As my way of saying 'Thank you' to the beautiful SDN community, I'll try to answer as much of your computer questions as I can, for free.

But there is a catch: you can only post them here on this thread. No PM or Email (so that this thread will serve as a repository for other members)

Both Windows and Linux are welcome (I dont have expertise with other operating systems). Hardware or software or networking, ask away.

Other members are also welcome to answer these questions if they like to.

:)

As my way of saying 'Thank you' to the beautiful SDN community, I'll try to answer as much of your computer questions as I can, for free.

But there is a catch: you can only post them here on this thread. No PM or Email (so that this thread will serve as a repository for other members)

Both Windows and Linux are welcome (I dont have expertise with other operating systems). Hardware or software, ask away.

Other members are also welcome to answer these questions if they like to.

:)


i see it now, this is a loosely disguised plea for karma points isn't it? ;)

naw, j/k. very nice gesture :thumbup: i'm sure i (aka decidedly computer-unsavvy person) will be drawing upon your expertise pretty soon :D thanks!!!

are you a computer science or cpu engineering major?

i see it now, this is a loosely disguised plea for karma points isn't it? ;)

naw, j/k. very nice gesture :thumbup: i'm sure i (aka decidedly computer-unsavvy person) will be drawing upon your expertise pretty soon :D thanks!!!

Not really. See, I didn't even mention Karma points in the OP, in stark contrast to my Karma whoring in other threads. I just wanted to give back something to SDN :)

You're always welcome to post your questions, feel free :)

are you a computer science or cpu engineering major?

Nope, just a self-learnt geek / medic, no formal training in computers. OTOH, I'm doing research involving using computers in health care :)

I can help as well. I worked several years before and during college in PC hardware repair, system building, circuit board manufacturing, and then later in systems administration (networking, Internet, *NIX) and programming in JAVA and C++. I started college as a comp sci major, but switched out to do neuroscience. I still continued that tradition by working in computational neuroscience with hardware circuits that simulated neurons. I'm a little rusty, but let 'er fly!

so, how can we get sdn to have a 99.99% uptime? (i don't think it's happening anytime soon...hehe.) :D

so, how can we get sdn to have a 99.99% uptime? (i don't think it's happening anytime soon...hehe.) :D
Move it from a Windows box to a real operating system (hint: *nix) :p Don't ban me for this :D :D :D

Move it from a Windows box to a real operating system (hint: *nix) :p Don't ban me for this :D :D :D

wasn't it running under linux or a similar os when cmz was in charge of this board a few months ago? i remember it was pretty stable then.

wasn't it running under linux or a similar os when cmz was in charge of this board a few months ago? i remember it was pretty stable then.

Even a nix server will experience downtime if the load is too great. Solution: Buy more servers to distribute it more evenly.

--Vinoy

Seems like it was running some flavor of BSD

http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph/?host=forums.studentdoctor.net

Hmm, a nix server would fare well under the same load than an Windoze server.

wasn't it running under linux or a similar os when cmz was in charge of this board a few months ago? i remember it was pretty stable then.
we were using freebsd for a while, it was working pretty good. maybe we'll switch to it again in the future, who knows. lee needs some fbsd lessons first, though. ;)

we were using freebsd for a while, it was working pretty good. maybe we'll switch to it again in the future, who knows. lee needs some fbsd lessons first, though. ;)

What are the specs of the server being used now?

Yes, get off of Windows even if you're getting additional machines.

--Vinoy

I'm about to set up a wireless network in my home. Any advice on how to make it secure against hackers? Do software firewalls work in addition to the hardware firewall built into the router or will there be a conflict?

What are the specs of the server being used now?

Yes, get off of Windows even if you're getting additional machines.

--Vinoy

i'm curious too. i think the only server for sdn was a dual xeon. i think lee switched forums between one and two computers for awhile. dunno how it is now.

I have a question for you Wingy.

I have a brand new computer with all new components.

About every 5th or 6th time or so that I turn the computer on, the machine powers up, the disks spin, the fans spin, but the screen stays black and there is no beep to indicate the POST.

So I turn it off and turn it back on and it comes on just fine.

WTF could be causing this?

i think it's a dell system with dual xeons. not sure on the RAM/HDD etc. he was using his home computer, i think it was a pentium III box or something for running advertisements. but there's new servers for all that stuff now.

I'm about to set up a wireless network in my home. Any advice on how to make it secure against hackers? Do software firewalls work in addition to the hardware firewall built into the router or will there be a conflict?

A couple of simple things, and one kind of technical thing:

First, change your wireless network SSID to something non-standard (ie, "wireless" is pretty lame). Turn SSID broadcast OFF.

These two things will protect you from most of the neighbors getting into your stuff.

If you want to go an extra step, enable WEP. You have to do this both at the router and on each computer. This is fair encryption, not great but OK, and probably won't slow things down too much.

Personally, I only do the SSID stuff.

The specific steps to do this are hardware specific, but your owners manual should have the steps reequired.

Have fun!

I have a question for you Wingy.

I have a brand new computer with all new components.

About every 5th or 6th time or so that I turn the computer on, the machine powers up, the disks spin, the fans spin, but the screen stays black and there is no beep to indicate the POST.

So I turn it off and turn it back on and it comes on just fine.

WTF could be causing this?

Hmm. Brand new computer? Take it back. Bad mother board. bad / poorly seated CPU, etc.

I agree.

I've done board bring up here in the embedded world. Xtal issues are a pain. I've got this one board where every now and then, It won't come up until I touch two pins to release some capacitance on the lines near the crystal to allow it to oscillate properly for a proper clock signal to the CPU... Go fig.

btw, real men code in asm. ;)

A couple of simple things, and one kind of technical thing:

First, change your wireless network SSID to something non-standard (ie, "wireless" is pretty lame). Turn SSID broadcast OFF.

These two things will protect you from most of the neighbors getting into your stuff.

If you want to go an extra step, enable WEP. You have to do this both at the router and on each computer. This is fair encryption, not great but OK, and probably won't slow things down too much.

Personally, I only do the SSID stuff.

The specific steps to do this are hardware specific, but your owners manual should have the steps reequired.

Have fun!

Dont forget to turn your computer off "shared" and to enable a long 128-bit WEP password-- make it random and alphanumeric. WEP is extremely important to make sure people dont jack your connection.

A couple of simple things, and one kind of technical thing:

First, change your wireless network SSID to something non-standard (ie, "wireless" is pretty lame). Turn SSID broadcast OFF.

These two things will protect you from most of the neighbors getting into your stuff.

If you want to go an extra step, enable WEP. You have to do this both at the router and on each computer. This is fair encryption, not great but OK, and probably won't slow things down too much.

Personally, I only do the SSID stuff.

The specific steps to do this are hardware specific, but your owners manual should have the steps reequired.

Have fun!

mac address filtering is another thing u could do. the router would only take specific network cards that u enter the info for.

I'm about to set up a wireless network in my home. Any advice on how to make it secure against hackers? Do software firewalls work in addition to the hardware firewall built into the router or will there be a conflict?

For the internet, these questions depend on how you have it set up. If you use NAT (Network Address Translation) and you don't forward ports, you're okay for inbound connections. NAT works by taking the one internet address you're given by your provider and assigning it to your router. The router then handles all incoming and outgoing connections from an unlimited (within reason) number of boxen on your home network. With NAT, none of the boxen on your home network have real IPs (Internet Addresses) so nobody can address your machines directly unless you intiate connections yourself or with hidden software installed on your machine. Due to this, there is no need for internal firewall software. Of course I'd recommend the standard virus shield just in case. Most colleges provide this for free.

If you don't use NAT (why?), the situation gets a little more complicated, but still fixable. Let me know if this applies. Since it is a wireless network, the advice of the other users applies. You absolutely want to use WEP so that nobody can tap into your network.

As for the hardware issue posted earlier, I have no clue. It sounds like a motherboard issue to me, and that's no easy fix. You could try flashing the BIOS to the latest version, but I would probably just live with it... Or if it's a store-bought you could take the earlier advice and get an RMA on it.

A couple of simple things, and one kind of technical thing:

First, change your wireless network SSID to something non-standard (ie, "wireless" is pretty lame). Turn SSID broadcast OFF.

These two things will protect you from most of the neighbors getting into your stuff.

If you want to go an extra step, enable WEP. You have to do this both at the router and on each computer. This is fair encryption, not great but OK, and probably won't slow things down too much.

Personally, I only do the SSID stuff.

The specific steps to do this are hardware specific, but your owners manual should have the steps reequired.

Have fun!
Good suggestions. Also, enable MAC based access on your router, and add the MAC addresses of the computers allowed to connect to your wireless router.

Edit: Yogi already said that. Oops :p

I agree.

I've done board bring up here in the embedded world. Xtal issues are a pain. I've got this one board where every now and then, It won't come up until I touch two pins to release some capacitance on the lines near the crystal to allow it to oscillate properly for a proper clock signal to the CPU... Go fig.

btw, real men code in asm. ;)
Real men code in binary :p

I have a question for you Wingy.

I have a brand new computer with all new components.

About every 5th or 6th time or so that I turn the computer on, the machine powers up, the disks spin, the fans spin, but the screen stays black and there is no beep to indicate the POST.

So I turn it off and turn it back on and it comes on just fine.

WTF could be causing this?
Sounds like a motherboard issue to me (not easy to fix) but check these things:

- could be a heating problem - are all fans working properly? did you apply heat sink paste before putting the heat sink on the CPU (if you built your own pc)?

- CPU / Memory not seated properly? take them off, wipe the contacts clean with some clean cloth and put them back properly

Make sure you use anti-static precautions when you open up the PC.

Let us know if this helps :)

when trying to save animated gifs, itll only let me save it as a bmp, and therefore it only saves it as a static image, one frame of the animation. the only option it gives me is to save it as a bitmap. what gives?

when trying to save animated gifs, itll only let me save it as a bmp, and therefore it only saves it as a static image, one frame of the animation. the only option it gives me is to save it as a bitmap. what gives?
Save optimized.

If you are using ImageReady 7.0 like me, then you need to use 'File-> Save Optimized As... Ctrl+Shift+Alt+S
Also note the "File->Preview In" option. Me likes that one! :)


Oh wait... Are you talking about Internet Explorer? I have the same issue with jpgs. I need to find a place that links to the image and do a "save target as", otherwise, IE wants to save it as "untitled.bmp"... Stupid MS.

Autocomplete on WinXP Home with NetScape 7.1 doesn't work. Any help? (PS, I HATE MS, so "use Internet Explorer" isn't the best answer...)

when trying to save animated gifs, itll only let me save it as a bmp, and therefore it only saves it as a static image, one frame of the animation. the only option it gives me is to save it as a bitmap. what gives?

if it wont let you save it as .gif, and doesnt have that option under filetype, save it as a *.* file without an extension.

then, go to windows explorer and add the .gif extension manually to the end of the filename.

Autocomplete on WinXP Home with NetScape 7.1 doesn't work. Any help? (PS, I HATE MS, so "use Internet Explorer" isn't the best answer...)

Have you tried Mozilla? http://www.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla1.7b/

its more up to date, so its likely a lot of the bugs in Netscape 7.1 are fixed more quickly in Mozilla.

If you prefer, Mozilla Firefox (browser) and Mozilla Thunderbird (email) are seperate but speedy applications that can take over the function of Netscape as well.

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

Apollyon, I second Mozilla, that's what I was about to say.

crewdude, I think Mozilla might help you too.

Got a problem for all you computer geniuses.

I am not able to access my yahoo! mail inbox from any computer at work. However, other people here are able to access their yahoo accounts from work without a problem.

I'm able to get into my account from computers not on the company's network. I am able to get into my yahoo! and all other yahoo applications. It's just my inbox that isn't working. When I log into yahoo mail!, i get the "cannot find server" error message or the "yahoo cannot locate page" error message.

Anyone have any advice on how to resolve this problem?

Thanks!!

I think this could be a problem with your HOSTS file. But to be sure, I want to know:

Does this problem occur always or sometimes? Does it happen with any other websites you visit?

Please post what operating system you use, the browser version.

:)

Why do the SDN forums go down at 3:30 AM? It couldn't be because of the traffic...

Great.....was just talking to S.O. last night, trying to figure out what to do with our system.

We finally moved into the 1900s.........much less the 21st Century. We finally got DSL at home.

I was trying to perform Scan Disc and Defrag last night. I usually do that once a week, just to keep system clean and organized.

Before DSL, both Scan Disc and Defrag would usually have to restart a few times. I'd get a message that some other Windows program was running.....I should shut them off to get Scan Disc and Defrag to run more proficiently. But, to my knowledge, I never had anythign running.

Post DSL, Scan Disc and Defrag would start over again so many times, even when I let it run over night, it never finished. I still got the message that there were other Windows programs running.

So, I unplugged the DSL modem, to be sure that it was not causing the problem. I disabled Virus Scan (safe, since the modem was unhooked). I turned off the Scheduler, but that did not change anything.

Any idea either 1) what else I can turn off, or 2) what I can do to get Scan Disc and Defrag running properly? WTF is going on?

HELP!

cheers

I think this could be a problem with your HOSTS file. But to be sure, I want to know:


It cant be the hosts file because it happens only to him (and not other workers) on a variety of different computers.

You can contact Yahoo support, they are generally quite helpful.

If you are looking for an alternative, www.spymac.com gives 1GB of email space for free without the annoying ads that gmail will place.

It cant be the hosts file because it happens only to him (and not other workers) on a variety of different computers.

You can contact Yahoo support, they are generally quite helpful.

If you are looking for an alternative, www.spymac.com gives 1GB of email space for free without the annoying ads that gmail will place.
He is a 'she' :p

I think yahoo uses several different severs (us1.mail.yahoo.com, us2.mail.yahoo.com, etc). So, one of them might be restricted by the HOSTS file. I'm not sure if everyone she and everyone she talked to has @yahoo.com or she has something else, like, @yahoo.co.in, @yahoo.co.uk, etc, in which case HOSTS file could be the reason too.

Just making sure. *confused*

Great.....was just talking to S.O. last night, trying to figure out what to do with our system.

We finally moved into the 1900s.........much less the 21st Century. We finally got DSL at home.

I was trying to perform Scan Disc and Defrag last night. I usually do that once a week, just to keep system clean and organized.

Before DSL, both Scan Disc and Defrag would usually have to restart a few times. I'd get a message that some other Windows program was running.....I should shut them off to get Scan Disc and Defrag to run more proficiently. But, to my knowledge, I never had anythign running.

Post DSL, Scan Disc and Defrag would start over again so many times, even when I let it run over night, it never finished. I still got the message that there were other Windows programs running.

So, I unplugged the DSL modem, to be sure that it was not causing the problem. I disabled Virus Scan (safe, since the modem was unhooked). I turned off the Scheduler, but that did not change anything.

Any idea either 1) what else I can turn off, or 2) what I can do to get Scan Disc and Defrag running properly? WTF is going on?

HELP!

cheers

First off defragging every week isnt going to help you too much. It takes about 3 weeks to a month of heavy use to defrag the file system (now, if you uninstall and reinstall HUGE programs, like Office, then you might have to do it more often).

Oftentimes a screensaver or spyware can affect defragging. To disable the screensaver, right click on the desktop, go to properties, and turn off screensaver. Also, make sure your computer power settings dont cause it to turn off after x-minutes of keyboard/mouse inactivity.

However, the above really doesnt explain why the problem emerged post-DSL. What could be happening is spyware or a virus is trying to run. Go to www.download.com and download spybot search and destroy. Upgrade the software internally, and run it to see if there is any spyware possibly causing your system to do this.

Also, make sure you have a firewall. This is as important as virus software when you have an always-on, static IP connection like DSL. A good free one is ZoneAlarm, also available from www.download.com.

Hope this helps!

He is a 'she' :p

I think yahoo uses several different severs (us1.mail.yahoo.com, us2.mail.yahoo.com, etc). So, one of them might be restricted by the HOSTS file. I'm not sure if everyone she and everyone she talked to has @yahoo.com or she has something else, like, @yahoo.co.in, @yahoo.co.uk, etc, in which case HOSTS file could be the reason too.

Just making sure. *confused*

Oh, whoops.

Possibly, though it seemed as if she was saying other people get yahoo mail to work on their comp, but not her. Could be something messed up with her account on the yahoo-side of things. Dunno.

Great.....was just talking to S.O. last night, trying to figure out what to do with our system.

We finally moved into the 1900s.........much less the 21st Century. We finally got DSL at home.

I was trying to perform Scan Disc and Defrag last night. I usually do that once a week, just to keep system clean and organized.

Before DSL, both Scan Disc and Defrag would usually have to restart a few times. I'd get a message that some other Windows program was running.....I should shut them off to get Scan Disc and Defrag to run more proficiently. But, to my knowledge, I never had anythign running.

Post DSL, Scan Disc and Defrag would start over again so many times, even when I let it run over night, it never finished. I still got the message that there were other Windows programs running.

So, I unplugged the DSL modem, to be sure that it was not causing the problem. I disabled Virus Scan (safe, since the modem was unhooked). I turned off the Scheduler, but that did not change anything.

Any idea either 1) what else I can turn off, or 2) what I can do to get Scan Disc and Defrag running properly? WTF is going on?

HELP!

cheers

redleft, I'm assuming you're running Windows 98 or ME, since that is an extremely common problem. I had to manually close a ton of stuff before running scandisk/defrag:

1. Close everything visible on the taskbar (save your work if necessary).
2. Close everything in the system tray (the area in the lower right corner by the clock) by right-clicking and "closing" or "exiting."
3. Use Ctrl+Alt+Del and "End Task" everything but "Explorer." You'll have to do this repeatedly for every task that is running.

THEN run your ScanDisk, then your Defrag. Hope this helps. :)

Alternatively, you could upgrade to Windows XP and not have to worry about it. :)

Thanks....will try these tonight. I have always turned off screen saver and the power management options while running these two tasks. I have AdAware.......spybot stil needed? Cheers!

Thanks....will try these tonight. I have always turned off screen saver and the power management options while running these two tasks. I have AdAware.......spybot stil needed? Cheers!
You probably don't need both. I haven't used Ad-Aware, so can't say for sure.

Instead of Win XP, you can switch to Win 2000 Pro, if your computer is old and not too fast. XP hogs up too much resources. Often, you can get a free academic license for Win 2000 from your school - try asking someone in CS. The Win 2000 academic licenses aren't too restrictive, they allow you to install it on your home computer too, if your school or department has an academic license, and you are a student or faculty.

I have a computer related question.

Whats the best resource available for finding free wifi hotspots in a city? I want to find some spots in philly that I can walk into and quickly download any new email etc. And t-mobile's prices are outrageous at $30/mo. hence the free.

Thanks.

I have a computer related question.

Whats the best resource available for finding free wifi hotspots in a city? I want to find some spots in philly that I can walk into and quickly download any new email etc. And t-mobile's prices are outrageous at $30/mo. hence the free.

Thanks.

http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/browse/us/2000241/2012726/

http://www.phillyblog.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1010

I think this could be a problem with your HOSTS file. But to be sure, I want to know:

Does this problem occur always or sometimes? Does it happen with any other websites you visit?

Please post what operating system you use, the browser version.

:)

Thanks, Wing Thing! It only occurs with Yahoo! mail and I use IE on Windows 95. This problem arises on all of the computers on my at-work network that I've tried. What's weird is that I am able to log in to access other personalized yahoo pages. It's just my yahoo inbox that won't load.

Also, make sure you have a firewall. This is as important as virus software when you have an always-on, static IP connection like DSL. A good free one is ZoneAlarm, also available from www.download.com.


Thanks for this advice. I thought my cable connection was secure with Ad-Aware and Norton AntiVirus. After I downloaded the ZoneAlarm firewall, it's already blocked access to 12 outside IP addresses in the first hour. That's a little scary. :wow:

I use IE on Windows 95.

!Windows 95!

Thanks, Wing Thing! It only occurs with Yahoo! mail and I use IE on Windows 95. This problem arises on all of the computers on my at-work network that I've tried. What's weird is that I am able to log in to access other personalized yahoo pages. It's just my yahoo inbox that won't load.
Mythili,
Can you search your C: (go to Start menu> search) for a file named HOSTS (no extension), and rename it to something like HOSTS1 or something, and restart your computer and see if this problem still occurs?

If it still occurs,

1. Can your friends access their yahoo inbox from your computer?

2. Do both you and your friends have the same domain name in your email addresses? (i.e. the part after the @ sign in your email address. eg: yahoo.com, yahoo.co.in, yahoo.co.uk, etc)

3. Can you right click on the link to your inbox after you log in, and copy the shortcut and post it here? Can you also do the same for your friend's inboxes?

If you can get these three, I think I can figure out (or ask more questions). Sorry this is a bit tortuous, but it's an unusual problem, and I need to diagnose it methodically. I hope I'll be able to solve it, but am not sure yet.

:)

Edit: Here's a song (http://www.raaga.com/getclip.asp?id=999999013615) for you, dunno if you understand the language though :)

Thanks for this advice. I thought my cable connection was secure with Ad-Aware and Norton AntiVirus. After I downloaded the ZoneAlarm firewall, it's already blocked access to 12 outside IP addresses in the first hour. That's a little scary. :wow:

Yeah, static IPs get hit a lot by portscanners.

A firewall is a MUST for anyone without a dialup connection. A lot of bad things can happen without it.

Thanks, Wing Thing! It only occurs with Yahoo! mail and I use IE on Windows 95. This problem arises on all of the computers on my at-work network that I've tried. What's weird is that I am able to log in to access other personalized yahoo pages. It's just my yahoo inbox that won't load.

Clear your cache and cookies and retry.

--Vinoy

Clear your cache and cookies and retry.

--Vinoy
Oops, sorry I forgot the first step. Thanks vinoy :)

:) .

Good guesses on the SDN servers, but we're running other beasties at this point.

Server overloads should decrease when we get 2 additional servers later this summer. They will each have specific data-processing duties that will give overall increased speed and stability to the site.

Our biggest problem is that when we get new servers, everything runs great for a few months, then SDN becomes even more popular, which overloads our new servers -- it's basically a race to keep-up with increasing demand. Right now were serving around 430 GB/month, and it goes up every month.

BTW, why does the site go down at 3:30am? I'll give you one guess. ;)

Good guesses on the SDN servers, but we're running other beasties at this point.

Server overloads should decrease when we get 2 additional servers later this summer. They will each have specific data-processing duties that will give overall increased speed and stability to the site.

Our biggest problem is that when we get new servers, everything runs great for a few months, then SDN becomes even more popular, which overloads our new servers -- it's basically a race to keep-up with increasing demand. Right now were serving around 430 GB/month, and it goes up every month.

BTW, why does the site go down at 3:30am? I'll give you one guess. ;)
You restart your servers daily at 0330 just so Windoze doesn't choke of memory holes that leak worse than the Hoover dam when all the sluice gates are opened?

BTW, Lee, are there plans to move the servers to *nix?

430Gig per month? How much does it cost? Is there a way to optimize/cut down on the images and the stylesheets and unnecessary HTML mark-up and make the pages skinnier?

You restart your servers daily at 0330 just so Windoze doesn't choke of memory holes that leak worse than the Hoover dam when all the sluice gates are opened?

BTW, Lee, are there plans to move the servers to *nix?

430Gig per month? How much does it cost? Is there a way to optimize/cut down on the images and the stylesheets and unnecessary HTML mark-up and make the pages skinnier?
Man, I wrote a prototype for a company, to download all the front-end mark-up to the client initially (kinda like a thick-client, though in HTML and JavaScript) and just send the changing data back and forth as XML - more data first time to load the front-end, but very less data-transfer in the subsequent page views. It was just a prototype though, wish I could develop it fully and sell it for $$$

:)

ridicoulous as it is, broken antenna thread is like 5% of all sdn forum posts. take that out and u'll save around 5% of the forum bandwith. take out the lounge and u'll and 1/3 of the bandwith.....hehe.

How about taking out pre-allo? That would preserve the sanity of a lot of ppl :D :D :D

this is kinda unrelated...but a while ago there was a thread about google having an email service that gave a gig of space.
since it came around 4/1 i thought it was an april fools joke, but i have been invited to test out the beta version and yes they do give you a 1000MBs of space. Very sweet.

just wanted people to know that it is for real and that the complete version is on its way sometime in the future.

this is kinda unrelated...but a while ago there was a thread about google having an email service that gave a gig of space.
since it came around 4/1 i thought it was an april fools joke, but i have been invited to test out the beta version and yes they do give you a 1000MBs of space. Very sweet.

just wanted people to know that it is for real and that the complete version is on its way sometime in the future.
Wow, that's awesome. How did you get invited to test them? :clappy:

It's here: http://gmail.google.com or http://www.gmail.com

It's still not open to public yet (as of april 15)

Wow, that's awesome. How did you get invited to test them? :clappy:

It's here: http://gmail.google.com or http://www.gmail.com

It's still not open to public yet (as of april 15)

i got a private invitation from a friend that is relatively high up there at google.

i got a private invitation from a friend that is relatively high up there at google.
Aww, pick me, pick me. Can I have one too? :love:

Now you know I'm a real geek. :laugh: :laugh:

Thanks for your help. I got the wireless network up and running without a hitch. I bought the Microsoft wireless base station and wireless cards for our laptop and desktop. I've enabled WEP and have limited access to only 2 MAC IDs (those on our wireless cards.)

I have a question about the new latop I got. Everything works great except one time, I was using it and I closed it momentarily. It put it into standby mode but I couldn't get back to Windows. The screen just stayed dark no matter what I did so I had to hold down the power button to turn it off and reboot. What could be causing this? I changed the settings so that now when I close the notebook, it doesn't go into standby but simply turns off the screen.

Thanks for your help. I got the wireless network up and running without a hitch. I bought the Microsoft wireless base station and wireless cards for our laptop and desktop. I've enabled WEP and have limited access to only 2 MAC IDs (those on our wireless cards.)

I have a question about the new latop I got. Everything works great except one time, I was using it and I closed it momentarily. It put it into standby mode but I couldn't get back to Windows. The screen just stayed dark no matter what I did so I had to hold down the power button to turn it off and reboot. What could be causing this? I changed the settings so that now when I close the notebook, it doesn't go into standby but simply turns off the screen.

Hmm, new laptop? Are you sure that the OS is completely up to date? If it's an XP machine, you should check weekly at support.microsoft.com. Also check to see that the BIOS is the latest and greatest.

What sort of machine is it?

Hmm, new laptop? Are you sure that the OS is completely up to date? If it's an XP machine, you should check weekly at support.microsoft.com. Also check to see that the BIOS is the latest and greatest.

What sort of machine is it?

It's a Dell Inspiron 9100. I just updated XP today so I don't think that's it. How do I go about checking on the bios?

It's a Dell Inspiron 9100. I just updated XP today so I don't think that's it. How do I go about checking on the bios?

Its a file you download from their website, and update FOLLOWING THE DIRECTIONS CLOSELY.

Or, call their tech support - now that its not in Bangalore it should be OK.

It's a Dell Inspiron 9100. I just updated XP today so I don't think that's it. How do I go about checking on the bios?
What flighterdoc said was right, if you want to download a newer BIOS from Dell's website. but to actually get *into* the BIOS, it's probably either Delete, Escape, or F2, or maybe F8 when you first power it up. It should say something like, "Press XX to Enter Setup" or something.

Did you fix your problem by changing the settings so it doesn't go into standby?

In the BIOS, go to Power options, and if there's and option such as "ACPI installed" or "advanced power control" or something, selected "controlled by operating system" or "plug and play operating system installed" or something to that effect. Basically, configure the BIOS so that the power options are controlled by the operating system.

OTOH, I think this would be the default configuration, so you might wanna check the power settings under Windows. Sometimes, a wireless or a bluetooth adapter interferes with the computer entering standby mode. Search either the wireless card manufacturer's website or the Dell's support pages for your model. That might give some pointers and there may be a new driver for your wireless card or a BIOS update on the Dell site, etc.

In the BIOS, go to Power options, and if there's and option such as "ACPI installed" or "advanced power control" or something, selected "controlled by operating system" or "plug and play operating system installed" or something to that effect. Basically, configure the BIOS so that the power options are controlled by the operating system.

OTOH, I think this would be the default configuration, so you might wanna check the power settings under Windows. Sometimes, a wireless or a bluetooth adapter interferes with the computer entering standby mode. Search either the wireless card manufacturer's website or the Dell's support pages for your model. That might give some pointers and there may be a new driver for your wireless card or a BIOS update on the Dell site, etc.

Since everything else is working without a hitch, I think I'll just keep it the way I have now (my laptop screen turns off but the computer is on when I fold it) instead of going through all the hassle. I'm afraid that if I do what you suggest, Windows will crash more, my wireless network won't work as well, etc. The standby mode is somewhat useless for laptops anyway since you'll normally just turn it off when you put it in your bag.

In either case, thanks for your advice.

does anyone have any advice?

i want/need a new laptop, I would like something that runs Unix or Linux, and I need enough memory/fast enough processor to compile some epi reports, do other database functions, and *quickly* run some phylogentic programs like Clustal X and Arb, but I also need autocad & the other "fun stuff"

Since everything else is working without a hitch, I think I'll just keep it the way I have now (my laptop screen turns off but the computer is on when I fold it) instead of going through all the hassle. I'm afraid that if I do what you suggest, Windows will crash more, my wireless network won't work as well, etc. The standby mode is somewhat useless for laptops anyway since you'll normally just turn it off when you put it in your bag.

In either case, thanks for your advice.

if u have a dell and u want to put it in bag, u could fress Fn+Suspend (Fn + Esc on my inspiron). that'll let u store everything in memory and load it faster (i.e. 5 seconds) vs. a 30s boot.

Mabye someone will know; I run linux mandrake and it takes forever to load up the wireless network card, a dlink dw650, (eth0) any ideas on how to speed it up? I'm using the correct module etc. etc.

Also another question, my backlight in my laptop seemed to go out (only 2 years old) and I don't believe its still under warranty. Can I just buy the backlight and replace it for cheap? Thanks!

does anyone have any advice?

i want/need a new laptop, I would like something that runs Unix or Linux, and I need enough memory/fast enough processor to compile some epi reports, do other database functions, and *quickly* run some phylogentic programs like Clustal X and Arb, but I also need autocad & the other "fun stuff"
I'd look for these things in a laptop:

Intel Centrino technology (less power consumption = longer battery life, twice as much L2 cache = better performance for intensive applications = yo may notice good performance for your number crunching)

512 MB or more RAM

40 GB or more HDD

Wireless - 802.11b+g (many cards dont have native linux support, so you need to run a wrapper)

Win 2K Pro (but most of them come with Win XP Pro)

Built-in bluetooth (and may be infra-red) but bluetooth support is still flaky on Windows, no idea about Linux support.

TV output,

Built-in DVD/CDRW (though removable, if I want to upgrade to DVD writer), external floppy drive.

An extra bay that can take a second battery or another device

12" screen (less power, easy to carry around) with 1280x1024 or better resolution.

Less than 4.5 lb weight (again, easy to carry. my current laptop weighs a lot, hate it)

USB 2.0 (mine currently has USB 1.1, not fast), IEEE 1394

No memory card reader slots (there are too many kinds anyway, just having one kind is just a waste of money and space on my already small laptop. I currently have a 10-in-1 card reader, that costed me $10 after rebates)

Preferably with ability for a docking station (though I won't need it immediately)

V.92 Modem/ gigabit ethernet (my research involves huge volumes of data, and I have to keep huge databases on the server)

A really sturdy construction (preferably mag-alloy)

Unfortunately, there isnt a single laptop that satisfies all these needs (except the Powerbook, but I want a x86)

The Toshiba Protege tablet laptops come close, can work as both a regular laptop or a tablet, but I still haven't found any utility for tablets, and I dont want to pay a premium for something I don't need. You might wanna look at them though.

You can see Linux compatibility of laptops at
http://www.linux-laptop.net/
http://www.linux.org/hardware/laptop.html
http://tuxmobil.org/

I think these sites will tell you better to find one, but look for some of the above features according to your preferences and requirements.

Sorry, my expectations for laptops are too high (yeah, I'm unforgiving when it comes to computers, I've never bought a desktop, built them all. The only computer I bought as one-piece from the store is my sony laptop, and it's a PoS).

I'm waiting for a x86 laptop that's better than the 12" Powerbook. Until then, I'll sadly lug my PoS Sony Vaio everywhere).

Mabye someone will know; I run linux mandrake and it takes forever to load up the wireless network card, a dlink dw650, (eth0) any ideas on how to speed it up? I'm using the correct module etc. etc.

Also another question, my backlight in my laptop seemed to go out (only 2 years old) and I don't believe its still under warranty. Can I just buy the backlight and replace it for cheap? Thanks!
You mean the LCD's backlight or the keyboard's backlight? Either way, I'm not sure, did you look up their parts website?

Exploitation time.
My mom's computer takes about 4 hours (slight exaggeration) to boot up, and runs sluggishly after boot up too. What's up with that??
It didn't use to take so long, and it seems to have been a gradual progression into computer hell (instead of an overnight good to bad kinda thing).
It's a Dell laptop, XP home ed, PIII 733, either 128 or 256 RAM (she wasn't sure).
I'm to stupid to properly troubleshoot with her, so I'm hoping for some advice. All I could think of is that the defrag might not be working. Thanks.

PS~ She said the slowdown MIGHT have started either when she installed XP or when she installed AOL HighSpeed, but it could have started slowing down before any of this also.
I'd back up all the data, partition the Hard disk in two, use C: for programs and Windows, and D: for all my data. This way, if Windows goes belly up again, and it will, I can just reformat C: and install everything again, while my data will be safe of D: :)


I'm copying this to the computer tech support thread, so that it might be of use to other members :)

The LCD's actual backlight, meaning that the screen is no longer lit up. It's very dark, basically unable to be seen/read. Only VERY bright white images can barely be seen.

You mean the LCD's backlight or the keyboard's backlight? Either way, I'm not sure, did you look up their parts website?

Also another question, my backlight in my laptop seemed to go out (only 2 years old) and I don't believe its still under warranty. Can I just buy the backlight and replace it for cheap? Thanks!
I have the feeling it won't be cheap or easy, just because that would be useful. In my experience, laptops are much harder to fix pieces of.

BTW, why does the site go down at 3:30am? I'll give you one guess. ;)

I knew you were doing high-bandwidth porn surfing late at night!

Here's the smut the webmonster's been looking at:

http://www.zoo.org/komodo/index.html

The LCD's actual backlight, meaning that the screen is no longer lit up. It's very dark, basically unable to be seen/read. Only VERY bright white images can barely be seen.
Can you post the make/model specs of your laptop? I'll see if I can find out whether you can change the backlight alone or you'll have to change the whole LCD :)

Sure its an hp pavilion ze1230

I have a dell with the same issue (it's a total cheapo so I haven't fixed it). When I looked on the net, the word people were using as the backlight problem (a common problem) was the 'inverter'. And in the dell, that can be replaced.

Yea, I dont mean to lead anyone on, I'm very good at computers (ive done repair for the past 5 or 6 years or so) and I've worked with lcds, inverters and vga converters prior. I really wanted to know if anyone else had this problem with this laptop (I know I can get the inverter online for around $20) and my main question that I needed answered was the issue with eth0 in linux taking forever to load up (although I may be a hardware wiz, linux is still new to me).

Apparently, I found out that your LCD problem could be due to the inverter, inverter fuse or LCD backlight bulb. But I think you're much better than me that I need to even say anything about this.

About your wireless, is it DWL 650? I belive it uses a Intersil Prism-II chipset? I found two drivers (Sections 3.6.2 and 3.7) on this page (Section 3.6):

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Linux.Wireless.drivers.802.11b.html#Prism2

Can you try if an alternate driver than the one you are having will work better? Is your kernel the latest version, or is there a new one with better wi-fi support?

These guys (http://www.nongnu.org/orinoco/) also have a project page on Sourceforge.

I learnt that some people have to run dhclient manually on the interface (say, eth0), and it works seamlessly after it gets an IP address.

my main question that I needed answered was the issue with eth0 in linux taking forever to load up (although I may be a hardware wiz, linux is still new to me).

My thought is that other ethernet drivers are probing, finding similar hardware, and attempting to initialize your ethernet card before timing out or otherwise failing. My suggestion is to rebuild your kernel and leave out all the ethernet cards except the one in your laptop. Or, if you're using modules, maybe it's trying to insert the wrong one or lots of them in some standard configuration?

What distribution are you running? Do you know if your drivers are built into your kernel or being inserted as modules? Also, as Wingy mentioned, a kernel upgrade could do the trick.

I was running (until the laptop bottomed out on me :/) Mandrake 9.2. Hopefully from your suggestions, after recompiling the kernel and perhaps using a different module for the DWL 650 it should boot up much better. The 5 min boot time is killing me (Well was anyway.....)

Just a clarification guys. bgreet said the wireless is eth0? I've only run Linux on my desktop with a single network card, but I thought the Ethernet card was always eth0, and the wireless might get eth1 or something? I'm not sure about this, but is this significant?

Dont the build-in devices initialize before the PCMCIA cards or it doesnt matter at all?

As far as I know, it's whichever driver initializes first. There are also ways of setting this manually. So, no, it shouldn't be important.

A couple of simple things, and one kind of technical thing:

First, change your wireless network SSID to something non-standard (ie, "wireless" is pretty lame). Turn SSID broadcast OFF.

These two things will protect you from most of the neighbors getting into your stuff.

If you want to go an extra step, enable WEP. You have to do this both at the router and on each computer. This is fair encryption, not great but OK, and probably won't slow things down too much.

Personally, I only do the SSID stuff.

The specific steps to do this are hardware specific, but your owners manual should have the steps reequired.

Have fun!

One more security suggestion:

Configure your wireless router to filter on Ethernet MAC addresses. Enter the MAC addresses of the computers that are allowed to access the wireless router.

You will need to find out the MAC address(es) of all your computers. In a Windows XP environment, run a cmd window and enter "ipconfig /all" to determine the MAC address for your wireless and wired Ethernet connection (enter both on the wireless router).

I have another question for the nice tech geniuses that helped me out before. So I successfully installed a wireless network at my place. Everything's working like a charm (no loss of connection, etc) except I seem to have lost some performance.

When I had my computer plugged directly to the cable modem via an ethernet cable and ethernet card, I used to get ~3 mbits/sec download speeds according to one website. I used the same website to check my download speed and now, after switching to wireless, it's 1.3-1.4 mbits/sec and not much faster than that.

How do I get my download speeds back up to >2.5 mbits/sec? I'm on a g network so the theoretical highest speed should be way over 3mbits/sec (I think they advertise 54.) Suggestions would be appreciated.

I have another question for the nice tech geniuses that helped me out before. So I successfully installed a wireless network at my place. Everything's working like a charm (no loss of connection, etc) except I seem to have lost some performance.

When I had my computer plugged directly to the cable modem via an ethernet cable and ethernet card, I used to get ~3 mbits/sec download speeds according to one website. I used the same website to check my download speed and now, after switching to wireless, it's 1.3-1.4 mbits/sec and not much faster than that.

How do I get my download speeds back up to >2.5 mbits/sec? I'm on a g network so the theoretical highest speed should be way over 3mbits/sec (I think they advertise 54.) Suggestions would be appreciated.

Is your ethernet card in your laptop 802.11g as well?

Maybe check out the settings on the WAP and see if you accidentally (or it was by default) have a max speed setting?

As far as I know, it's whichever driver initializes first. There are also ways of setting this manually. So, no, it shouldn't be important.

Correct, u can config all of that to be mac specific. Dont think that is interfering, if you chose that to be eth0 when mandrake is installed, thats how its configged.

Good call with the kernel recompile. The major problem with rh/mandrake/yellowdog right now though is that these distros have become so bloated that standard kernel recompiles can be a pain in the arse. :/ Standard installs ALWAYS install things you didnt want them to, etc.

Linux is in a weird place right now, imho. More and more people i know are converting to BSD, in fact my server, which got 0wn3d a few months ago, will be BSD when it is brougth back up in the next week or two.

if you ever need to fix something in your comp then try searching for it on the net. i fixed three of my most irritating comp problems that way and found that the ignorant people at gateway wasted tons of my time. God bless them.

Is your ethernet card in your laptop 802.11g as well?

Maybe check out the settings on the WAP and see if you accidentally (or it was by default) have a max speed setting?

Actually, my desktop had the ethernet card while my laptop has only had the wireless 802.11g (my router is also wireless 802.11g.) I'll try checking out the WAP settings but I have no idea why the default would set the max speed below 3 mbits/sec. What's the point of advertising a max speed of 54 mbits/sec then if you have to mess with the settings to get a speed that's way less than that?

Thanks for the info.

Hi TWT,
I had a question about my computer.... it has a 13 gb c:drive and a 120 gb d: drive. Where should I be installing my games, documents, pics? Should I not install anything on the c:? Or what sort of programs, if any, need to be on the the c:?

Also, I was thinking about buying a printer that can scan, copy, print, and fax? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks! :D

if you ever need to fix something in your comp then try searching for it on the net. i fixed three of my most irritating comp problems that way and found that the ignorant people at gateway wasted tons of my time. God bless them.

On that note, check out my new thread

Stupid Qwest Telecom (http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=117605)

Hi TWT,
I had a question about my computer.... it has a 13 gb c:drive and a 120 gb d: drive. Where should I be installing my games, documents, pics? Should I not install anything on the c:? Or what sort of programs, if any, need to be on the the c:?

Also, I was thinking about buying a printer that can scan, copy, print, and fax? What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks! :D
A good way would be to keep your OS (Windows XP) and Applications on one partition (C:) and all your data on D:

This way, if your Windows screws up, you can format C: and reinstall Windows and all the Applications (aka Programs) from the CDs. All your data on D: will be safe and unaffected.

When I say data, I mean all the files you create or copy (all documents, including music, pictures, video, etc). You can also relocate your "My Documents" to D:, right click on "My Documents" and you'll see an option to select any location you want for your "My Documents".



Reg. your second question, I havent personally used any of these multifunction devices, you might wanna try these websites for the reviews:

http://www.cnet.com
http://www.zdnet.com
http://www.tomshardware.com
http://www.anandtech.com
or our old and gold http://www.epinions.com

Inkjets are cheaper, but if you want a really professional gizmo and cost is not a limiting factor, you might wanna consider a laser (color lasers are too expensive). Things to consider are: paper sizes that you might end up using, speed, availability of an auto-document feeder (you might wanna consider it at some point in the future if you want to scan a lot of pages or photos), cost per page of ink/toner, interface (USB vs Ethernet).

TWT: Thanks for the info on the partitions. I will do just as you say! :D
And double thanks on the websites! Those will come in handy!! :thumbup:

bump.

Sorry for the hiatus folks, my DSL connection is down :(

But post your questions here, I'll try to answer them from school as much as I can.

I have a question. I've got a wireless setup in my house, but since the router is at one corner of the house, the signal doesn't quite reach the opposite corner. This happens to be my room, which is most annoying.

I'm thinking about getting a signal repeater, but they seem costly, and at any rate, I have some no-name router pumping out signals (i.e. not Belkin or Buffalo or anything decent like that).

Any suggestions?

I have a question. I've got a wireless setup in my house, but since the router is at one corner of the house, the signal doesn't quite reach the opposite corner. This happens to be my room, which is most annoying.

I'm thinking about getting a signal repeater, but they seem costly, and at any rate, I have some no-name router pumping out signals (i.e. not Belkin or Buffalo or anything decent like that).

Any suggestions?
You can buy

1. a long network cable and put the router in the middle of your house, or
2. use a powerful omnidirectional antenna, or
3. you can actually use a pringles cantenna (directional, though)


Omni-directional antenna:
http://www.ramseyelectronics.com/cgi-bin/commerce.exe?preadd=action&key=ISM9D


Cantenna:

http://www.oreillynet.com/cs/weblog/view/wlg/448

http://linuxathome.com/files_images/cantenna.pdf

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/666e/

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/howto/story/0,24330,3406172,00.html

These might help you understand Wi Fi antennas:

http://www.winncom.com/html/wireless-trevormarshall.shtml


You can actuall install three cantennas (or more) in a three-pointed star fashion (a la Mercedes Benz) and get better coverage in all directions, or if you want coverage rather than range, use a parabolic reflector rather than a cantenna.






Disclaimer: I haven't built one, so I dont have any first hand experience if the FCC will knock on your door (or break in). Read the links about FCC regulations carefully, and use it at your own risk.

Help :scared:

I didn't spill anything on my keyboard at work, but there are a few keys that will NOT work, regardless of how hard I push into the key.

The 'zxbm and enter' buttons do not work :(

I already tried pushing in the cord to make sure it wasn't a loose connection. Is it a virus? or is my keyboard just messed up? I ran a virus check and it said I didn't have any infected files. I also tried shutting down the computer and turning it back on, and the keys still won't work.

Oh, and the only reason I can type is because I'm in a different room on a different computer. :(

Help :scared:

I didn't spill anything on my keyboard at work, but there are a few keys that will NOT work, regardless of how hard I push into the key.

The 'zxbm and enter' buttons do not work :(

I already tried pushing in the cord to make sure it wasn't a loose connection. Is it a virus? or is my keyboard just messed up? I ran a virus check and it said I didn't have any infected files. I also tried shutting down the computer and turning it back on, and the keys still won't work.

Oh, and the only reason I can type is because I'm in a different room on a different computer. :(

Sounds like the keyboard is dirty. It happens, keyboards are poorly designed, poorly manufactured mechanical devices. And, for what keyboards cost, just go get a new one, and plug it in. For $10-20, you'll be happier than trying to clean the keys and microswitches.

Sounds like the keyboard is dirty. It happens, keyboards are poorly designed, poorly manufactured mechanical devices. And, for what keyboards cost, just go get a new one, and plug it in. For $10-20, you'll be happier than trying to clean the keys and microswitches.

or if you want take off the keys and clean them underneath...some keyboards make it easy to do that...and it takes a few minutes. it's happened to me before.

maybe bgreet can answer this too since he's such a hardware wiz :laugh:

Scubes, you can try a can of compressed air that you get at computer stores, but instead of spending $5 on it, you can get a new keyboard for $10 :)

if u're a risk taker, get the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner, and suck that gunk off ur keyboard.

Keyboard was replaced by the computer technician. I can post again from class :clap: :clap: :clap:

:)

edit: This keyboard is dirtier than the other keyboard, so I wonder why this one works. :confused:

Keyboard was replaced by the computer technician. I can post again from class :clap: :clap: :clap:

:)

edit: This keyboard is dirtier than the other keyboard, so I wonder why this one works. :confused:

Coke hasn't been spilled into it yet?

Diet Coke, btw, is OK. The regular stuff gunks it up. Stick to Diet Coke with Lime to be extra safe :thumbup: :thumbup:

Coke hasn't been spilled into it yet?

Diet Coke, btw, is OK. The regular stuff gunks it up. Stick to Diet Coke with Lime to be extra safe :thumbup: :thumbup:


I don't drink soda...only coffee, water, or alcohol for me.

Okay, I can't actually drink alcohol at work, but the others are drinkable. :D

I don't drink soda...only coffee, water, or alcohol for me.

Okay, I can't actually drink alcohol at work, but the others are drinkable. :D


If you put cream/sugar in your coffee, keep that away from the keyboard. If you drink decaf, keep the cup at least 20 feet away from the computer.

My cat knocked over a glass of Mountain Dew Code Red all over the keyboard. Happened while I was out, though, so it was mostly dried when I got home. I just used paper towels and some compressed air...it still works, so far...

My cat knocked over a glass of Mountain Dew Code Red all over the keyboard. Happened while I was out, though, so it was mostly dried when I got home. I just used paper towels and some compressed air...it still works, so far...

start looking for a new keyboard.... better than a 90% chance you'll start getting weird problems (sticking/not working keys, etc) that come and go.

help me oh computer geniuses.

i know for a fact the 2 men in my house look at porn all the time. its obviously too embarrassing for me to say anything to them, but every time i find something i erase it, and i think its pretty obvious that im the one doing it. but this puts so much CRAP on the computer, i already had to do a system recovery once.

anyhoo - my homepage is hijacked. i have spybot and ad aware, and run them all the time and erase everything they find. i even checked the box in spybot that prevents homepage hijacking. it still doesnt work. it has been switched to www.thebestse.com
it acutally used to be something different, cool search or something like that, but that homepage actually had instructions on how to change it back to normal. so i did, and now im stuck with this crap. WTF can i do???
and sometimes, i go to SDN or any webpage, and an error box pops up saying IE cant open this page, operation aborted. WTF!

help me oh computer geniuses.

i know for a fact the 2 men in my house look at porn all the time. its obviously too embarrassing for me to say anything to them, but every time i find something i erase it, and i think its pretty obvious that im the one doing it. but this puts so much CRAP on the computer, i already had to do a system recovery once.

anyhoo - my homepage is hijacked. i have spybot and ad aware, and run them all the time and erase everything they find. i even checked the box in spybot that prevents homepage hijacking. it still doesnt work. it has been switched to www.thebestse.com
it acutally used to be something different, cool search or something like that, but that homepage actually had instructions on how to change it back to normal. so i did, and now im stuck with this crap. WTF can i do???
and sometimes, i go to SDN or any webpage, and an error box pops up saying IE cant open this page, operation aborted. WTF!
Since you already used those tools, just to be sure, did you close your browser when you did that?

If not, close IE, Netscape and all other browsers you have and then run Spybot again. If it doesn't help, post again and I'll be glad to help.

PS: If it helps, some karma points would be great *shamess grin* :p

My DSL is back, so I'll reply to your questions faster, just wanted to let know :)

i have everything closed when i run both...
there's no link on the webpage on how to remove it. when i had the other hijacked webpage, it gave specific instructions on what to do, it involved removing registry stuff. i assume thats the way to go with this one as well, but im scared to f with that.

*bows down to superior computer knowledge*

help me oh computer geniuses.

i know for a fact the 2 men in my house look at porn all the time. its obviously too embarrassing for me to say anything to them, but every time i find something i erase it, and i think its pretty obvious that im the one doing it. but this puts so much CRAP on the computer, i already had to do a system recovery once.

anyhoo - my homepage is hijacked. i have spybot and ad aware, and run them all the time and erase everything they find. i even checked the box in spybot that prevents homepage hijacking. it still doesnt work. it has been switched to www.thebestse.com
it acutally used to be something different, cool search or something like that, but that homepage actually had instructions on how to change it back to normal. so i did, and now im stuck with this crap. WTF can i do???
and sometimes, i go to SDN or any webpage, and an error box pops up saying IE cant open this page, operation aborted. WTF!

-install a firewall, like sygate personal firewall (free) from download.com
-install a proxy server like http://proxomitron.org to take out all the popups/ads (doesn't work w/ aol). reset your homepage to it's preferred page via tools-->options. having a proxy server like proxomitron is the best way to remove popups and ALL ads (sadly, including SDN's...hehe).
-download something (i forgot the name exactly)...called a 'host' file that blacklists certain domains and prevents your computer from accessing those domains.
-run mozilla/firefox instead of ie6.

i have everything closed when i run both...
there's no link on the webpage on how to remove it. when i had the other hijacked webpage, it gave specific instructions on what to do, it involved removing registry stuff. i assume thats the way to go with this one as well, but im scared to f with that.

*bows down to superior computer knowledge*
This might help (in case you havent seen it already):

http://www.able2know.com/forums/about21407.html

Lemme know if the issue still persists after following the above link.

While bumping this thread, lemme post a SF story I read elsewhere (SF = starfish = totally clueless computer end-user)

SF got a brand new HDD, called me and went off because the computer would not boot to it...wanted a refund for the drive, because it was going right to the CDROM. I asked if he had an OS on it yet, and his exact words were "No you idiot I want to PUT an OS on the stupid thing!" O-o-o-oK, had to explain to SF that with no OS the Computer will not boot up to a HDD, got hung up on...is today Monday? Did someone let stupid people out? - [By: MoogleMage / 2004-04-29]

i have everything closed when i run both...
there's no link on the webpage on how to remove it. when i had the other hijacked webpage, it gave specific instructions on what to do, it involved removing registry stuff. i assume thats the way to go with this one as well, but im scared to f with that.

*bows down to superior computer knowledge*
Download "HijackThis" (just search for it on google) and post the output of that here. It will list everything in the registry that is related to browser hijacking in IE. We can then let you know which ones to get rid of.

I've got another question for you Mr. Computer Expert.

I've noticed my Dell laptop came installed with a bunch of crap that runs in the background and automatically starts up when you boot the computer. I disabled some of them by running msconfig from "run programs" and deselecting them from the startup tab.

Some of them weren't even listed on the startup tab (e.g. NotifyAlert.exe, Support.exe) so I just found the files and changed the filenames (to NotifyAlert.bak & Support.bak). Is there any disadvantage to doing it this way? I know you can also download some software that will keep these files from starting up but simply renaming these files seemed to keep them from running (I don't see them in task manager anymore). Thanks.

I've got another question for you Mr. Computer Expert.
Download "HijackThis" (just search for it on google)

It showed that stuff too.

When you run it, goto config->misc tools->generate startuplist log

I've got another question for you Mr. Computer Expert.

I've noticed my Dell laptop came installed with a bunch of crap that runs in the background and automatically starts up when you boot the computer. I disabled some of them by running msconfig from "run programs" and deselecting them from the startup tab.

Some of them weren't even listed on the startup tab (e.g. NotifyAlert.exe, Support.exe) so I just found the files and changed the filenames (to NotifyAlert.bak & Support.bak). Is there any disadvantage to doing it this way? I know you can also download some software that will keep these files from starting up but simply renaming these files seemed to keep them from running (I don't see them in task manager anymore). Thanks.
I think these two tools are used by tech support by remotely connecting to your pc and troubleshoot it. I guess you dont need them running all the time, but only when you call tech support. I don't see anything wrong with this.

Did you check all the tabs in MSCONFIG (autoexec, startup, registry, win.ini, etc)? You can also disable some background services that you wont need by going to Control Panel > Administrative tools > Services. Just be sure to know what each thing does before you turn it off.

I've got another question for you Mr. Computer Expert.

I've noticed my Dell laptop came installed with a bunch of crap that runs in the background and automatically starts up when you boot the computer. I disabled some of them by running msconfig from "run programs" and deselecting them from the startup tab.

Some of them weren't even listed on the startup tab (e.g. NotifyAlert.exe, Support.exe) so I just found the files and changed the filenames (to NotifyAlert.bak & Support.bak). Is there any disadvantage to doing it this way? I know you can also download some software that will keep these files from starting up but simply renaming these files seemed to keep them from running (I don't see them in task manager anymore). Thanks.

These background programs provide a variety of services: tech support, online help, button functionality (volume/CD buttons, depending on the model), etc... You can usually safely disable them, but doing so won't likely cause a noticeable performance improvement.

If you're looking to optimize WinXP services see blackviper.com (http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm).

My wife is starting Law School this fall and I want to surprise her with a notebook. I heard Toshiba Dell and HP are the best to purchase.

I'm looking for at least Pentium 4, 2.8 Ghz, 512 RAM, CD-RW/DVD, 60 Gigs of memory.

How much should I expect to spend?

I have a microsoft wireless router in my home, if I were to purchase a laptop with an internal wireless 11g card, would it be compatible with the router in my home?

Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the info. The programs I renamed/disabled were Dell update alerts which are basically pointless (as long as you manually update) but take up memory or can cause your computer to crash. There are probably more I should disable but I'll have to look into it later cause now I actually have to do some work. Take it easy.

My wife is starting Law School this fall and I want to surprise her with a notebook. I heard Toshiba Dell and HP are the best to purchase.

I'm looking for at least Pentium 4, 2.8 Ghz, 512 RAM, CD-RW/DVD, 60 Gigs of memory.

How much should I expect to spend?

I have a microsoft wireless router in my home, if I were to purchase a laptop with an internal wireless 11g card, would it be compatible with the router in my home?

Thanks in advance.

I got a Dell Inspiron 9100 with those same specs (except I think you meant 60 gig hard drive instead of 60 gigs of memory) for <$1600 including tax, shipping. It's pretty fast.

The only problem is this laptop is huge (close to 10 pounds.) You might want a different model that's not quite as fast but is a lot lighter.

My wife is starting Law School this fall and I want to surprise her with a notebook. I heard Toshiba Dell and HP are the best to purchase.

I'm looking for at least Pentium 4, 2.8 Ghz, 512 RAM, CD-RW/DVD, 60 Gigs of memory.

How much should I expect to spend?

I have a microsoft wireless router in my home, if I were to purchase a laptop with an internal wireless 11g card, would it be compatible with the router in my home?

Thanks in advance.
Rather than a 2.4+ GHz P4, you might as well get a Centrino 1.5 MHz, weighing less than 5 lb. I've had a big-ass Sony Vaio for a long time, it's about 8.5 lb. You really don't need so much power in a laptop, you never end up using them, unless you're into hardcore programming - even for which, a 1.5 GHz Centrino would be good.

Over time you come to realize that what you need from a laptop is mobility and battery life, and not really the fastest processor or all the features you wont use. I've had a heavy laptop, and I'm talking from experience.

Look for a Centrino laptop,
- about 1.5 GHz,
- 512 MB RAM (with ability to upgrade to 1 GB or more)
- 40 or 60 GB HDD,
- built-in wireless (802.11 b or b+g) (add-on cards have tiny antennas, so poor reception, built-in cards have a huge antenna inside the LCD panel/lid assembly)
- built-in DVD/CDRW
- built-in floppy is not essential
- screen size 12 to 14 inches (anything smaller is unusable, bigger is bulky)
- weight less than 5 lb

Some of the laptops that come to my mind are the Sony Vaio V505, Toshiba Portege Laptop/Tablet (cant remember the model number) and the Gateway 200E. You can customize them the way you want. They are all less than 5 lb, and have good battery life.

Incidentally, I just bought a refurbished Gateway 200E, with 1.6 GHz Centrino, 512 MB RAM, 60 GB HDD, built-in wireless, DVD/CDRW, 14.1 inch screen. It comes with a optical digital sound output (Awesome-O!!!!) and a S-Video output (Vaio 505 lacks TV output). It however came with a 1 year manufacturer warranty (rare for a refurbished), and my credit card gives me one more year extended warranty, I paid $1140 + $45 shipping.

I bought refurbished instead of new, because I have to fix my broken big-ass Sony and sell it, and lose a lot of money in the process, can't afford a new laptop right now. :(

Lemme know if you have more questions.

Hey wingthing, which credit card offers an additional year of warranty?

Hey wingthing, which credit card offers an additional year of warranty?
Several Mastercards do (Gold, Platinum and International from any bank, I used a Platinum Mastercard: http://www.mastercard.com/aboutourcards/benefits_chart.html).

Platinums visas and some Amex cards too, from what I heard.

Thanks Wing, when i'm about to purchase I'll let you know what I have and see what you think.

My "Microsoft Internet Explorer" isn't loading. How do I fix this?

My "Microsoft Internet Explorer" isn't loading. How do I fix this?
Wait.... That's a bad thing?

My "Microsoft Internet Explorer" isn't loading. How do I fix this?
Install Mozilla. http://www.mozilla.org

Is there a software out there (grammar software program) that would allow me to change a statement into question format?

example: Phonophoresis drives whole molecules into tissues as opposed to
ions
Questions:
1) What - What drives whole molecules into tissues?
2)Where - Where does phonophoresis drive molecules into?
3)How- How does phonophoresis drive whole molecules into tissues?
4) definition - Term defining process via which whole molecules are driven into tissues

I was thinking about using underlining sentences and having a popup with options to click on to select which type of questions I would like to compile for that particular statement. I understand this involves a fair knowledge of AI programming and knowledge of linguistics, so is there a software outhere that does this kind of thing?

Is there a software out there (grammar software program) that would allow me to change a statement into question format?

example: Phonophoresis drives whole molecules into tissues as opposed to
ions
Questions:
1) What - What drives whole molecules into tissues?
2)Where - Where does phonophoresis drive molecules into?
3)How- How does phonophoresis drive whole molecules into tissues?
4) definition - Term defining process via which whole molecules are driven into tissues

I was thinking about using underlining sentences and having a popup with options to click on to select which type of questions I would like to compile for that particular statement. I understand this involves a fair knowledge of AI programming and knowledge of linguistics, so is there a software outhere that does this kind of thing?

this is pretty simple in ms word or any other application w/ macros.

1. Put the original statement into a 2 column table w/ the orginal statement on the left column.
2. Highly the portion of statement of interest.
i.e.

For "What drives whole molecules into tissues?", you would highlight

Phonophoresis drives whole molecules into tissues as opposed to ions.

3. Go to tools, create a new macro w/ a new shorcut (i.e. Alt + H for wHat questions).

4. The original text will be highlighted and you will return to the word processor.

5. Click Edit/Copy to copy the "phonophoresis drives whole molecules into tissues".

6. Press Tab to move into next column (adjacent)

7. Type what, press 'spacebar', click edit/paste, then type a "?".

8. Close the macro.

9. now, wheneever u want to ask the question, you'd just highlight the desigered text, press "Alt+H", and the 'what' question will be posted on the adjacent cell.

Repeat the steps for other iterations of questions.

If you want to do it in all one step, i suppose you could enter the original text in a 5-6 column format w/ the final column being the question columns. using the same principles as above, you might select 1-2 columns for the what quesiton, 2-3 for the how questions, etc.

anyone know how to backup emails from thunderbird .6? is there a file we save? thnx.

Here you go:

Open Thunderbird. Go to Tools > Account settings

Select "Server settings" under the desired account.

Note the folder path under "Local directory" (bottom of right hand side)

Open that folder (the easy way I do it, I copy the local directory location, open
my computer', paste the folder path into the address bar and hit 'enter')

You see all the files there that need to be backed up. You can actually copy the whole director. For instance, if the path for your account "X" is

D:\Thunderbird\Profiles\default\s3em3xon.slt\Mail\ X

Copy that whole X directory instead of individual files inside, and back it up.

You can later take it to another computer, create an email account on that Thunderbird, then go to the correct folder, and overwrite those files with the ones from your backup.

If you just want to backup a single email, you can actually open that email, and do File > Save

this is pretty simple in ms word or any other application w/ macros.

1. Put the original statement into a 2 column table w/ the orginal statement on the left column.
2. Highly the portion of statement of interest.
i.e.

For "What drives whole molecules into tissues?", you would highlight

Phonophoresis drives whole molecules into tissues as opposed to ions.

3. Go to tools, create a new macro w/ a new shorcut (i.e. Alt + H for wHat questions).

4. The original text will be highlighted and you will return to the word processor.

5. Click Edit/Copy to copy the "phonophoresis drives whole molecules into tissues".

6. Press Tab to move into next column (adjacent)

7. Type what, press 'spacebar', click edit/paste, then type a "?".

8. Close the macro.

9. now, wheneever u want to ask the question, you'd just highlight the desigered text, press "Alt+H", and the 'what' question will be posted on the adjacent cell.

Repeat the steps for other iterations of questions.

If you want to do it in all one step, i suppose you could enter the original text in a 5-6 column format w/ the final column being the question columns. using the same principles as above, you might select 1-2 columns for the what quesiton, 2-3 for the how questions, etc.

This sounds wonderful. So what do I do if I want to highlight more than one sentence and use the macro?

I have 2 identities in my WindowsXP.

In one of them, my "Task manager" is messed up...When I press alt-ctrl-del, the task manager comes up, but without any of the menus at the top. It's just the list of programs....I can't select shut down or restart or anything like that, but I can manually close programs in the window. The task manager in the other identity is fine.

Any ideas about how to fix this?

Here you go:

Open Thunderbird. Go to Tools > Account settings

Select "Server settings" under the desired account.

Note the folder path under "Local directory" (bottom of right hand side)

Open that folder (the easy way I do it, I copy the local directory location, open
my computer', paste the folder path into the address bar and hit 'enter')

You see all the files there that need to be backed up. You can actually copy the whole director. For instance, if the path for your account "X" is

D:\Thunderbird\Profiles\default\s3em3xon.slt\Mail\ X

Copy that whole X directory instead of individual files inside, and back it up.

You can later take it to another computer, create an email account on that Thunderbird, then go to the correct folder, and overwrite those files with the ones from your backup.

If you just want to backup a single email, you can actually open that email, and do File > Save

thanks. sounds good.

This sounds wonderful. So what do I do if I want to highlight more than one sentence and use the macro?

i don't think u could do that. you might have to play around w/ it until u get a good system going.

I have 2 identities in my WindowsXP.

In one of them, my "Task manager" is messed up...When I press alt-ctrl-del, the task manager comes up, but without any of the menus at the top. It's just the list of programs....I can't select shut down or restart or anything like that, but I can manually close programs in the window. The task manager in the other identity is fine.

Any ideas about how to fix this?
Man, my quick reply would be to say "Give windows the boot, and install linux".

I think it could be one of the start-up programs in one of the profiles that causes this, or perhaps you do not have the rights to do this on the other profile. I'll post more if I find out why.

Does anyone know how to change the startup order of applications when Windows XP boots up?

I have AIM installed, but it boots up first (before my wireless network adapter boots up). I'd like to make it boot last. When it boots first, it doesn't automatically sign in. I still can't figure out why all of a sudden it started booting first instead of last.

Thanks!

Does anyone know how to change the startup order of applications when Windows XP boots up?

I have AIM installed, but it boots up first (before my wireless network adapter boots up). I'd like to make it boot last. When it boots first, it doesn't automatically sign in. I still can't figure out why all of a sudden it started booting first instead of last.

Thanks!
I think the wireless driver would load first, but your AIM starts before the wireless card connects to the wireless router. It was my understanding that all drivers are loaded first, before the applications are loaded?!

I think the wireless driver would load first, but your AIM starts before the wireless card connects to the wireless router. It was my understanding that all drivers are loaded first, before the applications are loaded?!
Today when I booted the computer, AIM actually signed on. So it worked today.

But the AIM taskbar icon appears before my wireless driver's icon.

On another story, for some reason my icon actually disappeared today (I'm not talking about hiding where you click the left arrow and it shows the icon). It actually disappeared. when I signed off then back on, it came back. Any theories?

OK tech geniuses. I need more help. It seems everytime I run a virus scan, my scanner detects at least a few DLL files (Adware ones) which I guess are like spyware. It's fine cause my scanner finds them and I can delete them but how do I keep them from being downloaded onto my computer in the first place?

Oh, there's something else. For some reason, my new laptop likes to advance the clock 2 hours randomly. The clock will read 2:15 for example and the next time I check, it'll be 4:30 or something. This has happened 3 times that I can remember. What could be causing this?

Oh, there's something else. For some reason, my new laptop likes to advance the clock 2 hours randomly. The clock will read 2:15 for example and the next time I check, it'll be 4:30 or something. This has happened 3 times that I can remember. What could be causing this?

double click on the clock, change your timezone to the appropriate time zone.

double click on the clock, change your timezone to the appropriate time zone.

Thanks. That should hopefully solve that problem. I'm curious. Does Windows XP use the internet to check the correct time because how else would it know what the clock is supposed to be set at?

Thanks. That should hopefully solve that problem. I'm curious. Does Windows XP use the internet to check the correct time because how else would it know what the clock is supposed to be set at?

i dunno....it might. the only reason why i made that suggestion was that it happened to me last month. my computer usually changes the time whenever daylight savings starts/end. however, it didn't do it last month. turns out i had my settings on "central america (no daylight savings)" rather than "central time (us version w/ daylight savings)"...hehe.

Thanks. That should hopefully solve that problem. I'm curious. Does Windows XP use the internet to check the correct time because how else would it know what the clock is supposed to be set at?
Yeah, XP synchronizes the system clock every week. Double-click on the clock and you should see how it does that.

Yeah, XP synchronizes the system clock every week. Double-click on the clock and you should see how it does that.

darn...microsoft working behind the scenes. i had no idea they were doing that.

Yeah, XP synchronizes the system clock every week. Double-click on the clock and you should see how it does that.

I guess it's a useful feature--it keeps the clock accurate instead of drifting by a few minutes every few months. We're so technologically advanced now. :thumbup:

I just got my new laptop yesterday. Specs:

Gateway 200E (powered by Intel Centrino blah blah)
----------------------------------------------------

Pentium M 1.6 GHz
512 MB PC2700 RAM
60 GB HDD
DVD/CDRW
Integrated Intel video card (8 MB shared memory)
14.1 inch 1024x768 LCD
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 IEEE 1394 port
Built in Intel pro 2100 802.11b wireless
S-video out
SPDIF digital optical audio out

Very small, 4.3 lb

Except for the video, it rocks. But it's mainly for work. I have a powerful fun PC at home, so I can do with this video though.

Manufacturer refurbished, with 1 year warraty from Gateway, with 1 more year extended warranty from my credit card company (Mastercard). Looks and works as good as new.

:thumbup:

Thanks. That should hopefully solve that problem. I'm curious. Does Windows XP use the internet to check the correct time because how else would it know what the clock is supposed to be set at?

XP has a feature in date/tme properties called internet time, you can set it up to check a timeserver (once a week) but I use a $10 shareware product called socketwatch from RoboMagic. It goes and checks a number of time servers, checks on my schedule (like every 30 minutes), and has some other features that I like too. You can get a free version (updates twice every day), but for the $10, it's pretty good. They also have a weather program I like called wetsock, you can select anywhere in the world that has weather reporting online, and have icons on the task bar for each location. Right now, for instance, it's clear and 62F in Lake Tahoe, Ca. :love:

XP has a feature in date/tme properties called internet time, you can set it up to check a timeserver (once a week) but I use a $10 shareware product called socketwatch from RoboMagic. It goes and checks a number of time servers, checks on my schedule (like every 30 minutes), and has some other features that I like too. You can get a free version (updates twice every day), but for the $10, it's pretty good. They also have a weather program I like called wetsock, you can select anywhere in the world that has weather reporting online, and have icons on the task bar for each location. Right now, for instance, it's clear and 62F in Lake Tahoe, Ca. :love:

So what other features does Socketwatch have? I'm always paranoid about installing anything because it seems everything (especially shareware) nowadays has tons of spyware, trojans, etc.

So what other features does Socketwatch have? I'm always paranoid about installing anything because it seems everything (especially shareware) nowadays has tons of spyware, trojans, etc.

It's safe, the company has been around for at leat 7-8 years (that I've been using them), and I've never gotten any spyware or trojans from them. I used to install Socketwatch on fileservers to keep the time up to date.

Some of the fetures include letting you select which (and how many) international time servers you sync to, it has a sync feature for your watch, and will allow you to deliberately offset the set time if you know your system clock is fast/slow.

I just got my new laptop yesterday. Specs:

Gateway 200E (powered by Intel Centrino blah blah)
----------------------------------------------------

Pentium M 1.6 GHz
512 MB PC2700 RAM
60 GB HDD
DVD/CDRW
Integrated Intel video card (8 MB shared memory)
14.1 inch 1024x768 LCD
2 USB 2.0 ports
1 IEEE 1394 port
Built in Intel pro 2100 802.11b wireless
S-video out
SPDIF digital optical audio out

Very small, 4.3 lb

Except for the video, it rocks. But it's mainly for work. I have a powerful fun PC at home, so I can do with this video though.

Manufacturer refurbished, with 1 year warraty from Gateway, with 1 more year extended warranty from my credit card company (Mastercard). Looks and works as good as new.

:thumbup:



??? $$$ ???

So anyone know the answer to my previous question? How do I prevent downloading Adware DLL files? Is there a setting on Internet Explorer I need to change or something?

XP has a feature in date/tme properties called internet time, you can set it up to check a timeserver (once a week) but I use a $10 shareware product called socketwatch from RoboMagic. It goes and checks a number of time servers, checks on my schedule (like every 30 minutes), and has some other features that I like too. You can get a free version (updates twice every day), but for the $10, it's pretty good. They also have a weather program I like called wetsock, you can select anywhere in the world that has weather reporting online, and have icons on the task bar for each location. Right now, for instance, it's clear and 62F in Lake Tahoe, Ca. :love:

I just use the atomic clock sync program (free) - it's Atomic something - you can search for it and find it. It pings atomic clock servers. Good enough from my viewing.

So anyone know the answer to my previous question? How do I prevent downloading Adware DLL files? Is there a setting on Internet Explorer I need to change or something?

Go into the security settings options in IE and bump the general security settings up. You'll have to tweak as necessary, because some sites you visit may use the features you'll be disabling. Personally, I just go ahead and use Opera (www.opera.com). It has a nice little setting called "Only Open Requested Pop-Up Windows" that makes my life so much easier...

So anyone know the answer to my previous question? How do I prevent downloading Adware DLL files? Is there a setting on Internet Explorer I need to change or something?


Zone Labs Zone Alarm Pro firewall. Once it's set up it's great.

I just use the atomic clock sync program (free) - it's Atomic something - you can search for it and find it. It pings atomic clock servers. Good enough from my viewing.

The free version of socket watch is free too, it's limited to two updates a day. The Atomic Clock thing was a problem on my machine when I tried it, kept crashing the machines.

Gateway 200E (ARC) laptop crashes if volume control is used after waking from stand by.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I bought a Gateway 200E (200 ARC series) 2 days ago. If I put the
computer into standby and then wake it up, and use the volume control
by pressing Fn + left or right arrow keys, the system crashes. It
freezes completely. Even ctrl + alt + del doesn't work.

I called Gateway, and this is what they said:

"It's an already documented problem with this model.

Gateway doesn't have a solution for this problem, they only have two
workarounds:

1. Don't use the Fn + key combo for volume control, use the volume
control icon on the system tray with your mouse.

2. Don't use the Fn + key combo for a while after waking up from
stand by"

My reply to #1, I dont want to look for the icon and click it, I want
a shortcut whenever I want to control the volume. That's what it is
there for. Besides, I press ctrl + arrow to tab through my text
documents. It's very easy to press Fn instead of ctrl, and this is
more possible in this model especially since Fn is the outermost key
on the left side, and ctrl is to the right side of it, unlike most
other laptop keyboards where ctrl is the outermost key. I dont want
my laptop to crash when I'm browsing through my text documents or
writing code.

#2. I even tried doing this after an hour, and it still crashes.

I have the latest BIOS (v 42.01.02), and Gateway doesnt have a newer
BIOS update of fix for this. I use Win XP Pro, by the way. This crash
is reproducible every single time I do what I described above (use
volume control after waking up from standby).

Gateway said they just wont fix it or replace this laptop. If I send
it for service, they won't give me a time estimate of how long it
will take to fix it. They are just trying to deter me from sending it
for service I guess.

The tech who answered my second call was so rude and yelling on the
phone telling me not to use the key combo, rather than focusing on
how to fix it. He even said he won't let me talk to Level 2 tech
people when I asked. I had to give him a piece of my mind before he
would let me talk to Level 2.

The level 2 guy was even more ridiculous. He suggested that I use the
screensaver instead of standby. Moron, he doesnt even know the
difference between the use of a screensaver and a standby mode.
Perhaps, he thinks people who buy their laptops are starfishes who
they can push around and deny service for their defective product.