Computer/Technical Help

It sounds like a hardware problem, although it wouldn't hurt to try scanning for viruses and spyware first. If nothing is found, he should check the Device Manager for conflicts and update any outdated drivers, particularly the video drivers. Bad RAM may also be the problem, so if he has any spare RAM to test with, it might narrow down the cause.

So the cable guy just came in and installed a cable box in my room. HOWEVER, instead of just installing another jack, he used a splitter, so my cable internet connection and cable box connection are both sharing the same outlet.

Does this mean that my connection speed will be any slower?

I have yet to experience any slow down. Plus the connection to my cable modem is split twice.

While working on my laptop that runs windows 2000 professional, I got a message that said something was wrong with my registry and that it may be corrupted and that I should go to some site. I'm afraid to turn the computer off b/c it might not come back up. And I don't know which registry repair thing to download, cuz it might be unsafe. Can somebody help? It'd be greatly appreciated.

Unless the site is part of microsoft.com, don't click the link. It's most likely some adware trying to trick you into visiting their site, meaning that there is actually nothing wrong with your computer or your OS. See the first post for some free software that will help you remove the adware and the notices.

Ok. I have a situation.


My friend, being the pr0n fiend he is, panicked and wanted me to clean his computer. So after running some basic stuff, I ran CleanUp!. This did the job. But it also disabled his CD/DVD/CDR/DVDR/etc. drives, and the XP style(leaving everything in classic only).

I'm not sure what exactly it did, but un and reinstalling SP2 repaired the taskbar and regained the XP style. Any suggestion on reconnecting the drives?

This is rather odd, but it is bugging me and I think someone here might know what to do.

What do you do when your monitor begins whistling?

Yes, it does sound odd. My monitor is indeed producing a high-pitched whine. It isn't ear-splitting, but it's noticable and is beginning to bother me.

It seems to intensify depending on the level of brightness. I don't notice it as much when I am doing anything that darkens the screen, such as playing StarCraft (which is quite dark).
Degaussing the thing helps for about five seconds, then it slowly starts up again. Turning it on then off helps sometimes. And then, some nights I notice nothing at all.

The monitor is a Dell I got from my uncle, and is fairly new.
If anyone has anything that could remedy this, I would appreciate it.

quote:

Originally posted by Zaphod Beeblebrox I'm not sure what exactly it did, but un and reinstalling SP2 repaired the taskbar and regained the XP style. Any suggestion on reconnecting the drives?

In which way are they disabled? Do they just not respond when discs are put in, or do they not appear at all in My Computer? Either way, one thing you could try is booting into safe mode, going to Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manager, and uninstalling everything under "DVD/CD-ROM drives." Once you restart, this should force Windows to detect them again and install the appropriate drivers.

quote:

Originally posted by Randolph Yes, it does sound odd. My monitor is indeed producing a high-pitched whine. It isn't ear-splitting, but it's noticable and is beginning to bother me.

It may be located near something that is causing interference. Try moving anything that uses electricity a little farther away from it. If that doesn't work, you could try changing the refresh rate (Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced > Monitor).

Ok. Ever since I got broadband down here and got my router, AIM has been screwy. I enabled the TCP port "5190" like it says I'm supposed to, and fowarded it to my PC and stuff. However, every 30 minutes or so, AIM likes to disconnect and recconect. Do you have any idea how to fix this?

quote:

Originally posted by Cerpin Taxt Ok. Ever since I got broadband down here and got my router, AIM has been screwy. I enabled the TCP port "5190" like it says I'm supposed to, and fowarded it to my PC and stuff. However, every 30 minutes or so, AIM likes to disconnect and recconect. Do you have any idea how to fix this?

In case it's a router problem, try updating the firmware on your router to see if it affects the problem. If not, try updating AIM, or try another IM client that can use AIM's protocol (GAIM, Trillian, etc.). If that doesn't solve the problem, I would assume that it is a server problem (maybe a problem specific to the AIM server nearest to you).

About adjusting the refresh rate, I did happen to increase the refresh rate to the maximum of 85hz. After reading articles by Ari Feldman on artists and eye tiredness, I had no reason not to.

Also, I do keep my speakers almost flush with the monitor on the left and right. I'll try moving some things around and see if it helps.
Thanks.

Ok, here's a question that I could really use an answer to.

Now that I have a DVD burner, I want to put some episodes of various shows on DVD.

The total file size of all the 13 files is 2.37GB, enough to go on a standard DVD.

I'm using NeroVision Express, and for some reason it goes way past 5GB!?!

Now, I googled a bit, and I think this is due to the dimensions of a few of the videos. Most are 352x240, but about 4 or so are 640x480 (which Nero is listing as 704x480?) are the ones that make the total space shoot up past 5GB.


Now, I can resize the larger videos, but my question is why do this if they really should be able to fit on the DVD?

In order to be compatible with as many DVD players as possible, the DVD format has a somewhat strict set of requirements, so my guess is that the increased file size is due to the fact that your shows need to be decompressed and converted into MPEG2 format, which is the format that DVDs use. Also, like you mentioned, some of the videos need to be resized if they are not in the correct ratio for the DVD format, so that might also add a little to the file size.

Hmm, I see.

Thanks Krang, didn't know DVD's were that picky. -_-

What is a good size to resize the videos to? The smaller ones are 352x240, but when I resize the 640x480 to that, they really don't look too good.

Btw, any other programs you could recommend (that don't make too much of a fuss)? Nero's being very annoying at the moment.

The picture says it all....I had this 'window' come up on the taskbar every now and then since maybe December. Nothing shows up on the task manager eather...the only way to get rid of it is to shut the computer down and reboot it. otherwise I'm stuck with it the whole time I'm on the computer.

quote:

Originally posted by Green_Bird The picture says it all....I had this 'window' come up on the taskbar every now and then since maybe December. Nothing shows up on the task manager eather...the only way to get rid of it is to shut the computer down and reboot it. otherwise I'm stuck with it the whole time I'm on the computer.

If you right-click on it, does the menu come up with "Close" as one of the options? That should let you get rid of it.

If you can figure out what you are doing just before it shows up, you may be able to find the application's start-up sequence that is calling a non-existant program.

Good luck!
Pygmalion

Yes, I tried right clicking it a bunch of times, nothing comes up....not to mention when it pops up....its there from when ever I turn the computer on to whenever I turn it off...

quote:

Originally posted by R.Smith Hmm, I see. Thanks Krang, didn't know DVD's were that picky. -_- What is a good size to resize the videos to? The smaller ones are 352x240, but when I resize the 640x480 to that, they really don't look too good.

The default size (704x480) would probably be best, but if the file size is too big, you may have to settle with 352x240. You could always resize the videos using VirtualDub instead so that you have more control over the quality.

quote:

Btw, any other programs you could recommend (that don't make too much of a fuss)? Nero's being very annoying at the moment.

Here's a list of DVD authoring tools. Alot of them cost money, but there are a few free ones as well.

quote:

Originally posted by Green_Bird Yes, I tried right clicking it a bunch of times, nothing comes up....not to mention when it pops up....its there from when ever I turn the computer on to whenever I turn it off...

Did you try scanning for spyware and viruses using the latest definitions? If you already did and nothing was found, go to Start > Run, type this:

msconfig

and press Enter. From there, go to the Startup tab and look for programs that may be causing the problem (such as ones that you have already uninstalled). Uncheck them and save the changes, and when you restart, the problem should hopefully be gone.

I just got done backing up my documents, but every time I try to run the disc the computer just hangs. And now I'm missing a bunch of icons off the systems tray as well namely the virus scan icon that useualy hides when it's inactive but it isn't even there when I click the arrow thing. This didn't happen until I closed the window that the back up was in.

I just want to know why it did that....I'm afrade to even turn my computer off now because it's being really screwy as of late....and I really don't want to loose the stuff that I've made....