Recent Posts

3176

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 08, 2008, 08:32 PM »

There seem to be mixed comments as to whether DEVCON works on Vista (and it looks damn complicated to use even if it does!). MS suggests on one page it works with Win2k, XP and Vista but then loads of people say it doesn't so I am none the wiser.

3177

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 08, 2008, 05:51 PM »

Manual doesn't seem to solve the problem but disabling unrequired interfaces appears to.

A script that could be double clicked to disable/enable interfaces would be useful - then you could choose the interface you want to use at any given time without going to the device manager. Any volunteers? AutoHot key gurus?

3178

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 08, 2008, 05:19 PM »

I thought my computer was behaving better - when I checked device manager I found I had already disabled BluTooth LAN and Wired LAN - so I only had one adapter.

As soon as I reenabled Wired LAN I got the 'Local Only' problem again. So it looks like a simple solution is to disable any network interfaces you don't need to use all the time and just enable them when you need them (and then disable WLAN).

3179

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

« Last post by Carol Haynes 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.

3180

Living Room / Re: Avoiding burnout

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 08, 2008, 08:05 AM »

If you are a Red Dwarf fan you will know this is totally ineffective. It needs to be painted red and have 'Tension Sheet' printed on it before it reaches its optimum power.

3181

General Software Discussion / Re: BeyondCompare 3 Released

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 07, 2008, 07:17 PM »

Thanks - I added the options in submenu (originally they were in main menu) and now they appear. Maybe there is a conflict with BC2 in the explorer main menu options because before I shifted BC3 explorer options to a submenu they didn't appear at all ???

3182

General Software Discussion / Re: BeyondCompare 3 Released

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 07, 2008, 04:26 PM »

I still have version 2 installed. Anyone know if there is a plugin for version 3 to add the same shell features as version 2 ?

3183

General Software Discussion / Re: BeyondCompare 3 Released

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 06, 2008, 12:53 PM »

Just applied the upgrade and DC discounts to the Pro version and it worked fine. Both discounts are listed on the receipt. Great.

3184

General Software Discussion / Re: Strategies for international travellers regarding new US Customs seizure policy

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 05, 2008, 06:13 PM »

It's called paranoia.

I love Boston Legal and there was a brilliant episode (based on current US travel laws I believe). Denny Crane (a somewhat eccentric leading character) was told that he could not fly on any commercial flight within the continental US. The reason - no one called Denny Crane is allowed to fly as one Denny Crane was listed as suspicious and the computer systems were unable to distinguish who was who. I loved the story (especially when about 50 Denny Crane's stood up in the courtroom audience to illustrate the absurdity).

3185

General Software Discussion / Re: Strategies for international travellers regarding new US Customs seizure policy

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 04, 2008, 01:19 PM »

Bottomline:  we in are a world where the individual just look after him-herself.  Which, frnakly, is probably the best tactic in any event.

-TomColvin (August 04, 2008, 12:37 PM)

Great in theory but you need to live in a regime where this is possible to look after yourself without resorting to armed conflict or explosives. Unfortunately none of the 'democracies' seem to value this any more than religious dictatorships or totalitarian states.

What is particularly sad is that the 'democracies' fail to recognise that they are destroying precisely what they are supposed to be fighting for!

In the UK one of the effects of international policies on fuel prices is an increase last week of 30% in gas and electric prices from British Gas in a single day.

I dread to think how long it will be before there start to be riots on the streets protesting but with the world economy rapidly disappearing down the crapper it won't be long and then what is going to happen. Losing a laptop to customs will seem like nothing in the grand scheme when the next global conflict for oil and gas starts. The only realistic alternative is to allow countries to develop nuclear power and we all know how popular that is in certain quarters.

3186

General Software Discussion / Re: Scam? Regnow Extended Download Service

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 04, 2008, 07:59 AM »

I don't think it is really a scam. I have bought software before that could be downloaded at the time of purchase but only an unlockable trial version was available from the website.

Where I do think it is a bit dubious is where the publisher does provide free downloads and updates directly after purchase. Having said that I think the publishers should complain and possibly find an alternative sales method - they are being scammed more.

3187

General Software Discussion / Re: Strategies for international travellers regarding new US Customs seizure policy

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 03, 2008, 08:00 PM »

It starts to look like the only positive contribution from the U.S. to the world are the products from their film industry ....

-Shades (August 03, 2008, 07:59 PM)

On current evidence most of that is now based in Canada (with Vancover and Toronto doubling for almost any US city).

3188

General Software Discussion / Re: Strategies for international travellers regarding new US Customs seizure policy

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 03, 2008, 07:31 PM »

One thought on technology - has anyone in the security world even considered the possibility that someone could backup their laptop to an encrypted image file which is stored on a fast FTP server. Once you arrive at your destination you can simply restore the image. I really don't know why anyone would even bother looking at disc contents because anyone with any brains can easily avoid security at an airport.

Actually an image backup of a laptop would be pretty neat (if you ensure you have a recent model of laptop). If you get it confiscated just buy a new one in the US and restore the image and hey presto ... leave the laptop with a friend and next time you visit you don't need to carry one at all.

3189

General Software Discussion / Re: Strategies for international travellers regarding new US Customs seizure policy

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 03, 2008, 07:27 PM »

Sorry but the US is getting totally ridiculous as a destination for anyone (even Americans) ... I will never visit the US and I know a lot of Brits who won't go to the US. My decision was made when they decided they need my whole credit and bank record submitted before I am even allowed to fly to a US airport.

Can you imagine what would happen if other countries took this attitude with Americans entering their country?

My father was once crossing the Canadian border on the way home from Florida. As he crossed into Ontario there were a bunch on Americans going on holiday hunting and fishing in Canada - fair enough except that their vehicle was weighed down with firearms. They were having a flaming row with a Canadian customs officer (never a good idea as Canadians can drive anyone insane with their ability to remain unflustered while maintaining a polite 'sorry you can't do that'. What made my dad laugh was that they were quoting the constitution and their right to bear arms but they simply couldn't grasp that Canada was not the US and that the constitution meant diddly north of the border!

Can you imagine the mayhem if US travellers had their cell phones, laptops, camera cards etc. confiscated when the travel to another country.

Having criticised the US I can't help that the UK is going the same way - all you have to say is 'terrorism' and anything goes as far as the police and government are concerned.

What makes me laugh is if you get on a plane and say 'I am not a terrorist and I don't have explosives in my shoes' you are technically breaking the law and can be imprisoned on either side of the pond - just the word explosive or bomb (in whatever context) is enough to get you arrested and carted off for an indefinite visit to a dank hole!

3190

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: PC Tools Free Offers. Get them now!!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 03, 2008, 01:12 PM »

Now I use NOD32 AV and let it sort out malware too.

Periodically I run SpyBot search and destroy to check my system.

I use Windows XP firewall behind a hardware firewalled router.

3191

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: PC Tools Free Offers. Get them now!!!

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 03, 2008, 05:51 AM »

They all have annual subscriptions so it is a near to free as you are going to get. Not that I particularly want them even for free.

If you are tempted be warned Spyware Doctor alone is very heavy on system resources (probably worse than SpySweeper which is bad - I have used both and given up with them because I actually like a machine where something happens without frequent cups of coffee).

3192

Living Room / Re: DVD Drive eject issues

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 02, 2008, 01:51 PM »

I ran MS CD Auto play Repair Wizard and now things work properly again. See this page for an overview of the wizard.

I have VMWare installed and I suspect it is the way VWMare killed the auto play setup. Some registry keys seem to have been lost along the line and the repair utility put them back.

3193

Living Room / Re: Cuil search engine

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 02, 2008, 12:37 PM »

Not impressed either - did some searches on very specific common company names and it didn't find them (in fact most of what it does find seems to be pretty irrelevant).

Well they wanted to present different results to Google - I guess they have acheived that. 

3194

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Lightroom V2.0 Beta — Killer Photo workflow

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 02, 2008, 09:48 AM »

I could get academic pricing too but a new copy of LightRoom 2 is the same as the upgrade in the UK:

	US	UK
Retail	$299	£205.62 (=$406US)
Upgrade	$99	£81.08 (=$160US)
Academic	$99	£81.08 (=$160US)

3195

General Software Discussion / Re: Adobe Lightroom V2.0 Beta — Killer Photo workflow

« Last post by Carol Haynes on August 02, 2008, 08:23 AM »

Yes - and they have done their usual trick - the upgrade in the UK is nearly twice the price of the US upgrade!

3196

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review of Fineprint (Virtual Printer)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 31, 2008, 09:07 AM »

Thanks Darwin - I'll leave well alone unless there is a special offer!

3197

General Software Discussion / Re: Advice please: Migrating/cloning/installing/partitioning

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 31, 2008, 07:41 AM »

You can download the Windows XP Home and Pro SP3 (most languages available - make sure you get the right one) ISO file and burn it to a CD ROM.

See http://www.tipandtri...via-http-or-torrent/ for download links.

If you install an English version you will need an installation key - the one from your German version may or may not work (I'd guess they are language coded but possibly not).

If you haven't got the key try recovering it using one of the apps in this thread https://www.donation...ex.php?topic=11435.0

JellyBean finder works well and is free.

3198

Mini-Reviews by Members / Re: Mini-Review of Fineprint (Virtual Printer)

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 31, 2008, 07:00 AM »

I also wish that the FP would have a feature that lets us delete segments of the pages (not just entire pages) before printing.

-Nod5 (July 31, 2008, 05:12 AM)

I'd support that!!

-TucknDar (July 31, 2008, 05:27 AM)

Ditto.

Anyone tried version 6? Is it worth the upgrade?

3199

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Truspace 7.6 Available for free download

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 30, 2008, 06:20 PM »

I was getting an average of 24KBps (and I had 4 connections active for each file). Pretty slow when my connection is usually more like 850-900Kbps.

Doesn't really matter though - got there in the end.

3200

Found Deals and Discounts / Re: Truspace 7.6 Available for free download

« Last post by Carol Haynes on July 30, 2008, 03:33 PM »

Downloading (S...l...o...w...l...y) as I type - guess the servers are being hammered!