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1451

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 20, 2011, 03:32 AM »

I have been using IE TAB since Firefox 2 (I think) and have never experienced that issue.

There are a number of flavours of IE TAB on the addons pages, the one I use is: https://addons.mozil...ddon/ie-tab-2-ff-36/

I have this set to automatically display any microsoft related websites in IE and have had no issues in FF3, 4 or 5.

1452

General Software Discussion / Re: How necessary is the UAC in Windows 7?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 20, 2011, 03:28 AM »

"Everything" needs to run with admin priviledges because of the way it indexes NTFS volumes.

There are a number of workarounds to get "Everything" (and any other app you want) to run without UAC prompts. The trick is to set up a scheduled task and then either invoke it at startup or login or create a shortcut to start the task as required.

The reason this works is that you can set scheduled tasks to run with admin settings without using UAC prompts.

Eóin is correct, there is something odd going on on your system - if you start an app with elevated privileges then any child processes should automatically get those privileges too. At least that seems to be the way it works on my system.

1453

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 05:55 PM »

Just run FF with IE TAB addon - you can configure it to use IE to do the rendering on specific websites and ActiveX then works fine without having to swap browsers all the time.

1454

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 03:05 PM »

As far as I can tell Windows 7 64-bit has both IE versions (32 and 64 bit) installed.

Can't really see the point of the 64 bit version.

Actually can't really see the point of IE - why don't you just use a decent browser? (I also avoid RoboForm these days after the crap they pulled on lifetime upgrades).

1455

General Software Discussion / Re: How necessary is the UAC in Windows 7?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 02:33 PM »

Turning off UAC puts you in the same position as an admin user on Windows XP.

If you were happy on Windows XP there is no real reason to not turn off UAC if it annoys you - so long as you assume the risk that something may install without a warning.

Personally I leave it switched on - the one positive is it is much less irritating than it was in Vista.

1456

Living Room / Re: Win 7, XP mode, & other first install queries

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 12:19 PM »

XPMode is definitely aimed at the business market.

Best way to use printers is to share it from the host machine but that does mean changing the way the network is accessed (by default file and printer sharing doesn't work - though you can access the host drives in an alternative manner).

1457

Living Room / Re: Win 7, XP mode, & other first install queries

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 08:58 AM »

XPMode is standard XP 32-Bit OS running in VirtualPC - so there is no reason why anything that will run in XP should have a problem in XPMode (unless it directly accesses hardware or needs a decent graphics card).

I use VMWare a fair amount for testing things in XP etc. and I find it a lot better than VirtualPC - I can even run some games in XP under VMware which I think would be very unlikely in XPMode.

1458

General Software Discussion / Re: What is Mozilla trying to do?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 06:44 AM »

Actually the simplest method is to turn off compatibility checking.

In Firefox go to about:config (in the address bar) and in the filter box type compatibility.

You should see something like:



Just double click a setting to toggle its value from True to False and back.
 

1459

Living Room / Re: Win 7, XP mode, & other first install queries

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 19, 2011, 04:02 AM »

If I understand it correctly, the XP-Mode is basically a free copy of Windows XP installed in Microsoft Virtual PC.

So if you already have an XP license, you might as well install it in your VM software of choice.

-Deozaan (July 18, 2011, 10:41 PM)

You do understand correctly.

Having said that I installed XPMode when I set up my system but apart from the initial testing to see how it worked I have never had to use it for any real purpose. Almost everything I need has installed immediately in Windows 7 64-bit without issue. The only software I upgraded was Quickbooks.

1460

Living Room / Re: Win 7, XP mode, & other first install queries

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 18, 2011, 06:49 PM »

If you are going to dual boot XP make sure you install XP first and make sure you use the tool to align the hard disk at the format stage (Win 7 does this automatically so use that to create the other partitions - in fact you could use the windows 7 set up disk to create one partition for windows XP, allow it to format the drive and then abort the installation and install XP on it). If you install XP first it will sort out a multiboot installation when you install Windows 7 - if you install XP after 7 you will have to build a new bootrecord.

Also if XP is installed first you won't get an extra boot partition - the boot stuff for windows 7 will be placed on the XP partition to allow dual booting.

Not sure if Windows 7 Backup will backup both the XP and the 7 partition - but I can't see why not.

I would suggest:

Part 1: Windows XP (80Gb)
Part 2: Windows 7 (100Gb)
Part 3: Data (Shared between both) (Rest of the Disk)
Part 4: Recovery backup - 50Gb (to allow enough space for the whole initial install)

Both system will assume the currently running Windows is drive C (sol long as XP is installed first) - then you can use disk management to make sure that the data drive has a consistent drive letter in both versions of WIndows.

1461

Living Room / Re: Win 7, XP modes & other first install queries

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 18, 2011, 04:01 PM »

Is your computer preinstalled with Windows 7 Pro or do you have to upgrade?

If you have to upgrade just switch it on and let the manufacturer's install complete and then when you get top the desktop bung in your Pro disk and follow the Upgarde instructions (they have to be the same architecture - ie. both 32 bit or 64 bit).

If your computer isn't preinstalled or you want to change from 32 bit to 64 bit Pro then you will need to do a clean install. Boot the computer from the installation disk and do a clean install.

You don't need a recovery partition but it easy to make one - just install windows and during installation use the partition manager to select partition sizes and make an extra small partition at the end of the disk (leave about 40Gb - you can always resize it later). Do the whole install including any important apps and then use Backup in Windows 7 to create an image backup to the extra partition. When it is done go into computer management disk manager and hide the recovery partition by removing the assigned letter (you can still recover from it but you won't see it in Windows). Recovery partition is a quick easy way to do a clean reinstall with all your main software preinstalled and preactivated.

If you have a Windows DVD to install from all the recovery tools are on there and you can use them by booting from the Windows disk. Alternatively Windows backup gives the option to create a Windows Recovery CD (worth doing so that you don't overuse the MS original disk).

My partition layout goes something like this:

System Reserved: 100Mb (created by Windows Installer)
Windows partition: 100Gb
Data Partition: rest of the Disk - about 40Gb
Recovery partition: 40Gb

I have other drives installed too to allow other data storage.

Re. XPMode you need to download it from MS website (wait until you have Windows 7 installed or it won't let you).

If you have an old Windows XP disk you might want to consider using VirtualBox or VMWare instead and install XP on it. XPMode hasn't got great hardware support.

1462

General Software Discussion / Re: Acronis Saves the Day

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 17, 2011, 10:31 AM »

I had three licenses for Acronis Backup and Recovery 10 Workstation and have uninstalled them - got really fed up with the bloat and the constant unfixed bugs and irritations. Their corporate TrueImage was very good but B&R10 is just a constant bugfest and has been ever since it was released. I gave them the benefit of the doubt for a long time but now I had dropped them and won't be going back.

FWIW I have also had their Partition Manager hose my system on a number of occasions.

For imaging I now use Windows Backup (in Windows 7) and/or Paragon software which seems to work pretty well. I also use Paragon Partition Manager too.

1463

General Software Discussion / Re: Annoying experience with non-pirated software

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 17, 2011, 03:19 AM »

Two points to contradict some of the things and a possible reason fro slow downloads:

1) I didn't experience any of this installing Portal 2 from a disk - I was up and playing in about 20 minutes (and that included installing Steam and registering an account).
2) If you go to the program properties you can turn off automatic updating
3) Freezing on the first screen isn't normal - have you checked the files are not corrupted in some way? Again go to the game properties and check the file integrity.

If you bought recently then Steam have had a massive sale on and the servers took a real hammering meaning that it was almost impossible to get a download slot and when you did they were slower. Things should be back to normal by now.

Re. Steam support - granted I only contacted them once and I got a reply within 30 minutes!

Whilst I don't like the idea of Steam insisting you play online once the game is installed you can play the game offline with no problem (just click to go offline on the Steam menu). Having said that the coop part of Portal 2 is brilliant and obviously you need a server connection to make that work!

I don't generally like copy protection systems but I can understand where games manufacturers are coming from, even more than the music and video companies. Games cost a huge amount of money to produce (the budget for Portal 2 was around $10 million IIRC) and after the initial to rush to buy a new game the price drops like a stone and purchases rapidly drop off (P2 was already less than half price on Amazon UK within about a month of launch). I know a lot of people buy games but it isn't an enormous market for individual games and the revenue stream is restricted to sales whereas Music and Video have alternative streams of income through broadcasting and cinemas.

I understand that pirated copies can be found and don't have the restrictions but this is one area where I think games manufacturers really have a point if you want decent games written.

By the way the minimum requirements are pretty clearly stated on Steam for Portal 2 and from what I have seen it seems pretty forgiving if you miss by a small margin in one area. It would be good to have a demo though - how about one unique room this is not in the game itself (a taster rather than a demo).

1464

Living Room / Re: Am I alone in not using or wanting to use the "Cloud" ...

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 16, 2011, 05:46 PM »

+1

The other worry I have is that any company at any time can rewrite its terms and conditions - it is bad enough when you buy software but when they control your data that is a frightening prospect!

1465

General Software Discussion / Re: What is Mozilla trying to do?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 14, 2011, 08:58 AM »

Yeah, I know. Manually changing the respective file just sucks though.

-phitsc (July 14, 2011, 03:20 AM)

Yes I know - but the trouble is that most addons are from third party developers (often loan programmers) and free so there isn't a huge incentive to keep updating the files themselves.

When Firefox was originally released the versioning method for addons was a good idea - it mean that developers could only release addons for Firefox versions that exist and can be tested.

Trouble is now that Mozilla has gone version number mad many developers are releasing addons with compat version numbers set too high. I have seen some addons saying they are Firefox 8 compat - presumably they have a crystal ball.

At least forcing you to take note that the version isn't officially supported means that you can check an addon works as expected.

Try installing Mr Tech Toolkit from http://www.mrtech.co...tensions/toolkit.xpi which allows overriding version checking on an extension by extension basis.

1466

General Software Discussion / Re: What is Mozilla trying to do?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 14, 2011, 02:48 AM »

Just bump the version number in the addon manually or use a tool that allows you to install it anyway. I have only ever found a couple of addons that actually didn't work when a FF update is released. If the worst hasppens and it doesn't work you can always disable it until an update appears.

1467

General Software Discussion / Re: What is Mozilla trying to do?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 13, 2011, 02:48 PM »

FF has gone up tiny increments for years - they now look like they are behind with version numbers.

Personally I don't care what the version number is but Mozilla now seem to think changing the version number itself counts for a full version bump. Presumably so they catch up with IE and Google and ....

1468

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Hi Mouser - trying to get Win 7's "god mode" into an LBC menu item

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 11, 2011, 07:55 PM »

It works if you just run it daddydave

1469

LaunchBar Commander / Re: Hi Mouser - trying to get Win 7's "god mode" into an LBC menu item

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 11, 2011, 06:20 PM »

Why not put the folder somewhere else and create a shortcut?

Or use the command line:

START <full path to GodMode folder>\GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

1470

Living Room / Re: Windows Live Skydrive: Tried Anyone?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 11, 2011, 01:52 PM »

Whatever you think about Skdrive remember it is MS and personally I don't trust them with my data since they lost a whole pile of community websites after a server failure (and didn't have backups).

I hope they learned the lesson (I certainly did - which is why I will never trust them to look after my files again - and that includes Office 360 or Office Live).

-Carol Haynes (July 11, 2011, 07:21 AM)

who do you trust (?!)
... a sort of a rhetorical question I guess

-tomos (July 11, 2011, 01:42 PM)

Very few offering free services ... call me a cynic but in the world of data storage I suspect you are likely to get what you pay for - and if you are paying you at least have some comeback if/when things go wrong.

1471

Living Room / Re: Windows Live Skydrive: Tried Anyone?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 11, 2011, 07:21 AM »

Whatever you think about Skdrive remember it is MS and personally I don't trust them with my data since they lost a whole pile of community websites after a server failure (and didn't have backups).

I hope they learned the lesson (I certainly did - which is why I will never trust them to look after my files again - and that includes Office 360 or Office Live).

1472

Living Room / Re: PORTAL 2 AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 10, 2011, 12:36 PM »

Portal 2 at half price today only (10th July) on Steam - two packs are cheaper so if someone wants to share costs with another buyer today is the day! (Just over 23 hours remaining).

See http://store.steampowered.com/app/620/

1473

DC Gamer Club / Re: Terraria

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 10, 2011, 05:29 AM »

Re-installing becomes quickly the only option that is left, I am afraid. 

Tried to give the application wusa.exe unrestricted access using the security policy editor (secpol.msc), then tried SubInACL to fix the likely broken ACL's. As this got me nowhere I read more from the link above and saw in one of the comments that it is not working on 64-bit systems. But there is a suggestion to use CACL to try to elevate that app, but each time the result is the same: "access is denied".

Even the last ditch attempt to install: copying the wusa.exe executable and every other file showing up in DependencyWalker into the extraction folder and re-execute the command-line mentioned in an earlier post, proved to be fruitless.

-Shades (June 18, 2011, 11:56 AM)

There is a procedure for completely removing Windows Update and WIndows Installer in Windows 7 and reinstalling then from clean. I used them last week and found the details on MS Technet - sorry I didn't keep the link.

1474

Living Room / Re: PORTAL 2 AVAILABLE NOW FOR PRE-ORDER

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 10, 2011, 05:20 AM »

You can get Portal 2 at Amazon UK cheaper than that now (last time I looked about £12).

Jibz don't forget to join the DC Steam group to find Co-op partners

1475

Living Room / Re: 64 Bit OS - When to Switch ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 08, 2011, 04:43 AM »

No problems here with Windows 7 64-bit and I run a fair amount of stuff that was specifically written for Windows XP 32-bit (I would say 75% of my programs are installed as 32-bit apps).

The only compatibility issues I have come across are clients with ancient peripherals (usually printers and scanners).

To me the biggest advantage is you can stuff in as much memory as you like and have your system running without needing a pagefile. With 16Gb I can have as many applications loaded as I like and still pop in and play the odd game without having to make use of a page file. Certainly would not contemplate swapping back to 32 bit.

The only thing I feel I am missing is an SSD but I am waiting until I can buy at least 521Mb at a reasonable price.