Archived CalgaryPuck Computer Help Thread

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Not having much luck.

The Clean Driver 3.0 has a S3 Savage clean tool ... it removed one file, but not the three instances in the Add/Remove Program section.

And they won't go away when I hit remove in the Add/Remove Program section.

That's a pain but probably OK. The Cleaner program probably removed the file fragments but didn't remove the link in Add Reomve Programs (which isn't a big deal).

If you've removed everything S3 Savage, I'd remove and re-install the ATI drivers and see what is happening. Check the device manager and see if it is happy with all the drivers.

And if that doesn't work it may be easier to do a fresh install. There are other thigs that can be done, but you start getting into the "riskier/more time comsuming/better chance of fubaring everything anyways" type of solutions.

(BTW: I did have a similar issue once and the proble was the virus checker. They have been known to cause video driver issues. In my case, it prevented the system from booting. That was with an X800Pro and Kaspursky AV)

[Mccree]

Originally Posted by cal_guy

Have you tried Microsoft Virtual PC?
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx

This might be the answer. Thanks

[lucid]

I'll preface this by appologizing for being so computer-illiterate. Here goes:

I've noticed two changes on my computer (running Windows XP), and I'd like to get things back to how they were before.

Issue 1: My standby button is greyed out when I go to the start menu. Up until yesterday, it used to be there, and worked fine.
My preliminary searches on google tell me it might be a graphics or driver problem. (This is already past my understanding of computers. Doesn't take much, eh?) I checked the Device Manager, and under 'Display adapters' there's the exclamation mark, and it says the driver isn't working properly. Could this be the source of the problem? And if it is, where do I go from here?

Issue 2 (which I would guess is related): Scrolling has become weird. It's really apparent when scrolling through webpages, but I can notice it a bit in Word, too. It's not smooth... I don't really know how to describe it. It reminds me of a slide transition in powerpoint, actually (the one where if Wipes up or down). Sorry for the poor explanation.

It's not a pressing problem, as we can live with the ways things are, but I would like to correct it at some point. Thanks in advance for any advice, I really appreciate it!

[FireFly]

My sister started defragmenting her computer, (Windows 98SE) she doesn't think the program was working properly because after 10 hours (possibly 16) the program still said 0% complete. As this point in time, her lovely 11 year old daughter decided to close the defragmenting program. She then used her programs which were running fine. My sister then got home, and the computer was running slow, so she decided to turn it off. It did not want to turn off, so she manually turned it off. Now it won't turn on properly. She gets to the "Loading Windows 98SE" screen and no further. When the screen comes on, she can hit escape, but that's the only button that works, and it gives her a blank screen with a flashing cursor, but she can't type anything.

Is her computer dead? If it isn't, how does she fix it?

[lucid]

Update - Magically fixed? Seems like that's what has happened with my computer (for once!)

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by FireFly

My sister started defragmenting her computer, (Windows 98SE) she doesn't think the program was working properly because after 10 hours (possibly 16) the program still said 0% complete. As this point in time, her lovely 11 year old daughter decided to close the defragmenting program. She then used her programs which were running fine. My sister then got home, and the computer was running slow, so she decided to turn it off. It did not want to turn off, so she manually turned it off. Now it won't turn on properly. She gets to the "Loading Windows 98SE" screen and no further. When the screen comes on, she can hit escape, but that's the only button that works, and it gives her a blank screen with a flashing cursor, but she can't type anything.

Is her computer dead? If it isn't, how does she fix it?

If she can get to safe mode, she may be able to run the ScanDisk utility.
This will check and attempt to fix any errors that are found on the hard drive.
Here is a link on getting to that point:
http://pcdon.com/page82.html

The harddrive may be un-repairable though.

[phaneuf_train]

Can anyone recommend any audio codecs? Ive only had sound on Windows Media Player. I can never hear anything on youtube, quicktime, ect. It's very annoying.

[Sled]

What are the main differences between the following?

AMD
Sempron
Athlon (Dual-Core vs. Core)
Turion

INTEL
Pentium D
Pentium 4
Core Duo Processor
Core 2 Duo Processor
Celeron D

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Sled

What are the main differences between the following?

AMD
Sempron
Athlon (Dual-Core vs. Core)
Turion

INTEL
Pentium D
Pentium 4
Core Duo Processor
Core 2 Duo Processor
Celeron D

Don't know a lot, but for the AMD the dual core is the best.

For Intel, going from worst to best
Celeron D
Pentium 4
Pentium D
Core 2 Duo
and now I think there is a quad core

[cSpooge]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Don't know a lot, but for the AMD the dual core is the best.

For Intel, going from worst to best
Celeron D
Pentium 4
Pentium D
Core 2 Duo
and now I think there is a quad core

AMD is not the best anymore. The newest 65nm Core 2 Duo's are better performance. They do run a bit hotter but they run faster and more efficiently.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by cSpooge

AMD is not the best anymore. The newest 65nm Core 2 Duo's are better performance. They do run a bit hotter but they run faster and more efficiently.

Intel has come out with a new 4300 core 2 duo which is the cheapest yet and can be easily overclocked. A 4400 is coming in a couple months and prices are supposed to drop even more for all the core 2 duo s.

[keratosis]

Originally Posted by phaneuf_train

Can anyone recommend any audio codecs? Ive only had sound on Windows Media Player. I can never hear anything on youtube, quicktime, ect. It's very annoying.

Just google for them. Can't post direct links to most
you would find, as it would contravene board rules as per warez.
Just try to avoid most mega codec packs. I've heard CCCP is a good one.

[Hack&Lube]

So I have an Opteron 146 CPU on a nforce 3 chipset in my computer. Do I need to buy Windows XP 64bit edition to make use of the 64-bit CPU and 64 bit programs?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

So I have an Opteron 146 CPU on a nforce 3 chipset in my computer. Do I need to buy Windows XP 64bit edition to make use of the 64-bit CPU and 64 bit programs?

Yes.

But driver support isn't great, so check that out before you decide to switch.

And what 64 bit programs do you want to run? Right now, outside of high end analysis tools, databases and the like, there aren't a whole lot of consumer programs that need or use 64bit.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Yes.

But driver support isn't great, so check that out before you decide to switch.

And what 64 bit programs do you want to run? Right now, outside of high end analysis tools, databases and the like, there aren't a whole lot of consumer programs that need or use 64bit.

I just notice when I download applications every now and then, they offer both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, such as Daemon tools so I wasn't sure which one to get.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

How can I put .wmv or .mpg files onto a DVD?

And no,..........it's not porn.

I usually use Nero for burning stuff, but it's looking for .ifo, .vob and .bup files. Isn't there an easy way to this? Or do I have to convert them somehow first?

[SpitFire40]

Anyone with Vista and a Linksys Wireless G PCI card able to get it working?? I had to move my pc to the router in another room to get online.

I'll expand on this, anyone with Vista able to go wireless at all with a PCI card?

[ricosuave]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

So I have an Opteron 146 CPU on a nforce 3 chipset in my computer. Do I need to buy Windows XP 64bit edition to make use of the 64-bit CPU and 64 bit programs?

you can order a (i think) 360 day trial version of xp64 for free from ms, so why not try it?

[SpitFire40]

nm, I just went out a bought a new card, Wireless N ready that's already compatible with Vista.

[cSpooge]

Originally Posted by SpitFire40

nm, I just went out a bought a new card, Wireless N ready that's already compatible with Vista.

Be wary of adopting wireless N right now. It hasn't been standardized yet so the devices you buy now may not work once the standard is finalized.