quote:

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Originally posted by Piglet:
I don't think I've ever posted on what I think of as the techno-peasants' support thread , and this may not even be a Geek question, but here goes.

The computer in the house we're looking after for friends is an Apple desk-top with wireless keyboard and mouse. The usual way of starting it (as demonstrated by our friend before he left) is by hitting the space bar, and the screen came to life.

When I went to use it this afternoon, the screen remained completely blank, although I hadn't done anything different when I stopped using it last night. I've tried obvious things like turning it off and on again, and even changed the batteries in the keyboard, but with no luck. There don't appear to be any on/off switches; the monitor itself doesn't appear to have any switches at all.

What have I done???

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quote:

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Originally posted by Lamb Chopped:
I did that once! It turned out that the machine had simply turned off (a very short power outage in the middle of the night will do this) and i could not find the very cleverly disguised power button on the case. Had to call IT to show me where they hid it (i think it was on the back of the case).

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quote:

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Originally posted by Goldfish Stew:
Piglet - try the guide here - might have to look through the list to find the matching model...

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quote:

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Originally posted by Goldfish Stew:
Piglet - try the guide here - might have to look through the list to find the matching model...

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Thanks, GS - that certainly helped a bit*. Now the computer has decided it doesn't recognise the wireless keyboard (make it 'discoverable', whatever that means) , and I can't work out how to put that right.

* although why in the name of all that's holy they have to put the on/off switches in such stupid places is completely beyond me

 

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Posted by Goldfish Stew (# 5512) on :
 
Piglet, from Apple support

quote:

---

1. Make sure your device is powered on.
2. If the LED is blinking, your device is in Discoverable Mode. If the LED is steady, your device is paired with another item. Unpair the device, turn it off, and start again.
3. In the menu bar of your Mac, choose the Bluetooth icon, then choose Open Bluetooth Preferences.
4. Your Mac scans for available Bluetooth devices.
5. When your device appears in the Bluetooth Preference Pane, click Pair.

---

 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
I have recently bought a tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab A). My main reason for buying it was Overdrive, which allows me to download e books form the public library (only the Voyager from the kindle range allows this and its more expensive). Apart from when I am actually downloading books I turn off the Wi-Fi as I've been told the battery goes flat more quickly when Wi-Fi is on.

As it is the battery seems to need charging more frequently than the kindle does. Is that usual? Would the fact that I am using a large font drain the battery more quickly?

Please don't be afraid to state the obvious in your answers - what may be obvious to you may be totally unknown to me.

Huia - yet another tecnopeasant*

Thanks Uncle Pete - such a useful term.
 

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Posted by Schroedinger's cat (# 64) on :
 
Piglet - I know there are lots of Apple supporters, but having used them occasionally, I loathe them. They love hiding things that they don't think you should need. It always feels like I am a child using them, looked after by mummy who makes everything pretty for me, and hides all the nasty ucky stuff.

Huia - Tablets will drain batteries quicker than kindles. Font size is irrelevant, it is just the nature of them - there is a lot more going on in the background.

Screen brightness will make a difference. The other thing is send it to sleep when you are not using it. And don;t go too far from a power socket.
 

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Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
Dear Huia,

The Samsung will be using a completely different, and much more power hungry, technology for it's screen (the screen is refreshed constantly, whereas the Kindle only uses power when the display changes). Added to that is that the Kindle upholds the principle of attempting to do one thing well, i.e. be an e-book reader, while the Samsung is much more of a general purpose machine and will be, or ready to be, running all sorts of 'services' for whatever the user may throw at it.

The upshot is that despite probably having a larger battery than the Kindle the Samsung will be using power at a higher rate, even when it is sleeping.

You may find that there is a setting in the 'Battery/power management' part of settings (or it may be somewhere else!!!) that enables the Samsung to shut down automatically between the hours of X and Y, and to turn itself on, ready for use, when that time slot is passed. That can help save power if you typically use the reader between certain hours. You may also be able to switch off services there that are irrelevant to your needs, but add to the battery drainage when they are running.
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Thanks Schroedinger's Cat and Alisdair.

So I'm a voracious reader and my tablet has a voracious appetite - not a good mix, but easily fixed. I'll have to mix my reading between paper books, kindle and tablet, and develop a routine of charging it whenever I'm not using it.

Not so secretly - I love my kindle best because its lighter and so user friendly but I really don't want to support Amazon's business practices. Also the exchange rate isn't friendly, added to which Amazon are now collecting a Goods and Services tax of 15% on behalf of the NZ Government (which is a bit ironic really). On the other hand downloads from the library are free

Huia
 

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Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
Huia, for what it's worth, which is something, but includes more expense: e-readers like the Kobo support the open EPUB format (and others), which the Kindle does not!

EPUB is not encumbered with DRM (Digital Rights Management) software, designed to 'protect' the publisher's 'rights', i.e. you (the reader) are actually just renting this work from us, please don't imagine you actually own it

Just for the record: 'Calibre' is a very comprehensive bit of software for Linux/OS-X/Windows that enables people to manage their e-book collection, back it up so that they are not dependent on the e-book publisher making/not making already purchased books available when ever required, and (through an add on module) will strip out the DRM on Amazon Kindle e-books and reformat them as EPUBs, or whatever format you choose.
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
I need to replace my very elderly PC, an old Dell desktop tower type. Up till now I have been thinking along the lines of "more of the same", but in PC world yesterday the all in one machines caught my eye. Has anyone had any experience of them, how do you think they compare to the conventional PC design? I realise that though they take up less place you lose the ability to upgrade easily, but what other advantages/disadvantages are there?
 

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Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
You need to think of a couple of things, like how you like to position your monitor, whether you are interested in touch screen, if you require a built-in CD/DVD drive ...

Check your printer connections too: will your present printer link up to your new computer (either by cable or WjFi)?
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
I'm thinking more about things like reliability, upgradeability, noise - I've heard that some all in ones can be very noisy. I don't want a touchscreen, but I do want a DVD rewriter. I have seen one or two possibilities but still wondering whether it wouldn't be obsolete in a couple of years and I would have to get a new one again.
 

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Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
@Sparrow - Although upgrading an all-in-one can be an issue, the chances are that unless you have fairly niche/demanding requirements (or buy a bottom of the barrel example of the type) a half decent specification will see out the life of the device. The days when you almost had to upgrade hardware every one/two years are over.

As with all computer hardware the most important parts are the bits the human operator has to actually ‘use’, i.e. the keyboard, the pointer control (mouse/glidepad/…), and the screen, plus the ergonomics. If you are comfortable and using hardware that works well with your body and senses it makes a HUGE difference to the quality of your long term experience.

A ‘touch screen’ on a desktop setup is generally a waste of time and very poor ergonomically (‘gorilla arm’ is a thing), but there are situations where it can be useful, so it’s up to the user to know what they really need.

As for the internals, i.e. processors, disk/solid-state drives, graphics cards, etc. I would definitely recommend a ‘SSD’ (Solid State Drive), if available, but otherwise just read reviews and get an idea of what your needs really are. Spending on a specification that is way beyond your actual usuage is pointless, e.g. you probably don't need an 'i7' processor (unless you know that you do!). 8Gb of RAM is the minimum you should go for these days (although systems will certainly run happily on 4Gb it doesn’t leave you any headroom for future bloat). Read the reviews.

An alternative to an ‘all-in-one’ is a ‘mini-PC’. I have one clipped to the back of my monitor, so effectively like an ‘all-in-one’, but more flexible in that you get a lot more choice over the basic parts of the setup (screen, keyboard, etc.), and also the internal bits (if you are interested). Some mini-PCs are fanless---really are silent---but they tend to be the lower powered ones; most would still be perfectly fine for web browsing, email, and letter writing type use. My one has a fan, but is to all intents and purposes silent even when the fan is running.

DVD units, extra storage, etc. in an all-in-one or mini-PC can be easily added as external units via USB, and just as easily be replaced/removed if they break or become redundant.
 

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Posted by Piglet (# 11803) on :
 
I should have come back here ages ago to say thank you for your advice - it turns out that, despite having tried them both ways, I'd put the batteries in the keyboard in upside-down ...

Everything seems more-or-less functional now, except it's now telling me that the mouse batteries are low (and I thought D. had replaced them ...).

Will sort that out soon.

Still think Macs are deeply silly.
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alisdair:

A ‘touch screen’ on a desktop setup is generally a waste of time and very poor ergonomically (‘gorilla arm’ is a thing), but there are situations where it can be useful, so it’s up to the user to know what they really need.

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quote:

---

I would definitely recommend a ‘SSD’ (Solid State Drive), if available,

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Alisdair:
Application of recognised practice based on experience obviates the real world risks to the extent that the risks are highly unlikely to cause a problem.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Penny S:
Hmm. I've had a look at the history, and there doesn't seem to be anything particularly unusual, except occupydemocrats something or other.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Alisdair:
Unwanted and poorly written scripts are the bane of many websites, even ones from perfectly reputable organisations. Many web-pages today rely on, or simply allow, other websites to piggy back on them, run services, etc. It's a jungle.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Alisdair:
@SusanDoris - Depending on what your needs are you may find the following useful (you may already use it):

When you visit a particular web page look out for a little icon that appears in the address bar of the browser (where the page address is displayed). The icon will probably look like and opened book.

If you click on it the page will re-display, but only included the content text and not much else. You lose most of the page's 'functionality(!), but gain a very clear view of the basic content, which you can resize to suit yourself.

I think most modern browsers include a feature like this. I have described how it appears in Firefox (which I realise you possibly do not use).

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quote:

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Originally posted by Penny S:
And then, when he went back in to do a last thing, the screen was back to normal!
Do I get the thing picked up for repair? Or do we wait until it does it again?

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When this happened to one of mine, I think it was the cable that runs in the hinge between the laptop and the screen. It would come and go depending on screen angle, where I squeezed the case, and so on.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
When I picked it up, the effect reappeared - the connections in the hinge, as you say. We've had a quote for that, cheaper than a new screen.
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
I'm currently playing around with 2 different DSL/VDSL internet connections, one via the phone landline, which I've had for many years (down 10Mps/up 1Mps), and a new one via the cable network (down 100mps/up 10Mps).

It now appears that the while the new, fast one is just that - pages and file downloads go considerably faster! -, there seem to be strange outings while I'm listening to online radio (streaming, mostly the BBC) as well as watching the internet telly or iPlayer. This happens with mediaplayer software (VLC or Screamer) as well as browser-based. Both, radio and TV, are buffering every now and then on the 100Mps highspeed line, and I lose sound and/or image for a few seconds, which is somewhat annoying. The 10MPs line has more or less continual coverage with only the occasional lapse. I find this buffering rather baffling.

While it is not much to worry about, seeing that for the time being I can access both lines (via phone and cable network - a luxury!), I'm curious why a considerably faster line seems to have more frequent lapses than the slower one.

Do any of you experience similar lapses with your connections when streaming or on-demanding audio and/or video ? - Thanks!
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
It will be down to various factors at the provider end: contention, latency, traffic-shaping etc. It may also be down to restrictions in place on the serving sites, which throttle the outbound connections.

All of which will (officially) be designed to grant equality to all users and stop someone with the right kit/best connection "hogging" a resource. It will also, arguably, allow the various service providers to get away with under-provisioning capacity by doing cunning bits of traffic management.

The quoted speeds are always the "up to" or "burst" speeds. Sustained transfers (such as for streaming or large file moves etc.) are a different ballgame generally, and will show up the above kind of behaviours.
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
Should also have said it might also be that your local kit isn't (wo)man enough to manage the sustained transfers at the higher rate, so is having to play catch-up from time to time, but that's less likely.
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
I'm thinking about getting a graphics tablet. Can anyone tell me whether it would be possible to put a piece of paper over the active area of the tablet and trace an image. Does the stylus need to be in direct contact with the active area? Are all tablets the same in this respect?

Any help much appreciated!
 

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Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
@Drifting Star -- It's a while since I've used a digitising tablet, so make of this what you will, I don't vouch for it being up to date. :-)

As far as I remember the pen on a Wacom tablet does not have to actually contact the surface of the tablet, but it has to be very close, and without touching it loses all the pressure sensitive functionality. Also, the 'pen' tip leaves no mark, and is softer than the surface of the tablet so that it wears rather than the tablet. I am not aware of a pen that would work with the tablet AND also enable you to draw on paper -- although such a thing may exist.

You also need to set up the stylus in the mode of positioning that suits what you are doing: 'relative' or 'absolute'. 'Relative' picks up on the last location of the screen pointer/cursor, regardless of where the stylus is placed on the tablet; while 'absolute' treats the tablet as an exact analogue of the screen.

Sorry I can't be of more help.
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
That is really helpful Alasdair - thank you. I only need a very basic ability to get a tracing onto the screen, so that is fine.

I've finally had a reply from the retailer who says that it is 'theoretically possible' as the stylus will work so long as it is within 5mm of the surface. Your info is rather more useful!

I hadn't thought of such a thing, but a combination pen/stylus would be brilliant - I strongly suspect it doesn't exist, but if it does I hope someone will tell me.
 

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Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
Your'e welcome. I would only add that if you decide to go ahead buy the largest tablet you can afford as it will make your artistic endeavours much more pleasurable, especially when it comes to detailed work. I'm sure there are plenty of reviews available online that will give you a good idea of what you should go for.
 

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Posted by Jengie jon (# 273) on :
 
Drifting Star

It sounds as if you want something like this

Jengie
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
Alasdair - thanks again, that is useful advice. The one I've been looking at is the Huion Giano WH1409 which has a larger active area than most at 13.8 x 8.6 inches. My gut reaction said that I wouldn't like trying to work on a small area, but nobody leaving feedback seemed to have had any trouble with the smaller ones.

Jengie Jon - you are the expert at Finding Things Out™ (or possibly at Knowing Things™)! I am going to have to do a serious comparison between these two. Thank you.
 

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Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
Or, maybe something like this: http://tinyurl.com/go7sgok :-)
 

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Posted by Drifting Star (# 12799) on :
 
Aaagghhh! So many lovely gadgets, so little time and money...
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Last year I inquired about a free program which would find duplicate files on an external drive, and somebody suggested one which I then successfully used.
But, peculiarly, I now find no such program installed on my computer. I've tried a few off the internet, but none look like the very simple one I used last year.
Does anyone have any recommendations? I need one which will work on an external drive connected by WiFi. I'm currently running dupeGuru, but it doesn't look anything like what I was using, and is very slow.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Ah ha, I have found that what I was using was Auslogics, and I was using it on a USB drive. The other drive is attached to the router via an ethernet connection, which the computer cannot read directly.
I gave up on dupeguru, and am trying Duplicate file finder, which appears to be doing something.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I use duplicate file finder. And it works ok, but I would like to specify a directory or directories which is the one to leave if duplicates are found elsewhere.

I have never successfully used hard drives or flash drives directly attached to routers.
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
Penny S, are you trying to find any duplicate file across a random structure, or trying to match duplicates within the same structures (e.g. Drive B contains a copy of Drive A but it's not a perfect copy and you want to "plug the gaps")?

If it's the latter kind, then BeyondCompare is excellent, and has a free trial.

If it's general de-duplication then you may find some of the tools here useful, or possibly this one.

Note that I have no direct experience of the above (excluding BeyondCompare) but NirSoft stuff is generally reliable, and I use a lot of their tools.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Thanks for that - I will file the names for future reference. Duplicate Files Finder has succeeded in finding a huge number of duplicate photos (I have been very carefully copying things so as not to lose them!) while attached via the WiFi and the ethernet connection from the router. It's mostly that sort of thing I'm looking for. It took overnight to do it, and my doing the interactive decisions is going to take even longer.

It has spotted files with changed names such as *.*(2) and identified them as the same as *.*, where I have copied into the same folder.

I shall probably have to close down and re-run at some other convenient time, as the slider at the side has not moved down very much as I work.

And I'm pretty sure it has not been able to deal with the most space occupying files, which are videos from the TV. These I have copied from a drive to which the TV records, before suddenly deciding that it can't read it any more and it needs reformatting. I suspect that many of these are duplicates, and identifying them is going to be very tedious! (The TV manufacturers, Linsar, say the problem is known, and recommend powered hard drives, which are rare as hens' teeth now, and as expensive.)
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
My boss - who's been mentioned on these boards before, mostly I think on the prayer and praise threads... - is an IT fan, but perhaps doesn't always choose the best methods and means.

He's been using the M$ site https://forms.office.com/ for a while, for a number of online questionnaires we're supposed to fill in. My problem with this site is that, at least on Firefox, I seem to be unable to print (e.g. as pdf) the entire form, which often is quite lengthy. In print preview, I just get one single page, only showing a very small part of the entire questionnaire; the site apparently tricks print preview into thinking it's on one page only.

From the point of view of keeping ownership of the data I entered, I appear to be unable to save the whole lot in an easy way, and have to resort to screenshots placed in a wordprocessing document. This is time-consuming and annoying.

In my understanding of customer-friendly design, I'd compare this M$ site e.g. to webshops, where there are contact forms with your e-mail address, and where they then send you a copy of all that you wrote. I find this extremely handy and fair.

Questions for those of you in the know, pretty please:

• Is it correct that documents from that site don't print correctly, i.e. can't be easily saved?
• Can you tweak the site into sending a copy of the information filled in to an e-mail address you could enter somewhere? Is this technically possible and offered by M$? (I might tell my boss!)
• Are there any alternative sites with even better fonctionality that M$ Office, and which are more user-friendly?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Penny S:
On reading it in notepad I see it is not code but an encrypted package.
I can't find anything online about a scam involving it.
I am quite worried about the amount they know about me.
I am running a full scan, and am about to disconnect from the internet until done.

---

I think you got a different sort of thing. It's not a scam in the sense that you give them information. They want you to view the document in Word, and then you will be prompted to "enable editting" or "enable macros", probably the first=editing. Then your computer gets infected with a virus or the hard drive locks up until you send someone money.

If they only have your name, address and post code, that's pretty easy to get about anyone. If they have things like the name of your bank, your age, or other things, it is time to change your passwords.

Never ever open documents from people you don't know or any other files. Delete the emails from this person and have it sorted as "spam" for any future things.

This is my advice, YMMV.

I get them from delivery companies, saying I need to open the attachment to check the status of my package. The scammers have obviously successfully harvested names, addresses and emails from a database.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
Found a link about it: Secure Document Phishing Attack
 

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Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
Age is not so hard to get. I see it all the time when I'm trying to locate a person with a common name on Google. Various companies will offer you a list of people in that city or state with that name plus an age so you can differentiate the octogenarians from the twenty-somethings. But they certainly don't come up with your Social Security no. or bank details.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Thanks. I had expected to get a page about the scam from somewhere or other, but obviously didn't use a suitable search term.
It arrived in the spam folder, anyway. The name of the sender was close to that of a contact.
I am now suspecting it was linked to the Talktalk hacks of data of users. I have a Talkmobile account.
It could also be linked to a seller on ebay, I suppose, who would have had access to my address.
It is odd how it sends one into wondering if one has signed up for something somewhere and not realised exactly what.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Nothing reported on the full scan. Good.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
Glad to hear! You were either wise or divinely guided to open the document in Notepad rather than Word.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
I think the second. I did start off with Word, but I never use it, it wanted a password, I didn't have one, then saw it was provided in the email. At that point I decided to try OpenOffice, and it refused to even get as far as that, which is where I got down to the very basic stuff.

What I did forget to do was to look at the header, which I usually do with things I'm not sure of.
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
Using Google Chrome on an Intel powered machine - well, actually it is powered by electricity but I'm sure you understand that. I use a mid-price generic optical mouse.

I have one window open and five tabs, the fourth of which is Heaven, where I am writing this. The others are 3 Ship boards and The Crew's Quiz.

When I use the scroll wheel in the other tabs it scrolls up and down, no problem. In Heaven it won't scroll, just doesn't do it. I have to resort to click and hold on the side scroll bar and move things that way.

Do I need to:

a] petition the Heaven Hosts for a scrolling licence?,

b] grease the bearings in my monitor?,

c] change my deodorant?, or

d] just stop bothering people with trivialities?

Yours, etc. - Worried Welease Woderwick, India

[btw - another bright, sunny day here - shame about the drought!]
 

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Posted by Welease Woderwick (# 10424) on :
 
...then it started doing the same with Another Board and so I just did a complete restart and, miraculously, the whole thing is cured!

It was weird whilst it lasted.
 

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Posted by jedijudy (# 333) on :
 
And here I was, prepared to present you with a license to scroll!
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Advice please ... I have just migrated from an old W7 computer to Windows 10. On the old PC I had my emails with Windows Live Mail, on the new one I have got Windows Mail. I have managed to set up my email account and the emails are coming through ok, but my contacts are not there. Do I need to copy them over somehow, and if so how? I still have the old PC with everything on it.
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sparrow:
Advice please ... I have just migrated from an old W7 computer to Windows 10. On the old PC I had my emails with Windows Live Mail, on the new one I have got Windows Mail. I have managed to set up my email account and the emails are coming through ok, but my contacts are not there. Do I need to copy them over somehow, and if so how? I still have the old PC with everything on it.

---

Go to this link scroll down to the export instructions.
Then go to this link, click on the in reply to Jesinta Rozario's post on August 5, 2015 link and follow those instructions.

DISCLAIMER: I've neither of those products, therefore cannot vouch for the efficacy of these instructions.
 

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Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
Windows 10, Firefox:

I can't move files from wherever I download them (or even the folder I download them to) from webmail without closing my browser. No immediate answer to be found online. Flushing my browser cache does nothing. Anyone got any ideas?
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
How do I get those two small dots over a letter? I'm trying to write a woman's name and would like to get it right.

I even used to know what they are called, but for now two little dots will have to do.

Huia
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
In which program are you typing, and which one do you want?

ä ë ï ö ü

[you could copy one of those I suppose! ]
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eutychus:
Windows 10, Firefox:

I can't move files from wherever I download them (or even the folder I download them to) from webmail without closing my browser. No immediate answer to be found online. Flushing my browser cache does nothing. Anyone got any ideas?

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Ian Climacus:
I go to the Download icon [arrow], click Show All Downloads, right click the one I want and select "Open Containing Folder" and I can move it [cut and paste].

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Huia:
How do I get those two small dots over a letter? I'm trying to write a woman's name and would like to get it right.

I even used to know what they are called, but for now two little dots will have to do.

Huia

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
My father died this morning, and his last telephone message to Mum is still on the landline answerphone - but will only be saved for another 11 days after today.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Likely just age. Assuming the papyrus disintegrated on the original, here is a PDF instruction manual.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Sandemaniac:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sandemaniac:
My father died this morning, and his last telephone message to Mum is still on the landline answerphone - but will only be saved for another 11 days after today.

---

Thanks for the suggestions everyone - we did eventually record it.

AG

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quote:

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Updates for your Computer are available
Keep your computer protected against Man in the Middle (MitM) attacks.

We recommend that you install this update to stay protected from the latest threats and to ensure the best system performance.

---

The pop-up box includes buttons for [Update Now] and [Postpone]. There is no [Leave Me Alone and Don't Bother Me Again] option. For now, I am using the 'X' in the corner of the box to dismiss the popup.

The darn thing keeps coming back, like a toddler wanting attention. Unlike most toddlers (eventually), it does not appear to understand the word 'no'. There's a 'Remind me in ...[amount of time]' option, but it does not allow 'when the Devil goes to work on ice skates' as an answer.

I'm confused, because when I open Comodo Internet Security Premium 10 and tell it to update, it says that it is already up to date. This makes me suspicious. I'm a technical ignoramus, but at least I am a mean-spirited, suspicious-minded ignoramus.

At my most paranoid, I wonder if this is malware trying to get me to install something nasty. In less paranoid moments, I wonder whether Comodo is trying to get me to install a browser extension and, if so, whether the advice I saw which warns against browser extensions is reliable. It could be something perfectly benign, of course - I should allow for the possibility that a software company is being honest and helpful.

Has anyone else had this popup? Can anyone advise me on (a) whether I should install this and (b) if not, how to prevent this popup from endlesslessy popping up? (Presumably, uninstalling Comodo would do it.)
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
My friend's Acer (Win 8.1) has decided it exists pre-Wifi, and insists there are no connections available. When I tried, it briefly showed the Wifi possibility by no connections, but then suggested using an ethernet cable, and would not show Wifi as an option. All the trouble shooting reported the network adapter was OK, but, no Wifi option however I went at it. Not in devices, not anywhere.

I assume this is a hardware connection problem, but if anyone has any other idea, it might be helpful.
 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
The question that immediately pops into mind is: are there any active WiFi hotspots up and running? Are other devices able to connect to WiFi without trouble?

Alwyn, I've never heard of Comodo and so can't help you with your issue. However, again my gut reaction would be to click "Dismiss" rather than "X". But you're right in assuming, for safety's sake, that the nag message might be malicious. I think I would uninstall Comodo and either do a fresh install from the original media or go with a different product.
 

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Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
Didn't bother to mention the Wifi working since I was using it to send with. All the other computers are having no trouble with the router. I did use the button for making connections on the router, in case that helped, but it didn't.
I've just started up a new laptop and it has no trouble downloading and installing updates, either.
The initial error was that the computer had Wifi but there were no local connections - there are a number as well as mine. Then the computer's Wifi disappeared.

[ 10. July 2017, 13:47: Message edited by: Penny S ]
 

---

Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
Penny S: if it's Win 8.x and the error message is "No Wireless Connections Available" and the WiFi appears totally borked, then the following may help.

This is a common problem on Win 8.x with Asus Transformer netbooks. The solution (read: temporary fix that you will need to do periodically when it borks again) is:

- from an Admin account* open Device Manager (Win+X, Device Manager)

- find the wireless adapter under Network Adapters

- right-click on it and choose "Disable" then confirm you mean it

- right-click on it again and choose "Enable"

Ta-da! Functional WiFi ...

Seems to be an issue with some drivers/hardware initialising properly, and it persists through reboots.

*If you're not signed in as an Admin, then:

- Win+X > "Command Prompt (Admin)"
- supply credentials
- Type "devmgmt.msc" and press enter
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
TaDa indeed, and Hallelujah.

It isn't the netbook, but the process has worked, which is great because it is the only machine currently able to log on in a university environment where journals are available.

Thank muchly. I have written up the instructions and left them on the desktop for the user.
 

---

Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
Excellent, and apologies, I wasn't entirely clear. I learnt about this issue courtesy of a fleet of Asus jobbies that we manage for a client. So much so that we have it as a FAQ in their internal knowledgebase.

I had previously assumed it was an Asus/Broadcom issue, but knowing it's happened on an Acer makes me suspect it's a Win 8.x issue.
 

---

Posted by Penny S (# 14768) on :
 
It was an Atheros device - forgotten all the details and I'm not on that machine. The name began with a Q, which I recall because the other fault is keys that resist pressure, and q is one of them.

If that helps with the database!
 

---

Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
All info gratefully received and filed
 

---

Posted by Alwyn (# 4380) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
Alwyn, I've never heard of Comodo and so can't help you with your issue. However, again my gut reaction would be to click "Dismiss" rather than "X".

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
But you're right in assuming, for safety's sake, that the nag message might be malicious. I think I would uninstall Comodo and either do a fresh install from the original media or go with a different product.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alwyn:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
Alwyn, I've never heard of Comodo and so can't help you with your issue. However, again my gut reaction would be to click "Dismiss" rather than "X".

---

Thanks for replying! My instinct would have been to click 'dismiss' rather than X too, if a 'dismiss' option had been available. However, the only available options (apart from clicking on 'X') were to 'install now' and 'remind me to install later'(!)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Alwyn:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:
Alwyn, I've never heard of Comodo and so can't help you with your issue. However, again my gut reaction would be to click "Dismiss" rather than "X".

---

Thanks for replying! My instinct would have been to click 'dismiss' rather than X too, if a 'dismiss' option had been available. However, the only available options (apart from clicking on 'X') were to 'install now' and 'remind me to install later'(!)

---

Always click the x in the upper left corner of the border of the window of a dubious pop up. The x is generated by the operating system, the buttons within the window are generated by the suspect application and might not represent what they will actually do.
Though a better choice might be to right-click on the corresponding button on the task bar and click the Close Window option.

---

Should be upper right corner.
 

---

Posted by Alwyn (# 4380) on :
 
Thanks for your help, lilBuddha, Golden Key and Amanda B. Reckonodwyth! (It's okay, lilBuddha,I realised that you meant 'upper right hand corner' - and will follow your advice when I see dubious pop-ups).
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
Alwyn--

You're welcome. Also, it's a good idea to check around online for comments about and reviews of software before you download it. Your machine and/or problem may need something different. I've had mostly good experiences with the programs I mentioned. I had a lot of bad experiences with Norton/Symantec, Kadinsky, and some others. That's why I finally got AVG. It's not perfect, and some things annoy me, but it's much better than what I had before.

Good luck!

ETA: Oh, and if you have more than one anti-virus program on your system, don't run both at the same time. They can clash badly. And sometimes one will interpret the other progam's files as viruses. You can usually tell the checking program that they're not viruses, and to skip them next time.

[ 16. July 2017, 10:36: Message edited by: Golden Key ]
 

---

Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
A couple of times recently I've tried to open a French-language site and my browser has forced it to the English-language version.

Just now, I persevered a bit on one site. Clicking on the French-language flag on the site doesn't work. Hard-coding the URL to remove the /en tag doesn't work. Different browsers and devices don't work. Posting the link in Skype reveals a little "en" above the URL itself in the thumbnail image.

Of course now I've got round to posting here the site has started behaving itself for me. Could that be some sort of DOS/server overload countermeasure (the URL, http://www.cglpl.fr/, was on a news site)?
 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
In Control Panel, under Clock, Location and Region, try changing Location to France.
 

---

Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
Hmm, I don't think that's it: my devices all seem to know where I am.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
This is strange. I just turned on my computer, and everything has a red tint to it. Some things are completely red (such as most of the Ship). Is this a monitor calibration problem? Will I need to replace my computer? Have the Russians taken over my computer? (I tried shutting down and restarting, but it's still red.)
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
I shut down completely. I just turned it back on to print something out that I needed and was afraid I might be losing my monitor completely. It's back to normal. For now.

 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 
Could be a loose or damaged monitor cable -- or, as you fear, the monitor could have one foot in the grave.
 

---

Posted by Lamb Chopped (# 5528) on :
 
I had a quick Google. It looks like it could easily be a hardware problem of a minor sort, perhaps even something in a cable. To speak crudely and ignorantly, you have some physical thingy that controls the color balance on your monitor, and one of the parts has gone wonky, causing the color balance to shift red. If it's in the process of failing, you may see it shift back and forth several times before it dies totally. I'd suggest Googling yourself, using your computer make/model and the terms "red" "monitor" "display". Then if it is a cable, swapping one cable out for a new one would do the trick.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 
Thanks, all. My first strategy is to do everything I need to do today (documents for an upcoming trip, some posters I've made for a display at church, etc.) while my monitor is still alive. (It's fine today -- knock on wood.) My computer (a desk top) is an all-in-one, so there are no visible cables connecting the monitor to the computer. I'll have to take it into the shop if it needs repair. I'm thinking of doing that this weekend to have it checked out, since I'll be away all of next week and using my tablet.
 

---

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :
 
Do you have any means of backing up all your files, either on a pluggable-in external drive or on the Cloud? It might be worthwhile doing.
 

---

Posted by Pigwidgeon (# 10192) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Baptist Trainfan:
Do you have any means of backing up all your files, either on a pluggable-in external drive or on the Cloud? It might be worthwhile doing.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by churchgeek:
Does anyone here understand VOIP and related virtual telephony? I'm dealing with issues at work, and I want to understand better so I know how to speak with the techs (who invariably don't speak layperson and I don't speak their language).

Is any phone service using internet wires VOIP, or are there other varieties?

Our issue is that when people call on cell phones, sometimes they can't dial a menu option or an extension. Sometimes they can. It depends on the day and the carrier. Sprint cell phones didn't work last week. They work this week, but AT&T cell phones don't.

The techs I've been speaking with (and believe me, there are many) seem to have never heard of such a thing before, but also seem to be hinting that it's just something inherent in the technology that can't be fixed. I'm nearly at my wits' end...and I work in a church, so I really shouldn't start yelling at people on the phone, even if they're with the phone company!

---

If you are paying/phone for help to you internet provider, you are using VOIP. Voice Over Internet Protocol.
I just understand telephony, but I well understand techs. Many do not fully understand the technology they are helping with and most are not allowed to admit the failings of their technology unless they are forced to. Inconsistent issues are the worst to diagnose with anything.
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
Skype is VOIP. So is Viber, TextNow and there are several others out there. There is also something called SIP which for present day is basically the same thing (session initiation protocol), though actually refers to a connection method. It was possible in the past to use open-source SIP and call anywhere for free (I used Twinkle and Asterisk).

You can get a thing that looks like a regular landline telephone but is actually a softphone, and it connects just like a regular phone to any cell or landline.

Beware that some VOIP providers charge quite a bit more to call a mobile versus landline.
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
Sorry, accidentally posted that before done.

In my experience the menu accessing issues with cellphones and sometimes not being able to call are related to how the VOIP provider has structured their service. When a call is made from/to a cellphone, it has to go through the internet to/from some switching equipment, and perhaps handed off through networks not part of the providers system, to eventually get to a cell tower. The software may be written in such ways to discourage the use of some networks and switches because the provider pays more to use. Sometimes this cost is passed to the user, and sometimes not. If the provider can't solve the problems, consider to get another provider and pay a little more to have better routing through the various networks, switches and cellphone systems.
 

---

Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
Our provider is AT&T. They provide our internet, and also our land lines, AND VOIP which we use for phones. At least I assume it's VOIP - hence my question; it runs over our internet cable. (The land lines are for alarm systems and elevators.)

I'm curious why this isn't a huge problem everywhere. VOIP is pretty popular, I think, with at least small businesses. You'd think it would be a widely known issue that no one's phone menus work reliably. Or maybe the big companies still use land lines; I'm told AT&T is trying to get out of the land line business, actually.

Unfortunately, there is no switching providers; we're in a contract. And all the decision-making is done by people other than me; I'm just the one who has to try to resolve the issues.
 

---

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
Can someone help me with my cell phone problem? For some reason the provider (Sprint or somebody) has put a new app on the phone that shows weather, and the amount of juice left in the battery in large green numbers. (only when the phone is locked)

How do I get rid of this? I can't find an app with a name that suggests what it is, and when I turn off "additional information" from my lock screen, it doesn't change it.

[ 11. September 2017, 03:36: Message edited by: mousethief ]
 

---

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Sorry but I have a rather long list of questions relating to my new Microsoft email account.

Some months ago when I purchased my new PC running Windows 10, I opened a new Microsoft email account (***.live.com). It has been working perfectly on my desktop PC but my problem is with the same account which I have also set up to access on my phone and tablet. On the desktop PC, all the emails seem to stay there until I choose to delete them. But on the phone or tablet, they stay there for a few days and then disappear completely. What am I doing wrong?

I also need to know; How do I save them permanently? Is that the same as archiving them? If so, where do they go when archived? Do they get saved on the PC or on the server?

And how long do emails routinely get kept on the server? And how do I delete emails permanently from the server?
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
Sorry, I don't know anything about phone apps or email. My problem is Facebook. I have an old computer and Facebook is not happy. It takes ages to load anything and some pages won't load at all. It has taken all the fun of things away. Most other websites are loading fairly quickly. My yahoo mail is quite slow. I can't play any videos. I'm sure it is some setting or something particular to Facebook but I can't figure it out and have no funds to try to get it repaired or buy a new computer. I don't have a cell phone so this is it for me. Any advice greatly appreciated!
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
lilypad: how old is the computer, what is the operating system, what is the web browser you're using to get into Facebook?
 

---

Posted by lily pad (# 11456) on :
 
2008 Acer laptop with Vista and was using Firefox where all this started and have since uninstalled that and am using Chrome. Neither of these are supported anymore. I did try logging out of some other locations where I had logged in as someone out there on the internet suggested but it hasn't helped. It was working just fine until the last two months. I also tried uninstalling a bunch of programs that I don't use anymore thinking it would free up processing power but I guess that wasn't the issue. I think it must be a Facebook setting with this computer but I've tried clearing a cache I found but it didn't help. I tried logging in at the library on Friday and it works perfectly there so it isn't some way that I have it set up.
 

---

Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
The issues are probably Vista and the processor ability. There's planned obsolescence with computers, hardware that is older sometimes cannot keep up. Getting a more recent operating system might help, but I'm betting the hardware won't support a version of Windows which would fix the problem. (They call it 'upgrading' though it is often not really upwards.)

I have 2 older computers I continue to use. This one is a Dell n-Series from 2005, and I have a Toshiba the same vintage as your's. I put Linux on them both (Linux Mint). Which requires some work and little know how. The usual alternative I suggest to people without much of a budget and not able to install an operating system is an off-lease HP laptop which are usually less than $200 and can still be had with Windows 7. That's what I buy for the office. Tigerdirect is one source.
 

---

Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
A question about internet connectivity:

I'm using the command

code:

---

ping -t 8.8.8.8

---

code:

---

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data: General failure.  

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Wesley J:

Is this a (firewall) problem, specifically related to the computer in question, or is that command prompt just not available for 32bit machines?

---

It's probably a firewall issue. Something on that machine is blocking ICMP packets. Dig around in your firewall and see if there's an "enable ICMP packets" type option.

If you're running a VPN on that machine, that might break this as well.
 

---

Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
Excellent! Of course you are right. Disabling the firewall makes it work. And me thinking I had consciously chosen the same security settings for all the machines! Apparently not.

Thanks for the encouragement, Leorning Cniht!

Now, while we're at it: I am experimenting with different ISPs. One I've had for years, and which is quite reliable, offers 10 Mbit/s max download speed, and will be upgraded soon to 40 Mbit/s.

The other, new one, which interestingly works via the (TV) cable, is 100 Mbit/s, but with them I appear to have strange, frequent outages, even just now again, with the firewall off. Normally with them it looks as follows:

code:

---

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time-8ms TTL=59 

---

code:

---

Request timed out.  

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider:
Any help for getting into safe mode? http://www.drivethelife.com/windows-10/fix-boot-loop-windows-10-creators-update.html`

Not sure I'd trust the "Driver Talent" utility.

---

Error 404.
 

---

Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
Try losing the final apostrophe in KLB's link.
 

---

Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
mt--

I'm not a techie, but my computer often needs some help. Don't know if this will work in Win 10. I use Vista, and it works for me. Would be a good idea for you to check and verify online.

--When the computer is`press F8 and hold it down while you boot up. Let go of the F8 key. You should soon get a plain screen that gives you various Safe Mode options, Start Normally, and maybe a few others.

--Another thing that may help: Press Fn, and hold it down while you boot up. On my Dell laptop, I get the Dell screen. In the upper right corner, it says "Diagnostic startup selected". Let go of the Fn key.

The computer will start a thorough checkup. You should probably sit with it for the first 20 min. or so because it may ask you some questions. (On mine, it shows a screen of striped colors, and asks if they display ok.

When the checkup is done, you should get a screen asking if you want to go on to the next part, which takes about 30 min.

At the end of THAT, there's an option to go on to a symptom-specific section. When you exit that, I think it reboots automatically.

--If you can get to a command prompt,
"chkdsk /f" will tell the system to check and fi things at the next boot-up.

--Also at a command prompt: "sfc /scannow". It checks for file problems.

--I haven't used this...but some computers have a "Recovery" partition, and I've read that you can make a book disk from that.

--Some useful software, with various editions available free: Wise Care 365 and System Mechanic. CC Cleaner is also good, BUT one version was recently hacked. There've been versions since then, so you should double-check the version you're getting.

CNET's download section is a good source for free software, IME. It looks like there are some operating systems in the "Utilities" section.

Sorry if that's too much info. Good luck!
 

---

Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 
Don't download from CNET. They bundle adwarw in. Alwaya go to the app developer's own page.
 

---

Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
When the computer is [booting] press F8 and hold it down while you boot up. Let go of the F8 key. You should soon get a plain screen that gives you various Safe Mode options. . . . Another thing that may help: Press Fn, and hold it down while you boot up. On my Dell laptop, I get the Dell screen. In the upper right corner, it says "Diagnostic startup selected". Let go of the Fn key. The computer will start a thorough checkup.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eutychus:
Try losing the final apostrophe in KLB's link.

---

Apostrophe lost. Code fixed. Muscles flexed.


jedijudy
One of the Helpful (and powerful )Heaven Hosts
 

---

Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Golden Key:
When the computer is [booting] press F8 and hold it down while you boot up. Let go of the F8 key. You should soon get a plain screen that gives you various Safe Mode options. . . . Another thing that may help: Press Fn, and hold it down while you boot up. On my Dell laptop, I get the Dell screen. In the upper right corner, it says "Diagnostic startup selected". Let go of the Fn key. The computer will start a thorough checkup.

---

My experience has been that pressing the F8 key repeatedly in rapid succession during bootup will get you into the Safe Mode option screen. Also, I think the diagnostic routine summoned via the Fn key is for physical problems, not for software or operating system problems.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by mousethief:
We have tried both several times, but alas to no effect.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:
You might need to access the bios to change the boot order to look for the usb port first.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by lilBuddha:
One potential solution is to pull the drive and follow the instructions in the link.

---

Yeah, I think pulling the drive is about all we have left. It clearly is going to need a fresh install, or a trip to the cyberknacker's.
 

---

Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
Any thoughts on and firsthand experience with the new Firefox 57, aka 'Firefox Quantum', anyone?

I'm not migrating yet, but am experimenting with alternative browsers, of which Vivaldi seems very customisable indeed, and that's the way, aha aha, I like it, aha aha.

Thanks for your insightful observations!

[ 16. November 2017, 21:47: Message edited by: Wesley J ]
 

---

Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
You may not have a choice. Mine updated itself this morning without asking permission!

Some annoyances I have found so far . . . some frequently used buttons like Home and Refresh have moved across to the left hand side of the screen, though I will probably get used to that.
 

---

Posted by Ann (# 94) on :
 
If you right click on the offending icon and select Customise, you can move the icons around to your heart's content.

But - my favourite add-in - Roomy Bookmarks - isn't compatible and, apparently, won't ever be - now the bookmark bar takes up about eight times the space ( or would if I had a monitor eight times as wide!).
 

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Posted by Golden Key (# 1468) on :
 
I have Firefox set up to let me know updates are available, but not install them automatically. (Tools - Options - Advanced - Updates.) That's my setting for most software, due to past problems--mostly with Microsoft.

FYI: I'm using Firefox ESR 52.5.0 (32-bit). Had to go down the ESR side-branch of editions, due to some computer quirk or other.

[ 18. November 2017, 02:08: Message edited by: Golden Key ]
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
I'm on ESR too due to some work site requirements.

From what I read it is quicker, but the People were in Uproar over their add-ins not working.
 

---

Posted by Alisdair (# 15837) on :
 
@WesleyJ -- Firefox 57 seems better overall, as long as you can cope with the possible loss of some precious (or not so precious) extensions. There are alternatives or updates to all the ones that I actually value.

One issue I had to resolve was the non-display of text content in some tabs. This turned out to be to do with the sandboxing, and the level of 'security' being applied, and it has only effected my main desktop (Linux) system. Toning it down a level in about:config security.sandbox.content.level solved the issue. Apart from that I am quite impressed so far.
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
Thanks, all. I haven't upgraded on any of my machines, so far.

However, it is quite staggering how much memory FF pre-57 uses for, I admit, quite a few open tabs: more than 2.5GB of 8GB RAM. Vivaldi, the Chrome-based browser mentioned earlier, only uses something like 0.5GB for similar.

I'm reasonably happy with Vivaldi, but guess will have to try out FF57 at some point - that, or stick to the ESR version - which is the maxiumum you can currently get in the Windows Virtual PC XP mode I'm playing with, too.

Before upgrading, it might be wise in any case to set a system restore point (this is on Win 7), and to again export all FF settings, for safekeeping.
 

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Posted by churchgeek (# 5557) on :
 
Any MS Office experts around?

I work in a church, and, as workplaces almost never do things the ideal way, we create bulletins in MS Word on a shared server. (I have Publisher and InDesign on my computer, but no one else does, and everyone makes direct changes to these documents.)

Anyway, I know that MS Word doesn't like too many formatting instructions in one document.

So I was trying to fix some really weird issues in the Lessons & Carols bulletin that the organist had put together (which were making it impossible to print the document in any usable form), and I got it all set. Except there was a page number on the cover, and the organist wanted that gone. Fine, easy fix. I went into the footer and selected "Different first page," and the page number 1 disappeared as it should.

However, on the next page, after a little bit of text, where there was a Section Break - Continuous so that some song lyrics could be fit in 2 columns, for some reason Word insists on making it a page break. Not in the coding, apparently, just in reality - the next page has just a little text, then a whole lot of white space, then the 2-column section that should easily fit on the previous page, but for some reason it starts on the next page. And I can't for the life of me fix it.

I gave up, put the page number back on the cover, and put a white rectangle over it....just so we don't have to run a master copy, put white-out, and then make photocopies, which never have as good a quality as directly-printed documents.

Any ideas? I mean, I have it fixed for all intents & purposes, but I'd like to learn how to really fix it. I'm sure there will be a next time.

Is there a limit to how many section breaks you can have in a document?
 

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Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
Sections in Word are evil. Evil, evil, evil. Trying to pin down section breaks is like playing whack-a-mole. Fix it here, and it goes wrong over there. When I'm doing really complex documents I make each section its own document, save each as PDF, and use a PDF combiner (PDFsam, q.v.) to create a single doc from the various parts.
 

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Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by churchgeek:
so that some song lyrics could be fit in 2 columns

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by mousethief:
Sections in Word are evil. Evil, evil, evil. Trying to pin down section breaks is like playing whack-a-mole. Fix it here, and it goes wrong over there. When I'm doing really complex documents I make each section its own document, save each as PDF, and use a PDF combiner (PDFsam, q.v.) to create a single doc from the various parts.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:

quote:

---

Originally posted by churchgeek:
so that some song lyrics could be fit in 2 columns

---

Columns are sometimes more trouble than they're worth. I often prefer to insert a table with one row and as many columns as I would have if I were using the Columns feature. By default (I think) tables print without lines separating the cells, although you see the lines on the screen. If you want the lines to print, you have to change the table formatting.

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quote:

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Originally posted by churchgeek:
I tend to just quietly fix documents that end up full of detritus from copying & pasting and using older documents as a template.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe:

quote:

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Originally posted by churchgeek:
I tend to just quietly fix documents that end up full of detritus from copying & pasting and using older documents as a template.

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And Paste Special is your friend for that.

Sometimes if a document is really screwed up beyond repair, I'll just copy and paste the whole thing into a Notepad file, save the Notepad file in .DOC format (I still use MSWord 2003 -- no pesky .DOCX for me, thank you), and then reformat it from scratch myself the right way.

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code:

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about:robots

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code:

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about:mozilla

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, which seems a little weirdly satanic; as far as I can tell there is no such book.

(Both are harmless and do nothing to your operating system or your confuser.)
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
The Book of Mozilla

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I've been very foolish.

Very.

While I have been backing up my files, I have not been creating system restore points since 2015 apparently.

My PC is now in an infinite loop of couldn't repair your PC. These are the options I get, with Automatic Repair and Startup Settings only allowing restarts. For the first message to come again.

I did not create a boot disk/USB either. Yes, I only have myself to blame. If I download this, is there a Repair option that I could try? Or something else?

Or do I just count myself lucky I have my personal files and pictures backed up [I hope!] and re-install?

I tried running chkdsk /f in the Command Prompt and it did fix up some things, but I can find no way to get out of the, to me, infernal, repair loop. Something may well be wrong, but I'd like to see if I could at least load Windows and get some stuff off. Tapping F8 to try and enter Safe Mode does nothing. As soon as the press Del to enter BIOS message goes, Windows starts placing messages at the bottom of the screen that it is checking/doing things -- similar to this.

Thank you, o wise ones!

[ 19. December 2017, 20:07: Message edited by: Ian Climacus ]
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
What version of Windows? If you can boot to recovery console/command prompt try an sfc /scannow

There are also potential other options, but they depend on more detail (Windows version, precise error).
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
Sorry, using phone and just back from the pub. Have followed links.now. Try the SFC command from Command Prompt.

Also, are you sure there are no restore points? Updates should create them automatically.
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
Thanks Snags. I'll try those when I get home before the New Year.

I thought I had Restore Points, but maybe it was only backups. I had an external hard drive connected via USB that I was backing up to. When Windows Repair came up with Restore points only the one from 2015 showed.
 

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Posted by Landlubber (# 11055) on :
 
Ian, I am not a wise one, but a fellow sufferer. The screenshot looks like Windows 10? My laptop got into this loop and I, too, could not see restore points although I thought I had set some. I have a system image on an external drive, but it would not use that as a repair option.

I had to go for the Reset option - nothing else worked. Warning: that removed all the additional software I had installed, so you might want to start looking for any disks/download passwords you would need to reinstall.

I gave up and saved up for a Mac.
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
Back home. Sorry - Windows 10.

Thanks Landlubber; that is my fear. Luckily I've been backing up My Documents and Pictures, and at the Command Prompt I did a copy of all my personal files to a USB drive so they are up to date. Off to check for my install files...

Snags - sfc /scannow reported all is fine:

quote:

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Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations.

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Thanks for your time and knowledge.

Windows could find no restore points except from 2015. I went to the external drive and my personal files were more recent.
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
There is a repair install option, but it's badly named. I think it's the "Refresh" rather than"Reset" but read the options, carefully as one leaves data intact and the other doesn't.

Might be your best option.

There's also an old school registry restore you can do from the command prompt, but I'm not sure if it works the same on W10.
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
Thanks Snags; I'll give it a go tonight.
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
Win 10 installed, thanks Snags and Landlubber.

The option that left data intact refused to run, Snags. Just kept rebooting and going back to the Blue Screen of Unhelpfulness.

Strangely one program that worked on my previous Windows 10 install refused to install without error. I set it to be run compatible with W7 which seems to have fixed it. My previous Windows did a good job of backing up my personal files externally so I am happy and didn't need the manual copy I made earlier.

Thanks again.

[ 02. January 2018, 05:47: Message edited by: Ian Climacus ]
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
So I have this computer, see, and somehow it was set up with a partition, which suits me fine. Presumably it as so i could keep program files and data etc files separate.

But somehow my E drive, where I keep a million zillion photos and writings and everything that doesn't have Bill Gates' signature on it has become a half full 1.8 Terabytes, while the C drive, where Bill Gates tries to do his stuff, is a measly 99% full 110 Gigabytes.

What the?

Do I need to take it to a fixer, or is there a short process I can carry out so the C drive is a decent size again?
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Zappa:
So I have this computer, see, and somehow it was set up with a partition, which suits me fine. Presumably it as so i could keep program files and data etc files separate.

But somehow my E drive, where I keep a million zillion photos and writings and everything that doesn't have Bill Gates' signature on it has become a half full 1.8 Terabytes, while the C drive, where Bill Gates tries to do his stuff, is a measly 99% full 110 Gigabytes.

What the?

Do I need to take it to a fixer, or is there a short process I can carry out so the C drive is a decent size again?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Zappa:
... done those (well, I think I have) ... so it looks like repartioning ... via an expert!

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BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST ! ! ! !
BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST ! ! ! !
BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST ! ! ! !
BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST ! ! ! !
BACK UP YOUR DATA FIRST ! ! ! !

BTW, You will not gain space on your C drive by partitioning without destroying your data. You will still need to copy your data off and when it is copied back onto your new drive, the programs might not work properly. You might still need to re-install them.

[ 04. January 2018, 22:57: Message edited by: lilBuddha ]
 

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Posted by Zappa (# 8433) on :
 
Okay ... thanks ... my critical stuff is in the Cloud, and on a back up computer. I think I've covered my bases, though I really don't understand computers at all.
 

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Posted by Ian Climacus (# 944) on :
 
Hope it went well Zappa. Or goes well if it is yet to start.


Google Inbox website. Is there a way to mark a message unread? I am using Thunderbird as my client [IMAP] so I do it there, but just curious if I can mark them bold/unread in Inbox? Can't see an option.

I know this may not be efficient (suggestions welcome) but I like to mark items yet to be actioned/replied to as unread.

[ 15. January 2018, 05:17: Message edited by: Ian Climacus ]
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
My query is about re-charging a Samsung tablet which I mainly use to borrow books from the Library using Overdrive.

I use the Samsung adapter supplied and plug it into the mains. Full recharging seems to take forever.

Should it make any difference if I have Wi-Fi connected? Or have it switched or not switched to airplane mode?

I routinely have Wi-Fi disabled and airplane mode on when reading because I remember being told it uses less battery power when using a kindle - is this accurate for a tablet?

Thanks for any help given and please keep answers simple for the technologically challenged


Huia

[ 16. January 2018, 06:44: Message edited by: Huia ]
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
I am about to update to a new router. If I pass on or sell the old one, is there anything I need to do to it from a security point of view? E.g. I know about wiping the drive of an old laptop, but is there anything I need to do to the router?
 

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Posted by Amanda B. Reckondwythe (# 5521) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Sparrow:
I am about to update to a new router. If I pass on or sell the old one, is there anything I need to do to it from a security point of view?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Huia:

I routinely have Wi-Fi disabled and airplane mode on when reading because I remember being told it uses less battery power when using a kindle - is this accurate for a tablet?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Huia:

I use the Samsung adapter supplied and plug it into the mains. Full recharging seems to take forever.

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It could be that your charger or cable are damaged. I had a similar problem and found an app you can download which measures the charging current. It's called "Ampere". If your charger and cable are fine you should be getting over 1000 mA, but as long as you are getting at least a few hundred it's OK. I have a few chargers dotted round different rooms and at work. Some were giving me under 100 mA which is pretty worthless. Sometimes jiggling the connection helps, sometimes you just have to bin it.
 

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Posted by Huia (# 3473) on :
 
Jonah and CK I think both the Windows thing and the cable may be at fault. The adapter has been a problem from the beginning as it was difficult to fit and the slightest movement nearby detached it.

As foe Windows I know that must be turned on at times because notification of Windows up dates mysteriously appear in the morning., and weird changes happen with the time/date configuration.

Thanks so much.

Huia
 

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Posted by geroff (# 3882) on :
 
I need some translation work done from Geek to English. I have always had a computer manager to buy the hardware I need to use.
But I am between jobs with a possibility of some freelance work.
I need a PC laptop (I am writing this on my Mac, but work has to be on PCs ).

I have to run Autocad and some other building programmes. The Autodesk system requirements, CPU type says "1GHz or faster 32-bit (x-86) or 64-bit (x64) processor." What is the difference between Ghz and bit? The Autocad 2017 programme can be a 64 bit version can I run that with the 2.7GHz on the computer I want to buy?
 

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Posted by Karl: Liberal Backslider (# 76) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by geroff:
I need some translation work done from Geek to English. I have always had a computer manager to buy the hardware I need to use.
But I am between jobs with a possibility of some freelance work.
I need a PC laptop (I am writing this on my Mac, but work has to be on PCs ).

I have to run Autocad and some other building programmes. The Autodesk system requirements, CPU type says "1GHz or faster 32-bit (x-86) or 64-bit (x64) processor." What is the difference between Ghz and bit? The Autocad 2017 programme can be a 64 bit version can I run that with the 2.7GHz on the computer I want to buy?

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GHz is the speed the processor works at, the number of clock cycles each second. 32/64-bit refers to the length of the word, the number of binary digits the processor can deal with in one go. Essentially virtually anything will meet the spec you've been given.
 

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :
 
64-bit refers to the size of the individual lumps of computational data the processor throws around. GHz refers to how quickly it does it, although it's not a totally linear measure, as a slower speed with more cores running software that supports multi-core will be faster than a higher speed with fewer cores etc...

However, it's a handy rule of thumb.

If the CAD work is 3D you may want to factor in a posh video card, otherwise on board graphics will probably be OK.

You will also want a reasonable amount of RAM (the space the bits are thrown in) and an SSD rather than HDD (type of main storage) will improve performance.

Hard to say more without knowing how demanding the work is. And how impatient you are
 

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Posted by geroff (# 3882) on :
 
Thanks for your replies - I would always have the computer with as much speed and memory as I can afford.
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
I may at some point get a new deskie, which I imagine will be with Windows 10 Pro. Not a big fan of Windows 10, myself, but hey, what can you do.

Perhaps a partition with Linux might be nice? The HDD will be about 2TB, probably with a 256GB SDD as a starter drive. Additional HDDs/SDDs can be installed, there's room and slots for that.

Question 1:
How much HDD space would you reserve for a Linux installation? I guess this would then be 'dual-boot', won't it? (The new machine will come with Win 10 pre-installed.)

Question 2:
Can Linux access files on Win 10, and vice versa? By which I mean things like music, videos, office files - or would they neeed to be stored on each partition separately, Linus as well as Win 10?

Question 3:
One of my old and most useful external gadgets is a fabulous Voice and Fax modem with answerphone, which I like a lot. It worked well with Win XP, and it works nicely with Win 7 Pro/Ultimate on my current machines - provided they have a serial port. - I know there are connector cables Serial to USB. Does anyone have any experience with these?

Question 4:
Finally, I'd like to check on the Win 7 Ultimate deskie machine, which I may replace, if any further externals, like printers, scanners etc. are compatible with Windows 10 Pro. - Is there a decent Win 10 Upgrade Advisor out there? (I ran one from Win XP to Win 7 on that very machine, which did help.)

Many thanks to all.
 

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Posted by mousethief (# 953) on :
 
I have found Windows 10 almost invisible, which is what an operating system should be. I tried to run a dual boot and found it frustrating as hell. I'm not sure why you'd want to. If you have one or two Windows programs you can't live without, you can always put them in a Virtualbox. Contrariwise Linux.

I have not found any reason to have Linux, frankly. I've run a few Linux boxes, and Linux dual boots, and Linux in Virtualbox. They offered no advantages over Windows that I could see.
 

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Posted by Latchkey Kid (# 12444) on :
 
I would think virtualbox is the way to go. It runs well boxing windows on Linux. I can't see that linux on windows would be a problem.

Linux can access FAT and NTFS files, but Windows can't access Linux EXTx files, so I would keep all your data in an NTFS partition.

Your new box can probably handle a heavyweight Linux Distribution, eg Fedora, Linux Mint etc. My Toshiba Netbook was always slow on Windows 7 starter, and painfully slow on Windows 10, but works reasonably well under Peppermint 8.

I need Windows only for MediaMonkey, but the OCR of MsOffice which came installed on a cheap 2nd hand laptop comes in handy, though that is meant to run on Linux. I have a 2.75 Gb dropbox installed on everything including my android phone so I can access all the files I edit there. I have also google drive installed and that has 14 Gb out of 15Gb still unused.
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by mousethief:
I have not found any reason to have Linux, frankly. I've run a few Linux boxes, and Linux dual boots, and Linux in Virtualbox. They offered no advantages over Windows that I could see.

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quote:

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Originally posted by no prophet's flag is set so...:
Price.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jengie jon:
When I was new in my current role I need to help one of the retired researchers (i.e. the USS pays them rather than the University). It was just on the changeover from Dos to Windows. She was struggling to use the new visual interface but went away totally happy when I showed her how to get into SPSS from the dos prompt so she could type in commands. Apparently, that was lots easier.

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I remember making that switch. For me, the hardest thing was learning to use a mouse. That particular kind of coordination wasn't natural for me.
 

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Posted by balaam (# 4543) on :
 
Where has my printer driver gone?

I am using a laptop running Windows 10, I have a collection of photos from an Aunt who recently passed away, but when I came to scan them nothing happened. I am using a HP all in one machine.

Going through Install New device does not seem to work.

Can anyone help? I last installed the printer on this laptop using Windows 8.
 

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Posted by Curiosity killed ... (# 11770) on :
 
Do you have a cable to the printer? Sometimes plugging it into the computer / laptop makes the computer look for the drivers and give you advice on how to update drivers.

If it is not supported, you'll have to find the drivers on the HP site.

(My old Epson printer works wirelessly, but I have had to plug it into the laptop to persuade the laptop to upload the drivers for scanning. The tablet prints fine wirelessly, but I haven't needed to convince it to work with the scanner.)
 

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Posted by no prophet's flag is set so... (# 15560) on :
 
Search the printer by name and include windows 10 and compatibility. Hopefully they didn't obsolete-ize your printer.
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
Thanks all for the thoughtful advice to my queries here, re purchase of a new Windows 10 vs. Linux machine.

The Linux question I've put aside for now, after reading your comments. And playing with a Raspberry Pi could definitely be fun, so I'll see what comes out of that.

Concerning compatibility with Windows 10: I schlepped some hardware to one place of work, where we have Windows 7 and also Win 10 machines - everything connected well, so that was a relief! In addition, I invested a (reasonable) amount of cash to get time, hints and tips from a local computer shop, where they confirmed my observations. If need be, they are able to assist further. And things like their serial port-to-USB converters actually do work, they assure me. Good to have that local, professional uber-geek connection!

Talking with them, the question that arose of course was: do I buy a pre-assembled system (not from their shop), or set up my own machine from separate components; this was, and is, extremely tempting and had indeed crossed my mind. After careful consideration, we finally found that the overall costs would be about the same as the machine I had in mind, so I finally decided to buy the one out of the box. According to their suggestions, I did tweak a few things for best performance upon ordering, money well invested!

Invested, in fact, in this lovely high-spec beauty here.

Because, after nearly 13 years (which was May 2005), methinks I deserve a new desktop machine!

I should get it in a few days, and I may well report back. Beware.

Thank you again for the useful tips!
 

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Posted by Sparrow (# 2458) on :
 
Does anyone know if it is possible to change the orientation of a Google map, i.e. so the long side is north-south rather than east-west but with the place names the right way up?
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Sparrow:
Does anyone know if it is possible to change the orientation of a Google map, i.e. so the long side is north-south rather than east-west but with the place names the right way up?

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Rotating my mobile works for that, so....

On my mobile now, so I I cannot check for sure, but is there a compass rose on the screen? If so, try clicking that. Or look to the preferences.
 

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Posted by lilBuddha (# 14333) on :
 
Got to a computer and Google maps doesn't appear to have that function. Google Earth does, however. That can be accessed through the Google Chrome browser or downloaded onto your computer and run from there.
 

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Posted by Honest Ron Bacardi (# 38) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by lilBuddha:
Got to a computer and Google maps doesn't appear to have that function. Google Earth does, however. That can be accessed through the Google Chrome browser or downloaded onto your computer and run from there.

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