Could anyone please help me to get another product activation key for my computer? I have 3 computers & decided to have a clear out.The lowest spec machine is being given away, so I wiped it clean and returned it to the factory settings.When asked for the product key to authenticate the software when the machine is first started,I'm typing in the exact key No, but it will not accept this.I've tried many,many times,but to no avail. How do I go about solving this problem. Will be very grateful for help with this problem.
Steve - N/E - Mon Aug 26 13:53 2002
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Steve, It is not permissible to publish Product Key Numbers. It’s a legal matter to do with copyright, piracy laws etc. Besides the people who maintain this site as you can imagine would not be best pleased. However if you are adamant you are using the correct key you should not be having this difficulty. Check the cover of your Microsoft Windows manual (if that is your o/s) and you should be able to check it there. If your computer is still operational you can also recover the number. Let us know if that is the case and we can advise you further.
Joe - London. - Tue Aug 27 21:58 2002
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Thanks for the swift reply Joe.I'm afraid I have egg on my face! I actually found another Windows manual with another Product key, which I guess was the correct number.I say guess, because I didn't actually need it. After I had posted my original query,I phoned the pc makers help line and put forward my problem, and was given another product key number,prehaps a master number, and this did the trick.The legality of this I'm not sure about! but it got me sorted. The moral is I guess is to keep all paper work,receipts,product key numbers etc seperate from others if more than one pc is owned. Thanks again Joe.
Steve - N/E - Fri Aug 30 20:00 2002
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Hi,I can't use Word 2000 because a page I pasted from a website wont delete and now comes up every time I open a new document.I run windows 98 SE and suspect there should be a simple solution - but i don't know what it is.I've tried a few things but no luck - deleted cookies and temporary internet files,uninstalled office 2000[which i was using at the time] and installed word 2000 instead.Not only was the document still there but my PC seems to think I've reinstalled Office 2000[it displayed the office product key and shortcut bar]No infomation is listed when i look at the document properties. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.Thanks
Dave - Bolton - Sun Aug 25 22:31 2002
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Sound like your global template is corrupt. Go to the following web site for a solution (sorry I don't know how to put in a clickable link) http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q323117 Hope this is of use to you.
Dave C - Salisbury - Sun Aug 25 23:02 2002
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Thanks Dave, your link solved the problem. Corrupt global template it was. If you scroll down the page to 24th August Iain gives a reply to Ross in which he explains how to create a clickable link. Thanks again.
Dave - Bolton - Mon Aug 26 21:56 2002
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help please, while in recycle bin all the pages that i have visted are showen, is there anyway that i can stop these from being stored, i am running windows m.e., the list is getting longer by the day, and takes ages to delete them all one at a time, many thanks.
allan - hitchin - Sun Aug 25 11:44 2002
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Hi Alan, It is possible to configure a Browser to automatically delete history files on shutdown. On my Computer Windows 95, IE Explorer 5.5 however they do not delete via the Recycle Bin. Windows ME may of course be different; nevertheless you should be able to delete everything at once from the Recycle Bin, Click File/Empty Recycle Bin. The question then is how did they get there in the first place? Perhaps you picked up a virus? It’s worth checking this out by running your anti-virus programme. If you have IE 5 or later you can use the repair facility to restore your Browser, Start/Settings/Control Panel/Add Remove. In the panel highlight “Internet Explorer and Internet Tools” Click “Uninstall” In the menu that then opens tick the “Repair Check Box” Now click OK. If you want to clear history without trace that’s a different matter and you would require a programme to do this separately.
Joe - London - Sun Aug 25 19:52 2002
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This is a question for "Joe Brennan; London". How do you insert your web site links with "click here" instead of having to put the address in? I hope you don`t mind me asking.It seems a lot less hassle.
Ross Hunter - Dundee - Sat Aug 24 20:42 2002
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Actually, Ross and Joe, it can be done by the person posting the message using the following standard HTML coding:
="http//weburl">type in what you wish to be underlined
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 15:56 2002
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Of course that should read
type in what you wish to be underlined
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 16:05 2002
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Hope this works too:click here
ross - dundee - Mon Sep 02 20:18 2002
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Thanks very much again Iain, my attempt also worked!!
ross - dundee - Mon Sep 02 20:21 2002
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Hmm, lets try it: click here
Maxine - Wed Aug 28 14:31 2002
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By jingo, it worked!! Thanks Iain!!!
Maxine - Wed Aug 28 16:31 2002
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computerhope, by any chance? looks like You've have been promoted to Admiral Mopp!
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Wed Aug 28 14:45 2002
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Thanks very much Iain, I will try your suggestion. Welcome back.
ross hunter - dundee - Tue Aug 27 16:38 2002
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Ross, I’m sorry I cannot give you the answer you were looking for nor claim any credit for this. I can only speculate that the people who maintain this site do it periodically themselves. Such links are quite easy to insert in your own web pages though using HTML
Joe - London. - Sun Aug 25 18:39 2002
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Thanks for the reply Joe, I will just have to settle for writing in the address.
Ross - dundee - Mon Aug 26 12:41 2002
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I have recently lost my midi input devices. I am using several music programs Cakewalk Score Writer, Cakewalk version 9 and Sibelius 2 .I have checked midi devices in all my programs and the window for input devices is empty. The output devices are all working fine as is all my sound on the computer. David Peadon, via email david peadon@hotmail .com
david peadon - chard, somerset - Fri Aug 23 21:01 2002
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David, try re-installing your sound card drivers
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 18:59 2002
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I have been trying to download my Olympus digital camera via the serial cable supplied with it. I had no problems for the first few months, then intermittently started to fail to connect my pc to the camers, and now wont connect at all. I have tried on two other PC's with no problems at all which suggests that the cables and connections are all ok. Are there any checks I can do to make sure that my serial port is working ok ? My device managers tells me that all drivers etc are installed ok.
Trevor Mason - Hull - Thu Aug 22 21:48 2002
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I Have recently Upraded my OS To Windows XP Pro. From ME Roxio and Nero lived happily in my computer I Used ROXIO EASY CD PLATINUM 5.0 In ME For XP I Got the patch for upping the ver to 5.1 5.2 and also driver update for cd burners made after ver 5 Mine is manufactured march 2002(MIRAI BP1700) The cd copier works fine but my music compiler doesn't respond at all My fault log in august is full to the brim . On boot up XP Refuses to load two drivers which are supposed to be "out of date" UdfReadr.sys /cdudf.sys Loading these would put the system at risk! Up to now no new updates at ROXIO(BUT ROXIO SAYS THEY ARE UPDATES??) I Know my BIOS is from 1999 does that say anything? Soeone has said it is my Hardware but the same software was working perfectly in ME My second software debacle is with NERO 5.5 OEM Which when upgraded to 5.9 rips out my cd burner from drive E Completely!(ALONG With drive E) Uninstall the NERO and my drive re appears HELP!!
JOHN GODDARD - BRADFORD - Thu Aug 22 00:40 2002
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help needed again please , my scanner and joystick are no longer recognized as being connected to my system , now this cannot be coincidence as both are connected via my 2 USB ports . is there something i've done accidentally or is it a hardware fault? is there any way of testing to see if they're working ok but it's a software problem?
malcolm whiley - boston , lincs - Wed Aug 21 11:45 2002
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uninstall your scanner etc and then re-install , your drivers should automatically be loaded once you use the wizard. cheers
. - . - Thu Aug 22 15:03 2002
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Check also that your USB controller is working too
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 16:29 2002
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How do I convert .avi files to MPEG in order for me to copy them onto CD
Graham Cunningham - Motherwell - Tue Aug 20 19:46 2002
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All the information you need and free tools can be found at www.vcdhelp.com
Dave C - Salisbury - Wed Aug 21 15:46 2002
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Can anybody help? I keep getting blue screen - fatal exception error (or something)when I start up my usual profile, then when opening folders, it keeps happening. I created a new profile and it doesn't do it under the new profile,(I would like to fix the prob though and go back to old profile) How can I find out what is causing it? Would greatly appreciate some help !
Jamie - Kirkcaldy - Tue Aug 20 14:35 2002
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FAO - JOE BRENNAN. Please read my reply to your message to me dated 5th August (below). Thanks again Joe, not only do you give good answers, but also in language that a mere learner like me can understand.
Steve harman - Bournemouth - Tue Aug 20 14:26 2002
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Steve thanks for those kind words, delighted to help if and when I can. We are all mere learners though in this field. Even the great Mr Gates would probably admit to that.
Joe - London - Tue Aug 20 19:45 2002
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i'm in desperate need of help , i have installed (and previously working ok )a Psion Wavefinder Interactive Digital Radio . i've just noticed that it no longer is working , there is no trace of the hardware in my pc . the software is all still there but my pc doesn't recognize that the hardware is connected via my USB port. according to the help files it is either my USB port or the wavefinder hardware at fault. is there any way i can check wether or not the USB port is ok? i'm getting broadband soon which obviously connects via a USB port so i need to know before i order broadband. any help greatfully appreciated.
malcolm whiley - boston , lincs - Tue Aug 20 10:42 2002
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I recently bought a computer magazine which had a cover disc, but while browsing this disc my screen went blank and, although the computer was still running, nothing would work (not even the re-set button.My only option was to switch off at the mains.This has happened quite often since.I thought it may be due to a virus but scans with Norton have found nothing. I even took the drastic step of re-formatting my hard drive, but to no avail.as I am only a novice with computers any help would be much appreciated.
Derek Murphy - King's Lynn - Mon Aug 19 22:08 2002
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I have a problem when trying to play Medal Of Honor Allied Assault. The console starts but only gets so far, it then tells me that i need a file, this file is called: '3dfxvgl.dll' and can be found in: C:\WINDOWS\system\ directory. Can anyone please help me track down this file?
andy stephenson - Broxted - Mon Aug 19 10:51 2002
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the file '3dfxvgl.dll' sounds to me like a graphics card driver. update you graphics driver and see if that works
david - wales - Mon Aug 19 22:15 2002
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Hi,all I have lost all the small icons off the taskbar, when I click on Toolbars Quick launch, a box drops down saying "unable to launch quick launch for,"Can anybody help? I reinstaled Windows 98 2nd'e.d.without solving my problam thanking you, ken
kenneth morgan - Coventry - Sat Aug 17 16:12 2002
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thanks to my pc crashing i have lost all my files(most of them photographs). does anybody know a programme to recover them from the hard disk. of course i did the cardinal sin of not backing them up. thanks john
john russell - norwich - Fri Aug 16 12:21 2002
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There are many file recovery programs available, of which Norton Utilities UnErase (Mac and Windows) is perhaps the best known. Perhaps you would also like to consider one of the following products free... Briggs Softworks' Directory Snoop (Windows 9x/Me, $29 shareware - 30 days trial): http://www.briggsoft.com/dsnoop.htm For a brief review of 'Directory Snoop 3.13': http://www.vnunet.com/Download/602094 Prosoft Engineering's Data Rescue (Mac OS and OS X, $89.95 - free demo with one file per session limit): http://www.prosofteng.com/index.php?datarescue http://www.prosofteng.com/index.php?datarescue&store I've never performed this task myself (Touch wood) but I would be very interested how you get on. (Just in case) Do let us know in due course.
Joe Brennan - London. - Fri Aug 16 17:19 2002
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Hi. I have just noticed that my Paint program no longer lets me save anything as a Jpeg file, but it did a month ago? Why might this be so? And is there anything I can do about it?
John Kentisbeer - Teignmouth - Thu Aug 15 19:08 2002
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Laugh if you want, but try clearing your internet cache.
Open Internet Explorer,
go to Tools then Internet Options,
In the Temporary Internet File section, click the Delete files
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 16:15 2002
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Defragmenter Problem. When I defreg my computer it sticks at 37% and wont go any further. I have closed all progs running expect systray and windows as I always do and in the past have had no problems. I have also ran a scan disc first which showed no errors. Anyone any idea what to do now.......please! Thanks. Chris Purcell
Chris Purcell - Tyne and Wear - Wed Aug 14 14:24 2002
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Is your screensaver turned-off Chris.On my PC I find that as the screensaver kicks in it is detected as hard disk activity & the defrag is halted!
Brian Woolley - Solihull - Thu Aug 15 15:16 2002
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How do I switch off my screensaver, but, then again, I have never switched it off before and defrag worked ok!!!!
Chris Purcell - Boldon colliery - Sun Aug 18 16:18 2002
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The fact that it has got to 37% suggests that now, would be a good time to think about doing a full backup.
when you do your scan disk, are you doing a thorough scan, or just the surface scan?
If you are doing the latter, get it to do a full scan and use Advanced to get it to fix any bad clusters that may have accumulated. Once done, retry your defrag.
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Tue Aug 27 10:22 2002
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Hi, I was surfing diy.com to see open hours and i noticed on my pc the opening hours drop down eg: mon -fri 800am 800pm where they should be together, a few other thigs as well, like that. I was told to enlarge the screen size, but all this does is make eveything a lot bigger and looks terrible. Can anyone help on this issue! Also, im buying a printer and a usb cable is recomended why?
Terry Cornwell - London - Tue Aug 13 20:20 2002
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i downloaded some films but cannot play them because they are avi format is there any way to convert these to mpeg?
mifa 85 - wigan - Mon Aug 12 13:00 2002
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You should be able to play the AVI's on your pc if you have the necessary codecs installed.(www.divx-digest.com/software/nimo_pack.html). For conversion go to www.vcdhelp.com/ for information and free tools.
Dave C - Salisbury - Mon Aug 12 19:37 2002
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Hi guys, I've just installed my fifth hard drive in under three years, each a replacement of the last under my extended warranty. But the trouble hasn't ended; every time I boot up the computer tries to install windows 98 again, and goes through the whole rigmarol. When it reboots halfway through the process it tries to start it all again. On top of all this, I have the occasional crash (whereby ctrl+alt+delete has to be done at least three times) and the drive keeps making a horrible scraping sound; have I been given another dud? Can anyone recommend a good make of replacement? I'm looking at a Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM. Be interested in your thoughts on this.
Raph - Sun Aug 11 23:15 2002
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Hi Ralph, I've got a 40gb maxtor 7200 and touch wood it seems ok.Maxtor don't have a particularly good reputation and Great western comes well recommended But I don't know what you need it for but HD are getting cheaper it might be worthwhile spending a bit more for a larger one. As for your problem 1) you haven't got a 98 boot disc in your floppy drive have you, just making sure! 2) if not I would put one in anyway and f disk your drive, (partition if needed) and format and then reload windows. First of all if you can get access backup all important files etc. Also try running scandisk in windows to check status of disc(with no background programs running except systray and explorer)This will see if there are any errors on it. Any more help feel free to ask.Hard drives never fail at a good time and after such experiences I always back up with Norton ghost or equivalent.
john-boi - Sheffield - Sun Aug 18 16:35 2002
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I downloaded a game from a friend with no problem. When I tried to open it to play, a notice came up "not a valid integer value" and I cant get it open. Can anyone tell me what this means please. Many thanks cathryn
cathryn - London - Sat Aug 10 13:44 2002
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The game is trying to log on to a non existent server for a multi player game
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 16:17 2002
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please please help, this is driving me nuts!!!!!!!!!!! I am running windows 98 SE, but keep getting the error message, Microsoft internet explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close.We are sorry for the inconvenience.At the bottom are 2 buttons, send report and dont send.Having sent several of these, we deciced to re-master , but to no avail the blasted thing is still there, can you please help solve this pesky prob, thanks anne (bath)
anne harris - bath - Sat Aug 10 11:56 2002
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Hi Anne first I would close all non essential programs and run a disc scan to check for any hard drive problems.On IE go to internet options and delete temp files cookies etc to get it as slim as you can!!! Then go to control panel>add/remove I'm guessing you are using IE6 and have upgraded from 5 ?Choose IE6 click on add remove now choose the repair option this will try and repair IE (back up your favourites first ).If this doesn't work you need to once again go to add/remove this time after selecting IE choose revert to a previous version this will take you back to a pre IE6 if you upgraded. Ok so now you will have an old version of IE see if this fixes it if it does,(or doesn't) you now have a choice stay as you are or go to windows update and reinstall IE6 knowing that if this brings your problem back you can go back to IE5. I close all non essential programs when downloading and installing IE6 to make sure it is not interrupted.
john-boi - Sheffield - Wed Aug 28 19:36 2002
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thanks for the advice above, unfortunatly, it hasnt helped,i have tried repair but problem still arising.I also tried to revert back to IE5 but my button i need to click is grey and unable to access,is there any other way i can go back to IE5 without having to re-master, thanks for your help. Anne
anne harris - bath - Thu Sep 26 11:10 2002
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Hi all, can anyone help me with this problem ? iexplore flash ocx error, i have re-masterd the machine, but as soon as i go onto msn games, popcap, incredi-mail it comes back asking me to install macromedia flash, but its already on the comp, if i click no it doesnt continue with the loading if i click yes it causes this error,,,,please help , does it mean another re-master ? and what am i doing so wrong , its been mastered 3 times and prob still occurs any advice would be great , thankyou.
anne - bath - Mon Feb 10 12:30 2003
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Thanks for info. Joe. I will give the site a look but, I think a major service could be required there just seems to be to many faults appearing.
Keith - Oldham - Thu Aug 08 19:36 2002
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I have just been given a new 10gb hard drive, when I install this should I use the new chappy as my master or should I set it to slave? Current O/S ME with 15 gb drive Thanks
Peter Johnson Smith - Cardiff - Thu Aug 08 08:26 2002
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However, unless you are planning on installing the Operating system on this new drive, I would partition it and use it as a slave drive. Quite a lot less hassle!
Iain Wolstencroft - Accrington - Mon Aug 26 19:08 2002
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You might want to set the faster of the two(which is measured in RPM) as the master.
Alex - Thu Aug 08 12:38 2002
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I'm researching external CD-RWs to boost my laptop capability. The Plextor Plexwriter that was featured in Issue 37 (8 August) sounds promising, but as I'm a CD-RW newbie, so could someone please explain when it says "40X write (when connected to USB 2.0 host)" on the Plextor website, what does this mean in relation to my laptops USB properties? Do I need to find out if my laptop's USB port is 1.1 or 2?Do I need a USB 2.0 cable to get the 40x writing power or will my laptop allow for this? If my laptop can't cope I don't really want to compromise on writing speed, so might I be better off getting a slower CD-RW? As you can tell, I'm a bit clueless...
Lynsey - Glasgow - Wed Aug 07 23:23 2002
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Hi Lyndsey, You will only get the full benefits of USB 2.0 devices if you have a USB 2.0 card installed on your laptop. So first of all check that the USB card installed is 1.1 or 2.0( if your laptop is more than a year old it is likely to support only 1.1 but you can replace it with the newer standard). The transfer rates for the two standards are USB 1.1= 12Mbps and USB 2.0= 400Mbps that is why this Plexwriter needs USB 2.0 to guarantee these write speeds. You can check out more about usb at href="http://www.usb.org and href="http://wwww.everythingusb.com"
Liam - Liverpool - Thu Aug 08 13:40 2002
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Thanks for your advice, Liam. As my laptop is over a year old it's probably only 1.1-compliant It seems more & more CDRWs on sale are USB 2.0 compatible, so I may end up pricing a USB 2.0 card...Cheers
Lynsey - Glasgow - Sun Aug 11 13:37 2002
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When reloading programs after a reboot a message appears saying that there is an internal error and windows will try and fix it. the screen goes blue and windows appears to fix system files. Also despite rebooting several times SFC finds 2 files USER.EXE and SETUPX.DLL "POSSIBLY" corrupted. When trying to fix these files from backup disc it makes no difference. When going to connection wizard in my Internet Explorer folder a number of files are corrupted as is the signup file. (1).Will a complete reformat be the only answer. (2). If a backup disc/s is corrupted is there anyway to check the disc. Thanks.
keith - oldham - Wed Aug 07 12:47 2002
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Keith, Take a look at this site http://www.techadvice.com/w98/U/user-exe_w98.htm in relation to User.exe problems. You can get setup.dll information here http://www.generation.net/~hleboeuf/setupx.htm
Joe - London. - Thu Aug 08 10:02 2002
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I have a computer that had 128mb memory up until sunday when I added a further 128 chip it has 64 in slot 1 64 in slot 2 and 128 in slot 3 with slot 4 empty this is sdram it seems to be working ok in system (control panel) it has 256mb in system information it has 256mb however i have noticed a couple of meassages at boot up although they don't affect anything can someone tell me what they mean...1 at first boot up a message says "suggested sdram latency time is 3".......then on the next section i get a flashin warning for about a second before it continues to load saying "warning spd not found at dimm socket 1"..as i say everything appears to be working ok? puzzled
Steve - derby - Tue Aug 06 18:56 2002
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Steve, I would put the 128Mb into slot 1 and the smaller ones in slots 2 and 3. It sometimes works.
Eddie - Croydon - Sat Aug 10 13:58 2002
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Some motherboards are very fussy about memory - some insist that either 2 or 4 slots are filled and will give an error if only 3 are used. You'll need to look at the motherboard manufacturers web site (if you don't have a printed manual) to see what they recommend. But if it works, perhaps it might be better to leave it alone.
Nick Cheesman - Alton - Fri Aug 09 09:11 2002
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I'm looking to buy a additional PC. My budget is £500. I want to buy a brand new machine with a reasonablly fast processor, min 256mb memory & min 30 gig HD. Where would be the best place to start my bargain hunt??
Paul D - Worcester - Tue Aug 06 18:53 2002
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If you want something already built and with an operating system installed, I would use reply

go to a computer fair i got the same spec as u want for £340 good luck
adrian - mansfield - Tue Aug 27 10:01 2002
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Well...you could build it yourself. However, failing that, try your local paper - my area has several people advertisng PC's at good prices. PC world are doing some for around 600. Buy a PC magazine and hunt through that. Good luck.
Nick Cheesman - Alton - Fri Aug 09 09:17 2002
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Hi, Wondering if anyone can help me with this: Recently my PC has become v.noisy. It is mainly when I scroll through pages, minimise and maximise screens, double click (to open) programs etc. It is a loud, scratchy almost vibrationy noise. My PC spec is AMD Athlon 1gig, 256mb RAM, DVD drive, CDRW Drive, ample graphics and sound cards etc. My opp system is Win98. Could something have worked loose inside? I am not running processor intensive progs, just the norm office, internet etc. Thanks in advance for any help.
Karl - Stoke - Mon Aug 05 22:36 2002
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It could be the processor fan which reacts to heat (moving windows is quite processor intensive and makes it run slightly hotter). You'll need to run it with the top off - BE CAREFUL - there's a lot of high voltages in there. If you're not sure, leave it alone and get in someone qualified (try your local newspaper).
Nick Cheesman - Alton - Fri Aug 09 09:20 2002

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