Archive through July 26, 2003
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TV ClubHouse: archive: 2003 June - July: Computer Problem - I need advice/help (ARCHIVE): Archive through July 26, 2003

Juju2bigdog

Friday, July 18, 2003 - 10:18 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Dra, that was about as tactful an answer as I have ever seen. Perhaps you ought to go into marriage and family counseling along with Spygirl?

Jed245

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 01:58 am EditMoveDeleteIP
er is MM flirting with dra?

Goddessatlaw

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 06:34 am EditMoveDeleteIP
OK, MM and I are still fighting but it's not the emergency it was last night. Thanks, Dra and JMM, for putting up with us. I do have a serious question, though - my computer seems to have gotten nicked a bit from a surge during one of our recent storms. When trying to boot up, the computer will put up the e-machine and windows me screens, then dump into a mode where it's searching for new hardware (the old "we've found new hardware" for _____ - except in my case the line really is blank where it's telling you what new hardware it's found). I can find no way around the computer's attempts to locate and install the hardware - click cancel, it goes to blank screen. click install, it says it can't find it and there's a key-something error. turn it off and reboot, same thing. escape key doesn't help, and the c drive recovery cds will erase everything on my c-drive if i use them. the computer seems to be working fine, it just can't seem to get out of this circuit. Are there any suggestions I might try, or do I just need to take it down to the local computer geek for help? Thanks in advance for any advice!!

Draheid

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 07:28 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Good Morning, GAL. Glad things are 'back to normal'.

My first suggestion is to check in 'Device Manager' to see if there are any components (devices/hardware) that are not working properly. To access this, point your cursor to 'My Computer' on the desktop then right-click to get a menu, then left-click on 'Properties'. This should open System Properties. Click on the 'Device Manager' tab and look for any items with either a '?' or '!' symbol next to it. If you see either of those, that would likely be the 'hardware' it was trying to install.

Depending on what you find, there could be a few different possible resolutions. Let me know what you find and I will try to help with what would be the best action to take.

Hope this helps.

Squaredsc

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 08:16 am EditMoveDeleteIP
maldita sea i missed gal and mm in chat.

Goddessatlaw

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 09:05 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks, Dra - unfortunately I can't access my desktop to open "My Computer" - the search for harddrive installation prevents it. If you can get me to the point where I can access the Device Manager otherwise, I should be able to work my way through it.

Draheid

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 09:49 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Goddessatlaw: I would suggest you try starting your computer in 'SAFE Mode'. To do this, shut down the computer completely. Then turn it on and immediately begin pressing the F8 key until you see a list of startup options. Select 'SAFE Mode' and press enter. Once you are in this mode, you should be able to access the device manager either as I described above or by clicking 'Start - Settings - Control Panel" then double click on 'System' to open the System Properties box. Then click the 'Device Manager' tab.

Let me know if this works. Of course, to get back here after going into safe mode, you will need to restart the computer and allow it to boot normally unless you're using a seperate computer to access the net.

Goddessatlaw

Saturday, July 19, 2003 - 11:00 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hey, Dra - I didn't see your message before I re-addressed the offending computer, and managed to figure out the safe mode/F8 thing - went through a number of different gyrations to get the problem licked (a system restore seemed to do the trick, but I haven't shut down the computer since it finally let me onto my desktop so who knows?) Thanks always SO MUCH for your great help and even greater patience.

Spygirl

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 09:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Not really a computer problem, but electronics all the same...

After 3 hours, I have to admit defeat. I have been unable to set up my surround sound system.

Here are the parts:

1). digital cable box
2). VCR
3). receiver
4). DVD player

The speakers work, the DVD player works (at least the sound does - I can't figure out how to get to the "line" channel to be able to actually watch the stupid thing). I have no sound on anything except the DVD player.

Anyone?

Rabbit

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 09:55 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Spy, your design would work better if you added:

5) Television (or Monitor)

This might help you see the video,

Spygirl

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 09:56 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
well CRAP! That's the box I hadn't unloaded yet!

Draheid

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 10:26 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Spy, on your remote, you should have a button marked 'Input' or 'AV' or 'Source' - something along that line. That should switch you to A/V Line input.

Spygirl

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 10:38 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Which remote? The universal remote, the vcr remote, the TV remote, or the receiver remote?

And I'm not being funny when asking that. I truly have no idea - lol

Jmm

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 10:47 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Spy, Dra says the TV remote.

HI

Spygirl

Monday, July 21, 2003 - 11:20 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I found the input button on the universal remote, but nothing happens when I push it. I'm going to bed for the night. I am trying to survive my first severe thunderstorm in Kansas.

Why did I move here?

Tess

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 12:15 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Cuz you got a great new job and the cutest little house in kansas. :)

Whoami

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 12:58 am EditMoveDeleteIP
OK, so I'm going to head out to Office Depot tomorrow to get a CD cleaner as recommended (one for the CD-ROM and one for the CD's themselves). Anyone have a brand that is great (or a brand to stay away from).

I can just get a new drive cleaner. Am I correct in that it will work for the DVD and CD-RW drives?

As for something to clean the CD's themselves, were you suggesting something like this:

CD Polisher

Or something more like this:

CD Cleaner

And does this look like a good drive cleaner?

Drive Cleaner

And is this really a good thing to use?

Canned Air

Thanks for the suggestions!

Draheid

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 06:03 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Whoami: The CD Polisher looks like a handy and easy-to-use device. I have never used one personally so I'm not familiar with them. I have a CD Cleaner similar to the one you linked to that I use on CDs & DVDs when necessary. I also have a product called "ClearKote CD Restorer" which I bought at my local Blockbuster Video store. It can help remove minor imperfections in the surface of CDs & DVDs which can be very useful on older discs.

From the Kensington Site regarding the Drive Cleaner above:
Question Can I use a Kensington CD Drive Cleaner (62059) or CD Cleaning Kit (12000) on my DVD, CD-R, or CD-RW drive?
Answer No. Check with the manufacturer of the drive to see what they recommend. This product is for CD players or CD-ROMs only.Link


Canned Air is always handy around computers since they have a knack for attracting dust and dirt from seemingly out of nowhere. I doubt if there is any significant difference in 'brand' of canned air. I believe Walmart carries a generic brand for less.

Hope that helps.

Spygirl

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 07:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Guess no one can help with my surround sound

Rabbit

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 08:36 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Spy the problem is there are so many ways to set it up depending on your type of equipment.

Do you want all sound from all 3 sources to go through your stereo or just DVD and/or VCR sound?

(The easiest solution is to throw your DVD and receiver away and have Glenn buy you a Home Theater in a box system. Pout when you ask him.)

Spygirl

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 - 08:42 am EditMoveDeleteIP
LOL - actually, this is a home theater system in a box. The problem is the digital cable box and my complete inability to get the sound to work correctly.

The good news is that Draheid just helped me figure it out. Turns out I had it all set up right except for one set of cords and one cord that wasn't pushed in far enough. Go figure, huh?

I will continue to think about that pouting thing. It could work.

Sia

Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 08:52 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I've been having problems with my phone line (I have dial-up for 'net access) for over a week now. Repairmen have been here twice. On the second trip the box on the outside of the house and the main phone-jack indoors were replaced. Problem remains and is intermittent.

Right now the only way I have a phone is to run a line from the box on the outside of the house in through the kitchen window; obviously, right now I've clipped the line into my modem. Priorities are straight, at least, right?

Question: does my Compaq computer running Windows XP home have a phone utility? My Packard Bell had something under "Telecommunications" that allowed me to dial from it and to answer the phone while using the computer. Thanks for any help you can offer.

Draheid

Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 09:09 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Sia: You should be able to plug a standard (wired or cordless, doesn't matter) into the 2nd jack on your modem. This way, when you are connected but not online, the phone can be used as normal. Unfortunately, I don't find any built-in utility in Win/XP Home Edition that functions as a phone interface as you describe.

Hope this helps.

Squaredsc

Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 09:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
morning dra. i made a list of the programs that are running on my puter. also these aren't listed in my startup folder. in fact the only thing in my startup folder is my popup killer. i would appreciate it if you can let me know if they should be running and if not how i can stop them from doing it.

explorer, keenvalue, kwm, ccapp, msckin, save, gbmenu, pow, weather, lucomserver, mscman, qttask, directcd, rundll16, createcd50, brntray, uptodate, rb32, sk9910dm, hidserv, systray, ause3, hpztsb02, brndisp.

i appreciate any help you can give me, you can also bill me.

Zed

Saturday, July 26, 2003 - 09:45 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Hi Dra! I hope you can help. This just started yesterday....As I am typing this message in the box, there is a long long delay in the words actually appearing on the screen. The cursor moves along across a white screen..no words...the words will not appear until I have completely finished typing the paragraph. This happens in emails also.
Additionally, the scroll up/down bar on the right side of the screen is really jerky...delay in moving the pages up and down.

It is making me nuts!!! HELP!!
Thank you in advance for your tolerance for those of us computer illiterates.

zed