IT Professional in Nuneaton, CV11

RE: error

Blinkin' heck, my response was almost as unintelligable as your question - sorry let's try again: <a href="http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9775982"> http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9775982</a>

RE: Deleting Useless and Obselete Programs

Obsolescence is a very subjective state. A program may be considered obsolete but you may still personally have a very good reason for using it. However <a href="http://secunia.com/vulnerability_scanning/personal/download_psi/">Secunia</a> will scan your PC and give you an idea whether your programs are current, in need of updating or just plain obsolete.

RE: internet connection

Can you try to explain your problem in a little more detail? What is it that you specifically need help with: 1. Working out why you're unable to 'load internet' 2. Identifying the correct ethernet driver 3. Locating a suitable download location 4. Downloading a driver on another PC 5. Writing a CD 6. Something else? We can help you with any of these points but it's a little tedious having to explain all of them when only one may be required.

RE: sd card not reading - red light

The flip side of Jon's advice would be to try the same card in another PC. Does it still work in yor camera?

RE: cross network cable between Vista and 7 (starter)

To answer your original question Alison: There were some differences in networking between Vista and 7, mostly to do with workgroup or homegroup use. Both versions have improved (read as potentially problematic) firewall configurations over XP's offering. When a new network connection is detected, Vista and W7 should prompt you to specify whether the network is Home, Work or Public and then configure the firewall in increasing levels of security appropriately. You can read up more on this <a href="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Networking-home-computers-running-different-versions-of-Windows">here</a>. However, I think your problem stemmed from your choice of IP addresses: 102.100.100.0 is what's called a network address - it identifies the 102.100.100 network (assuming a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0). You should have used 1 and 2 rather than 0 and 1 in the last fields. For future reference, it's good practice to use addresses in the range 192.168.0.1 -> 192.168.255.254 as these are guaranteed not to conflict with other public IP addresses on the internet - although using only a crossover cable this wouldn't have been an issue. Interestingly, if you had left the IP addresses dynamically allocated rather than trying to explicitly specifiy addresses, the two pcs ought to have 'discovered' each other automatically using APIPA when connected via a crossover cable. Alan's suggestion of connecting via your router was probably the 'best' quick solution. If both of your laptops had gigabit network cards fitted though (unlikely), a crossover cable would have provided a much faster transfer rate than you'd get otherwise through a 100mb/s router. So there is something to be said for using 'old technology' :-)

RE: Sound & audio driver

You should never have to pay for a driver download - always try the manufacturer's website: For Windows XP: <a href="http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/sound-20080604144349.zip">http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/sound-20080604144349.zip</a> For Vista: <a href="http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/sound-20080606132223.zip">http://support1.toshiba-tro.de/tedd-files2/0/sound-20080606132223.zip</a>

RE: Hi im try into connect to my internet through my three(ZTE)dongle.It has installed ok on my laptop a

As Alan says, some operating system components may be missing. In the case of SideBySide errors you are probably lacking one or more of the Visual C++ Runtime Libraries. The problem is there have been numerous versions of Microsoft C++ Development platforms including 2005,2008 and 2010. My suggestion would be to Google this phrase: 'vcredist_x86.exe download 2005 2008 2010' and download and install the runtime libraries for all three versions as they're only a few MB each. There are usually two flavours of each, one for 32bit and the other for 64bit versions of Windows. *** Please make sure you only download the files from a Microsoft website as some malware masquerades as the vcredist_x86.exe installer.

RE: No Incoming E Mails

Hi Elizabeth, It's generally considered good etiquette to create your own support request rather than piggy back off someone else's. Click this link <a href="http://www.pciq.com/computer_support_forum/post_topic.asp">http://www.pciq.com/computer_support_forum/post_topic.asp</a> and fill in the form giving us as much detail as you can about your email problem and one or more of us will try to assist you as best we can. Don't tell us your email address or password but please try to give us the following information: Who hosts your email account? Did you previously use a web based email client like GoogleMail, Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo etc or did you use Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail etc? Why did you (re?)install Vista? What did you have before? Can you *send* emails successfully? Do you still have all your old email converations? Who provides your internet connection? Can you browse the internet OK?

RE: overheating (failing) laptop

Pas devant les enfants ? Nous avons un forum dedie a ce genre de discussion. N'y voyez pas malice Daniel :-) Je ne peux <img src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQOkql53O9lDJkQwN-42qlW-pHLbj3Gb29KhM4r_iNu7Wyqhs_F" alt="Google Translate" /> avec les meilleurs d'entre eux!

RE: System restore

You really ought to have tried and fixed the malware issue rather than reload XP. You don't specify the flavour of XP you were given so I'll hazard a guess it's a Volume License copy of XP Pro. This means your Media Centre desktop is now just a desktop that will reject Microsoft updates and Service Packs and will know nothing about your Media Centre hardware. You'll have to do some research to find suitable drivers for your wireless card and audio/video components. Even if you can download and install these via a different PC, you won't have the Media Centre features you'd have enjoyed before. I may of course have jumped to the wrong conclusions. If you can post the model number of the PC, others here may point you at drivers for the specific hardware components you have.

RE: vista to XP

Jon I take your point about downgrade "rights" but the question was specifically asking about how simple the procedure was. There is no simple downgrade procedure, it requires a reformat and thus loss of original O/S and data.

RE: Recovery disc

Samuel, thank you for your continuing contributions to this thread - there that's the thank you duck broken. You will either have performed a recovery install, effectively replacing the previous XP instance whilst leaving existing programs and data intact; or you've installed a second installation on a different partition. Either way, your disk will still be, at best, dormantly infected with malware if it was originally infected. If you wanted to completely wipe the disk, you should have backed up your data first and then elected to delete and/or format the original partition via the "Setup Windows XP on the selected item" installation option. If you now have 2 installations of XP, formating or deleting the original partion to clean the disk of infection will render your new XP installation unbootable. It may just be easier to start again (after backing up data), deleting existing partitions and re-creating them as required.

RE: Amilo li1705 freezes/reboots

A number of things may cause this random rebooting. 1. you could have a thermal problem due to dust build up within the laptop. High temperatures would make the system unstable and lead to hanging or crashing and subsequent reboots. 2. There could be a loose connection other than the RAM or DISK (ie wireless card, keyboard or screen connector etc) somewhere within the laptop. 3. You may have some malware causing operating system instability. If you were still able to boot the PC I'd recommend checking the event logs for clues. However you now need to try and diagnose the cause some other way. You could try booting the PC from CD, DVD or USB stick which ought to rule out malware if it's still unstable. Other than this you probably need to strip it down and clean out any dust, reseat the heatsink with fresh thermal transfer compound and look for other potential mechanical or electrical faults. If this suggestion falls outside your comfort zone, you can log a call on the PCIQ site for a nearby PCIQ Professional to do the work for you.

RE: My Live mail account in windows 7 refuses to recognise my password since I removed the account and t

Roger, thanks for the feedback.

RE: When the computer is switched on it will not go past the blue screen. There is a disk in the drive!

Sorry I have no experience of iMac at all but there are others on this forum who should be able to assist you.

RE: hi i have an advent laptop and it has a bios password stopping me from doing anything at all..

This story highlights why I have a BIOS password on my own laptops. If I don't set one, there's always the possibility that someone else might whilst my back is turned. The same applies to unprotected wifi routers although they're much easier to reset of course.

RE: dvd maker

And the one thing I really should have asked - what DVD writitng software are you using?

RE: wireless problems

Of course if it's any easier, you can always unplug the router from its usual location and move it nearer to the PC temporarily. You won't get an internet connection without the phone/cable line plugged in but you may suddenly get a wireless connection between the PC and router - then work back from there. If you do this however, clear it with all the other PC users in the house first as they'll lose their internet connection until you restore the router to its correct place.

RE: connection for an old computer

Actually Jon, thinking about it you're right. My problem about four years ago was getting Windows 98 or ME to authenticate itself correctly with a particular ISP using a USB modem. My XP laptop at the time was fine with the same modem but the customer's older OS wouldn't have it. Maybe there was more to configuring W98/ME networking than I could remember at the time but we traded up to a more secure NIC/router solution instead.

RE: laptop problems

It sounds like explorer isn't running. At the point where you can see the background wallpaper can you access the task manager by pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL on your keyboard? If so then from the task manager File menu, select "New Task (Run)" and then type explorer.exe in the subsequent dialog box. You may then be able to check the event logs for clues about the cause of the problem. We can advise you further if you get this far. If this works you'll think your problem is solved but the root cause won't have been fixed and it may fail on subsequent reboots. As David says a callout to a PCIQ Pro may be your best course of action.

RE: Siemens Se587 Wlan DSL routor cannot do port forwarding

I presume you're trying to access your internal LAN from within your internal LAN by specifying your public IP address (and port number). I don't think this is possible. If it was setup correctly you should find it will work from a friend's broadband connection even if not from your own - give that a try.

RE: can't connect wirelessly

Nicola, I think you misread my instructions: ++ ping default-gateway ++ ++ (but substitute the actual default gateway value recorded above). You should receive 4 replies. What this means is that having correctly setup your wired connection with a static IP address, you should ping the IP address of your default gateway. This is router manufacturer dependant but might typically be 192.168.1.1 so you should type: ping 192.168.1.1 (but the actual gateway IP address nay be diffent in your case - check one of your working PCs)

RE: windows features

Hi Mike, A little more info would be appreciated, but assuming you're running Vista or Windows 7, try this: http://www.tutcity.com/view/turn-windows-features-on-or-off.20911.html

RE: my dell inspiron cant find any drivers for my pci ethernet video etc and also says that there is n

Hi Diane, If I've understood correctly: You don't have a Dell recovery CD. Someone other than yourself re-installed an operating system on your laptop in your absense. You have no drivers installed so the installation is incomplete and you're unable to connect to the internet (including Dell's site) from your laptop. You've lost all your photos, videos etc You may have lost the hidden recovery partition if someone has installed windows from a retail CD. It may be possible to recover some photos/videos etc but you need to call a PCIQ professional in to do this. They may also have access to Dell recovery media to allow re-installation of Windows correctly for you - complete with all required drivers.

RE:

Interestingly, Google fleshes this Spanish? out further: xDD hahaha perdon! was obvious that I do not understand Hibana! not much English! if someone can translate for him he can understand my problem much better! Hire me to the point of it! the case is to buy a laptop! apparently a Lanix who had called On Screen Display (OSD) which is responsible for matters Multimedia & that. etc the fact is that the icon comes up on the screen! osd green icon. because a see my uncle said it blokea qe no good apparently for never comes up on the desktop case is qe try to install it again for pro parecsido is not found nothing: osd_ 1.5.2 I had to reboot my system until the last update to see if recovering hise the program! & If he recovers, but each time I start windows I get qe be installed! but I asked an installation package that format (msi) & & do not have anything like that when I give you cancel the installation aborts! not if I explain & OJALAA & can help me: /

RE: computer wont start

Hi Daniel, Three things: 1. The error you report seems incomplete but from what I can gather from t'interweb searches this is a result of some upgrade failure. Please tell us what you last did on the computer before this error occured (anything that might have caused it from the time you started the computer until you rebooted). 2. The solution may require that you boot from a Windows installation disk - do you have one, or can you beg/borrow/lay your hands on one? 3. Setting the bios to default values is usually a 'Safe Launch Point' from which to recover a PC. However, if you have a system with multiple or obscure boot options, (RAID for example) then some post-reset configuration may be required, which you probably wouldn't have a clue about. However to answer your question - Reboot your PC and access the bios ( this usually requires you to hit DEL or F2 or some other key indicated on the screen). Once in the BIOS, there is usually an option to select Factory Defaults, Optimised Defaults or Performance Defaults from the last menu page - or the page from which you would likely exit the BIOS. If you think any of this is beyond your comfort zone, consider getting one of our IT Professionals out to do it for you. Either way, let us know what you find or what you decide to do.

RE: I need to make a new copy of my Packard Bell Windows Vista Operating system (incidently the worst op

If you have already created your 'Recovery Disks' then as you've found some manufacturers won't let you re-create them again. Be aware though that these were System Recovery disks not backups of your system. They were created from a 'factory default' image stored on your hard drive and as such had none of your own customisations or data. With regard to having to apply Service Packs to out of date installation media - welcome to the club - that's our bread and butter! You can make copies of your recovery disks if you need to duplicate them. You can and should backup your PC, including components of Vista to some other device, but CDs,DVDs etc become unwieldy due to the number required. Some external hard disk backup solutions offer a one touch solution. Others may be able to offer more specific advice.

RE: Hi Does anybory know how to take the back cover of an Advent off. I have taken all screws but there

I'm not familiar with this particular laptop but I had a similar problem with another. The missing screw came in from the other side - which meant it was obscured by the keyboard. Prising the keyboard out (it was secured by small tabs within recesses) from the top revealed the screw head.

RE: Problem with msxml2.xmlhttp on Windows 2003 server

Your error message looks suspiciously like some code published here: http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1434532&page=12 A more complete snippet of the same code you publish is: set oxmlhttp=createobject("msxml2.xmlhttp") if err.number<>0 then wscript.echo "msxml2.xmlhttp not installed. Operation aborted." set oxmlhttp=nothing : wscript.quit 1 'or exit sub end if Thus your error message isn't a Microsoft error message but a developer's own. So to diagnose the cause of your problem, I'd be inclined to find this code you're triggering and edit it to print out the error value, rather than simply comparing it to zero (success). You could then perform an msdn search on the error code which may point you in the right direction. I'm sure you're aware that 2003 Server was infinitely more secure by design than previous Microsoft offerings so you're probably coming up against a permissions problem.

RE: laptop to tv

David, Is "mode not supported" the exact error message as it appeared on your TV? Have you successfully connected your laptop to a computer style monitor before using the same or an equivalent cable? It may be that the screen resolution or refresh rate supplied by the laptop is too high for the TV. Have you tried lowering either of them? Have you encouraged the laptop to output a signal to the TV - usually using a Function Key sequence on yor laptop keyboard?

RE: Internet Explorer has stopped working etc

This may be a malware infection of some kind. Please supply more information about your computer configuration: Which version of Windows? - typically W98,ME,W2K,XP or Vista Which version of Internet Explorer? 5,6,7, or 8? Do you have any Anti-Virus software? If so then what? Is it up-to-date? You could always try booting into Safe-Mode with Networking and tell us if that will let you read your email more reliably. To get into Safe Mode, Hit the function key F8 just after the BIOS messages and before the Windows splash screen appears whilst booting. We can give you more targeted advice if you can provide answers to these questions.

RE: dead laptop

I tend to steer clear of laptop hardware repairs due to the difficulty of obtaining spares and also stripping down and re-assembling them. Having said that though I've managed to fix a fair few for friends and longstanding customers who may otherwise have junked them rather than seek out a specialist laptop repair service. Sorry if I've overlooked anything here but it's a long detailed thread and I've read it only once. I'm curious to know how your "specialist professional" concluded it was a motherboard fault? Having tested that power was available at the various supply stages, did you with either motherboard try removing various of the components to see whether it sprang to life? With desktops and laptops I've known faulty disks, media drives, cpus, ram and graphics to prevent the motherboard from powering up. In my experience if either motherboard or cpu are faulty, its very difficult to determine which of the two it is unless you have a similar system to test with. PS Not everyone in this 'dodgy' business is out to fleece innocent customers. I politely decline work I know I can't or am not prepared to handle and I never charge for problems I fail to fix - not that I've had many of those.

RE: internet explorer connection

Hi Barrie, Is it only your browser that stops working? Do you have some other internet enabled program installed that you could use to verify whether only Internet Explorer is blocked? I'm thinking of Google Earth or Outlook Express etc. You should run this command from a command prompt: ipconfig /all to verify that you have a valid IP address on your wired LAN connection. It will typically be 192.168.X.Y where X and Y are numbers between 1 and 254 You should also see a Gateway Address with a similar number. At the command prompt try typing these commands: ping <your IP address> eg. ping 192.168.1.3 You should get 4 replies ping <gateway address> eg ping 192.168.1.1 You should get 4 replies ping bbc.co.uk You should get 4 replies It could be that you've disabled Windows firewall but Bulldog firewall is blocking Internet Exploerer explicitly. Let us know how you get on.

RE: Windows Media Player not playing

Hi Mike, If you say WMP works straight after a system restart, go to Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices, then select the Audio tab of the dialog that opens. This will display the default devices used for audio playback and recording. Also check in the Device Manager (right click My Computer, select Manage, expand Devices) to see the condition of these devices whilst they're working. Repeat this exercise when it doesn't work and tell us what the differences are if any. Whilst in the Computer Management Console, check also the Event logs for any device, driver or service related errors after it stops working.