Computer questions

[Steven]

This is where if you have a computer question, you can ask it here.

Those questions include...

• Spyware/Viruses/Trojans/etc.
• Password protecting ZIP files
• computer care
• Differences between Operating Systems
• Your computer exploding
• Using it with PDAs
• PDAs (Palm, PocketPC)
• File management
• Programs (Not RCT/RCT2, No Limits, etc.... that can go into SpeedZone)

Mind you, none of us (staff or members) can be a tech support service, and if serious enough, we recommend you have it looked at by a professional nearby. There may be multiple causes where it needs a professional to further diagnose the problem and fix it. If your computer is under warranty, and it seems like you are having hardware issues, contact your computer's tech support service.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

My sister is having a problem with her computer. Whenever she starts up the Windows XP user welcome screen. the mouse is stuck at the center of the screen. I have had this problem before on computers in the past and the solution was to keep restarting it (holding down the power button) and then after a few tires it would work. We have done it many times and I've even replaced the mouse but it won't move. Does anyone have any suggestions? All and any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Steven]

It could very well be bad mouse drivers. My advice would be to unplug the mouse (when the computer is off), boot up, remove the mouse drivers, then shut down, hook the mouse back up, then boot up and hopefully let it detect itself. Otherwise, run the new hardware wizard.

If it fails, you might either have something (virus?) preventing its usage, you might have an IRQ conflict (if it's PS/2), or you might have a bad mouse port (again, if it's PS/2).

[Coastr Crazy 72]

That is a possibility. I will try that. My only doubts -

This is a Dell computer hooked up to a simple Dell Mouse (with scroller). I mean it would be kind of stupid of them to install bad mouse drivers for their own mouse. I'll try it though, and thank you.

[Skye]

If you need help with mice, i'm a self-taught expert, because i have had so many problems with mice (mostly with getting windows to realise a usb mouse exists and deleting the ps/2). So far everything works!

A myth btw is that you can't have two mice installed (and working) at once. you can - i've tried it. (still only 1 pointer though)

Win xp is a strange problem, because windows should warn you on start-up that it can't find a mouse. If there isn't drivers win should know about it.

Could be a faulty connection. Is it USB, PS/2 or serial?

I think IRQ conflicts are unlikely because they have got that sorted for win xp. It's a problem for 95/98 but xp seems to manage them ok.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

Umm i'm not sure. It is purple color coded in a special mouse slot. I'm pretty advanced when it comes to computer but this is a little weird for me.

[Kyle L]

It's PS/2 then. It could be faulty drivers, but typically mice don't require heavy drivers like other devices. I'm kinda stumped.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

My only thought right now is to run it in safe mode but I can't imagine how that could help fix it.

Eliminated reasons:

1. bad mouse
2. bad hardware
3. virus

Possibilities:

1. bad drivers

Well from what we have discussed it seems that "bad driver" is the only possibility at the moment. If someone could give me some instructions on how to fix these drivers or get new ones, without using the mouse then maybe it will be fixed?

[SFFT_Freak]

I also had a problem with the microsoft mice that come with dell.. (Standart Wheel Microsoft Mouse.. cheapest.. usually is distributed with about everything) Actually all of them in that one particular line. They'll die out eventually.. My last one would double click out of no where (I tried everything.. drivers.. settings.. support.) and nothing would fix it.. went out... bought a new mouse.. wala.. problem solved. Till this date I'm in good shape. So if you got some extra cash.. treat yourself to a new mouse.

[Kyle L]

Also, if you do get a new mouse, I would suggest getting a USB mouse in case the PS/2 port blew out. But I don't think that's the case.

Have you worked out anything yet?

[Coastr Crazy 72]

No, havn't worked out anythinng yet. I have to get go get another mouse whenever I have time. Thanks for all your help guys, I appreciate it.


I have another question though, I want to get a good video card but I don't want to pay too much. Right now I am using an GeForce4 64mb and I am currently looking at the Radeaon (sp?) 9600 128mb. I think it is only about $150 or something. If I can get a better card then that for under 200 then can someone please point me in the right direction. I'd appreciate any help given, thanks.

[Cedarpoint_Mark]

I was able to stay under 200 with my 128mb video card. Its a GeForce 4 4800 TI.

I'm in th emarket for a new monitor. The one that I have is a Gateway EV700 17" (16" or so viewable). I am looking for an affordable LCD 17" monitor (under $400) and I heard that prices for these may be dropping near the end of February. If there are any to get or stay away from I would like some assistance as well.

[Kyle L]

Depends. What kind of Geforece are you running? If it's a TI I would still use it. But, I'm figuring you're buying this card to get better gaming performance. The real trick lies in upgrading multiple ciritcal parts. I know your RAM is nice, but I think your CPU could use a boost. If you use the same Mobo (Socket A Im guesing) Then you could easily get it upgraded from a 1800XP to a 3200XP. That's what I would do. But as for video cards.

Don't limit choices to ATi or nVidia, they both use the same technology and both perform games at the same rate. So don't leave nVidia out. In fact, nVidia releases more drivers than ATi does. (Drivers utalize hardware, the more updated they are, the more utalization you get). The 9600 is nice, but it isn't that big of a leap fron your Geforce. Plus, once you buy a new graphics chip, a company will release a new one. It's annoying!

Anyways, You can get a GeForce FX 5600 or around there for a nice price. And what kinda of gaming do you do? Actually, you can go ahead and IM me. lemonheaterKL. I can give you a few pointers.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

I was able to stay under 200 with my 128mb video card. Its a GeForce 4 4800 TI.

I'm in th emarket for a new monitor. The one that I have is a Gateway EV700 17" (16" or so viewable). I am looking for an affordable LCD 17" monitor (under $400) and I heard that prices for these may be dropping near the end of February. If there are any to get or stay away from I would like some assistance as well.

I've got the perfect set of monitors for you. Hold on and let me find them and I'll edit them into the post.

Ok here are the best 17" LCD monitors
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,109704,00.asp

Here is the best 15" LCD monitor-
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/artic...,109198,00.asp

I have done a lot of research on the 15" monitors and that one is the best there is for a great affordable price. I also had the same exact gateway monitor, except it was a 19". Going from a big screen to a smaller screen like this, is not a big deal at all. I now own a Sony 15" monitor but I don't recommend it. Those Gateway monitors are surprisingly very very good and the next best monitor would be the NEC I showed you.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

Sorry for double posting but I just called up the person who made my computer. He explained to me that I actually do have an AMD 2400+ but my BIOS were never resent or something. He didn't actually explain to me how to fix this so I am asking if anyone knows how to do this? Could someone explain?

[Kyle L]

Sorry for double posting but I just called up the person who made my computer. He explained to me that I actually do have an AMD 2400+ but my BIOS were never resent or something. He didn't actually explain to me how to fix this so I am asking if anyone knows how to do this? Could someone explain?

When you first start up your computer like you normall do, look for a command that says *This Key* To enter setup. Mine is DEL for Delete. Once you enter it, you can setup a bunch of bios things and setups. Look around and then when you find something press "Save" which saves your bios. Keep in mind saving or changing some of this stuff could really mess you over. Make sure you know what you are doing.

[birdie311]

I'm not the brightest when it comes to computers, so here goes: I have a yahoo mail account. I'm just wondering if I can set it up to use Outlook to use the yahoo account? If I can, how do I go about doing

[jimmycoasterman]

My problem: I suddenly have a "Hotbar" as a toolbar that opens whenever Windows Explorer or Internet Explorer open. Even if I choose not to view it, its annoying as hell, and just comes back up whenever I open up either explorer again. I think it was caused by Spyware but I don't know. Any suggestions?

[Coastr Crazy 72]

O god you are in a rough ride Jimmy. Those are the worst and the most annoying problems anyone can ever face on a computer. I used to have surferbar which was very very bad and somehow I got rid of it. Here are my suggestions-

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/n1063150661

Read the replies I got when I posted my problem. All of those stupid bars are basically the same so the solution I had should be the same for yours.

http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winxp/r1062393057

Download what is offered on that page. Those will also help greatly.

Also download Ad-aware from Download.com if it wasn't mentioned on the other sites that I posted. Good luck and hope everything works out.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

Hey guys I need help my very heavily configured laptop. Ok this laptop is a Dell Lattitude (very old version) and runs like crap but I finally got my wireless network up and running on it. It is a laptop my dad brought home from his work with Win XP Pro that is so heavily configured that I even had a very hard time putting in a printer. My friend suggested that these changes to the system were made in the registry and the only reliable way to remove them was to completely format the computer and re-install windows. Here are my problems-

I don't have the re-boot disk to load up everything it will need.
The laptop is soo slow (not a problem I'm just so tired of its slowness)

So I ask if anyone has any other suggestions on what to do or if anyone has any helpful advice on how to go about the formatting. All help would be appreciated.

[Kyle Rehm]

Well if its really slow, why run XP, 98SE will use less resources, but in turn be less stable, and its really better for older system. Unless this computer has 256 mb of Ram or more, and around a 733 mhz PIII or faster XP should be fine, but if its much slower than that you should look into 98SE... And don't even touch ME... thats just.. well... I won't bother... The best way to reformat is to delete the primary partition, then recreate it. Its one of the best ways to reformat the computer, and get it back into a FAT32 and not NTFS config. And re-installing Windows will make you much happier in the long run, there won't be much you can do in the registry unless you really know what your looking for, so its best to just start fresh.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

I sort of have to stay with XP. I can't change that much to it.

The laptop has around 128mb DDR ram(might be 256 not sure) and 733mhz PIII.

I'm just looking to format the system and reinstall windows safely. Kyle Rehm could you give me instructions on how to go about your format you suggested?

[Steven]

Coastr: the best thing to do is...

- Make sure you have all of your drivers for your components (video, sound, modem, network card, motherboard bus drivers, etc.). If not, download them now and get them onto a CD.
- Wipe the partition clean and start over (with one exception... NTFS is a much better, more efficient, more secure file format than FAT32, so stick with NTFS, which is only available on Windows 2000 and XP).
- Stick in the Windows XP CD, and follow the instructions carefully. Select the components you need first (then the ones you want), then install it.

- If you don't have the Windows CD... you're SOL and stuck buying a new full version copy of Windows. I don't, in any way, condone borrowing someone else's CD because of the product activation, plus a) it may not work (Microsoft may reject your product activation attempt using such a method) and b) you put your opportunity of important Windows security updates in jeopardy.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

Looks like I'm stuck then, huh? O well. It was worth a shot. Thanks for everyone's help anyway.

[Brian P]

I am attempting a clean install of Windows XP Home (OEM
Version). The installation gets the the part where it
says 'Installing Network' (the setup says approx. 32
minutes remaining -- it never gets past that). The status
bar gets about 40% or so and just freezes. I've let it set
there for hours and it doesn't move in the slightest.
(Yet the scrolling blue area telling of the features on
the right side of the screen continues on like normal).
I've tried it several times, and even tried it with my
network card removed, yet nothing has worked. Can anyone
please help....any ideas at all? Thank you!!

Brian
FlyInBack@cs.com

[Cedarpoint_Mark]

FIB, I merged your post with this general thread...

Have you tried looking at Microsoft's site for possible help? I have the XP upgrade (from Windows ME) and everything installed fine.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

Yea everything installed fine for me when I upgraded from ME. Like Andrew said, go to Microsoft site and try and get help there. Get a tech number and call because they can help you while you are going through the process.

[Carowinds 73-03]

Sometimes when i go onto a website and i try to click a link in the site the whole page goes away and i have to enter the site again. This happens like 50 times a day on a number of sites. Even on RCDB & Carowinds Connection. It never happens on TN. Anyone know why it's doing this. Thanks for any help.

[Coastr Crazy 72]

I'm stumped, but I usually am anyway. Sorry can't help

[Cedarpoint_Mark]

If you were stumped, you wouldn't have posted...

As far as Carowinds...check your interent settings. You might have it set so that a new version of the page doesn't load, and instead, you reload the same or non-existant page.