Computer Help

amazonmp3 question

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 04:45:53 GMT

I buy my music off of the amazonmp3 store. I'm very happy with the service but...

Two albums that I bought on the store aren't showing up in the "albums I own" list. I never deleted them from the list, so what gives? Has this happened to anyone else?

my files started disappearing??

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:24:12 GMT

Question/Problem: ok so last night i tried to download this video off of youtube using some .flv grabber program (err i forgot what its called --but its like affiliated with orbit). anyways when the download was finish i started noticing the .flv file disappearing off of my desktop?.. then i tried to download again and again for a few more times. again it disappeared. later i started noticing a lot of my desktop files started to disappear too! my folders and inside some of my files were missing.. and i noticed my screen sorta flickred?

i got a feeling that my computer was getting hacked or something because it might've have to do with me turning on the dmz host on? i had to turn it on so i can connect to soulseek.

anyways i got scared so i turned it off and removed that grabber program.
i tried to restart my comp to see if my files were still there.. but nope.
could it be a virus or someone might be hacking in my comp and removing my files?
i only noticed my desktop files were gone. can i get it back? :(

Operating System and VERSION: Windows XP

Web Browser and VERSION: opera

Your level of experience: Intermediate

Duration of problem: last night

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? tried a restart. used ashampoo windows optimizer and spybot

EDIT:

the flv program is called free music zilla. and i think this is what causing the problem. i thought i uninstalled it, but i guess i didnt. so i ran it again...then 98% of my files on my desktop started to disappear again!! arghghh.. what is going on??

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:52:55 GMT

Question/Problem: My browser is being screwy, idk. It's not showing pictures and it's not displaying pages correctly (see under cut for example)

Operating System and VERSION: Windows XP

Web Browser and VERSION: Firefox/2.0.0.16

Your level of experience: (Beginner, Intermediate, Seasoned, Expert, God) Intermediate

Duration of problem: Just today, now.

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? I've restarted my browser, restarted my computer, and reset my internet connection, but it didn't help :(

this is what i see when i go to www.woot.com

and this is computerhelp

thanks for any and all help!!!

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:44:58 GMT

Question: My Norton Anti-virus runs out in 15 days, is there need to buy it again? or will it still run scans when scheduled and help protect my computer? and Also, is it a wise choose to switch to Fire fox? Does it have better protections then Explorer 7?

Operating System and VERSION: Windows XP

Web Browser and VERSION: Internet Explorer 7

Your level of experience: Intermediate

Thanks in advance!
~Ashley

AIM spam

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:06:41 GMT

***NOTE: DO NOT CLICK THE LINK***
Someone has an AIM CRUSH on you! Click here - to find out who it is
I think you will be supprised!

So, I've been getting roughly 8-12 spam IMs a day, all from various screennames, with this same spam message. Does anybody know what company is having people do this? Anybody know who to contact to get taken off of their list?

(and yes, I know I could set my AIM to 'only allow IMs from people on my buddy list', but I often have new people that need to contact me)

Problem with recovery

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:23:02 GMT

I hope someone can help me...

I have a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo A1655G laptop that I bought from new in September 2006. I've used it a lot and installed lots of things and now it's getting a little slow. I wanted to reinstall Windows, but it doesn't seem to work.

I have the recovery cd and I did get it started, but a little bit into the installation it stops, a black screen appears with a little white cursor in the top left corner and after a couple of seconds the computer shuts off.

What's going on? What can I do?

Yeah, Kinda Pointless

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 06:56:37 GMT

Probably a pointless question, but how do you get an icon back for a GUI? I just bought a My Book, and it's working just fine. The problem? The Western Digital image doesn't appear when I want to click it. I dunno about you, but I hate seeing it look so miserable. ):

Any way to get the original image back?

Vista Problem

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 04:42:40 GMT

Operating System and VERSION: Windows Vista 6.0.6001 Service Pack 1 Build 6001

Web Browser and VERSION: FireFox 2.0.0.16

Your level of experience: Between Beginner/Intermediate. I'm no expert, but I'm not totally clueless.

Duration of problem: About Two Weeks

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? Updating Vista

I have been having trouble with my Windows Vista during start-up for about two weeks now. Every time I start my computer it runs as normal, gives me the Welcome screen and then I get this blue screen. It is NOT the blue screen of death. There is nothing happening on the screen. I can move my mouse, but I cannot right-click. I can also hit ctrl-alt-delete and the task manager shows nothing running. The screen sits there for about a minute, doing nothing, and then my wallpaper and start menu and icons come up. Everything else seems to be running smoothly. I have no idea what this blue screen is or how I got it, but it's rather annoying to have to wait extra long for my computer to start-up. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

Kay

Network vs non-network plus media stuff

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:59:46 GMT

I normally consider a network something where lots of computers connect to each other via a server and interact with each other. When reading info on devices about what I’m going to ask, I’m not sure I can figure this out easily without help.

My ISP comes on cable, it goes through the cable modem, into a router. I have a few computers that are connected to the router but don’t go through any thing like a server. They all just SHARE the internet connect but don’t interact between each other.

I want to put on a NAS or Wired/wireless media player which I seen a video and should be able to hook that up in general. It would be hooked into the router via cat 5/6 or wireless. Can all the computers that are connected to the router interact with the NAS or media player via the router, even though it’s not a true network with a server?

I’m using win95 on my main hardwired computer, but the others all use 95 or vista.

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 05:15:47 GMT

My father is having trouble with his internet. We have Verizon DSL here in the house, with 3 computers all on the same wireless network. The router and the modem are connected to my father's computer in the basement. My mother and I both have laptops upstairs. We are getting the internet, but my father is not. He says he hasn't messed around with any settings or anything. It happened before and he didn't do anything and when he came back to the computer later on it was back on.

Is it possible that his old computer just can't handle it anymore? He has a 2.4 Gigahertz with 256MB of RAM, running Windows XP. We've had this DSL for a few years now and haven't had a problem. He knows he needs more RAM but he's waiting to get enough money for a whole new computer. It just doesn't pay to upgrade this one.

Could some program have caused this? He's recently installed Firefox 3 and Ad-Aware 2008. Oh, and he also says he used the System restore to get his internet back a few days ago.

It's really driving him crazy so if anyone has any suggestions, I'd really appreciate it! Thanks!

Router Help

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:54:02 GMT

Ack, my router decided to die. Or maybe it was on it's last legs?

I have a WRT54GS router by Linksys. It has worked fine for the last 2 years. This afternoon, after a somewhat hot humid day (not that hot mind you) my wireless no longer responds. It's weird.
The wired network works, but the wireless does not, apparently. The network sees glimpses of other peoples networks, that are in the same area. Even nearby neighbors networks are there. My laptop sees the other networks, and mine. But does not connect to mine. Same for my computer with a wireless card.
I was using the default firmware from Linksys, but after fighting with it today, I decided to try upgrading to Tomato. That works fine, except of course, for the wireless. Tomato has site survey tools. It sees the other networks too.

Did my WRT54GS just get fried? Anyone seen anything like this? I've seen something similar in a small office where one port on the router would intermittently fail (days at a clip) but come up as soon as I connected via a ssh session and pinged the other side.

Reformatting

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:02:46 GMT

OK well here is the deal... I had to reformat my computer PER DELL because I apparently had a worm that was destroying things due to old antivirus software. Well they told me to take Adobe photoshop elements and send it to my other partition so that I could reinstall it from there along with a couple other programs. Well it's there in D and everything is in the file BUT I have no clue how to get it to install again. I lost the cd a long time ago in a move to FL. Can anyone help me with installing it without that... I still have the key written down I just have no way to install it... GRRR to say the least...

custom building computers

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:49:59 GMT

can anyone recommend a reliable website or publication which is pretty comprehensive and explanatory abt building one's own computer? i'm sure in the 10 years since i'd last thought it might interest me as a project, that sort of endeavor has gotten easier.

regards

Annoying Window

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:28:26 GMT

Hi, everytime I open a program (or sometimes just for no reason) a window says that it is trying to install Microsoft Project Professional and is asking for the disk. Has this happened to anyone else? Might it be a virus?

Rawr, what is in my computer!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 16:06:03 GMT

I went to open a file that I DLed from a torrent site, and got a message. I have used the site many times in the last few days, but between last night and this morning, something happened.

It reads:
Attention Kasi -----, some dangerous viruses detected in your system. Microsoft windows xp files corrupted. This may lead to destruction of important files in c:/windows/ download protective software now.

--------------------------
Then says click ok to DL the antispyware. I hit no and was sent to a web page, where a scan appeared to run.

--------------------------
Because this has been happening all day, I hit OK just to see what would happen, and I was prompted to DL something.

--------------------------

What the hell is going on? I am running Avast! and it turned up nothing. ZoneAlarm doesn't show it, and neither does Ad-Aware.

I read up about this on some websites, and followed some instructions, none of which worked. As one of my last resorts, I uninstalled Firefox, alot of the sites suggest the pop up is saved to it. Still happened. When I went to reinstall Firefox, I used internet explorer and the Pop up showed for every link, and it took me 10 mins just to get the file downloaded because I kept getting sidetracked by being routed to the installation pages.

Please respond with help, or ask for system information.

Installing XP on ASUS P4C800 Deluxe

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:50:47 GMT

Motherboard: ASUS P4C800 Deluxe ( Amibios 08.00.09 build date: 04/07/03 ID P4C81036)

Right then my problem is this I'm trying to install XP on a new HD but WinXP isn't doing it. I turn comp on with Original WinXP CD in the CD drive and SATA HD connected. (Only CD and HD connected)
WinXP gets to Blue Set up screen and then stops. Only blue screen with Windows Setup top left of screen and thats it, doesn't do anything more at all. I've left on over night and still at the same point.

I can and have installed Win 2000 Professional on before and i works just fine no problems. I read there was something about installing SATA Drivers into the WinXP CD using nLite to make a another WinXP CD but this gives the same results.

I've just tried using a IDE drive to install WinXP but same result blue screen, stops.

Can anyone help me as programs are starting to go WinXP & Vista only and I'm getting left behind.

Update:
ok some more info, I noticed when I boot up the Bios for the SATA briefly says there is no Bios installed. I'm thinking maybe I need to install SATA Bios but I never have done tha before. With Win2kPro i just put the CD in and it went and installed no problems. Is there a way to install the SATA Bios?

Also on the Bios my HD is listed as Third IDE Master.

Primary Master: Not Detected
Primary Slave: Not Detected
Secondary Master: DVD
Secondary Slave: DVDRW
Third IDE Master: Maxtor 6Y120M0
Fourth IDE Master: Not Detected

IDE Configuration
Onboard IDE Operate Mode [enhanced mode]
Enhanced Mode Support On [S-ATA] * this i changed as it was always IDE
IDE Detect Tiem Out (Sec) [35]

--
~ B ~ on Lappy (Ulkesh)

Wireless routers (cable)

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:38:30 GMT

I'm somewhat clueless about matters of hardware, so I'm hoping that this community can give me some advice.

I have a cable broadband connection (Virgin media) and have a wireless network set up with an 54 Mbps Actiontec DSL router. I've started to experience various problems with the connection - sites timing out or loading incredibly slowly - which seem to be the fault of the router (ie they are resolved when I'm on a wired connection). Rebooting and reinstalling the router resolved the issues temporarily, but not for long.

It seems that I'll have to invest in a new router, so I'm looking for a bit of guidance on getting a decent one. The current router was pretty much picked at random, because it was cheap, and it's lasted about a year. I'm guessing that I probably need to spend a bit more, but I have no clue what makes a good router or what features I should be looking for. The network is for a small flat, so it doesn't need to have a huge range - the furthest the computer ever gets from the router is the next room. I'd very much appreciate any guidance people can give, even if it's only a rough rule of thumb on how much one usually has to spend to get a good router. I'm running Windows XP on both my machines, if that makes any difference.

On a related note, since I'm posting, if any Brits can recommend a cable broadband provider other than Virgin I'd be interested to hear it. I can't get a regular phoneline, which is tying me into the one provider, which has proved less than satisfactory.

Thanks in advance!

Help with Google Apps / DNS Settings?

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:45:30 GMT

Ok this is how my current DNS is set up:

It’s the default settings for google apps, now I want to be to use my hosting and be able to use the google apps side of things for mail. Is this possible?

My domain support told me this:
“Now you will need to add the “A” records that are provided by your
web host provider. Two “A” records are needed, the first will
correspond to ”*.yourdomain.com” and it will point to the IP address
provided by your web host provider. The second will correspond to ”
.yourdomain.com” and will point to the same IP address as the previous
“A” record.”

But that doesn’t really make sense to me, my nameservers are NS11.ETHII.COM and NS12.ETHII.COM

Any help?

Setting Up Dual Boot XP and Vista

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:41:29 GMT

First Post

Puting together a new system that you need to dual boot between XP and Vista?

If the HD is fresh, you should install XP first. The reason is that XP's bootloader does not recognize Vista but Vista's bootloader does recognize XP. So if Vista is installed second it's bootloader (which easily recognizes XP) is used when you start your system and you can easily choose which operating system to run. When in stalling XP just be sure to create an extra partition large enough to host Vista and all the components you desire to install.

If you have XP already installed you just need to make sure you have a fresh partition or addition hard disk to install vista and you'r good to go.

Here is a step by step tutorial on setting up dual boot if you already have XP installed: TUTORIAL

Here is a step by step tutorial on setting up dual boot if yo already have Vista installed: TUTORIAL

Again i highly recommend having XP installed first as it's much easier.

This weekend I built a pretty decent computer. Check My Journal and let me know what you think of my new little beauty.

wi-fi tool

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:41:14 GMT

My dad has a password protected wireless internet connection for his business. The password isn't very secure, and I've tried to tell him about that, but he won't listen.

Every now and then, on the desktop computer, the icon for "not connected to the internet" (the two computers with the red x over them) will appear in the system tray, sometimes taking up the majority of the taskbar. I think this may mean that someone is trying to get on the wireless, but failing. Is this the case?

Also, I've been looking for an application that will tell you if someone is trying to get on your wireless connection, and if they were successful or not.

We run Windows XP on the desktop and Vista on a laptop.

Thanks!

Microphone Issues: The Big Computer Headache

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:33:44 GMT

Question/Problem: My microphone (headset) refuses to allow me to record any sound at all. At first it was giving muffled sound, then nothing. I've tried four different microphones in the past and none work. I have plugged them into the correct "hole" (the pink one), fiddled with more sliders than I cared to, and even messed in the CP of my Realtek HD Audio Manager. I'm open to suggestions now, because I am beyond frustrated.

Operating System and VERSION: Windows XP Professional, SP2

Web Browser and VERSION: Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.3

Your level of experience: Intermediate

Duration of problem: Months (haven't really bothered to use a new mic until just tonight)

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? I've fiddled with the sliders, muted and unmuted settings in the Windows Control Panel under Sounds and Audio Devices, checked the device manager for yellow !'s (there were none) and fiddled with the sliders in my Realtek HD Audio Manager.

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 19:13:08 GMT

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some advice.

I’m currently running on a four year old computer and I’m looking to improve my gaming experience. What I’d like to know is would it be better to upgrade my components in the old one, build a new one from scratch, or just buy one. I’ve done a little looking online and I’ve found a few prebuilt systems that I think would suit me just fine. I’m pretty competent with tools and putting things together, but I’ve never done anything with individual components before. I should probably mention that what I’m looking for is inspired by the Feb issue of PCGamer.

Under the cut are specs from my current comp, along with some builds offered by Dell and HP, and my minimum specs. If the prebuilts don’t match those, its either because they had a free upgrade or didn’t offer what I wanted. I’d like to not go over $1000 if possible.

Thanks in advance!

Old Computer
• OS: Windows XP
• CPU: 516 Intel Pentium 4 Processor
• Hard Drive: 160 GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA
• Memory: 512MB PC2-3200 DDR2 SDRAM
• Motherboard: Unsure. Whatever came with the HP Pavilion a1102n
• Video Card: Unsure. Whatever came with the HP Pavilion a1102n

What I’m Looking for Minimum
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600
• Video Card: 512MB
• Hard Drive: 250GB 7200RPM
• Memory: 2 GB

HP a6560t series for $689
• OS: Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
• CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo processor E7200 (2.5GHz, 3MB)
• Memory: 2GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (2x1024)
• Video card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9500GS, DVI-I, HDMI, VGA adapter
• Hard drive: 320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
• Primary CD/DVD drive: LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
• Sound Card: Integrated 5.1 Capable Sound w/ front audio ports

HP s3500t series for $940
• OS: Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q9300
• Memory: 2GB DDR2-800MHz dual channel SDRAM (2x1024)
• Graphics card: 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9500GS, DVI-I, HDMI, VGA adapter
• Hard drive: 320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
• Primary CD/DVD drive: LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
• Front Productivity Ports: 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, headphone port
• Sound Card: Integrated 5.1 Capable Sound w/ front audio ports

Dell Inspiron 530 for $739
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600 (8MB L2 cache, 2.4GHz, 1066FSB)
• OS: Vista® Home Premium Service Pack 1
• Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz- 2DIMMs
• Hard Drive: 500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
• Optical Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
• Video Card: Radeon ATI HD 2600 XT 256MB
• Sound Card: Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

WTF?

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 15:46:28 GMT

Hi all,
There must be something wrong with my computer (sounds foolish enough, eh?).
Last night, it told me "Hard disk error. Press F1 etc." and just wouldn't proceed any further.
After power off/on, there was a "no signal" message on the screen, and then the screen turned black. All the devices seemed to work, though (yes, they hummed softly, and the lamps were on).
When I removed RAM, it beeped as it should; it should have beeped the same way after removing the videocard, but it didn't. The screen remained black all the time.
Today, I switched it on, and IT WORKS.
The problem is that I don't know what to expect - and what component to replace, just in case. Please give me a hint.

Key Loggers?

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:16:12 GMT

Can any recommend, if there is a one, a free "key logger"? I swear my roommate has been using my computer and sending pain in the butt emails to personals on Craig's List. I keep changing my password, but every day I come home and there's messages in my Inbox telling me to stop emailing them and in my Sent box showing I sent messages. Plus my desktop icons will be moved around.

She says it's a hacker. I just want to be able to see if it's her. Any ideas?

WGA

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 04:11:25 GMT

I have a COPY of Windows XP. My PC hasn't been working so well so I decided to format and reinstall. Before I did this I just had a little * in the tray bar and if I moused over it said something like "This copy of Windows may not be geniune click here to learn more". I could still get Windows updates and everything worked except for like brand new MS stuff like WMP11 and MS Money which required validation.

Now that I've reinstalled it's telling me I am invalid and I cannot get ANY updates, where as before I was pretty much fine. Is there a way around this so I can get SP 2 and all of my updates?