virus or Spyware issues get these programs and use them immediately. Do check for updates to all your security software on a DAILY basis. SPYWARE BLOCKERS/REMOVERS: Spybot Search & Destroy, a great anti Spyware program. Can be downloaded from: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_desc...id,22262,00.asp For instructions on how to set up Spybot for best operation, See my Spybot Setup instructions on this webpage. AdAware SE/Personal. Another top notch anti Spyware program. Can be downloaded from: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download506.html Spyware Blaster, a great Spyware Blocker. Protects both I.E. and Mozilla Firefox. Can be downloaded from: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2859.html ANTI-VIRUS PROTECTION: AVG 7 FREE: World famous AVG will keep your computer free of viruses, trojans, dialers, etc. By default, it updates and scans for viruses on a daily basis. Can be downloaded from: http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/ Save to your desktop and run the install from there. Immediately get updates. More than one may be required. Stinger: Stand Alone Virus Scanner Check for new version, once a week. Can be downloaded from: http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/ Save to your Desktop and run from there. vCleaner, Stand Alone Virus Checker from Grisoft. Can be downloaded from: http://www.infinitevelocity.com/tips/tips_vcleaner.htm Save to your Desktop and run from there. REGISTRY CLEANER: Easy Cleaner, the best Registry Cleaner I've found so far. Can be downloaded from: http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm Just scroll down to "Download & Installation" and click on the first floppy disk symbol. FIREWALL: The XP windows firewall is only a 50% firewall, blocking incoming hackers but doing nothing to stop any ET that's already on your PC from "Phoning Home". It seems like almost every program you install anymore, wants to "Phone Home". It's a good idea to NOT allow this activity. My suggested Firewall to prevent this activity is the FREE version of a world famous product called "Zone Alarm". ZA can be downloaded from: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/cata...lid=dbtopnav_za Happy Computing! If you do all of the above, your PC will love you and you'll have the cleanest PC in the neighborhood. ***********************************************

Well, Almost! But it's usually quicker than opening forums and waiting for the right answer and filtering out all the wrong answers, and not knowing which is which. If you have the ME CD just put it in and reinstall. It will refresh windows without hurting your data, drivers, etc. Good Luck and Happy New Year, Andromeda43

MS is over the hill on that stuff. 98/SE is like "yesterday" so why on earth should they hold up a person over it. It's assinine! They are way too hung up on their licensing C..R..A..P.. The answer is as close as your best friend. Just ask. Any 98/SE key will work. Happy New Year,

I'm not a networking person, so I'm doing a lot of guessing here. On your network can you access the desktop of the remote PC? If you can ,,,,, can you click a shortcut on that desktop? If you can,,,,, you can put this line into a shortcut on that desktop and just click it to shutdown that PC. %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f That's the correct syntax for a Quick Shutdown Icon on your desktop. I use that myself and share it with all my customers. Good Luck and Happy New Year, Andromeda43

OK, here's the deal. Doing what you suggest could get you in real hot water with MS. Forgetaboutit! Don't fuss wit da OS! What you can do however is make a system restore disk for any PC while it's still working and in good shape. Clean it up, tweak the registry to get the best efficiency, install your Protection Software and set up all the options. Make darn'd sure the HD is virus and Spyware FREE and Defragmented. Then make a Restore CD or DVD using (Norton's) Ghost 2003. You can get the program over the internet for less than $7usd. I use it a lot for myself and others. When burning a copy of the HD to a DVD it will ask you if you want to use the boot floppy or CD for the boot sector on the Restore DVD. If disaster happens, you can replace or reformat the HD, then put in the restore DVD which will boot up the system and let you restore the saved image file. In just a few minutes you'll be back up and running with NO loss of data. Ghost 2003 can easily create the Ultimate Restore CD/DVD. It's saved my A** (donkey) many a times. I use it twice a week, at least, to backup my own PC. All Image files are saved on bootable DVD's for an easy restore. Life's simple when you know how it works. Happy New Year, Andromeda43

In two years of working these online forums.... ...is about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. You're doing the whole internet a darn'd serious Disservice by not protecting your own PC against viruses. Your computer is a literal "Thphoid Mary". Your computer could be, right now, spreading viruses all over the internet. launching DOS attacks and acting as a "Zombe" terminal. With one of the finest Anti Virus programs in the world just a download away why are you still unprotected? Please do us all a great big favor and get yourself protected. AVG 7.1 FREE is available FREE Here. (http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/) When properly set up, AVG will automaticly get its own updates and do a full virus scan for you on a Daily basis. If you need any help with it,,,,I'll be glad to oblige. Happy New Year, Andromeda43

If system files have become corrupt or missing in XP,,,,you can run sfc /snannow It will need access to your Windows XP CD and it will restore all missing or corrupt Sysem files. It may take a while....so don't get in a hurry and start messing with it. Just leave it alone till it finishes. Job done, Andromeda43

I've had to hack so many PC's because the PW got hosed or the operator forgot it..... What a total pain in the arse! I don't need one and won't ever have one. I'd rather use a Key-Lock to protect my PC if I needed that kind of protection. Parents, Don't let your kids password lock their user accounts. YOU need to keep total control over that computer and everything it does and everywhere it goes (on the Internet). Nuff said. Happy New Year, y'all. Andromeda43

I'm totally amazed that in a tech forum,,,,there is so much Miss-Information. The title of the poll is "Best Spyware Blocker". In the first place, many of the titles in the poll are NOT even Spyware Blockers. AdAware for instance, blocks nothing....absolutely nothing. It's a find'em and kill'em program. Some of the programs have nothing to do with spyware at all. Norton for instance.....the last time I checked it was a mediocre to very poor Anti-Virus program. Again NOTHING to do with Spyware. Heck, it doesn't even block viruses....it's too busy loading down the PC and trying to micro manage it and of course protect the Recycle Bin. OK, so we need blockers. Spybot S&D, if kept up to date and the user doesn't forget to use the Immunization button after getting a download, is a pretty good blocker. But, proper setup and daily updates are required. Or, it quickly becomes Worthless. SpywareBlaster is a totally dedicated "Blocker".....that's its only function in life.....IT BLOCKS,,,,but, it will NOT find and remove anything. One of the best blockers going is a custom HOSTS file.....now how many of you even know what that is,,,or use one....or keep it up to date? The average user hasn't a clue..... I've questioned many tech's who don't even know what a custom hosts file is. If someone is going to start a poll, in a technical forum, they really should get their ducks in a row. I'm disappointed,,,,,,,, Cheers Mates

You're going to have to spend some time to fix that computer. Either install the cleanup software we recommend here and fix it, or Run the Restore CD and still have to do a bunch of Un-Installing to clean up the mess that the mfgr left you. I'd just do the immediate cleanup and forget that restore disk, for now anyway. For the very best in FREE Security software see the URL list on This Webpage When you're all done, make your own Restore Disk so you don't have to go through this again. Good Luck and Merry Christmas, Andromeda43

Just the thought that Microsoft would ever create a Pro version of the worse OS in PC history,,,,,gives me the chills. Heck NO it doesn't exist,,,,,and never will. Thank God! Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, Andromeda43

If you thought those guys weren't much help....You'll just love this. Your computer was built for 98.....not XP. Don't push it! 800mhz is SLOW.....and you'll need at least 512 megs of RAM to run that system effeciently. And we're not talking PC-100 here either. Media Center is a real BEAST (that's the nicest name I could think of this late in the day) And a ten gig HD is not only too little but way too SLOW too. If you think you have a need that requires a Windows XP operating system, then it's time for a new computer. Even in a lowly little eMachine, you'll get a 3000 mhz processor or better, 512 meg of DDR ram, , a large and fast HD and of course a DVD burner. And, you won't have to worry about service packs or any of that kind of stuff. Unless you're a total techie, don't even think about putting XP on that old (and tired) pc. Good Luck and Merry Christmas, Andromeda43

Real men pray.... And they don't go in for all the fluff and glitz and glitter of "Themes" and eye candy like that. If you're going to play, then you have to pay. What's the price for running "Themes" and all that kind of stuff? System Performance, that's what. Because every Service you have running all the time, takes up ram, CPU time and causes more HD action. When I set up a new computer, I run a script that disables eleven Services in Windows XP. This gives a real boost to System Performance. Getting windows set up to properly use the installed ram is another big PLUS! Getting rid of Norton, McAfee and other system hogs is another huge step toward a great running system. Setting up XP to Classic view is just a Kindness to people who are upgrading from Windows 98 or ME. It's much less confusing for them. Good Luck and Merry Christmas everyone, Andromeda43

All new drives will take both....buy the one your dealer has on sale. If you have an OLD drive, get the one your drive calls for. Don't get all excited about a difference that no longer makes any difference. I use both on my new DVD DL drive. They both just work. The drive seems to not give a darn. Merry Christmas, Andromeda43

Going all the way back to when we were using the old Seagate 20 meg 5.25" drive, the major drive makers have gone through various stages of reliability/un-reliability. Many of the companies that I really liked ten years ago or more are no longer in business or have been absorbed by other large companies. Quantum was a good example. At one time they were at the top of the heap. If you could afford a Quantum HD you had some real bragging rights. They slipped, suffered a loss of quality and have since dissappeared all together. This year (2005) WD has taken a huge hit in reliability. I've had to RMA three WD SATA drives this summer alone. Many of my tech friends will no longer install any WD drive. All my wholesalers are practically giving them away just to clear their shelves. Right now, today, Maxtor and Seagate seem to be the only viable options. I hate is when I can't rely on any drive my wholesaler happens to have on their shelves. Now I have to pick and choose. Just one more thing that is making being in the computer business harder than it was. You can benchmark till your butt falls off and in the long run it don't mean a dang'd thing. When that super fast HD that you just bought a few months ago, after much benchmarking, blows its brains out and leaves you stranded, what good was all that benchmarking? If you have time to spare, play some pool or go down to the pub and have a few beers with the guys. But forget all the benchmarking. It's truly a total Waste of your time. And don't ask individuals who have only had a couple of drives in thier whole life. Talk to computer dealers who deal with hundreds of drives, not just one or two. Get the reports from the mass wholesalers who deal with all the RMA's on broken HD's. Even my own experiences are somewhat limited since I only deal with less than a hundred HD's per year. But, this year has been a bad year for WD's. It's cost me a bundle in shipping charges, insurance, etc. sending back bad WD drives. The last RMA drive I got back from WD was made in China and was so scratched up it looked like someone had kicked it accross a concrete floor. Maybe they did. I may use it for backups of my backups, but nothing more important than that. Right now, it's sitting on my spare parts shelf. Hitachi is still making the same drive that we tech's all knew as the IBM DeathStar. If you don't super cool that thing it will just burn up. I replaced four of those things in just one year,,,,all due to heat fatique. If you Have to use one....mount it in an open bay and attach a two-fan cooler to its belly. The last one I had, died on me while I was on-line. When I reached in to remove it, it burned my hand. Buy a Maxtor or Seagate. Merry Christmas everyone, Andromeda43

Hee Hee,,,,,only takes me 30 minutes to put the parts in the case and hook up all the cables, and get it ready to boot. Then another several hours to install the OS, AV and AS software, do all the tweaking and tuning necessary for a really GOOD running system. But whatever ya do,,,,,,for God's sake, don't waste your money on a DELL. Nuff said. Merry Christmas everyone, Andromeda43

I can echo that...... My 21" Nokia looks clean and clear at that resolution. Although the icons are too dang'd small to see. So why again is that not a viable screen setting? Cheers

OK,,,,Maybe someone with a high speed internet connection will step up and volunteer. My old dial up connection would take forever to upload those files. Do you need just the two files you mentioned? Gmail will not accept any attachment that I've ever tried to send anyone. Do you have a REAL email address? Most forum administrators urge folks NOT to put their email addy's on the forums. you can do that in PM with someone who can and will upload those files to you. Cheers, Andromeda43