Computer Geniuses?

[squisher]

Help! I have windows XP and I've had to reload it, again after the computer buggering up and not 'booting' up. Well that's all fine and dandy but now the same as last time it happened, the computer is not 'seeing' my CD drive. How do I load or even find where this CD drive may be. Please help me!

[Frans]

Squish yer computer! Jus squish it! :)

-sorry, lost my head there a minute, good luck

[squisher]

Oh I am about ready to squash this POS! If it weren't for finding the treehouse this computer would've been a total waste of money.

[MasterBlaster]

What brand is it, J?

[squisher]

HP Pavilion laptop pos barely over a year old, would never re-buy it. Last time this happened I had to get a friend of a friend to re-install the driver or whatever it is for my CD. When I go into 'my computer' there is no CD drive like there used to be just nothing. If you put a CD in the CD player you can hear it whirr around but nothing happens on the compute. I'm hoping I can learn how to fix this myself this time.

[Werks 4 da Man]

Go into device manager, scan for hardware changes. Run services.msc, look for any cd services that are stopped and start them.

FIRST reseat connection.

Fred

[squisher]

Thanks Fred, now for the really stupid question. Device manager? How do I locate that?

[Werks 4 da Man]

devmgmt.msc from RUN or go to the My computer icon "right click," properties, hardware, device management.

Fred

[squisher]

FIRST reseat connection.

Fred

What do you mean by this?

I've found the 'device' now and it says it's ok? I'll probably mess around with it until I screw it right up and then have to take it to someone to fix it. Frusturating as all hell I find this.

Thanks for the help!

[Werks 4 da Man]

Okay?

First the connection I was talking about was the one on your CD drive and the corrosponding one on the motherboard.

I'm calling shenanigans if you don't show screen shots of it in Device manager and not in my computer.

Fred

[Werks 4 da Man]

Did you click on the + out beside the CD.

Fred

[squisher]

Ok I'm really not down with my computer jargon. I can find it in that device manager and it says that everything is ok. But when I just go into my computer my hardrives are there, my files stored on this computer are there, but there is no drives with removable storage or whatever it's called none nothing. If I put the memory chip from my camera in the compute it immediately recognizes that but the cd/dvd drive is not there in 'my computer' but is there when I open the device manager? I dunno what's up I guess I'll have to try and touch base with the dude that fixed it last time for me :( .

[squisher]

How the Hell do you show a screenshot?:X

[rumination]

Squishy, in the device manager right click on the cd drive and go to "Properties". Does it say "This device is working correctly"?. If not, what does it say?

[squisher]

It says 'this device is working properly'. It says the location is 0(0) could this be the problem? I'm trying to copy and paste what it says but it doesn't seem to work in those 'programs'?

[rumination]

Hmmm...that's what it should say. I don't know what to tell you. If you put a CD in the drive what happens?

[Werks 4 da Man]

Shenanigans J/K

Did you run services.msc and start the CD if it was stopped.

Fred

[Angus]

Even though it's been working before, the situation you are describing could quite likely be related to a jumper setting problem (I'll explain that in a second). Often when there is a booting problem with Pavillions, they refer to the repair partition, which restores the operating system, but mucks up the boot order. HP usually sets their IDE devices (i.e. CDROM, Harddrive) to "Cable Select" or "CS". To fix this you need to set your harddrive jumper to master, and your cdrom to slave.
But that is for later on... and if its only a year old, it will probably void your warrenty.

Firstly lets try and replace the drivers for your cdrom. This will identify whether the OS is running inappropiate drivers for your device, or whether your OS has detected it at all.

Click -> Start
Click -> Run
Type "devmgmt.msc", then hit "OK"
The list of stuff here are the devices on your computer.
There should be a catagory called "DVD/CDROM drives"
If this catagory is not there, then we need to check that your BIOS is detected your CDROM at all. (READ FURTHUR ON)
If the catagory is there, then open it up. Assuming you only have one CD drive in your computer, there will be a single name.

Right-click on this name, and select "Uninstall".
This will remove the drive.
The next step is to get windows to reinstall the drive. To do this, from the top menu select "Action -> Scan for hardware changes".
Windows will do a scan to find your device.
If it finds a device like your cdrom, check whether its visible in "My Computer".
If your CDROM is in "my computer", then its beer o'clock.
If there is no device in "My computer", then its likely to be a driver related issue, and since you have internet, will be fairly easy to fix. (We'll deal with that if it comes up)

The other likely situation was that the BIOS may not be detecting it.
HP have decided to be rather flippant with their BIOS entry keys, so we'll guess them after you tried replacing the CDROM's drivers.
Let us know how you go with that.

Best of luck
Regards
Angus

[Rotax Robert]

And that was exactly what I was thinking.

[TheTreeSpyder]

Can also get to Device Manager through Settings>Control Panel>System>Hardware Tab>Device Mgr. Button.

Screen shot is achived by pressing PrtScrn Button over Insert/Home etc. Keys. This places a Screen Shot on the clipboard. Then, open up Paint (or other similair) and Paste (CtrlV) the clipboard contents(screen shot) intot he window and save. Some computers like Ctrl-PrntScr key combination. If you have several windows showing and want screen shot of jsut one (error message etc.) press key combo Alt-PrntScr to capture just the focussed (selected/clicked) window.

If problem is a series of steps in windows you don't think you are doing right; might try Debug Modes "Wink" (http://www.debugmode.com/wink/) (open source. Or, CamStudio (http://camstudio.org/). They are free, but can't see keyboard for you, and ya can't reboot and look at Bios in them.

[vharrison]

Squish, have you squished it yet?

[Werks 4 da Man]

This should be your next step.



Right-click on this name, and select "Uninstall".
This will remove the drive.
The next step is to get windows to reinstall the drive. To do this, from the top menu select "Action -> Scan for hardware changes".
Windows will do a scan to find your device.
If it finds a device like your cdrom, check whether its visible in "My Computer".
If your CDROM is in "my computer", then its beer o'clock.
If there is no device in "My computer", then its likely to be a driver related issue, and since you have internet, will be fairly easy to fix. (We'll deal with that if it comes up)



Then check the IDE channel and cable.

Fred

[sawinredneck]

This should be your next step.



Then check the IDE channel and cable.

Fred

It's a laptop Fred, no dissconecting without disecting!!!!

[Newfie]

This thread is making me feel stupid....:whine:

[MasterBlaster]

Kinda like a dog watching television?

[Werks 4 da Man]

Hey, my dogs like the vacuum commercial.

Laptop. Should have read closer. DOH!!!!!

You can go th HP's website and check for a good driver, but that shouldn't help, but it might do the trick.

Fred

[top hopper]

Can you simply restore your computer to a prior date?

[squisher]

Ok I've been playing with the sreenshot thingy but haven't quite got the hang of that yet :( . Now having learned last night from Fred and following Angus's(welcome to the Treehouse and thanks alot) instructions, I've been able to locate uninstall and re-install the CD drive and it says "new hardware installed ready to use" or something close to that BUT! there is still no CD drive listed under 'my computer' just the documents and the hardrive:( . I can open the device manager and the drive is right there and says it's A OK but no action from it. Again when I put a disc in it whirr's right up but does not actually do anything on the computer? This exact thing happened in the past and as I said a friend of a friend fixed it but I never had a clue(obviously:|: ) of how he did it.

Thanks everyone for their help. Fred I didn't mean nothing by my anger smilie(after re-reading the thread) it was 100% directed at my computer and my total lack of skills to fix it.

[sawinredneck]

Now it gets fun J!!!!

You will need the model and serial numbers off the 'puter, then go to HP's web site. Look for help and suport then the drivers section. You will have to find you're 'puters model listed, then break it down by serial number, then there should be an "update drivers" or "search fo drivers" section. You can then download the driver for the CD rom. When given the option in the pop up window, click "run". That should install it automaticly.
It's no fun, but not that hard once you find where to go on the website:P
I had to do this a few times on the old home PC, it's not as bad as it sounds.

[sawinredneck]

Easier than that!!!!


http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html

[squisher]

Heh thanks Andy, I've just added that link to my favorites. I'll have to save that for later or tomorrow as I'm heading out for wings and brews momentarily!8)

[Newfie]

Kinda like a dog watching television?

YUP!! I can't seem to turn away. If you catch me tilting my head to the side in wonderment, smack me.:D

[squisher]

I've been all over that link Andy. I can very quickly now uninstall and re-install the cd drive and when I open the device manager it's sitting right there but it still is not recognized by the computer. In 'my computer' no cd drive :( . Any last bits of advice anyone before it heads out for fixing?

[treesandsurf]

Squisher, I'm jumping in a little late here. One suggestion, have you tried re-installing the Operating System (Windows XP)? There should be an option when re-installing to retain all of your programs and files, it basically installs the operating system over itself, updating drivers....

jp:D

[treesandsurf]

Okay, just read your first post. I would give re-installing one more try before taking it in and dropping a pile of cash to get it fixed. Sometimes trying things several times seems to work out with troubleshooting these things. Good luck!

jp:D

[Frans]

Any last bits of advice anyone before it heads out for fixing?

Hey Squish! Is the hard drive plugged in?

I remember when growing up, my mom called the washing machine repair man because the washer would not turn on.


It was unplugged.

Still tease my mom to this day about that

[sawinredneck]

Sorry J, I am out of ideas now????????????????
That should source you're drivers for you!!!!

[squisher]

Does anyone know how to change the location of a drive? For example my non-working CD/DVD drive has the location listed as 0(0) and I could swear back when it used to work it was drive E(E)? Have I lost my mind here?

[Paul B]

usually windows will allocate that automatically. if you add new stuff it will add it in. if its where you dont like it then go to control panel and add/remove hardware; remove the drive. then turn the comp off, unplug the drive (internally) and fire it up. then turn it off again, plug the drive back in (IDE cable and power supply) and fire it up, might solve the prob but then again, might put you up Shte creek! thats the fun of PC's!! :D

[Koa Man]

HP Pavilion laptop pos barely over a year old, would never re-buy it.

HP laptops are POS. I also had one less than a year old that had no video and would not boot up. I emailed HP and they had me send it to them for repair under warranty. My manufacturer's 1 year warranty expired on 11/17/2007. They received it on 11/09/2007 and I got it back on 11/26/2007. On 12/09/2007 it craps out again, exact same problem. No video display and won't boot up. I email HP that less than 2 weeks after I get the computer back from repair, the same problem reoccurs, which leads me to believe that the repair under warranty was not done right. HP tells me a case manager will call me in 3-6 business days. I have not received a call yet, despite 2 follow up emails. I do receive email response that basically tell me they are limited in what they can do since my laptop is now out of warranty. I have a 3 year old Toshiba laptop that my wife leaves on 24/7 and uses it like a desktop machine. No problems so far.

I will never buy any HP product again. As soon as I use up the ink cartridges I have for my HP printer, I am throwing it away and buying another brand, most likely a Canon, so I don't have to buy HP cartridges.

[gf beranek]

Hey, Justin, don't fret. I lost my CD drive the same way. You can get it back by going into the registry editor and making some tweeks. Just follow the directions in the link below. It has to do with manually deleting entries in the registry.

I don't know how it works, but it does.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314060/en-us

[sotc]

my hp pavillion is used like a desck top. ive had it a year and a half and no problems. you guys need to buy the 3 year warrenty, gauranteed to last longer:D

[Al Smith]

I will never buy any HP product again. I am of the same opinion myself.I had an HP 945 camera I ponied up over 500 bucks for.I dropped the danged thing and ruined the lense.When I called to find out about repairs all some smart alec female from India could do was try and sell me another one at a big discount,big f-- deal.Because I already had some stuff for the camera , I found another on e-bay for cheap and works just dandy.

Myself and HP are at the end of our working relationship,a divorce is eminent.:X

[Paul B]

printer wise I go for Epson, I go to to a local wholesaler for ink, 4 bucks for a black and 5 bucks for the combo color cartridge :)
HP enforces their patents differently which means you pay full bang for their refills. :(
Had an HP Pavilion desktop a few years ago, the only CPU I actually have taken a 12 guage and a 7mil rifle to. :shifty:

[Al Smith]

Had an HP Pavilion desktop a few years ago, the only CPU I actually have taken a 12 guage and a 7mil rifle to. :shifty: That is what the one 'puter is we don't use any more.733,pretty big when is new but a bit outdated now.The danged thing uses intergrated boards so updating is not possible,tiny little case also.I improved it by addition of a larger fan but it still is what it is.

[Paul B]

the non upgradeable stuff is what got me. I stick to the homebuilt machines now vs the proprietary schitt.

[squisher]

Thanks Gerry I'll try that link later on when I get back home. I hate that computer and have considered taking it back to the future shop and ramming it down the throat of the salesman, but I'm sure that would just be replacing one problem with another one.

[MasterBlaster]

I stick to the homebuilt machines now vs the proprietary schitt.


I just had mine built, $400, and it rocks! :rockon:

[Paul B]

exactly. :dude:

Squish if you need a new computer or parts thereof try www.a-power.com they do online sales as well as they have two retail outlets down here. One is on Hastings at Willingdon in Burnaby, like 5 minutes from my place. I have bought and built three computer systems from them over the last four or five years, so far so good. :)

[squisher]

I fixed it and learned a bit along the way. I tried the instructions in your link Gerry but it didn't work for me so I started searching more help functions until I learned how to change the drive location from (0) to (E). I did it through the 'computer management' shortcut which isn't really that short to get to. It let's you rename your drives and I imagine other things too but I didn't bother to look around to much. From what I gather my drive location had somehow defaulted to a number '0' which windows doesn't recognize, windows recognizes drives with locations marked by letters 'A', 'B', 'C'.

Regardless it's all working fine again for now :D

[Al Smith]

the non upgradeable stuff is what got me. I stick to the homebuilt machines now vs the proprietary schitt. I had a guy build the two we are using now,about 500 a pop ,they do very well .AMD processors on both.Her's has 1 meg of RAM,mine two.Both have 80 g hard drives.

[Skwerl]

Glad you got it worked out, Justin. We'll call on you the next time one of us has a technical computer problem. :D

[Mike Maas]

You guys want a new challenge?
My computer has slowed way down all of the sudden. XP.
Ran disk check and defraged. C drive half full. Safe booted and ran adaware and avg antivirus, nothing bad showed up.
What do I do next?

[Skwerl]

When I bought my newest computer, it had been a 'display model' and was the last one of that model. I had some issues with it running slow, making lots of noise and taking forever to reboot. I took it back in and they reset the bios and fixed a bunch of bios settings, now it's whizzing along just great.

[Mike Maas]

I wonder if it could be a problem with the wireless router or the connection speed. Up until a week ago I could watch videos no problem. Now it downloads to slow.
I did a speed test a few weeks ago and it was 4.23 Megabits per second, now it's only 203 kilobits per second. I'm on cable.
Does that tell you anything?

[gf beranek]

Good, I glad you got it fixed. It's always something with the darn things isn't it?

I got a pop-up problem and spam infection that is driving me crazy. I do believe the people who make the anti-virus and antil-spam programs purposely put bugs into your computer to force you to buy their services and software.
Because the minute your subscription runs out, whamo, spam city. Can't prove it. Maybe I just paranoid.

[squisher]

Damn that sucks, hope ya get it sorted. Frig these things are frusturating sometimes, glad I didn't smash it though.

Thanks again to everyone who offered advice, help, links and what not. It's apreciated.

[MasterBlaster]

Jerry, why don't you restore your machine?

[gf beranek]

What, my win 95?

[MasterBlaster]

The one with the pop-up problem and spam infections.

[gf beranek]

I was just kidding, Butch. Already did a restore and the problem persists.

Went to bed one night and left the laptop connected on line and when I got up in the morning the thing was like the midway at a carnival.

[MasterBlaster]

What clean up utility do you use, Jerry? AdAware?

[gf beranek]

The geek that came to my place to clean out the gremlins installed AVG. It helped, but didn't cure the problem. Plus AVG is constantly updating while I work on line. and it slows the programs down.

Wish a simple restore would fix it but it wont. Something got in that wont let go. Deep in the registry

[MasterBlaster]

AVG is for viruses, not spyware. Go here (http://www.adwarealert.com/index.php?hop=congoman&gclid=CK_Pnd3l4ZACFRQfsgod5jhQWw) to download and install AdAware, then run it.

Nothing to it.

[squisher]

Ok homeys.

My compute is giving me some fits. IE works fine on my wife's side of the computer but notta on my side. Upon starting it up it will start to generate my homepage and then just freezes with the mouse/cursor showing the busy timepiece. Any idears? Also my quickbooks accounting program won't run on my side either apparently because it accesses the internet while running? Also when it freezes the little 'restore down' box beside the red X in the upper right hand corner 'unhighlights' like it's unavailable for some reason? Also if I go into tools and clear my history and delete cookies that works fine but when I try to delete files it shows busy forever and freezes up?

Any thoughts anyone on where to start?

[Skwerl]

Sounds like you caught a bug. :(

[squisher]

So it's fubarred then? Can I unbug it somehow or best just to take it in to a pro?

New computer time maybe?

[Skwerl]

First thing is to figure out what kind of bug you have. I'm going to assume your antivirus is somewhat disabled as well? Try a manual AV scan first.

[squisher]

Can I try unloading and reloading IE itself or something like that?:|:

Everything non-internet related works fine on my side and my wife's side, which I'm on right now, works fine for everything.

[squisher]

I have a Norton the horton thingy on my computer. But I can't seem to make that damn elephant do anything.:D

[squisher]

First thing is to figure out what kind of bug you have. I'm going to assume your antivirus is somewhat disabled as well? Try a manual AV scan first.

Manual AV scan is performed by??????

[Newfie]

Manual AV scan is performed by??????


Running your hand over your AV.........

[cybergeek23851]

You can try these as options.

http://www.malwarebytes.org/
http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html

Download under the wife's account, and run under your account, provided it is set up with Admin rights(can do software installs, removals, general system work in the software environment.


Also, do a scan after installing Avast and Malwarebytes, by booting into safe mode(hitting F8 on the keyboard). This will eliminate a lot of errant background programs from running while searching for what is causing your troubles

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/boot_failsafe.mspx?mfr=true

[Paul B]

try downloading and installing a different browser like Firefox, it might be the virgin of IE you have is screwy. uninstalling and reinstalling may help but try the different browser and see if that helps eh.

[CurSedVoyce]

Once you get back on line also run this scan....

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/

Slow but thorough ;)

[sotc]

Or disconnect your internet, start in safe mode and run which ever anti virus you have on your computer. Don't ask me how cause someone walked me through it last time. Twas easy but th only time I did it

[High Scale]

Good anti spyware, Trojan etc, http://www.superantispyware.com/

Free, clean up utility. http://www.glaryutilities.com/

[Angus]

I'm finding a few of my clients computers are getting something similar to this.

cybergeek23851 has given you some sound advice, worth giving a shot.

Sometimes if you have a nasty bug, it can rip the guts out of installers so they don't function properly. Try using something like ComboFix (http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix).

ComboFix is uber-lightweight, and will usually get you a finger in to start running tools like malwarebytes.

Switching to a browser like firefox is something REALLY worth considering, problem solving IE is a vexation to the spirit.

If you find combofix and malwarebytes don't solve your problem, I'll get you to post a 'hi-jack this' log. From that we might be able to see what is causing the problem.

[rumination]

Hi Angus, done any new videos lately?

[squisher]

I'm still operating on the wife's side. Thanks for all the input. Angus I will try that combofix tonight.

[MasterBlaster]

Lordy, just buy an entire new system.

[rumination]

The hardware is still fine. No need to buy a new system. At worst he might have to reinstall the operating system but buying a new computer is unnecessary.

Unless he wants one, of course.

[squisher]

I'd consider it, if I hadn't just bought an entire new bucket truck without having settled with insurance for my old one. :(

And being audited still, I'd almost forgotten how much I love shuffling papers.:(

[Highclimber]

restart your computer and press F8 right when it's booting up press it over and over again it will bring you to the boot screen where ou have the option to run you system in safe mode or start your system from the last known good configuration that worked. if you want to run virus soft ware boot your computer in safe mode if not you can start at the last good spot and hope fully it was before you caught the bug. I suggest you get avast anti virus it's the best on the market right now. you should run your virus software on your local drives with a through scan and if it finds something delete those files ASAP.:D

[TheTreeSpyder]

Slave the drive out to anther boot, by making another boot drive master, or booting to Linux Live (or bartPE). Then try to clean. If trying to run inside windows from own drive/ not slaved out some stuff will be running that could block, rebuild on fly etc. Safe mode is safest for this strategy; as less will be running. Other malware/virus tricks would be to not let you run known anti-malware apps. Then in that case, i would download the app on another sys, and rename it, then bring to your sys. Some of the newer malware can get around this by tracking by process thread name and stopping, instead of by file name and stopping. This is another reason not booting to the suspect drive is best.

Would always recomend backup- infected backup can be better than no backup. If can't beat, and can't get in, can also try a dual installation next to old win install, then boot to it, then get info off, then do real install. If malware is suspected and reinstalling for that reason, it is also wise to wipe out any partitions for diagnostics etc. that manufacturer places on drive, to kill any infections there. Also, recommend the non-Fast NTFS formatting for this. If not having to reinstall and get fixed; and sure everything is okay, recommend turning off system restore, boot, then turn it back on, to further fight reinfection.

[squisher]

Thanks all but no success. Computers aren't my thang.


Half of what y'all recommend I have zero idea of how to go about making happen.

[MasterBlaster]

You just gotta get your mind right.

[squisher]

Well c'mon now be realistic...........that's not about to happen.:D

[Skwerl]

I'm no genie-ass either. I read Kenny's post 4-5 times and I have no idea what he's talking about. I was lost from the very first word. I wouldn't know where to start as far as putting a computer into slave configuration. I can't even connect two computers sitting side by side on my desk.

Sorry bout your 'puter, Justin. I hope you can figure it out, or at least find somebody who can show you how to save your personal info before reformatting. :(

[Fiddler]

I was looking for some boots but that was in another thread.........

[Paul B]

setting slave and master for more than one hard drive is essential and east, there is a jumper on the back of the drive that you put in one or the other position. Kenny had good ideas but I think unless you are a computer geek you wouldnt cypher it out. bottom line, new hard drive, new windows etc then hook up the old hard drive and try to pluck the critical data off it. if that doesnt make sense, the best thing it to take it to a pro and py up sucka. Not trying to poke fun at anyone but thats the bottom line. I have been programming / playing with computers since I was 11 in 1983, I understand most of what Kenny is talking about but I wouldnt try to explain how to do certain things to folks who just arent conversable about the issue.

[stehansen]

I think a lot of places now will transfer your old data to your new computer.

[Paul B]

at a retarded price per meg usually.

[CurSedVoyce]

Paul s right.... Very expensive to retrieve data off a damaged drive..

[rumination]

If I understand Justin correctly his data or hard drive isn't corrupted, it's probably just infected or the operating system has gotten buggy beyond simple repair.

If that's the case, here's a relatively inexpensive and simple do it yourself option for getting things back up and running. First you'd need to buy an external USB hard drive. These are cheap nowadays. Here are some examples:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010150414%201035907839&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=RATING

Next, hook up the USB harddrive, and copy all of the data you want to save to it. Next put your Windows system disc into the computer and reboot. It's been awhile since I've used Windows but it should ask you if you want to repair the operating system or reinstall (depending which version of Windows you're using). You could try the repair option if it gives it to you. Otherwise reinstall the operating system, which will format the harddrive and start over from scratch, and should eliminate any problems you're having. Then copy all your data back over from the external USB harddrive. Then you could use the external drive to do regular backups of your data, which is a wise idea in any case.

EDIT: It would probably also be wise to do a virus scan on the external drive before copying your data back to your reinstalled operating system.

[sotc]

Leon, that won't bring the bugs back?

[rumination]

If you're only copying personal data files (i.e. documents, pictures, music, videos, spreadsheets, etc.) and not any program files then it should be OK. As far as I know these types of files are not where bugs reside.

Hopefully onc of the resident computer geeks can say whether or not this is a safe method to use. I have done it before when I had problems with a Windows system, and it worked fine for me. I am running Linux now, so viruses and malware are not much of a concern for me.

[Skwerl]

Another bug in the works is when your disc drive doesn't work. On both of my desktop computers, the disc drive quit working within the first year.

A couple years ago I bought one of those USB thumb drives to copy info from one computer to another. I must have bought the wrong brand because the proprietary software already on the thumb drive made it almost impossible for me to use it for what I wanted to do. All I want is an empty 'folder' where I can drag and drop stuff into it and then retrieve stuff from it.

[rumination]

Brian, just use Windows to reformat that little sucker and the annoying proprietary software will be wiped off. FAT32 is the best formatting system for those little flash drives.

[gf beranek]

Thanks for the tip, Rum

[Skwerl]

ummm, thanks Leon...
I think...
:?

[rumination]

OK, more specifically if I remember correctly: go to My Computer, on the left side I think is Disk Management. From there you'll be able to find the flash drive and an option to reformat it. Choose FAT32 as the formatting option. I guess that isn't very specific, but it's the best I can recall.

[Skwerl]

Cool. With that info I think I can handle it. Now I just need to go buy another thumb drive since I threw away the other one. :|:

[rumination]

Ha! Well, try to find one that doesn't come with proprietary nonsense on it.

[Paul B]

RJS I have been using the Kingston ones for a few years and no pros, just acts like a portable drive: http://www.a-power.com/product-6015-0-3

[rumination]

I have a Kingston as well. It's worked well for me for a couple years now.

Here's a link to an American retailer. This is a cheap deal too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134818

[Skwerl]

Thanks Leon. I've never dealt with New Egg before but I've heard the name for several years. I assume they are trustworthy so I went ahead and ordered one. :)

[rumination]

Glad I could be of help. Newegg has always done well by me, never had a problem with them.

[Paul B]

thats the one I have RJS, works fine, I also have 2 of the 2 Gig ones.

[CurSedVoyce]

Same here. New Egg is nice to deal with and I always get a good product. Tiger Direct 50/50....

[Strikermike]

Newegg is my go to guy when it comes to computers. Service is second to none. Very competitive prices. I have built 6 computers all from parts purchased at newegg. They are the Wespur of the computer industry.

[Paul B]

I preach the same for my local store, A-power. :) dont forget, if its price, the store I buy from is in Canuckian dollars.

[gf beranek]

4 gig for $11 is a fair deal. Though with shipping is going to be another $6 bugs at least. I was just checking Amazon and 32 gig on the bottom line are going for around $45, up to over $100 with proprietary encryption.

Wait another 6 months and prices may drop in half.

In 96 I bought an hp cd recorder. At the time a little over $1000. Wow.

[Paul B]

ha, I remember buying RAM in the early 80's. $100 a MEG!!

[Skwerl]

Jerry, the shipping estimator said $6 but when I went through checkout it was only $2.99. And that's going cross country. No biggie, I still get it delivered to my mailbox for under $15. The last one I bought was $20 for 2 Gig. :)

[TheTreeSpyder]

As far as booting; that is the drive that system runs off of, loads os(operating system). Then, it can see and manipulate other drives attached(cd, external hd, floppies, thumb drives etc.); but is not 'booted' to them, is not just blindly trusting that drive and running it's software etc. (unless autoruns is on). So, if main drive is suspect, boot to a cd, or to another drive-with autoruns turned off; so the suspect drive won't run anything in it's boot when you go to it. Then, get data off, scan for malware etc.

http://ubcd4win.com/. If sys won't boot to another os, hardware then is much more suspect, and trouble shooting takes a right turn into that direction. Usually this entails, stripping devices (cd, floppy, hd etc.)out 1 by 1; seeking something not working right, halting rest of sys.

Malwarebytes (http://www.malwarebytes.org/forums/index.php?showforum=39) is very good for removal and has been suggested; they have a forum too to help. Also One of the last sections of MB forum shows 1 by 1 all the different things malwarebytes handles very well. The instructions for handling each are step by step, but all the same; plus sometimes other info on virus too. There are vids on all this on google and utube for booting to linux, bart pe etc. from cd and handling all of this. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=malware&search_type=. http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ is very good forum too.

As far as thumb drives go; it is best to tell computer you are removing one by right clicking safely remove drive icon near clock. This will make sure nothing is (especially) writing to that drive/device. Because if it is writing when you remove thumb, you can screw up that thumb drive, because it won't be able to write to the fat table/ table of contents the disk locations were files are. Thumbs usually come formatted with fat16; because it isn't patented. Can google a hp formatting tool to help.

Also, i wouldn't recommend anyone using a thumb to extend memory like vista allows. Because, these flash devices in thumbs aren't the best/best; and will fail after so many writes- of which memory storage gets a lot; so pushes these devices to earlier failure.

2 computers can be connected through a router, through usb or a cross-over cable, if not ad hoc through wireless cards; many videos around on these 'basics'.

Many, many times i've seen were a cd drive seems bad- but isn't. Besides cables, and making sure is on in bios; it can be some added microsoft filters (kinda like secondary drivers) that need edited out of the registry. Real ms advocates refer to these things not as error, mistake; but rather politely as an "undocumented feature":|:!!http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929461 after creating restore point.

[Skwerl]

I wouldn't know how to turn on a computer without the operating system automatically booting up. I can navigate the web but I'm clueless under the hood of my computer. It's weird having that gap in knowledge, because I'm very adept at mechanical stuff. But computers aren't mechanical to me, more like electrical (which is another of life's great mysteries).

[TheTreeSpyder]

Dude, many of these things aren't that hard, and in some ways are just survival techniques like jump starting a car, changing a tire etc. And, then there are step by step vids..

[gf beranek]

My first windows OS came on 6 floppies. I believe it was 3.1. And it included "Works" which was some really good stuff in its day.

funny, word processing, in works, was about as good as it is today.

[squisher]

I've resigned myself to having to pay someone to fix it. No biggie, people pay me to 'fix' their tree problems all the time. Let the pros do their thing.

[TheTreeSpyder]

My first home sys was a trs 8o with no hard drive(only a large 5 1/4" 1 side at 180k floppy for os and another for data), after punching cards in Fortran at a class in college. Fist pc was 10meg hd and dos 1.0 and promptly got a bootleg copy of dos 3.3 when it came out. First time i saw a mouse i thought it was a kid's toy and didn't want anything to do with it! Windows 1.0 was a black and white line drawing joke; that like dos could only run 1 app at a time.

[Paul B]

wicked. I still miss DOS. I loved screwing around with the computers at Radio Shack. :)

10 print 'eat rocks'
20 x=x+1
30 if x<2000000 then 10
40 print 'suckers!'

[sotc]

http://www.gearfuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/nerd.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2_UQx17Juts/SFiizV6484I/AAAAAAAAASM/-dLRRbSvwiI/s400/nerd.GIF

[Newfie]

look how fat he is! His parents must really suck!:D

[Skwerl]

RJS I have been using the Kingston ones for a few years and no pros, just acts like a portable drive: http://www.a-power.com/product-6015-0-3

I have a Kingston as well. It's worked well for me for a couple years now.

Here's a link to an American retailer. This is a cheap deal too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134818

Thanks again to Paul and Leon. Now that I have my fancy new computer (with all my old data saved thanks to Jason) up and running, I wanted to copy over the pictures I've saved on my laptop since June. This includes all the pictures from the West Coast Climb. The Kingston thumb drive was perfect, just drag and drop the files and it worked just like another Windows folder without a bunch of extra crap to wade through (NO, I don't want your proprietary program to process/change/organize/fix my pictures). It took all of about 4 minutes to move everything over to the other computer.
:D

[MasterBlaster]

look how fat he is! His parents must really suck!:D

Excellent post, buddy! :D

[squisher]

My computer is still in the same state it was if anyone was wondering. I'll probably run er til it calves completely.

[Skwerl]

Hey Justin, I can recommend somebody to put a computer together for ya if you like. ;)

BTW, this thing is blazing fast! Everything is instant, like flipping a light switch. 8)

[squisher]

I just might look into something like that Brian. Currently though I'm still holding on tight, I'm hoping to have my old bucket truck claim settled by the end of this week. That'll bring me a bit of breathing space back.

[Al Smith]

They have came up with more user friendly gizmos in last several years than Carters have little pills .

In a way I miss DOS ,I knew most of the hot keys of which I've long since forgotten .

Like I've said before though I have problems with just Windows XP pro on my home 'puter let alone 30 other operating systems at work which boggles my pea sized brain .

Can you imagine an old black powder relay electrician thrown into a bunch of rocket science.:what:

[RIVERRAT]

I can honestly say most everything I know bout puters I learned here

[Paul B]

Squash, I can help you out in the cornpewter dept if you need it, in CDN funds with less shipping. I am happy to accept advice from Mr Yanna if warranted of course. :)

[squisher]

Hopefully before to long I could be taking you up on that. I'm booked solid here so things are looking good but as I said I'm kind of in lockdown mode still from my big mistake.

[sotc]

My computer is still in the same state it was if anyone was wondering. I'll probably run er til it calves completely.
Sounds like you need to keep the livestock from surfing the dirty sites:D

[cybergeek23851]

It's cheaper to keep 'er north of the border, Justin. Just remember... no customs. :lol:

[Paul B]

yup, likely, but dont hesitate to speak up eh J! its a treehouse effort. :)

[squisher]

Sounds like you need to keep the livestock from surfing the dirty sites:D

Is that what does it? I'll bet it was that damn horse!!

[Skwerl]

Steve told me it was the sheep... :/:

[rumination]

Thanks again to Paul and Leon. Now that I have my fancy new computer (with all my old data saved thanks to Jason) up and running, I wanted to copy over the pictures I've saved on my laptop since June. This includes all the pictures from the West Coast Climb. The Kingston thumb drive was perfect, just drag and drop the files and it worked just like another Windows folder without a bunch of extra crap to wade through (NO, I don't want your proprietary program to process/change/organize/fix my pictures). It took all of about 4 minutes to move everything over to the other computer.
:D


Glad it worked out for you Brian. Sadly, I cannot locate my Kingston and needed to pick up another flash drive quickly before jumping on the transoceanic express so I just picked up a Sandisk Cruzer from Mal-Wart for $20. First item of business is to wipe all of the proprietary crap off of it...

[squisher]

You going somewhere Leon? Did I miss something?

[stehansen]

Steve told me it was the sheep... :/:

Did I forget to swear you to secrecy?:D

[rumination]

Back to HK for the winter. I'll hit up the "Out of here thread" in a moment.

[squisher]

Beats the hell outta my trip. I'll be working outta town starting next week for a couple of weeks.

[treetx]

Another HK jaunt?

That transoceanic express is way more interesting with a baby.......

Talk about an experience I am still trying to block out. We are going back to Germany with the crib lizard for Christmas.... now I get white knuckles and cold sweats when I see Santa of hear Christmas tunes :(

Have a good trip!

[squisher]

Crib lizard. Lmao!

[rumination]

Thanks Nate. It's got to be tough taking a baby on one of those looooong flights.

[stehansen]

I think they get pressure in their ears and don't know how to clear it. And just too long in one place.

[Paul B]

yup, hand them a bottle or something to eat and/or chew on, my parents took me across the atlantic twice before I was 3, that was their hint for travelling in the anti gravity machine. :)

[gf beranek]

Yeah the pressure change can really hurt if you don't clear. It's probably the chief reason most infants bawl to the heavens while in the air.