Author |
Message |
Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - 11:00 pm
Holly, if you are not a computer geek, you definitely do not want to discontinue Windows updates. You should only do that if you are really sophisticated and absolutely know what you are doing. Attacks on Windows are constantly being discovered and patched, and if you don't do the updates, your computer could be vulnerable to attack. I think you could tweak a setting so that your computer does not automatically accept ALL suggested updates, just the essential ones. Either somebody will be along shortly to tell you how to do that, or you could Google it, or you could go to microsoft.com and look for it.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-25-2003
| Tuesday, March 02, 2010 - 11:09 pm
Chicago WGN radio program Web Site Wednesday Night "experts" say do NOT remove IE. Even if you don't use it as your browser, it's necessary for Windows. I am still lovin' my Mac big time. Finally got HP Photosmart C4780 wireless printer out of the box. Spent some time on the phone today with HP tech support. It's going. Just wish there were printed instruction with it in the box.
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 5:36 am
Sometimes my Dell desktop freezes up for no apparent reason so that the mouse can't move the cursor. I have found that I can restart the computer by pressing alt-ctrl-delete and then manually (with up/down arrows) going through the list until I get to shut down/restart. Is there a better way to regain control of a cursor that is stuck? Thanks.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 7:34 am
So the keyboard works but the mouse doesn't? Could be a driver problem but let's try a temporary quick fix first. Try unplugging the mouse and plugging it back in. See if that works.
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Holly
Member
07-22-2001
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 9:06 am
Juju, I have my computer set to 'check for updates but let me choose' and I always only install the 'important' ones. All the optionals I've seen have to do with Microsoft office, which I don't use.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 9:08 am
If you are protected (behind a firewall, which is usually built in to a router), then the requirement to always accept updates is not necessarily true. If you, as a rule, practice safe internet, encrypt your wireless connection using a strong passphrase, use a firewall (or even two), the odds of an attack are few and far between. Viruses are a different thing, and you should always update your antivirus program. But attacks from the outside? Not so much. Sia, what type of mouse do you have? Is it wireless? There could also be a conflict if another wireless device is nearby. Always be sure your wireless device has a clear shot at the USB connector (like plugging in the connector in the back of your computer won't always work). Often I have to just unplug the USB connector and plug it back in for it to work. It's also possible that the USB port on your computer is flaking out. Try plugging into another port and seeing if that works. Finally, you can verify that it is the mouse, rather than the computer, by using an alternative input device. Does your Dell have the little blue eraser head in the middle of the keyboard? That, along with the trackpad, are alternatives to the mouse.
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 10:01 am
Jimmer, it's not all the time, just occasionally the mouse doesn't work until I reboot the computer. It's working fine right now. When you suggested unplugging the mouse, that made me think of another computer issue: I have my p.c. on a desk which makes it really hard to access the USB ports in the back of the tower. The cords are only so long and the tower-cubby is accessible from the back (it's open), you can't pull the tower out far enough to work on the plugs in the back because of the short length of most of the cords. I keep the two USB ports open in the front of the tower for my camera and other things that have to be plugged in occasionally, like an iPod. Any ideas there?
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 10:03 am
Costa, I missed your post when I first read through. I would like a cordless mouse, but haven't gotten anything that advanced yet. Again, it's hard to plug things into this computer without the assistance of one of my kids. They're 11 and 13 and can crawl on the floor under the desk after I pull it away from the wall. I can't get on the floor any more: too many hernia surgeries in my past, LOL.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 10:07 am
Get a USB extension cable. I keep one plugged into the back of my dock station. It's about 2' long and I can use it to plug in any USB device whether it has its own cord or not. They are really cheap and come in a variety of lengths.
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Colordeagua
Member
10-25-2003
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 10:19 am
Sia, short cords? All the cords necessary to operate my PC were long. It was a spider's playground. NO short cords. Nice thing about the printer I got -- electric cord does end in one of those "bricks". But then there's another short cord that plugs into the brick with some kind of different plug. The other end of that short cord is a normal size plug to go into outlet. 
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 5:55 pm
I guess I could explain a bit better: if you pull the tower out of the cubby far enough to reach behind it, the connection between the keyboard and the back of the tower OR the connection between the monitor and the back of the tower tends to want to pull the keyboard or monitor onto the floor. Does that make any sense?
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 6:43 pm
Makes sense to me. Sounds like you could use a cable extender or you could even buy a USB hub for more available ports.
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 7:07 pm
OK, I'm feeling like I'm in a bit of a crisis here. I think something got into my yahoo contacts list. It sent out emails to a bunch of people--including SFJF, bless his heart, who sent me an email to let me know, and also to a bunch of people I haven't spoken to in years--and I don't really know what to do. I'm doing two scans right now, one on my Sophos (UCLA's chosen anti-virus software), which ostensibly checks everything that comes into my computer anyhow, and a Spybot search and destroy. So far nothing, but that doesn't mean it won't be. Any suggestions? I hate the idea of having a virus/trojan. I haven't had anything in a long long time.
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 7:18 pm
What were the emails it sent out? Do you know? You can usually trace a virus by the content of the spammed email.
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 7:27 pm
yes some of them bounced back. they were links to websites. i dont know the content of the sites though because i dont want to click on them for fear there is a virus there
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 7:38 pm
Spybot found one problem on my comp, a thing called "Right Media" which is a cookie I seem to have gotten because I clicked on a link when I was IMing today the link opened in IE instead of Firefox, which is my default browser. So this may be something I got from opening IE for the first time in months....and I never get updates for it because I don't use it.
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Juju2bigdog
Member
10-27-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 9:07 pm
Or perhaps your Yahoo account got hacked? I think it was over six months ago that a bunch of Yahoo and Gmail e-mail accounts somehow got accessed, maybe some other e-mail clients. Anyway, I changed both my Yahoo and Gmail passwords then. Trendmicro.com has an excellent online virus detector.
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 9:14 pm
Thanks, Juju. I changed the password as soon as SFJF sent the email, but I'm thinking I need a better password, so I'll change it again. It seems like everything is OK. But sheesh! I'd forgotten about some of these people who received emails from me--and I was horrified that one of them went to an ex!
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Costacat
Member
07-15-2000
| Wednesday, March 03, 2010 - 9:35 pm
Well Tish, if you had a virus and it spammed your contact list, just think that your ex may also now have that virus. 
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Holly
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 1:05 pm
Help! I have my preferences at TVCH set to open new messages in a new window. Somehow, the size of the new window has changed to a very small rectangle, rather than a full screen which it always used to be. So now, for each new message in threads, I have to resize the window and it's a real pain in the butt. How can I change it so that the new window opens to full size again. I've looked everywhere but can't find out how. I have Windows 7, btw. TIA
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Sia
Member
03-10-2002
| Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 2:47 pm
I'm not sure, Holly, but my p.c. does that, too. It is kind of a pain.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 3:40 pm
Normally, if you resize one and close it, it should remember (I think). Have you thought about using tabbed browsing instead? That's pretty cool. Instead of opening up a separate window it opens up a new tab in the same window.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 3:46 pm
Here is something someone else suggested. I haven't tried it myself but they said it worked. Open IE (not the pop-up window the original window). Resize the window to make it smaller. Close IE. Open IE again. The window should be smaller. Resize it to make it as large as you want. Close IE again. Then it should open wide in the future.
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Holly
Member
07-22-2001
| Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 4:28 pm
Normally, if you resize one and close it, it should remember (I think). Nope, not holding the resize. <Open IE (not the pop-up window the original window). Resize the window to make it smaller. Close IE. Open IE again. The window should be smaller. Resize it to make it as large as you want. Close IE again.> Nope, not working either. The size does change but only to a slightly larger rectangle, not a full size page. I have no idea what you mean by tabbed browsing, Jimmer, so was unable to try that.
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Jimmer
Moderator
08-30-2000
| Saturday, March 06, 2010 - 4:38 pm
Tools ... Internet Options .... General (which is probably what it will open to) Look down the box and near the bottom there is a section for Tabs. Click on the Settings button. Check Enable Tabbed Browsing and then check all of the sub-items including Always open pop-ups in a new tab. Close your browser. Open it again. See if you like it. 
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