Andromeda43

RJM, There's a Big Lots store in Winter Garden that has a great "Computer Stuff" dept. Right accross the parking lot is a "Cheap Guys Computers" store where you can find some terrific bargains. I'm a registered Dealer with "Cheap Guys" and I do most of my business with them. Great Name Brand merchandise at very reasonable prices. And "No Hassle" RMA's, with valid sales receipt. They now have five stores in the 'Greater' Orlando area. www.cheapguys.com They also take mail orders and ship all over the country. I like to go to the Longwood store on 17/92, next to Dunkin Donuts. That's where the boss hangs out. Shop till ya drop! Cheers, Andromeda43

Ha Ha,,,, You're obviously a young guy and have not learned the secret of (which I think most women are born with) SHOPPING! When you get the prices from those web sites you are missing all the fun of "Shopping". They will give you the MRRP (manufacturers recommended retail price) or something like that. Not the "we wanna git rid of it, NOW" price. I make a weekly round of the office supply stores and of course WalMart. Then of course, not to leave out, "Big Lots". Great keyboards for $5.99, mice for $5, etc. etc. etc. The cheap CD-R's I bought were on the "Reduced for Quick Sale" table at Staples and were "HP" branded. It you're hung up on brand name recognition....it don't get much more recognizable than "HP". (Im NOT,,,,I'll take generics in a heartbeat) I go through CD's here like a 'freight train going through bums' and I don't have the time or inclination to mess around with mail order. Just look for the sales or closeouts and you'll wind up saving a lot of money in a years time. I do! Good Luck, Andromeda43

Hee Hee, I'm about to throw the cat in the kennell. I've been running XP Pro for a couple of years now. The day I installed it over my windows 98/SE setup, I made the decision to keep my FAT-32 format on my HD's. My system screems!!!! If it ran any faster I couldn't stand it! In two years,,,if there's a downside, I've sure not found it yet. So, what's the upside? Well, pilgrems, lemme tell ya... I like having 100% control over my system and my hard drive at all times. If there's a bogus file that my Security Software can't remove, I just boot up with my trusty ol' Windows 98/SE boot disk an go right in and remove it. I still use Ghost 2003,,,a DOS program, to back up my HD several times a week. I copy those Image files to DVD's with my DOS boot disk used as the boot sector for the DVD. Nero does this little trick beautifully. I deal with other peoples PC's almost every day of the week, with NTFS HD's. Most of them don't work as good as mine. Cheers!

Gee,,,,,and I thought no one cared. Nice to be here guys and dolls. Looks like a great bunch of folks and also a great forum. Yes, I'm definitely an old f__t, but still young at heart. I'll be glad to put my 40+ years of experience to work helping anyone I can. Y'all have a really great day now, Andromeda43

They may have, who knows how many, warehouses scattered around the country. But, they don't stock the same stuff in every warehouse. When you order something, they ship from where they have that item. It ain't rocket science. And, they ain't the only company that does that. I was going to order a scanner from UMAX here in Miami,,,,,but they were going to ship it from L.A., Ca. I didn't want to pay all that shipping so I cancelled the order. Now, why on earth are you ordering CD-R's from newegg? Why not go down to the local WalMart or K-Mart or Target, or Staples store and get you some on sale.????? I just picked up three spindles of 50ea. CD-R's at Staples for $4.95 per spindle. Shucks!,,,,that's only 9.9 cents ea. C'mon Dude, keep your money at home.

As a computer repair tech of many years, I've saved data from dozens of drives that would no longer boot. If it will run at all, you can connect it to a running PC as a slave and copy all the data files to the HD on the running PC. I do this all the time for my own customers. I copy their data files to a folder on my own HD and then burn them to a CD or DVD for them so that they have a permanent copy of their data. Whether they restore it to a new HD or not is up to them. It's a quick and easy way to get the data and does no further damage to the HD. The more you fuss with that old drive, the more chance you have of loosing everything. If you don't have the resources to do what I've said here.....take it to someone who can. If you were nearby, I'd say bring it over here and I'd do it for you. No charge. It's about a five minute job. Cheers! Andromeda43

Windows XP is like a 1/4 ton pickup with a 1/2 ton of gravel on board.... Something is always falling off. I'm constantly loosing one function or another. When I loose a function, I don't know how many other functions may also be gone, so I do a Windows "Unattended RE-Install". I just did one two days ago when my Search function vanished. To do this rather simple operation you WILL need your Windows XP CD or at least the I386 folder that has all your XP cab files in it, as well as Winnt32.exe. You may even find it on your hard drive someplace. A friend has this technique on his web page: ************************************ Re-Installing Windows-XP If you need to reinstall Windows-XP and want to keep all your current installed applications and settings: 1. Start Windows-XP 2. Find the location of your source files (a folder called "I386" , May Be on Your Install CD or a folder on your HD) You may find several i386 folders on your PC but you want the one that has the .cab files in it along with the command file "Winnt32.exe". 3. Run WINNT32 /unattend ,,, For example, D:\I386\winnt32.exe /unattend (type this command into the RUN box, then press ENTER).... Leave just one space where I've put three for emphasis, at the end of the command and before the switch (/unattend). I've often needed to do this to repair something that had gotten corrupted and I didn't want to do a clean install. ************************************************************************ This works!, every time. I've done it many times already. Cheers! Andromeda43

I learned my lesson about messing with the windows swapfile/pagefile a long time ago. Experience is the best teacher. Now, the only time I do anything with it is to Delete it just before I do my Ghost backups. I also delete the old Restore files and all the temp files, cookies, histories, etc. That keeps the size of the Image file down by almost a gig. Then when Windows XP reboots, it just re-creates the pagefile. No fault,,,No foul. Please take my word for it, and just leave it alone. Cheers! Andromeda43

Spybot is a very good program. If it weren't, I wouldn't be using it. However, it still does not find Everything. It does however pair up very nicely with AdAware. Even the author of Spybot suggests that you use Spyware Blaster for added prevention. It's FREE and does not run as a TSR....so why not? Spybot unlike AdAware is the creation of ONE man and not a software corp. like AdAware. A year or so ago, Spybot dissappeared off of the scene for about two months. NO upgrades, NO updates and no word as to what was going on. It just wasn't there. We all had to scramble for adequate Anti-Spyware protection. Personally, as a computer security professional, I don't want to be put in that position ever again. I had dozens of phone calls from my customers, wanting to know where their Spybot updates were and I had NO answers. That's why I keep a whole arsenal of security software with me at all times, on every service call. What one doesn't get the others will. I don't want to beat anyone up here......I do want to say, however, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket". Layer your computer protection as you would winter clothing. Cheers! Andromeda43

Tweaks? Tweaks? How many would you like? I've got at least six pages of them. Windows XP is a firtile field for the avid Tweaker! Cheers! Andromeda43

OK,,,that's cool..... But, when you load the drivers for the second (identical) nic, windows thinks you're just re-loading the drivers for the first nic and the second one never gets drivers loaded at all. I know it's a weird problem, but an old one too. Just get a different nic for #2, load the drivers and you should be OK. Cheers! Andromeda43

I guess from some of the posts, that most of yous guys are much younger than I am. I've worked other internet forums and help rooms for the past several years, but yes, I'm new to this one. Officially, I'm retiring, but practically I'm still fixing computers like I have for the past 25 years. I had a very agressive Comodore 64 business in the early 80's. Then I got into fixing PC's,,,,the old IBM XT and AT's. Way back then, we had bulletin boards where peeps could post messages, comments and problems. It was fun, even then, to try to help someone with a problem. Well, that's the only reason I'm here. To help. One of these days I'll die and my brain will turn all green and mushy and 40 some odd years of experience as an electronics/computer tech will be Gone forever. If I can pass along some of what I've learned before that happens.....well that's a good thing. Right? Without a degree, no institute of higher learning will hire me as an instructor, so here I am.......helping out wherever I can, for FREE. Remember, the only dumb question is the one you thought too dumb to ask. So, when you're unsure, confused or just plain ignorant of something......ASK! There's always someone, somewhere who has the answer. And, this is as good a place to start as any. Cheers, Andromeda43

What's really criminal, and wasteful to boot, is the way that these huge HD's are set up. You're absolutely right,,,,hardly anyone needs a 160 gig drive for their boot drive. Something less than 40 gigs will do admirably. But in almost every case of a drive set up by any major manufacturer, the entire drive or most of it anyway is all set up as drive C:. So where do you store your Stuff? Like, music, pictures, Ghost images, etc. (?) I've been setting up HD's for more years than I really want to admit to in public. And, I've never set up a drive without a "Storage" partition. Like a guy needs his pockets and a woman needs her purse,,,every PC needs its own little storage place. When I recently set up my new SATA 120gig drive,,, I set up C: as a 40gig partition and the rest of the space I set up as D:. I make Ghost image files several times a week and store them on D: until I can burn them to a DVD. I have about 20 gigs of other "stuff" that I store on D: as well as several generations of Ghost images. For those who already have one of those screwed up drives....Partition Magic is there to assist you in re-partitioning your drive. I use it often to "FIX" customer's drives. There's a big difference between wasteful space and effective (or efficient) space. I really wouldn't want to go back to trying to run a PC with a 20 gig drive. When you set up a storage partition on your HD, it should always be formatted as a FAT-32 partition. This is so you can get at the data stored there, with a DOS boot disk in time of trouble, like when your NTFS partition becomes corrupt. Remember the old addage: "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Cheers! Andromeda43

Well, the FACT is that most companies don't want anyone to know they're doing it. When Dell, for instance shows you a picture of their 24x7 help room....it's obviously in the US with guys that really do speak English. When in fact their help room is in BomBay or some such and the language spoken there is FAR from anything that most of us (at least in the US) can understand. You might try a Google search to see what you could uncover. Then there is hardware outsourcing. You can see that on any computer part you buy when you read the little sticker that says "Made in China". Now, that's outsourcing! When American companies have all their product made in China, Korea, Taiwan or Japan. Good luck on your quest. However, you might have more fun taking in a good movie. Cheers, Andromeda43

Every version of windows since 95 was designed to use a swapfile/pagefile. Getting your kernal out of there and into ram however will greatly increase performance. I found the following tweak on the internet. It definitely works. ********************************** Memory Performance Tweak These Settings will fine tune your systems memory management -at least 256MB of ram recommended, 512 preferred for first tweak. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Session Manager \ Memory Management 1.DisablePagingExecutive -double click it and in the decimal put a 1 - this allows XP to keep data in memory now instead of paging sections of ram to harddrive. 2.LargeSystemCache- double click it and change the decimal to 1 -this allows XP Kernal to Run in memory improves system performance a lot. 3.Create a new dword and name it IOPageLockLimit - double click it and set the value in hex - 4000 if you have 128MB of ram; or set it to 10000 if you have 256MB; set it to 40000 if you have 512MB of ram, or more. This tweak will speed up your disk cache ********************************* I use this a lot and it really DOES help. Hands OFF the page file. Cheers, Andromeda43

As an IT professional, who specializes in Computer Security, I'm here to tell one and all that there is to date NO one program that totally immunizes any PC against all threats. Anyone running just One progran and thinking that he/she is safe is living a fools existance. To clean up a Dirty PC I have to use every program in my somewhat large arsenal to totally eradicate the crap, crud and assorted malware. I start by installing, updating and running AVG 7 FREE, anti virus. Then I install, update and run AdAware SE/Personal to get the largest part of the installed Spyware. Next I install, Set-Up, update and then run Spybot S&D and get rid of many items that AdAware SE misses (don't forget to do the immunization after you download the updates),,,,then I install and run MS Anti-Spy. Again some new items will usually be found. Then I install, update and run Trojan Hunter. This program is free for 30 days with full functionallity. It removes the really nasty trojans that AVG can't remove. Finally I install and update "Spyware Blaster" a very good spyware blocker. Then I install a custom hosts file. Somewhere along the line I also run CWShredder and Kazaa Blaster. So to really say what my favorite program is....is more than just a little difficult. Hope I didn't put anyone to sleep here. Cheers, Andromeda43

Any upgrade CD is designed to run from within the previous version of windows. Unless you're attempting to load an upgrade to a blank HD....why not run it the way it was designed? It just works much easier that way.

Well, it's half way in the right forum. All you need is an XP Upgrade CD. The rest is history. That's how I got this system from 98/SE to XP-Pro. Piece of cake! Then don't forget to install SP2. Unless of course, it comes already on the upgrade CD. Andromeda43

What on earth are you talking about? Post the exact error message and maybe someone will know that you're talking about and be able to help you. Sorry, I havn't a clue.

Ha Ha Ha,,,,,bit by the bug, are you? That's true,,,,98 or even 98/SE can't tell the difference between the first device and the second one, if they are identical. (using the same drivers) That bug bit me too,,,when I tried to run dual modems. I had to use modems from different manufacturers. Luckily, I had some here and didn't have to buy anything new. So the simple answer to you is YES,,,,get yourself a different brand or at least a different model of nic and you'll be off and running. Just very curious though.....Why do you need two nic's? Andromeda43

Well, logic forced me to vote for "C". Newer is always better....right? However, with all those revisions, they still didn't get it right.....enter '98. Still not right! Almost zero USB support. Enter '98/SE. (best OS ever!) The improvements to Windows 16/32 w/FAT-32, stopped right there. ME was a horrible disaster! (a very poorly engineered mixture of 98 and NT) Some users liked it but most didn't and most all tech's hated it. You notice I never use the word "All". (There's NO accounting for human taste.) Enter the Dragon!,,,, Windows XP,,,,a business/networking OS (based on the old NT) forced on the unsuspecting home computer users of the world. Delivered from your local retail store with all the Services, to support a network, installed and already running by default. (at least 20 services can be disabled for home use) And how about the ton of app's factory installed? Norton, McAffee and what have you. (shudder, grimmace, gag!) Takes me almost an hour to clean, tweak and customize a new PC today to get it to run efficiently. Out-of-the-box efficiency on the typical system today is about 30%. That really sucks! It will be interesting to see how others feel about windows upgrades. Andromeda43

If you want/need to stay with '98 and you Don't have /SE as of yet..... It's well worth your time and effort to see if you can find an '98/SE upgrade CD and do the upgrade. It can also be done quite easily with a '98/SE OEM CD as well. Just a couple of more steps involved to fake out the OEM CD and get it to load without any error messages. lol SE comes with greatly improved USB support and greater printer support as well as fixing quite a few bugs in ol' 98. Installing the unofficial SP1 to your install of 98/SE finishes the job. Finally, to put the polish-on-the-paint,,, you will want to install the latest DirectX and Internet Explorer 6.0/Sp1. The upgrade to I.E. 6.0/Sp1 is best done from the CD aquired directly from MS. For instance,,,,most Flash drives will not work at all on ol' 98,,,,but work with drivers- loaded on SE. My own software guru does this upgrade to SE all the time using an OEM CD and it works great. Have a go at it mate!

OK, Ok,,,so I hate clicking on links indiscriminately thrown into forum threads without any explanation as to why I should click it. the link to "http://www.xperties.net/swf/posting.swf" seemed to be well accepted though, so I clicked it. Then I went to potty,,,,then to the kitchen to make me another cup of Orange Cappucino and then came back to the PC to wait a few more minutes. (dang'd slow dial up connection!) WELL, let me tell you......I'm bookmarking that one for those idiots who open a new thread right on top of one already dealing with the same topic. I'm an IT professional and if I ever post a Question in a new thread, you'll all know that I'm into something way over my head and Google and all my guru buddies were no help to me. I just left another forum for good, because of the things expressed here in this thread. I'm here because another p'd off guru told me this forum is "different". Well, as people are the same all over the world, I guess we'll have the same problems wherever we go. Well, so far I've enjoyed this forum and I hope I can be of some help, to those who WILL be helped. God Bless you all, Andromeda43

And, that relates to Microsoft and computers, HOW? Did I get in the wrong forum?

Just a few years ago, several friends of mine had their accounts at PayPal closed and the money confiscated by PayPal.....the reason they claimed was suspected money laundering. NOTHING could have been further from the truth. eGold also is corrupt. I had an account there, till one day I went in to check my balance and it was GONE. Trying to contact them was useless. It's just "Buyer Beware" time. Then there's software put out by eBay, that's been associated with Spyware. The deceit just never stops. Remember the book "How to Serve Humanity" (well done with a little mint jelly)