Messages

376

General Software Discussion / How do I change computer name?

« on: January 10, 2016, 04:27 PM »

In my second-hand laptop, in WinXP, if I right-click on Computer, r-click on Manage, r-click on Utilities, at the top is the former owner's name. Is there any way to change that?

377

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 10, 2016, 02:42 PM »

The last time I bought a flash or 'thumb' drive, I remember paying one dollar per gig. I just found out I can get a 512gb for $14 with free shipping on ebay.

-holt (January 10, 2016, 12:07 AM)

how about a link to same?

-tomos (January 10, 2016, 05:43 AM)

512GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive Metal Swivel High Speed Memory Stick Thumb Pen Gifts
$13.66 & free shipping

512GB Mini Tiny USB 2.0 Flash Memory Stick Pen Drive Storage Thumb new hot !!
$12.90 & free shipping

I'm thinking of buying, and seeking opinions. The laptop I was given is about 10 years old, and only has USB 2.0 anyway, so it would be pointless to pay more for USB 3.0 or greater. I do wish to be warned if the offers may be bogus somehow, because a few years back there were bogus thumb drives being offered on ebay, but times change and the technology seems legit in this case.

378

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 10, 2016, 12:07 AM »

The last time I bought a flash or 'thumb' drive, I remember paying one dollar per gig. I just found out I can get a 512gb for $14 with free shipping on ebay. I recall there was a scam going on a few years ago with fake thumb drives, so I have to ask is this legit? My vintage laptop with its USB 2.0 ports would probably take a month to read or write all 512gb in one operation, but that would be the last thumb drive I would ever have to buy for my laptop.

379

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 09, 2016, 08:49 PM »

ImgBurn...that used to be my favorite burning software, back in the days I still used CDs/DVDs to store stuff on. Nowadays I only use pen drives and (portable) hard disks (and virtualized" tapes in my Bacula setup, but that is a whole different story). Much more convenient and faster too.

Nero 5.x was the last version of Nero I used for quite a long time actually. Way too much bloat in later versions of Nero steered me towards ImgBurn v2.5.2, which is the embodiment of 'lean and mean' software (3MByte in total). It is freeware and, as a bonus, it works as portable application too. Never looked back or for other burning software since.

-Shades (January 05, 2016, 03:47 PM)

I presume ImgBurn does more than 'burn image files'. I own a purchased serial number to Nero 7 Ultra, and always liked it. I downloaded a copy, installed it perfectly, and it took up one-half gig. I tried to burn a copy of the download of it to disk, and got the error 'an exception has occurred' and 'out of memory', twice. I only have 25GB of free space left anyway, so I uninstalled it, and am thinking seriously about your 3MB ImgBurn suggestion.

380

General Software Discussion / WinXP ctrl cursor location

« on: January 08, 2016, 02:43 PM »

I can't make the cursor show its location by pressing ctrl in WinXP.

381

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 05, 2016, 01:42 PM »

Can someone please tell me where I can download a safe copy of Nero 7 Ultra?

382

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 04, 2016, 05:27 PM »

A laminated business card held in place with Scotch invisible tape. So far, works fine; now if I can just stop flinching everytime I type something.

383

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 04, 2016, 01:57 PM »

In there you can update drivers, remove drivers (Windows XP will try to re-install the next time you reboot)

-Shades (January 02, 2016, 08:26 AM)

Interesting.

384

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 03, 2016, 07:21 PM »

I'll check out your manual.

Just for grins; GATEWAY TA6 take apart, how-to video 

PS - Where do people get that kind of energy?

385

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 03, 2016, 02:11 AM »

http://superuser.com/questions/301013/how-does-touchpad-in-laptop-detect-a-tap?rq=1

I read this article, and after tapping harder on my touchpad a few times it seemed to wake up, and seems to be working better. I can scroll a page with the narrow right part that has up and down chevrons now; before, that never did anything but now it scrolls more like it should. So I think I'll play with it for awhile.

386

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: January 02, 2016, 07:26 AM »

If push comes to shove...you could remove its driver and disable the device in the Windows Device Manager. That means though that you will not be able to use the trackpad at all. Be sure to carry a working computer mouse with you the whole time when you decide to go drastic like this.

-Shades (December 28, 2015, 05:17 AM)

Is this it? Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad. "Sample rate 100 reports/second".

387

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 30, 2015, 05:47 PM »

Yes. Making the best. When I touch the main pad and move my fingertip, the cursor stays in one place and vibrates, then jumps unpredictably. To its right is a narrow vertical column with up and down chevrons that apparently does nothing. Below these are a long horizontal bar that corresponds to mouse left click, and to its right is a shorter bar that gives a page submenu. I'm seriously considering uninstalling the touch pad driver, as I found no 'disable when usb or mouse connected' option.

I installed Revo uninstaller free, as advised. Will that enable reinstallation of tablet drivers at any future time if needed? I'd feel better uninstalling, if I knew it could be restored. Other than that, I'm still wondering how the tablet 'senses' and if I could cover it with a plate of something instead of pulling the drivers and possibly destabilizing anything else.

388

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 28, 2015, 09:30 PM »

Can't find any way to adjust sensitivity, but thanks it was worth a look. Rather cover the touch pad somehow than drastic uninstall of drivers; cursor 'jumped' half a screen three or four times just typing this. How would one block it physically? It 'senses' right through a post-it and index card.

389

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 27, 2015, 09:34 PM »

I keep touching the touchpad accidentally with the base of my thumb and everytime I do that the cursor jumps halfway across the screen and it beeps at me, so then I have to grab the external mouse and put the cursor back where I'm typing. I tried blocking the pad with a post-it note and an index card but it didn't block it.

390

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 25, 2015, 12:02 AM »

I see what you mean about USB and HD backup. While I was away from the laptop the outer plastic monitor sheet fell out again, so I put it to one side. What I mean is, there is a second outer clear layer of plastic to view through, and the adhesive -which is in the form of a 1/8" strip around the perimeter- has degenerated into black sticky goo, and the clear outer plastic sheet keeps falling out onto the keyboard. So I left it out. The actual glass of the monitor which is underneath/inside seems to be fine without it.

391

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 24, 2015, 04:55 PM »

I would like to run a backup/clone copy of the laptop's hd somehow, but I'm unfamiliar. Do you use a toaster-style device to drop both the laptop hd and the cloning hd into? Or do they make a master/slave IDE kind of hd ribbon cable to plug into where the laptop's hd goes, so you can just plug in two HDs? But the laptop hd uses a different plug shape (for a 10 year old Gateway TA6, while the cloning hd would be IDE. Or what would someone suggest? If I have to use a USB port and take all night, I can do that too.

That's a thought; can I just get a USB adapter to plug into the external HD, and then where would the HD power jack get its power from?

I replaced the malfunctioning DVD+RW player/burner with an identical used like-new unit so it works now; it is older and slower technology, and took 40 minutes to transfer 3 gb of files from a DVD disk to the HD, but it's better than nothing. Replacing the unit was easy, except for the snap-on plastic external bezel, which took 2 hours of nerve-wracking work with a pile of little bitsy screws and tools and a magnifying light to get the bezel off the old unit without breaking its three concealed delicate little plastic fish hook prongs, but I finally succeeded.

I'm making good progress resurrecting this old laptop and appreciate everyone's help very much.

392

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 21, 2015, 09:19 PM »

The top/outer layer of screen glass started to fall out of the frame again, just from being on for three hours from the heat of normal operation, and I would appreciate a few suggestions please.

393

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 21, 2015, 10:21 AM »

i think i'll leave the virtual keyboard alone, and thank you for the information. did i mention this laptop was a freebie and came with no manual or advice. this morning, the front glass screen fell out onto the keyboard. it was almost comical although i was horrified. i put it back into place and pressed it down into a black sticky border. it left a few tiny black streaks under glass along the bottom edge of the screen, which i decided not to try to remedy. to force it loose again using a flat edge paint scraper could crack the glass. i'm thinking either to let it fall out again someday, and then clean the streaks, and tape it down next time...or...a repeat could add more streaks. some sticky black residue was around the outside, and nothing would touch it but acetone on tissue paper. it's all cleaned up except for the very faint and tiny streaks under glass at the extreme bottom edge of the screen. might be best to tape it all down to avoid a worse predicament. it has been quite a learning experience.

in spite of this, i think laptops are not so bad. if i ever get a newer one, i'll just try to avoid a 'tablet' design.

394

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 20, 2015, 01:17 PM »

I added freeware WinPatrol, and thank you.

This is a Gateway tablet Win XP laptop. On boot up, the laptop will reach the pre-Desktop screen where you are to choose your user name icon and click on it, and it will say this:

Windows XP.
To begin, click your user name.

After you log on, you can add or change user accounts.
Just go to Control Panel and click User Accounts.

A small 1/6th-screen virtual keyboard also appears that I don't think belongs there and don't know how to get rid of. You can right-click at the top of it and move it around, but if you put any of it off-screen it realigns to the screen edge. It always loads/appears a little slower than the parent screen, suggesting separate origins. To right- or left-click at the top of it or the parent screen produces no sub-menu, but when you click on some virtual keys they change color. I added the picture by clicking first on the virtual 'print screen' (PrtScn) key to grab a shot of it. Clicking on virtual ctrl-alt-del (in sequence) produces a message to just use the pc tablet Windows Security button. Free RevoUninstaller can't 'target' it there. Whatever it is, I see no need, and it may be tying up ram. What is it and does it belong there, or what's the use of it, or how do I remove or disable it?

395

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 18, 2015, 08:39 PM »

The laptop was a freebie, and i can use it to look for something new and affordable. But for now, i think i'd like to upgrade the ram at least from 1gb (2 x .500) to 2gb (2 x 1gb), for $11 per ram stick plus s/h.

The freeware RevoUninstaller killed PC Mighty Max 2009 from running and i deleted its folder. I also successfully wiped out all Napster traces. I will never use the tablet screen writing feature and am not sure if it is safe to disable or remove, but it would save some ram. I am still trying to disable the Motorola fax from auto-starting.
Thank you to everyone for all your help.

396

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 18, 2015, 05:44 PM »

I recently acquired the Gateway TA6 laptop, with problems:
-Napster shows up in Control Panel Add/Remove programs and nowhere else and refuses to go away.
-PC MightyMax 2009 shows in systray (lower right desktop) and nowhere else and refuses to go away.
-It is a Win XP Tablet, and I would like to disable the Desktop 'Tablet PC Input Panel' somehow.
-I will never use the Motorola fax feature in systray and wonder how to disable it.
-How can I selectively disable McAfee safe web browsing?
Any helpful sugs would be greatly appreciated.

397

General Software Discussion / Re: gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 18, 2015, 03:19 PM »

found this. still a 2gb (2 x 1gb) limit.

398

General Software Discussion / gateway ta6 laptop

« on: December 18, 2015, 02:54 PM »

i have a gateway ta6 laptop, a.k.a. model cx2724. i know it's slow but it's all i've got. it has two 500mb ram sticks. according to this link, my max upgrade limit is two 1-gb ram sticks. before i commit to buy them, can anyone confirm if i can get two 2gb or 4gb ram sticks instead?