inspiron n4010 primary hdd

really? i was reading the manual and the steps you have to take just to get to the primary hdd...

Reply 1 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

This is typical for a lot of Dell's current consumer models...

Reply 2 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

Yep



They dont want you working on it yourself

Reply 3 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

Quote:

Originally Posted by OneCool Yep They dont want you working on it yourself

I absolutely don"t get it, Being able to swap out a hdd easily is paramount.I never heard of hdd failures years ago, but today there common. Maybe because the capacities are larger. I had a hdd failure on my m1330 and just recently on my new 14r. The Seagate 500gig 5400 which came on my 14r and was replaced with the same Seagate has a very bad rep for failure.

Reply 4 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

Almost all the new Inspirons place the drive underneath the palmrest. In reality it is like 2-3 minutes of work vs 5 seconds. It's really not that bad.

Reply 5 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

Yeah, the evolution of placement is reaching degenerative heights.

In a desktop, no problem.

In a laptop/notebook, It is (should be) essential that HDD, RAM and extra connectors like pci-e would be just as easily accessible as the battery.



What would be next? Going back to the way of Compcraq soldering RAMsticks to the mainboard? :P



I'd prefer 2 screws and 5 seconds, than ripping off plastic, removing 3-6 screws, crowbarring with a screwdriver up the harddrive, replace it, return the keyboard, just to realize that you forgot to actually hook up the harddrive. (It is possible. I have seen people wedge a square stick into a round hole).

Reply 6 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

i went through it and got the ssd install. now it just wont wanna boot from it lol it'll still boot from the stock hdd though. i guess it is picky. cloning it doesnt work either.

Reply 7 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

Quote:

Originally Posted by einhander i went through it and got the ssd install. now it just wont wanna boot from it lol it'll still boot from the stock hdd though. i guess it is picky. cloning it doesnt work either.

Maybe the drive is defective? Did you reinstall Windows on it properly?

Reply 8 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

i didnt reinstal i cloned it from the stock drive. i also tried installing a fresh copy of windows 7 but there were not drivers during installation, the os can't see the drivers apparently sata drivers are needed.

Reply 9 : inspiron n4010 primary hdd

Quote:

Originally Posted by einhander i didnt reinstal i cloned it from the stock drive. i also tried installing a fresh copy of windows 7 but there were not drivers during installation, the os can't see the drivers apparently sata drivers are needed.

Windows 7 shouldn't need F6 SATA drivers, only XP if your SATA operation is set to RAID/AHCI.



Sounds like your new drive is defective if your computer boots fine from the old drive..

Any USB trouble?

The main purpose for getting the m15x was for having a stable DJing platform (no audio drop outs, etc.).



I finally had time after setuping my system from scratch, to get my controller working (Native Instruments Traktor S4). However the damn system won't recognize the controller through all USB ports. Has anyone had any problems with the m15x systems recognizing a USB device? I'm trying to see if there's a known problem with a quick (or complicated) fix.



Thanks.

Reply 1 : Any USB trouble?

That's an odd problem , i honestly havent heard of that problem before. Try to update your BIOS to A09 see if that helps. if you were to plug in a mouse USB to all your usb ports do they all work or some?

Reply 2 : Any USB trouble?

more specifically which usb ports have issue?

the reason i say this is because the ones on the right side (next to the audio) are on a riser card connected by a ribbon cable.

Reply 3 : Any USB trouble?

Does the device show up under device manager when it is plugged into a port that it does not work on? Perhaps with an error message or as an unidentified device?

Reply 4 : Any USB trouble?

I am at version A09 bios, and this is the case for all my USB ports, and unfortunately it doesn't show up in device manager. I'm trying to find out if this is a laptop hardware issue, windows 7 issue, driver issue, or the S4 controller hardware issue.



So far it looks like it's not the m15x's fault

Reply 5 : Any USB trouble?

I figured it had to do with the usb port because on ONE of the usb plug ins, I got a short beep. Windows recognized the s4, but then it didn't install the drivers because the device got "disconnected." I plugged in the usb cable a bit more than half way (but not all the way in), and I got the windows beep again! The driver installed and i was able to see the s4 connected in traktor 2 (the software). When i pushed the usb in the rest of the way i got the following error....



"The Traktor Kontrol S4 has malfunctioned and exceeded the power limits of its hub port. You should disconnect the device."







Is this an m15x issue or the S4 controller? any thoughts?

Reply 6 : Any USB trouble?

Looks like the S4 controller was causing the power surge issues. It's being sent in for repairs.

Please delete batboy.. sorry!

Please delete batboy.. sorry!

Construction work...Ya' gotta' love it.

I had a reason to compile a list of all my employers. Over a 23 year time frame I worked on 95 jobs, for 25 different employers, many more than once. One year I worked for 7 different employers.

Reply 1 : Construction work...Ya' gotta' love it.

I think it's the "Honey Do" company.

Many of us work for them from time to time.
Bob

Reply 2 : Construction work...Ya' gotta' love it.

I've heard folks say they wonder why they signed on adding that there's no paycheck and the benefits are rarely what was promised.

Gotta' find a good hiding place now.

Reply 3 : Construction work...Ya' gotta' love it.

Honey-do? Well, I never had that problem, I learned to duck for more reasons than one. ------Willy

Reply 4 : Construction work...Ya' gotta' love it.

Most people only fill out about 3 forms for a grand total of 8 pages. T1 General (4 pages) Schedule 1(Federal taxes (2 pages) Provincial taxes (2 pages). Very little figuring on any of the pages.

which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Trying to decide between these two 17" MBPs - based on cost, longevity, etc.



1) Core i5 2.53Ghz, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, NVidia 330 512MB, High-res glossy screen - currently under the initial year warranty until May, at which point I'd need to shell out and buy Apple Care, which would take it through 2013. $1450



or



2) Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz, 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Nvidia 9600 512MB, High-res AG screen - has Apple Care until April, 2012. $1150



I'm really stumped on this one. On the one hand, the 1st one would have a longer warranty and would also have the newer Core i processor. It's a great price already, but I'd need to buy Apple Care, which would run me $240. It also has the $100+ 1TB drive in it.



The second one is a great deal, wouldn't need Apple Care, but it would only be under warranty another year, and also has the older C2D processor. Anyone have any thoughts? Assuming both machines would serve my needs presently, which one would you get based on longevity and price? Or simply, which is the better deal in terms of hardware and price?



Thanks in advance.

Reply 1 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by QueenOfSpades Trying to decide between these two 17" MBPs - based on cost, longevity, etc. 1) Core i5 2.53Ghz, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, NVidia 330 512MB, High-res glossy screen - currently under the initial year warranty until May, at which point I'd need to shell out and buy Apple Care, which would take it through 2013. $1450 or 2) Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz, 8GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Nvidia 330 512MB, High-res AG screen - has Apple Care until April, 2012. $1150 I'm really stumped on this one. On the one hand, the 1st one would have a longer warranty and would also have the newer Core i processor. It's a great price already, but I'd need to buy Apple Care, which would run me $240. It also has the $100+ 1TB drive in it. The second one is a great deal, wouldn't need Apple Care, but it would only be under warranty another year, and also has the older C2D processor. Anyone have any thoughts? Assuming both machines would serve my needs presently, which one would you get based on longevity and price? Or simply, which is the better deal in terms of hardware and price? Thanks in advance.

I'm very sure that the MBPs equipped with Core2Duo CPUs come with the Nvidia 9400M/9600M GT combo & not the Nvidia GT330/Intel IGP combo.



Anyway, I'll take option 1. Good luck.

Reply 2 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPEEDwithJJ I'm very sure that the MBPs equipped with Core2Duo CPUs come with the Nvidia 9400M/9600M GT combo & not the Nvidia GT330/Intel IGP combo. Anyway, I'll take option 1. Good luck.

Oh yeah, you're right, that was a typo. Thanks for your advice, I'm leaning that way.

Reply 3 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

It depends what your going to do with it... and if you need the better power in the more expensive one or not.

Reply 4 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by doh123 It depends what your going to do with it... and if you need the better power in the more expensive one or not.

For what I do right now, I'm sure the C2D could handle it. Some light gaming, Adobe Creative Suite, light/medium video editing. But I'd like to keep this MBP for at least a few years, which makes the i5 a little more attractive. C2D is also pretty old at this point. Still pondering, but leaning toward the i5.

Reply 5 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Option 1, IMO.

Reply 6 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

I like option 1.

Reply 7 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Why does Apple limit its graphics card to below 1 GB? I have a sony from a couple years ago and it has a 512 mb card.q

Reply 8 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shriek11 Why does Apple limit its graphics card to below 1 GB? I have a sony from a couple years ago and it has a 512 mb card.q

you'd have to learn about vram and marketing... many computer and graphics card makers will throw tons of extra ram on one so it looks better and they can up the price and make more profit off very cheap ram... even if it doesn't even improve performance at all.



The current high end 15 and the 17 are the first Mac laptops to have 1gb in them... the two the ops are looking at are both older models.

Reply 9 : which of these 17" MBPs would you buy?

The cards are similar of the platforms I was thinking of and I have seen my older mac lag even in firefox if video is being played unlike my windows machiens, especially with divx ones.



Now, don't tell me divx is stupid and buggy and needs to be killed off as well!

PDF Files in Skydrive

A few days ago I created a Skydrive folder so I could share some files I'm creating in a project with several other users. I wanted something which was secure, where each user could have different privilegves to see or to edit files, and which was easy for me and for the other users to use. Most of these files are PDFs, because I'm producing them wth a tool that costs quite a lot, and so far it's not justifiable for all the other users to buy the tool. It seemed a good solution to print the diagrams to PDF and share them like this. Today I was shocked to discover that viewing PDF files in a Skydrive folder is a total pain. Unlike in a normal web directory, where I can just click on a PDF file and it opens quickly in my browser using the Adobe Reader plugin, so I can immediately see the document, zoom in and out, search it for text, save it or print it, with Skydrive there seems to be no way to even see the document without explicitly downloading it first.

I guess the reason for this is that Microsoft think it's more imortant to conduct a war with Adobe than to provide services that are actually of some use to their customers.

Isthere any way of getting Skydrive to open PDF files in the users's browser if you just click, or double click them?

If this is "just the way it is", I will have to ditch Skydrive and use some other web based file sharing service which allows people to eaily open PDF files.

Thanks - Rowan

Reply 1 : PDF Files in Skydrive

"We know what's good for you."

Sorry I think when we use the free services we are buying into their ideas or kool aid.
Bob

Should AW come with SSD as default?

I mean, AW laptops are awesome and such, but their HDD options are the suxx...



Why not a 120GB OCZ Vertex 2 by default? And I picked this one because of quality/price but I'd be happy with Gskill, Corsair, Intel...





Opinions?

Reply 1 : Should AW come with SSD as default?

Of course they shouldn't.



Everyone knows that this would drive the base cost up. Better to simply buy one after-market and sell the original, which will be better on your pocket in the long run.

Reply 2 : Should AW come with SSD as default?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jarvmeister Of course they shouldn't. Everyone knows that this would drive the base cost up. Better to simply buy one after-market and sell the original, which will be better on your pocket in the long run.

I agree, the prices Dell offers on the factory installed SSD's isn't that great. I ordered mine with the smallest drive I could then installed my own SSD and saved some bucks.

Reply 3 : Should AW come with SSD as default?

I think they'd much rather keep it as an optional upgrade and slap they're 300% markup on it.







Obviously it should come with the SSD as standard. It should also come with a hefty collection of free games and a neon sign to set up outside your house that says "I own an Alienware! HAH!".



Aaaaaaand then we wake up. Bugger...

can't find the thermastat location

If someone can help me find the location of the thermostat for my 2000 cherokee laredo 6 cylender I would greatly appreciate it

Reply 1 : can't find the thermastat location

Follow the return hose from the radiator to the engine. There will be a small dome housing that has 2 screws holding it in place. The thermostat is in there. One tip, use indianhead gasket cement to reseal the thermostat housing.

Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

I am having trouble finding a working driver for Windows 7 - 64 Bit for a Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Audo Card Model# SB0100

I downloaded driver file SBL_PC64DRVBETA_LB_2_03_0005.exe which I think is a 64 Bit Sound Blaster Live! update, but Windows 7 does not allow it to be installed because it is not a digitally signed driver. It also seems Creative is no longer supporting these old cards with new driver updates.

I love the card though. I have bought more recent sound cards and the sound of this card is still much better than the more recent sound cards I have bought. So I would like to keep using it if possible.

Are there any driver solutions?

Reply 1 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

setting automatic updates in control panel > windows update and then uninstalling the sound card in hardware manager and then restarting windows, it should go to windows update site and seek a suitable driver, assuming the hardware is compatable. This works very well for slightly mature printers I have found when the manufacturer is unable or unwilling to supply a specific win7 driver

Reply 2 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

Many thanks for this. Unfortunately the card is too old such that Creative is not supporting it anymore with driver updates for Windows 7.

Reply 3 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

You can try to force it. It just means MS isn't taking the time to qualify the driver and not that it will block you from attempting to install it.

Reply 4 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

Thanks, it seems in Windows 7 they don't allow you to turn off that function anymore. Everything has to be digitally signed.

Reply 5 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

I'm sorry to hear about your sound card driver issue. Here is a resource for updating drivers for hardware that is not working correctly: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-working-properly. Give it a read through and see if it helps solve the issue. Let me know how it works, and we can troubleshoot from there.

Cheers,
Cassandra

Reply 6 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

Thanks Cassandra. That was a really good suggestion, but today I ended out and just buying a new one for around $22 from Creative. It is basically the same card, but 10 years newer. A shame though to have to spend the money when the old card still worked just fine, but that a driver couldn't be found for it. That is how it goes sometimes I guess when they want to force you to buy new hardware even though the old hardware still works fine

Reply 7 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

To late now, but check here http://kxproject.lugosoft.com/ I have a retail SB Live 5.1 and a Live Platnium with a Live Drive running on the beta drivers with no issues so far. A learning curve and they won't work on all cards (pay attention to the family that will work with the drivers).

I m getting at least basic functions and surround...

Reply 8 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

thanx the above link http://kxproject.lugosoft.com/ worked great! =)

Reply 9 : Windows 7 - 64 Bit Driver Needed For Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Model SB0100

Hi I have the same audio card but does not work on 7 can you give me a link from kude buy it?

Aspire 7540 Blu-ray play not working-sound familiar

Bought notebook 3/20/11. I just tried to watch a blu-ray movie AND the blu-ray does not work. There is no application files for the blu-ray player on/in my notebook. I have completely restored my notebook 2 times since I bought it because of its "issues". One of which, was with Acer Customer Support that was suppose to fix my blu-ray player with no solution to my problem. I then was transfer to another "technical support person", who informed me that the problem could be fixed -I would be charged for this! WELL...shouldn't my brand new notebook that purchase not even a month ago, labeled and spec'd to have "Blu_ray Disc/Super-Multi DL combo drive" be on my Acer provided Restore Disc with appropriate Apps. Not to mention my 1 year warranty that has barily started. I am so frustrated.

Reply 1 : Aspire 7540 Blu-ray play not working-sound familiar

Let's start with hardware- are you sure that it actually has a BR drive in your particular configuration?

What's the exact model number (what follows 7540)?

Check in the Device Manager what the name of the optical drive is and post it here.



Have you tried using Acer Arcade Deluxe to play BR disc?



When you insert the disc can you see its contents (via My Computer)?

Reply 2 : Aspire 7540 Blu-ray play not working-sound familiar

I want to start off my reply by thanking you for your help that I so desperatly need. I want to appologize for my lack of knowledge when it comes to computers......I thought I was computer literate!

SKIP TO ?4: yes, it comes to a error box with the following message; A critical component of the player requires periodic updates. New movies may not play if the compontent is not updated now, Would you like to update now? I choose YES and the computer tries to do something or "think" but goes to a black screen and then comes back with same error page/box. This happens repeatedly if you keep choosing YES.

?5: yes, I tried simply "opening" the disc and ran it using Window Media Player and received an error that "Windows Media Player can no play the DVD. The disc was created in a manner the player does not support" I refer to the provided window help option and it refers to encoders.

?1: Don't understand. I think they (Acer CS) had me look for this last night and didn't have it. How do I find this out for you (OR ME)? They also had me search on c: for cyberlink and it couldn't find it. BUT tonight I found some cyberlink files.

?2 Aspire 7540-1493

?3: If I did this right; I show 2 devices, Guido the name of my computer and UBS receiver. I look in Guido and I do not see anything with the name/file OPTICAL DRIVE. According to Acer and all other information on my computer it states the following: Optical Drive: Blu-ray Disc/Super-Multi DL combo drive??????????

Reply 3 : Aspire 7540 Blu-ray play not working-sound familiar

I believe in a previous post it was mentioned that you need WHQL certified video drivers for your machine to play back BD content. have you tried downloading the WHQL certified video drivers and seeing if that helps?

Reply 4 : Aspire 7540 Blu-ray play not working-sound familiar

Sxooter is tight about the WHQL drivers- all drivers have to be signed however if you've never updated drivers and all drivers are as they came with a notebook that shouldn't be a problem.



Download and install Cyberlink PowerDVD- there is a free trial.

This app is capable of playing BR discs. If it works in PowerDVD and doesn't work with Acer Arcade Deluxe- we know it's just the player.



If it still doesn't- you should update sound drivers and graphics drivers- using the most recent non-betas drivers from respective manufacturers.



Also- are you sure that no firewall blocks Acer Arcade from connecting to whatever update server it tries to connect?

Emails being sent out by someone else with my name on it

I am running IE9 on Windows 7 Professional and have Kaspersky 2011 anti-virus on my computer. Within the last day or so, my email address is being used to send out emails for Viagra etc. A number of "undeliverable mail" starting popping up. I ran the Kaspersky and nothing shows up! Ran a full scan and ran a critical areas scan and nothing!! What do I do?

Reply 1 : Emails being sent out by someone else with my name on it

kipowen..

I might be able to provide more detailed information, if I knew which kind of account it was. Hotmail? Gmail? No matter which one, it's imperative you can change your password. The below I copied from a prior post (of mine), where a member's Windows Live account was compromised. The information is universal. The settings may vary, according to the account.

''When your account has been compromised, the most important things you can do, is change your password, and change your secret question and answer, . Have you done that?

If you're unable to access your account to re-set your password, see if Account Password Recovery, offers any additional information.

Also See:
Important Security Information To Know,
Recent reports of Account hijacks, " ''

You might also try scanning with Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware and/or SUPERAntiSpyware. Both are free. Malwarebyte's Anti-Malware can be downloaded from here or (directly) from here. And SUPERAntiSpyware FREE Edition from here.

Best of luck..
Carol

Reply 2 : Emails being sent out by someone else with my name on it

I did change my password and also installed ESET online scanner (recommended by Grif Thomas) and the Malwarebytes program. Everything checked out fine, no infections! Thanks!!

Reply 3 : Emails being sent out by someone else with my name on it

I'll guess that you're getting responses from your ISP or from friends in your email address book.. If that's the case, it's entirely possible there is a computer somewhere selse that's infected. Not yours. Many of the current viruses/worms have the ability to grab the email address of ANYONE that previously sent a message to that computer and it places the address in the "From" line of the virus/spam it's sending out.. That's how "zombie" computers work.. They're able to spoof the email address or IP address of someone else's computer, making it look like the message was sent from "you" instead of the actual location of the infected computer.

Of course, it's important to make sure your computer is clean.. Download and run the free online ESET scanner using the link below.

Note: Clicking on the link below will immediately load the download dialogue window for the ESET scanner installer.. Download the file and run it to then install and run the online scanner.
ESET
Online Scanner


And after that, download, install, update, then run a full system scan with the free Malwarebytes tool from the link below.. It does a good job at identifying and removing lots of spyware and trojans.

Malwarebytes
Antimalware


Hope this helps.

Grif

Reply 4 : Emails being sent out by someone else with my name on it

Grif,
Both you and Carol provided good insight as to what is happening. After installing the two programs you recommended, it appears that my computer is not infected! That's a relief!! I changed my password, just to be safe. The fact that someone can send out an email that appears to come from me is troubling, but at least I know that my computer is not the problem. Thanks so much for your help. You folks really provide a great service to everyone, and I am truly grateful. Thanks again!!

Reply 5 : Emails being sent out by someone else with my name on it

did you log in to some public computer using your email??

I think in your case your account must be compromised,

Problem installing Service Pack 1

I'ml trying to install Windows 7 Service Pack 1 but I every time the machine reboots during installation I get an error and it removes any changes made. When I reboot my PC again and log in I get another error, when I click details it says "ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND(0x80070003)", any suggestions to how I should solve this?

Thanks.

Reply 1 : Problem installing Service Pack 1

in Google for this ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND(0x80070003), but they differ so I will let you have a look and see if any look promising to you.

One of them was this one;
http://www.winvistatips.com/error-code-0x80070003-t256733.html

Mark

Internet App HDTV

I need advise.
Is it better to purchase a HDTV with internet app, or purchase a regular HDTV and also purchase a blueray internet app player. Total costs are the same. Vizio has a 26-42inch HDTV and a player.

Reply 1 : Internet App HDTV

If you read posts about these units you find disgruntled owners. Maybe they expected "the internet" experience such as they have on a PC.

If I were to do this, I'd opt for the bluray player since it's cheaper to replace later when something better comes along.
Bob

Reply 2 : Internet App HDTV

Hardware manufacturers don't understand good user interfaces. I'd opt for the blu-ray route simply because
they are more likely to receive updates that TV's with built in apps. If you really want the best Netflix type experience,
I'd encourage you to look at the Apple TV or a Roku box.

SATA AND IDE Drives don't work together on new mboard

I am using a new Biostar N68S+ (NVIDIA nforce serial ATA controller) with an AMD 7850 processor.


It has one std. IDE channel and 4 SATA channels

It seems to boot fine with two IDE hard drives; when I added the SATA DVD/CD RW drive, at first boot, the system (BIOS) recognized this; but it got hung up - computer locked up.


Upon subsequent boots, the DVD/CD was not recognized.


I also remember earlier that when I had one IDE HD connected , the
system would recognize the SATA channel - meaning a DVD/CD drive


What gives here? I have heard of this problem before but never saw a
solution - is there an inherent problem mixing IDE and SATA devices on
one motherboard? Or just on this Biostar mboard?


Help!!!

Reply 1 : SATA AND IDE Drives don't work together on new mboard

If the BIOS has some setting that gives access to all drives then we use that. HOWEVER if the owner wants to save the installed OS, then we have a problem as Windows hates it when we change the machine underneath it. YES YOU ARE CHANGING THE MACHINE. Changing what config the IDE/SATA channels is as close as .999... is to 1.0.

There are folk that can't wrap there head about this one but my advice is simple. Setup the drives before the OS install and then never change it.

If this is XP, I don't want to hear (more) complaints about the F6 Floppy install.
Bob

Reply 2 : SATA AND IDE Drives don't work together on new mboard

thanks, but this was a new install, meaning fresh format and new install of windows XP; I didn't think to set the boot sequence or devices before installing windows.

The current bios clearly has an option for adding the SATA device but when I post , the boot menu shows it as not installed. As I said , it did boot up the first time then not any more

i wrote to Biostar and they suggested I update the BIOS, which I can do but the board has a Phoenix BIOS and Biostar only refers to AMI and AWARD.

I wrote them back and am waiting for another replay but I really don't expect much help; I checked all 4 SATA ports and changed SATA cables twice

Any further ideas?



Thanks very much

Reply 3 : SATA AND IDE Drives don't work together on new mboard

so no one can answer my reply to the first reply because I posed it as a question?

I guess I am confused - how do I ask for help?

my issue is still the same -

Reply 4 : SATA AND IDE Drives don't work together on new mboard

It makes discussions difficult. Can't reply to your last comment.

Reply 5 : SATA AND IDE Drives don't work together on new mboard

When you post it as a question you make it harder to have a discussion.

It's a new forum feature.
Bob

SSD upgrade advice

Hi all, currently I have a Momentus 500GB HDD and I'm considering upgrade it to Intel SSD X25-M 160GB. So what do you think? Does it worth the money?

Reply 1 : SSD upgrade advice

Well any SSD is a good investment. If I were you I'd go for a Crucial C300, they are a bit speedier and better value for money. Remember the M15x can only do Sata 2 so getting a stat 3 drive, you will still be limited to sata 2 speeds. However a C300 is sata 3 and I got mine just for future proofing as I intend to remove the keep the drive as I go on through future laptops.

Reply 2 : SSD upgrade advice

I have 2 X25-M 160GB SSD's in use in different notebooks. They are fast and reliable, and I have been thoroughly satisfied with their performance and value. However, time marches on and the X25-M's are now yesterday's tech. I see no need to upgrade, but I would not buy a new one, particularly since the prices remain at substantially the same level. There are now faster drives with greater capacities for the same price. The C300 widezu69 mentioned is one of the best. There are numerous comparative reviews of current SSD's found through Google that explain the speeds, features, advantages and disadvantages of the drives available and their comparative performance for a variety of uses and purposes. Pick one that best meets your needs and price point.

Reply 3 : SSD upgrade advice

I installed an Intel X25-M ssd in my M15x and I have been very happy with it. Overall the drive made the laptop much more responsive. It also improved battery life and decreased boot times.



I've used an X25-M drive in my desktop for a couple years and never had any issues. Intel provides a free copy of their data migration software (Acronis True Image) that will allow you to clone your existing drive to an Intel SSD.



Crucial is a solid brand as well so I'm sure the C300 would be a good choice as others have recommended. According to the specs it's a bit faster than the X25-m, but you might want to find some benchmarks to confirm that to.



The guide below might be of use to you.



M15x SSD install guide

Reply 4 : SSD upgrade advice

Thanks all. Because of Intel X25-M shortage, I've ordered an OCZ Vertex 2 120GB instead. Will install it this weekend

access macro - export report to excel

i am writing a macros in access that exports a report to excel and attaching that macro to a button on a form. because this file in excel will be overwritten each month, I would like to add in the macro a step that saves over the original file without the "do you want to replace the existing file" message... Is this possible.

thanks !
rob kormoski

Reply 1 : access macro - export report to excel

is to delete it before saving it. That can be done in a single macro step before you open and save the report.

Steps:
1. Make a batchfile, for example c:mydatabasedatadelete.bat with just one line in it: del c:mydatabaseexportmytable.xls
Use Notepad to make and save this batchfile.
2. Make a Runapp-step in the macro with full path to batchfile as parameter.

This will execute the batchfile, and the batchfile will delete the workbook.

There must be other - more elegant - solutions, but I just made and tested this (Windows XP, Access 2000) in 5 minutes or so, and I'm content with the way it works. I leave it to others to find something better.

Note that exporting a table as a spreadsheet overwrites an existing one without asking. But as you're talking about a report that's not relevant. By the way, can you tell me the code to do so?

Hope this helps.


Kees

Reply 2 : access macro - export report to excel

I am still trying to figure out the code (I am new to access macros) - however was wondering if you could help me with this... when I export to excel, can I specify a worksheet (since I have multiple worksheets that I do not want to delete) ? right now it seems as if it deletes everything in the file and then exports the report and ONLY that report is in the worksheet, but I need all my original worksheets (I have cell referencing to put my report in the proper format)

thanks again !

Reply 3 : access macro - export report to excel

Rob,

No, you can't export to multiple worksheets in a workbook. Each export creates its own xls-file. That's one of the things your system design needs to take care of.

Kees

Reply 4 : access macro - export report to excel

Two different methods are outlined in http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-7813-0.html?forumID=29&threadID=134445&messageID=1515786

They are for Excel, but I think the Access macro commands cover about the same thing, albeit in a different syntax. Both Sendkey and Setwarnings (I hope I got the correct English terms, but you'll find out) are valid macro commands. The documentation for Setwarnings explicitely states it suppresses all dialog windows. If it works, that's a far superior solution.

Kees

Reply 5 : access macro - export report to excel

thanks! your post got me on the right track for a similar situation, but you can do this without batch file using "cmd.exe" command line parameters:

RunAPP : cmd /c del c:userspatric~1desktopReport.xls

the "/c" switch runs command then exits CMD.. "/k" would run and leave open.

if "cmd.exe" is not in the system path (should be), you could add the path in the command "c:windowssystem32cmd /c del ..."

cheers

Help me to choose keyboard :)

I am slightly confused as to "what to get".



There are few factors but i am not sure it can fit in one device.

1. I kinda like Steelseries 6G (for build quality, form-factor etc) and i am partially a gamer.

2. I would like to have usb hub in keyboard since my notebook can use extra usb slots. But on the other hand those usb hubs usually doesnt work the way you want them — for example you cant charge an ipod through keyboard usb hub.

3. I am probably ready to consider wireless keyboard, however i am not sure if i would like to replace batteries too often. Maybe if it could be wireless but also have a attachable usb cord... =)

4. I dont want back-lighting since i dont look on keyboard when i type (however i dont mind if its there).

5. I dont like "ergonomic keyboards" — i am not used to those and they are bigger then i would like them to be.



Budget is flexible. I just want something that fits my needs.



Any ideas?

Reply 1 : Help me to choose keyboard :)

Das Keyboard Professional Model S



fits all of the above other than wireless.

Reply 2 : Help me to choose keyboard :)

Looks good. However i am pretty sure i cant buy it in my country — i live in Ukraine.

Never heard of this manufacturer or seen it in stores.



We got most of the stuff here though.

Reply 3 : Help me to choose keyboard :)

Das is a German company, so if anything one would think it should be easier for you to get in UK than here.



How does your Das keyboard compare to a Deck Vicious? I remember you were going to try both.



To the OP: Try a Deck Legend keyboard. Wired, not ergonomic. Very nice mechanical keyboard. No USB slots. A bit ugly IMO but meh...function over form right? I see you have a Mac, and Deck will place Mac caps on for you. You don't get any additional functionality, but if having the Apple icon on the Windows button is important to you, it'll be there

Reply 4 : Help me to choose keyboard :)

Anyone here using a alienware tactx?

Reply 5 : Help me to choose keyboard :)

the Logitech G19 is the best keyboard!

Reply 6 : Help me to choose keyboard :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by yelohotshot the Logitech G19 is the best keyboard!

Pfft



Mechanical - you could look at the Filco's:

The Keyboard Company - Product search



Personally I like scissor-action with a decent key feel for everyday use:

Scan.co.uk: Keysonic Aluminium Flat XType Wired USB Keyboard Aluminum with USB Hub - KB-KSK8020HM



Deluxe version of above, same key action:

Scan.co.uk: Keysonic Aluminium Wired USB Keyboard - ACK-5600



No idea of Keysonic availability in Ukraine (once again, Keysonic is German).



Neither have powered USB ports, like any other keyboard with USB ports. These are for mice, etc only - you won't be able to power a HDD or charge an iPod thru them.

M15X Questions....

Been looking at the M17X, but the size, delays in shipping, price, make it a lot to handle. Therefore been checking out the M15X...



1) Does the extreme processor compare to the sandy bridge i7s? How about the i7 740QM?



2) Is the 9 cell required battery huge and sticking out of the back of the M15x?



3) How heavy is the M15x?



4) Is the video card enough for gaming? Is it Dx10? Dx11? 1024 MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730



5) How are ship times? Can I expect it in a week if I use overnight shipping?



6) I may skip SSD...can I add one later and how easy or hard is it? (better than the Dell version)



7) With the 1080P screen, how do owners like it?



8) Any hope of discounts since its been out a while?



9) Is a NEW M15x update coming soon?

Reply 1 : M15X Questions....

I will answer what I can...



Not sure about questions 1 or 2...as for #3, the m15x is hefty..around 10 or 11 pounds depending on battery size. For question 4, You won't want the 5730 for any real gaming. I have the 5850 and it easily clocks up to 5870 speed although not an exact match as far as abilities, but I play everything at high detail at native resolution. No real experience with Dx11 titles. As for question 5, you'll have to ask Dell/Alienware. I would expect a 2 week wait (at least) for any new custom Alienware system. For the new rev 3 m17x systems, you'll wait more than a month. Haven't added a SSD, but can't imagine that it would be any harder than it would be for any other system. For question 7, I have a beautiful 1080p LG screen in mine and it's the nicest screen I've ever owned. Good luck with question 8 as far as a discount. If anything, the m15x seems to be more expensive when coming from Dell. No new m15x from what I've heard. Appears the m14x and m18x will be the new Alienware offerings this year.

Reply 2 : M15X Questions....

1) If you overclock an i7 Extreme, then you will be able to get on par with the new sandy bridge processors or even beat them.



2) Not really but good for cooling since it tilts your laptop a bit.



3) It is heavy but its movable. I would say around 9-10 LBS



4)I have a 5850 which is more powerful than 5730. Its really good for gaming and it is overclockable too. It is DX11.



5) Depends on your location (Country, City etc)



6) Its so easy that even a monkey can do it .



7) I have 900p but 1080p will give you more screen real estate, will bring down a few FPS during gaming if you select 1920x1080.



8) They always have $100-$250 on Dell Canada and the US site. Not sure about other countries. Better to order on phone to get a better deal (may not always work though).



9) M17x-R3 is the M15x successor and the M15x will be discontinued soon so no new updates. Any new updates will be the newer hardware like a GPU (possibly) or SSD or RAM you install yourself. Other than that, nothing.

Reply 3 : M15X Questions....

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMDgamer Been looking at the M17X, but the size, delays in shipping, price, make it a lot to handle. Therefore been checking out the M15X... 1) Does the extreme processor compare to the sandy bridge i7s? 2) Is the 9 cell required battery huge and sticking out of the back of the M15x? 3) How heavy is the M15x? 4) Is the video card enough for gaming? Is it Dx10? Dx11? 1024 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5730 5) How are ship times? Can I expect it in a week if I use overnight shipping? 6) I may skip SSD...can I add one later and how easy or hard is it? (better than the Dell version) 7) With the 1080P screen, how do owners like it? 8) Any hope of discounts since its been out a while? 9) Is a NEW M15x update coming soon?

1) In benchmarks an overclocked 920xm (3.2 GHz on all cores) is about the same as a 2720QM (as far as I remember) The 920/40xm are great processors, but don't get them from Dell, unless you money isn't an issue. Most of the users here got it from ebay or similar.



2)Yeah it's sticking out, but that also gives you a better airflow beneath the laptop which leads to cooler temps. (You can achieve the same effect when lifting the system a bit with a book or similar)



3) Hmm, about 4.5 kg I guess.



4) 5730 is the only one available at the US site atm, afaik, but the card isn't really great, it's the weakest (or second weakest card) which the M15x ever had as option. I'd recommend upgrading it yourself to a 5850m, or even a 6970m (inofficial, but that would be the most powerful option atm) or a Nvidia 460m if you're more the nvidia type.



5)No idea, where are you located?



6)It's really easy to add one later.



7)GREAT!!! Best 15.6 inch screen I've ever seen in a notebook.



8)Order by phone and talk to the rep... they usually give you rebate if you haggle a bit. (Hope that's the word^^)



9)No, it seems the M15x is at the end of it's life... I guess the M17x r3 is the successor... The M14x (a bit weaker as the M15x as it seems) and the M18x (a real beast) are just about to be released.





- However, the M15x is still a great system imo, and highly upgradable!! And there's a great community

Reply 4 : M15X Questions....

From what I've heard here on the forum, the 740qm is a decent processor, if you are just gaming you should be more than fine since most games are gpu-dependant. This brings me to the hd5730, which is a pretty ty card compared to the other cards offered (hd5850 and gtx460). If you are going to play heavy dx11 games like metro2033 that card will not suffice(my 5850 ran it decently on almost highest settings). The 9-cell sticks out a bit, about 2 cm. It sticks out of the bottom, not the back.

Shiptimes vary, ask the sales rep.

The 1080 screen is nice. Im really loving it.

You can always haggle to get discounts, but it all comes down to the sales-rep working for you.

You can skip the ssd, its pretty easy to install a new hdd.



I would go for the m17x r3 with the HD6970 and sandy bridge, or wait for the m18x.



Hope this clears things up for you

Reply 5 : M15X Questions....

I wouldn't let the waiting time put you off get the m17X.the M15x is great but old tech now.

1:The extreme proc is slower than the sandy bridge at stock clocks but with throttle stop can run faster.

2:the battery lifts the laptop up at the back and actually helps air get to the fans (the reason i got 9 cell).

3: was answered in above post

4:the 5730 isnt a great card though the 5850 is really good,can max crysis 2 with a few tweaks and over clocks great.you can get more power from a M17X.

5:Not sure about ship times.

6:you can add a SSD later and easy to find,and it would depend what SSD you bought if it was to be better than the dell one or not.

7:The 1080p screen is really nice imo haven't seen the 900p screen to compare though.

8:not sure about discounts.

9:the update to the M15X is the M17Xr3



LOL there was only one post when i started to type my answer

Reply 6 : M15X Questions....

thanks for all the info...It sounds like the new M17X is actually lighter than the M15x...which is a selling point. I'm going to price them both out again.



Seems like you guys are all pointing to the M17X R3...My issue there was 3D or not to 3D.

Reply 7 : M15X Questions....

Quote:

Originally Posted by AMDgamer thanks for all the info...It sounds like the new M17X is actually lighter than the M15x...which is a selling point. I'm going to price them both out again. Seems like you guys are all pointing to the M17X R3...My issue there was 3D or not to 3D.

Did you ever play with 3D? I'm definitely not going into 3D until there's a glasses free option... and this will take at least 1-2 more years, probably more.

Reply 8 : M15X Questions....

I think 3D in a laptop with a single GPU is just asking for poor frame rates Also you would need the 460m nvidia card for the 3D where you could get the non 3D ati 6970m which is more powerfull.

Reply 9 : M15X Questions....

Alienware M15x, Cosmic Black

Genuine Windows 7 Ultimate, 64bit, Englis

Intel Core™ i7 740QM Quad Core Processor, 1.73GHz (2.93GHz Turbo Mode, 6M Cache

6GB Memory (1x 2GB, 1x 4GB DDR3)

15.6-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 (1080p) WLED

1024 MB ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730

500GB SATAII 7,200RPM

Blu Ray reader etc

Internal Bluetooth 2.1 Mini-Card - 2.1 Enhanced Data Rate



How does that look? I don't ever think I'll "game" on a laptop, but for a good fast system for everything else...This would be great for movies, music, video editing...etc



Its replacing a macbook pro 15" core 2 duo, 256gb geforce ard, 5400 rpm drive,1440x 900 screen...would be a monster compared to that and that mac runs fast.

AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I'm running Windows XP 2002 Service Pack 3. I've just recovered my system from a nasty something and downloaded AVG 2011 Anti-virus Free.

I like AVG and don't want to complain about something free, but AVG is slowing down my computer as one of it's related processes is running ALL THE TIME (I found this with v.9 too, which I had before). These processes seem to be always running, and typically the combination of the three uses about 40% of my CPU: AVGIDSagent.exe, AVGIDSMonitor.exe, avgchsvx.exe...I want to protect my computer, but more importantly I want to be able to use it without all my programs queueing for attention behind an AVG process. It won't let me change it's priority in task manager either.

Is this just 'the way it is', or is there some other reason it's constantly hogging my CPU?

Thanks o knowledgable ones.

Reply 1 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello dapackage88,

AVGIDSagent.exe and AVGIDSMonitor.exe = new AVG Identity Protection component in AVG 2011 Free (previously just paid)
avgchsvx.exe = AVG Cache Server (since AVG9 product) - you can disable it in AVG -> menu Tools -> Advanced Settings -> Cache Server. But this process should not use CPU too much, only in the beginning until building cache is finished - have you run and finished the initial AVG Scan?

What is your computer performance? (amount of RAM, CPU frequency)

Thank you

Reply 2 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Thanks for the quick reply. Yes I finished running the AVG scan, and the computer has been left on plenty the last few days so presumably the cache is finished.
The issue persists - it's very noticable when I'm on the net, everything just drags.

For performance, I've got an AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3700+, 2,19 GHz, 1 GB of RAM, ATI Radeon 4600 graphics.

Thanks again.

Reply 3 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello dapackage88,

AVG Cache server is not one-run process, but should be still running in background with low priority and caches new or modified files (not so high CPU/HDD consumption process as first scan).

But persisting behavior could point to some conflict with other installed protection applications (or firewall or remains of incorrectly uninstalled), which needs deeper analysis.

Please provide us with list of used applications (protection, indexing, backup) and used add ons (toolbars) in internet browser. Did you use other protection application previously?

Thank you

Reply 4 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I got rid of add-ons which helped a bit, did a bunch of updates, but finally I just uninstalled AVG and re-installed it. Now AVG is using a more reasonable amount of CPU. So I think problem solved, thanks.

Reply 5 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

just installed a 320GB hard drive and loaded winxp and downloaded avg free 2011.

avgidsagent.exe is using tons of cpu - jumping all over the place from 00 to 99 slowing down my pc to molasses.

any recomendations? dell 8200, xp sp3, 1.6ghz, 768mb ram.

devraj50

Reply 6 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello devraj50,

are you using other protection application? (firewall, index/backup tool)

CPU 1.6 GHz is on minimal level of hardware requirements. How many processes are running in Task Manager (after computer start up)?

Thank you

Reply 7 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

i have about 30 processes running - nothing abnormal. i just reloaded win xp and updated to SP3. then installed avg free, adobe, firefox, itunes, andthat is about it so all the other processes are standard winxp processes. i don't see why the number of processes running would cause any program to be constantly fluctuating between various cpu usage. and i mean constantly as i watch task manager avgidsagent.exe will go from 75 to 40 to 85 to 00 to 62 to 78 to 23 to 55 etc etc all within less than a minutes time.


i am using winxp standard firewall - thats it.


maybe i need to do what dapackage88 did and uninstall and reinstall avg. btw, i have been using avg free on this same system for years. just downloaded the 2011 first time however since i upgraded my hard drive.

thanks

Reply 8 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello devraj50,

reinstallation could help in some cases of corrupted AVG installation.

Any chance you have installed and running service PostgreSQL or other SQL database?

Thank you

Reply 9 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

i will try the reinstallation and no i am not running any sql program at all

actually since i installed this hard drive i have run nothing but the web browsers. (ie and firefox) i have not had the time to fully reinstall my programs so it really is a stripped down system

Reply 10 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I have been having the same problem and found disabling the Identity Protection fixed it. The downfall however is that avg says it is not fully protecting your computer. I would rather not use the Identity Protecting and still be able to use my computer than the alternative. A patch should be released to fix this problem.

Reply 11 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello,

There seems to be some conflict with AVG Identity protection and another software installed on your computer.

Could you please provide us with more details? What other software is running when enabled IDP is causing slowdown?

Thanks

Reply 12 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Once you've disabled Identity Protection, go to - tools - advanced settings - ignore faulty conditions - tick 'identity protection'. You won't get the error message then

Reply 13 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I had same problem with avgidsagent.exe (using 40-50% of CPU), which seems to be a recent problem, as I've been using AVG for several years. I, too, disabled Identity Protection, as others have suggested, which made the problem go away. I think AVG has a real problem they need to address here.

Reply 14 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

http://www.avgforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=867&p=3146&hilit=AVGIDSAgent#p3146

I found it interesting about CHKDSK and more.

Are you writing that AVG needs to work around uncorrected CHKDSK errors?

Or are you asking that Microsoft fix this OS?
Bob

Reply 15 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello all,

> http://www.avgforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=867&p=3146&hilit=AVGIDSAgent#p3146

AVGForums.com is a free, unofficial AVG technical support forum. It is not endorsed by AVG Technologies, the makers of AVG. No AVG employees monitor or post on this site. AVGForums.com is a community support forum, provided by ShopUnitedNetworks.com for the benifit of the AVG user community. Users of AVG's Free products should seek support in the AVG Free Forums.

Identity Protection
- what is your hardware configuration? (CPU, amount of operating memory)
- are you using Google Desktop? If so, which version?
- please check the next folder* for any recent files:

Windows XP
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication Dataavg10dumps

Windows Vista/Seven
C:ProgramDataAVG10dumps

- if some exist, please pack the smaller versions (almost the same name) into an archive (zip file), upload it to your favorite storage and provide us with link to it (or open my profile and send me the link in a message).

Thank you for your cooperation

* Some folders could be hidden by default Windows settings. To view hidden files and folders:
1. On the taskbar, click Start -> (Settings) -> Control Panel -> (Appearance and Personalization) -> Folder options.
2. Click the View tab.
3. Click "Show hidden files and folders" (the name may vary depending on the operating system).
4. Click OK.

Reply 16 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I just disabled Identity Monitor. Truthfully I have an old computer (1gb ram, celeron CPU, win xp pro sp3) but after I upgraded from AVG8.5 to 2011 latest release, everything started to crawl. avgidsagent.exe was the culprit until i disabled identity monitor (and the notification error so I don't get reminded all the time)

However, even disabled, avgidagent.exe is still running albeit using only <1% CPU. Should that process still be taking any CPU cycles considering I disabled it?
I hate it when software hog the system to themselves be it running updates, monitoring, auditing, etc. The reason I was recommending AVG was because of its small footprint on the computer. This seems to be no longer true.

Reply 17 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello,

please be informed that processes disabled through AVG User Interface are suspended only (in unique situations they can take a minimum CPU power).

You can uninstall AVG Identity Protection component by running AVG installation file again, then choose "Add or remove components" and clear the tick by Identity Protection. But I would recommend to monitor this thread at AVG Free Forum for version 10.0.1190 (or newer) and check the Identity Protection behavior with it (you can update AVG to mentioned version or repair with new installation file).

Please inform us about the situation with mentioned AVG 2011 (10.0.1190).

Thank you

Reply 18 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I now have AVG 10.0.1170. I'll look to install 10.0.1190 as soon as it's available to check if Identity Manager binaries have now been fixed to reduce their footprint on CPU resources.

Reply 19 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

For pete's sake, why can't the apparent AVG staff poster to this thread just state things clearly and offer a working solution? It looks like there's a problem for many people with recent versions of AVG's "ID Protection" component using too much CPU time, and unticking that component in the program preferences/options module doesn't actually adress the problem. So... if you don't still have your installer, go here to download the latest free version (http://free.avg.com/us-en/download-free-antivirus). Then either entirely install and reinstall or just run it in "add/remove components" mode. Either way, at the install set-up configuration screen UNCHECK the box for ID Protection and reboot. Seemed to work for me. YMMV.

Reply 20 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

I have to agree about the AVG staffer.

I haven't yet upgraded to the latest version of AVG, nor am I likely to if this is going to be such an issue. It's not just my computer I look after, I am tech support for each of my parents' computers. The last thing I need is any number of phone calls about "why is my computer so slow, I can't get it to do anything",

I don't want to have to be faffing about with selecting which bits of a programme to install if I've previously had no problems with it. If AVG can't fix the problem, it seems I'll be looking for another antivirus soon.

Reply 21 : AVG using about 40% of CPU all the time

Hello FenchurchS,

Performance of AVG is smooth when it is installed on computers at or above recommended configuration.

Slowdown issues are mostly caused by conflict with other installed software or due to low system resources.

Thank you

Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Would your feelings towards your mbp change? Keyboard Flexing on mbp unibodys is rare, mine doesnt flex at all. Though some keys (k, l, o and p) seem to press in a bit mushier - though very minor and 999/1000 MBP users wouldnt notice or care. My buddy came over tonight and while he was on the can i testd his out and no flex either. And i pounded on his keys! Then id press the keys down hard and hold it and look for any give in them, very very little. So little its microscopic.

Reply 1 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Yes, it would. I demand no flex.

Reply 2 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

The closes HP notebook to the MBP would be the Elitbooks and they have very little flex also.



To me flex is something I read about in the reviews and then test when I get a new notebook. But day to day I forget about it. Keyboards with flex can still be typed on very comfortable and can be very good. Flex is an indication of build quality but only one of many. Flex does not make a notebook good or bad.

Reply 3 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

It would bother me, as little keyboard flex is indicative of good build quality. I don't want to pay 1000+ on a laptop only for it to feel that it might fall apart at the slightest provocation.

Reply 4 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Yes it would bother me too cause HPs are notorious for horrible build quality. The keyboards flex like crazy and you can see the actual keyboard go up and down as you type (even lightly).



Did any of you test your MBP for keyboard flex when you first got it?

Reply 5 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helpmyfriend Did any of you test your MBP for keyboard flex when you first got it?

Not yet, but I plan to do so next Tuesday. I'll let you know what I find.

Reply 6 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helpmyfriend Yes it would bother me too cause HPs are notorious for horrible build quality. The keyboards flex like crazy and you can see the actual keyboard go up and down as you type (even lightly). Did any of you test your MBP for keyboard flex when you first got it?

Nope. There's no point: given the laptop's construction, the keyboard cannot flex.

Reply 7 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan Everett Nope. There's no point: given the laptop's construction, the keyboard cannot flex.

What do you mean the keyboard cant flex on MBP? Any keyboard can, unibody or not. What is under the MBP keyboard anyways? What makes it so solid where it doesnt give in even when you pound on it?



On any NON apple laptop, as solid as they can be, you will still have some keys where you can hear the back of the keyboard hitting a thin sheet of metal underneath it. i know my old asus and old toshiba would have thin sheets of metal under the keyboards and there would always be some kind of space between that and the actual keyboard.

Reply 8 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Helpmyfriend What do you mean the keyboard cant flex on MBP? Any keyboard can, unibody or not. What is under the MBP keyboard anyways? What makes it so solid where it doesnt give in even when you pound on it?

I beg to differ: this keyboard certainly can't. I knew that before I tried, since the design makes it, so far as I can tell, impossible. You've about as much chance of being able to flex the trackpad as you have the keyboard.

Reply 9 : Would it bother you if your MBP keyboard flexed like a HP?

Way too much emphasis on something that really doesn't matter past a certain point.



Any minor "flex" a keyboard has has no real effect on the design of the overall laptop or its durability.



The keyboard is just one component of a much more complex system and indeed the backboard of the keyboard has little effect on the actual workings.



The reason for "flex" on most laptops is that:

1) sufficient space between components and mount for keyboard to be pushed down. (a good thing, for both cooling and durability)

2) backboard of keyboard assembly is not thick enough to resist the absolute reefing some people seem to think is necessary.



While there certainly is a reason for concern when a laptop feels absolutely flimsy, a little flex (as opposed to ZERO due to no space to flex with the fragile components sitting directly below the keyboard) is not really a bad thing.



There seems to be no end to the mac users claiming how much better their "no flex" is over something that "barely-flexes-when-you-stand-on-it".



As an added bit of information, despite making up less than 10% of our laptop users, we have three times the macbooks with show-stopping manufacturer issues than all other brands. Note that while this number is high right now, its ALWAYS higher than every other brand...



Note, this is not counting the people who doused their laptops in non-dairy-coffee creamer or other obvious "not-the-manufacturer" issues.



As a side note, why is it mac users have this tendency to find new and interesting liquids to douse their laptops in?

Void warranty different?

Why won't my Canon Digital Camera Model Power Shot SX120IS

date stamp show up on my photos?

Reply 1 : Why won't my Canon Digital Camera Model Power Shot SX120IS

I cannot put the date on my prints. The camera shows the date but when I print the picture the date is gone. How do I put the date on the prints.
Thanks in advance for you help!

Reply 2 : Why won't my Canon Digital Camera Model Power Shot SX120IS

If so, try this:
ImageBrowser > Preferences > "Print" from the choice box
"Print" has options to print shooting date, shooting time, or file name in the caption in Layout Printing.

Reply 3 : Why won't my Canon Digital Camera Model Power Shot SX120IS

When you print or display, the app that prints or displays might have an option to display or print that.

It's a great option.
Bob

Reply 4 : Why won't my Canon Digital Camera Model Power Shot SX120IS

Look at the Index, near the back of the User Manual.
Look for "Date Stamp"
Note that Date Stamp will only work on postcard size images.
The camera image size must be set at 1600 x 1200 pixels.

Once the Date is embedded in the image, it can not be removed from that image file.

..

Reply 5 : Why won't my Canon Digital Camera Model Power Shot SX120IS

Thanks for the info. I have date and time on my pictures now.

Considering a 3D Monitor

Hi folks,

I'm interested in getting a 3D monitor and after a bit of research, it seems like the Alienware AW2310 is the better choice at the moment. However, this monitor came out roughly a year ago and new 3D monitors were announced at CES this year.

So, do you think this a good time to wait until the new batch of bigger and better tech comes out or should I put down the money now? Are there better monitors available that I missed?

Thanks!

PC freezes randomly

Hello,
I have a dual boot system with windows xp and ubuntu and of late the pc starts freezing randomly when running windows xp.
I have tried re-installing windows xp many times and have also tried changing the add-on card positions in the motherboard for any conflicts. I have also updated the drivers for all to the latest versions.
But the same problem does not occur while running ubuntu.
Is there anyway by which I can find out the root cause of this problem?
PC config.:
Intel P4 2.4GHz, 865GBF motherboard with 1GB RAM.

Reply 1 : PC freezes randomly

1. XP does not come with all the drivers required. Plus there are many other things that causes pauses (not freezes) that we can chat about.

2. Hard lockups are caused by CPU cooling issues and while I read "But Linux.." we know to pull the heatsink and refresh the compound. Example at ->>>>http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6122_102-523541.html?tag=threadListing;forum-threads

3. Then we have malware. I like Grif's advice such as http://forums.cnet.com/7726-6132_102-5098912.html?tag=posts;msg5099421

Reply 2 : PC freezes randomly

Did you try getting the help of a computer technician? I guess, the best idea is to head straight to the nearest manufacturer's support center in order to provide the best solutions for your problem.

Reply 3 : PC freezes randomly

Sadly, with one rare exception with a HP laptop that has a BIOS flaw I'm yet to head straight to such support.
Bob

AVG reports that BTENGINE.exe (Soft4kids.com) Is infected

I've been using BTENGINE.EXE for some time now, but after installing AVG trial, when opening the file AVG instantly reports a HACKTOOL infection.

I tried several other trial a-v'S and also Spybot, Mcafee and Norton.

None of these even hinted on a problem anywhere on my pc.
I wasn`t sure where to post this, as AVG reports it everytime on every btengine.exe file I load on to my machine.

Is this an issue with AVG, or with the others?

Reply 1 : AVG reports that BTENGINE.exe (Soft4kids.com) Is infected

Hello geek2me,

Please be informed that provided name "hacktool" of AVG detections sounds like PUP detection (Potentially Unwanted Program) - FAQ

I would like to ask you to provide our virus specialists with sample of mentioned file as described in this thread for closer analysis (and detection removal).

Thank you

Is it Possible?

No, this is not another speculation thread so calm down.



Anywho, I was wondering it's been a month since I've had my AW M17X R3, and by reading some threads around here the M18X is coming out, and I was wondering if its possible (or if anyone has done something similar yet) to ship back my M17X R3 and wait till the M18X comes out and just pay the price difference? ( I would ask AW/Dell support myself but the department is currently closed at this time )



Thanks in advance to whoever can help me out with this!

Reply 1 : Is it Possible?

If you are with in the 21 day return period then yes you can return it.

Reply 2 : Is it Possible?

I got my R3 on 3/12/2011 and today is now 4/14/2011, so nope. God damnittttttttt.

Reply 3 : Is it Possible?

I say you should just try to sell it....with all the delays and whatnot, someone may be happy to buy it from you on here.

Reply 4 : Is it Possible?

I might sell it. It all depends when the M18X comes out. I'm in college, and my father kept telling me to wait for the M18X but my stupid macbook pro was killing me, so I bought this and now I'm kinda sad I bought it cause of all the M18X talk.

Reply 5 : Is it Possible?

you have 21 days to return the laptop opened or unopened. within that period, you will not be charged the restocking fee. if it is returned after that period, opened or unopened, you will incur the 15% restocking fee.



I think that's how it works. mind you, I think there is a max after the 21 days. Like, you can't keep it for 3 years and return it and only pay the 15% restocking fee. Just try and call them I'm sure you can work something out since you plan on buying another Alienware

Reply 6 : Is it Possible?

It's been 30 days, so hopefully i can just pay 15%, or even return it full time. In order to do that, I need to get an AMERICAN over the phone, which is tough.

Reply 7 : Is it Possible?

Quote:

Originally Posted by RRei It's been 30 days, so hopefully i can just pay 15%, or even return it full time. In order to do that, I need to get an AMERICAN over the phone, which is tough.

I suggest that you Get onto Alienware US Chat or Dell US chat. There is usually an american rep you can talk to. If the name is american like Matt or mark ask them for the number to thier team. If not keep trying. Thats how i got the number to the team in Texas.

Reply 8 : Is it Possible?

Florick, you're getting your M17X R3 soon, you planning on getting an M18X by exchanging it or keeping the R3?

Reply 9 : Is it Possible?

I plan on keeping my R3. Simply because i will need the laptop for school. I doubt the M18x would fit my needs as well as the r3 will. I know that i need decent battery life. I also need something powerful enough to run 3d rendering but i don't want it to Overheat and BSOD in the middle of a class. The 18x just doesn't seem to fit the use i will get out of it. Although it is tempting ill be keeping the R3. What do you use your laptop for mostly?

Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

i want one for my laptop (see sig)...



2 years ago zalman was the top one...but its quite bulky.



is there a smaller more compact one?

Reply 1 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

I use CoolerMaster notepal U2 exactly because it is not bulky but at the same time it cools good. Also you can find U3

Reply 2 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

i am still using zalman nc2000.

Bulky — is an advantage for me since i can just throw this thing on a couch and it creates a solid surface for a notebook to work on.

Reply 3 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lieto i am still using zalman nc2000. Bulky is an advantage for me since i can just throw this thing on a couch and it creates a solid surface for a notebook to work on.

i c..





but i want something lighter if possible...so i can carry it around in my laptop backpack

Reply 4 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

check deepcool n2000

Reply 5 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

check these ImageShack Album - 8 images

Reply 6 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

Quote:

Originally Posted by James D check these ImageShack Album - 8 images

Is that the U3?

Reply 7 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

It is U2. U3 is bigger. check official site to know characteristic and size. Also U3 has 3 fans unlike U2 with only 2. I bought mine because in my country is impossible to find U3.

Reply 8 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

XPad Slim if you're on the go.

Reply 9 : Which is the most popular Notebook cooler these days?

U3 was too big





i ended up buying notepal X2 by coolermaster









gonna see if its good...or else the shop is willing to change it..and i ll buy some other model

Flashing Icon

I have a Flashing Icon in the Menu Bar, Black rectangle with white center and a "12" (?). Cannot find what it is related to, mouse turns to colored circle.
It is slowing my 25" imac 10.6 Snow leopard down. Please, What is it and how to get rid of.

Reply 1 : Flashing Icon

what happens if you Right Click or Left click on the icon?

Any indication as to what it is?

P

Reply 2 : Flashing Icon

Clicking does nothing except turn to the colored disk. Anyidea how can I find ALL the programs that are running?

Reply 3 : Flashing Icon

in the Applications > Utilities folder

P

Reply 4 : Flashing Icon

Or, as I'm trying to train myself to do... Hit Command+Space Bar to pull up the Spotlight box, and just start typing in "Activity Monitor". Those of us who've been using Mac OS X pre-10.4 where Spotlight came into being, still tend to not use it to it's fullest potential, but others may not have their skills so set in years of tradition.

Reply 5 : Flashing Icon

Suddenly it's gone! Notice the GM TM backup disk notlit. Plug not quite in. Could be solution? One happy Geriatric don't have togo bug hunting like with PC's / windows 3.1. Thanks for the Activity monitor check, etc Any other handy hints?

Reply 6 : Flashing Icon

Bugger It's back. Any ideas???

Reply 7 : Flashing Icon

Try safe boot, which will basically tell us whether it's a program you added or not. Reboot the system, and hold down the shift key until you see the Apple logo.

If you don't see the icon on the menu bar, then it's something you added. So reboot, go to system preferences, accounts, your account, then login items. First look to see if anything listed has the same icon, and if it does, uncheck that. Otherwise, assuming there's more in there than just some iTunesHelper thing, uncheck each item and reboot. If the icon disappears, go back and check ONE item, then reboot. Rinse and repeat until the icon shows back up, and whatever the last thing it was that you checked, will be the problem program.

Reply 8 : Flashing Icon

Done that and found a program in the "login items" I had removed, How did it get passed the lockout?? Not flashing at the moment hopefully got for ever. BFN

Illustrator saving extra eps file (with added 'V1' in name)

Illustrator CS4 on a Intel Core 2 Duo iMac running 10.6.7 -

Recently I amended some other designers Illustrator files and ever since (could well be a coincidence) when saving eps files Illustrator is taking it upon itself to save duplicate files with an added 'V1' at the end of the file name.

All seems very autosave-tastic but can't see what setting I need to change. I certainly don't recall changing anything recently.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Mark

Reply 1 : Illustrator saving extra eps file (with added 'V1' in name)

Think I've sorted it 'Use Artboards' was checked on one of the saving screens taking it off seems to have done the trick. The artwork I was amending used multiple artboards so I'm blaming her rather than my ineptitude!

Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I'm considering purchasing this product, and looking for feedback. Appreciate hearing from those that have used it. Thanks

Reply 1 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I am not a pc expert, the spotmau cd is easy to use for me.

Reply 2 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Folks:

I just bought Spotmau to clone disk to disk. I plugged two external USB drive enclosures into my computer. Both enclosures contained IDE hard disks. I booted Spotmau and it recognized four hard drives (the right count) but reported that the fouth disk (second USB) had partition table errors. This is not so. The same disk in the same enclosure is fine under Windows XP.

Spotmau does not provide the NTFS volume name so you have only the drive number and size to go by. It is very easy to clone in the wrong direction.

Being risk averse I down loaded two free cloners from www.thefreecountry.com. Both did a better job than Spotmau at cloning.

Not recomended. Save you money if you want to clone disks!

Reply 3 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I too was looking for a back-up program and was looking at Norton Ghost 12. Reading your e-mail you voiced your success with selecting two programs from thefreecountry.com. I went there as you selected and have spent considerable time reviewing the several free programs available. Which two did you pick and find best for the basic use of backing up you computer in case of crash or other problems. Not sure I know enough to make a good decision, but you apparently seem to be versed in that area. Appreciate the help and your recommendations.

I believe there are many of us out here in the same boat who could use the help and advice. Personally haven't had great success at finding the answer on Google searches.
Thanks
JD

Reply 4 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I just ordered the Spotmau Power Suite. On the order form there is an option, for a small extra fee to hava a cd burned and mailed to you.I forgot to do this.
I sent 2 emails to Spotmau help desk and customer support both advised me to phone customer service. I spoke to a customer "service" rep and he told me he couldn't help me and to email Spotmau.
Judging from the run around I've just been given and their abysmal "service", I wouldn't waste my time dealing with this company.Just a bunch of rip off artists.

Reply 5 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Hi
You asked about Spotmau. I am totally unimpressed and really a waste of money.
I shall relate my experirnce
I have the CD (Spotmau), followed the instructions to the letter. However, when I tried to backup my HD, it told me that it failed to backup my partitions. NO reason given. I checked and I appear to have no problem with my partitions. I wrote to them on two occasions enquiring as to why my partitions would not backup. I received the standard reply ---- they wouLd refer this problem to their technical department.
After three months I am still waiting for a reply.
Do not be fooled---they have no "customer service" if you need them.

Reply 6 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

INSTEAD OF BUYING THIS PRODUCT, TAKE YOUR MONEY AND THROW IT INTO THE STREET! This product is worthless! It doesn't do what it claims to do. The first problem, right out of the gate was I made three coasters before I could get the supplied burning program to make a proper disk. Then, it was totally incapable of repairing WinXP that hangs during the boot. The best they could do is tell me to use safe mode and make changes there. HELLO!!?? I can't even get into safe mode. The program must have been written by some preschool programmers because they can't spell, the grammar is poor and the interface is early DOS. I can't tell you how lame this program is. I should have seen "if it looks too good to be true, it probably is!" I can only imagine the fun I'm going to have tomorrow trying to get my money back.

Reply 7 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I just bought the Spotmau PowerSuite 2007 version. Fairly to say it is really worth the money. It has lots of functions: some are great and some are just so so. But the price is great. If you get all those functions elsewhere, you have to spend several hundred of dollars. Before I ordered this product I had read an article about it from PC Magazine. I believe this is a rather fair review and I would like to recommend it to all:

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2704,2181248,00.asp

Reply 8 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

did you get your money back?

Reply 9 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I had the same problem with Windows 7. When I called MI Computers, the business that sold me a computer that they made, they told me that the first thing to look at if my computer hangs before/during/after the power on self test (I'm not sure about before/during/after), is any bootable usb drive(s). When I disconnected two external usb drives, the problem went away. I tried to ask the bios to disable usb booting to no avail, so right now I load windows with the usb drives disconnected.

Reply 10 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

A few weeks ago I experienced a problem with the hard drive on my Gateway Tower. Three programs were corrupted; HIMEM.SYS, DBLBUF.SYS, IFSHLP.SYS. Microsoft Windows 98 would go through it's boot up sequence and would stop as a result of these corrupted files. The final message I received on my pc is "Cannot find WIN.COM, unable to continue loading Windows.

I purchased this program because it made mention that it could repair these types of problems. I modified my pc to boot from the CD which I purchased. I was presented with a screen that showed a gasoline gauge of sorts to show you the status of the "reboot". This is as far as the program got. The program hung-up. Maybe this program would work if the Windows partition was in-tact, but in my case my pc has problems. Problems that I was hoping this program would correct.

DO NOT PURCHASE THIS PROGRAM!! I may go on to System Mechanic, although i fear I might receive more of the same.

Reply 11 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I paid for the whole thing including the CD.
I never got anything!!!!

The first download link they sent didn't work. They explained they accidentally send me an OLD LINK. So they sent another one which didn't work either.
I said I would wait for the CD but it never arrived.

I asked (within the 30day money back gaurantee period) for my money back..
They just kept sending me emails saying yes and to try other stuff while waiting.

I never received anything!! No money returned and NO program..NOTHING
They are just big rip off merchants..

Reply 12 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I received the disk promptly,it worked without a flaw. A month later My granddaughter destroyed it. I asked Spatmau customer service if they could replace the disk,they said yes for $4.50. I said great and within 3 days I received the new disk. I highly recommend the Co.
and the programs, particularly the disk to disk clone option and their repair of missing Win Xp boot files. I don't know if the program will work on Windows Millennium or earlier.

Reply 13 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Their website came to me while I was searching a NTFS boot CD so I can boot to an OS and run some utilities on a dead HD to recover some lost files for a customer.

I checked them out on a deftly placed ad right smack in the middle of this freeware site. I thought it was the utility I was looking for, read the site and decided to give it a shot using PayPal I am pretty protected.

The download did not give me an ISO as their site describe. Instead I got and EXE that was going to install ALL the suit on my machine. The instructions said the EXE will extract into a folder then you find the ISO in the extraction. Nope. I immediately contacted Spotmau for a refund because if you can't get your information straight on your own sales website, and your technical documentation is innacurrate, then I want nothing to do with their company.

4 days later I finally got an approval for refund of my 49.95. I recieved in response to my refund request on Friday last an offer to have support on installing. I replied "no, I want a refund" The next email asked if I wanted to download the ISO directly, I repeated my request. The next was an offer for remote help and give them access to my PC, claiming I need help downloading and installing, I continued to reply in he same manner as before. After about 20 emails over the entire weekend I filed a PayPal dispute and replied to their email about the run-around I have been getting, and if they reply to me with any other words other than "We have authorized your refund", don't bother to contact me.

These guys are HORRIBLE! They are scammers, and they don't want to refund you for any reason. I literally wanted to smash my keyboard. Do not ever get this software, they hardly speak English I assume, or they are directed to stall in hopes the customer gives up and decides to keep it.

Find other utilities, like Ultimate Boot CD, or the like. There is no need to get anything from this company, they might make good useful software, but I'll never want to find out since their information and support are the worst I have ever seen.

Reply 14 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I was thrilled about this Spotmau PC Utility program, unti, I researched it here at Cnet, and so glad that I did. Seems it is not what it says it is, so thank you all.

On the other hand is there another reasonable utility software, that anyone would suggest, like all the promises the Spotmau had made.

It needs to be easy to use, I am a senior. I use so many different programs, for registry cleaner, defrag, etc, would love to find software that has all these features in one place.

I am so thankful that there is a website like CNET, where we can research items, to help us on our computers! Ands, thank you for everyone that takes time to contribute, helping others to understand this complex world. Hugs Helene

Reply 15 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Hi there
Pleased that all the replies about Spotmau assisted you. I suggest that you use System Mechanic 7. It is a very simple program and really has all the software that you will need.
Unless you know what you are doing, using Spotmau (if it works!!!) you can run into trouble/
Try System Mechanic---I am sure this software will meet all your needs.
Good luck

Reply 16 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Thank you Anita. Who makes this System 7? Is it IOLO, or part of the AVG group? If so, I have looked into it, and it sounds good, but not at the stage to purchase yet, thanks sweetie, Helene

Reply 17 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Hi Helene
You are very welcome. It is part of the Iolo software. See if they have a trial version at present. This way you could at least try it.
Also try PC DOC Pro --great software. The trial version will show you ALL the errors (I know!!) but you will not be able to correct them on the trial version. Its worth trying just to see how many registry errors you have---I had lots believe me.
Good luck and let me know what you decide.

Reply 18 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Goodmorning, I made a mistake, lol, the IOLO System 7 came from Zone Alarm, and yes it looks like a good program. Not AVG.

I run Registry Genuis, which is a good program, weekly/Win Patrol is running too, keeping me alert to what is going on, or what is trying to change my settings, and Spybot, which I don't like this newer addition. I do a defrag and virus scan, weekly to keep things up and running. I would just like some program that does it all.

My task bar has too many icons running, some are necessary, and yes was told to go to msconfig, sorry I wrote it down could be wrong here, anyhow to get rid of many of the icons running. My system is running at 49%, when PC Pitstop said it should be at 30%, no wonder I am sluggish, lol.

Anyhow you have a fantastic day, and thank you for taking time to chat with me sweetie, God Bless, Helene

Reply 19 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I installed "Spotmau Power Suite" and "Norton Save and Restore" and used each program to backup my PC to an external hard drive. When I needed to restore my PC I tried using the Spotmau bootable recovery disk first. It was toatally useless. For a start there was no keyboard support so I couldn't type in the name of the backup file. Also it couldn't find my external drive which was connected and switched on. It therefore wasn't able to find the backup files automatically. I then booted with the Symantec Recovery disk and Norton Save and Restore worked perfectly. It restored all my partitions in 2 hours and I was up and running again.

Reply 20 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Spotmau should be officially classified as malware. I also had major problems with attempting a recovery, and a refund. Their advertising is fraudulent and misleading, and their "support" is a joke.

Reply 21 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Strange, in my opinion all of their advertising are just and fair. It is not like the one that you see on advertisements from publishers like RegCure or Perfect Optimizer (FixTool) which is by the way still running although the second has been classified as "Misleading Software" in Symantec Online Threats Database. Both of these two publishers have promised to fix every PC problem that even related to boot failure and Windows blue screen while actually the ability that they offers is just registry cleaning.

Different from them, Spotmau really does offer us the tool we need to recover windows in various systems problems: independent system boot capability, NTLDR rebuilder, disk cloning and backup, password resetter, and many more. Boy, I just can't imagine if i had to buy each individual tool separately.

So let's be honest, yes of course it is not perfect. It is a collection of tools with price of just 50 bucks. What do you expect? Individual tools that as good as those from Norton Ghost or Acronis Disk Director Suite that if sold separately could cost you hundreds of dollars. You must be kidding me? Don't be cheap!

But I agree that their customer service should be more open and flexible in money back guarantee policy because sometimes the independent boot capability won't work on some systems.

Reply 22 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I agree with the former post.
I am only using Power Suite and I recently bought it to clean & speed up a very sluggish computer[iMac with Bootcamp]. That is what it advertises and that is what it does beautifully.
It downloaded, opened and installed very smoothly and it transformed my tortoise into a hare. Further more, it must be working in the background because when I check now & then, all systems get a high rating.
I cannot comment on their tech. support since I did not need them, but I find this software to be a little gem, I must have been lucky for once!

Reply 23 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

This software created a major nightmare for me. It crashed both my office & home computers for different reasons. I have never had a problem like this on either computer. Their "professional support team" is incompetent and is also the reason, after following their instructions, that my home computer crashed. This started four days ago and both computers are still down. For the full thread: http://spotmau.crmdesk.com/thread.aspx?qid=2017304

Message was edited by: admin to correct link

Reply 24 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Where you had a backup of your system. Something was missing before you tried out their new (bum?) product.

What is the backup for these computers?

Bob

Reply 25 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

I followed this link and apparently I will be able to post a comment as John Woods! Yikes.

See http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w146/rproffitt2000/?action=view¤t=jwoods.jpg

It says I'm logged in as John Woods. I'm simply amazed at such an insecure system.

Bob

Reply 26 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

So far this has not been a good purchase. I had an external hard drive that crashed due to a failed power supply. Got the hard drive back up in a new external case and had to format the drive to access it. I bought the software to recover the files and it worked partially. I recovered the files and saved them to another hard drive but none of them will open. The files are mostly picture files that have the correct titles and what appear to be correct file sizes but will not open. I have been dealing with their "tech support" now for two days and they assure me that the files are ok and should be able to recover them but don't offer how to do it.
here is the answer I got from the crack team.


"Spotmau Support 5/17/2008 5:49:47 PM
Dear customer,
Don't worry about it! And we will do our best to help you.Almost data(your picturewordetc.) you recovered is OK,but some data is not be read again.Because them have been rewrited at one time by you or other persons.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Spotmau Support Team"

Not very good help. I think I will get my money back if they cannot answer my question today. Should not be to technical of a question to answer I would guess......
I would caution against buying this software.

Reply 27 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Hi, My windows xp won't boot up, i get a blue screen saying windows has encountered an error etc. I can only start in safe mode. I cannot access the BIOS bootup setup as it seems to have been hardwired (or is password protected) so I cannot even install a new version of windows xp or use a recovery disk...Has anyone experienced a similar problem and if so how do I fix this? will spotmau or similar do te job?
Thanks

Reply 28 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

It will do nothing for your ability to access BIOS setup or boot from CD, and the chances are slim it would help with your boot-time issues.

-> BIOS: If a password were applied you would receive a prompt. Do you? Are you sure you're pressing the right key combination for your computer? What is the make/model number?

-> Boot issues: Since it starts in Safe Mode, try launching msconfig (Start->Run->msconfig), selecting the Startup tab, and disabling all unnecessary items, then reboot. You may also want to try System Restore from within Safe Mode if that fails.

John

Reply 29 : Spotmau Power Suite .... opinions?

Thanks John. The laptop is an IBM thinkpad X31 that I got from a company I worked for, so had their software (xp, office etc) on it. During boot up I press F1 to access the BIOS set up and it asks for the password.

As I dont have this i press return and still get through although when I go to the Boot menu, I cannot change any of the settings (presumably need the password for this).

I tried running msconfig and disabling all unnecessary items but still had the same problem. System restore would not run from the safe mode.

Any ideas or is it time to invest in a new machine?...
Thanks