Computer Repair n Tips
 

Hey everyone, just wanted to pass along my services as a computer tech. If You have any computer related questions or advice do not hesitate to ask me here or in a PM. I am not asking for anything in return so this is in no way a solicitation. Figured we are a community here and I would like to offer what I can. Going to post some tips now and then also. These are going to be "everyday" tips so for those of you who are already computer savvy you probably will not find any enlightning info here. If you would like to talk on an advanced level please feel free to PM me. Thanks All.

This posts tip: When you run a virus scan and a virus is found ensure that you disable your system restore option and then do another scan, you may have a virus backed up and not realize it. This only applies to XP and ME. To do this right click on the "My computer" Icon and click on the System restore tab, check the box to turn off system restore, then do another scan. Make sure you turn it back on when you are through. If you have been the victim of a virus recently you may want to do this also. It is best to always run a scan with system restore turned off.

Great thread... I know several have popped up from time to time needing help... including me... so if I can't figure something out... I will give you a yell... Thanks... :)

Same here ....I will definitely PM you or chat with you here if I need to. I do have problems now and then and yes....recently I have had viruses on my computer. Thank God they're gone. :eek:

I'm a computer guru. I know a sh*t load. I just like to talk about computers with my gramps. He's the biggest guru in the world, no joke. He has a lot of free time because, he's retired. I might PM you just to talk once in a while. If you want to know how I learned it all PM me. It's a very funny story.

The Sasser worm has been spreading like crazy across the computer world. Protect yourself if you have not already.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com...er.b.worm.html

You must down load a removal tool if you already are infected, it is available
here:http://securityresponse.symantec.com...r/FxSasser.exe


Then make sure you get the latest Microsoft updates:http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp


Any questions please ask. I have been getting alot of work lately due to this worm and I hate charging people to fix something that was caused by malicious acts. Just wanted to try and prevent it from happening to my friends here.

I've been getting a lot of work too, because of the virus and all. I'll tell you one thing, I like this virus. It's getting me work and I need it badly.

I truly hate viruses, to me it would be kinda of like a Doctor wanting people to get sick. True it does bring in buisness, and if it were buisness from people who neglected to take care of their computers then thats cool. But this virus, like many others lately, takes advantage of a Microsoft issue, I think Microsoft should pay these bills.

My people, that I help, mostly don't keep up to date and other stuff; I do. I didn't get hit but, I got spyware out the wazoo.

Here's a question I've been dying to ask someone knowledgeable(I don't know if this goes in with your area of expertise but I'll give it a shot): My video playback is considerably lagging and the color is horrible. I'm currently set at 16-bit color, which explains the bad color I guess. I try to set it to 32-bit but it causes the video to lag behind the audio severely. ...I'm totally lost, and have no idea what to try. New video card maybe?

This is no longer desperately important as I'm considering a new computer, but I would like to know for future reference.
And I'm sorry if none of that makes any sense :o :p

It's comments like that that brighten my day. It's good to see someone who cares once in a while. (Trust me, I go to doctors often, and it's hard to find one that cares. Even though you aren't a medical doctor I think it's a logical comparison) :)

I have a question for you:

I have been experiencing laggy performace on the net recently and I called up my DSL provider, who garenteed me the connection is perfectly fine. So I started chatting with other people and they say that the Internet Explorer is buggy and not my connection.

So my question is any truth to that? If so what could be done or what browser should I switch to?

Could be many different factors. What operating system are you running? How long has it been since you did a reformat/defrag? It may be Internet Explorer, if you want to try a different browser I highly reccomend FireFox. Its fantastic, really fast and easy to use.

I would need a little more information to expertly diagnose this:
Your CPU size, how much memory you have, your operating system and what type video card you have.
If you are talking about ALL video playback whether it be from a DVD, a file on your Hard drive, or playback over the internet then you probably just do not have the power in your computer to handle these things. Has your playback always been sketchy? If not then you may just need to update your drivers for your video card. IMO anything less than a 32 mb video card is not going to peform well for any video playback. Also if and when you decide on a new computer please please please get a custom built system at a local shop that has a good warranty. I see so many Dells, Gateways, Hp's, and Compaqs in here that require propietary replacement parts that cost about twice as much as standard parts.

Hey there. I'm not exactly sure when or how it happened, but Notepad seems to have been replaced with a setup application which opens and runs hundreds of mIRC windows. I never used notepad much anyway, but it is kinda annoying... How can this be fixed?

It very well could be your browser causing the problems. If it is however, you should address that issue even if you do go to another browser. Ensure you do the following things if you have not already:
1. Get the latest updates from Microsoft for your operating sytem.
2. Run some type of spyware removal program, I like adaware, use the free version as it does a good job. Also when you use this or any other spyware removal program make sure you pay attention to what is being removed. it only removes spyware, but Kazaa for example is considered spyware (which it is).
3. Run a virus scan with the latest updates.
4. Clear your cache and cookies and repair your IE Installation.
5. Run a ping test to see if you are having any packet loss.

You can also try another browser to verify you are having an IE problem.

If you have any question about any of these steps or any other issues please ask. Also dont always take your providers word for it, your problem may be intemittent and they may not see it when you call them.

It sounds as if this setup program has been listed as your default text editor. There should be an option within this program to have it not be your default editor. What is the name of this program?

Uh, I have no idea, how do I find out? It's just sort of there. When I foolishly tried to fix it myself, all I managed to do was correct the shortcut on my start menu, when I click on a text file, it still opens that setup program.

Right click on a text document, go to properties, there whould be an "opens with" option, see what program is opening your text file there, depending on your operating system you can even change it right there in the properties.

Question.... Okay, I am a pc dummy... :D ... why does Windows keep saying my Virtual Memory is not large enough every few days?

That happens to me too. Not every few days, but it happens. I have LOADS of my memory left and yet it says its low. That's a very good question Cait.

Rarely is this error a positive, at least in my experience. Basically it is an error that can be created for many reasons and most of them are not because you are low on virtual memory. However if the error is positive and not something caused by a virus or worm or corrupted files, etc... you should do the following:

1. Check to see how much free memory you do have, if you are just running more than your computer can handle this could just be an upgrade problem. If your computer has always done this or if you have installed alot of programs lately then you need to upgrade.

2. If your memory is sufficient make sure you run an up to date virus scan and spyware removal tool. (I know this sounds like the answer given to every computer problem, but believe it or not i fix about 70% of the computers I work on by doing this).

3. Turn off all programs that are running and do a defrag. It helps if you turn off your virtual memory first, If you are not sure how to do this let me know what OS you have (win98, ME, XP, etc) and I will tell you how.

Another peformance tip is to turn off everything that you do not want running when your computer starts. Go to start....Run...type in msconfig, go to the startup tab and uncheck anything that you do not want to start automatically, If you are not sure what to turn off you may want to leave it alone, or send me a list of your startup programs and I can look at it for you.


Good Luck

Hmmm... okay. This just started last week and as far as I know, no new programs have been installed (I'm not the only one who uses this pc)... so I'll check to be sure and check for a virus or worm... oh, and I'm running XP ... thanks alot... :)

How can I get rid of the spyware on my system

Easy, use a spyware removal program. Click here to download. It's free and it's very good. It's called Spybot.

Bumpity - Bump… got a question from the PC dummy again…

I ran Spybot on one of the pc's I work on and after I rebooted, I had two error messages pop up…

1) WJVIEW Error - Could not execute Main: The system cannot find the file specified.

2) RUNDLL - Error loading C:\Windows\System32\bridge.dll.
The specified module could not be found.

I tried to check both out on the net but got conflicting explanations as to what they are. Any help would be most appreciated… :)

Hey Caits:
Well the Wjview is related to a Java based application so you may try to reinstall your java V.M. or update it. If you dont have it on disk you can get V.M here~http://java.sun.com/downloads/index.html



For the .dll error you may try this:
Click Start> Run> type msconfig> go to Startup tab in System Configuration utility> click disable all> check only the boxes which mention your Anti-Virus software> click on Services tab to the left of Startup tab> click Hide all Microsoft services> click disable all> in the box in the middle, check only those boxes which are related to your Anti-Virus software> click Ok> click Exit w/o restarting> download CWShredder (http://www.softpedia.com/public/cat...10-17-150.shtml)> save it to your desktop; close all browser windows> run CWShredder> click Fix> click Ok> continue with it> restart comp> hopefully you will not get the 'bridge.dll' error msg


This is all applicable if you are running XP if not let me know what you are running and will see what I can do to help. You probably have spyware or viruses or both. Let me know if this helps.

Thanks 7thson... I am running XP on that one and will follow your instructions as soon as I can and let you know... thanks again... :)

Bumpity - bump (again)...

I'm in the market for a new pc but have gotten really confused about what to buy... and would really appreciate some help/recommendations… :)

The first suggestion would be to buy from a local dealer. One that has a good reputation and has been around at least a couple of years. Try to avoid the Gateways, Compaqs, Emachines. I work on these machines everyday and it is almost always a major part that has gone bad. If you do go with a propietarty machine then I would choose a Dell. I am in no means saying buy a Dell, custom is always better, but if you do see a good deal on one and must go with a name brand machine then Dell is the lesser of all the evils out there. Take in mind however that no matter who you go with, if it is not a local company you will have a rough time with customer service if you ever need it. My suggestion would be to let me know what specifications you are looking for and your price range and I would be happy to reccomend parts that a local store can order for you. I always use parts with the best warranties from the manufacturer so if your dealer ever falters for some reason you do have a backup with the original maker. The main thing is trust, you have to trust whoever you are buying from be it Dell or Cajun Joe's tech Depot (;) ). PM me or just post here your budget and needs and I would be happy to give you many ideas to choose from. Good luck.


**Edit** To those of you out there who swear by their Gateways, Compaqs, etc... then more power to you, keep in mind the model you have and suggest it to others, because although there are a some models that outdo others for the most part if it were not because of these companies the repair side of my buisness would be poor.

Well, I swear by my Toshiba laptop. My first, a Satellite 4060CDT, is still going strong however, with a puny 4gig HDD, running Windows 98, max memory at 196MB and video/sound cards that cant be upgraded, I bought another Satellite A29 w/256MB. Now it isn't a power house or anything but Toshiba seems to build a decent machine that rarely needs service. Only once did I send the old one off for repair and I got excellent - fast service. I live by my laptop cause it is so compact, has everything I need and now, with external USB harddrives of any size one needs, my vote goes to purchasing a laptop, and Toshiba being my favorite.
I used to be in the PC building biz, made many custom builds and this is my personal choice.
So, here is my suggestion to Cait.

what do you tech wizards know about mp3 players, cause ive just about had enough of mine - its driving me crazy

Actually Toshiba & Dell make excellent laptops, my suggestions were based on Desktops. So yeah Toshiba wouldbe great choice IMO for a laptop.

I built my own about 6 months ago which ended up costing me about £100 (once I'd cannibalised the non-functioning PC for DVD drives, Hard Drives, monitor, processor etc).

Being Irish, of course, I did this after buying a brand new PC for the living room so Frankencomp is sitting proudly in the wardrobe. Still, I've got the confidence now to not worry about totally replacing my system for a long long time. ;)

The brand new one was a pretty good deal though: 1024 RAM, 250 GIG HD, 3.2 wotzit P4, 256MB GeForce thingie, card reader, loads of ports which I might use one day. It says on the case that it's a Fuzitsu Siemens, which sounds a bit rude, and cost £600.

The keyboard and mouse are stil in the box and I swapped the DVD RW from the crappy Philips thing which seems to end up in far too many PCs. It's also got fantastic glowing blue holes in the front which look mega groovy. :D

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...3.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

People who know about such things may well tell me that this model is a pile of junk but I care not a jot.

It's got these glowing blue holes, you see...

It is good to have priorities; if only all I had to do was put glowing blue holes on the computers I built to sell them.:)

Whats the problem with it?

My glowing blue hole has been to talk of the town, let me tell you...

Anyway, a serious question: My mouse is nearing it's end so need a new one. It's a Logitech MX1000 and was thinking of a straight swap for another as the only problem I've had was through dropping it on a wooden floor (the right button is a bit dodgy now).

I was thinking of the latest Microsoft laser mouse, have you had any experience of it? :)

I really hate Microsoft hardware with two exceptions: their keyboards and mice. They are very good products from what I have seen. I have both a microsoft keyboard and mouse myself and they work great.

I've just swapped keyboards from Microsoft to Logitech and it's taking some getting used to. The Microsofts tend to be bulkier and noisier but have a great 'feel'. I'm pigheaded so am gonna make myself like the new one though, but it definately doesn't feel as nice on my lap...

Okay I started to say something I shouldnt. Never mind ;) .

Oops, that wasn't even a double entendre. :blush:

it will only let me put on certain file types, the songs that i want on there are music files but its just not lettting me put them on there. is there any way i can change my file types?

This should help...

It covers all the main areas... Data transfer, portability, human error, etc

If none of that works, just try hitting the round twirly thing. The old techniques are the best ;)

Ooh ooh, I have a question!
I want to put an old 4gig harddrive, (as a secondary drive) previously the bootable drive, loaded with windows 98, into a new machine running Windows XP Home Ed. Can I read the old 4 gig drive? and will it be able to access the old files, games, programs in the old drive? Well, it isn't for me, really. It is for my nefew. He hates to give up his old windows 98 stuff. I wonder if XP is smart enough to 'see' the windows 98 programs, games and such?

What say you, PC guru?:cool:

Seeing the drive and accessings files should be done easy enough. Getting the programs to run will probably not work in most cases.
You could try to have a duel boot set up to where you choose which hard drive to boot from, drivers may be an issue though, but usually there are ways around this.. Another choice would be to do an upgrade on that hard drive, if it has enough room, to XP. If you have any detailed question you can PM me, or see what others on here have to say. In most cases however trying to run a program on a slave drive will not work. Pictures, music, documents, nonexe files should all be okay.

Thanks for the answer, 7th. The idea of an upgrade on the harddrive itself was considered but it just does not have enough room. Anyway, I thought there would be driver issues with an upgrade too, since this is an old computer too with a Pentium II processor and 120mb of RAM. Time to upgrade the system, wouldn't you say? The dual boot system sounds like an idea. Is it difficult to create?

I am trying to ween my nephew off the old Windows 98 O/S.

In theory no, you have two ways to do this: create a drive with two partitions and copy the 98 partition to it, or just use the old drive itself although a 4gb drive will run very slow in most cases. If you use old hard drive it self you will probably have to change boot order in bios to boot from drive needed, or in some cases there is a "F key" usually f12 or f10, that allows for quick boot choice. If you partition a new drive and all things work as they should will get get an option for 98 or Xp during the boot. I have a lot of customers just unwilling to give up their old programs and such so I understand the desire if not the need. If it was me though I would try to do my best to move on and forget the old stuff. But that is just me and everyone is different. It is amazing how much money some of my customers spend to keep their old systems up and running in today's world. Oh well, least I get paid by the hour ;). My service here on MOFO is free though to anyone that is a member. Pm me anytime for detailed instructions on anything. I know there are a lot of computer hacks out there (this is a compliment btw) who have shortcuts and better ways to do things than I can suggest. Good luck.







P.S. Hold your breath for Vista if you can, it looks to be the best OS I have seen in ...well ever. I have the Beta and it is solid from what I see. You will need a lot of memory to run it effectively, but oh my what a great pay off you will get.

Thanks for the additional info. Let's see what we can do for him.
I sure understand about people not wanting to let go. Sometimes that learning curve is too steep for some to climb!

I have not heard too much about Vista. I will have to look into that.
Thanks again. I am sure I will tap at your 'door' again.:yup:

Thanks 7thson and sorry it took me so long to get back to this… I feel a bit like Forrest Gump's feather at times lately…

Anyway, I checked a few of the locals and the ones I know are still closed due to damage from wind or water… but last week our tech at work finally showed back up and I talked to him for a bit and he is letting me borrow a Compaq (I know, you said to avoid them) for a few days to see if I like it or not…

It's a Compaq 3500+; AMD Athlon(™) 64 Processor, 1.0 GB memory; 200 GB hard drive; 219 GHz… all of which is always very confusing to me… :(

200GB!! :eek:

Just think how many kitten pics you could fit on that!! ;)

I really do not like Compaq, but you do have good spec's there. The biggest thing I would be leary of is the motherboard. If you have the model number, should be on the front of the machine somewhere, then I could tell you a little more about it. Of course price is always an issue and if you can get a good deal on this then go for it. A custom built machine with those spec's and a 3 year warranty would run around $600 - $700 new in my area. Course if you are mainly just using it for the internet it is a bit overkill and will do the job just fine. Let me know how it goes.:)


Edit:
Actually now that I look closer at the specs you posted I think you have my machine. (Minus the compaq lable of course;) ) I have an AMD 64 3500 Winchester core CPU, a 200 gb hard drive, and 1.5 Gbs of memory. Copy cat! ;)

Oh make sure to see what kind of video card you have. If you are not doing any gaming it wont matter much, but you at least want to make sure you have at least a 128 card.

The only number I see on the front that might be a model number is: SR1750NX

Is your 600-700 dollar range just for the pc? He offered me a package deal for around $500.

Oh Dear
 

Calling all computer boffins, calling all computer boffins, THIS IS BLIB. Help??

I know we have some super computer techy geek geeks (I say it with love :kiss: ) on this site, so the time has come when i desperatly need your help. Would be mega appreciated. I know Seven and Oggy are good for it, anyone else?

Finally after several long months, ive pulled my wallet together and im finally forking out the squillions of dosh for a new computer. Iv'e been using Windows since my computer birth, so i thought this time, id go crazy and get a mac. Want a different operating system, and something quite small as my desk is minature. Plus theyre awful purty. Anywhoo, one of the other reasons is that theyre pretty good for creative gubbins. Such as photo/film editing being the main gub as i plan to start up my photography again.

So, basically i need some info. I know ive asked this before but its been lost in my memory, but who here has a MAC or did have and decided to dump it? and Why?

Heres what im looking into buying within the next week or so if all goes well and i finally make the decision....

The 20", 2 GHz Intel Core Duo iMac.

PURTY!

For a hefty, £1,229.00 (God bless interest free finance)

Comes with:
•20-inch widescreen LCD with 1680x1050 resolution

•2.0GHz Intel Core Duo processor with 2MB shared L2 cache

•512MB (single SO-DIMM) 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300)

•250GB Serial ATA hard drive

•Slot-load 8x double-layer SuperDrive

•ATI Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB GDDR3 memory

•Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0

And the software:
•Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger

•iLife ’06

•iWork ’06 30-day trial

•Front Row

•Photo Booth

•Big Bang Board Games

•Comic Life

•OmniOutliner

So how does all this sound? I have some questions that would ease my mind and wallet...

Would you guys say its worth the money?

Would i be better off getting the slightly older and cheaper G5 superdrive thingy one?

Is it very difficult/expensive to add new software or drives (Like CD ROM drives etc) to the computer if i need them at a later date?

Ive got broadband at my house (Not sure what you guys call it in the states but its your basic high speed internet connection), will the Mac be able to use it or will i need to buy some extra stuff for that?

Are they reliable? I know ive got a years warranty at elast and from how they treat my iPod i know these guys are good for that.

Is the graphics card good enough to play up to date games that are being released?

and is there anything else i should know? This is a big investment for me as im normally used to living the tramps life, so i just want to make sure im not making a mistake.

Anyway, hope you wonderful human beings can help.... :)

Macs are never worth the money, take this guys advice: http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...63641017&q=mac

I 100% recommend to get windows. For that price you can get a very nice Athalon or Intel P4 dual core, with a SLI mobo with a 7800GT, or ATi.

Little vague my friend, little vague.

Plus i think that man may have more issues than just his computer.

Lol. Yeah I just kinda put that in there because its funny, but some of it is true, depends what your looking for in a computer.

I can say this, if your gaming, which I doubt you are.. This is bad for a few reasons.

- not enough RAM, 512mb does not cut it, for anything really.
-duar core is a bad idea, you want to focus all of your processor speed on the one thing, not two at a time.
-LCD bad idea, won't be able to play at max, you need a tube monitor.
-mac, terrible game selection :P

If its for business or personal use, looks good, never really experminted much with a mac, but for this reason I hear they are fair. But one problem still. RAM, you definitly need more, 512mb will not cut it, bottleneck.

I thought most games for the PC give you a choice of either installing it for Mac or Windows?

And as for the RAM, will this cause problems for more things than just gaming??

And another Q, can you still use MSN messenger on a mac? I was told that you can...

Yes you can...and it sure looks purdy. All the programs seem to look more pleasing to the eye. But then again, this shouldnt be the sole reason for buying a mac product unless you are shallow like myself.

I bought a 14 inch i-book 7 months ago and for me it was worth the money. Unlike our windows computer which crashes every few months...I have had no problems with my laptop.

*pets i-book

If you want to spoil yourself and try something new, then go for it...also apparently they do not depreciate in value as rapidly as your standard pc. Also, if you are not pleased with it, just send it back before the trial period is up...give it a go...it can't hurt, can it?

(I seriously doubt i am qualified enough to comment here).

Yes, it is. That is a very sturdy system. The only thing I can say you should upgrade is the RAM. Get at least a gig and your system will handle anything to come for the next few years. RAM will make the most noticeable difference as to the longevity of a system.

Nope

I've never owned an iMac, but if you wanted to add any new drives you could easily by external deals, which are relatively cheap.

No problems there, will work fine.

Macs are incredibly reliable, more so than PCs

Yes, it definitely is, but you won't be pushing any games to their graphical limits.

You're getting one of the new generations of Macs, which uses the new Intel chipset, which is an architecture that can support Windows. Just last week someone won a proof of concept with the ability of dual booting Windows onto a Macintosh. This means you could have the option of booting the system into OSX (Mac's operating system) or XP.

You have to be somewhat tech savy to do so, but it is a possiblity. And in the weeks to come I'm sure you can expect some more user-friendly work arounds for it.

No games give that option anymore. Back in the day, when games took less space and were multi-platformed that was possible. Now you'll have to buy a Mac version of a game and it is no secret that not nearly as many games get ported to the Macintosh these days.

Your 512mb of RAM will be enough for your computer to function perfectly fine. You'll not notice any problems unless you're doing some intensive editing work (like in Final Cut or Photoshop). However, like I said above, I'd recommend upgrading to at least a gig, your comp will have much more staying power as more resource angry applications come out.

I'm sure you can use MSN on a mac, and if not MSN's direct client I'm sure someone has made a client that lets you connect to MSN's services.

Good luck. :)

The specs are great with the exception of the ram as mentioned by others. Get at least 1 gig more is possible. The biggest thing you have to consider is the learning curve. If you are willing to teach yourself a new OS then there is nothing bad to say against a MAC. I myself have never owned one, but I do work on them and see why those who swear by them do so. I am waiting to see how Vista 64 bit pans out, if it bombs or does not do much for me I will probably go to the Mac side. Stability is amazing and the only thing I like better than Macs in that area is Linux, but thats another story.

I've had to work with Macs at the office since the late 1980s. PLEH. I left a job last month where I had a brand-new G5. My reaction? I'd rather sell it and buy four PCs. :D

I just upgraded to a nice, inexpensive ($450) Compaq desktop. Lovely machine for the money (monitor included, although I didn't need it), with ATI Radeon Xpress 256MB graphics card (for my Myst games, don'tcha know), a 9-in-1 card reader, 7 USB ports, DVD burner with LightScribe, etc. etc. blah blah. We upgraded from the 512MB RAM to 1GB (for gaming, again). For the price, I'm tickled pink with it. No one seems to notice Compaqs much, but we've owned two desktops, two laptops, and a secondhand old Compaq laptop (10 years old and still in use, now in Canada) and have been impressed with all of them ... ESPECIALLY because they're so CHEAP.

If you GAVE me a Mac, I'd sell it and buy a handful of comparable PCs. I'm sorry, but I have no use for a Mac. Mac owners get SO excited if they can find games and such for their Macs. Meanwhile, as a PC owner, I can get more software than I could ever want, some freeware. "Pretty" just doesn't cut it for me with a machine that's supposed to be functional.

My bosses scream and yell about how "stable" the Macs are, but I'm sorry, they crashed as often as our home network machines do (actually, now that we're all XP, the Macs crash more!). I can't see any reason to spend 2 or 3 times the money for a Mac unless you're really into high concept design so much that you don't care about cost.

I do.

Besides, my Compaq is pretty. ;) And paid for. With Christmas money. In cash. ;)

Not necessarily. I have a whole handful of games here (mostly adventure games, not FPS) that are Mac/Windows hybrids. The Myst series was always pretty good about that ... except that, amazingly enough, they never came out with a Mac version of their "different" game, URU.

I guess it depends on the game....

Basic rule of ease thumb, least in these here parts: Gamers............. avoid Macs....graphic artists, ...........especially in motion....have to have a Mac.

Perhaps that is true about the motion part, but I've seen Windows applications stand up quite well in many of the (non-moving) graphics arts.

Because of earlier choices they made, Apple still has about a single-digit percentage of the personal computer market. That's bound to have its down sides.

I would take one percent of a billion dollar market....;)

Seriously though on a personal level I like Windows PC's over Macs.
The cost of repair work if you can even find a place who services them is about twice as much as a PC. The biggest problem for Macs: The world is comfortable with Windows, security flaws and all. Computers have become such a large part of most of our lives and our lives are fast paced. Who has the time or patience to learn a new operating system when the one we have does what we need it too? When I say new, I mean new to the user not new in general. Hybrid machines are definitely possible and are becoming more mainstream, the best of both worlds is a good thing. At the end of the day however Macs are tedious to the everyday end user. This only applies to those of us who are used to Windows though because a serious Mac user knows what they got. Bottom line, use whatever you like and what suits your needs. If it does what you want and does it well, nothing I or anyone else says really matters. I love computers and the tech world in general and know that the next few years are going to be great for us geeks.

Thanks for all your help guys. Ive read what all of you have said and its made my nipples hard with excitement. I think i am going to go with the MAC. I do enjoy a change of scenery, and im willing to try the new operating system, Windows ahs always been fine, but variety is the spice of life and i like to experiment so im gonna give it a go. Will deffo look into upgrading the RAM tho. I dont really play many PC games, mostly just console stuff. but it is nice to know that i could have a computer that can handle a good game when it comes out.

Thanks for the advice! Now if i can only stop bleeding from my eye sockets over the price of the thing....

Well its done! Bought myself the new intel iMac today. It hurt, but me oh my i think it will be worth it. turned out to be a pretty good deal in the end. I got paid two pay packets this week as ive recently changed jobs, so i had more money in my bank than i ever have before, so i paid for the whole thing outright instead of financing which was the original plan. Plus my friend got £150 knocked off as well as she gets discount. And Pop Pop Blib said he would donate some funds God love him. But now i will just live on beans for the rest of the year. but its ok, i like beans. And i can make them look good on the Mac! Hopefully it should arrive by Monday, so i will be foaming to get it up and running.

Who here actually uses a mac? you do OG? And doesnt Taccy? Sedai? Get them in here. Once ive got it gion no doubt i'll have some questions for you guys for the best this and that to get. One of the big ones being spyware. I need the cheapest, and best one available...if it even exists.

And please dont no one mention any kind of universal fault that happens within a mac that you have neglected to tell me. I would return to the shadows of my soul and never come back. Until Christmas or my Birthday...probably just the weekend to be honest.

:D

Good for you for buying it outright! :)

I've used Macs at work for decades, but prefer PCs (I'm cheap) for home use. Universal fault? I don't think Macs have a universal *anything*, do they? (ducking)

Ahhh Captain Blibbwash is a guy after my own heart! Cash in the bank = being able to buy something nice and expensive. :D

I've used but never owned a Mac and as I've started building my own PCs the day will probably never come. They look sexy though. :)

You and I speak the same language my friend. Savings? BAH!

On a side note, anyone know of a good browser to use for Macs? Or is it best to stick with Firefox?

The Safari browser should do the trick, but Firefox is always loved...

Is the Safari browser just the standard one?

Its here! Man everything has never looked better! Absoloutly loving it so far, although i will admit its really hard getting used to, although i think i can figure it out. Im using Safari for now to browse MOFO etc, but i may go abck to firefox if it doesnt work out. The harderst part is trying to find the mac versions of every programme i need.

I really need a good virus protector for it, can anyone recommend a good one?

Also i cant get hold of DIVX player for the mac, anyone know how to get hold of it? I can only find the divx converter :confused:

Plus, im loving MSN messenger on it, but i cant use the awsome camera for web chats, it doesnt seem possible with the MAC MSN messenger.

Ho hum, small prices to pay i guess :D

I found it difficult initially...but after time it becomes second nature.

Have you added new widgets and seen the ripple effect yet? I could do that all day long.

Oh yes. Its truly wonderful. Ive put little postit notes on there, rippling all over the place. I like the little remote control thingy. So pretty!

Anyone have any idea what Intego is like as a virus protector? Been reading around, it sounds pretty good.

I have another question. Me and Doris are getting on great, and now im gonna have some more time to spend ON her and here again, id like to change my avatar, but i have no idea how on a MAC. It doesnt have a picture edit programme on it. Anyone have any ideas other than photoshop?

I feel V has had his day.

If you go to Appleworks, you have an option for 'painting', you can edit pictures there. Its similar to what is available on windows. Um, I at least think that is how I edited my avatar. Hope that helps.

Actually Ophelia, I dont think it is...you can only save as a .cwk there. Again you have shown you have no idea what you are talking about, but at least you tried to help. You can only try. *pats head*

Ok....open a picture through preview and you can edit it there. Voila. I knew I made my avatar on this thing somehow. Just use your view, zoom, tools etc. Um. K.

You are getting good at this

Ophelia, Ophelia and Ophelia, thanks for all you gals trying to help but WOE WOE WOE i just cant get it to work. I can only crop and zoom in on preview. If i crop the avatar i want any further i'll only have a pixel left. I need some sort of re-sizing doo hicky. but not cropping. Any idea what its called on preview?

Yes...i've only had my i-book since last August....i'm becoming a pro....9 months later. Ahem.

Computer Problems:
 

My computer recognizes my DVD burner, it recognizes another DVD player, it says that they are working properly, it says that there are no better drivers for them on-line, however, it doesn't recognize when DVDs, and/or CDs are in them. Any ideas on what may be wrong here!?!

It could be that you un-installed something on accident. I've done this before, and all I could do to fix it was download a DVD Player.

No, all is still loaded properly. This is one weird problem.

You could try re-installing, or maybe go to the company website and look for a forum because somebody else may have the same problem as you. Or even a FAQ could be helpful. Otherwise just ring the company you bought it from. I always leave that as a last resort though because in the words of a good friend of mine 'you silly man you' i'm always trying to do it myself, it might really help though :D

Hi,
Have you fixed this problem yet? If so what worked for you? If not what kind of dvd playing and burning software do you use? If you have not tried it already and you are running XP you can try a restore to a date when it did work. If the drive is bad though not much will help other than changing it out. Sony has received a lot of flack in the recent past because some of their copy protection software has caused some dvd players to stop operating correctly. Anyway let me know how it is going and what you have found out, this is a common problem that i see a few times a month in my shop.
Thanks.

Well hell, I missed this post. No, I never fixed it. I have no clue what is going on, and I can usually fix my computer problems. I have even placed another DVD player in this computer, and it won't run either. This really has me stumped. When I go to start, control panel, system, hardware, device manager, it says I have the best drivers, that it is working properly, and when I disabled, reload, nothing changes. It is a Sony DVD burner.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

Has anyone tried out this little program? cFosspeed

It's an internet connection traffic-shaper which is supposed to get the best out of your connection, not turn a 1MB line into 2MB you understand, by well...doing magic stuff to your router...

Unlike myself, non-luddites might understand how the magic happens and, after using it for a week now, happen it does. I've got an 8MB connection and even that was prone to slowing down to a near standstill when surfing at peak times or doing other stuff like streaming or downloading.

With cFosspeed installed it runs like lightening all the time, no matter what I'm doing, simply by prioritizing whatever application needs the guts of your connection at any given time.

It's free for 30 days to test and beyond that only costs €9 for the full program. So I bought it. ;)

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

Is it usable in the USA too?? That does sound handy, now that I'm trying out Vongo (like Napster for movies) and other services like this. And I do a lot of online gaming and at those times, I'd like the connection to prioritize the game. (I already try to close everything before gaming, but every little bit helps.)

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

The best bet for speed is at your router because you're mostly not going to have control over the actual service. They make several routers that prioritize video game traffic above everything else and that's usually where you get most of the "lag." I'm one of the lucky customers with a 12 MB downstream connection and a 1 MB upstream connection. Ah, the beauty of Cox Communications. :D

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

I expect it'll work if your router is compatible - they have a list on the website along with compatible ISPs listed by location (and the USA is included). It's a German company and has got rave reviews when I delved a bit deeper on the net.

There's already a lot of games which it's pre-configured for (as well as p2p programs, VOIP etc) so it'll give you priority on that part of your connection when you need it. I guess the idea is similar to those new routers coming out with QoS - mine has the feature but the effect is negligible compared to cFosspeed.

Best bet, of course, is to try it for yourself. I've installed it on a few systems with different branded routers and it's worked fine. :)

I'm now pinging so fast that I'm beginning to pong... :confused:

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

OK! Stop! Restarting, shutting down, and then the blue screen. I have had this problem on 2 home computers, for quite some time now, but I was too stubborn to do anything less than fix it myself. I see 2 people now complaining about the same thing in the chat box. What I do know about this deal is, that anytime I reformat, BEFORE I allow the automatic updates to load, I do NOT have this problem. The thing is, I have to have the service pack, in order for my Plextor to work. That is the setup that I use for the video clip game. Anyways, I noticed the delay in the problem, a week or so ago, when I was too busy to re-load the updates, etc . . . , yet once I loaded them, they started right back up. So, on this last reformat, I went 3 days, and then once I loaded them, all my troubles started yet again, during the downloads even. I reformatted my daughter's computer, 2 weeks ago, and never did any updates. Guess what her's isn't doing anymore? Makes you wonder, doesn't it!?! What kind of motherboard do you 2 have?

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

Haven't a clue at the moment. I bought a Compaq SR1611NX-B about 16 months ago really cheap and have upgraded a few things like memory (I'm at 2GB of RAM right now) and added a second hard drive and then a huge external hard drive for backup and games and photos.

But everything else is the original parts. ATI Radeon Express 200 graphics cards (256MB), but don't know the motherboard without opening it up.

I just upgraded to Vista Business and love it.

Have you tried reformatting, reinstalling WinXP, then the SPs BEFORE installing anything else? A really clean installation with all updates and SPs before moving on to putting anything else there? I assume you do mean an actual "reformat" when you say "reformat," right? (Sorry if that's obvious -- I have no clue what anyone else's computer experience is!)

I tend to be slow and cautious about loading things in the right order, but I always did let WinUpdate keep the OS up to date. I try to get rid of bloatware and spyware and all that stuff. And I uninstall programs I'm not using anymore (through Add/Remove, NOT just deleting them), etc.

I'm not pointing fingers or anything, but I find it's so hard to diagnose another person's computer since so much is based on user habits and tendencies as much as actual hardware. My mom used to call me from 2500 miles away back when she was new to computers and try to get my help by telling me informative stuff like, "The thingy is blinking!"

:rolleyes:

Soooooo ... Perhaps if you think outside the box (so to speak) and don't automatically assume it's a SP problem or Windows problem. Perhaps some OTHER program is the culprit.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

Nothing automatic here. I have thought of everything else first, as I have been dealing with this problem for a few months now. This is a straight up, testing it to see what happens deal, and it happened. I was just curious what motherboard gummo and John had.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

It could be a memory problem. Whenever I get the BSOD, that's the first place I look. I highly doubt your problem is the motherboard because I wasn't getting BSODs when my computer reset itself. It just turned off and started right back up again.

If you have an extra memory lying around, try that first. If it still keeps going on, load each individual program/update one at a time. After you load a program/update, run the computer for a day and see if it restarts. That should be an easy way to find a software culprit. I still say it's a good bet that it's your memory, though.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

Again, I have tried everything else, first. This, reloading updates, was my last test, and that is when my problems started back up again. I have 5 computers in the house. All put together right here. Parts from newegg.com. I was just curious what motherboard you 2 had. Luckily for me, gummo knows squat about computers.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

From what it sounds like, you're not having a motherboard issue.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

I said they start after updates. No offense, but I didn't ask you for tips, seeings how I have already fixed my issue. I SIMPLY asked you what motherboard you had. That, you have yet to answer.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

Me telling you what kind of motherboard I have isn't going to help you all that well. Do you have a 939 socket processor? If not, you don't need to know what kind of motherboard I'm using.

Glad to hear you fixed your problem, though.

Re: Computer Repair n Tips
 

I don't know what kind of motherboard I had, but the people at the place where I got the laptop said that it is the fault of the motherboard, it just went dead. He opened it up and everything. Anyway, because the laptop is under warrenty and they replace the motherboard for free, I couldn't care less about what kind it is or why it went dead. We have the warrenty for another year so if this ever happens again, we know what the problem is and then we can deal with it if it happens after the warrenty runs out.