Topics

126

Living Room / WinXP incredibly slow (and sometimes failing) login

« on: December 29, 2008, 07:40 AM »

I am a bit perplexed.

When I start up my main computer and get to the login page it takes ages to actually login and sometimes when it gets to the desktop it never actually finishes booting up to the point where Windows is usable (I have to use RESET to get control on the next boot).

I realise it is probably a user profile issue but I am curious to try and work out what is going on without having to go through the hassles of setting up and configuring all my apps in a new user environment.

Anyone got any ideas how to troubleshoot this.

I have looked in Applications and System even logs and there are no problems showing up at all (even when Windows fails to complete it's startup process).

I did a boot with Boot Logging enabled and got the following output - any one got any ideas why a number of drivers are not loading, if it is a problem (given that none of them gett events logged) and if so how to troubleshoot this?

Service Pack 312 29 2008 13:07:35.375
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\ntkrnlpa.exe
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\hal.dll
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\KDCOM.DLL
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\BOOTVID.dll
Loaded driver ACPI.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\WMILIB.SYS
Loaded driver pci.sys
Loaded driver isapnp.sys
Loaded driver ohci1394.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\1394BUS.SYS
Loaded driver compbatt.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\BATTC.SYS
Loaded driver pciide.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\PCIIDEX.SYS
Loaded driver MountMgr.sys
Loaded driver ftdisk.sys
Loaded driver dmload.sys
Loaded driver dmio.sys
Loaded driver PartMgr.sys
Loaded driver VolSnap.sys
Loaded driver atapi.sys
Loaded driver nvata.sys
Loaded driver SI3132.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\SCSIPORT.SYS
Loaded driver nvgts.sys
Loaded driver disk.sys
Loaded driver \WINDOWS\system32\DRIVERS\CLASSPNP.SYS
Loaded driver fltmgr.sys
Loaded driver sr.sys
Loaded driver SiWinAcc.sys
Loaded driver PxHelp20.sys
Loaded driver KSecDD.sys
Loaded driver WudfPf.sys
Loaded driver Ntfs.sys
Loaded driver NDIS.sys
Loaded driver timntr.sys
Loaded driver snapman.sys
Loaded driver SiRemFil.sys
Loaded driver Mup.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\yk51x86.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nv4_mini.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\fdc.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\parport.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ASACPI.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\serial.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\serenum.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\usbohci.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\usbehci.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ALCXWDM.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\imapi.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\cdrbsdrv.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\cdrom.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\redbook.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\GEARAspiWDM.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\hcw88vid.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\hcw88aud.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\hcw88tse.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\hcw88rc5.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ctoss2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ctprxy2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ctaud2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\gameenum.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nic1394.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\nvnetbus.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\AmdK8.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\serscan.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\audstub.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\rasl2tp.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ndistapi.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ndiswan.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\raspppoe.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\raspptp.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\msgpc.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\psched.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ptilink.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\raspti.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\pcouffin.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\rdpdr.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\termdd.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\kbdclass.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mouclass.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mcdbus.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\swenum.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\update.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mssmbios.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\AmdLLD.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\AmdTools.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\vmnetadapter.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\NDProxy.SYS
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\NDProxy.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\usbhub.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\NVENETFD.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\HCW88BAR.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\hcw88tun.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\hcw88bda.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\hap16v2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ha10kx2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\emupia2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ctsfm2k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\ctac32k.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\COMMONFX.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\CTSBLFX.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\CTAUDFX.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\flpydisk.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\lbrtfdc.SYS
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Sfloppy.SYS
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\i2omgmt.SYS
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Changer.SYS
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Cdaudio.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Fs_Rec.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Null.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Beep.SYS
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\i8042prt.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\kbdhid.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\vga.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\mnmdd.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\DRIVERS\RDPCDD.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Msfs.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Npfs.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\rasacd.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ipsec.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\tcpip.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ipnat.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\netbt.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\epfwtdir.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\ws2ifsl.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\drivers\afd.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\netbios.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\processr.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\PCIDump.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\rdbss.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mrxsmb.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\wanarp.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\arp1394.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Fips.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\easdrv.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\CtPmFilt.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\usbccgp.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\hidusb.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Cdfs.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\USBSTOR.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\usbscan.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mouhid.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\kbdhid.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\VMkbd.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\tifsfilt.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\DefragFS.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\vmnetbridge.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ndisuio.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\rdbss.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mrxsmb.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\wdmaud.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\sysaudio.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\splitter.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\aec.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\swmidi.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\DMusic.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\kmixer.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\drmkaud.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\mrxdav.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\hcmon.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\ParVdm.SYS
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\Drivers\vmci.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\Drivers\vmx86.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\eamon.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\srv.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\MSPQM.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\PfModNT.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\vmnetuserif.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\WINDOWS\system32\Drivers\uphcleanhlp.sys
Loaded driver \??\C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation\vstor2-ws60.sys
Did not load driver \SystemRoot\system32\DRIVERS\ipnat.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\Fastfat.SYS
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\system32\drivers\kmixer.sys
Loaded driver \SystemRoot\System32\Drivers\HTTP.sys

127

Living Room / Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« on: December 26, 2008, 04:53 PM »

Nice Xmas Day present - strong sulfurous odours permeating the house.

At first I thought it was something the cats had eaten but eventually tracked it down to a Belkin UPS.

The UPS was EXTREMELY HOT - so hot I couldn't touch parts of the case and having waited for it to cool down I found the lead acid batteries inside had deformed plastic cases (though luckily I caught it before the ruptured).

This was extremely worrying as I often leave the device switched on for days at a time (even when I am not at home).

Anyone experienced this before? Anyone got any suggestions for a good alternative (it has to be UK compatible)?

I did a quick websearch and there are numerous references to this problem with Belkin UPS. It isn't an issue I have come across beofre and I am now on my 5th device (having had free replacements in the past under warranty when the batteries stopped charging fully and bought more than one device).

Other people seem to be recommending APC UPS devices (which have the advantage of user replacement batteries - without even having to switch off and a 2 year warranty).

I am looking at:

APC BACK-UPS RS 800VA USB/SER

or

APC SMART-UPS SC 620VA

Anyone any experience with wither of these or can suggest an alternative for under £150 (UKP) ?

Also can anyone see why the second device is lower power rated and more expensive? I find the APC website quite confusing as they have UPS devices for all countries listed together and appearing in the results of searches together!

128

Living Room / Linux holds kids back - that's what the teacher says! Windows fundamentalism?

« on: December 11, 2008, 02:09 PM »

Interesting little spat:

http://linuxlock.blo...g-our-kids-back.html

Be sure to check out the 'twitter' updates on the story at http://twitter.com/helios17

It has to make you laugh (or else you'd cry).

129

General Software Discussion / Microsoft updates - annoying folder proliferation

« on: December 09, 2008, 11:01 AM »

Anyone got any idea at all how to force Microsoft Update to store its temporary folders in one place and preferably allow access to the folders so that you can see what is going on.

I have folders scattered over numerous drives and they all have subfolders which deny me (and administrator) access!

For example on my system I have loads of partitions - on drive "I" I have the following folders in the root directory:

1a772fc8c37fd821426f30
30d8929e48a7b73c47
3a0484dd97c4d735733c0e
4395cc56333a712314fe5492
73cfb0e8090c5d2261c6f95c

By disabling simple file sharing and forcing an ownership change I discovered that the first folder contains and Update.exe which seems to be a  Windows Service Pack.

Talk about an excellent way to obscure files and give malware the ideal opportunity to hide itself.

I did a google search on the folder names and there are no results (and neither does the MS website have any information on these folder names).

This process of bunging update files anywhere Mess Update feels like has always annoyed me - has anyone found a solution?

130

Found Deals and Discounts / ESET NOD32 20% Christmas Discount (Expires 31st Dec 2008)

« on: December 03, 2008, 08:23 AM »

Got an email offering a Christmas discount on NOD32. See below. I am not sure if this only applies to UK customers.

The odd thing is that you don't seem to be able to apply the discount to license renewals which is strange because this then make license renewals marginally more expensive than just buying a new license!

I have emailed ESET to ask if this is intentional or accidental - no response so far.

The PDF voucher referred to is attached.

To purchase to www.eset.co.uk/purchase and enter the code XMAS08 during checkout.

131

General Software Discussion / Is it time to start a new AntiVirus/Internet Security Suite review thread?

« on: November 26, 2008, 05:32 AM »

With the release of a new batch of '2009' products is it time to start looking at Security Suites and standalone AV products again.

Personally I have had an interesting year. Having stated up a small business to fix people's computers locally (work is now picking up a bit as word of mouth spreads) one of the commonest problems is slow system performance and surprisingly less often actual infections.

My usual rule of thumb is dump Norton and install something lighter, use crap cleaner and a decent defragmenter regularly - and so far people have appreciated the speed gain.

I was reading a review today of the latest Norton Suite offering (see http://www.pcmag.com...,2817,2330018,00.asp) and it looks like Norton have started to listen to performance complaints. I am always a bit sceptical of PCMag reviews but looking around reducing the performance hit of previous versions does seem to have been a Norton priority. Add to that the 2009 suite seems to be getting good reviews from the point of view of sorting out virus and other malware.

Is it time to revisit Norton or do you plan to stay with your current provider?

The other site I have been looking at is http://www.av-comparatives.org/ which seems to employ useful selective methodologies to test aspects of performance rather than just a bland overall assessment.

This is something I am thinking about currently as NOD32 quietly tells me every day that my subscription is about to expire. Having been stung by a couple of infection issues this year I am beginning to wonder whether it is worth a change.

The other company that seems to get good performance credit (in terms of system performance hit and also product abilities) is AntiVir.

What does you think?

132

Found Deals and Discounts / Sitepoint book for free PDF download "The Art and Science of CSS" for 15 days

« on: November 20, 2008, 03:04 AM »

To get a copy of the free book see:

http://twitaway.aws.sitepoint.com/

133

Living Room / Microsoft drop OneCare subscription product

« on: November 19, 2008, 09:45 AM »

Just read this on ZDNet.

http://blogs.zdnet.c...2190&tag=nl.e589

Seems the MS OneCare Suite subscriptions will end June 2009 and then MS are replacing it with a free AntiMalware package.

134

Living Room / Surfulater 3 - huge price hike (166%) + where is the Firefox add-on?

« on: November 13, 2008, 08:01 PM »

I got an email today announcing the release of Surfulater 3.

Rather surprised at the pricing. When I purchased a copy in 2006 the full cost was £21.10 (I got a DC 30% discount so I paid £17.36) - today the full cost of the software is £56.30. Even with a 50% discount for upgrading that means it would cost £28.15.

Is it me or does this price hike seem a little much ???

Personally I won't be upgrading. I have downloaded the final version 2 release and installed it (though I haven't used it in ages).

On another matter does anyone have a recent copy of the Firefox add-on for Surfulater version 2 with Firefox 3? I only have old copies on my hard disc and they won't install in Firefox 3 (even with version checking disabled). For some reason the download is not on the Surfulater website any more (it seems to be integrated in the version 3 installer - I suppose I could install version 3 and then roll back to version 2 but it would be easier just to install the FF add-on).

135

General Software Discussion / Windows Server 2008 R2 - 64 bit only from here on ...

« on: November 11, 2008, 03:19 PM »

WIndows Server 2008 R2 is due for release and looks like a hefty update - the most striking feature is that from this version 32-bit servers are history ..

See: http://windowsitpro....your-average-r2.html

136

Living Room / Asus ships Eee Box PCs with malware

« on: October 09, 2008, 11:22 AM »

See article on ZDNet: http://blogs.zdnet.c...2016&tag=nl.e589

137

Living Room / Virus/Worm attacks - are they getting worse?

« on: October 02, 2008, 04:49 PM »

Is it just me or are virus and worm attacks getting worse?

I have gone for years without getting any malware on my system and in the space of a week I have had two unrelated incidents!

The first (which I mentioned in a different thread) swaped my DNS server so that all my internet traffic was routed through a server in the Ukraine!

Today another nasty managed to install AutoRun.inf files on every drive and resycled\boot.com (as a hidden system file/folder).

I don't know what the payload was but NOD32 managed to delete the files as fast as they replicated (but didn't clean my system of the problem).

No harm done and I now have a clean system again - but these must have been aquired as drivebys on websites.

I didn't visit porn or warez sites, I don't play games and the sites I visit are almost always mainstream website - so what is going on?

Am I paranoid or is someone really out to get me?

138

Living Room / Avoid DABS.COM for online shopping.

« on: October 01, 2008, 08:37 AM »

In the past I have enjoyed using DABS.COM for shopping and got products at good prices.

Recently I have had the misfortune of experiencing their 'customer service' first hand!

It all started when I placed an order for 3 items and the parcel was lost by the courier.

I went to the website to try and contact them - the only contact available on the website is by Live Chat (no telephone numbers). The trouble is their 'Live Chat' is so overstretched that over a week I found it impossible to get access to a person - the service was just listed as busy.

OK they are busy and when Live Chat is busy the pop up a webform saying send an email instead. I did that and got an automated response saying we will get back to you within 24 hours and please don't submit another ticket.

I waited 3 days and got no response so I tried again and got no response, and again and got no response.

Eventually I got to 'chat' to someone on Live Chat - and guess what she said 'you need to email'. Having explained that 3 emails have gone unanswered (except for confirmation of reciept) she said theuir system had no record of them.

I emailed to that address and didn't hold out any hope of a reply.

At this point I gave up and decided to try a different tack and go direct to courier who admitted they had delivered the parcel to an address in the wrong town (this was UPS by the way). HAving chatted for a while they promised to call me back when they had investigated. They didn't - I called them back and was then told they couldn't talk to me as the information was confidential between them and DABS.

Eventually I got an email response from DABS "We have received your email and contacted the courier - we will get back to you when we know what has happened" - they didn't and they haven't provided any new information or a refund since.

I then tried to use the automated returns system - but of course they say I have had tha package to long to return it for a refund!

A few days ago I got an email from UPS saying the parcel was lost and how to make a claim. Unfortunatel I can't because I need DABS UPS account information to process that claim so I forwarded their email to DABS - guess what no response.

To cap it all UPS turned up today with the lost package (which had obviously been opened and resealed) and I refused delivery (I had to place a new order because Id eperately needed the parts for a customer).

The saga continues - on Friday I call my credit card company to get a refund.

All in all it has been an extremely frustrating and time consuming series of cock-ups.

The lesson I have learned is DON'T shop online with a company you can only contact by email.

Bye bye DABS.COM - no more for me - and anyone else considering using them just remember they are great when things go right but if you have a problem you have no chance of communicating with anyone.

139

Living Room / Drive by malware ... ouch

« on: September 26, 2008, 06:20 PM »

I have just spent a day and a half trying to figure out why one machine on my network couldn't access websites that were accessible to other machines on the same network.

The main symptom was that since late yesterday evening every time I tried to log onto this forum I got an error saying that www.donationcoder.com doesn't exist. I panicked and in the end emailed Mouser to ask if there was anything I could do to help since the server seemed to be broken (memories of last years website hack sprang to mind). Having established that it was at my end and that my other computers actually did access donationcoder.com I set about searching for an answer. Now that I think of it i it does seem obvious to use another computer to check but given that my house is currently strewn with the remains of dead computers I had to cobble one together again to check the connection.

Having looked at the TCP/IP settings I noticed the DNS server had shifted from the automatic settings to fixed values (one of which was 85.255.115.51)

Everytime I tried to reset my DNS values or enter an IP for my Router it seemed to work except when Ioned the settings again they had been reset back to the bogus values.

I did a search on the IP causing the issue and found the following article:

http://forums.spybot...hlight=85.255.115.51

This seems to be what happened to my system and having gone through the steps outlined my system is running normally again.

I really don't know how I managed to acquire this annoyance. I didn't download anything and run it yesterday evening so I can only assume it must have been a drive by problem on a site. If my experience can help anyone else it will have been a useful experience.

As it happens I haven't been spending money online today (so that is a relief) but do I now assume that all my passwords are compromised for sites that I visited - even though most of those sites are accessed via cookies?

140

General Software Discussion / ASUS mobo dead

« on: September 20, 2008, 04:42 AM »

[Note I have gone through and changed the title of this thread. It was originally called "Strange problem with ImgBurn (I think)" but ultimately turned out to be a motherboard problem]

Just curious if anyone else has come across behaviour like this?

Over the last few days I have had a number of occasions where ImgBurn has failed to burn an ISO image to a DVD5 disc. In each case it has siad the device was not ready halfway through the burn. The operation cancelled but the drive kept spinning and nothing would eject the disc except for a system restart. Upon restarting the BIOS cannot detect my DVD drives !! If Windows starts there are all sorts of problems not least of which is that the system is unusable because there is obviously an interrupt hogging a large proportion of the CPU time - eg. the mouse moves only in fits and bursts. The drives don't appear in the devices list (but the IDE interface does and it says it is working normally!).

The only way to recover the system is to turn off the computer, remove power completely and leave it long enough for all capacitors in the system to discharge. When it starts up again everything is fine.

At first I thought it was a hardware problem but I can burn the same image on the same drive using Nero. On one occasion a DMA/CRC error was reported by Nero but it was handled properly and the device unlocked.

Is it possible for an instruction to a controller to block access to drives in this way until capacitors are discharged?

I don't think it can be a dying IDE controller because I have my hard discs on the same controller and have had no issues at all with them. Granted they are on channel 0 and the two DVD-R DL are both on channel 1 so maybe it is a problem with one channel. However, it is strange that I only seem to have this problem with ImgBurn. Could it just be a bug in the handling of one unusual error type? I have noticed in the past the ImgBurn doesn't handle errors totally gracefully and often takes a long time to release a disc - even just for a simple bad block error.

Any ideas?

141

General Software Discussion / PerfectDisk 2008 discount (valid 20 30th Sept 2008)

« on: September 17, 2008, 01:25 PM »

PerfectDisk are running a 25% discount for September on all their titles and bundles.

Go to http://www.raxco.com..._store_small_med.cfm

and during checkout use the coupon code SEPTEMBER25

Enjoy

By the way I have started using PerfectDisk 2008 for VMWare. It is basically the same as the Pro edition (except that the remote defrag option is not present) but you can defrag VMWare disks without running VMWare and defrag the virtual disc file on the physical hard disk. Really useful.

142

Living Room / Packard Bell iMedia 3054 - PSU cable ???

« on: September 15, 2008, 11:25 AM »

Trying to fix a computer. The PSU looks like a standard ATX PSU with the usual male 'kettle' connector on the back and the connector on the mobo says ATX connector.

Strangely the PSU has a 12v DC output externally (which I have never seen before) and the cables for the PSU connect into a Y connector (which I presume is so that you can plug two devices into one power socket).

I have the computer at home and forgot the Y connector from the client. I plugged in a standard 'kettle' cable and get nothing (it was powering on before). I am going to get the Y connector to try again.

Anyone have any experience of the strange PB set ups? Have I f*****d up the PSU by using a standard cable?

It does beg the question though why does PB use a nonstandard arrangement like this with standard connectors?

143

Living Room / Free (or cheap) simple database app to generate XML files.

« on: September 08, 2008, 04:03 AM »

I need an app that can set up a simple card index type database (including text fields and urls at the minimum) and then output the database as a simple XML file.

All of the cards will have the same format so the XML file will be very simple.

It needs to be very simple to use.

Anyone any ideas?

TIA

144

Living Room / Anyone good with search engines - I am thoroughly frustrated!

« on: August 15, 2008, 11:56 AM »

OK this is way off beam for DC.com but I know there are helpful people out there ....

I am trying to write an end of course essay about the relationship between literary texts and musical settings of those texts.

One of the works I have chosen (stupidly) to focus on is Schumann's Manfred Op 115 which is a setting of Byron's dramatic poem of the same name.

I have found loads of stuff to help me write the essay BUT (and it is a big BUT - like mine) I am short of two things:

1) The full German text Schumann used in the final work. I have a conductor's score which includes the sung text but there is a lot of spoken text as the work is a dramatic reading with music, solos and choirs.
2) The German translation Schumann used as a basis for his adaptation. The translation he used was a mainly literal translation of the Byron text by Karl Adolf Suckow (a Lutheran Pastor) also known as Posgaru.

I have spent days trawling Google and haven't managed to find either of these texts. I can't even find a book I can buy with the texts but they must exist somewhere as Manfred is occasionally performed and lots of people have written essays and Journal articles about it!

Anyone got any ideas or fancy a challenge as I am about to put a fist through my monitor!

TIA

$20 in DonationCoder credits to the first person to find them both (or I'll split it if you find one of them!)

145

Living Room / Vista / Windows Server 2008 (all versions) network problems

« on: August 08, 2008, 04:50 PM »

I have occasionally had strange issues where the wireless netowrk complains that it is local only and you can't connect to the internet. Generally deleting the connection and setting up netowrking has solved the issue.

Today, however, an elderly client called me with the same problem and I couldn't find any way to fix it.

I have just been searching MS KB and was shocked by the following article:

The network connectivity status incorrectly appears as "Local only" on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer that has more than one network adapter

It seems appalling to me that MS could still have this problem well over a year (and Service Pack release). This must affect millions of laptops that are in this exact situation as almost every laptop these days has multiple adapters, and many desktop computers too!

Note the fact that there is no resolution suggested as of May 2008 !!!

One thing I find slightly curious is how do you generate sufficient http traffic if you aren't connected to the internet?

I haven't tried it yet but presumably disabling the wired LAN adapter should rectify the situation.

Anyone else met this problem and found a solution? There seem to be hundreds of similar problems posted all over the net and I haven't yet found anyone with a convincing solution that works.

146

Living Room / DVD Drive eject issues

« on: July 24, 2008, 05:44 AM »

Until recently everything worked fine but the last few days I have been having problems with my DVD drives.

If I have an application loaded that accesses the drives (say ImgBurn) the physical drive open buttons no longer work - even when the drive is not locked by the application because it is doing something.

The software buttons in ImgBurn work fine to eject the disc but this is happening with other apps too that don't have open and close buttons - consequently I have to open ImgBurn just to open the drive trays.

I have never seen this issue before. Anyone any idea what is causing it and how to fix it?

147

Living Room / "Network cable unplugged" - except it isn't!

« on: July 03, 2008, 08:47 AM »

Nonplussed ... I have a Windows XP computer that constantly says 'Network Cable Unplugged'. Occasionally it tries to connect (and there are flashes of activity on the router) but then fails. It was working fine until recently.

I have checked the following:

    * The cable is fine (I have tried replacing it with a cable that works fine on another PC),
    * the device manager reports the adapter as working properly and I have uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers
    * I tried disabling mobo network interface and installing a new network card (one I know works) - it installed fine with drivers etc. but gave the same error "cable unplugged"
    * I have moved the cables around the router including to a port that works on another computer

Now I'm stuck - I have looked at the MS KB article http://support.micro....com/kb/910389/en-us and none of the troubleshooting steps offer a working solution.

Anyone got any ideas where to go next?

I assume something in Windows XP networking must have got corrupted. Anyone have an idea how to remove and reinstall the networking stuff without a full reinstall of Windows (or having to go through activation again)?

TIA

148

General Software Discussion / Anyone know an Antivirus Bootable CD or Floppy with NTFS support

« on: July 02, 2008, 04:21 PM »

I need to clean an NTFS partition with virus infections.

Anyone know a usable boot disc antivirus with NTFS support - most only seem to support FAT32 which is a bit pointless these days?

149

Living Room / Evernote Icon - what the heck is it? Anyone actually like version 3 ?

« on: July 01, 2008, 07:37 AM »

I just downloaded the update for the Firefox clipper icon for Evernote 3:



The one on the left is the icon for version 2.2 the green one is evernote 3.

The 2.2 icon is obvious and nicely designed for the purpose - what the heck is the green splodge about?

I have been playing with version 3 and they have now gone live with their 'premium accounts' at $5 a month or $45 a year.

Personally I won't be signing up (and probably won't be using the free limited account) - I just don't like version 3. It feels and looks clunky and seems to have lost the 'character' of version 2.2 which I quite like.

Since I have OneNote 2007 I am going to swap entirely to that in future (evernote 2.2 is a dead end and version 3 seems a pointless downgrade to me with an unjustifiable subscription service being pushed). All feels a great shame to me.

What do others think now the final version of this stuff is appearing?

150

Living Room / Rock'n'Roll Carlos

« on: June 24, 2008, 02:19 PM »

Not strictly computer related (unless you take into account I have a number of his albums on my MP3 player) but I went to see Carlos Santana at Manchester Arena (UK) last Saturday.

What a fantastic experience. The band were incredibly tight, the rhythms amazingly complex and mulitlayered and Carlos was the man.

Given that he is now into his sixties (and has been performing for 47 years!) he is gobsmackingly fit. He played flat out for nearly 3 hours most of the time dashing about and leaping around like a teenager, and this was just one of three gigs on consecutive nights.

The whole thing was so infectious I couldn't sit down and spent the night doing my version of dancing (jumping about, grunting a lot and trying not to knock people over around me). I still feel knackered and stiff but what a night.

Head over to www.santana.com and checkout some of the sounds and video!