Recent Posts

2226

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Baby Cody with Ampa... and time to move on.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 30, 2009, 04:03 PM »

Glad to see the little chap is still enjoying the UK and keeping up his flying lessons.

Anyone else in the UK like a visit before he leaves for distant shores?

2227

Living Room / Re: Thinking about setting up a dedicated "secure PC" in my house.. Thoughts?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 30, 2009, 01:52 PM »

While I love the idea of swappable/switchable hard drives and use them for my external usb backup storage, I don't think this is a viable option for what I want here -- nor is a bootable cd/usb.

-mouser (September 29, 2009, 12:06 PM)

In that case why not build a new PC with eSATA so that you can hot swap drives as you want. You could store VM images on the external drive and run them as virtual machines but they are physically inaccessible when you remove the drive.

There is no reason why a VM can't be as secure as a real machine.

2228

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 30, 2009, 03:13 AM »

I have to agree - I am running Win 7 Pro on an old single core computer (along with multibooting XP and Vista Professional SP2) and using onboard graphics (so no great shakes) and it runs as fast (if not slightly faster) than XP on the same machine and significantly better than Vista.

All of these of 32 bit editions of the OS, granted they have 2Gb of memory to play with but I have been pleased with the way Win 7 has pumped a bit more life into this system. With Vista I was thinking of looking for a new mobo to use a multicore processor but now I am not going to bother.

2229

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: WinX DVD Ripper Platium - free for the rest of Sept.

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 29, 2009, 06:48 PM »

DVDFab lets you rip and convert. It also lets you rip to VIDEO_TS, direct to another DVD (both DVD5 and DVD9 and also transcode DVD9 to DVD5) and will even copy discs 'as is' maintaining the exact structure and protection of the source if you want it to.

2230

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 29, 2009, 04:20 AM »

Rice pudding without jam - you gotta be kidding! And don't forget the dried mixed fruit and a good dollop of nutmeg.

Actually rice pudding without jam is like Windows without security problems - no fun at all

2231

General Software Discussion / Re: Win7: Anyone else getting excited?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 28, 2009, 09:32 AM »

Ditto edbro's comments (except I am running the Win 7 Pro version on a MAP subscription).

It just works and has lost the annoying feel of Vista - especially UAC which I eventually turned off in Vista Ultimate as it drove me mad.

I really like the new task bar - it does what QuickLaunch should have done ever since it appeared and removes the need for the traditional taskbar.

Win 7 also feels a bit quicker and less resource intensive than Vista (I haven't done any tests but I would say it feels slightly nippier than XP too).

Whether it is worth the cost of the upgrade from XP (and the lack of proper upgrade route hassle) is debatable but if you have Vista I would say it was worth the upgrade - especially if you managed to order early and get the discount prices.

Having said that XP is on the way out and I'd guess Windows 7 will be around for quite a while. Manufacturer's will start producing drivers for Windows 7 only at some point and then an upgrade will be needed to buy new equipment.

Final comment - I really can't see the point of buying into Win 7 ultimate. OK you get Bitlocker and a few language packs but is it really worth the extra cost? Plus MS are probably going to drop Ultimate altogether by Windows 8 and that can only be helped along if people don't get suckered into the Ultimate version again! I have a free license for Win7 ultimate (sorry not transferable) but I won't even be installing it as Win 7 Pro is more than adequate for anything I am likely to do and Ultimate will only make future upgrades difficult.

2232

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Where's little baby cody?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 27, 2009, 10:54 AM »

Further thought - he misses his friend Hogan and is hitching up the A1 back to Yorkshire !!!

2233

Adventures of Baby Cody / Re: Where's little baby cody?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 27, 2009, 10:31 AM »

I reckon Ampa's girlfriend has left him and run off with Baby Cody ...

2234

General Software Discussion / Re: Rant: Firefox 3.5.x

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 27, 2009, 08:51 AM »

Strange - I wanted to upgrade from XP to Win 7 Pro. There is no direct route so:

I upgraded from Win XP to Vista HP (for which I have a license) then to Windows 7 HP (without a license key as I don't have one) and then upgraded to Windows 7 Pro and then activated and licensed (with my MS Action Pack license).

No problems encountered at all. Incredibly smooth every time and the new system works fine.

I do find though you need a good running base system to upgrade from - remove any dodgy drivers and software before attempting an upgrade.

2235

Living Room / Re: The Pricelessware Scam (Alt.Comp.Freeware)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 27, 2009, 08:39 AM »

DC is not a dictatorship. The spirit of DC implies that it's not only the moderator's opinion that counts here.

-jgpaiva (September 26, 2009, 05:49 PM)

Who says - I'm all for dictatorship (so long as it is me).

 

Now did someone mention popcorn and beer - where's mine (sting buggers)!

Not one real patriot of freeware or licensing rights that I can see.

-Bloss (September 27, 2009, 08:21 AM)

I didn't realise 'freeware' is a country and there have been plenty of comments who want DRM dropped so maybe licensing rights aren't all they are cracked up to be.

Perhaps you should click her

That was a joke - I do realise that licensing rights are important.

Can I just ask what you expect DonationCoder to do about all this stuff? Surely if the FBI are dealing with it we are all safe an snug in our free world (at least if you don't live in the US).

2236

General Software Discussion / Re: Rant: Firefox 3.5.x

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 26, 2009, 04:45 AM »

Or in earlier 3.5 releases, FF was halting for half a second every few seconds

-SectorSeven (September 26, 2009, 04:36 AM)

Is that just in Firefox or generally on your system? The only time I have experienced that sort of 'stop-go' typing is when I had a driver issue ???

2237

General Software Discussion / Re: Rant: Firefox 3.5.x

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 26, 2009, 04:07 AM »

I am not seeing any of these issues with Firefox - in fact I find the 3.5 series rather better than 3.0 from a speed point of view.

I don't worry too much about footprint but I think 3.5 is a bit more compact on my systems.

By the way I am running it on multiple computers using XP Pro, Vista HP and Ult, Win 7 Pro and none seem to have any particular issues.

Not much help but maybe it is conflicting with something else you are using or an addon.

2238

General Software Discussion / Re: Copy a bunch of cd/dvd

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 25, 2009, 06:40 AM »

If you want to copy DVD movies from bought media life ain't that simple. You will need to use specialist software that can copy the DVDs because they will be copy protected.

If you want to copy music CDs likewise copying to an ISO image is probably not the best method. You could try ripping to FLAC format (which is lossless) - I'm sure lots of people around here will tell you their prferences on that.

As to automating both of those tasks I don't know.

If you are copying data CDs and DVDs then ImgBurn is pretty hard to beat - though I haven't tried the automation features.

2239

Living Room / Re: Anyone know what "Reader Drivers and Utilities" is?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 23, 2009, 06:12 PM »

Thanks

2240

Living Room / Anyone know what "Reader Drivers and Utilities" is?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 23, 2009, 06:41 AM »

Looking at a clients computer they have "Reader Drivers and Utilities" in the Add/Remove Programs list but it doesn't give any information about what it is is.

It isn't listed in all programs and the only references I can find in the registry relate to InstallShield files and folders (some of which are missing).

I suspect it is to do with a card reader but all the web references I have found seem to suggest it is related to Pinnacle Systems but they don't use any Pinnacle Software.

I tried running the uninstaller to see if that gave any clues but it fails with 'ctor.dll' is missing in the InstallShield folder.

The main thing is I am trying to track down a damaged driver as they keep getting a rash of BSODs which are either bad memory (tested and OK) or bad driver related so I am trying to track down any devices that can be checked.

2241

General Software Discussion / Re: Joomla experts: what extension for blog comments?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 22, 2009, 06:17 PM »

Haven't tried is but http://extensions.jo...ticles-comments/4751 looks promising.

I did try the version 4 alpha version of http://compojoom.com/ which is self contained. It needs a fair amount of tweaking CSS sheets to get it to look nice but has some potential. The only reason I dropped it was because of the aplha status.

You could try Supperblogger from http://www.joomlawor.../content/view/56/42/ It isn't free but only costs 7 Euros with lifetime free updates. It is currently a bit rough around the edges and conflicts a bit with the CSS for Artisteer templates but it has a lot of potential I think. There is an option to use Disqus but I haven't used it for a while and I think that is optional.

Or how about http://extensions.jo...ticles-comments/6592 and its associated module http://extensions.jo...ticles-comments/7293 - not tried them but I am going to. [Edit ... Ignore that

Crap TOS

shall grant IntenseDebate a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid, sublicensable and transferable license to use, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, perform, and otherwise fully exploit the User Submissions in connection with the Site, the Service and IntenseDebate's (and its successors and assigns') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Site (and derivative works thereof) or the Service in any media formats and through any media channels (including, without limitation, third party websites) and to allow others to do so. You also hereby do and shall grant each user of the Site, and/or the Service a non-exclusive license to access your User Submissions through the Site and the Service, and to use, edit, modify, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform such User Submissions. For clarity, the foregoing license grant to IntenseDebate does not affect your other ownership or license rights in your User Submission(s), including the right to grant additional licenses to the material in your User Submission(s), unless otherwise agreed in writing;

and that's the thin end of the wedge - I won't be going near!!

]

2242

General Software Discussion / Re: dell laptop, vista won't activate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 21, 2009, 05:43 AM »

You could try https://support.dell...are/en/backupcd_form

This will give you a system restore set (for US customers AFAICS) of the originally supplied operating system (which is presumably Vista on your system since you had a free downgrade to XP).

OK it is not a vanilla Windows disc but from a thread I read it appears it is a free service in the US (and delivered within a few days) and at least it should be pre-activated.

2243

General Software Discussion / Re: dell laptop, vista won't activate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 20, 2009, 04:02 AM »

The key on the computer will work with any (real) Vista disc though wont it? If nite_monkey can get ahold of a new disc he/she should be able to use the key to install Vista on the computer and successfully activate it, right?

-Hirudin (September 19, 2009, 04:46 PM)

That's what we have been talking about. It may be regional but certainly here in the UK the registration code on the outside of the computer won't activate windows - they are blacklisted numbers that are only provided toprove you have genuine windows. If you have an OEM edition preinstalled it uses a different installation technique that avoids activation all together which is linked to the BIOS and the manufacturer. You should not therefore need to have any code to reinstall if the manufacturer provides a method to reinstall your system.

Most manufacturer simply provide image of the system as supplied and it is up to you to make a backup copy when you buy the computer. IME most users never get around to this and have problems later. If I supply computers to people I set them up for them and do the backup my self and explain why it is important to keep those discs safe.

2244

General Software Discussion / Re: dell laptop, vista won't activate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 19, 2009, 12:52 PM »

The same holds true for Windows 7 as well. However, what we are discussing in this thread are what some call Royalty OEM discs. These are discs that are keyed to a certain brand computer.

-Innuendo (September 19, 2009, 10:16 AM)

Indeed Windows 7 discs are identical expect for one very tine config file which specifies the installation type. If you use a tool to rip the disc to an ISO and remove the file from the image before burning a new image then the installer specifically asks you which type of install you want to do. Of course the installation key only works for the edition your purchased.

OEM discs are a different issue as they have keys and activation pre-encoded by the OEM company (e.g. Dell) so that activation is not required. Given that most of these discs are prepared for a single edition installation they may well remove some of the stuff that won't get installed anyway.

2245

General Software Discussion / Re: dell laptop, vista won't activate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 18, 2009, 03:30 AM »

I have yet to see a Dell machine without a recovery partition (even when they come with discs - which I suppose they would have to supply for 2 different operating systems).

You are almost certainly right though a clean install would be a likely requirement.

As an aside - the sticker Windows codes on the bottom/back of computers hardly ever work these days and MS won't activate them manually either. They are really just a 'this a genuine copy' certificate and the codes are pretty much deactivated because OEMs use a totally different mechanism to avoid any sort of activation. The problem with the sticker code (from Microsoft's point of view) is that in the past these were usable codes and so people installed the OS on another PC as well as the intended OEM PC. Given that the code on the box was never the same as the one used for the original OEM installation that didn't require activation MS had no way to check if the label code waas being used on the same machine or not.

2246

General Software Discussion / Re: dell laptop, vista won't activate

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 17, 2009, 06:46 PM »

Have you tried restoring factory settings via the Dell recovery partition? If you purchased a machine with Vista and XP downgrade the recovery partition will probably be the activated version of Vista (unless the downgrade overwrote it with an XP install).

Usually to restore a factory setting (it will wipe everything so backup first) you press F10 when you see the blue Dell bar at startup (you have to be very quick). If it doesn't work either check in the bumpf that came with the computer of do a search in Google for 'factory restore' and your model number.

2247

General Software Discussion / Re: video editing software

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 16, 2009, 04:35 PM »

If you are interested in Womble software you can download the full version from their website and the GAotD includes a serial code which works with the version from the website. Good news is that you aren't restricted to installing this for 24 hours!

2248

Living Room / Re: How should I diagnose this hardware issue?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 16, 2009, 04:02 AM »

Thanks - showing my ignorance now of Intel chip voltages.

2249

Living Room / Re: How should I diagnose this hardware issue?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 15, 2009, 06:18 PM »

Haven't built an Intel box in a long time (I use AMD stuff all the time). Is that VCORE normal for Intel? It is a lot lower than AMD (usually about 1.7V)

2250

Living Room / Re: Hell has frozen over - 802.11n is Finalized!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on September 15, 2009, 10:20 AM »

Been using draft n for a couple of years now - the only issue I have had is that some Intel miniPCIe cards don't report the right speed (they report 50% of the actual speed). Not had any issues with functionality or speed though and the improved signal strength and range is fantastic.