- This topic has 41 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 6 months ago by .
-
Posts
-
anybody know why, in windows vista (even with sp1 installed) explorer seems to malfunction?
when changing the name of a folder, or deleting something, the window does not go away or change.
it does not effect the rest of the computer, but it is annoying to have that window sitting their and not eing able to do anything about it (and it clogs up proccessor and memory space)
Mariner, I have these issues as well and would like to find out an answer. You seem to know what you are talking about and (IY”H) help me… Please, though, write your impressive solutions in understandable, layman English for those not computer oriented (who happened to have a vista computer…)
a)How can you check your space available?
b)whats a capacitor and yeah, what do I do with it?
c) what are optimizers?
overall, WHAT AM I SUPPOSSED TO DO??? I am really lost trying to read your answer….
does it help to have only one window opened with many tabs (if needed) or should I have many windows open with one tab each?
I had a big problem with vista also. I don’t know any fancy lingo so this is what I did and it is eally fast now.
I was told that I had to increase my RAM. You should probably call a technition and he will tell you what to check. I think I had 512 MB and had to upgrade to 1 GB. I think it cost me about 90-$100. I’m not sure if this is what you need, but maybe.
mariner,
I agree with havesomeseichel that you seem to know your stuff. I have a different problem that maybe you know a solution for. Every once in a while I lose internet connectivity completely. IE will say the page is unavailable no matter what website I try and my email (Eudora) also can’t connect. I don’t know if the problem is with windows (vista), my ISP (optonline) or perhaps my free antivirus software (avast home edition), or maybe something else that I didn’t think of. The windows don’t freeze so I assume its not a RAM issue but I don’t know how to figure out what it is. The only way I know of to get back online is to reboot. That works every time. Any ideas?
havesomeseichel: sorry, sometimes us geeks dont realize how much techie-speak we say.
her it goes….
a)How can you check your space available?
answer: space is irrelavent to this. what you need to do is check the amount of ram (memory) you have. it is usually in increments of 256 up to 1 GB, the will move in 1GB amounts there after. (this general rule is only for manufacturer computers, not white boxes, which on built by either yourself, or mom and pop shops in your local neighberhood computer store.) the amount can be a bit off, as differant mother boards read memory amounts differnt.
here is step by step directions to get the amount of memory you have in vista.
1. Open up task manager and to to the performance tab.
2. You will see three boxes of information, each called Physical Memory, Kernel Memory and System
3. To check the amount of RAM you have, look under Physical memory where it says Total. That is how much actual RAM you have.
4. To check your virtual memory, look at the bottom of the system box to where it says Page File, that is how much virtual memory you have used out of your total virtual memory.
if it is not over 2 gb on vista, machine will crawl, especially if you have aero turned on. (aero is the stupid interface for toggling screens in some versions of vista.)
b)whats a capacitor and yeah, what do I do with it?
answer: ills tart backwards, you dont do anything with them. the mother board does :). when you open the side pane of your computer, youll see them all over a big zquare board, your mother board. if you see what looks like rust above them, or see any that are not flat on top, then the mother board is dying. replace immediately!
c) what are optimizers?
answers: great question!
they are programs that promise to do all sorts of stuff, like supercharge youre memory, and speed up your computer by ???%. the fact is, unless the program you know for a fact is good, if you say saw it in a pc magazine (pc magazine, pc world, mac world, etc) or a tech gave it to you, do not download free software ever. whether its a optimizer, anti virus, or even as lame as a background or screen saver. screen savers taht are free are notorious to have imbedded viruses and adware/spyware.
hope this helps you
charlie brown: thanks for the compliment. hope i can help.
i will dissect your paragraph, as that would be the easiest way to not lose you in techno babble.
“Every once in a while I lose internet connectivity completely.”
this can be caused by many factors:
1. most common, connectivity problems, these range from your isp to youre router. now i doubt it is optimum online. though it is possible. if you do not have tv or phone service from cablevision, then it is possible after a rain storm for water to get into these stupid clip things cablvision uses on the outside wires from stopping you from getting any tv reception. in a way they are filters. very unlikely, but i have seen this problem before, including in my old apartment.
i would first check these though, as dealing with cablevision is a pain. are you connecting your computer straight to the cable modem (hope not, as this is incrediably unsafe.) hopefully you have a router. unplug the router, and plug it back in. if the connection comes back, youre router is shot. replace
if that doesnt work, i would replace the cable modem. its free. if you live in flatbush, the place to go is on ave k and 49th, off kings hiway. call cablevision, theyll give you the exact adress. if youre modem is a rectangle, then those have been known to be faulty. you want the rounder ones that stand up, not the one that lays flat.
if that doesnt work, have a technician come down and look.
when you restart youre computer you might be pulling a new address from your router, which will make your connection work again.
” IE will say the page is unavailable no matter what website I try and my email (Eudora) also can’t connect. I don’t know if the problem is with windows (vista), my ISP (optonline) or perhaps my free antivirus software (avast home edition), or maybe something else that I didn’t think of.”
besidse the directions above for connectivity issues, there can be a local problem, a viruz/spyware/adware. download spybot search and destroy (google it) and run it. you will need to update it after the install. it is free, and once you have it installed start a search, if it finds anything, have it remove them.
then if you still have the problems, do the steps above.
“The windows don’t freeze so I assume its not a RAM issue but I don’t know how to figure out what it is.”
more or less irrelavent to connectivity issues. the only time hardware internally will effect your connectivity will be if you mother board is going, so look at my previous answer to see how to tell.
“The windows don’t freeze so I assume its not a RAM issue but I don’t know how to figure out what it is.”
aas i said before, this can be because your computer is pulling a new address when it reboots. you can check if this is the case the next time you discconnect. open a command prompt, google command prompt vista if you cant figure out how, and type in onfig. if you get 127.0.0.1 you are not getting a true adress.
hope this helped.
Mariner,
The best advice I would give to a non-techie is (as you said) that if your computer is under warranty, call customer support and let them figure out the problem and/or step you through getting it fixed. Dell is very good at step-by-step instructions.
Re: your advice to charlie brown, I agree that a router is an absolute must, even with the windows firewall or third-party firewall activated. A known issue with prior versions of ZoneAlarm was that after periods of inactivity, sometimes the computer would need to be restarted in order to connect. Even with a router and DHCP enabled, usually a new IP is not assigned, unless another device grabbed the old address in the meantime. PINGing the router is a way of checking where the disconnect is.
If you are buying memory or other hardware I suggest the following sites:
(for daily bargains)
(for reasonable prices. Newegg has great prices too, and is more of a geek store.)
mariner- thanks for trying to explain it all… i dont trust myself to open up the computer or reset anything… so I think I will ask someone local to help me. thanks anyway…..
i can only try: you a fellow techie? if yes, what type, network engineer, system analys, databases, programing, etc? maybe ywn can setup a specific place where we can help people.
As other’s may have mentioned above (sorry, I only read the question in this post), Vista has a lot of issues, and that’s why some people have switched back to XP, they happen to like that version of windows better. There should be a customer service number you can call to give you some good assistance in this matter. Or you can always just get a MAC 😉
mariner-
Actually, I work in India at Dell’s help desk.
😉
Seriously, my job requires that I have computers at home, and my (admittedly limited) knowledge comes from maintaining those, as well as helping relatives with their computers.
If my two-cents-worth can help others I’ll try, but between my job and my family I B”H don’t have much time.
yoshi, it is not so simple to downgrade. many computer manufacturers never made drivers for xp, especially on laptops, where all the gadgetry it comes with has very specific drivers. they can be a nightmare once downgraded. unless the computer came with that option originally, i advise against downgrading without help from someone who knows what they are doing. there is no customer service number to downgrade to xp. unless you want to pay microsoft 100 bucks for ap phone call!
as for buying a mac, my feelings about them are negative at best. they are overpriced. there is no software for them, and they are structurely garbage. the engineers are given a back seat to the designers. that would be equivalent of building a building based on the interior designer over what the building engineers and contractors say! for years they knocked the intel chip, yet when they finally realized it was far superior, they adopted it as well. i will give them this, their marketing is impressive, but the machines dont stand up. in benchmark tests, they never beat out pc’s, especially ones built by people, something unable to be done with mac’s. upgrading them is a pain in the neck, if near impossible. for the same inflated price of a mac, you can get a massively fast pc, that will blow the mac out of the water.
mariner – following you post, I was thinking maybe we should make a; PC vs MAC thread. That would be tons of fun 😉 I like to hear different views from both sides of the spectrum.
p.s. I love MACs, I was lucky enough to get one at a bargain price (cheaper then an entry model dell). So far, no crashes, no viruses, and it’s so easy to use, it’s as if the makers of the MAC were thinking of the regular population not just the corporate types, when they designed it.
mariner and ICOT,
thanks for all that info. I don’t think its the rain or anything like that because it happens often – several times per week, sometimes more than once a day, not just once in a blue moon when maybe there was a big storm somewhere.
I do have the rectangle cable modem that optimum gave me and no router – I thought you only need a router to share the modem between several computers, never knew it was unsafe. Why is that? the router blocks viruses and spyware? Also, the modem is connected directly to the computer via USB cable not ethernet cable. Would the latter be better?
some background in case it helps: I own a network switch (pardon my ignorance, but that’s not the same thing as a router is it?), not wireless just 5 or 6 ports to plug ethernet cables into. Before I got my vista computer, I had an XP box and also used the switch to connect an XP laptop to it to share files and to share the desktop’s internet connection via windows ICS. (this way I could use the laptop while my wife is using the desktop or vice versa). At that time I had zone alarm pro on both computers and everything worked fine.
When I got the vista box I was unable to get the networking between the laptop and the desktop to work properly so I gave up and manage with just one computer. The ethernet switch is not connected anymore to anything. I also no longer have zone alarm pro (Wanted to save money, my free updates ran out and I would have needed an update for it to work on vista). Windows firewall is on.
I also have avast free antivirus – do you or anyone else here know whether that is reliable?
It happened again this morning and I did ipconfig before and after the reboot and the ip address was unchanged. (I assume you are referring to the IPv4 address, not the subnet mask or default gateway?)
I’ll download spybot search and destroy, I used to have it but then stopped because I realized I have no way of knowing if its legit or if its full of its own spyware and trojans like the screensavers etc that you mentioned above. But if you trust it, I’ll download it again – you obviously know your stuff. I’ll also ask cablevision for a new modem. (BTW, I only have internet with them not cable TV or phone service).
Any particular router you’d recommend that’s not too expensive but does the job properly?
yoshi, teh reason there are no viruses is not because macs are safer, they are not, and this is a fact. it is a matter of market position and control. when a cracker makes a virus, they want to effect the most people possible, so the write the code for the os of highest usage. that would be the microsoft windows os. (not to mention, some of the dumbest users also use the windows operating syste, due to cheap pc market today.) when and if the mac os gets above the 30 percent market share, you will see alot of viruses starting to be written for the mac os.
BTW, I see no advantage in having vista as opposed to XP. When I got the computer I discovered that I had to spend tons of money on new versions of software because the old versions don’t work on vista. This included MS office ( I had office 97 which worked fine for me but won’t run on vista), quickbooks, photoshop elements and I think there were more. Had I known this in advance I would have bought a computer with XP.
avast is fine. spybot is the safest free software probably on planet earth! its a great tool, but doesnt remove everything. there isnt a software for this out there that removes all threats. you need to use multiple. but spybot will let you know if the threats exist.
any linkys router will be fine. make sure to use the cd it comes with when you set it up.it needs to work with the modem. you are correct about the switch. in laymans terms its a ethernet extension cord. a router has a switching device in it, but also gives out addresses.
using to not using a router. think of it like this:
2 scenarios:
1) you have a letter, you mail it to yenim who lives in building a. apartment 1.
you write the address on the envelope, and the mailman brings it to the building. he has access to the mailboxes and puts each persons mail into the mailbox os said receiver.
or the same story but:
2) you have a letter, you mail it to yenim who lives in building a. you have no idea its an apartment building.
you write the address on the envelope, and the mailman brings it to the building. he has no access to the mailboxesand has no clue who lives where. he gives the mail to teh dorrman who gives it to the mailroom, who depending on the name, pputs it in peoples mailboxes.
the first is using the internet without a router, the second is with. without the router, the outside world (filled with hackers, crackers, viruses, spyware, etc) has direct acces to you machine. with a router, the router asks the packet (how information travels in the world wide web)where it needs to go, and then directs it if it is sent directly to the machine that asked for it. otherwise the packet is rejected, and it moves on down the road to teh next modem that is unprotected.
mariner,
thanks so much for all your time and valuable info. that apartment building example made it very clear. (you should write for the “for dummies” series – you’re good at explaining things to a layman). In general I am fairly proficient with computers and have helped neighbors/relatives/friends with their issues, but when it comes to networking I have a mental block it seems. I am completely clueless.
I’ll get the router, a new modem and spybot, and then hopefully the computer will live happily ever after. thanks again!
charlie brown-
Mariner has done an excellent job of explaining the hardware-based protection a router gives to devices hooked up to it.
An additional benefit you will get is the ability to have multiple computers on-line at once without bothering to potchke with a shared connection.
An unsolicited opinion or two:
2) I believe cable for internet only costs about $50 a month in NYC. There are several DSL deals that are significantly cheaper ($20 + a month). The speed is slower, but for most people who access the web, use email and occasionally download stuff (like me) DSL is fine.
http://www.cnet.com is an excellent site for reviews, both professional and layman, and has software available for download as well.
Hatzlocha!
ICOT,
I do plan on getting the router and I hear what you’re saying about avoiding ICS. Does the router also allow me to share files between computers, or do I still need my network switch for that?
I have avoided wireless for 2 reasons which are both based on my not trusting myself to secure it properly. The first is that my kids have a computer without internet access – just for games and word processing etc. If they attached a wire to my computer (or the new router) to sneak onto the internet, I would see it. But if I have wireless, then if they get hold of a wireless card for their computer they will have access without me being the wiser, assuming I don’t secure it properly. The other reason is just basic security. I don’t want anyone to be able to access the files on my computer or to spread a virus to it. After hearing stories like the one a few years ago where identity thieves sat in Best Buy parking lots and picked up credit card numbers from the wireless cash registers, I just got scared off from even trying. But then again maybe I should get over my network phobia, buy the dummies book and learn how it all works.
thanks for all the other info. I have indeed gone to cnet in the past, but lately I’m too busy here in the coffee room to have time to go there. 😉
charlie brown-
You can also share a printer that is physically connected to only one computer, or even buy a network printer that connects wired or wirelessly to the router, thereby forgoing the necessity of turning on the computer the printer is connected to before printing from another computer.
If you want to get ambitious you can buy network storage as well, which is basically a hard-drive in a case, which connects to the router.
As far as network security, definitely use a WPA protocol.
I can only try:: alot of what you said is true. the reason i didnt say to use ad-aware, is because i have found it to be utterly useless. spybot may not be able to get rid of what it finds totally, but at least it finds the stuff. ad aware doesnt FIND alot of things. it also jams up alot of memory with all its graphics. spybot is light sweet and gets the job done.
as for wireless cards, it is no simple process to install a wireless card. (getting a hold of a wireless broadband card, those offered from cell companies is highly unlikely, unless they borrow it from someone, as the bill must go somewhere.) a wireless card that would attach to your router will need to have an antenna. the person using the computer would also need the pass-code. not only that, but you can also limit the router to only certain MAC addresses. this is an address that the IEEE gives out to manufacturers. no 2 are alike (supposedly). yes the mac address could be spoofed, but i doubt a typical yeshiva kid could figure out how to do it. and again, they would still need the pass-code.
as for wep vs wpa, go wpa if you can. not all routers have wpa. try to get one that does. i think all linksys ones do, and they are really easy to setup. as for someone getting into your computer via the wireless router, that would take heavy duty equipment and skills. unless your storing documents of high value, and you are a high value target, i wouldnt lose sleep over it.
thanks ICOT and mariner for all that info. I think I will try to go wireless – I’m glad that setup is not that complicated and that my fears were unfounded – I am most certainly not a high value target with high value documents.
I don’t know anything about WPA but at least I’ve heard of it. MAC addresses are completely new to me, lol. I’ll do some reading and figure it out. Thanks so much for all your time and advice.
charlie brown-
The information and opinions expressed beyond this point are not needed in regards to your questions. I happen to enjoy talking tech, and am waiting for selichos to start. If you feel your eyes glazing over, please skip the remainder of this post, and no offense will be taken 😉
Firewall (software):
Firewall (hardware):
WEP vs. WPA:
WEP was an early wireless encryption protocol. It is an acronym for Wired Equivalency Protocol. Over the past few years, it has been proven crackable, and should not be used.
SSID broadcasting and why I think you should leave it on:
Getmac results from my laptop:
00-40-45-15-0C-42 Media disconnected ? my disconnected RJ45
As you can see, each MAC address consists of five groupings of two hex characters.
(Hexidecimal means based on a numbering system of sixteen. We use the ten-based decimal system. A twelve-based system would be duodecimal.)
AdAware vs. Spybot Search and Destroy:
ICOT:
What security issue do you see with broadcasting your home SSID from your laptop when away from home?
I still think SSID should not be broadcast…
Same with Mac address securing; especially if you don’t expect unexpected devices to logon to your network.
Corrections:
“As you can see, each MAC address consists of five groupings of two hex characters.”
– SIX groupings.
“Hexidecimal means based on a numbering system of sixteen.”
– “Hexidecimal” means my spelling isn’t that great. “Hexadecimal” means based on a numbering system of sixteen.
P.S.
If you see your kids connecting something looking like these devices to their computer, it’s time to ask questions:
Joseph-
There is no security issue (that I know of) with your laptop broadcasting your SSID. It is just that it somewhat defeats the disabling of its broadcast, and is kind of like wearing your nametag in public.
Both the SSID broadcast and MAC filtering are a matter of personal preference. I stated mine, and my reasons. Those who prefer otherwise are not wrong.
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY-
P.S.
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY: i can only try had a good idea. download hijack this. EDITED BY MODERATOR – NO LINKS ALLOWED
run it. when you run it you will have a choice to run and save reg file. do that. when it is done, copy content of reg file here, and i will look at it for you. (i sorta do this for a living). i should be able to figure out what is wrong. at %100 percent, you either have a legitimate piece of software that need to be uninstalled and reinstalled, as it is hanging, or the more probable answer, a virus or spyware.
on another note, for those who think that mac locking is bad, it actually is the most secure locking feature for a router. its reversing the allocation of security features from the user side, to the router side. this would be akin to using a firewall with usernames and passwords at a business. it does become a pain when someone comes over and need to use your wireless, but in truth, how often does that happen. and when it does, you just add that persons mac to the filter, and your in business. it is the safest way to block children from possibly connecting to the router.
also when you setup a password, dont make it one of your kids names, or your job title, etc. make it random. it should have 8 characters including a cap letter, a number and a symbol. total randomness makes it almost impossible for hackers to get through, at least speedily. (ex. s#gpW9hX).
again, TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY, run and paste the hijackthis data here, and i will tell you what you need to do.
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY-
That’s quite an offer. I strongly suggest you take mariner up on it (and maybe send a nice honey cake while you’re at it).
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY: 2 words, vista stinks!
ok, you need to restart the computer and hit f8 while its starting up. it will give you choices , one being to start in safe mode with network, pick that. when you load up, start the program , and copy the data here. if you have trouble still let me know, and ill try to figure out another way to get the program up and running.
BS”D
For ten points, what is a five letter word of scatological origin, that means low quality or shoddy merchandise?
Contestant 1: D**ck
Contestant 2: Vista
And the winner is, contestant 2, who gets a whole year’s supply of rancid galle from Vista Caterers, I mean D**ck Caterers, of Olde Triangle!
This is all really confusing to me…I do not know much about the insides of computers and all. I get lost trying to follow all the lingo above… But I am having issues (I wrote earlier that I would get someone local to help me but they are unavailable)- Windows keeps freezing! Would it be better to have many windows explorers open or have one with many tabs? Or does it not matter?
havesomeseichel: from what i have read, it is a machlokes as to what to have , tabs or new windows. the truth, use firefox. it is better, safer, and less cluttered.
i will give you the same opportunity. install hijack this and paste the log here.
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY: good news and bad news.
good news is, i know why your computer is misbehaving. you are infected with mutlpile trojans, bots, and spyware/adware/.
bad news, You wont be able to fix it. i cops you, because someone who does know what they are doing can. depending on what your financial status is, i suggest the following. wither bring it into a mom and pop shop, and get ripped off, but if you can afford it, who cares, at least your machine is fixed. or get a thumb drive, and put all the documents, pictures movies, etc on to it that you need. then format the computer. this can be done by either using the cd’s that came with the pc, or if it has a recovery partition, then there will be a utility during initialization (boot up) that will load the recovery tool. hit that, usually one of the function buttons at top of keyboard, and format the pc back to setting at purchase. walla, all clean!
(personally, unless you have programs installed that there is no way you will be able to reinstall later, you should wipe it, because it is really very hard to truly clean a machine.)
Mariner…How do you know so much? Were you born out of a printer?
noitallmr: i am a network administrator. in non techie words, that means i run networks of computers; build, create, and maintaining them all falls into my purview. sometimes these machines get infected, and i need to fix them. it is just my form of parnassah, so i am knowledgeable of it. if you asked me similar questions about a car, i would be just as lost as tohighschoolguy.
TOHIGHSCHOOLGUY: have a ksiva vechasima tovah and a gut gebencht yohr. good luck with fixing the computer. )whatever you do, do not bring it to geek squad!)
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.