Archive through November 24, 2002
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TV ClubHouse: Archives: Computer Problem - I need advice/help (ARCHIVE): Archive through November 24, 2002

Draheid

Monday, November 18, 2002 - 05:23 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Babyruth: Using your mouse, point to the clock in the lower-right corner of your screen and double-click on it. This will bring up the screen to change the time. Make the changes you need and click Ok.

Babyruth

Monday, November 18, 2002 - 05:43 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Oh please God tell me it's not that obvious and simple!
Will try it now....

Babyruth

Monday, November 18, 2002 - 05:45 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
OY!!! Thanks, Draheid!

Jo_5329

Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 03:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Just because: Man I love this thread :)

Jo

Sia

Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 06:14 am EditMoveDeleteIP
My subscription for Norton Internet Security is about to expire and I want to upgrade to Norton System Works 2003 and Norton Personal Firewall 2003. The two are available bundled from Symantec for $49.95 + $7.95 S/H.

They're also available from Amazon (free shipping), but the details are fuzzy on the rebates available. Can I get BOTH the rebates, both the $30 mail-in from Symantec and the $20 mail-in from Amazon on NSW 2003 (their price is $62.99, but you get a $10 instant rebate and then apply the $50 in rebates) AND also both the rebate on the firewall, which is a $20 mail-in rebate from Symantec?

If I've figured this correctly, it would make NSW only $2.99 after the $10 instant rebate, $30 mail-in from Symantec and $20 from Amazon. Then the NPF would cost $29.99 ($49.00 -$20 mail-in rebate from Symantec).

Is the Amazon deal the best deal, or does someone know of another offer--OR HAVE I FIGURED THE PRICES/REBATES INCORRECTLY? Thanks for any help you can give with this; I have to run out the door in an hour to take DD to the dentist. My subscription expires soon and I want to maintain complete coverage.

I hope to call Symantec on the phone this afternoon and ask them some questions, too.

Draheid

Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 06:55 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Sia: I personally try to avoid rebates whenever possible. If you do choose to go the rebate route, I suggest you document everything. Make duplicates of what you send. Start calling as early as possible to check on the status of your rebate and document these calls with date, time, name of person you spoke to, and the answers you get. And be persistent!

Also, before you place your order, make sure you are eligible for all the rebates. If it's an upgrade rebate, check the details to make sure you have the qualifying product required, etc. Read the fine print, there can be details that you might overlook.

Good luck!

Juju2bigdog

Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 08:47 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Dra, you have a good point. I rather suspect I have been swindled on rebates more often than I have received them. It sure seems like I buy things with rebates and send them in WAY more frequently than I receive rebate checks in the mail.

Sia

Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 02:54 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
I hate rebates! Companies use them to lure buyers into making a purchase knowing that many people lose their proofs of purchase, don't want to fool with the paperwork, or will misplace the rebate check until it's too late to cash it. They also get your name and address this way and telemarket you later or send unwanted junk-mail and sell your name/address to other companies. I HATE REBATES!!

I still haven't had time to call Symantec and am running out of time. I must try to do this tomorrow morning. Thanks for posting, guys.

Gadzooks

Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 10:27 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Hi All,

O.K., lately I've been getting a lot of pop-up ads that say that my pc has an id number and that it can be hacked into......is anyone getting these darn things too? I've been reading about Zonealarm in this thread.....will this prevent people from hacking into my personal files? I'm scared of downloading it and have it potentially mess up my pc or something. Any ideas?

By the way, what is the best free pop-up ad remover? Thanks again gang.

Jo_5329

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 04:53 am EditMoveDeleteIP
If your ISP is earthlink, they have a free pop-up stopper for their customers.

I don't remember the one I had before I got the earthlink on, but I'm sure someone here will have a program to suggest :)

I just love this thread.

Sia

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 05:17 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I liked Pow! pop-up killer really well for killing ads. It was extremely simple to use. Here's a link if you'd like to try it:
www.analogx.com

Strawberry

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 05:21 am EditMoveDeleteIP
I have Norton Personal Firewall 2003 and it has an ad blocker. I don't have anymore annoying pop up ads. It deletes them automatically. I just had to go into options and tell it to block ads and that was it! Plus, it keeps your computer from getting hacked into.

Gadzooks

Wednesday, November 20, 2002 - 10:09 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
When I try to shutdown my computer I get a message that says " mmKeybd caused an error" and then my screen freezes and I need to do an illegal shutdown. What could be causing this and how do I fix it? I have Windows Millenium....could that be the problem?

Draheid

Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 06:33 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Gadzooks: You might have a loose connection or corrupted keyboard driver.

1st: Make sure the keyboard is plugged into the computer completely. In fact, it might help to unplug and replug it into the computer. This often helps with many connections over time. I always try unplugging and replugging all connections when things start acting strange.

2nd: You should be able to disable the mmKeybd driver temporarily to see if that is what is causing the problem. You can run MSCONFIG by clicking 'Start - Run' and typing MSCONFIG. Once you are in the configuration program, look in the 'Startup' tab for something like mmKeybd and uncheck that. Click Ok and allow the computer to reboot. (Note: It may still hang up until it boots without this driver. You will also get a message warning you that you have modified the startup process.)

Once it restarts, try rebooting manually and see if the problem has stopped. If so, you should go to the manufacturer's website and obtain the latest copy of the drivers and follow their instructions for installing them.

You can also go into the support section of the manufacturer and type the exact error message into their search to see what they recommend.

Good luck.

Wargod

Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 09:23 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Speaking of illegal shutdowns, how serious are those messages? You know the ones "something or other has performed an illegal operation and will be shutdown." Everytime I see that my heart leaps into my throat, LOL!

Draheid

Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 09:54 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Generally speaking, about the only real risk when you receive those messages are very short term. In other words, you will probably only lose what little data you were working on at that particular time. To continue running would allow you to possibly corrupt more data. By shutting down, Windows is trying to prevent any more possible problems. It is also a good idea whenever you have a problem, such as a program that performs an illegal operation, even if it doesn't indicate the need for a windows shutdown, to go ahead and reboot anyway. That way, the system has a chance to perform a little cleanup and restore your system resources at the same time. Plus, if there were a problem because of low system resources, rebooting will help clear that situation as well.

BTW: Data lost could be as minor as the history file in your browser. For example, when you read through the threads on the board, if nothing new has been added since the last time you accessed a thread, the link for it will usually be displayed in a different color. If you lose your history information, even though you've read a thread, you won't see any indication that you have because the history didn't get saved.

Anytime you are working on the computer, it is always a good idea to save your work often. Just in case something happens to your system, whether a power failure or a program error.

Sia

Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 12:37 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Why does my printer ALWAYS yank in a page of clean paper at a slight angle and then print the whole thing cockeyed? I can't correct this at all!!!

Draheid

Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 12:49 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Sia: Some tips that *might* help:
1. When inserting paper, fan the pages out a little first to help free the pages from each other. (Packing & shipping can 'settle' the pages causing them to stick together slightly making the printer work harder to get just one sheet.)
2. Make sure you don't over-load the paper tray by adding too much paper at once.
3. Occasionally check the feed area of your printer and make sure the wheels that grab the paper aren't dirty. Also check the 'pads' that are supposed to keep only one sheet feeding at a time. Make sure they all look the same, ie. one isn't worn more then another, possibly. Also, make sure there isn't any adhesive or other sticky substances on the wheel from things like lables.
4. Make sure the room the printer is located in is relatively climate controlled - too much humidity might make the sheets of paper stick to each other or too 'dry' can cause static to build up and again make the pages stick to each other.
5. Make sure the paper path is free and clear of any possible obstructions that might cause the paper to skew while being drawn into the printer.

Hope this helps.

Sia

Thursday, November 21, 2002 - 03:32 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Thanks, Draheid. I was afraid to read your answer for a while, for fear you were going to suggest that I READ THE MANUAL!! LOL! Thanks, pal.

Jo_5329

Friday, November 22, 2002 - 03:05 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Dra -- I checked out that Linksys website, as well as my Gateway site, for networking options. Holy cow! The set up that Linksys has for $75.00 I think is exactly what we need to network our 2 computers. And since Gateway sells the same package on their site, I assume that means the kit will work with our Gateways.

Thanks again!

Jo

Grannyg

Friday, November 22, 2002 - 04:22 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Jo, I just networked our 2 computers at home and Dra is the greatest at helping you do it!! He made it seem so easy. AND IT IS STILL WORKING!! It is the best thing we ever did.

Just for DraHeid

a

Draheid

Friday, November 22, 2002 - 06:41 am EditMoveDeleteIP
Jo_5329: I presume since you're interested in this unit, that you have a broadband internet connection (Cablemodem or DSL) that you would like to share. Yes, that unit will work fine with your Gateways and just about any other computer with a network interface installed. (Or you can install your own in most PCs).

Before ordering the router, you should make sure you already have network intefaces installed in both of your computers. If not, you will need to order those also. If you need help determining if you have these, let me know.

Other then the router, the only other requirement is cables. You'll need one for each computer and one from the router to your Cable or DSL Modem.

(Note: the unit will also function fine as simply a hub/switch without connecting a broadband connection, however, there are other (less expensive) ways to network two computers if the only goal is sharing resources and/or a dialup or satellite internet connection.)

Jo_5329

Friday, November 22, 2002 - 02:16 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Dra, we have a small hub now that we use to share the printer, but we are considering broad band internet, which is the reason for a router/hub that handles that.

I will check to see if we have network software or not in our puters. Ah, how would I check?

jo

Draheid

Friday, November 22, 2002 - 02:28 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Jo_5329: WAIT! If you have a hub, you have networking already in place!

Ok, since you already have a hub, you have a couple of options as follows:

1. Linksys offers a 1-port Cable/DSL router which would plug into a port on your existing hub giving all computers connected to the hub access to the the router, and therefore access to your broadband.

2. You can replace the existing hub with the 4-port Cable/DSL Router/Switch such as the one found at the link above. This is a combination of the Cable/DSL Router and a 10/100Mbig switch (a switch is similar to a hub only more effecient). You would simply replace the existing hub with the Linksys unit.

3. You could add the Linksys 4-Port to your existing network and continue to use your hub for additional devices.

If your current hub is only 10 Mbit and your network cards are capable of 100Mbit, I would recommend switching completely to the Linksys unit.

The only other things you might need to do is reconfigure (or possibly enable) the TCP/IP protocol on each computer to work with the Router.

Since you already have some networking established, this will be a fairly simple upgrade. Let me know if you have any questions or, perhaps, we could 'chat' or IM and talk about it. Just let me know.

Wargod

Sunday, November 24, 2002 - 03:15 pm EditMoveDeleteIP
Ok, got a weird one....my keyboard keeps acting up. Earlier today I had none of the top row working, the numbers. Just a bit ago the whole top row of letters wouldn't work...I tried rebooting, I tried turning the computer off and unplugging the keyboard and replugging and rebooting...nothing worked. This is the third keyboard we've had and have had the same problem with all of them! We've taken the keyboard apart and have cleaned it...didn't help.

Now, I'm back to having all my letters, but don't have my number row again. Anyone got any idea what to do to help? I have no clue what is going on, and it's driving me even more insane than I already am!