Computer questions

[sfft_2108]

OK, can some one please help me out on my computer problem, it sucks so bad. Here is my problem again. Ok i just recently downloaded MSN 9.0 and installed it. The first time i use 9.0 it worked fine. The next time it wouldn't sign in. OK i click on the little MSN icon on my desktop. MSN sign in comes up. I click on my user name. Then type in my password then click sign in. Ok MSN doesn't sign in. Ok i close out of the sign in screen. Now i hear the internet dialing up. There is no sign in screen and that. Ok then when it finishes dialing up, the sign in screen come up. Then i click on my s/n and then i am able to get online. Is there a way to fix this problem. Thanks

[coasetrphil]

Alright, I ran Ad-Aware and it found a lot of stuff that Spybot had missed so things are moving faster now.


I have another problem though, I am unable to unistall MS Flight Simulator 2004. When I got to the Add/Remove programs and click Remove nothing happens. That program eats up a huge amount of space so I would really like to get rid of it.

[CoasterJunkie]

Have you uninstalled it before? If so, it could just be a registry problem, in which case don't worry about it. If you went in and deleted files manually, that could be it and again, the registry isn't up to date so don't worry about it.

Double check the files and make sure they are gone. If they are not gone, look for an uninstall or modification program specifically for FS2004 in the games directory. If all else fails, manually delete everything.

[Sparks]

If your computer is slowing down another good thing is to go to start. Then run and then type in msconfig. Somethign well pop up. On the thing that pops up click the last tab and you well see like 40 or so thing swith boxs checked some may not be checked. Click the button that says disable all or soemthing like becasue that will make it so you don't have 40 programs all running at the same time. If you think this bad becasue it is stopiong all tyeprograms it isn't becasue most of the programs that are very important you cant turn off and the ones that the computer needs to run will automatically become cehcked again

[Kyle L]

Alright, I ran Ad-Aware and it found a lot of stuff that Spybot had missed so things are moving faster now.


I have another problem though, I am unable to unistall MS Flight Simulator 2004. When I got to the Add/Remove programs and click Remove nothing happens. That program eats up a huge amount of space so I would really like to get rid of it.

Two Options:

A. Use the programs un-install, this most likley won't work.
B. Remove game files, then go to Add/Remove Programs, and it will remove the registry. Although sorta not "exactly" what to do.


You can try these also:
Insert the MS Flight Disc, and click install, then try the Repair option.

I also saw this program that does force remove, I saw it on the screen savers.

Not sure what to do though, you COULD try those.

[coasetrphil]

Alright, I scanned my computer for viruses using this program off the web, and it found stuff. I was wondering if any of the anti-virus software programs have a free trial or anything so I can get rid of the stuff now.

[General Public]

Phil, how long has it been since you've wiped your HD? Itmay be time for a reinstall of Windows.

Also, there are 3 (free) programs you should have to combat spyware on your computer. The first two have been mentioned, AdAware and Spybot. The third is called SpySweeper, and unlike the other two, it can run as an application to block spyware instead of you having to wait until you get it to remove it. You can also scan your comp for spyware with it. I've found that with those 3 programs, I can get ride of pretty much all the spy crap off my system, as each one will find stuff the other two didn't.

As for anti-virus software, go to a computer store and buy Norton Anti-Virus. It's about 40 bux, but so worth that price. IMO it's way better than McAfee virus scanning software. What's more, that includes a year long subscription to Norton's virus database, so you can continually update and protect your system against that stuff. After a year, I think the renewal price is 10 or 15 dollars, pretty nominal.

[coasetrphil]

I haven't wiped my hard drive before, but my computer isn't really that old.

What site do I go to, to download Spysweeper?

I got a 15 day trial of Norton, and when my dad gets home from his business trip Monday I will get him to buy the full version.

[General Public]

Norton is really worth the 40 bux, so don't hesitate to get it. Just be sure to update the virus definition about every week or so once you install it.

I got all three programs from download.com. Just search for "spysweeper" on the main page.

[Sparks]

Ya I have all those 3 programs. I like them. Another reason is that you may have to many programs running at one time

[Cedarpoint_Mark]

Norton is great and all, but I have a slight problem. It was installed on this current harddrive, then got removed. I am now trying to reinstall it and I having absolutely no luck in doing so. I get about halfway through the installation, then it tells me the installation has failed. So you can see my dilemma. I wonder if there might be hidden Norton files on my computer that I haven't deleted and if there could be an easy way of checking and doing so. I'd really hate to buy a new version of Norton though.

[General Public]

Scan your HD, then run a disk cleanup, then defrag it. Maybe that will help--but I can't promise it will.

[sfft_2108]

How often should you run Defag? If you run it to much is that bad?

[General Public]

There is no correct answer to that question. A lot of computer-intensive people have their system defrag every night. Other people do it every week, month, couple of months, etc. I personally run it about once a month.

You can't run it too much. Defrag doesn't alter your data, it only relocates it to avoid chopped up, or fragmented, files.

[Sparks]

Andrew if your looking for nortain thing. The same thing happened to me. You are proably not going to get it to work again. You can thoguh if you downlaod music, go there and search for it, but they won't comewitrh the updates. Or just search in good like free nortain antivirus or something like that you might find it. You can also borrow someone elses cd for nortain antivirus. If they have it and then just get a new cd key. That's really easy to get. That's what I would do if you don't want to but it again. If you do end up buying it again though, get the cd ass well so you always have it in case you remove it. The cde costs like 10 dollars extra, but it's worth it.

[sfft_2108]

Is there a way to copy songs easier to a cd at a higher speed than what it is a now. Right now it is going about 10% a minute. It you to be real fast but all of a sudden it has been slow and another question. Is there a possible way to fit more songs on a cd (normally 16-20). I hate to have so many cd for all of my songs. This is for backup use only.

[Sparks]

sfft_2108 If you are trying to wright songs onto a CD and it's goign realy slow, it is proably the CD type, or if you computer is slow, it will proably wright slower. Also what are you trying to right on the CD with? Sometimes when you are using different things to make cds withs, like windows media player, or something like that they go slower. It depends on the program sometimes as well. The answer to your second question is yes, but you have to put them onto a blank dvd, or I think there is a way to make your songs smaller and be able to put a lot onto a regular cd. But i'm not sure.

I also have a question: Does anyone know a program to take parts out of songs or videos, like if you were trying to edit them? I mostly want to edit a video though.

[kermat13]

I was told that Macs don't get virsuses--is this true? What else is good about a Mac. What drawback does a Mac have over a windows based computer?

[sfft_2108]

You might want to talk bout this is in the "Computer Question" Topic over in the media discussion.

http://thrillnetwork.com/boards/showthread.php?t=28751

[sfft_2108]

OK i got my latest computer problem. OK i have windows xp and all. Then all of a sudden this came up.

Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability, Windows must restore the original versions of these files.

Insert your Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM now.

Ok for this to go away i put in the cd that is suppose to go in. Then windows xp setup comes up. What is up with that. Is like some one hacking my computer or what.

[Natelox]

Mac has huge advantages over Windows. First, it is incredibly stable (OS X) and will probably never crash in your life time. OS X is much easier to use, more simple and overall a nicer operating system to use. Mac's are very fast, faster than almost all the PC's out there. They also have superior styling. About the virus comment, the percent of people with Windows-based operating systems greatly outnumber the number of Mac users, so any who creates viruses will want to piss-off as many people as they can, so there are hardly any viruses made for Macs. Here is a link to the top 10 reasons to switch.

The only problem with Apple is the lack of games for their operating system. However, you can get Virtual PC, a program that mimics a PC and allows you to run any PC based program on your computer.

I will buy a Mac, once I have a job
It's definetly worth it!

[Jill Anne]

Okay first virtual PC doesn't run *everything,* so don't assume it does.
I have a PC and an iMac. My iMac does all my websurfing, video editing, web publishing, and multimedia authoring. It's far far better than that. Once I installed some extra RAM, it runs Photoshop, Indesign, Director, iChat, iMovie, and iPhoto simultaneously without any sort of noticeable slowdown.
Macs can't catch the same viruses PC's do because they don't run exe files. Aside from that, few people are real interested in writing a worm or virus to target mac users. It can be done, just isn't done real often, which makes you a lot safer than other users.
I use my PC for gaming, mainly. I've got a P4 2.8 GHz machine, with various other nice hardware.
No matter which you go with, I highly recommend getting iTunes to play mp3s. You can get a legal free one from the mac music store every week if you aren't into buying (I admit it, I like the legal music store better than the illegal varieties now). I've also got my iPod now, and it works well with both the PC and the iMac.
Macs *do* crash. I had mine for a year and a half before I had to format it, but when iLife 04 came out for some reason the installation really screwed up my computer. I could no longer install anything else, and it was annoying to say the least. I had to format, but backed everything up first (like my library files) so system restore was a cinch.
Macs are "worth it" depending on what you do with a computer. So that's what I'll ask you: what are you looking for your computer to do?
~Jill

[SFFT_Freak]

I have also had a Mac crash, and I will never buy one again. The support was terrible, they had no clue what happened and would not provide a solution for the time being. I returned it; won't buy one ever again.

[TopGun77]

I'll merge this with the computer questions thread...

[Sparks]

Does anyone know a way to save dvds to your computer? So you don't need the dvds you could just watch it without.

On the macs crashing, my class all got macs. Sometimes I have seen them freeze or crash. So, it is possible.

[Kyle L]

Does anyone know a way to save dvds to your computer? So you don't need the dvds you could just watch it without.

On the macs crashing, my class all got macs. Sometimes I have seen them freeze or crash. So, it is possible.

Yes you can, it is called DVD2SVCD. You can get it at: www.dvd2svcd.org (I think, I will correct link if needed)

It's a fairly complicated program if you are a basic computer user. But I gotta be very informative about this program.

This program=sketchy. Not for the fact that it isn't illegal or anything, it is just you need to know what you are doing. You simply cannot click a button. You need the following for it to work:
Avrisynth Codec's
TMPEG or any other popular compatible encoder
AVI 2 MPG- Comes with DVD2SVCD
Daemon Tools- To view the .bin files.

To sum it up: The program takes anywhere from 12 hours to 24 of non obstructed computer usage. Yes, 24 hours is a possibility. You need a hefty PC setup in order to encode properly:
OVER 2 ghz Pentium 4
LOADS of Hard Drive space (Each DVD saves .vob files of 1 gb per each vob file, there can be up to 9, and HD space for bin and MPEG finish. That will take about 1 GB)
High Speed DVD ROM-At least 16X to encode swiftly.

It is a very complicated program, I do not suggest using it if you are new to it. You can ask me some questions, I know something about it. It takes a long time as well.
Note: This is the ONLY sucessful DVD Ripping program just so you know.

[Sparks]

ok, I am not that basic, I know quite a lot. I could proably figure it out. Are you sure it's the only one though? Im just wandering.

[coasterz44]

OK i got my latest computer problem. OK i have windows xp and all. Then all of a sudden this came up.

Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability, Windows must restore the original versions of these files.

Insert your Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM now.

Ok for this to go away i put in the cd that is suppose to go in. Then windows xp setup comes up. What is up with that. Is like some one hacking my computer or what.

No one is hacking your computer. The setup comes up because you put the Windows XP Home Edition setup CD in the drive just like it told you. Try re-installing windows with the setup screen. It should fix all your problems.

[sfft_2108]

No one is hacking your computer. The setup comes up because you put the Windows XP Home Edition setup CD in the drive just like it told you. Try re-installing windows with the setup screen. It should fix all your problems.

No, i didn't put the CD in the drive. That message i said all of a sudden came up. I didn't put the CD in the drive before the message came up. I put the cd in the drive AFTER the message came up. Then the setup begans. Since i have already installed xp. I just close the program. Last time i ran the setup up like it said, and then the same stuff happens. So i just leave the cd in. But when i restart the computer like it doesn't restart. So i have to restart it manualy and then like the computer gets all screwed up. So i have to reinstall xp. Did that clear things up.

[Sparks]

sfft_2108. that same thing happened to me only it wanted a different cd. What you did was you unistalled something that you shouldn't have, either you did it on purpose or it happen by accident. All you have to do is insert the right cd. If you don't know which one is the right one, call Dell or whatever your company is and ask them which cd to put in.