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2801

General Software Discussion / Re: HowTo make Thunderbird re-send 100s of emails from different senders?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2008, 07:36 PM »

I like to give options

2802

Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2008, 07:05 PM »

Most UPS devices seem to expect you to plug things in with this type of plug (the one on the right)


All UK appliances and devices that connect to the mains are legally obliged to come with pre-fitted moulded plugs for this type of socket:



Therefore you either have to make a patch cable so that you can convert a standard UK mains plug to a Euro-plug (aka kettle plug) or you have to cut off the UK standard plug and replace it with a Euro-plug. If you then need to plug in the device somewhere else you then need to use a standard kettle lead (like the ones that plug into ATX PSUs).

It is a pain - not insurmountable, just extremely irritating.

The Belking device I have been using has four standard UK power sockets on the back:



The majority of others manufacturers (including other Belkin models) seem to rely on the Euro-socket:



I presume it is so that they can produce a European wide model instead of country specific but it is very irritating when the law actually specifies the type of plug and appliance should use in the UK.

UPDATE - just discovered why:

http://www.pcwb.com/...alogue/item/A0387551

They want to flog the cables at £20 a throw (and given there are six sockets on the back of the UPS that would mean the APC converters for a full house would cost more than the UPS!!!!).

The cheapest I have found is £10.

Simple solution is to buy one Euro C14 male plug and put it onto a 4 gang extension cable. So long as the whole strip doesn't exceed 10Amps it will be fine.

2803

Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2008, 05:58 PM »

I have ordered an APC BACK-UPS RS 800VA USB/SER mainly because it has the option of USB and serial interfaces and has a higher power rating than the more expensive one. I don't really need remote access to control it so it is probably the better device for me to use.

One thing that really bugs me is why do most of these devices have stupid plug sockets? The male 'kettle' plug is bugger to get hold of (you have to go to specialist retailers - most electrical shops just look at you blankly) and why do I need to either make bulky patch cables or cut off the existing standard mains plus for devices. Looking at APC devices for other countries they don't seem to use these stupid sockets - it just seems to be in the UK !!

Most of these devices seem to do this - except the Belkin model that just gave up the ghost - that sensibly had standard UK 13 Amp sockets on the back.

2804

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2008, 04:36 PM »

Can't you find compatible Logitech devices thaqt can share the USB receivers?

FWIW next time I buy a keyboard it is going to be a PS/2 type. I am really fed up with USB keyboards not being able to interact with boot time utilities in Windows (eg. if I set a CHKDSK to run at boot time and want to change my mind so I can get on I either have to find a PS/2 keyboard or let CHKDSK run it's course - a right pain!).

I hate USB keyboards for that reason (or should it be I hate Windows for that reason). You'd think MS would have the sense to initialise USB keyboards and mice before boot time apps run!!!

Why do you hate inkjets so much? I really like my Canon PIXMA MX850 brilliant printing (and a great scanner and fax) and not particularly expensive on consumables. I know inkjets are more expensive to run than B&W laser printers but you can't fault the quality of output these days (at lease not from Canon printers).

2805

General Software Discussion / Re: HowTo make Thunderbird re-send 100s of emails from different senders?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2008, 04:12 PM »

How about a two step process:

• forwarding them to an email account that supports POP mail
• use Google Mail / Options / Accounts to setup a POP mail account to import from

If you want an alternative method you could use MailStore to backup up the email folder from Thunderbird and then restore them to GoogleMail ...

MailStore is useful anyway.

Here is another method (but read the warnings) http://www.wikihow.c...il-Into-GMail-Using-

and another (better - you set up a local IMAP server and then import the mail directly into GMail retaining all the correct headers) http://www.benshoema...notes-and-unix-pine/

2806

Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 27, 2008, 03:05 PM »

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

-Carol Haynes (December 26, 2008, 04:53 PM)

Tsk!  You should never run the Orangutang railway line from one of those!

-cranioscopical (December 27, 2008, 02:28 PM)

I told hime - and he appreciated your concern

Thanks everyone for the thumbs up re. APC UPS devices. Seems to a concensus in web searches too.

I'll get an APC unit - if you don't hear from me again you'll know it was a bad choice (look out for the mushroom cloud)

2807

Living Room / Re: What does it mean when unplugging the computer makes it forget the bios date?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 26, 2008, 08:08 PM »

Don't forget the chip extraction and insertion tool too !

2808

Living Room / Re: site:donationcoder.com [your username]

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 26, 2008, 08:07 PM »

13,100 for me - yikes I must get a life!

2809

Living Room / Re: What does it mean when unplugging the computer makes it forget the bios date?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 26, 2008, 08:04 PM »

It is an interesting topic flashing BIOSes. Almost all manufacturers now provide 'Live' windows based flash utilities but if you read the small print they all say you shouldn't use them.

A few years ago (when I was more into hardware stuff) I used to be a regular(prolific) poster on MSI forums (don't look for me there now as they started their forums again from scratch). One of the official notifications on the MSI forums was NEVER use Live Flash utilities (even those provided by MSI with their motherboards).

If a problem appeared after a BIOS flash I suspect that is the root cause of the issue. Reflash your BIOS from a floppy with the DOS utility from the manufacturer. If it has the option to clear all settings and clear NVRAM also use those command line switches.

As a rule of thumb I always download or backup the version of the BIOS that was originally supplied by the motherboard and most mobo manufacturers have a failsafe method of restoring a BIOS from a floppy disc if the burn should fail. In the case of MSI it is a key combination on power on and you need a floppy disc with just the BIOS with a fixed name and extension. Not sure about other manufacturers methods but research them before doing any ROM flashes and making an appropriate failsafe recovery is essential before you do anything else.

2810

Living Room / Re: What does it mean when unplugging the computer makes it forget the bios date?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 26, 2008, 05:13 PM »

Did you reset the CMOS completely when you replaced the battery?

Usually -

• switch off and unplug
• take out the battery
• move the CMOS link to clear position
• wait 5 minutes
• move CMOS link back to normal position
• replace battery
• plugin and switch on
• Enter BIOS and restore default settings

I have found this sequence necessary on more than one system because a failing CMOS battery leaves the BIOS settings and NVRAM in an inconsistent state - though not necessarily bad enough for the BIOS to report an error.

2811

Living Room / Re: Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 26, 2008, 05:03 PM »

Thanks - yes I have seen some of the small ones and am thinking of getting one for hi-fi/tv etc. equipment.

2812

Living Room / Bad smells ... UPS recommendations ?

« Last post by Carol Haynes 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!

2813

General Software Discussion / Re: Cannot open Paint on Vista

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 06:31 PM »

Santa's already been here (came early to avoid the rush) ... now my organgutan is playing with his train set (I jest not):

2814

Living Room / Re: Question about my video card temperature

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 03:23 PM »

I have a variety of BFG GeForce 7300GTOC cards and they are regularly that sort of temperature (even with a fan). Doesn't seem to cause a problem though.

Biggest problem I have is that the fans a very noisy and replacing them means sending the cards back to BFG as they won't supply replacements and they carry a lifetime warranty which would be invalidated if I use an alternative fan assembly. Shame they can't install better quality fans!

2815

Living Room / Re: What does it mean when unplugging the computer makes it forget the bios date?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 03:21 PM »

If you swap the battery and it still doesn't work have a look at the battery socket connections on the mobo - I recently had to fix a laptop computer by resoldering the mobo links to the CMOS battery holder. Works fine now. The joints can get damaged/cracked removing a battery or you may have a dry joint.

Definitely sounds like a battery issue though.

2816

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 02:23 PM »

I agree - you can get really good printers very cheaply. Have a 3662 at the Canon PIXMA range. They are realtively cheap to run and produce excellent photo quality print. Some of the multifunctionals are also excellent and take up less space than scanner/printer etc.

I just bought an MX850 top office multifunction inkjet) which gives fantastic quality print, has a good qulity scanner and fax, can print direct from camera cards or compatible cameras via USB and works from the router (or USB) so can be shared easily on a network. OK it isn't the cheapest in the range but I have been using an ip5000 for years without problem and it too produces fantastic quality. The only reason for the upgrade was network sharing and fax and the ip5000 duplex has got a bit temperamental on the old printer (probably just dirty paper path but I haven't got the time or energy to take it all apart to attack it with cotton buds and alcohol!).

Re. ATI All-in-Wonder ... I think the fact that ATI have given up on AIW cards says it all. They still allow third parties to produce them under license (such as Sapphire) but ATI have washed their hands of them - and actually the choices are pretty limited if you want to buy an AIW card these days. (Actually just checked the ATI website and can't find any current AIW models even from third parties - I searched their product database on AIW, All in Wonder and All-in-Wonder and nothing showed up). Certainly my experience was that even when you did get AIW working the quality wasn't brilliant (Hauppauge TV cards is much better) and it was practically impossible to record anything without annoying numbers of dropped frames.

2817

General Software Discussion / Re: Cannot open Paint on Vista

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 11:12 AM »

.xpi is the extension for Mozilla addons. Place the file in the folder C > Program Files > Mozilla Firefox, and then open Firefox > Files > Open file... , and navigate to & open the same file, and it will install as an addon in Firefox.

-Curt (December 22, 2008, 01:36 PM)

You don't need to move the XPI file to Mozilla first - simply use File > Open File and the installation will move it to your profile folder automatically.

2818

Living Room / Re: How will the Earth end?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 11:01 AM »

or 'eco terrorism'

2819

Living Room / Re: How will the Earth end?

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 24, 2008, 03:31 AM »

Fascinating that a thread entitled "How will the Earth end?" becomes a travelogue (and how appropriate;))

Have a great time - sounds like great fun. Try and be brave about the waterfall!

2820

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2008, 02:38 PM »

Carol: he isn't gaming, so he doesn't need the GPU power (or power consumption ) of dual cards in crossfire.

-f0dder (December 23, 2008, 01:55 PM)

I agree - basically all graphic card drivers seem to be pretty bad.

Crossfire doesn't have to be a huge issue - just buy two cheaper cards with smaller memory footprints and running them in crossfire mode gives you a higher spec equivalent for lower price. They genrally run a bit cooler and don't need such massive fan systems that eat up neighbouring PCI slots. You also have the flexibility of how many monitors you attach and how you attach them.

I only suggested ATI cards because the Gigabit board he wants to use is actually a Crossfire board. It seems to make sense to go for ATI technology since the board is actually designed with ATI in mind.

Personally I would suggest that if a board is designed with ATI in mind it would be a point against it! But that is just from bad experiences with ATI in the past that have hosed my system on more than one occasion.

NVIDIA drivers are probably no better thann ATI but I do find I can uninstall and downgrade NVIDIA drivers if problems occur more easily than ATI drivers (as happened with the latest release of drivers which killed my TV card). In the past I found that even uninstalling ATI Catalyst drivers and installing an earlier version lead to a mishmash of files installed, and subsequent DLL hell problem solving, so I found it was best to be VERY conservative when considering updating drivers (i.e. only update when you have a known problem to solve and not just because there are newer drivers available).

2821

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2008, 01:35 PM »

Or buy both cards now and use them in Crossfire (ATI's version of SLi) mode until you want to add two more monitors!

See http://ati.amd.com/t...ssfire/features.html

2822

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2008, 12:54 PM »

Given that your choice of motherboard is specifically designed for ATI Crossfire I would suggest an ATI board is probably your best bet.

Lots of Graphics cards are dual head these days but they are often VGA and DVI on two channels.

You could go for lower power graphics cards and install 2 so that you can run both of your monitors on DVI interfaces. If you aren't gaming there isn't really a good reason to spend a fortune on top end graphics cards as they will mostly be wasted.

2823

Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 23, 2008, 09:52 AM »

All in Wonder cards were from ATI (Radeon range).

I wouldn't recommend them though - drivers are rubbish and the TV stuff doesn't work well (at least not in my experience - and I have had 2 of them). One of the reasons All in Wonder cards have become rarer.

If you want TV you are better off buying a dedicated TV card.

2824

General Software Discussion / Re: The OS that won't die!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 22, 2008, 07:10 PM »

what does "slipstream" mean?

-superboyac (December 22, 2008, 06:46 PM)

It means produce a new installation CD from and existing CD and a service pack.

Either that or it's what cyclists do in a velodrome

2825

General Software Discussion / Re: 3rd party software raid 1 in Winxp

« Last post by Carol Haynes on December 22, 2008, 03:57 PM »

Have a look at http://www.metacafe....ows_xp_professional/

I have never tired it so can't comment but likes like what you want.